It's a long, dead life!

by BDE

We join the Volturi in 1663 when Carlisle was turned for his long, dead life and family drama. Aro, Caius, and Marcus are trying to rule the world. Felix, Demetri, Jane and Alec are creating havoc as child vampires and the Denali sisters soon join them. Mature scenes - Corporal Punishment (spanking/discipline) and offensive things, but its the Volturi, so what do you expect?

147. Calming Christmas

AN: Nice and easy chapter to finish off this set :)

Because I'm slipping the next set in, I have some work to do making sure its weaved into the over-all story arc. Need a bit of time to get things straight, so there will be a slight delay on the getting the next set posted.

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Calming Christmas

Basileus and Atia didn't return to the coven until Christmas eve. After changing from their travels, they headed straight for the north tower. After first checking in with Marcus, who, disappointingly, wasn't home, they left his gift at his door and knocked on the middle floor suite.

"If they aren't available, we must check on our sons…"

Basileus winced to his wife's words. Please be available, he thought to himself, beaming when Freyr opened the door.

Before they could blink, Basileus and Atia had been hauled inside, greeted, hugged, forced into comfy chairs and a pot of bloodwine set above the fire!

"It's good to have you both back," Magnus told them, one eye on the metal cabinet Basileus had carried inside.

Basileus smirked. "Merry Christmas," he said triumphantly.

Freyr eyed the ugly box with disdain. "You shouldn't have," she replied, walking around the thing. "Really, you shouldn't have."

"It's vile, isn't it?" Atia asked, face screwed up to match Freyr's. "We have one, too, and now so does Marcus."

"Is there a reason?" Magnus asked, wondering where he could hide the thing!

Basileus nodded. "This is why we've been away…"

"It is not why we've been away," Atia interrupted, taking her seat. We've been away because you panicked you would be called in to help with Irina.

Deciding to ignore his mate's words and thoughts, Basileus pushed on. "We went away to find something for us to store those items we would rather young coven members didn't have access to." He held open his arms wide to gesture to the ugly metal cabinet. "We've now got safes to store dungeon blood, hash, opium, whatever."

He handed Freyr a pair of keys, still smiling like a loon because he was ever so impressed with himself.

"Maybe we could put it in the bedchamber?" she mused, still not entirely enamoured with her 'gift'.

"If it's got a decent lock on it we can shove it in Odi's room," Magnus suggested.

Freyr seemed happier with that. Half of their bedchamber already contained wall to wall cupboards, full of the treasures Magnus brought home from missions and a sizable amount of cash from their unspent salaries. If they were to start adding safes into the mix, they would soon have to move the bed out!

"Giving dungeon blood to all of the elite was a good idea, in principal, but we forgot what little sods the kids could be." Basileus tapped his hand on his genius present. "So, from now on, we will be the only ones to store it. And Marcus, of course."

"And the guard hall?" Freyr asked, as there was a full bottle in the safe inside the bar.

"You already keep the key for that one," Basileus shrugged. "That bottle's safe where it is." He was mildly annoyed that they didn't get his joke. "Safe?" he said… still nothing.

Magnus' mind was elsewhere. Aro won't be happy about this, he thought, already dreading the jibes that would come from his king for being treated too well, or whatever it was Aro thought was happening.

Basileus picked up on Magnus' thoughts and he wasn't happy. What have you been saying now, Aro? he wondered. "What have we missed?" he asked more generally, joining the others in front of the fire.

"The coven has been a bizarre place the last few months."

"Hasn't it just!" Freyr added, stirring the pot of bloodwine. "Caius and Dora gone, you two gone, Renata and Corin on lock down, Felix and Carlisle on lock down, Irina nowhere to be seen… bizarre!"

"That said," Magnus mused. "We've seen plenty of Felix. I think the boy has missed having you pair to run to, and he's been coming here instead."

"It's easy to forget how young that boy is sometimes," Freyr said, thinking fondly of Felix and how… well… cute he had been seeking their affections whilst his father was angry with him.

"He hasn't been too much of a bother, I hope?" Basileus asked.

Felix, and Demetri when he was in the firing line, often sought him out when they were in trouble. Obviously Basileus didn't mind, them being his grandsons and all, but he didn't want them making a nuisance of themselves with other coven members.

"Not at all," Freyr replied quickly. "He can be a cuddly little thing when he needs some reassurance, can't he?"

Magnus agreed. Felix had been no bother. It was nice to have one of the lads liking him when his own was so distant. "Thinking about it, all four of Aro's kids can be cuddly little things when they aren't thinking of their image."

"They really can be," Atia confirmed. "Kate and Tanya, too, when Irina isn't watching." She had missed her grandchildren and felt awful about leaving without saying good bye to any of them. That was you're doing, she thought, giving her mate a mild glare to go with the ear bashing he had taken during their entire trip!

"No dramas whilst I was away then?" Basileus asked, avoiding his mate's stern eye.

"Not that I've noticed," Magnus shrugged. "I sent Carlisle back to his chambers last week."

Atia smiled, but Basileus looked annoyed - which made Atia smile even more. "I told you to keep him until I came back," he said, an eyebrow raised.

Basileus had left Carlisle with the clear instruction to keep the boy locked up until his return. Marcus refused to have Carlisle - he told Basileus it was ridiculous to set Carlisle up with a babysitter at the age of twenty-three, and he refused to play a part in infantilising a grown man - Magnus had agreed, hoping it would be good for Odi to have some company, which it had been.

"Aye," Magnus bobbed his head. "But you'd been such a vicious bastard to him that I gave a week's reprieve for good behaviour."

Vicious?! Basileus repeated. Sure, he'd been a little heavy handed with his belt, but Carlisle had annoyed him by taking so long to pack a few things and then he'd found the little sod chatting shit with his brothers rather than reporting to his father's chambers as instructed - he deserved it being laid on thick, Basileus thought confidently.

"You need toughening up!" he told Magnus, shaking his head over his sentimentalities. "Carlisle hasn't given you any trouble, has he?"

"He's been a pleasure to have around," Freyr told them, adding, "Honestly, he has!" when Basileus looked confused by the very idea that one of his sons could be a pleasure.

"There was one thing when he first got here, but that was Aro's doing." Magnus could see from their expressions that he would have to give the details. "Apparently I'm getting above myself and need to be reminded of my place."

"Oh, really?!" On that note, Basileus dived into Magnus' head to see for himself what Carlisle had been up to.

Carlisle had been cooped up in Magnus chambers for less than three hours when he decided he would pay Marcus a visit. Telling Odi he would be back soon, he completely ignored Magnus and headed to the door.

"And where do you think you're going?" Magnus asked.

Carlisle huffed knowing full well Magnus had heard him tell Odi where he was going and declined to answer. With his back to the room, Carlisle managed to open the door only a crack before it slammed shut with Magnus' bear-sized paw keeping it close. Remembering Aro's words, Carlisle squared his shoulders and turned to face the man. His bravado failed him when he looked up, and then kept looking up until he found Magnus' face. Magnus was such a happy guy in usual circumstances that though he was a big guy, he didn't seem scary… when he was pissed he seemed to grow another foot taller and then, yes, he did seem scary! Still, Carlisle had his brother's words ringing in his head: don't let him push you around, he's getting above himself.

"We both know my father is happy for me to visit with Marcus," he said, voice wavering a little.

"Aye," Magnus agreed. His hand remained on the door, and as he bowed down to meet Carlisle face to face, Carlisle felt his legs wobble. "But we also know you are on restriction, and any movement around this tower requires my permission."

Permission?! Carlisle heard Odi tittering from across the room. I need to have another word with him about the code, he thought bitterly. "Magnus, my friend…"

"I'm not your friend."

"Erm…"

"I'm your father's friend," Magnus explained. "Which is why I agreed to babysit…"

"Babysit!" Odi burst out, unable to contain himself any longer.

I really need to talk to him about the code, Carlisle muttered to himself. "It's not babysitting, Magnus," he huffed. "I'm staying with you for a few weeks. Try not to let it go to your head. I'm a prince…"

Carlisle suddenly stopped talking as a vice-like grip cut off the circulation in his arm. "Oh really?" Magnus asked. "Please do go on."

"I'm just saying…"

"Brilliant!" Odi howled.

Magnus looked over his shoulder to his son. "You're next," he told him. That sure shut Odi up! "Please, do go on," he repeated to Carlisle.

"I'm a prince," Carlisle squeaked out.

"Aye," Magnus nodded. "And I'm the juggernaut, and a coven master, and your father's best mate."

When you put it like that… shit! Carlisle winced as Magnus flexed his grip. "It's just… Aro said…"

Magnus rolled his eyes. Of course, it would be Aro, he thought shaking his head.

"He said I shouldn't stand for you pushing me around."

"I'm not pushing you around, Carlisle," Magnus explained, walking easily back to his chair, dragging a reluctant young prince with him. "I'm babysitting." He paused to check that Odi wasn't about to start again. Sure his son had heeded his warning, or promise, he continued, "That means the baby stays whilst I sit."

Carlisle started to struggle, though Magnus barely noticed. Following his own words, Magnus did indeed sit, and then he pulled the 'baby' over his knee, to stay.

"No, Magnus, don't!" Carlisle spluttered, ending abruptly when the man in question planted a sharp swat to his backside.

Jesus Christ! Biting into the side of his cheek, it was all Carlisle could do to keep the thoughts in his head. Tasting blood by the third swipe, he gave up trying to stay stoic and cried out in a pained yelp.

"I'll stay, I'll stay!" he promised, begging for a reprieve.

Magnus paused his assault. "So long as you're sure?" he asked, all sweetness and light. "If you still think Aro's right, we can talk some more?" He gave Carlisle another swipe as an example of how that 'talk' would go.

Funnily enough, Carlisle didn't want to 'talk' anymore.Fucking Aro, he cursed. Fucking idiot.

"I'm all talked out," he said, looking back over his shoulder in his precarious, and mildly humiliating position.

With a tight smile and nod, Magnus released him and watched 'the prince' scarper across the room.

Clocking Odi having far too good of a time, Magnus crooked his finger at the kid. "Now it's your turn."

"Cheeky brats," Basileus said aloud, thinking of both his sons. "I expect them to show you the respect you deserve," he told Magnus clearly. Then, thinking about how Aro would twist such an expectation, he added, "That I feel you deserve."

Magnus smirked to himself, knowing exactly what Basileus had been thinking when he amended his statement. "Carlisle only tried his luck with me the once, so don't worry about it."

Atia looked down her nose at Basileus until he clocked her. "No, you will not," she said, hearing he was planning on giving their youngest sons a good talking to. "You will only make things worse - Magnus is perfectly capable of shutting Aro down and he already dealt with Carlisle. Leave well alone."

"Alright!" Basileus snapped, before quickly apologising. "Have you seen much of Eleazar?"

"He came here to give Carlisle a bollocking. Irina let slip that she and Carlisle had… you know… at Halloween." Magnus was glad he didn't have to explain the 'you know' any further. "Apparently El had already asked Carlisle and he had denied it," he said to explain why Eleazar was annoyed. "El didn't appreciate being lied to. The two of them are okay, though."

"You will leave that alone, too," Atia told her mate before he could concoct any plans.

