Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, the vamps, the pack, or summit media. I do however own all the new characters. Nor do I own any song lyrics. I'm just not that talented;D
Marcus's point of view
It was now ten minutes until ten o'clock. He grabbed his phone and sent a message to Heidi. She would be here in short order.
Marcus sat on the middle throne in the tower. Usually Aro sat there, but what Aro didn't know won't hurt him. The room was mostly made of marble. It had been this way since before he joined the coven. There was no trace of any of the minute battles that had occurred; after any altercation the room was repaired and thoroughly cleaned.
With a slight whoosh, Heidi appeared. "You texted me Master?" She struggled to hide the smirk. Aro was against using modern technology, but everyone else integrated their lives with it.
"Yes Heidi, I texted you. I would like for you to bring everyone in the castle up here please. We have some matters to discuss," Marcus stated calmly.
"We'll be back shortly." Heidi quickly exited the room.
Marcus focused on one small crack in the floor. A sole imperfection in the room of the judges. If only Didyme was here to help him. If she were here, he wouldn't feel the need for vengeance. He never liked Alec, but everyone deserved vengeance. The crack seemed to be growing the longer he stared at it.
"Just be quiet and don't speak until spoken to. We don't know what he wants, so we should play innocent." Jane said as the four people approached, three without heartbeats, one with.
Marcus averted his focus, and moved it to the door. Heidi strode back in and led Jane, Demetri and the unknown girl. The girl was wearing some of Santiago's pants and a random t-shirt. He half expected to find Aro's monkey slippers on the fake red-head's feet, however, she was barefoot. And her eyes had glazed over, almost as if she were watching a movie in her mind. How curious, she sparked a long forgotten memory. His nephew Eric, coming to him, begging to find out about winning a young maiden's heart.
Mentally shaking his head, Marcus 'welcomed' the group in. "Welcome to Volterra unannounced guest. Thank you Jane and Demetri for coming up with Heidi."
Jane and Demetri looked at each other and bowed. Jane reached out her hand and pulled the young girl down too. She didn't notice a thing though. Standing erect again, Jane queried, "You wanted us Master?"
"Yes Jane, I did. I see you have a human with you. Would you please explain what she's doing here Demetri? You were the one who had the plane this time. Correct?"
Demetri looked directly into the face of his master. "Yes sir, I had the plane out and I did bring Kel--Even here."
Keleven…Such an odd name… "Thank you for the information Demetri, but you did not answer my question." The connection between Demetri and Jane has grown some. Interesting.
Demetri looked down at Jane. She looked into his eyes and, dare I say it, half-winked. "Master Marcus, I am more equipped to answer that question than Demetri. For you see he brought her here at my request. I hunted her down this past year since" she stumbled over his name, "since Alec's death. I did this because she killed him." Jane stood ever so slightly in front of the young heroin.
"You will be please with my decision then. Keleven Pseudored, for the murder of Alec Volturi you have been sentenced to death."
(back at the ranch)
Leah was patrolling with Embry. Once he and Quil joined Jake's pack, it had been that way. She was the only one who could deal with his constant worry over the girl he had never actually met. Part of her missed the days when it was just three of them. Yeah, it was a pain having to deal with her brother, but it was quieter!
"For someone who loves the quiet, you are being loud Lee." Embry said sparing no feelings.
Leah chuckled and ran a little harder so that she would cross his path more quickly. When she could see him face to face, she swiped a leg out to trip him up. "Just because I like quiet, doesn't mean I don't like to be pensive idiot. Be lucky its me you're running with, I let you wallow." She shook her head. "Love sick puppy."
Embry jumped back to his feet quickly. "I have been phasing longer than you so keep the puppy comments to yourself!"
"Touchy, touchy, touchy! I think it's someone's sleepy-time. Hehe, you keep out of my head, I'll keep out of yours. Deal?" Leah picked just a little, but as her dad always told her, "You pick on the ones you love."
"Awwww. Leah loves me! Was that sarcastic enough or do I need to try again?" Embry teased, noticing Even's scent as he crossed her path yet again.
