That night was the first night I felt things really begin to shift. Aro, per usual, never paid me any mind while eating except to make sure that I was eating everything that had been brought for me. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner would always be waiting in the small kitchen every time we arrived. Food was in the refrigerator and on the counter, but the meal was often premade or from a restaurant nearby.
He made little comment except to say, "Good job, little one," once I finished. I stood to put the dish my meal had been prepared in by the sink. His secretary would come down to take care of the dishes and things before she left like she did every night.
Aro took my hand, and he brought me back down the stairs to his quarters, where he sat with me and spoke to me about the plans for the next day. I knew something had been keeping him very busy. In fact, it only seemed to increase in urgency every day over the past week, and I began to see Aro less and less. He was always around to check in on my lessons and how they were proceeding, but for the most significant part of the day, he was away, and I was left to my own devices.
"Ari, tomorrow I will be going away for a few days. I was hoping to wait, but the circumstances do not allow me to sit idle any longer. Both Demetri and Chelsea will be coming with me, along with Jane, Alec, and Renata." Aro paused before taking my hands in his and continuing on. "I know you are not as familiar with the rest of the guard, so I thought perhaps to leave you in another's care until I return."
The way Aro said it, and the expression on his face immediately made me nervous. I had a feeling that I knew exactly who he was referring to, and even the thought made me ill. I was hoping that I was wrong, but alas, I was never that lucky. The universe, for some reason, no matter what, had it out for me, it seemed.
"You are to remain with Caius while I am away. I trust him with you, and he has been warned to be on his better behavior, though I can't promise it will be exceptional. However, I expect you to do as you are told, as you would do for me, and show him respect. He is easy to rile, and I do not wish to come home to a broken corpse."
I swallowed. I rarely ever saw Caius, but every time I did, the look he would give me felt like it could kill me where I stood. What I did know about him was that he was seen as the enforcer of the coven. He would sometimes leave Volterra, from stories that I had been told by Demetri, to take care of those who broke the law himself. Demetri seemed to think it gave him a sort of thrill, but his cruelty that I pictured in my head was not something I wanted to incite.
Aro had also told me stories when he discussed to me about history. It wasn't only human history he talked about, but also their own history and what he had seen since ruling the vampire world. Aro told me of the role Caius played in those stories, the wiping out of the Children of the Moon, how he killed the immortal children, his hate and revenge on the Romanian Coven, and all of the other offenders that had the unfortunate luck of crossing his path. Caius was formidable and ruthless, and he terrified me.
Now, here Aro was telling me that I would be with Caius until he came back. Not to mention, he was warning me that if I upset Caius enough, there was a good chance he would kill me. Was this supposed to be part of the game Aro was playing with me? I had no idea how to reply to him, but I knew he heard my heart thumping much faster than before. I know he saw my body go stiff when he mentioned the name.
Aro chuckled lightly under his unnecessary breath. "Little one, you belong to me. Caius would not dare harm you unless you forced his hand. You have nothing to worry about besides being bored from all of the lectures I'm sure he plans to give you."
"What about Marcus? Will he be here still?" I asked him, whispering the questions.
"Yes, Marcus will be here. I will ask for him to check in on you occasionally. I'm sure he would not mind doing so."
I nodded. Marcus, although grief-stricken as he was, had always been kind to me the few times we had seen each other. He didn't scare me like Caius or worry me like Aro. Then again, who was to say he wasn't putting on an act. The only one of three that I really somewhat knew was Aro, and even then, I constantly wondered if I really knew him.
"Then why Caius?"
Aro hummed and then sighed. "I must confess, I do have an ulterior motive. Caius has been eager to help me with you since the day you arrived. He has plans of his own, but none that I won't approve of. The two of you make a better match than you may want to believe. Leaving you with him will sate his need to bother me again for some time."
I wondered what sort of plans these were that Aro said Caius had. He didn't seem bothered by them in the least, which made me feel a little better about this whole arrangement. It's not like I really had a say in the matter. While Aro did promise me anything I wanted, within their capability of giving me, he still forced me to be bound by certain rules, just like a pet.
"You'll only be gone a few days?"
"Yes," Aro answered. "Do you miss me already?" I bit my lip, and he chuckled. "Come with me."
