Chapter 9 – Didyme

With a heavy sigh Marcus opened his eyes before gently grasping Castiel's hand and lowering it from his neck. He didn't want to simply step away from her, worried that would make her feel as though she were doing something wrong or he was rejecting her, but if he didn't get space soon he wouldn't be able to stop himself from grabbing her and clutching her small frame to his.

And as Marcus tugged Castiel by the hand further into the garden with a very specific destination in mind, the two didn't realized they had an audience.

Athenadora and Sulpicia were in one of the rooms in the tower that overlooked the gardens, sorting through hundreds of packages and bubble mailers of clothes and other items that had come for Castiel. Athenadora had gone over to the desk by the window to grab a pair of scissors to begin removing tags off of some dressed when she noticed Marcus and Castiel in the sunlight.

Unable to help herself, Athenadora frantically waved Sulpicia over – bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet to display her excitement and urgency. The duo watched as Castiel reached up and touched Marcus' throat and Athenadora's heart felt as if it would burst at the sweet moment between them.

The look on Marcus' face when Castiel ran her fingers down his neck gave them so much hope.

"Oh Sulpicia!" Athenadora squealed as she threw her arms around her much taller, raven-haired sister.

"I know Dora," Sulpicia whispered, thinking about what a good thing it was that Castiel felt at liberty to touch Marcus because it showed that she was not afraid or cautious of him. Sulpicia watched Marcus take his imprint's hand and lead her further into the garden and she couldn't help the immense feeling of pride that grew in her chest. Marcus had certainly listened to the tips she and Dora had given him and was being careful not to be too intense for their youngest sister.

"Wait," Athenadora gasped, letting go of Sulpicia and rushing back to the window, placing her hands on the windowsill and craning her neck to keep Castiel and Marcus in sight. She was almost pressed entirely against the glass as she said, "You don't think… he's… is he showing her-,"

"Yes," Sulpicia interrupted, going back to her place by some of the many boxes to continue tearing through them "I believe he is. Now why don't you stop spying and come give me a hand?"


Marcus led Castiel to a beautiful courtyard. It was small, perfectly round, and surrounded by trimmed bushes with large brightly colored purple flowers. Castiel was shocked that there were many different colored flowers here; she had assumed that simply due to the season only a few things would be in bloom. She wanted to ask how the Volturi managed it, but one look at Marcus sidetracked her.

He was standing completely still and the hand she had resting on his arm had been gently moved so he was holding it within his own. He was looking at a beautiful white marble statue directly across from them. It was nestled amongst the flowers and resting against one of the hedges that kept the garden private.

At the foot of the statue was a polished plaque, with words engraved on it that Castiel could only read by squinting at them.

Didyme

May your eternal rest give you all you ever dreamed.

And may you be forever in our hearts.

The statue was of a beautiful woman, tall and lean with a heart shaped face and a widow's peak. Her full lips were smiling, and the maker of the statue managed to make her eyes appear soft, giving the illusion that her eternal smile touched her eyes.

Marcus' expression was one of a man in great pain, and Castiel's voice was meek when she asked, "Who was she?"

Marcus kept his eyes trained on the statue as he thought how best to answer her question. He knew she was confused why he had bought her here. She knew he wanted to come here to discuss mating but couldn't see how this place connected with the topic at hand.

"This," Marcus' voice was deep, almost gravely with emotion. But surprisingly to him he found that the words would not be as hard to say as he imagined. Even facing his imprint, the discussion of his deceased wife did not make him nervous. He knew Castiel would not judge him. He did not believe she would feel threatened by Didyme... at least he hoped she wouldn't be. "Is Didyme. She was Aro's late sister and my deceased wife."

Every thought in Castiel's brain came to a screeching halt. Never once had she considered Marcus' relationship status, which was really very stupid in the reality of things, but she had always just assumed he was single as the only wives ever mentioned were those of Aro and Caius.

But of course, Marcus could have been married before. He was thousands of years old after all. Yes, Castiel was shocked to hear that his late wife was also Aro's sister, but she couldn't feel the shock in comparison to the sadness she felt at what all this meant.

Marcus had lost his mate.

Though he wasn't looking at her, Marcus could feel the wave of sadness that had consumed Castiel – her feelings affecting him empathetically due to the fact that they were so intimately linked by their mating bond. He turned turned toward slowly, releasing her hand and pulling her carefully into a hug.

He didn't care if he was crossing some kind of boundary, it was necessary – no it was essential – that he comforted her in this moment. He needed her to be happy. He did not want to soil her with his past grief.

"Don't. Please little one, do not feel sad for me."

