AN: Thank you for the reviews and the messages guys, truly appreciated! We've jumped forward a month to find out what's going on with Felix. I feel sorry for the big oaf, bless him.
I own nothing, big thanks to Meyers for sharing nicely :)
1664, June - Troubled Felix
You are going to get me killed with these requests, you know. Actually killed, not metaphorically, properly dead. Felix paced the roof top of the castle's highest keep at vampire speed whilst he berated himself. He looked to the outer walls, both the grand main gate and side 'tradesman's entrance' were visible from where he watched diligently for Didyme to return. Diligently, something tells me if, no, WHEN Aro finds out about this he won't think me so damn diligent. Where the hell is she! His thoughts roared at him for being so stupid to go along with this ridiculous plan, again. None of the wives were permitted to move beyond their quarters without a guard accompanying them. It was too dangerous - they would be the ideal target for a rogue coven.
Aro had, as promised, arranged a new rota for guarding duties. Felix only had a few days left until he could give this gig over to an older newborn and he would be free of this stress forever - he had to get through the last few days first though and Didyme had really ramped up the unreasonable requests on hearing she would lose Felix soon. Aro is going to rip my head from my body when he finds out I have been allowing this. He already suspects, I couldn't be more skittish when he's around… he knows I'm up to something. Fuck. Where is she! As if finally answering his prayers, he saw the raven haired beauty slip through the trade gate. If you weren't aware of what to look for you would have missed the fleeting image.
Felix swore he could feel his dead heart thumping in his chest… this was the last time, he was not going to agree to this again, yeah right, he told himself that every time. Damn witch of a vampire makes it all feel like such a good idea when she asks.Then she leaves and takes that happy hormone with her and I'm left dripping in a venom sweat waiting for her to come back. Or for Aro to catch me, the shudder from that final thought had him gag on his own pooling venom. Making his way back down to Marcus' private quarters, Felix arrived at the same time as Didyme slipped back in through the hall way window.
She ran to Felix and cupped his face gently. "Aww Felix, my favourite guard, you have no idea the happiness you bring to me by granting my simple requests." Didyme's words were delivered like morning bird song. Felix could feel her happiness lapping at the edge of his tattered psyche. "No, no, no, - do not spread any more of that happiness crap to me. We can't do this again, I am playing with fire, literally! Marcus will set me on fucking fire if anything happens to you, he was gunning for me last month thinking we were having an affair for fuck sake! And Aro! If I were the reason his little sister was captured, or worse! He will kill me Didyme, you know that right?"
Felix was tense, he released himself from Didyme's grip and started pacing again. He could feel her happiness trying to find a way into his mind and he fought it with all the mental strength he had left. He didn't want to feel happy about this, he was being reckless with her life - her life, that he was directly responsible for guarding! "Oh Felix, honey, where has my favourite guard gone! Where is your carefree mind, your jokes, your laughter, you playful spirit… Felix?" She approached him tentatively, placing a soft delicate hand on his brawny shoulder she forced her happiness into him. Felix was no match for her strength of spirit. He began to relax, the worries, very valid worries began to melt away.
"Felix," she crooned, "I wouldn't do anything to bring you sorrow, and you don't appreciate your own value. My brother loves you Felix, you are his personal guard, he wouldn't let anything happen to you. We aren't hurting anybody. I need to taste freedom for a few hours every hundred or so years… Marcus worries too much about losing me. Aro thinks losing any of us would threaten the Volturi. You, my dear Felix, are the only one in these old castle walls who allows me to just be." The broad grin on Felix's face was back, Didyme's magic had worked once again. They used to burn witches like you, he thought. He didn't mean it. Felix enjoyed being with Didyme really, everyone did. She brought happiness to even the most desolate of beings. And she was so powerful! He didn't stand a chance against her and he knew it. "That was the last time, please, that had to be the last time." "Of course my dear one, of course…" Her voice floated away as she returned to her private quarters. Felix remained until he heard Marcus' voice call out for his wife and he slipped out of the door as Marcus entered.
