A/N: Oh yes, it's a long one.
Enjoy!
XVI
Reunion
There had been an unknown visitor in the city. They happened upon Caius and announced the summoning that was requested by the Dacian Coven, though whether or not it was necessarily a demand or an invitation remained unclear. Regardless, Caius was troubled despite his attempts at hiding it.
"Is Dora aware of this? Marcus?" Solana was concerned at the revelation.
Caius rolled his eyes, "Of course not! She will be distraught, and the boy… someone can only remain in a state of optimism for so long."
"How considerate of you," unnecessary secrecy irked her, there was no reason for them not to know.
"Considerate? What I consider unjust is that while being informed of this disastrous divergence, you were busy spreading your legs for this cretin."
Aro immediately unwrapped his arm from around her and stepped directly in front of Caius. The two men were the same height and build, but completely, in terms of appearance, opposites; it was like witnessing a clash of light and dark. However, the fury being displayed by both of them mirroring each other, she had never seen Aro hold such anger in his eyes. Shamefully she considered whether or not to be frightened or aroused. Hopefully, the gods would prevent them from setting each other alight.
"Do not talk to her in that manner, or it is I that will wring that head of snow off your shoulders," the tenor of his voice did not match the storm of fury blazing in his eyes, he sounded almost peaceful? A declaration of such violence did not go along with the contentment in his voice.
Solana held onto his arm, "Please do not speak of that, he is only afraid."
"It matters not," Aro still spoke soothingly, "I have appeased this offending attitude for the sake of civility, however, insulting my beloved is where a line is most certainly crossed."
Caius regarded Aro with a raised brow as the younger one spoke to him as if he were a misbehaving child.
"We are all concerned over this ordeal, as it has been overstated this particular group prefers their means to go unchallenged. Just as you worry for the safety of your beloved, I also worry about the well being of mine. If it were not for Solana putting herself at the center of this by claiming Athens, you would have been torn to shreds by that brute."
"You have some nerve," Caius said.
A childlike smile lifted Aro's face, "You have no idea."
"Enough," the two men turned to her, "your comment was rude, but I know how emotions rule your state of mind majority of the time and will not take it as an insult."
"Sweet Solana, do not excuse such behavior," Aro tried.
She looked directly at him, "And you do not speak of obscenity in my garden," he actually frowned.
Looking back at Caius, "When are we expected?"
"Before the coming year, during the later solstice."
That was several moons from now.
"Forgive me, but was seeking their audience not a part of this plan?" Aro questioned.
Caius narrowed his eyes, "Yes, but-"
"Then what reason do you have to act in such a way?" He returned to that pacifying tone of speech.
"Do not patronize me!"
Aro placed his hands up in surrender.
"What did the informant specifically say about this summoning?" she asked.
The summoning was not out of malevolence, it was more of a compelling invitation.
"Well, it seems we have been invited to a party," Aro clapped his hands together.
Caius glowered towards him, "This is no invitation. Clearly the issue is not apparent to you. Now instead of being disposed of privately we have an audience!"
All immortals on this side of the sea will be there, by the gods. This was not good.
Although She knew for a fact that her friends on the Nile would not attend, the Egyptians hated that Dacian lot.
"Or possibly they invited us to this function because we are newly formed? They have never met us and would like to become acquainted," Both Solana and Caius looked towards Aro in question.
Was he making this a positive thing?
The reality of their previous acts of disdain towards Caius was brought up once more. The brute did recognize him that night after all, which meant there was no need for an introduction.
"Are we not going about this from a diplomatic approach? Appeasing them in hopes of being placed in their good graces," They were all quiet, "Instead of seeing this as a public execution, think of it as an opportunity to show our undying loyalty... therefore if they choose to punish us that decision would appear a bit rash."
Aro was approaching the situation from an angle of appearances; they would be the ones to create the narrative.
"With all those who will apparently be in attendance, they will be looking towards them, barbarity will only get you so far," Caius said while nodding his head towards Aro, "and if our supposed leaders appear unnecessarily intemperate towards our complaint coven, then…"
"Their reverence will diminish," Aro finished with a smile.
