AN: Chapter 101! Really appreciate the review and messages I am receiving, its certainly proving great motivation for carrying on!
I have been a little worried about the next few bunches of chapters, but lovely, lovely Doccoopper has approved them and that's good enough for me to post them :D
Welcome to 1672, lets see how the castle looks with two years of building works completed…
1672, JANUARY - LUCIUS
Caius stared out the throne room window. The clear, cold sky danced in shades of pinks and orange with the setting sun. He longed for the blackness that would follow as signal that their shift accepting visitors, or tourists as he thought of them, would be over.
Aro removed the head from an aged and life-weary vampire who had sought the services of the Volturi to end his long and lonely days. As he called Turk and Odi forward to dispose of the body, Caius instructed them otherwise.
"Take his body to the dungeons, try not to spill too much blood." He spoke without his usual stern tone, sounding half lost to a daydream.
"Where are you today?" Aro hissed as he retook his seat, wiping the blood spray from his hands on the rag he kept under his throne for just such an occasion.
"Here!" Caius hissed in return. "We have been here all bloody day!"
Aro rolled his eyes to himself. "It was your mate's suggestion for us to only see passersby one day a week - it was always going to create a long day, brother."
Aro had been resistant to the idea initially, mainly because it had been Athenodora's suggestion and he was getting pissed off with the ladies of Volterra running coven life. Though he had to admit, only covering the throne room on Mondays had freed up a lot of time for the masters.
"How many more are there?" Magnus asked, soaking up some of Caius' bored annoyance.
"The courtyard is half full, Master," Afton replied, waiting to announce the next visitor.
Caius and Magnus both huffed in annoyance. Aro took great amusement in their attitudes. Neither Marcus nor Freyr complained. Freyr saw throne duty day as a welcome break from her other duties. It was impossible to tell when Marcus was bored as he so often wore the same blank expression.
Aro nodded curtly to Afton who opened the grand doors to the front of the hall, allowing a coven of three vampires to enter.
They came before the Volturi masters, dropping submissively to their knees and proffering their gifts to the vampire royalty. The coven from Spain, who identified themselves as from the infamous Borgia line, were particularly seeking Marcus' patronage.
Marcus, in his glory days, had single-handedly commanded the Volturi forces in expelling a werewolf community from the Spanish mainland's. He had become something of an icon for visiting Spaniards.
Marcus plastered on his game face and went to speak with the three vampires who had begged for an audience with him.
To Aro's right, Caius continued to pout whilst to his left, Magnus did the same. Felix and Demetri were supposed to be there, too. They had slipped out at some point without Aro noticing at the time.
They wanted royal duties, and first chance they get they duck out, he thought bitterly. They expect the prestige with none of the responsibilities!
Truthfully, everyone's nerves were fraying from Aro's building works. The towers were yet to be affected, but the guard dorm, with new guard hall, had been completed the day before. As the guards had been working on the project around the clock since Aro had revealed his expansion mission, he had called for an unveiling party that night to celebrate all the work they had accomplished thus far.
The twins appeared at their father's side whilst he was distracted with his thoughts of the coming night.
"What are you doing here?" Aro asked quietly. They weren't supposed to be in the throne room when they had guests.
"Mom said you need to take us out to feed before the party."
"Mom said, did she?" Aro replied to his daughter raising his eyebrows. "She will have to take you, I am working."
"So is mom," Alec replied, "but we could always drink bloodwine with everyone else if neither of you have time?"
Aro smirked. "Nice try, son. You will have to go with your brothers."
Jane rolled her eyes. "We are more powerful than they are," she said, adding "or anyone else in this coven, for that matter."
Aro shook his head, knowing just what Jane was going to suggest. "You can't go alone, your grandmother will string me up!"
Alec saw his sister about to object in her usual, snippy way and jumped in before she had chance to scupper their chances. "We are hungry! Couldn't we go to the woods and fill a few bottles?"
Aro watched Marcus wrapping things up with his guests through the corner of his eye, and over his children's heads he could see daylight diminishing through the window. Damn it, the party starts soon. I don't have time to take them.
"Go," he said to his young ones, eliciting excited grins from the pair of them. "Stay together and be quick about it." He watched them leave behind the Spanish visitors and signalled to Afton to close the doors for the day.
"What should I tell the rest, Master?" he asked.
Caius stood and stretched out his legs. "Tell them to come earlier next week!"
Magnus bounced to his feet. "Party time!" he said, sounding like a man on a mission and fleeing the throne room ahead of everyone else with Turk hot on his heels.
The new guard hall had a purpose-built bar and Turk had been promised the job of bar keep. It had been a welcomed appointment for the non-gifted guard who was feeling more and more uncomfortable in the coven which seemed to talk of nothing else than collecting gifted guards to fill the ranks when the building work was complete.
The masters had sent the non-gifted guards to outposts with the only single exception being Turk. Turk wasn't sure whether he should take his exclusion as a compliment or not. On the one hand, Magnus had told him he had been with the Volturi too long to be sent away with the newer non-gifted guards. On the other, he was left behind with no talent to his name. Bard and Isolde were officially non-gifted, but as talented musicians they had a niche place in the guard that was out of Turk's reach.
The fact was, everyone liked Turk and the masters hadn't considered sending him away for even a moment. After Turk had confided in Freyr about feeling lost in coven life, she had convinced Aro to build the bar in the new guard hall to give her favourite a proper position - one that would, no doubt, raise Turk's status amongst the rest of the coven populous.
