AN: So Felix pushes things a little too far in this one... the kid's got balls!
Respect
Jane and Alec ran back up the stairs to the top floor suite after being caught by their father. Rather than going to their own room they ran straight to Felix and Demetri's room, bursting through the door and diving onto Demetri's bed, much to their brother's surprise.
"What did you hear?" Felix asked hurriedly from his own bed.
They were all worn out from staying awake through the night and drinking quite heavily, but none of them would be able to sleep until they knew what to expect from their parents after the trouble they had caused. Atia had convinced them to go to their rooms, but they had spent the night discussing the visiting covens and just how much trouble they were in.
"We were just listening to mom and dad talking about what to do with you two…" Jane lied sweetly. "I really think they are going to let you off." She lied, again.
"Really?" Felix asked hopefully. Demetri wasn't so easily fooled.
"Are you kidding?!" Jane asked, bursting out laughing. "They are going to kill you guys!" Jane and Alec were both enjoying their brothers coming demise.
"Do you think we will be grounded?" Felix asked, with Demetri looking at him like he was stupid.
"Yeah," Alec answered, "into dust!" the twins were laughing again.
"You two aren't so squeaky clean this time." Demetri pointed out.
"Us?" Jane asked, "What did we do"
"You both knew that blood was bloodwine, you could smell it, I know you could." Demetri pointed out.
"You can't prove that." Jane said with her arms folded across her chest triumphantly.
"Maybe not, but Aro can." Felix said with a pleased smirk.
Alec stayed quiet. Sulpicia had made it clear she knew they drank the bloodwine knowingly. They weren't 'squeaky-clean' and he knew it, even if Jane didn't.
Jane rolled her eyes. "You should be more worried about yourselves." She said to her big brothers.
Demetri took the bait. "Jane, you drank so much that you threw up and passed out - do you think dad's going to let you off with a slap on the wrist for that?"
Felix scoffed. "Probably will with her, she gets away with murder."
"It's because I am the favourite." Jane preened in reply. They all knew that was true.
"There's no accounting for taste." Demetri told her, shoving his sister.
"Clearly!" she said, pushing him back.
Demetri almost fell of the bed with how hard she shoved him. Witch, he thought. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You pair and those Denali girls." She shot, with a face of disgust. They were attractive girls but so damn annoying with their shrieking and constant chatter that it was beyond Jane how her brothers could have got close enough to fuck them! All of them! "Did you even fancy them?" she pushed.
Demetri and Felix shared a shrug.
"Not in my head…" Felix admitted. "They were really annoying. But the rest of my body doesn't really mind if I don't fancy them."
Demetri chuckled to himself, agreeing with the sentiment.
Jane looked like she had swallowed bad blood. "Depraved oaf!"
Alec had barely heard his brothers and sister talking, he was far too worried about facing Aro. Unlike Jane, Alec feared Aro's hard hand. He knew their father wouldn't treat him as lightly as his sister and he was scared. "What do you think Aro will really do to us?" he asked his siblings, trying to hide the panic in his voice.
"Getting worried, little brother?" Felix asked, winding Alec up, but when he saw his baby brother pale before him, he changed tack. "Hey, you don't have anything to worry about, Aro will be far more interested in bollocking me."
Alec felt queasy, he looked it too.
Felix moved to sit next to him on Demetri's bed. "Are you really that scared?" he asked with an arm around Alec.
Alec nodded miserably.
Felix wanted to protect him, Jane too for that matter, even if she had been winding him up. He released a deep sigh. "I will take the wrap. I have it coming anyway."
"No, you don't have to do that." Alec said, he didn't want Felix being punished any more harshly than he deserved.
"Whilst I don't really want you to take the heat for us all, brother…" Demetri started.
Felix interrupted him. "yeah, you so do!"
Demetri's involuntary smirk gave him away. "But how could you make that happen… even though I don't expect you to?"
Felix leaned back on Demetri's bed and folded his arms behind his head. "I'll just argue with him - piece of piss." He said confidently.
Felix was confident about being able to take the wrap for the four of them, he was even sure that whatever Aro would do, he would recover… eventually. The only nagging doubt he had was whether Aro would make good on his threat to throw him in the dungeons and into Caius' care. Carlisle had overheard Basileus and Atia talking about the set up Aro had arranged to get Felix and Carlisle back in line - and of course he had shared that knowledge with Felix… but Aro didn't know that Felix knew. The boy had been holding onto that piece of information even though Aro had continued to lightly threaten him with being thrown out of the tower - this would be the perfect time to throw it back at his dad. And if it would save his brothers from Aro's wrath, (not so much Jane, she needed little protection from their father anyway) then he would do it. Felix wasn't just being magnanimous. He was furious with his father for humiliating him in front of the visitors and he welcomed the excuse to argue with Aro and release his frustrations.
"Felix, you need to be careful, Aro will already be on the warpath." Demetri warned his brother, he could see Felix was looking forward to the coming altercation in a way that only Felix could - Demetri didn't understand it at all.
Felix did enjoy arguing with their father, not so much the repercussions, they always sucked, but the blazing row will be fun! He thought. Looking forward to letting off some steam. "Fuck Aro." Felix replied gleefully.
"FUCK ARO?" Aro bellowed as he booted his sons' door open.
"Here we go." Felix said to his siblings, eyes glinting with excitement.
Demetri held his head in his hands and wondered if Felix was still drunk! Aro looked furious but Felix bounced from foot to foot, readying himself for the verbal brawl. He kept his mind free of the physical assault that would no doubt follow, for now he was ready to rip Aro to shreds.
"What the hell were you lot thinking?" Aro asked casting his angry glare over all four of his children.
Demetri and the twins backed up on his bed but none of them could look away, they knew what Felix was about to do and though they mainly felt gratitude that he was going to redirect their father's attention, they were also keen for the floor show to begin.
"It's like a ray of sunshine just entered the room." Felix joked, displaying none of the fear his siblings showed.
Aro did a double take and questioned his own hearing! Is he seriously taking the piss?
"Are you still drunk?" Aro asked, grabbing Felix' face and turning him to the light streaming through the windows so he could check the boy's eyes.
"No, I'm just pissed off!" Felix replied.
