A/N: Apparently, vampires like to play hide and seek?

Chapter Text

Before I fully realize what's going on, we're all gathered in a random large room. Felix carried me here, since they were all so excited they didn't want to wait for me, and he'd given me a plate full of sandwiches with cheese and vegetables to eat before we started, then left me sitting on a random table. The room looked like it was used for meetings, with various chairs and tables scattered throughout it, a few paintings hung on the walls for decoration. Demetri suddenly reappears, and he sits down next to me, the table creaking dangerously for a moment.

"Hey" He says with a grin, then grabs a sandwich to take a bite.

"You eat food?" I ask him, confused, but then he pulls a grimace.

"Nowp, still tastes like dirt. I just wanted to test." He says, making me laugh.

"Where is everyone?" I ask him, quite happy with my food.

"They're clearing the castle from unneeded visitors so we can play without having to worry about someone tearing your throat open." Demetri says casually, which nearly makes me choke on the bite I had just taken.

"Don't worry though." He adds, clearly noticing it.

"You're not the best person to calm people down, I think." I mutter, and he's the one who laughs this time, as he briefly ruffles through his blonde hair.

"But aren't you the hunter of this group? Doesn't that give you an advantage?" I ask him, thinking about the game.

"Oh, everyone can use their powers. It's a bit more… brutal than you might expect." Demetri admits, grinning down at me.

"Yeah, you're definitely bad at calming people down." I state, and then we both laugh.

Suddenly, all of the guards speed into the room. I'm startled by the sight of all of them, but Demetri gets up and motions for me to do the same. There's Felix, Demetri, Jane, Alec, but even Afton, Heidi, Chelsea, Corin, Renata and Santiago are here. They must really like this game.

"Let's play some hide and seek!" Felix exclaims, clearly excited.

"Alright, you all know the rules. You can use your powers, don't destroy too much or Caius will be mad, and try not to kill each other. When you find the hider, you only win when you return here with them." Demetri speaks up, and Jane and Alec look like they don't care too much for those rules.

"Wait, what about me?" I ask, a little worried. They all stare at me, and then begin to laugh.

"Why, you're the person who hides, of course!" Afton exclaims, a big grin on his face. I believe I visibly pale at that.

"You're not going to eat me, right?" I ask, just to be sure.

"Of course not, the kings would have our heads. We can control our thirst, sweetie, even if you smell good." Heidi reassures, well… reassuring is a big word.

"Fine. How long do I have?" I give in.

"Let's give you five minutes, then we'll come." Santiago speaks up, and when he grins dangerously, I bolt out of the room as quickly as I can.

I don't even know where I am. I just ran blindly into a direction I hadn't gone before, darted into a room and found myself in a giant storage room. Alright, alright, I probably had another minute. Quickly, I climb on top of the shelves at the back of the room, and when I reach the top shelves I hide in the corner behind one of the cardboard boxes, and lie down. My heart's beating like mad, so I force myself to calm down. They'd probably find me in seconds anyways.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two…

I take a deep breath, then hold it in. Any time now.

It takes them thirty seconds to find me. I've already taken another breath by then.

'BAM' I peak between two boxes, then see the door flying in, breaking. In storms Jane, but Felix immediately tackles her.

"NO!" She screams, and the next second Felix is down on the floor, yelping in pain from her powers.

Suddenly, Afton appears out of thin air. He clasps a hand over my mouth so I don't scream, smart of him, and I realize he's used his invisibility. Next, Demetri and Alec barge in, immediately beginning to fight Jane and Felix. Those two decide to team up against the other two, and it's chaos, boxes slamming everywhere. Suddenly, Renata is by my side too. They share a look, and then Afton grabs me and jumps down.

"Afton, you bastard!" Felix roars, noticing us, but when he charges at us, he's suddenly sent in the other direction. I'm shocked, but then I feel Renata's hold on my shoulder, and see she's holding Afton as well. Smart!

Right when the other three charge, Santiago, Corin and Chelsea speed into the room. Chaos breaks loose, and Afton and Renata quickly speed off with me, out of the room. They're practically both lifting me up by my shoulders, and when we arrive back in the meeting room, I'm dizzy. Shouldn't have eaten those sandwiches after all, I guess.

"We won!" Afton exclaims as the others enter the room as well. Especially Jane looks sour, and Felix is holding his cheek, probably injured.

"I demand a rematch! You were playing as a team, that's not fair!" Demetri complains.

"Maybe they were just smart by playing as a team. They guard the kings as a team too." I offer, making everyone look at me.

"She's clearly smarter than you are, hunter." Santiago speaks up, amused. Demetri scoffs at it.