Aro made his way through the small gaggle of guards in the hallway outside the old guard hall. The doors were locked and bolted, as they had been for six months whilst the guard hall was renovated to become the working office of the masters.
Basileus waited patiently for his son to join him before offering a broad smile to their coven. "My friends, your new guard hall awaits … " he said simply, unlocking the masters' office door and revealing their hard work to all.
Aro strode through the new office space; the old sofas had been re-upholstered and arranged to create a conversational space in the centre of the room. Four well-spaced work desks took up the left-hand side of the office with a grand round conference table dominating the right. New double doors replaced the old arched windows opposite the office entrance and Aro headed straight towards them. He could hear Turk already clattering about inside the new hall, no doubt getting goblets ready at his fully equipped bar.
Aro smiled to his assembled coven. There were precious few in attendance. They had been up to fifty guards when the outside covens arrived, but shortly after, Aro had decided to trim their ranks back to long standing and trusted members only whilst the remodelling was taking place. The extras had been sent to create new guard posts, flung far and wide across the globe.
"My friends, it is my pleasure to present you with your new guard hall … enjoy!" he said, flinging open the double doors and standing aside to allow his coven to enter ahead of him.
The whole coven (excusing the elite ladies, naturally) had worked on the construction of the hall and the double story levels above, but human craftsmen had been called in for decorating the room.
Carlisle had taken to the role of human liaison officer superbly. Indeed, he was the only one in the coven who had been allowed near the craftsmen and under Carlisle's instruction they had completed their tasks without any deaths. Stone mason and blacksmith were not usually such high-risk trades … but then they didn't usually work in a vampire coven. The humans had questioned Carlisle's striking eye colour until they were introduced to Basileus, his father, and took the amber shade as a family trait.
The guards and masters alike were a buzz of excitement exploring the new hall. With so few in the coven, the assembled vampires looked a little lost in the grand expanse of space and Aro knew Basileus would question, again, the level of his development plans.
"I knew it would be too big."
Aro cringed hearing his father's voice in his ear. He spun to face him and rolled his eyes. "We will have more guards soon, my lord. The space will be needed then."
Basileus raised an eyebrow to his boy. "As well as the hundred or so rooms, up there?" he asked, pointing to the grand stairway leading off the hall to the new guard accommodation.
"More like fifty or so, don't exaggerate." Aro tried to soak up the guards' opinions floating around him - they were far more positive than his father's. "You are just tight," Aro complained, knowing his father's resistance was about money.
"I think I have bought the right to question your spending with the amount of money I have plunged into this coven over the last few years."
Aro shrugged and smirked. "Makes up for the thousands of years where you have pleaded poverty, my lord." That sounded far more spiteful than Aro had intended and he flinched for a moment seeing his father's eyes widen in warning.
It had been two years since Basileus had so brutally forced Aro's submission, and though they hadn't revisited that dark time, the creator had made clear that he would go down that road should he feel Aro needed it.
Aro, of course, would say it wasn't needed in the first bloody place! He had toed a fine line between trying to let things get back to normal and not pissing off his father, but the continued restrictions on his life were wearing thin.
He was in his own quarters, and running the coven, but Basileus seemed to be behind him every time he turned around and he had refused Aro's requests to run a mission with Caius. That had pissed Aro off. Not that he had voiced his complaint too loudly, for fear of reprisals.
Basileus had encouraged Aro to talk to the other masters about their situation but there was no way on god's green earth that Aro was going to tell ANYONE about the submission under which he was still living. It was wrong of him really - Caius definitely had a right to know, so did Carlisle and possibly Magnus and Felix … any of them could be next on Basileus' list and they were all wandering around Volterra completely unaware.
The way Caius had practised submission in their coven hadn't really affected anyone else - he had a guard, there was no one below that guard, so no further issue.
Aro had stopped using the technique with the guards when Felix came along, primarily to prevent him ever going there with the boy in his quarters.
But now Basileus had opened Pandora's box and, in theory, EVERY other vampire in the world was under him, and each and every one of them was at risk. He and Aro had talked about it and though Basileus believed the 'likely' contenders had a right to know, neither he nor Aro could face the conversation. As it was, Basileus had been left to battle his inner beast alone.
Basileus narrowed his eyes, ready with a rebuttal, but, thankfully for Aro, Felix and Demetri interrupted the pair of them before he had chance.
"Mom said you wanted us," Demetri announced, looking eagerly at his grandfather's goblet of bloodwine. Basileus handed it over.
"What about me?" Felix asked, feeling hopeful.
Basileus laughed. "Share nicely," he instructed. No chance of that, he thought as he chuckled to himself, walking away.
Felix glared after his grandfather before turning big, round, begging eyes on Aro.
Aro, of course, ignored him. "Have you seen the twins?"
Demetri took a break from gulping at the bloodwine to respond. "Back in the tower, why?"
Aro nodded to himself. They must have been very quick! "That's fine, then," he said, taking the goblet from one son and giving it to the other. "Listen, this is a new guard hall, a new start. We have discussed at length about you both restricting your … activities with the guards." Activities! Aro scoffed to his word choice.
