Authors Note: Sexual activity occurs between two consenting adults in this chapter. Remember this story is rated MA 18+! So if you don't like it – don't read!
Chapter 17 – A Bad Week
Castiel was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, Athenadora was pacing back and forth only a few feet from her with her arms folded tightly across her chest as she stared at the garage door, and Sulpicia was sitting on the hood of the Vulcan deep in quiet conversation with Veronica and Daphne who were standing beside the car.
It was four minutes to ten am, and they had all come down to the garage nearly an hour ago to wait for the kings and the guard to return home.
Of course, Castiel had told all of them when she woke up again around five o'clock in the morning that they wouldn't be returning until precisely 10:12, but none of them could fight the urge to wait in the garage, even if they were way too early when they first arrived.
By the time it reached 10:11, Athenadora was flashing back and forth so quickly while she paced that Castiel could only see a white and black blur, and her stomach felt like it had been tied into a knot. Sulpicia had said she could hear the fleet of cars turn onto the unpaved road that would lead to the underground tunnel into the garage a couple minutes before hand.
Castiel's heart felt like it had hopped into her throat when multiple garage doors rumbled to life simultaneously and she jumped. Even though she had been expecting them, she was so wound up that the sound of the doors frightened her, nonetheless. The fleet of SUVs began to pull into the garage one by one, almost painfully slow, and a line was forming as they head to the back parking area by the far left wall.
One of the cars broke out of the line though, and it moved so quickly that Sulpicia grabbed the back of Castiel's jacket to yank her onto the hood of the Vulcan with her, worried that she might get hit.
But when the vehicle did come to a stop, wheels squealing loudly and echoing around the garage, it wasn't even within five feet of where Castiel had been standing. All four doors opened, and the first person out was Caius, who didn't seem to realize any of them were even present. His eyes were only for Athenadora, who ran to him and literally jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms and legs around him and capturing his lips in a heated kiss.
Castiel was not one for such dramatic displays of affection, so the actions of the couple might have embarrassed her if Marcus hadn't been the next to slide out of the car. But when he finally stood straight in front of her, dropping the small duffel bag he had been holding to the floor by his feet, all sense of reason and embarrassment seemed to leave her and she threw herself into his arms just like Dora had done to Caius.
He caught her, folding one arm firmly around her back and lacing his fingers into her hair, while the other arm braced itself under her behind so he could lift her body against his.
Her feet were a foot off the ground as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and she didn't care who was watching as she kissed him.
His mouth was forceful against hers, passionate, as their lips moved together. He kissed her as if it had been years since they had last seen one another, not days, and the overpowering emotions she felt at being kissed in such a way confused her. She was relieved at her necessity for oxygen, because as Marcus ran his tongue against her lower lip asking for entrance, she needed an excuse to back away – suddenly very aware of the stares on her back indicating that they were being watched.
Her whole face felt very hot as she pulled back, gratefully sucking in air through her lungs and looking around.
Caius, Athenadora, Aro, Sulpicia, and the inner Russian coven were staring at her and Marcus' embrace. The looks on each vampire's face were not judgmental. They all wore similar expressions of an emotion Castiel couldn't exactly place… was it sympathy? Tenderness? Happiness? She wasn't sure, but none of those descriptions quite fit somehow.
"Marcus," she murmured softly, embarrassed, "Put me down."
She felt Marcus chuckle silently against her, and he set her back on her feet, clearing his throat.
Everyone immediately looked away at the sound. Daphne and Veronica started a too-loud conversation with their mates in Russian while Sulpicia grabbed Aro's hand and towed him toward one of the doors leading back into the castle. It seemed that everyone was sharing similar thoughts now, Castiel observed as she watched groups of guard's re-entering the castle, a few of which had their arms around each other, or their hands entwined. Everyone seemed to want to spend quality time with their partners, having successfully completed the mission and now eager to return to their daily lives.
Turning back to Marcus, Castiel watched as he bent down to pick up the small duffel before setting the strap over his left shoulder and tucking it under his arm. She was about to ask him what was in the bag, but her stomach growled at exactly that moment, and he chuckled before moving forward to rest his free arm around her shoulders, his thumb gently stroking her shoulder blade through her shirt.
"Come, let's go get you something to eat."
Castiel padded quietly down the dark halls, Afton gliding along silently at her side as he studied her drawings of Carlisle and Edward Cullen. Marcus had disappeared an hour ago, heading to an area of the castle far underground called "the labs" with the little duffle. He wouldn't tell her what was in it even though she tried to pry the answer out of him a dozen separate times while she was having lunch. At one point, she even tried to check the future. After all, all she had to look for the moment when Marcus would open the bag; it would matter whether she was with him or not, but he stopped her attempt with a sudden, heated kiss.
He only kissed her to distract her, she knew this, but it still worked. Once she was lightheaded, he pulled away and made her promise – made her swear – that she would not try to figure out what was in the bag.
His expression was so serious when he said this, that even though the mystery of the bag made her unbelievably curious, she spluttered an agreement that she wouldn't.
So now she was heading toward Aro's study to tell him about what she saw even though she still had yet to tell Marcus about the vision. But she only hadn't told Marcus yet because it seemed like something else was on his mind, something bad, and she didn't want to give him new to think about.
She was a little nervous about confronting Aro truth be told, because he'd see everything she'd been up to while they were gone. She was sure he wouldn't be pleased about the trip to Livorno, but she also didn't particularly want him to hear all the thoughts she had about Marcus while they were gone. She was embarrassed now at how much time she spent sulking – and pining – for him.
Afton was leading the way to Aro's office, not his private office or the office connected to his quarters – the one she was used to – but the office a little ways away that was used for meetings with individual guards like the one Marcus had in his halls. She had yet to see this office since she had never been down these halls before, so it was easiest to just follow Afton's directions.
When they finally did enter the hall they were looking for, Castiel stopped in her tracks, her heart suddenly thudding against her ribs as she went pale. Her reaction caused Afton to tear his gaze away from her drawings and look over at her in concern before following her gaze.
Kemar was exiting the lone door in the hallway – the door to Aro's office – and he grinned slyly at her when he heard her heart beginning to race. Aro suddenly entered the hall, his expression really fucking pissed as his eyes trained on hers. She probably wouldn't have even noticed Kemar pass her if he didn't reach over to tug her hair teasingly as he passed.
"See you later little bird."
His tone was hinting that what he would have rather said was, "I'll be attending your funeral, little bird," but knew it was best not to say something like that.
She didn't even look at him.
"Afton." Aro's voice betrayed no emotion when he finally spoke once Kemar exited the hall. "If you could please, give me and Castiel some privacy?"
This was Aro's deceptively polite way of dismissing her guard, Castiel knew, and Afton said nothing as he passed the drawings back to Castiel before leaving the way they had come.
Aro was silent for three heartbeats, allowing his expression to fully display his disapproval, before he pointed with one pale finger into his office.
"In."
It was a command, and Castiel didn't try arguing with him and avoided his gaze as she closed the rest of the distance between them and passed him on the way into his office.
This office, Castiel thought once she entered the room, was not quite what she had expected. It looked more or less exactly like what she would have pictured and Ivy League college dean's office to look like.
The back wall had one very large window with golden drapes pinned back to let the sunlight stream in, while every space of available wall was covered in bookshelves that held books that all looked to be parts of larger sets with similar colored bindings and golden lettering. In front of the window was a large, polished wooden desk with stationary organized neatly and papers in orderly piles. The right wall had paintings, a small table that held a globe, and a billiards table. To the left there was a wall that had been printed with a map of the world, and below that map there seemed to be racks of wooden rods that newspapers were folded neatly over.
Castiel wondered if the newspapers were recent, and how many different papers there were and where they were all from but was distracted from the thought as she felt Aro come up behind her, before he passed her to stand behind his desk.
"Sit."
He pointed to one of the two straight-backed but still soft looking chairs facing the huge desk, the red upholstery reminding her of fresh blood in the sunlight from the windows.
All in all, it looked like a principal's office, and it didn't hold any of Aro's personality.
She sat, hugging the papers to her chest, and squinted at Aro. His features were in shadow due to the sunlight coming from behind him, and he turned at her expression to shut the drapes. Since the drapes were light colored and thin, they didn't make the room dark, they only muffled the light so that she could see Aro a little better.
She was about to get the telling off of a lifetime, that much was obvious from her brother's expression, and she began cursing Kemar in her head for ratting her out the moment everyone came home. If she had gotten to Aro first, his first opinions of the incident would have been from the things he gleaned from her point of view. He might have been a better sport about it if he would have seen that she didn't go out with the intention of never coming back or something.
But since it was Kemar's memories he saw first; all he would see were Kemar's opinions of her breaking the rules and her obvious plotting to sneak out.
They stared at each other for a long moment. The silence caused the mounting tension in the room to become so thick she was sure someone could cut it with a knife. Aro came around the desk, pulling something from his blazer's pocket before touching her face.
Her vision became clearer and Aro moved back to his previous position, resting both his palms on the desk and leaning toward her, not bothering to sit.
She reached up a hand to touch the frames of her glasses. She didn't know how Aro had gotten them because the last place she had them was in Marcus' room, and she set them on the nightstand when she went to bed. Kemar must have taken them at some point this morning.
How was he so good at hiding? She never seemed to know where the man was.
"So," Aro began, he tone low and deadly, as if he was trying to keep from yelling at her, "Why don't you explain to me what on Earth was going through your head that possessed you to go running off to Livorno alone while we were all away?"
Her brows furrowed in confusion and she unfolded her arms, setting the papers facedown in her lap before stretching her left hand out to him, the gesture of sharing her thoughts in the way she was accustomed to with him.
He didn't move forward. He just shook his head as he glared. "No, I'd rather you tell me. I'll see it all later of course, but I want to hear it from you."
Castiel hoped her chagrin at his words wasn't showing on her face as she lowered her hand, letting the explanation stream from her mouth as she refocused her gaze at the blank backs of the papers on her lap.
"Look I wasn't trying to… defy anyone or anything," Her tone was defensive, "I've just… I haven't left Volterra at all since I was bought here months ago. The first time I ever even left the castle grounds was right before you guys all left, and I only walked to the pharmacy and back. I wanted to go outside, I wanted to have a moment to myself without being babysat, I wanted to ride the motorcycles that apparently Marcus has such a huge problem with-,"
She stopped mid sentence, realizing how bad that sounded. Oof.
"Of course," Aro laughed, but there was no real humor in it. He didn't find the situation funny at all. "That is exactly what children are expected to do, correct? The moment they are told not to do something for whatever reason the idea becomes so all-consuming in their mind that they just can't help themselves?"
"That came out wrong!" she argued hotly, stung that he referred to her as a child. She was in her twenties for crying out loud!
"I'm sure it did." He was leaning forward slightly, his palms still flat against the desk, "But of course, the need to take a joy ride is the most important thing to you no? Must I explain that the rules we have for you here are to keep you safe?" He stressed the last three words individually and she watched a muscle in his jaw twitch.
Castiel struggled to find the right words to respond with, suddenly understanding what Aro insisted she explain herself out loud. All of her arguments were feeble in her own mind, and they would only become more pathetic if she said them out loud.
"Apparently I do." Aro laughed once, a humorless sound again, as she closed her mouth for the fourth time. "Kemar told you that the assignment of protecting you is the most dangerous job we have in this coven, and I saw how disbelieving your expression was, so perhaps you need an example?"
He paused, giving her half a second to deny it, and when she didn't say anything he launched into speech.
"We are a very large, very powerful coven Castiel. We've held control of this world for more than three thousand years, and the battle with which we took control – the final battle that would decided the fate of your species and of mine – was the very fight in which my sister was killed. Marcus, Caius, and I have always been the representing face of our coven; the leaders. It was because of this, that in that final battle against the Romanian's and their children of the moon – the werewolves they bred specifically to battle for them – that our wives were targeted."
"Where certain guards in our coven are weak, others are strong and vice versa. We plan things this way to even them out, to have a force strong enough to win the most dangerous battles. Back three thousand years ago Sulpicia, Athenadora, and Didyme did not know how to fight. Didyme and Athenadora were both very young to this life; Athenadora was only within her first decade and Didyme fresh out of her newborn years. Our guard was not as large as it is now, and thus the Romanian's focused on the weakest of our inner coven, the most vulnerable, the one who would resort to ingrained instinct to fight rather than skill."
Aro paused, his expression grave as he stared at her. He was waiting for her to say it, for her to say the name.
"D-Didyme," Castiel's voice was hardly comprehensible and her body felt numb with shock.
"Sulpicia, Marcus, and I all watched as Didyme was ripped to shreds in front of our eyes on that battlefield. We fought our way toward her with everything we had. Fought through a field of enemies, and fire, and death… Marcus fought like a man possessed. Any being that came within ten feet of him were killed so quickly even I hadn't any time to process it. There were so many fires, so few paths we could take to get to her… Marcus was too late. We were all too late."
Aro's expression suddenly reflected the pain inside him, the pain of this memory that he could recall so clearly; that all those that were there that day could remember with perfect clarity.
Castiel didn't have time to say anything comforting before his gaze focused back on her, his expression angry again.
"And just think about it now, all these years later – view it from an outsider's perspective if you will. An all-powerful coven, the rulers of the immortal world and the supernatural beings within it, previously unstoppable, unchallengeable... Rulers that learned from their mistakes and grew, rulers with little to no weaknesses, now with a vulnerability so easily exploited. A coven all focused on protecting the one, single, defenseless thing that it can never again be the same without."
