Eliza woke up on the couch, dazed and confused. Had she passed out, again? But she hadn't even twisted time again...She rose slowly, before a hand pressed down on her chest, curling her body further into his. Caius smiled ferally down at her, causing her to realize she had made a bed on his body, she shivered. Eliza smiled sheepishly, her head and upper torso were resting on his thighs and stomach, or rather his abs. His suit was a soft cotton, comfortable against her cheek, so she stilled, looking up at him for a long moment. "Did I pass out again? What time is it?" His hand stroked up and down her side, teasing and ghosting over her skin, distracting her from her own questions.
"It's one in the afternoon, I assume you are going to meet with your sister soon?" His voice was cool, level. It surprised her, she was waiting for them to hunker down, demand she never leave their side again.
"Yes, I suppose I should…" She kept waiting for a caveat, but he simply stared down at her, fingers wandering.
"Or you could stay here...with me." Desire, overwhelming with heat, suddenly washed over her, causing her to reach up her hand, pulling Caius down closer to her level as she caught his lips with her own, a soft kiss he quickly turned into a clash of tongue and seat. He pulled her upwards, into a sitting position on his lap, his fingers bruising her sides as he pushed her flush against his torso. Eliza pushed him away after her head began to spin, she had run out of air. She huffed a few breathes, shielding herself with her hair so she did not have to look at him, though a part of her felt like he simply leaned back and grinned, a lion with his prey submitting before him.
She ducked her chin, unsure of what came over her. "Sorry…" Eliza blushed and went to move off of his lap, realizing just then that she was sitting on him. His hands squeezed ever so slightly on her hips, keeping her in place. He lifted his dominant hand and brushed her hair lightly away from her face, looking ever so pleased.
"I knew you would yield to me first." He breathed huskily, moving to lift her shirt off of her form. She leaned back allowing him to remove the cloth before moving to make quick work of his. Under his suite was an undershirt, but just as she moved to remove it, Aro called her name.
"Elizabeth, Elizabeth…" His hand appeared on her shoulder, shaking her slightly. She opened her eyes and gasped, finding the three brothers looking over her, Aro frowning, green in the eyes. His fingers dipped onto the exposed expanse of her shoulder, he had seen her dream. Her dreams had been strange lately, centered around a man of ice and a woman of fire, so dreaming of Caius was a welcome relief, though not when Aro was aware of it.
"What is it brother, see something you shouldn't have?" Marcus asked, noting Aro's sulking form. Eliza blushed scarlet, gaining the attention of Caius and Marcus, while Aro simply lifted her to a seated position and stepped back.
"It's just because his scent is littered in the room, she's drunk on it." Aro sniffed, causing Caius to grin. The blond stepped forward, taking Eliza's chin in his palm and tilting it so she was forced to look at him.
"What have you been dreaming about, my dear Eliza?" His words were a purr and she melted slightly at the familiar use of her name. Caius flashed his teeth, preening before Aro and Marcus, who both allowed him to have his moment, a fleeting second at best.
"I need to go, Tory is probably worried sick by now." Eliza changed the subject. She shuffled off of the couch straightening her wrinkled clothes. Just like in her dream, she waited a beat for them to contradict her, but the silence stretched. She combed her fingers through her hair, fidgeting her way towards a lone mirror hanging from the wall, encased in sturdy, carved wood. Eliza mused it was worth more than her student loans, with it's finely sketched details. Her hair was mussed from laying down, makeup on her cheek smudged away, she was a hot mess. Eliza found her purse perched by the door, and opened it to reveal a full sized hair brush and small compact full of makeup. 'Always be prepared, you never know who you might run into' Her mother always cautioned, Eliza could not remember the last time Bayak had left her home without at least mascara on, always worried about what others might think.
She ran her brush across her scalp, down in broad motions as she detangled it, smiling with amusement at the shocked looks across her mates' faces. It still felt strange to identify them as such, but it was slowly sinking into her subconscious, blossoming into a comfort she had not known she needed.