Aro stood, taking me along with him since he was still holding on to my hand. He walked me into the bedroom, where he went to the armoire and brought out something for me to sleep in as well as a change of underclothes. He handed them to me before making his way into the bathroom, where he turned on the light and immediately began running bathwater. I sighed and followed him in. It was too early to start getting ready for bed. Still, baths, especially the way Aro prepared them for me, were strangely relaxing, so I figured he was only trying to help the anxiety I was feeling about being around Caius for a few days.
I sat the clothes down on the counter while Aro glided around the bathroom, grabbing the necessary bath ingredients he needed. It often consisted of oils, minerals, and salts or a milk powder, which left the water and my skin incredibly soft. He never stayed once it was prepared, leaving both the bathroom and the bedroom and instead waiting in his study until he heard me moving about again.
Once both doors were closed, I put my hair up before undressing, then got comfortable under the foam. I closed my eyes and simply took in the scent. It smelled of chamomile, and if I remembered correctly from the last time, lemongrass. I tried to make myself not think about anything, which was an impossible feat, but the last thing I wanted to do was think about Aro leaving.
At least I knew that with Aro around, nothing bad would happen outside of him deciding to kill me one day. I knew what to expect. If he was gone, what happened to the routine? What if I slipped in front of Caius like I had in front of Demetri earlier? What would he do?
I hadn't meant to, but the tears came. I cried softly, hoping Aro wouldn't hear me. The last thing I wanted was for him to come in here, and hopefully, he knew how triggering that would be for me and would think twice if he did hear. Either way, I didn't want to be questioned about it. Every time I thought I had a handle on things, at least a point up, I realized that it was a lie. I came crashing back down. There was no winning here for me or for any human.
We each had a purpose to serve, and every single one ended in blood. I looked down at where Aro had scratched into my skin earlier. It was a light cut. It wouldn't even scar, but the hunger in his eyes as he licked up the blood with his tongue had me reeling. It wasn't sexual at all, but there was something predatory about it, which gave me pause. Another feeding would be coming soon. I could feel it. It had been long enough.
I finally got out of the bath after spending a good hour in it and dried off before getting dressed. Once I left the bathroom, I went to grab my brush, which I had left on a small vanity in the corner, but before I could reach it, the door to the bedroom opened, and Aro stood there in front of me with the brush in his hand. "Sit."
I did what I was told, and he took my hair down before he began to gently brush it out. This was definitely new, and I wasn't sure what I thought about it yet. It amazed me at how careful he was to not pull on any knots that may have been in my hair. There was no tugging at all. Still, Aro brushing my hair didn't feel right. What was going on?
When he was finished, he placed down the brush and put out his hand, which I took, and he led me to the bed. As if he knew what I had been thinking about him while in the bath, he said, "I won't feed from you tonight, my pet. In the morning, before I go, so I have the taste of your blood fresh on my tongue." He traced a line down what I assumed to be my carotid artery on my neck, as I felt my pulse underneath his touch.
His phrasing was different, reminding me of something else entirely, but I nodded. "Okay."
"Lie down," he whispered in my ear.
I looked at him, wondering what he was planning on doing, and he gave me a soft smile back. I slowly moved my bare feet onto the bed, and then scooted up more so my head would fall on one of the pillows before doing as he said. I watched as Aro stood and walked to the other side of the bed before lying down next to me. It put me on edge, but he had never made an advance on me like others had prior. He had always been respectful to certain boundaries, and I wouldn't question him now about his motives, not until he gave me a reason to. Either way, the near calm my body had finally achieved earlier was gone in a matter of seconds.
"Ariana, I don't wish to make you uncomfortable. Please, relax. I have no such intentions toward you, little one."
His voice was mesmerizing and welcoming, and like many times before, I caved to it. Aro pulled me into him, my head against his chest, and I could feel the chill of his lips on my head. Though my heart still beat with erratic attentiveness, my breathing normalized, and I allowed him to hold me there as I eventually drifted off to sleep in his arms.
A/N: Not sure if the last chapter was awful or if FFN didn't send out notifications or if you all haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I had no reviews on an NPftL chapter for the first time ever. It was a little weird and sad. So please review if you have the chance to read this chapter. Thanks!