He didn't go straight back to his own quarters, Felix needed to think! It was still light out so he decided to walk in the late afternoon sun now he was no longer restricted to the tower. He couldn't walk though, he was too pissed off with himself. He started stalking around the castle grounds brooding over his own foolishness… he could of course go to Aro and ask to be excused these last few days… but then he would ask why, no he wouldn't ask why, he would have a hand coiled around my neck reading my thoughts. But he knows his sisters trickery all too well, I could explain that… but all those times… Didyme and Felix had been through this countless times already. Didyme had pushed to explore the grounds unattended and then outside the heavy stone, protective wall. Her trickery saw to it that Felix happily agreed to a little further, a little longer. Aro is going to kill me. And so Felix battled with his thoughts, back and forth, but he couldn't come up with an answer - how the hell was he going to get out of this one? CRASH!
"Whoa brother!" Felix, so lost in his thoughts had walked right into Demetri who was also distracted watching his latest love interest in practice; the way she threw the other guard about in their training ground, he loved fucking newborns, they were crazy! The danger helped, it was risky, they could turn at any moment and try to rip his dead head off his shoulders… but he loved it. He knew Aro deemed his sexual exploits unacceptable but he took the chance whenever the opportunity presented itself; this one, he didn't know her name, nor care, was next on his list! "What's wrong with you Felix?" shoving him with his shoulder Demetri added, "fucking oaf!"
Felix flashed his brother a small smile before sliding down the wall to sit on the flagstones. Demetri joined him. It didn't take too much prodding for Felix to finally spill his troubled thoughts. Demetri listened to every word, and right from the first his mouth hung open in shock. He was well used to his brother's fuck-ups; Felix bored easily and his relentless attempts to inject humour into their immortal lives brought him regular scolding's, and worse! But this was big. When Felix had finished pouring out his dead heart he chanced a look at his brothers face… horror, Demetri looked horrified at what Felix had told him, fearing for both his brothers actions and now, for his own knowledge of it!
Both young vampires, being part of Aro's personal, high guard answered directly to him. They were often grateful for that, except when it actually came to answering to him. Still, it was better than being under Caius. Caius' guard didn't last more than decade or so before he dismembered them, and their final demise would be precipitated with frequent loss of limb for even minor infractions. They lived in the guard hall with the rest of the guard, the only special treatment Caius guard received was being selected for mission. Generally, both Felix and Demetri would agree that they had an easier ride with Aro than they would with Caius... but this, fucking up with guarding Aro's own sister! Demetri felt his last meal rising up, he could feel the burn in the back of his throat as his stomach wanted to empty itself in worry for his brother.
"He's going to kill me isn't he?" Felix said dejectedly. "So this is what has been stressing you out? What in damnation were you thinking?!" Demetri's words, though hushed, were spat at his brother. "Why did you go along with such a plan, how long have you lived in these walls Felix, what possessed you to allow her to walk unaccompanied around the grounds, let alone outside them!" Felix, all nearly six and a half foot of him, cowered. Not so much from Demetri, but from the oppressing foreboding he felt. "You don't know what she's like! The first time was just to the library and back with me following far behind. Now she goes far beyond the town and is gone for HOURS! I don't even know where she goes! I'm fucked!" Demetri ran his fingers through his hair and gripped his bronze locks tightly, "there is no way you will be able to keep this from Aro… the next time he makes contact with you all of your memories are going to come flooding through. It's amazing he hasn't seen already! Fuck Felix! And now I'm fucked too!"
It was Demetri's turn to pace now. He stalked back and forth in front of his brother, wearing a dark mark into the flagstones as he did so. Felix asked his brother, "Should I tell him?" Demetri came to a rapid halt and looked incredulously at his brother, "do you actually want to die? Is that it? Stupid prick!" Throwing himself back down beside his brother he tried to come up with a plan. He desperately searched his memories to work out a precedent for how Aro might deal with them. Felix was doing the same. Demetri had been regularly belted by Aro for his Lothario ways, that didn't seem nearly as bad as risking his sisters existence. Felix too had been belted by Aro with even more regularity than Demetri, usually for some prank or another, or more often his disrespect. Playing the fool with Didyme's safety was so far above disrespect. "He's going to kill me isn't he?" Demetri didn't answer aloud, he's going to kill us both brother.
"Is this as bad as when I killed those humans do you think?" Felix asked, quietly. Demetri thought about it, "I'd say it is at least as bad… at least he could cover that up for us, this… if Didyme was taken, or worse… there would be no way to cover that, brother. And what about Marcus? He won't let you off even if Aro somehow did." Felix shook his head, trying to rid the thoughts of Marcus setting him on fire for risking his mates life. "Submission?" Demetri offered, as though that was the light option in the punishment stakes. Felix looked like he was going to be sick. "it has crossed my mind. I don't know if that is worse than death, or better." He sounded so dejected, understandably.
