Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: I could have went into so much more detail with this segment, but I chose to keep it simple. Many of you may think the Volturi meant the immediate end for Sarelle and therefore this story, but I have more to weave through this plotline. They will return, but I think we all already knew that. A pointer as to how much more of this story is left...Sarelle still has a few more jumps, the next one after this will be the last one which (in my opinion) is just written to add something to the story, age Sarelle, but not really carry too much further forward. It was the time period I had the most fun researching, and was always going to be in the story.
As for the POV I was planning on writing...well firstly I got distracted and then I had an idea that meant I could put a few more POVs in. Unfortunately, for it to be at it's best, I'd have to send people it as a file because it has various fonts that correspond to different characters. The name of it is: The Known and Recorded History of Miss Sarelle St Clair.
If you want the file then feel free to send me a message with your email and I'll send it to you. I'll completely understand if you're not too keen on doing that so if no one messages me within the next two weeks I'll post it up as a separate document on here, or at least parts of it so that the ending of the story isn't given away.
Finally, apologies for this update, firstly because it's late, secondly because it's a little rushed (or at least it seems that way to me).
Happy reading!
I would have thought my behaviour would have guaranteed my constant imprisonment, but it didn't. Instead it seemed Aro took it upon himself to ensure I spent only my nights sleeping alone in my room. He would always summon me through Heidi, and would send me off with her when he had had enough of my silence. I never talked when I was with him and any words I shared with Heidi were just a part of our stubborn interactions. Me, always pushing her patience, while she tried to instil fear through her threatening actions. Neither of us ever broke down or showed the other weakness, so in a way I enjoyed my small battles with her.
My time spent with Aro—and only Aro since neither of his brothers seemed inclined to know me—consisted of one sided conversations and an education of sorts. He never told me much about the inner workings of the Volturi, or even what uses the many vampire members they had were. Instead he tried to amaze me with the lavish artefacts and objects they had collected over the years, the extraordinary art collection they had, and the confusing symbiotic relationship they had with the people of Volterra.
"You see our city is the safest in the world, my dear. No vampires are permitted to hunt here, and any crimes committed are solved within record time—thanks to our ability to aid the police force," Aro continued as we walked along one of the brighter corridors in the castle.
"We never have contact with the police ourselves, but our receptionist, Luella, is able to communicate any knowledge we know with the greatest of discretion." He indicated the solitary human woman—visible through the arch—who sat at her desk in an expansive hall.
I looked at her with confusion. It wasn't that I couldn't understand why the Volturi had a human within their midst, or even why she chose to work for them. I understood those things. They needed someone to act as the welcoming face and go between. And she was probably attracted by the beauty, wealth, and possibility of immortality as sickening as that seemed. What puzzled me was how they held the law of secrecy so high in regard and yet they discarded it for their own purposes. What message did that give out to their 'subjects'?
"Come, Sarelle, I shall show you the art we have gathered from the romantic era, it was such a beautiful time," he said wistfully as he gently pressed his hand to the middle of my back. I was wearing another 'gift', a black and red gown that seemed more appropriate for a royal ball than a day trip around the castle. However, since this was my fourth outing in just as many days, I knew that the dresses I wore were mere rags to them.
We travelled a little higher, along a corridor with tall arching painted glass windows on either side. Each pane was a complex mosaic of colour glass pieces, all coming together to form an image that depicted something of significance. Although I couldn't possibly say what they meant to the Volturi.
We entered into a room of muted light which was probably to protect the hundreds of paintings that hung on the tall walls. It seemed the room was the height of two storeys although there was no middle floor creating a huge expanse of space. Although there was no solid second floor, there was a wooden walkway that followed the walls, allowing someone to look at the paintings higher up without having to stand so far away.
I knew Aro showed me all these things in a way to dazzle me, maybe show me a glimpse of what life with the Volturi offered you. It was probably to make the fact he planned on changing me a more favourable option, and for many humans this amount of richness would be a definite draw. Even for me I adored the history they had collected, and marvelled at the magnificent artistic pieces they had in their possession. But it wasn't enough for me to want to join them.
