AN: Sorry for interrupting with an AN here, just wanted to thank my doccooper for re-editing this chapter for me after I added an extra scene. After reading reviews/messages from Guest and csmgarret I thought I should include Aro getting some comeuppance... I hope this is okay guys!
I do not own anything, thank you SM for sharing nicely :)
PUSHING ARO
"Aro!"
Caius called from across the castle grounds as Aro entered through the outer gates from his walk through the town. Caius looked pissed off. Aro really didn't want to deal with a pissed off Caius right now. He'd taken the moonlit walk to clear his frustrations of his new family set up; walking through those gates felt like jumping straight back into stress of it all. Still, he should be polite if nothing else.
"Caius, is all well?"
Caius flashed over to Aro in an instant. "No! All is most certainly not well. Those two jokers you are so fond of have decided to skip the latter parts of their duties, again!"
Aro scrubbed his hand across his face. He could have predicted Caius' source of conflict before the man had even opened his mouth. "I will talk with them Caius. I am not sure why they think they can act this way, but I will get the bottom of it."
"Talk to them? Aro! For god sake, man!" Caius stalked around in anger at being beholden to those two whelps. "Why can you not just allow me to deal with your high guard the way I do the rest of the guard?"
Caius was clearly frustrated, but Aro was as tired of Caius' arguments for punishing his guard as he was of hearing that Felix and Demetri were fucking up in the first place!
"Because I don't want you permanently damaging some of our best talents, Caius! They are much younger than the rest of the guard, they need a lighter hand, brother."
Caius puffed his cheeks out, trying to contain his real thoughts, "they need a much firmer hand than you apply, brother. They wouldn't get away with their insolence in any other coven in the world. There is no way on this earth that Demetri was so unruly for Amun. He wouldn't have put up with it, and the boy wasn't in a bad condition when we took him from Egypt, was he?"
Aro rarely thought on Demetri's time before he was a Volturi. Caius was right, Amun was a particularly stern coven leader but Demetri was in one piece and working order when they took him.
"Like I said, Caius, I will deal with them."
Caius shook his head in frustration, "I just hope you do, Aro. We are planning the mission to take out those rogue covens that brought chaos to our door and killed your own sister. I am laying this out for you now, brother - I will not be taking either of those two with us until they are under control."
Aro nodded curtly to Caius, he couldn't argue with the sentiment. The two young vampires could not be trusted to follow orders effectively and they would risk the safety of the entire group.
"I agree with you, Caius. Like I said, I will deal with them." Aro rested a hand on his brother's shoulder for a moment and then left to find his disappointing sons.
Aro headed straight for the guard hall. His sons should be back in their private quarters by now and they knew damn well they were still not allowed in the guard hall, but somehow he doubted the boys were where they should be.
No, they will be flouting more of my commands by dicking about in the guard hall, that's where they will be. Aro's thoughts were interrupted by the raucous sounds coming from the hall. He soon picked out his sons' voices. By the sounds of it, Antonio and Felix were wrestling with a cheering mob formed for each fighter. Aro put on his public face and shouted over the noise as he walked into the guards' general quarters.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE!"
Silence.
Aro walked slowly through the hall, fixing each individual guard with a glare as he moved. Reaching the centre of the fracas, he was greeted by his son entangled with Antonio in some sort of wrestling lock. They both seemed too stunned to move.
"And, is this a friendly fight?" Aro asked, sounding dangerous.
The two vampires fell apart and scrambled to their feet as they offered apologies. Aro listened as they ran out of ways to explain why they were fighting in the guard hall. He could see they were torturing themselves trying to find valid excuses.
Aro held up a hand to silence the pair. "Antonio, I believe I have told you this before, but clearly you must have misunderstood - Felix is stronger than you, he is also a highly skilled fighter. You have been a vampire for a fraction of the time he has and you cannot match his abilities."
The whispering going on around the room was almost funny. Aro watched Antonio's reaction. His eyes were cast low, submissively, and though the rather public admonishment would have battered his pride, the man remained respectful as he offered a final apology for overstepping the mark.
Felix on the other hand, he looked like the cat that got the cream. Aro was ready to knock his son down a peg or two.