"Oh Marcus," Castiel said quietly, pulling back from his embrace so she could look up at him, "I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry… I wouldn't have asked about mating if I'd known-,"

"No," Marcus' voice was surprisingly stern as he interrupted her. He didn't want her to feel guilty for asking questions, and he had bought her here not to make her feel sorry for him. He bought her here so he could vocalize a very hard truth.

"You haven't said or done anything wrong, nor have you offended me in any way. Didyme was my wife… but she was not my mate."

Contrary to the fact that speaking of Didyme with Castiel wasn't hard, saying these specific words were hard. He felt as though he was dismissing his love for Didyme by saying them. He had loved her, he had loved his wife, but even all those years ago he could see that their mating bond was weaker than it should have been. He never wanted to admit the truth to himself because he was so happy with her that he didn't feel the necessity to question why their bond was weak. And whether his extreme happiness during his marriage was due to Didyme's gift or not he would never know, so he simply didn't dwell on it.

But now as he stood there with Castiel everything seemed so obvious. He didn't want to imagine how his life would be right now if Didyme had not passed all those years ago and Castiel had wandered into his path. It would have seemed horrid for him to fall so irrevocably in love with this little human while everyone including himself believed he was already mated.

But that wasn't something he should be thinking about, because the "what ifs?" would never happen. His marriage had been great. He was a loyal husband with one of the greatest loves in the world, and he would never forget the good times he had with Didyme. But now, now he could just focus on the good times he had and move on. He would not have been pursuing his little imprint if he weren't ready.

Castiel was watching Marcus' face as he thought, and smiled understandingly.

"But you do miss her." It wasn't a question as much as it was a statement, "I may not know what it's like to lose a partner Marcus-," her stomach gave a little swoop as she spoke his name, "But I know that the people you love have the power to change you in some of the best ways… and when you lose them it's always going to be hard."

This was something Castiel remembered from her talks with both Afton and Marcus the previous day. Vampires were unchanging in quite literally every way. When a vampire felt something for someone, it was always very intense and dealing with loss would be something that permanently affected him or her.

Unable to help himself, Marcus reached over and gently ran the tips of his fingers across her cheek before letting his them comb through her soft red hair. She seemed to like when his nails brushed against her scalp, for her eyes fluttered shut for a second and she let out a soft sigh.

She was so understanding and much too good for him. He would have no problem spending his entire existence making sure he was worthy of his sweet little mate.

"Mating is a very passionate, all consuming, thing. A vampire is never truly whole until they find their mate and, while a good percentage of the time it is easy for a vampire to realize who their mate is once they cross paths, it is not always that simple. When Afton's mate Chelsea found him for example, it was a prime example of the most common way a vampire finds their other half. She crossed one of his paths and felt a draw to follow, a draw completely different than that of thirst. She followed the trail until she found him and they just… clicked. Chelsea had no doubts that he was her mate without even speaking to him, so of course she hurried home to speak with me before consulting Aro."

"When you explained your gift yesterday," Castiel's brow furrowed as she tried to recall the specifics of their conversation. She had been loaded with so much information recently it was hard to remember everything. "You mentioned how some people bond quickly and intensely. Is mating like that?"

Marcus smiled "Something like that yes, but a vampire can feel a pull that seems to come from within their very hearts when it comes to finding their mates. I suppose you could refer to it as love at first sight, but of course just knowing one is your mate doesn't mean you fall in love. Falling in love takes time and the bond must be nurtured by the pair… but," He sighed, "Mates are made for each other, so falling in love does happen rather quickly."

"So most mating bonds start off as... kindred spirits?" Castiel inquired curiously.

Marcus chuckled as he took her hand again and began pulling her from the little courtyard. He knew of a spot with a rather nice fountain they could sit at for a little while. "Yes actually. I rather like the way you've explained it. I'm sure Aro will want to add it in one of our books."

And while this statement confused her, her confusion didn't stop her from asking her next question. "But not all bonds start out obvious like Afton and Chelsea's?"

"No," Marcus said absentmindedly, "Some people are more stubborn, some people are more reserved, and some people simply wish to be left alone. How easily it is for a vampire to discover their mate does depend on personality. Take my brother Caius for example! While he will never admit it even to this day, he was feeling rather lonely for a very long time when he came across Athenadora while she was working at a vineyard in Greece during her human life. His longing for partnership made it easy when he did find her to realize she was his mate."

"And of course there are situations where a vampire might be a lone nomad, but they might like it that way." He shrugged, "If a vampire wants to be alone and has no desire for friendship, let alone a relationship, it is entirely possible they may pass by their mate and not realize it. But as time goes on what a person wants changes. I personally believe that if someone were to overlook their mate because of disinterest in relationships it simply means that it is not the right time. But one day the right time will come, and things should go smoothly from there."