"What is going on here?" Caius suddenly enters the room, Aro and Marcus behind him. He seems annoyed, but then his eyes land on me, and he's by my side in a second. The guard immediately straightens and turns serious, especially Corin, Renata and Santiago.

"We're playing hide and seek. It's fun!" I say to him with a smile.

"And you're the hider, I assume?" Aro asks, seeming terribly amused by this.

"Of course." I answer with a grin, and he smiles at that.

"We're sorry, Masters, but meetings were over for the day and we secured the castle beforehand to make sure she's safe. We wouldn't harm her-

Aro raises his hand at Jane's apology, and everyone tenses. They weren't going to punish the guard, were they? If they were, I would make sure to tell them off. Well, as far as I could do that without looking ridiculous.

"And you did not ask us to play along?" Aro asks, feigning to be hurt. Relief visibly runs through the room at that, and when Marcus reaches my side, I flash him a smile.

"Let's make this a bit more difficult, shall we?" Aro continues, turning his gaze on me.

"We will make teams. One of us three will hide with Ophelia to protect her, if we manage to keep her out of your hands for thirty minutes, we win. The others are split into two teams." Aro orders, and excitement begins to spread. It was a good idea, to be honest.

"Let's do Jane, Felix, Santiago, Chelsea, Renata, Caius and then Alec, Demetri, Heidi, Corin and Afton with me. Marcus, you're with Ophelia." Aro says, and the groups quickly gather.

"Can't complain." Marcus says softly to me, and I can't help but blush.

"You have ten minutes." Aro adds, and Marcus is quick to pick me up and speed off. When I open my eyes, I notice we're in his library.

"Won't they find us here?" I whisper, but he shakes his head, making his way up the stairs whilst still holding me. Once we're at the back of the room, he pulls out a book halfway, and a click resonates.

A secret door?!

The shelves do move, revealing a tiny room behind it. Marcus walks in with me and closes the door behind us, leaving nothing but darkness. It's a tight space, more like a closet, and I reach for him blindly.

"I had no idea you had secret rooms." I whisper, my hands finding his. They're cold and bigger than mine, but he has elegant fingers, those of a musician. I wonder if he plays.

"It's in case of emergencies. We made some precautions after Didyme." Marcus admits, and I move closer to lean my head against his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist, the fabric of his cloak soft against my cheek. His arms wrap around me, and I realize that I'm very comfortable, though my heart is racing. He smells amazing, but I can't figure out what it is exactly.

"The room is also soundproof. They can't find you based on your scent, and since you've been here before and in your rooms, they probably won't look here first." Marcus adds, sounding pretty smug.

"I didn't know you participated in these games." I whisper, placing my hands to rest against his back. I'm quite enjoying this sneaky hug, if I'm being honest.

"I never have before. Neither have Caius or Aro." Marcus admits, which only makes me blush more.

"They're coming anytime now." He adds, and we both stay quiet at that. The only sound is that of my own breathing and probably heartbeat, and I'm very nervous, though happy at the same time.

I don't hear the first noise, but Marcus does. His hold on me tightens, and he's immediately more alert. My heart begins to race, and I don't protest when he pulls me behind him, as muffled footsteps approach.

"Ha!" The secret door opens, revealing a very smug looking Caius. His dark eyes meet mine from where I'm peaking over Marcus' shoulder, which is why I'm so shocked when Marcus speeds forwards and pushes him away. Caius flies through the room, but lands on top of a book case on his both feet, smirking. I'm glad that he's safe, and when Marcus grabs my hand I realize we have to go.

"Ah, found her already?" Aro notes, and suddenly he's right there as well. I yelp, and then Marcus speeds off with me on his back. We make it down the stairs, but suddenly Jane is there, standing in the way. Marcus lets out a pained noise and falls, and I fly through the air with a scream. When I land, I'm surprised to find Alec carrying me mid-run, and Jane's angry look tells me she's surprised too.

"Ha!" Felix exclaims, appearing in front of us in the doorway to the library. Before I can process it, Alec swings me over his shoulders, back into the library. I don't even have time to scream this time, but when Aro catches me bridal style, I nearly faint at the grin on his face. When I look back forwards, Felix is down, Alec using his fog on him. Aro jumps over them with me, and off we are into the hallways.

Suddenly, Santiago appears out of nowhere, and then Aro drops me. I squeal, but suddenly Chelsea is holding me, and I notice Renata is using her powers to hold Aro down.

"I'm sorry, Master Aro." She says, but he merely smiles proudly. When I turn my head, Caius is back in front of us, and Chelsea quickly hands me to him. When we reach the meeting room, Heidi, Corin and Afton are waiting, but Chelsea and Renata quickly fight them away from the doors, Caius speeding through with me.