"You are not a secret within our world anymore. Rumors of your existence have already begun to spread. There have already been rumors of rather heated debates among our kind of – not of your existence, or of your gift – but of your status. Some believe it simply impossible for you to still be human. There is no way the Volturi can be so stupid to leave you so vulnerable," He quoted, barking out a laugh, "Others believe… no others pray… that you are human. How wonderful would it be! The one king, whom all believed spiritually destroyed at the death of his mate, comes back to life due to imprinting. The king who is one of the deadliest fighters our world has ever seen with a helpless human imprint."
"I'm not-," Castiel's face was deathly pale as she tried to form a coherent sentence, "Helpless."
Suddenly, Aro slammed both of his hands down on his desk, causing her to jump and pull her legs up onto the chair with her, curling into a defensive position.
"God damn it Castiel are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" He did yell this time, his frustration with her finally showing on his face.
They stared at one another for a long moment, and Castiel saw how his eyes softened as he took in her curled-up position.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, his tone settling into that of someone trying to coax a scared animal out from a hiding place. "I'm sorry for yelling. I'm not trying to scare you."
"Castiel." He heaved out a big sigh and finally sat, resting his elbows on the desk and burying his face in his hands. "Do you have any idea… how terrified it made me to see that you left this castle without a guard? Without telling anyone where you were going? Demetri was not around to track you, the best any of the guards who remained in the city would have been able to do would be to follow your scent. If someone had taken you… and pulled you into a car… your trail would have gone cold and it would take us hours to get back to Italy and have Demetri start tracking. The horrors our kind could do to you in minutes is enough to make me feel physically ill for the first time in a millennium – let alone hours."
His voice had been slightly muffled by his hands, but his soft words affected her far more than his yell had.
Aro let his hands fall to the desk and, for the first time, Castiel see the thousands of years of wisdom he held reflected in his eyes.
He stood slowly and walked around his desk at a human pace until he was standing in front of her, and once he was there, he placed both of his hands on her shoulders as he stared intensely down into her face, waiting for some response from her.
Castiel couldn't help the slight defensiveness she had over being scolded like a child, even if Aro was right in his concerns, so both solidarity and stubbornness fought to be the dominant emotion on her face.
"I didn't ask for any of this! I didn't choose to leave my family behind and be confined in some castle for the rest of my life, so stop acting like you're doing me some huge favor." She shook his hands off her as she stared up at him, glaring.
She expected that Aro's expression would harden and he'd say something biting back, but he didn't. His expression was one of endless patience as he sighed.
"Why don't you just get it all out?" He prompted, stepping back until he was by his desk and leaning against it, crossing his arms over his chest. "Go on. Yell at me, curse my existence, tell me you wished someone wiped us all out years ago so we couldn't have destroyed your life. Nothing you say will leave this room and I will hold nothing against you."
She was silent as Aro stared at her, and as the moments wore on and she found herself unable to find her voice, unable to voice the words that would make her feel better because she knew deep down they weren't true. She stood from her chair and stalked over to the door intending to storm out, but when she tried turning the knob she realized Aro had locked it.
She sighed, not looking away from the door and with her hand still on the knob when Aro began to speak again, breaking the long minutes of silence.
"We aren't done here; you can leave once we are."
"There's nothing else for me to say Aro!" The words exploded from her, her voice at a volume she was not accustomed to using. Her words were hoarse because of this, and she threw her hands up as she turned to face the room again. Tears were filling her eyes, and they weren't purely from anger or sadness but rather a mixture of both. She was talking, words spewing from her mouth at a rate that obviously indicated that she wasn't filtering anything, letting all the pain and hurt stream out of her as she bellowed at him.
"What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry? You already know that! I wasn't trying to get myself whacked off or hurt anyone by going out. I've already lost my father, my best friend, and my entire life because of my own stupid fucking choices." She enunciated the last three words, tears finally spilling from her eyes and beginning to stream hotly down her face, "My disappearance has destroyed my father and I know Trent is hurting too, and I'm just here being looked down at by almost everyone. Only a hand full of guards and the human staff even bother to treat me as someone with feelings, most just look at me like I'm some kind of stray dog that you decided to take in."
"And it isn't your fault – it's mine! It's all my fault and I just can't accept it! I'm the reason the people I love are hurting. If I didn't go out searching for monsters because of this stupid need for some to understand me… understand me and not just accept me… because I felt insecure about seeing what I can see and not knowing any other human being who can do anything special…" She said the word special like a curse and wiped her face furiously on her sleeves, forgetting she was wearing glasses for a moment and causing the frames to dig in under her right eye, "Like, my dad and Trent accepted me but it wasn't enough apparently. Apparently it just wasn't good enough to me because they didn't know what it was like to be able to do the things that I can do… and – and…"
She was gasping for air, not caring how self-deprecating her words were, and her vision so blurred by her angry tears she couldn't see Aro properly.
"And then – then I'm bought here, which I always knew could happen from the moment I first sought out Merida and fate just… just places Marcus and I together. He's one of the best things that's ever happened to me, and if it weren't for him imprinting, I know that I wouldn't be nearly as happy as I am now. I would have been changed months ago and I'd just be another guard with no family or friends."
Were her words even coherent anymore? She wasn't sure, but she kept talking anyway, her tears now tears of grief rather than anger.
"And I'm… I'm a terrible person. I've always felt like I belonged here even before I understood what I w-was to Marcus. I might be human but here… here I'm n-not a f-f-freak. I'm special because I'm psychic and half the time I don't even want to be psychic anymore!"
"Can't you see Aro?" She asked, leaning against the door for support as her hands came to rub the wetness from her cheeks, "I'm so attuned to everyone here. My life is so intricately tied in with all of you. I'm going to continue to see so much more than I've ever seen before. I was forced to watch a town of innocent people get slaughtered, and I know that we were able to stop it but that doesn't make it so I can ever un-see it. And that's only the beginning of it all and I know it! It's only going to happen again and again and again. I'm going to see these terrible things and everyone's going to rush to stop them from happening and I'm just going to mentally deteriorate until I snap and become the lunatic my mother always knew I was destined to be!"
The words stopped suddenly, and Castiel made a sound that was as if she were choking. Through her tears she might have been unable to see Aro, but that didn't mean that Aro couldn't see her. He had stayed against his desk listening, partially because he was shocked but mostly because he didn't want to touch her without permission. But the sudden expression of total vulnerability on her face as she uttered her final words, and the way her expression morphed into one he had only see on the mortally wounded, caused him to cross the room to her as she sank to the floor.
The new position made it so that he could not hug her, as he initially planned to do, so he sat beside her, putting his arm around her shoulders and wincing slightly as she wiped her face on her sleeve again before he held out his handkerchief wordlessly.
"Stop." He said gently, giving her shoulders a careful squeeze as she sobbed once into his handkerchief, hiding her face. "Stop with these words. You are not a bad person Castiel, you never have been. Please do think that I wanted to upset you so. I only desired for you to grasp how seriously you must take your own safety now. For the duration of your human life you must understand the danger you are in. We can only keep you safe if you allow us to; running off every chance you get will help nothing."
She didn't say anything back, only nodded halfheartedly and hiccupped into the white cloth he had given her – now stained with her tears as she finished wiping off her face.
"You can never truly know… you'll never be able to see Marcus the way we had become accustomed to seeing him for the majority of our lives – or un-life if you'd prefer to call it that – and you won't be able to really grasp how depressed he was before you came around. But perhaps with the things he's told you about imprinting and the books here that you've read on the subject you can understand me when I ask – do you believe any of us would ever be able to look him in the face again if he looses you?"
Castiel sniffed and turned her head to look at him then. Aro's brows were pinched together and his eyes were solemn as they stared at one another, before he spoke the words that could damn near break her heart.
"If you were killed Castiel the kindest thing any of us would be able to do for him would be to execute him. You are his soul now and he simply cannot exist without his soul."
Her lip quivered, and without thinking about it, Castiel threw both of her arms around Aro's middle and hid her face in his neck, trying desperately hold back the tears that were threatening to start all over again.
Aro wrapped his arms around her shoulders in response and pressed his cheek to the top of her head. It wasn't the most comfortable way to hold someone; sitting side by side against a door with their arms awkwardly wrapped around one another, but it was the first time he was able to offer her comfort in this way.
"I will try to get you more freedom Castiel if it is so important to you. I will speak with my brothers and we can figure out a guard situation that will work." Aro said, his voice so low she wouldn't have heard it if her ear wasn't so close to his mouth. "I love you Castiel, and I love Marcus too. You are both my family and that makes it my job to keep you both safe. To keep you safe is to keep him safe – can you see that? At least for a little while, while I try to work out a way that makes you feel less caged in, can you try to tough out this situation? If not for me for Marcus?"
Still unsure of her ability to speak, Castiel just nodded in response.
"Thank you."
Aro was quiet for a moment, and Castiel knew by the way his grip suddenly tightened on her that he was about to bring up the thing she didn't want to talk about – the thing he knew was absolutely off limits discussion wise – but she did not speak in time to stop him.
"Castiel, have you considered talking to Marcus about your mother?"
She tensed in his arms, wishing that he'd understand by her body language that she didn't want to talk about this. He knew that the subject had only slipped out by accident and it wasn't something she was ready to discuss with anyone.
She didn't think it was something she'd ever be ready to openly talk about. Brushing it off was easier, giving everyone the simple "my mother left because she didn't want me" story was so much better than the truth and the pain that came with it.
It was silent for a few long minutes and Castile knew that Aro wasn't just going to drop it.
"I can't Aro." Her throat hurt and her words came out scratchy. She was glad she didn't have to look at his face, "You know I can't. You know how he'd react."
"It is not his reaction that keeps you from talking to him." Aro snubbed her weak excuse, but his tone remained gentle. He was not trying to call her out in her lies. He was only trying to make her talk to him because saying things out loud often relieved more pain than simply sharing thoughts. "You know that if you ask him to keep away from her, he will. I'm not claiming the story won't cause him a significant amount of distress, but he desires to teach you how to swim – he was thinking about it while we were away. He should understand that the reason you don't know how to swim is because you are afraid of water, not because no one ever got the time to teach you growing up."
Castiel was frowning at the floor. She knew he was right but how was she supposed to tell Marcus? How could she dig that skeleton out of the closet and expect to just be able to bury it again?
"You have become very good at lying about your family life, and these lies have protected you, I understand this Castiel. But you can confide in Marcus. He will not speak a word of your secrets to anyone, just as I haven't."
Silence fell again, and it took Castiel a minute of thought before she could nod her agreement with his statement.
"Will you stay here with me?" The scratchiness in her voice was making her cringe, and she tried to clear it but only ended up wincing when the action hurt her throat, "Just… I don't know. I don't want to tell him on my own."
"If that is what you need, of course." Aro lifted his head from its resting place atop hers and sighed. "I hope you're ready because he is on his way here now."
She wasn't. Marcus was probably hurrying to find her because of how upset she had been. There was no way he had missed the emotional explosion that had just come from her and she was kind of surprised he hadn't barged in sooner.
Aro slid out of her hold and stood, extending a hand to help her up off the floor and leading her back toward the desk. He bent down to retrieve her fallen drawings as she sat in one of the chairs and wrapped her arms around herself, waiting for Marcus to arrive.
Her raven-haired brother gave the drawings a cursory glance over before setting them on his desk and leaning against it like he had been before she started crying earlier. For a moment Castiel was surprised he hadn't asked her about them, but then she remembered he had just helped her up off the floor and their hands had touched.
She knew he was coming, but Marcus' rap on the door sounded extra loud in the silent office and caused her to jump.
"Come in." Aro's voice was weary, and Castiel knew he was predicting Marcus' reaction to her current state. It was plainly obvious that she had been crying – evidence to back up the feelings Marcus had sensed from her.
And as little as she wanted to have the conversation that was coming, Castiel was happy to see him when he came to stand by Aro at the desk, even as his expression morphed from confusion to worry at the sight of her red face.
"What's going on?" Marcus' voice was severe, and his sharp gaze found Aro as he came to stand beside Castiel's chair, his hand reaching out to rest on the top of her head for a moment before stroking her hair once. She didn't miss how this change in position put him between her and Aro, or how Marcus' body was suddenly angled protectively and was half hiding her from view.
It was silent again. Aro wasn't sure the best way to start this conversation off and Castiel could see that by his expression. They couldn't just launch into a conversation about her mother but there was no way Marcus was going to ignore the fact that she had obviously been crying and that Aro might have been the source of it.
Castiel spoke up.
"Aro just got done giving me the telling off of a lifetime and we started talking about things-," She swallowed, cringing at how bad her voice sounded, "Things that were hard. We would have sent Afton to get you if you weren't already coming."
She knew Marcus was staring down at her by how his body shifted, but she was looking around him to Aro, who shrugged at her gaze as if saying well that's the best way to sum it up, I guess.
"The telling off of a lifetime?" Marcus repeated, phrasing it like a question.
Aro glanced at Marcus once, and then back to her. Castiel merely shrugged her shoulders, giving the non-verbal go ahead for him to tell Marcus everything she had been up to when they left.
Aro raised his eyebrows at her for a second before he told Marcus what she had done. He wasn't speaking slowly, but he also wasn't rushing through the explanation as to why he had told off Marcus' very human mate without consulting him first. Castiel sat quietly, twisting her hands nervously in her lap the entire time, unable to miss that Marcus had become extremely still and the tension around him made it feel harder to breathe.
Aro stopped talking. He only told Marcus up to the part where she tried to leave the room because he was keeping his word and didn't want to mention anything she had said in her rant without her consent.
But this left out the reason as to why Castiel had begun crying, and Marcus wasn't stupid, so there was no way he would have missed that fact.