Aro eyes darkened with his rising temper and he squeezed his fingers into Felix' cheeks. "Your tongue is sharper than your brain, boy." He growled shoving Felix back hard by his head. "Keep it up and you will be Caius' problem before nightfall!"
Felix returned Aro's glare as he rubbed his jaw, small bruises lined his face from Aro's short-lived hold.
Demetri panicked, "Felix, you don't have to do this, just stop and think!" Demetri didn't know that his brothers short stint in the dungeons was fake and Aro had no intention of ever sending any of them away.
Aro laughed, "don't make your brother think, Demetri, you will give him a head ache from the effort." He had expected Felix to rise to anger so he was most surprised to see his son smirking in return. "What's so funny, you damn ingrate?"
Felix started laughing. "I know." He said simply.
"Know what?" Aro asked, already bored of Felix' games.
"I know it was all bullshit. I know you set me and Carlisle up. I know you would never send me away from this family. I KNOW!"
That caught Aro off guard! His uncertainty only chanced his face for a moment, but Felix saw it, and Aro knew he had.
"Just because I didn't mean it then, doesn't mean I don't mean it now, son." Aro ground out in pure anger.
Felix laughed again. "Yeah, alright." He said dismissively with his arms folded across his chest.
Aro felt his body shaking with his rage. I will deal with you separately, he thought to his eldest before turning on the other three. "You have trespassed on my generosity." He said with great disappointment.
"Generosity? What generosity!" Felix asked.
Though Aro kept his back to him he answered him anyway. "I allowed you to attend the celebrations, against my better judgement. And you have proved me right!" He said to his young ones. "ALL of you!" He shouted, making the three of them flinch. They all looked to Felix rather than Aro, and Aro realised then what Felix was trying to do. Fool!
Felix knew he was losing and that only egged him on to attack harder. "You wouldn't let us drink, you hardly included us in conversation, and then you complain about us creating our own fun!" he said as he paced around his room.
"Your attitude will be your down fall, son." Aro replied, again without turning to face his goading boy.
"My attitude?!" Felix repeated in astonishment. "My attitude is based on how you treat me!"
Growing annoyed with his father ignoring him, Felix grabbed Aro's arm and pulled hard to spin him around. Felix rarely used his full strength outside of battles or tournaments. It wasn't allowed, he knew that. So Aro was caught unawares when Felix forcibly moved him the way he did. Aro shook Felix off his arm and walked towards his boy. His eyes danced with rage and though Felix wanted to resist, he felt himself taking a step back with each of Aro's steps forward.
"How do I treat you?" Aro asked, cocking his head to the side and appraising his son's demeanour, trying to work out how far Felix would go in his clear quest to save his siblings from punishment.
"I was destined to plough fields and fuck slaves before you turned me, and now I'm cooped up in this fucking tower all the time!"
Aro whipped his hand across Felix' face so fast that the boy felt it before he heard the crack. Fuck that hurt! He screamed inside his head. Though he kept his eyes glued on Aro in case he struck again. That's the only one you're landing on me today! He said to himself. Next time, I'll hit you back.
"I'm standing no more of your mouth. That's the only warning you are getting, boy."
Aro walked away from his eldest shaking his head. He was ready to implode with the effort of not snapping his son's neck! "I know what you are doing, you are only making things worse for everyone." He called to his eldest and promptly pulled Alec up from Demetri's bed.
"Leave him alone!" Felix growled.
Aro heard the threat in his son's tone and had he not been so pissed off, he would have laughed. As it was he released Alec and turned back to Felix. Felix congratulated himself for getting Aro to do what he'd instructed.
"Do you really think any of you will get away with the way you behaved?" Aro scoffed. "You are only succeeding in dragging out the inevitable, son."
"What did we do that was so bad?" Felix asked, genuinely feeling hard done to.
"You and your idiot brother fucked our guests you reprobate!" Aro screamed, inches from his son's face.
Felix took it, but he was slipping passed defending his siblings now, and he wasn't enjoying goading Aro anymore either. He was entering the power play he had so often attempted with his father, but this time, he wasn't backing down. The memory of his last attempt at exerting his power against Aro floated through his mind… that fucking uniform! He thought, before pushing the image of his old grey rags from his mind and focusing on his father.
"Carlisle did the same." He said through gritted teeth, annoyed that yet again he was being treated differently to his slightly older counterpart.
"You are wrong, son. Carlisle did no such thing. Trust me, I checked." Aro said gleefully ruining Felix' comeback. "NOT that it matters what my brother did or did not do. YOU are a child, as I seemingly have to remind you so fucking often." Aro shoved Felix hard in the chest. "And who do you think you are getting the whole cohort of CHILDREN drunk?!"
Felix seethed. "The guards were pissed, you were pissed, everyone was fucking pissed!" And then he pushed Aro back!
Aro looked down to his son's hand on his chest and began to growl dangerously. He took Felix' hand in his own and twisted it back until Felix was his knees. Aro stood over his boy exerting just enough pressure to for Felix to wonder if he was going to snap his wrist. "Anything else to say?" Aro sang out.
"What else do you expect from me?" Felix called out. It was clear from his tone that he was in pain.
Aro toyed with the idea of actually going through with snapping his wrist, so tempting, he said to himself. "I expected you to be repentant, son." He said, keeping his son on his knees.
"Repentant?" Felix repeated with audacity dripping through his tone. "After you embarrassed me in front of the covens? I have nothing to repent! My earlier shame is my repent!"
Aro cocked his head again and pressed a little harder until Felix had his face only an inch or so from the floor. "So you are still angry?" he asked patronisingly.
Felix couldn't take anymore, when Aro pressed into his bended wrist again so his face was flattened to the floor, Felix kicked out, booting Aro in the shin. "Damn right I am angry!" he roared, springing to his feet.
Aro hopped backwards breathing through the sharp pain in his leg. "Have you forgotten who it is you are talking to?" he thundered as he grabbed Felix by the scruff of his neck.
Felix pulled away again. "I'm not scared of you." He declared. "And you should remember I am stronger than you are!"
Aro stood up straight. "That's true enough, son. But I can handle you, even with your superior strength. I have done, many, many times. And I have never wanted you to fear me, but you will respect me." He said as he approached.