"Having said that, Felix, you have no business being in the guard hall at all. You know I won't allow you in here, and you know why. Or should I now explain that again for you?"
Felix wanted to curl up and die. If Aro announces I am too young to play with the big boys in front of everyone I will take my own damn head off! He thought petulantly. "No, master." He eventually forced out, though he showed little of the respect Antonio had offered.
"Then I suggest you return to your quarters which is where you should have been for the LAST TWO HOURS!" Aro couldn't help but shout out the last part.
Felix looked mortified but there was no submission in him at all.
Aro pressed further. "Why are you still here? Would you like me to drag you out of here or are you capable of walking?"
The whispers were getting louder now and Felix could make out some of the mocking from Antonio's supporters. He was tempted to fight it out with Aro to try and salvage his pride - if he thought for a moment he could make it out alive, he would have done it too.
Felix had spent too long in his thoughts, before he realized why Aro was moving towards him. Fuck, no!
Aro grabbed Felix by the scruff of his neck and began unceremoniously dragging him through the crowd of guards and out of the hall as if he were a defenceless kitten! Demetri had remained silent throughout the proceeding but thought it wise to follow his brother out of the room now. Aro sensed him close by. Aro neither released Felix, nor turned to Demetri until they reached their private quarters. The very few guards who didn't see Felix's shame in the guard room certainly saw him being dragged through the halls of the castle. Rather than disturb Sulpicia and the twins, Aro opened the door to his father's ground floor suite. He couldn't hear Basileus in any of the rooms and believed he wouldn't mind the intrusion anyway. Aro released Felix as Demetri closed the door behind them.
Felix's rage had risen on their journey back to Aro's tower.
"Why the hell did you do that to me?"
Unfortunately for Felix, Aro's rage wasn't any less forceful. Crack! He planted a hard slap to his son's errant mouth. Looking back and forth between his two sons he addressed them both.
"You two are getting on my last nerve. What the hell is going on in those little brains of yours? I have far too much to do to be wasting time dealing with your insolence!" Aro looked like he was blowing smoke out of his ears.
Felix replied, Demetri was sensible enough to stay quiet, "what did we do that was so wrong? We were just relaxing with the other guards after our shift, what was wrong with that?"
Aro began pacing, growing more and more annoyed as his son spoke.
"You are NOT allowed in the damn guard room, Felix! And you both damn well know it! Must I really punish you again? And rolling around the floor with that Neanderthal - is nothing beneath your dignity for god sake! You are my son - you had better start damn well acting like it!"
Felix knew he should back down, but he wasn't ready to yet. "I think humiliating me in there was punishment enough! And don't worry, I won't be gracing my presence on the guard hall anytime soon after that!" Felix felt the ghost of a blush at the scene replaying in his head. I will never live this down! Never, you bastard,Aro!
Aro was ready with his retort, "you think that was enough! Have you been drinking? I haven't even begun to address what Caius told me when I returned from my walk!"
Felix rolled his eyes, ducking just in time to prevent Aro from landing another slap across his face! "What? I don't see what we have done that is so bad? It was just one round of the castle grounds; we made all the other tours."
Aro was gob smacked at Felix's audacity. "Are you serious? Caius is ready to snap your damn necks!" Aro paced up and down thinking about the mission they were planning. They needed both of them on top form and right now they were hardly scraping the barrel. "If you skip another guard duty I may well do Caius a favour and snap your necks myself!"
A question caught up with Aro that stopped his dead in his tracks, "Why did you skip the last round?"
Both of his boys looked at him with guilty expressions. Demetri was still maintaining his silence. Felix offered a shaky answer. "Erm, well, we just got caught up with some other guards ... that's all."
Aro moved closer to his guilty boy and reached out his hand for Felix's to read his thoughts. "Which other guards, Felix?"
Felix started to panic, "no, you don't need to do that, it was Ashanti, just Ashanti."
Aro was flabbergasted, "are you really telling me that witch is after you now? And you are seriously falling under the spell of another woman in this coven and skipping your duties so soon after losing my sister for the same damn reason! Give me your hand!" Aro reached out again.