"She's going to tear her hair out of her scalp!" Aro whispered scandalously to his brothers before flocking to her side, "My dear, work out the knots from the ends first!" Eliza laughed, realizing for the first time that all three men had longer hair than most, a sign of their age, no doubt. Aro frisked the brush from her hands and began to brush her hair with a childish gentleness, Eliza sighed in pleasure. Sam had called her a cat once, content to be pet and pampered.
"It seems Caius is not the only one with a weakness for affection." Marcus teased dryly, causing Caius to shove him a tad harshly.
Eliza, reclining back on Aro slightly, watched with hooded eyes. "You're like children." She drawled, "How old are you all anyways?" The smile fell from her face when no one answered, the silence deafening.
"I forget." Marcus says with brutal honesty, "I remember how proud the romans were at the creation of their twelve month calendar, but so many civilizations track their time differently, one can hardly give a definite date."
"Damn." Eliza mumbled, feeling foolish that a part of her was curious about their astrological sign. Tory had never let her live it down, using someone's sign as an excuse for their behavior. She had marginalized fights between she and Sam, blaming it on Mercury being in retrograde, or the fact that she chose to date a Gemini (Gemini and Leos rarely lasted, apparently, they burned too brightly). Time was such a finite thing to her, everything mattered about it, the day and year she was born connecting to some grander definition of purpose in the world, a confirmation of the importance of her existence. "I never thought I would be so attracted to older men." They surprised her by laughing genuinely, pleased with her sharp tongue. Eliza blushed, if they thought her witty they should see her not sober, her wagging tongue had gotten her into trouble before.
"So you admit your attraction." Aro purred, causing her to laugh. She pulled a compact of face powder out, dabbing it lightly over each of her cheeks before placing the items back in her purse.
Eliza pursed her lips as she glanced between the three men before her, weighing her words. "I've always wanted to be a teacher. Growing up, I made my younger siblings and cousins play school house and I love working with kids even as an adult, I got offered the teaching position in Italy before Sam passed and I jumped for it at the time. I had moved home for the summer to figure out my future while Sam got a job straight out of college in Seattle, a temp position that was going to be over right when my position started. It was an adventure, this big opportunity, but now I find myself in a foreign country with a language I don't speak, with a sister who was supposed to stay a week, but now I fear she's going to either drag me back to La Push or call our mother and have her do it for her." Eliza did not realize she was crying until Marcus stood in front of her, wiping a stray tear. She always was a bleeding heart. "And the worst part is I have genuine feelings for three men, when I just buried my fucking fiancé less than two weeks ago! Like, how shitty of a person am I?" She was sobbing all at once, taking heaving breaths. Everything came crashing down at once, catching up with her.
Caius stood back, at a loss while Marcus shushed their mate, cradling her in his arms, Aro simply placing his palm against her wrist, eyes fluttering as he read her jumbled thoughts. Guilt, heavy and dreaded, slammed into him, morphing his face into one of sorrow. "Oh, piccola…"
Eliza allowed herself a moment of weakness, breaking down and crying for a few long beats. When her heart no longer pounded for the injustices of time, she pulled away from Marcus's arms and barked out a laugh, "Well, there goes my makeup." She drug her wrist across her eyes and frowned, embarrassed by her own humanity. "I'm sorry, I should go." Eliza walked two steps forward before Caius surprised her by wrapping his arm around her waist, as if to escort her. He moved her towards an impressive wardrobe, removing a long, woolen coat of jet black and placing it about her shoulders, weaving her arms through before buttoning the top button as if she were a child.
"The weather this time of year is unpredictable, it can get cold for humans." He did not seemed completely satisfied and moved to look out the window, clouds were gathering to make a storm, perhaps it might even rain, Caius smiled. "Let me walk you to your lunch, I will leave you will your sister. You can join us again this evening for supper."
Eliza smiled brightly, only her grandmother called dinner: supper, her heart ached slightly to return to the home she had only recently left, if just for a moment. "Alright, but I wouldn't recommend trying to butter her up." She glanced about conspiratorially, as if about to share a secret, "She can be quite the bitch, but I love her to death."