Freyr cocked her head to one side as she looked at Basileus. "Are you asking about El, or Irina?"

"You've got me there," he admitted with a sheepish grin. The shield maiden always seemed to know him so well. "So? Anything I should know about?"

"I've banned her from my hall, so I'm not sure what she's up to."

Magnus hadn't spent much time in the hall, either, trying to use Odi's grounding to make peace with the kid. At Halloween, when Odi fled the middle floor suite, Magnus hadn't given chase immediately. To be fair to Magnus, he had fallen into a daze with Odi's reminder of their human days, and he wanted to keep Caius from going out and killing anyone. Odi didn't understand that - he fully believed his father was making a choice (and we all know how fond Magnus is of independent choice!) and that he chose Caius over him. The rows had come thick and fast until Magnus relented and ended his son's grounding early. Shaking the memories from his mind, he got back on topic.

"Irina came here to see Carlisle once, but he sent her packing," he explained. "I believe Carmen has spoken with the girl…"

"Spoken?!" Freyr repeated. "I was outside with some guards and I could hear Carmen crystal clear."

"At least one of them has some gumption," Basileus muttered, unimpressed with his son.

"You can't complain about Eleazar," Atia said, shaking her head. "He's only perpetuating what you taught him - leave the girls to run free."

"That is not what I've taught him!"

Magnus chuckled - it so is! "You did leave the coven rather than face Irina yourself"

Basileus bristled in his seat. "I was giving Eleazar the chance to step up in his own household."

"You ran away from a nineteen-year-old girl more like," Magnus replied.

Having his best mate agreeing with his wife was unfair. Basileus was sure he'd heard his grandson mentioning something about a 'bro code'. I need to instate one of those if only for situations like this!

"I wonder, sometimes, why I like you at all!" he said with a mock growl. "Aha," he gasped, accepting the steaming bloodwine Freyr offered. "You are why I like him," he told the shield maiden, before turning to his wife. "Why don't you heat my bloodwine?"

"Why don't you heat mine?!" Atia asked him right back.

Freyr tittered as she took her seat. The creator had been such an imposing figure, a legend, even, in their coven until Atia calm along. He still was, of course, in public, but knowing them in private sure was amusing when Atia so consistently cut the legend down to size.

Freyr had something to disclose herself, and she felt nervous of doing so. Better now than before they see Sulpicia, she thought. "I wonder if you will like me less when you hear of what I've done."

"What is this?" Atia asked, resting her hand on Freyr's knee, encouraging her to go on.

Basileus felt an involuntary shudder run up his spine. He'd had cause to haul Magnus over the coals a few times for issues in the guard hall, which had been excruciatingly awkward for them both. He didn't fancy going there with Freyr of all people - his friend, his confidant, a… woman.

Freyr wasn't sure how to explain the outburst she'd had whilst they were away. "Theres no way to sugar coat it, and Magnus already knows, so please just take it from my mind."

Both Basileus and Atia obliged.

Freyr had been in the guard hall when Sulpicia and Carmen arrived at the bar, both discussing Caius and Dora's sudden disappearance from the coven.

"My mistake was that I didn't credit her with such depth of feeling," Sulpicia tittered to Carmen, clearly talking about Dora.

With all her worry about the couple in question, particularly Dora, Freyr saw red!

"No, you didn't, did you?" she snapped at the coven queen. "You much preferred to think of Athenodora as Caius' wretched wife, some hanger-on without thought or feeling."

"Excuse me, Freyr," Sulpicia replied, employing all her airs and graces. "But Dora and I have been friends for thousands of years, I think I know her better than you do…"

"Yet you were surprised to find she has feelings?" Freyr asked, cutting Sulpicia off in her stride. "How very peculiar for someone you claim to know so well. They won't thank me for saying this, but truthfully, it needs to be said. Whilst you and Aro moved onward and upward, Caius and Dora have been struggling in your shadow."

Sulpicia was clearly taken aback, unaccustomed to being pulled up in such a way. "We have all had our struggles…" she replied, her tone less haughty betraying her nerves.

"Yes," Freyr agreed. "But some have suffered their struggles almost entirely alone, whilst others are offered support at every turn," before Sulpicia could remind Freyr that she rarely accepted let alone wanted Basileus and Atia's 'support', Freyr quickly added, "Regardless of whether you take it."

Sulpicia huffed and folded her. Carmen looked away. She wouldn't say so to Sulpicia, but she wished she could receive the support that her sister-in-law so ungratefully rejected.

"I don't begrudge you your support, Sulpicia, nothing could be further from my mind," Freyr assured her. "But you might wish to think on how you would have coped with your struggles without your wider family, without your position, without guidance, without your children to focus on?" She could see Sulpicia thinking on her words. "I wonder, if after thinking on such things, you might find some feelings of your own and share them with your friend of thousands of years."

Freyr didn't give either woman the chance for rebuttal, choosing instead to stalk out of the guard hall before she could say anything else she might later regret.

Believing both Basileus and Atia had seen it all, Freyr jumped in quickly to defend herself. "I tried to call on Sulpicia to offer my apologies, but I haven't been able to catch her. I think she's avoiding me."

"Do not offer your apologies!" Atia burst out, horrified at the very idea.

"Oh, erm… really? It wasn't my place…"

"No, it was ours, and we failed," Atia replied. "So, thank heavens you spoke up."

"Agreed," Basileus said, he meant it too - it was his job to manage his family, women and all, he just… failed to do so. Mostly, however, he was relieved that Freyr hadn't done anything requiring his input. Utterly relieved!

"Caius and Dora need more attention, that's for sure, and it needs to come from all corners of the coven. The very idea that Irina could cause such a disturbance in their relationships is unconscionable."It demonstrates my complete lack of thought for either of them, too. Which Basileus liked even less.

"Let's hope Sulpicia and Carmen take note of your words or I will be adding to them," Atia promised.

She was truly growing tired of her mate's position and, like it or not, she was going to have to take charge of the situation if he was unwilling to step up. Atia was in an awkward position, however. As much as she put her mate in his place - and my gosh did she! - going against the creator of their kind wasn't in her remit. Not that Basileus had issued an embargo on bringing the covens' girls in line, but he had set a precedent of a very light hand, so it had become a grey area.

Magnus had brought a few female coven members to task, and everyone knew it, but those instances were solely in the guard hall, or they were his guards. Both being Magnus' remit. Even that had caused a disturbance amongst the guards, who wondered if Magnus was now more than a coven master, somehow, creating gossip that had unnerved Aro the first time he heard it (and every time after!)

It was easy to forget at times who exactly Basileus was, especially in the familial set up he currently enjoyed. But openly going against him was a big fat no. If anyone could get away with it, Atia could. And as an intelligent woman, she would be careful how she did so. With luck on my side, I can guide Carmen and Sulpicia to take a firmer stance, she mused. Carmen is foundering with their girls, maybe she will be willing to listen to me? Sulpicia may even be receptive if Jane's attitude has continued whilst we were away?

"Speaking of Athenodora," Atia said aloud. "I don't mean to worry anyone, but she and Caius have yet to return."

Freyr shrugged and sipped at her cup. "I told Caius to be back for Christmas, he will be."

"I wish I had your faith," Basileus said, seeing Magnus looking similarly unsure. "It's Christmas eve…"

"Caius may be willing to go against you pair, but he wouldn't break a promise to me," Freyr replied confidently. "A mother's disappointment goes a long way."

"You should try turning some on Odi, in that case," Magnus muttered. He swung between wanting to wrap the boy in his arms and wanting to wrap those arms around the kid's neck on a daily basis.

"I'm not worried about Odi, I'm worried about Caius," Freyr told her mate in a tone that suggested Magnus had already heard Freyr say so a good many times. "Dora and Odi… it brought back memories of Helios and Dora. I hope Caius never works out that Dora slept with Helios willingly. That would be disastrous."

"Caius has always suffered with paranoia," Basileus shook his head. "It's part of his personality."

Freyr completely disagreed. "Caius isn't paranoid - the things he suspects are generally true."

"Yes," Basileus agreed on that point. "But he doesn't know they are true, so it's still paranoia at this point."

Freyr turned to Atia, and both tutted at the man's logic.

"Speaking of things Caius doesn't know… I was thinking of telling him about…"

"No!" Basileus shot out forcefully with a hand out, cutting Magnus off mid-sentence. "Don't!"

"What?" Atia asked, wondering what had made her mate so animated.

"Magnus thinks we should tell Caius the truth about Antonio," Freyr explained. "Our part in it, at least."

"Madness," Basileus shook his head in disapproval. "Don't tell him a thing."

Magnus wasn't happy with that. As a man who prided himself on his moral standing, honesty was important to him. "I don't like lying to people."

"Sometimes we lie to protect people," Basileus explained to Magnus, his eyes flickering to Freyr when he was sure the woman wasn't looking. Magnus got the hint. There were a few things he had kept from his mate over the years to protect her feelings. "There's no harm in that. One could even say there is honour in it."

The conversation might have gone on longer, and perhaps it could even have had chance to raise some interesting questions were it not for Odi coming home.

He called out for his mother as he opened the door, "Mom…" and then set eyes on his father. "Forget it," he said, turning on his heel and leaving. He didn't even bother to close the door behind him.

"Odi!" Magnus shouted after him. "Get back in here, boy. ODI!"

"So, he's still not talking to you?" Basileus asked, stating the bloody obvious!

Magnus huffed and knocked back his the last of his bloodwine. "Happy enough to drink on my tab, but that's about it."

"Cut him off," Basileus suggested. "He'll have to talk to you."

Holding his thumb and forefinger a millimetre apart, Magnus replied. "I'm this close, my friend."

"Odi has to be on our tab, love," Freyr reminded her husband. "He has no money."

"I've told him I will let him take some shifts when he starts speaking to me again."

"Aha," Basileus nodded. "Standoff." He knew that one well.

"I have no doubt it will end when Caius and Dora get back," Magnus said confidently, fixing himself and everyone else another drink. "Odi will want some protection then, won't he?"

"Caius will be fine, so will Odi," Freyr exhaled shapely, clearly annoyed. "It's your stubbornness that's prolonging the drama with our son, love."

"My stubbornness?!" Magnus repeated. "How do you work that out?"

"You give that boy too much say in things," Basileus added, agreeing with Freyr. I'll get you back, you bastard, he thought, for Magnus' earlier break in the 'bro code'. "You're as bad as Eleazar."

"Kids feel safest when they have boundaries," Freyr tagged on, enjoying the back up from Basileus in what had been a two-month long argument between her and Magnus.

"I agree with you there," Magnus said, giving them their due. "But Odi's twenty years old and I expect him to act like it."

"Tough!" Basileus boomed. "He doesn't. He won't. Lay the law down…"

"You have your way," Atia jumped in. "Magnus has his."

"Here we go again," Basileus rolled his eyes. "My way is too pressured, too hard, too demanding… You can stop me any time you like, my dear."

"I'm waiting to hear something I object to," Atia replied. Basileus should have expected as such, but he still pugged like a toddler at her lack of support.

Freyr was only too happy to point out the flaws in her man's management style. "Magnus likes to give everyone a say, give everyone a chance, and another, and another, and we must take their entire history into consideration along with every feeling they have ever had."

