Bonds were such a fickle thing for Charmion.
The Volturi had been seeking her out for so many years. A guard was escorting her towards their master's private study. She had not met their masters yet Charmion knew someone was watching her in the shadows. It was always how it was when she was still a nomad. She glanced over every alcove and turns, she could not help but feel the feeling of being watched.
Charmion knew they were watching her every move.
She had spent the entirety of her newborn years as a nomad who travelled from place to place. She had a habit of playing with the human bonds. The guard who was escorting her was a dark-haired boy, judging by his cloak her escort seemed to be part of the Elite Guard she had heard about.
"You may go inside," he replies as they stop at the huge double oak doors. He was about to take his leave until the newcomer spoke.
"Thank you," Charmion smiles. "May i know your name? It might do me good to have someone i know,"
The dark-haired guard turned to her and nodded. She could have sworn that there was a ghost of a smile on his face.
"Alec. My name is Alec," he said as he motions to the door. "You do not want to keep Master Aro waiting."
The newcomer had stepped inside the raven-haired king's study. One side of the room was filled with floor to ceiling bookshelves that were filled with vast numbers of dusty books. A fireplace was lit at the other side of the room that illuminated the dark study of the raven-haired king. She sat down in one of the chairs that was in front of the fireplace.
She had watched the flames dancing until she heard the unmistakable creaking of the huge double doors. He was here.
A pair of Raven-like eyes peered from the door. The red eyes were eager to see the newcomer. The blood-red eyes were dark, penetrating, probing...and waiting. The ruby eyes were looking for her.
Charmion assumed it was Aro.
She had not been in direct negotiation with the Volturi kings but rather they had exchanged several letters. Charmion had not been directly associating herself in the Volturi but rather through Eleazar. It was the Spanish vampire who had told her of the true nature of her power. His affinity for sensing the powers of others certainly helped build the empire that the Volturi wanted.
He had warned her himself of the good and evil her power could contain. She heeded his warning, of course. The Spanish guard had told her to situate herself far away from the coven's clutches. Eleazar knew how dangerous the Volturi could be. The Volturi are the unofficial royalty of the vast vampire population. The blood-red ruby eyes yearn for power. In which she was aware she could play a significant role.
With her by their side, world domination would be the least of the Volturi's worries.
"Charmion," she stood up as he called her name. "How lovely of you to grace our presence. How long has it been? A century perhaps?"
The Volturi king treated the newcomer as if she was an old friend. The coven had been seeking her out since the Volturi has been establishing themselves. She had declined the invitation, of course, Charmion did not want to be in the center of political power. With the timely causes of the guard falling apart, she was not given an option to refuse.
"I know you already know the reason why i had you summoned." Aro began as he pulled something out of his desk drawer. It was a small box. The raven-haired king opened it and it revealed the Volturi crest. "Join the ranks, be the linchpin our success."
Silence engulfed the study as the newcomer eyed the necklace that was in the box. The ruby that was situated in the crest glimmered in the pale light of the study. The raven-haired king stood up and faced the brown-haired woman. His red eyes met hers.
"With such talented gifts of yours, do you realize how a threat you could be for other vampires? I can guarantee your safety here in the Volturi if you join the ranks of the guard."
Charmion could not deny that the raven-haired vampire was an eloquent speaker. She was well aware of the manipulations and strings he had pulled. His faux-hospitality was just an act after all, she knew that evil lurked beneath.
"You can have everything here. Power, security, and influence. One would kill to be in your position right now…" Aro trails off as he chuckles.
Yet Charmion knew underestimating the raven-haired king was a big mistake.
"I guess i had no reason to refuse?"
Charmion knew that her fate was sealed the moment she had walked inside the territory of Volterra. She exited the Volturi king's study as she navigated her way back to her quarters. Before she could leave the wing that was designated for the masters. She was roughly pulled into the alcove. All Charmion could see was a glimmer of silver hair.
"Don't you dare utter a word."
It was a voice of a woman.
The night before Athenodora's return:
She had stayed under her covers for several days. Sulpicia had isolated herself within the tower after the events of her sister-in-law's death. The raven-haired woman had not uttered any sound and was trapped in her own head. All she had was herself and her intrusive thoughts.
