(15) ". . . Some Acceptance."

Odessa stared at the marble floor of the throne room with a vacant look in her eyes. She looked despondent, but judging by the way her head bobbed harshly every now and then, she was paying attention to Aro's and Caius's words. Her arm hung limply against her side and her fingers twitched occasionally in response to certain words and tonal cues in their voices. Her hair curtained around her face, hiding her from the prying eyes in the room, hiding her from one set of eyes in particular. She ignored his presence and focused on counting the number of small black specs ingrained in the floor. She was hungry, thirsty, and more than annoyed at every little sound and source of light. She was jittery and had to move her fingers to keep herself from lunging at someone and getting herself in trouble. She was at 1,243 black specs when she heard a loud thud and jolted in her spot. She looked up slowly and saw Aro tightly gripping his seat. She stared at him as he glared at her, annoyed with her lack of attention.

"As I was saying," he continued, "I hope you spent your time reflecting on your actions and on your inappropriate behavior. While it was not my intention to leave you there for so long, I felt it was needed to remedy the problem we had."

He paused to allow her to say something - to affirm that she had reflected on her behavior before he continued his spiel. He was slightly disappointed she didn't shout a snarky or sarcastic remark and worried the isolation had affected her too much. He knew the punishment was a bit harsh, but Caius had insisted it would do her some good. Aro had some concerns, but he didn't want to step on his brother's toes. The last thing he needed was for Caius to have a fit over something trivial. He frowned inwardly and made a mental note to address her mental needs later. The last thing he needed was an unemotional member of his elite guard.

"I see that you are quite quiet today," he remarked. "No matter. There is a task I want you to complete. If you complete it successfully, I will give you your arm back and I will take you off the temporary probation I have put you on. If you fail to complete it successfully, you will be demoted to a castle guard and will not receive your arm back. We have no room for failure within our elite guard, and we do not reward failure. Do you understand, Odessa?"

She nodded her head quietly.

"I need a vocal affirmation," Aro said.

"I understand," Odessa whispered.

"Good," Aro said shortly.

"You would do well to remember your place in this coven," Caius snarked. "Another disobedient outburst such as the one you had will result in termination. Are we clear?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"You are dismissed for now. Jane will debrief you on your task," Aro told her. "Jane, be a dear and take Odessa to the kitchen first before taking her to your room."

"Yes, Master," Jane said. She walked away from Aro's side and walked toward Odessa. She told Odessa to follow her and proceeded out of the room. She walked toward the kitchen, not even thinking to wait for Odessa to trudge forward and follow her. Jane reached the kitchen first and was glad to see one of the disposable humans eating a bowl of fettuccine. The man smiled uneasily at her and tried to ignore her overpowering presence. Odessa entered the kitchen a minute later and froze at the sight of the man. Her mouth salivated at the sight of his tanned skin slicked with nervous droplets of sweat and watched as his adam's apple bobbed from an anxious swallow. A growl ripped out of her throat, and she lunged for him. He screamed as she grabbed him in a vice grip and sunk her teeth into his neck, sucking the blood out of his veins and basking in the sweet and iron taste. A groan of pleasure bubbled out of her mouth as the thick liquid ran down her esophagus and a groan of irritation bubbled out of her mouth as the blood bag ran dry. She threw the body to the side and made to run out of the kitchen and find another blood source when a hand latched onto her arm. Odessa turned towards the perpetrator and growled warningly. Jane stared at her unimpressed and slapped her across the face. Odessa's head sharply turned to the side and the cloudy haze of thirst cleared from her mind.

"Come," Jane said. "You'll have plenty of time to feast later."

Jane led her through the castle, through the elite guard common room and down the elite guard hallway. On the way to Jane's room, they passed Alec, who was standing outside of Jane's room with an unreadable expression on his face. He hadn't seen Odessa since he visited her when she regained consciousness. He'd felt her presence no matter where he was in the castle and had asked to be dismissed from missions until she was able to leave the dungeon. Seeing how hopeless she had looked in the throne room had set something off within him. Now that she had served her punishment and was less argumentative, he was ready to talk to her. He had not been able to visit her while she was locked up. He felt guilty for acting irrational during the visit to her brother's house, and he felt like she had taken the brunt of the punishment. He had been prohibited from taking any missions out of the castle for a week, so he had practically gotten off with a slap on the wrist. He wanted to tell her how apologetic he was about the entire situation and wanted to know she forgave him. He stared at her as she avoided eye contact with him and frowned when she blatantly shifted her eyes to the side as they neared him. He moved to grab her hand, but Jane looked at him in warning. Alec narrowed his eyes, looked at Odessa and then back at Jane.