"That was fine young grasshopper. She'll be fine. She's one tough cookie with a long history of break…never mind. Those lyrics don't fit quite as well as I thought." Leah did feel bad for the boy. She had spent more time with Even than he had. And he had imprinted on the mer. "If anyone could survive being kidnapped by a vampire, it's Even. If she can fight me, she can fight a vampire." Who ever said she wasn't kind at heart? Here she was trying to help the poor puppy.
"I'm not a poor puppy Leah. And she was in better shape when she fought you. And she had that stake-thing-a-ma-bob-er-doodle, and it is up in her room right now." Embry had spent waaaay too much time in Even's room after she left.
"Stake-thing-a-ma-bob-er-doodle? You are hopeless my puppy-thing-a-ma-bob-er-doodle friend."
Embry growled but stayed silent. They ran for a few minutes more, each minding their own business. Leah wasn't really worried about her friend. Really, she wasn't. Okay so maybe she was a little worried. After seeing this Demetri fellow a few years ago, she knew he would be hard for someone to fight off.
Suddenly, one of the Cullen's scents caught her nose. It smelt like Jasper and Alice, but only faintly of Alice. She let out a woof and turned to see where he was going.
"Embry! I thought you were running tonight. Oh hey Leah. Calm down, I'll need your help when EMBRY gets here," Jasper said shouting out Embry's name every time he said it.
Leah shot him a look that said, "Calm? You want me calm?"
Quickly Jasper spread calm through her. It was, after all, his specialty.
Embry came rushing into view and stopped right in front of Jasper. He raised and eyebrow and thought, "You rang?"
Jasper calmed him down just slightly, knowing he was about to deliver hard news. "Alice had a vision about Even. They have come to a decision. They are going to kill her."
Embry started shaking. He made to lunge at Jasper, but Leah dodged in front of him. "You idiot! Don't hurt him! He is a friend and we don't hurt our friends. He is just the messenger. Go talk to Alice and find out what is happening. Idiot!" During her mantra, Leah was pushing him back toward the house. He was in the same state Jake was at the wedding, too mad to do anything really.
Embry let himself be pushed away. He knew that he shouldn't kill the messenger, but right now he wanted to hurt something. "Sorry Jazz," he thought knowing that the vampire couldn't hear him. He could feel the change in emotions.
"If you apologized, Embry, think nothing of it. If our roles were reversed, I probably wouldn't have let Leah stop me from hurting you. Alice did say that she wanted you back at the house." Jasper led the way to the house. Leah would have followed, but someone needed to watch the boarder.
She felt so sorry for Embry. And for Kelsie. She didn't know how she would react if someone told her Sam was going to be killed. As she ran back to the boarder line, she remembered something Even told her once. "Don't worry about the fact that you love him. He is your first true love. He is the one who taught you how to love. You will always love him, even when he is married, old and gray." How the younger girl got so wise, she would never know. But it was true two years later. She still loved Sam, not as fervently as she did before though.
Leah heard Jake join the party. "Leah, go inside, I've got Collin coming to do boarder patrol. If it comes to a vote, we need all our members present and accounted for."
"Yes, almighty Alpha."
"Leah."
"You would miss it if I didn't pick on you a little bit."
He phased back and Leah soon joined him. The boys had it easy. They just had to carry shorts around then grab shirts as they entered the house. She had to carry a sundress with her.
As she entered the house she could feel the tension. Jasper must be overloaded trying to keep everyone calm. Nessie was huddled in Bella's lap holding on to Jake's and Edward's hands. Brady had Kelsie propped up at his side, rubbing her arm. Esme was standing by the door with a phone pressed to her ear. Quil was standing behind Embry, who was slumped on the couch with his head in his hands. Jasper and Emmett were sitting on both sides of him. Seth was sitting on the floor, but joined Leah by the door. Rosalie was propping Alice up as another vision gripped her.
"Nooooo," Alice moaned.
"What's happening?" Leah questioned loudly.