Her maroon eyes scanned her private chambers. It was dark and desolate with only the fireplace that illuminated her chambers. The atmosphere of the room did not help with her thoughts either.
Didyme's death was driving her to insanity.
All the things she said about her sister-in-law came back to get her. All those things she had fabricated to her husband. The dark and desolate room seemed more frightening than usual. Every shadow seemed to be like an enemy. Paranoia had seeped through the once elegant Volturi Wife.
"How can you sit here comfortably, sister-in-law?" Sulpicia spun around to see a ghostly apparition of Didyme sitting by her side. She was sporting a smirk in which sent chills down to the raven-haired woman's back. The Volturi wife shrieks in surprise to see the deceased.
"Sulpicia."
"No. Don't you dare get closer to me!" Sulpicia cries out in distress.
Didyme was possessing such eerie aura that Sulpicia did not want to witness.
"What's wrong?" Didyme asks as she stood up and walked closer to the Volturi wife who desperately wanted to get away with the ghosts of the past.
A distressed Sulpicia slowly backed away from the ghostly apparitions that were in her room. Without looking at where she was going, the Volturi wife fell on the floor. She had faced the walls of her chambers and covered her ears. Her sister-in-law continued walking towards her.
"That's right, dear sister-in-law." Didyme chuckles as she twirled her dark hair in her fingers. "Let the fear sink in as we both know..." The ghostly apparition leaned in and whispered in her ear.
"We both know, you'll be joining me soon."
With the cold breathe of Didyme breathing down her neck, the terror Sulpicia felt was sending chills down her spine. She had closed her eyes thinking it was just a nightmare. Yet it wasn't, every bit of Didyme seemed real.
"I did not do anything! Get lost!" She shrieks.
"Get a grip, Sulpicia!" Her sister-in-law's cold hands touched her back as she cowered near the walls. She had barely managed a scream before she spun around.
Didyme was nowhere in sight.
"Sulpicia!" It was Aro's raised voice who pulled her back to reality. She scanned her surroundings and saw that there was another woman behind her which was certainly not Athenodora. The fair-haired woman would not be back until the next day. He was shaking her shoulders in order to get her attention.
She had clung to her husband in despair.
"D-Didyme..."she whispered breathlessly.
"What are you talking about?" Her husband asks as he ran his hand in his hair. A habit he does when he was stressed. "Didyme? Are you seeing things?" He questions her.
"I definitely saw Didyme!" Sulpicia cries out. Her eyes remained downcast to the ground as she trembles in fear. "I'm frightened. I'm scared that i might go insane."
"My sister is already dead, Sulpicia." Aro hisses at his wife. "Quit playing this childish game of yours,"
"She was definitely here! She kept on telling me i would be next." The Volturi Wife cries out as she clung to her husband in absolute terror "Why do i have to be locked up here? I would feel much safer if i am by your side..." She reasons out as the raven-haired Volturi king sighed in defeat.
"We've already talked about this, Sulpicia." He attempted to rectify the situation.
"I do not get why Athenodora gets to go with Caius." She scoffs.
"It's only for one night," Aro shot back impatiently. He had enough of his wife's dramatic actions already. It already came to a point in which it might drive him to insanity. The raven-haired king did not want to put up with his wife's antics at this late hour.
"We both know that they only do that to keep up appearances. It's not as if they are madly in love with each other." Sulpicia said as she straightened up and attempted to regain her composure.
Athenodora and Caius's relationship was a well kept secret between the kings and their wives. The two seemed to have a whirlwind romance yet they knew that the blond king had certain troubles with their marriage as well. Sulpicia knew it herself that the fair-haired woman stayed for companionship. They had to keep up with appearance, of course.
"Sulpicia!" He hisses. "Watch your mouth."
"I cannot stand to be cooped up here! Do not treat me as your prisoner!" She whines and the Volturi king could only groan in frustration. He did not know if he married a woman or adopted a childish young woman. "You get to comfort that witch while i stay up here all alone!"
Aro spun around and faced his wife with a murderous glare.
