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!
Also, Edward is going to be a bit of an egotistical asshole for the next few chapters. Sorry not sorry lol.
Chapter 22 – The Cullens
Castiel sat rubbing her temples, staring tiredly down at the papers in front of her with a scowl.
She was in Marcus' private study, sitting across from him in the chair she had pulled up on the opposite side of his desk. They'd been in here together for hours, Marcus working patiently with her as she sketched the faces of every newborn she could see as part of the army terrorizing Seattle.
It was a lot of work, and it took a lot of effort on Castiel's part. She'd focus on the army, and then focus on each newborn individually and try to follow their immediate future. She had to really exert herself at points to successfully put names to the faces and find out if there was anything special about each member in the process.
All in all, there ended up not being anything of real interest she could tell Marcus. It was he who had been doing the research when she gave him a sketch and the first name of any particular member, and it was because of this research that they had successfully matched the names of 14 missing people to their new newborn faces.
Castiel ran her thumb over the face of the boy in the very first sketch she made. She kept shuffling each of her papers around – shoving the sketches of the so-far other 27 newborns in the army to the side – and looking back at his over and over.
Marcus' neat slanting scrawl was at the top of the paper, the name Riley Biers and the footnote beneath it reading Pseudo leader of army. Sire Victoria giving instruction.
It was his story that had bothered her the most. Marcus had printed out the news articles and the missing persons reports related to him, and Castiel felt for his parents and their pain.
But the reason her mind kept coming back to him wasn't her empathy for his parents. It was the fact that his future was very easy for her to see, and quite honestly more worth watching than the newborns who mostly stayed in the basement of wherever the house was they were hiding in and bickering with one another over books and video games like children.
But they are children, Castiel thought sadly, her eyes roaming across the faces of the sketches she had spread out in front of her. These newborns… they were all just kids taken off the streets and turned into monsters. They weren't turned into vampires and taught control and made part of a coven who cared about them. They were turned into vampires and taught to be nothing more than bloodthirsty killing machines. Taught that they should hunt their fill and do whatever they liked because they were basically gods.
They didn't know they were made to be disposable weapons. They didn't know that the mysterious figure who created them was intending to send them all to their deaths with the hope that they would kill off as many of the Cullen's as they could before they were all destroyed.
"Castiel? Are you alright?" Marcus deep voice shook her out of her musings, and she looked up to find Marcus watching her.
She must have been staring at Riley's picture for a while.
"Oh, yeah I'm fine." She reassured him, exhaling deeply as she set Riley's sketch back down.
Marcus did not look convinced.
"Are you sure? You've been very quiet."
She didn't say anything for a long time, her brows pulled together as she tried to think of how best to answer.
"It's just…" She sighed, pushing all her sketches towards Marcus before leaning back in her chair. "All of this. Victoria did all of this, she ruined all these lives, turned all these children into something they never asked to be, and had Riley lie to them. All of these children have been told they're gods and that the world is theirs for the taking but they're all just soldiers meant to die! And Riley helps her lie to them because… because…,"
"Because she's lying to him, too." Marcus finished solemnly. "I know."
"I just can't wrap my head around any of it." Castiel whispered, staring past him to look out the window. Marcus allowed her to be alone with her thoughts for a few minutes before eventually sighing himself and organizing all her sketches into a neat pile.
"Someone with your nature," Marcus began slowly, "Could never fathom doing something like this, but think of all you know about vampires. Our kind are… predisposed for lack of a better term – to this type of reaction."
"I understand the Cullen's killed her mate, but he went after them unprovoked. He went after Bella Swan completely for the fun of it. He wanted to kill her because it was just a fun game to him. I mean… it's not like the Cullen's just… attacked them on purpose."
Marcus sighed. "I know. I'm not saying that what he did was reasonable, but this is how our kind reacts when we lose our mate. Vengeance is always the first thing that comes to mind. The means of that vengeance is what varies."
Castiel pursed her lips, unsure of what to say, and Marcus gave her a sad smile. "If anyone ever harmed you, no matter what the reason, I would be just as keen on making sure they suffered for what they did. I would not create an army of newborns, but you can be sure I'd enlist the entire guards help."
Her stomach flipped uncomfortably. She didn't like when he said things like that. She knew he was thinking back to the many centuries of loneliness and suffering that he had endured after Didyme was killed. Castiel knew that she had died during battle with the Romanians, and that a lycanthrope had be responsible for her dismemberment and subsequent burning. After the battle was won, the Volturi then nearly drove werewolves to extinction.
The rumor was that Caius almost lost a fight with one of the children of the moon, and that was what lead to the Volturi's hunt for them. While it wasn't a lie that Caius did almost lose a fight with one during that same battle, the miscommunication occurred because it wasn't common knowledge what exactly killed Marcus' previous wife. Most only knew that the Romanians were responsible.
"Still." She mumbled, looking down at her hands, "I… pity Riley. I've been watching him for days now, since Aro needs to keep updating the guards in Forks. He loves Victoria and thinks that what he's doing is to protect her."
"It's unfair." Marcus agreed, standing and rounding the desk to stand beside her chair. "Normally we would try to have some sympathy for him, and we'd try to take the way he was manipulated into account but-,"
"But his crimes are too great." Castiel finished for him, "Too many people have died. Risk for exposure is at an all-time high now a-days… and I know the policy on newborn armies."
Marcus held a hand out to her and she took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet and lead her from the room. "I think we both need a break, and you need to eat. The Cullen's should be arriving at noon so that gives us-," Marcus glanced down at his watch, "Three hours."
Castiel followed him silently, thinking back to the call Aro had with Carlisle and how that night she had estimated it would be nearly four weeks before they came to Volterra. So why had it been barely ten days and they were already on the plane here? It caused her quite a bit of anxiety when she woke up two days ago and saw the Cullens' sudden change of plans and the fact they were arriving 2 weeks sooner than expected.
Bella's stomach was in knots as she stared out the window of the car Carlisle had rented and watched the rolling hills of Tuscany go by as they traveled from Florence towards Volterra. It felt like they were getting closer and closer to the ancient city at an alarming rate, but that was probably just because time always seemed to speed up when something unpleasant was coming.
This time there was no race against the clock to save the boy she loved; no strange limbo of time where it felt like time was going too slow and too fast all at once, as it had that day last year when she and Alice had rushed to save Edward.
Edward, who was sitting beside her and holding her hand now, his jaw locked as he stared forward out the windshield between Carlisle, who was driving, and Esme in the passenger's seat beside him.
Bella watched in amusement as a silver Porsche came flashing up the left lane before merging in front of their car. Inside the flashy Porsche the rest of the Cullens sat. Emmet, Rose, and Jasper had opted to take the flashy looking car with Alice while Carlisle decided to drive the much less ostentatious car – the car that just happened to be the same model of the one he owned back in Forks: a Mercedes S55 AMG.
Alice had been having the time of her life during this drive. Bella constantly shifted her focus from staring out the window to watching the flashy Porsche weave in and out of traffic and alternate between driving behind them and in front of them.
It was a good thing that vampires had excellent reaction times, because half a dozen times Alice had brake checked them just for the fun of it.
Carlisle was prepared when Alice hit the brakes this time, only letting out a sigh with a small smile on his face as he swerved around her to avoid rear-ending them.
Edward snarled as Bella lurched in her seat a little bit at the sudden jerking movement of the car.
"Stop acting like such a child, Alice." He growled, scowling as he read his smallest sister's reply in her thoughts.
"This isn't the time for games." He responded to her mental reply, and Bella turned to watch him curiously as he snorted at another one of Alice's thoughts.
"Yeah, very reassuring considering we're going somewhere that you can't see anymore."
Whatever Alice's answering thought was, Bella was sure it wasn't a happy one by Edward's smug expression.
"Edward." Esme admonished from the front seat, "You know that's not fair. She's doing her best."
"We know you're worried Edward." Carlisle's calm voice continued, his eyes flashing up to look at Edward and Bella in the rear-view mirror. "But Aro is aware that Bella is still mortal, and he was not upset about it when I spoke to him on the phone and asked him to meet with us."
The mention of Aro made Bella's stomach turn. The very thought that they were going back to the ancient city where she, Alice and Edward had almost been killed was bad enough. But the fact that the Cullens intended to ask the Volturi to guard her and – if they said yes – were going to leave her there, was absolutely horrendous.