"This room contains four hundred and fifty one paintings from the years of the seventeen hundreds and eighteen hundreds." Aro's voice echoed around the cavernous space, encompassing me with his mellow tenor.
The view of all the paintings was almost too much for the mind. The colours and images within them were so rich and vibrant, so luxurious. If any human had a collection such as this it would almost nearly all but prints or copies, but these were originals. Priceless pieces of Michel Angelo, Rosetti, Gainsborough, Hogarth. Countless styles and techniques that showed just how individual an artist was in their era.
After my moment awe I wandered towards a painting that caught my eye, one of many that drew my attention in the vast room. It was a castle, much like this one, only it was raging with fire and the sky above it was thick with smoke.
As the hair on the back of my exposed neck stood on end I knew Aro was beside me. I just knew his presence now, perhaps it was a reaction, an adaptation, given he made no sound.
"The storming of the Bastille. Prise de la Bastille. It occurred in 1789, another example of how humanity revolts at any given cause. It's almost barbaric, the lack of control they have. We, the Volturi, pride ourselves on our diplomacy, rules, and enforcement. We guide our race firmly, and because of that our secret has remained. Can you imagine there ever being such order within the human race?"
I didn't answer. I wanted to combat his opinion but there was part of me that could recognise his point. There were so many within the world who wanted peace across the globe but there was no form of ruling that could possibly promise such a thing. I may not have agreed with the Volturi or their way of life, but I couldn't say that they had not succeeded in maintaining their goal. They wanted to be kept a secret for the human world, and they were. Still I couldn't keep the sour dislike for them off my tongue for long, because I knew what they did to Derren, Aslo's maker. How could denying someone the love of their life be fair?
I turned away from the painting and looked instead upon a picture with the trio painted in all their finery amongst the dancing crowds and tall pillars of a grand hall. They looked superior, godly, and awe-inspiring as they looked down upon the people dancing below.
My eyes scanned the picture, until they settled on a figure standing just to the right of Marcus. He was dressed in cream and gold, the perfect colours to bring out his blonde hair and golden eyes. I knew his soft expression in an instant and I felt my mouth drop open slightly as I realised what it meant.
"Ah yes. Carlisle. I had almost forgotten this painting was here," Aro mused although I could tell from his tone that he hadn't forgotten at all. Was it even possible for vampires to forget?
"He spent some time with us during the eighteenth century. He's a dear friend of ours, and yours I believe." I turned to Aro and saw him smiling down at me, almost as if we were friends ourselves. Two friends enjoying art and each other's company. I couldn't agree with him on the latter part but I had to at least be grateful for him letting me out of my room.
"You and he share a great friendship, do you not?"
I replied with a glance and a short nod before looking back at the painting.
"It must have been very hard for you to leave the Cullens. I understand that humans can develop great feelings for our kind. But that is the manner of the human nature; you all live such short lives that you all seem set on doing everything with such ferocity. You wage wars, you profess love and hate so easily. Time means everything to you because you have so little of it."
I looked up at Aro again, passing over the mass of ebony that shrouded his body until I saw his eyes not looking at me but at a painting not far from where we stood.
"To us time means nothing." He guided me to the painting he was looking at almost unconsciously. It showed a woman, so beautiful she could only be immortal. Her black coffee coloured hair was as glossy as her red lips, and her face was a masterpiece of deeply set eyes, a straight nose, and an angular jaw. She was dressed in a frothy ivory dress that seemed to match the tone of her skin, and she sat in what seemed like a parlour filled with flowers. The muted shades of the roses behind her made her long wavy hair stand out as she brushed it. It was a painting that showed her power but still highlighted how feminine she was.
"It was painted by Dante Gabriel Rosetti in the early seventeenth century. Her name was Didyme. She was my sister and Marcus' wife. I changed her shortly after I myself was changed. She died two hundred years ago in a battle within the borders of Russia," Aro stated factually although it made me look at the woman differently.
