Alec had been assigned to the Wives tower.
Unlike his sister, Alec was a usual visitor of the wives tower. If Jane had avoided the tower like a plague, he continued to go there as if it was his lifeline. The death of Didyme impacted them both differently. Jane chose to distance herself and relive every pain she felt. He had been open to emotion while his sister despises it. He merely chuckled as the bruent vampire knew emotions were part of them.
His sister trying to squash them was just plain silly.
Being assigned to the tower was nothing like a task to the young brunet.
"Madame?" He had knocked into Athenodora's study.
Alec did not know why the fair-haired woman had spent her days in the isolation of her study. He had seen it as a pattern as Athenodora refused to be in the same room with Sulpicia and Corin. He had found it odd as the fair-haired Volturi wife avoided her two companions like they were some sort of a plague.
"Just a moment!"
The male witch twin was left to his own thoughts while waiting for the fair-haired vampire. His mind led him to dwell on the past as he remembered a distinct memory of Marcus telling them that each wife had laid their claim on each of the twins. Jane had naturally been closer to Didyme for some reasons he did not know why. The guards had labelled her as Didyme's golden child as she and his sister were inseparable. In return, he had been closer to Athenodora as they shared their own common interests.
He chuckled to himself as several rumors had graced his memory. Alec had a reputation between the guards to be cold and aloof yet they did not know that he was capable of showing emotions as well. It was just due to the fact that he was not overly expressive like the others. Jane and Alec both show their emotions to the people they trust.
It was how it is.
"You had a habit of visiting Athenodora frequently..."
Alec had spun around and saw Sulpicia standing by the doorway of her chambers. The raven-haired Volturi wife had scanned him from head to toe. Alec was wary of his master's wife yet he could tolerate her enough. It was Jane who greatly despised Sulpicia the most. He could not blame his twin as he did not know if the raven-haired Volturi wife was insulting her on purpose or as an accident.
"It is out of gratitude, Mistress Sulpicia." Alec replies with a cool expression. "Madame Athenodora had been here for my twin sister and i ever since we joined the Volturi. It is a rite of gratitude perhaps..."
"Good for you. I thought that being in a high position of the guard had manifested pride and boastfulness in you. I'm glad you and your twin are not greedy enough..."
Alec bit back the urge to say something and defend themselves. He had resisted the urge to talk back as he did not want a fight breaking out. He did not know of what he was capable on doing if Sulpicia happened to push his buttons to the limit. To Sulpicia, Alec's silence was an act of cowardice for a man like him.
"I hope i did not keep you waiting, Alec." Athenodora chose to enter the scene at the very moment that Alec was fighting off the urge to say something in their defense. "I had to take care of certain matters inside my study. I tried to tidy off a bit since it had been so messy since i started painting."
He and Athenodora shared a look. Alec immediately understood that he reserve his anger and let the fair-haired woman talk. Besides, she could not get in trouble if she happened to insult a fellow wife. The male witch twin had left all the talking to Athenodora. Alec did not want to risk talking in front of the master's wife. He knew far too well how Sulpicia's influence affected their master.
"I'm afraid i do need to whisk my charge away as we have a lot to catch up on." Athenodora said as her arm draped around the brunet's shoulder in a protective stance. Jane had been right, they would have been Athenodora's children in all but blood. Athenodora turned to the raven-haired Volturi wife. "You do not mind, Sulpicia?"
It was a question Sulpicia could not even disagree on.
"N-Not at all..."she stammers.
He had followed Athenodora to her study. Once the doors were closed, Alec sighed in relief. He happened to control his urge to say something to the raven-haired woman in order to defend Jane. He had been immune to the insults thrown at him, however, anyone who attempts to badmouth his sister was a different situation.
Athenodora could only chuckle at her charge's reaction.
"No wonder Jane despises her so much. I can see the reason why." Alec grumbles. "How do you live with her?"
His eyes traveled to the unfinished masterpiece that Athenodora had been working on. She and her husband both enjoyed the art of paintings and seemed to be a master at the craft. Alec stood up and admired the painting. It was one of the balls that the Volturi had vividly remembered the masquerade ball that the Volturi held.
