AN: Heads up! After the first two chapters of this set, we will launch into the 'origin' stories. Felix, Demetri, The Twins (including very briefly Magnus and Freyr), Aro, Caius and Athenodora, Sulpicia, and finally Eleazar, in that order. I'm so excited about this set, but they have been a bugger to write with flipping back and forth through the ages, including as much 'real' twilight history as possible, and matching up to the characters as they appear in this fic! I hope its worked, time will tell.
Sooo we have jumped forward to the next tribune ball to sell off those newborns Caius created in the last set… but there's something for our vampires to deal with in the alliance first...
1688, MARCH - TRIBUTES
"I have to say, Caius," Hilda squinted a little as she tried to work out how recently the man had fed, "with bloodwine on offer I wonder why you bother with human blood at all."
Caius shrugged and made non-committal noise, something along the lines of, 'we are vampires', but nothing more noteworthy than that. His glowing red eyes, as Hilda had noted, were a dead giveaway that he had fed mere moments before the ball.
Dora disagreed with Caius that feeding on humans simply for appearances was in any way necessary, particularly so when Caius had only insisted on feeding on humans for Henri's benefit, again, but she stood by her man and protected his pride.
"We felt like some sport," she explained on her mate's behalf. "It's a good excuse to get out of the castle together for a few hours."
"Aha!"
Hilda certainly understood the pressures of running a coven and being on constant call for her ladies. It was something she was hoping would lessen when they took their new guards home with them. She had yet to meet them, having only recently arrived in Volterra, but she was keen to do so soon.
"About my new members, Caius ... "
Caius nodded and smiled in all the right places, but he only had one ear on Hilda, the other one was listening out around the throne room for anyone who might be discussing the previous ball where he had fucked up so magnificently.
He had already apologised privately to Amun as a follow up to the letter he had sent, which Caius thought was 'fucking horrendous'. Doubly so with Basileus and Magnus there to see he did a good job of it. Aro found the whole thing hysterical, of course. Caius' idea to dupe the coven king into a dungeon blood session, however fleeting, hadn't gone down well with the creator ... leading to Caius being dealt a silent round of fucks at the side of the great hall whilst Basileus injected his angry rant directly into Caius' head. None of it, not the apologising to Amun, having Basileus and Magnus breathing down his neck, or Aro taking the piss had helped calm Caius' nerves for the coming ball. And now I'm stuck with you, he thought, nodding along to Hilda as she wittered on.
"So?" Hilda asked, for a second time.
Shit! Caius had completely zoned out and he had no idea what the question he was supposed to be answering actually was.
"There have been many people involved in their training," Dora replied, giving Caius a nudge. "The new guards," she hissed to her mate.
Caius caught on fast. "Of course," he breezed. "Magnus and Felix saw to their physical training, Aro and Eleazar concentrated on their powers. Marcus and Carlisle educated them."
It was partly true. Caius neglected to explain that neither Eleazar or Carlisle had stayed in post for longer than six months. They only lasted that long because that's how long it took for Eleazar to convince his father that he didn't need a job in the coven. Once Basileus had agreed to Eleazar stepping down, Carlisle quickly followed. Although, with Carlisle, once he no longer had the position as educator as an active duty, he seemed to choose to spend most of his time in that role shadowing Marcus anyway. Basileus had complained about his boy being purposely oppositional and defiant, but fortunately only a select few had to suffer his rantings on the subject.
"Felix?!" Hilda asked. "The boy?" The wayward boy, she thought.
"I'm a warrior!" Felix boomed, joining the conversation uninvited on hearing his name.
Hilda was not amused by the child's antics as Felix stood before her demonstrating the muscles dancing in his arms as he flexed in just about every position he could. She was even less impressed at the idea of spending out on new guards who were trained by a whelp, even if that whelp was a prince.
"If I am paying for the best, I expect the best!" she told Caius tersely.
"And that is what you are getting, Hilda, I assure you." Caius pushed Felix away by his big head. "Though it pains me to admit it, Felix is rather good on the battlefield and the guards took to him pretty well in their newborn year. Besides," Caius beckoned his co-master over, "Magnus was with the boy at all times."
Magnus plastered on a smile and fell into his sale patter, bigging-up the Volturi's new commodity.
Aro had prepped everyone with what to say, such as the intense training the guards had been through, and what to avoid, like the fact that they had been fed solely bloodwine for their newborn year as a test for vampiric development without human blood. As it was, all the newborns had survived their newborn year, bar one who proved simply too feisty to keep alive. The rest though, they were far less agitated than the newborns the coven usually grew, and the masters were divided on why that was. Marcus and Magnus believed it was down to better supervision, more structure and education. Caius and Aro were firmly in the opposite camp - that bloodwine, lacking the kick of human blood with the added element of alcohol helped to subdue the usual newborn aggression.
Those in the know knew Aro's reason for arguing against Marcus and Magnus so vehemently was simply down to who they were - both men being friends of his father's. Since Basileus had set Magnus above Eleazar, Aro had been walking a fine line with the juggernaut, at least in his father's presence. Just because El was stupid enough to have Magnus put over him, it doesn't mean it will happen to me, he had thought. Aro made certain to flex his status as king only when Basileus wasn't around, and to date, Magnus hadn't pushed back at all.
Magnus had no interest in rising any higher than the position he already maintained. That said, both Aro and Magnus were aware, even if it had remained unspoken, that Basileus wanted exactly that - he was pulling Magnus into his inner circle, a circle consisting only of the senior members of the coven. Basileus was outright excluding Aro, Caius, their mates, and his other two sons in the process. Basileus accepted there would be issues, but he felt he deserved to have a few good friends to call on that were his own, more his age with a shared view of the world. Aro would have to 'just deal with it', as far as Basileus was concerned.
