Chapter 10

"Whew! What a night," I huffed and Vladimir nodded, bending backwards with his hands on his lower back until several bones in his back popped. He sighed in relief and I giggled. We walked into the castle and I was feeling a bit drained. Gardening with Jane and running to Bucharest took the life out of me. Jane went straight back to the garden and Alec went to practice balancing a ball on his head.

I sighed, "Those kids are gonna kill me."

Stefan pulled a book from a shelf in Vladimir's study and flipped to a page, "They have the ability to."

I nodded and shuffled to a couch, plopping down on it and letting my head fall back, "Ugh... is it weird for a vampire to feel tired?" Vladimir shook his head and yawned himself, shaking his head quickly to shake away the tiredness and get back to work.

A page was flipped as Stefan turned to look at me, "It is not normal for a vampire to feel tired. Emotionally and mentally drained but not physically tired." I felt a little of everything. What did that mean about me? Before I could think farther about it, Stefan put his book away, "The best thing to do if you feel mentally drained is rest. Not sleep but rest. Close your eyes and try to think of nothing."

He stood and walked out of the room, supposedly to go get Alec or to go rest. I pondered his solution, "Rest. Hmm... simple enough." I leaned back on the couch and shut my eyes, trying to clear my mind. I blocked out the sounds of Jane's spade digging into the dirt, the ball bouncing against the dirt outside as Alec kicked it and the pen scratching against the piece of paper Vladimir was writing on. I was totally at peace.

Before I knew it, there was a tap on my shoulder and Jane was staring at me, "We're you sleeping?" I shook my head, sitting up. I felt one hundred percent better. I had to thank Stefan later for that.

Vladimir chuckled from his seat and I turned to see that he hadn't moved an inch since I laid down to rest, "You've been resting for hours."

I blinked in surprise and stretched, "Time flies when you're totally beat, I guess." I laughed to myself and turned to Jane, "What's up, sweetheart?"

She smiled, "The garden's done."

"Really? Let's go see!" I said happily as my eyes lit up. I tugged Vladimir from his paper work and we all walked outside to check out the finished garden. Stefan and Alec were already there; Stefan dressed in his normal leather clothing and Alec in his soccer outfit. I took a small walk around the garden, smiling at all the flowers and the small stream we'd rigged from one side of the garden to the other. A small frog leaped from one of the lily pads in the pond in the corner of the garden and I smiled, "Perfect."

The only thing out of place in the garden was the small tombstone in the opposite corner of the pond. I sulked as I remember the dark day, a few years ago, when Vlad had become sick and died in my hands. We couldn't have done anything. He was old and it was his time. He'd died, thankfully, before Jane and Alec had come along so they didn't get attached to the pet. But I was attached. Vlad had been my only family.

Fortunately, I had other family to help me through the loss now. I tried to put that out of my mind as I took in the rest of the beautiful garden. Jane and I had done a good job. Vladimir, Stefan, Alec and Jane all went back into the castle to do their own thing and I stayed outside, deciding to sit on one of the stone benches and bask for a while.

Toward the back of the garden, I saw a bit of movement and I tensed. If it was another vampire, they might as well be dead. I strode to where the movement had been and gasped as I saw a familiar face, "Marcus... what a pleasant surprise!"

He didn't seem happy to see me but then again, he rarely showed an emotion other than boredom. He blinked at me dully and then looked around us at the garden, "Did you do this?" I nodded proudly and turned to it, my mouth dropping open in shock as I heard him say, "It looks pathetic." I'd never heard him say something rude or mean in my entire existence.

I spun to face him and squeaked, "What?"

"You heard me," he said in his usual monotone, "This is extremely pathetic. We have better gardens growing around the walls of Volterra and we don't even tend to those. Well, I guess the garden matches its creator."

I gawked at him in horror. No anger was present. Only sadness and shock. I shook my head at him and then reached for his hand, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Don't touch me," he snapped and I flinched at his tone. He continued, "Why I would ever concern myself with a worthless little brat like you, I'll never know. I'll have to talk some sense into that eccentric brother of mine next time I see him so he knows you're not allowed in the coven. We want nothing to do with you. I want nothing to do with you. You complete waste of space. I hate you."

My heart broke in two. I could feel it as it shattered in my chest. My gaze dropped to his shoes and I watched in confusion and hurt as they walked away from me. Why? Why would he suddenly be like this? Venomous tears filled my eyes. "I...I..." I couldn't move. I couldn't fathom it. I felt like dying.

~V/R~

Kathleen chuckled as the Marcus she conjured in Styx's mind faded to nothing once it was out of her line of sight and smiled maliciously. Styx stood there for hours, not bothering to move as rainclouds appeared overhead and dumped gallons of water onto her. Kathleen just smiled triumphantly and hoped for the worst as she sped away from the castle.

~V/R~

"Styx?" I heard someone call a name but I didn't register it was mine until a few seconds after. I flinched wildly as someone touched my shoulder and stared wide eyed at Vladimir. He was staring at me much the same way, his face growing concerned, "Are you okay?"

Was I okay? No, I wasn't. I felt like I would never be okay again. Instead of answering, I sat on the ground and curled into the fetal position, not bothering to answer any more of Vladimir's questions. Only when Jane and Alec appeared did I stand and run to them, hugging them to me tightly as I sobbed. They were the only reason I was here now. Neither Stefan nor Vladimir were my mates and the one person I thought might have been my mate just walked straight up to my face and told me he hated me.

We walked into the castle, at a human pace, and Stefan sat me down, "Tell us everything." So I started from the beginning, telling them about how I'd seen movement and gone to investigate, and ended with Marcus telling me he hated me. Tears were in my eyes again. I really didn't like talking about this.

"Lord Marcus wouldn't do that," Jane said immediately after I'd finished speaking, "Lord Marcus is the sweetest and most caring man we know." Alec nodded with his sister, "He'd never say things like that."

"Do you think I'm lying?" I asked quietly and a bit angrily, "Do you think I don't know that? I'm kind of in shock right now. I mean..." I didn't want to say I loved him out loud but I did. I loved Marcus very much. He was one of the only people I loved at all, aside from my brothers and children of course. I sighed, "I... I need to rest..."

So, I went to rest... for the foreseeable future.

Pretty big wtf moment for you guys there. :) I feel a bit proud, though... ehhhhh, it was damn near impossible to imagine Marcus saying something mean. I tried my best I suppose. Also, Vlad the cat is dead. :'( Yeah, I had to let him go. Not a very big character and he was mainly there to tease Vladimir the vampire and give Styx some company but now that she's got some major mate drama going on, we don't need a cat strolling around. *sigh* Till next time.

~Penny (#forever-alone)