Sulpicia had objected to Aro's 'fucking through my coven like a sailor in a whore house' during their serious sit down with their eldest sons and they were now using 'activities' in its place. Aro smirked to himself remembering it, I thought you'd both die from cringing!
Looking at Felix and Demetri as they caught on to what he was saying, Aro wondered if they still might! "Make me proud tonight, yes?"
Felix knocked back his half of bloodwine in one and grinned. "As if you have to ask!"
Aro snorted. "Oh, I do have to ask."
He directed his sons to the side of the hall and took a seat in the plush new sofa, pulling Felix down one side and Demetri the other. "I just want you to remind yourselves not to relax too much, that this is a night for the coven which is … "
"Which is business, yeah, we know!" Felix interrupted. He didn't need a rollicking before the night had even started!
Aro shook his head to Felix interrupting him. I'm not having you two ruin what should be a good night off. He rolled his tongue around his cheek as he appraised his sons. The pair of them look like excited puppies! Throwing an arm around each of their shoulders, Aro pulled his boys in close, speaking quietly enough that combined with the general chatter and merriment, their conversation was relatively private.
"We are low on numbers at the moment, only thirty-five in the whole coven … it has quite a family feel to it."
"Yeah … " Felix rolled his eyes, ready to launch into dismissing his father's concerns.
Aro squeezed his boy tightly. "I would hate to forget myself and do something that might embarrass either of you, like throwing you over my knee for a spanking … " He let his voice trail off and released the pair of them.
Both Felix and Demetri stayed frozen with mouths hanging open in shock.
"You wouldn't!" Felix dared to voice what they were both thinking.
Demetri noted his brother posed 'you wouldn't' as a statement whereas he thought it much more of a question.
Aro smiled happily to himself as he slapped his own knee.
The few guards nearby all looked around to the noise as Felix and Demetri looked on with what little colour they had draining from their faces. Afton and Chelsea gigged to each other.
Felix saw them. Bastards.
"Have I made my point?" Aro sang out, enjoying his sons squirming in the tension.
"Perfectly." Felix replied bitterly. Demetri could only gulp loudly in response but that was enough.
Basileus caught Aro's eye and shook his head in disappointment.
Okay, okay, he thought back to his father, I'll leave them be now they know the score.
Basileus nodded curtly, indicating he had heard his son's thoughts.
"Where are the twins? I need to talk to them, too," Aro asked, sounding genuinely more relaxed now he was sure his troublemakers would behave.
"They aren't here, are they?" Demetri said, looking around the room for his siblings.
"They should be here by now … where else would they be?" Aro asked, anxiety raising when he realised the twins really weren't in the room.
"How would we know?" Felix questioned completely missing the concern in Aro's tone.
Aro smacked Felix' leg lightly. "You just told me you had seen them in the tower," he said, turning stern eyes on his boy.
Felix tutted at his father's display. Unnecessary, he thought petulantly. "We did see them in the tower, but that was this afternoon."
Aro's eyes widened in panic. "They haven't come back from the woods?"
Felix shrugged. "I didn't know they went to the woods."
Aro flashed to his feet, dragging his sons with him over to Basileus and Atia. He winced before he spoke, knowing Atia would have something to say about him sending the twins alone.
"Jane and Alec are missing," he admitted quietly.
"I'm sure they are around, Aro," Basileus said, waving away his boy's worries.
Aro pulled Basileus closer. "No, dad - I sent them to the woods to fetch a feed before the party. That must have been two hours ago."
Atia's face contorted. "You sent them alone?!" she questioned in horror. "Why didn't you ask one of us to take them?"
Aro hadn't actually considered asking his parents to accompany the twins. He felt a bit of a fool now.
"On today of all days, when the outskirts of our lands are filled with vampiric visitors waiting to meet you … "
"Can you berate me later?" Aro pleaded with his mother. "Sulpicia will be hysterical if she finds out they are missing," he continued with panic in his voice.
Atia looked askance to her son. "For good reason!"
Basileus could see his son ready to rear up against his mate. Not the time, he thought. "Atia and I will go and find them," he said with finality, before the pair of them flashed from the guard hall.
Sulpicia had seen the minor commotion Aro had created and looked to be heading his way. No, no, no, I can't deal with you now! Aro thought. "You pair had better come with me," he whispered to his sons.
Felix didn't want to go chasing the twins in the bloody woods! He wasn't worried about them. They have the best powers in the Volturi, why all the stress?
Aro heard him through his contact but dragged him along anyway.
Aro didn't release them until they were outside. "Come on my little bloodhound, where are they?"
Demetri rolled his eyes, taking care that Aro wouldn't see, and took off at full speed to find the twins. His gift for tracking was far superior to Basileus' and they reached the twins well ahead of Aro's parents.
Jane and Alec sat together on the woodland floor, chatting easily with an unknown vampire who looked to be no older than Felix.
Aro rudely interrupted the trio, ripping Alec and Jane from the ground by the scruff of their necks.
Felix and Demetri came up behind their father. They were a little surprised by Aro's speed - they thought he was slower than them both, or at least slower than Demetri who was particularly fast. Clearly Aro had been holding out on them, but his worry for his young ones overrode his desire to conceal the height of his abilities. Felix felt bad looking at the twins as they babbled apologies. Well, Alec babbled apologies - Jane looked ready to set Aro on fire!
"Now we have a volatile situation here … " Felix joked, trying to ease the tension.