Basileus' booming laughter filled the room. I bloody love you! he thought to Freyr. He truly enjoyed having another couple his age, relatively speaking, to spend time with.

"And you think that's wrong?" Magnus drawled, as if he didn't know already.

Freyr scowled right back at him. "It can make some situations, like the one we are having with Odi, last much longer than they should."

Basileus took one look at his buddy, and then at their wives, before turning back to Magnus. "We are clearly married to the wrong women."

"Well of course I'd be happy to swap," Atia told her mate playfully, "But Freyr is too good a friend to short change in such a way."

"I best have you both, then," Magnus crowed, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Freyr, surprised by her frequently pious mate acting so out of sorts, couldn't help but fall into a fit of giggles. Seeing Basileus looking so put out caused the same effect on Atia.

Basileus gave Magnus a friendly thump before his ears pricked in the direction of the front door. "I'd go through with ripping your head off, but your kids are home."

Freyr sprang to her feet and started jigging about in the middle of their seats.

"What are you doing?!" Magnus chuckled.

"This is my 'I told you so' dance."

The four of them descended the stairs, Freyr way ahead. Before Caius and Dora could get themselves inside their own chambers, Freyr was in front of them, hands on her hips, looking stern.

"Christmas eve?" she asked, clearly unimpressed.

Caius struggled to get his words out at first. "It's before Christmas, Freyr," he told her a little shyly.

"Yes, it is," Freyr's face broke, she couldn't hide her happiness at their return, and they were on time, just. "We missed you very much." Pulling them together, Freyr embraced them the two of them in one. "Both of you."

Magnus wanted to do the same, but he knew Caius wouldn't appreciate it in front of the creator, so he held back.

Atia greeted them, however, before turning to Dora, "How are you, my dear?"

Dora smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes.

She hadn't wanted to return to Volterra at all and begged Caius to leave the Volturi. He talked her around, eventually, but it had taken a good many promises to convince Dora that her life wouldn't go back to the way it was before Irina got her claws in.

That was the thing… Irina had broken Dora's heart, sure, obviously, that goes without saying, but Dora had been happier in the coven whilst she had Irina than she ever had in the centuries before. Not that Dora wanted to forgive and forget with the Denali girl, but she didn't want to hide in her chambers anymore, hiding from life… but what other option was there? She had no friends, again, no life, again. Irina had told Dora that she was a supporting player in Caius' life, and that his life would always be bigger than hers. It was the truth, Dora knew it, and it killed her. She didn't expect to have a leading role in coven life, but she wanted her own role, her own life.

Caius assured her he would help, he would be around more, and he'dbe there when he was there. He wasn't sure what he could offer in terms of a 'role' but he promised to find something.

But still, how am I? she asked herself. Lonely, lost, tense, wary, timid, pained, nervous, scared, alienated, stressed.

She couldn't say that, of course, so she went with, "I'm fine, thank you, Atia."

Freyr didn't need a gift to see behind 'fine'. Such coded language always meant anything but fine. "Let's get you unpacked," she said, wrapping an arm around the younger woman and guiding her inside.

Freyr threw her husband a nod in Caius' direction and followed Dora through to the bedchamber.

Here we go, then, Magnus said to himself. Once he'd said goodbye to Basileus and Atia, he closed the door and turned on Caius. "I hate to bring up the unpleasantness so soon…"

"By unpleasantness you are referring to your son bedding my wife?"

Magnus stalled at the abruptness of Caius' tone, and for a moment he truly worried about his son's safety.

Caius smirked and shook his head, knowing what Magnus would be thinking. "Don't worry, I'm not going after Odi."

Relaxing, Magnus took his comfy chair and waited for Caius to seat himself. "Have you made peace with it?" he asked, tentatively.

"With it, not him. Not yet."

"But you will?" Magnus pushed.

Caius couldn't hold the man's eye for longer than a second before turning away. He wanted to say he would, that he and Odi would go back to how they had been before Halloween screwed it all up. But he just couldn't. For one, he wasn't 'over it'. For another, as Dora had pointed out in one of their very many long conversations on the subject, if Caius wanted to have a relationship with Odi again, he would have to be honest with the kid.

Caius wasn't ready to explain to Odi, or anyone other than Dora for that matter, why he was so bothered about the kid being with his wife. Every time he thought about it - which seemed to be every fifteen bloody minutes through day and night - Caius didn't see Odi, he saw Helios, and more poignantly, Helios's shredded body after Caius had… He couldn't think about it anymore, and he couldn't promise Magnus he would make peace with Odi, either.

"Are we invited to the south tower tomorrow?" Caius asked instead, after a painfully long silence between the two of them.

"I won't be pushing you into coming," Magnus replied, sad that Caius hadn't answered his question. Though he did understand if Caius wasn't ready.

Caius frowned. No, that will ruin my plans! "I need you to push Dora into going so I can prove I won't leave her when she needs me."

Magnus raised an eyebrow at the man. "So, I'm to be the bad guy?"

Caius matched Magnus' facial expressions, though he had a smirk tugging at his lips. "Your son fucked my mate and I'm not going to kill him."

Fair enough, Magnus chuckled. "Consider it done."

Dora easily dragged her trunk into the bedchamber. It was quite the image seeing such a tiny woman pulling along a huge trunk that should have taken a man Magnus' size to move, but hey, vampiric strength was not to be sniffed at. Once inside her bedchamber, she closed the door and heaved a heavy sigh. She wasn't happy being back in the coven, but she had missed her chambers, her home for centuries. The bedroom was her safe place.

Freyr busied herself lighting the fire. Dora followed her cue and opened the window shutters, flooding the room with cool winter sunlight. It wasn't just the room that felt safe for Dora, Freyr did, too. Just being with the shield maiden made Dora secure. She wondered for a moment how she could have ever considered leaving the Volturi. Actually, she still wasn't set on staying in the Volturi, but she couldn't imagine losing Freyr and Magnus. Or Odi, of course, though she expected it would be tricky to convince Odi he was safe in her company.

Caius had no issue with Dora being friendly with Odi, he'd even said the kid was welcome in their chambers so long as he wasn't expected to speak to him. Dora knew her mate well after so many years together and if Caius was already willing to accept that Odi would be around, then his relationship with the kid could be saved. Getting Caius, or even Odi, to see that would be another matter.

Once Freyr had teased the fire to flames, she sat on the nearby sofa and waited for Dora to join her. "So," she began, patting Dora's knee. "What are we thinking now we're home?"

Dora sighed and leaned into Freyr, nudging one shoe off with her toe and then the other before curling her legs up behind her. She didn't know how to answer.What am I thinking? She asked herself. A million things and nothing at the same time. There was one thing Dora was sure of - she wanted to be Dora. Not Caius' mate, not a lady of the coven, not anything that connected her to anything else. She wanted to just be Dora.

After explaining her jumbled thoughts to Freyr, Dora huffed. "How do I do that, though?" she asked, realising she wasn't truly sure what 'being Dora' actually meant, let alone how to achieve it.

"It's quite simple, my dear one." Freyr grinned. "You need to find the confidence to be you."

Dora shook her head, tousled hair falling about her shoulders. "No one will like that. No one who knows me likes me. I don't even like me."

Freyr took a sharp intake of breath and brought her hand down hard on Dora's thigh. Dora heard it before she felt it, but she had little time to react before Freyr's verbal rebuke followed.

"I will not hear you speaking of yourself in such a way," she told the young woman. "Magnus and I know you, your friends know you, Caius knows you, we all like you. We all love you, Dora."

Tears pricked at Dora's eyes and she so wanted to believe Freyr's words. A little absentmindedly, one hand rubbed at her stinging leg, the other collected tears before they could run down her face. She was grateful to have Caius, and Freyr and Magnus, but the friends…

"I don't have friends anymore."

"Yes, you do," Freyr insisted, taking Dora's hands she said it again, trying to break through Dora's self-doubt. Seeing the young woman nodding slowly to her words, Freyr tucked a lock of hair behind Dora's ear to have clear access to her eyes. Speaking of friends. "That said… you will be giving Irina a wide berth, I trust?"

Dora stiffened hearing the Denali girls name. "I'd like to give her a broken neck, but if that's not suitable, then, yes, a wide berth." Freyr raised her eyebrows disapprovingly, but Dora went on. "I want revenge," she said. "Irina's cost me so much."

"Irina took you for a fool, but you let her, Dora." Freyr wasn't one for mincing words. "Learn from it. You were warned about that girl by people who love you and had your best interests at heart."

Harsh! Dora slowly sunk into the sofa, scowling a little and bringing her legs up to her chest.

"Magnus and I both warned you, Odi did, too. As did Caius," Freyr reminded her. "You need to start trusting the people who are there for you, and then people like Irina have no power."

Less harsh. Dora couldn't disagree with Freyr there. She uncoiled a little and leaned back into Freyr's shoulder. I really missed you, she said to herself as Freyr went on explaining where Dora had gone wrong, and how to take a better path in the future. Every interaction with Freyr was motherly for Dora. A real mother, like the one she had wished for as a girl. The rebukes were there, - often! - but they came from a place of love. They felt safe.

"Keep your new friendships," Freyr said. "There's no need to drop the relationships you have built, my darling."

"Really?" Dora asked, zoning back in.

"If Caius has said otherwise…"

"He hasn't," Dora told her quickly. "He's been very understanding about… everything." She wasn't lying - Caius wasn't the problem. "How can I hold my head up in the coven, Freyr?"

That was Dora's real issue. Her and Caius were on a high after a few years of lows. Whilst they were away she had forced some honest conversations from her mate. Years of hurt and confusion came to the fore. 'I'm not too sure what things you really meant,' she had told him, thinking of so many arguments they'd had. 'What you meant at the time but no longer mean, and what things you said just to hurt me'.

Though Caius found it painful to recall himself at his worst, he did it, for her, and answered all her questions. At the time, Caius had thought that if this was to be the end of their relationship, then it might as well end honestly. But it was his honesty that saved them, in the end.

But the coven? Dora asked herself. She just didn't see how she could move forward in the coven. The coven all know how stupid I've been and… "The whole of the Volturi family hates me."

"That's not true."

Dora threw Freyr a withering expression, believing she knew better. "I got Carlisle and Felix in so much trouble, I know I did. And Odi. And Renata and Corin…"

"Odi has missed you very much, my dear." Almost as much as I'm missing Odi, Freyr said to herself. "He's worried about Caius, but we can deal with that."

"And the others?"

Dora believed they would hate her, truly, she believed they only spoke to her in the first place because of Irina. But if anyone could convince her otherwise it was Freyr and she desperately wanted to be convinced.

Freyr offered the young woman a gentle smile. "Renata and Corin have been far more concerned with the trouble they have caused you than the other way around," she assured. "I haven't seen much of Felix, but neither he or Carlisle blame you, I am sure of that."

Tears rolled down Dora's cheeks. Not from sadness, but from relief. Freyr tucked her into her side and held her tight.

"Now, I'm not saying it would be a good idea to restart your drug-fuelled after-hours parties."

Dora chuckled at that. No shit! she thought, wiping her tears away.

"But," Freyr went on. "Theres no reason for you to cast new friendships aside, either. You need to build more friendships, my darling, not less."

