Realisations

"My queen?" Aro's soft voice called to his wife. He sounded so unsure of himself, as though he were asking permission to approach.

"My love." Sulpicia returned hazily, though she didn't release her gaze on the woodland that surrounded the town of Volterra. She had followed Eleazar as he led her little vampires and Carmen through the streets, losing them as they entered the covering of the trees.

Aro came up behind her and held her from behind, resting his chin on top of her head. "What are you looking at, my queen?"

Sulpicia sighed deeply, steeling herself for this. "The twins."

She released herself from Aro's grasp and took a seat at the small table. Aro took the seat opposite her.

"How is it those two tiny vampires are so safe outside these walls, yet I am in so much danger?"

Aro was unused to Sulpicia questioning him, but he knew where this was coming from, he had anticipated its coming much sooner in their years at this castle, truth be known.

"Their gifts protect them, you know they are safe. Look what happened to my sister, Sulpicia. I couldn't bear to lose you. Even the idea that your beautiful life could end... " Aro couldn't finish his thoughts. It was far too awful to envisage.

"I don't have a beautiful life, Aro. I am a prisoner here, as much as Didyme was. We both know why she is no longer with us." Sulpicia brought her husband's hand to her cheek so he could read the thoughts she was too upset to speak. She showed Aro all the conversations she'd had with Didyme, conversations where his sister was desperate for freedom, how she had broken down feeling trapped in this place, and how, in a bid to escape this prison, she was willing to do anything. "Felix is not to blame for your sister's death, Aro," she said softly, fresh tears running down her cheeks.

Aro released her cheek and sunk into his chair.

"I know that."

"Then why would you punish him so harshly!?"

"Sulpicia, I have already told you why. I had no choice!"

Aro was annoyed. Not at her - at everything! He left his seat and started pacing. "God damn it!" He punched a hole into the terrace wall, scattering sections of the rock into the castle grounds beneath. Within moments guard were assembled beneath their high keep. "Continue with patrol", he called down to them. They scattered at the sound of Aro's voice.

"Caius has been taunting me for years about our high guards' protected status. If I didn't punish them, he would have made sure he did. I know him. He would wait as long as it took, but he would seek retribution, eventually."

"So you whipped them to near death to what? To save them from Caius whipping them to near death? Aro, can you hear how little sense that makes!"

"For a start, I hardly whipped Demetri at all. Secondly, Caius would hurt them more than I, my queen." Aro spoke darkly, thinking of the methods Caius employed to keep the general guard in line. "And he would do more than punish them ... he would shatter their reputations. They are feared members of this coven, their reputation keeps them safe inside these walls. You must understand this, Sully. I was protecting them. They were punished for their insolence ... and to protect their status."

"Then perhaps you should be punishing yourself, too, dear husband. You created this prison, and that's why Didyme is dead!" Sulpicia clapped her hand across her mouth, her outspokenness had surprised even herself!

Aro didn't react the way she had imagined, though. Rather than his temper flaring, he slid down the wall and hung his head low. "I agree with you. I am torturing myself already... and Basileus should return in a few days…" He let that hang there, for they both understood what his father's return would mean for Aro. To save her husband shame she didn't add comment to his words.

Fast movement at the tree line caught her eye. The twins, Carmen and Eleazar were returning.

"They are just children, Aro. That's what they are to me. You can call them what you'd like ... high guard, prized vampires, whatever. They are my children, and I love them, Aro." Sulpicia had never been so frank about the four young vampires that shared their quarters.

Aro had always known she was fond of them, that's partly why he brought them into their quarters in the first place. She lit up around them and they relaxed around her.

"I know you feel the same, Aro, I know you do. You don't care about the other guards - you may use their skills, and you may value their gifts, but you don't CARE about them like you care about these four."

Aro thought more on that. It was true, he couldn't defend his actions anymore, and he didn't want to, either.

"I do love them, Sulpicia. Very much. They... they... well, they are mine."