The scowl that marred Caius's face momentarily twitched, she almost did not catch it.
Both men were considering one another intently, something had altered.
Aro was directly beside her once more, the two coven mates continued to stare at one another.
Caius flickered his eyes down to her.
"The manner in which I spoke earlier was… inexcusable. The Gods have destined you with a suitable mate. Pardon me, I must speak with my wife."
Solana followed his abrupt departure until the white of his hair was no longer in sight.
"What just occurred?" Aro came to hold her from behind, her thick hair was pushed to the side.
His closeness blanketed her in warmth. She could not help but smile as his chin rested on her shoulder
"An understanding," his cheek smoothed against hers.
"But how-"
Several octaves lower, "Remind me again of that suggestion… returning to the pool, hmm?"
Gods above.
That voice was a provoking spell of hunger, and he knew it too.
Solana forgot about the odd exchange, or simply did not care at the moment. Questions regarding what means did he learn of such schemes disappeared as the two lovers fell onto the forest floor.
"Never mind that pool."
The news of a summoning to Dacia was taken slightly differently depending on the coven member, but as far as Solana was concerned, Aro was not worried in the slightest and therefore neither was she.
Once everyone understood the favorable outlook he had towards their invitation the worry subsided.
Though Solana would take an absence of distress over anxiety, her best friend turned this contents into what she knew best; weaving.
While from her perspective Aro's suggestion of creating the narrative with appearances solely meant mannerism, Athenodora took it farther to extend to literal outwards appearances.
Constant suggestions of what she would wear to this party occurred every time the blonde was near, and sometimes, depending on who was around, inquiries of a wedding were brought up.
Wedding?
Solana still viewed this idea of matrimony in the human sense, which made it practically pointless. Though she did agree to follow through with it if that was what Aro truly desired, he had not brought it up again in these past few moons, so neither did she.
Learning the alphabet itself was not too difficult. The drawing component, however, was more tedious. Per her initial request, Aro had taught her the concepts of the alphabet, yet when it came down to the actual scrawls he lost her attention on the topic. Distraction was synonymous with their learning, Aro skillfully played the role of her distractor and teacher.
Once she accidentally thought of the reason for her desire to read and write and was so embarrassed.
Aro insisted that her lack of literate abilities did not wane his affections towards her in any way even if the thought of them having a rousing discussion excited him. Solana relented at that, much to his disappointment.
Caius wrote in different orders of the alphabet often, so it only made sense to seek him out to advance her learning, right? Her friend was a straightforward and focused teacher. Well, his patience was also little and she soon found herself preferring the lighthearted experience she found with Aro than his disgruntled lecturing.
Marcus was relatively unenthusiastic about the idea, and Athenodora either attempted to have her divulge the technicalities of her love life or revert to weaving.
It was inevitable, the child did leave an impression on her that day outside the building.
Finding her was not hard, Charmion seemed unsurprised at her appearance and was ready with a reed and parchment.
The child called out her name, she replied with a humm.
"Can you make another apple on the tree?"
Solana continued to scrawl loops and lines on the parchment.
Charmion huffed, "Please," from the corner of her eye the pleading look of the child made her pause.
"You already consumed five, do you not become full?"
"I'm not full, and they are so tasty," said the child, "Please!"
The green fruit sprouted on the tree next to their seating. Charmion plucked it from a branch just above her head and bit into the fruit, the clear juice slid down her chin.
The child thanked her with a mouth full, she wrinkled her nose and hummed once more.
On her lap, the parchment displayed six large letters that when read together formed her name. It was not the most elegant penmanship, but good enough for her. The reed had broken several times, but she finally found the right amount of pressure to place on the instrument. Solana pronounced each of the letters, she could not stop herself from smiling, unintentionally putting little Charmion in a daze.
Calming her expression down, "My apologies," the little girl only nodded absentmindedly until her focus returned.
They were in the center of Charmion's home, it was an open area embellished with many vases and plants.
"Solana is in a better mood now than on the steps."
Why does everyone insist my mood has changed? It is untrue.
