The past week had been difficult for the raven-haired vampire. Aro had locked himself in his study throughout the week. It was her powers that kept him thinking, the irony of such an offensive weapon.
"I never knew Nikolai's powers had lasting effects. I thought his powers would just be temporary in order to disarm an opponent." Marcus softly remarks.
"Was the black cloak necessary, Aro?" Caius questions. "Without her powers, Jane is at disposal already. If it weren't for her powers, she is good as nothing."
Aro ignored his fellow king's words. The raven-haired vampire knew how hard the situation had turned out. In exchange for Jane's abilities, it took away such qualities of a normal vampire. The usual abilities like supernatural strength, speed, and regenerative healing.
It was all gone for the young blonde. Nikolai had taken it all from her.
He kept her in such a high position for a reason, was it to protect her? Isn't giving her such an important role dangerous enough? Was to stand a few steps away from him was dangerous enough?
Aro did not know.
"We cannot turn back the hands of time, brother," Aro said as his gaze diverted to the questioning blond. "All we can do is just move forward. Doesn't it excite you how powerful Jane and Alec are? With their help, the Volturi will be invincible. We are the ones in power now."
"But great power comes with a much greater responsibility..." Marcus said with a low voice. His gaze traveled from the book that he was holding to Aro's red eyes. "It is not about the terror that shall be enforced with the twin's powers. The Volturi are the foundation of our peace and civilization. I hope it will be kept that way, Aro..."
"Of course, brother." Aro simply brushes it off with a wave of his hand. The three kings went back to their individual tasks and the raven-haired vampire was left alone with his thoughts once more. The raven-haired vampire knew it in himself that he already lost his focus.
He managed to keep her upright after she had lost consciousness. The raven-haired vampire figured out that it was due to her powers manifesting. He placed his arms underneath her knees and carried her in his arms. The Volturi king brushed back the stray hair that fell from her face.
It has been a while since he saw her eyes closed peacefully.
The angel in his arms was too precious for the horrors of the supernatural world. Aro knew it in himself that she had been through enough. The moon would be the witness to her struggles and silent pleas. The Volturi king would avenge her, no doubt.
For such a vile man to lay claim on a precious angel. His angel. Those who harmed the blonde would suffer at the Volturi's hands. Aro would be the one to exact such revenge for the unconscious blonde in his arms.
He had read her thoughts and knew it was exactly Nikolai's doing. The raven-haired vampire only knew little of the Romanian leader's power. The Volturi had long believed that his powers were to incapacitate the opponent for a short period of time. Yet he was proven wrong.
Nikolai's powers served as a curse. The damage would remain permanent on his opponent. Jane had to suffer that due to his foolish decisions after all. The raven-haired vampire knew it in himself that it was his favoritism that made her a threat in the vampire world.
He knew that with how he values her, they would use her as bait.
"The predator, Master..." Demetri said as he brought Nikolai by the collar. The guards stepped forward to dispose of him but Aro stopped them. One look by their master, the guards knew that he would be the one to exact death upon Nikolai.
Aro gently transferred an unconscious Jane to Marcus' care. Marcus knew exactly that his brother-in-law was simply there for revenge. He could only chuckle at how their bonds kept on tightening after all. He shifted his gaze to the blonde who was still peacefully unconscious as he gently propped her to the tree.
"It's been quite a while, Nikolai," Aro said with a tone of poisoned sweetness. Demetri and Felix stood close in order to aid their master. Aro had no plans of other persons to help him dispose of such a vile creature. The two guards backed away from their master and the enemy.
"It's such a pity she was changed young. Imagine sleeping with a child's body." Nikolai met the Volturi king's gaze. "Who would know that she would be the key to your downfall?" he taunts.
Aro chuckles darkly at the enemy's brash attitude. The Volturi king fought the urge to finish the Romanian swiftly but he stopped himself. Granting him death easily was not to exact revenge for harming one of the Volturi.
"How about you who preyed on the innocent? Who is the vile creature now?" Aro speaks in a low voice against his enemy. Nikolai just laughs, and it absolutely infuriated the raven-haired vampire.
"Since when did one Aro Volturi care about the others? Let alone the fate of one hapless girl?" Nikolai asks again. "It is no secret that the Volturi is not here for peacekeeping. Ruling the vampire world means staying in power. Power is power, nothing is written between the lines. Power does not include justice, Aro. Power is revenge."
"Exactly." Aro grabbed ahold of the enemy's neck. He was here to exact revenge for what he did. Aro would make sure the predator would burn in hell. Remembering what Nikolai had said to the blonde vampire, the raven-haired leaned in and whispered:
"The devil would like to send his regards."