Jane had been abducted right after the masquerade ball.
"Is that Master Aro and my sister?" Alec inquiresd as he peered closer to see the details of the painting. He
"They would have been a fine couple." Athenodora comments.
"Pardon?"Alec attempted to know nothing. He was trying to hide the fact that his twin sister harbored feelings for their master. With Sulpicia in close proximity, he was not going to risk it. He attempted to look clueless at what Athenodora had been implying. The fair-haired woman was not convinced.
"Oh do not play coy with me, Alec. I know about it." Athenodora reveals. "If you and Jane were not changed at a young age then, maybe things might have turned out differently."
Alec's eyes widened at what Athenodora had told him. He stood in silence as he admired the details of the painting. He could see how happy his sister looked in the painting.
"Alec?"
"Yes, Madame?"
"Can i ask you for a favor?"
"The coast is clear, Madame Athenodora..."
Athenodora stepped out of her hiding spot as she faced her dark-haired charge. Alec looked a bit apprehensive with the fair haired woman's sudden request. The brunet vampire had given into her in order to give her what she wanted. Alec could not deny that he had a soft spot for the woman who raised him and his twin sister.
"Be careful, Madame..." Alec reminds her, yet Athenodora could only sigh in response. "They do not know that you went out without any guards. If they happen to catch you out there, i might get into deep trouble."
Athenodora placed a comforting hand on the brunet's shoulder. Uncertainty could be seen from the eyes of the second-in-command of the Volturi guard. The fair haired woman understood where Alec was coming from. She knew it in herself that her brunet charge had his own duties to fulfill.
And that was to guard the wives.
"I never failed you, dear..." Athenodora assures him with a smile. "Do you trust me, Alec?"
Alec had watched her slowly walk away unnoticed. He had sent a silent plea to the deities that the fair-haired Volturi wife shall not be caught. If ever the guards found out she had been let out unsupervised, it would be his downfall as well. The male witch twin did not want to face the wrath of the blond king either.
Athenodora remained disguised as she went out of the tower unnoticed. She had treaded the path to her husband's quarters. The fair-haired woman had tugged her hood closer to her head in order to have her identity hidden. She merely wanted to see her husband in order to spend time with him.
She had opened the door to his chambers yet she had found it empty.
"Madame?" The guard's brows rose to see the fair-haired woman. He had scanned their surroundings to see if she was with anyone yet he found her to be all alone.
"Where is my husband?" Athenodora asks in a commanding yet inquisitive tone.
"Master Caius stepped out a while ago." A junior guard reports. "He was on his way towards the tower. You should not be here, Madame Athenodora."
Athenodora paled and dashed back towards the direction of the tower. She had hoped that she would get there before Caius does. She did not want to face his wrath either as she knew far too well that Alec was the one who will get in deep trouble. She had sworn to protect the twins and she would do everything to keep her promise to Didyme.
"If i'm gone. Promise me you'll take care of the twins." Didyme said once she had been left alone with Athenodora.
"What are you talking about?" Athenodora asks. "I think the two of them are well protected by Aro, Caius and Marcus."
Didyme looked at her with a pained expression. Athenodora could not understand why her sister was speaking at her in a cryptic tone. She had put down her embroidery as the fair-haired woman became more attentive to the raven-haired vampire.
"The time will come that even Aro could not protect them. Caius can betray them and Marcus will be too occupied in his pity to even care. They will have no one else but you. Do you even think Sulpicia will bat an eye to them?"
She had hurried back into the tower . Athenodora ran for her life in order to reach the wives tower much faster than usual. She did not worry about her safety, Alec would be at blame. The fair-haired woman's husband did not dare to punish his wife, yet Athenodora could not say the same for Alec.
"Athenodora."
The fair haired woman stopped in her tracks once she saw her husband casually sitting the common room. Caius looked at her intently as he scanned his wife from head to toe. Her gaze reverted to Alec who was restrained by the guards. Her face fell when their gazes locked, Alec looked at her with dejected eyes.
She had felt sorry for dragging him in this mess.
"Dispose of the second in command." Caius merely orders. Athenodora was aghast of how the blonde king simply ordered Alec to be killed.