"Like fuck I will!" Felix announced, squaring up to his father.
Demetri and the twins all watched with wide eyes. They had never witnessed anyone losing their mind before - and they were sure that's what was happening to Felix!
"I'm done with your puerile games." Aro said sounding bored as he walked back to the doorway. "SULLY!" he called out.
Felix felt a little off guard, he had expected Aro to batter him, truth be know. Having his mother in for the show wasn't part of his plan.
"You will have to deal with these three." Aro told his mate, gesturing to their younger children huddle together on the bed. "Felix has done his level best to keep them from my wrath, but not yours."
Sulpicia nodded. She wouldn't punish them as such, they would have to wait for their father for that, but she had a plenty to say to her young ones and was glad for the chance.
"He forgets they have two parents." Aro added, watching for Felix' reaction.
Felix should have been annoyed at least, Aro assumed, as that was why the boy had stood up to his father in the first place. But that charade was long gone in Felix' mind - he was all about showing Aro he had no hold over him now.
Aro chuckled to himself, "silly boy!" he said, purposely winding up Felix further. He took a seat on Demetri's bed and eyed each of his children in turn. "Once I am done putting that idiot firmly in his place, I will be back for you three." He heard them gulp down their fear simultaneously. "I think I will have a chat with each of you in private." He added.
Aro was pleased to hear no resistance from his younger ones, though he did catch Demetri cursing to himself. I'll leave that, for now. He thought, rounding on his eldest again. "Your sense of entitlement is giving me the rage." He growled seeing the petulant youth that stood before him.
"Calm down, my love." Sulpicia said gently to her husband.
"Calm down?" Aro repeated, laughing humourlessly. "I have not even begun to show my anger!"
He turned to Felix. "I have no desire to humiliate you, but you are forcing my hand. By the gods, when I have finished you will feel too ashamed to ever walk our halls again." Aro told him resolutely.
"You have already accomplished that!" Felix spat in reply, shocking Sulpicia.
"Felix, back down and apologise for your rudeness and we can bring an end to this." She insisted. When will you learn? You never win these battles, why do you do it?!
"I'm not scared of him or anything he thinks he can do to me." He said to his mother, before turning back to his father and fixing him in his eye. "So go fuck yourself." He spat, looking down his nose to Aro and whatever scheme he had come up with this time.
Aro repeated his son's words over in his mind, rolling them around only confirmed that he had to put the boy in his place. "You are very foolish, my boy." He sang out happily, "and you will regret your little tantrum soon enough."
Sulpicia felt her stomach flip in worry for her boy, but Felix remained unfazed, if anything he seemed even angrier with the way Aro was talking down to him like an errant toddler.
Aro strolled out the door, kissing his mate sweetly as he left. "Come on then." He called to Felix, "let's see how tough you really are."
Aro didn't look behind him, he knew Felix was following. Stopping outside his brother suite, he rapped his knuckled against the door.
"Aro… and Felix… and Felix is still walking?" Carmen joked when she opened the door.
"For now," Aro said darkly. "May I borrow my brother?"
"What for?" Eleazar called out from the living chamber.
"I am failing in my duty of care towards my child and I need your help." Aro answered looking Felix up and down and laughing to himself.
That had Eleazar's interest piqued and he flashed to the door. "Interesting." He said to his brother.
Felix scoffed and looked away in disgust.
Eleazar caught his nephew's gesture. "Very interesting."
Aro smirked and led his brother and son down to Basileus' suite. "Can Basileus come out to play?" Aro asked his mother happily.
Atia leaned into the door frame and bit her bottom lip. "Very cute, son." She said, wondering what was going on. "But your father isn't here. He's gone to see Marcus, I believe."
"That's a shame… could you send him to the guard hall when he gets back?" Atia nodded and watched as Aro damn near skipped away. She knew her boy well enough by now to know that his happiness was forced, and therefore a cause for concern!
"So we are going to the guard hall then?" Felix grunted as he trudged through the halls behind his father.
"It may be your last ever visit there, son. It's a shame you won't enjoy it." Aro sang out as he led them to Caius door. "Busy?" he asked his brother in arms when he opened the door wearing only a bed sheet.
"Very," Caius said, tugging his sheet tightly around his waist, "so this had better be good."
Aro smirked, "I think you will enjoy what I have to offer." Aro said in return, his eyes darting towards his son.
"More than Heidi and my mate?" Caius asked quietly.
Aro laughed, "well I'm not fucking you Caius, so I can't compete with that."
"And whatever I need to do with you can't keep for an hour, I suppose?" Caius replied, a little annoyed.
"An hour?! Who are you kidding?!" Aro scoffed - he knew Caius couldn't last an hour! "You could finish up and be dressed and in the guard hall in ten minutes."
Eleazar burst out laughing, Felix would have too if he wasn't so pissed off.
"You aren't winning me over here, Aro!" Caius huffed.
"Come on, hurry up. Meet us in the guard hall." Aro said before walking away.
Caius shut his door, grumbling about the infringements on his downtime.
"Well doesn't he look happy!" Magnus announced when he saw Felix with a face of thunder behind Aro and Eleazar.
"Yes, he is a scowly child isn't he." Aro agreed, blatantly goading his son.
Felix forced himself to look away, though he mumbled a perfectly audible 'prick' in the process. He really didn't care what Aro going to do to him. He was bothered, however, about 'whatever it was' taking place in the very public guard hall. I've been through that before, I can take it. He told himself. You can slap me about in here but I won't back down, I don't give a fuck for whatever decrees you are going to announce against me. Felix assumed that was why Aro had collected up some of the higher-ups on their way to the guard hall, believing Aro would be making public any restrictions that were to be placed on him after his fuck up with the Denali girls. He really didn't care. He might have been a little more bothered, however, if he knew Aro's real intentions!
Magnus looked to Eleazar in hope of some explanation but Eleazar merely shrugged as Aro hadn't told him anything yet. "What's going on?" He eventually asked after the four of them had been stood by his desk like lemons for five minutes.
"We are waiting for Caius." Aro answered plainly.