"Brother, it would be in your best interest to leave," Jane threatened.

"I need to speak with her, sister," Alec said with a hint of a pleading tone in his voice. Then he switched his attention to Odessa and asked, "May I have a moment of your time? I promise it will only take a few minutes."

"I have to debrief her on her mission," Jane intervened. "The quicker she knows her task, the quicker she can finish it."

"I have the utmost respect for you, sister, and I am asking out of politeness and respect, but I do not have to ask for permission to talk to my mate," Alec said with a roughness.

"And it is out of the respect I have for you, brother, that I do not forcibly remove you."

Alec stood his ground for a minute before he realized it was moot to continue trying to talk to Odessa. He nodded his head sharply, told Odessa he would talk to her later, and briskly walked off. When Alec was completely gone from sight, Odessa stared in the direction he left with confliction. Jane nudged her and swept her hand to the side to motion Odessa into the room. Jane followed behind her and closed the door. Jane's room was almost identical to Alec's room except she used golden accent hues rather than silver and gray accent hues. She also had a desk in her room with an accompanying wiry chair. Jane sat on her bed and motioned for Odessa to sit on the chair. Odessa sat stonily and waited for further instruction.

"Aro was right. You are quite quiet today. Have you given up already?" Jane asked. Odessa looked up from staring at her hand laying in her lap. She stared at Jane and contemplated how to proceed. She hadn't interacted much with Jane, but she knew the temper the vampire had. With her mind partially clear from thirst and now that she didn't have to focus on restraining herself, she could think a bit better. In truth, she did feel a little helpless. What could she truly do now that she only had one arm and what felt like a hundred eyes watching her every move? If she so much as walked the wrong way, there was a possibility that she could be punished. "I didn't peg you as a coward."

"I'm not a coward," Odessa said softly, almost as if she was trying to convince herself. "I'm just trying to survive."

"Just surviving won't cut it in this coven," Jane retorted sharply. "If you want to survive in this coven, you also need to thrive. Just surviving causes you to make selfish choices, mistakes. The Volturi don't give second chances. You're lucky the Masters gave you one. Don't waste it."

"Then I will thrive to survive," Odessa responded.

"Good," Jane said shortly.

"What task do I have to do?" Odessa asked after a beat of silence. She really wanted her arm back, and she wanted to be out of the hot spot. Being on Aro's, Caius's, and Marcus's bad side was not ideal. Perfecting the task was the only way to ensure she would not be harmed.

"There is a coven that resides in Russia. They handled their feeding grounds well until a month ago when they started being careless. The humans are starting to suspect something other than an animal is killing the locals. Our secret is at risk. We need to dispose of the coven. Aro requests that you bring the leader, Michail back with you. Everyone else can die," Jane explained.

"Why does Aro want him?" Odessa questioned curiously.

"He has information Aro wants," Jane said simply. "You'll have three days to complete your task. If you fail to return with Michail in three days' time, Caius will follow through with his threat. Don't allow that to happen."

"May I ask why you care so much?" Odessa asked innocently. "We have interacted less times than there are fingers on one of my hands. Why does it matter that I live?"

"Because you matter to Alec. Despite his current idiocy, he cares about you," Jane explained with a quick roll of her eyes. "He has never cared for anyone as much as he does you, other than me, of course. He would be devastated if something were to happen to you. I don't like when he is hurt, and your death would surely crush him. Besides, you aren't too annoying, and it would be nice to have another girl in the elite guard."

"I did not peg you as someone who would want to willingly interact with others," Odessa said sheepishly.

"While I do not enjoy the company of others most of the time, there are times when I think it would be nice to talk to someone else, especially a female. I'm sure you are aware of Alec's and my upbringing. I didn't have the luxury of spending time with other people, much less other girls. I find myself often wondering how that would feel," Jane confessed. She spoke in a monotone voice, but her word choice and the small indications of wonder and deep thought showed how curious and stumped she was. Odessa almost laughed at the sheer oddity of seeing Jane express something other than anger or sadism. It was refreshing in both the dreadful and pleasing sort of way. A small smile formed on Odessa's face, and she shook her head from it all.

"When should I leave?" she asked.

"Now would be preferable."

Odessa was frustrated tremendously. She had spent the better part of a day and a half trying to find the Russian coven led by Michail. If she didn't know any better, she'd assume they knew about her task and had already fled the area. She wanted to give up but knew that if she did, she'd face some grave consequences. When night fell on the second day of her hunting, she finally picked up a scent prominently of a vampire. She followed the trail as best as she could and came to a cave entrance carved in the bottom of a small mountain. She stopped and listened carefully. She sniffed the air twice and realized there were at least two vampires in the cave. There was one other scent that was oddly familiar, but she dismissed it as it was old and not relevant to her mission. She could work with that. She ran in as stealthily as she could, utilizing the lesson Felix and Santiago gave her, and rounded a corner. She came to a small room with thirteen human carcasses laying on the ground devoid of blood and life. Standing beside each other in defensive positions were two vampires. One was a brunette woman with a beauty mark sitting high on her cheek and smeared, red lipstick on her lips and surrounding skin. The other was a woman with platinum blonde hair, similar to Caius's hair yet a shade lighter, if possible. She had thick eyelashes and thick eyebrows to match.

Odessa concluded that neither one of the vampires in front of her were Michail, so she quickly acted and grabbed a hold of one of their essences. The blonde's essence was clouded with green: jealousy, inexperience. What she was jealous of, Odessa couldn't be sure, but the inexperience part could work in her favor. Needing a more experienced fighter, Odessa switched her pawns. The brunette's essence was clouded with purple: cruelty, arrogance. She could work with that. She forced the brunette to fight the blonde. Due to the blonde's inexperience fighting, the vampire perished quickly. Once the brunette finished off the blonde, Odessa forced the brunette to lay on the ground, stay still, and remain quiet as Odessa disconnected her head from her body by stomping her foot down on the brunette's neck at an angle.

Once the bodies were put aflame, Odessa abandoned the cave. As soon as she stepped out, she was ambushed by two vampires and scrambled to defend herself. A male and a female snarled at her and bared their teeth threateningly. Odessa looked between them and froze as her mind raced with the possibility of the find she knew would ensue. She couldn't fight them by herself, so she opted to do what she did earlier.

It was simple enough, and it was working until the woman gunned straight for her and tried taking her out. Odessa was forced to let the man go and dodge as the woman began attacking her. Odessa blocked a particularly nasty punch with her forearm but couldn't stop the woman's other fist from hitting her square in the face. Odessa flew to the side and winced as she got up in a hurry. She could feel small cracks in her face and bit her lip in worry as she tried to think of something to do to grant her victory.

"That was a dirty move," the man spit out venomously. "Try that again and I'll make sure you die slowly."

Odessa ignored his comment and asked, "Are you Michail?"

"Who wants to know?" the man asked defensively. That answered that question. Now that she knew she was fighting Michail and not some random male vampire, she had to tread lightly. She wondered if she could bring him back in pieces and put him back together like a puzzle when she got back to Volterra. If that were sufficient, she would do just that. However, she did run the risk of displeasing Aro or Caius.

"He asked you a question, wench!" the woman shouted. Odessa raised her brow at the negativity spewed her way and ignored the woman in favor of sizing up Michail. That obviously did not bode well. The woman screeched at being ignored and ran toward Odessa with swiftness. Luckily, Odessa was able to time it exactly right and side stepped the woman, effectively dodging her iron grip. Odessa grabbed a hold of the woman's arm and pulled as hard as she could. A tearing sound entered the air before Odessa was grabbed and thrown. She hit the solid surface of a boulder and coughed up a small amount of blood, hinting at the severity of her injury. She grimaced and swiped the back of her hand across her face.

Michail stilled in surprise at the sight of blood, then grinned.

"You're one of those hybrids everyone's been talking about," he deduced as he pointed a finger at Odessa. Odessa glared at him.

"No wonder she's so weak," the woman sneered.

"Why'd someone like you challenge an entire coven?" Michail asked, his head tilting to the side in a boyish manner. If she weren't on a mission to capture him and if she didn't already have a mate, she'd find him attractive. As it were, there was no room for thoughts such as those.

"If I'm being honest, I have no qualms with you," Odessa said. "However, your feeding habits have caught the attention of certain rulers."

"Ah, the Volturi," Michail said. "They've squashed the Romanians and now they have come for the Russians."

"Do not think so highly of yourselves," Odessa said with a smirk. "I had no idea of your existence until a few days prior. You are not as infamous as the Romanians, nor will you ever be."

"I am saddened to hear that," Michail said with insincerity. "I thought our precious coven sister told you all about us, Odessa."

"How do you know my name?" Odessa questioned tersely. Her question was left unanswered as she dodged a punch by Michail aimed her way and blocked a right hook from the woman. Upon contact, Odessa realized the woman was physically weaker than she originally thought, and her moves were sloppy. Odessa dodged the next punch Michail threw at her, grabbed the woman's subsequent fist, and pulled the woman in her direction. The woman's eyes widened marginally, and a cry of pain followed Odessa hit her square in the face. Odessa grabbed the woman's arm and wasted no time in dropping to the ground in a split to avoid Michail's oncoming hit and pulling the woman with her. The woman was bent over in rage, allowing Odessa to heave herself up and twist to wrap her legs around the woman's shoulders. The woman stood up and tried ripping Odessa from her shoulders. But Odessa was too quick. In one motion, Odessa grabbed the side of the woman's face and twisted it so hard cracks began to form and, eventually, her head tore from her neck.

Too occupied with the woman, Odessa failed to notice Michail advancing toward her. She was hit square in the back and fell forward, only to be picked up by her arm and thrown to the side.

"Do not tell me you forgot about Vera already," Michail chastised her. She winced as her arm was pulled so hard that cracks formed from the pull. Alarm covered her face and she worried she would lose her last arm to the fight. She wanted to flee to save herself and got ready to run. But she wanted her other arm back, and she didn't want to die anytime soon. She pulled herself together just in time to receive a kick to the face. She fell on her back and scrambled to stand. Michail scoffed at her and grabbed her by the throat. She panicked - remembered the last time she was choked - and struggled uncontrollably. Michail laughed at her until he was kicked in the shin hard enough to make him fall. He cursed and let Odessa go. She stood and quickly kicked Michail again. He fell on his front and Odessa raced to stand next to his head. She raised her leg, ready to deliver a stomp so hard it would de-head him, but she paused. She lowered her foot and grabbed ahold of his essence instead. Hopefully, they would be pleased with how she captured him.

It was a hard trip back to Volterra because she had to continuously use her gift to keep him moving. She was exhausted by the time she got back. She shuffled into the throne room, her feet dragged across the floor, her head drooped every now and then, her back hunched over. Michail walked in front of her mechanically, though he swore every now and then as he tried to get out of her mental grasp. Odessa swept an arm in gesture towards Michail and silently asked if she could be dismissed. Aro nodded his head and allowed her to lay down for the time being, quickly mentioning that they would talk to her soon as an afterthought. She practically ran to her room with whatever energy she had left and shut her door. She slipped into bed and immediately fell asleep. She woke up hours later to the sensation of someone touching her face. Blearily, she opened her eyes and squinted as her eyes adjusted and shook off the hazy film of exhaustion.

"Alec?" she questioned quietly.

"Did I wake you?" he asked just as quietly. He stared at her with an unreadable expression on his face. She stared back at him with her eyebrows scrunched together and a cloudy mind. Alec leaned in and brushed his nose against hers before he kissed her softly on the lips. Odessa didn't respond, still a little confused and quite hungry from her trip, so Alec kissed her again. Once her mind was clear and she could finally think, she pulled away from him and walked over to her dresser to pull out fresh clothes. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door. An hour later and her hair and body were clean and lathered in lotions that complimented her natural scent nicely. She headed to the room and discarded her dirty clothes. She tried leaving the room, but Alec caught her hand and stopped her from going. Odess looked back at him and tugged at her hand with no luck.

"May I talk to you for a moment?" Alec asked.