Regarding the newborns, Freyr (being the only woman with an opinion in the matter) had tried to tell the other masters it was clearly the combination of both the bloodwine and the activity that had resulted in an easier to manage set of vampires. But her fellow male masters merely rolled their eyes at her sitting on the fence. The fact that Freyr was right had passed them all by in their efforts to argue with one another. She had been surprised by Marcus, usually so steadfast in his approach, but even he had been swept up in the new stratification of the Volturi elite.
Tao and Xola's arrival, complete with lions, had once again incited a flurry of interest through the female guards. One member particularly, Renata, was damn near salivating over Xola.
Chelsea chuckled hearing Renata's plans to bed the guy. "You cannot claim a man just because he's big."
"He's not just big," Renata replied. She wasn't only interested in Xola because of his size, she had more substance than that. "He's beautiful!" Well, not much more substance.
Chelsea checked him out again before slumping against the throne room's temporary bar. "I don't disagree, but that's not to say he wants to take you back to Africa with him."
"You wouldn't want to leave us, Renata, would you?" Heidi asked.
"No, I love it here, but look at him!" Renata felt the shiver tingle down her spine as she took in the vampiric chief. "We could both go, there are two of them."
Since she had heard of the royal coven, Heidi had spent her time plotting to join - and now the idea of leaving was unimaginable.
Likewise, Chelsea was against the idea. "I'm not leaving Afton for Tao."
Renata leaned over the bar to see around Heidi, all to give Chelsea a good look up and down. "You can't claim to have been faithful to Afton, Chels, I know you haven't been."
Chelsea hushed their sniggers before anyone else could catch hold of their conversation. Turk, manning the bar had heard it all, but the man was already skilled in the true talent of any good barman - knowing how to keep his mouth firmly shut on matters that didn't concern him.
"It's one thing fooling around when Afton's on a mission," Chelsea hissed, having only ever done so on the understanding that her mate might well not return from battle. "It's quite another to try setting up home with a visiting coven leader."
"Tao hasn't looked at us twice anyway," Heidi pointed out. The whole premise of their conversation seemed based on a moot point.
Chelsea was quick to point out that Xola hadn't looked at Renata, either.
Not yet, Renata thought. "You could make them both want us, Heidi."
"What would be the point in that? It wouldn't be real."
Heidi, though she had the gift for it, wasn't interested in a man who only wanted her for his bed. She would go far as to say the only man who could truly win her heart was one that didn't want her for her body at all. Not that she didn't enjoy the odd sexual escapade, of course.
"Have you ever considered that you go for the wrong type of guy?" It was a conversation Chelsea and Renata had covered many, many times through the life of their friendship, and one that Chelsea had no doubt would be covered many more times to come. "You like big guys, right? But you don't stop to look for anything else before you try and mate with them."
That's not fair! Renata had a fair few notches on the bedpost, but she'd only mated once. "There's only been Antonio … "
Chelsea was quick to finish her sentence. "Who was a prick."
Renata couldn't disagree. "He had his good points."
Chelsea and Heidi pulled the same face of distaste.
"I can only imagine," Chelsea replied. "You tried for Magnus when he arrived in the coven. Until Freyr … what did she do about you giving him the come-on?"
"It was awful." Renata lowered her voice, she didn't even want the mostly mute Turk hearing her tale. "Freyr was so nice to me about it, understanding, kind - awful! I was expecting a fight, then I could have accused her of attacking me and Aro would have executed her."
Heidi hadn't been with the coven at that time, but even she doubted that Aro would have executed Freyr. Chelsea knew damn straight it would never have happened.
"Aro loved Magnus and Freyr the moment he met them. He didn't even have them stay in the dungeons for their newborn year. Even Odi and Corin got to go straight to the guard hall because they were with Magnus and Freyr." Chelsea scoffed at the very idea. "Aro wouldn't have executed Freyr because you went after her man!"
"Well, he might have," Renata huffed. "I'm glad he didn't, now - Freyr's the best master in this coven."
"But you'd still kill for a night with Magnus?" Heidi added knowingly.
"Who wouldn't?!" Renata realised she was speaking to the wrong women judging by the look on their faces.
Heidi shook her head. "He's too old."
Chelsea agreed. She had known Magnus since his arrival in the coven and he'd always been a pleasure to be around, but she couldn't imagine fucking him! "He's a total father figure," she said, dismissing the idea far from her mind with a shudder.
"I don't mind that." Renata sought out the juggernaut in the crowd, just to confirm her earlier thoughts. "Yup!" she said, zoning in on his solid arms … though her eyes soon went lower. "Still would."
"How can you go from Felix to Magnus?!" Chelsea wore the same face of confusion she always did in these conversations with her covenmate. "What's wrong with you? You're seriously fucked up, Renata."
Heidi had to agree, though she found it funnier than Chelsea. "Don't forget Caius, too," she reminded them all. "Or Athenodora." Both she and Renata had joined in Caius and Dora's games in their time at Volterra.
Chelsea pretended to gag. She was far too traditional to get involved in such things. "I try not to think about it."
Heidi chinked her cup against Renata's. "Happy days." she said. "Now, Caius is a man who knows what he's doing, and he's young enough to still be doing it."
"He's good, I'll give you that," Renata conceded. "But he's too scrawny."
"Scrawny?!" Chelsea repeated. "I've never met a vampire yet who I could describe as scrawny."
"How about Demetri?" Renata said with a sly smile. "Or are you trying to forget that you've been there?"
"Demetri?!" Heidi damn near choked on her bloodwine!
"Afton was away … shut up!" Chelsea's clear embarrassment was, naturally, only too funny for Renata and Heidi. "Why don't you just go back to Felix?" she asked, hoping to divert attention from herself.
Heidi looked over in time to see the boy goofing around with his brother and Benjamin. "Felix is a child."
