~ Twelfth Night ~

Hours had passed since the revelation of my purpose. Mircea's Bride.

I stared numbly out of my tower window, my bedroom chamber no longer offering me the solace it once had, as grudgingly I turned, gazing around at the four walls I had come to know with reverence, and finally saw them for what they were, my tomb.

I am never going to leave here. It was all a pretence. Father...

I stormed away from the window, fresh new sobs breaking through my lips at the thought of him. How could he have discarded me so easily? Did he not love me? I thought back to how he had been on that day, the day they had come to take me, and I found I could barely remember his words. We had only been allowed the smallest of goodbyes. I had cried, but he had told me that I had to be strong, that the sacrifice I was making was for our people, and that we would see each other soon.

Why hadn't he told me the truth? Did he believe, that if I had known, I would have refused? That I would have allowed them to destroy Bram, in order to spare my own life?

I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration, my hands itching to tear something, anything, apart. Father had thought so little of me, and yet had he just asked, I would have gladly offered my life in exchange for my brother's. I loved Bram, I loved him like a mother would a son. He had always been the weakest of us, often sickly, and needing care, and with our own real mother lost, he had only me to turn to. I would have done anything for him, had it meant keeping him safe.

It wouldn't have mattered. Mircea would have taken me, whether Father had given him his consent, or not, and likely have killed Bram too. Maybe Father knew this, maybe he was trying to spare me at least some of the horrors. Even so...

"Why couldn't you have just told me the truth?" I sobbed to myself. "Would it really have been so hard?"

Growling brokenly, I threw my hand blindly at a clay vase of flowers. The pottery smashed loudly against the stone floor, scattering the petals into a chaotic display of undiluted rage. I sighed.

"I see we both share a dislike for Carnations."

I started, shocked to find Aro leaning regally against my door frame.

"Now Roses." He continued lightly, ignoring my confusion, as he ghosted slowly into the room. "Roses are beautiful flower."

On that, he conjured from behind him a single red rose, it's petals the deepest shade of crimson I had ever seen. Despite my dark mood, I faltered.

"It's as though it has been dipped in blood." I noted softly, tentatively touching a fingertip to the colour. "Wherever did you find it?"

"Not far from the castle walls. They thrive wonderfully out there." He smiled, tilting it toward me. "For you, Liliana."

My hand twitched forward, eager to accept, but I stopped myself, remembering words from when I was young, that it was not wise to accept the gifts of strangers.

My hand dropped hesitantly back to my side, and I questioned his appearance instead.

"Why have you come here?" Suspicion clearer in my tone than I would have liked. "Mircea – "

"Is still trading heated words with Vladimir, I'm afraid." Aro replied, not sounding sorry at all. "They have been quite the neglectful hosts since your departure, and the rest of the coven do not appear to deem us worthy of their time." He grinned, laying the rose carefully where the vase had just stood.

I frowned. "You do not seem to be overly bothered by the fact."

"No." He conceded lightly, offering a simple shrug. "It is clear to me that Mircea, Stefan, and Vladimir are the true leaders here. The others would only prove a waste of my time."

My frown deepened. "Your time?"

"We are attempting to create ties, Liliana." He said simply. "My coven is barely a faint imprint on our world. We seek to cement ourselves further into it."

I stared at him, wondering why he was telling me all this.

"If you are so weak, then why did you turn first to what is likely the most powerful coven known?" I asked boldly, suspecting that his answer wasn't the full truth of the matter.

Aro shook his head lightly, a look of what I could only describe as pride, tying itself subtly onto his features.

"Perhaps we are simply ambitious?"

I narrowed my eyes septically, but I was unable to come to any other conclusions. Regardless, he waved me off, chuckling to himself as he found a more comfortable seat beside the fire.

It was strange, by the light of the flame he reminded me of Mircea.

"I did not come to talk to you about politics." Aro offered smoothly, breaking my train of thought, and gesturing for me to join him by the hearth.

I moved forward hesitantly. "Then why did you come?"

It had not escaped me that I should have been far more afraid than I was. He was not only a strange man, he was a demon, and one I did not entirely trust. Yet, I could not bring myself to refuse his company, nor to call for the aid of Mircea's overgrown henchman, and have him dragged unceremoniously from the tower.

I waited for his response.

"I wish to apologise, Liliana, for what occurred downstairs."

I blinked. "That wasn't your fault."

