Author's Note
I do not own Twilight.
They disposed of the begger amongst the sands and followed Amut out to some ancient, abandoned looking hut. There was no smell of his coven, which said they weren't here. Amut showed them inside and then stopped to look about outside.
"You came alone."
Alec tugged at the collar of his bloodsplattered shirt. "We came in peace. We want to join your coven."
Amut goggled at them for a long moment and then reached for something at his waist, spinning to the door. When nothing sprang through it he turned back to them. "You're serious."
Jane curled her upper lip. "We're always serious."
"Of course. But surely— The Volturi are going to come looking for you."
Alec snarled softly. "Let them."
They stayed in the hut for a week while Amut evaluated their honesty. They could hardly blame him. They had served the Volturi for hundreds of years, killed on the orders of the Three Kings.
"Crawled on the hems of their cloaks," Jane spat when Amut quizzed them about it.
At last he took them back with him to a large, glistening white villa nestled in a small valley amongst the sands. They looked about themselves with dim interest as he led them inside.
"You're lucky you came when you did," Amut told them as he showed them around. "We've been making preparations to move soon. Ah, here, you may have this room."
The room in question was large, with two double beds in case they wanted to pretend to sleep, an empty wardrobe, and a large, full length mirror. Upon looking in it, they both looked a mess.
"You are welcome to take a bath and clean yourselves up."
"Thank you."
It was a strange new home. Amut wasn't quite what they had envisioned as a new father for themselves, and his mate, Kebi, was like a ghost. She barely spoke, except to Amut, and seemed continuously uneasy around the two of them.
Benjamin and his mate Tia, however, were like a breath of fresh air compared to the listless, lifelessness of the Volturi. There was a childishness to him and a kindness to her, even with her quiet demeanour. He turned the swimming pool into a waterfall and changed the landscape of the garden daily. Jane and Alec played hide and seek with him amongst a hedge maze of his own creation. He cheated of course. But it showed a gentleness to him, a softer edge they hadn't seen in…
How long had it been since they saw something like that?
They giggled as they laid together amongst the sand.
"Amut so little allows people over," Benjamin said, spinning a tornado of sand above his palm. "He only thinks to protect me, but it does get lonely. I'm glad you came."
Jane smiled. "So are we."
"You should be careful," Tia said suddenly.
"We're always careful."
Tia rolled onto her stomach and eyed them from Benjamin's other side. "Amut fears the Volturi. If they come, he will hand you over if it means he can live."
That was something they had never considered.
"It won't come to that," said Benjamin.
Childish optimism.