"No, no please, you don't need to read my thoughts."
"Give me your damn hand now, or I will tan your sorry hide where we stand and then read your thoughts!"
Felix could see Aro was ready to snap so he extended his arm and placed his hand into his father's, looking away as he did so. Aro scanned the boy's thoughts and found what he was looking for, though exactly what he found shocked him a little!
"You depraved idiot!" Aro threw the boys hand back to him, "do you think it's funny to fuck your way through out guard?" Felix finally looked bashful. About damn time you came to your senses! Aro thought. "And where were you?" he asked Demetri.
The boy knew he'd have to speak up eventually. "I was with him, I was looking out for ... well, for Caius."
Aro threw his hands in the air at that. Are they a lost cause, or something sent from above to try me, or what?!
"You two really do think you are untouchable around here, don't you." Aro pointed an accusing finger at his sons.
"We made a mistake Aro, that was all. A mistake and it won't happen again, will it Felix?" Demetri was desperately trying to avoid being restricted from the coming mission. He'd heard Caius and Aro talking about whether the two of them should be allowed to go.
Aro almost found Demetri's defence humorous.
"A mistake? He planned to skip guard duties to fuck fucking Ashanti." Aro roared at Demetri jabbing a finger in Felix' direction. "Forgive me son, but it seems an odd mistake to make!"
Felix felt his anger rising again. Aro was making out like he was some sort of thoughtless rebel, "Caius is the one being overzealous with the new rota. We don't need as many guards touring the grounds as he wants - you never had this many guard tours when you were in charge!"
Aro had turned away before Felix offered his own defence, but that final part had him spinning on his heel to face his boy and start explaining, again, why he had to just do as he was bid. "Felix I don't care if you think the rota unfair, it is not for you to care, you just have to get on with it! You have been told many times already ..."
"Aro, may I have a word with you? NOW!" Basileus' voice interrupted Aro, none of the three had known he was even near, but clearly their creator was lurking outside the tower's entrance.
Aro sighed; he didn't want to be getting into a row with his own father right now. "You two had better stay here!" Aro left the room and the two exchanged nervous looks at what Basileus' interest could mean for them. They listened intently to their elders' conversation.
"I am sorry for using your suite ... "
Basileus cut Aro off before he could go any further, "forget that. What the hell are you doing?"
Aro was surprised. "Me? I don't know what you are talking about?"
Basileus pushed at his chest, forcing him into the wall behind him, "Aro, you are letting the two of them walk all over you! Why are you trying to talk them into behaving? For god sake, Aro! Set them straight! You have spent the last six months getting things back on track with Caius and those little ingrates threaten to waste your efforts if you don't bring them under control!"
Aro almost rolled his eyes before remembering who was pinning him in place.
"I know this, things are just unsettled right now, there has been a lot of change ... "
Basileus cut him off again, "yes, and I understand this change must be navigated with care, Aro, but this cannot go on. Perhaps I should talk to them ... "
This time it was Aro's turn to interrupt. "No! I do not need your help with this, Basileus! I can deal with them myself!"
Basileus released his hold and took a step back. "Well, I will leave you with this Aro - you bring them in line, or I will, and then I will move onto you!" With that Basileus headed up to the second floor of the tower suites to join his other two sons in their quarters, as his quarters were engaged.
Aro shivered at the idea of Basileus dealing with him again any time soon. Less than a month after losing Didyme, the creator had been forced to take Aro in hand and it had left quite an impression. He shuddered as he clearly recalled the events of that dreadful day.
Aro pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed the door to the tower stairwell. He could already hear the sounds of his children bitching and whining from three floors above and he felt every muscle tense with the stress of it all. For a brief moment he considered turning back around and finding more work to do, but the unmistakable sound of glass smashing could be heard. After another long day arguing with Caius, this is the last thing I fucking need!, he thought as he trudged up the stairs as though he was walking to the hangman's noose.