Aro glared at the boy. "Shut up, Felix," he spat, setting the twins on the ground. "What the hell are you still doing out here?" he demanded. "You've been gone for two fucking hours!"
"Aro! Language!" Atia admonished her son as they came through the woods. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who was with the twins. "Lucius!" she gasped, staggering backwards with the shock.
Basileus caught his mate before she could fall and eyed the new addition warily for a moment.
"Atia," the boy replied, bowing politely in Atia's presence.
Aro hadn't paid any attention to the twins' new friend, but hearing that Atia knew the boy certainly piqued his interest. He pushed the twins behind him slightly, just until he was sure the kid was safe.
Atia floated towards Lucius as though she were walking through a dream. "I haven't seen you for centuries! Where have you been?" she asked, pulling the boy close and wrapping her arms around him.
Lucius returned the embrace, melting into the woman's hold. "I looked for you, but you always covered your tracks so well. I finally met the Egyptian coven and they told me you had shacked up with the creator!"
Atia laughed at his word choice whilst Basileus was decidedly less impressed. "You know each other?" he asked, looking between his mate and the random child from the woods.
As Basileus walked over to join them, he tried to get into the boy's mind but his gift failed him. He assumed Atia was blocking him, for some reason. He's too young for you, surely? he thought to his mate with a smirk.
Atia heard him and broke away from Lucius to slap his chest for his crude mind. She wiped at the happy tears in her eyes but kept one arm tight around Lucius. "This is my mate, Basileus, and our son, Aro," she explained to the boy. "You have met Jane and Alec already, and these are Aro's other sons, Felix and Demetri."
Lucius smiled to each in turn though they all looked awkwardly back at him.
"And this is Lucius," Atia continued, "the one who bit me."
Aro and Basileus both softened their stance.
"You told me you raised the one who turned you … is he your son?" Aro asked, looking the boy up and down. He doesn't look much like Atia, he thought. He had olive skin and jet-black hair from what Aro could tell. He's bloody filthy! Aro realised now he was taking a good look at him.
"No, well, erm … it's a long story," Atia said, wondering where to start.
"We are vampires, we have the time," Aro offered folding his arms across his chest.
Basileus shook his head. "Not now, we need to get back to the castle."
"May I come with you?" Lucius asked quietly from Atia's side.
Basileus took one look at his mate and her happy tears before offering his home to the boy. "I think that would be for the best," he said in answer to Lucius' question.
Aro rolled his eyes. Not a great time for newcomers, Dad! he thought to his father.
Basileus started guiding his mate and the boy out of the woods, throwing a stern 'don't mess with me' look over his shoulder to Aro.
"Are we in trouble?" Alec asked in a very small voice.
Aro had almost forgotten why he was in the bloody woods in the first place. He told Felix and Demetri to go back to the castle ahead of him. Neither made to move, both looking at the twins with sympathy. It was rare for Demetri, and even more so for Felix, to be on the good side of their father whilst the twins were on the bad.
Aro shook his head. "I'm not going to kill them!" he said sounding exasperated. Aro's comment didn't help any of them feel more at ease. "Go, we'll join you in the guard hall soon," he said finally, pushing his sons away and turning his back on them. They went. But they weren't happy about it.
Aro stood with his hands on his hips glaring at his young ones as he listened for the footsteps of his older sons to fade away. Once he was sure they were alone, he took hold of Alec's arm and rained down a succession of sharp swats to the boy's backside.
"Don't. Ever. Do. That. To. Me. Again!"
Before Alec had registered what was going on, Aro had released him and took hold of Jane, doing much the same to her.
"You. Scared. Me. To. Death!"
Aro willed himself to calm down and walk away. Ironically, he was always much harder on Demetri and Felix, yet punishing them rarely made him feel bad, at the time at least.
When he looked back to his young ones who seemed so tiny to him, he couldn't help but laugh mirthlessly at their stance. Alec, true to form, looked distraught to have done anything wrong in the first place, let alone enough to deserve to feel his father's hand. Jane, however, glared murderously back at her father.
"You had better wipe that look off your face, girl," Aro ground out quietly.
Jane maintained her glare. She rarely backed down easily. "We didn't do anything wrong," she muttered.
Aro heard her. "You bump into a nomad in the woods and you sit around for a cosy chat? Nothing wrong with that? Have you lost your damn mind?!"
"We couldn't get away!" Jane returned through gritted teeth, matching her father's stance.
Aro narrowed his eyes. "What does that even mean?"
"I don't know, but we couldn't," Jane insisted.
Aro stalked back to his children and took Alec by his wrist so he could search his memory. He saw the twins share a feed from a small deer he had passed on his way to find them. The animal was young and couldn't offer nearly enough blood for the twins to feel well fed. It was barely a snack! As the twins moved through the trees in search of more food, Aro saw Lucius appear. For a brief moment, it looked as though the twins were going to run and Aro could hear his son's thoughts; a few expletives along with the need to get back to the castle. But neither of them did run. They didn't use their gifts on the boy. They did nothing. Within seconds they were all sat on the forest floor together and the twins, HIS children, divulged the inner workings of the Volturi to the stray that had crossed their path.
"You didn't even try!" Aro roared as he came out of Alec's head.
"I'm really sorry," Alec whined, pulling away from his father.
"I'm not sorry! It isn't our fault, Alec," Jane added dismissively.