Marcus didn't speak, or even breathe when Aro had finished talking. Castiel felt like her nerves would snap. She had been expecting to feel outrageous anger from Marcus – for his feelings to seep into her and consume her thoughts – but she felt… absolutely nothing.
Minutes passed and Marcus still didn't move or breathe. Castiel locked eyes with Aro twice during this time. It was obvious that they both shared equal concern for his sanity.
Seven minutes… Eight minutes… Castiel was about to reach out to touch the hand by his side when he spoke, his tone empty of all emotion.
"And why was she crying?"
Aro locked eyes with her again, and she gave one slow nod. Aro's head then tilted a fraction to the left, and he raised one eyebrow at her, but she could see the concern in his eyes.
The look he was giving her was asking 'Everything? Are you sure?'
If their silent conversation irritated Marcus at all he didn't give any indicator to show it, and Castiel nodded one more time at Aro.
And so, Aro recited everything she had said to him when she exploded with emotion, and he did it word for word. She cringed back into her chair as he spoke. Did she really say that? It all sounded so bad. The words were so full of self-hatred she felt pity for herself. Yeah, her self-esteem wasn't perfect because nobodies was, but she hadn't realized how harsh some of her own thoughts were when it came to her opinion of herself.
By the time Aro had once again finished talking and explaining to Marcus that he truly hadn't meant to upset her, Marcus' hand was on her shoulder and he was looking down at her with an expression she was finally able to understand. It was not anger, or irritation – but sorrow that colored his perfect features now. She found she couldn't stand to look at his face and averted her gaze to study the bindings of the books on Aro's shelves… they looked to be part of some encyclopedia set.
Marcus could see the pain very plainly on her face as she turned her face away from him, unwilling to face the conversation he knew would hurt her. It was no mystery to Marcus that something happened with her mother that wounded her very deeply. He had only tried to breach the subject with her twice after that first conversation the day they met, and her responses had been so practiced. Her responses always held some feigned nonchalance that smoothly transitioned into a completely unrelated subject.
But it had always been clear to him that her explanations hadn't been genuine. There was always something about her words that hinted at a script, as if she were remembering long practiced lines to use as an excure.
The first time they had been sitting in the library, and Castiel had just finished telling Marcus about the time her father had taken her to an aquarium as a little girl, and how she went to this small touch and feel tank to pet a sting ray and leaned too far over the glass lip on her little stool and fell in. Her father told her how she was yelling something fierce, and only calmed down again when a couple of the workers gave her dad a towel to dry her off and a stuffed sting ray to cheer her up.
"And apparently, there was this crazy helicopter mom there with her kids that started berating the employees about why I should get a free toy and not her kids too. My dad was furious, said he had to leave with me right away cause the woman was saying something like, "I'll drop my kids in too if that's what they have to do to get toys. She was a total basket case."
And Marcus, unable to help himself, asked, "How did your mother feel when she found out you fell in? Was she anything like the… err, helicopter mother?"
Castiel's expression, which had been alight with happiness as she laughed about the story, suddenly faltered and her eyes became guarded. "Oh. No, she had… left my dad and me long before that. But it doesn't really matter, that was nothing compared to the time-,"
She launched into a story abut how she had goon to a local zoo with her dad and almost got bitten by an ostrich because she was sticking her fingers through the fence when her dad told her not to. Although he was focused on her new story, Marcus couldn't help but find himself mulling over what the pause had meant when Castiel said the aquarium incident was after her mother had left.
He didn't bring up her mother again for a few more days after that, and the next time he tried, it was while Castiel was eating her dinner in the kitchen and he was finishing telling her about the time he had won some very decent blackmail material on Caius after a billiards match against Aro.
"Oh C'mon," She laughed, setting her fork down on her plate so she wouldn't be tempted to eat and choke from laughing. "You can't just leave it at that! What blackmail material did you receive from Aro? I'll go crazy not knowing what you could possibly have on Caius. Wait." She paused, her head tilting to the side curiously, "Why do you even need blackmail material on Caius?"
He smirked at her, pushing her plate toward her from across the table, wanting her to keep eating. "We all have blackmail material on each other dearest. When you live with someone for millennia they are bound to see and hear things you wouldn't want repeated, and sometimes to keep these otherwise embarrassing things private, you have to have something to give yourself an edge."
"But what-," She started, before he interrupted her.
"All I will tell you-," He chuckled as she pouted, "Is that it is a photograph, and the only way you'll see it is if you win it from me."
She got an excited gleam in her eyes, and while this might not have been the perfect time to revive the conversation that had been in the back of his mind for almost a week, it was probably one of the only chances he would get.
"Speaking of pictures, do you have any of your mother?"
Once the words were out Marcus found he really wished he hadn't said anything. Very smooth transition. Perfect. If there was one thing he was a "Master" of, it was being a fucking idiot.
Her eyes hardened at his question and she frowned, her brows pulling together suspiciously, "No, why do you ask?"
He had to just come out and ask now; Marcus knew there was no other way for it since he had effectively killed the happy mood that had been between them only moments before.
"I was just curious… when I mentioned your mother earlier this week you seemed…"
Like you were keeping something from me? No, he couldn't say that.
"I mean it seemed like your mother was not part of your life for very long." He amended, paying close attention to her face as she processed his words.
Her lips pulled down into a little frown, and she sighed, "She wasn't. She… she just… just left when I was young okay?"
Anxiety, strong and disorienting suddenly spiked through his chest, and he knew that this topic of conversation was more upsetting to her than it was worth putting her through. So, he smirked at her, and the sudden wickedness of his expression caught her off guard.
"Well then the only thing to do now is figure out how you're going to win that photograph from Caius from me hmm?" he teased, hoping to distract her.
And the way her eyes lit up showed him that it had worked.
So, Marcus did not need to know Castiel as well as he did to pick out that what Aro wanted her to talk about – the conversation that she had referred to as hard – was the black subject of her mother.
Before Marcus could say anything, and before Aro could even begin to nudge the conversation in the direction he felt it needed to go in, Castiel spoke. She didn't look at either of them, she just continued to stare at the same spot on the bookshelf, causing both vampires to glance quickly in that direction just to be sure nothing was there as they listened to her voice – steady, but sounding worn.
"It's true you know. When I told you my mother left when I was very young, I mean. I was only two… about two and a half when it happened but," She paused taking one deep breath. It was shaky and Marcus looked at her in concern, but her face was still smooth, "Something you gotta know about my mom… she was really religious and not the good kind of religious either. She wasn't a tolerant woman, she wasn't… she wasn't a good person. I'm not religious and neither is my dad, but I've seen religion bring out the best in people. I've seen it make people more accepting and more caring of their fellow man and planet but… my mother wasn't like that."
"My ability… has always been with me. My father knew that I knew things by what I would draw and the single words I would say when I could barely talk. Just imagine your infant child insisting "slicker slicker slicker!" on the sunniest day, so you put her little yellow raincoat on her before you leave for the store and behold, it stars to pour when you're loading your groceries in the car. Or when you're driving back to base in the middle of the night and you toddler goes "crash!", and next thing you know the car in front of you hits a deer and veers into a telephone pole not even a minute later. There were other things too, that my dad said I did, but these are just the ones I remember right now."
"And it…" Castiel paused to swallow, and Marcus and Aro both noticed the slight trembling of her shoulders, and the was she held her body stiffly to try and control it, "It never scared my dad. He said he always knew I was special and that he only worried for me, and my future, if others found out. But my mother… she was not so accepting of this."
Her next words came out slowly, her tone devoid of all emotion, a bleak smile turning the corner of her mouth. "You know most people don't have any memories of childhood before the age of three, and most of the time that happens because when you're between eight and ten years old you begin to forget childhood things. But I remember… pieces."
"Castiel." Marcus voice was cautionary, encouraging her to stop. He could feel the pain beginning to build in her chest copied in his own. It was like a weight, tightening everything right in the middle of his body and making it feel as if it would choke off his breathing,
But she didn't stop at his words and she still didn't turn her head to look at him.
"It terrified her, the things I could see. She viewed that I was a child of the devil – not her daughter or my fathers, but an evil thing placed within her body to grow like a parasite. I was evil, and the older I got and the more I saw… the more powerful I became… to her it only made her more frightened. When my second birthday came, my mother started refusing to touch me. She wouldn't bathe me or hold me anymore, and for months my dad believed that she was suffering post-partum depression late or something. He took over as my caregiver then, helping me learn new words and how to articulate thought better… teaching me how to explain things I saw more clearly to him."
"My mother never told him what she thought of me. She was scared, she believed that if she were to tell him what I was… if she were to take away my caregiver… that I would kill them both in the middle of the night. My father told me when I was old enough to understand, that there were nights he would hear her muttering in her sleep about demons and death and he believed she was perhaps developing schizophrenia. He knew something was terribly wrong with my mother, he knew that she was… sick. That she needed help."
"It took her months to make the decision – to act to stop me. She could see that making my father my caregiver and her refusing to feed me, or hold me, or take care of me in any way really had connected us in an unbreakable way. My dad loved me, and I became more important to him than her and… and that was bad."
"Castiel," Marcus voice was pained as he saw her eyes fill with tears that refused to fall down her cheeks, "Stop. You don't have to do this. You don't have to tell me-,"
"I do." Her voice cracked. "I do because you can't teach me… I can't… swim."
Marcus was glad that he wasn't touching her, because he went rigid as the stress touched him; freezing him in place as he begun to understand what her mother had done. Fuck no.
"One night we were all having dinner, my dad, my mom and me – and the doorbell rang. We were living on base at the time and two of my dad's buddies who I knew as "Wik!" which meant Rick, and "Da!" which was Don, stopped by." It was strange to tell this story. It was both a memory and a recollection of a story to her. Things she remembered with the gaps filled in by her dad. She knew that Aro had the ability to give a much more detailed description to the event, but she felt that asking him to stay while she told Marcus wasn't necessary. She would tell him enough without help. "They started talking in the living room. I can very faintly remember them – three big men all standing by the doorway to the kitchen."
She blinked the tears from her eyes and shook her head to clear it.
"My mother cleaned up the table and, for the first time in more than half a year, she told my dad she was going to take me upstairs for a bath."
Castiel looked at Marcus then, who was staring at her with his mouth slightly open and his body still rigid with shock, and gave him a sad, watery smile.
"My dad let her of course. She was my mother she had every right to give me a bath but… something felt wrong to him – it felt wrong to me. She picked me up and started taking me upstairs. Once my dad was out of sight, I kept saying daddy over and over. I wasn't the biggest talker, so this was another red flag of course. I know my father didn't know what to do. He didn't want his comrades to believe he didn't trust his wife, and he wanted to think that she might be getting over whatever it was that was… troubling her so badly. Remember he kept thinking post-partum depression, and yeah he might have worried about schizophrenia, but he didn't have any proof not to mention she never mad a violent move toward me or anyone."
"And well… she got me upstairs, she filled up the tub and I remember sitting on the floor next to the toilet." Castiel wrinkled her nose, "And she got up – I think… I assumed she was going to undress me for the bath, but she didn't. She stood up so she could lock the door."
"I might not have really understood my gift when I was so young… but it's always had some kind of defensive quality to it. I'm always aware of danger both now and back then."
Castiel's body felt strange. Shaky as if she had very low blood sugar or was about to be sick –and being sick wasn't completely unlikely – so she stood up, needing to get onto her feet. She felt something instinctual in her, some instinct to run, to be somewhere safe. She knew it was just the horrible memory she was repressing, and she walked over to the billiards table, her back to Aro and Marcus, and picked one of the balls out of the set triangle and began pushing it around with her finger.
"I started to scream. My dad said it was the singular, worst thing he had ever heard in his entire life. He told me a few years back that nothing could have ever terrified him more than hearing his baby screaming like a pig being slaughtered."
"Stop!" Marcus voice came out too loud, Castiel flinched violently, and Aro jumped slightly before moving forward quickly to rest a hand on his shoulder. He didn't want to hear anymore; it was too terrible. So horrible. Castiel began to shake, her back still to him and he snarled at Aro whose hand had become suddenly restraining as he tried to move toward his distressed mate.
But Castiel kept talking, his stop had come out as a plea and not an order, so the mating bond did not influence her. She was crying now, sobbing as she told the rest of the story, and thankfully for Marcus' sanity not giving a description of the part he couldn't bear to hear.
"My father kicked the door in. Of course, one little locking knob wouldn't keep out three Marine's in the prime of their training. Rick and Don held my mother back. They pinned her to the floor as my father resuscitated me. I had swallowed a lot of water and my lungs were full of it but… he saved me. I can't imagine what that was like for him. Trying to bring back your two-year-old daughter while your friends pinned down your screaming wife who was saying she was only trying to save you from the demon. That she had killed it, and everything was okay, and that he needed to stop trying to save me and break the devil's curse."
Castiel could say no more, and now that it was out she sobbed freely about it. She never told anyone before. Trent knew, because her dad had told him, but it was not something she had ever talked about aloud to anyone but her father. This was the very first time she had told the story. Aro saw the story in her head of course, but it was not something he ever mentioned to her before today because from the very beginning he knew that it was not something she spoke of. It was something she liked to pretend never happened.
The tears felt good, it felt like she was cleansing something deep inside her, weeding out the rotten parts and ridding herself of them. Two sets of arms found her then, and she sunk to the floor again, this time with Marcus' arms securely wrapped around her, and Aro's arm's around them awkwardly because of how Marcus had folded himself around her body.
They sat for a long time, and it stayed mostly quiet. She only cried for a couple minutes, and once the tears were out, they were out. She had felt Aro's hand brush her arm at her sudden quiet and the stoppering of the tears and knew that he was checking for the reason.