As if he could read Bella's mind, Edward answered Carlisle's reassurances with a scathing remark. "We don't need to leave her with the Volturi! I'm fine with us telling the Volturi they need to do their job and take care of the situation in Seattle, but Bella can still stay with us in Forks."
"She's the target Edward. Well, we are the target, but she is what they're tracking." Carlisle said solemnly, his golden eyes which were sad now, meeting Bella's in the rearview mirror. "We're lucky that the pack is keeping an eye on Charlie without getting him involved in all of this, but the most dangerous place in the world for Bella right now is Forks."
"You really believe Volterra is safer for her than Forks?" Edward shot back, staring intensely at Carlisle as he listened in on his father's thoughts.
Thankfully, Carlisle decided to voice his answer aloud as well as if he could tell that Bella really needed to hear if he honestly believed she'd be safe in the Volturi castle. But then again, her face was very easy to read. Bella wasn't all that surprised that Carlisle could see that she was scared.
"Yes. I do believe that. Aro is a friend and the Volturi wouldn't harm her and make enemies of us. They've got no reason to."
"And we have to keep an open mind." Esme said, her quiet voice cutting smoothly into the conversation. "There's been a great change since the last time you were there Edward." Esme's expression pinched, and Edward flinched a little as he read the sadness in his adoptive mother's thoughts – the pain as she thought of his suicide attempt. But Esme continued without a pause. "Aro confirmed the rumor when Carlisle called him. Marcus has imprinted on a human, and she's only a few years older than Bella. If anyone would be likely to hear us out, it's him."
It was silent for a long time as everyone considered Esme's words and Bella watched as Carlisle reached over to take Esme's hand, his expression soft as they smiled at each other.
Something inside her panged when she watched them, and she wasn't quite sure of the meaning of it.
Edward was the first to break the silence.
"We're almost there." He said in a flat, icy voice, pointing to the castle city atop the closest hill.
"Ugh, Dora what exactly am I supposed to be doing under here!?" Castiel yelled over the music from below the dark SUV she was supposed to be helping her blonde sister repair. She was lying on her back on some pieces of cardboard, staring up at the underside of the car and completely at a loss. She knew very basic maintenance things for cars like changing the oil, fixing a flat tire, and replacing the brakes, but she didn't know anything deeper than that. Motorcycles? Sure, she had a plethora of knowledge about bikes. Vehicles with 4 wheels? Forget about it. She knew only the essential things her father told her she absolutely needed to know when she first learned how to drive.
With a slight rumble of wheels, Athenadora slid beside her – her sister had really taken to the whole lying on a skateboard thing she had suggested months ago – and began motioning to various things under the car and explaining a bit too fast for Castiel to completely grasp what she was saying.
When Athenadora paused to take a breath and Castiel planned to tell her to repeat herself, but slower this time, there was a knock on the top of the SUV that caught both of their attention.
Dora slid out immediately, and then grabbed Castiel's foot and pulled her out from under the car too.
While it was faster than if she had slid out on her own, Castiel did let out a grumble of annoyance as she frantically tried to hold her shirt down as it rode up in the back, barely avoiding flashing her bra to the guard who had knocked on the car to get their attention.
It was Felix.
"Sorry to interrupt you Mistress Athenadora and Mistress Castiel." Felix said with a small bow, smirking when Castiel made a face at being called Mistress. He always called her sisters mistress and had only started doing it to her in the last couple of days because he knew she found it annoying. "The Cullens are approaching the garage now, so I must ask that you rejoin your guard."
Athenadora's expression, which moments before was playful and excited as she chatted to Castiel under the car, changed to show the usual eagerness she had when guests came. After giving a small nod to Felix, she went to the guards standing by the entrance to the garage from the castle.
The central garage door began to rumble open. Kemar appeared at her side in an instant and Felix, who was covering for Afton on his day off, straightened to his full height and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt before thrusting her behind him.
Sam and another one of the Elite guards Natalia, entered through the garage door on foot. They were leading two cars: one a shiny silver Porsche and the other a dark Mercedes.
Castiel peaked around Felix to watch as Sam directed the two drivers on where to park and tried to listen past the music playing through the speakers in the garage, which were now playing 'Hot in Here' by Nelly, to hear when the cars shut off.
I was like, good gracious ass is bodacious
Flirtatious, tryin' to show patience
Simultaneously both car doors opened, and out of the dark Mercedes came the vampire that Castiel knew was Carlisle Cullen as she had seen him in countless visions over the last couple of weeks.
Unfolding himself from the driver's seat of the Porsche came a man who, quite frankly, Castiel thought was way too big to be driving that car. He wasn't as big as Felix, but he was definitely a vampire whose best physical trait was strength.
Athenadora came forward to greet them and the guards in the garage; totaling at 8 if including Sam and Natalia, all converged around the newcomers and their queen as she approached. The only exception to this being Felix and Kemar, who remained where they were by the SUV.
"Oh, lighten up all of you." Athenadora admonished them playfully, holding a hand out to Carlisle, which the blond vampire took to shake. "It's so good to see you again, Carlisle!"
"Same to you Athenadora." Carlisle's answering smile was warm and sincere, and Castiel watched as his eyes flashed over her sister's head to where she was standing behind Felix, his gold gaze locking with hers.
Castiel smiled at him and ducked under Felix's arm to join her sister, feeling extremely silly to be standing behind her guards as if this vampire – Carlisle Cullen, who was one of the only vampires on earth with a true reverence for human life – was a threat to her.
Kemar and Felix followed her like shadows, and she could feel the tension coming off of them in waves as she stopped beside her sister.
"Well, I'm sure you've pieced it together already," Athenadora laughed motioning to Castiel, "But I'm going to introduce you anyway. Carlisle this is Castiel, my brother's imprint. Castiel this is Carlisle Cullen and his adoptive son Emmett."
"Lovely to meet you." Carlisle said, shaking Castiel's hand. Her grip was firm, and the answering smile she gave him was incredibly endearing. She had dimples just like Emmett and Esme did when she smiled, and her eyes crinkled at the corners.
You know you dance in front of the mirror while you're on the phone
Checkin' your reflection and tellin' your best friend
Like "Girl I think my butt gettin' big!"
It took everything Castiel had to not laugh at the inappropriate music.
Emmett did not hold a hand out to shake hers, preferring to keep his arms folded across his chest. He wasn't trying to be rude, it was only because he could see how tense each and every one of the guards in this room were to have the little mortal so close to them.
He smiled at her instead, unintentionally showing a bit too much teeth. "Aren't you a bit small to be a leader of our world?" he teased.
"Emmett!" Carlisle hissed under his breath in shock, feeling the ripple of unease and… anger? That ran through the guards around them.
Surprisingly, Castiel laughed, "Nah, I don't think so. I just take my enemies down at the kneecaps first and go from there."
There was a startled pause, and then everyone in the room let out a hearty laugh, the previous bad feelings evaporating from the room in that instant and all the tension and unease disappeared as if it were never present in the first place.
The only one who hadn't laughed was Kemar, who just rolled his eyes.
"Where's the rest of your family?" Castiel asked curiously, as she had seen them coming to Volterra together. It was definitely a surprise to only see Emmett and Carlisle in the garage.
"They came in through the tunnel system." Carlisle answered, "I assume they're waiting for us up above."
"Then we should go meet them, shouldn't we?" Athenadora said, looping her arm through Castiel's and dragging her back towards the door. Humming along with the song.
Start pacin', time wastin' I got a friend with a pole in the basement
What?
I'm just kiddin' like Jason
Oh
"Unless you gon' do it," Athenadora sang with the song, causing Castiel to erupt into a fit of giggles she couldn't help as she followed Felix from the garage, Kemar at her back and Carlisle and Emmett following.
Surprisingly, when they finally reached the throne room around 10 minutes later – having had to walk at a human pace since Castiel preferred to not be carried by anyone except Marcus – they entered to find Aro, Caius, and Marcus waiting and the rest of the Cullens nowhere to be seen.
The kings were wearing full regalia when they entered. Thick black robes made of expensive fabrics shrouding their figures and hiding their expensive suits from view. All of the brothers stood when they came in and Carlisle knew this was because of Athenadora and Castiel.
The two Cullens stopped in the center of the room as Athenadora lead Castiel to the dais by the hand, passing her off to Marcus as the rest of their guard dispersed to either stand against the walls or behind the thrones.
