Savior

Some people plead to God for Him to save them. Some plead to angels, demons whatever they think is most likely to help them. In the moments before I would certainly die, I did not plead to any higher power for my life spared, I simply apologized over and over again. For those who I had wronged, those who I loved that I had now taken my life out of their lives, to Andariel who I had failed to protect, to Athena who I had promised to stay with forever and was not able to fulfill that promise.

You never truly knew a person's personality until you saw them in their moments of death. Only then were they most themselves.

So, as I prepared to die, I saw a light flash in front of me. Cliché right? I had never believed in any sort of god after I became a vampire, but I suppose, as I pondered the existence of a higher power, I was right. The only reason I came to that conclusion was because I realized that the flash of light was Athenodora; my goddess.

As much as I wanted to be able to want her near me when I died, I did not want her here now. I hadn't taught her to fight, the wolves would kill her too. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the bloodbath, but found myself unable to shut my eyes, wanting to remember every moment that I could of her.

I saw her teeth flash constantly; her small arms rip off things that seemed to be much too heavy for her. It took me about a minute to see that she was actually winning. When had she learned to fight? I certainly hadn't taught her, but I was suddenly very thankful to whoever had.

She was now fighting against the silver wolf; the leader, when I saw a wolf crouching down, slowly scooting behind her in an attempt for a surprise attack. I would not let things end this way. I painfully managed to crawl, no not even that because that required arms and legs, but slither over to where the wolf was poised to attack and bit hard into its neck. I made sure it did not let out any noise as it died so as not to distract Athena from continuing to kick the alpha werewolf's ass.

There were a few close calls that made me cringe, but never anything serious. Finally Athena ducked to the side and in the process rammed the mutt into the jagged rock wall, completely knocking him unconscious. She looked at him curiously, never saying a word; it seemed as if she was unsure whether he was already dead, or how to kill him.

"Bite his neck," I barely managed to whisper. I saw her quickly glance at me, and even seemed to debate whether to follow my advice or come to where I lay. In the end, she chose the former and then came over to where I was.

"You saved me." It was all I could say; I had no more air to speak with.

*****

Athena put me back together and the two emotions that overpowered me were love and gratitude, they beat out embarrassment by quite a bit.

"How did you learn to fight like that?" I asked her, while we got rid of the bodies.

"That's a secret," she smiled coyly. I narrowed my eyes.

"Tell."

"Well, if you must know, Marcus taught me."

"Well, remind me to thank him," I said, never feeling more indebt to Marcus than I did now. Normally I would have been furious. "You saved me."

She laughed, "I just did what was right."

"I wasn't talking about you saving me from the wolves," I said slowly, "though that applies too. I meant you saved me from this, vampirism. You're the reason I want to liveevery single day of forever."

She smiled, but said nothing; looking at me in such a way that words were not needed. "We complete each other," she said easily. It reminded me of how we had never "slept" together. While I was still thinking about that, she started a fire and we burned the bodies, leaving absolutely nothing to clue in any humans. I could have told her about Andariel's ashes, her lock of hair, but I knew I could not. If it caused her pain, as I knew it would, there would be no point to telling her. The best we could do was to continue loving her, even in death, and remember her; the happiness she brought us.

"Well, you got your revenge on them like you wanted," she said pensively.

"I'm sorry if it doesn't make you feel any better," I apologized. She turned to me, suddenly furious.

"How could you do that though?" her ruby eyes blazed, but there was still beauty in them. I remembered back in Valentino's house when she was still a servant and how her fury only made her look more beautiful, it was the same case now. "How could you leave without saying a word? I know it was because of revenge or whatever petty reason, but what if you had died? There would be no reason for me to live. I love you," she said earnestly, "I love you. Does that mean nothing?" I knew that if I used the wrong words, everything would go downhill; but, luckily, I had the ones that meant the most.

"It means everything," I whispered in her ear. "Your love means everything." She was silent, and then she silently came to me, wrapping me in a tight embrace which I reciprocated.

"I thought I lost you," she sobbed, though no tears were present. "Could you have ever imagined what that felt like?"