After a while she released one of her hands from around Marcus' waist and gripped Aro's fingers, communicating silently that she wanted him to explain the rest. It was the easy stuff now, the legal stuff Aro whispered to Marcus as she rested her head against his shoulder, noting every time his breathing stopped or when his arms would flex around her momentarily.
"Her mother was arrested. She wasn't placed in prison due to an insanity plea and a plea deal the sentenced her to ten years in a mental institution. The pastor at the church Castiel's mother attended gave witness to the case and admitted that she had been muttering about the devil and demons for months before the incident. He felt it was his fault for not saying something sooner; the pastor liked Castiel very much and claimed that if he knew that the mutterings would lead to what happened… well." Aro paused, and Castiel felt him shrug before he removed his arms from around her and sat back on his heels, allowing Marcus to take her onto his lap.
"There was no battle for custody of course. Castiel's father was able to impress upon her the importance of keeping the things she knew to herself. He was very concerned that Castiel's ability would be found out and something bad would happen. She never spoke during trials or meetings with lawyers, and she was never forced to be in a room with her mother again. Both she and her father have restraining orders against her mother and Castiel hasn't seen her since she was taken away. It was only last year that they found out her mother was still institutionalized and has indeed been diagnosed with a severe case of schizophrenia. It is unlikely she will ever leave hospital care."
Marcus sat silently, holding Castiel close to him and rubbing her back with a free hand while he processed everything and only moving so he and Aro could sit in the chairs rather than on the floor. He never once released her from his arms.
So that was the story. Castiel's mother had been afraid of her own daughter. She viewed her psychic ability as a curse rather than the gift they knew it to be. The woman had tried to drown his little mate when she was merely a toddler… nothing more than a harmless baby. It was easy to understand now why Castiel avoided this topic. Saying her mother left allowed for much less questioning than "oh my mother tried to kill me as a child". He was glad that she had confided in him but wished she could have done it on her own without his bother's influence.
He knew why Aro pressed the issue of course. He had been thinking about teaching Castiel to swim for the last few days. He wanted to do this with her soon since swimming was a skill she really would need to know over the coming millennia. Marcus didn't want to imagine what Castiel's response would have been if he tried to get her into the pool without knowing – the mental trauma he might have inflicted on her without meaning to… he didn't want to think about it.
He opened his mouth to ask her what her feelings were about water now; what things frightened her and what he should steer clear of with her, when she answered him before he could even ask.
"I've never owned a bathing suit because water deep enough to drown in always scared me. Drowning is on my top list of fears even above being buried alive. I didn't take a bath again after the incident until I was fourteen. Showers were all I could handle. If I ever went to the beach I would just take my shoes off and walk along the water, I never went in. And well pools… I avoided pool parties for the most part, and I always got really anxious sitting on the edge because I was scared someone would push me in even if I knew it wouldn't happen."
It was silent again, and Castiel began playing with one of the cufflinks on Marcus' shirt. It was small and round with the Volturi crest stamped into the silver. Marcus brushed his hand along her head while he and Aro stared forward at nothing in particular; both just thinking of what to say next.
Castiel stilled suddenly in Marcus' arms and he looked down at her in concern to see her frowning, her pupils widened as she stared at something far away, before she sighed and slouched in his arms.
"I can already see you're going to win the discussion of teaching me how to swim later tonight. So, I'll just save us both the stress. I'll try okay – but I will only try with you around and if anyone else comes into the pool area while we're there I will not-,"
"Okay." Marcus cut her off, sensing the rant that was about to start. "You have my word Castiel, just me, no one else. We'll figure out when to start later this week, we don't have to talk about this anymore just now."
"Yes," Aro agreed, "I think this had been enough emotional upheaval for today – so how about you explain these to Marcus?"
He reached over to the edge of the desk, grabbing her illustrations and holding them out to her. She took them silently, turning them over so Marcus could see them.
"Carlisle and Edward Cullen?" He stated, his brow furrowing as he unwrapped one arm from around her to take the drawings into his own hand, studying them with a frown.
"Yes," Castiel affirmed, seeming happy with the change of subject, "It looks like the vegetarian coven is having an issue with a newborn army too. This was what I saw when I spoke to you on the phone. Carlisle was arguing with Edward, it seems he suggested that they bring Bella – that's the human girl he's dating right? – here to keep her safe from the army. Carlisle said dealing with newborns is what the Volturi is for and that we might be willing to keep Bella here while the guard sorted out the fight. He said you'd be able to sympathize with Edward's need to keep Bella safe because of me."
Castiel's brow furrowed as she remembered something, "He also said something about a guy named Eleazar staying with us, and him saying that he met me and thought I was charming or something… who's Eleazar?"
This question was open for either of them to answer, Aro just happened to speak first.
"Eleazar is one of our guards. He does not live in Volterra but with his mate in Denali. They stay with the only other coven of our kind that follows the same animal blood diet as the Cullen's. You remember what Marcus told you about us having guards who roam as nomads and live separately from us? Eleazar is one of those exceptions." He paused, and for the first time Castiel saw that Aro's expression was suddenly guilty. "I meant to tell you sooner Castiel but," He took an unnecessary breath, "I summoned Eleazar here to examine you."
Castiel's body stilled in Marcus' arms for a moment, and he looked down at her in concern before frowning disapprovingly at Aro.
"Have him… examine me." Castiel said in a deadpan tone, her face was mostly impassive, but it was still obvious she was insulted.
Aro hadn't considered how offensive he had sounded.
"Perhaps you should explain yourself brother." Marcus growled, his arms tightening around Castiel, "Before I remove one of your arms on her behalf." He motioned with his chin to his silently seething mate.
"It's not a mental evaluation Castiel." Aro's words came quickly, "Eleazar is gifted, and his gift is the ability to see the gifts of others. He used to inform us if someone we were going to change was gifted, and in fights what vampires might pose the biggest threats to us. I called him during the week and asked him to come to Volterra. I know you are just as curious as myself as to why you were able to pull Marcus and I into your vision those weeks ago?"
Castiel couldn't deny that she certainly was curious as to how exactly she had pulled them into a vision with her, but that didn't mean she couldn't be irritated that Aro hadn't asked her if it was okay to summon Eleazar before he did.
"And he'll be here…?" She trailed off, knowing there was no reason to search for an answer Aro already had, but deep down slightly concerned that she missed the arrival of the Eleazar in her visions. She should have seen him, right?
But maybe not. He was a friend after all so there was no coming threat and its not like she could just watch the comings and goings of everyone in the coven and every little thing that may occur.
"Sometime this week." Aro answered, "I told him to take his time. We'll need to reorganize when the Ushakov coven leaves tomorrow."
"What?" Castiel said suddenly, shocked at this new information, "They're leaving?"
Marcus answered this time, nuzzling the top of her head with his chin, "Yes Nikita and Raphael have been complaining all week of how they miss their beloved Russia. They convinced Daphne and Veronica to leave pretty much immediately after they returned."
He sighed, "And as for my sympathies with the Cullen boy's problem, does he think we have simply forgotten his rudeness the last time he was here? Does he forget we already spared her life? They have been ordered to change her and they delay it with excuses, then ask us to watch over her as if we owe them?"
Marcus sounded a little heated by the time he grew silent and Castiel looked up at him in surprise before speaking. "Look I know that I'm an exception to the changing rule because I live here and all, but can you really say if the situation were reversed you wouldn't be hoping they'd protect me?"
To her immense surprise Marcus scoffed – not at her, but at the implication that he would not be able to protect his own mate. "I would not require another coven to look after you because I cannot protect you on my own. Not to mention if you were in such acute danger due to a planned attack on our coven, we are more than able to keep you safe. And if we weren't, I would make you safe."
Castiel knew that by "make you safe" he meant change her into an immortal so she wouldn't be so edible and fragile in a fight, but she tried not to dwell on it, and instead reached up to place her hand against his cheek.
His expression softened immediately at the action, but his lips were turned down in a slight frown as he caught sight of her sad smile. "But it's not about you owing him – which you don't –," she reason quickly with a small laugh, "It's about doing the right thing. You have time to decide of course, and Aro and Caius will have their opinions as well, but just consider protecting her. For me?"
Aro had to choke back a chuckle at the expression on Marcus face. Castiel had won and they both knew it. Phrasing it the way she did – that protecting the Cullen's human member was about doing the right thing – Aro knew that she had won his vote as well. Caius might be a different story but Aro was fairly sure Sulpicia and Athenadora would vote Castiel's side as well.
Majority rule.
And as Marcus stood, whispering softly to Castiel that they should retire to his rooms for a short period, Aro followed so he could call on one of the guards to summon the rest of his family. He was glad Castiel left the drawings on the desk so he had something to show them when they came.
It was nearly five in the afternoon, and Castiel was lying on her side on the couch in Marcus' rooms. The lights were out and the television above the mantle was on showing the ending of the third episode of the first season of NCIS. Marcus was lying behind her on his right side as well, his head propped up on his hand and his free arm draped over her, holding her back to his chest.
They hadn't said much since leaving Aro's office. Very few words had been spoken other than her convincing Marcus to watch her favorite show with her; and it did take a little bit of prodding to get him to agree. He knew he'd be roped into watching every single episode with her from that point on whether he enjoyed the show or not.
So they had set up for the Netflix binge, and Castiel had to figure out how to work the smart TV in his rooms and sign him up for a new account while Marcus made the room dark and sent Afton to get popcorn from the kitchen.
Much to her relief Marcus did seem to like the show. He did say something about the inaccuracies of crime shows at first but had to admit after watching a few episodes that the show was enjoyable.
"Who is your favorite character?" Marcus asked as the final screen cut to grey before moments later hearing the theme song start up again and Netflix counting down from 15 before the next episode began.
"I dunno," Castiel mused, fluffing the small pillow under her head for a moment, "I guess, Ducky, Abby, Tony, and Gibbs. Ziva too but we don't meet her yet."
Marcus chuckled, "Okay but who's your favorite?"
Castiel rolled her eyes as the next episode began to play, "They all are. They're all totally different characters and I love them all. I can't pick just one."
Marcus hummed in acknowledgement of her words before they sunk into silence again and began to watch.
This time it wasn't as easy to slip back into the slightly sleepy stupor she had been in while watching the previous episodes with Marcus. Her brain kept nagging her to speak – to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Was Marcus truly paying attention to the TV? He seemed to be, and she felt utterly relaxed lying as they were now. Her relaxation was only slightly inhibited by the fact she was beginning to feel a little hungry. Was he behind her forming his argument and thinking of the best way to tell her off? If he was going to yell at her she'd rather he did it now rather than later.
Reaching above her head for the remote that was on the arm of the couch, Castiel pointed it at the TV, her finger finding the pause button.
This action had caught Marcus' attention entirely, and she saw the concern on his face in the light from the TV as she turned to look at him and sat up.
She let out a deep breath, exhaling loudly as her shoulders slumped defensively inward. This change of posture and demeanor alarmed Marcus greatly, and he began worry as to what could have upset her so much when everything had been utterly fine just moments before.
He felt the spike in her anxiety as she spoke.
"If you're going to yell at me can you just do it now rather than waiting 'til later? I'd rather be prepared."
He sat up too, his expression completely bewildered. "Yell at you? Why would I do that?"
She obviously hadn't expected this response, because her mouth popped open in a shocked little O for a second before she hastily shut it and stammered, "Aren't – Aren't you angry with me?"
"Angry with you?" His tone was bemused and his eyes began to show concern as he reached behind him for the throw blanket that had been resting over them and pulling it up so he could place it around her shoulders, "Did something I do cause this reaction? We were fine only moments ago – did I do something that indicated anger toward-,"
But she interrupted him, too surprised to sit in silence while he mused over what he could have done to upset her.
"Aren't you angry about Livorno?"
These were the magic words, even though there was nothing magical about them. Electricity seemed to crackle through the air around them at that moment and Castiel felt a surge of many emotions, emotions she didn't have time to put a name to before Marcus schooled himself and calm radiated from him.
She let out a startled gasp from the sudden intense feeling, and the even more intense reaction of its sudden disappearance. It had given her emotions such a shock that she felt a little woozy, and Marcus' hand came to gently rub her back.
"I'm sorry. Take a few deep breaths and it'll pass. I promise I'll hold it together better, just give yourself a minute to recuperate and we'll talk."
She did as he said, focusing on the movement of his hand against her back as she took steadying breaths, knowing he was right to suggest it.
When she was calm again, and no longer feeling dizzy, Marcus' hand stopped rubbing her back so he could place his arm over her shoulders and draw her against his side.
"No, I'm not angry about Livorno. Upset about it certainly. But I'm not angry with you, I'm only angry with the others for not keeping a better watch on you. While I don't like that you ran off, and that quite frankly the idea of you having gone out alone would have given me heart failure if my heart was still beating, I understand why you did it. I know you feel like a bird in a gilded cage here. I will try to be better. I will talk to my brothers about… guard rotations and the possibility of us leaving the castle more."
He paused, and Castiel stared at him in astonishment. She didn't miss that he said, 'us leaving the castle more', not 'you leaving the castle more'. This was the difference between him and Aro. It was certainly a surprise that Marcus was thinking along the same route as Aro with her freedoms, but Aro was more willing to have her go places unaccompanied by their family. Marcus on the other hand was okay with her going out, but seemingly not without him.
She didn't comment on this figuring it was best to let Aro bring up the subject with him later – probably when she was asleep – because just the fact that Marcus wasn't angry with her about her running away while he was gone was enough to stop her from pushing her luck.
Misinterpreting her silence, Marcus smiled softly down at her. "You asked me to give you patience Castiel, and I'm doing my best to uphold that promise."
