Warnings

"Where's Carlisle?" Basileus boomed as he strode into the guard hall. Guards scattered like rats to the sides of the room, abandoning whatever activities were keeping them amused prior to their creator's entrance.

"You," Basileus pointed at Renata. "Where is my son?" he tried to ask the young woman kindly, but it came out as a kind of growl despite his best efforts.

"My lord, he, well, he, he."

"Spit it out!" Basileus ordered.

"He's with Ashanti, I don't know where though, my lord, I really don't."

Renata rushed her confession and ducked in fear at the roar Basileus released. They all knew their creator well, he was a fair, generous, often forgiving man, but his temper was renowned throughout the coven and no one wanted to be in his way when he blew. Thankfully, Basileus largely confined his rages to his private quarters.
Storming out of the guard quarters Basileus headed for an empty hallway so he could pick through the thoughts of the guards. One of them knew where Carlisle was, he could hear it, it was just too damn busy in there to work out who.

Antonio!

Basileus could hear the man thinking of the guest rooms in the level between Marcus' top floor suit and Caius' ground floor suit. Turning back around he re-entered the guard hall,

"Antonio, I will be back to speak with you later, you are to stay in this room. Understood?!"

The large bulky man, famed for his fearless escapades in battle and proud of his evil, underhand activities was now stood quaking in Basileus' line of sight. "Of course, m, m, master," he replied respectfully, but his fear slipped through in his stuttered words and shaky tone.

Basileus flashed to the guest suite. He didn't stop at the tower door, nor at the quarter's door, instead he flung it open and flashed inside to find Ashanti wrapped around his own newborn son.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

He ripped temptress off Carlisle by her hair, throwing her to the side of the room. She crashed awkwardly into a mirror which shattered and rained down splintered glass over her naked body.

"What are you doing, you can't do that, you can't stop us from being together!" Carlisle tried to gather the sheet around his body as he made his way out of the bed to Ashanti.

He didn't get very far.

Thump! Carlisle fell back, his head spinning. Basileus hit him, hard. That wasn't a slap, he just punched his son square in the face.

"Stay down!"

Carlisle didn't really have a choice. The crack in his skull dripped blood into his eyes and he was too dazed from the blow to even wipe it away.

He watched through his blood-red, obscured vision as his father ripped the sheet away from him and threw it at the scared woman covered in mirror shards. He heard his father shouting at the women he'd just bedded.

"I told you after Eleazar to stay away from my sons. You are a deceitful little witch and you will not rise through the ranks for as long as there is blood in my veins."
Basileus looked back to his son, still dazed. Kneeling over him, the creator checked the newborns wounds - he really hadn't intended to crack his damn skull. It would heal though.

"Carlisle, Carlisle look at me." His son obeyed. "Do not leave this room."

Carlisle nodded as Basileus laid him out on the bed more comfortably.

The creator said no more as he grabbed the wretched witch from the floor and pulled her along with him out the door, paying no care for the poor girl trying to conserve her modesty with the torn sheet as she was dragged through the halls of the old castle. Basileus picked through the minds of his coven finding out where Caius was. Dungeons, perfect! he thought, as he pulled Ashanti down the spiral stone staircase.

"CAIUS!" Basileus shouted as he flung Ashanti to the floor.

"Please, please my lord, don't give me to master Caius, please my lord!" Ashanti's pleading just pissed Basileus off more.

"SHUT UP!" he screamed in reply.

Caius came into view, he had clearly been 'working' in his private room judging by the blood covered tunic he wore. "Basileus, my lord, I…"

Basileus cut him off, he was in no mood for small talk. "Caius, my friend, a special delivery for you!" He pointed at the sobbing heap that was Ashanti. "Keep here with the other newborns, I do not trust her to walk freely in our halls."

Caius did a double take, Ashanti, god damn it, I can't lose Ashanti! he thought, loudly.

Basileus heard him. "You don't have to lose her, quite the opposite in fact, I want you to keep her all to yourself. Take her as your official mistress if you must, just keep her down here. Is that understood?"

Caius nodded, "Perfectly, my lord. I will find her a cell."

Basileus leaned down to the little witch, as he thought her, "Ashanti-" the woman quivered at the sound of his voice "-as soon as I find a replacement, you are out of my coven!"
Basileus didn't see Caius freeze as he heard him issue his promise, but he heard the younger masters thoughts as he swore to find a way to save his favourite bed fellow.