"Ah." A flicker of pain crossed his smooth profile. "I'm afraid that I can not be entirely absolved of guilt. I learned the truth of your circumstance when I first arrived, and thought you had a right to know. I may have brought about it's unveiling a little prematurely, and for it's cruel deliverance, I am sorry."

He gazed at me sombrely, and my mind quickly mulled over the small revelation. I knew in an instant that I did not care.

"I find the truth is always better than a lie." I replied softly, watching him with wondering eyes. "You are so strange... sometimes I wondered if I had been imagining your interest, but no... Why do you care so? I am nothing to you."

His curiosity in me was enthralling , as much as it was worrying, and I watched, as Aro pondered his next words, fixing me with crimson rubies, as he studied my features over lightly clasped hands.

"Because you are a sheep, pretending to be a wolf." He murmured softly. "Sooner or later the wolves around you will realise, Liliana, and when they do, you will have no where to run."

I scoffed darkly, my ire rising at his insinuation. He thought me nothing but a pretender, a frightened little lamb that hid herself in plain sight. He thought me to be weak, but he did not know me, he did not know what I had suffered, or the horrors I had seen.

I squared my jaw defiantly.

"And who are you in this tale?!" I demanded, my anger rising too quickly to be shackled. "Are you my saviour? My shepherd? Would you have me call you master?"

Aro considered me for a moment, his gaze lowering. "You misunderstand, I never meant to offend. I want to help you, Liliana."

I shook my head, exasperated. "Why? We don't even know one another. Who are you, to me?"

He sighed. "I am whatever you want me to be, dearest."

I rolled my eyes, turning from him to storm across the room. "That answers nothing."

I hadn't walked two steps and he was there, his gaze wondering over me slowly, as I openly trembled. He stepped closer, and to my shame, I looked away.

"It answers everything, dear one." He whispered, his cold breath suddenly tickling my cheek. "It is the reason you have fascinated me from the very first moment I laid eyes on you."

I swallowed hard, still refusing to look at him. "You know nothing about me."

He laughed softly.

"I saw your story through another's eyes, Liliana. Such sadness, such destruction, and yet there you were, impassive, and unyielding, despite all the pain you had suffered." He came closer, his nose and lips brushing against my ear. "I was in awe of you, beloved."

I shivered, enjoying the sensations his touch incited, until suddenly, my mind digressed to what he had said .

"What do you mean, 'you saw my story through another?'" I murmured, fixing my gaze on the silver 'V' that lay proudly upon his chest. "I don't understand."

He tittered.

"I should have known that that is what you would focus on." Aro said, pressing his lips tenderly against my forehead. He sighed. "All in good time, my dear."

"But not now?"

"No. Not now."

I frowned, but I did not argue, accepting that he would only ever share what he wanted.

"I know nothing about you." I noted instead, trailing my fingers curiously over his silver pendant. "I don't even understand why I have any interest in you at all."

Aro laughed, loudly this time, and he stepped back, shaking his head indulgently, as he turned into the centre of the room.

"You wound me, Liliana." He chuckled. "I may be immortal, but my ego is not."

I raised a doubtful brow, and watched uncomfortably as he reached for the door.

"You are leaving?"

"Your keeper is returning, or at least, will be very soon, and it would be better for us both, if he were not to find me here." He said, a troubled frown twisting his features. "I apologise, I'm afraid my scent will linger. He is not going to be happy."

I laughed once without humour. "He rarely is."

"Indeed." Aro agreed, his knowing eyes finding the purple blemishes I knew trailed my skin.

Heat touched my cheeks, and I squirmed.

"Don't." I pleaded, my voice weaker than usual, as I shifted uncomfortably. "I should cover them, really. Mircea doesn't like to be reminded."

Aro sighed heavily, his ruby gaze trailing me over and over, until his fingers dived suddenly into his dark cloak.

"'But indiscretion has its charms; it's boring to fit one's face to reputation.'" He versed quietly, dealing swiftly with a clasp.

I stared, ignorant to what he was referencing, and to my surprise, he drew from his pocket a small rolled up piece of parchment.

"The works of Sulpicia." He said. "Her poems are the talk of Rome... I believe you might find them enjoyable?"

Aro placed them pointedly on an unused table, and then, he was gone.

R&R!

Again I find myself worried. You have something in your mind, and then you aren't sure whether it plays well on paper... I hope I got them right. I hope the scene is believable.

Alas, are there any other scenes you'd like to see happen? Or how do you think this is all going to play? I'd love to hear your thoughts... off to reply to reviews!

Thank you chickens x x