The brothers laughed, pleased that their mate was snarky at times, even when the humor was to cover up her own insecurities. She would do well with the politics of other covens.
~DoD~DoD~DoD~DoD~DoD~DoD~DoD~
Tory had given the waitress a fist full of European bills, she was not sure how much it translated to in American currency, but it was enough to score her a seat in the most open part of the outdoor seating area, a single dash of sun coming down on her scalp. When she had arrived, the warmth of the sun beat down heavily, but as time wore on the clouds descended. It would take five hours at most for Doctor Cullen and wife to arrive, it had already been nearly four, she could do this. Tory reasoned to herself that if Eliza wanted to leave, they would have to let her go. How was it Seth had described imprinting? Like all the joy in the world would turn to ash if he could not share it with her. Surely, a vampire mating bond was similar? Her thoughts were assumptions that vampires and werewolves responded to bonds in the same way, though she had no way to know for sure.
Tory scanned the crowds of people, it was a weekday so it was not too filled, but a mix of locals and straggling tourists remained, lunching and exploring. She tried to remember what Eliza was wearing that morning: a razorback, loose shirt with a pair of leggings and her favorite grey boots. Yet scanning the crowd, it was a shock of blonde hair that caught her eye, as well as the way people seemed to instinctually give the pair walking a wide berth. She struggled to breathe, across the path was Elizabeth, walking arm and arm with a Volturi King, half melted into his embrace. Caius looked like a strutting peacock, nose in the air as he whispered to his companion, something funny by the way her face lit up with a laugh, brighter than Tory had seen on her in a long while. He was bundled far more than the temperature required, long button up shirt with leather gloves and slacks, covering as much skin as possible without drawing too much attention.
He stayed just outside of the line ray of light, letting Elizabeth bask in it instead, her hair like a halo around her face, cheeks rosy. Why did she look so happy? Where was her grieving, despondent elder sister? And why around the blond, wasn't the brunette her mate?
"Hey Tory." There was a nervous quiver in her voice, her smile slightly tight. Eliza slipped her hand down to where Caius's rested on her waist, giving it a slight squeeze before detaching herself from him. "I'll see you later, okay?" Eliza looked like a teenager at the end of a first date, ready to run inside for giggles and gossip.
"Of course." Caius replied, as if it were obvious. He flashed a glance at Tory before kissing Eliza on the cheek, barely catching the corner of her mouth. When he walked away, Eliza's eyes followed him until his figure faded, a hint of longing shadowing her face.
"You're not coming home with me, are you?" Tory blurted, holding back tears. Any hopes of grabbing Eliza's hand and running, running until they were back in Washington, safe from the world in their grandmother's kitchen. "If they really care about you, they would let you go."
Eliza half collapses into the chair across from her sister, sighing heavily. "I am not a kept woman of any kind." Her temper flared at the insinuation, though she knew it was not meant that way. "Would you run away from Seth?"
"Seth and I have been together since we were seventeen!" Victorya barked defensively, narrowing her eyes. They had spent years together, when Seth finishes the Fire Fighter program, they were planning on moving in together, maybe settle down and raise a family after Tory finished school.
"And do you think he had the guts to ask you out before the mating bond?" Eliza challenged, her anger making her rash, she added, "Of course not, even then he still came to me to ask for help!"
Tory glared at her sister, she had long suspected Seth had help planning his proposal to ask her to prom. She had assumed Jake helped him, what with him playing her favorite song at that age, both humiliated that The Backstreet Boys was blasting outside of her window and flattered that Seth was waiting below the pane of glass, with roses and a giant sign that read rather corny-like, "You are my fire, taking you to prom is my one desire. Say yes?"