"Quit your childish games, Sulpicia! If you are jealous at my head of guard, do i need to remind you who was the one i married?"
Silence engulfed her chambers as she came upon her realizations. Aro waited for his wife to calm down before he held out his hand for her to take.
"Come, there is someone i would like you to meet."
At the common room the wives shared was a young woman with a brown hair that fell on her back. The newcomer bowed upon seeing her master and mistress. Sulpicia's head cocked to the side as she assessed the newcomer that was presented before her.
"Darling, who is she?" She asks inquisitively.
"You kept on saying that you might feel lonely here in the tower. Corin would keep you and Athenodora company. She would act as your lady-in-waiting, darling." Aro said as he wrapped an arm around his wife but careful enough not to read her thoughts. He had enough of her childish theatrics in one day.
There was something in the newcomer that Sulpicia could not wrap her thoughts around. Within minutes of meeting Corin, she had immediately felt peace. Her mind that was once a raging storm was slowly shifting into a calm and tranquil sea. She had forgotten Didyme's apparitions the moment she had met the brown-haired woman.
Athenodora would like their new companion, Sulpicia thought.
"Corin?" Sulpicia asks once she was left alone with the newcomer. Her husband had excused himself and she did not actually mind. She did not need to feel his presence for Corin seemed to bring a calming atmosphere in the Wives Tower.
Whatever Corin was, she surely was a miracle.
"Yes madame?"
"Oh, nothing dear."
A ghost of a smile was on the raven-haired woman's face and it absolutely terrified the newcomer. Corin was hoping that her companion would not be as insane as Sulpicia. One was enough as two would be already too much for her to handle.
Charmion had only heard of stories of the female witch twin. She was told by the Masters that the blonde vampire was mourning. The dark-haired woman could not help but feel pity for the younger vampire. She expected the blonde to be a mess.
Jane seemed to be different from what they described of her.
Her blonde hair was loose around her back and her eyes were relaxed yet menace was lingering in it. The blonde vampire was wearing a black dress that fell to the floor. Charmion could have easily mistaken her of a higher class rather than being the leader of the Volturi guard.
"You must be Charmion, i suppose?" Her tone had a bell-like ring in it. The female witch twin's voice was soft and childlike, just as she envisioned.
"Yes." Charmion treaded lightly as she did not know what Jane wanted from her. It would be far too impossible for the reason to be scaring her off, Jane clearly was tired of the situation she was in. "Cut to the chase, Jane. If you are here to threaten me or even to scare me off: trust me it's not working."
'And besides you do look like an absolute mess.' Charmion told herself mentally as she scanned the blonde from head to toe.
"You can repair bonds, am i right?" Jane asks inquisitively.
Their gazes met, Charmion could have sworn she saw a slight vulnerability in the blonde vampire's eyes. Just as what the other's thought, Jane seemed so fragile after all. The dark-haired woman could not fathom how the young vampire could have been the head of the guard.
Or was it simply the situation then?
"Can you cut off ties?" The blonde vampire spat out.
Charmion was pulled out of her thoughts by the Jane's question. She had repaired several ties in the Volturi in order for them to function simultaneously. It was a lot of work after all, each member had their own secrets and dilemna to hide. Cutting off ties,however, was a different story. Charmion usually repaired ties and she steered clear of breaking them.
Cutting ties would pose several side effects which the dark-haired woman did not know to what extent it can apply.
"I need you to make me stop loving him." Jane simply says, her tone devoid of any emotion.
The blonde knew it in herself that she could not get rid of the feelings she harbored for her master. Turning to Charmion was a blow to her pride and her last resort. She would rid herself of the treacherous feelings she had in order to co-exist in this cruel world.
Desert your false self. Desert your false self. Desert your false self.
If she did not, Jane knew in herself that it would be the one to tear her apart. To remain apathetic while being forced to relive pain after pain. Ridding herself of such feelings can help her accept the fate she was handed. Jane would change. She would desert her false self in order to not be consumed by the sins she had committed. The same sins that Aro committed, had swallowed her whole too. By condoning herself to not tell the truth, she was guilty as he was.