"We won." Caius states smugly as everyone returns, still by my side. "So I can hide with her now." He adds, making me smile.

"Fine, I'll take your place in the team." Marcus agrees, moving to where Jane, Felix, Santiago, Chelsea and Renata are standing, all of them clearly proud that they won.

"Alright, ten minutes, Caius. Three, two, one…" Aro says, and off Caius goes, carrying me in his arms. I'm surprised to find us in the garage, but it somehow made sense. It was far enough.

"Get in that car." Caius orders, disappearing briefly. I look around at the fifty plus cars, and scoff.

"Which one?" I ask, and then he unlocks one right in the middle. It's a sleek, black Porsche. Caius speeds over there with me, then puts me in the backseat before getting in as well. He locks the car, and silence surrounds us.

"Won't they find us here pretty quickly?" I ask him, turning to look at him. He eyes me with a smirk that makes my heart skip a beat.

"I don't care about the game, love. I just needed ten minutes alone with you. Also, it's Aro's car. They can tear it apart for all I care." He says mischievously. The next second, he's pinned me down, so that I'm now lying on the backseat with him on top of me. I'm already blushing furiously, when he chuckles softly.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything you're not ready for. I would just love to see Aro and Marcus' faces when they find you here, underneath me." He whispers, and a shiver rolls down my spine at his words. Secretly, I was glad he couldn't read minds like Aro. His blonde hair gently touches my cheeks, his red eyes trained upon me. When our eyes meet, he smiles reassuringly, one hand on my waist, the other next to my head. Christ, these vampires were going to give me a heart attack someday.

Eventually, it's Heidi who finds us. She grins at me through the window before punching right through it to open the door, and the next second Alec is there to fog Caius out of his senses. I'm pulled out of the car, and am surprised when it's Aro. He looks pretty pissed off at the whole car thing, but I don't have a chance to say something, Everyone bursts into the room, and a fight breaks out. I don't see Marcus though. Eventually, Aro manages to drag me into the meeting room safely, not once having let go of me.

"Sorry about your car." I whisper as the others enter the room. They all seem a little worse for wear this time, the fight having taken longer.

"I'm not mad about the car, cara mia." He whispers back, and I realize what he's referring to. It seemed that Caius had gotten what he wanted. I turn red at it.

"My turn!" Aro eagerly says, and off we go.

I have to admit that Aro's hiding spot is the best of all.

"Are you sure they won't notice, Master Aro?" Gianna asks from above us, sounding nervous.

"Do not worry." He dismisses her, and she returns to her work. The two of us are hiding underneath her desk, next to her red heels.

"They won't smell you here. There's too many humans, and too many heartbeats too." Aro whispers, incredibly smug.

"I'll admit, that's pretty clever." I whisper back with a smile.

"Of course, it doesn't give me the same liberties as Caius in my car, but I'll catch up soon enough." Aro adds, his eyes darkening slightly. I can't help but blush, which makes him smile wickedly.

Surprisingly, It's Jane who wins, managing to make it all the way to the throne room. I don't miss how Caius takes the chance to fight with Aro, nor how Aro is eager to punch back as hard as he can. Marcus just seems happy to see me in the meeting room again.

I'm surprised when the three of them take me to my room, and even more so when they stay there.

"Am I in trouble or something?" I ask as I'm sitting on my bed, all three of them scattered across my room. Caius is sitting in the loveseat, Aro is looking out the window, and Marcus is standing near the door.

"Of course not, darling, we merely wished to spend some more time with you." Marcus speaks up, flashing over to my side.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Aro asks, attentive as always.

"It's just… a little weird if you just stand around like that." I admit, and Caius stands up at that. I'm confused when I realize he's holding The Hobbit in his hands. He probably took it from where I'd left it in the chair.

"I can read for you, if that helps." He offers, surprisingly calm. I eye him for a moment, still quite shocked. Then, I nod, speechless, and he sits down on my bed, leaning his back against the headboard. Finally, I manage to move and sit beside him. Aro appears on my other side, lying down, and Marcus sits down by my feet and places them on his legs. My hand finds Aro's on its own accord, which elects a smile from his lips, and when I lie my head on Caius' shoulder, he purrs in contentment. Marcus' eyes meet mine, and I can tell he's happy too, as his hand gently strokes my ankle. Aro places one hand behind his head, which rests on a pillow, and I wonder if they ever relax like this. When Aro secretly shakes his head, I know the answer. Warmth blooms in my stomach.

Then, Caius begins to read, his deep voice taking me to the Shire, and I realize I could be happy here.

I was happy.