He could see the guards in the hall were all eagerly waiting, too. He considered telling them to busy themselves away from the action. No, sod it. Let them watch. Felix thinks he doesn't care. I'll make him care! He thought about his disrespectful boy.
"And when Caius gets here, we will be doing what, exactly?" Eleazar followed up Magnus' question.
Aro smiled, but he didn't answer and Caius strolled through the doors only moments later.
Looking to the clock, Aro smiled cheekily. "I make that seven minutes… did you finish twice?"
"You're a prick." Caius replied with a smile, though as he was still tucking in his shirt both Aro and Eleazar laughed.
"Now we are all here…" Magnus prompted.
"We need to make a public display of unity, brother." Aro said, pulling Felix into the middle of the masters. "Felix has declared I hold no power over him and therefore he has no reason to bend to my will."
"Oh, has he?" Caius asked rhetorically as he looked at Felix, still unrepentant and making no attempt to deny Aro's words.
Eleazar said nothing, his mouth fell open as he wondered what retribution Aro would be seeking that could involve them all in the most public venue of the castle.
"I know, I was equally surprised." Aro said with a smile.
Aro sounded calm but Magnus could feel his rage brimming beneath the surface. He was worried for Felix, but if the boy had really been so stupid… "Were those the boy's words, Aro?" he asked, hoping to find a way out for his co-master's son.
"His exact words were 'I'm not scared of you or anything you think you can do to me, so go fuck yourself'."
Eleazar whistled into the air. You have gone and done it Felix. Why do you back Aro into the corner like this? He thought to his nephew who remained scowling and refusing to engage with those around him.
Aro pointed out his boy's lack of interest. "I am at a loss, my friends." He said, sounding forlorn. "What should I do?"
"You should punish him, Aro." Caius stated plainly.
Aro nodded as he pretended to contemplate Caius' words. "I would, of course. But he fears nothing I have to offer."
"Nothing?" Magnus asked, he could think of a few things Felix would fear - being punished in my guard hall would be pretty high on that list.
"Apparently not." Aro said, looking for Felix to show any signs of regret.
Felix looked sideways to his father, and then spat venom on the floor at Aro's feet! Aro didn't react, but Caius and Eleazar looked to each other in complete shock at such a blatant snub.
Magnus was far more reactive. "Hey!" He shot to Felix, clipping the top of his head with his shovel sized hand. "That's MY floor you are spitting on, you filthy brat!"
"So?" Felix sneered.
Aro smiled contentedly at Felix proving his defiance. "He will clean it when we are finished, Magnus, don't worry."
"He won't be allowed back in here to clean it, Aro." Magnus said, glaring at Felix.
"You can see my issue with the boy, I assume?" Aro asked his brother and fellow masters.
They all agreed, all shocked by Felix' defiant display. Caius was slightly impressed that the lad would try to stand against his elders but he wasn't going to voice that now.
"Are you scared of me Felix or anything I could do to you?" Aro asked his son outright.
"No." Felix replied. He had a shower of shit coming from his attitude already so there was no way he was backing down now. Especially with a guard hall full of vampires watching his every move. He decided to play to his audience. "Fuck you all." He said, making sure he caught the eye of Aro, Magnus, Caius and Eleazar as he did so.
Caius was ready to rip the insolent little shits head off but Aro put his arm out to hold his brother in arms back.
"Oh dear, Felix." Aro said sadly, not rising to the bait. He may have retaliated in the privacy of their home, but out in public, Aro would exert complete control - over Felix and himself. "Perhaps I should hand him over to you, Caius?" he asked.
Felix laughed hollowly. "I'm not scared of Caius, either." He said dismissively, looking over his shoulder to the guards who gasped at his assertions.
"Caius, the boy said he isn't scared of you!" Aro said with faux surprise.
"Give him me for an hour and we will see how scared he is by the end." Caius growled. "Do you want to come down to the dudgeons with me Felix?" he asked, his face only an inch away from the boy. "Every time you have left my playroom you have done so in tears, if memory serves, and I am yet to touch you whilst we are in there."
Felix turned away. His stomach flipped but he remained stoic. "Whatever." He said with a shrug.
Magnus felt the emotional shift in the boy that told him Felix was actually scared right now. Aro knew his son well enough to know he would be shitting himself, even if he refused to back down.
"What about my brothers?" Aro asked, pulling Caius clear.
"Pft!" Felix tutted, as if the very idea were comical.
Aro smiled menacingly. "Eleazar it appears he scoffs at the very idea of facing you."
"No I meant Carlisle!" Felix burst out, cursing himself or replying at all as he saw he glint in Aro's eye.
"So you are scared of El?" Aro pushed.
"I didn't say that."
Aro's eye's danced in glee as he pushed the boy for an answer. "I am asking you, are you scared of Eleazar?"
Felix sucked in his breath before he replied. Yes, yes he was but there was no way in hell he was admitting to that now. "No." He said plainly, seeming uninterested.
Eleazar folded his arms across his chest. "I have brought you to tears enough times, Felix. Are you sure you aren't even a little fearful about what I could do?"
Felix heard a few stifled giggles coming from the guards. That was enough to spur him on. "No!" he declared looking Eleazar dead in the eye.
"We will see about that, soon enough." Eleazar said threateningly, guessing where the whole charade was going. Eleazar wasn't usually so inclined to enjoy punishing anyone, but he was quite looking forward to changing Felix' tune.
"You will have your chance, brother." Aro said with a sadistic grin.
"How about Magnus?" Aro asked, slapping a hand on his co-master's shoulder. "Are you scared of Magnus, Felix?"
"No." Felix replied immediately, though he refused to look at the giant master.
"How about what Magnus could do to you?" Aro pushed tormenting his boy. "Are you scared yet?"
"And you call me puerile?!" Felix said to himself before laughing lightly.
The guards were lapping it up. A few were taking bets on how far Felix would go before he buckled. Even if he gave in now they were all impressed by how resistant he had been. Lev in particular looked to the boy in a new light. He was frequently resistant to being ordered about but he would have taken the beating long before now. Brave little bastard! He thought with admiration.
"I am waiting for your answer, Felix." Aro prompted.
"I'm not scared of Magnus." Felix declared.
"Magnus, apparently he has nothing to worry about with you either." Aro said, with a shrug.