"Is she now?"
Charmion bopped her head up and down, "Something happened."
"Ah yes, now I can draw my name. All with the help of you," as lightly as she could, without even touching the skin, Solana tapped the tip of Charmion's nose which made her giggle with delight.
"But…" she dragged out the syllables, "you were happy before I taught you to write your name. Does your husband not leave you to sit alone anymore?"
The citizens mostly saw them in pairs, based on these pairs they had made their own conclusions.
"Not really, and I am hoping with your help not at all."
"Writing your name will make your husband stop forgetting you?" The child began to hang herself upside down on the seating.
"In a way..." Solana stated the reason for her desire to write.
Charmion suddenly fell off the seating; thankfully only bruising herself.
"Baba used to do that! The library is full of them too!"
Solana began to nod, "I have not been able to understand any of them by looking alone, but I have heard the words being spoken, and they are wondrous," she supplied.
"Mama loved when Baba came home to do that, it made her so happy!"
"Oh?" Solana said, "Happier than you make her?"
Charmion gasped, her small hands covered her heart, "Never!"
Solana widened her eyes.
"I'm Mama's favorite. I'm Baba's favorite. I'm everyone's favorite!"
The women stilled as the younger one grabbed her knees, placing a head of brown hair on her lap, "Even your favorite,"
Solana looked down, nothing could rationalize why she was drawn to this bold little creature. Despite Charmion's young age now, in a blink of an eye, this child would be twice the age she was before being turned. Humans passed so quickly.
"Little one?"
The girl raised her head, "Yes?"
"Why has your Mama not checked on you yet?" she wondered.
Solana knew her sibling and father were absent from the home the moment she neared, there was only one other individual here and that person had not left the second floor in the duration of time she and Charmion had been together.
The girl lowered her head once more, "Baba and Draco leave every morning and they do not come back for a long time, Mama only stays upstairs now because she is sad."
"Why is that?"
Charmion looked at her with wide eyes, "I'm not supposed to talk about it with other people."
"But I am not people, I am Solana,"
She pursued her lips, "That's true, but promise you won't tell?"
Solana placed a hand over her chest, "Promise."
The little girl sighed.
"I think I was going to have another brother, Mama really wanted to see him but he didn't want to come. When he decided not to come Mama became very sad which made Baba also sad. They don't spend a lot of time together anymore, or with me."
From what she gathered, Charmion had recently lost a potential sibling which was putting a strain on her family. Solana would never be able to empathize with the tragedy of losing a child, but she could sympathize with the emotional pain which came from losing another, with that she hugged the little girl.
"Well, if you would like to maintain the position of my favorite then we should continue these lessons."
The child nudged her.
"With more apples?"
"With more apples."
Charmion quickly became tired as time went by, soon she dozed off. Solana laid her on a seating that was underneath the roof, unlike where they previously were.
Enthusiastically traveling back to her home with the paper and reed in hand.
A smooth melody came to a halt as a piece of parchment was shoved in front of Athenodora.
"I beg your pardon-"
"Read it."
"My dear-"
"Read," she insisted.
Athenodora looked over the paper, the apples of her cheeks flexed, "Ah, that is simply too adorable."
The melody soon continued where it left off.
Solana's mouth gaped open, "Adorable?"
"Yes it is very sweet, though I see no reason to mark down your affections when all you must do in order to get the point across is leap him," she said.
Physically showing her love was not a problem, and her body would not allow it to be, whatsoever. However, Aro was such a creative soul at all times, all she wanted was to meet him halfway. She wanted to be as creative in her affections as he was towards her.
"My dear, I still believe this urge for literary familiarization is a bit unnecessary. Most do not read or write you know." Her head shook as she continued to play the harp.
"Well yes, but all I have ever given him is a head of stone, something he did not even want. While I cannot carve a sculpture, there are other means I can create with, such as drawing words," she said.
The melody slowed down, Athenodora still had a smile on her face.
"The both of you are so very dramatic, I suppose that does make sense," She said before setting the instrument down beside her.
"Do you recall how Caius and I came to be?" she asked.
