Walking with Aro down the hall, I found that my nerves were on fire. Why was I so concerned about meeting the rest of the guard? The ones I had already met seemed nice enough, and Marcus had said that the others would accept me. Even still, none of that comforted me.
We reached the reception area that Chelsea had brought me into the first day I came, the area I had not been into since. As we walked through to the next room, I saw Caterina sitting at the desk, and I smiled softly at her. She smiled back and greeted us before returning to whatever work she was doing.
It was in that next room when we entered that Aro stopped and turned to me. "There is no need to be nervous, my love. They are excited to meet you. All except Caius unfortunately, but do not let that deter you. It is how he is."
"I'm not nervous," I told him, but we both knew I was lying.
I watched him walk over to the wall on our right where he slid back the wood paneling where another door appeared. He opened it and we went inside to a small antechamber before going through the next door into a grand circular room.
Looking around, the first thing I noticed was a strange recess in the floor that almost looked like the drain one would see on a sidewalk or road. I had no idea why it was there, and frankly, there were other more interesting things that caught my eye. The floor held shadows.
I looked over and I saw the windows were like slits in the walls that let in tinted light from the morning sun casting their reflection on the dark stone. I did wonder about that. The times I had seen Demetri and Chelsea in the past, there had always been clouds in the sky. After all, vampires would die if they touched sunlight. Maybe the tint in the windows is what protected them. I planned to ask Aro later but instead, he walked ahead, right through the source of light and immediately I saw his face shimmer where the light touched it as if he had been made of diamonds.
I blinked a couple of times trying to figure out if what I saw was real or simply another part of my imagination or some sort of strange vision, but when he held out his hand for me to take, the exact same thing happened again as it touched the light. I sucked in a breath before peering up at him. He sighed as I refused his offer and made my way beside him.
In front of me were three wooden chairs on a raised platform that could easily pass for thrones. Marcus sat in the one that was to the left of where I was facing, and another vampire sat on the right. I assumed this to be Caius. I did not expect him to be so old, but he was at least 15 years or so older than Aro by appearance only. When it came to exact age, one could never tell with a vampire. His eyes alone burnt holes into my skin, and I had to look away.
To his right were even more vampires of which I rightly assumed to be the guard. A few I knew already, and Renata danced over to my side and took my arm in hers. Aro smiled at the gesture before turning to the others and addressing them. "My friends, some of you have already had the pleasure of meeting her, but for those of you who have not, I introduce to you Liliana."
Hearing my full name, I softly corrected him. "Lia."
"Of course, she prefers Lia." He turned back to me then. "Come."
We moved towards the guard, Aro in front of me and Renata at my side as Aro brought me to them one by one. "You have already met Demetri, Felix, Corin, and Chelsea," he began. He then pointed out the vampire at Chelsea's side. "This here is Afton, Chelsea's mate." Afton inclined his head before we moved on.
The next in line was a rather large vampire, much like Felix. Aro called him Santiago, and I found him to be slightly more intimidating than Felix was. I attributed this to the fact that I had seen Felix before with Demetri a few times and therefore was accustomed to his somewhat playful nature.
It was the two vampires next to Santiago that surprised me the most. Next to him, they looked like dolls. Easily the youngest in the coven by appearance with no doubt that they were barely in their teens if at all when they had been changed. Aro introduced them as Alec and Jane. While Alec bowed, Jane gave a small curtsy, although her eyes wandered over me. They stared hard and deep and reminded me of the look I had received from Caius moments before. The same look he was probably giving me now behind my back. I would ask Aro about them later.
When that was through, Aro said to me, "There are others, but the ones you see here are the members of the elite guard, and they remain here in Volterra unless the need arises for them to part." He turned back around to face Caius, and I followed. "Now, let me properly introduce you to Caius."
When I glanced back up at him, Caius scowled. "I know who she is, and you already have my thoughts on the matter."
"My dear Caius, you are more impatient than I."
"She is still a liability, Aro. If something were to happen-"
"Nothing will happen," Aro said effectively cutting him off.
Caius stood from his seat and made his way toward us. He stopped in front of me, and I felt Renata's grip on my arm tighten. My heart, against my will sped up, though Renata never used her gift and Aro made no move to stop Caius from whatever he had planned. "Humanity is pointless. Why waste the time?"
He stepped past us, and I turned around to watch him as he began to leave the room. Before I knew what I was saying, it was already out. "Weren't you once human?"
If his burgundy orbs could slice through one like a knife, I would have been dead on the spot. With in inhuman abruptness, he turned again, and the door slammed behind him as he stormed out. I let out a breath I did not realize I had been holding and looked up to see Aro shake his head. "I don't think he likes me very much."
"I did warn you not to push him," Aro replied. "But he does incline towards irritability when he's thirsty." After his words, I noticed Renata take her hand and place it on his. Aro looked down at her warmly as she did so, and I could see what he had meant when he said he treated her more like a daughter than a member of his guard.
"Yes, of course," he said to her. Her touch must have been a reminder of something for him. He looked at me again before saying, "We should be getting you back to my quarters. Heidi, the only member of the elite guard you have yet to meet will be arriving sometime soon. You will become acquainted with her later, I am sure."