He was quite enjoying leading Felix into the trap he had laid. He had been so stressed in the lead up to brokering the alliance and now that was settled he needed something to relief his stress. You will have to do until I can get my hands on some... Aro's thoughts trailed off. He didn't want to think the words that would be his doom if his father found them in his head.
Magnus, too, had one ear on the guards. You wont be making a fool of me in front of my guards, boy. "That's funny, Aro, as when it comes to facing me, Felix begs before I start." he announced loudly, making sure they would hear him at the back of the room.
Felix scoffed just as loudly to make out Magnus was lying. Everyone, the masters, Eleazar, and the guards knew he wasn't lying, but Felix gave a damn good impression of someone who didn't give a shit.
"Interesting." Aro mused, "and yet, here he stands, prideful cock that he is, without a shred of fear."
"Apparently so, Aro." Magnus agreed, I will enjoy taking you down, Felix. Magnus thought, he, too, knew that's where all of the dramatics were leading.
"Who do we have left?" Aro thought out loud and he circled his son. "Marcus? I know he isn't here but are you scared of Marcus?"
Felix laughed out loud. "No." He answered happily, still laughing.
He saw Corin out of the corner of his eye and offered her a wink. She seemed impressed with the young guard and Felix hoped to put that to good use later. They had been keeping up a purely sexual relationship for a few months and he had wondered what Irina announcing his sexploits would have done to his guaranteed shag. When she smiled back to him, giving him hope they would be back in the saddle soon, Felix' defiance found new fuel.
"Perhaps we shall seek him out after we are done here." Aro suggested.
"Yeah, if you like." Felix agreed. "Fetch him now if you want, I don't give a fuck."
Before anyone could react, the doors to the guard hall sprung open, rebounding off the walls to each side as Basileus and Atia strode through.
Aro clapped his hands together in excitement. "Ha! How about the creator?" he asked his son, placing a hand on each of his shoulders and turning Felix to face the man.
"Basileus?" Felix asked nervously.
"Do you know of any others?" Caius asked, goading the lad whose stoic facade was slipping from his face.
"That's enough Aro. You're scaring him." Atia declared from the doorway.
Guards scattered from Basileus' path as he made his way to Magnus' desk corner.
"On the contrary, my lady, he's not scared. He doesn't have enough sense to be scared." Aro said darkly.
"What's going on?" Basileus asked, checking Felix over with his eyes for any harm. He noted the finger sized bruised to the boy's face, but other than that he seemed fit for purpose.
Aro offered his hand to his father. "Feel free to pass through my memories and get yourself up to speed, my lord. I think once you have you will see that Felix backed me into a corner on this one."
Basileus snatched his son's hand. I hope for your sake that Felix is to blame for this public round of fucks, or you will be getting the same from me, son. Aro 'heard' through his contact and gulped, though he was sure he had given Felix enough chances to back down in their quarters.
Basileus was livid when he saw Felix shove and then boot Aro, and even more so at the continued insolence he had displayed. Releasing Aro's hand he turned and towered over Felix. Everyone waited with baited breath to see what Basileus would do.
Aro in particular was worried. Are you going to turn on me? He thought apprehensively.
Basileus smiled at his grandson, menacingly. "Are you scared of me?" he asked with his deep booming voice.
Felix paled and he felt light headed. Am I really going to go against Basileus? He questioned his own sanity.
"Oh? Do we have a winner? Are you scared of Basileus?" Aro asked gleefully. That glee was enough to push Felix on.
"No." He said quietly, biting his lip and looking to the floor.
"I didn't catch that, Felix. A little louder, if you please, so they can hear you in the cheap seats!" Basileus boomed with an arm thrown around Felix' shoulders.
Felix felt lost tucked into his grandfather's side - the size difference made the him feel like a small boy as Basileus manipulated him to face the guards. "N, n, no." Felix stuttered.
The guards groaned in unison. The noise reminded Felix of the sound you might make when you trap your finger in the door or something. Deep and guttural, the sound of pain and regret. He had gone too far dismissing Basileus. The guards, who at first respected Felix' bravery, were now cursing his stupidity.
Felix knew he had gone too far, too. He wanted to relent and go back to the beginning and tell his little brother to face his own fucking punishment rather than so gallantly offering to have a row with Aro in order to save everyone. Aro knew what I was doing anyway so I've saved no one. He huffed to himself. Felix looked around the guards, he couldn't back down now. He just couldn't.
Aro walked around his father and lifted his son's chin so they were eye to eye. "Are you ready to apologise and back down?" he asked quietly, offering his son a chance to escape.
Felix tried to pull away but between Basileus and Aro he had nowhere to go. Basileus gave him a rough shake and though the boy stilled, he refused to answer.
"ANSWER ME!" Aro roared in his face.
Felix snapped, it was just too much pressure! "Fuck you." He said, sounding emotional.
"Oh Felix!" Atia said with her eyes to the heavens. "I need guards to follow me - I want a perimeter run done now." She said, shooing people out the door.
"How many guards?" someone called out.
"As many of you as there are in this room." Atia said pointedly. She closed the doors and stood outside to keep them out, though none of them went further than the hallway so they would hear everything.
Aro had quite wanted the guards to stay, so had Magnus and Caius for that matter. Basileus couldn't have cared less, even if the guards were outside of the guard hall they would all know what had happened within. That was just how the Volturi rumour mill worked.
"What to do, what to do?" Aro mused.
He and Caius took seats in Magnus and Freyr's empty chairs and Eleazar perched on the desk between them. Magnus leaned into the wall and looked to the venom on his pristine floor. He twitched with the fury building inside him. He knew it wasn't all his, but being so close to four other angry men was feeding into his own psyche though his emphatic gift.
"We could take it in turns punishing him, Aro. See how long it takes for the boy to change his mind."
Everyone was shocked that it was Magnus to suggest such a thing - particularly Magnus! I need to get a hold of these emotions, he said to himself.
Felix tried to pull back but Basileus still had hold of his shoulder, he increased his grip when the boy tried to flee. "Scared now are we?" he whispered into his grandson's ear.
"That's a damn good idea, brother." Aro agreed.
"Yes, but is it entirely reasonable?" Eleazar asked.