The brothers eventually came up with a plan to get themselves out of this mess. Demetri had toyed with the idea of going straight to Aro and explaining the whole fiasco, just to free himself from his brother fate. But he quickly dispelled the thoughts. He couldn't do that to Felix - his best friend, his brother. Felix had stood for him too many times against disgruntled mates of the females he took, he stood for him against Caius, and even Aro a time or two. Granted none of those times were nearly as dangerous as this, Felix had monumentally fucked up. But still, he owed his brother many times over and he wasn't going to bail on him now. Their plan was weak though, they couldn't come up with anything better than telling Aro - that was the final necessary result, on that much they agreed. Neither boy wanted to be in front of Aro when he heard their news, so they were going with the safest bet… Eleazar and Carlisle. Aro's brothers had a wonderful effect on their master. Especially Eleazar, and he had tried to talk to Felix about the obvious stress he was under. Eleazar was so calm, so passive, Aro rarely grew angry with him. With Basileus dipping in and out of Volturi live he wouldn't dare act on his anger anyway - that would not bode well for Aro the next time Basileus was in town!
They had made their decision, and both felt there was no more time to lose. They had to go to Eleazar and Carlisle now and pray for their understanding, if they were truly blessed they may even have their backing. Resolved to their fate, and with the weight of the world on their shoulders they made their way into the castle to find their vampric uncles.
There was a commotion in the castle, guards were running in the corridors towards the throne room - guards were not permitted to run through the halls of the Volterra castle - this must be big! Felix thought. Caius strode through between flashing guard members, seeing Felix and Demetri standing uselessly at the ground floor door he made his way over to them. "Master," they said in unison and bowed their heads. "We have rogue vampires in the throne room. Felix go to Didyme, Demetri, Athenodora, NOW!" With that Caius turned and continued his strides towards the throne room, an evil glint in eye as he did so, I do so enjoy dispatching unworthy vampires, he thought. Demetri's heart sank as he looked to his grief stricken brother. "Felix, you have to go to her," taking his leave to protect Caius' wife, Demetri added pointedly, "Do. Not. Submit. To. Her." As if walking to the hang man's noose, Felix skulked off to Marcus' private chambers.
"Felix my precious one, whatever is causing the gloom that surrounds your heart." She made to rest her hand on the young guard's chest. "Don't. Just don't." Felix pushed his back into the closed door to give himself some space from the trickery that would befall him. "Please. My lady, please! Rogue vampires have been brought into the throne room, there are likely more lying in wait on the outskirts of our castle walls. I am already at peace with whatever fate Aro deems worthy for my foolishness, please, I beg of you, don't now add to my plight." That was as respectful as he could manage, he was actually trembling at the thought of facing Aro for his stupidity, and that was whilst Didyme was safe. If anything were to happen to her, he would attempt to decapitate his own head!
Didyme looked at Felix, a shadow of his usual jovial self. What had she done to him! What has Aro done more like? She thought. He has the boy terrified! And he claims to love his high guard like children. Aro you fool. She always thought her brother worried too much. Sulpicia, his own wife, and Athenodora were all too quick to fall under his spell and to believe the dangers of the 'outside'. He couldn't bring her in line so easily. Much like her happiness spell wouldn't work on him, his charm made no effect on her. It wasn't that she didn't love her brother, she did, very much, and he loved her. But she found his rules stifling. My dear Marcus would never agree to restrict me in such a way if Aro wasn't whispering in his ear about my safety all the time. This has to end now. For Felix' sake too. She was a highly skilled vampire and could take care of herself, she would show them all and put an end to the need for this eternal prison-state!
Felix looked broken, she played on the edge of his emotions, gently willing happiness into the shattered boy. Felix started to notice Didyme forcing her joy to him, but before he could resist she flooded his emotions, taking every unhappy or disgruntled feeling and turning it on its head. It was euphoric, he was totally spell bound. He'd never imagined such an elated state could be possible, this is better than climaxing, I have to tell Demetri about this, finally something that could stop my foolish brother from risking his neck with those damn newborns. He relaxed, no, he melted, this feels better than opium! Laying flat out on the marble floor, Felix shut his eyes and stopped thinking, his whole body tingling in ecstasy.