"Love, I thought I had lost everything," I said honestly, there were some things that you couldn't say, that no matter how you rethought it, words were not enough, and I was there, I wanted her to know that I thought I was going to die, and in that thought the depth of my anguish was bottomless. "As a matter of fact, I thought I was dead. I thought you were God, or an angel, or something of that sort. Now that I know it was you, I know I was right."

"Don't try to flatter me when I'm angry," she tried to keep an angry face but I could see the hint of a smile on her full red lips. Quite surprisingly, and definitely not intentional (though I did not mind it) I kissed her. I was so glad I did not die; I would miss this, her.

"Flatter you?" I asked feigning innocence, "I'm just telling the truth." She just smiled and looked away. The second of merriment was then replaced with the same melancholy air from before. We had both seemed to remember the reason why we were here, and it wasn't something we wanted to remember. The wind picked up, sending the smoke from the fire we started towards a nearby village.

"Athena, let's go," I beckoned her over to me, neither of us really wanted to be here. She nodded, and we began to walk back silently towards the castle.

A quarter of the way en route to the castle, we passed a gentle river that ran peacefully through the forest and eventually past a medium sized city that bordered Rome. It was crystal clear, with a soft trickling rhythm that seemed to lull one's senses in a pleasant way. I knew this river though, and in the spring it was capable of flooding its banks and form a massive torrent of deadly water that easily swept away the village to Rome. It had two faces to it, but both were true to its own core.

It reminded me of Andariel. I didn't realize how much I missed her presence until even a river reminded me of her. It reminded Athena too, and Athena loved her daughter much more than one could imagine. With one glance at me, I knew Athena wanted to stop here and I easily complied.

She glided to the bank of the river and then gracefully crouched down and sat on the edge of a rock apparently not caring that her fine garb was getting wet. She dangled her feet in the cold water and hummed a soft melody while staring up at the sky with an expression I could not decipher upon her face. I did not disturb her, but simply watched curiously at my glorious wife, still in awe of her.

In one swift movement she carved something in a granite stone that lay to the side of the river. At first, I noticed nothing particular about the stone that would call someone's attention to it. I was right, there was nothing unusual about the stone; it was the sun that shone on it directly from above that made it stand out. It was the only stone that was illuminated and it had faint quartz sparkles flecked in its grey components.

Only when I noticed this did I realize what she had inscribed; it made my heart melt.

Family Volturi:

Caius + Athena + Andariel

I smiled slightly at it, and realized I couldn't have said, or technically written, it better myself. We named the river after our daughter and to this day the Andariela River retains its name of true origin. (I don't actually know geographic wise).

"What do you think?" Athena asked, gesturing to her elegant, yet at the same time messy cursive that adorned the stone.

"It's…appropriate," I said, pleased at how simple something could be whilst still retaining meaning and grace. I brushed my hand over the smooth stone and then with the tip of my finger chiseled in a heart towards the bottom of the rock.

Our family that never was.

Humans would have stayed and grieved over what was lost, but being a vampire allowed a certain level of clairvoyance; I was able to focus on what I had not lost, but the things that I had kept. Athena, my life…things like that that I had to admit I was grateful for.

I looked down at her, still admiring her and the fact that she was mine, when she turned to look at me and smiled. With a soft sigh she stood and walked until she was beside me. Out of randomness, or perhaps because love makes you do things you never expect, I gently kissed her cheek and we continued on our way to the castle.

ATHENODORA VOLTURI

I suppose I should have felt a sense of relief upon arriving at the castle since it was my house. Yet, I already felt that way, like I had reached my home…probably because I knew my home was wherever Caius was. In his arms, where I was always welcome, where I fit perfectly, where I was whole.

CAIUS VOLTURI

I had a mild sense of relief upon arriving at the castle, but the feeling of already being home when I was with Athena lingered. Home was wherever she was; wherever we went, together.

(Point to make of the two different POV's that are practically saying the same thing: they're compatible for each other; home is where the other is and if it wasn't obvious enough, they love each other.)