Felix had been antagonising Aro for the last few weeks, since he'd received the harshest punishment of his life to date. He knew Aro felt guilty about whipping him so harshly and good god he was playing on it. Sulpicia, naturally, was siding with Felix. Every time Aro looked ready to discipline the boy for the attitude he was giving, he would remind Sully of the horror of the last hiding Aro had dished out and she would tuck her boy into her skirt tails and protect him, again. Not that the other three are behaving any better, Aro said to himself in annoyance. He was sick to the back teeth of the grief he was getting - in the throne room with Caius, at home with his new family, and fucking everywhere with Basileus.
"AHHHH!"
A pain filled roar filled the air and saw Aro breaking his trudge to fly up the stairs. Throwing the door open, Aro was momentarily frozen by the sight that confronted him: Sulpicia holding Felix in her grasp, both on their knees screaming in pain. The source of their pain, obviously, was Jane, who had the two of them in her ferocious, fire blazing glare.
"JANE!" Aro bellowed as he flashed to her side.
Her father's voice was enough to shock the girl into releasing her hold. The horror of her crime was plastered on her petite face as she realised she had allowed her precious mother to be caught up in the retribution she sought out of her brother.
Abandoning Jane to her own devices for the moment, Aro went to his mate to ensure she was okay. Helping her to stand, the woman was visibly drained and disorientated.
"My queen, you should rest." Aro told her gently as he tried to direct his mate to their bedchamber.
Sulpicia allowed herself to be led, though she wanted to resist and stay with her children. The shock of Jane setting her on fire, not to mention the lingering residues of the unimaginable pain her young daughter's gift brought was enough for Sulpicia to need to lie down anyway.
Aro made sure his bedroom door was properly closed before he turned to face his children. Jane wore an apprehensive expression, but his three sons all looked ready for a fight. Oh I am so done with this, he thought, finally. Catching hold of Alec before he had chance to flee, Aro put a hand to his youngest boy's cheek to see exactly what he had missed. Felix had been winding Jane up until the girl finally blew and threw a heavy book at his head - which missed and crashed through the stain glass window. That resulted in Sulpicia smacking Jane - which was rare beyond words and eventually Jane setting Felix on fire, with Sully being caught in the cross fire! Aro released Alec, having seen all he needed to see.
He's furious!, Alec thought in trepidation as he looked into his father's jet black eyes.
"Go to your room Alec," Aro warned his son sternly, "don't you dare get involved!"
Alec knew well enough what Aro was referring to. He was going to punish Jane and Alec had a tendency to intervene on the very rare occasions the girl had found herself deserving of such a thing. Alec didn't move, instead he continued to glare at his father.
"Take him!" Aro called to Demetri, who was only too happy to have a good reason to leave. Though when he had to forcibly drag a kicking and complaining Alec from the room, he knew it was going to be difficult to keep his little brother from becoming embroiled in his twin's demise.
Aro spotted the bull whip hanging by the main door to his living chamber. He'd had to whip a guard only a few days before and had yet to return the implement to its usual holding place.
Felix followed his father's eye and felt a wave of nausea in the pit of his stomach when he realised Aro was going to whip him - again.
"You can't punish me! You can't!" Felix spat in disbelief.
"Fetch it." Aro ordered gravely.
Felix looked from Aro to the whip and back again. No, I can't feel that whip again, no way!
"Please dad." He tried, pleadingly.
"FETCH IT!" Aro bellowed in response.
Felix jumped to the half screamed instruction. Jane too, who had focused on the floor until then. Dragging himself slowly to his feet, Felix stomped to the front door. He seriously considered bolting but the idea of Aro catching up with him in front of the guards, and then tanning his ass where he stood put him off. Retrieving the whip, he offered it to Aro with hate-filled eyes.
The angry coven leader wasted no time in throwing Felix towards the plush sofa.
"SIT!" he ordered his bewildered son. "You are seriously pissing me off, boy."
Felix looked panic stricken. He couldn't respond, he couldn't breathe as he thought about the last whipping he'd taken. And then the unimaginable happened. Aro left Felix where he was and crossed the room to Jane!
Jane had never felt any more than Aro's hand and that was a rare occurrence.
"What have you been told about using your gift in MY HOME?" Aro roared at his smallest child.