She looked so different from Aro. Her hair wasn't jet black and her features seemed more open and happy than the shrewd, curiosity Aro portrayed. He was a leader, a historian, an inquisitor, she wasn't. I wondered if that were why Aro spoke of her with little pride in his voice, or perhaps it was the fact she was no longer alive as a member of the undead that caused the sparse tone. Did he miss her? Were they close? How did he feel now that she was gone, that she had been with Marcus, that he suffers her death? There were so many questions I wanted to ask him but my vow of silence stopped me. That and the fact that I doubted he would tell me. No matter how much he talked and told me, I knew he never really told me anything of great importance.
"I show her to you because I feel she demonstrates well how little time means to us. For a human the hurt of losing what they loved diminishes, not for us, not really. Our memories never let us forget it. Marcus will never forget her and he will never return to what he was when he was with her."
Did I imagine the regret in his voice, the guilt? Had Aro facade slipped just for a moment? Why did he seem to feel that way about his dead sister? If I ever escaped here I would ensure to search for the answer to those questions. Perhaps Aslo or Carlisle could tell me a little more about the Volturi's history.
"Now I believe it is time for dinner, and I would very much like you to meet a few more of our family." The jolting change in tone, from sombre to jovial was strange. I cast him a questioning stare as he seemed to drift towards the door opposite the one we entered.
"My wife, Sulpicia, and Caius's wife, Athenodora, are anxious to meet you, as they do with all new prospects." I felt my empty stomach flutter at the idea of meeting the vampires I didn't even know existed. I had never thought of Aro and Caius having wives, although now it seemed to make perfect sense. They had been alive for millennia, nearly three of them to be exact. It was almost laughable that I hadn't assumed they had a partner to share that time with.
I followed the flowing form of Aro's cloak as he passed ahead of me into a richly decorated parlour. Amethyst walls seemed to shimmer when the dimming sunlight cast through the windows, and the stone floor looked as if it were skimmed over with ivory silk. The stones had been so well worn from years of use that their individualism had been wiped clean. I couldn't help wondering if that were the case with the Volturi guards as well.
The scent of smouldering oak and heady cloves drifted and clouded my head. As if it were all part of the seduction the Volturi wanted to pose.
Aro left my side briskly as the doors shut behind us and the next moment I was greeted by the five faces of what I now knew to be the heart of the Volturi.
Aro's arm didn't pass around the female's waist that he stood next to, but his posture was different. It was like he leant ever so slightly towards her but restrained himself from revealing a desire for anything other than power and victory. Nothing but his kingdom would truly matter to him.
The woman he clearly chose as his wife was a waifish woman with blonde hair so fair she could have been an angel, or ice maiden—I couldn't decide which because he face revealed nothing of her character. Her eyes were dark ruby, just has her lips were too. Both seemed to glimmer as the flames flicked. Of her face I could say only one thing; it was a face of irony. Her lips set in stony indifference, yet her eyes held so much that you had to question how she kept her face from showing any of what flashed behind those red irises.
I frowned as I stood in their silence and was directed to the second female as her giggles echoed in the room, tinkling like glass smashing against a stone floor.
"Look at her, she looks so confused. Aren't humans just the funniest things?" The second woman cooed as she leant forward to rest her rounded face on her hands. As she did so her vibrant red hair trickled down her pale forearm like blood leaking from a wound.
I rolled my eyes and looked away. I'd had enough experience with Heidi to know when to ignore a vampire. The difference was that I would talk to her, throw insults and remarks, whilst with these five—the Volturi leaders—I refused to say a thing.
"Oh, Caius, the human doesn't want to play." The redhead pouted at Caius who smiled indulgently.
"This meeting is not for fun, Athenodora." Aro cut in.
"It never is, it's always so serious. I swear if I weren't undead I would keel over from boredom."
Aro cast her a stern look and she huffed, sinking back into Caius' arms where I noticed him whisper something. The giggling returned but I decided not to bother figuring out why.