They stayed there for a while, enjoying companionable silence until Magnus snuck his way in sheepishly to make his demands. Telling Dora that she would be going to the south tower after the Christmas address went down as expected - Dora wasn't enamoured with the idea at all.

He took the woman by her hand and pulled her up to stand with him.

"It would be a shame if you declined and missed out on what could be a lovely afternoon with friends," Magnus said, desperately trying to ignore Freyr's wild waving behind Dora, telling him to shut up.

"Sully and Carmen aren't my friends," Dora was quick to point out.

"Carlisle and Felix are," Magnus pointed out in return. "They've missed you." He saw Dora consider his words and wrapped his huge arm around the small woman. "I know you're nervous, my dear one, but succumbing to fear can take so many opportunities away from people." Magnus paused to gently kiss her head. "You need to widen your circle, not close it back in on itself."

Dora hadn't been sure, not even when Magnus had mentioned Felix and Carlisle, but his final advice matched Freyr's moments earlier. Widen my circle… how do I do that? They were right, though. Hiding away was not an option.

She would have liked the opportunity to build up to facing the other elite. Perhaps a few trips to the guard hall first, or something like that? Dora shook her head to herself. The guard hall wasn't an option. It's Christmas, Christmas is for family. She looked to the three others in the room. They are my family. If they're going to the south tower, I'll have to go.

…

Aro had cleared his throat three times already with no response from Caius who maintained his stance, in front of the general rabble, standing behind his mate with his arms encircling her.

"Will you be joining us?" Aro eventually asked, gesturing to Caius' throne with a face to say, 'get your ass in it!'

"No," Caius replied, squeezing his mate and nuzzling into her hair. "I can hear you from here," he called out, making sure everyone heard.

"Caius," Dora hissed over her shoulder to her mate. "You're drawing attention to us."

Caius grinned back her. "Good," he said, pecking at her neck.

Caius wasn't one for grand statements, and though it might seem insignificant to some, Dora knew he was making a stand. A stand for them. For their marriage. For her. He couldn't keep it up, of course. Dora knew that, too. Caius was a coven master and he had to perform his role. It was expected of him. She was grateful that the creator refrained from making comment, beyond telling Aro to 'get on with it'.

Throughout the Christmas address, the coven was attentive to their king and his announcements. Except for two. Renata and Corin spent Aro's entire speech inching their way across the great hall. Neither could have told you who won the Christmas honour that year, or what the political plans were for the year to come as they concentrated on moving unseen through Aro's audience. By the finish, they were mere feet away from Caius and Dora.

When the clapping began, signalling the end of formalities, coven member turned to coven member, wishing one another a Merry Christmas, and good tidings to come. Renata and Corin stood still in an ocean of movement. Waiting.

Dora saw them, she could see they wanted to speak with her, but with her confidence on the floor, she convinced herself it would only be a conversation about blame. About what she'd done wrong. About what she'd allowed to happen. Caius had spent two months saying otherwise, but she couldn't believe him. Even if they don't blame me, I do. And even if they didn't blame her, just looking at them caused Dora pain. She could never have a relationship with the guards again, and she already missed the two of them, particularly Renata, very much.

Caius had hung back to let Dora take the lead, mainly because he knew he'd scare the shit out of Renata and Corin if he spoke to them. But with his mate unmoving, he had to speak for her. He called them over, swinging Dora around his body as he did so to face her friends.

"Merry Christmas," he told them both, breaking the ice.

It proved tough ice to break, with not one of the three women speaking beyond stutters and awkwardly averted gazes.

Like blood from a stone, Caius thought, rolling his eyes. "Are you two off lock down?"

"Yes, Master," Renata replied for them both.

Dora shot daggers to her mate. Speaking of punishments isn't the best way to ease the tension, Caius.

"Good," Caius bobbed his head, ignoring his mate for the moment - he had a plan. "So you can come to ours tomorrow evening for drinks, maybe a game of cards?"

"Erm…" Corin looked to Renata for guidance, hoping they could.

Renata smiled, it started small for Caius but positively beamed in Dora's direction. "Yes, Master. We would like that very much."

Getting the green light from Renata, Corin burst forward and took Dora's hands. "We really would," she enthused. "We've missed you, my lady."

"I missed you too." Dora smiled. It didn't just reach her eyes, it filled her heart! "But… Dora, please," she corrected the young guard. "I am just Dora."

Renata and Corin looked vaguely wary of Dora's statement, but Caius knew what it was about. She tired of being an extension of him - 'my lady', and such formalities, signified she was Caius' mate and nothing else. She'd rather be Dora. Just Dora. Not someone's plus one.

Happy, the pair retreated.

"Ren," Caius called before the guard could leave with her friend.

Using the pet name the guards called her by startled Renata at first, but she took it as Caius intended, as a term of affection.

"Cards will be the highlight of entertainment on offer," he told her with a suggestive smile.

For all her risqué behaviour at times, Renata really couldn't take embarrassment. She shrivelled and hid her face behind her hands as Caius started chuckling to himself.

"You're such a knob!" she hissed, only just loud enough for Caius and Dora to here, who were both laughing by then. It may not have been a usual way to talk to coven master, but Caius had shown he wasn't playing that role right then and frankly – he was being a knob!

"A knob, or my knob?" Caius asked, winding the girl up further. "I just told you it's not on the table, Ren. Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Your too scrawny for Ren, love," Dora told her mate, trying to embarrass him a little.

"Exactly," Renata agreed.

Caius wasn't having that! "Well, I guess she could pop up to Magnus after we've played cards…"

"Oh my God!" Renata would have been beet red if her blood were still human! As it was, her exclamation had drawn the crowd of guards to turn in their direction.

Caius was having fun! "Let's ask him if he's up for it." He tried to wave at Magnus to join them, but thankfully Dora snatched his hand out of the air.

Renata really started to panic, bless her.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Dora told her friend, jabbing her mate in the ribs. "And I'll have him under control."

Renata left them, mildly embarrassed but chuckling and glad the two of them were back in the coven. She hadn't asked whether Irina was invited, assuming the girl wouldn't get near their parties ever again. Renata was worried about Odi, though. Throwing the kid an apologetic smile where he sat in silence at the very edge of the hall, he looked lost, lonely.

A few guards, Renata included, had made great attempts to include the guard masters son in their daily lives - Odi proved resistant to their efforts. At least he has Turk, Renata said to herself. The two lads were back on good terms, thanks largely to Turks passive and forgiving nature. But with Turk working all hours on the bar, Odi didn't exactly have the guy to hang out with. Not unless he sat at the bar - which he did, a lot - but the guard hall was a place of stress for Odi. Guards talk, and there was so much talk about with Odi that any other topic paled into insignificance. He didn't last long keeping Turk company before returning to his dorm, to hide away from prying eyes and cruel gossip.

"So?" Dora asked her mate. "What are you doing?"

Caius shrugged, as though he didn't know what she was talking about.

"Love," she called, pulling on his shirt collar to force eye contact. "We're having a party? With my friends? Whats going on?"

"Not a party," Caius shook his head to that. "It's a few drinks with good company."

Dora wasn't sure…

"I'm trying to prove what I promised," Caius whispered.

She looked up to him through big red irises and for the first time, she realised, she believed him. He spoke as if they were the only two in the room. He wasn't hiding his affection for her, as he usually would, believing it made him appear weak - he wasn't pushing her away or holding her at arm's length, emotionally. You're here. You're right here.

"Our life, me and you," he said, pulling her in as close as he could. "It isn't always pretty, but it does work."

"Yes, it does."

…

From the first Christmas, the Volturi leaders established that gifts would be given to the guards, but not taken from them. Aro and Sulpicia, who were the only coven members with children at the time, also requested that no one give their children gifts, besides their parents and grandparents. It wasn't a request made from spite, as Felix had claimed, but necessity - an immortality of Christmas gifts would soon require a castle of its own to house! Magnus and Freyr understood the request, of course, but as the previous Christmas coincided with giving out werewolf pelts to one and all, they had arranged gifts for the coven kids that year, too.

Irina watched from the corner of her eye as Kate and Tanya accepted their gifts from Mr and Mrs Tosser. It looked like jewellery, but it made her sisters tear up. Although… they look happy about it. Happy about being sad? Weirdos. She didn't expect anything. Didn't want anything either. Wouldn't accept anything, actually!

"Irina," Freyr called softly, pulling the girl from her thoughts.

Irina pulled her legs up to her chest making room for Freyr at the end of the window ledge, but she refused to give the woman the curtesy of eye contact. The shield maiden sat regardless and offered a small cloth package to the girl.

"We heard that you each kept a lock of your mother's hair…"

Freyr drifted off as Irina unwrapped her present and held her breath. She didn't mind if Irina didn't like her gift, or even if she simply didn't want it. She was more concerned that the girl could erupt knowing someone had tampered with something of Sasha's. Freyr had presented her gift idea for the girls to Carmen who had happily supplied the locks of hair to be bound inside silver lockets for the girls to keep.

Irina stroked a delicate finger on the glass holding a curl of her mother's hair. Swallowing hard, Irina fished out the silver chain from the cloth and put it over her head. It was long enough that the locket would rest on her chest, keeping a piece of her mother close to her heart.

Freyr bobbed her head and stood. She hadn't expected a thank you from the girl - Irina accepting the gift was a triumph.

"Merry Christmas, my dear," she said softly before leaving her to herself.

Irina followed the woman with her eyes and realised her vision was becoming blurred. Stupid bitch made me cry.

Freyr retook her seat with Magnus in time to hear Aro's brood complaining about their grandparents disappearing act. They had sensibly waited until they received their presents, of course.

"I can take those back, you know," Basileus playfully warned his grandchildren.

Jane clutched her silk slippered feet and leaned back into her grandmother just in case he was serious. Tanya might have done the same, but she was too busy wiggling her toes at the fire, watching the light dance on the golden thread embroidered into the silk. Basileus would have to pry those slippers off her dead body if he wanted them back.

Felix wasn't giving up so easily. Sitting to the side of his grandfather, he nudged his shoulder into the man's bicep and pouted. "You went away for two months and you didn't even say good bye."

"One of us tried insisting we said good bye," Atia told her grandchildren as she plaited Jane's hair. "And one of us insisted you wouldn't care and made us leave, with haste."

Basileus pulled Alec in close to his chest and spoke over the boy's shoulder to the rest of his young brood. "Fancy that mean old witch insisting we left without saying good bye to you all!"

"You're lucky the baby is in your lap." Atia looked down her nose to her mate, and spoke sternly, though the smile tugging at her lips was a dead giveaway.

Basileus did feel a twinge of guilt for disappearing on them all, but part of him revelled in the fact they had missed him. He used to disappear all the time, sometimes for as long as a few years, and though Aro's kids were always happy to see him on his return, he doubted that they missed him. But then, they weren't his grandchildren then, and he wasn't their grandfather. His role had changed and so had his responsibility towards the kids - he should have told them.

Keeping on arm wrapped around Alec's waist so the boy stayed secure in his lap, Basileus used the other to bring Felix into his side. "He wasn't too hard on you over that fiasco at Halloween, was he?"

Aro rolled his eyes, knowing full well that he was the 'he' in question.

"Yes!" Felix said forcefully.

Aro tutted when his father turned a stern eye on him. "I'm sure Dem helped his brother out," Aro said. "Didn't you?" He gave his middle boy at his feet a nudge with his toe to stir him into speaking.