"He was running and you chased him," Solana simplified.
That beautiful smile grew on Dora's face, "You know how Caius wanted nothing to do with me at first? Ah, running is most definitely an understatement… but I am a woman who is unshaken once making a decision and Khronos alone would only make him mine," she looked past the trees, her smile never faltering.
"I never told you this tiny detail, but I used to pursue him with my harp."
Solana tilted her head.
"Oh yes! Words can confound us all sometimes, even me. In my case, he wanted to hear none of it, so my resolve was music, and eventually, he became so accustomed to the sound that he sought me out instead, and here we are," she finished with a light laugh.
"That is so lovely, you stalked your own husband," Solana said.
The older woman gasped, "Excuse you, I guided him. Now back to this adorable collection of words you have here,"
The parchment slipped out of her hands, Athenodora giggled, "While I'm sure anyone would be charmed if they received such a letter of love, this reads as if it originated from a child, which might explain why you smell like a young human."
It was not easy to write what she felt on paper, despite the strong surge of emotions constantly swarming her.
"How do I make it… less adorable?" She asked.
"Though I am no poet, what I will first suggest is to stop referring to your mate as 'my bestest friend'. Less hesitancy towards affection, and never shy from expressing your satisfaction for intimacy, my dear. Men love to hear praises for their stamina," she said.
Solana blinked, "It is easier said than done."
At that, the blonde wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug, "Eventually, I knew you would come back for my help! It would be my greatest delight to aid you in constructing a love letter… of course so long as-"
Solana groaned, Athenodora paid her no mind.
"-So long as we begin preparations for your wedding, never mind this party distraction," Solana opened her mouth to retort but stopped.
All she wanted was to make Aro feel as warm as she felt after seeing her sculpture every day, how she felt every time he was around her. She knew the appreciation he had for written words could be utilized to convey her heavy feelings. Also, Dora was adamant about this matrimony undertaking. If two loved ones would be content, then so be it.
She would spend an eternity finding different ways to communicate her adoration, and at the moment it was by literary means.
"Let us see what young Marcus will say now as I rightfully surpass him!" She exclaimed.
When would it stop?
While Dora helped her, she offered no original words of her own during the writing. Instead, she forced Solana to outwardly state what she felt, and then draw it down. When it came to more gratifying moments, she became less willing to depict her thoughts, but Dora was having none of it so eventually, she came around to write it out.
"He does what exactly?!"
Solana couldn't even look at her, "I know."
"And you- you enjoy this?" Athenodora was invested in this revelation.
On the other hand, she was beyond embarrassed.
"Quite."
"But how?"
"A lover who is aware of what you are thinking does help."
"So that was an idea of yours?"
"Possibly? Only the gods know. But regardless he was more than sure we would both enjoy it."
"No wonder! He made you see the cosmos! This is why you appear so giddy all the time, you little fiend."
Athenodora pinched her arm which made her jump, accidentally snapping the reed. She frowned.
"No matter with that, my husband has an endless supply and you have given me a great reason to have a much needed chat with him."
Solana sputtered as her friend stood, she reached for her but was shrugged off.
"Dora, please. We are almost finished."
"Oh no, I am the one who is finished! You are fully able to complete the rest of this endeavor. My dear, you have enlightened me. The young are so adventurous, and I am missing out on great pleasures, now excuse me," she said, then left.
Solana looked down at her incomplete piece, there was a hole inside a tree bark nearby which is where she placed it.
Before making her own departure, the light of the moon glinted on an object. Dora had left her harp.
A thought flickered through her mind, it had been decades since she last played. Oh no, she was no musician, but there was always one melody she could successfully play.
Gliding her fingers over the strings, the melody flowed clumsily from the instrument. Quiet hums accompanied the rise and fall of the tune. It reminded her of home and the wondrous wisps of music she would hear coming from the palace while outside. Though if she were being honest with herself, it sounded nothing like that.
Once she felt him near the melody stopped, she cradled the harp in her arms.
"Oh my, do not stop on my account, please." Aro was in front of her, he kissed her upper cheek, "I did not know you could play."