Felix thanked the gods that his uncle was there. Even if you do end up slapping me for this shit, he thought.
"I don't see why reason should come in to it." Basileus announced.
Felix closed his eyes and let his head fall back now his fate was sealed. When he opened them again, he saw Basileus smiling down on him with malicious intent.
Magnus stood tall and started unbuckling his belt.
"No." Aro called out.
Felix thought he was going to call the whole thing off. No such luck!
"No belts, no whips, no canes - Felix will no doubt try to claim that it was the implement that had him confessing his regrets and I want there to be no ambiguity as to who it is that brings him to his knees." Aro said smiling to his doomed son.
"Beating me into submission? How very powerful of you, dad." Felix spat, eyes filled with hate.
"No one is going to beat you, you're only a child after all. We will spank you." Basileus said, finally releasing Felix, though the boy had nowhere to go.
"I'd rather you whipped me like a man." Felix said, mainly to himself as he rubbed out his sore shoulder.
"What you would rather, is irrelevant, my boy." Aro told him plainly, "and I don't know how many times you will need telling this, but you are not a man."
"You are not a man," Felix repeated, mocking Aro's voice.
"Come on then, son." Aro said, slapping his own knee hard to get his boy's attention.
"What?" Felix asked, "over your knee?" he said as the realisation dawned on him.
"Yup." Aro said happily with a huge grin on his face.
Felix assessed his options. I could run… I'm faster than everyone here other than Basileus. I'd never make it passed him before he caught me though, he realised as Basileus was blocking the path to the door. I could jump out the window… Magnus would be majorly pissed if I shattered his glass… he's already pissed. If I got out I'd never be able to come back. That wasn't much of an option either. I can't submit to being spanked over his fucking knee like a little kid. I will never live it down! It wasn't totally unheard of for Aro to spank Felix, old style, but it was rare. Very rare. Aro generally employed such a technique when he was trying to bring Felix down a peg or two so it shouldn't really have come as such a surprise to the boy, but with an audience… He said I'd be too humiliated to walk the castle halls again. Fucking prick is making damn sure to make good on that threat. Prick. I fucking hate you Aro.
"You do know I can hear everything you are thinking, Felix?" Basileus interrupted the boy's thoughts, they had amused him long enough.
Felix jumped, in his highly-stressed state he had forgotten that for a moment.
"I'm waiting, son." Aro sang out, tapping his knee.
"No." Felix said, shaking his head and eyeing Aro's lap as though it were the most dangerous place on earth. "I don't want to." He said quietly.
That was as close to backing down as Felix would allow himself to go, and it was still miles away from the backing down Aro was waiting for from him.
"It's not optional, you insolent brat." Basileus said as he physically delivered a fighting Felix to his son.
Aro locked Felix between his thighs but he struggled to pull him over. "If you make me, I will call for your submission." Aro said quietly to his boy. Only Felix heard, though Basileus caught it through his gift.
Felix felt like he was going to throw up - all of his options were seriously crap! "Dad, I'm going to be sick." He sobbed like a frightened child… he was a frightened child!
Aro looked over to his own father wondering if he had, in fact, pushed the boy too far. Basileus shook his head and walked over to his son, placing the back of his hand on Aro's cheek. 'You can't back out now Aro or will all have been pointless.' He thought to his son.
Aro nodded. "Tough." He said dispassionately to Felix. Felix was startled by his father's lack of compassion and Aro used that moment to pull his son into position.
Magnus, Eleazar and Basileus all turned away as Aro punished his son, Caius looked on in amusement. Aro wasn't too sure how long to go on for. He knew Felix could hide pain better than most, and as his boy was doing a good job with fighting the urge to defend himself in any way, Aro had no clue when to end his 'turn'. The moment came when Felix threw up all down Aro's leg and bright red bloodwine splattered across the floor! Aro immediately pulled Felix to his feet. The change in position caused more bloodwine to spew forth from the youth's mouth. Aro was quite literally covered in puke.
"Did you do that purposely?" Aro asked in annoyance.
"N, n, no, I didn't!" Felix stuttered.
Aro stood up slowly, stale bloodwine dripping from his clothes, and pushed Felix towards his brother. "Here you go, El. You can have a go."
"Lucky me." Eleazar said looking at his nephew wiping sick from the corners of his mouth. Aro removed his coat and gave it a shake. Bloodwine sprinkled the floor like summer rain.
Magnus sighed. "Just leave it on the floor, Aro. I'll have a guard clean up later." He said in annoyance at the state of his guard hall.
"Are we really doing this?" Eleazar asked, the poor idiot looks miserable, he thought. The glare he received from his father and brother told him they most definitely were doing this and he had better take his turn walloping the lad.
"Okay then." Eleazar said pulling Felix close. "Have you finished?" he asked the boy, referring to his up-chuck.
Felix nodded but he wore a green tinge to his face that wasn't usually there. Eleazar looked to him sadly but directed the boy over the desk where he sat. Eleazar brought Felix to tears soon enough and stopped as soon as he had.
"Would you like me to stop?" he asked his nephew.
Felix nodded, gasping for breath and wiping at his traitorous tears.
"Say so then." Eleazar demanded. He didn't want to have to take another turn and having Felix ask him to stop now could be his get out clause later.
"Stop, please." Felix whispered, catching his breath and wondering if more bloodwine was going to come up soon.
"Come on then Felix." Caius called out, slapping his knee in much the same way Aro had.
Felix looked back to his father, questioning with his eyes if he had to go to Caius.
"Like you said son, you have nothing to fear so get on with it." Aro spat, as he dumped his sick-soaked shirt to the floor with his coat. He could feel regurgitated bloodwine swimming inside his boot. I'm going to throw up at this rate, he thought.
Felix slunk over to Caius taking major umbrage at the fucker grinning back at him. You are such a cunt. He thought, and received a sharp slap to the back of his head from Basileus for his unspoken insult.
"Do I want to know what he called me?" Caius asked the creator.
"Probably best to just smack him extra hard for good measure, Caius." Basileus replied, glaring at his grandson.
Felix stood awkwardly next to Caius, he just couldn't bring himself to lie over his lap. "I can't do it, I just can't." He said, feeling emotionally tormented by his shitty non-options.