Demetri huffed being brought into Felix' strife. "Erm…"

"Aro, you will leave my grandson alone," Atia called over. "Demetri's the good one."

"I caught the 'good one' swiping drinks last week," Magnus added, ever so helpfully.

"As its your guard hall, surely that's your fault?"

"Thanks for that, love!" Magnus shot back at his mate. He caught Demetri pulling faces out the corner of his eye as he did so. "Stick that tongue out at me, young one, and I'll soap it up for you," he warned.

Demetri wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but the grimness to Magnus' tone had him pulling his tongue back in quickly.

"I'm grounded until New Year's Eve," Felix told his grandfather, still hoping for his help. "I've hardly seen Corin at all. Couldn't you tell him that restrictions should have a maximum of three days or something like that?"

Aro scoffed at his son's request.

"I could," Basileus mused.

I don't think so, Aro thought

He should have given his father more time to reply. "But that wouldn't have much effect on groundings," Basileus finished.

"Don't gloat!" Atia called out to her son before he could start. So immature, she thought seeing Aro's crestfallen face over being prevented from teasing his own child.

"And don't you pout," Basileus chided Felix gently. "Seriously, Felix, he wasn't too hard on you, was he?"

"I suppose not."

"That's not what you were telling me, young one!" Magnus said, shaking his head at the boy.

As Felix had called on the juggernaut at least three times a week since Halloween, Magnus had suffered the boy's complaints about what a rigid prick his father could be.

"Whats this?" Basileus asked the boy, playing with him. "Have you replaced me? Your only grandfather?"

"My only grandfather ditched me in my hour of need," Felix reminded him, going back to his pouting. Poor little Felix.

Aro wasn't sure how to feel about what he was hearing. It was common knowledge within the family that Felix sought his grandfather's comfort when he was in trouble with his father. Demetri, too, on occasion, though he preferred Atia's comfort. Aro knew it went on and he turned a blind eye to Sulpicia's sudden need to send their boys on random errands whenever they were grounded. But to hear Felix had sought out Magnus in Basileus' absence… Aro wasn't so keen on that.

"Fair enough," Basileus agreed with the boy. "Come on then, give me an appraisal of the stand in."

"The stand in?!" Magnus shot out, nearly choking on his bloodwine.

"You always side with me," Felix told Basileus. "Magnus doesn't, he was getting me to see Dad's side." Felix didn't say so but seeing his father's side of things had helped the boy a little.

Okay, there could be plus points, perhaps, Aro thought to himself.

Then Felix remembered something else that tipped the scales in his grandfather's direction. "Magnus smacked me in the masters' office for swearing," he said, looking thoroughly disgusted. "You mostly let me get away with that."

"Only you," Demetri complained. Felix could swear like a navvy if their grandmother was out of ear shot and no one said a word. Demetri couldn't hope to get away with such language in anyone's presence.

Basileus decided it best to ignore the complaining child for the moment rather than shine a light on his unequal treatment and concentrate on Magnus, instead. "I leave my grandchild, suffering, and you add to his distress?"

"You didn't hear his language!" Magnus replied in his defence.

"How about I even things up by getting him back for you?" Basileus asked Felix, grinning like a loon.

Magnus side-eyed the creator. "I don't know about that, Basileus."

Basileus ignored him, of course. Moving Alec from his lap, Basileus collected his cane from the floor and stood. "Which hand did he smack you with, Felix?"

"Right," Felix replied, unsure of what would happen next, but excited all the same.

The other kids had worked it out, with Demetri looking particularly excited as he bounced about on the floor.

"Look at how excited he is," Magnus chuckled pointing out the boy. The girls looked similarly intrigued. "Not just Demetri, all of them!"

"Come on," Basileus said, telling his friend to stand. He did, but he didn't offer his hand willingly. "Magnus, man up!" Basileus told him, eyes dancing and a playful smile on his face. "Hold it out, come on, I'm sure you know the drill."

"For issuing strikes, maybe," Magnus reminded the man. "Not receiving them."

No sooner had Magnus opened his right hand and held it out in front of the giggling kids, had Basileus brought down his cane, creating a line of fire in Magnus' palm.

"Ahh!" Magnus roared, as he'd been unprepared for the strike. "You son of a cunt!"

"Magnus!" Atia admonished, sending the kids into a fit of giggles.

"My language wasn't anywhere near that bad," Felix told his grandmother, like it was a badge of honour.

"He just…" Magnus faltered knowing he had to set a better example than that.

He apologised and gripped is wrist tightly to stop his blood getting to his hand. The fast-acting repair properties of venomous blood really was remarkable, but it stung like a bitch and Magnus didn't need to add to the discomfort.

"Does that make up for me ditching you all?" Basileus asked his grandchildren.

He purposely sought out Tanya and Kate's approval to show the girls that they were included in the group. From their thoughts, he believed it was working.

"Yes!" he heard in a chorus from his little demons.

"Vicious little bastards," Magnus playfully hissed at them all, earning himself another admonishment from Atia and round of laugher from his mate.

"Seems like I'm the better deal, but he'll do when theres no one else on offer," Basileus crowed, gesturing to the juggernaut.

"You've stoked your ego long enough, my dear," Atia told her mate. She tied off the ribbon in Jane's hair only to have Tanya immediately take the girls place for her turn. "Though," she added, looking around the children. "I have to wonder who else played up whilst we were away."

It was rare for Atia to join in with such folly, but Basileus loved it when she did.

Sulpicia had sought through Jane's trinket box to find a ribbon for Tanya. Finding one, she passed it to her mother-in-law and tried to offer up her own mate for entertainment. "You know," she said, a sly eye on Aro. "He has been quite the grump to live with, hasn't he my darlings?"

All four of Aro's devoted children turned on him. Little bastards.

"How about you?" Magnus asked the creator before he could catch hold of Aro, who had flashed to the back of the room with his brother.

"Me?" Basileus asked, pointing at himself as though he couldn't understand the meaning.

"You did ditch them all," Magnus pointed out. "Surely you would be willing to take a whack back for that?"

"There's no point," Basileus scoffed. "No one could make it count against me - I am a god, Magnus."

"Half a god," Magnus smirked. "And I'm the juggernaut, so I'm willing to give it a good go."

"Yes!" Aro and Eleazar flashed back to the seating area, joining in with the children all asking for Magnus to take a shot at their father.

"Hand it over, my lord," Magnus said with a menacing smirk and a mock bow.

"Alright," Basileus agreed. "If you want to embarrass yourself, go right ahead."

Magnus held the cane in two hands, one at each end, testing out the suppleness. "Now, there Aro's four," he said, pacing around the chairs. "Kate and Tanya make six." He stopped and looked to the girl across the room who was trying not to appear interested in any way. "Irina," Magnus called. "I know you would usually prefer to be counted out of the kids, but if I have your permission to add you in, you'll make seven strikes for the creator."

Irina chuckled despite herself. "I'm in!" she called back, though she maintained her position, she openly turned to watch proceedings.

"Good girl," Magnus called back.

"Seven?" Basileus asked, eyebrow cocked wondering what Magnus as playing at.

"You ditched all seven of them," Magnus shrugged.

"Count me, too, Magnus."

"Right you are Carlisle." Magnus doffed his imaginary cap to the prince. "El? Aro?"

The brothers looked to each other and nodded. "Definitely," Eleazar agreed on their behalf.

Magnus turned back to the creator and beamed. "Ten."

"Fine," Basileus shrugged. "If it will make you feel better, I'll play along."

"We'll do five on each," Magnus told him, gripping the handle end of the cane. "Ready when you are."

Basileus took a bow, theatrically extending his arm as he did so. Magnus didn't hang about, "Eleazar!" he called, striking the creator for all his worth.

Unable to hide the pained yelp in response, Basileus snatched his hand back and held it to his chest, trying to work out what exactly had happened.

"Did you feel that one, Basileus?" Sulpicia asked her father-in-law, coy smile tugging at her lips. Basileus had been so cocky about Magnus' ability to hurt him, and she was pretty sure that he had.

"I'd say he did," Carmen said, feeling similarly to Sully.

"Come on, nine more to go," Magnus called out, swishing the cane back and forth through the air.

Basileus recoiled, hiding one hand with the other. "Like that?!" he asked, shaking his head.

Magnus shrugged. "You said no one could wield this little cane against you to any great affect, so why not?"

With a crowd of jeering little ones pushing him to continue, Basileus eventually held out his hand for a second blow.

"Aro!" Magnus called, as a fresh stripe of pain erupted across Basileus' hand.

"Jesus!" Basileus cursed through gritted teeth. "How are you doing… are you using your gift to ramp up the pain?" Basileus bobbed his head, knowing he'd worked it out. He was so pleased with himself, in fact, that he was completely unprepared for the third strike.

"Carlisle!" Magnus called.

Basileus yelped again, much to the amusement of his grandchildren. "You son of a bitch!"

Magnus couldn't keep a straight face any longer, he was having a grand old time. He called over to Irina, who was doing her best to try not to watch, but like everyone else, was enjoying the creator's temporary torment. "This one's yours, sweetheart," he told the girl. "Irina!"

That was the worst one! Basileus pulled his hand in, forcing it into his stomach to keep himself quiet. Whilst his darling grandchildren howled their laughter, Basileus got himself under control. Looking at his hand, he couldn't understand how it remained in one piece.

"I think you've broken my bones!" Basileus winced, flexing his fingers.

Magnus joined in with the young ones' laughter. "How could a simple juggernaut break the creators hand?"

"Simple is right!" Basileus told him.

"Well that wasn't very clever," Magnus replied with a cruel smile. "Come on, come on," he said. "Last one for this hand."

Basileus closed his eyes and held out his palm.

"Felix!"

The sound of the blow ricocheted around the room, soon followed by the creators pained cry!

"Take your damn gift off me!" he demanded. Magnus, of course, granted his wish. "That is much more reasonable," Basileus sighed, catching his breath. "Ahh!"

"What?!" Magnus asked as Basileus pummelled his arm in punches. "I gave you a break!"

"Time to switch hands, Dad," Carlisle encouraged his father.

"No way!" Basileus took his seat and was set on staying there, safe from harm's way.

"You don't want to let the little ones down, surely?" Atia lightly goaded her mate. "What kind of grandfather is he, my darlings?"

"Darlings?!" Basileus grumbled as he stood again and held out his left hand. "He was right before, you'll all vicious bastards!"

"Basileus!" Atia admonished, quickly followed by Magnus calling out, "Kate!"

Crack!

Basileus forced himself to stay in position so he could get the rest of those damn strikes over with.

"Demetri!" Crack! "Tanya!" Crack! "Jane!" Crack!

Jane tutted after 'her' blow. "I could bring him to his knees if I wanted to," she said, impish smile, daring Magnus to go further.

"Are you saying I should put some more effort in, little one?" Magnus asked the girl.

The whole crowd called out, "Yes!"

"You little shits!" Basileus directed at his grandchildren, only to realise everyone, his own mate, even, was waiting to see what damage the Juggernaut could inflict.

"Alec!" Magnus called, striking his friend for a final time. He didn't use any greater force, but he did employ the full extent of his gift. "One knee, I'll take that," he said as Basileus went down, gasping for breath.