"I do not," she lifted her shoulders, "that was nothing."
"It was beautiful!"
Solana gave him a blank stare.
He continued, "Albeit unorthodox, but-"
"It sounded like an ass out of breath."
He tried very hard to maintain a straight face, she could see it in the twitch of his upper lip, but when she pulled a face of her own he broke out in laugher.
Her pout grew, which only made him laugh harder.
Taking the instrument from her arms, she was pulled into an embrace as he attempted to apologize between laughs.
"That was not meant to be funny," Solana said.
"Unintentional humor can have more of an effect than the deliberate kind."
As her arms laid limp in their embrace, her beloved tried to apologize once more. She was able to hold out until he began a dramatic narration of what would become of him were she not to forgive.
"Dora was right, you are dramatic," she sighed.
He gave her a wink.
"As our departure for Dacia nears, there is somewhere I have been meaning to bring you."
She narrowed her eyes, "In the city?"
"Not exactly, though close," he smiled, "you will enjoy this, I swear."
Anywhere he was present, she would enjoy, he knew it too.
"The night is still young, but when is it not for us?" Solana asked.
Their hands joined as Aro led the way.
Just outside the city, surrounding them were many columns that were adorned with wild vines. Overgrown vegetation surrounded them, though not as disastrous as that which was still found in Solana's garden.
Wherever they were was once a carefully kept garden, despite the wildness which was a part of it now.
"As a boy, I used to come to this place, the owner of this land allowed nearby children to play here with each other."
"Play in the garden?" she questioned.
"Oh no!" he laughed, "Never that, in fact, no one came in here to play, or came in here at all besides me."
The couple walked around the columns, Solana was listening intently as Aro shared details of his childhood. She was surprised to find out he had preferred the secluded quietness of this garden compared to grounds outside.
"What child does not enjoy playing with other children, I would even have overlooked this beauty in preference to having fun with others, certainly you must have been lonely?."
They stopped.
"The other children… were not very taken by me for some reason."
She awed at that, cradling his cheek which made Aro shake his head to the side.
"Did young Aro not have any friends?" she cooed.
He chuckled, "I am afraid the talent of befriending was lost to me."
"I would have gladly been your friend."
"While I do not doubt that, I am sure you would have been much more taken by my younger sister, almost everyone loved her…" Aro looked at nothing in particular as he reminisced about something from his recurring memories, she could have sworn his jaw clenched before looking directly at her.
"What those children did not know, was that this garden has a tunnel running underneath. It leads to the house."
She shook her head, "You poked about the house I am sure."
"Of course, what else would I do," he teased. "Even as a boy I thought knowledge was power, and what better way to gain knowledge than from the club leaders own home."
"Club leader?" she inquired.
The word he used did not translate properly, it was an unfamiliar term.
"Like an emperor, a ruler of sorts," he said.
"That does not seem wise," she responded.
He smiled, "Possibly, to you." Apparently he was never caught.
As a child, Aro came across details pertaining to members of his community that were probably meant to be kept secret.
"Exactly why did these secrets interest you?" her head tilted in amusement.
Aro seemed to contemplate his next statement, his eyes darted to her hands before returning to her face.
"Although it might seem silly now," he chuckled "I wanted to grow to become the club leader. I think the past can help us in the future, gaining knowledge of my future constituents only made sense."
"Well, I am sorry that now you are unable to be a club leader."
He neared her, "Oh no, never that. Right here, in the presence of my own personal sunshine, is exactly where I am meant to be."
Those words truly warmed her, each time Aro reassured that he wanted to stay with her the unrelenting doubt which crept in the depths of her mind left for another day.
"Ever since we first viewed that tragedy in Athens, I have planned to bring something forward to you, formally at least," he spoke.
His hands that were usually held tightly in front of him began to rub together, was he nervous?
"What is it?" She encouraged him, still giddy with love.
Those bright eyes ran over her face, his hands continued to rub against one another. Solana placed her own over the movement and smiled up at him.
His lips twitched, "I have already spoken to Caius and he has-"
She breathed in with hopes to meet his sweet scent and froze.