Aro's hand rested slowly and purposefully on his wife's shoulder as she sat in one of the armchairs, opposite where Caius and Athenodora were lounging on a love seat.
"Sarelle, this is my partner, Sulpicia, and you have already met Caius' mate, Athenodora. Would you care to sit?" he indicated a red velvet armchair, with French clawed feet. I perched on the very end.
"Are you hungry?" he asked again.
"Do we have to feed her here? It always smells so rotten, and it takes days to get the stink out," Athenodora whined as she stretched herself across Caius' lap, her hair falling in a thick wall of rippling red.
"Athena." Aro hissed and once more she huffed before entertaining herself with coiling a strand of her hair around her finger.
"Sarelle?" Aro prompted and I shook my head; I couldn't eat right now because my stomach was churning with the newness of the situation. I was used to being around one maybe two Volturi at a time, not five. Five was a lot of blood-drinkers to try and gauge.
I took a deep breath and forced my shoulders to drop and my back to straighten. I would not be intimidated. I had lived with the Cullens, they were vampires, there were more of them than these five here. Just because they had lived on animal blood didn't mean they were immune to the thirst. This would be no different to if I was sitting in the living room with them.
Once I had relaxed I let my eyes roam over to where Marcus sat staring into space, the same vacant, bored look on his face. In truth his face was the most interesting of them all, even in all its blankness. His eyes seemed softer somehow and his dark hair was almost boyish in its careless waves. He was fearsome, but out of all of them I could see more humanity in his face.
More humanity and yet he acted in a way that showed nothing human at all. A living statue, that's all he seemed to be.
"He intrigues you," Sulpicia murmured and I tore my gaze from Marcus to see her watching me intently.
She glanced at Marcus and I saw a smile creep on his face—faint but present. It was the kind of smile someone produced when they dream of something they liked or loved. It was the most reaction I'd ever seen him make.
"It's not real," Sulpicia said as I once again looked away from Marcus, although in the corner of my eye I could see that his face had faded back into blankness.
My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion as to what she meant. A smile is a smile; the reality of it doesn't come into it surely.
Sulpicia smiled knowingly at me and placed her hand in Aro's for a brief second, seeming to pass her thoughts to him.
Aro nodded and took the seat beside her, looking at me with his ever-curious eyes.
"It's my gift. Symbiosis, of sorts. I thrive on connections, relationships. It keeps me content, free of boredom. In return for this the partner in the connection receives a sense of wellbeing. I can alter their emotions, enter their mind and protect them from what hurts, or vice versa." Her eyes glinted as she mentioned those two final words. I could only imagine what it would be like to have her filtering nightmares into your mind, creating worlds within worlds where truths are lies and love haunts you on every step.
"Marcus is my symbiotic partner because he needs it most and give me the most to absorb. In return I ease the trauma of his past. I keep him from Didyme and the pain the memories of her would cause."
My mouth popped open as I looked at the dark haired man sitting in his usual stupor. It wasn't really him, he was just a shell of what he could be, what he would be if Sulpicia released him. Inside he was just a scrambled mess, a puppet to her powers. He may have lost love but was it really right of them all to choose this fate for him?
"Can you imagine it, Sarelle? You could live in peace. Edward wouldn't taunt you, your previous failings and pains would never touch you again. You'd be reborn in every sense of the word," Aro said warmly as he glided to my side.
But who am I without my emotions, without my memories? Just a ghost...a ghost like the children called me at the orphanage. Too faint to make a difference, a Halfling with no past or future. So much lost time...
Aro frowned at my recent thoughts as he touched my cheek. A brief moment of cold contact before I snapped my head away.
Aro turned to Sulpicia and her face changed to one of determination before it flashed back to calm.
"Look at me, Sarelle," she called sweetly.
My head turned without any intention of me doing so. Her voice was a lure, a sweet sound that made my muscles itch to go to her.
"You've lost so much, Sarelle. You've endured and you've battled. Let us help you. Let me soothe you. Let me show you what peace can feel like. Trust me, Sarelle. Trust me and I will promise you tranquillity." I felt my eyes lull in my head until they found hers, the ruby orbs pulling me in.