"That is unfortunate," Marcus said. "We appear to have ran out of children."

Marcus?! Basileus glared at his old friend. Of them all, he had expected Marcus support, but the sullen old master had apparently enjoyed the show as much as everyone else!

"That's your lot!" Basileus said, pulling himself to his feet. "Give me that back!" he took a swipe at Magnus to get the cane, but Magnus saw him coming.

"I will in a minute, snatchy!" the juggernaut replied, dancing backwards around the chairs to keep out of the creator's reach.

"When I get that back I'm going to wrap it around your legs you…"

"Basileus!" Atia called out sternly before he could say the word he was thinking. "There are children present."

Children, my ass! he thought. Little bastards! "May the gods help the next one of you to cross me, any of you," he told them all, though his smile told them he wasn't too serious. "I'll be waiting to get you back for this."

It took a while for everyone to settle down again. In fact, the children only settled when Sulpicia gave them all a small glass of bloodwine - the proper stuff! Once they were quiet, Aro called Magnus to join him at his desk.

"It would seem my son has been sneaking out whilst he's been grounded to see you," Aro began.

"Aye, he has been," Magnus agreed. "Felix started coming by on made up errands until I called him out on it. The boy needed some reassurance, that's all."

"He did, he usually goes to my father." Aro reached around his neck and hung his arm from his hand. He felt a little awkward - after all his recent bitching about Magnus, even to Magnus on occasion, the guy had still looked out for his son. "Thank you for stepping in."

"Any time." Maybe it was the excitement from winding Basileus up, but Magnus decided to try his luck with Aro, too. "So long as you don't think I'm getting too big for my boots?"

"Huh?" Oh, that was a poor attempt at playing dumb, Aro.

"What was it you said to Carlisle?" Magnus rubbed his chin. "Overstepping the mark? Going above my station?"

"Erm…"

Magnus didn't leave him floundering for long. "I'm playing with you, short stuff," he said, bumping his fist against Aro's chin.

That fist was at least half the size of Aro's head. At least. Realising that made the coven king slightly uncomfortable! "So, what are your plans for New Year?" he asked, to distract himself.

"Huh?" it was Magnus' turn to play dumb!

"You've started a new tradition of opening up the hall and paying for the evening's festivities."

"It's only happened once!" Magnus shot out. "Hardly a tradition. I already pay for Midsummer…"

"We're having a party, I'm paying," Freyr called over, having heard the conversation.

Magnus was pretty sure that meant he was paying, actually. Aro clicked on to the same message and strolled away chuckling to himself. Smarmy brat, Magnus thought after him.

"Caius!" Magnus called the moment the man walked in through the door. "I need you to knock me one of these up when you get chance," he said waving the creator's cane in the air.

"Why?!" Caius shot out, fearing for his own hide if Magnus owned such an implement.

"I've been playing with this one and I like it," Magnus replied, swishing the thing in Basileus' direction.

"Caius, I forbid you to make him a cane!" Basileus responded before tackling the juggernaut to the ground.

Despite Sulpicia screeching that there was to be no wrestling in the house, Basileus continued his efforts with half of the children joining in the fray!

Caius turned to Aro, opened mouthed. "What did we miss?"

"Magnus caning Basileus," Aro explained. "Great family entertainment for Christmas day."

"My hands are still burning," Basileus called up from the floor - as he had Felix sitting on his back, it was a little breathlessly.

"What?" Magnus asked, faking surprise as he struggled under the whole lot of them. "Even with your oh-so-special Demi-God powers?"

Sulpicia stepped over various flailing limbs to join the three of them at the door. "Where have you been?" she asked, making effort to be warm and friendly to Dora.

Dora cleared her throat. "We just popped home to finish unpacking…"

Sulpicia knew that look. Bloody liars, she thought, smiling knowingly. "Look at you pair of love birds!"

Caius wrapped his arm around his mate's waist and pulled her in close, neither denying what Sulpicia had insinuated.

"We could do with some time away from the coven if that's what it does," Aro told his mate, mimicking Caius' actions.

Sulpicia pulled back from Aro to get a look at his face to see if he was serious. "I'll hold you to that, my love."

I bet she will, Aro said to himself in a huff.

"Where did you go, Dora?"

"Oh!" Dora gasped, hearing Sulpicia mention her by name - she had been busy trying to suss Irina out. "Um, Sorry," she apologised. "We commandeered a boat and sailed around the Med. You know how Caius likes to sail."

"We used to do that so often," Sulpicia commented, wistfully. "Do you remember?"

"All those Greek islands," Dora nodded.

"We had such a great time," Sully took Dora's hands. "We should do something like that again."

"My queen," Aro drawled. "As I have explained," he said, sounding as though he were addressing one of their children. "It's not easy for me to simply down tools and take off on a trip with you."

"Caius managed it for his wife," Sully reminded him.

"And I would dearly love to manage it for mine." Aro took his mate's hands form Dora's and held them to his chest before hissing at Caius, "I knew your break would bring me shit." Feeling Sully snatch her hand back and slap his chest, he quickly tried to save himself. "Who would have the kids?" he asked, knowing no one would.

"I'll have them for you, brother," Caius helpfully offered.

"He'd lock them in the dungeons," Aro explained to his wife.

Seeing that Aro was correct, Sulpicia slapped Caius' chest next.

"I'd give them a cell each, Sul," Caius continued to tease the woman.

"I was talking about a trip for the four of us," the coven queen explained to them all. "Like we used to do before Volturi life took over."

Dora blinked a few times, trying to work out if she meant it.

"We used to have so much fun, didn't we?"

Dora nodded, a small smile creeping as she realised Sulpicia was being honestly friendly. So much of her earlier reticence dissipated with the coven queen's simple gesture of friendship.

"Whilst I would love to do that, my queen…"

"Yes, I know," Sully huffed at her husband. "The children, the coven, the wine that won't drink itself?"

"One day, my queen," Aro promised.

"Mom!"

Alec's beg for help took the woman away, and thankfully, Atia had also been drawn into disentangling children and men from the floor now Basileus had his cane back from the juggernaut.

"Drinks?" Aro asked Caius and Dora, thinking it was a far preferable task than spitting up his children.

He led them to his desk where the good whiskey was waiting for them.

"I hope you've secured the valuables?" Caius asked Aro under his breath, gesturing to Irina, and taking his glass.

"I have indeed. She's lucky I've let her come today, little bitch." Aro had to work to keep his growl contained. "She cleared me out, you know?! I have no herb left at all. Bitch!" he huffed again. "Be thankful you moved on from that toxic shit, Dora."

Caius felt his wife stiffen at his side and gave her a comforting squeeze. "Write to Amun, I'm sure he'd sell you more," he suggested, wanting to get the attention away from his mate.

"Of course he would, but I'm not being beholden to Amun…"

"Even though you are," Caius finished for him.

Aro rolled his eyes, though he couldn't deny it. "I've asked Marcus to visit him. He had better be bringing me a boat load of the stuff back for the amount its costing me to send him."

Marcus looked back over his shoulder, having heard Aro's continued complaints from where he sat. "If my price is too high, Aro, feel free to do the job yourself."

Aro threw the man a withering smile and waited for Marcus to turn away before hissing to Caius, "He's only saying that because he knows I can't bloody go."

Atia and Freyr appeared behind Caius with Freyr put her hand on Dora's shoulder. "Dora, my darling, do you actually want to stand through Aro having his Christmas whine, or would you rather come and tell us about your travels?"

"I'm drinking whiskey, my lady," Aro told the shield maiden, lifting his glass.

"Bless him," Freyr said, chuckling to Atia.

"She didn't mean that kind of wine, son," Atia explained, also laughing at him.

"More of a whinge," Freyr explained when Aro still hadn't caught on.

Aro gaped whilst the four of them laughed at his expense. "The cheek of it!"

Dora made to follow Freyr, only to have Caius hot on her heels. "No, it's okay," she said, pushing her mate back towards his co master. "Caius, honestly, it's okay."

"Really?" Caius asked, unsure if he was failing her already. "I will…"

"It's alright, love," she insisted, standing on tip toes to kiss his cheek before joining Freyr.

"You're being very attentive," Aro smirked at Caius once Dora was clear. "Shall we have a bet on how long it will last?"

"Fuck off," Caius hissed back, shoving his co master.

"They're being very friendly with Dora," Aro noted looking over to Caius mate sandwiched between Dora and Magnus.

Aren't they just, Caius said to himself, concerned that they were about to blow his cover. Thinking on his feet, he came up with some reasoning. "Freyr wants to take Dora under her wing after… well, you know."

Aro bobbed his head, looking to the floor. He hadn't wanted to be the one to bring up any prior unpleasantness, but as Caius had, Aro felt secure enough to pry.

With an eye pointedly on the guard masters, Aro said, "I thought they might have brought Odi with them today."

"Odi doesn't belong here, Aro," Caius said sharply.

"That was cold, Caius."

"Odi said so himself," Caius replied with a shrug.

Aro was clearly unimpressed. "Really cold."

"Do you want guards infiltrating your private quarters?" Caius asked the man. "Trust me, brother, it isn't something I would recommend."

"You can't still be pissed about Dora fucking Odi?" Aro whispered, getting to the crux of the matter.

Caius thought back to the very first day he and Dora had spent out of the coven after Halloween. They had planned on finding a feed to fuck before going too far from home, but when it came down to it, Caius just couldn't do it - the fucking or the feeding. Dora, following Freyr's advice, sat her mate down on a hill, deserted for miles around, and attempted to extract some sort of explanation out of her husband to find out what she had done that was so wrong.

"I'm a jealous and possessive man," Caius told her.

"But you're not, Caius," Dora insisted. "Not when it comes to sex. It's just sex! It's always been just sex for us so why are you so bothered about Odi? Why do you care? You didn't care about Carlisle. Why do you care that it was Odi…"

Caius couldn't take the questions any longer, his brain was fried, his heart was in pieces, and he was exhausted by it all, so very tired. As the questions kept coming, as Dora kept asking 'why Odi?' Caius cracked.

"Helios!" he screamed in her face.

"Oh!" Dora gasped, bringing her hands to her face and covering her open mouth. Really?!" she asked from behind her hands. "You mean… Odi… You think of Odi that way?"

"Of course, I bloody did!"

"There's no 'of course' about it, Caius," Dora said, tentatively approaching her mate as he looked close to tears. "You haven't said anything. You haven't shown you care about him."

"Well I did, okay?!" Caius snapped, pulling away from the woman. "Now I don't so it doesn't matter." He turned his back so she couldn't see the traitorous tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Yes, it does matter, love." Dora wrapped her tiny arms around his waist from behind. "Why didn't you tell me? You could have told me even if you didn't want to tell anyone else. You should have told me, Caius."

Caius took an angry swipe at his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. Oh how he hated showing such weakness in front of anyone! Dora wasn't the worst person in the world to see him as he was - Christ knows the states she'd seen in him over the course of their marriage - but he still hated it.

"I wish I had now, obviously," he said. "But now it's too late so fuck it. And fuck him. Oh, you already have!"