"What I'm saying dear one," Marcus had led them to the fountain now, and took a seat on the edge while Castiel sat next to him, "Is that there is someone out there for everyone, and readiness to bond with another is different in every person both vampires and humans alike."

She nodded her understanding, "But what if someone became a vampire who didn't like relationships period? What if someone didn't want a lover? Would they have a mate?"

"Of course." Marcus' eyebrows were raised in surprise, "I actually know of one such couple – Mary and Shania. Caius and I came across them when we were accompanying the guard to take care of a hoard of newborns running amok in Iceland I'd say… around five hundred years ago? Both of them are asexual and the greatest of friends. It was by far the most unique mating bond I had ever seen! You should have seen the look on their faces when I told them they were mates."

"Wow." Was all Castiel could think to say before another part of his statement caught her attention. "Hold up! Newborns running amok? What does that mean?"

"Yes," Marcus' voice was weary now, as this was a topic of conversation he didn't want to have with her. Newborn armies were not lighthearted business and he wasn't sure she had the heart for such topics. "New and untrained vampires. I'm sorry dearest… but this is not something I want to discuss with you."

And while she was certainly more curious now than before, she had to respect his decision not to expand on the topic. After all, only yesterday he had told her that he wouldn't tell her about things he felt she wouldn't benefit from knowing right now.

"Okay… but I never did get the chance to ask," she paused for a second, trying to find the right words, "Why did Aro go after Afton when Chelsea found him? I mean I know that Chelsea knew he was her mate, but why didn't Aro at least ask Afton?"

Marcus could see why this was confusing to her, and he could see why she was nervous about asking. The way Aro had phrased everything when she stood trial made his brother the scapegoat for a lot of Castiel's current troubled feelings. He knew he would have to try to make her see that Aro was not a bad person.

"Aro went after Afton that night as a favor to Chelsea. He changed Afton because he knew it was for the best. Contrary to what you might think dearest, my brother is not some lunatic who just goes around kidnapping people and acquiring guards and gifts. I know that he is most upset that he certainly did come off that way to you."

Marcus watched Castiel's expression carefully, he wasn't trying to chastise her, but he had noticed earlier the bond connecting her to his brother was negative on her end while it radiated protectiveness and care from Aro's.

"Aro," Marcus sighed, trying to find the right words to use, "Likes to find excuses for people. He creates loopholes in our own laws to give people some slack. And yes there are certainly times my brother's and I rule with an iron fist, but Aro doesn't like hurting people unnecessarily. He had you bought in for trial because he didn't want to simply send someone to-,"

Marcus couldn't say it, and before Castiel could ask him why it was so hard to just say that the original plan would have been to kill her, he continued.

"You had so many immortals vouching for you Castiel. So many of our kind caring for a mortal is rare and Aro was intrigued. He really didn't want to destroy you, your gift, or your friends… he wasn't trying to ruin your life."

That last sentence affected Castiel greatly and she suddenly found it very hard to look at Marcus. She opted for staring down at the water in the fountain instead. She felt very guilty for all the hurtful thoughts she had been having about Aro since her first night in Volterra, it was very hard to see him in a bad light when Marcus vouched for him like that.

A crisp wind blew through the garden suddenly, causing Castiel to shudder and slide closer to Marcus subconsciously searching for warmth, and if he could not offer warmth, she was hoping his body could block some of the wind.

Marcus, of course, noticed her reaction to the wind and found himself sorely disappointed that he couldn't offer her the very human comfort of body heat.

"It's supposed to snow tomorrow, so the temperature is dropping quickly. We should go back inside." Marcus stood silently, offering his arm to help Castiel stand before he began leading the way back into the castle. And as they walked, the sun disappeared behind some heavy clouds and Marcus stopped shining like a beacon and appeared as pale as a statue besides her.

Before Castiel could open her mouth to ask more questions, a very pressing one being exactly how many of her immortal friends had come to Volterra and pleaded her innocence, Marcus spoke. He was staring ahead and seemed almost determined not to look at her.

His expression showed he was thinking very hard about something, and he only surprised her further by continuing their conversation about mating.

"And for the record, Aro could not ask Afton what he wanted before biting him. It simply wouldn't have made a difference. If Aro had said a single word about our world to a human Afton… Afton would have had to become immortal anyway."

Castiel frowned, embarrassed she hadn't though of such a logical explanation.