Those were his last words before exacting his revenge on his sworn enemy. The Volturi king ripped him apart piece by piece. Each time he did it, the raven-haired vampire's gaze would flicker to the unconscious angel that was too precious for him. Once the deed was done, Aro turned to one of his brothers:
"I hope you are ready for a rampage, Caius. I'm certainly in the mood for one."
Caius just snorts before answering his brother's question. He could not disagree with such an offer that came once in a blue moon. His raven-haired brother was always controlled but Caius saw that rage was still seething in Aro's eyes.
"Finally, I've been waiting for an eternity to eradicate those scumbags. Took you too long to ask? You know me so well, brother. You do not have to ask, Aro."
The guards groaned. It was going to be a long night.
The burly vampire had come across her in the gardens. Jane had now the dark cloak over her head. Felix knew that something changed after they retrieved her from the Romanians even if the Masters and the Wives said nothing. He knew it in himself that something changed for the young blonde even if she did not admit it out loud.
Felix had been with her so long that he simply knew.
"Hey..." Felix simply began.
She turned around slowly. The burly vampire could have sworn she had looked much more menacing than usual. The guards were already afraid of her powers after they witnessed the spectacle she had made in the battle. Don't even get him started with Alec.
Her twin began cutting off their senses in a rampage. Alec had tortured and killed every Romanian he happened to come across. If it was not for Marcus to restrain him, Alec would have killed Stefan and Vladimir.
The Volturi had left two of the Romanians. It was because Marcus simply told his fellow kings and the two begrudgingly agreed. Felix pulled himself out of his thoughts and found the blonde to be staring at him. Jane wore a reserved expression on her face and gone was the carefree aura when he set his sight on her.
"Is there anything you need, Felix?" Her voice rang as clear as a bell. Her voice was filled with cold apathy and he could see through her facade.
"Are you okay?" he asks in concern.
He was not the one to deny that he was really worried about her. The burly vampire was worried that she'd rather live through it after all. He was not used to seeing her like this. Or was it the fact that she would rather try to pretend everything was okay?
"Yes," Jane said with no emotion leaking from her tone.
Liar! He knew she was lying. Felix chose to divert the subject away instead. Staying quiet would do something for such a while. The burly vampire knew she would talk when she felt comfortable.
That was how she used to be...
"I was just sent to fetch you. Aro has called for the guards in the throne room. It's about the ranks of the guards I guess. There must be some sort of changes,"
Jane looked down at her shoes and tried to stomp the dirt off them. She hoped that she would remain inconspicuous to the burly vampire next to her as they made their way down to the throne room. She was wrong, Felix had been watching her every move with such caution.
The guards parted ways when she came in sight. They backed away from her knowing how dangerous she could be. It drove her crazy knowing how fast the tables have turned? One minute they treated her with such animosity yet she stood victorious now?
Little Jane had grown to be their worst nightmare indeed.
Once she arrived at the throne room, Jane resumed her place standing next to her brother. She had no idea what was to transpire in this meeting. The blonde vampire did have a clue that it might have to do with something with the ranking of the guards.
"Throughout the centuries, the ranks of the Volturi guards were untouched. It remained such in a way that you are divided into two." Aro's gaze flickered towards the guards as he stood up. "The guard is divided into the Junior and Senior Guards until now..."
His gaze fixates on the new members of the guard. The twins were to be the front runner of the Volturi. Their powers are used to enforce the laws upon the vampires living in the world. Their positions would change the entire position of the guards.
Jane and Alec would pave the way for the Volturi to be untouchable.
"I would like to introduce a new group of guards. They will be in a much higher position than the senior guards. They would be called the Elite Guard," Aro's voice echoes throughout the room. The guards listened intently to what he was saying. What he could say next may change the fate of their lives.
"The elite guard would be a group of individuals with the most prized talents. With their powerful capabilities and they serve as subordinates of the coven. Each member is given assignments fitting to their useful qualities."
The raven-haired vampire's gaze drifts on the darkest of the Volturi cloaks. He briefly met Jane's gaze and smiled fondly. The blonde had no inkling about what was to happen next. All Jane did was nod gently in affirmation.
"The Elite Guard will serve its purpose. The new head of guard will be chosen amongst the ranks of the Elite guard..." Aro trailed off as he knew he kept the guards on their toes. They had been slacking for a while prior to the eradication of the Romanians. The Volturi need something trustworthy in order to keep them all in place hence the idea of the elite guard was enacted.
The elite guard will be desolate and downright dangerous in the future.
"As of now, there will be four members that will join the prestigious group. I shall not keep you waiting since you all look so nervous already," he manages to chuckle lightly but no one found his humor acceptable in their tensed-up state. "From the senior guards, Demetri and Felix will be bidding farewell to their former rank. Jane and Alec will resume their respective positions, with Jane heading the guard as Alec will be her second-in-command."
