POWER WOMEN

Aro bumped into his father and Lucius on his way back from the dungeons. Basileus barely gave Aro the time of day as he strolled past, filling Lucius in on coven secrets.

"I don't like that kid, Sully," Aro declared, throwing himself down next to his mate on the sofa.

Jane sat opposite with her needlework, mimicking her mother, whilst Felix sprawled out on the rug in front of the fire. Demetri and Alec were out, no doubt in the guard hall, Aro assumed. Renata took the seat next to Jane, once invited to do so by Sulpicia. Aro hadn't thought to offer.

"Why?" Sulpicia asked. She didn't ask who. She had no reason to. Lucius had only been in the coven a day and Aro had drove her crazy half the night moaning about the boy.

"I don't know," Aro replied, his mind doing overtime trying to come up with a reason. "I can't place it, but he's hiding something."

"So what, do you think he is evil or something?" Felix asked.

"There is no such thing as evil." That was something Aro had always maintained. "People do bad things because we are motivated to do those things. There's nothing supernatural about it."

Felix wanted to hate the kid - it seemed like he should, as he'd already thumped the boy for no apparent reason, but try as he might, he couldn't even muster dislike for Lucius.

"So you just think he's bad, just like that, even though he hasn't done anything?" Felix made his question sound accusatory in his odd desire to defend Lucius.

Aro turned a stern eye on his child. "Who do you think you are telling me what I think?" he asked, flicking Felix's leg with the back of his hand. "You are on thin ice with me already, boy."

Aro continued to muse aloud. "Very few are completely bad … even less are completely good."

Felix scoffed. "Caius is completely bad!"

"No," Aro responded immediately in defence of his covenmate. "Caius has a very strict moral line he will not cross. He shows the strictest adherence to vampiric law, and coven law for that matter," and catching his son's eye, he added, "unlike some."

Sulpicia raised her eyebrows to Felix, too, until Felix had the sense to look away, shamefaced.

"This Lucius is not good … he is hiding something." If only I could work out what? Aro thought.

"You only think that because you can't get inside his head." Felix had abandoned his book, and was now sitting upright on the floor, invading his father's musings.

Aro shook his head. "That frustrates me, I must admit. But no. I think that because Basileus cannot access his thoughts, and because Atia seems to love him!"

"So now you think Atia is evil!" Felix announced, throwing his hands in the air.

Crack!

Aro slapped Felix across the face. It wasn't delivered with his usual force, but it was enough to shut the boy up. "I'm not so old that I need you to tell me what I think, got it?!" he ground out.

Felix rubbed at his cheek and ducked back down to the rug and his book. "Unnecessary, Dad," he said, slinking away from his father.

"I certainly do not think Atia is evil," Aro said. He couldn't risk such an idea being uncontested should either of his parents go snooping in his mind. "She's a grade A pain in my ass at times, but she comes from a good place. Even if I don't appreciate her meddling."

Sulpicia rested a hand on her mate's arm. "Your mother has done more for you than you know, my love," she said, referring to the many times her meddling had done the pair a world of good in recent years.

Aro saw the memories float through his mate's mind. "I know, I know."

As Aro fell quiet, Sulpicia thought he might have dropped his complaint about the new boy. No such luck.

"My queen, I want you to stay away from that boy," Aro announced, formulating plans to at least protect his family from the child until he could work out what was going on.

"What could he possibly to do me?" Sulpicia asked, dropping her embroidery. "Aro, you are being hysterical."

Felix looked up, ready to back his mother up. Aro caught the boy before he dared and with a threateningly raised hand had his son shutting up before he started.

"I'm serious, Sully," Aro said, turning back to his mate. "Just until I have worked out what's going on with him."

Sulpicia had plans of her own and decided to use Aro's request to her advantage. "Fine. I will stay away from the boy if you will come to our announcement this evening and give it your backing."

"Not this again." Aro sprang from his seat, putting a little distance between himself and his mate.

Atia had started an 'equality drive' when he was taken ill, taken ill … too fucked to work because I was on drugs and my dad battered me for taking said drugs. She had convinced Sulpicia and later Carmen, Athenodora, and Freyr to work together to affect change in their coven, rather than passively letting the men rule every inch of their lives. It was doing Aro's head in.

"Well?" Sulpicia asked. "I am trying to create equality between our guards."

"How can you claim that?" Aro asked, drawing a glass of bloodwine from the barrel. "The guard has never been so stratified since your interventions. We have layers upon layers of guards doing specialised tasks."

