According to dear Corin, it was a common misconception that the wives were trapped in the tower. And oh, perhaps at first, when poor Didyme had died, Marcus had deteriorated, and Aro had been at his wits' end there had been a little more insistence than was appropriate that Sulpicia and Thena stop taking trips to the night market and sequester themselves in a defensible location.
That was then, but the millennia had passed and eventually, shock of Didyme's death faded and the urgence with it.
When Aro had found little Renata, he'd even noted that remaining in the tower was no longer as required. Should Sulpicia or Athenadora wish to leave, then they merely had to check for Renata's availability.
Keyword being "wish".
The truth was that Sulpicia and Thena liked their tower. It was the one place in the entire castle that they could decorate to their liking (Aro, of course, had claimed the rest of it for himself). It was a comfortable place, with the furniture they liked, the lighting they enjoyed, and good company and cheer.
And Corin.
Must not forget Corin.
And so it was that they only on rare occasions (namely, feeding, unless they could get Aro to bring the humans to them) left that tower.
Until today.
Aro had burst in, his second invasion in such short time, wringing his hands and his eyes wide and despairing.
Corin had immediately stopped, and Sulpicia, Thena, and Caius had each sat up, feeling disgruntled.
"Marcus did something terrible!" Aro complained, and without further ado flung himself down to sit next to Corin. "Please," he said, holding his two fingers close together to signify "I'd like a little Corin, please."
Corin dutifully placed a hand on his arm and concentrated her influence on Aro alone.
Aro's brow smoothed out, his fluttering hands settled down in his lap, and he took a deep breath. "Thank you, Corin," he said.
Corin smiled, and moved to remove her hand, only for Aro to frantically shake his head at her.
Sulpicia vaguely wondered if she should be concerned. Of course, in a true crisis, Aro never indulged in Corin. On the other hand, an emotional crisis, well, those became messy. First, there had been when they had first found Corin and she'd failed to bring Marcus cheer. Aro had been in the tower for days after that. Most recently, Sulpicia believed, was when dear Carlisle had left and Aro had failed to stop him.
If Aro was here then it meant an emotional hurricane had just hit. It was left for Sulpicia to discover whether or not this was going to affect her.
Then, looking at the other occupants at the room, Aro stated evenly, though still with a trace of displeasure, "Marcus and Bella had sex. Again."
Caius hooted. "Attaboy!" he crowed, and clapped his hands together. "Marcus, Marcus Marcus. Who knew he had it in him!"
"Corin," Aro said in a strained voice.
Corin closed her eyes in concentration.
"He also blew up Carlisle's marriage. He's out of control. But that's my problem, and thank you, Corin, for helping me keep it together."
Aro had always tended to get remarkably honest once he was under Corin's influence. Honest, and chatty.
It was quite unlike how he'd been whenever dear Didyme used her gift on him, though. With her, it'd always been this remarkable effect of each of them making the other more cheerful, and they'd beam with some internal joke known only to siblings.
It had been odd, in the years after her passing, to see Aro's infectious cheer without her also standing there, spreading it to those around. Aro had not been made incomplete the way Marcus was no longer a complete person, but there had been something missing all the same.
Sulpicia had wondered, a few times, if Aro's particular brand of dauntless cheer wasn't some vestigial effect of Didyme, if he'd simply spent enough time around her that her gift was now conditioned into him, enthusiasm his natural state.
Caius, of course, was very pleased by the news.
He'd never come to like Carlisle, of course, Sulpicia had once pointed out to him that it wasn't so much Carlisle but Aro's affection for the man that Caius despised. Sulpicia supposed she could relate, after the first few years, when it was clear that Carlisle had become a fixture and he had not acknowledged Sulpicia as Aro's wife-Well, annoyance was a very tame word for what she'd felt towards the man. But then he'd made his way to the tower, proved himself perfectly charming, and Aro was reminded that sharing is caring.
However, then Caius' smile faded, "Dammit Marcus, if his marriage falls apart there'll be no getting rid of him!"
Aro was studiously ignoring Caius to focus on Corin.
"He had sex with her in the Roman baths. The women's bath, to be specific."