Aro let go of his son and turned on his daughter. "Excuse me? How was it not your fault?" He really did try and keep his cool, but Jane was pushing on all his buttons with the sassy and complacent attitude.
"We tried to get away and we couldn't," she stated plainly, shrugging at Aro's aggression and winding him up further.
"You sat down with him, talking about the workings of the Volturi, the hierarchy, the gifts we hold, everything! And you did so willingly!" Aro accused. He was shocked that of all his children, of his whole coven in fact, that Jane would be the one to show such disloyalty. And now you dare to deny it!
"That isn't what happened!" Jane maintained, stamping her small foot into the ground with her growing agitation.
Aro scoffed at his girl's display. "Don't lie to me again, Jane. I am so close to taking you home for proper hiding!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Aro cursed himself. He didn't like backing himself into a corner like that. But then Aro caught his girl smirk … that changed his mind. "You think I won't punish you, is that it?" he sang out in the tell-tale tone of danger.
Jane put one hand on her hip, gesticulating wildly with the other as she spoke. "I tried my gift but it wouldn't work … and somehow we got talking and … "
That was enough. Aro picked Jane up and threw her over his shoulder, taking off at vampiric speed towards the castle. Jane complained at the uncompromising position she was being carried in whilst Alec followed behind them, not daring to say a word.
When they entered the castle, Jane shut her mouth. Worried about your pride? Aro thought, laughing to himself as he set her down.
Had it been Demetri or Alec, he would have happily embarrassed the boy. Not Felix though, he was too damn heavy! And certainly not Jane … because, well … she's his princess. Truthfully, though Aro had every intention of punishing his daughter if he had to, he intended to give her the opportunity to let them both off the hook.
Aro kept a tight hold on Jane's hand as they made their way through to the guard hall. He didn't check, but Aro knew Alec was still following behind them.
Sulpicia was waiting for them outside the new office in the castle hallway. Her sons had informed her of the twins going missing. "Aro what is going on?" she asked.
She had been thoroughly pissed off that Aro had sent the twins out alone when there were so many unknown vampires in the area, but the way he was dragging Jane through the castle worried Sulpicia more.
Aro rarely got angry with Jane - even when it was deserved he would choose against punishing their daughter, generally making some sort of excuse for her demeanour. This time, Aro was set on putting his girl straight. He thrust Alec towards his mate.
"Keep him in your sights, my queen, I need to have a discussion with our daughter," he growled before continuing to the south tower, dragging Jane along like a rag doll.
Neither of them spoke until they were safe in the tower, and then it was only a yelp from Jane when Aro swatted her backside to get her up the stairs. She flashed to the top of the stairwell and didn't stop until she was safely in her bedroom.
Aro slammed the chamber door shut behind him and continued stalking through his quarters, under the archway and on to the twins' room. He walked at a human pace so Jane had waited a few minutes for him to arrive.
She told herself she wasn't scared and she wouldn't back down … that was until she heard her father's footsteps coming down the hall. For a moment, she considered buckling.
Alec just agreed and apologised, and he's at the party. If I just apologise to Dad, he'll probably let me off! It didn't matter what she said to herself, there was no way Jane could back down like that. She just couldn't do it, even for her own benefit. She'd spent too many years with Aro and now she was just like him.
Aro stood in the doorway watching his girl. "You think you can lie to my face without any repercussions?" he asked, head cocked to one side, looking seriously pissed off. Just back down, baby.
Jane folded her arms across her chest, she looked like an angry little elf to Aro - which would have been endearing if he weren't so annoyed with her.
"I didn't do anything wrong!" Jane stomped her foot, her own anger bubbling in time with her father's.
Aro sighed sadly and flicked his tongue over his bottom lip. Why are you making me do this? He considered just leaving Jane in her room and going back to the party. But like Jane, Aro couldn't back down in a battle of wills, either.
Heading towards Jane's bed, Aro collected his daughter as he passed her, and threw the slight girl over his lap. He hesitated for a moment. "Are you going to tell me the truth?"
Jane merely growled in response.
Aro roared. "Damn you, girl!"
Jane felt tears pricking her eyes from the first smack but she held it together. Aro went on for a good few minutes before he spoke. "I will keep going until you admit the truth!" he told his daughter. He could hear her crying softly between the involuntary yelps. "Are you ready to talk?" he asked.
Still no verbal response.
Aro stopped and pulled Jane up so they were face to face. "Well?" he pushed. Just back down, please! he thought.
It was clear from the murderous look on Jane's face that she wasn't going down without a fight. "I didn't do anything wrong!" she replied, looking Aro straight in the eye and willing him to see sense.
Aro shook his head sadly, pushing Jane aside so he could stand.
He unbuckled his belt and held an end in each hand. He didn't want to take it off. "I really, REALLY don't want to do this, Jane," he said, watching his child's reaction. Demetri and Alec would be backing down by now. Hell, they wouldn't have let things get this far! he thought.
Jane remained steadfast, wiping angrily at her frustrated tears. "I tried to leave as soon as we saw him, I tried to use my gift but it wouldn't work and I didn't want to tell him anything about the coven but the words just came out of my mouth!"
Aro shook his head to Jane's nonsensical excuses. He pulled the leather strap from around his waist until it hung freely from his hand. "That's what you are sticking to?" he asked, folding the belt in two and slapping the leather against his leg lightly.