"You are exaggerating, my love," Sulpicia said dismissively. "We are simply getting the house in order, ready to receive this massive influx of guards you keep talking about."

"Bloody women," Aro said under his breath.

"Besides," Sulpicia continued, having heard Aro but choosing to ignore him, "I am not talking about equality between guard duties - it is right that duties and remuneration are stratified. What is not right is the inequality between the sexes."

Aro retook his seat. "I curse the day my father took a mate!" He gave Felix a gentle boot upon hearing the boy snigger.

"Do you really believe men and women should be treated differently in the Volturi?" Sulpicia asked her mate outright.

"I believe a good many of our number prefer to be treated differently," Aro answered, remaining vague.

"Really?" Sulpicia asked. "You really think the female guards enjoy scrubbing the castle, doing all the laundry …"

Aro broke in to Sulpicia's tirade. "Do you think the guys like being given all the heavy lifting? Lugging wood around for the fires? Not to mention the lighter hand our female guards are treated with compared to their male counterparts!" he countered.

"You cannot compare the two Aro!" Sulpicia was almost shouting. Shrieking, Aro would have called it. "One lot do general duties, which the women do too, by the way. The other take on ALL the menial tasks, even some of your highest prized women are subjected to this. It's disgusting."

Sully really was on a well-rehearsed rant now, and it was one Aro had heard many times over the last few months. "To make matters worse, the men in the guard jibe at the women for the services they provide."

As soon as Sulpicia drew breath, Aro jumped in. "If that is the case, your disgruntled female cohort need only raise the matter with Magnus and he …"

"HE is just as bad!" Sulpicia returned, cutting her mate off at the pass. "Who do you think is giving out these tasks, Aro?"

Aro rested his head on the back of the sofa, looking up to the ceiling. "Tell Freyr, then!"

Sulpicia pulled at Aro's dress coat until he was facing her again. "Freyr has done more for this cause than anyone else, but Magnus sticks religiously to the format of guard duties that YOU and Caius devised centuries ago."

Aro had heard that argument before, too, and he knew next she would start in on the treaty …

"You talk about changing the vampiric world, progressing our race and you only mean the men. That's not fair."

Yup, here we go! Aro thought.

Sulpicia wasn't finished. "All women are oppressed because people born with vagina's are ascribed a lower value in society than those born with a penis."

That had Aro sitting up and listening. "Sully!" he exclaimed, gesturing to their children who looked just as shocked as he was to hear such a thing coming from their mother's mouth. "If you must regurgitate Atia's pep talks, could you at least do it when we are alone?!"

Sulpicia wasn't having that. "Jane should know that her own father values her less than he values her brothers."

"Now wait a minute, you are going too damn far now!" Aro replied. He wasn't having Jane think such a thing.

"Values her less?" Felix repeated in question. "Jane's his favourite and everyone knows it!"

Aro made no attempt to disagree, he just looked to Jane lovingly. When he turned back to his mate, he knew he had to say something.

"Renata, is this really true?" he asked his personal guard.

Renata looked uncomfortably between the coven king and queen, wondering which way she should go.

"Renata is a prized guard," Sulpicia said, drawing her into the fray. "Other than blocking gifts, my dear, what are your other duties?"

"Cleaning … washing … serving …" Renata answered honestly.

"Really?" Aro asked. "You?!"

"Yes, my lord."

"What about … erm … Afton?" Aro asked, plucking a male guard at random.

"Nothing, my lord," Renata answered honestly, again. "Not unless we are preparing for battle, or as a punishment. The men don't clean."

Sulpicia sat back in her chair. "Are you seriously happy for your prized guards to be treated like chamber maids, Aro?"

Aro hadn't actually considered that Sulpicia's directive, (Atia's really), was warranted. He had assumed the elite women were just having a play at coven politics for something to do. He didn't want to admit that, though. "I prize non higher than you, my queen," he answered, kissing her hand and hoping to shut her up.

"Nice try," Sulpicia said, pulling her hand back.

"And you think your little initiative can fix this?" Aro asked his mate, patronisingly.

"If I concentrate really hard with my little lady brain, maybe." Sulpicia wore a withered expression. "The women in this coven have serious issue with the way we are operating, Aro."

"Women don't have real problems," Felix interjected. "They can all be fixed with cock, blood, or attention, or maybe a combination of the three."

"I have no idea why you are single, brother," Jane said without even looking at him. "No idea at all."

Sulpicia jabbed Aro in the ribs with her elbow when it looked like he might agree with their son. Aro quickly changed tack, trying to circumvent a row, and landed his hand down hard on Felix's ass. "Do you want to take yourself to your bedroom or should I take you?" he asked.

Felix scarpered, shooting daggers to Aro for smacking him in front of Renata. Renata wouldn't say a word to the other guards about what she had seen, she was far too professional for that - all the guards were for that matter, but just her seeing was bad enough for Felix's pride to have taken a battering.

"Will you come?" Sulpicia asked Aro, bringing him back to her original request.

"I am booked in with Caius all day," Aro lied, trying to come up with a reason.

"Please, Aro," Sulpicia asked again. "It would mean so much more if this new directive came from you."

Aro smiled sadly. "Then you should have made sure I was available before you arranged your address." He was lying through his fangs, he had nothing else to do. "It's impossible, my queen."

"This is important, Aro," Sulpicia pushed a final time, watching her mate throw on his cloak.

Aro headed to the door with Renata following close behind. "All of my work is important, my dear," he said before he left.

…

"We need to hide," Aro told Caius when he opened his chamber door.

"Why?" Caius asked. "What have you done now?"

"Sully is on me to back her equality thing with the guards," Aro explained as he walked alongside Caius.

"Oh … I'm going to it," Caius said. "I'm heading there now."

"You are?!" Aro asking in astonishment.

"I told Dora I would be there. This is the first thing she has been involved with - she's quite excited by it all."

What the hell?! Aro thought. You actually sound like you give a shit about your mate?!

"Marcus is going, too," Caius added.

Aro stopped Caius outside the throne room doors. "I expected it from him, but you?"

"This whole thing is your fault, Aro," Caius explained with a hand on his covenmate's shoulder. "You should have kicked the women out of the management long ago. It's too late now."

"They have ideas above their station," Aro complained.

"No, brother," Caius said shaking his head. "You gave them station when you didn't kick them off the perch and they now have ideas to match that station."

Bollocks. Aro thought. You're right!

"I heard from Dora that Freyr and Magnus are arguing about this," Caius said. It was a throw away comment but it gave Aro an idea.

"Ooo … now I am tempted to give it my backing," Aro mused aloud. "If I back the women it will really piss Magnus off. I owe him one."

Magnus and Aro had been getting one over on each other for a few years. Mostly good natured with Aro winding Magnus up over the way Freyr ruled the roost, and Magnus throwing in his face that 'daddy' still kept his boy in line, and how. There were a few instances where Aro had messed with guard duties to wind Magnus up, and quite a few more where Magnus had played with Aro's emotions resulting in him being far too mouthy with his father. Aro had received a good few slaps from the creator before he had realised what Magnus was doing.

"More than one," Aro added, narrowing his eyes.

Caius winced. "Just remember that Magnus is fucking huge and he will wipe the floor with you if you piss him off."

"You sound scared of Magnus!" Aro said, trying to wind Caius up!

"That's because I am blessed with common sense, Aro," Caius returned, holding the door open for them both. "Which must be alluding you if you think you can poke the bear without it reacting."

…

"You made it!" Sulpicia exclaimed, seeing Aro walk through the door. She slung her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. "I thought you said it was impossible?"

Aro allowed her love to fill him up. "I thought you said it was important," he whispered into her ear, choosing not to tell her he was only there to piss Magnus off.

All the other masters were already in their thrones so Aro stood before his and made a short speech.

"My friends," he began to the assembled coven, "it has been brought to my attention that there are some inequalities amongst the dispersion of guard duties. This ends now," he declared.

The women seemed pleased, the men, not so much. The Volturi rumour mill had clearly done its job as everyone in the room was fully aware of what was to be said that day.

Aro chanced a look back to his fellow masters. Magnus scowled from his throne, vibrating angrily. Aro turned back to his congregation, pleased to have one over on the juggernaut.

"The Volturi recently signed a treaty to enforce the vampiric laws we hold dear across the land. The Volturi has committed to a duty of care towards all vampire kind, male or female."

The women were clapping already.

"I will hand you over to your queen who I believe will run through the changes to be implemented," Aro said, stepping down the throne steps to watch his mate at work from the wings.

Atia joined her middle boy immediately, pulling him to the very back of the room as everyone else listened to Sulpicia. "You did the right thing, but for the wrong reason," she told him.

"Whatever do you mean?" Aro asked, feigning ignorance.

"Don't play stupid, Aro. It insults us both," Atia admonished him. "You have been winding Magnus up for months," she added, looking to the angry coven leader staring at them from his throne.

"He gets me back," Aro breezed, smirking to Magnus and winding him up even more.

"You cannot cause another brawl between the masters, Aro. Your father will blame you - you are goading Magnus into a fight."

That's a little harsh, Mom! "It's not a fight, just a battle of wit, its harmless."

Atia slapped Aro's arm to get his full attention. "Well, Magnus isn't harmless and neither is your father ..."

"I consider myself warned," Aro said, cutting her off before she could say something to embarrass him. "So are you his mother?" Aro asked, gesturing to Lucius standing with Basileus.

"I was, in a way. But we were newborns at the same time, Aro, and that muddied the waters somewhat. He disappeared after only a few years together," Atia explained.

Aro nodded to himself. "And, are you still our mother?" he asked, watching her closely for a reaction.

"Why would you doubt that?" Atia asked. She had done nothing to warrant a loss in faith! "Your father thinks you have an issue with Lucius … he thinks you may be jealous."

"I'm not jealous," Aro shot back with immediacy. "Wary, that's all." He wasn't having anyone thinking he was jealous of the brat. "I'm uncomfortable when my gift doesn't work."

"Lucius is no threat to you, son," Atia said gently, stroking his arm. "He's just a boy."

Aro smiled in return. "What can you tell me about his gifts?" He had been racking his brains for what the issue with the boy was and all he could come up with was his gifts. "Eleazar said the strength of his gift doesn't match the type."

"Lucius' gifts?" Atia mused. "He doesn't really have any. He can be persuasive, but it's such a gentle gift, Aro." She could see her boy was still displeased. "What do you want me to do? You clearly want to ask me something."

Aro smiled. Atia always knew when he was trying to play her. It had annoyed him at first, but now he found it comforting that she seemed to know him so well. Like a proper mother, even. "Will you keep your guard up around him, please. Even when you are alone with Lucius, keep your guard up so he can't use his gift on you"

"Aro, I told you his gift is …"

"Nothing to worry about, I know," Aro jumped in. "But please, I am asking as a son concerned for his mother - please keep your guard up. Just for a while whilst we are all getting to know each other."

"I will do that," Atia agreed, "if you promise to make a conscious effort to welcome Lucius into the coven."

Aro nodded curtly.

Atia knew that was all she could expect from her suspicious boy. "I am surprised at you though. You are usually more compassionate towards younger vampires."

Aro didn't respond aloud, but she could hear in his thoughts that he was thinking on his words. "You could let him spend time with your children."

"I am not stopping him from spending time with them, "Aro answered. He would rather they didn't, of course, but he hadn't asked them not to.

"Jane appears resistant," Atia said, looking to her granddaughter who stood with Renata, far away from Basileus where she would usually be.

"That's up to Jane," Aro shrugged.

Atia continued. "And Felix punched Lucius the second time they met, for no good reason."

"I haven't condoned that," Aro said, crossing his arms and watching Felix and Demetri fool around when they should be paying attention. He didn't often stand at the back of the hall and he was surprised how much more he could see of his guards and children. Things he perhaps missed whilst he was making an address.

"Are you sure he wasn't acting on your wishes?" Atia asked, pulling Aro from his thoughts.

"You know I would never use my children to do my dirty work," he said, offended by the very idea.

"I know that," Atia agreed. "But if Felix thought it would please you, he might do it anyway. As you haven't punished him for breaking Lucius' nose, one can only assume …"

"Point made and taken," Aro interjected. He hadn't got around to punishing Felix for the fighting. He had wanted to take some time to think about it that morning and he'd been busy since.

"I will talk to Felix tonight," he said. "And I will make sure they all know they are free to spend time with Lucius as they wish. Though it looks like they will be fighting my father for the boy's attention."

Atia smiled fondly to her mate, pleased he was making such an effort with the boy who had meant so very much to her in the beginnings of her vampiric life. "Yes, Basileus is quite taken with him, isn't he?"

"Hmmm," Aro murmured. He was decidedly less pleased than his mother was.

Atia caught his dark expression. "Will you relax, you are scaring the guards," she said, before leaving her boy to mingle now the address was over.

Aro went back to the thrones, reaching out to Magnus to crow over his victory. "Magnus …"

"Don't talk to me," Magnus ground out, staying fixed in his throne.

Aro missed the threat in Magnus' tone. "You have to admire how these women find meaning in their days."

Magnus' eyebrows flew up to his hair line. "You don't even agree with this new order bollocks, do you?" he growled. "This whole thing is just to wind me up!" Magnus got to his feet and shoved Aro away. "You have crossed a fucking line and you know it!"

Aro laughed a little awkwardly. Masters NEVER shoved each other like in front of the guard, not even in jest - and that was definitely not in jest! "I could find no fault in what OUR mates are striving for," Aro replied, taking a sidestep.

"Neither can I!" Magnus shouted before getting himself under control. "You should have talked to ME about it! You have massively undermined me!"

Magnus had only resisted the changes the women wished to make because he was following the coven directive Aro and Caius had left him with when he took over the day to day management of the guards. He thought the ideas were good, fair, and equal, but as neither Caius nor Aro, especially Aro, had spoken in favour of the changes he had assumed it was a no go and refused to implement them. He had been trying to avoid an altercation with Aro.

After the last time when Basileus had ended up caning him for fighting with his son, Magnus was being very careful not to antagonise the creator again. All of that was now forgotten, naturally, and Magnus squared up to Aro in front of the whole coven.

"Go to the office and talk about this civilly," Freyr insisted, pulling Magnus back before he could do something they would all regret. "Regardless of why Aro backed this," she said, " … and don't you think for a minute I don't know why …" she added, turning a stern eye on Aro, "this is happening. The last thing the guards need to see with the upheaval of our structures is the two of you arguing in the throne room!"

Magnus shook his mate off. "You know what, fuck this," he announced loudly. "You all went behind my back with this, so any changes that need to be made can be done without my involvement."

"You are such a bad loser," Aro quipped, walking away.

"You are an abysmal winner!" Magnus replied. "And for the record, I didn't know I was supposed to be fighting against you!"

Magnus took a few steadying breaths to calm himself down. He was ready to blow, he knew it. He also knew that would have disastrous consequences for his hide with Basileus being only a few yards away. "My involvement is clearly not required so I will remove myself and make things easier for you all."

"Where are you going?!" Aro called after him.

"Home!" Magnus barked, storming out of the throne room.

"Basileus will talk with him," Aro said to Freyr, trying to ease a little of the tension between them.

"I will be too busy talking with you, son," Basileus crooned into his boy's ear. He had been close by, ready to drag Magnus back had it been required.

"He's being ridiculous!" Aro declared, which only served to send Freyr storming off, too.

"Not at all," Basileus disagreed. "Magnus is justly annoyed with you and now you will have to run the guard hall again."

Aro scoffed. "I don't have time for that!" he dismissed.

Basileus fixed Aro in his sights. "Tough," he said. It sounded like a warning.

"If he is stepping down from being a master he can get his ass back in the guard hall as a guard." Aro said darkly. He had never threatened to remove Magnus' promotion before and he didn't even mean it.

Basileus' booming laughter filled the throne room. "Freyr is still a master of the coven and Magnus is her mate," he pointed out. "Unless you are shipping Sully and Athenodora out of their chambers?"

Aro scowled. "Obviously not."

"Solve this without fighting Magnus," Basileus ordered. "I'm not sure you would win, but I'm not sure you would lose either. Neither prospect pleases me." And I'll make damn sure it displeases the pair of you if I have to get involved, he thought. "As I have explained to you all, being a master of my coven is not a role one can simply step down from." God knows I would have sacked you and Caius by now if it were!

"Then you can tell him to get back to his duties." Aro said grumpily. He hadn't intended on pissing Magnus off so much, certainly not to the extent that he would end up running the guards!

"You have needed a break from time to time, occasionally I have forced one on you - the other masters picked up your slack. I expect you to pick up the slack this time." Basileus wrapped an arm around his son's shoulders. "Personally," he added pointedly.

"I have too much to do," Aro whined, sounding very 'Felix-like'.

"Then you will be a busy boy, my son," Basileus replied without even a hint of sympathy. "You clearly have far too much time on your hands if you have the time to play such childish games against your fellow master. This is exactly what Lucius was talking about with you, you aren't focused, you aren't …"

Basileus continued, but Aro had already stopped listening, choosing instead to glare at the boy Basileus crowed over. Lucius glared right back to the coven master, a sly smile tugging at his lips.