Jane shook. She was scared, of course. But she was angry too. Much like her father, when Jane got angry she lashed out. It wasn't even a conscious decision as she fixed Aro with her deadly glare and whispered a very quiet 'pain' under her breath. Aro dropped to his knees as the fires of hell engulfed his body.
"Jane, no!" Felix called out as he rushed to her and broke her eye line with their father, ending her short hold over him. "Are you crazy?" he asked his sister in disbelief. Jane shook in complete panic. Felix wanted to take her and run but he knew he wouldn't get very far and it would be worse for the two of them.
Aro got to his feet and had his hands on Felix, "I told you to sit!" he growled as he threw his son across the room. "You will regret that, you little bitch!" Aro roared to his girl. Whip in hand, he snatched Jane clear up from the floor and carried her over to her brother. Felix remained on the floor when Aro took a seat next to him on the sofa. Jane continued to thrash about wildly as her father dumped her over his knee.
Felix was impressed with Jane's resistance. I would never be so brave, he thought.
Of course, Jane's struggles only enraged her father further. Aro wasted no time at all in setting his girl straight about who was in charge in his castle.
"How dare you use your gift in these quarters!" He raged as he brought the doubled over whip down on his daughters behind. As she squirmed and squealed to get out of his hold, Aro simply held her tighter and trapped the slight young vampire child between his legs. When she tried to reach back and cover her backside from the onslaught Aro just continued to whip her - it only took two stripes to appear on her hands before she moved them herself.
Felix couldn't watch, he felt sick sitting so close and hearing his sisters screams. When she called out for his help it twisted his insides to sit there and do nothing. He didn't have much longer to wait before Aro brought his sister's punishment to an end.
When Aro set Jane back on her feet he went to console her. Seeing his girl flinch at his touch and turn to Felix instead tore him apart.
"Have you finished?"
Aro turned to the door. Basileus.
"How long have you been here?" Aro asked, nerves betraying his voice.
"Long enough. Follow me." With that Basileus turned on his heel and headed back down to his own suite.
Felix picked up his sister and carried her silently from the room, neither offered a second glance at Aro.
FUCK! Aro exclaimed inside his head as he slowly followed his father down the stairs.
When Aro arrived, Basileus was standing next to the doorway leading out of their private quarters and into the more populated areas of the castle.
"Come." He said quietly.
Aro wasn't sure where this was going. He was expecting a round of fucks and that would surely take place inside Basileus' suite, not in the wider castle grounds! Basileus didn't speak again until they arrived in he great hall. Marcus had been holding the throne room with a small collection of guards accompanying him.
"OUT! LOCK THE DOORS!" Basileus bellowed as the guards scattered from the room. "If you wouldn't mind, my friend." He said to a bewildered Marcus.
"Of course, my lord." Marcus replied, as he, too, left the room.
Once he was sure they were alone, and he'd heard the doors being bolted, Basileus went to Aro's throne and collected the whip stored underneath. That was the fearsome instrument Aro and the other masters used against guards for serious misconduct ... the ones they didn't dispatch, that is. It was much like the bull whip from Aro's chambers, but rather than a single long line, it was made of five long lines.
Aro eyed the implement dangerously. He had welded the devise a good many times himself, he knew the damage it could inflict on a vampire if delivered with vampiric force.
"Listen, you don't know what you walked in on, I was just…"
Basileus rounded on his son immediately. "I walked in on you whipping your child. AGAIN!" Basileus told him sternly whilst he began rolling up his sleeves.
"I have never whipped Jane before!" Aro implored, "She had just set me on fire!"
Basileus didn't care for his son's excuses. "You know Aro, last month, when you whipped Felix into a BLOODY MESS, I did nothing. Nothing. I thought losing your sister had addled your mind and it wasn't something that I had to worry about going forward. I was wrong."
Aro started to panic, watching intently as his father finished rolling up his sleeves.
"I gave you clear instructions to sort things with Caius, you are still arguing with him. I told you to move forward as a family, instead you have allowed your children to dominate in your private quarters. I TOLD YOU to be the leader of the Volturi and you are still failing in your endeavours! And now you have sunk to the depths of whipping a 12-year-old girl because YOU failed to manage your living situation effectively in the first place!