In a second I felt my body fill with euphoria, the room took on a beautiful rosy glow and the vampires around me all looked remarkably human, welcoming, and loving. Even Caius' face no longer looked hostile. They looked like a family, and I so much wanted to be a part of a family.
They edges of my vision shimmered slightly and it all seemed so surreal. Of course it would, it wasn't real. I knew that. I could feel it. The euphoria felt false, like a drug. I didn't want to forget, to fall, to surrender. I wanted to keep who I was, my memories, my emotions, my battle scars, and my victory wounds.
I tried to grit my teeth, to clench my fists but I couldn't. My whole body was slack and completely seduced by the fake feeling Sulpicia was pumping through me.
As fast as it had come, it left again.
My eyes blinked as they adjusted to the harsh reality.
"See, it could be like that always. You could feel that way anytime you wanted, forever if that was what you chose. Imagine an eternity of pure happiness," Sulpicia urged eagerly.
I shook my head. I didn't want it. Never would I want to live a life that wasn't real. Even if real life ends up killing me in the end.
"Oh, Aro, does she not speak? How cute to have a mute." Athenodora giggled patronisingly as she rose from Caius' lap while Aro and Sulpicia stood in silent conversation, they eyes fixed determinedly on me.
"Unfortunately, Delicia, she is no mute. However we are blessed that she has chosen to hold her insolent tongue as some childish sign of protest," Caius drawled and I scowled in his direction earning me a condescending smirk.
"Oh really, how sweet. Isn't funny how these humans think?" Athenodora mused as she went over to the fire and threw a hand full of dust onto the flames, turning them a brilliant red before they died back to orange. Another wave of cloves and oak seeped into the room.
"She has been silent all this time?" Sulpicia pondered once she released Aro's hand.
"Yes, our dear Sarelle is of quite a stubborn nature," he replied.
"You're enthusiastic nature says stubborn, my love, I say strong." Sulpicia smiled at her mate as she rose from the chair and glided over the floor to stand beside Atheodora.
"Strong? She's human," Caius spat.
"She denies the benefits of my gift. She has not spoken for four days no matter what is said to her, about her. And from what you have told me, Ocellus, she has had a life of much hardship. Yet look at her. Does it show?" Sulpicia turned to Aro and he opened his arms to her while I sat there silent and watchful as always.
"As perceptive as always, Mellita." He kissed her cheek softly as Caius scoffed.
"You give her too much credit, Sulpicia."
Athenodora walked back behind the chair Caius sat in, brushing her hands through his hair as she stalked me like a predator. Her fiery red hair seemed to mimic the flames she had created just moments earlier.
"Oh I don't know, Darling. She does seem to have a certain spark to her." she stopped and tilted her head as she studied me. "I like her." she giggled again, that flighty sound that was just as flittering as the flames.
"I wish you wouldn't. I find it so hard to deny you what you like, Delicia." Caius said in a bored tone as looked at his wife.
"Ah yes, you do spoil me, Caius. I adored my gift, he was quite delicious and with such a glorious citrus twist," she commented as she cast me a sly smile, flashing her fangs.
"He was fed only oranges for a month before I gave him to you, my Dora."
I shivered with revulsion which only drew Athenodora's attention to me.
"Oh look at her, isn't she just darling. Please say we can keep her, Aro."
"It is my every intention; however I would much prefer Sarelle to comply voluntarily."
I gritted my teeth, angry to the point of tears at the fact they discussed me like a stray dog, like my life was now completely out of my hands and I had no free will at all.
I clenched my eyes together to stop the tears from falling. I wouldn't cry in front of them. I wouldn't give them the entertainment of seeing how they affected me.
When I opened my eyes I saw Aro immediately, Sulpicia murmuring something to him as she clutched his hand up to her lips. Pity flashed across his eyes, pity and disappointment, maybe regret. I was tired of trying to understand. This was a game of chess to which I had no idea of the rules or the positions of the players. I was blind to what could happen next. Perhaps they'd change me now, perhaps in a day's time, a week...