"Well, he's become quite the scoundrel, hasn't he?" Thena noted with raised eyebrows, she then glanced at Sulpicia, "I don't remember that, do you remember that?"
Sulpicia shook her head.
Granted, Sulpicia hadn't known Marcus, the original Marcus, quite as long as Thena had. In fact, she'd really only had a few years with the man, as Aro had only found her when the coven had settled in Etruscan territory.
Still, the original Marcus that she remembered had been distinctly sweet and polite, a gentleman Didyme would regularly gush over. Didyme, Sulpicia could say with certainty, would not have approved of violating the women's bath. Of course, she would never have stepped foot in the men's bath either.
Sulpicia wasn't sure what had changed Marcus now, after so much time, but she supposed the easiest conclusion to draw was that young Bella Swan had made him a reprobate.
"It feels like I don't even know him anymore," Aro said quietly, and inched closer to Corin.
"No one knows him anymore," Caius scoffed, "The man's risen from the dead after two thousand years. We could form a religion around him if he made enough furniture."
"Regardless," Aro said dreamily, as Corin's effect started working overtime, "I think… hm," he sighed happily.
Corin tuned down her effect, evidenced by Aro blinking rapidly.
"Clean the bath," he said.
They stared at him.
He sighed, and straightened from where he'd started to slump in his seat, doubtlessly headed for lying in an undignified heap on the floor. "Marcus and Bella's affair has to stay secret, and right now the bath smells like Marcus, Bella, and sex. It must be cleaned, but if I do it, there will be questions as to why my scent is in the women's bath. Ladies," he said, and wiggled away from Corin's hand for a second, seeming to think himself past the need for her only to seize her hand again, "You must go clean the bath."
"I'm sorry," Thena said, "I think I misheard you. Did you just say 'clean the baths'?"
"Oh, Aro, Corin can't be spared for that," Sulpicia added, "You know how we rely on her-company. I'm afraid you'll simply have to ask the other guard members."
So far as Sulpicia was aware, there were plenty of them to spare. One of them could easily take care of this.
Aro just gave them a look, one that spelled unfortunate things and made Sulpicia's stomach drop with dread, "My dear Sulpicia, remember, that there are very few among us who know of-Bella's condition. There is us, of course, Carlisle, Bella herself, and Renata. I just explained why I-why the men among our party-cannot do this. Who does that leave me?"
"Renata." Athenodora stated mercilessly.
Aro only shook his head. "Renata will help, of course, but she can't do it on her own and I won't ask her. The poor woman feels dreadfully upset and betrayed, Marcus and Bella snuck out from under her eyes."
"Good," Caius added, "Then that's her punishment for incompetence. Fail to keep Marcus leashed, you wipe up his mess."
Aro closed his eyes and shuddered, tightening his grip on Corin's hand. "That-Caius, she might rather face Jane."
The dropping feeling in Sulpicia's stomach turned into resignation.
She'd always liked Renata.
"I'll do it," she muttered in dejection.
"Sulpicia," Thena said, utterly aghast, "You cannot let this man walk all over you, he will never respect you again."
Aro lit up, and in an instant he was at her side, hugging her. Then, in just as fast an instant, he was back at Corin's side, clutching her hand. "Marcus… showed me. He grabbed my hand, and he showed me!" he whined in explanation. "And I have plenty of respect for Sulpicia."
Yes, Sulpicia imagined that would do it.
"What about the next time Marcus has sex with Bella?" Thena challenged.
Aro made an indignant, outraged sound at that, which came out sounding rather like a sneeze.
"There will be no next time," he insisted, "You have my word, on my honor, or at least on this throne I've sacrificed all my honor for-There will not be a next time."
Neither Thena nor Caius looked convinced. Sulpicia had to say that, if one were to keep count, then Aro had now failed two times out of two.
"Renata will not be fooled again, and Carlisle is furious like I've never seen him. He has made it his mission in life to make sure Marcus never gets laid again."
"Oh," Caius said dully, "Well if Carlisle Cullen is furious, by all means. That'll make Marcus quake in his boots in terror. Gods forbid we face the wrath of Carlisle Cullen."
"He stormed into the library and said "Where the fuck is Marcus?"" Aro replied, and supplied a rather apt impersonation of Carlisle's lovely voice.
"Truly, I shiver," Caius said.
"Well, where was Marcus?" Sulpicia inquired.
"In Bella's room, having carried her there after– god. I just can't believe him," Aro moaned.
"Well, that almost sounds romantic," Sulpicia said, this was far more reminiscent of how the man had appeared with Didyme.
"Sulpicia–" Aro began, but shook his head.
"Just clean the bath," he said miserably. "Renata has the supplies. And for god's sake, be careful with those tiles, they can't be replaced."
Then he left, or shuffled out more like it. Gone was his usual grace, replaced by the gait of a sad, sad, man whose brother keeps having sex with a human.
Sulpicia sighed, knowing she'd soon feel just as miserable. Humans weren't unpleasant smelling, quite the opposite, but the idea of washing away not simply her scent but-the sex was what really made this uncomfortable.
"Perhaps one of those new human inventions?" Sulpicia asked, "Don't they have those-oh what are they, air fresheners? And scented candles! I love candles."
Of course, given that Aro had already left the room, this was all rather pointless.
"Fuck," Thena muttered, and returned to her chamber.
Caius followed, muttering something about how he couldn't let Marcus take the lead in the eternal competition of who gets the most sex.
Of course, Caius had been winning that fight for so many years it wasn't funny anymore. But then, Aro had been the uncontested champion in the early years and then held the torch again when Carlisle visited, but in recent centuries Caius had reigned supreme.
Until Marcus suddenly sprinted past both of them, the unexpected yet apparently still running challenger.
Corin and Sulpicia looked away from the door Caius and Thena had disappeared through, and at each other.
"I am so very sorry, Corin," Sulpicia said.
Corin smiled. "It's fine. And with my gift we will have a lovely time scrubbing… scrubbing Marcus' sperm away from Aro's tiles."
Sulpicia hoped, for a moment, that would be the case. However, under Corin's influence-it generally became hard to do much of anything at all. Sulpicia would all too likely end up lying in a daze upon said tiles.
Sulpicia would have to do this one sober.
Or, worse.
If she knew Renata well, and she liked to think she did after all these centuries–
The woman was bound to be a mess.
Which would necessitate Corin.
Which meant there was a not non-existent chance that…
Sulpicia threw a quick, despairing look at the door Thena had gone through, contemplated for a second bursting through and begging for help, promising Marcus' firstborn in exchange.
But then, right on time, she heard the sounds of lovemaking ensue in there.
Sulpicia was going to be cleaning these baths alone.
Sulpicia had been right.
Renata clung to Corin's arm as they exited the bath, looking blissful.
Corin gave Renata a slightly bashful look. As well she should. Sulpicia adored Corin, but that very adoration meant that Corin knew she could get away with quite a few things.
Such as claiming the pool water would corrode her nail polish, as would other detergents, so she had to stand back and help by supervising.
The upside was, Sulpicia now knew how to clean an entire Roman bath all by herself.
For a moment, Sulpicia thought Renata might even join them in the tower for the night, but it seemed her sense of duty compelled her to return to Aro's side. Even if this meant potentially coming into contact with Marcus.
Which meant that Sulpicia and Corin were returning to the tower alone where Athenadora would, of course, be waiting for them after having had herself a lovely time in their absence.
At least, that had been the plan, however, it seemed the evening for odd happenings.
There was a woman waiting for them when they got back.
Sulpicia didn't recognize her. At first, she thought the woman must simply be very new, so new as to not have been at any meals where Sulpicia might have seen her. Then, she spotted the golden eyes, and realized that this must be one of Carlisle Cullen's brood that had accompanied him to Volterra.
Except, the woman looked as if she was in great need of Corin's assistance.
"Oh, my poor dear," Sulpicia said as she approached the woman, "Here, come with us to the tower, you'll feel better."
"Oh, you're Sulpicia, then?" The woman asked, her large, doe-like eyes getting somehow larger.
"Yes," Sulpicia said, utterly delighted with the recognition (it seemed Carlisle must have spoken well of her), "Forgive me, I don't know if you're the wife or the daughter."
This, apparently, made the woman even more upset. She broke eye contact with Sulpicia, and her lips quivered.
Oh dear.
Sulpicia made eye contact with Corin, who seemed to realize what needed to be done. Corin didn't deploy her gift (they had to make it up the stairs first), but she did put her arm around the woman and help guide her up the tower.
"Oh– oh, thank you, you're too kind," The woman muttered.
And then she started sobbing gently.
Corin threw Sulpicia an alarmed look.
Rather than stop in the tower's main room, where Caius, Sulpicia, and Athenadora usually settled, Sulpicia took them to her quarters. They were fortunate in that Thena appeared to still be busy with Caius. While Sulpicia loved them dearly they were not the most-tactful of friends.
"Don't mind them," Sulpicia told the woman gently when she flinched at the sound of Caius and Thena's vigorous actions.
"Oh, Caius, yes!" Thena exclaimed right on cue.
Sulpicia was starting to wonder if they shouldn't have taken this in the library instead. She'd already left the tower, might as well tour the palace. Then they could find Carlisle, and he could comfort his wife. Or daughter, Sulpicia still wasn't clear on which one it was. Definitely not mother, though.
Oh, but no, the library was such a dreadfully dull place, downright dreary. And here, at least, there were all of Sulpicia's favorite candles.
"Now," Sulpicia said as she closed the door behind the woman and Corin, "What seems to be troubling you?"
"I was actually hoping we could speak alone," the woman said quietly, throwing a look at Corin.
"Oh, Corin's practically a member of the family," Sulpicia said, before amending with an amused huff, "Well, she's part of the guard, Aro insists, but we simply couldn't get by without her."
But the woman stood firm. "Please. It's a private matter, and I came to speak with you alone. If– if you don't mind."
Corin glanced at Sulpicia. Sulpicia hesitated, on the one hand, she could see that the woman was very insistent. On the other hand, she suspected that the woman would soon need Corin's aid. Sulpicia certainly had been looking forward to it after her dreadful experience in the baths.
"How about we talk now, then Corin?" She offered gently.
And then they would make the conversation short, and everyone would be happily high.
So high they wouldn't mind the sounds coming from Thena's room. Sulpicia pitied Thena's furniture, she really did. It spoke volumes that Aro had given up entirely and bought her IKEA furniture, looking very passive-aggressive and pleased with himself as he did so, as if the bed titled "söva" had been the most devastating insult he could have inflicted upon them.
There was a particularly loud crash, wood splintering, as well as the sound of bell-like triumphant laughter.
Apparently, Caius was feeling truly threatened by Marcus' sexual reawakening.
And soon he would be competing with Aro and Carlisle too, so Sulpicia thought he was right to be getting a head start.
Corin offered Sulpicia a smile and a nod, her silent promise to be waiting in the other room for when Sulpicia needed her. Oh, bless Corin, she was simply wonderful.
She closed the door quietly behind her, leaving Sulpicia and the woman alone. Of course, Sulpicia realized with a small frown, in the other room Corin would be within hearing distance. But of course, Corin heard everything anyway, and she knew how to keep her secrets. Sulpicia decided that it was best not to point this out to the woman, who seemed not to have realized.
The woman's hands were clenching and unclenching, creasing the fabric of her skirt in her hands.
"I suppose," she said, her voice shaking, "That I should introduce myself first. I'm Carlisle's mate, his wife. My name is Esme"
"Oh, how lovely!" Sulpicia said. "You've been very lucky, then. Carlisle is so wonderful, I consider him a dear friend!"
The woman choked on her own words, shaking her head, and were she human then Sulpicia was sure there would be tears at this point.
"Look, I– I'm so sorry, but– there's something you need to know." She threw her eyes around the room, looking desperately for something, anything, that could help her calm herself.
Well, that something was just past the door, it was called Corin.
"About Carlisle?" Sulpicia asked with a frown, "Oh dear, I'm afraid you may want to consult with Aro. See, he's a very dear friend of mine, but-ah-Aro will certainly want to know if there's anything amiss with Carlisle."
She couldn't imagine if she were to find out something particularly awful before Aro himself did, he'd be dreadfully upset.
Apparently, though, her words only made it worse.
Quite unexpectedly, the woman reached out a hand to grab Sulpicia's. She snapped for breath several times, and her frame shook with sobs as she prepared herself to say whatever it was she was trying to say. "Aro cheated on you," she finally burst out, and her agonized eyes met Sulpicia's.
Sulpicia, at first, didn't quite understand. Oh, she heard the words, and she supposed on their own they formed a perfectly legitimate sentence, but it made no sense.
"How so?"
She tried to think of a way in which Aro could have cheated on her, but the only thing that came to mind was if another vampire with a gift like Corin's had come to Volterra, and Aro had said "Ha-ha! Well, I'm keeping Cornel all to myself!"
But no, Aro would have cracked within a week.
Sulpicia continued to ponder.
"He-When Carlisle was first here in Volterra-they-Marcus said they slept together," Esme said, not looking Sulpicia in the eye, as if she simply could not bear to.
Sulpicia simply stared.
She wondered if, perhaps, what Esme meant to say was that now that Carlisle had returned he and Aro were sleeping together. And Carlisle, of course, had not yet visited Sulpicia.
But it was perfectly obvious those two were sleeping together. Most likely, Aro hadn't felt the need to tell her, and frankly he didn't because, again, it was rather obvious.
And Carlisle would make his way up to the tower eventually, if he knew what was good for him. He seemed a bit busy, what with Marcus and Bella, so Sulpicia supposed she couldn't exactly fault him for it.
"Well, yes," Sulpicia said, not sure where Esme was headed with this.
Esme continued to sob for another second, before she processed what Sulpicia had said. She froze, her eyes widening as she turned to stare at Sulpicia in horror.
"You knew?" she breathed.
"Of course," Sulpicia said, still wondering where exactly this was heading.
"And you– they just– they didn't even bother to– oh my god. Oh my god, I'm so sorry. How it must have been for you!"
And then she started crying again.
"Oh, don't be, I had my fun with–" Sulpicia then had a sudden and very awkward realization. Now, of course, Sulpicia had been in the tower a long time. Aro was the one who kept up to date with the world and its changing cultures. Sulpicia was well aware of how her marriage with Aro worked, could contrast it to Athenadora and Caius' as she pleased, but there was a vague notion that things in the outside world were… different.
There was a reason, after all, that she had stopped taking new lovers, and it was because they by and large regarded sleeping with her as an insult to Aro, a triumph where she was not a person at all, but rather an object to use against her husband.
The only way to avoid this had turned out to be by sharing them with her husband. Sleeping with both of them seemed to do the trick, and ensure they were respectful to her husband, not to mention to her.
Then, of course, his steady stream of lovers had dwindled and finally come to a halt with Carlisle.
The point was that it seemed, in many partnerships, that there was a certain promise of fidelity involved that Aro and Sulpicia had never made to one another.
It seemed that Carlisle's marriage was the extreme opposite, and his wife had gone so far as to expect fidelity even before her marriage to the man. Before her birth, if what Sulpicia knew about her was correct.
Sulpicia wasn't sure if she should be impressed or she should point out that the man had not been a vestal virgin. Except, of course, she now remembered he had told her that he had been a temple priest in his human life. And Aro had complained about the difficulties he had getting Carlisle to give up his virginity, at one point he even worried he wouldn't be successful at all.
Sulpicia decided that the safest course of action was to reassure the woman about Sulpicia's relationship with Aro, "It was no hardship, Aro takes his lovers, and it is no secret from me. I was perfectly aware of his relationship with dear Carlisle."
Esme's eyes widened even further. "You let him treat you that way?" she whispered. "But you've been married for–"
Sulpicia took both of Esme's hands, and smiled at her. "We've been married for several thousand years, and we've always been honest with each other. I'm very glad to have Aro for a husband, I assure you."
Of course, Aro had just made her clean the baths. However, given the circumstances, she supposed she couldn't blame him any more than she could Marcus. Well, she could blame Marcus, she should.
Then, "And he allows me to take lovers as I choose."
Though it was probably best not to mention that Sulpicia, too, had ridden Esme's stallion of a husband.
Esme looked utterly appalled by this notion. Her golden eyes were wide, her lips parted in an 'oh' of surprise, and there wasn't a sound out of her as she stared at Sulpicia.
"It's okay," Sulpicia reassured her, squeezing her hands again. "It's a wonderful arrangement that has served us well. Not a lot of marriages last for two thousand years, but ours has."
This seemed to be what finally broke the woman. She placed her head into her hands and let out a wretched cry, one so loud that Athenadora and Caius probably heard it.
"Esme?" Sulpicia asked, and, after a moment's hesitation, placed a hand on her shoulder.
"What am I supposed to do?!" Esme asked, though it felt more a cry to the gods than to Sulpicia in particular.
Again, Sulpicia felt she could point out that it was before whatever promise Carlisle had made to this woman had occurred. Except, of course, that Carlisle had since returned and-well-Aro hadn't needed to point out what those two were doing.
Though she supposed Carlisle had made that odd statement of having a wife when he'd visited the tower the other day. Sulpicia hadn't paid it much mind, figuring the man was being oddly bashful (as he had in the initial stages of their relationship), but perhaps there'd been something to it.
She felt distinctly out of her depths.
Next to her, Esme's hopeless, wretched, sobs continued.
"Well, if you must know," Sulpicia said after a pause, "Then when your husband first came to Volterra, I was not-pleased."
That got Esme's attention. She paused for a second, parted her fingers to look at Sulpicia.
"Oh, he was very attractive, your husband, very lovely, but he was very clearly Aro's friend. Now, at first I paid this no mind, friends came and friends went. Carlisle though-he never went. Years passed, he stayed, and he'd only met me once or twice at that point."
"There came a point when I realized Aro now had this greatly important person in his life that… I wasn't sure if he was competition, that was the thing, because I had no idea what their relationship even was. Carlisle was more than just a lover."
"Oh, a lover is one thing," Sulpicia said, "But we are immortal and they are temporary distractions at best. Carlisle though, he concerned me, he concerned everyone."
Everyone, of course, having been Caius. Sulpicia couldn't quite remember when Caius had come to realize that Aro's latest beautiful lover was not a passing phase, a temporary distraction to be put up with, but instead a man who might very well be with them for a thousand years to come.
At some point though, they had all realized, even Marcus, that Carlisle had an air of permanence about him.
"I realized, after some time, that my husband had fallen in love."
Esme's hands fell away from her face, and she stared at Sulpicia in amazement.
Sulpicia chewed lightly on her lip as she searched for the next words.
"I felt… completely out of my depths. In all our years of marriage, Aro had been unchanging. He would take his lovers, have great fun with them, but he is a driven man, a man of ambition and purpose. He has a purpose in this life, a glorious purpose that he has pursued with a one-minded focus, refusing to yield no matter how impossible it seemed to others. The Volturi, the Law, becoming the Caesar of this world – that was his love in life."
Esme watched her quietly.
Sulpicia lowered her voice. "I tried to reassure myself that Aro had sought me out, he had made it a point to meet every woman in Rome and the nearby provinces, and of all the women in all the Roman world he chose me," she said, smiling still as she thought of it, "In every thought I'd ever had, he saw in me a woman he could marry."
She beamed at Esme. "How extraordinary isn't that?"
Esme smiled hesitantly back.
"But I was discomforted by Carlisle, and in the end I could bear it no longer. So I descended from my tower, and sought out Aro. And oh– it was so, so, obvious how in love he was, how they both were."
Esme let out another choked, horrible, sob.
Perhaps Sulpicia should try to speed this story up.
"I spoke with Aro, told him how I felt about this. And–" she smiled again. "We worked it out."
Truth be told, Sulpicia often wondered what, exactly, it was that Aro had said to his lover. The first time, well, Carlisle had looked anything but eager. Indeed, climbing into the tower he'd seemed like a man walking to his execution. Sulpicia's first instinct had been to offer him Corin's assistance, even though he was-well-who he was.
"I-I don't understand," Esme said, "You knew he was sleeping with-with a man, you knew that they were-in love. How could it work out?"
Sulpicia grabbed her hands again, pulled them into her lap. "I spoke with Aro, told him how I felt, how unsettling this all was for me, and he found the solution that I should take Carlisle as a lover as well."
Esme let out a cry that sounded rather like the squawking of a bird.
"I realize how this may sound to you," Sulpicia hurried to reassure her, "But it really did work things out for us."
"How?"
"Your husband turned out to be delightfully charming," Sulpicia said, "I quickly saw what it was that Aro himself saw in him, though of course, not quite to the same absurd degree. Aro's devotion is-well, the paintings speak for themselves."
Esme only stared at her, uncomprehending.
"A lover is not only someone who comes in, does the business, and leaves, but–" Sulpicia searched for the word, and found the English language woefully lacking. "Do you speak Arabic?"
"No…" Esme frowned.
"I'll teach it to you. What I meant was, Carlisle became a dear friend to me, as well as lover, and I was no longer the odd man out. That, and– well, I'm sure you know just how delightful he is in bed," Sulpicia said with a wink.
Esme squirmed.
Sulpicia noted with a distinct sense of pride that any pleasure Carlisle might have brought Esme, he had learned from Sulpicia. Well, and Aro, but women and men were different.
She smiled at Esme, cheered by that thought.
"And, of course, I will always be Aro's wife, I realized that I was by no means being replaced. I was simply, making a little room in my life for a perfectly charming-and rather attractive-man."
Sulpicia considered her next words, or rather, the advice it seemed she needed to give, "I suppose, Esme, I must be frank with you. If you fight against Aro, you will not win, you may have in fact already lost through no fault of your own."
Esme did not seem encouraged by this, which of course, was the point. There was no winning that fight, the man had been here less than a week and look at the madness the pair were embroiled in.
Carlisle may have left Volterra once but Sulpicia could hardly imagine that Aro would allow it to happen again.
"My marriage with Aro has lasted thousands of years, and while there are other examples you could look to, I'm afraid the ah-facets of Thena's relationship with Caius are already closed to you. If you wish to keep your husband, you must find a solution that embeds his lover into your own life. Such that there can be no separation between you."
Esme looked uncomprehending again.
"I'm not saying you have to sleep with Aro," Sulpicia mused, "but you should endeavor to become his friend. And, frankly, I would recommend it."
Esme let out a slow wheeze, as if she'd been punched.
"Oh, he's not nearly as intimidating as his reputation implies," Sulpicia dismissed, "The man may rule the world, but it's Caius who has the iron fist. Aro is a sweetheart, really."
The memory of Aro having run in not a few hours before, utterly distraught that Marcus had defiled the baths, came to mind. He was not a man who, in his personal life, inspired fear.
"Give him a chance," Sulpicia encouraged.
Esme was completely still.
"How about this?" Sulpicia mused, "What if I were to sleep with Carlisle again?"
Esme's head snapped up to stare at her, her eyes wide and despairing.
"I haven't yet, Carlisle's been-preoccupied by certain, inexplicable, matters, however it has been on my mind. I'm not saying it will lessen his devotion to Aro, however, it will distract him and certainly keep him from Aro's bed for at least a few nights."
And Carlisle sounded dreadfully upset, from what Aro had said earlier. He could probably cool his head and it seemed Esme wasn't in a mental state to help with that.
"It will?" Esme breathed.
"Yes," Sulpicia nodded. Then, with a wink, she ventured, "I won't let him go until I'm done with him."
"I-I don't see," Esme swallowed, forced herself to look Sulpicia in the eye, "I'm afraid I don't see how this will help matters."
"You fear he's too attached to Aro, yes?" Sulpicia asked.
"I don't know," Esme said miserably.
Sulpicia nodded. "Well," she said quietly. "It sounds to me like you have two options. One, you can try to maintain the illusion of monogamy, and be hopelessly unhappy. Two, you can embrace the new state of your marriage, and adapt. You and Carlisle will be happier and closer for it, I promise you."
"Or, of course," Sulpicia added when Esme said nothing, "You could lose your husband entirely and leave Volterra alone."
Esme considered this, biting her lip, "What would I tell the children?"
And then the most delightful thing happened.
Sulpicia rarely left the tower, rarely allowed Corin away at all, and as such, her mind was usually dulled. Even when it wasn't, though, it was rare that she did much in the way of strategic thinking. That, after all, was what she had her brilliant husband for.
But just now, all the pieces of information she'd gathered fell into place in the most satisfying way, and a path appeared before her.
Carlisle needed to get his children out of Volterra as soon as possible.
Bella and Aro had their respective plans, but to be quite honest, Sulpicia didn't have a lot of faith. Bella's seemed to rely on her being the most unpleasant creature on the planet, and from the little Sulpicia had seen of her the girl was very friendly. Had bizarre sexual taste, but it seemed Marcus appreciated that.
Aro, of course, didn't seem to have a plan at all. He just cried.
And those children really did need to go, or there would be dire consequences.
Sulpicia schooled her features into a somber, convincing look, and said to Esme, "I think you should get them out of the city. This is a private matter between husband and wife… and lover and lover's wife."
"Get them out of the city?" Esme asked, "Oh but, they won't just leave Carlisle here, and-oh, oh I couldn't tell them!"
"But they'll find out if they stay," Sulpicia pointed out. "Even if you don't sleep with Aro, they're bound to find out that Carlisle is. And that I am."
Esme nodded in despair, "I don't know why Alice hasn't called."
"The psychic?" Sulpicia frowned. Yes, Aro had fretted over that one.
To be frank, Sulpicia was rather surprised Aro hadn't tried to recruit her yet. She supposed, if Aro was playing the long game, he might try to secure Carlisle first and then draw in the rest of his coven-but this seemed needlessly complicated when Chelsea was on hand.
Sulpicia frowned. "I remember the oracles were never much good. Oh, they could give you a rough outline of the future, but there was so much room for interpretation that I found them to be rather pointless. They told me I'd marry a politician. Technically true, but… well, you could say I interpreted that incorrectly," Sulpicia giggled.
Yes, she'd had a horrible realization a few centuries in, when it dawned on her that she hadn't actually bested fate. Aro, of course, found this hilarious, and told her that he'd once been told that he'd have a battle that was little more than two crowds staring at each other over the fate of a child who should not exist.
Sulpicia had learned to have a healthy skepticism of oracles.
(Though, she supposed with the husband she had, she couldn't very well disown palm reading. Aro, unfortunately, did not find that joke as funny as she did, mostly because he'd heard it so many damn times.)
Esme shook her head, "Alice-I don't understand it myself, Edward knows her gift best, of course, but she sees the outcome of decisions. If we decide something, or consider the possibility, she sees what happens next."
Sulpicia blinked, "Well, she must see a great many things, then."
All sorts of improbable, ridiculous, things. Sulpicia could only imagine the futures that could occur over her mulling over many different possibilities. Or Aro, for that matter. It'd be impossible to tell if he was sleeping with Carlisle or not as he had to decide between that and fretting over Marcus.
The only prophecies that might, in fact, be of some worth were those concerning Marcus as the man never seemed to consider anything at all.
"Esme, with all the futures Alice must see, she will have no way of discerning the correct ones," Sulpicia pointed out gently. "And, frankly, what person would not fantasize about sleeping with your husband?" Sulpicia asked, "I imagine she's flooded with idle musings of making him a lover all the time."
Esme threw a look at Sulpicia. "And you suppose– Alice would find it plausible if I–" she ducked her head, unable to finish.
"Fantasized about Aro?" Sulpicia teased, and giggled at Esme's squirming.
She was really starting to like this woman.
"Well, you know her better than I," Sulpicia said, "But we are grown women and Aro is a rather attractive man in his own right. Perhaps you might come to prefer a raven to a dove."
Esme stared ahead, and Sulpicia could see in her eyes the cogs turning.
They sat like that for some time, evidenced by the shadows moving ever so slightly across the room.
In Thena's room, her and Caius had ceased their activities, and Sulpicia heard them reenter the main room. Distantly, it occurred to Sulpicia that it was best Caius not realize the advice Sulpicia had given.
Caius had not quite resigned himself to the inevitable, Carlisle's stay in Volterra. If Sulpicia were to engineer matters such that Carlisle's wife remained as well-
Finally, Esme nodded, a steel Sulpicia would not have expected from her building in her eyes. "I'll do it."