Demetri
I take a deep breath to prepare myself, trying to bring only the things I want to share with Aro to the front of my mind, silently praying he won't ask to see anything. The task ahead of me starts to feel impossible. But I have to succeed. Otherwise, I can't even think about what could happen to Alexa. I take once last breath to centre myself, and knock on Aro's door.
"Come in." I here him say. I open the door and enter his quarters. He's sitting in his usual chair, lording over the whole room as if it were a throne.
"You're late. Poor Alexa will be wracked with worry." Aro smirks.
"There was a storm. All the flights were grounded. I figured waiting it out would be faster than trying to swim across the ocean." I reply, attempting to keep all emotion out of my voice.
"You seem nervous, Demetri. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were a virgin." Aro laughs. His genuine ease with the situation only stokes my anger further.
"No, but Alexa is." I tell him, trying very hard not to let my disgust show.
"She'll learn." Aro says, smiling as if he's won the lottery. He's been waiting for this day for six years. I've been dreading it for just as long. "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"
"I'm just concerned for her safety." I say with as much diplomacy as I can muster.
"Her safety?"
"She's still not fully grown. Perhaps we should wait a few years. Until we're sure she can handle it." I suggest before I can stop myself. If he agrees, the whole plan is blown. But if he doesn't, it's further proof that he has no regard for his own daughter's welfare.
"When we were young and foolish and human, it was how things were done. A young woman would be married off as soon as she was fit to bear a child. It is the nature of things. And who are we to question human biology?" Aro replied, as if there was nothing he could do to stop this.
"Forgive me. I didn't mean to question nature, or you. As a young man I watched many young women die while bringing children into this world." I respond. The image of a featureless young woman suddenly appears in my mind, she's dying in a bed as she struggles to push my child out of her. Truthfully, I can't quite picture Alexa. I have no idea what she looks like now.
"You worry too much Demetri. You forget, she's not human. She's half vampire. She's half me. She's strong enough. The question is, are you?" He asks. There's a threat in his voice. He knows I'm aware of the implication. He considers the task ahead to be a favour he's bestowing upon me. One he could easily bestow upon Felix, who I fear would break her in half, or worse, Alec. I shudder just thinking of what havoc Alec could wreak.
"Yes, Sir. I won't let you down." I reply, swallowing my disgust.
"Good. She's waiting for you, in the tower on the northwestern outskirts of town." Aro smiles.
"I won't make her wait any longer." I respond, more than ready to be anywhere but here.
"Wait." Aro commands, stopping me in my tracks. "Before you go, you haven't yet regaled me with the details of your mission." He holds his hand out. I know he doesn't intend for me to tell him anything. I push the scene to the front of my mind. Me tracking the human, her begging for her life, me taking it anyway. I take Aro's hand and watch his eyes glaze over. He smiles. It must be working. But as soon as I've finished reliving my most recent kill, the image enters my mind again. The young woman, who might as well be Alexa, dying because of my child, because of me. Aro quickly throws my hand away from his.
"Well that was macabre." He scolds. "Have more faith, and don't make me question my faith in you."
"I won't Sir." I say, secretly grateful that the image had been enough to turn him away, to stop him from digging deeper.
"Now, go make me a grandfather." He smiles and claps as I swallow the bile that rises in my throat. I turn to leave. "And Demetri?" He adds, stopping me where I stand. "Don't feel you have to surface any time soon. Make certain you get the job done."
"Yes Sir." I say, now racing towards the door as fast as I can, before he can add anything else. While his last statement is most disturbing, it at least buys me some time. He won't be looking for either of us for at least a few days. But he has eyes all over the city. I can't become overly confident. There are still so many places this could all fall apart. But I can't let it. I can't let anything happen to her.
I don't stop in my own quarters, even though I know I'm unlikely to ever see them again. What few things of sentiment I own I brought with me to North America. They're safely waiting in Forks for our arrival. Hopefully we would safely be waiting in Forks soon too.
I pull my hood up as I exit the place I've called home for centuries. Luckily the sky is full of clouds, shielding my supernatural identity from any passers-by, it would make walking through the centre of town much less conspicuous. Edward and Bella were there waiting. I tuned into the unique tenor of Edward's mind, making sure I would pass close enough that he could pick up my thoughts. As I near him and Bella's hiding place I begin to broadcast Alexa's location through my brainwaves, so they can follow at a safe distance. I have to trust in our abilities. There's no looking back, no second guessing, all must go according to plan. I can feel my insides begin to knot. What if I've missed them. What if he hasn't heard me? But I can't look back. I can't draw any attention. I must appear to be just a man with a simple mission. An abhorrent one. But a simple one.
I see the tower in the distance. This is it. This is where Alexa has spent her entire life. As I approach, I notice there's no one if front of it. Aro practically has an entire army of vampires guarding his wife's tower most days. But Alexa isn't his wife. She's just his daughter, which apparently means nothing to him. As I stand in front of the door, I notice there's no handle. Why would there need to be? This tower hasn't been empty for six years. I knock on the door. A human male answers. I suppose he would be intimidating to other humans. But I guess that's enough. There are only two vampires in the world aware of what this tower protects, aware of the very existence of its chief inhabitant. At least, that was the case until yesterday.
"You must be Demetri." The human states.
"I am." I reply.
"We've been waiting for you." He says. "She's upstairs. Obviously."