Jane growled. "Yes!"
If you were one of your brothers I would have knocked your teeth out for growling at me, girl! Aro gritted his teeth so hard he could feel his jaw shake. "I have seen the exact opposite in your memories."
Jane reared up, squealing in her frustrated state. "I don't care what you think you saw, I was there, I know what happened!"
Aro's stomach flipped, he had no choice as he saw it. "Then so be it," he said sadly, retaking his seat and pulling his daughter back over his knee.
Jane wasn't going down without a fight. Aro struggled to contain her with all the wriggling. The only reason he struggled was because he wouldn't use the same force on his girl as he would on his boys. He managed to moved Jane between his legs, trapping her between his thighs and tipping her over. Jane continued to growl with her bubbling rage as she considered setting her father on fire for even the briefest of moments.
"You're the liar! Either that or your gift is broken!" she blurted.
It was like a red flag to Aro. "Just remember you have brought this on yourself," he roared.
…
Aro wandered back into the new guard hall looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Sulpicia rushed through from the bar with a goblet of bloodwine for her mate and Alec hot on her heels. Aro took a moment to explain, quickly, what had happened with the twins.
"Where's Jane now?" she asked tentatively, passing Aro his alcohol infused feed.
Basileus' original recipe for bloodwine contained a healthy dose of opium, but since Aro's stint on dungeon blood, the creator had banned the use of all drugs in the coven and now bloodwine was, quite literally, just blood and wine. Strong still, granted, but not quite the potent mix it had been.
The masters had been good enough not to blame Aro … to his face at least. Magnus was particularly pissed off that Marcus continued to use opium in his chambers without Basileus raising even an eyebrow. Magnus knew if he tried such a thing he would have had that damn cane of the creator's wrapped around his legs before he could finish inhaling.
"I've sent her to bed," Aro replied, adding while gesturing to Alec, "he can go soon, too."
Alec's eyes widened briefly before he shot them to the floor. He dared a look towards Lucius who was holding court with Basileus and Atia. Lucky git, he thought, as Basileus lapped up every word Lucius spoke.
Aro noticed, too. There was something about the scene that made him uncomfortable. Basileus didn't look himself, he appeared almost dazed as Lucius filled him in on the adventurous life he'd had since leaving Atia.
"Are you okay?" Sulpicia asked, wrapping Aro's arm around her waist.
Aro broke his concentration on his father and returned to his mate. "Not really," he admitted honestly. "Our daughter has just lied to my face so I spanked her. Even after I saw exactly what happened in her memory she continued to lie to me and I threatened to belt her."
Aro gulped. He expected Sulpicia to object, to berate him for even suggesting it but no such attack came. Sulpicia could see how upset Aro was and she knew he wouldn't have laid a finger on Jane unless he felt he absolutely had to.
Aro continued, "All she had to do was admit the truth but she refused." He took a swig from his cup, the bloodwine was calming his frayed nerves. "Sully, she looked me dead in the eye and told me either my gift must be broken or I was the one who was lying!" Aro played over his daughter's defiance in his mind and shook his head before downing the last of his blood.
Sulpicia felt just as baffled by their daughter's display. "But Jane has relented now?" she asked, assuming Aro had resolved the issue with Jane, as he was back in the guard hall.
"No!" Aro exclaimed. "Not even after I belted her!"
Sulpicia closed her eyes and sighed. Oh, my darling girl, what has come over you?!
"I had to leave her there … I could hear her still growling at me when I shut the damn door! I'm just so shocked by Jane … out of all of them. She has really disappointed me tonight." Aro rolled the now empty goblet between his hands, looking downhearted.
Sulpicia could see how badly her mate had been affected by being forced into such a position with their girl. "Here," Sulpicia gave Aro her own blood, "I'll fetch another."
Aro offered a half smile in return. "Thank you, my queen."
Alec wanted to follow Sulpicia …she looked a safer bet than his father, but he didn't want to aggravate Aro any more than he already had. "Dad, I … " he started, trying to explain himself.
"If you dare deny a thing I have seen in your head, Alec, I will thrash you here and now!" Aro growled.
Alec threw his hands up placatingly. "I won't, I won't!" he rushed. Forget explaining myself - he's on the war path!
Alec tried a different tack for getting back on Aro's good side - giving him information. "I know how Lucius and Atia were turned," he offered quietly.
Aro's whole expression changed, suddenly interested in what Alec had to say. "Atia was a midwife or a nurse or something and she delivered a baby from a woman who died as soon it was born. The baby was Lucius and he was born a vampire … he bit Atia and she raised him as her own. He grew up. Like a human, but a vampire."
Aro scoffed to his boy's explanation. You are so gullible! "Who told you that?" he asked.
Alec scowled hearing his father's patronising tone. "Lucius. But Atia has just confirmed it."
Aro's eyes lit up, I knew there was something off about that kid! "That makes him an immortal child!"
Alec shook his head. "No, he was born … not bitten."
Aro took a swig of his bloodwine and watched the boy at his father's side. I don't have a category for that, he thought. I've never needed one.
Alec followed his father' eyeline. "Basileus' gift won't work on him … does yours?" he asked quietly.
"Really?" Aro asked, both surprised and concerned as Alec nodded in return. "I will have to see," Aro said, going back to watching the boy interact with a gaggle of guards all eagerly listening in on his adventurous tales. Half my coven is enchanted by him!