Aro immediately took notice, he said her name.
She gripped his hand tightly, her eyes went wide.
"Do you smell that?" it came out as a whispered.
"Smell what? Only your aroma and the earth itself."
The rational part of her mind began to war with the instinctive predator which lurked underneath, she had not felt this way since waking up during infancy, parched beside her nutritionally rich village.
Newborn mania did not even compare.
She attempted to travel towards this delicious smell which was making her eyes dilate and mouth pool with venom.
Aro attempted to pull her back, the predator did not like this one bit, and without a thought, she flung him away from her, one of the columns cracked from the impact of his body.
How dare he attempt to interrupt her hunt, whatever this smell led to was hers, and she would be the one to have it.
Solana snarled as Aro stood up once more, he reached out to her but before touching her skin his body collided with another stone column.
Exiting the overgrown garden, this time not bothering to see him recover, Solana followed her prey.
Prattles from a pair of feet running from that location could be heard entering the tree line. Those pathetic human legs would be no match for her. Without a second thought she entered the woods, all she saw was red and that was what this mortal would see as she appeared in front of them.
It cried out in surprise at her appearance which led to them tripping over absolutely nothing.
Solana grabbed the human before they collided with the ground, she would be the one to spill blood this night, not the earth.
As she held the human by their neck, it squirmed above her. Despite already recently feeding, the sustenance underneath this mortal's skin made her feel inexplicably hungry, her throat was painfully dry, her stomach flexed in anticipation.
It's whimpering momentarily filtered into her ears, she would be quick as usual.
The predator relented. No!
This delicacy should be savored, why not take her time with a treat such as this? Yes.
Venom began to slide down her chin, she pulled the human towards her and moved its hair away to expose the throat.
Without any contemplation, she pierced the soft flesh of their neck.
The human cried out in agony, thrashing against her, Solana moaned.
Listening to the beast inside her, she took her time, and would not allow a drop of this rich nectar from the gods to go to waste.
As she was caught up in the sweetness sliding down her esophagus, she did not notice the other presence which had joined them until it was too late. Solana was ripped away from the prize, making her back hit a tree, though not hard enough to break it.
The thief held her tightly against the bark, now it was her turn the thrash unsuccessfully.
Even though he lost whatever enhanced strength that was present as a newborn, the interrupter was still somewhat stronger than her. Rationally that would mean her attempts at escape were for naught, but her mind was far from rational right now.
"Let me free." Each word was pronounced with fervor, the human was bleeding out on the forest floor. It was a waste! Why did he not understand this?
"Solana! Snap out of this, now."
Forget that!
She wanted to finish what she started, each second that went by was less for her, more blood for the earth. It was hers.
The interrupter suddenly went rigid, he landed motionlessly on the floor as she pushed him away.
Stepping over him towards the crying human, it suddenly looked directly at her, it's face was pulled together in suffering. Solana could not help but notice the familiar way its forehead scrunched together, but she quickly lost interest.
Lowering her mouth to the already open puncture, her tongue licked around the area before attaching her lips to the wound once more.
The human fell limp, she looked from the corner of her eye to see if they were unconscious, its eyes were closed but lip trembled. It had given up.
Solana took an unintentionally large draw from the wound which made its body jerk.
A breathless voice followed.
"… dead… Aro."
This made her pause.
Aro?
Where was Aro?
By the gods, she had harmed him!
Resulting from that single moment of absent mindedness, her body was wrenched away from the gradually dying mortal.
Vera: Solaro it is! At first when I wrote that chapter, the previous version had Aro genuinely desire for children along with Solana and there was a bit more angst than I eventually cut out, it didn't feel right. I don't think either Aro or Solana (probably Aro more than Solana) cared much for having children before they were turned, at the time it wasn't too important to either of them since they had other motivations respectively... maybe I can write a fanfic of my own fanfiction where they do have their cute little Solaro kiddies running around? AHH! :')
Hope you all liked this chapter and feel free to leave feedback, or questions, or predictions, or even just straight up criticism. I'd love to hear all of it!