After a moment more of astonished silence, Castiel muttered a near breathless "Wow." and started at him with an entirely new expression, as if she were seeing him for the first time and liked what she saw.
Unable to help himself, Marcus took her face in both of his hands and leaned down to kiss her.
Castiel shivered in delight when his lips finally met hers, and her arms came to wrap tightly around his neck. Without meaning to they seemed to be picking back up on where they left off from the kiss in the garage. His mouth was insistent against hers, and she parted her lips automatically when he ran his tongue against her lower lip, asking for entrance.
Marcus maneuvered them carefully, so she was on her back and he was resting between her legs, supporting most of his weight on his arms but still keeping his body pressed against hers. This kiss contained the passion that was still very new to her, and she let out a small moan when one of Marcus' hands left her face so it could travel down and slip under her shirt. He rested his hand against the bare skin of her stomach, gently stroking there as the room began to feel very warm to her.
She was eager to feel more of his skin and was relieved when his lips left her mouth and began kissing across her jaw, giving her time to catch her breath.
Her hands went to his shirt, her slightly trembling fingers finding the buttons as Marcus skimmed his nose down her neck. Without thinking about it, she leaned her head back to give him better access, and he let out a deep purr that almost sounded like a growl at the action.
"Oh, piccola you are such a good mate."
She felt her cheeks flush at his words, and felt his hands catch her fingers as she undid the third button on his shirt. For a moment she worried he was stopping her, but he was merely making quicker work of the buttons, his mouth still trailing kisses down her neck.
Without warning, he nipped the more sensitive part of her neck with his teeth, not breaking the skin even though she was sure it would leave a mark, and she let out a sound that was both a breathless gasp and surprised squeak.
She heard the light flump as Marcus finished removing his shirt and tossed it to the floor, and then the slight clatter of what must have been his cufflinks being dropped as well. She ran her fingers up his chest as his lips came back to hers and, with a great boost to her confidence, grinned when she felt him shiver slightly in response.
The movement of their lips, the feel of his skin and the gentle rocking of his hips had her complete undivided attention for a few long and very pleasurable minutes, before his lips freed hers again and he began kissing across her cheek toward her ear.
Her shirt had been pushed up to show most of her stomach until it was just under her breasts, and Marcus' hands found the fabric as he whispered, "Can I take this off?"
Her breathing hitched, and her heart rate jumped a little higher as she registered his words. Insecurity came sweeping across her thoughts, wiping some of the passion from her brain as she considered it. Marcus had been shirtless multiple times in her presence, and allowed her to touch him freely, but that was different. He was perfect and strong and so sure of himself, and all she was, was small and soft and-
Marcus' fingers loosened slightly on her shirt, and before he could pull away – as she knew he would, believing he must have pushed her too far – she whispered a shaky "Yes,"
He leaned back slightly, and his eyes met hers before scanning her face, wanting to be sure she was doing this because she wanted to and not because she felt obligated too. Her cheeks were flushed and her pupils were dilated, her lips parted as she breathed in quick gasps. There wasn't fear on her face but he could sense the anxiety and nerves she was facing.
It surprised him when her eyes hardened, and her expression became stubborn before reaching for the bottom of her shirt and pulling it off herself, tossing it to the floor to join his.
She didn't want to stop. She didn't want her insecurities to ruin the moment and Marcus was going to stop if she didn't take it upon herself to show that she wanted to. So, after tossing her shirt to the floor she settled back beneath him and his eyes focused on her chest. She became aware of the coolness in the room without the blanket and without the heat that had been flowing between them while they kissed. She felt her skin erupt with goose bumps and her nipples harden.
Suddenly, she remembered what bra she had chosen to wear that morning from the large selection Athenadora and Sulpicia had gotten her, and her entire face got hot. She knew she must have been as red as a tomato.
Her closet had everything for practical, skin toned and lightly lined cotton bras, to the skimpiest pieces of lingerie which were all clearly made to be viewed by another person. And the bra she was wearing – well it definitely leaned toward the 'made to be viewed by another person' category.
It was a few shades of green. The cups held no padding and were made of a light green sheer fabric, while the straps and thin underwire were of a forest green shade. Since the bra had no padding her breasts fell in their natural shape, and the only thing blocking her nipples from view was the design of little leafs flowing across the sheer material. Castiel couldn't help wanting to wear some of the more risqué pieces she had been supplied with, and since today she had been in a t-shirt and jeans for the first time in a while she though it was a good time to wear a pair because she figured no one would notice.
Marcus' eyes, which moments before she pulled her shirt off had been weary, were now staring down at her hungrily, watching the rise and fall of her breasts as she breathed.
He placed both of his hands on her stomach, his thumbs touching the center of her chest and his fingers stroking her sides as he moved them upward to rest just under her breasts.
He groaned. It was a sound of both want and need mixed together and Castiel let out a breathless laugh when he smiled wolfishly at her.
"Ah," He sighed, "You are so tempting. I swear you must have worn this to torture me."
She laughed again, and before she could say another word, he wrapped both of his arms around her, pulling her chest to his as he came to rest on top of her again – his lips occupying hers. The only sounds in the room where their heavy breathing and her soft moans for a little while again. Marcus' hands were exploring her body, stroking every inch of skin available to him, squeezing her bottom as he rocked into her, starting the build of that same very pleasurable feeling as the last time.
Castiel was mentally pleading, praying that he wouldn't stop, eager to orgasm again as she recalled the overwhelming pleasure from the last time. She felt one of Marcus' hands come up to cup one of her breasts, his thumb stroking the nipple through the thin fabric, causing her to shiver, feeling a spark of pleasure shoot straight to her core at the action.
His other hand moved up her back between her body and the couch, his fingers gently playing with the clasp to her bra, nonverbally asking permission to remove it as well.
Their lips broke apart as she let out a soft "N-," and Marcus immediately moved his hands off her, opening his mouth to apologize for the assumption, but she stopped him, removing one of her arms from around his neck and placing a finger to his lips.
"Not no," she breathed, very glad for her gift in these moments, glad she could stop the moment from being broken before it happened. "Just not here – not on the couch."
She had barely finished speaking when Marcus moved off of her, standing and stooping down to lift her into his arms and getting them both over to the bed so quickly it made her head spin.
After reorienting himself so he was in the same position as they were on the couch – just this time just with a lot more room on either side of them to move around – Marcus' hand snaked up her back and found the clasp to her bra, deftly unhooking it so it became limp on her form before reaching back around to remove it from her body.
Marcus' eyes, which had been a deep burgundy color before, went pitch back as he stared down at her bare breasts. They weren't large, but they were decent handfuls and the size fit her body type perfectly. They were round a perky, with light pink nipples already hard from excitement and the coolness of the air… she was utterly fucking perfect to him. He knew he could spend all day gazing at her if it weren't for the tempting movement of her breasts as she breathed. Feeling her gaze on his face he took in the details of her body; her chest, her slim waist, her tiny hips, and her beautiful red hair forming a halo around her flushed face.
This time when he moved back down to her he didn't reclaim her lips, but instead ran his nose lightly across her jaw and down her neck, across one of her collarbones before trailing down to her left breast, his lips taking the nipple gently into his mouth before flicking his tongue across the tip of it. His left hand came up to gently grasp the other breast, massaging it gently before stroking the nipple gently with his thumb.
Castiel moaned. It was an unrestrained sound as her back arched off the bed and caused her to push her breasts into his face. It felt wonderful, the attentions to her nipples felt so nice… so much better than she could have ever guessed, and she nearly convulsed when he lightly pinched her other nipple, sending shocks of pleasure right to the area between her legs.
"Oh, you're so responsive," Marcus mused, his deep voice thick with his own excitement, "Let's see how sensitive you can be hmm?"
While she didn't know what he meant right away, she quickly found out. He attacked her breasts with a ferocity she hadn't seen from him before. He wasn't being rough, but he wasn't being gentle either as he alternated from gently sucking and flicking one with his tongue, and torturing the other by tugging and pinching her nipple so gently she could barely feel it one moment, and giving her the stimulation she wanted the next.
Aside from the actions of his mouth and hands the steady grinding of his hips between her legs was quickly driving her to the point she wanted to be at, pushing her higher and higher into the pleasurable feeling until she barely new her own name. All she knew was Marcus and the feelings he was igniting inside her. She didn't know shame as she moaned continuously and cried out his name as a plea when he would take too long in the periods of nearly no stimulation to her breasts.
"Please," She begged, feeling herself get so close for not the first or second but third time. Needing the release she knew he could give but not knowing how to get it herself. "Please Marcus, please-,"
One of Marcus' hands left her breast and came between her legs, her pleas stroking his ego substantially, the dominant part of him growling with pleasure at her predicament. He unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans before slipping his hand into place between her jeans and her damp panties; gently rubbing the swollen bundle of nerves above her sex once in a circle.
It was enough, and with a loud cry she came, bucking her hips in a disjointed rhythm against the hand that was now cupping her as she rode out the waves of her orgasm, his lips capturing hers and muffling the sound of her pleasure.
It took a minute for her to calm afterward. He hadn't meant to give her such an intense orgasm, he hadn't meant to make her beg for it after driving her close enough times that it made finishing more of a necessity than a desire, but he was glad he did. Her expression was one of utter bliss when her breathing finally slowed to a normal rate, and her eyes focused on his face as he held himself above her, his hand still between her legs.
"Wow," She gasped, her eyes bright.
"Mmm," He purred, smiling down at her, gently pulling his hand from her pants and redoing the zipper and button.
He lay down next to her, opening his arms so she could move to lie against him. She pressed herself against his side, laying one arm over his chest before shivering slightly.
"Are you cold?" He asked. They were lying on top of the comforter so they would have to get up, but before he could stand to get the throw from the couch, Castiel shook her head.
"No, it's just… sensitive." She blushed.
Realizing that she meant when he felt her nipples rub against him as she got herself situated against his side, he grinned toothily at her.
She turned her head so she was facing away from him, her ear pressed to his chest listening to his breaths. It was still so weird to register the lack of heartbeat.
"Don't be embarrassed," Marcus said softly, feeling the heat in her cheeks against his chest and smelling the slight increase of her scent in the air as the blood rushed to her face. "It's hard to behave myself when I have such a sweet, accommodating mate."
His began to purr then, causing her to shut her eyes in contentment as his hand began rubbing small circles on her bare back.
Speaking of accommodation…
Her eyes reopened and drifted to where she could see his erection still visibly straining in his pants.
"Do you…" She whispered, swallowing against her nerves, "Do you want me to take care of you too?"
Marcus went unnaturally still, his hand pausing against her back as her heart began to race. Of course, she would have no idea what she was doing, but if he told her what to do she could at least try-
The hand against her back began rubbing again as Marcus tried to ignore the slight stirring of his cock at her words.
"No." He answered gently, figuring they had gone far enough for one day. He didn't want her to do anything because she felt like she owed him. He only wanted her to touch him because she wanted to. "Contrary to belief dearest, no one owes anyone anything in return for sexual gratification."
She sat up, and he sat up too.
"Why don't you go shower," He suggested, knowing she would want to, "I'll have someone bring your dinner up."
"Castiel?" Marcus' voice was low, his lips near her ear as he roused her from sleep, "Come on sweetheart time to wake up."
Castiel groaned as she forced her eyes open, blinking sleepily as she looked around the still dark room. The television was off, but the fire had been lit. She was still on the couch having fallen asleep watching NCIS with Marcus after dinner. It couldn't possibly be time to wake up yet, she just felt too tired for that to be right.
"What time is it?" She yawned, stretching as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"It's around two fifteen in the morning."
She gaped stupidly at him; her brain still so thick with sleep it took a while to register his words.
She groaned, "That's it, I'm going back to bed."
Before she could reach for the blanket again, Marcus snatched it from her reach.
"Hey!" She exclaimed, pouting.
"I was under the impression you wanted to say goodbye to the Ushakov coven, and as Raphael has them waiting to see you before they depart, I thought it prudent to wake you up." He teased, reaching down to grab the tops of her arms and pulling her to her feet. "I promise when they leave, I'll let you sleep as long as you'd like. I could send them off now of course–,"
"No, it's fine," She said, stepping out of his grasp and heading to the closet to change out of her pajama pants and t-shirt. The spare closet next to his had ended up being a storage area of sorts for her clothes while he was away. She knew she had one clean dress left, which was good, because she planned to go back to sleeping in her own rooms the next day.
She changed quickly, her dress was deep blue and came to just above the knees and she donned on her black heels rather than the flats before emerging from the dressing room to meet Marcus. She didn't bother with stockings or doing anything more complicated with her hair than running her fingers through the knots since she knew she'd be going back to bed shortly after their visitors left.
"Okay I'm ready," She smiled up at him as she took his hand, "Let's go."
"You take care of yourself my sweet little human friend," Raphael boomed in his thickly accented voice, Castiel's face smushed between his large hands as he kissed the top of her head, "Don't let anyone push you around and if he steps out of line-," Raphael's tone became playful as he pointed at Marcus over her shoulder, "You tell me, and I come teach him manner yes?"
Castiel laughed, nodding when he let her go.
They were in the garage and Raphael was the only one of the Ushakov coven not in one of their cars ready to leave. She had already exchange quick hugs and cheek kisses with Daphne and Veronica while Nikita was conveniently waiting in the passengers seat of one of the Ushakov's SUVs and unable to exchange proper goodbyes, and Aro, Caius, Dora, and Sulpicia waited to the side with a couple of the guard, wishing to be present to properly see off their friends.
"Promise me you write soon? I want to keep in touch." Raphael asked as he stepped up to the last car where his wife was waiting – a sturdy, slightly boxy looking BMW. "And do not be to hard on your mate when you find out. He only wishes to keep you safe."