Holy shit he's going to kill me! Aro thought as the formidable creator approached.
Basileus grabbed a fist full of his son's hair before roughly dragging him to his own throne. Standing him in front of the great chair, Basileus placed his son's hands on each of the arm rests, causing him to bend at the waist.
"This throne, your throne, this is who you are! You are the king of the vampire world and you would do well to focus your mind on your position before you throw away all we have built!"
So that's why we are here, nothing like making a point! Aro thought gloomily.
"If you let go, even once, we will have to start over." Basileus whispered menacingly into Aro's ear.
Aro gulped down the venom pooling in his mouth. He felt sick already.
He heard the whistle first. That fateful sound of the air reacting against the arc of the whip traveling through its length. And this whip was five times the power. Aro shot up straight with the first lick, releasing the arm rests as he did so. He could feel the biting stripes from all five of those lines now embedded from his shoulders to the base of his back. As he tried to walk off the pain Basileus was back by his side, pushing him over the throne again.
"I warned you about staying in position." He told his son harshly.
"Dad, I ... " Aro tried, but the next strike came too quickly for him to say anything, his voice instead turning to an embarrassing shriek as the next five stripes overlapped the first five. He didn't move this time, instead he damn near crushed the arm rests with his hands. Basileus misjudged the third stroke and aimed a little too high - one tail of the whip wrapped around Aro's neck and rebounded off his chin.
"FOR FUCK SAKE!" he exclaimed as he felt the welts rising with the force of Basileus' temper.
"Focus your mind, boy." Basileus said flatly in response.
Aro gripped the throne with new valour. He couldn't face extending his discipline, so there was no way he was letting go again. Basileus aimed the fourth strike low - Aro howled with that one. Five tail ends of the whip all landing across the back of Aro's legs up to his ass and curling around to catch the front of his thighs. Each of the now twenty welts in his skin were screaming at Aro. The smell of fresh blood hit his nose as he realised he was bleeding from the array of slits that had been forced on his body.
"Is that enough, or do you need more?" Basileus asked.
Aro's bright white shirt contrasted starkly with the bloodied lines that could be seen seeping through.
"Enough." Aro chocked out through his pain.
"If you EVER whip my grandchildren again, I will deliver this thrice fold in front of the full coven."
Aro's breath hitched in his throat. Again, oh good god, no, never again. I could never face the guard again, or Caius. God Caius! No. No way.
Aro's thoughts were jumbled and rushed, but the sentiment was clear to his father. I've made my point, then. He thought. Basileus hoisted his son from his position as they both noticed the damage on Aro's throne from his valiant grip on the arm rests.
"I will have it repaired." Aro said quietly as he attempted to regain his composure.
"No. Leave it. Hopefully it will remind you to do better." Basileus told his boy, though his tone was not unkind.
As Aro got his breathing under control, Basileus banged on the throne room door. When a frightened guard unbolted it, Basileus shooed him away so he could leave with his son without a scene.
Aro woodenly walked along behind his father ... it was certainly cold walking in the shadow of the creator rather than in his usual position at his side. When they were safely inside the privacy of their tower stairwell, Basileus slammed his son into the wall, pressing his bloodied back into the stone work. Aro winced and hissed but Basileus glared at him until he stilled himself.
"Get your house in order, Aro." He said simply before heading into his own chambers.
Understood, loud and clear, Aro thought before slowly making his way up the stairs.
Coming back to the present from his biting memory of his hideous punishment at the hands of his father, Aro re-entered the room containing his two errant vampire children and asked his sons, "did you hear that?"
Both confirmed they had. They looked quiet and calm now, leaning up against the cold stone wall
"I am putting my neck on the line for you two, I think I deserve just a modicum of respect for that, if nothing else!"
"We are sorry Aro, we will do as Caius bids from now on." Demetri answered for the two of them. Felix nodded along with his brother, but didn't answer.
Aro was so pissed off with his disingenuous sons that he ordered them to go to bed. They complied, though the huffs and sighs nearly drove Aro mad on his way up to the top floor suit as he followed behind them.