Alec had hoped his mother would return immediately from fetching herself a drink. When he saw her deep in conversation with Athenodora, Carmen and Freyr he knew he'd lost his mother for the rest of the evening. He really didn't want to stay with Aro if he was still annoyed with him. Conjuring his bravery, Alec pulled on his father's sleeve. "Are you still mad at us?" he whispered.
Aro heard him. "Yes. Very."
Alec dropped his eyes to the floor.
"And it's time for you to go to bed, too." Aro handed his empty goblet to Odi as he passed him by and took Alec to the old guard hall, or rather, the new masters office.
"But I'm still hungry!" Alec complained.
Aro was ready with a response for that one. "You had two hours to feed, son. You can go to bed hungry! Maybe it will help you make better choices in future?"
It's too fucking early to be talking of going to bed! Alec said to himself.
Aro caught the unspoken thoughts and landed a thunderous smack to his boy's backside. "You will go home and go straight to bed, or I can take you."
Alec heard his father's tone turn dark towards the end. Alec wasn't used to being n trouble with his father, at least not without Felix and Demetri in the hot seat, too, to deflect Aro's attentions. Alec was the baby in the family, in the castle, in the whole vampiric world and because of that, everyone made excuses for his behaviour. He might have received the odd swat from Sulpicia, or any of the elite coven members come to think of it, but it was a rare day in hell that anyone would tell Aro about the boy acting up. Something told Alec that if Aro had to take him home, it would hurt!
"I'm going," he sulked, walking away.
On his return, Aro was accosted by his brother and Magnus. "You let the twins out on their own … you are lucky Atia is distracted," Eleazar said, teasing Aro a little.
As if by unhappy accident, Atia chose that very moment to turn and glower at Aro from across the room! Eleazar helpfully burst out laughing and wagged his finger in his brother's face, repeating a very Atia-like dressing down.
"Tell me about it. It won't happen again," Aro said, avoiding his mother's eye and giving his brother a jab in the ribs.
Turning to his co-master, Aro wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen again. "Magnus, tell the guards they are not to let my children out of this castle without my direct permission. NO ONE is to take their word as my permission and I want any who flout this order punished severely and publicly."
Magnus' forehead screwed up in confusion. "And how will you give your permission? Are you going to walk them to the gates when they can leave?"
Aro didn't like the sound of that. That will take up far too much of my time! he thought. "They will have to show their insignia to leave. I will only give them their insignia if I give them my permission to go out."
Magnus bobbed his head in agreement. "I like that idea. I will see to it."
"In fact," Aro added, looking at Lucius, "make that no one at all is to leave our grounds with a master's approval."
Magnus followed eye to the newcomer. He felt an unease just watching the boy. As did Aro.
"Are you saying I can revoke the guards' insignia to keep them on lock down?" Magnus asked, hopefully.
"That's exactly what I am saying, brother," Aro confirmed. "From now on, insignia must be presented to leave … and to enter our coven." And there is no way in hell that my children will have theirs without my knowledge.
"Tell me about his gifts, El," Aro prompted his brother.
Eleazar concentrated on Lucius for a moment before turning back to Magnus and Aro, looking confused. "He is gifted with gentle persuasion, but the strength of his gift doesn't match the type. It's odd. Like there's something I can't see. I'm not sure what else to tell you, brother."
Aro wasn't surprised, he knew something wasn't adding up with Atia's old pet.
"Aro, there is something off with that boy," Magnus added.
"You can feel it?" Aro asked. He needed information and he needed it quick.
When the coven admitted new members, it was usually through newborns who posed little risk as they came as brand-new vampires ready to be moulded into Volturi proper. There were those they took as war booty, like Demetri and Philippe, and the odd one who arrived at the gates wishing to join, but they would all be thoroughly investigated by Aro and Basileus so they had a complete history to go on. If Basileus' gift didn't work on Lucius, Aro was certain his wouldn't either … and that worried him.
Magnus tried to get a good reading of Lucius but, like Eleazar, he felt he was missing something. "I'm not sure what it is I am feeling, but I don't like it," he admitted. Magnus was a fair man by nature and he didn't like to cast aspersions unnecessarily. But there was something he couldn't place about Atia's creator.
Aro saw the discomfort in Magnus' features. "You and me both, my friend."
Marcus and Caius, who had both been talking to Lucius, approached their fellow masters. Marcus wore his usual distracted expression whilst Caius looked trashed already.
"Marcus … " Aro pulled the man in close. "The new kid … what can you tell me?" he prompted.
Marcus had already read the boy's bonds and found nothing remarkable. "Atia is more attached to him than he is to her. He has more of a fondness than a bond for your mother."
That wasn't much help to Aro.
"You look stressed, brother," Caius drawled, his speech significantly slurred already.
"Do I?" Aro breathed, feeling very stressed that this random nomad would be sharing his tower.
"You look wrecked," Eleazar commented to Caius. He poked Caius in the arm and he swayed on the spot with a contented grin.
Aro knew that look. "Are you on dungeon blood?"
"I may be," Caius replied, smirking to his jealous co-master.
Caius hardly used the dirty blood anymore, he was trying to lessen his usage in his work and almost never took it for any other reason. But … having to spend so much time with the guards again, supervising them in the building works, well, he had decided to enjoy the party to the fullest degree and dungeon blood seemed the natural accompaniment. Heidi liked it, too. That helped.