Carlisle and Emmett could hear from a distance as a large group approached the throne room from a few halls away with only one human heartbeat among them. It seemed the guards that led them in through the garage had taken a shortcut. Or perhaps, Carlisle thought, remembering just how hard the passages in Volterra were to follow from his previous stay with them centuries before, it just so happened that the labyrinth of passages had a less complex route to the throne room from the direction they came.
Castiel found it surprisingly easy to forget their company as Marcus gently stroked his knuckles across her cheek, unconsciously leaning into his touch and shutting her eyes.
"Where were you and Athenadora?" He asked lowly, obviously wondering why the two of them had entered with Carlisle and Emmett Cullen.
"Oh, we were in the garage." She answered nonchalantly, keeping her voice low like his even though she knew everyone in the room could hear.
"I thought you were staying in the gymnasium?"
Oh. Right. She had told him that was where she would be when he left her there with Kemar after she ate breakfast.
"Dora came and asked for my help with one of the cars." Castiel shrugged as if this was explanation enough.
Marcus sighed. Castiel knew that he really wasn't pleased that she had been in the garage to meet guests without him or either of his brothers there. Especially considering what had almost happened with Nikita, but he was amazingly good at being patient with her recently.
She smiled up at him and the way she looked at him was… adoring. There was so much gentleness and love in that small smile that Marcus felt completely disarmed.
"What am I going to do with you?" he teased, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.
She laughed and Marcus seriously considered pulling her closer and kissing her until she was senseless, but he figured that his brothers wouldn't quite appreciate him putting on such a show in front of guests.
There was a knock at the doors, and Marcus let her go, motioning with his chin that he wanted her to stay behind his throne with Kemar. She went without complaint because she understood the reasoning for her staying back. It wasn't completely irrational that they wanted to keep her protected when visitors were around, especially when they didn't think much of the vegetarians' self-control due to their very restrictive diet.
The doors opened together, Heidi and Alec holding them and standing back for the rest of the Cullen's to enter before them. Castiel observed the Cullens curiously as a small and motherly looking brown haired female came to stand with Carlisle and take his hand – Esme. A very pretty blonde went to stand beside Emmett, and Castiel couldn't help but notice the remaining three vampires – a tall blonde male, a small pixie like female who she knew was Alice, and of course the bronze haired boy who she recognized immediately as Edward all oriented themselves around Isabella Swan, who they kept in the center of their group.
The way they stood around Bella really wasn't all that surprising to Castiel. It was very similar to the way her family had her guarded whenever she was in the presence of vampires who were not part of their immediate coven. Apparently, it was common practice for vampires to guard human soon-to-be-vampire members of their coven.
Caius and Marcus both took their seats. Sulpicia, Athenadora, and Castiel each standing behind their mate's thrones and watching as Aro ascended the steps of the dais to approach the Cullens.
Carlisle stepped forward to meet him.
The two men embraced for a quick moment, each clapping the other on the back briefly before stepping away.
"It is so good to see you again, my friend." Aro said, his expression genuinely pleased, "And with your entire family too! It was such a pleasure to see how your coven has grown through the memories of your son last March."
"This meeting was long overdue." Carlisle agreed, smiling at Aro in a brotherly way, his remark earning him a shake of the head and an offhand wave by Aro.
"Nonsense. Time passes in such a blur sometimes. I can't deny that I was worried about you after your stay with us. I remember through your letters that you were having a hard time after you traveled to the new world."
Carlisle's expression softened. Yes, he remembered those years very well. He had stayed with the Volturi for nearly 20 years in the first century of his life before he decided to move on to see if he could find other vampires who followed his vegetarian lifestyle.
It had been a rough change, and he had been incredibly lonely after leaving Italy. It was during a particularly dark period in his life that he regularly exchanged correspondence with Aro, and the letters between them reminded Carlisle that he still had a friend somewhere and he still had options if the path he was following didn't pan out.
Carlisle only had one letter from that time that he had kept, doing his best to keep it preserved so time would not have it crumble away. It was a response from Aro that he had received when studying medicine in the early 1800s, and it was one of the longest Aro had ever written to him. It was after a letter he had sent speaking of his lack of luck in finding others like him and his struggles to deal with his depression and the internal battle about if it would be wrong of him to create a companion.
Aro had been so incredibly kind in his response, reminding Carlisle that he had left Italy for a purpose, and that purpose was to pursue a happier life for himself. Aro had encouraged him to continue his studies and said how he understood that the way Carlisle had been raised as a human gave him very specific morals about good and evil. Aro had given Carlisle monetary assistance to continue his studies, encouraged Carlisle to follow his dream of being a doctor, and told him that the day would come when he would either meet a vampire like himself or he would create a family of his own, and that he just needed to be patient. He had told Carlisle that the decision to create a companion to travel with him was not something that could be planned out, and that a day would come where the decision would not be much of a decision at all.
Carlisle didn't understand what that meant at the time, and he didn't understand it until the day he saved Edward in 1918. It was the fact that there had not been an internal battle of right and wrong that day, only the obvious choice to save the boy whose mother demanded that he try and save him in the way only he could.
Carlisle had only been reminiscing for a couple of seconds when he heard Edward shift, and realized that the reminiscing of his friendship with Aro was probably making his oldest – but yet still physically the youngest – son uncomfortable.
"You were a great friend to me in that time." Carlisle smiled, "I have not forgotten."
Aro did that dismissive wave of his hand again as if to say it was nothing. "Oh stop, I haven't blushed this much since Sulpicia told me she liked my new cloak back in 1602."
There was a snort of laughter behind Marcus' throne, and all of the Cullens turned to look at the red-haired girl with her arms folded on the back of his chair.
At first glance only the shock of vivid red curls registered with Bella, and she flinched back into Alice's side, her only thoughts being Victoria and that perhaps this was a trap.
Alice patted her arm reassuringly and Bella was able to focus past the fear that this room presented; especially after what had happened the last time she had been here.
The girl behind Marcus Volturi's throne… was definitely not Victoria. For one she was much smaller than the feline vampire who had been stalking her for over a year. The girl behind the throne was tiny like Alice and her hair wasn't quite the right shade of red either – Victoria's was a fiery orange shade while hers was a much deeper red, like a dark velvet dress or even blood.
Not to mention that she was every bit as human as Bella was.
Aro turned to the red head at the sound of her laughter and, looking amused, opened his mouth as if to say something when a scathing voice spoke from the right. "Can we move this along, Aro?"
It was Caius, looking every bit as irritable as he had the last time Bella had seen him.
Speaking of the last time… Bella glanced back toward the girl who had laughed, but not because she was curious about her.
No, it was Marcus who had Bella's attention now. He looked… nothing at all like he had last year. Last year when she, Alice, and Edward believed they were going to be sentenced to death and Aro had summoned his brothers, Marcus Volturi had been so blank – so empty. He had voted to let them go, Bella remembered that much, but it really didn't seem like he cared either way. He never once even looked in their direction during the whole confrontation. He just sat in his throne and waited for the whole meeting to be over.
The person sitting in Marcus' throne now surely couldn't be the same man. He looked so different. His attractive features were animated, his eyes sharp and focused as he watched Aro's interaction with Carlisle, and the small smile that had graced his face when the human girl behind him laughed did not escape her notice.
"Of course," Carlisle said placatingly. He had enough experience with Caius' temper to know that it was incredibly short. "My apologies. Well, my family has come here to formally request your assistance on a situation that has arisen in Seattle."
"Yes, the mass killings." Caius drawled, leaning back in his chair and looking bored. "We're aware."
Edward muttered something under his breath that Bella could not catch, and too quick for her eyes to register it, Caius was on his feet and glaring at Edward with an expression of utmost contempt.
Carlisle turned to Edward, his expression showing his shock for a brief moment before it became cautionary.
"Would you like to repeat that boy? I don't think I heard you quite correctly." Caius' tone was dangerous. Edward straightened up arrogantly and Bella saw Marcus rise to his feet out of the corner of her eye.
"I was merely inquiring as to why you haven't acted already." Edward said simply. "As it is your job to eliminate these things-,"
"Our job?" Caius laughed humorlessly, "Oh, that's rich coming from you, since you are the poster child for believing that we the Volturi, are cruel, heartless tyrants out to rule the world. I seem to remember you thinking our laws were rather beneath you the last time you came here."