Edward turned to her. "She is seeing how they are killing Even. It is not a pretty thing. There are only four of the Volturi there, but Even isn't fighting back."
"Would you please keep that to yourself! Some of us would do better not to know the intimate details!" Embry raged.
Kelsie jumped up and smacked him. "Do you think you are the only one who cares about her? WE ALL DO! So get over yourself!" Her voiced reached such a high range that it made everyone in the room flinch.
"GET OVER MYSELF? YOU WANT ME TO GET OVER MYSELF?" Embry roared, but Brady jumped up before he could say anything else.
"You raise your voice at her again and you won't have a voice to raise, understand? Now sit down and let's figure this out." Brady was surprisingly calm, but did push his friend back to a sitting position.
(Back at the other ranch){AN: I've been reading Lemony Snicket, so please pardon)
Marcus paused while he waited for a response. Keleven was unresponsive. Demetri and Jane looked shocked. How could they not see this coming? Heidi looked impassive, per her usual when it came to these matters.
"I said, Keleven Pseudored, for the murder of Alec Volturi you have been sentenced to death. Do you have no response?" Maybe she was hard of hearing.
"Master, I have promised to protect the girl. And her name is Even, not Keleven. Her parents named her Kelly, but she chose the name Even," Demetri replied.
Jane swiveled her head around to glare at Demetri. "You promised to protect her? You told me you were just gearing her up for a fall. Liar." Jane turned away and Hur-umph-ed.
"I was trying to please you. She just reminds me of my little sister." Demetri tried to defend himself.
All this time, Marcus was growing more and more impatient. "I fail to see how this has any relevance. Now both of you shut up and let the girl talk. Even do you have anything you wish to say to the sentencing?"
Even was just standing there, in between Demetri and Jane (Heidi had moved to the side). She had a pained expression on her face and she was staring intently at her bare feet. As a tear slowly rolled from her eye, her mouth started moving slowly but Marcus couldn't make out what she was saying.
"Speak up girl. I can't read your lips like that." Marcus was not in a good mood. The girl was so familiar, and reminded him of his young nephew. The girl looked up and now her expression was the epitome of empathy.
"There's a saying old, says that love is blind. Still we're often told 'seek and ye shall find'. So I'm going to seek that certain lad I've had in mind." For the first time in a year, Even was singing. It wasn't her best, but she was doing it.
Marcus gasped. He hadn't heard that song in years. It was one Didyme wrote before she decided that he was worth her time. How did Even know about this song?
"Looking everywhere, haven't found him yet. He's the big affair I cannot forget. Only man I ever think of with regret." More tears were coming down her face now.
"Where did you learn that song." Marcus meant to question but it came out as a statement.
Even stopped singing. "She loved you. Even before she knew it, she loved you. I remember hearing stories about you from my great-grandmother's lap. She always told how you set her up with Great-Grandfather."
The three members of the guard looked at Even with confusion. Marcus was confused too. How could she possibly think that statement made any sense?
"I asked you a question," Marcus replied.
"No you didn't. You made a statement; questions have an up tilt at the end of the sentence. I know the song because it is one of my brother's favorites. I sung the song just now, because it was so powerful. Of all the things that this room has seen, Aro's sister singing that song is the most moving, most enveloping, most touching, and the most domineering memory. My voice pales in comparison with hers however, sorry." Even's voice was full sarcasm at the beginning, but grew honest as she answered his statement.
"How do you know that Didyme wrote that? How do you know how her voice sounded? How?" Marcus's voice was pained, he hadn't actually spoken about her to anyone in a few hundred years.
"I can see it. Yes, you have redecorated some things, but the memories still lie deep. I'm rather tactile that way. I can see things that the objects I touch saw, feel the emotions that were coursing through the room, the pain. So much bad has been done here, such terror, such pain, such betrayal, but no emotion has been as strong as the one of Didyme singing that song for you." Even paused to stare around the room. "'Above all, the law.' Too bad the judges are flawed like every other living creature on this planet. I know why you want to kill me. A few months ago I would have welcomed it. But, Uncle, You would be wrong to kill me. It would break the law—"
Marcus interrupted her. "Uncle? Wrong to kill you? You are a human who knows too much, you killed a member of the guard, you broke the law!"