"You can, and you will." Aro told his boy whilst removing his boots. "And you may want to remember this the next time you enter into a power play with me, you damn fool!"
Magnus couldn't take anymore, he wanted this over and done with if only to rid his guard hall of the stench of the boy's sick. He walked over to Felix and shoved him over Caius' knee. "Aro if you take anything else off, I'm leaving." Magnus mocked his co-master.
Aro rolled his eyes. "Do you keep any clothes in here? A coat? Anything?"
Magnus laughed, "none that would fit you, you dwarf!"
Aro kicked the sick pile of clothes to Magnus, splattering red vomit up the master's leg.
Magnus looked down in disgust. "I am going to take that out on your son when it's my turn." He said playfully.
Aro clapped his hands together. "Great!"
Though Felix was concentrating on not showing any remorse to Caius, hearing Magnus' threat sent his head into a whirl, and he did something really stupid in response.
"Ahhh!" Caius raged, shoving Felix to the floor. "The little bastard bit me!"
Felix rolled onto his back to see Basileus towering over him. "Oh, so he is biting again, is he?"
"Again?" Caius asked, with blood seeping through his clothes from the wound in his leg.
"I think I shall buy him a muzzle until he learns to keep his teeth to himself." Aro commented.
"Is he really worth keeping? He's getting worse, Aro!" Caius complained.
Aro sighed, he couldn't disagree. He sometimes wished he didn't love the little sod so much.
"I am going to belt you to within an inch of your life, boy!" Caius threatened.
Felix waited on the floor hoping someone would speak up for him. Neither his father or grandfather objected to Caius' threat and even Eleazar, who Felix was kind of banking on, kept quiet.
He didn't have long to wonder about Caius as Magnus dragged him up from the floor by the scruff of his neck. He slammed Felix into the wall and pinned him still. "You've only yourself to blame for this, young one."
Felix would have nodded, but the force Magnus held his neck to the wall meant he couldn't move his head at all.
"Are you ready?" Magnus asked the youth.
Felix could feel tears pricking at his eyes already. "Please don't." he said, voice thick with emotion.
"What did he say?" Aro asked.
A broad smile spread across Magnus' face. "I believe he is doing that thing that he apparently doesn't do - begging before I start!"
Though he faced away from his family and Caius, Felix heard them all laughing at him loud and clear. Bastards! He thought.
"Should I stop before I start?" Magnus asked, a little unsure of whether to proceed.
"You should start." Aro said flatly.
Magnus huffed but smacked Felix' ass anyway.
Basileus strolled behind Magus with his arms folded. "Put some effort in Magnus, unless you want to find yourself over my knee." He sang out in a very Aro-like way. Aro, Caius and Eleazar all burst out laughing when Magnus responded by whacking Felix with far more force than necessary.
"Stop!" Felix burst through his now clear sobs. "Please!" he gasped.
"That's more like it." Basileus said, sounding pleased. He allowed Magnus to smack the boy only a handful of times with such force before taking Felix from him.
"Not you, not you!" Felix begged, pulling away from Basileus with his full strength. The grip on his arm tightened as Basileus easily brought the boy in close and took him over to Caius' chair.
"Not Caius again! That isn't fair!" Felix complained, putting more effort into escaping Basileus' hold.
Caius smiled happily, he was ready to beat the little bastard for biting him and drawing blood!
Basileus shook his head to the master's wrong assertion. "Caius, shift!" he said with a jerk of his head.
Caius slunk out of his chair and stood with Magnus. Basileus put his foot onto the seat and tried to drag Felix across his knee but the boy was desperately wiggling free. Basileus let him go, and watched as he crashed to the floor with the force of his resistance. As Felix scrambled on the floor, Basileus knelt on his hunches and took Felix by his throat.
"Felix I am far stronger than you, dear boy. If you resist, I will pin you down and spank you and then once you are willing to submit to me, we can start properly."
Felix stopped breathing. You're making it worse you dick! He told himself.
"Indeed you are." Basileus replied to the boy's thoughts. Helping his grandson to his feet, he resumed his position and pulled Felix up and over. "Much better." He congratulated the youth.
After only the first few strikes Felix was begging to bring an end to his torment. "No more, no more." He pleaded.
Aro scoffed. "You can't quit half way through a round."
Felix wailed his frustrations in response, his pain forcing him to try and defend himself against Basileus' strong and steady stokes. Basileus tipped the boy further over his knee and with the jolt, Felix grabbed a tight hold on his grandfather's leg. His face was very close to Basileus' calf.
"If you bite me I will rip your fangs out." He warned with a particularly sharp strike to the boys legs. "Are you ready to throw away your prideful attitude and ask for forgiveness, or would you rather go for round two with us all?"
Felix nearly choked on his own venom with the speed of his reply. Sadly for Felix it was pretty garbled and no one had understood a word of his rambled efforts.
"I hope you are learning from this?" Aro added. "A power play against me is never a good idea, son."
Basileus quit his assault and pulled Felix up by his neck. His feet could searched for the floor as Basileus brought the boy up to his own eye level.
"Please stop, please." Felix spluttered.
"I am not interested in your begging, boy." Basileus said as he casually passed his grandson to Aro.
"Would you like to ask him again, son?" Basileus prompted.
Aro sat in Magnus' oversized chair, (though it was 'normally sized' for Magnus, of course), shirtless and shoeless. Felix would normally have found such a sight funny but there was absolutely nothing humorous about his current situation at all.
"Are you ready to show proper respect to your elders."
Felix' head shot up. "Elders? All elders?" he asked sounding confused whilst snivelling and rubbing his throbbing backside.
"Yes." Aro nodded.
"But I thought this was about us!" Felix whined.
"For god sake Felix just stop!" Eleazar told him, thoroughly exasperated with the boy's errant mouth.
"You see, son, I can change the game any time I like, and you still have to play. Do you understand." Aro said, he wasn't meaning to patronise his boy now, but that's how Felix took it.
"The guard are all older than me though!" Felix continued to whine.
"This is true." Aro agreed.
"I am supposed to bow and scrape to the guards?" he asked, disgusted by the idea.