"Caius." A deep voice sounded from the left, and all the Cullens turned to see that it was Marcus who had spoken, the deep tenor of his voice a sharp contrast to the whispering words that Bella, Alice, Edward and Carlisle had heard him speak before. "That's enough."
Marcus' gaze focused on Edward, and it was only as he descended the dais to stand beside Aro that Bella realized how huge he was. He was somewhere between Emmett and Felix in size.
"We've been aware of the situation in Seattle for only a few weeks, and we've had quite enough trouble to be getting on with recently." He paused and Castiel knew that he was referring to the issues with the supernatural trades, the newborn army in Mexico, the issues with her father, and even more things that she only knew the basics of. "When mass killings occur, it is protocol for us to look into the vampires that usually inhabit the area and decipher what the meaning of it is. But we cannot, and will not, send a group of our guard into a situation without all the facts we can gather to assure their safety first."
Edward stared blankly back at Marcus, as if he were trying to think of a reply when Aro spoke again.
"We have already sent a group of our guard to Forks. They arrived there two days after your call, Carlisle. I instructed them to stay clear of you as to not make your family anxious about their presence."
"You already have guards in Forks?" Carlisle sounded astonished, his mind flicking to thoughts of the Quileute wolves.
But Aro seemed one step ahead of him, and all of the Cullens felt a little bit unsettled when he answered Carlisle's unspoken concern as if he could read his mind from across the room just as Edward could.
"Yes, and rest assured that we are giving the Quileute boundary line a wide birth. The guards have been instructed not to get within a mile of the line."
"How do you know where the line is?" Edward interrupted, suspicious, and Aro turned to look at him with his brows raised.
Bella really wanted to elbow Edward in the ribs. Why was he continuously poking a sleeping dragon in the eye?
"I do seem to remember reading both yours, and your charming sister Alice's thoughts last March." Aro said, seeming genuinely confused at Edwards hostility. "If you are worried about the shifters let this be a reassurance that we harbor no ill will towards them."
"You – you know about the werewolves?" It was Esme, her lovely face concerned as she directed her question at Aro.
"Werewolves?" Aro laughed, and the laugh made all of the Cullens jump. It was so strange to hear it in such a tense situation. "Oh, my dear Esme, the Quileute tribe are not werewolves. Their transformations come from genetics not an infection of the blood via bite. The actual classification for what they are is shifters – the wolf form is only chance. They are just as much part of our world as we are. They need secrecy just as we do so I assure you, as I can see that you are worried for them, that we do not classify them with the children of the moon."
Aro turned back to Carlisle then, his brother Marcus at his side. "Now why don't you explain what the killings in Seattle have to do with you? Those of us here would like to know all the facts." He motioned around the room to the guards lining the walls. "We have our theories of course, but it would help if we could iron out the reasons now."
Carlisle began to explain without pause everything that had happened since the day Bella formally met their coven. The situation with James, Victoria's vendetta after his death, the mystery intruder, Bella's musings of the things that had gone missing from her room being linked to Victoria, Alice's sight being messed with, Alice seeing that a fight would come, Alice-
Bella had been watching each of the Cullens in turn as Carlisle conversed with Aro, and at the mention of Alice, saw that her favorite sister was staring across the room at the human girl who was now standing beside Marcus' throne. Alice's small face was pinched in concentration, her expression going from confused to angry the longer she watched the other human. The girl didn't seem to notice Alice watching her either as she was busy watching Carlisle and Aro.
But the dark vampire behind her, who must have been a guard of hers, did seem to notice. His sharp gaze was focused suspiciously on Alice.
"Is there a problem, Miss Cullen?" The deep tenor of Marcus' voice cut smoothly across Carlisle as he talked, the interruption causing Carlisle to turn curiously to see who Marcus was looking at.
It was Alice. Apparently, Marcus had been just as focused on her as Bella had been. He didn't look pleased at all at the way she was glaring at the human girl next to his throne.
Startlingly light blue eyes found Bella's, and she could see the confusion in them in the split moment it took for the girl to lock eyes with Alice.
"It's her." Alice breathed, disbelief plain in her tone.
"What?" Carlisle questioned calmly, glancing between Castiel and Alice looking thoroughly nonplussed.
"It's her." Alice emphasized. "She's what's been blocking me for months. The reason I haven't been able to see Volterra for months, the reason I lost my sight of Forks weeks ago – it's all been her."
The room was silent. Bella was sure she could hear a guard breathing from across the room as Marcus and the red head glanced at each other. The poor girl looked completely confused as everyone in the room stared between her and Alice.
Well, everyone except for Aro, who alone did not look surprised by what Alice was claiming. He looked, if anything, a little bit smug.
"There's some mistake." Castiel said quietly when it became obvious that no one knew what to say. "I'm not a shield. I don't know what you're talking about when you say I'm blocking you… It – it must have something to do with my dad. I mean, my dad was here-,"
Her brows had pulled together as she considered this, and Bella noticed as Edward still as he stared at her, listening to whatever she was trying to piece together in her thoughts.
"It doesn't have anything to do with your father, Castiel." Aro said with a shake of his head. "Miss Cullen, I believe, hasn't been able to see us since the day you first entered the castle… probably since the day Demetri and Felix retrieved you from Ivy Peak."
Aro moved so he was standing in the space between the two women, effectively placing himself in Alice's path to Castiel. "And I don't think I'd be wrong in assuming that she also lost her sight of Forks the moment you gave us the go ahead to send the guard."
Aro said all of this – his words directed at Castiel but his eyes on Alice – with the absolute certainty that only those who were completely sure of their convictions had.
"I am…" Carlisle began, glancing around the room as if looking for reason, "Confused. What-,"
"She's psychic." Edward answered, deadpan. Bella looked up at him in time to see him gesture with his chin to the girl on the dais. "Alice can't see through her. It's nothing like the wolves either – she's not just a blind spot. Alice can't see anyone who associates with the girl at all, or anyone she watches out for either."
"She has a name." Caius was standing again, and his angry red gaze was focused on Edward. "So do try using it, boy, or I'll make sure you don't speak for a week."
"Is that a threat?" Edward snarled.
"Yes." Caius smiled cruelly, drifting over to where Marcus was standing, and Bella noticed some of the guards along the wall shifting excitedly, expecting a fight.
"Okay, okay!" Castiel said quickly, drawing everyone's attention to her as she walked to the edge of the dais. Bella saw that she would have probably come closer to their group – as if she had the intention to place herself between Caius and Edward – but she was stopped by the dark guard at her shoulder, who placed an arm out to stop her from descending the steps.
She seemed relatively unfazed by this though and continued without pause as if there wasn't a vampire physically restraining her. "For everyone who doesn't know," She smiled, giving a little wave to the Cullens, "My name is Castiel. And Edward-," Bella stared as her boyfriend and Castiel locked gazes, shocked to hear her address Edward as if they were friends. "Please. Do not pick a fight with Caius because Felix will straight up yeet you across the room, and Caius willremove your tongue, and I will throw up if he does that. Believe me no one wants to see that. So, can we just chill for a second?"
There was a pause for half a second before Felix laughed, quickly followed by Emmett, and a few of the guards around the room. Marcus' mouth twitched as if he highly considered laughing too, and Bella could swear she heard Jasper let out a chuckle and say "She's very cheeky" under his breath to Carlisle.
"Yeet?" Edward said as the laughing died down, looking – if Bella was seeing things correctly – a little embarrassed.
"Yeah, you know yeet." Castiel stated simply with a shrug, "To throw something-,"
"Yeah," Felix interrupted lowly, "Yeet or Kobe-,"
"Nah," Castiel shook her head at the massive guard as if the two of them were not in the middle of a room full of people who had been ready to fight only a moment before, "Yeet and Kobe aren't the same. Yeet is for distance and Kobe is for accuracy. Like if you were to throw Edward across the room without a target place for him to land that's yeeting, but if you aimed for him to hit the door and he does that's Kobe – but you have to yell Kobe first to state that you're making an accuracy throw."
Felix looked as if her were seriously considering her words when Aro interrupted.
"We're getting a little off topic." Aro said lightly, glancing from Felix to Castiel, his expression disapproving. At this Felix bowed slightly, apologizing while Castiel only shrugged again.
Bella found this strange, the fact that Aro was allowing one of his guards to mouth off and not fully apologize. Briefly, she wondered how Castiel was getting off without the same apology Felix was giving, especially considering she was a human. But perhaps Aro always played favorites among his guards. Edward had said that Alice would have been a jewel in Aro's collection. Apparently Aro had been successful in finding a different jewel.