"You are the uncle to my great-grandfather if the stories are to be believed, I just didn't want to say that many great's. And you contradicted yourself. If I were a human, how did I kill a member of your guard? How did I break the law?" Even spoke clearly and firmly. She was returning to her training. 'Be confidant, even when you don't think you are right. If they don't know for sure, they will believe you.'
"How can you not be human? You have a heart beat; you do not smell like a dog, you aren't a half-breed. What else could you be? And you broke the law by knowing about vampires! I still don't see how I'm your uncle, no matter how many greats." Marcus was growing angrier and angrier by the minute. This young girl was not treating him with the respect that he had known for years.
"I'll cover the relation at a later venture; let us keep me alive first. I have known about vampires since I was ten. And I can't expose you either. If I did, it would mean exposing my kind too." Even retorted calmly.
"And what exactly is your kind?" Marcus hissed the words out.
Heidi, Demetri and Jane were all in shock. The only time they had seen this type of debate with one of the Master's was when Edward Cullen was trying to convince them to kill him. And maybe when Carlisle tried to convince them to not eat humans anymore.
"My kind is the Mer. We are the record keepers. We are the protectors of the seas. We kill anything that destroys our home. We keep you sharks from taking over our lands. I am an Ambassador. I am trained in the ways of fighting, debate, and seduction. I could convince you to let me go without a fight and you would realize I was gone too late to stop me. I could make you and Demetri kill Heidi and Jane then each other. But I won't, because you are family—"
"You keep saying that! I don't care what you can do! You have murdered one of my guards. I will avenge his death, even if his sister doesn't want to. I cannot stand for someone's death to go un-avenged—" Marcus roared until Jane cut him off.
"But what about self-defense? What if she killed him in self-defense? I heard the story, I saw her face as she told it. She was not lying. He attacked them! He killed her sister and fiancé! Marcus, he killed her 'Didyme!' Do you think she didn't have the right to avenge their deaths? Does she not get that right?" Jane half screamed. For the first time in her life she was standing up for something she believed in. She wasn't following what was expected of her, she was being her own person.
"IF she was telling the truth, then yes she would not be in the wrong, and Alec would not have to be avenged." Marcus knew that if it was self-defense, he had no legitimate claim to Even's life.
A hush grew in the room. Tensions were high. Then Heidi cleared her throat unnecessarily.
"Master, have you changed your decision?" she queried.
Jane and Demetri both looked hopeful. Things had definitely changed between them. When they first walked into the room, there was a slight tie between them; now it was a strong cord. Something about this girl united them in a way that hundreds of years had not.
"Master, if you see that she has not offended the law, there is no reason to kill her. Right?" Heidi questioned.
"Wrong. I think that she still knows too much and is a liability. How do we know that when she leaves she won't expose us for what we really are?" Marcus argued. He knew that if Aro and Caius were there, they would not let the girl leave.
"I already told you that exposing you would expose me as well. Or do you think I will take the information I have to the other vampires and ruin your reputation?" Even retorted. She had an ever so slight tie to Jane and Demetri, but it was not originating from her.
"Oh, so is that what you are planning then?"
"No. We actually like the fact that y'all are keeping tabs on the crazies out there. It makes our job easier. We don't have to watch more than our areas of expertise, the seas." Even replied. "It would make no sense for us to add more onto our already full plates."
"Y'all? What is this word? I do not know it." He was seriously confused.
"What is it with you people? Do you not know how to speak? Y'all is a contraction of you and all. It's a southernism…" Even deadpanned.
Marcus grew silent again. She says that she wouldn't expose them for her own protection. The only time the law of exposure was 'ignored' was with young Bella and Aro saw Alice's vision of a vampire Bella. No, he would still have to kill the girl.
"My decision still stands. The law is the law and we shall hold it to the letter." Marcus stood to approach Even.