"That's different." Tory ground out, crossing her arms with a huff. "Seth is alive, not our oldest enemy!" The moment the words slip from her mouth, she knew she had made a mistake. Eliza looked like she wanted to hit Tory, her fingers twitching as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Thanks, Tor, I really appreciate your love and support." Eliza glared, standing up so quickly her chair rattled, nearly falling over, "You know, I expected this from mom, maybe even from Louis, but not you." She had gotten earfuls from both her mother and her brother about how Seth and his family had spent Christmas with Charlie Swan and his daughter Bella, rather than with on the Reservation, because apparently they were too close to vampires. The thought of Seth fraternising with the enemy had been shoved onto Tory, who now would have to deal with her sister dating a vampire, perhaps even turning into one!
"Elizabeth." She huffed, standing from her seat. "This is nuts, you can't just drop everything to run off with some hot guy just because your girlfriend died!"
The temperature around them dropped so quickly people glanced about, as if a breeze had cut through the open pavilion. Eliza's hands quivered, for a moment Tory thought she saw her sister's fingernails turn blue, but the elder curled her hands into fists before she got a better look. Elizabeth opened her mouth as if to say something, but the snarl died in her throat and she simply sneered at her sister before moving to walk away. Tory grabbed her wrist, the salmon totem seemed to glow a vibrant white, warm to the touch. Elizabeth snatched her hand away, leaving the wooden charm threaded through her sister's fingers.
Tory moved to return it, but Eliza glared hotly at her. "Take it, I know how jealous you were when you saw it, I'm not sure why, you'll always be mother's favorite." The sisters had always fought over that fact, that Bayak seemed harsher on Eliza than Tory, while Peter coddled Eliza because he felt he could not be her father in any form if he was rude, but with his own child he could scold and pester as much as he desired. "I wouldn't be surprised if that position is cemented once you inform her of my choice to remain in Volterra for a good, long while." Eliza was purposely vague, refusing to give a definite date.
"You know what this means, right?" Tory did not want to say what was hanging between them, a valley of silent threats. "Jake nearly lost everything when he sided with Bella over the pack." Sam had arrived at the Black home with rage in his heart, thinking that if anyone could convince the Clearwater siblings to return, it would be Tory, but she had refused, claiming Switzerland, neutrality.
"And people actually saw Jacob as one of them, so I'm screwed either way." Eliza replied, voice tense. Tory sighed in exasperation, shifting her weight from one foot to another, unsteady, unsure. "And you won't accept me anyways, is that it?"
Tory frowned, "Look, I get you need to figure this out, but can't you come home for a while too?" She looked about to cry, Eliza stilled.
"Will I be welcome at home?" It was like coming out all over again, only this time her mother would actually react. When she told her mom she liked girls as much as boys, Bayak had placed her hands on her hips and said, "yes, and?" As if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Would she react the same if she brought three men home, three vampires? Her world seemed to crumble around her, but her mind warned her that there was no future before her that resisted the mate bond, the feeling of completion.
"Come home," Tory begged, "Even if mom is mad, dad will want you at home." She pressed her hands into Eliza's, attempting once more to give her the salmon, the blue receding from her nails at the touch of the wood.
Eliza withdrew from her sister, sighing heavily. "For Christmas." She promised, it always was her favorite holiday, with lit fires and snow. Tory nodded, feigning the smallest smile.
"I'll see you soon, okay?" Tory, too, is purposely vague in her timeline, though it seems a more more recent soon than Eliza had meant with hers. The two sisters parted ways, the younger whispering a prayer to the totem in her palm, the elder compartmentalizing her thoughts.
Unbeknownst to either sister, a vampire trailed them. Demitri shadowing one sister, Felix the other. Demitri watched as Eliza placed her headphones in and wandered the city, slipping in and out of shops and even lurking through a museum, always smiling when someone spoke to her, but remained neutral otherwise. Her mind was easy to trace, booming with a musical quality. Felix had a much easier, more interesting route, as he followed Tory to the airport, where she shook hands with Carlisle and hugged Esme stiffly as they inquired after Seth and his family.
Both men would report to their kings, their masters, of course.
A/N: So I had a glass or two of liquor for St. Patty's day and Eliza's dream was born haha. Next chapter will have a cliff-hanger ending, just warning you. But that also means we're coming up on our first big plot point! Yay, haha