Aro nodded once to something I presumed Sulpicia had said.
"Heidi," he said quietly and the door opened. At least tonight I would be returning to my prison cell. At least I would stay human for one more night.
That one night became two and then three. After the fourth I lost track of how many moons I had seen. Each night revealed a little more of the bright circle, and each dinner brought an onslaught of tactics from the Volturi. Sometimes they'd accept my silence with a mere disdainful air, other times it took all my patience not to scream out at them as they plotted and schemed around me. I'd leave their company at Heidi's side as usual, and as I returned to my room I'd look up at the moon and stare up with relief that i'd survived another night. It was on the night of the full moon that I felt the tingle tickle my palms. The relief of it was almost painful, or perhaps that was just the lack of sleep, lack of food, and lack of peace. I had spent so long tensed up and waiting for the moment to come when Aro would announce my change. When I felt the tingle I at least knew I had a chance of surviving this stint Volterra.
It was for this reason that I sat breathing deeply as I ate my chicken quietly. If I started to disappear here and now Aro would change me for sure, then where would that leave me? Either dead or lost in time as a newborn. I wanted neither of those options.
Aro sat silently opposite me, his eyes studying as always.
"Master, it is Renata; she has news of the coven in Hoquiam," the black haired vampire said as he looked between myself and Aro. The only two positioned at the dining table. Sulpicia usually attended with Aro but not tonight. Tonight she was strengthening her bond with Marcus, for her benefit and entertainment rather than his peace of mind.
Aro's voice was icy when he replied. "Thank you, José."
The vampire scuttled back and opened the door, allowing a petite figure to enter, the hood drawn up and the cloak shrouding any features.
There was a possibility that there was another Renata who they stumbled upon, but it seemed unlikely. That meant only one thing: they had allowed Derren to plunge into a dark abyss after believing Renata was dead, all so that they could have her for their little collection. That proved they were devious and ruthless.
I felt my blood boil; anger pulsed through me all for people I had never even met.
With the anger came fear. If they had orchestrated such a believable act, which was enough to cause a vampire to think his mate was dead, then how was I even capable to outmanoeuvring them in this life-size game of chess.
I stared after the billowing charcoal robes as Renata returned to the darkened corner she had situated herself in.
I sat for a few moments, my expression no doubt caught between shock and disbelief.
I had been waiting for a plan to escape this place and it seemed fate had handed me such a thing on a silver platter. A golden opportunity, not to be wasted.
My first words to him in such a long time.
"Aro?" I questioned sweetly as I turned my gaze to his stare. I could see it right there in his crimson eyes, the challenge. He knew what I knew and yet he sat there so calm and collected, just waiting to see what I would do with the knowledge.
"I would like to go to bed now. If you would call Heidi to take me. Unless of course Renata could. I don't think I've have the pleasure of her acquaintance yet." I tilted my head as I searched the dark corner, just about spying the outline of the cloaked figure that stood there.
"I think it best that Heidi takes you, there's no point in causing changes where there needn't be." Aro's smile matched mine, right down to the false sweetness below the surface of the eyes and the awkward stretch of the lips.
I stood and headed for the door as I noticed Heidi's bored figure leant against the frame.
"I was busy," she hissed in my ear, the usual narcissistic tone in her voice.
"Filing your nails?" I replied and smirked when she released a bitter, sarcastic snicker while her nails scraped across the hard stone walls. The screeching sound resonated in my ears, but I knew better than to react and cringe away.
We stopped in front of the door and I ignored, as always, Heidi's deep drag of my scent.
"Night, sweetness," she cooed as she slammed the door shut. This time I didn't hate the finality of the resounding boom. Instead I welcomed it. I was finally alone, finally free.
A/N: So Sarelle's free, although the Volturi and their plans are looming over her so does that really count as being free?
Hope it was OK, now I'm off to look at sciency stuff :D
x
