He changed into something that looked exactly like he had been wearing before, a dark all black suit and his dark black cloak that marked him as a member of the Volturi Coven. He could have gone on wearing the same thing forever, but dust tended to settle on his clothing from being still for so long.

As he pulled on his slacks, shirt, tie, and jacket, each in the same shade of black, he wondered at the clothing of this modern time. He much preferred the clothing of the time in which he had met his wife. It allowed more freedom of movement, not that the fabric of these clothes were much of a hindrance to his powerful frame, but it seemed more binding somehow. He put on a necklace that hung on a heavy gold chain and had a locket at the end of it. Unlike his brothers, this and the ring on his finger were the only jewelry he wore.

Once his cloak was in place he made his way from the room and moved towards the counsel chambers. He knew from the scent that humans were being led into the office front that was nothing more than a façade, and if he didn't arrive soon his brothers would send another member of the guard after him.

It never escaped his notice that each time they sent someone to call him it was a pretty female. He knew that they were trying to tempt him, but he was no longer temptable. There had been no woman for him since his wife's demise. Most of these females that had been sent were too scared of him to even attempt to seduce him, and the one time that a pretty blonde had dared to touch him, well, just moments later she had been a pile of stone flesh in his hearth and he knew that the others had smelled the strong scent of one of their own being burned to ashes in his hearth.

No one mentioned it and no one asked what had happened.

It was strange how violence came so easily to him with mortal and immortal women alike. It was strange because after that very first inclination to feed of her, his thoughts towards Didyme had been anything but violent. In fact after their initial meeting his mind had constantly gone over ways that he could keep her and not harm her.

That night he had kept her in his arms as long as possible, carrying her back to her home, the Temple of Pluto, and though he had been reluctant to let her go, he had done so, but only after she had kissed him.

Standing outside the temple she had seen his reluctance to put her down. He had scowled at the temple as if the building itself were responsible for taking her from him. She had smiled at his expression and then she had rested her hand on the side of his face and he had turned to face her.

As he midnight blue eyes had locked with his crimson ones, she caressed his cheek gently with her thumb and had whispered. "Tomorrow."

He had frowned and nodded, though he still hadn't wanted to let her go, and then she had leaned in and moved her soft, full, warm lips against his hard, thin, cold ones. She had let the kiss linger and then she had slipped from his arms and run off towards the temple, smiling over her shoulder once before she disappeared past the columns into the dark recesses of the temple.

How it had hurt him to have her leave as she had.

How it hurt him now to know that she had left him forever.

Didyme.

As he continued down the hallway he barely noticed as Caius and Athenadora had joined him, walking to his left, their footfalls as silent as his own. From the corner of his eye he noticed that Caius was scowling as usual, and that his mate was caressing his arm soothingly as he escorted her towards the chambers.

Athenadora's soft, whispery voice broke the silence, "Good morrow, Brother Marcus."

He barely acknowledged her with a curt nod and then increased his pace, reaching the counsel chambers seconds before they did.

Heidi was still herding in their meal like pigs to the slaughter so he moved to one corner of the room and simply waited as he examined a painting of Rome the way it had been all those years ago. Aro and Caius did not look upon the time as wistfully as he did. To them it had been just another period of political change and upheaval among petty humans.

How strange that they never saw the parallels to what they had done among the world of immortals to the way these humans fought for power. Aro, who hated comparisons to humans in any way, shape, or form, might actually scowl at the idea.

This almost made him smile, but not quite, and he continued to stand there, looking as detached and bored as ever as the overpowering smell of their meal assailed him as the chamber doors were open and Heidi's catch was led into the room.

His mind calculated that she had brought in a good haul this evening, more than fifty all together. This would be more than enough to sate the hunger of those that fed within the Tower. Lesser members of the guard still fended for themselves.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the smells that wafted in the air in the same way that a patron at a restaurant might take in the scents of meals being brought out from the kitchen. The difference was that he ate to quench the fiery thirst that never went away; he didn't take pleasure in feeding anymore like he once had.

He didn't take pleasure in anything.

Turning slowly he began to take in the large crowd before him. He could smell their fear as clearly as if it were a perfume that they had suddenly been doused in. He knew that this scent was something the spurred the others in the room on and they were already picking out those that would attempt to put up the most struggles for their prey.

He usually kept to the quieter ones, the ones too shocked by fear to do much but stand there as he drained their life away. There was no joy in anything anymore, why should this be different. As he scanned the crowd, loved ones and strangers huddling together as if this could somehow protect them, his breath froze in his cold chest as he got a glimpse of something that he had not seen in years…in centuries, at least not within the confines of these walls.

There, at the back of the crowd, with her back to him, was a small woman with flaming red hair.