"Now hang on just a red minute! The law states that no human shall no about the existence of vampires and live. I am not human. Think about what Didyme would say." Even burst losing her calm for the first time.
"You don't know her! You didn't know her! I know what she would say! She would agree with whatever Aro said!—"
"No she would not. I could tell you of at least fifty times when she did not agree with him, proved her point of view, and changed his decision. Now be honest. Listen to your heart, what does it say?" Even interrupted and pleaded.
"What if instead of killing you, we changed you? You seem to know a lot of things you would have no way of knowing. You would be a great asset to the Volturi." This would also be acceptable to Aro.
Jane looked shocked. "NO! Master we can't! From what she described, mer-blood mixed with vampire venom causes a reaction that is so violent it makes vampire children look as innocent as inch worms. She would not be an asset, she would be a bane!"
"Jane! I will not tolerate such speech coming from you! You will never reply to me or any of the Masters with such vehemence again! Do you understand me?" Marcus roared.
Hearing such vehemence being aimed at his love, Demetri's temper broke. "It does not matter if she understands you or not! She is a free person. If she feels the need to explain a serious issue, she has that right! You will NOT speak to her that way again."
Jane was shocked. She hadn't been so ardently defended since she was a child. "Demetri, you defended me?" She obviously did not intend for it to come out as a question.
"Yes, why not? Everyone needs a knight in a flowing black cloak every once and a while.'
Marcus had moved so he was now in Even's personal space. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the others. "My decision will stand then."
Even began to look panicked. But instead of speaking, she tried to twist out of Marcus's grasp. She almost got her wrist out, but he was just too strong. She turned to face him, hissing under her breath. In an instant he knew what was happening. Ariel had tried it with him once, upon his request. She was trying to access his mind just like she said.
The next instant, Demetri was behind him and grabbing his elbows. The sudden movement forced him to relinquish the girl.
With his mouth next to Marcus's ear, Demetri whispered in a deadly tone, "If you try something like that again, I will not hesitate to maim or kill you. You have seen me single-handedly take out full grown vampires, do not doubt me."
Marcus gulped. "I will not except such insubordination! Now let go of me!"
Jane pulled Even behind her and glared at Heidi, daring her to make a move. Demetri did not let go of the elder vampire.
"I will not let you go until you promise that Even and I may leave safely--"
Jane interrupted, "And me too."
"And Jane too. We are no longer members of the Volturi. We have the upper hand. If I were you, I would find out how you were going to break it to Aro." Demetri sounded relieved, yet deadly at the same time.
"Fine. I was about to change my mind anyway. The girl is family, I remember when her grandmother pulled the same mind control trick she tried to pull back there. Eric would be so disappointed if I killed his granddaughter." The old man sounded as old as he was for once. And extremely saddened.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that Didyme was killed, I'm sorry that you were turned and didn't get to meet your grandchildren. I'm sorry that you are forced to live here miserably. But, there is something you should know…" Even's voice trailed off.
Marcus looked at his niece. She really does look like Ariel, and sounds like her too. "Yes?"
"Didyme would want you to remain here. She would want you to be the heart of Volterra. She would want you to be the conscience she was. You are the only one who can talk some sense into that crazy brother of mine. Hers… Sorry, I get too into what I'm seeing sometimes…"
Heidi let out a sigh. Then she walked over to Jane and took her hand. "Well, Jane, if you're leaving me, I guess we best get you packed and ready to go. Plus I have some dating advice." She then winked at her.
"Well, leave quickly. I don't want to worry any family. I think I'll go read some of Didyme's old diaries. Help me remember just how she thought. Good day…" Marcus was astounded. Two hours ago, he never thought he would let the girl go. But she did remind him of Didyme's mission: to bring peace to those around her. Unless of course she was in a bad mood…then it was her sole mission in life to annoy her brother until he was ready to shoot himself. A smile crossed his face. Maybe Even's reminder was just what he needed… No more moping. Marcus de Castillo was back!
AN: I hope that went okay…I rewrote the last two pages like four times…next chap? Trouble in Ireland and a little teen lovin'! let me know what you think!
the monk!