12. HEARTBREAK
The party had been over for a few hours and the Romanians had already begun their journey back home. Athenodora was at her balcony enjoying the cool night breeze and was slowly dismantling her costume when she heard two sets of footsteps coming out of the woods. The two men appeared and she recognized Aro and Demetri. She was about to say hello to them but stopped when she heard Aro reprimanding Demetri.
"I'm sorry. I didn't expect it. I know you warned me but it was more powerful than I could have imagined. I will never fail you again," Demetri tried to appease Aro.
They stopped talking as they drew closer to the castle and they entered the building without ever looking up to see Athenodora. Strange, she thought to herself. I wonder what they're talking about.
There was a knock at her bedroom door so she went back inside to answer it. It was Marcus. "Have you seen Didyme? I can't find her anywhere."
She smiled at her friend and said "Maybe the ring you gave her scared her off!" She laughed but stopped when she saw how truly worried Marcus was.
"It's not like her to go off without telling me. I just can't imagine where she would go to." Marcus was filled with worry.
Athenodora placed a hand on his back and said "It'll be alright Marcus. Come, I'll help you find her."
They walked out of her room and were about to head downstairs when they heard a commotion in the turret. They followed the sound of wailing to find Aro being comforted by Caius and Sulpicia.
Dread struck Marcus' heart as he imagined the worst. He raced into the turret and knelt on the floor next to Aro, looking at him with pleading eyes. He couldn't even speak.
Aro met his gaze and said "I'm so sorry brother." Aro took Marcus' hand and placed a cold hard object into it. It was Didyme's cross. "She's gone. Didyme is dead. The Romanians killed her."
Marcus felt the hole in his gut overtake him. The pain was excruciating. "No, no, no, no, no, no…" Marcus shut his eyes tight and wanted it to not be real. "Please God, no." His entire frame crumpled. He felt his heart break into a million pieces. How could Didyme be gone? She promised…
Athenodora was also upset at the news. "Why would they do that? That doesn't make any sense!"
"It makes perfect sense," Aro said. "Charles said that they were suspicious of me. When the ball was over they found some way to overpower her. They took her and killed her to send a message to me. They were warning me to not get too ambitious and wanted to remind me of who was truly in control. Those bastards did it to teach me a lesson!"
"How do you know all this?" Marcus asked through the pain.
Aro looked at him, a little surprised. "Because," he paused. "Demetri came back and gave me his palm, he showed me everything that happened and why."
"Why didn't Demetri stop them?" Marcus yelled.
"What could he do, Marcus? One vampire against the most powerful coven in the world! Do not blame Demetri. If you need someone to blame, blame me. I have failed you all. My desires for overthrowing the Romanians led to this disaster. It's all my fault." Aro looked defeated.
Caius placed a hand on his shoulder. "You are not to blame, Aro. The Romanians will pay for what they have done. The time has come for their corrupted rule to end. I stand with you to the death. We will avenge Didyme."
"I don't think I can go through with this," said Aro. "I tried to fly too high and the sun has burnt my wings. We cannot beat them. They are too powerful. Didyme's death is in vain."
Marcus tried to shove all the sorrow and pain into a corner of his soul and instead let anger and hatred fill the empty void. He gripped his fingers tight around Didyme's cross. "No. She will not have died in vain," he said through gritted teeth. "We will make them pay them for what they have done. With or without you Aro, I am going to kill the Romanians."
Aro nodded sadly and said "If I have my family by my side then nothing is impossible. We will continue as planned. I'm glad to have you back, Marcus."
The castle was silent as news spread about Didyme's death. The happiness she had once brought to the halls of their home had now abandoned them to emptiness and sorrow. Everyone mourned the fall of their beloved Didyme.
Even Aro was sad that she was gone. He wished that things did not have to happen the way they had. He missed his sister but knew that it had to be done to get Marcus back on his side. As he mourned his sister he sat in the hall handled a mask that had been left behind from the ball. Sulpicia floated down the hallway in another one of her wedding gowns. She approached Aro from behind and wrapped him in an embrace.
"Hello, love," he said to her.
"Don't be sad, Aro," she sang to him. "Everything will be alright."
Aro forced a smile and kissed her on the cheek.
"I can keep a secret, Aro. I won't tell a soul. I'm very good at being quiet. I can keep many good secrets," she whispered.
"I know," was all that Aro said.