"Anyway," Marcus stalled, Castiel finding his hesitation odd since he usually didn't have trouble holding conversation. "A common mating isn't the only type of romantic bond a vampire can have."

Internally, Marcus was struggling as he tried to find the best way to tell her about imprinting. How could he mention this bond without giving something away? True, Castiel proved to be very un-judgmental but this didn't mean finding out she was destined to be with him would be easy for her to accept.

But he couldn't try courting her if she didn't know the whole truth of their bond. Doing that would be a very bad manipulation of her trust.

Right now all he had to do was tell her about imprinting; he just had to give the idea some time to settle in her head before he told her that she was his, which he planned to do the next day. Perhaps he could take her to the garden again tomorrow? She had mentioned to him when they spoke in the library that she enjoyed snow so maybe they could walk outside as it snowed and talk.

And if they were outside she wouldn't feel so trapped if she wanted to get away from him.

He tried not to flinch at the thought.

"What do you mean?" Castiel asked, confused. She knew vampires had all sorts of relationships, Marcus wasn't even related to the other kings but yet he referred to them as if they were his flesh and blood. But from everything he had told her, mating was obviously the most serious bond a vampire could have right? Why did his tone suddenly sound as if he viewed mating as bland?

"There is-," Marcus looked as if this new topic was stressful to him, and it caused Castiel a bit of alarm as they entered back into the castle from the glass doors heading in the direction of the library. "Another form of mating for us. It is the most serious bond a vampire can ever have to another person… and only one other person… We call it imprinting. It is incredibly rare and we have only known four cases of it in our entire existence. "

He quieted for a moment, letting Castiel process this new piece of information as they walked. Glancing down he noticed that she seemed to be thinking hard, and as her grip on his forearm tightened ever so slightly, he found the need to continue before she pieced things together on her own.

"An imprint is the literal other half to a vampire. We believe that an imprint is very nearly a physical embodiment of a vampire's soul. One doesn't choose their imprint, one doesn't change their imprint… and one simply cannot live without them."

"Once a vampire sees their imprint… everything in their world shifts. Nothing makes sense anymore and nothing matters besides them. A vampire will do anything for the person he imprints on… and would be absolutely anything they needed him to be. It is the only form of love we know in the world that is absolutely unconditional. The connection to their imprint is also instant and unbreakable, it is against our laws to ever harm the subject of a vampire's imprinting. An imprinting bond is sacred to our kind, and while not everyone agrees with the laws of our rule… this is a law we are not usually challenged on."

Castiel didn't know what to say, and as they arrived at the library again to take their usual seats, she glanced up at Marcus only to see that he was watching her, obviously awaiting her reaction.

But she wasn't exactly sure there was anything she could say. Imprinting was basically unconditional love at first sight, and she couldn't think of anything further to ask about it.

She relayed this thought to Marcus as he sat across from her, and he nodded his agreement with her words. He expanded a bit more on imprinting over the next half hour, trying to accurately explain things like the fact that an imprint is basically made for the vampire that imprints on them and that their personalities complimented each other so naturally that being together is was as easy as breathing.

But even as he explained that a vampire can't chose who their imprint is, and answered Castiel's questions about the imprinting cases they did know about, for one she was curious when he told her only males seemed to imprint thus far and wanted to know if they had any information as to why that might be, Marcus could only reason that it was because the vampires that they did know to have imprinted (himself included unbeknownst to her) seemed to be a little more aggressive and on the dominant side. Their imprints were always more docile and calmed the vampire down to the point that they were much more easygoing.

Marcus was relived as he answered her inquires that she seemed to not be mulling over some of the questions so much. Her suspicion as to why the topic seemed to make him nervous in the beginning was easily forgotten. She was relaxed, her legs thrown over the arm of the chair closest to the fire while she rested her weight against the opposite arm.

She looked as if she could fall asleep any moment, and she certainly felt like she could too as she stared into the fire and talked quietly to Marcus. She was thinking over the conversations she had with him so far. She had been given so much new information into a world most people didn't even know existed and was surprised that it was so easy to be with Marcus. Whenever she spent time with him it was as if they were the only two people in the world, and she was sure that if anyone had been watching them in the garden it would have looked as if they were a couple what with her touching him in the sun, the endless hand holding, and Marcus running his hand through her hair.

A thought suddenly occurred to her that had her laughing quietly, the sound rupturing the silence that had settled between her and Marcus. It felt as if they had only been sitting quietly for a few minutes when in reality it had been half an hour, so her laughter startled Marcus, who had been watching as she started to doze off.

"What is it?" His deep baritone was amused, and Castiel let her head roll back to look at him more fully with an embarrassed smile.