This statement earned him a very confused look from Castiel, before she glanced back at Marcus, her eyes widening in shock when she saw his teeth were bared at Raphael.
"I had to warn her," Raphael shrugged at Marcus as he ducked into the car, "She's a little fireball, and she'll have your head."
He laughed boisterously, and without a further word he shut the door and the cars began to pull out and up the sloping tunnel. They were out of sight in less than a minute.
There was a very thick silence in the garage after the door rumbled back down, before Castiel turned to Marcus, her pupils slightly dilated as she searched ahead to see what Raphael was talking about.
It was obvious when she found out the bad news, her expression showed her distaste very plainly as her eyes returned to normal and her glare focused on Marcus.
"You need someone firm to look after you. Each of us should have two main guards. Afton and Chelsea are overworked protecting us both. Chelsea will stick with me from now on, and Afton and-," Marcus said, his hands out to her as he tried to appeal to her reasonable side in her anger.
"No," She interrupted, her sharp gaze zeroing in on Aro by his side, who looked completely unabashed, his eyebrows raised.
"I told you I'd speak to him about you having more freedom. This was a non-negotiable part of that agreement." Aro inclined his head toward Marcus. He must have breached the subject with him sometime during her sleep after dinner and when Marcus came to wake her up.
And they had agreed on the worst possible thing in her mind. She was almost impressed by the speed at which Aro go things done, before she remembered that of course he would have to be quick about his decisions – certain arrangements had to be made before their allies left.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the door to the garage from the castle opened, and Kemar strolled in, wearing the same cloak of deep grey as Afton and a shiny new Volturi Crest around his neck.
Castiel had given Marcus the silent treatment all the way back to his rooms, which took a very long time considering she wouldn't let him touch her, let alone carry her, because she was just so mad.
And if she wasn't so tired that she felt like she could fall asleep while walking, perhaps she would have been yelling about the injustice, or planning to storm into his room and grab her pajamas before demanding Afton take her back to her rooms to sleep.
But she didn't have the energy for any of that. She only had enough energy to storm impressively from the garage the moment Kemar smirked at her and make the walk back to Marcus' rooms, where she knew she would collapse on the couch and pass out at first chance.
Kemar was now not only a member of the guard, but now her permanent personal bodyguard. Afton and Kemar would alternate days on which they would guard her, and she knew the days with Kemar were destined to be the bane of her existence.
Because she hated him, hated his cocky demeanor and the way he looked down at her. The way he scorned at her humanity and her feelings – these things were weakness in the eyes of her new guard. She disliked him so much because she disagreed with his high and mighty attitude about her range of emotion. She believed that emotion was healthy, emotion was good! It was what made you who you are. The only emotions in Kemar's body were superiority, cockiness, and an overall asshole-ish demeanor.
The thing she disliked most about him was the fact that to her, he represented all the guards in this coven who looked down on her like she was a filthy animal that had wandered in – that she was just a stupid little mortal girl who was fucking their boss.
Marcus' hand touched her cheek, surprising her when she realized he was brushing the single tear that had fallen from her eye away.
"Why are you sad?" He whispered. She could feel his gaze as he looked down at her while she continued to stare resolutely forward. His tone was gentle and he clearly wasn't expecting her to respond because she had ignored him since the moment Kemar walked into the garage. He was praying she would talk to him about this though. He could feel how angry she had been with him of course – but this was different. He wasn't expecting to feel pain along with the anger.
She shook her head, "Not now. When we get back to the rooms… if I don't fall asleep first."
Glad to know that she planned on giving him an answer, Marcus nodded and didn't try to press her for anything more, reaching out to grab her hand and smiling slightly when she twined her fingers with his.
Castiel slept a good long time, almost ten hours, and she awoke feeling extremely groggy and slightly dry mouthed from dehydration in Marcus' arms. She stayed awake long enough last night to tell him the very basics of why she disliked Kemar so much. He listened to why she felt Kemar represented the vampires that both disliked and looked down upon her, and rubbed her back soothingly as complain about how it sucked to be a sad crier, happy crier, and angry crier, because her emotions had just been so all over the place all day and she was feeling very worn out.
The most reassurance Marcus could give her was the promise that if Kemar was ever inappropriate with her he would be put in his place immediately, but she had no concerns about anything like that. Kemar was just overly cocky and probably the very strictest guard she could have been assigned – which wasn't surprising. It was so predictable that Aro and Marcus would agree to let her go out on her own more, but only with a guard that would take absolutely no nonsense from her. Kemar was a guard who would be more focused on his job than being her friend. Apparently, Afton's friendliness with her made him less dependable in their eyes since Afton would be susceptible to sweet-talking from her. They believed he might let Castiel get up to unsafe shenanigans and keep it to himself, which was unacceptable.
At least she only had to deal with Kemar half the days and Afton would always go with her and Kemar when she chose to go out, so he would at least be a buffer to Kemar's unpleasantness.
She was brushing her teeth in Marcus' bathroom, her eyes only half open as she was still half-asleep, when he came in, taking place at the sink next to her and grabbing his toothbrush from the holder between them.
The met eyes in the mirror as they brushed their teeth together, and Castiel couldn't help giggling – foamy toothpaste almost falling from her mouth, forcing her to spit quickly in the sink.
After a moment longer of brushing, Marcus mimicked her, grinning as she rinsed her mouth with water under the faucet.
"What's so funny?" His smile was breathtaking, and she couldn't help beaming back at him.
"Nothing, it's just… very domestic to stand here with you and brush our teeth in the morning."
"Yes, it really disrupts the whole vampire king image doesn't it?" He teased back, rinsing his toothbrush off under the water and then frowning slightly, a crease between his brows forming as he ran his thumb over the bristles.
With a shrug he pulled open the cabinet under the sink and threw out the toothbrush in the little trash-bin under it. He missed her inquisitive look as he bent to open the bottom drawer on his side, and Castiel's mouth fell open to see that it was full of nothing but toothbrushes of various colors.
He picked one at random – it was orange – and only caught her confused look after he broke it from it packaging and placed it in the holder.
"The sharpness of our teeth and the venom that coats them erodes toothbrush bristles very quickly. They rarely last longer than two weeks. Sulpicia tried to have us switch to biodegradable toothbrushes before, the ones with the bamboo handles, so there would be less plastic waste in the environment, but they irritated the hell out of Caius because he kept breaking them by accident. And they ended up not working out anyway because they eroded in two to three days. It really didn't make the environmental impact much better if we had to use six times the amount we where already going through." He explained.
"Wow," Castiel said, her brows still raised as she registered this, "I never thought of that."
He grinned again before frowning, "I probably shouldn't have brushed right now anyway, Heidi should be arriving soon."
The playful mood shifted for a second as Castiel registered his words, but she pushed the meaning from her mind. She knew what he was, and she came to terms a long time ago with what he ate, it just surprised her when he spoke so casually of it.
Before he could apologize – which she didn't need to be psychic to know he was going to – she gave him a small smile.
"Okay, I'll be in the library if you don't have any trials right away and want to come sit with me. I need a new book to read."
"Perhaps you should wait here until Kemar or Afton are available. They are both downstairs waiting for Heidi as well-,"
"Marcus," She groaned, her hands on her hips. "I'm perfectly capable of walking to the library on my own. I think it's pretty clear to the rest of the coven I'm off limits food-wise at this point."
This reasoning didn't seem to touch him at all, because he still looked concerned, "Still… something doesn't feel right."
Her lips twitched as she tried not to smile, "I didn't realize you were developing a clairvoyance – is that part of the bond too? We share gifts now? When do I get a turn at yours?"
Her grin was full-blown by the time she stopped talking, but still he didn't seem amused by her teasing.
"I'm serious."
"Marcus," She said, her tone completely serious even though her eyes were still bright, "You worry to much. I'll be fine. Come see me after…" She paused uncomfortably for a second, "You know after, if you're still worried okay?"
She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him quickly, before turning so she could get changed for the day.
It was nice to walk through the castle on her own for once. She was so rarely unaccompanied it was a rare treat. She traveled the halls at a leisurely pace, stopping every now and again to look out windows here and there and trying to catch views of the city and the rolling hills beyond it from different angles. It was beginning to get warmer out, and when halls had windows, they were usually considerably warmer than the ones without. Well, as long as there wasn't a draft that was. Volterra was always so windy.
Though she was happy to be walking on her own Castiel couldn't help but feel incredibly vulnerable. She was sure it was just Marcus' paranoia getting to her, as she hadn't seen a single vampire yet and she had been walking for fifteen minutes because she had chosen to take the long way to the library.
Rounding another corner, she came to a hall with a lot of windows – the sunlight streaming through them making the place brightly lit and warm. Beneath one of the windows was a white marble bench, which she gladly walked over to and knelt on so she could look out.
She didn't even register the view however, before she was hit with a vision so unexpected that she gasped.
This was not a vision of other people, it was of her, and she knew this right away because it was from her point of view. Unlike all her other visions where she walked about as an invisible entity, able to look around scenes and walk through people like a ghost; sometimes when she saw visions of herself she would be present in her own body, and in this vision, her body was on the floor.
She was lying on her back, staring up, surrounded by cloaks as she gasped for air. She was completely unsure of where she was, the ghost of her future thoughts swimming across her mind.
"Please, please help, I can't breathe, I can't breathe."
A face swam above her, distorted and blurry. She was unable to focus fully but still knew who it was.
"Arkos. Arkos my side, my side, it hurts so much. Help me."
They were all words in her head that were not passing her lips; the only sounds coming from her were those of pain.
Castiel felt all the hair on her arms stand on end, and the vision suddenly forcing her out of it and back to the present as her body registered the danger that had crept up behind her.
She turned slowly, preparing to see the danger and to face the thing that she knew without a doubt, was about to hurt her rather badly.
Jane was standing in the hall, barely ten feet from her, staring at her with an expression deeper than hatred. Complete and utter loathing colored her cherubic features as Castiel slid off the bench and back onto her feet.
"Hello Jane." Her voice was completely polite, and thankfully she didn't sound scared at all. She had never spoken to Jane before, but she knew that she was someone most of the coven feared. Demetri told her once, weeks ago, that her gift was powerful and not something someone wanted to find themselves on the receiving end of. She did not know exactly what the gift Jane possessed was – Demetri had refused to tell her – but knew that it was the reason everyone was so respectful of Jane and the reason people listened to her.
Because they were afraid of her.
The feeling in Castiel's gut screamed of immediate danger, and for the first time Castiel tried to focus on the feeling of her bond to Marcus, the unbreakable cord that bound them together. Could she influence it? Could he feel now that she was afraid? Was there a way to signal to him that she needed him to come, and quickly?
Jane's beautiful face twisted into a sneer at her greeting and her black eyes followed her every move. "You really think you're some hot shit don't you, you pathetic mortal?"
The words were biting, and Castiel's honest confusion was visible on her face as she uttered a startled "S-Sorry?"
Without breaking eye contact with the visibly angry vampire, Castiel focused her attention on her chest, trying to feel the bond there, reaching out with her mind for that extra sense – the part of her she couldn't touch or see but only feel.
And she did sense something, she could feel it as if an invisible rope was tied somewhere between the center of her body and her heart, but she didn't know how to influence it intentionally and before she could try to give it a mental tug, Jane was speaking again.
"I see what you are. You're nothing more than a stupid mortal girl who thinks she matters because she's slumming it with Master Marcus." Jane took a step forward, causing her to step back. At this action Jane's hateful expression twisted into a mocking smile. She was pleased that Castiel was afraid of her. "I figured I'd come and give you the wake-up call everyone seems unwilling to give. The only part of you that matters to our kind is your blood, and if it wasn't for the fact that Master Aro has been looking for a psychic for years you would have been a meal months ago."
Castiel opened her mouth as if to speak but was still too wary of the danger to say anything, causing Jane to take her speechlessness as a signal to keep talking.
"And you really believe you mean something to Master Marcus?" Jane asked, her expression one of pretend disbelief, "You aren't the first whore he's bought around, the first human sure, but certainly not the first concubine that's shared his bed. He's older than your entire filthy culture. The masters have seen the rise and fall of civilizations, made choices and influenced so many powerful people that they are responsible for your very way of life before you came here. Yet you truly believe that you're anything more than a distraction?"
"Your gift is the only thing that makes you interesting. Most of us here hate you so I'm surprised you've even got the balls to walk around like you own the place."
Jane took another step closer, but this time Castiel stood her ground. She had only been half listening to Jane's words – she was too busy trying to tug at the bond to give them her full attention. She seemed to have gotten it too, because when she focused on her desire for Marcus to come and her need for his presence right now, the bond reverberated, causing a very soft tugging feeling to resonate in her chest. It did not hurt, and she could hardly feel it, but something told her Marcus was feeling it loud and clear.
She could feel in her gut that Marcus knew she needed help and that he must be coming.
"Honestly Jane," Castiel sighed, rolling her eyes, "Why does it matter to you that I'm with Marcus? I see no point in arguing with you. I don't know what I could have done to make you hate me so much."
Jane's expression became suddenly perfectly composed, but there was a vengeful fire in her eyes. "It's more just the fact that you exist."
Castiel shook her head. "I'm not doing this Jane. Bottom line is, you hate me even though this is the very first time we've ever spoken. I've done nothing to you to deserve your ire and I'm frankly getting to be very tired of the attitude some of you immortals have. You think you're so much better than everyone else just because you're beautiful and strong, but you aren't. Being beautiful and a predator doesn't make you the gods some of you think you are. I'm done here. I refuse to fight with you."
And she turned her back on Jane.