Ashanti replied in a very small voice, "yes, my lord."

Believing Caius would see to his duties, as the man always did, Basileus left the dungeons to retrieve his son.

When he returned, Carlisle was in the exact position he'd been left in, he looked like he'd fallen asleep.

"Carlisle. Get up." His son didn't move. Fuck. Basileus thought as he went to sit by his side. After shaking him gently, and then roughly, his boy woke up.

"My head is banging." Carlisle clutched his forehead.

Basileus pulled his hands away to check how he was healing. "That's fixing up pretty quickly, have you fed recently?"

Carlisle nodded, "Aro taught me to feed without killing," checking his father reaction, he didn't seem pleased. "I did okay." Carlisle added in hopes to swing some favour.

Basileus simply nodded with a tight smile, which made Carlisle feel even more uncomfortable.

"I really like Ashanti, father, you really didn't need to…"

Basileus interrupted his son before he could annoy him further. "Carlisle…"

"No, listen, I know I went wild when I first came here, but it's not like that with her…"

Basileus stood from the bed shaking his head. "Unless you want another crack in your skull you would do well to shut your mouth, now!" He began pacing growing frustrated again. "Listen to me, Ashanti isn't interested in you, she is interested in your position and because of her gift she will make you think you are attracted to her and you will think she feels the same - IT IS FALSE! You need to trust me, I can read her thoughts, I know she is false, she wants to fuck her way to the top and you were fresh meat!"

Silence fell between them as Carlisle tried to work out his own thoughts. "How can I know you aren't the one being false?"

Basileus thought about that. "You can't, I expect you to trust me. I am your family now, you need to place your trust in me. I will be happy when you find a mate, I will find one for you if you wish, hell, you can try out every vampire that walks through this place…"

Carlisle perked up a little so Basileus quickly added, "with a little decorum, son."

Carlisle smiled sheepishly to the elder vampire.

"Above all I want you to be happy and have a good life, Ashanti is a common whore and I won't stand by while you are taken in by her trickery."

Carlisle did trust him, he didn't really know why, but it felt like Basileus had been his father his entire life and that bad blip with the good pastor was just a distant, painful, memory.

"I trust you," Carlisle offered as he looked at his father with faithful eyes.

"Then let's go back to our quarters, I need to speak with your brothers."

It suddenly dawned on Carlisle how much trouble Aro and Eleazar would be in with him evading their supervision. "It wasn't Aro's fault, I slipped out when he was dealing with Felix and…"

"Newborns are unpredictable, Aro knows that better than anybody. And besides, that is only part of the reason I need to talk with your brother. Get dressed. We're leaving." Basileus threw Carlisle's clothes and waited whilst he dressed.

Carlisle was a little unsteady on his feet, the floor appeared to move under his step. Basileus caught his son's arm and held him closely as they walked back through the castle to the Volturi family tower. When they arrived at their suite Basileus ushered his son inside and told him to clean himself up, he may also have threatened to brake his nose next if he left without permission again, jokingly, of course. Or maybe not.

Basileus headed to Eleazar first, he knew he had a woman hiding in his quarters when he'd knocked looking for Carlisle earlier. I hope she's out by now son because you are about to get both barrels from me either way!

"Eleazar! Get out here!" Basileus called out as he entered his sons living area.

Taking a good look around, he was surprised, Eleazar's suite usually looked like a hurricane had recently passed through it, but now it was immaculate.

"Have you convinced Sulpicia to clean for you?" he asked as he ran a finger across the hearth, spotless. "Eleazar, what are you playing at!" Basileus called out for a final time before opening the door to his son's bed chamber. Dumbfounded by the sight before his eyes, he didn't speak.

"Father please, I can explain."

"Well it had better be good son, because if you have brought a human up here to keep as a pet I can promise you now this will end badly!"

Basileus looked murderous, Eleazar had no intention of fucking around with his father when he was in such a mood.

"I've already bit her, she's in the last stages of the transformation."

Basileus sat at the woman's side, Eleazar did the same on her far side.

"Why she isn't in the dungeons with the other newborns?" he asked. "Caius deals with raising newborns Eleazar, or is this one particularly gifted in some way?"

Eleazar shook his head, his dark, long fringe waving into his eyes as he did so. "She isn't gifted, but she is mine, I can't explain it father, but I know we are meant to be together."