Sulpicia went to her husband and cupped his face, "No, my love, they are ours. Our children. We ARE a family"

For the first time since Basileus started pushing Aro to concede to these human terms, he didn't resist. He played the words over in his head. They meant something now.

"Yes, my queen." he said in agreement.

Eleazar returned with Carmen, Jane, and Alec, all of them clutching large fabric bags filled with bottles containing blood. The whole household assembled in the boys' bed chamber and started to hand out the blood.

"How many did you kill, brother?" Aro was surprised at the quantity they had obtained.

"Just two... stags"

"Animal blood! That's no use! He needs to feed properly! What good will stag blood do him, El?!" Aro wrinkled his broken nose at the idea before the shoot of pain from the fractured appendage made him desist.

"Well, we're doing okay on it, brother." Eleazar gestured to Carmen and to their younger brother.

Since the end of his newborn year, only a few short weeks ago, Carlisle had maintained a diet solely of animal blood. Eleazar had been off humans for months and months already... and Carmen had never tasted anything else. Rumours around the castle had spread about the change in the brothers; their eyes were almost honey coloured now, the red fading. No one had assumed it was a change in their diet, instead the most popular theory, which annoyed Aro to no end, was that the brothers where becoming more god-like... like Basileus. He dined on animals as much as he dined on humans and had a similar eye colouring at times. Of course, this would mean that Aro's ruby reds were less god-like... and he didn't like that. Luckily, the bond between father and son was strong and Basileus made sure to show how very much like him Aro really was whenever they were around the guard. Doing so defended Aro's position as the 'king' of the Volturi, which was paramount in Basileus' eyes.

"Urghhh, fine." Aro took the largest bottle from his brother and joined Carlisle on Felix's bed. "You've done a good job with him brother, thank you," Aro offered, sincerely, to Carlisle.

Whilst Aro and Sulpicia had been talking, Carlisle had tended the boy's wounds from head to toe. Now that Felix was properly cleaned and bandaged, the healing process should be much quicker.

Carlisle just nodded in response and took the bottle from Aro. Taking a sip, he returned the bottle. "You should try it brother, it's not so bad!"

Aro brought the bottle to his lips but the smell put him off. "It smells like pig swill!"

Carmen and Eleazar laughed at him and downed a bottle each. Sulpicia did the same and was pleasantly surprised, "It doesn't taste as bad as it smells, my love. Try it."

Alec took his sack of blood to Demetri who was propping himself up in his bed. "I'm not drinking animal blood! That's disgusting!" He turned away, seemingly repulsed at the very idea.

"You will drink it and you will do so now!" Sulpicia sounded every bit like the mother she felt.

Looking embarrassed at the public rebuke, Demetri snatched the bottle Alec offered him, "Have you tried it?" he asked his young brother.

"Yes, its fine! More fun to catch than humans, too!" he added with a cheeky grin.

Demetri downed his bottle quickly, expecting to bring it straight back up... but he didn't, "It's... well, it's blood!" Demetri wore a dopey grin, happy with being served his meal in bed now that it tasted so good.

"How hard did you hit his head, Aro?" Eleazar laughed at the lad's statement.

"Not hard enough!" replied Aro, joining in with the laughter.

Jane took her bag over to her oldest brother. She often found humour in the scrapes Felix got himself into. He was such a prankster, but he was always getting caught! Things were different this time, though. She always felt safe with Felix, he was so big, so strong, and seeing him weak and dependent like this disturbed her.

"Hey little witch." he called out softly as she approached.

"Big oaf!" she replied with a smile. Bringing the bottle she handed him up to his mouth, he took the blood down in big, thirsty gulps.

"Give him some more, Jane." Aro said, as he finally tried his own bottle.

"Well?" asked Carlisle, eagerly.

Aro didn't quite know what to say, "It's... well, its blood!"

A roar of laughter released the tension in the room.

"Like father like son, eh!" Eleazar quipped as he clapped his brother's shoulder.

As the light laughter continued, Aro smiled over to Demetri, who to his relief, returned his smile. Eleazar looked knowingly at Aro who simply nodded, finally at peace with the new dynamics in his coven.