And at the moment she knew she was dead.
There was pain, nothing but terrible, all consuming agony possessing every cell in her body. She was screaming, screaming so loudly with no relief in sight. Jane was torturing her to death. Castiel could not feel hands breaking her bones or teeth ripping into her, but only fire. Had Jane managed to set her alight? Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut as she continued to scream, her heart pounding dangerously fast, feeling as if it would falter and die if the pain didn't stop soon.
And she wanted to die, she wanted it to end. She wanted Jane to snap her neck or rip her heart from her chest, to finish it quickly because death was better than this, anything was better than this.
Suddenly there was a high keening sound, and then something that sounded like sheet metal being cut with a dull shear.
The fire was gone, and Castiel was face down on the floor, sobbing into the stones and gasping for breath.
But the absence of the fire did not mean the absence of the pain.
There was a piercing agony in her left side, causing her to gasp desperately for breath, her heart hammering unevenly.
But the breath would not come. The very moment she tried to take a deep breath a pain so severe passed through her body she nearly fainted at once. It felt as though someone had run her through with not just one knife, but a dozen, and left them all inside her, stabbing holes into her lungs and all her vital organs.
She began to breathe in deep startled pants, unable to take even a quarter of a breath. Her body was beginning to fall into a state of shock, interrupted only by the desperate "heh… heh… heh…" as she struggled to breathe; her lungs fighting for a good oxygen supply.
Two hands suddenly grabbed her, rolling her onto her back, the pain of the movement made her head swim and her ears feel as if they had just been plugged up.
Kemar's face swam above her, and she barely registered the blur of his hand before she felt him rapidly tapping her cheek.
"Do not pass out. Stay awake. The doctor is coming."
"Huhn-nuuh," She could make no more sound than that, and it wasn't until Kemar told her to stay awake, that she realized just how difficult that request was destined to be. There was so much pain, she wanted to throw up and it felt hot, so hot that all the sudden she worried she would faint from heatstroke, but she figured that it was really the pain that was making her cling to consciousness to difficult.
She let her head fall to the side, and she saw around Kemar's crouched legs. They were not alone in the hallway. Many cloaked figures were circled around them and she could see from between the legs of those behind Kemar that a figure lying on the ground… but something didn't look quite right.
Her hearing was going in and out. For a few seconds it was clear before it became oddly muffled again, as if she were under water, so all she could register was Kemar saying something unintelligible before the set of cloaked figures tightened their ranks – their legs now blocking the thing from view.
Then she felt Kemar's hand grab her face, pulling it back up so she was looking at the ceiling, and at him for a moment, before his hands reached for the hem of her shirt and began pulling it up.
She lifted her arms in panic, trying to stop him and crying out as both the movement and her effort to say "No!" caused such a stab of agony to rip through her side that her heart seemed to lurch, and vomit began to force its way up her throat.
Kemar, sensing what was happening, turned her onto her right side just as Arkos appeared in the hallway, shoving past the guards that had formed a circle around the pair of them. He dropped to his knees beside Castiel's head as she vomited – Kemar holding her head up so she wouldn't choke.
Two vampire women in light blue scrubs forced their way into the circle just as Arkos and Kemar moved Castiel onto her back again. She was barely holding onto consciousness; anyone could see it. It was inevitable that they only had minutes before she would faint.
Castiel couldn't feel shame that she had just gotten sick on the floor in front of so many vampires, she couldn't feel embarrassed that Kemar had just been supporting her so she didn't choke to death on her own vomit, all she could focus on now was the painful beating of her heart and the pain of the things that were stabbing her.
She couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe, she could hear herself gasping but she still couldn't breathe.
Please, please help, I can't breathe, I can't breathe. She thought desperately, trying to force the words to pass her lips.
A face swam above her, distorted and blurry. She was unable to focus fully anymore, but still knew who it was.
Arkos. Arkos my side, my side, it hurts so much. Help me.
And again, these words did not pass her lips.
And as she finally began to pass out, she marveled in how fainting was nothing like what she expected it to be. There was no creeping blackness taking over her vision, and no sudden fall into darkness. Instead, everything went away little by little – not into darkness, but into light. Her hearing went first, all the sound around her including that of her own breathing being switched off as if someone was gradually turning down the volume of a TV until it was on mute.
And then, everything she saw became ultra saturated. The world around her faded into tones of sepia before beginning to whiten; everything around her seemed to get erased, becoming lost it the light.
Just as she was.
Kemar stood silently against the left wall of the throne room, studiously ignoring the other 23 vampires present as the listened to Heidi's approaching footsteps and the heartbeats of the fifty or so humans that were with her.
The kings were part of this feeding today, as were some of the higher-ranking guards of the coven. He could see Afton standing on the opposite side of the room with Chelsea, who was positioned ever so slightly in front of him. He was obviously being a good mate and planning on allowing his partner to feed before him. It was a natural gesture, one look around the room at the other mated pairs showed Kemar they were all doing the same thing and one partner was standing back to allow the other to go first.
It was nice really, to be part of another coven who had order and a way to do things when the feeding started. There was nothing more obnoxious than having everyone leaping at the prey at once. It was never fun to have to fight for your food when all you wanted was to get it over with.
Kemar tuned into the beating hearts, seeing from the corner of his eye as the other two ancients stood with Aro, eager for the feast that was now just outside the doors.
He was so thirsty. When Heidi entered with the humans and the two guards near the doors quickly moved into position so they could shut them in once they were all herded inside, Kemar could feel saliva and venom coating his mouth.
He shifted, taking a nice deep breath through his nose and trying to assess which of the mortals smelled better to him.
Aro gave the greeting, and Kemar remained in his place along with ten of the others as the first half of the group jumped into the herd.
Screams echoed around the room, the smell of blood permeated the air, and the humans who weren't initially jumped on all scrambled.
Now the rest of them were free to claim a meal. The group in the center was already busy – their teeth imbedded in the throats of the humans they had grabbed – so there was much more room to move freely and grab the mortals who were running out of the fray.
A woman in her thirties who was screaming hysterically darted out of the commotion and slid on some of the blood on the floor when she was only ten feet from him. Kemar didn't hesitate to flash to her side, knocking her legs out from under her with his foot.
He knelt beside her, a hand grabbing the side of her neck and dragging her toward his face. He hardly felt the hands beating on his chest, the hunter in him fully in control.
"Castiel?" It was a whisper among the screams, and Kemar stopped with his face only a couple of inches from the woman's throat to look toward the dais.
Marcus was at the bottom of the stairs, holding a gentleman out in front of him by both arms. The man's feet were dangling off the ground and he was desperately kicking at the king, hitting him in the chest and thighs in a fruitless attempt to get free.
But Marcus wasn't paying him any attention. His eyes weren't quite focused as he tuned out the room and into his bond sight. Kemar could tell by his expression that he was watching his bonds.
"Brother?" It was Aro's voice. Kemar glanced over at him just in time to see the raven-haired king drop the body of the human he had drained at his feet. "What's the matter?"
"Castiel." Marcus repeated, his gaze focusing on his brother now, worry the only emotion on his face. "Something is wrong. I think she's in trouble."
"Marcus, you worry too much about her-," Aro began, but Kemar had already released the frantic woman he had been gripping. He immediately head for the door behind the thrones – not wanting to use the main doors and have all the humans frantically trying to run out – giving a verbal "go ahead" to a fellow guard who saw him walking away from his prey and asked if he could have her.
He did not wait to be told to go and check on Castiel. He simply leapt the stairs on the dais and ran to the door, flashing through it and closing it behind him without sparing even the masters a glance.
Kemar sighed as he sprinted in the direction of the library, as this was where he was told to go after the feeding to resume his post of guarding her. He would have to wait another week to feed. How annoying.
It was a shock to him, as he had been so sure Master Marcus' concern was nothing more than a false alarm, to hear Jane's voice at the same moment he crossed Castiel's scent outside Marcus' rooms.
"Your gift is the only thing that makes you interesting. Most of us here hate you so I'm surprised you've even got the balls to walk around like you own the place."
What the fuck? Kemar knew who she was talking to. He had been suspicious as to why Jane was not present at the rollcall for the feeding and now, he had obvious gotten his answer.
He pushed his legs faster, feeling the power and strength in his thighs as he increased his bounds and his speed, hoping to get to the two before anything happened.
"Honestly Jane," Castiel voice came out as a sigh, "Why does it matter to you that I'm with Marcus? I see no point in arguing with you. I don't know what I could have done to make you hate me so much."
Careful girl, Kemar thought to himself, taking an entire flight of thirty stairs in only two bounds. Don't give the little witch ammo to use against you.
"It's more just the fact that you exist."
Bitch. Kemar thought scornfully.
"I'm not doing this Jane. Bottom line is, you hate me even though this is the very first time we've ever spoken. I've done nothing to you to deserve your ire and I'm frankly getting to be very tired of the attitude some of you immortals have. You think you're so much better than everyone else just because you're beautiful and strong, but you aren't. Being beautiful and a predator doesn't make you the gods some of you think you are. I'm done here. I refuse to fight with you."
I'm done here. I refuse to fight with you. These words echoed in Kemar's head. He was only a few halls away now.
A scream of pain. A scream of pure, undiluted agony echoed through the halls. Kemar felt his stomach drop, knowing by the tone of the shrieks that the sound was coming from his charge.
There was another sound that came with the screams, a sound like crunching followed by a body falling dead-weight onto a stone floor.
Kemar got to the hall they were in within ten seconds. The frantic, uneven pounding of the human girl's heart causing a fissure of alarm to rip through him. He had been debriefed over the course of 48 hours of the running of this coven, the rules to flow, and the explanations of his new fellow guard members gifts when he accepted the position of Castiel's guard.
And he knew that Jane would kill her if she didn't let up immediately.
Jane did not notice him enter the hall as her back was to him, and he did not hesitate.
He leapt.
Kemar landed behind her, his toes only a fraction of an inch behind her heels as both of his arms came around her. One locked around her shoulders, pressing her back to his chest, as the other came to grab the opposite side of her jaw.
Jane barely had time to let out half a shriek before her head had parted with her body.
The Ushakov coven had trained him on the quickest way to disassembly a vampire, and he tore her to pieces in seconds. He scattered the body parts in a specific pattern – foot closest to shoulder, pelvis closer to a hand – he knew the best location to scatter body segments in a confined space to make sure it took a vampire more time to reassemble themselves.
He didn't really need to go this far of course. It usually took hours for a vampire to drag themselves back together. His training insisted that he did so though, and he had to refrain from pulling his lighter from his pocket and setting the offending vampire alight because he didn't have permission to burn her.
Other guards came bounding into the hall, and Kemar didn't acknowledge them at all as he came to the side of the sobbing human girl he was assigned to protect and carefully rolled her onto her back.
Her eyes only locked with his for half a second before her gaze became unfocused, and Kemar rapidly tapped her cheek.
"Do not pass out. Stay awake. The doctor is coming."
She made a strange sound that was obviously meant to be an acknowledgement to his words. Her head sagged to the side, and he saw as her eyes undoubtedly focused on part of Jane's dismembered body.
"Close ranks!" Kemar snapped at the guards circled around them, "Don't let her see that shit."
There was a shuffling as the other guards did what he said. He was surprised for half second that no one argued with him ordering them around before he remembered that as her guard, he outranked most of them.
He grabbed her face again, pulling it back up so it was facing the ceiling and he could more easily watch her expression as he began to lift her shirt. The way she was breathing was hinting that she obviously had some trauma to her ribcage.
"No!" She protested, her hands instinctively trying to stop him from lifting her shirt while surrounded by people.
Extreme pain flashed across her face at her movement, and Kemar heard the unmistakable sound of her stomach lurching as vomit forced its way up her throat.
He turned her on her side at the same moment he heard the only other doctor in this coven, Arkos, enter the hall and demand the guards to let him through.
He stabilized her head in a way that would keep her airway clear and give the bile somewhere to exit. Asphyxiating on your own vomit was definitely not an ideal way to go.
Arkos knelt beside them at the same moment she threw up, and Kemar heard two other vampires enter the circle but did not turn to look at them.
Once the retching stopped, he put Castiel on her back again. She was white as a sheet and the way she gazed up at them, slightly dazed, just showed that she was barely holding on to consciousness.
Arkos leaned over her, asking if she could hear him. Her eyes locked with his for a couple of seconds at a time before un-focusing and it was clear that while she knew he was there; she probably had no idea he was speaking.
"Castiel!" Marcus voice was like a blade cutting through the tension in the hall. Arkos didn't even flinch as he responded to the cry in an even tone.
"Keep him back."
Kemar smelled that the other two brothers were here too. He heard as both of them moved block Marcus' approach, and the resulting struggle as the two physically restrained him.
Kemar turned his head for just a moment and saw that the guards had made a little break in the circle for the brothers to see what was happening. Aro and Caius were on either side of Marcus, each holding one of his arms and shoulders in a way to keep him back. They were whispering to him in what was obviously very old Grecian, trying to calm him down. Little Renata was standing a few feet in front of Marcus and he was forced to look over her head to see Castiel.
Kemar turned back to the situation at hand, moving so he was kneeling above Castiel's head, both of his ands cradling her skull and her neck. He probed gently with his fingers and relayed to Arkos that she did not have any bumps on her head of any noticeable issue with her upper spine.
Her labored breaths had become shallower. Kemar looked down at her face and could tell immediately that she was not able to see anything – the gaze of her eyes looked off.
And just before she passed out, a small whimper in the form of a name came from her.
"Marcus." She sounded bewildered, and her body slumped against the floor as consciousness left her.
This set him off.