Basileus looked at the young woman. They would make a well matched couple. "I don't have to worry about you developing a newborn obsession like Demetri, do I?"

Eleazar stood up. "No, no, I really mean it. She is the one - I will spend the rest of my life with this woman."

Basileus walked to the door, his son should have private time with his mate-to-be. "You need to get her back down to the dungeons to feed, son. Call me if you need help. I will come back in a while to see how you are."

Basileus watched his son taking the woman's hand in his own and kissing her gently. He was happy, so happy that Eleazar had finally found someone permanent and he sensed this girl really was. But he couldn't help the small pain in his heart that he was about to lose a piece of eldest son forever.

"Father," Eleazar called out quietly before Basileus could leave. "Don't blame Aro for losing Carlisle, he's turning a corner with Felix and the others, everything is coming together. I shouldn't have left them down there but…" he drifted off, gesturing to the raven haired beauty laid out in his bed.

"I understand El, don't worry about Aro." Basileus closed the door behind him and headed up to the top floor suite.

"Sulpicia, my dear." Basileus greeted his daughter in law as he entered her quarters.

"Basileus, please come in, sit with me." It was rare for Sulpicia to ask for his counsel, Basileus sat immediately, happy they were alone.

"What is it my dear?" he asked whilst taking her extended hand.

Sulpicia's thoughts rushed from her mind - she showed him the altercation between Felix and Aro, how Aro had apologized to their boy, and how he was trying, really trying for things to be more relaxed in their home. Home. These quarters were home now, not just where the young guards lodged so Aro could protect their gifts. She showed him all he had hoped to see, and showed him that Aro was doing as he had told his father he would and that Aro had only just realized he was putting on his public face when his brothers and father were around, but he was going to put that right. Sulpicia was clever though. She didn't show Basileus any independent thought, she didn't reveal her feelings, she simply replayed her recent memories in an order that told Basileus a story - completely untraceable should her husband inspect her 'conversation' later. Yes, Sulpicia was quiet and unassuming, but she was clever too.

"I understand, my lady, thank you." Basileus responded as she withdrew her hand taking up the book she'd discarded when Basileus had entered.

"Where is everyone?" Basileus asked as he leaned back into his chair.

"I'm here, father," Aro spoke as he entered through the archway from the bed chamber corridor, eyeing Sulpicia suspiciously. "Drink?" he asked Basileus as he poured himself a large goblet of wine. Aro took the extended hand as an answer and gave his father his own goblet as he sorted himself another one.

"My love, I am going to check on the young ones," Sulpicia told her husband as she left the room.

Aro nodded as she did so. Sulpicia always wanted to check on them after Aro had spoken to them about, well, about anything! He wondered sometimes if he should be offended, as though she didn't trust him with them in some way, but after checking her thoughts on the subject he realized she wanted to mother them any chance she got and they were far more receptive to her 'mothering' when she offered a good cop to Aro's bad cop routine.

"Join me son," Basileus called as he gestured to the seat opposite him.

Aro took the seat and knocked back half of his wine in one to steady his nerves. "Listen, father, I know I should have kept a closer eye on Carlisle. I told him to wait here for me, I was only with Felix and Demetri in their room, I didn't leave him to wander the castle or anything…" Seeing his father had raised his hand to quiet him, Aro stopped talking.

"I understand, Aro. Forget about it."

Aro was surprised. Aro wasn't known for letting things go - Felix would often complain loudly on the matter in fact, but Basileus letting things go was even less of a regularity. Aro wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Thank you. Erm, have you spoken to Eleazar yet?" he asked his father carefully.

Basileus sat back and laughed. "Yes, I must say I was surprised to find a human in his bed! I think I will have to leave him here when I go away now. Will you be able to cope with Eleazar's newborn and Carlisle?" he asked his son, and quickly added, "Without putting either of them into the dungeons!"

Aro laughed loudly, "I will cope much better with Eleazar around, even if there is a second newborn thrown into the mix! I don't suppose there is any chance of you cancelling your trip? What are you searching for anyway?"

Basileus disappeared regularly and rarely told anyone where he was going. It frustrate the coven king - Aro was used to being privilege to all the details but it didn't work that way with Basileus.

"I cannot, I am sorry, but I will return as soon as possible. That is the best I can do."