Aro sneered. Yup, dungeon blood. Lucky bastard. That would settle my worries a treat …
"ARO!" Basileus erupted from the opposite side of the room and he was in his son's face before Aro had time to blink.
"A fleeting thought, my lord," Aro explained quietly, trying to hold his position so his guards didn't see him backing away against his father's presence.
Basileus, wide eyed and threatening, leaned in close to his boy's ear. "It had better 'fleet off', if you know what's good for you!"
Aro gulped and side stepped his father, curtly nodding his agreement.
Magnus and Eleazar were nudging each other like a pair of school boys, thoroughly enjoying Aro being put in place by Basileus.
Caius, however, fled from the scene before the man could turn a threat on him. Basileus didn't explicitly say I couldn't ever take it socially, he reasoned as he walked away.
"I didn't think it needed saying, Caius!" Basileus boomed after him.
The whole room froze at Basileus' reply to Caius' unspoken words. Very slowly, Caius turned to face the man. He had no defence, nothing to say, he just stood, waiting for Basileus to do something.
'In that case, I apologise, my lord,' Caius said through his thoughts. He tried to look submissively to the floor but his eyes were trained on the cane in Basileus' hand.
The creator looked around the guards. They looked back in delighted glee to see not only Aro being admonished verbally (even if they couldn't hear what was said) but now Caius looked set to receive something, too!
Oh, it's so very tempting, Caius! Basileus thought, flexing his grip on the cane.
"Find me before you retire tonight, preferably once you have sobered up," he said sternly.
"Of course, my lord," Caius replied, bowing his head.
The guards groaned in disappointment and went back to their chatter whilst Caius walked away, shitting himself.
Aro breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't right, in his mind, for the masters to be corrected in front of the coven. "Would you like me to arrange a room for your guest?" he asked his father, hoping to distract everyone.
Basileus appraised his son with confusion. "No. Lucius will stay with me," he said firmly.
Aro raised his eyebrows and looked away. "Right," he said.
Basileus looked between his two sons and Magnus, all avoiding his eye. "What's the problem?"
Eleazar broke first. "Is that wise? We don't know him … " he started, only to stop pretty quickly when he saw his father's expression.
"Atia knows him. That's good enough for me," Basileus declared.
"She hasn't seen the boy for centuries," Aro said, trying to play down his thoughts with a shrug.
"It's good enough for me. It should be good enough for you, too," Basileus replied, daring anyone to object as he stood tall, shooting stern eyes to the three of them.
Magnus wasn't sure how he had ended up embroiled in the issue and took a step away from Eleazar, towards Marcus.
Basileus, with a firm hand on the master's shoulder, moved him back! "I saw your face, Magnus. You aren't getting out of this," he said quietly.
Aro smirked to himself. He was dying to laugh at Magnus' disgruntled expression and huffily folded arms, absolutely dying!
Eleazar took over for the three of them before either his brother or Magnus could piss Basileus off any further. "Of course it is enough, my lord," he said, nudging those on either side to agree with him. They both grunted something vaguely concurring with Eleazar before turning away. "
Basileus was less than impressed by their petulance and stalked back to his mate.
As soon as he was sure his father was out of earshot, Aro took great delight in mocking his co-master.
"You are a prick!" Magnus said, shoving Aro away before complaining to Marcus. "How come you are the only one he treats like an adult?!"
Marcus smiled kindly to the disgruntled master. They were close to the same age when they were turned and Marcus could see why it would annoy the man to be talked down to, especially when Basileus would never speak in such a way to Marcus, or Freyr for that matter. But then Marcus didn't fool around like his male counterparts. Neither did Freyr, which is why, he believed, Basileus treated them both as equals.
"You, my friend, are clearly more youthful than I." With that, Marcus walked away wearing a quiet smile.
Basileus had been listening through his gift and offered Marcus a satisfied wink. Aro, Eleazar, and Magnus all saw it, too.
"Youthful?" Magnus repeated. "I'm bloody forty!"
"Then you should act like it, my dear," Freyr said, sounding like a school mistress. She wrapped her arms around her mate from behind, peeking her head around his broad shoulders. "And you should set a better example for the youths," she added, looking Aro and Eleazar up and down.
The pair of them burst into light laughter as Magnus continued his gripe about his mistreatment.
Aro left him to his bitching when Renata walked by. He had use for the coven's blocker. "Renata, my dear," he called sweetly. "Follow me."
Renata trouped into the new masters' office behind Aro and took the seat he offered at the new oak desk.
"Your gift … it's strong enough to block the creator, yes?" he asked. He was sure it was but he wanted to check.
Renata looked worried. "Yes, Master. Master Marcus said it's possible because defensive gifts generally supersede offensive ones. But I would never use my guard against the creator … "
Aro held up a hand to silence her. "That's okay," he said gently, "I'm not accusing you of anything. I need you to stay with me, my dear, and block anything coming my way."
Renata sighed in relief. She often did that when they were in the throne room anyway, protecting Aro was her main duty in and out of battle. "Tonight?" she questioned.
Aro looked into the guard hall. He could just about make out the new kid looking back to him with a quiet smile as everyone chatting around him. "From right now," Aro said firmly, "but for the foreseeable."
Renata wasn't sure what was going on, but it sounded serious. "As you wish, Master," she agreed.