"Caius!" She yelled.
"What?!" His livid gaze met hers. Athenodora staggered back as the blond king edged closer towards her in a menacing way. "Do you believe that i give second chances to the guards you happen to bypass? I kill every single one of them, Athenodora."
"You monster…"she seethes.
Athenodora saw a glimmer of vulnerability in her husband's gaze yet she paid no mind. Her mind was too absorbed on what was at stake at the moment.
"Alec served as your apprentices back when they did not have their powers. We treated them like children, Cauis! How the hell can you order Alec to be disposed? You make me sick!"
The blond king paid no mind to Athenodora screaming at him. He did not need to be told that his wife was at the edge of her temper as well. If the circumstances were different, he would be proud of his wife unleashing her temper as a display of tower.
Yet the times are changing.
"Let him go." Athenodora orders the guards who restrained her brunet charge. The guards' gaze shifted towards their master and the fair-haired Volturi wife. No one dared to move as they did not know who shall they listen to. "I said let him go!"
"Athenodora, i think you should not meddle in this mes-" Sulpicia pips up yet the fair-haired vampire cut her off.
"Shut up, Sulpicia!"Athenodora bursts out in anger. "I don't need to listen to what you have to say!"
"Athenodora!" Caius barked.
"Take back your order, Caius. You may have treated them as soldiers yet they are my children! You may be my husband, but don't you dare harm a single hair on their heads. Let Alec go, i forced him to let me out. He is not guilty of anything." The fiar-haired woman threatens her husband.
Caius could merely scoff to see his wife siding with the accused.
"That's your biggest weakness, you use your heart. You are so pathetic, Athenodora." The blond king scoffs and he turned to the guards. "Let him go."
Athenodora sighed in relief as the guards grip on Alec loosened. The fair-haired woman had her charge right behind her in a protective manner. Caius, however was not finished yet. There was no way that Alec could ever escape punishment in his watch.
"Starting today: Alec Volturi, you are stripped of your rank as the second-in-command of the elite guard."
"What the hell? What happened?!"
Jane stormed inside the office of the elite guard once she had heard everything. News of her brother being stripped of his title of the second in command spread through like wildfire and it had reached his twin sister's ears. Shock and disbelief can be seen from the usual stoic expression wore by the head of guard.
"Is it true?" Jane asks for a confirmation from the other occupants of the room. Felix and Demetri could only nod as they did not dare to speak amidst the temper Jane had been harboring. "What did you do this time, Alec! How bad is it that even Master Aro could not let this slide!"
"I let her out." He mumbled.
The atmosphere in the room grew heavier as Alec's revelation sunk in. Jane stared into her brother in shock of what she had heard from him. She instantly knew what he was implying yet she wanted to hear it from her brother. The head of guard schooled her features in order to look confused.
"What?" Jane asks in confusion.
She was hoping that it was not she had thought of. Jane had an inkling of what her twin brother did yet she had been in denial to process all of it. Alec being stripped of his position was the telltale sign that their downfall was nearing. For him to do something that Aro could not let it slide bothered the female witch twin.
"I let Madame Athenodora escape from the tower." Alec admits. "I was her accomplice and i did it willingly..."
Jane could only let out a not much needed sigh The revelation unfolded right before her and she was struggling with too much information presented to her. Anxiety was kicking in as she sank on her chair in disbelief.
"She does that all the time!" She counters in defense.
Jane knew that the fair-haired woman happened to sneak out of the tower from time to time. What she could not understand is why Caius was overreacting yet he knew his wife so well. She had no idea why Alec was punished this harshly for something he cannot control.
"Master Caius found out and he was livid to see her." Alec answers back.
Jane scoffs in disbelief. She was no stranger to the rumors of Caius' infidelity and Athenodora happening to know that. The blonde vampire did not know if Caius was after his wife's safety or the fear of being caught in the act. She did not dare to admit it out loud yet Jane thought that he was being an asshole for that.
She was well aware of their marital issues yet why drag her brother in that mess as well.
"Or was it because she could have caught him with his woman?" Jane retorts.