Marcus snarled, and Aro and Caius both doubled their efforts to restrain him while barking at the guards near them to stay back. They were obviously concerned that any outside interference would cause them to lose hold of their brother.
Marcus somehow swung Caius around in a position that enabled him to grab his blonde brothers left arm and tug. Caius cursed loudly as a tearing sound came from the joint and the only thing that prevented him from loosing his arm was Aro's intervention. Aro stooped low and shoulder checked Marcus in the stomach, forcing all three of them back a few feet.
Renata had lifted her hands, her palms out to the brothers and her fingers splayed. Kemar was sure she had her shield up, ready to redirect Marcus if he got past the other two.
Caius was able to get free, and this time he had to come to Aro's aid as Aro was forced to throw up his forearm to protect his neck and Marcus sunk his teeth into him.
Kemar's attention was only pulled from the brothers by a tap on his back shoulder, he looked up at one of Arkos' two nursing protégés to see her holding out a neck brace to him.
He took it and quickly put it into place around Castiel's neck; his focus back on the situation at hand as he and the other doctor worked together to get Castiel off the floor without harming her further.
Steady beeping. That was the first thing Castiel registered as she began to wake up. The next thing she noticed was that she felt terrible. Literally everything on her body just hurt. Her arms, legs, back, chest – if she didn't know any better, she would think she just got hit by a truck.
But she did know better, and though she felt groggy and confused, the most important memories of the attack trickled back to her.
Getting her eyes to open was really very difficult and it took a lot of willpower to make her tired lids cooperate.
She was in the hospital wing – she recognized the rows of beds right away – and she was lying in the third bed from the end on the left side. As her eyes traveled around, she noticed that of the beds she could see, hers was the only one occupied. But she couldn't see all of the beds in the room since someone had placed privacy curtains to the right of her, blocking her from the immediate view of anyone entering the wing.
Carefully as she could, Castiel flexed her fingers and tried to wiggle her body slightly on the bed, wanting to collect her bearings.
She groaned and let her head sag to the left, something under her nose was tickling her, and she registered the little tube around her face at the same moment she noticed the IV needle at the crease of her elbow, and the thing taped to her finger with the wire sticking out of it and the red light causing her finger to glow – something to monitor her pulse.
That explained the beeping.
"Easy little bird, just try to lie still until the doctor gets back."
With a start, Castiel lifted her head the best she could, and for the first time noticed Kemar sitting in a chair to her left. He was sitting with his ankle propped on his knee, his foot doing a little jig as he read a newspaper, seemingly completely unbothered by her injured state as his eyes roamed the page.
She tried to sit up, but a sudden pain in her left side caused her to gasp. It was the same pain she had felt in the hallway and it was so much sharper than the aching of the rest of her body.
With a rustle of paper, Kemar was standing, one of his hands pushing her back down.
But this did not help. Even though the pain had begun to ebb once she was still for a few seconds, it didn't stop the terrible nausea.
She wanted to communicate this to him, he was the only one around and she needed help sitting up if she had to get sick. And even though she hadn't said anything, she heard a slight mechanical buzzing come from the bed and noticed Kemar holding a remote that was attached to it, adjusting the settings so her head and shoulders were elevated more.
A little grey bucket appeared on her lap.
"Try to get it in there if you're going to be sick. You're looking very green."
They said nothing to each other for a few minutes. Castiel's eyes were shut as she tried to relax. Deep breaths were not an option as her lungs seemed to only be willing to expand halfway; any more effort than that and the pain in her side would grow to a nearly intolerable level. All in all, it wasn't an easy task, especially because the slight elevation of her heart rate made the machines beeping increase in frequency.
A strange sound met her ears. It sounded like squirting water, and suddenly she felt as if her arm was being pumped with ice water and she shivered hard.
She winced. Whatever was hooked into her via IV, must have been one some kind of timed release, and whatever the stuff was, it made her feel unsteady. Her brain seemed to unexpectedly have trouble processing the things she saw, as if it were a computer suffering from lag.
Her breathing, which had been quicker than usual since she could only take half breaths, suddenly felt a little easier, and the new breath she let out trembled from her lips.
"You should start feeling a bit better now. I mean you won't exactly start feeling great until Arkos starts giving you something stronger, but he said this should be enough to help you breathe easier for now."
Kemar's explanation caused her to turn her head to look at him, grimacing when the movement of her shoulder bothered the very painful area of her side.
"Try to stop moving, will you?" He snapped, looking fed up when he saw her pained expression. "Arkos hasn't taken you into surgery yet. He's done very little in terms of repairing your side in hopes of speaking with you beforehand, but I've been given permission to sedate you if you don't lie still as you're in very bad shape."
"Well maybe if you just said that all when I woke up instead of-," She began heatedly, but talking required too much movement of her lungs, and she cut off as her eyes began to water in pain.
"Where's-," She gasped, "Marcus?"
She knew talking was about to be off limits for her by the expression on Kemar's face, but she needed to ask this question.
She was injured – and very badly by both the sound of it and the way her body felt – and Marcus was not with her. She had woken up alone with only Kemar for company, and that made her feel very hurt indeed.
But her MIA mate wasn't all that caught her notice. Where was the doctor?
"If you promise not to speak," Kemar drawled, leaning back in his chair, his irritated expression changing into one of nonchalance, "I will try and fill you on what has been going on. But if you can't stay quiet, I will tell you nothing."
Castiel glared at him but didn't speak.
He smirked, "And I guess I'll add that you best keep your emotions in check as well. If your heart rate gets too high…" He inclined his head to the steadily beeping monitor, "That machine is rigged to send an emergency code to the doctor's beeper, and I don't want to unnecessarily interrupt the court proceedings."
This earned him a very confused look, but Castiel still didn't speak knowing he was just looking for reasons to act like an ass.
"Hmm," He mused, pretending to think over his story while his black eyes were scanning her face. "This morning, just after Heidi had arrived with the tourists and everyone was busy enjoying their meals, Master Marcus went suddenly rigid; not even bothering to finish off the human that was struggling to get away from him. I, though busy with my own charge, noticed along with Master Aro the sudden tenseness of your mate and I didn't even get a taste of my food before Marcus was saying your name."
"Of course, Aro immediately tried to calm him down. He told him he was probably just overreacting as he is prone to do when it comes to you, but-," Kemar shrugged, "I figured it was best to just jump the gun and go searching for you before I was ordered to do so. So, I abandoned by meal and left out the entrance behind the thrones. I knew you were supposed to be heading to the library, and I caught your scent when I passed Master Marcus' rooms. And then…"
Abruptly, Kemar's expression became hostile, his lips curling back from his teeth.
"I heard that little chit speaking to you. I was suspicious of why she hadn't attended the feeding because she was on the list for this week. It seems she purposefully skipped so that she could corner you away from witnesses so that she could give you her two cents." He laughed humorlessly; his expression still slightly bitter.
"I must commend you at the very least, for your maturity over the situation. I liked that you refused to humor the insufferable little witch."
Castiel was surprised by the compliment, and curious as to why Kemar seemed to despise Jane so much. This confusion must have shown on her face because the guard's expression became suddenly smooth and unbothered, masking his emotions.
"Of course, the moment I heard you scream I knew what Jane had done. I made it to you in record time after that, and Jane was so focused on hurting you she didn't even notice me enter the hallway until her head had already parted from her body." Kemar smirked, pleased with himself, and didn't notice when she flinched subtly.
"But the damage was already done. You had fallen dead-weight into the marble bench when Jane began to torture you. Your left side just near your heart had struck the corner of the bench before you hit the floor. Thinking back to it now, I can recall the crunching noise your ribs made from halls away."
"You raised quite the alarm. I had to yell for order multiple times as all the guards who had rushed to your aid surrounded us. Not to mention having to tell one of them to get the doctor, seriously some of our kind just lack common sense and the impression of urgency." He shook his head at the stupidity of his new coworkers. "Arkos arrived just before the masters did and ordered them to keep Master Marcus back so he could examine you. He didn't like that very much let me tell you. Seemed to take his brothers barring him from helping his injured mate as a personal insult. He bit Aro and nearly took off Caius' arm. Do you remember hearing any of that?"
Castiel shook her head.
"No, you wouldn't have, would you?" Kemar said, a thoughtful expression on his face, "You were pretty out of it. You fainted just after you threw up. Still I wondered if you might have remembered the snarling."
"After you were bought here and Arkos sedated you, he and a couple of the nurses wheeled you down to the lower levels to get x-rays done. You broke four ribs, and he wants to go in and tape them up so there isn't any risk for splintering, but he felt it would be unethical to take you into surgery when he has the option to speak to you first. He didn't see any immediate danger warranting emergency surgery. He was waiting for hours for you to wake up but was called down into trial thirty minutes ago."
Castile let out a huff. She was confused, and he had mentioned trial twice now and hadn't explained any of it.
"Oh of course." Kemar said, noticing her expression, "I didn't say, did I? Jane is currently down in courtroom three, undergoing trial with the ancients as the judges and a jury of her peers. She is being tried due to her unprovoked attack of you, and under charges of aggravated assault, use of force without authorization, and premeditated attempted murder."
"What?" Castiel squeaked unable to stop herself, wincing at the sudden pain in her ribs. Attempted murder? C'mon that sounded a little over the top. While Jane definitely did hurt her, even Castiel couldn't bring herself to believe Jane intended to murder her.
Kemar seemed to know what she was thinking.
"Jane is forbidden to ever use her gift without explicit orders from the masters. I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice that Jane has the ability to torture someone and to put them through the agony of being burned alive. This is not something the kings can ever allowed to be used freely. Jane's gift – and she is fully aware of this fact – puts a human being far above the maximum threshold of pain a mortal can stand without going into cardiac arrest. She could have killed you, and the sound of your heart before you fainted…" He shook his head, "Arkos had a nurse standing by with a defibrillator."
Castiel's heart jumped a little at the news as her stomach gave a swooping sensation as if she had missed a step going down the stairs. It had been that close?
"Pain," Kemar said, trying to find the best words to explain Jane's capabilities, "Is a completely mental concept. It is something communicated by the nerves to tell the brain that something is wrong. To vampires, Jane's gift is only painful as long as she is actively using it on you, but once she releases you from its hold the pain is gone as if it never existed in the first place. In humans however… it is not so simple. Jane's gift throws the body and the brain into such a state of disarray, it puts the person through so much agony that it makes muscle movements uncontrollable, and spasms of pain cause the body to writhe and twist into such unnatural positions that it is not uncommon for real muscle trauma to occur to humans who are unfortunate enough to face Jane's gift for any length of time. In short, immortals feel no aftereffects of Jane's torture, and it becomes nothing but an unpleasant memory. But for humans the torture is mental, but the aftermath of the trauma is real."
"I think I am safe to assume, that your ribs aren't the only things that hurt?" He inquired, and at her expression, nodded in confirmation. "That's what I thought."
"You would have wound up here without the broken ribs and unfortunately you already had weeks of pain ahead of you without breaking the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth ribs on your left side."
They both stared at one another for a long moment. Kemar was letting the words sink in and Castiel was trying to collect her thoughts. And as the silence remained for a few more minutes, Kemar seemed to feel he had given her enough time to process his words and continued explaining the things she had so wanted to know.
"If it hadn't been for all the years of Jane's and Alec's unwavering service and loyalty to the Volturi, Jane would have been burned in the very hallway I tore her to pieces in. But after you were bought here and Marcus was promised of your stability, Jane was reassembled in the dungeons while the family situated themselves in court. Fifteen guards were selected at random to stand on the jury, and the rest of the courtroom was filled to capacity while Jane was bought up. A few guards who arrived on the scene first were called to give testimony, and Arkos was called down recently to report your condition. That is the gist of it all, so you did miss rather a lot."
Castiel pictured it all, imagining how everything went down. Of course, she knew about the courtrooms – they had five of them. Courtrooms one and two were the largest, and she imagined how jam-packed courtroom three would have been for this trial. The rest of the coven would be so curious to see how the odds played out against Jane that Castiel doubted there hadn't been a coven member in the city who wasn't itching to watch. When Marcus had given her a tour of the courtrooms, he explained how they were used for most coven vs. coven disputes, and how sometimes nomads were called to sit in on the jury so Aro, Marcus, and Caius could hear the views of others with completely unbiased opinions about the trials they held. The courtrooms also held extremely serious cases, with only Aro, Caius, Marcus and sometimes Sulpicia and Athenadora as the deciding votes on the actions to be taken. Major breaches in secrecy were sometimes handled in courtrooms one and two, and vampires from all over the world would come to watch the proceedings.
But of course, the courtrooms were not always used. Aro, Caius, and Marcus conducted the majority of the trials they were presented with in the throne room.
Feeling a little sick again Castiel made to reach for the bucket on her lap, but an unintentional twitch of her leg caused it to slip sideways and begin to fall toward to the floor.
Without thinking, she lurched toward it, her fingers grabbing at empty air as Kemar's hands darted out to catch it.
But he froze, and the bucket fell through his hands and to the floor with a thud, for at the same moment Castiel lurched forward, a sickening cracking noise came from somewhere inside her chest.
She let out a soft "Ooh" of surprise, her eyes locking with his, seemingly unaware of the sudden rapid beeping of the heart monitor. Her gaze did not leave his face, even when the scent of blood sharped intensely and Kemar knew with terrible certainty that she was bleeding internally.
In an instant her face went bone white, and her mouth opened as if she was intending to scream but was in too much shock to do so. Her body trembled once, before her back arched and her eyes rolled back into her head. She wasn't aware of where she was anymore or that Kemar was injecting something into her IV line, before darkness claimed her.
Revised January 23rd, 2021
(42 Pages, 25,714 words)