"Why do you always do that? Why when you feel bad do you have to lash out at everyone else?" Dora moved around his body until they were face to face. She saw his red rimmed eyes but made no comment on them. "It's not fair. You can't punish me and Odi for doing something we had no reasonable way of knowing you would object to." With a tender touch she stroked his face, collecting the tears from his eyes and wiping them away. "That's ridiculous, love," she said gently.

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Caius said, bobbing his head and doing his damnedest to act macho. "Isn't it ridiculous that I could have thought of that little snake…" the tears suddenly came thick and fast. "As anything other than… than… than the shit on my shoe?!"

"Oh, my love," Dora whispered into his ear as Caius broke down in her arms.

Of course, Caius didn't share that memory with Aro. He simply told him, "I'm not pissed with Dora, no."

"So Odi, then?" Aro pushed. "It's not like you haven't fucked half the guard. Make that more than half the guard. You both have."

Caius turned his body away from Aro and stared into his whiskey glass. "Odi is different," he said quietly, voice thick with emotion.

Aro could see something was going on in Caius' head, but when he reached out to touch his brother in arms, Caius recoiled.

None the wiser, Aro pointed out, "You just said Odi is a guard."

"Stop messing with my head, Aro," Caius snapped before settling into a more reasoned tone. So reasoned, he verged on pleading! "I've had a rough couple of years and its Christmas - be nice to me."

Felix slid up to Caius' side and tutted in his father's direction. "So it's not just me he's picking on, then?"

"Felix, give it a rest, son," Aro told him tiredly. "This is his first Christmas being back in Corin's good grace and I'm not letting him out to play," he explained to Caius, before turning back to his son. "You saw her this morning in the great hall."

"For ten minutes!" Felix exclaimed. "From a distance!" He tried to soften his tone before pleading his case again. "Couldn't Corin come here? Just for an hour?"

"No, son," Aro said, for what must have been the twelfth time that morning. "No guards."

Caius chinked his glass against Aro's. "I'm glad we agree, brother."

"He is different, you know he is," Aro chinked his glass back with Caius', feeling he'd won. "You said so yourself."

"He who?!" Felix asked, annoyed they were getting off topic. "We're talking about Corin."

"Your girlfriend is not coming here unless it's to work," Aro explained to his boy. "You saw her this morning, you will see her tomorrow, IF you behave today."

"Aww Felix," Irina drawled from her self-imposed exclusion at the window. "I'm sure Corin understands that you're too young to play out on Christmas day."

Feeling his temper rising, and his concern - because Felix truly did fear Corin would one day realise he was just some spoilt brat - Felix turned on his heel and returned to the safety of his little brother. Seating himself on the rug by the fire, he was close to the elite women.

Dora leaned over to the boy and pulled him back by his shoulder. "Felix," she called softly. "Corin knows who you are, and she adores you," she told him. "You have nothing to fear. Trust me, women talk," she added with a wink at the kid.

She had broken through the boy's gloom and even made him snort with that wink. "Thanks, Dora."

As Dora released Felix and sat up, she caught Irina's eye, suddenly finding herself locked-in to a staring competition with the girl. Dora knew it was immature, but she simply didn't care. Her eyes could fall out before she would be the first to turn away.

She was just saved from herself when Tanya inadvertently blocked her path and started shouting at her sister!

"Why do you have to be like that?" she snapped at Irina. "Why are you always trying to piss everyone off?"

"Tanya," Carmen called sternly to the girl. "That's enough from you."

Tutting dramatically at the very mild rebuke, which she felt had been coming thick and fast over the last couple of months, Tanya threw up her hands and then landed them on her hips. "But she IS always pissing everyone off!"

Carmen stood and matched the girl's stance. "Once more young lady and we will be having words."

"There will be more than words if I have to get involved, Tanya," Eleazar added. He meant it too, and Tanya knew it. "Sit down, before you lose the ability."

There were quite a few in the room watching with fascination as Tanya actually shot into a chair with an apologetic glance in her guardian's direction. Carlisle, who had spent the last two months with Magnus and Freyr hadn't seen that his brother had developed some sort of control with any of the girls. Neither had Magnus and Freyr, or Caius and Dora. Basileus was damn near bowled over! Aro and Sulpicia looked less surprised, as did their children, being the ones who had witnessed the development in Eleazar and Carmen winning a few rounds against the Denali girls… well, the little two at least.

"Wow!" Caius said, turning to Aro with wide eyes. "When did that happen?"

"He's started stepping up with Tanya," Aro explained quietly. "Even Kate on occasion, though she's golden anyway." Aro called Caius in closer. "I've had my kids tell the girls about how they fared crossing paths with my brother. Increased the fear, a little." Aro shrugged seeing Caius looking less than impressed. You're turning into such a soppy bastard. "It's good for kids to have a little fear," he explained. "It stops them going too far."

Caius wasn't so sure. He'd been a child who lived in constant fear and even suffered similarly as an adult until Magnus took Basileus' place. Shaking the thoughts from his mind, as he was spending too much time in the past on a good day, Caius jutted his chin at Irina. "What about that one?"

Aro shrugged again, that time because he didn't have an answer. "One step at a time, brother."

They ended their conversation abruptly when Carlisle made his way over. He stayed an arm's length way for safety as he spoke to Caius.

"I… erm… didn't have chance to see you before you left…"

Caius looked quizzically between a terrified Carlisle and a vaguely amused Aro. "Why would you need to see me?" he asked the young Volturi brother.

For a moment Carlisle wished he still believed in his God so he could ask the guy for help! "Because of… what happened…"

"Because you fucked my mate?" Caius asked, without an ounce of concern.

If Carlisle had the ability to blush, he would have been ruby red in that moment! "Caius, I'm really sorry," he rushed to say. "I was really drunk, it was the dungeon blood, and the hash… I'm sorry."

Caius raised his hand to hush Carlisle. "It's fine," he told him, honestly.

"Really?" Carlisle asked, wondering if Caius was leading him into a false sense of security. "Eleazar hit the roof about Irina."

"About Irina?" Caius asked. "Not with Irina?"

Subconsciously rubbing the back of his head where Eleazar had clouted him after Halloween, Carlisle nodded. "Definitely about."

Typical, Caius tutted to himself. "What do you want to do about it, Carlisle? Compare notes?"

"No!" Carlisle hurried to say, backing up a step. Somehow, he doubted he would compare to Caius if the stuff Dora had expected was anything to go by!

"You know Dora and I don't have a conventional relationship…" Caius tailed off, chuckling at Carlisle's expression. "It's no big deal."

"But Odi…"

Aro shook his head quickly to his brother who promptly shut his mouth.

"Are you free tomorrow night?" Caius asked, ignoring the comment about Odi completely. "Renata and Corin are coming to mine for drinks, cards," with a smirk, he added, "No dungeon blood, though."

Carlisle's eyebrows shot up to his hair line. "I'm invited?!"

"If you want to come," Caius replied slowly, like he was talking to a child.

Stepping closer, but still unsure, Carlisle asked, "And you're not going to kill me, or anything?"

"I wasn't planning on it," Caius answered, but as Carlisle was clearly worried about the idea, he amended his answer. "No, Carlisle. I won't kill you… or anything."

"I told him you would flay him for fucking Dora," Aro sniggered, watching his brother retreat.

"You're a shit brother, Aro." Caius cursed himself and turned his attentions to refilling their cups. He hadn't meant to sound so abrupt, but brotherly relationships were a tough topic for him.

"Harsh," Aro huffed, bumping his arm into Caius once his glass had been topped up. "So how come Carlisle's no big deal, but Odi is?"

"She's my mate," Caius told him, unable to hide the growl stirring in his chest. "I decide who's a big deal, right?!"

Aro wasn't put off by Caius' warning growl or the rise in volume. "Yes, but why…"

"Just drop it!" Caius snapped, grabbing the attention of the entire room.

Basileus bounded over to the pair of them and at first, Caius feared for himself. He was relieved to see the creator bring his son to heel instead. "He's asked you," he ground out to Aro. "Now I'm telling you, push once more and there will be consequences."

Once his father had moved out of his face, Aro brushed imaginary lint from the shoulder of his coat where Basileus' had grabbed him, smoothing out the front for no other reason than to show how unmoved he was at being reprimanded in front of his entire family.

"Alright," he drawled, like it was no big deal. "Calm down."

"I'm serious, Aro," Basileus told him, no nonsense tone and lifting his cane into the air. He tapped the end against Aro's cheek.

Be warned? Aro thought to his father. Yeah, I get it, Dad.

"So," he began, turning back to Caius and trying so hard to ignore the goon's smirk. "Am I invited to your little get together?"

"Nope." Caius' smirk turned into a bright smile seeing Aro deflate. "It's for Dora's friends, not mine. Felix is invited, if you'll allow him. Corin's coming."

"I'm not sure I want him at one of Dora's parties again."

"It won't get out of hand, I'll even bring him home at a reasonable hour." Eugh, just agree, damnit! "Please," Caius added, quietly.

"Please?!" Aro repeated, high pitched and mockingly. "Fine," he said, seeing Caius becoming irritated. He turned to the room and called to his son. "Felix, you'll be seeing Corin at Caius' tomorrow," he told the boy. "Screw up, and you'll never see her again."

Whilst Felix crowed, Irina brooded…

So, no invite for me? Sounds about right. They were all happy to drink on the money I scored, they must have known I didn't have any - where did they think I was getting it from?! Two faced tossers. They all sit in their ivory towers looking down on me. Wankers. It's not like any of them even missed the money I took. Or the hash. Or the dungeon blood. They have more than they can spend, can smoke, or drink. Of course, prince Felix walks on water so he can do whatever he likes and get away with it. Prick. And now he has…

"Daddy setting up his play dates." Irina stopped breathing. Shit! Did I say that out loud?

"Fuck you!" Felix shot at the girl.

Yup, out loud. Irina turned her attention back to the window and the dark night skies.

"Felix Volturi!"

Sulpicia spoke sharply to her son. Whilst Atia stormed across the room arriving before a suddenly very wary Irina. The girl backed up, pressing her body against the window behind her, eyes never leaving the Volturi's leading lady.

"No, my girl," she said, cool as ice. "There will be no more from you, do you hear me?"

Irina didn't speak, astounded by Atia's reaction to such a simple comment. Tears blurred her eyes for a second time that day, but her mouth stayed clamped shut.

"You will not ignore me, Irina. I asked you a question and I expect an answer." Hands on hips, Atia maintained her eye on the girl. "I suggest you wipe that look off your face, answer me, and apologise to Felix."

Irina averted her glare slightly, so her eyes didn't quite meet Atia's, that was as much as she could do about 'wiping that look off her face'. Speak, damn it! She cursed herself, fearing consequences in a way she never had before. She'd crossed so many lines at Halloween and her position was precarious at best.

That loon is still brandishing his cane like a viper about to strike. Wherever the women are, their men are never far behind. Weak women. All of them so weak that they need defending. She fingered the locket around her neck, her mother. A strong, clever woman. The strongest and cleverest woman, Irina corrected herself. Sasha would back down now and fight tomorrow.

Atia and Basileus heard every word as it ran through Irina's mind. The only thing preventing Basileus from launching for the girl was Atia's thoughts. 'No, my dear', she spoke to him. 'It is not the time for histrionics'.