"Yeah," Chelsea wasn't denying that. "But it's never stopped her before."
"He seems to be getting younger." Renata didn't want to go there again. "It's weird since he stopped being a guard and started being a prince."
Chelsea shot her a look to tell her she was being simple. "He's always been a prince, Renata. Maybe not in word, but in deed."
"Yes, but it was easier to forget how young he is when he was still working as a guard, too." Renata thought for a moment about the last shag she had had, which had been with Felix. It wasn't too bad … maybe? "No. I can't go back to Felix, I promised Corin."
"So, let me get this straight." Heidi wondered if she'd been misunderstanding somehow. "You were happy to fuck Felix when you were mated with Antonio, but not now you have promised Corin you won't, even though she and Felix haven't been a thing for years?"
She had it right. Renata smiled. "I like Corin much more than I liked Antonio."
Heidi and Chelsea absolutely creased. "Your loyalties are so screwed," Heidi told her, but she was privately glad that Renata's females acquaintances could expect better of her than the male ones.
"They are the only thing about me getting screwed!"
Felix caught Renata's final complaint and sidled up to the woman. "I may not be Mr. Right, but I'll throw you a mercy fuck until he comes along."
Chelsea stopped laughing when she saw Renata considering the boy's offer. "Run along and play, Felix," she snapped, pushing the overgrown youth away from them.
Magnus, as always, was keeping one eye on his guards' conduct. He had left the three young women lolling over the bar long enough.
He flashed to their side. "Look alive, ladies!"
The three of them jumped as one, but only Renata replied. "Yes, master," she offered in a simpering tone, fluttering eyelashes and all!
"Yes master," Heidi and Chelsea repeated in whisper to their covenmate, mocking her clear lust.
Renata's mouth dropped open. There's no way Magnus didn't catch that, she thought in horror. Turning to face him, her fears were realised. Although, even if Magnus hadn't heard, he could feel Renata's emotions towards him loud and clear.
"Erm … interesting," he stuttered for a moment before catching himself. "Freyr would slaughter you, my dear," he offered. The wink he threw her didn't help Renata's feelings on the matter.
"If I don't find someone new soon I might have to take the risk!"
Magnus felt his cheeks flush with blood and was glad he couldn't blush! "You may wish to go easy on the bloodwine this weekend, my dear," he replied, taking the cup from her hands and leaving it on the bar.
Henri's arrival came as a blessed relief to the juggernaut, giving the excuse to leave the clearly drunk young women and catch hold of Caius before the French leader could.
"Caius!"
Magnus pulled Caius aside before he could respond to Henri's call. "Don't go with him, Caius. I know you feel like you need to impress him."
"I feel no such thing!" Caius tried to remove his arm from Magnus' hold, but he couldn't do so without making a scene. After the last ball, he had vowed to never make a scene again!
"However you wish to explain it to yourself, you have nothing to hide from me, and certainly nothing to prove to some random sadist." Magnus spoke so softly in calm, caring tones that he managed to get through to Caius. Seeing the man was listening, Magnus continued, "Just do your best to avoid Henri," he suggested. "This ball will be short, anyway, with what we have in the dungeons."
Caius nodded, deep in thought. There were more than Hilda's guards in the lower levels of Volterra, and it would surely cause a storm when they were brought to the throne room. Hearing Henri call again, Caius sighed to himself. That cunt represents everything I hate about myself, he thought. Squaring his shoulders, he assured Magnus he would be sensible and that he could handle Henri.
After the usual pleasantries of greeting, Henri dismissed his silent mate and asked Caius about the wonder drug.
"Dungeon blood?" Caius asked nervously. "I don't have any on me," he admitted. "We'll slip away when things are less fraught, Henri, don't worry, I'll handle it." Look at me handling everything, he thought to himself sarcastically, feeling like he was doing anything but.
"What's going on with you?" Henri asked, sensing Caius' nervous state. "Are you sure you're allowed dungeon blood again after the last ball?"
"Allowed?" Caius scoffed. "Why wouldn't I be?" Why did I say that?! It's fucking obvious why I wouldn't be. You would be the only fucker uncouth enough to bring it up, though, wouldn't you? Cunt. Yet again, Henri reminded Caius of the very worst of himself – if tables were turned, he would have brought it up, too.
"Come on Caius, let's not be fools." Henri's sickly-sweet tone broke through Caius' thoughts. "You were forcibly escorted from the building, my friend, by the overgrown upstart of all people."
At the previous ball when Henri was taking the piss out of Magnus, Caius had felt confused over his feelings on the matter. He was annoyed, yes, but he also wished to join in. This time, however, he felt no such confusion. He wanted to defend the man who had done so much for him. Nevertheless, he couldn't ... because, Caius being Caius, he would rather chew his own tongue into a bloody nub than give Henri any hint of their growing relationship.
"What is your problem with Magnus?" he asked, deflecting.
"It's not just Magnus," Henri sneered. "His mate is included in my scorn."
Henri clearly thought he was being funny, but it made every hair on the back of Caius' neck stand on end bringing Freyr into it.
"It upset the balance of things," Henri continued in blissful ignorance. "Some were made to rule, others to serve. They should stay in position."
Finally, something Caius could react to without giving any secrets away. "You do know it was me and Aro who gave them their position."
"I thought it was just Aro."
"You thought wrong!" Caius hissed. I'm going to fucking kill him! Caius caught Magnus' eye. He must be sensing my emotions, Caius assumed correctly before setting himself to the challenge of trying to calm himself.
Magnus narrowed his eyes at the pair of them.
"Look at him scowling at me." Henri returned Magnus' glare. "Overgrown prick."
"One of these days he's going to snap, Henri, and he will pulverise you." Caius hoped Magnus would do it soon. You'll get away with it, Caius thought, knowing how close he and the creator were. Basileus would batter me for doing the job. "You haven't seen him in battle, have you? There's a reason he's called the juggernaut."
"Ever heard of the saying 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall'?" Henri puffed out his pigeon chest. "He wouldn't be able to take me down."
Caius tutted at the French leader's display. Alec could take you down, maybe even Carlisle. Pointing out Magnus, who was still glaring at the pair of them, Caius told Henri, "He's nearly seven foot tall, and almost as wide … "
"Seven-five with his ego," Henri spat, missing the point.
"I give up." Caius shook his head, looking at the floor.
"Oh look," Henri smirked at Caius. "He's calling you over. Run, Caius, run."
Caius looked up to see Magnus crooking a finger at him and he baulked for a second until he realised why. It was time for the address, Aro was already on the throne floor waiting for them.
"Glad you could both make it," Aro hissed, wanting to get the dig in with Magnus before turning to the crowd. "Tonight we celebrate our third tribune ball."
"We appear to be missing an entire coven, my lord."
Aro nodded. "That is true, Siobhan." His features turned dark. "My friends, before we can enjoy the night's festivities, I have a grave task for us all." He paced the throne floor back and forth for a moment. He was deeply saddened to have been put in the position in which he found himself. "The Denali coven are here, they are in my dungeons awaiting trial."
"And what exactly are their crimes?" Henri snapped.
He didn't necessarily feel all that much towards the Denali coven, but the idea that one of the alliance could be put on trial filled his dead heart with dread. Henri, like all the alliance covens to be fair to him, had believed exactly this situation was the motivation for the Volturi opening its doors to the outside world.
"I will show you, my friends." Aro understood that Henri's concerns would be shared by them all and retook his throne. "Brothers, would be so kind as to bring the accused to the throne room."
Caius and Magnus stood. "What about the … " Caius started to ask.
"Bring them all," Aro replied before anything could be revealed.
When he heard the tell-tale shrieking of the Denali coven approaching, though this wasn't their usual joyful sounds, more like distressed wailing, Aro started to explain:
"I received word of an immortal child in existence in the Slavic states from passers-by. Envoys were dispatched and brought the child, along with his patron, back to Volterra."
It was clear from the looks on their faces that the entire room shared Aro's horror, and they had all worked out that Sasha was the guilty patron. Only the elite women of the group said anything in response.
"Surely not?" Hilda called out.
Siobhan, too, was shocked. "Not Sasha, no?!"
"I am afraid so, my friends." Aro went to the back of the throne floor and held the door open for Magnus and Caius to bring through the Denali coven, complete with the vampiric toddler in Magnus' arms.
Hilda rushed towards the Slavic leader. "Sasha what have you done?!"
Sasha could barely speak through her tears. "He can be cared for and live peacefully."
"Your statement would hold more water if the child hadn't decimated a small town," Caius told the woman.
He released Sasha's daughters into the great hall. They had nowhere to go, the so stayed huddled together. Magnus kept hold of the little boy, mainly to keep the child subdued through his gift. Sasha stayed at Hilda's side, begging the woman for her patronage.
"My guards had to finish the job," Aro continued to explain Caius' statement, "or we would have had a hundred newborn zombies running freely across the land and any remaining humans divulging our secret state of being to all who would lend them their ear."
"Hilda," Sasha implored. "Look at the boy, he's innocent!"
Hilda understood why Sasha was putting her faith in her to help, but she couldn't offer any assistance. "The boy cannot be innocent, Sasha," she said calmly, extricating herself from the doomed woman. "Immortal children are scourge on our kind. They can't be taught or restrained, and they cannot keep our secret."
The relief that spread through the Volturi elite was palpable. Aro really thought he was going to cause an uprising - or at least an end to the alliance - having to execute one of their number so soon. Hilda's decree hadn't sealed Sasha's fate, that was already a given, but it had given cause for all the other coven leaders to end their concerns that this was some sort of Volturi led plot to kill them all off.
Sasha moved away from Hilda and threw herself at the others in attendance, begging for their help. No one put themselves forward. Kebi offered a sympathetic smile but seeing Sasha heading their way, Amun pushed his mate and young wards behind him protectively.
"The Volturi have immortal children," Sasha said, flashing to Sulpicia and twins. "Jane and Alec - they are young!"
Sulpicia threw nervous eyes to her mate before pulling her children clear of Sasha's clutches. Sasha made the mistake of attempting to push Sulpicia aside to get to the young vampires. Before anyone else could move, Sully had the woman brought to the floor to the sound of gasps spreading through the room.
"Don't make this worse, Sasha," she whispered. "Think of your daughters." The queen had been kind, under the circumstances, but it was to no avail. Sasha was too far gone to consider her sobbing girls. She was fixated on saving the boy she had turned.
"The age for vampires is twelve – the twins were twelve when they were turned, I turned them myself." Aro had to shout to be heard over the cries in his hall.
"Nobody believes their ages!" Sasha snapped back viciously.
"They weren't well cared for as humans so, yes, they are small, yet they are still twelve." Aro checked the faces of the other coven leaders. Ensuring himself that they were still on his side, he continued, "Besides, neither Jane nor Alec have ever decimated a town in a temper tantrum." Though Felix has taken out a few, he thought.
"Speaking of children," Atia said with a stern eye on her middle son. "They shouldn't bear witness to this. It isn't appropriate."
Every under twenty in the room groaned, but they all knew better than to argue with the coven matriarch. Grumbling, they all left, including Ben and Tia, and of course Noella.
The Denali girls hung around, unsure of what they should do next. Their own mother appeared to have forgotten their existence since she had met the toddler and she sure as hell wasn't paying any attention to them now.
Magnus held the boy high in his arm, where he sat happily smiling without a care in the world, being far too young to understand the seriousness of the situation. Sasha pawed at Magnus in an effort to take the boy. Despite her daughters' pleading and calling, she continued in her efforts, fruitlessly.
Aro waited for the room to clear of all those who wished to leave. Sulpicia would have liked to have gone, like Kebi, but she felt she had to stay to support Carmen. Carmen had built a relationship up with the Denali girls and her heart broke for them. Not only for the fate she assumed they would soon meet, but also for their mother's clear indifference of them now she had a new interest.
"What are you doing about the girls, Aro?" Atia asked, gesturing to the sobbing teenagers alone in the hall.
"They are innocent," Aro professed. "I have read through their memories, they were neither complicit in the immortal child's creation nor were they implicated in any efforts to hide him from us."
"How is that possible?" Amun asked. He didn't wish the girls any ill will, but if they had broken the sacred law against immortal children then justice had to be served.
Aro understood Amun's position and he shared it. "They were not with Sasha when she created the child, they arrived at the decimated village shortly after my envoys and, I am told, were genuinely surprised by their mother's actions." A small part of Aro wished he could end them, too. But he couldn't afford to be anything other than transparent in this case and they truly were without blame.
Irina got herself together quickly. Her mother wasn't coming to her aid, she had to sort this out herself. It sounded to her as though she and her sisters weren't so doomed as she had feared, and she seized the opportunity. "I am nineteen, my lord. I can look after my sisters."
Amun shook his head dismissively. "Teenage vampires cause enough strife under strict supervision."
"I am an adult," Irina demanded, swiping angrily at her tears.
Aro did his best to hold back his smirk when he heard someone in the crowd say, "Said every teenager, ever." He had to agree with the sentiment.
Atia took the place at her son's side. "They are too young to be out in the world alone, Aro," she told him quietly.
He knew that already. "My friends, are any of you in a position to take the girls as your wards?" The great hall had never been so quiet! "Hilda? Your coven seems the obvious choice … strong female guidance could be just what these girls need?"
"With regret, my lord, I must decline." No way am I getting stuck with those three, she thought. "We have plans for adding a mate for each of the English coven members … the Denali girls would take us over our limit."
"I could extend your numbers … "
"Again, it is with my regrets, my lord." Hilda bowed politely and stepped back into the crowd.
"Anyone else?" There was a clear pleading to Aro's voice, but no one stepped up to help the vampiric king. For fucks sake! "In that case, for now, they must remain in Volterra."
"Eleazar," Atia called out, arm outstretched to her eldest son. "Would you and Carmen agree to take them as your wards?"
Carmen's heart started beating, she was sure of it! She felt the pounding in her chest, the noise of it was deafening. A false memory, perhaps, of an emotional reaction from her human life, but it damn near knocked her off her feet.
"Of course we will!" she rushed to say, tripping over her own feet as she flashed to the girls.
"We will?" Eleazar spluttered.
"Yes, son, you will." Atia fixed her boy with wide eyes that flicked to his mate and back again, to get her point across.
Unlike his mate who had fled to the Denali girls, Eleazar took his time. The twenty paces came with heavy footsteps and sunken shoulders. It was an excellent portrayal of a fallen man walking to the hangman's noose.
Whilst Tanya and Kate had collapsed into Carmen's arms, desperately needing the warmth and affection she offered, Irina stood rigid. "We will not be anyone's fucking wards!"
"My dear," Atia called softly. "We appreciate you are upset … "
"Upset!" Irina raged. "You plan to murder our mother!"
Caius let his chin fall to his chest. He had only just made peace with having Aro's children in the coven. Demetri had become a bearable annoyance. Jane could be alright, particularly seeing her mocking Felix. Alec at least was a quiet boy. Felix was still a pain in the ass and the Denali girls caused a riot every time they darkened the Volturi doors.
With Irina still screeching her complaints and demands, he hissed for Aro's attention. "Are you sure she wasn't complicit, Aro?"
Aro shared his co masters concerns. "Sadly, quite sure, Caius."
"Eleazar," Aro called over. "Take them."
"Take your fucking hands off me!" Irina wailed, digging her heels into the floor. Seeing Kate and Tanya walking away with Carmen sent her into a rage. "Don't go with her!"
Kate looked between her elder sister and her thoroughly disinterested mother. "What else are we going to do?"
Irina shoved Eleazar's flaccid attempts at control away. "I will look after you, Kate."
"As you say, my dear," Aro half shouted over their noise. "You are a young woman. I believe you do not sleep?"
"No." Irina bit her lip, there was no point lying to a king who could read minds. "Well … only very occasionally."
"Then yes, I will agree you are an adult vampire."
Irina saw a glimmer of hope for getting out of the Volturi coven and leaving with her sisters.
Aro was quick to take it away. "If you wish to leave you may go with my blessing."
Aro walked down the throne steps and came to halt between Irina and her sisters, effectively separating them with his presence. "But your sisters … they are too young to be left without guardians and you are too immature for the task. You are welcome to join the coven and live here with your sisters."
"Irina, you can't leave us," Kate spoke for herself and Tanya. Losing their mother would be hard enough without adding being separated from her sister.
"Come along," Eleazar said to the girl kindly. With an arm around her heaving shoulders as she sobbed, he led Irina out of the great hall behind Carmen and the girls.
The child in Magnus' arms waved happily as they passed, still blissfully unaware of his coming end.
"The boy must die," Aro said to his comrades. It wasn't so much a question, but he wanted their assent. A room of solemn nods was his only answer.
"Magnus, could you maintain your gift, if you please. I see no reason why the child should suffer for Sasha's mistake." Aro retook his throne as Magnus bought the child before him expectantly. Sasha still clung to his free arm.
Basileus came forward to remove Sasha. "Do you want me to kill the boy?" he asked the juggernaut quietly. Sadly, Sasha heard him.
"No, my lord," she begged her old flame. "Please!"
Magnus stroked a hand down Sasha's face and offered her some calm with is gift. "The child won't suffer in my hands, my dear, I assure you."
The boy laughed in Magnus' hold as he manoeuvred the boy into position. His tinkling giggles filled the room as Magnus made the child as happy as he could be before the inevitable …SNAP.
Sasha screamed. The agony of a mother's loss filling her very being until nothing more would come. Basileus went down to the floor with her, his own heart hurting for what he knew he would do when the time came.
Magnus couldn't take anymore. The emotional turmoil was just too much. Killing a boy, a baby really, who never should have been in their court in the first place … it was just too much. It had to be done, he knew that, and better him than someone without his gift, but he was done.
No one saw him leave, he left so fast, only the door crashing to the floor as it broke free of its hinges alerted anyone that Magnus had gone.
"Pussy," Henri muttered. He'd been as loud as he'd dared and rather than finding any agreement, the entire alliance looked to him with disdain.
Aro wished he could have followed Magnus out, as did a good many others. I need to wrap this up. "You have broken vampiric law," he directed to Sasha with all the force he could muster. "You have failed in your agreement to our alliance. I am afraid I am left with no choice."
"My daughters … " Sasha croaked, finally remembering the three.
"Will be well taken care of, my friend," Aro replied with sincerity. "I give you my word."
"What is your word worth to me?!"
"I am afraid it is all I have left to offer you, Sasha." Aro turned away, what else could he say to her? "I am saddened to have to ask you this so early in our alliance. I will not proceed without your agreement."
Henri started in on Sasha, telling her what a fool she had been.
"Whilst I appreciate your sentiments, Henri, a little compassion ... if you please." You really are a prick, Aro thought. "Sasha has committed a grave sin against our kind, against our laws, but no one can deny it – her sin comes from a good heart. A good place. It is with immense sadness that any of us are in this position."
Aro looked to the coven leaders. "Your agreement?"
Amun stepped forward to go first. "I agree, Aro." The others duly followed, all giving their consent.
When Aro went to approach Sasha, Basileus held his hand out of his son to stay back. "I will do it, son," he said, voice thick with emotion.
"Are you sure?" Aro knew his father's history with the Denali leader, some of it at least, and he wouldn't wish to cause him more distress than necessary.
Basileus closed his eyes and held Sasha's head in his hands.
"Basileus, no, help me, please!"
Kissing her gently to quieten her pleas, Basileus pulled back for a moment. "Sasha, I'm so very sorry, my love." SNAP. "Forgive me."
Silence fell around the room as Basileus laid out the woman next to her child and joined the masters and his mate on the throne floor. No one knew what to say, there were no words.
"Basileus, my dear," Atia said kindly with a hand on his shoulder. "I think someone should do a perimeter walk," she suggested. "A final check." She could see he needed to get out of that crowded room. He needed time with his thoughts.
"Yes," Basileus replied, sounding lost. "A perimeter walk." Basileus made his way through the crowd, who parted for him to pass, and he left the castle.
"They had a lot of history, son," Atia explained, looking at the door Basileus had just exited.
Aro knew that, but he eyed his mother with concern. "And you are okay with the response?" he asked.
"His heart is hurting," Atia told him. "No, I'm not okay with that. I would never wish for your father's heart to ache."
She smiled to her son with a tear in her eye. Not for Sasha, particularly - she didn't know her well. But for her mate and for his loss. She was secure in the knowledge that Basileus was hers and hers alone, but they all both had history and she knew only too well how it felt to lose someone you once cared for so much.
"He cannot help who it aches for. None of us can."
As ever, Aro was impressed with his mother.
Looking out to the sea of waiting faces, Aro knew he still had work to do. "I suggest, in honour of our fallen comrade, that this ball be made short. It feels inappropriate to me to be celebrating anything with such a sad loss to our alliance. Let's see to the work we have to complete and then disperse as a mark of respect for Sasha."
Everyone agreed with that. They didn't feel much like celebrating anymore.
The masters and coven leaders took up their seats at the meeting table in the masters' office, whilst everyone else headed to the guard hall. With such a sombre mood in the air, no music playing, no laughter filling the rooms, it was an entirely different feel to the previous meetings they had held. It took a few tankards of bloodwine for the masters to loosen their tongues.
Aro broke the ice. "I must say, I didn't expect to have to deal with something like this so early in our alliance."
"I knew Sasha was somewhat lackadaisical," Amun admitted, "but I would never have dreamt she could do something so foolish."
Aro agreed with that. All of it. "It was quite the shock when my guards returned with the whole coven."
"What could possibly make a seven-hundred-year-old vampire do something so reckless?" It was beyond Siobhan's comprehension.
"The desire for a child can be intense," Aro mused aloud, thinking of his own young brood. "I certainly experienced that with my children. I am grateful to the gods that I have only felt that way for older children, but I can understand Sasha's actions on a basic level."
Hilda understood Aro's feelings, to a degree. She knew Noella was young and would take her over code, but she felt compelled to turn her anyway against good sense. She was the only one to understand such a draw, however.
Basileus joined the table next to his mate, who immediately took his hand. "I'm fine, my dear," he said quietly.
Though he appreciated Atia's concern, he wouldn't have wanted her to question anything between the two of them. When he searched her mind for surety, he was relived to find only a caring wife, and not one wishing to take him down for his pain over another woman's death. Atia understood Basileus would have reacted similarly to losing any old, dear friend, and so would she. Feeling they were on the same page, Basileus asked a peculiar question.
"What colour are my eyes?"
Atia sat back in her chair. "You don't know?" she asked with clear confusion.
On his walk around the castle, Basileus had crossed paths with the Amazonian's who had decided to skip the pleasantries and leave. They had told him of some interesting developments in the very northern areas of their continent that had piqued his interest.
"I'm asking for a second opinion," he said simply, offering his eyes for appraisal.
Atia considered them for a moment, finding only the usual hue the creator wore. "Flame coloured," she answered.
Basileus slumped back in his seat for a moment. "Not amber?" he asked, eyes wide again.
"Uhm, not really." Atia could see he was disappointed but she had no idea why such a thing even mattered. "There's too much red in them to be amber."
Basileus bobbed his head and appeared contemplative. "I'm putting the whole coven on an animal blood diet." Draining his cup before he spoke again, he said, "A simple experiment. Indulge me."
"We're ready for you," Magus called out form the doorway. He and Caius had been down in the dungeons getting his head together under the guise of sorting out the guards for sale.
Atia looked back to her mate as everyone stood, realising she hadn't answered him. "As you wish," she said, sure she would find out the reason why at a later date.
"My lords, I am pleased, so very pleased!" Hilda clapped her hands together excitedly. "You found me some handsome men, too, Caius."
"I'm glad you appreciate my efforts, Hilda." Caius moved in a little closer, hoping to keep the next matter private between the two of them. "Now the payment we discussed … "
"I have your money in the east tower, Caius," Hilda announced, loudly. "You earned every penny."
"I assume we will be going halves on that?" Magnus asked, also quite loudly!
"It will be going into the coven!" Aro told them both in an overly sharp tone.
Looking at the scowl his father was offering, Aro cursed his bad judgement. Not for claiming the cash for the coven, that was okay, he believed, but for the way he'd snapped at Magnus in Basileus' presence. Fuck! It was exactly the situation Aro had been careful to avoid for the last few years. At least with so many outsiders here he won't make too much of a point, Aro thought hopefully. He even hoped his father caught onto his thoughts and didn't embarrass them all.
"They earned it, Aro," Basileus said coolly. "They should keep it this time."
The 'this time' was important and Basileus hoped Caius knew that it was a onetime deal. If Caius didn't catch it, Magnus did. He'll tell Caius, Basileus assumed.
"How many will you be taking Hilda," Caius asked. "You have ten to choose from."
"I planned on one each for each of my current members." Hilda sorted through the group with her eyes. "Any five will do," she said. They all looked good.
"I'll take a couple," Henri called out seeing there were five for the taking.
Magnus blocked the doorway to the newborn hall. "No, Henri, you won't."
"Excuse me?!" Henri snapped. Even having the juggernaut speak to him offended Henri's sensibilities.
"I said you won't be taking any." Magnus smirked to the little man. "I've seen the way you treat your current members, Volturi trained guards will only be gifted to those covens who will show them the respect they deserve. They aren't toys for you to play with."
"They're Caius' merchandise," Henri reminded him snidely. "Not yours."
Magnus looked over to Caius and back to Henri. "I have a feeling Caius agrees with me," he said confidently. "And vampires aren't merchandise. We aren't breeding a slave race here."
Oh bollocks. Caius knew he had to make a call to stand on one side or the other. It was a no brainer, he would obviously stand with Magnus, but he didn't like being backed into a corner. "He's right, Henri."
You are backing him up? Henri lost a lot of respect for Caius with that simple call. Still, he was fixated on Magnus. "If I offered Aro enough he would sell me YOU, let alone a fucking guard!" Henri laughed to himself. "Oops, how foolish of me, you are one and the same, aren't you, Magnus?"
Hearing his name, Aro and Basileus turned from Hilda and Amun to see Magnus stepping up to Henri.
"I'd happily come to your coven and reorganise things for you, Henri."
"Magnus," Basileus smiled to his friend and clamped a hand on the juggernaut's shoulder. With all the emotion that had coursed through the juggernaut in the throne room, Basileus appreciated he was a little too strung out to be dealing with Henri at that time. He was feeling similarly himself. "Back down."
Henri straightened out his jacket, though Magnus hadn't actually touched him. "You should listen to your master, dog."
Basileus simultaneously held Magnus back and turned on Henri. "Magnus has no master, neither inside these walls nor outside of them, Henri."
Damn it. Aro knew it was coming, he had been waiting for it, but to have it announced so publicly was a kick in the teeth. Everyone other than Aro seemed surprised by Basileus' pronouncement.
"What about you, my lord?" Amun asked, curious as to the answer. So were the other coven leaders, not to mention Caius and Magnus himself! Freyr seemed relatively sure of what would follow – women talk, as we know.
"Magnus is my friend," Basileus said, putting his arm around the man's shoulders. "We hunt together, we drink together, we put the world to rights together - he's not my subordinate."
'Aright, Dad, leave it there', Aro thought with wide eyes on his old man. Basileus heard him, though he paid no attention to Aro's plea.
"Magnus, and Freyr," he said, bowing his head to the shield maiden stood with Siobhan and Hilda, "are as close to my equal as you will find in this world."
With everyone suitably shocked, Basileus turned to Henri. He wanted the cretin out of his coven. "It's time for you to take your dirty drug and leave."
Hearing mention of the dungeon blood stirred Caius into action. "Henri does need some more support in France," he said, sidling over to Henri and his barrel of the good stuff. "The werewolves are rising in numbers … "
Magnus knew damn well the only reason Caius wanted to go to France was for that barrel of shit Henri was taking home with him. "Then we will arrange a mission to take the numbers down to a manageable level."
"You want to come?" Caius asked. Please say no, please say no!
"I think that would be best, don't you?"
What could Caius say to that?! "Great." Fucking wonderful.
Henri liked the idea of Caius in his own court, but it wasn't so appealing if Magnus would be accompanying him. Still, he had to be gracious if he were to get out of Volterra alive. "That's a start, I suppose."
Basileus wasn't going to let him get away with that. "I think the appropriate response was 'thank you', Henri."
"Yeah," Henri sneered, looking towards the juggernaut but refusing to meet the man's eye. "Thanks."
Regardless of the sneer, Magnus was soon laughing. Seeing Henri attempt to move the barrel through the dungeons was a funny sight. "Are you struggling with that heavy barrel, Henri?"
"It's the size, not the weight," Henri snapped, shuffling the barrel along at a snail's pace.
Magnus swaggered over and pushed Henri aside. In one fluid movement he rolled the barrel around and easily hoisted it onto one shoulder. Putting on quite a show, for Henri's benefit, of course. Although, the ladies were pleased by his efforts, too.
"Freyr, you are one lucky woman!" Hilda said, giving the shield maiden a playful nudge. "How much for him?"
Freyr watched her man strolling along with a giant barrel perched on the thunderous muscles of his left arm. "Too much," she answered. "I'd only sell him by the pound."
The juggernaut spun so fast he nearly dropped the dungeon blood. "Hey!"
Aro had to get his mind off Magnus, he left the Juggernaut and his mate in their usual playful argument and brought the Irish leader over to the guards on offer. "You are yet to expand your force, Siobhan," he stated. "Are you interested in the rest of these to boost your ranks?"
"I can take them, Aro, but I haven't brought enough gold to pay for them."
Aro looked over his shoulder to Caius and smirked. Caius didn't have to hear his thoughts to know what Aro was thinking - you'll be keeping Siobhan's payment, no doubt, cock.
"I'm sure we can arrange a collection for the amount due," Aro told the woman happily, already planning on sending Renata, knowing she was loyal to him.
"Then I will take the remaining five, my lord."
They shook on a deal well done and Siobhan left the dungeons with her new tribe. She hadn't considered what Liam's reaction might be to taking five gifted and talented men home with them.
Amun was the last of the visiting coven leaders to be in the dungeons with the Volturi bunch. He had waited purposely to speak plainly. "Is there a particular reason why I have not been offered any of these wonder guards?"
"Like Magnus said, Amun," Aro started, planning his words carefully. "These guards are at the peak of their training, the peak of Vampiric abilities. We will not see them go to a coven where they will be treated as less than they deserve."
Amun appreciated the linguistic level Aro had gone to so as not to call him out as an outright cunt, even if that was his concern. "Understood, my lord."
"You're still here?" Chelsea kissed Renata's cheek as she joined her and Heidi at the bar in the guard hall. All visitors had left for their own lands and even many of the Volturi guards had taken to their dorms, giving the hall an eerie quiet which was most unusual for the hub of the coven.
Renata collected a drink from Turk and took her seat with a deflated huff. "Where else would I be?"
"What happened to riding a lion back to Africa?" Heidi asked, thinking of their earlier conversation that day.
"I didn't want to go anyway." Renata took a long drawn out swig of her bloodwine, hoping for something believable to come to mind. "Why would I leave this place? I'm Volturi."
Chelsea and Heidi shared a teasing giggle. "Did Xola turn you down?" Chelsea asked.
Renata slammed her tankard into the wooden bar at hearing the African leader's name. "Apparently he doesn't 'do' vampires."
"What?!" Heidi asked in horror. "Do you mean … the lions … "
"No! You moron," Renata shook her head pitying the simple siren. "I mean he does humans. Only humans."
"So he says," Heidi replied. She hadn't appreciated Renata's condescending tone.
"Renata, my darling," Freyr had heard the conversation and joined the three before anything could turn sour, taking Dora with her. She put her arm around the younger woman and Renata leaned into the embrace. "Why don't you just go out there and find yourself a human you like the look of and we can turn him for you?"
Renata scowled. "Because I don't want to be saddled with one I don't like" she whined. "What if I find one and you have him turned just for me and then I don't like him? I'd be stuck with him. I want to take the horse for a ride before I saddle him up."
"Charming, my dear."
Freyr and Magnus weren't particularly prudish, but the casual way the younger men and women of their coven discussed what they believed should be an intimate experience, never failed to shock them.
"Surely it's understandable after Antonio?" Renata asked. That's exactly how she had been landed with that prick for so many years.
Freyr looked across the bar to Heidi. "I'm sure Heidi will take your wishes into account the next time we collect a group for turning, won't you?"
"I did last time," Heidi replied, her eyes dancing and the smile growing as she spoke. Chelsea outright laughed at Heidi's reply, Renata didn't find it so funny.
"You purposely avoided large strong men, Heidi, I know you did."
That was it, Heidi and Chelsea blatantly cracking up over Renata's misfortune. Even Dora joined in.
"Oh Heidi, you are cruel!" Dora sounded impressed with her old bed fellow, much to Renata's annoyance. Dora knew something about Renata that she could use to join in with the teasing and it seemed a perfect time to deploy such knowledge. "Freyr, why don't you rent out Magnus?" she asked casually.
"Dora!" Renata hissed, covering her face in shame.
Whilst Freyr rolled her eyes at their immature play, Dora continued. "I bet he'd fetch a pretty penny."
"Oh he would!" Renata blurted out, cursing her own foolishness immediately. "Erm … I mean …"
"I'll be sure to pass on your approval, my dear." Freyr desperately tried to sound stern, but she found the younger woman's attraction to her mate quite comical. "I think it's time we retire for the evening," she told Dora, taking the drink from her hands. "Turk, call last orders, there's a love, I think everyone needs to have some down time."
Renata waited for the kind master to leave with Dora in tow before turning to her covenmates. Chelsea and Heidi were literally howling at her shame. Wishing she was just about anywhere else in the world, Renata huffily told them, "I should have asked the lion to mate with me!"