Felix and Demetri's eyes widened with the blonde vampire's brazenness. The tracker closed the door so no one can hear what the blonde vampire was saying. What Jane was saying could impose several troubles for them as she did not filter her words.
"I only wanted to help her!" Alec raises his voice. "I could not stand to see her suffering there. She was all alone, so i let her escape and i turned a blind eye towards that. Master Caius was right, Jane. I am at fault."
"It's not fair!" Jane exclaims. She was just frustated as her twin brother was. "Everyone makes mistakes! Why does he had to be harsh on you?"
She did not dare to admit that she was in denial of what have transpired. Jane could not bear to accept that her twin was stripped of his position as her second in command. The reality was right in front of her yet she chose to not accept it. The blonde vampire could have convinced herself that this was all a dream.
Yet she was reminded by the fact that vampires never sleep.
"Master Caius usually kills the guard that Madame Athenodora happens to bypass." Demetri buts in. "Alec is already lucky that is still alive."
Was Alec really lucky? That he was not killed?
Jane did not know.
The head of guard paid no mind to what the tracker said. Her lips quivered and her twin brother knew that she was already upset. It was easier to read her actions as Alec could read his sister like an open book. If she were human, Alec knew his sister would have burst into tears already. However, they were vampires and there bodies were already frozen.
There was no use crying over something that was already done.
"Can you leave the two of us for a moment?" Alec asks the two occupants of the room.
Felix and Demetri gave the twins some space as they went out of the room. Alec sat by his sister and embraced her. His twin sister may have been centuries old yet he could not deny that her heart did not change. It hardened through time yet he knew that kindheartedness was beneath it.
Just like how he knew her.
"Don't be upset..." he attempts to comfort her. He could have laughed at how his sister was more upset than him yet he was the one stripped of his title. "I'll be fine. I might function much better without all of this pressure on me. Being constantly compared to you. Don't worry about me, Janey."
"Stop calling me that!" She whines.
In the end, Alec might have been thankful for being stripped of his position as the second in command for the guard. It might have been a blessing in disguise to be rid of the constant pressure he felt. There would be no comparison on who was better and who was not. He would not feel that he was in her shadow all along. A position like that can be earned over time and he was certain of it.
Alec knew it in himself that he wanted to start anew.
Renata did not realize how things happened so fast.
She had heard the news of Caius removing Alec from his position of the second in command in the guard. According to what she had heard, Alec had let Athenodora out of the tower unsupervised. It was an unspoken rule that the wives shall not be let out of their tower unsupervised for their own safety. The events were unexpected yet she was sure Sulpicia was in high spirits with what transpired. She had felt guilty yet she knew she had not done anything wrong.
Was her conscience really clean after all?
"Now that Alec is out of the equation. Aro and Caius are looking for a possible candidate for the position of the second in command."Sulpicia said as she lectured her on what to do. Renata did not know if things were just a coincidence in her part but Sulpicia's threat and Alec's dismissal happened so fast.
"What if I did not get the position?" Renata said out of blue.
Renata knew she should be celebrating as the events were in her favor. A lingering thought at the back of her head had slowly crept up to her. It was the fear of losing and not getting the position she had worked decades for. Sulpicia looked at her with a murderous expression and grabbed her by the shoulders roughly. Renata flinched with her mistress' unspoken actions.
"Don't you dare show your face to me again!"Sulpicia yelled, her tone was laced with anger."After all that happened? Do you think i will allow you to lose that position? Something you've worked on for the past decades?" She scoffs.
Renata had slowly realized that the game of power she had thought was fun was no longer fun. She had enjoyed pleasing her mistress by doing what she asks. Paranoia had kicked in as the fear of failing had overcome her to the core. The price of her greediness came with messing up her sanity. All for her mistress, she had turned out this way.
"I think i cannot handle such position, Madame Sulpicia."
"You can. Deal with it."Sulpicia said with disgust. She was disgusted to see Renata cower like an idiot. She had not raised her to be a coward. The shield was destined for greatness yet all Renata did was cower in fear. "I risked so much for you to have this rare opportunity."