Aro huffed, but accepted his father's answer.

Basileus continued, "So, what happened with Felix anyway?"

Aro finished his drink and went to pour another large one. "He slipped up in the dungeons in front of Marcus and Caius, and the humans, of course." Aro retook his seat now his goblet was replenished and continued, "Now we both know Marcus wouldn't care, neither would the humans for that matter, but Caius. You should have seen the look he threw me when he heard Felix mouthing off at me and speaking so casually."

Basileus looked grim, we really can't afford for Felix to be pushing relations with Caius right now. I need to know the coven is in safe hands, I don't want a war between the masters of Volterra. This coven is huge and it needs stable leadership. "Have you spoke with him?"

Aro smiled, "Naturally. To hear him whining just, I scared the crap out of him in the dungeons and he's still pissed I refused to allow him to feed down there after he acted out." Aro laughed lightly to himself as he drank down more wine.

"You have made it clear to Felix that things will only be more relaxed in this tower, yes? I mean, really clear?" he pushed.

"Yes, really, really clear." Aro replied, as he filled another glass.

Basileus filled his own again before seeking out the rest of Aro's household to say goodbye. "Sully my dear, I will be leaving at dawn so I won't see you again until my return. Keep an eye on my sons for me," he said with a smile as she passed him in the hall.

"Always my lord, enjoy your trip," she returned easily as she went to search out her husband.

Basileus went to the twins' room first, they looked half asleep. "Little ones, I will be away for a few days, if you are good little vampires I will bring back gifts!" The twins bounced excitedly in their beds and wished him well. They look like such innocent children - terrifyingly powerfully dangerous children, he thought as he closed their door.

Turning on his heel, he faced the door to Demetri and Felix' bedchamber. Basileus closed his eyes for a moment, he hated being hard on the kids, but he really needed them to be under control whilst he was away, Aro has enough to do!

Pushing the door lightly, he saw both boys siting at the edges of their beds, waiting for him. "Lads, I will be going away for a few days. I need to talk with you before I leave."
Both stiffened, Felix looked horrified.

"I know you were acting out earlier in front of Caius, Felix. For your sake I hope you understand that cannot happen again?"

Felix nodded. Basileus wasn't convinced - though Felix was regularly repentant, he was rarely resolved to changing his behaviour. Closing the door behind him, Basileus placed his goblet on the table by Demetri's bed and approached Felix.

"Did Aro spank you?"

If he had the ability, Felix would have blushed! "No sir, we just talked, I know I screwed up, it won't happen again."

Basileus looked the boy up and down. "Hmm, I think we may need more than that. Stand up."

Felix obeyed, though he took half a step backwards as he did so. Basileus took the boy's arm and moved him to the side. With as much force as he dared, the elder planted a blindingly hard swat on the youth's rear. It felt like fire had engulfed Felix's backside - it was all he could do to keep his complaints to hissing rather than screaming with pain as his body was telling him to do. Releasing his hold on the boy Basileus instructed him to get back into bed and lie down. He obeyed, whimpering with the contact as he did so.

Turning to face Demetri, Basileus was confronted with a scared little boy rather than a fierce vampire. Yes, but this scared little vampire will be trying to fuck about with the newborns over the next week or so and I don't want Aro's position being compromised whilst I am away. Sorry Demetri, this is for the greater good!

"Stand up!" he told the boy as he approached, Demetri didn't move. Basileus knew he wasn't disobeying as such, just frightened. "Stand up, or you will get two," he threatened.

The boy willed himself to get off his bed, he was just about to jump back in as the formidable creator caught his wrist. Without giving Demetri time to register what was happening, Basileus planted a hard slap to his hide that had the boy standing on tiptoes and biting hard into his hand.

"Get in bed," Basileus ordered as he released him.

Demetri wasted no time in diving into the sheets as though they offered some protection from their master's father.

"You will not go near any newborns while I am away, got it?" Basileus told Demetri, who nodded vigorously in return. "And neither of you will speak out of turn outside this tower, understood?"

Both replied with a simple 'yes, sir'.

Basileus stared them both down and nodded to himself at their submission. "That was just one swat. If I find out you have caused any drama while I am gone, I WILL belt you. Don't test me."

The two young vampires paled at his words and sunk into their beds as he closed their door, neither dared speak, but their thoughts were unified - best behaviour until Basileus returns!