The sound of silence echoed inside the throne room. The twins had an element of surprise on their faces. Jane's shock can be seen from the cold facade underneath her hood. It was not that she doubted her master's decisions but the blond vampire found that the responsibility was too much for herself.
Alec grasped her hand tightly as she shared an uncertain glance with him. Her twin also felt the pressure that was brought upon the two of them. The stakes are high and they surely do not want to displease anyone.
"Now, it's time for the successor to finish off its predecessor. Come up here, my dear..." Aro's gaze diverted to Jane and she slowly walked towards him. There was apprehension to her demeanor but she manages to hide it from everyone else except for her master's watchful eyes.
"When we found someone useful..." Aro trailed off as his stoic face changed into an amused one. "What do we do, my dear?" he gently asks her but power radiated from his tone. Jane's lips slowly upturned into a smirk as she realized what was he implying.
The traitor shall meet her end and will be set as an example to all. Loyalty shall be proven at all costs.
Aro's gaze slowly drifts to the traitor who remained hidden in the crowd. He had let her atrocity slide in order to teach everyone a lesson. Alegria had gone back to the Volturi thinking she was to be safe. She thought that such crime would remain hidden if she remained in the den of lions.
Yet she walked herself straight into a trap. The raven-haired vampire could only laugh in her foolishness. A poor soul indeed, yet it made him laugh.
"We get rid of something old, Master." Jane's reply was quite soft yet there was something sinister in her eyes. Her childlike beauty would be the downfall of their enemies, the raven-haired vampire already knew that.
He would discuss further matters with her after the spectacle that was about to commence. Aro had given her the opportunity to take revenge against her foe. Aro's gaze locked into the former head of guard, the traitor in disguise.
Women were so dangerous indeed.
"Alegria, come up here..." Aro's lips upturned into a grin as he practically smells the fear that was radiating off from the traitor.
Alegria trudged dangerously towards the Volturi king with such apprehension. The two heads of guards faced each other. The new and the old stared into each other's eyes intently. Aro sat on his throne as the spectacle was about to commence.
"You do have the opportunity to decline, don't you?" Alegria said as she cocked her head to the side but did not break her eye contact with the blonde vampire.
Jane unconsciously let out a snicker. Alegria involuntarily flinched, surprised at how the blonde reacted to her statement. The traitor might have expected that she would be a mess after what happened.
The blonde vampire took slow steps forward, heels clicking across the ground until she was right in front of the traitor. The consequences of her downfall are vividly shown as all the traitor's traces of her neat, egocentric self is nowhere to be seen.
"Poor fool..." Jane reached out her hand, gently stroking Alegria's cheek. "You should've just killed me when you had your chance. Instead, you left loose strings due to your hypocritical sympathy. Did you seriously think I would just keep quiet after what you did, huh?"
Jane just giggles dangerously at the former head of the guard. The members present realized how lethal the little blonde they used to pick on before. They never realized such an angelic soul could succumb to the darkness.
That was the problem itself, they underestimated her too much.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you... yet," Jane regained her composure and smiled, coldly looking at the traitor. "I'll even give you a show to remember. Remember how you were the one to light up the stake two weeks ago?"
Alegria looked at the blonde vampire with confusion before realization had set in. She scrambled to get up and screamed, "Stop! No!"
Just as Alegria exclaimed, invisible fire ran through her body. She shook in reaction to the magnitude of the blonde's illusions of pain. All Jane can see is red flames blazing, destroying Alegria's most prized essence, built with the filthy backstabbing Alegria had committed.
Jane looks like she was done dealing with the traitor. She started walking past her, humming in a cheerful mood.
"You little witch! The masters would not allow this. Master, I beg you! I am innocent."
Jane waved away the despicable attempts of Alegria pleading her innocence, not even giving a single crap about it. Aro himself knows the knowledge of the traitor the former head of guard was. If jealously was not Alegria's main forte, she would not experience the wrath of the blonde vampire she called a witch.
"How does it feel, to be in the other end?" Jane mirrors the words Alegria had once uttered to her. Deja vu it is, yet Jane was the one smiling at her. It is her smiling face that Alegria saw once Jane retrieved the torch from her twin. Aro just watched everything unfold with glee.
She had disposed of her foe in one swift motion. Fire radiated from the torch and transferred to Alegria's body. The traitor was burned alive and shall be forever a lesson to all. The blonde stood in triumph.
Now, Jane has been dragged down to hell together with her. Both of them would burn under the illusions of pain she would inflict on each of her victims. It was worth it, regardless. She faced the guards with such an alluring yet dangerous gaze.
"Remain loyal or you all shall end up like her. I do not give second chances in the Volturi guard."