A/N: Ophelia is ready to fight to protect the ones she loves, but the outcome will surprise everyone.
Tension hung thickly in the air. They were here. I could feel it in the air, in the way the vampires tensed up, how the wolves began to growl behind us, still hidden in the forest. Blindly, I reach for Vladimir and Stefan's hands on either side of me, the two quick to grab my hand, squeezing comfortingly.
"Everything alright, Princess?" I'm not even sure which one of them is asking.
"I'm scared." I whisper, my heart beating like mad, nerves wrecking through my body.
"Don't be. We're right here with you."
The ground begins to rumble underneath my feet, not really helping. It's then that I see the hooded figures coming into view, out of the forest and onto the field, opposite us. The Volturi. There were so many of them. I'm scared shitless now, my two friends holding me the only thing that convinces me I'm still standing up, legs weak. At their approach, the wolves begin to howl, appearing from behind us, revealing themselves. I only feel slightly better when they walk past us, dividing themselves amongst our group. The Volturi come to a halt, three figures a little in front of the others. I can feel Vladimir and Stefan tense up, the moment they had been waiting an eternity for finally here. Their chance at revenge.
"Aro. Let's discuss things as we used to. In a civilised manner." Carlisle speaks up, stepping forwards.
"Fair words, Carlisle. But a little out of place, given the little battalion you've assembled against us." A man, Aro I'm assuming, answers. My view of him is slightly blocked, so I don't see anything but the cloak they all wore, but his voice sounds mesmerising, maybe even… familiar? I frown slightly at that.
"I can promise you, that was never my intent. No laws have been broken." Carlisle argues, sounding very calm to me, almost like our lives weren't being endangered.
"We see the child. Do not treat us as fools!" Another snaps, this one sounding angry. My stomach stirs at the sound of him. Edward glances back at me shortly, a weird look on his face. What did he hear?
"She is not an immortal!" Carlisle says, raising his voice.
"These witnesses can attest to that.", He adds, looking back at all of us. "Or you can look. See the flush of human blood in her cheeks."
"Artifice!" The second voice snaps angrily. I can see how Aro raises his hand, making the other stop immediately. I raise an eyebrow at that. Perhaps I could introduce the movement to Vladimir and Stefan. It sure would be incredibly convenient. Speaking of, my two friends were growing more impatient with the second that passed. The murderous looks on their faces told me they would be happy to slaughter all of them right now.
"I will collect every facet of the truth." Aro says. "But from someone more central to the story."
"Edward. As the child clings to your new-born mate, I assume you are involved." Aro steps forwards, raising his hand for Edward to go and take. Slowly, Edward walks over to their side of the field. When he reaches Aro, he offers his hand to him. Aro takes Edwards hand and I can see the awe appear in Aro's eyes as he sees Edward's thoughts.
"I'd like to meet her." Aro says when he lets go of Edward, surprise in his voice. Edward turns to look back at Bella and Renesme, nodding at them. As they begin to advance forwards, Jacob starts to growl, following them. Bella glances backwards at Emmett, making him walk over to join them. When she meets my eyes, silently asking me to join them as well, I give her a surprised look, but let go of Vladimir and Stefan, despite their protests. I knew she had asked me if I would be prepared to step forward to compare Renesme to me, but her effectively doing so took me by surprise.
"I'll be fine." I whisper softly, giving them a smile as I turn away from them. That was a blatant lie, I was feeling terrified, out on this field all by myself, without my friends holding me. For a moment, I'm growing so afraid my legs feel like they'll give up on me any second now, but I persist. I would not show my fear today.
The others make room for me to walk past, and this draws more attention to me than I would like.
"A human?!" The second voice snarls, and I look up at that. My eyes meet a pair of blood red eyes, and I stumble, shock jolting through me, rendering my body useless. I barely notice how my knees give up on me, and I fall to my knees in the snow, halfway between the Cullens and the Volturi, in no man's land.
I had dreamt of this man.
I recognized the silk, raven hair that rested upon black-clad shoulders. The pale skin almost as white as the snow underneath my feet, the danger that radiated from him that made my instincts scream to run away as fast as I could. It was him. He was one of the three.