Renata did not understand why her mistress was acting this way. It was merely the truth after all, she did not know if she could fill in the shoes of what Alec had left off. She did not know if she will be subjected to increased pressure and the scrutiny of the guards. Can she really fill in such a big role?
"What do you mean?"Renata asks in confusion. "You did not have something to do witn Alec's dismissal do you?"
Sulpicia was well aware that Alec had adhered to the fair-haired woman's wishes.
The raven-haired Volturi wife happened to overhear the conversation between Athenodora and Alec. She was also aware of Athenodora asking the brunet vampire to let her bypass the security of the tower in order to see the blond king. Sulpicia could merely chuckle at the oppurtunity that landed straight into her hands.
She could not pass the opportunity to disable one of the pillars of Athenodora's influence. Of course, they just needed a push to the right direction. One action to trigger Caius' rage and get rid of Alec.
"That is for me to keep and for you to straighten up and deal with it!"Sulpicia said, forcibly.
"Where is Athenodora?"
Sulpicia sat in the common room perfectly poised as she awaited everything to unfold. Caius had stormed inside the Wives chambers enraged. Sulpicia had looked at the sudden intruder with faux shock.
"W-What brings you here, Caius?" She stammers in order to make her act believable.
Caius faces her with his hawk like gaze. The raven-haired woman could not deny that
"Do you know anything about Athenodora's whereabouts?" He asks in an interrogative way.
The raven-haired Volturi wife avoided his steel gaze in order to look guilty. Sulpicia was already a master of manipulation in situations she needed to do it. She was well aware that Caius had taken her bait in order to catch Athenodora redhanded. Her lips quivered and the Volturi wife spoke:
"I am not in the position to tell you this. However, Athenodora left without any guards. I overheard her talking to Alec and she plotted to escape the tower. It seems like she is not satisfied with the life here, you know locked up? Alec may have been her accomplice since he is the second in command." Her doe like eyes managed to charm the ruthless king as she managed to fool him.
The hairs on the back of her neck slowly stood up. Renata had remembered the threat Sulpicia made several days ago. The raven-haired wife had threatened to intervene and take the matters into her own hands. The shield had looked at her in surprise.
"Why the surprised face?" Sulpicia asks with disdain. "Do you think i can sit here and do nothing? I am capable of things you do not know, Renata."
Renata looked at her with scorn. She had been torn on what to feel with the sudden revelation. She could not help but to feel bad for Alec to be brought in this mess. He lost his position in order for her to rise to power. She had collected herself and convinced her inner demons that it was all for her good. Her conscience slipped through her perfectly built walls of self-assurance.
"H-How can you do that?"she asks desperately.
"It's easy, Renata. We do this in order to survive! Deal with it!" Sulpicia scoffs. "Don't treat yourself like a saint as we both know you have done some dirty work as well! How can I forget how you tried to kill Jane?"
Renata had avoided her mistress' gaze. Throughout the years, she knew it in herself that she had sabotaged others in order for her to rise. One notable one was sabotaging Jane in one of their missions as the elite guard. She remembered perfectly on how she tried to kill Jane at that moment. She had been blinded by jealousy as she had been envious of the power and support Jane had.
She regretted her actions terribly. Renata was still alive as Jane did not breathe a word about their encounter. If the blonde vampire had told Aro what she did, the shield knew she would not be standing here right now. It remained to be their little secret and Renata knew that the blonde vampire could use that against her.
In order to gain the upper hand.
"We do this to survive, Renata." Sulpicia presses on. "We trample on others in order for us to remain on top. I've done Alec a favor knowing he did not want to be in the shadow of his sister in the first place."
Renata remained speechless. The raven-haired wife was perplexed as to why her charge was downcast. Renata's eyes were clouded with guilt as the Volturi wife examined her face. The shield had resisted the impulse to say something so as not to irritate her mistress even further.
She was already terrified of Sulpicia's actions and capabilities.
Some may say that Renata was not directly involved with the incident of Alec losing his position. Yet deep inside, the shield knew that she was guilty enough as Sulpicia was.
AN:
I know i promised i should have it by Sunday, however things took a different turn as i was bombarded with my thesis defense. Dont forget to read and leave a review as i would like to hear it from you.