Bella looked around the room again, and for the first time realized that Jane was not there.
"Well, I suppose we should have expected this." Edward said, ignoring the thought of Can't you just shut up you idiotfrom Rosalie. "Of course, the first thing you would do is find a psychic guard to join your coven since you couldn't have Alice."
"Edward!" Carlisle hissed, opening his mouth to apologize to Aro. But Aro just shook his head at Carlisle before turning and walking back to his throne. Aro took a seat looking incredibly unimpressed with Edward, showing that he was not going to dignify Edward's claim with a response.
Marcus sighed aloud, and without bothering to move at a human pace went back to his throne as well, but not before waiting for the guard who had blocked Castiel's approach to the Cullens to reorient her behind his throne.
And that was the first time that Bella realized the reason behind the guard stopping Castiel coming closer, as well as the significance to where she was standing.
Castiel was standing behind Marcus Volturi's throne for her own protection – not as some act of yielding to her master's commands – because she was the human mate the rumors of the vampire world had been talking about.
Damn, Bella felt like an idiot.
"Oh yes, you caught us." Caius said sarcastically from his own seat, and Bella saw he had one hand extended up to hold the hand of the woman who was behind his own chair – his wife? "The first thing we did once you left was scour the planet for another psychic vampire, as if we hadn't already been looking to recruit guards with psychic talents over the last ten centuries. Noooo, we saw you had a psychic in your coven and just couldn't stand it."
"What business do you have spying on us anyway?" Caius continued dryly, "Do explain why your psychic said she hasn't been able to see Volterra for months. What are you hiding exactly?"
"Nothing!" Esme answered quickly, shocked at how this conversation was going. "It wasn't like that-,"
"You've been watching us!" Edward accused, jabbing a finger in Castiel's direction. Bella really wished she were strong enough to yank his arm down.
"Only because we were doing exactly what you asked of us, our job." Aro answered, motioning to Castiel. "After you called, Castiel so graciously agreed to monitor the situation in Seattle and Forks, even though it is stressful for her. We then sent our guards to begin layout of the land so we can arrange to handle the army that has been assembled to destroy your coven."
"And that is what prompted your early arrival, I am sure?" Marcus said before either of his brothers could get any more riled up, "You were alarmed, Miss Cullen, when you no longer had your sight to see when the possible threat would come for your family?"
Alice nodded; her perfect face pinched in stress.
Marcus sighed again, running one hand through his hair and disrupting the clip holding the mass of it up at the back. "I can assure you that no decisions were made to intentionally disrupt your sight, and I understand how stressful losing your visions must be for you, as I know that such disruptions in her sight upsets my mate as well." His expression softened in the quick moment he took to glance over his shoulder at Castiel, and Bella felt that same pang go through her that happened when she watched Carlisle and Esme together in the car. What was that about?
"I honestly didn't know I was doing anything to your visions Alice." Castiel said, her expression open. "I – I don't really have control over all the different aspects of what I can do." She looked embarrassed, and a little sad at this. It was at these words and the genuineness of her expression that Alice finally softened toward the other psychic, realizing that no harm had been done intentionally.
"And as for the question we know you have come here to ask – because we know you did not come here merely to inform us all of a situation that could have been completely explained via phone call…" Aro said lightly, his red eyes focusing on Edward and Bella in turn, "We will, of course, take Bella under our protection as long as we remain under the understanding that your family will assist or guard in handling the situation in Forks."
Bella was completely shocked.
After all the laws they had breached last year; after all Edward had said and accused in this meeting, the Volturi were agreeing to take her on?
"Of course." Carlisle agreed quickly before Edward could say anything else that might upset the leaders. Carlisle knew he would have to have a long talk with his coven tonight because apparently there was some miscommunication going on. Carlisle did not believe he ever represented the Volturi as an antagonistic force. He knew that Jasper agreed with him on the Volturi's necessity, but apparently some members of his family's had views that needed to be sorted out.
All three of the ancients stood, their wives leaving ahead of them, and were out the door behind the thrones in the next minute; Castiel being ushered along in front of Caius. Aro paused momentarily to relay over his shoulder that the Cullens were welcome to stay the rest of the day and night, and that they could exchange their goodbyes with Isabella and depart for Forks in the morning. Apparently, Caius and a handful of guards were meant to meet up with those canvassing Forks within the next few days. Aro relayed as much before he followed his blonde brother out.
Most of the guard exited out the main doors and eventually it was only the Cullens left in the room. Alec was standing by the doors waiting to show them to the rooms the masters had had set up for them, and Kemar and Marcus still stood by the latter's throne with their heads bent together in conversation.
Carlisle cleared his throat, "Master Marcus?"
Marcus straightened and turned to Carlisle; his expression neutral as the rest of the Cullens watched him. "Yes, Carlisle?"
"I just wanted to thank you." The blonde patriarch said, resting a hand on Bella's shoulder, "For agreeing to protect Bella. We will be forever in your debt for this kindness."
Even Bella heard as the vampire she didn't know the name of made a small dismissive sound in his throat before moving aside as Marcus turned toward the door behind the thrones.
"You assume that it is my kindness that made this decision?" Marcus inquired, his eyes a tad bit amused as he headed to the door his family had exited through with Kemar following.
This seemed to be all he had intended to say about the matter, planning to leave the Cullens with the understanding that it was not him who decided to protect their mortal as his sympathies had obviously been assumed since he had a human mate of his own. Marcus wasn't such a case of a bleeding heart that he would guard all the human mates of the world. His responsibility was to protect his own mate, and that would take priority above all others.
But his words did confirm that someone had been responsible for the decision to protect Isabella. Someone's kindness was a factor here and that was what prompted Carlisle to speak just as Marcus opened the door to leave.
"Then who?"
Marcus turned to look at him, his brows raised.
"Castiel."
And with that, he and Kemar left the Cullens to stand dumbstruck in the center of the room, no one moving again until Alec cleared his throat.
"Well that all went about as well as expected." Castiel said from her spot on the sofa, shutting the book she was reading as Marcus entered their rooms and shrugged off his court robe.
"That's putting it mildly." Marcus agreed, laughing and disappearing into his closet for a minute to change.
When he did reemerge, his new attire stunned Castiel enough that her expression was quite literally jaw-dropped as she stared at him.
Marcus was in sneakers, dark gray lounge pants, and a close-fitting white t-shirt – an outfit that would have been much more in place at a gym than on her mate. He seemed to find her reaction amusing if the smug grin on his face was anything to go by.
"Well, if I knew your reaction would be anything like this, I would have dressed this way more often." He teased.
Castiel quickly shut her mouth and she swallowed – which was harder than it should have been since her mouth had gone dry – and felt her face heat up.
Marcus closed the distance between them in only a couple of strides, and Castiel could swear she could feel her blood thrumming through her veins as he stopped in front of her, lightly brushing his fingertips across her cheek.
His eyes were dark, and she knew he had processed her excited emotions much faster than she had. They hadn't made love since he marked her nearly two weeks ago as he had wanted to give her time to recover from her soreness and to wait for the bruising around the mark to go away. Marcus had been right in his initial assessment. Her neck had been unbelievably stiff for nearly six days after getting the mark. It had been a real pain to even turn her head halfway to the right.
But she definitely wasn't sore anymore, and her stomach flipped as Marcus gently brushed his fingers down her neck to trace his mark.
"So, what is the reason for the new wardrobe?" She stalled; her voice small as her nerves surfaced. Half of her was genuinely curious while the other half was fantasizing about jumping on him. Literally.
"My brothers and I haven't sparred in a while." He shrugged, "Usually every few months we gather some of the upper guards to go over fighting tactics and strategies. It's been… a very long time since I've participated with any type of fervor, and Caius has the remainder of the guard he's bringing to Forks riled up for a show. I'm one of the best-known fighters in our world and the guard is excited to learn some new tips before the upcoming fight."
"Sounds like a good way to let off some steam." She teased, thinking about how all of the brothers had been very obviously fed up with the Cullens.
Well maybe not with the Cullens as a whole. More so with Edward specifically.
"I can think of a good way to let off some steam." Marcus countered, and Castiel was sure her heart had leapt into her throat as her heartrate quickened. Marcus smirked as he bent to lift her from the couch – and in a rush of motion that was much too fast for her to process, he had her on the bed.
He was hovering over her, supporting his weight on his arms as he lowered his head to kiss her, growling low in his throat when she moaned and slid her hands under his shirt to feel his chest.
His kisses became rougher and more possessive, his teeth nipping at her lower lip hard enough to make her squeak in response before his tongue entered her mouth, one of his arms snaking under her body to lift her so her chest was flush against his.
Her legs wrapped around his waist, and he lowered himself down to his elbows so he was pressing her into the bed, grinding his hips into hers as she pulled her mouth away from his to breathe.
Castiel hadn't been totally aware of just how eager Marcus was for this until she registered the sound of tearing fabric as he tore the clothes from her body – too impatient to undress her. This was a bit of a shame as the jeans she had been wearing were new and they were now nothing more than scraps.
Unexpectedly, Marcus, who had been kissing down her neck as he tore her clothes, ran his tongue over his mark; and Castiel felt her whole body shiver as he did it. She felt like everything slowed down then, a strange calm flowing through her as she locked eyes with his. She felt warm and she wanted nothing more than to feel his skin on hers and to feel him moving inside her.
"You are so beautiful." He breathed, kissing her much more gently than he had when they started, only pulling back so he could remove is own clothes.
She was faintly glad he hadn't decided to rip them. She really wanted to see him dress like this more often.
He didn't reclaim her lips once he was undressed, instead he trailed kisses down her body, pausing to give special attention to her breasts and listen to her gasps and pleas as he did so. Castiel relaxed back into the pillows, closing her eyes as he kissed down her stomach, moaning when his mouth finally reached the area between her legs and he passed his tongue over her clitoris.
One of his hands held her hips while the other moved up to splay over her stomach, stilling her movement when she began to squirm against him as his tongue moved faster. The sinful way his tongue moved against her, along with the feeling of being slightly restrained, aroused her enough that she was reaching the height of her pleasure quickly. She knew Marcus was aware of this because just as she was about to orgasm, he slowed. Gently releasing her hips, he pulled back, smirking at her disappointed expression as she tried to calm her breathing.
Her eyes moved to his erection as he sat back on his heels, gently trailing his fingers down her thigh, his hand circling behind her knee until he grabbed her, gently pulling her toward him in one swift movement, leaning forward only to hold her against him as he laid back, his head toward the end of the bed now and her straddling his waist.
Immediately she braced both of her hands against his chest, unsure about this position as he guided her hips over him, the head of his cock pressing against her entrance and causing her to gasp.
"Marcus-," She breathed nervously. She definitely didn't know the rhythm for this and wasn't totally convinced she had the stamina for it either.
"Hush," He said, his tone reassuring, "Just relax. I've got you."
And with that he gently began guiding her down on him. Using his arms to support her he lifted his hips to press inside her an inch before drawing back, watching her expression as he began to gently move her up and down, pushing his way a little further inside her with each thrust and unable to help moving his hips to meet hers. He was too eager to feel her tight wet heat wrapped around him again.
Her body still resisted his intrusion inside her – still unaccustomed to their joining – so it was a relief when Marcus finally felt his pelvis meet hers.
"Oh." Castiel gasped when he was finally fully inside her. It felt so deep this way, the angle completely different than the other times when he was over her. She looked down at him and saw that his black eyes were watching her hungrily, and felt his fingers flexing from where he was gripping her hips.
One of his hands trailed up her side before gently cupping the back of her neck and drawing her closer. She moved so her chest was flush against his, her back slightly arched and her hands and knees on either side of him.
Then he started to move. One hand was at her hips to hold her in place as he trust up into her, gradually moving faster as the other twisted in her hair, tugging gently so her neck was bared to him and leaving her no way to muffle her moans against him.
It felt so good. She could feel him hitting that sweet spot inside of her with each thrust, and she found herself trying to move too – trying to meet his movements with her own but being unable to do so due to the firmness of his grip.
"Oh, Marcus please – faster... please."
Marcus growled beneath her, and all the sudden he rolled to the side, switching their position so she was beneath him, one arm supporting his weight while the other guided her leg to wrap around his waist, his lips finding hers as he complied.
She was so warm and tight, the sounds she made like music to him. It was so easy to lose himself in her. He withdrew until he was almost completely out of her before burying himself inside her again. Relishing in the feeling of her body, he began to pound into her, moving quickly and feeling as she began to tighten around him, getting closer and closer to her own orgasm with each thrust.
Castiel could feel how close she was getting, unable to help the sounds of pleasure that came from her as Marcus continuously stroked against that spot deep inside her that made her brain go fuzzy. But even though it felt so good and she was so close, another moment passed, and she couldn't find her release.
The back of her eyes burned; she wasn't used to the physical frustration. She just wanted to finish, and she didn't understand why she couldn't-
Marcus growled, and her eyes snapped open to find his.
In one motion, Marcus buried his face against her neck, and she felt his teeth gently scrape over his mark before laving his tongue over it.
The effect was instantaneous. Castiel cried out as her orgasm gripped her, tightening around him as he continued to thrust inside her, drawing her release out until he found his own. Marcus growled as he pressed himself fully inside her, spilling himself within her, and unaware of her small squeak of discomfort at the fullness.
He withdrew gently, kissing her temple. They laid in bed together for ten minutes after with Castiel curled up against Marcus' side as he gently ran his fingers through her hair.
Castiel was tracing patterns on his chest lazily before she mumbled. "I had trouble… you know. Finishing."
"Mmm." Marcus hummed in acknowledgement, waiting for her to continue.
"It's usually so easy but I couldn't until you…" She trailed off, feeling a blush rising to her cheeks again.
Marcus chuckled, prompting Castiel to turn her head so she could see his face.
"What?"
"You probably had trouble reaching orgasm because we started out with you on top."
Castiel stared at him, completely nonplussed.
"You are…" Marcus paused, watching her expression to see if he was about to offend her, "Naturally submissive, Castiel. And still human so sometimes unaware of specific feelings of bond strain."
"Bond strain?" This both surprised and worried her, Marcus could tell, so he continued.
"You weren't keen on being on top, I know you enjoyed it – as did I – but from your end the bond was showing a noticeable pull of discomfort. As someone who knows rather a lot about bonds, it was very obvious to me in a way it was not obvious to you what was going on when you couldn't orgasm."
Realizing where he was going with this, Castiel felt her ears and cheeks get hot as she blushed.
"You like me being in control in bed." Marcus said lightly, his hand gently running through her hair. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I rather like it to be honest."
Marcus sat up then, and Castiel moved off him so he could slide off the bed and stand.
"We should get dressed. My brothers should be gathering the guard for the fighting demonstration by now."
"Now?" Castiel said, sitting up, "But – I need to shower."
Marcus laughed, picking up his pants from the floor and pulling them on without underwear. "No, you don't."
"What?" She knew her blush was only becoming a deeper red, "Of course, I do! I smell like-,"
"You smell as you should." He said simply and Castiel could only stare at him – at a complete loss for what to say – and watch as he flashed over to her closet, disappeared inside, and returned a moment later with a grey sweater-dress and what seemed to be a pair of dark leggings and some flats.
Taking this as her indication that she should get dressed, Castiel stood from the bed and took the clothes from him before walking over to the closet herself, grumbling under her breath about him not getting her underwear and trying not to laugh at his theatrical sigh of disappointment in response.
Castiel had only been in the training room once when Marcus gave her a tour of the castle the first month she was here. Back then the room had been empty and dark, so she didn't really grasp the vastness of it until now.
It was like a large gymnasium with bleachers lining all four walls, but the floor was a solid dark stone. Smooth and shiny it almost looked as if it were glass shining over a still, black lake. There were circles drawn on the floor in a pattern Castiel didn't quite understand at the moment, but she was sure it would be explained as she watched guards file into the room from her seat in the middle of the highest row of bleachers against the wall where the entrance door was.
It was a good seat, and Castiel was thankful that Kemar had her glasses stowed in his pocket when he came to take a seat beside her.
Caius, Marcus, and Aro all stood in the center of the room chatting among themselves as Sulpicia and Athenadora directed guards to sit in the same set of bleachers Castiel was in. They seemed to want the audience to all be on one side.
Only a dozen or so additional guards were supposed to be traveling to Forks with Caius and the Cullens, but Castiel was not surprised at all that nearly a hundred seemed to be filling the seats around her. Marcus had told her she should expect as much, considering most of the coven was very eager to watch him fight and since instruction that included demonstrations directly from the masters was so rare that this was a real treat.
After a few more minutes in which guards found seats with friends and Athenadora and Sulpicia climbed the bleachers to sit on Castiel's left side, all three of the brothers ended their conversation and broke out of their little circle, standing shoulder to shoulder and facing the guards as silence fell.
From one of the lowest seats a man stood and made his way to stand in the space between the brothers and the bleachers. In his late thirties with brown hair and a lean stature, he opened his arms in greeting and Castiel saw him smiling at them, his red eyes flicking up to hers for a brief moment.
"For those who are new here," He spoke clearly in a rich deep voice that Castiel felt belonged to a sports announcer, smiling kindly at where she sat with Kemar; Castiel realizing for the first time that she wasn't the only person to which this demonstration would be a new show, "My name is Jethro, and my job here is to referee and run my mouth-,"
A few people chuckled, Castiel among them.
"This demonstration is going to be fairly straightforward. But unlike other occasions not all will be welcome to volunteer for practice, because if we did that, we'd be here all day. This time only those attending the fight in Washington will be allowed to participate unless otherwise permitted by the masters. The rest of you just need to sit down and enjoy the show."
Castiel looked around and noticed some guards seemed disappointed by this news.
"Now let me draw your attention to the markings on the floor." Jethro indicated behind him at the white chalk circles decorating the dark concrete. "The largest circle in the middle of the room is our fighting zone. All trials are 3 minutes long and, in these fights, if you are knocked out of bounds at any point during the three minutes, it is an automatic forfeit of the match. The point of these demonstrations are so you learn close-range hand to hand combat, not so you can run around the room chasing each other like chickens with your heads cut off."
A few of the guards laughed in such a way that Castiel was sure that this was in reference to something that had happened in a previous practice.
"The red and orange circles," Jethro motioned to the room at large, and Castiel counted 8 circles drawn at random on the floor around the fighting ring. "Are meant to represent pyres. If you are thrown out of the ring and into one of those circles by your opponent, you are dead and lose the match. If any body parts are removed and land in one of these circles, you may still fight as long as you remain in the central ring. But just remember that if this were a real fight, you would no longer have that limb."
"The rules otherwise are simple," Jethro brought his hands together in front of him, "No biting, not hitting below the belt, and no throwing any removed body parts at your friends in the stands-," Jethro turned a playfully disapproving stare at a small group in the far right hand of the bleachers, the 5 guards making up the mass busting out in laughter at the look.
"And of course, there is the tap out rule. If at any point you wish to forfeit the match you simply need to tap three times," he demonstrated by tapping his forearm, "On the nearest surface. Whether that be your opponent, the floor, or your own head, it doesn't matter. Whatever gets the point across. If you don't have any arms to tap out…" Jethro hesitated, thinking, "Just say uncle."
Yeesh, Castiel thought as she watched Aro step up beside Jethro, This was going to be violent.
"As always," Aro continued and Castiel saw Marcus and Caius spread out, each standing facing the other at the opposite end of the circle, obviously about to start the demonstration, "If you are gifted you are permitted to use your gift during your match. In a real fight there is no such thing as cheating. So, while I know some of you do not feel it is a fair fight to have to battle someone like… Alec for example, remember that during a real fight you will not be asking your enemy to turn off their gift and fight fair. A fair fight is using any and every tactic at your disposal to win."
Aro glided to the far-left corner of the bleachers, turning to watch Caius and Marcus facing off, while a large screen on the right wall lit up with the large red numbers 3:00.
"Begin!" Jethro boomed out, and the clock began counting down.
It was really intense. Marcus and Caius moved so quickly that they were only blurs to Castiel, the banging they made when slamming into each other so loud she felt the vibrations in her bones.
Jethro was announcing above the din of snarling and crashes, and from what Castiel could grasp, Marcus was really wailing on Caius, and Caius was dancing around trying to avoid the blows.
Without much success apparently, if the crashing was anything to go by.
Castiel focused hard, staring intensely down at the fight and blocking out the newly added jeers of the guard as the clock showed that only 2 minutes were left. She was able to catch when Marcus aimed a well-placed kick at Caius' chest and her blond brother flew through the air.
Before he was thrown from the circle, Marcus flashed to the opposite end, intercepting Caius' form only an inch before he went out of bounds and slamming him to the ground. And much like the scene in the avengers where the hulk grabbed Thor by the leg and began slamming him into the ground, Marcus slammed his brother into the ground repeatedly.
Castiel and Athenadora both cringed. That had to hurt. Kemar was leaning forward eagerly, chuckling every now and then at something.
Marcus threw Caius toward the opposite end of the circle, but this time Caius seemed to right himself, flipping through the air and landing on his feet, skidding to a stop a few feet before the line.
They ran at each other, Marcus feinting to the left just as Caius leapt at him – aiming for his right side. Caius barely turned back to face Marcus before Marcus swept his legs out from under him, sending him to his ass, before grabbing his ankle and throwing him with a rather impressive amount of force from the circle.
Caius landed in one of the largest red circles, and a whistle sounded.
Castiel's heart was pounding as she looked up at the clock. 1:13 was glowing up on the board.
Some guards were cheering, and the rest were clapping. Only Castiel was too stunned to move. Turning to look at her sisters she was shocked to see that Athenadora was applauding too.
Both of them laughed at her expression.
"Caius was going on and on all last night about how he was going to beat Marcus this time." Dora laughed, "They brawl in private occasionally and Marcus always wins."
"I think he thought getting himself pumped up for this fight would turn the odds in his favor." Sulpicia said, grinning as they turned to watch Marcus help Caius up by the hand. "I'm glad he didn't win though. The last thing Caius' ego needs is a victory over Marcus."
Castiel watched Caius and Marcus as they returned to the front of the room, surprised to see that they were grinning and obviously talking shit to each other in a language she didn't understand, as if they hadn't just been beating the shit out of each other.
Over the next twenty minutes, three more demonstrations took place. Marcus and Aro fought, Marcus and Caius had a rematch, and Aro and Caius fought. After each match, Jethro opened the floor to questions, and guards would ask for tips or techniques, and occasionally the brothers would reenact a certain move at a pace slow enough that even Castiel was able to completely grasp how to do it.
Marcus won all of his matches – he had thrown Caius into the pyre during their rematch in only the first thirty seconds, and Aro had tapped out when Marcus put him in a head lock in the last minute of their fight. Castiel had the impression that Aro threw his match with Caius so that Caius didn't have a coronary. She had definitely seen Aro take a very intentional step backward out of bounds in the last thirty seconds of his match.
None of the brothers removed any body parts from one another, but Castiel thought that was just because they didn't want to be bothered hearing each other complain about reattaching limbs later. She was positive that would change when the guards came up to practice.
Jethro announced, as the guards who would be going to Forks lined up along the front of the bleachers to await their turn to fight, that each of the masters would rotate who fought in each demonstration. Aro for the first match, Caius for the second match, Marcus for the third, and repeat. Some of the guards looked disappointed until Jethro laughed and assured them that the masters knew everyone was eager to have a go with Marcus, and that Marcus would allow them all their chance at the end of training.
As the first match with Aro was about to start the doors to the gym opened and everyone turned to see the Cullen's filing in together, looking incredibly apprehensive at all the eyes on them.
"Carlisle!" Aro called joyously, straightening out of the crouch he had been in, "Glad you could come! Your family can just line up with the guard there, and Isabella-," Aro gestured to where Castiel was seated at the top of the stands, "Can sit with Castiel."
There was a pause for as long as a heartbeat – not significant to Castiel but significant enough to the vampires in the room – before the Cullens did as they were told. Bella looked incredibly uncomfortable as everyone watched her stumble along the front of the bleachers and began climbing the steps towards Castiel.
Castiel already knew Bella was clumsy. She'd seen enough of her tripping in her visions recently to know the girl wasn't able to walk across a flat stable surface without finding something to fall over. So she slipped into her foresight to watch out, and just as Bella got only a couple of steps down from where Castiel was sitting, she tripped.
Castiel lurched forward and caught Bella around the waist, avoiding having the other girl slam her head into the metal handrail that she really should have been holding onto considering her klutziness, and getting her back onto her feet in only a second.
Some of the guards around them chuckled under their breath, and Bella felt like she would just about die of embarrassment as she met Castiel's gaze.
Castiel's pupils were so wide the blue of her eyes was hardly visible, which was a shock to Bella as she stammered out her thanks.
At her words Castiel's pupils returned to normal and she smiled at her. "It's all good. Now let's sit before you knock us both down the stairs."
Bella nodded her agreement, allowing Castiel to guide her to the seat between herself and a small vampire with curly blonde hair – the one who had been behind Caius' throne earlier.
Bella was grateful that there didn't seem to be any time for small talk – she really didn't know what she would have said to Castiel or any of the vampires around her anyway – because Aro cleared his throat and everyone attention was returned to the center of the room.
Jethro stepped forward and gave the same speech he did when they had first started so the Cullen's would understand the rules, and the matches continued.
Something Castiel realized very quickly was that the display of Marcus fighting his brothers was the best against the best. Each fight that had a guard go one-on-one with one of the masters ended quickly. Limbs went flying, guards were thrown out of the center ring in less than a minute – all matches were ending so fast that Jethro revised his earlier statement to say that each of the guards would be fighting each brother individually, rather than each guard only getting to participate in one match or possibly two if they wanted to have a go with Marcus.
Aro, Caius, and Marcus were seriously good fighters. And even though most of the time the vampires moved too quickly for Castiel to really understand what was happening, she did get a kick out of being allowed to watch.
She cringed with the rest of the guards on the bleachers when Caius got his foot planted in the back of one guard and removed both his arms in one pull. And she winced with Sulpicia, Dora, and Bella when Aro grabbed a guard by the shoulders and bashed his skull into his own with enough force that the guard crumpled to the ground holding his head and wailing. Aro grinned as the cracks that had formed on his forehead at the impact healed, and then pinned the guard to the ground with his foot – the guard had frantically tapped out.
She also laughed with the others when one guard completely lost her head when the timer started when facing off with Marcus and she frantically ran out of bounds yelling "UNCLE!" at the top of her voice. Jethro had commented that that might have been the quickest forfeit ever at only 1.14 seconds.
And then it came the Cullens turn to fight one on one.
As Carlisle stepped forward, Jethro flashed to the center of the room, each of the brothers joining him, and raised one arm to capture everyone's attention.
"Before we continue," He said loudly and clearly, "I just want to remind everyone that after the Cullens demonstrations we will have some fights with unequal groupings; three on one, two on one, etcetera, as well as some practice fighting with a partner. But first-,"
Jethro looked up into the stands, directly at Castiel, and motioned to her, "The brothers ask that Mistress Castiel come down to assist in a demonstration."
The room went still.
Murmurs ran through the crowd as Castiel tilted her head curiously, staring at Aro, Caius, and Marcus. Bella turned in her seat to look at her and noticed that her pupils had gone all huge again. Castiel didn't move for nearly twenty seconds, and just as Bella reached out to touch her shoulder – wondering if something was wrong – Castiel straightened up with a slight "Oh!" before blinking quickly and grinning widely.
No one knew what was going on as Castiel descended the stairs, all eyes on her as she crossed the smooth floor to stand in front of Aro. She and Aro touched palms briefly, before Marcus laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and guided her towards one end of the circle, stopping and standing behind her as Caius went to stand on the opposite side of the circle.
Bella's stomach twisted in a knot when she realized along with the rest of the guards around her that Castiel was facing off with Caius.
Excited murmurs flowed along the bleachers as guards bent their heads together to talk about just what on earth they were seeing. Bella saw Esme's hands covering her mouth, her eyes wide with terror. In fact all of the Cullens looked incredibly worried as they watched the very small human girl in her little grey sweater dress facing off with one of the vampire leaders, all except Edward Bella noted, who stared at the spectacle in the center of the room looking a little perplexed but certainly not worried.
Bella tore her gaze away from Edward, her mouth falling open in surprise when she noticed that Marcus wasn't just standing behind Castiel – he was braiding her hair. She gaped like a goldfish until Marcus finished, grabbing what had to be a hair tie from his wrist to secure the braid, before he removed the comb that held his own hair up – his hair falling loosely to his shoulders now – and twisted her braid into a knot, securing it to the back of her head with the comb.
Castiel removed her glasses, passing them over her shoulder to Marcus, who placed them in his pocket before exiting the circle. Bella assumed that it was probably distance Castiel had trouble seeing since it was clear she didn't wear the glasses all the time and apparently didn't need them now.
Marcus stayed just outside the circle on Castiel's side and Aro positioned himself outside the circle on Caius' side as Jethro spoke from the center.
"This demonstration," He was grinning more widely than any time thus far today. "Is meant to be a lesson in never underestimating your opponent. Due to the circumstances-," He motioned to Castiel and Caius, indicating that they join him in the center, "The rules for this match are very different."
"The timer will be set to sixty seconds, and all Castiel must do is evade capture by master Caius." More whispering ran through the guards. Bella could feel the excitement crackle through the air like electricity.
"Caius' aim," Jethro motioned to Caius who took Castiel's right arm and bent it behind her back. Castiel dropped willingly down to her knees, allowing Caius to use his free hand to hold the back of her neck and force her to face the ground, "Will be to get her into this position."
"Any questions?"
No one said anything, and Caius returned to his previous position. To Bella's surprise Castiel remained standing where she was in the center of the circle. If it were her out there Bella would have been standing an inch from the line just waiting to throw herself out of bounds.
"In three… two… one… BEGIN!"
The timer dropped to 59, and Caius launched himself at Castiel.
Bella screamed – she just couldn't help it – but she wasn't the only one to make a sound. She was sure she heard the blonde vampire beside her let out a squeak, and some of the guards below her leaned forward eagerly.
Suddenly, Caius was skidding to a stop, just inches away from the far line and he turned to face the center of the circle where Castiel was still standing, his expression betraying his surprise.
He had missed.
Multiple people gasped, and the guard Bella was sitting beside – Castiel's guard whom she didn't know the name of – laughed.
Caius' hesitation and surprise cost him 8 seconds. The clock creeping toward 50 when he launched himself back toward the center
…And he ended up on the opposite end of the circle again, completely missing Castiel who hadn't moved an inch.
But wait.
Bella focused hard on Castiel, opting to watch her instead of the blonde king as he launched his third attack, and she saw what she had been missing.
Castiel was moving. Every time Caius launched himself at her, she took a step – just one tiny step – out of his path. From this distance Bella could not see Castiel's eyes but she was sure she understood the meaning of the widened pupils now and undoubtedly that was what was happening here.
When the timer hit 30, guards erupted into sounds, shouting and cheering as they goaded the two in the ring, and to Bella's alarm the game in the center seemed to change into a dance.
Caius was throwing himself at Castiel over and over and she was dancing out of his way, moving quickly for a human but still plenty slow enough for Bella to see. She seemed to be very lithe and bendy, twisting and twirling out of the blonde kings reach whenever he came near, the vampire no more than a black and white blur.
Bella could hear Caius snarling as the clock crept closer to zero, and she saw as he changed his tactics, tightening his circle of attack and giving Castiel less reaction time to move from his path.
On one particularly close call when Caius went low aiming for her legs, Castiel did a clean backflip over him. Some of the guards whooped at this, but Castiel barely had time to regain her footing before Caius was at her again, and this time she went low, sliding between his legs as he made to grab her.
It really looked like she was going to manage it, Bella thought wildly. She was on her feet, as were some of the others in the stand, bouncing up and down in her nerves as she watched the show. When had she stood? She couldn't remember.
Suddenly there was a loud squeak from the circle, and in the time it took Bella to blink, Caius was standing over Castiel, holding one arm behind her back and forcing her head down as she knelt in front of him.
"Time!" Jethro yelled, "With 12.46 seconds left on the clock, Master Caius wins the round."
Everyone clapped, a couple of the guard's cat called, and Bella sat watching as Caius helped Castiel to her feet, Aro and Marcus coming to stand around them.
It had been by far the most exciting match of the day.
"Now!" Aro stood beside Jethro as the guards settled down, Marcus leading Castiel back to her seat. Castiel removed the clip from her braid and allowed it to tumble down her back, giving it back to him as they walked. "We all saw that capturing Castiel was not as easy as some of us might have originally assumed, correct?"
Nods from the guards, a few saying yes aloud.
"Now what moves do you think were mistakes? What do you think my brother did correctly?" