Felix POV
I was hanging around the marketplace today because I was bored. I hadn't had a new mission come my way in weeks and staying in the castle all day was beginning to wear on my nerves. I felt like a caged animal and it was a feeling that I despised. I had to get out of there before I destroyed yet another room. Which is how I found myself here. People watching.
Watching these humans buy and sell their wares can keep me entertained for a little while, but I was sure I'd find another means of occupying my time once Gianna finished her shift at the castle. It was very sunny today so I had to hide in the shadows of buildings and people watch instead of sitting in my favorite spot near the fountains that took up the center of this courtyard. I wasn't paying particular attention to anyone, just minding my own business, when I heard a heart racing. Normally humans don't get that excited over wares unless they're being proposed to, so I scanned the crowd for the happy couple.
What I found instead surprised me. There was a short blonde woman and a taller brunette woman standing at a merchant's booth and the brunette was staring at me. Normally I can understand the look a human gets when they see one of us. It's all in the eyes. The pupils dilate, the eyes widen, and they all look a bit dazed. They're usually one of two things at that point; frightened or extremely turned on. I'm no empath, but those are the two emotions that I constantly see in humans when they see me. I've had centuries to learn them.
This look was neither of those. This look was a mixture of fear and…anger? I wonder what that's about, not that I should care in the least. When the brunette asked for her friend's lighter, I knew something was amiss. She put it in her own pocket instead of giving it back to her friend, which could mean she's a common thief, or it could mean something much worse for me. Not that I should be scared of a silly human girl, far from it. I'm Felix Volturi for Zeus' sakes. I wouldn't even have to try to take her out. It would be a mere thought to wait until she came closer, then snap her neck. Simple. I wouldn't drain her within the city walls unless I wanted to be ripped apart and burned, but it would be nothing for me to end her. She is no threat to me.
My thoughts surrounding this brunette are cut off when a shrill ringing pierces my ears. Damn these infernal cellular phones!
"What?" I ask angrily.
"Geez, what crawled up your ass?" Demetri asks unfazed.
"Nothing. Why did you call me?" I snap.
"Just to tell you to watch out for the Twins and Santiago. They're bored and headed your way. You know how they enjoy starting shit just for entertainment." Demetri warns.
"I'll keep an eye on them." I say as I hang up the phone.
"You wouldn't be talking about us, would you Felix?" Jane asks sweetly as she emerges from the alley next to me with Alec and Santiago following behind her.
"Who else could I possibly be talking about, Jane?" I ask annoyed. "It's not like you didn't hear the conversation anyway, so what excuse would I have to lie?"
"Fair enough." Jane replies calmly.
Our conversation is halted when we hear the brunette I've been watching tell her friend that they had to go. I could see the blonde getting angry with her friend, but the brunette wasn't backing down. I knew then that the brunette knew what we were. How? I had no idea, but I wanted to find out.
"Jane," I state pointing to the women, "those two women, there. The brunette knows what we are. I want them brought before the kings to have them questioned."
"It's against the law for a human to know of us. Are you sure?" Jane asks.
"Yes. I've been watching them for some time. The brunette has dealt with our kind before, so don't underestimate her. I want them both brought to the castle immediately. I'll inform Aro." I reply.
I watch as Jane and Santiago head one direction and Alec heads the other. They were using a very old, but very effective hunting trick and the humans were falling right into it. They thought the sun would cover them, and normally, they'd be right. However, they couldn't see that Santiago had a clear path to them and was behind both of them before they knew it.
The brunette was a lot more informed about our kind than I had thought she'd be. It took her seemingly no time at all before she had shoved her lighter in Santiago's mouth and made for the fountain. She didn't go under, though. She made sure he burned before heading off into the alley across from mine. I hated to admit that although I was impressed with her quick actions, I wasn't at all sorry about Santiago's loss. He was a pain in the ass anyway and practically useless.
I looked over at Jane and she had a puzzled and horrified expression on her face and Alec was just pissed off.
"Jane! Why didn't you drop her before she burned Santiago?" I heard Alec reprimand his sister from across the marketplace.
"I tried! I swear! It just didn't work!" Jane nearly screeched in indignation.
"Well, what are you two standing around for?" I ask irked. "Go get them and take them to the throne room!"
They both took off to hunt the two girls while I made a call. "Hello?" The other voice on the line sounded positively bored, but I knew something that would perk him right up.
"Aro, it's Felix. I'm going to need you and your brothers in the throne room within the hour. I have information you're going to need." I replied.
"We'll meet you there." Aro said before he disconnected the call. Now all I had to do was wait.
Caius POV
I was sitting in the gardens with my beautiful Athena in my arms, listening to her go on and on about an Opera that she, Sulpicia, Chelsea, and Corin had all been to last night in Rome when Afton came barging in shouting for me. "My Lord, Caius!"
"What is it Afton, and why must you shout so?" I ask exasperated. I was rather enjoying the time I was spending with my mate. I didn't get to spend as much time with her recently as I would like to and these moments where we just got to be alone were far too few.
"Lord Aro needs to see you in the throne room immediately, sir!" Afton relays.
I turn to my beautiful mate and tell her, "I'm sorry, my dear. My brother calls. I will finish hearing all about your tale when I return to you after whatever business he has for me is resolved."
"Do not apologize to me, Caius." Athena replies. "You are a busy man and you have a kingdom to run. Just make sure you come back to me soon." She kisses me sweetly and then releases me to my Kingly duties.
It takes me no time at all to get to the throne room where Marcus and Aro are waiting for me. Marcus looking as bored as ever, but Aro has a bit of a twinkle in his eyes that I haven't seen in quite some time. This is either going to be very good news, or very bad news. Either way, it's a change from the boredom that we've all been feeling recently.
"What is the meaning of this summons, Aro?" I question.
"Felix called." Aro states unperturbed.
"And that's cause for you to demand my presence here? I was spending time with my mate, Aro!" I lament as I take my seat on the empty throne.
"This matter requires your presence, Caius. I swear that you can go back to Athenodora as soon as our business here is completed." Aro replies serenely.
It's during times like these that I really wonder if being a King is really worth all of the figurative headaches that come with the title. There are some days that I would like to take a decade or so off and tour the world with Athena so I can relax, but the likelihood of that happening is nil. I'm needed here and my mate is ever patient and understanding of that fact. Aro, of course, loves being a King. There's nothing that makes him happier and nothing seems to stress him out in regards to the job. It almost seems as though he was born into it. Marcus, ever the scholar, only remains King because we need a third on the throne to sway decisions when Aro and I inevitably argue over something. As depressed as he is, he's still one of the three faces of the Volturi and as such he has quite the loyal set of followers and we can't see ourselves ever replacing him without suffering consequences.
"So, what did Felix have to say?" I ask.
"It was a rather short conversation, but he just said that he needed all three of us here and that we would need some information that he has." Aro replied simply.
"He didn't say anything else?" I ask.
"No."
I can't help but roll my eyes at his blithe reaction to his general lack of answers. If Felix had called me, I would have gotten much more out of him than he's willing to give Aro. As annoying as Aro's quirks can be, and they are many, he does tend to have a flair for the dramatic that grates on my nerves and can be more of a hindrance than anything. This is one of those times that I can almost feel his excitement at learning the information Felix has for us and the various ways he might be able to obtain it.
We only have to wait a few minutes before Felix, Jane, Alec and two struggling humans are brought before us.
"What is this, Felix? A snack?" Aro asks amused.
"If so, it's not much of one, now is it, Aro?" I ask looking over the girls. They are pretty little things, but there's something about them that piques my curiosity. I'm not sure if it's the way they hold themselves or the general lack of fear they have, but I can tell these two are going to liven up the place.
"I know who you are." The brunette that Alec was holding states calmly.
"A human that knows what we are is against the law, my dear." Aro chides.
"I didn't say that I knew what you were, although I clearly do. I said I know who you are, Aro." The brunette says defiantly. "Now if you wouldn't mind calling your goons off, I will be more than willing to tell you what all I know."
My brother seems a bit shocked about being called out by a human, but I was beginning to have an inkling of respect for her. She comes into our city, knows not only what, but who we are and states all of this without one hint of fear.
"Who are you, girl?" I ask.
"My name is Captain Isabella Swan. This," she says nodding to the other woman, "is Lieutenant Charlotte Winchester and you," she says looking at me, "must be Caius. Which must mean the vamp to my far left is Marcus. The Kings of the vampire world. I would bow, but with your goon here holding me as tightly as he is, it seems I can't at the moment." she says with a hint of attitude.
"Jane, Alec. You can let them go. They aren't going anywhere." Aro says.
"Where is Santiago?" Marcus asks.
"I burned him." Isabella responds without hesitation. "He, along with these three brutes surrounded us and I defended myself the only way I could."
"How do you know so much about us, dear?" Aro asks.
"The Cullen's." Isabella replies scathingly.
"You don't seem to be a fan, young Isabella." I reply.
"I'm not. In fact, I would rather not see them ever again." She answers.
"I would like to see what you know of them." Aro states standing and flitting over to where Isabella is standing. She doesn't even flinch at his proximity and holds her head up high as he stands before her. I'm really liking this little spitfire.
"What do you need from me?" Isabella asks.
"Just your hand, my dear. I promise you I won't hurt you." Aro responds.
She places her hand in his and he closes his eyes to gather the information he seeks. After a few moments, he opens his eyes and says, "I see nothing."
"She must be a shield, Aro." Marcus states quietly.
"Let's see what information you have divulged to dear Charlotte." Aro states as he moves to her. She visibly flinches away from him, but holds her ground as she places her hand in his. "Ah," he states after a moment, "dear Charlotte has been told what we are, but is loathe to believe anything. In fact, she feels Isabella here is quite off her rocker and isn't quite sure that she isn't dreaming right now."
"I assure you that this is no dream, Charlotte." I state to her.
"Thanks, for the vote of confidence, Char." Isabella states coolly.
"Well, what the hell am I supposed to think? You tell me vampires exist and we're being hunted by them? Honestly it sounded like a bad teen angst novel." Charlotte replies angrily.
"Ladies, before this comes to blows, I need more information. Isabella, you said that you found out about us from the Cullen's. How do you know them?" Aro asks.
So Isabella tells us about her Junior year of high school and how she had gone to Forks, Washington to live with her father after her mother got re-married. She told us about seeing Edward for the first time and how she thought she had fallen in love with him. She continued her story and told us about meeting the entire family and about how close she felt to all of them and about a painting that Carlisle had in his office of the Volturi Kings and that was how she knew us on sight. She then told us about a baseball game that had happened where 3 nomads, Victoria, James, and Laurent had wanted to play with the Cullen's but after her scent was blown James' way, he decided on another game all together and had made her his new target. She ran with Jasper and Alice to Phoenix, Arizona and was tricked by James into meeting her at a ballet studio where he tortured and bit her. When the Cullen's showed up, Jasper and Emmett destroyed James while Edward sucked the venom out of her wrist and Carlisle tried his best to patch her up before heading to the nearest hospital. She never found out what happened to Laurent or Victoria.
At a birthday party thrown by Alice for Isabella several months later, she ended up getting a paper cut and Jasper attacked her which caused Edward to throw her into some crystal plates and glasses which just cut her further. Carlisle patched her up again once everyone left the house and a few days later, Edward broke up with her stating that she wasn't good enough for him and that she was just a distraction. It mentally broke her and her father sent her to a military academy to try and help get her back to some semblance of her old self. She enjoyed it so much that she chose the military life as a career and never looked back.
I was taken in by her story. I knew that there was no lie in what she told and I could see even her friend Charlotte did not know of any of this about her past. I was drawn to this girl and I was concerned by what the Cullen's had done to her. They broke her. It wasn't her fault that supernatural creatures lived amongst her, but she paid the price for falling in love with someone that was obviously not meant for her.
"That is quite the story, Isabella." Aro remarks after she's done.
"It's the truth." Isabella states calmly.
"All these years you've kept that secret. All these years and you didn't tell me?" Charlotte accuses.
"You didn't believe me when I told you vampires were real, Char. What was I supposed to do when I knew no one would believe me?" Isabella asks.
"Well," Aro begins, "you know the punishment for a human knowing of our existence, yes?"
"Yes." Isabella replies resigned. "I'm either changed, or I die. The choice is yours to make, not mine to request."
"That is true, but if you could make a request and have it be considered, what would it be?" I ask her.
"I would chose to be changed, Caius but only if Charlotte changes with me." Isabella responds.
"Why would you choose that fate over dying?" Marcus asks.
"I've never felt in sync with humanity. It was only after I met the Cullen's that I truly felt like their world was where I belonged."
"And why would you request the same for your friend?" I ask.
"She has been more than a friend to me for years. She is more like the little sister I never thought to ask for and I would be inconsolable if she was no longer with me." Isabella replies.
"Give us a moment to confer, ladies." Aro states as he leaves the throne room with Marcus and I on his heels.
We don't go far before Aro turns to me and says, "A shield, Caius! An actual shield! Can you believe it? I really would love to have her changed. She would become a wonderful asset to us! Especially since she took out one of our own guard as a human! I can't wait to see what she'll be like when she's more durable!"
"She will not agree unless she sees Charlotte changed. Their bond is extraordinary in its intensity, but I also see a different bond forming, too." Marcus relates.
"A different bond? Explain." I reply.
"You are impressed by her, Caius. She has intrigued you with her strength, determination, lack of fear, and honesty and I see a bond growing with you, Isabella, and Charlotte. I can't identify what it is yet, but it's certainly there." He replies.
"That settles it, then!" Aro retorts. "Caius, you will change the girls! We haven't had newborns in the castle for decades! This will certainly make for an interesting year."
"Then you need to find a way to stage their deaths, Aro. We don't want them going AWOL and having their pictures posted everywhere for the next few years. We have to find a way to kill them off." I reply.
"I'll handle that part." Marcus responds.
"Alright. Let's go tell them our decision." Aro states almost giddy with excitement.