"I am not in the mood to talk to you," Odessa stated. Now that she had a clear mind, she remembered what Michail had said right before she brought him to the Volturi. He had known Vera, and she had been a part of his coven. Were the Russians the ones trying to overthrow the Volturi all those years? Odessa thought it had been the Romanians, especially after they had tried to recruit her during her stay at the Cullens' house. Were they still trying to overthrow the Volturi? Should she warn Aro?

"Just a moment," Alec tried once more, interrupting her thoughts. Odessa breathed through her nose and out her mouth in a huff. She wanted to focus on what Michail had said, not mend her relationship with Alec. She wanted to avoid him - him and his hurtful words thrown haphazardly as if she were some random stranger. She still could not believe he had treated her like a prisoner. He had been cruel, and while she certainly had thrown a tantrum, she hadn't used her anger to hurt him. But she knew he would continue to ask her to talk until she agreed.

"Just a moment," Odessa agreed. She moved to sit down on the bed. Alec sat next to her and grabbed her hand in his. He smoothed his thumb over her knuckles in a relaxing motion and addressed her.

"I want to apologize for my behavior," he said quietly. "It was not my intention to upset you so."

"Wasn't it?" she asked rhetorically.

"I admit I shouldn't have said some of the things I did, and I shouldn't have acted the way I did, but I was upset with the events that occurred."

"So, you took it out on me?" Odessa asked.

"I don't wish to fight today," Alec said.

"Neither do I. I admit I was out of hand, but I do not see the value in keeping my arm and treating me so poorly. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Does the Volturi truly always act and behave perfectly? I would say no if their actions from the rumors about Renesmee were anything to go by," Odessa ranted.

"We do not look for perfection, rather we prefer it."

"But that is the problem. Nobody is perfect. There are times when our buttons are pushed too hard or when we are so stressed that our actions do not reflect who we truly are. No two days are the same, and no two hours are the same."

"I agree to an extent. In our world, as our species, two hours and two days can look the same, can feel the same. The minutes and the years blend together, and time passes before our very eyes as if it is racing to a finish line," Alec provided.

"Maybe," she said with a small shrug, "but even our thoughts are not the same every hour. We are still human. We may not be biologically, and we may not be behaviorally, but we are. We were once entirely human, well, you were. Those emotions do not go away."

"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, we are far more advanced than humans to be acting like them," Alec disagreed. Odessa hummed and stood up. She walked over to her vanity and stared at herself in the mirror. She took note of how un-red her eyes were, of how soft her skin looked, how she could still smile and frown and glare. Then she looked at Alec and saw the way confusion flitted into his burgundy eyes, how his mouth became that much poutier, and how his eyebrows scrunched together. It confused her how mightier-than-thou vampires were when they were just replicas of humans. Too many vampires she had run across in her time alive shared the same view of humans as Alec - as Vera.

Humans were confused beings seeking truths to the things they liked, seeking acceptance wherever they went, and enjoying their time alive, savoring the good things and offing the bad things. Vampires were the same way, except their emotions were felt stronger and affected their decisions more - whether certain vampires cared to admit it. Vampires were more polished yet still faulty in their own rights. It wasn't the humans' fault that they couldn't think faster or run faster or punch a hole through a boulder.

"Agree to disagree, then," she finally responded. "If that is all, I'd like to find something to eat."

"You forgive me, then?" he asked hopefully.

"No, I do not think I have," she mused. "I am still childish, you see. I do not think I am finished with such pathetic mewling."

"Odessa, I didn't mean that."

"You did."

"Odessa-"

"I understand that my actions were less than favorable, so I am willing to work on myself to become less of a brat, for lack of better words. However, do not expect me to forgive you so easily after a short apology and lying, whether purposeful or habitual. I need time and space. You are not a terrible person, Alec, and I know you do not wish to argue. I just need time to come to terms with my feelings on the matter," she explained.

"If that is what you wish," Alec responded after a beat of silence.

"It is. I am going to eat something. Do you know when they are planning to give me back my arm? I would rather have it back sooner than later as I am not sure of the time limit on these matters."

"Aro plans on giving your arm back once he is finished with Michail."

"I look forward to having both arms," she said dreamily. She walked towards her door but hesitated in the doorway. She looked back at Alec and said, "I will speak with you as soon as I figure this out. I won't throw this away based on an argument."

Alec nodded his head and watched as she left.