"Do you think," I start, trying to turn on the charm that normally comes so naturally to me. "Maybe you could give us a bit of privacy?"
"That wasn't in Aro's instructions." He tells me.
"No, I suppose it wasn't. But I'm certain you could use a break. Surely if you've been waiting for me all this time, you must be tired. But I'm here now." I smile, turning up the charm.
"I just started my shift a few hours ago actually. They told me you were supposed to arrive yesterday." He retorts.
"Right, sorry about that. I can't control the weather. How long exactly is your shift?" I ask.
"Twenty-four hours. Why?" He responds, my charm seemingly having no effect on him.
"And will it be just you?" I say, shooting him my most charming smile.
"Why?" He repeats. Clearly it's time for another a tactic, one I had hoped I wouldn't have to take.
"Well you know why I'm here right? It's just, things may get a bit… loud. They usually do when I'm involved. I can't help it. But I'm nothing if not a gentlemen, and I'd prefer not to have an audience. Or at least, not a big one. You know what I mean right?" I nudge his arm, winking. I see him soften. Of course that worked. Human men tend to be the lowest common denominator amongst beings capable of higher thought.
"Yeah, it's just me." He laughs, smiling smugly.
"That's good to hear. And uhh, if you do need a break, don't worry, I won't tell." I wink. Unfortunately, in order to get the information I needed, I had said the one thing that will pretty much ensure he'll be glued to his post.
I turn, heading up the narrow spiral staircase of the tower. When I get to the room at the top I see the two human women, barely more than girls, waiting outside the door. These must be Giulia and Alessandra.
"Ladies." I smile, my charm working almost immediately.
"She's been waiting for you." One of them giggles.
"So I hear. I won't keep her waiting much longer. But I was wondering if you two could maybe give us a bit of privacy. It wouldn't be proper, you waiting out here."
"Of course." The other one sighs.
"Good. Go out to lunch, make a day of it. You've earned it." I flash them the smile again.
"I guess we have, haven't we?" The first one says, returning my smile.
"Absolutely. Stay out as long as you'd like. She's in capable hands." I wink. The two girls then start to giggle, making their way down the stairs together. I take a deep breath, turning towards her door. No amount of time will prepare me for this. And time is something I don't have. Without further hesitation I knock. Just once and it's flying open to reveal her on the other side. My Alexa. She's not what I've been picturing at all. She's older. More beautiful than I could have ever imagined. For once in my life I'm speechless.
"Metri." She says, the most enchanting smile lighting up her face. It's not a question. She knows instinctively who I am. "I knew I remembered your face." She continues to smile, as we stare at each other for a few moments longer. "Oh dear, where are my manners, please come in." She offers, moving aside to let me into her bedroom. I enter, looking around the room at her belongings, worried that if I look into her eyes again I will just stare all day. She has her mother's eyes.
"I'm sorry I don't really know what to say." She admits, I turn to her again, seeing a blush spread across her cheeks. She's so human looking. But better. More like an angel. Certainly not a monster.
"You don't have to say anything." I reply, finding my voice for the first time. I smile, not my usual charming smile. I don't want to manipulate her. I just want her to know I'm happy, genuinely happy.
"Can I ask what happens now? Because the girls tried to explain it to me, but I don't really understand, and they said it might hurt. And I haven't really experienced pain before, except for last week when I bled, and that was awful, and I guess I'm just scared because—" She rambles.
"Shh." I cut her off, taking her face in my hands, stroking her cheek with my thumb.
"You have no reason to be afraid. I'll never hurt you." I assure her.
"I know." She says, looking into my eyes. She does know. She trusts me unconditionally. And that makes me nervous.
"What happens now is we get out of here." I tell her.
"What?" She asks, confused.
"We need to get you away from here, as fast as possible." I explain.
"That's not what the girls told me." She replies.
"What they told you is not what is going to happen." I state.
"Ever?" She asks, a look of slight disappointment colouring her features.
"That's a discussion for another day. Right now, we need to leave." I say.
"Right now?" She questions. I tune into Edward's location. He's just moments away.
"Yes. Is there anything you'd like to bring with you? You won't be coming back." I tell her.
"Just one thing." She says, reaching under her bed and picking up a small box. "This is the only thing I have of value." She explains.
"Let's go." I say, taking her hand and running down the stairs. We get to the bottom just as I sense Edward outside the door. The guard looks less than pleased.
"What's going on?" He asks, making it clear that he's not going to tolerate whatever it is we have planned. Alexa looks like a deer in headlights.
"Alexa, I need you to go ahead, there are two people outside that door. They're friends. We can trust them." I tell her, not taking my eyes off the guard.
"She's not going anywhere." He says, moving to block the door. I grab him by the shoulders. And pin him against the wall. Ordinarily it would be the throat, but I can tell poor Lexa is already frightened enough as it is.
"Alexa, go." I say, leaving no room for argument. As soon as I hear the door open and close, I glance back, making certain she's no longer here to witness this. "You should have taken that break while you had the chance." I warn him, quickly snapping his neck, sparing him from a painful death. I hope when he's discovered, it might look as if a human killed him. But I know Aro is smarter than that. He'll know I've betrayed him. We don't have any time to waste. I quickly leave, closing the door behind me.
As I step out into the fresh air, I notice the clouds have broken. And I witness the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my thousand plus years on earth. Standing there, in the sunlight, I see Alexa glowing.