"Irina…"

"I heard," Irina squeaked out before Atia could say anymore. Glancing to the gawping crowd, she picked out Felix through her blurry eyes and managed a small 'sorry', feeling pathetic.

"Well done," Atia praised the girl, knowing it would have been painful for her. "Now come with me, please."

Irina felt herself being guided from her seat, from her self-imposed exclusion, from safety. Atia was leading her into the lion's den! Even her baby sister frowned as she passed her. Carmen moved along the sofa she'd been sharing with Atia, knowing it was perfectly adequate for three, and Irina was instructed to sit between them.

Carlisle did a sterling job of keeping Dora engaged in conversation, so they could both ignore the elephant in the room. Freyr offered Dora's leg a squeeze, feeling the tension, even if Dora did a good of hiding it. She looked back around the room for Caius, wondering why he hadn't come to his wife's aid. By the time she'd turned back, he was there with Dora, joining in her chat with Carlisle.

The time was, Caius wouldn't have bothered tending to his mate's emotions, and he certainly wouldn't have sat having a chat with Carlisle. Freyr was so proud of him in that moment and she would make sure to tell him so when they found themselves alone.

"Wonderful, Irina," Sulpicia said as the girl reluctantly took her seat, before turning to her boy expectantly. "Is there anything you would like to say?"

Felix huffed dramatically. "But mom, she…"

"If he can't back down on his own," Basileus paused to swish his cane through the air, reminding the boy of his earlier promise to get someone back that evening for his own torture. "Send him over to me."

Felix baulked and quickly put aside any feelings of resentment. "I apologise for my language,"

"Feel free to use Irina for target practice," Eleazar whispered to his father when he approached the bloodwine barrels.

"Irina backed down, El," Magnus pointed out. "She should be praised for that, not punished."

"I wouldn't go that far," Basileus said, face screwed up as though praise was a foreign concept. Still, he wouldn't cane the girl, either.

Eleazar hadn't said a word in response to Magnus. Aro had been commenting on the juggernaut moving up the scales but he had never crossed the Volturi prince before. For a moment, Eleazar simply stood staring at the man trying to work out what to do.

Magnus leaned onto the bloodwine barrel, crossing his legs at his ankles looking entirely relaxed. "If she doesn't get any attention for being good, she'll seek it out by being bad."

"Only if she doesn't fear the type of attention one receives for being bad," Basileus corrected his friend, one eye on his son.

Eleazar stooped low to fill his tankard from the barrel tap. Every chance you get you must remind me how I'm failing at this. At something I never even wanted to do in the first place. You could fucking help…

"How?" Basileus asked, following his son's thoughts. "You want me to be some sort of on call second father thing?"

"The word is grandparent," Magnus said, chuckling to himself. Other people's family dramas were so much more entertaining than his own. "Grandparents help theirs kids with the grandkids, my friend."

Eleazar returned to standing with a tankard full, agreeing with Magnus. I don't know what Aro's talking about - Magnus is fine!

"Happily, son," Basileus smiled. "You let me know the second you start treating that girl as your daughter, and I'll be right behind you being her grandfather. I'm taking my cues from you."

He might have gone on arguing with Eleazar had he not heard Aro across the room.

"Will Odi be invited to your party?"

Caius threw his head back. "Drop it, please?!"

"Aro!" Basileus barked. "Here, now."

"That's Magnus' line," Caius whispered to his friend, then promptly cursing the whiskey for making him so loose lipped. "I've seen him do it with guards, I mean," he added. That didn't sound dodgy at all, did it?!

"Aro!" Basileus repeated. He didn't like repeating himself.

Tutting to Caius and rolling his eyes to the heavens, Aro went to placate his father.

"You appear to be lacking the self-control to leave certain subjects for the dust to settle." Basileus stood from his perch next to Magnus and pushed his boy back a few steps. "So I'm going to offer you an incentive," he said, brandishing his trusting pain inflicting tool of choice.

"Here?!" Aro gasped.

"I warned everyone, son," Basileus shrugged. "I'm not one to suffer alone," he added, a quick glare in Magnus' direction for the 'effort' he'd put in to teaching him a lesson.

Aro had two ways to go - argue like a child or brazen it out. Oh how he wanted to stamp his foot into the floor and wail about the unfairness of his life! But no, Aro would never give in to such a base emotion as fear. At least not with an audience.

"Fairs, fair," he said holding up his palms and shrugging to everyone watching. Of course you'd all be watching. Bastards.

Aro offered his hand, expecting his father would take a lazy swipe at it for effect and he could go back to his Christmas drink. Perhaps he'd already had a little too much whiskey? He must have done, or Aro would have remembered how Basileus hated to be thought of as predictable…

Crack!

Aro went up on his tiptoes, mortified by the surprised yelp that had escaped his lips before he'd realised what was going on. You bastard! he cursed, jumping out the way before the cane could find his legs again.

"One's enough, thanks," he snapped, adding a 'fuck you' to his big brother who was taking far too much enjoyment from his misery.

"One is enough, I agree, Aro is needed here," Atia called over to her mate. "Eleazar, too."

The four men at the bloodwine barrels looked over to see both Jane and Tanya ignoring their mothers' direction to cease and desist with the teasing. They had taken over Irina's jibing at Felix who looked set to blow at the giggling girls.

"Felix, calm son," Aro called, flashing to his eldest, knowing he was the biggest risk.

"Tell them, then!" he ground out, speaking through gritted teeth.

And then he started to laugh! In fact, everyone started laughing. Hysterical laughter that they seemed incapable of restraining and with no obvious cause.

"Is that your doing, my friend?" Basileus asked the juggernaut.

"I don't want to see the young ones in trouble on Christmas Day," he shrugged, keeping up his hold on the room.

Basileus couldn't disagree with that. He quite enjoyed seeing his whole family laughing together, even Irina joined in, not that she had a choice. He wondered if there would ever be a day where they would all laugh like that by their own volition. One day, he told himself.

Magnus withdrew his powers and they all returned to normalcy, Irina returned to her scowl, Felix returned to his frustration, but the ferocity had gone.

"You pair," Aro said, jabbing a finger at Jane and Tanya. "Quit your games, got it?"

Jane smiled lovingly at her father, side swiping his annoyance as usual. "Of course," she said, sweetness and light. Tanya nodded along with her.

"And you," Aro turned to his son. "If you want to go to Dora's party tomorrow, you had better get a hold of yourself."

Felix bobbed his head, scuffing his foot on the floor, trying for the sweet and innocent look Jane had used. Aro merely rolled his eyes. You can't fool me, boy, he thought.

No, Aro, only Jane can fool you!

Basileus turned to Magnus, clearly concerned. "I'm not sure about this party Caius has arranged."

"Neither am I," Magnus admitted. "But I'm proud of him for doing it."

Soft as shit, Basileus said to himself.

"I don't need your gift to read your mind, my friend," Magnus chuckled. "I'll keep an ear on things, don't worry."

That was as much as Basileus could ask for, he supposed. Something else was on his mind anyway. "I've been meaning to ask you," he said, creeping a little for information. "How did you get on with Renata and Corin after Halloween?"

Magnus exhaled dramatically, shaking his head as though he wished he hadn't been reminded. "Corin was fine - shes young and I'm old enough to be her father, that helps." Again, with the shaking head, but it clearly wasn't over Corin. "Besides, it wasn't our first dance. Renata, however…"

That's what the shaking is for, Basileus guessed.

"She was a struggle," Magnus finished.

"She was resistant?"

"They are all a little resistant, Basileus," Magnus told him with an eye roll. As you would know if you if you involved yourself disciplining the women in this place! "But no, it was awkward… because… I don't want to tell you."

Hmmm, Basileus thought, seeing the immediate difference in his friend. "Well now you have to tell me, or I'll go looking for it myself."

Magnus scrubbed a hand down his face, he really didn't want to have to talk about it. "I know how much she fancies me," he offered, hoping Basileus could use his imagination to fill in the rest.

Of course, he wouldn't do that and give Magnus a way out!

"Oh, here we go, God's gift is in the room!" Basileus boomed. It was a common playful argument between the two of them over who was most appealing. "You know I'm an actual god, right?"

"Half a god, at best," Magnus pointed out, returning the dead arm Basileus had given him. "I'm serious, though," he continued. "It was awkward… it went somewhere… very awkward."

"Huh?"

"Are you really this clueless or are you winding me up?!"

Basileus just looked confused.

Oh! Really that clueless! Magnus leaned in close and whispered - he did not want anyone else to hear what he was about to say. "She enjoyed it."

"Oh!" Basileus couldn't say any more than that, as he promptly fell about in hysterics!

"Yeah," Magnus groaned. "How funny, huh?" he added with little humour. "I'm an empath, too, don't forget so…"

"So, you felt it, too?!" Basileus spluttered out. "Oh my… erm…" more laughing, such a sympathetic friend! "How far did it go?" he asked, suggestively.

"Not that far!" Magnus told him, offering the man another punch in the arm for being a cock. "But I felt what she was feeling and I 'reacted' before I could stop myself…"

Not that it was needed - even Basileus' imagination was good enough to guess how Magnus reacted - but Magnus gestured to his dick anyway which saw Basileus slip off the bloodwine barrel as he howled!

"I wanted to run out of her dorm, but I couldn't… I had to wait for… certain things to settle down first."

"Brilliant!" Basileus spluttered.

"It was mortifying," Magnus hissed, pulling the man to perch back on the barrels and draw less attention to their conversation. "We haven't been able to look at each other since."

"Well you have given me a very good reason for never dealing with the women, my friend."

"Shut up, will you?!" Magnus hissed again, begging the creator to quieten down. "It's embarrassing!"

Basileus didn't care at that point, he was revelling in the moment and on he went. "I'm going to be sending them all to you from now on."

"I knew I shouldn't have told you." Magnus huffed but he couldn't help the smile spreading on his face. He hadn't laughed at the time, but he could see the funny side.

"Sully and Carmen are quite taken with you, aren't they? That's what you're always telling me."

Magnus should have known that such gloating would come back to bite him.

"I think I'll send them your way the next time one of them speak out of turn!" Basileus doubled up again, hoping he could find an excuse sometime soon.

"You aren't funny!" Magnus levelled another thump in Basileus' arm - not that he noticed.

"What a Christmas gift this is, my friend," he crowed. "Does Atia know? Surely Freyr would have told her?"

"I swore Freyr to secrecy," Magnus said confidently, before adding, because his knew his wife well, "So I would say that means Atia knows, yes."

Basileus flashed to his mate and the shield maiden, both bewildered to have the man suddenly appear before them.

"My ladies, I must steal you away. We need to leave," he said, taking the goblets from their hands and pulling them to their feet.

"Whatever is the matter with you?!" Atia asked, looking between an oddly hyperactive Basileus and less than impressed Magnus.

"Oh," Freyr said knowingly. "He told you?"

Basileus' eyes danced with glee. "Oh yes!" He turned to Marcus, beckoning the man to follow as he ushered the women out of the door. "Marcus, you're going to love this!" he called over his shoulder. "We've done the family thing, I think it's time to do our own thing - retire to my chambers for Christmas drinks and spend the evening mocking Magnus."

"Bastard. Utter bastard." Magnus followed behind, chuckling lightly to himself and ignoring the questions coming from the rest of the room. "You're the worst friends in the world!"