Jane had always tried not to second-guess her choices. The blonde vampire knew that she had to do this, in order to silence her conscience. For she could move on in time with no pain to feel. In the end, she knows that the sins she committed will never let her go.
"Are you sure?" Charmion asked. "To break off your ties with him poses several risks. It can break you too, Jane."
The blonde had nothing to fear after all. Her sins already swallowed her and broke the old Jane. She had nothing to lose. Once a porcelain doll cracks, it will do nothing but break. Charmion sighed deeply yet abided by the blonde vampire's wishes. She proceeded to tear the bond between Jane and the raven-haired Volturi kings.
Bonds were like ropes that bound several persons together. It can be tightly coiled like a natural rope that use it as decorations yet it can also be as fine as a single piece of thread. Bonds can tug or even snap while she tried to mess with the bonds of several people. The bonds that Jane had with her master,however, seemed to look like several pieces of threads that could snap at any moment.
Charmion pulled at one end, causing the loose bonds to tighten as it formed a fragile surface that could snap at any moment. Breaking their bond would be easy for it is hanging on pieces of thread after all. The bonds snapped to her wishes yet it repaired itself.
She found herself unable to break their bonds. Which was something that she never encountered.
"It's done." Charmion said curtly. "I hope you knew the weight of your decisions. Once a bond is broken, it is never easy to fix."She lied to the blonde vampire smoothly.
As the blonde vampire left, Charmion sunk to her bed. The letters that one of the Volturi wives gave her was far too much to handle. Remembering the letter's instructions, she had tossed the letters she opened in the fireplace.
No one had to know what was the contents of the letter besides herself.
"Is she even going to attend, Alec?" Demetri asks once the guards gathered for their usual assembly. Alec could only shrug as his sister refused to see him for the past few days. Demetri's eyes met the burly vampire and Felix's actions showed that he had no idea as well.
The junior and senior guards shared the same sentiments. Jane had been the glue that once kept the tight knit of the Volturi guard. Without her presence, it certainly caused unrest between the guards. The feeling of unrest cannot be remedied by Charmion's powers as it was not out of loyalty.
"She can't keep on going like this. Jane needs it to get it together,"
"Shut your mouth, Demetri." Alec hisses. "She's grieving, just let her take her time."
"I appreciate your concern, Demetri." Jane's voice echoed around the room. The remaining elite guards spun around and saw the blonde vampire. Jane certainly looked much different than she used to. The mere presence of the female witch twin had the guards rushing to stay organized.
A smirk slowly tugged on the blonde's lips.
Her hair that was once loose on her back was tied into a low updo. Her once radiant face was replaced with a dark and haughty appearance. Her doll-like eyes that sparked innocence was now filled with scorn. Her choice of clothing seemed to be more darker than usual.
She changed. She definitely changed.
The way she walked was not her usual prancing around that she used to. Her stance was much more stealthier and sly. The way she carried herself was not like a lady like how the Wives taught her before. There was brashness in her movements yet somehow retained her elegance.
It was a mixture of beauty and deadliness at the same time.
The changes in the head of guard was sensed by every guard of the Volturi. If it was possible, they have grown much terrified of the female witch twin. Her deathly gaze clearly said that she was not to be messed with and there shall not be any fooling in her presence.
"Are you alright?" Felix asks quietly as he took her hand. He was suprised with Jane's cold nature as she let his hand go. The blonde vampire stared at him with her steel gaze.
"Later, Felix." Jane whispers quietly. "Let us establish our boundaries," she said as she resumed her place near Alec.
The guards had gathered in the throne room as recent events had called for tighter security. It was not only for the remaining Wives that were prisoners in their tower, rather for the whole castle as well. The guards expected changes in their work after Didyme's demise. The huge double doors opened as Aro and Caius entered the room. Charmion and Renata entered behind them as they took their places behind the king's thrones.
Jane's eyes darted towards the shield and could not help but feel a bit envious. She had once took pride when she was walk=ing behind the kings, specially the raven-haired vampire. She had stopped herself from indulging with such thoughts as her romantic ties with her master were already cut off.
Marcus was nowhere to be seen as they expected.