In a blur, he's standing in front of me, I can feel it. I vaguely hear protests, but it's like they're coming from another planet, muted and faint. He crouches down slowly, and then gently puts a finger underneath my chin, lifting my head up, gaze meeting mine.
"Have we met before, cara mia?" He whispers, seeming entranced, red eyes fixated upon me.
"I-I dreamt of you." I whisper, my heart skipping a beat at the intense look his eyes held.
"Show me." Aro whispers, and instinctively, I know what to do. I grab his hand, and I close my eyes, memories of my entire life flashing in front of me in mere seconds.
"Astonishing." He whispers after a moment, and I open my eyes to see him do the same.
"Stand up, cara mia." Aro gently orders, lifting me up with him as he stands.
"I do believe that you've seen my brothers before, Caius and Marcus." He says, sounding very happy with something. When I force my eyes to drift away from him, they land upon the other two. Power jolts through me again, but before I can fall, Aro keeps me upright by the elbow, and all I can do is stare at the other two, my dream image now complete.
"You… You can't be real." I whisper, eyeing Caius and Marcus. Caius, the blonde, sneers at it, seeming more angry and disgusted with me than anything else. He looked so mean, if I did not recognize him from the dream, I would have feared for my life. Marcus, however, is something different. I watch as the brunette's expression changes, slowly morphing from an eternally sad look into…
"Do you see it too, brother?" Aro asks him, and Marcus nods slowly, staring at me with wonder. I am confused as hell, but can feel my cheeks turning red nonetheless at the gaze of the three vampire kings on me, kings that apparently had been in my dream. How were they real?
"What on Earth is going on, Aro?" Caius demands, seeming to grow more furious with every second that passed. His anger startles me, and I turn to look up at Aro instead, who had let go of me and was now holding Marcus' hand. After a moment, they turned back to look at me, that same weird expression in their red eyes.
"La tua cantante." Aro whispers.
Chaos ensues.
I feel Vladimir and Stefan quickly grab me, dragging me away from the three vampire kings, blurring away with me to gain distance. I barely have time to regain my balance, my friends now growling dangerously. To my surprise, the other three were growling as well.
"Ah, the Romanians. Here to be crushed by us once more? Did you not learn your lesson?" Caius sneers, and I quickly pull my arms free, only to grab their arms, holding the two back, but just barely so.
"You're not taking her!" Vladimir hisses, more outraged than I had ever seen him.
"We shall take what is rightfully ours!" Aro argues, clearly angry himself.
"Over our dead body! You will not touch her anymore with your filthy paws!" Stefan shouts, the two tugging themselves loose, grabbing me once more, roughly shoving me behind them.
"That can be arranged." Caius argues back, a murderous look in his eyes. The five begin to bicker, even Marcus interfering, until I've had enough.
"STOP IT!" I shout angrily, shoving my way past my two friends. They all stop at that, as if only now remembering I was still here.
"I am not some property that will be fought over! What the hell is going on?!" I say, no longer shouting.
"These idiots believe they can simply take you away from us, Princess." Vladimir says, still sounding angry. When I look up at him, however, I can see the worry in his eyes when he looks down at me.
"She is rightfully ours. It is Fate." Aro argues, surprisingly calm.
"He's telling the truth…" Edward speaks up, clearly dreading his own words.
"I AM NO PROPERTY!" I protest loudly, putting my hands on my hips.
"We never said you were, cara mia." Aro reassures me, a smile on his face.
"Why are you claiming I have to go with you, then?" I argue, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I-We can't tell you yet. It would only upset you more." He says, making me frown.
"Vladimir, what's he talking about?" I ask my friend, but he grimaces.
"It is not my place to tell you, princess." He grits out, clearly annoyed that he's agreeing with Aro on something. I glare at him, annoyed now too.
"We will… discuss this matter later. Edward?" Aro speaks up, composing himself. His red eyes move away from me when Edward steps forwards, and my friends each grab my hand so tightly it hurts a bit. I'm confused and nervous, but today wasn't about me. I would find out later. Aro takes Edward's hand, and remains quiet for a long time. When he lets go, his eyes are filled with wonder.
"Interesting. I would like to see the child, with my own powers." Aro says, and Bella nudges her daughter forwards gently.
"Ah. Young Bella. Immortality becomes you." Aro notes, turning to look at her. Next, his eyes dart over to Renesme, who seems strangely unaffected by the whole ordeal. Then again, the kid wasn't exactly normal either.
"I hear her strange heart." Aro brings out, staring at her in wonder. Renesme steps forwards at that, slowly, as Aro waits for her, his palm upwards, waiting for her to take his hand.
"Hello, Aro." Renesme says. Then, she gently puts her hand on his cheek, showing him her memories. I can see Aro's eyes get wide in surprise, unsure what to do now that she is the one showing the memories instead of him touching her to get them.
"Magnifico." He murmurs after a while of silence, seeming genuinely shocked.
"Half mortal, half immortal. Conceived and carried by this newborn while she was still human." Aro raises his voice as he turns backwards, making Bella pull Renesme back into her arms protectively.
"Impossible." Caius spats.
"Do you think they fooled me, brother?" Aro asks, voice turning rather angry as he spins around. Bella and Edward take Renesmes hands and begin to walk back to our side of the field. Vladimir and Stefan are quick to escort me back to our side of the field, not even allowing me to walk at my own speed. When I take a quick glance at their faces, I realize they're worried. Caius seems livid, scowling heavily. Suddenly, he seems to remember something.
"Bring the informer forward." I hear Caius order, a smirk appearing on his face.
I can feel my chest tighten at it, watching as they bring Irina forward. I had a feeling things would not end well for her.
"Is that the child you saw?" Caius asks, pointing towards Renesme. Irina looks scared, all by herself, and I can't help but pity her.
"I'm not sure." She says, looking down at the ground.
"Jane." Caius threatens. I have a feeling that this guy doesn't do forgiveness.
"She's changed. This child is bigger." Irina quickly says, obviously scared of Jane. Jane, I had been told, could inflict pain on others with a mere glance. The look in her eyes was very cruel, surprising me, since she appeared to be still very young.
"Then your allegations were false." Caius concludes.
"The Cullens are innocent. I take full responsibility for my mistake." Irina admits, looking over to her sisters. I grab a hold of Vladimirs arm, squeezing in fear of was about to happen. I can feel Stefan put a hand on my back to comfort me.
"I'm sorry." Irina mouths towards her sisters. Suddenly, a fireball erupts from the middle of the Volturi, two vampires walking over to Irina.
"NO!" I yell, more distraught than I thought I'd be, considering I had never met the woman. I never was one for violence.
"Caius, no!" Edward shouts as I tear myself loose from my friends' holds, surprising them, and sprint forwards.
"Ophelia, no!" I hear Vladimir shout. The vampires rip Irina's arms and head off, Caius lighting her body on fire. I slide to a halt on the snow immediately, staring at the body in shock.
"No." I breathe out, shocked.
"No, Irina!" The two Denali sisters scream, heartbroken. I freeze up and turn around, seeing them storm towards me, for I was in between both groups now. The others from our group try to prevent them from running further, for it would definitely start a fight. I see Kate electrocuting Garrett, pushing him aside. I'm the only one left in between her and the Volturi, so I do what I have to do.
"OPHELIA! NO!" I hear someone shout, but it's too late for me to change my mind. I run straight into Kate. She screams in anger at me. Electric shocks run through my body, making me scream in pain, dropping to the ground, but I force myself to keep my hold on her, taking her down with me. Pain runs through my veins along with the electricity, taking over my thoughts. Suddenly, I feel Kate stop, surprising me. Looking up, I see Zafrina use her power on the two sisters, blinding them.
"Give me my sight back." Tanya hisses. Garrett reaches Kate and I, taking her from me. My eyes close on their own accord, my sense of balance gone, and I can feel myself topple over to the side, until a pair of strong arms lift me up. Looking up, I see Vladimir look down at me, a worried look in his eyes. I smile weakly at it, still feeling the pain from Kate's power in my body.
"Tanya, this is what they want. If you attack now, we'll all die." I hear Edward say from a distance.
"Are you alright, Princess?" I hear Vladimir ask, as Stefan appears next to us, gently stroking my cheek. I hum at it.
"I think I can stand now." I say softly. Carefully, Vladimir puts me down on my feet, his hands not leaving my waist, in case that I should fall. Still feeling a bit unsteady, I lean back against his chest. Looking up, I see everyone stare at me in shock.
"Why's everyone looking at me?" I ask softly, confused.
"Marcus was the one who called out your name." Stefan admits, seeming worried for me. Confused, I look over to the third leader of the Volturi, an incredibly worried look in his eyes when they meet mine. He seems to be hurting so much I can't look any longer, looking down at my feet instead. Once more, that electricity runs through me. I wonder if someone on their side has a power that has to do with electricity or something, because this was getting weird.
"Pain." Jane suddenly says, causing Edward to drop down to the ground, grunting. Then, he slowly stands up, and I can feel Bella's shield surrounding us all. Jane seems angry at it, moving to look at each person from our group. When their eyes meet, Bella gives her a smug look. Jane walks forwards, furious, but someone else stops them. He's very young as well, and I realize they might be family. They seem ready to fight, making the wolves growl warningly.
Suddenly, I see the guy who stopped Jane make fog appear out of his hands, making me freeze up in fear, Vladimirs hold on me tightening. They were forcing out a fight to start. Thankfully, Aro stops him by raising his hand.
"Aro, you see there's no law broken here." Carlisle speaks up. I didn't really understand how he could keep up his hope that this wouldn't end in a fight. They would clearly find any excuse to do so.
"Agreed. But does it then follow that there is no danger?" Aro argues, stepping forwards. "For the first time in our history, humans pose a threat to our kind. Their modern technology has given birth to weapons that could destroy us. Maintaining our secret has never been more imperative. In such perilous times, only the known is safe. Only the known is tolerable. And we know nothing of what this child will become." Caius is smiling evilly at it, whereas I can only stare. They were really just looking for an excuse.
"Can we live with such uncertainty? Spare ourselves a fight today, only to die tomorrow."
"No." I can hear the witnesses mutter.
"Aro, wait!" someone exclaims. When we all turn towards the sound, four more people have entered the battlefield. The person who called out seems to be a tiny, pixie like girl, with dark hair and a kind smile on her face.
"Alice!" Aro exclaims contently. He's eager to take her hands, which Vladimir and Stefan use to speed back to our side of the field, but still a few meters in front of the others. Everyone's giving me worried looks, which in return worries me. Aro is watching Alice's thoughts for a long time, but when he finally lets go of her, he seems ecstatic.
"My dear friends, there is no danger here." Aro begins, but Caius seems livid at that.
"What?! They have assembled an army against us, and you say that there's no danger! Ridiculous!" He spats out, his red eyes dark with anger.
"We only gathered witnesses." Carlisle speaks up, trying to soothe the tense situation.
"And you're conspiring with werewolves! You have broken the laws multiple times, this was not your first warning, Cullens. I will have justice served upon you." Caius argues, taking a step forwards.
"Brother-
"No, Aro. The Cullens do not follow our laws." Caius interrupts Aro, livid that he's trying to calm him down.
"Well, I'm afraid there's no other option then. We have given you many chances, yet you show no intention of actually following our rules." Aro speaks up, sighing. When Aro's eyes search mine in the crowd, I realize what he was trying to do. He still wanted to win the battle.
"Would a warranty help? Something to assure you of our good intentions?" I speak up, taking a step away from my friends. Some seem confused, but Aro seems to know exactly what I mean.
"Perhaps. What are you offering, Ophelia?" He asks with a knowing smile.
"Me."
His eyes get slightly darker, Marcus and Caius perking up as well.
"Ophelia, no. Don't do this." Vladimir protests, Stefan taking my hand, forcing me to turn back to look at them.
"It's the only way to keep you safe." I whisper, unable to stop myself from tearing up.
"We are supposed to keep you safe, Princess, not the other way around." Stefan argues, shaking his head. They both looked as if they would cry, if they were still human.
"Alice, this is the only way, isn't it?" I ask, turning to the seer. She nods, slowly.
"I have to do this. You're my brothers, and these people have become my friends. Let's not be selfish here, it's one life in exchange for many others." I assure Vladimir and Stefan with a smile.
"But it's your life." Vladimir argues softly. I pull them into a hug, squeezing as tightly as I could.
"I will miss you two so much. I love you both so dearly, never forget that." I whisper, and they pull me even closer at that.
"We love you too, princess." Vladimir says.
"We'll miss you too." Stefan adds, and when I pull back, they wipe away a few tears that had fallen down my cheeks. I take a deep breath, then turn away from them, and make my way across the field, alone.
"I will come to Volterra with you, willingly, on the condition that everyone present here today remains unharmed. However, I shall not be treated as a prisoner, nor slave, nor food." I state, locking eyes with Aro, stopping in front of him. I knew that he eventually would decide, no matter what the other two thought. Caius bristles at it, but Marcus places his hand on Aro's shoulder, sharing a meaningful look with him.
"You have my word, Ophelia." Aro says, placing a hand over his heart. I let out my breath, realizing just how badly I had doomed myself. A human, in a castle full of vampires? That just sounded like a recipe for disaster. Aro waves dismissively with his hand, and in a blur, all the vampires began to leave, just as quickly as they arrived.
"I will carry you, Ophelia." Marcus says softly, and when I lock eyes with him, I decide that I would feel a lot better being carried by him than Aro, or Caius, or anyone else, really. I give him a nod, and throw a last, sad smile at Vladimir and Stefan, and the others, before allowing him to lift me up in his arms, and speed off.
The journey to the airport is a daze. The further I get from my best friends, my brothers, the less I feel. What had I done? I close my eyes and rest my head on Marcus' shoulder, wishing the world would just stop right then and there.
The airport is rather busy. We stop a little before the road starts, and Marcus puts me down on the ground gently. As we enter the airport, which looked like any other airport, I remain close by his side, afraid of all the other vampires. Some had left, leaving around 10 more vampires, apart from the kings. Never before did I have to be scared of vampires, for Vladimir and Stefan had always been right by my side, ready to kill anyone who dared look at me the wrong way. Now, I wasn't so sure anymore. It felt like I was a bleeding dolphin in the open ocean, with sharks surrounding me at all times, ready to pounce. I was terrified.
"There's no need to be afraid, cara mia. You're safe with us." Aro speaks up, catching up with me and Marcus to walk on my other side. Caius was walking in front of us, clearly still upset. His words, an exact copy of what he said in my dream all those years ago, now feel like a lie.
"Oh sure, I should be thankful! I'll probably be dead as soon as I arrive at that damned castle, ripped apart by blood thirsty monsters that are liars and-
Before I can finish my sentence, Caius spins around, and grabs me by the throat.
"You ungrateful, useless human. I will not tolerate such language from you, understood? You're nothing." He hisses, lifting me off my feet. I gasp for air, his hand hurting me, and I can feel all eyes around us on me. He tightens his grip, red eyes viewing me with absolute disgust, and my vision begins to go dark.
"You ungrateful, useless bitch! You are nothing without me, nothing! You're an ungrateful excuse for a daughter, you will pay me respect!"
"Caius. Put. Her. Down." Marcus hisses, as my vision returns to me, replacing my father's image. Caius' grip only worsens.
"Caius, stop it." Aro speaks up, his voice ice cold. Caius sneers at me, with a look full of hatred, before dropping me to the floor, carelessly. My knees hit the floor harshly, and I can feel myself detach from reality. I barely notice Aro and Marcus helping me up, my mind already detaching from my body, as it had done so many times before.
"Look what you've done to her, brother!" Marcus hisses after half an hour. They're waiting in a private terminal to board their jet. The guards had currently perfected ignoring the kings, out of fear, looking anywhere and everywhere, except at them and their mate. Poor Ophelia. Currently, Marcus was seated next to her, her eyes glazed over, no longer responding to anything. She had been so brave, sacrificing herself for her friends, and presumably very scared too.
"What?! She disrespected one of the Kings!" He sneers back angrily.
"She's terrified, Caius!" Marcus argues, "Just look at her!"
The blonde vampire does so, and a fraction of a second, Caius' eyes soften, before he hardens again.
"She was being disrespectful. I do not care about this bond; you two are just too blinded by your powers and this "fated" bond to put her in her place. She is still an ordinary, useless human, and a stupid bond will not change that." Caius states, eyes cold as always. He could be such a brute.
"Do you know why she's reacting like this?" Aro suddenly speaks up. He hadn't said anything during their argument, which was highly unusual for him. He had only been watching Ophelia closely, eyes not wavering from her form for a second. His eyes meet Marcus and then Caius, an almost disapproving, criticising expression in them.
"Why should I care?" Caius huffs, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Because she is our mate, Caius! Are you really that blind?" Marcus interrupts, frustrated.
"Her father mistreated her from a young age. He would hurt her almost exactly like you just did, Caius. You triggered her coping mechanism." Aro says, giving his brother a harsh stare they had not often seen before. Aro was really upset with him. Marcus saddened, feeling sorry for her.
"Do you remember how she said that she had dreamt of us before?" Aro asks, still holding eye contact with Caius, who simply shrugs.
"One day, after years of abuse, she dreamt of us. All three of us. And in her dream, I said those exact words: There's no need to be afraid, cara mia. You're safe with us. Now look at what you did. You might as well have damaged the bond for good, for all of us." Aro finishes, and stands up, only to sit on her other side, like a guardian angel. At least this time, Caius has the decency to look guilty.
When I finally return to reality, the plane is landing already. I had no idea how I'd gotten onto the plane and whether I had slept at all, but Marcus had been sitting beside me, and he gently placed his hand on my shoulder, startling me out of my own space.
"We're landing, you might want to see this." He says softly, red eyes meeting mine. I simply nod, afraid to say anything wrong, and turn my head away from him to look out of the window.
It was beautiful. From this high, you could see the coastline, the ocean a beautiful blue. As we descended, buildings slowly became bigger. Marcus leads me out of the plane, and only now I realize it was a freaking private jet. Silently, I follow closely behind him, my eyes trained upon his back only, since the airport was super busy. I avoided eye contact with anyone, for Caius might snap at me again for doing something wrong. Marcus walks over to a car that was already waiting in front of the entrance to the airport, engine running, opening the passenger door for me. I'm slightly surprised, but get in the sleek black Audio nonetheless, Marcus closing the door behind me. I look out of the window, and see him talking to Aro and Caius. The conversation seems to get a little heated, but eventually Aro and Caius get in a different car with some of the guard, the other guards getting into a third car. Marcus gets in the driver's seat, and flashes me a kind smile before starting the car.
"How are you feeling, Ophelia?" He asks after a while, the other cars nowhere to be seen. Judging the way Vladimir and Stefan would drive like suicidal Formula 1 racers, Marcus was probably holding back for me. I keep looking out of the window, although I feel his eyes on me.
"I'm okay." I mutter softly.
"Ophelia, I'm not Caius. I would prefer it if you spoke freely when talking to me." Marcus says, but he's not really being stern or anything. If anything, he seemed understanding. I hesitate for a moment, then sigh.
"I'm really scared, Marcus. I miss my friends, I'm in a country I do not know, and I just nearly got choked to death by a vampire." I admit, looking at him to gauge his reaction. If he got angry, maybe I'd just have enough time to jump out of the car. That would hurt, sure, but I was not going to let myself be manhandled the entire time by a bunch of entitled vampires.
"I completely understand." Marcus says at that, surprising me slightly.
"Caius might have been right, I should not speak to you three like that." I argue, but he waves his hand dismissively.
"Caius is being sulky and annoying. Don't mind him." I gasp softly in shock, startled he would say such things about the angry vampire.
"Aro got very angry with him, by the way, as did I. We would not want you to feel unsafe in our care. It will not happen again." Marcus adds after a while, and I turn to stare at him.
"Is that why you talked to them outside the car?" I ask, watching him drive the car.
"We discussed the whole thing back at the other airport, actually. I just told them they wouldn't be joining us in the car, since you've already went through enough today." He says.
"Thank you, Marcus." I say softly, meaning it.
Volterra was beautiful. In fact, the landscape had been stunning the entire way here, but the city really was something else. Volterra was an ancient city, lined with big walls, beautiful buildings visible above the walls, in the city. When Marcus drives through the gates, slow now that there are other cars as well, I almost gasp.
"Do you like it?" He asks, and I can only nod, staring outside.
"We're here." He says after a moment, and I look around, confused. All I could see was a beautiful square with a fountain and a clock tower, and a huge castle on the other side of the clock tower. Then, I realize it.
"You live in a castle?!" I ask him, turning to look at him with wide eyes. He chuckles at that, but nods. He drives into an underground garage, which is full of expensive cars. I can't believe my eyes.
Marcus gets out of the car, and before I can get out he speeds to my side of the car, opening the door for me. I softly smile up at him, muttering a 'thanks' as I get out.
"Ah, cara mia, you're finally here! How are you feeling?" Aro speaks up. When I turn around, he's waiting in the doorway, a gleeful smile on his face. Caius is standing behind him, arms crossed in front of his chest.
"I'm okay, thank you for asking." I answer softly, eyeing Caius nervously before looking down at my own shoes.
"I'm going to take her to her room, she hasn't slept yet." Marcus speaks up, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. I realize that he's trying to reassure me I would be fine, and Aro seems surprised.
"Of course, my apologies. We are not used to human visitors here." Yeah, unless you want to eat them, humans mean nothing to you. I don't say anything though, merely nodding in an attempt to seem grateful.
"Come, Ophelia." Marcus says gently, offering his arm for me. I take it, remaining close by his side as we pass the other two kings. I involuntarily flinch when passing by Caius, and keep my head down until I believe we're far away from him. When I finally look up, I gasp softly. Marcus gives me a questioning look, but does not pry.
"This place is beautiful." I explain, and he smiles at that. The hallways were incredibly clean, I could almost see my own reflection in the marble floor. Beautiful paintings lined the walls, some of them so gorgeous I knew they had to be from famous painters. It takes a while for us to get where we have to be, but I'm glad that we're walking at a human pace, since it gave me the chance to calm down a little and check out my surroundings. At last, Marcus stops in front of a door that's made out of dark wood.
"This will be your room. Should you need anything, ask the guard. One of them will be placed at your door at all times, to ensure your safety. My rooms are a little further down the hall, don't hesitate to call for me." Marcus says kindly as he looks down at me.
"Thank you, Marcus." I say, and he opens the door for me. I walk inside, only to be very surprised by the room, which was huge.
The walls were painted beige. Opposite the door was a set of sage green doors, glass in them, which led to a balcony. Against the left wall, there was a four poster bed, the frame made out of a light coloured wood, the sheets sage green, the pillows beige. From the four posters hung beige, see-through fabric, and when untied it would probably make a veil. There were two doors in the right wall, and in the left corner by the window was a comfortable looking dark green loveseat, a dark brown coffee table next to it. It looked perfect to read a book in.
"This is beautiful." I bring out, turning around to find Marcus leaning against the doorpost, a smile on his face. I can feel my cheeks turn red, realizing he had been staring at me.
"Aro will be glad to hear that." He answers, confusing me.
"Before boarding the plane, he called ahead to prepare your room. He decided everything, from the colours to the seat there. He was very adamant too." He explains, noticing my confusion. Oh.
"He did this… for me?" I ask, shocked. Marcus nods, still smiling. Whoah. Perhaps he wasn't so bad after all. He had probably gathered what I would like from seeing my memories.
"Get some sleep, Ophelia. If you need anything, make sure to ask." Marcus says gently, closing the door.
When I turn around, I realize that I'm alone. Homesickness hits me, as I was almost never alone before this, Vladimir and Stefan always by my side, even when I slept. Trying to shake the sadness off, I make my way to the left door first, deciding to explore my room. It was a huge walk-in closet, and it had already been filled with clothes. The walls were beige, as were the shelves, and racks, complementing all the colourful clothes that hung from them. As I run my hands through them, I realize two things. One, these were all things I would wear, and two, they were all my exact size.
Creepy. I decided that that was probably Aro's work as well, and make my way out of the closet, opening the second door. Apparently, this was the bathroom, which was also very spacious. Opposite the door was a large, marble bath tub, which looked beautiful. In the right corner was a walk-in shower with dark tiles. In the right corner, but against the wall that held the door, was a toilet, and I was relieved they had taken my humanity into consideration. In between the bathtub and the shower, against the middle of that wall, was a dark stone sink, a cabinet underneath it. Above it hung a round shaped mirror, a soft ring light surrounding it. I walk towards it, to have a look at myself, and freeze up when I come into view. My neck was blue and purple, bruises decorating the skin already. Slowly, I lift my right hand to gently poke the spots, wincing when they hurt at the touch. The memory of Caius' angry eyes pops up in my head, and I can feel myself disassociating before I can stop it.