Aro waved over Demetri. "Take Lia back downstairs for now. We will set one aside."
I was curious as to what Aro meant, but I followed Demetri closely as we exited the room and made our way back to the elevator where we descended quietly. It was when we reached the room that I decided to bring it up, the urge overtaking me having a vague idea of what it could have meant. "Demetri?"
"Yes?"
"What did Aro mean when he said they would sit one aside?"
"I think even you're intelligent enough to figure that one out. He'll be down soon."
He left me in the room alone, and I seriously pondered about leaving then. After all, the door was not locked. I was unguarded. However, a dark feeling kept me from doing so. Corin told me there could be accidents if they smelled my blood, and what I understood is that they were preparing for a meal, a meal I definitely did not want to be apart of. That was why Aro sent me here to keep me away from the potential danger.
It was the one thing however, that seemed so real yet not real at all to me. Of course vampires drank blood, but trying to actually imagine people being drained of blood only a few floors above me made me sick to my stomach. I already knew Aro was a murderer. What more were a few extra humans to him?
There was of course my phone which I knew Aro still kept in his desk. The only problem with this scenario was that my phone had not been shut off when I used it last and the battery was more than likely dead. The drawer it was in was also locked. While I could attempt to break it open, should I do so, Aro would know and it would ruin everything. I decided to curl up in a chair and wait for him to return.
About half an hour after Demetri had escorted me back, the door opened again and Aro entered, his eyes a brilliant, milky scarlet rather than the tinted maroon I had grown accustomed to. "I hope you were not alone for too long."
"How many did you kill?"
Our eyes met, and his frowned. "Can you hate me for being what I am? You, too, will soon feed as we do."
"Do you value it at all, human life?"
"I value yours."
"What Caius said, about humanity being pointless, do you believe that as well? Chelsea once told me that you despise humans for constantly repeating their mistakes, but how else do we improve? How else do we learn? Even you've made your own share of mistakes. Any life, human or not, isn't pointless and it certainly doesn't deserve to be treated with contempt. I don't care what you all believe. You're not monsters. At least, you don't have to be."
"You remind me of my dear friend, Carlisle. He believed much the same."
"You've mentioned him before, that he used to live here. I bet he and Caius didn't get along at all, did they?"
Aro's expression drew back in what I could tell was a fond memory. "They had their differences, but there was still great respect."
Silently, I nodded. Aro stepped over to his desk and sat, removing the bound journal he was always writing in from a drawer. I watched as he released the stopper from the bottle of ink he planned to use and grabbed a quill to make his notes for the morning.
"Aro?"
"Yes?"
"About Caius, he doesn't get to choose when I'm changed."
"And he is aware of this."
"But I don't really get to choose either."
Upon my statement, Aro paused in what he was doing and sent his gaze towards mine. "No, I suppose you do not, but I am giving you the chance for now. I wonder, what is it that is so daunting about accepting my proposal. Is it only your grandparents or is there more?"
"I thought I was an easy read."
"I would like you to tell me."
"Maybe I could fall in love with you one day," I began.
"There is no maybe. You will. You said that you felt it, that it was something you knew."
My mind flashed back to right after we had met, but I was still reluctant. "I did say that, but it could be a lot easier if you gave me something, too. I'm giving you my whole life when you change me. I'm already being forced to be bound by your laws. I haven't talked to my mom in over a week. I haven't been outside in that amount of time either. Demetri and Chelsea go out all the time to do who knows what. Why can't I go with them? Get some fresh air, talk to people, maybe see my parents before this all happens?"
"Lia, that just is not possible."
"But you can make it possible!" I did not mean to shout it at him, but I had.
"If I made an exception for you, I would have to make an exception for everyone."
"If you make an exception for anyone, it should be me. You love me, don't you? I'm supposed to be your mate or something, aren't I? That doesn't seem to matter as much to you as your laws."
"Lia-"
"Don't. You didn't let me say goodbye to my grandparents, and now you're not even going to let me say goodbye to my parents or my best friend. Give me that. Give me something!"
I could tell Aro was pained when he stood and came beside me. Once more, he reached out, and I shunned him. He was distraught, but so was I. His sigh however, even left me feeling slightly heartbroken and I hated it. "Tomorrow," he stated grudgingly, "while I am busy attending to other matters, you may walk around the building if you so choose. All I ask is that you do not leave the second wing. This is what I can grant you for now."
"I can walk around alone, unaccompanied?"
"You have met the guard. You should be safe around them now. As far as Heidi, I am not concerned. She is able to control herself better than many of us."
"I guess that's something."
"You wanted this compromise, so I am giving it to you. Do not make me regret what I have decided."
Aro was gone again and back to his desk in the blink of an eye, no sound to match his movement except a soft wisp of air. He was giving me exactly what I needed. The last thing was to figure out how to get around Demetri, a task that would be no easy feat.
A/N: Last update before the weekend.
Title is from the quote, "So it's true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love," from Brushstrokes of a Gadfly. I'm too tired to think of something better. Good night! And please review! I'll reply when I have the chance.