Jane had watched her dark-haired twin's eyes never leave the newcomer. She slowly steps back and leans closer to the burly vampire. Felix leans closer to her when he sensed she wanted to ask something.
"Since when did my brother became smitten with that newcomer?" She asks quietly as Felix suppressed a chuckle.
"If i did not know better, it seems that your brother has a crush on Charmion," he remarks. Alec spun around and faced the two with a serious expression. The unlikely pair shared a look before avoiding each other's gaze.
"I can hear you, you know?"he said annoyed as Jane resumed her place right next to her brother.
She had tuned out what the kings were saying as she was lost in her own thoughts. Jane was only brought back to reality when Alec was tugging her wrist signifying that the assembly was over. The blonde vampire pulled her hood over her head as Alec offered to escort her back to her chambers.
Aro intercepted them before they could leave the throne room.
"Jane, my dear. Could i have a word with you?" He asks.
Alec could only shrug as his sister obeyed their master without a word. The blonde vampire walked behind Aro and Renata who served as his bodyguard. The raven-haired vampire stopped in his tracks as he looked back to his head of guard.
"Stay right next to me," he commands as she reluctantly agrees.
They enter his study and he motions her to sit. The blonde vampire remained silent throughout their whole endeavor.
"Are you going to give me the silent treatment?" Aro asks the moment they were left alone. He could only grasp her hand as the blonde vampire refuses to speak with him. The blonde was mediating her emotions. There was so much left unsaid that if triggered could cause a ruckus. Her thoughts had overtaken his thoughts.
Desert your false self. Desert your false self. Desert your false self.
It kept on repeating in her thoughts as if it was her mantra. Her memories had surged within him. The Volturi king had seen her conversation with Charmion, asking her to cut off her ties with him. Witnessing what was inside her head was too much for the Volturi king as he dropped his grip on her.
"Tell me how i could help you, dear. Let's get you out of this mess," he said as he strokes her cheek.
"Do you really think i needed help?" Her wide eyes met his as her frown upturns into a smile. "I am certainly sane, Master. I just murdered the old Jane, she was too weak."
The blonde vampire burst out laughing. Her eerie laugh echoed inside the raven-haired vampire's quarters. He was aghast of how madness seemed to overtake the young blonde. He was already thinking how much damage had been caused.
"Janella!" He yelled her whole name as the blonde vampire was laughing uncontrollably. A look of terror could be seen from the raven-haired king. It terrified him to see the blonde vampire out of her usual controlled element. Aro stared at his head of guard in disbelief.
"What?!" Jane yells back angrily.
He was already dealing with a brooding Marcus. An insane head of guard would drive him to insanity as well.
The raven-haired king had gripped her shoulders and shook her roughly. He kept on convincing himself that in this way he could knock some sense in her. He was terrified for her welfare. She had gotten herself into a trance-like state that made him worry for the blonde vampire's sanity.
This was not the Jane that he had grown to cherish.
"Snap out of this, cara mia!" He begs her. "This is not you, Jane. You are becoming a monster!" He did not realize the words that flew out of his mouth. The once trance-like state Jane was in was broken when she slowly lifted her head. Who was the real monster? The murderer or the accomplice? Jane did not know.
"Just like you?" Jane retorts silently as her eyes met his.
Silence engulfed the study as he stared at her. Everything about his head of guard was different. Aro met the blonde vampire's eyes and he could only lament how her eyes would fill with happiness, yet it was replaced with the eyes of a souless individual. Everything about her seemed darker and dangerous, where did the old Jane go?
It died with his sister. How can grief change her this much?
"Her loyalty is already wavering, Aro. I hope you heeded my warning."
The Volturi king remembered what Marcus had told him a few moments before he met the guards for a meeting. The woman in front of him was unrecognizable. The only thing that ran inside his head was the simple question:
"What have you done?" Aro whispers in disbelief.
"What have you done?" Jane mimics. "I should be asking you the same question, Master."
AN:
This is one of the heaviest chapters i have to write. I thought i should do something special for my 17th birthday so i added the little scene between Jane and Aro in the last part. Definitely a rollercoaster of emotions. Don't forget to read and review.