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Hope you enjoy!
"Athanasia..."
The lady standing in my doorway vaguely resembled my daughter. She was almost identical in appearance, but something was different. I don't know whether it was the absence of the usual luminescence that resided in her eyes or if it was the lack of her usual vivacious temperament, but the Athanasia standing in front of me now was but a spectre of her normal self.
The woman trudged in my direction, her posture slightly slumped and flyaway strands of silver locks dispersed untidily. She made no acknowledgement of hearing me, aside from continuing her human's pace towards me.
"Athy, what's the matter?" I probed, wondering and hoping that she was enacting one of her so-called live-action theatrical performances. But she did not allow me any response.
As she drew nearer, she grabbed ahold of my arm and silently led me back towards the door, never once stopping to look at me. I went with her, mind running wild wondering what on earth could have put her into this state.
Leading me out of the door, we happened upon Corin, who, just as promised, was still waiting.
"Miss Luíseach, would you care for your dinner-" she began.
"Will you just fuck off and leave us alone!" Athy roared suddenly, whipping around and grabbing the hand of my guard, compelling her to obey her will. Without another word, Corin turned and vacated the corridor, leaving me alone with my child.
"Athy, there's no need to speak like that! Please answer me, what's wrong?" I demanded, refusing to follow her until she answered.
Turning her head slightly, she looked at me for a moment and scoffed.
"Tired," she mumbled, her grip around my arm tightening as she continued to try and pull me along behind her. I refused again.
"Athanasia, I'm not going anywhere with you until you answer me properly," I asserted, standing my ground.
She turned once more towards me, her brow furrowed.
"I'm not annoyed at you, mum. It's my fault that you have to carry Aro's child, it's my fault that none of us can get our revenge, it's my fault that no matter how much freedom we will have after this, I still forced you to go through the same shit from your past and it's my fault that I was too weak to stand up to him!" she said, tears welling in her already red eyes.
I regarded Athanasia in silence for a moment, my head throbbing slightly as I was forced to remember what I had just done. This was the first time she'd ever really broken down like this since nearly losing Oktai and I couldn't bear to see her this hurt.
"Athanasia, you listen to me. Did you sign that contract? No, you did not. This choice was mine alone. This was the only way to guarantee we'd all be left alive," I spoke defiantly, hopefully instilling her with some reassurance.
"If I'd never caved in the first place, you wouldn't have been put in that position! I should have known he'd never kill Oktai or dad!" she argued back.
"No. He would have definitely followed through on that threat. The fault is mine for being so weak," I sighed, "he knew that you are what gives me strength. He knew that I would do anything to make sure you didn't have to suffer. I was the one who gave the order for you to use your gift on Chelsea; I just chose the wrong time."
"You should have refused to do it, rather than have to go through that again. Or at least let me take your place," she whispered, hanging her head.
"And what kind of mother would that make me?" I scoffed.
"I guess," Athy mumbled, "but we can't even get our revenge without being killed off."
"And what good would revenge do now? It won't change anything that's happened, and it'll make us a lot more enemies than my integrity is worth," I said, feigning calmness.
"But it could stop it from happening again," Athy muttered under her breath, letting go of my arm. I couldn't deny that.
"Come, Athy, you need some rest, it's been a long day," I said, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and leading her back along the path marked with her scent.
The dull ache of silence formed the soundtrack to our journey and I wished that both myself and everyone else would forget about what had happened tonight. I didn't think that I could stand seeing the pity in anyone else's eyes as they looked at me.
I felt no better when we reached our destination. Smelling who was inside, I felt compelled to turn and walk back the other way, but Athy held out a hand, stopping me.
"Dad said he wants to talk to you," she murmured.
"Talk, or shout?" I asked.
"Mum, please, he's not mad at you, why would he be?"
"Fine," I said, grimacing at the thought of being thrown another pity party. Athanasia opened the door and guided me in before closing it behind her.
The atmosphere in the room was nothing less than tense. Caius and Oktai were standing solemnly in silence on one side of the room, whilst Felix, Demetri, Santiago and Jane lurked either side of the fireplace filled with smouldering embers, serving as a reminder of what our punishment for disobedience would be.
"Oktai, please see that Athanasia gets some sleep," Caius spoke, his deep voice cleaving the silence in two. Oktai was at Athy's side in an instant, patting my shoulder as he passed me. But Athanasia refused to leave the room with him.
"I want to know, was there any other way?" she asked despondently, eyes flickering between him and me. Caius looked at her darkly.
"None where we all lived."
Averting her gaze to the floor again, she allowed her soulmate to take her to rest - satisfied that I hadn't been bluffing to her earlier.
Caius turned towards the other four vampires left in the room and glared. We were no match for the four of them and besides, if Caius was just as dazed still from Corin as I was, we'd surely be defeated by our disloyalty to our duties before landing any fatal blows.
"I take it that you're not allowed to leave us two alone with each other," he said, or rather stated.
They all nodded affirmatively.
"Well, I'd prefer it if you tried to keep your noses out of my family's business. You may be under orders to kill me if I disobey Aro, but don't forget that I am still your superior," Caius continued.
"Of course, master," the four guards responded awkwardly.
Caius turned to me now and I was relieved to see no difference in the way he looked at me. There was no pity. On the contrary, he seemed surprisingly collected. But this only made my stomach twist in guilt.
"Luíseach, I'm only going to say this once, but I want you to listen carefully, even though I know you won't want to hear it," he began.
"Okay, get it over with," I murmured in reply.
"I stand by your decision and I will continue to stand with you until the end. Just know that you are not to blame for my colleague's greed and you are not to blame for wanting us all to live. It was wrong of me to assume you'd be fine with leaving me behind. If you want revenge, I shall be the first to fight alongside you until the death and if you want to forgive him, I will try to push aside my own feelings of hatred to honour your wishes," he said bluntly, pulling me close to him. I was thankful for a place to rest my head upon his chest.
"Caius, I don't deserve this much compassion," I whispered into his ear. Lowering my voice enough that hopefully no one else would hear, I decided to be frank with him. "He made me enjoy it; he made me betray you," I whispered, almost wishing he would decide to crush me completely with his arms.
I felt his arms tighten in aggravation, but he did not hurt me.
"He'd be a pretty crap mind reader if he didn't. Just don't fall for his mind games, we can't afford to engage him in psychological warfare," he growled in retort.
"Hmph," I mumbled into his chest.
"If it makes you stop feeling sorry for yourself, I enjoyed spending time with Athenodora when you were gone," he said, knowing exactly how to provoke a reaction out of me.
"You're a right dickhead, Caius," I pouted, but deep down I was thankful for his attempt at rationalising the situation.
"That's a fair observation, but at least I'm not a hypocrite," he chuckled, "you forgave me for sleeping with her for all of those years, yet you won't forgive yourself now for being forced to do it once."
"Because we were never honest with each other back then. I thought I was nothing more than a bit on the side for you. But I've betrayed you since we came to terms with our feelings for one another."
"Then don't have a go at other people when they pity you. Pull yourself up and keep moving forwards. Our children and I will be here to help you just as you have helped us, but we cannot change the past. You're strong and so are we."
For the first time, I looked up into his face and instantly felt better, as if staring into the all-healing eyes of a god. In that instant, we were the only two in the room, the only two in the world that mattered right now. It was impossible to believe that I'd been able to spend a millennium without him at my side without losing my sanity - hell, maybe I had. He had put all of my worries to rest with one look, and despite him clearly wanting to rip Aro to shreds, was willing to let that go to ensure neither of us had to ever live without one another again.
Overcome with a sudden inferno of joy and newfound energy that now coursed through my body, I snapped back to reality in an instant. Although my earlier ordeal was still fresh in my mind, I felt one hundred times better knowing I did not have to face it alone.
I know not for how long we stood there, but not even our four guards dared to interrupt our moment of sentimental intimacy.
"Luíseach, you're…" Caius began in a whisper.
"I'm what?" I snorted.
"A goddess," he breathed. I burst out laughing, unable to contain the first raw positive emotions I'd experienced in weeks.
"I was thinking the same about you too," I giggled, enjoying seeing him smile; a sight that had always been so rare.
He ran his hand through my hair that was still damp from my hour-long bath. But as he guided my lips towards his, we were interrupted by Jane's shrill voice.
"Stop right there, that's far enough, master," she said.
"Jane, it's just a kiss, they're allowed to do that, even if it is weird to watch," Demetri replied.
"But we're meant to be making sure that Master Aro will be the father, genius," she sneered.
"You've been alive how long and you still don't know where babies come from?" Felix laughed.
"Why would I be interested in a disgusting thing like that?" Jane replied loathsomely.
Our moment of privacy disturbed, I remembered once again that we had company and I hid my face in embarrassment, well aware that I would be blushing had I been a human.
"Did you have a chance to eat yet, kardiá mou?" Caius said, gently caressing my cheek.
"No, not yet," I replied, losing myself within his eyes again.
"You need to keep your strength up," he said sternly, "where's Corin got to, I thought she was meant to be your guard?"
"Athy got rid of her. I'm afraid that she's taken this worse than me," I sighed worriedly, hoping that she wouldn't end up as collateral damage.
"She'll come around in the end when she's calmed down if she's anything like me," he said. "But please, just talk to us if it gets too much - you shouldn't have to worry about this. Go and have someone to drink and then we'll take it from there. Together."
I smiled once more, wrapping my arms around his waist, content for now. I was happy to put aside my grudge against Aro for the time being. Besides, if there was even a glimmer of suspicion that we were conspiring against him, we'd be literal toast.
Taking the moonlit path to find Corin and my dinner, the weight of my guilt was considerably less. I couldn't believe that just minutes earlier, I had thought I'd never see eye to eye with Caius again. But in a way, his reaction proved that I had done the right thing. My selfish need to keep Caius alive in this cruel world was worth sacrificing my integrity.
The one thing that worried me was how rational Caius seemed. He was obviously trying to put on a front to make me feel better, which had worked. But I had a suspicion that he would be searching for a way of getting revenge and maintaining his seat of power, and I couldn't blame him.
Caius's warning about psychological warfare got me thinking too about exactly what power my future baby would have. No doubt it would be something extremely tactical to justify Aro's tenacity in obtaining it. But there's no way one child could have a gift so powerful...
「でも、何で連絡してはいけないか？母親のことをすごく心配してるんだよね！」(But why aren't I allowed to contact her? I'm really worried about my mum!). Oharu's voice snapped me out of my speculation. I had been vaguely aware of her and Alec's presence in a nearby room, but had not expected the sudden change of tone to their conversation.
I decided to eavesdrop on their dispute. I wondered how many families had been torn apart to fuel the Volturi's ambitions as of late.
"Oharu, if it were my choice, I'd take you to Japan to go and visit her in person. But we're not allowed to get mixed up in the law."
「だから、死なせるべきだって？」(So you're saying I should let her die?).
I couldn't bring myself to hear any more. I could only imagine the sorrow that Oharu's mother must be feeling. Athy was capable of fending for herself, but even the thought of not knowing where she was made me anxious.
I wondered whether I should ask Caius to let the girl at least send her a letter, as a favour from one mother to another. It would be a while before Oharu would be able to control herself in the presence of a human, so it would do less harm than the two of them running away.
Deciding that I wasn't particularly thirsty right now and that this should take priority, I turned on my heels to head back to Caius, but an arm seized me by the neck, a hand covering my mouth.
"Make one move and I'll rip your head off," Sulpicia hissed into my ear. I froze on the spot. She must have found out about the contract. So much for her 'understanding the difference between duty and indulgence'.
"Is it true?" she whispered, tightening her chokehold and taking her hand away from my mouth so I could answer.
"Yes," I choked. Taking advantage of her moment of weakness as I confirmed her husband's infidelity, I kicked her square in the shins, dropping to my knees and using the momentum to flip her over my shoulder, grabbing her around the neck as her arm loosened from around mine.
Pushing my knee into the small of her back, pinning her to the ground, I pulled her head up and grabbed her wrists so she could not move, thankful for one of the first times in my life that I'd gone through Caius's training regime.
"I th-thought w-we were f-f-friends," she stuttered.
"Sulia, I had no choice. Surely you know what he's like by now! Do you really think I wanted anything to do with your crusty-ass husband?!" I yelled at her.
"P-please, L-L-Luí-s-seach!"
Hearing a pitter-patter of footsteps approaching us, I loosened my grip, unaware until now of the tiny cracks had begun to appear on her neck. Sulpicia collapsed to the floor, clutching her throat. She really wasn't a fighter.
"What are you doing to my mama?" The frightened voice of Theo rang out from around the corner he was half hiding behind. In that moment, he looked at me, seeing the monster that I was.
I immediately jumped to my feet. Sulpicia didn't make another attempt to attack me, instead choosing to crawl towards her son, still coughing and spluttering.
"Don't worry about me Theo, you need to get back to bed," she stuttered.
"I'm not tired, mama," he pouted, "are you hurt?"
"Wha-..? No, no, no, il mio piccolo, I'm fine, Luíseach was just teaching me how to fight," she tittered, turning back to shoot a glare at me as she picked Theo up to take him back to bed.
I was just as taken aback by Theodotis's sudden change in sentiment towards Sulpicia as she was.
"Maybe you should ask Aro to explain that move to you, Sulia, I'm sure he'll be able to shed some light," I said coldly, hoping my very rusty combat skills had been enough to put her off trying to off me again.
She huffed, turning her nose up and disappeared back into the darkness. I rubbed my own neck, trying to shake off my returning anger. Maybe grabbing something to eat was the best thing to do.
Cursing Aro under my breath for his incapability of communication, I sped off to the dungeons for the second time tonight, reminding myself to add this incident to the list of things to bitch to Caius about later.
Turning the door handle, I came upon an unexpected scene.
Marcus and Jojo were huddled around the refrigerator which contained the blood bags used to feed Zala and Theodotis. Jojo wore an expression of deep concentration as she drank from one of the containers.
"How is it?" Marcus asked, a hint of concern decorating his usually monotonous voice.
"Much better, who would've guessed it was blood I was craving..." the human answered.
The most hopeless situations are the ones that teach us who our true allies are. As fate would have it, Luíseach is not the only one in this predicament, but will this be enough to satiate Aro's greed? Thanks for reading, the next chapter will be up next weekend as usual. Please feel free to leave a review if you want.