"Nothing. I just remembered that Afton never did let me know if whales have kidneys."

And for a moment, just a moment, Marcus looked at her as if she had lost her marbles, causing her to laugh at him. Her whole body was shaking as she tried to suppress her giggling.

From the opposite side of the library Afton called out to Marcus, quickly relaying that it was a topic of conversation the two had earlier, and that whales certainly did have kidneys. Of course, Marcus told Castiel this, and she grinned before yelling "Thanks Afton!" in completely the wrong direction of where her guard was… not that it mattered since he could hear her either way.

Hours passed as the two of them continued to talk with Marcus steering the conversation into easier topics not long after he felt he explained enough of the basics of imprinting. The explanation to his own personal feelings would come tomorrow.

But today Marcus asked Castiel more about her likes and dislikes and was shocked when, after asking what the thing she felt she disliked most in the world was, she answered vomiting.

Castiel didn't care if other people vomited, but if she was personally sick and throwing up she felt as if it were the worst thing in the world. Marcus looked positively alarmed when she said that if she had to choose between breaking her femur or having a 24-hour stomach virus, she would choose breaking her femur.

"Honestly Marcus," She had said, roller her eyes at his shocked expression, "If you saw me when I get sick… I turn into this needy little baby who can't be left alone. I kept my dad up all night with me last winter when I caught a stomach bug, poor man didn't get any sleep because I made him sit with me in the bathroom all night to try and distract me with stories about his time in the Marines."

Castiel suddenly looked as if she were staring at something very far away. "I always liked when my dad talked ever since I was little." she said softly, "I swear he could have read me the same story over and over and I'd never tire of it, because it was his voice that bought me comfort more than anything else… he was all I had for years."

Realizing Castiel was becoming very homesick, Marcus sidetracked her by asking about books and if there were any she wanted to read that he could find for her.

It was a good tactic, for she immediately asked him if they had the Harry Potter series. He had found the story of the boy wizard charming, if a little bit of a young series to him, and while they didn't have the books in the library multiple guards had their own personal copies of the series, with Chelsea being one of them.

Of course Chelsea heard Castiel's request and rushed off the get her copies so she could borrow them. Once she returned, much to Castiel's glee upon seeing the books, the pair lapsed into companionable silence once more as she started to read and Marcus picked up the book had had abandoned the previous day.

Night came quickly, Castiel much too comfortable and caught up in her story to even notice the lessening daylight hours. She hadn't even notice that she had skipped both lunch and dinner before she fell asleep in her chair with her book still open on her lap.

Marcus had spent most of the time Castiel read trying to focus on his own book but instead focusing on her. He had delicately memorized her sweet scent – which he was pleased to note was now free of the smell of the sickness she had the previous day – the beat of her heart, and the steady way she breathed. These things were all vital to him, and if he could memorize all these factors about his imprint it would make it easy for him to track her if she were to ever run off or go missing.

Marcus let her sleep in her chair for another hour and it was almost midnight again by the time he decided it was best to bring her back to her rooms. Afton came over to see if she needed to be escorted, and was waved off by his master who carefully bent down to scoop his sleeping mate into his arms.

Castiel seemed to be a heavy sleeper. She didn't startle at all when she was lifted into Marcus' arms, and as he left the library at a human pace to head to her room. He could pretend he walked slowly so he wouldn't wake her up all he wanted, but his real reason for doing so was because eager to hold her while he still could as it was entirely possible she could be running from him tomorrow, and he was surprised when she seemed to nuzzle into his arms and hid her face between his bicep and chest.

He started to purr, unintentionally of course, as he passed by his brother's rooms on his way to the guest rooms his mate was staying in. The door to Aro's office was cracked open as he passed, and the sound of his purring must have alerted his brother for the door flew open right as he was crossing outside it.

Standing at the door were both Aro and Caius, Caius' eyes looked him up and down for a moment before resting on the form of his snoozing imprint with a teasing smirk. Aro also wore a small grin but thankfully didn't comment, though he did move slightly to the side at the voice of his wife telling him to move over so she and Athenadora could see what their husbands were smirking at.

And once they noticed Castiel the two women got the biggest shit eating grins on their faces… at least that's what Marcus thought as he abruptly stopped purring.

"I'll be back in a moment," Marcus said lowly, rolling his eyes and continuing on his way to put Castiel to bed.

Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day, and he could only hope that he would have another chance to carry her to bed as he was now… and that there would hopefully come a time that she could accept him after knowing the truth.

But only tomorrow would be able to tell him that.


Revised January 19th, 2021

(11 Pages, 5,288 Words)