"If its required of you, yes…"
"But…" Felix tried to interrupt Aro, the stinging slap to his ass from Basileus equally interrupted Felix.
"We could start this whole thing again if you would prefer?" Basileus asked, he was done with the whelp's resistance now.
"No!" Felix shot out, breathing becoming ragged again at the very idea.
"Then I think you have something to say to us all, do you not?" Aro pushed him a final time.
Felix looked around the group - his uncle looked a little upset to have been part of the whole thing. Magnus looked the most pissed off. Basileus positively dripped with disappointment. Caius, well Felix had expected Caius to be gloating at having been able to punish him… he normally would! Felix thought. But Caius wasn't gloating, he smiled sadly to the boy instead.
Aro stood up and put a hand on Felix' shoulder. "Take your humble pie like a good little boy." He ground out. He really didn't want to have to start over with Felix, but he was prepared to if the boy pushed him.
Felix swallowed down the pooling venom in his throat and looked to the floor. "I am scared of…"
"Ah, ah." Aro stopped him, wagging a finger in Felix' face. "We don't want you to be scared, Felix. It was never about that." He really wanted Felix to understand that, if nothing else!
Felix chanced a look to Caius, bet he wants me to be scared! He thought.
"Not even me." Caius announced, still smiling sadly.
"Really?" Magnus asked his co-master with a cocky grin.
"Really!" Caius shot back. "Felix may be an insufferable little sod at times, but he is our insufferable little sod." He said, surprising everyone.
Having outside covens inside their home had been the final push Caius needed to truly question his mindset. (The earlier push being Basileus breaking his nose for his cruelty to Lucy!) Seeing himself, and his coven through others had opened his eyes to how important their own members were to him. He could happily tear Felix and Demetri a new asshole on a good day, but when Henri spoke against them he felt compelled to defend them - it hadn't just been the dungeon blood, he wanted to stand up for them. Basileus had a quick pick through Caius' thoughts and decided they would need to spend some time together to work out where this new mindset would take the coven master.
Aro thought along similar lines to his father, but as he was stood in the guard hall, wearing few clothes, and those he wore sticky with sick, he decided it could wait. He gave Felix a gentle squeeze for him to proceed.
"I respect you all. I'm sorry I was being a cock." He said quietly. They all heard him well enough. "I will show respect to all my elders." He added, hoping that would be enough. He just wanted to go home, curl up into a ball, and sleep for a year!
"Good boy." Aro said kindly.
"Are we done?" Basileus asked.
"I believe so." Aro replied, "thank you all for your help."
"Why do you do this to yourself?" Eleazar asked the boy in absolute wonder as he followed his father out of the guard hall. The moment Basileus opened the door, the guard hall filled with eagerly waiting vampires.
Magnus hooked a finger under Felix' chin and tilted his head up. "You are banned from my guard hall, young one. Again!" Felix nodded, defeated. "And I won't be putting you on my guard rota for a while either, so you can kiss good bye to extra funds coming from me."
Felix could feel his bottom lip wobbling, he was so emotional and he just couldn't contain himself. Before he knew it, tears spilled from his eyes and he was once again gasping for air through his sobs. Magnus pulled the boy into an embrace and raised an eyebrow to Aro. Aro knew his co-master was asking for permission to help the boy with his gift. Aro nodded curtly and called for Corin to join him.
"Could you have my clothes taken to the laundry and this whole hall will need a thorough scrub." He gestured to the pile of bright red sick on the floor, where his clothes were pride of place.
Corin screwed up her nose, "yes Master." She replied respectfully, cursing her urge to check on Felix which was the only reason she was so close to Aro in the first place.
Felix and Corin locked eyes for a brief moment before Felix broke away, feeling utterly mortified.
"I am undressed because he threw up on me, in case you were wondering." Aro told Corin simply. He could see she was wondering what had happened. "I will let you all come up with a story for what else has taken place." He added with a wink.
A handful of guards laughed, but when they saw Felix come limping around the corner, it wasn't so funny anymore. Aro heard the odd 'poor kid' but he didn't let it bother him.
"Am I grounded?" Felix dared to ask as he walked beside Aro back to their tower.
"Naturally." Aro replied, stopping himself from laughing at his boy's groan. "You can say good bye to sunshine, sunshine."
Felix trudged up the stairs behind his father to their top floor chambers.
"I don't care if you don't like me very much right now." Aro told his boy.
"Don't like you!" Felix repeated to himself.
It was quiet, very, very quiet, but Aro was sure he had heard Felix add 'I fucking hate you'. He turned mid step and made contact with his son to check his memories. He was right.
"I am not your friend, Felix, I am your father. If you didn't hate me occasionally I wouldn't be doing my job!" he said before continuing up the stairs.
"Are you trying to pretend that was for my own good?" Felix asked, agog at the very idea.
"Aro held the door open for Felix to come inside and closed it behind him. "It was." He said forcefully.
"How?!" Felix asked.
He wasn't being cocky, Aro could tell his son genuinely couldn't see the point of the whole event. "You are dancing dangerously close to being called out as an immortal child."
"I know you only said that to Carlisle to get him to…"
Aro held up his hand to silence his son. "I wasn't lying when I told him that, Felix." He said sharply.
Sulpicia came through the archway from her children's rooms as she had heard her mate and son had returned. She hadn't expected to find Aro half-dressed and Felix able to stand… "I think I will go out onto the terrace, my love." She said, wondering what on earth could have happened whilst they were gone.
Aro returned to his conversation with Felix. "I wasn't lying." He repeated. "If I can't control you, you won't be considered a vampire, you will be considered an immortal child."
Felix put his hands on his hips. "So it's be controlled or be killed?" he said, mulling over the unfairness of the idea.
"If that's how you want to see it… yes." Aro said with a shrug. This is why we don't turn teenagers anymore, he reminded himself. "Truthfully, son, I expect you to fool around and break the rules from time to time. But I also expect you take your punishment for it. If you back me into a corner and try to play me in a battle of will, I will always beat you, metaphorically and literally, if that's what it takes."
Felix swore to himself that he would never enter into a power play with his father ever again! Hell, I am not even going to disobey him again! He thought. Felix would manage a whole three months before Aro had to punish him again.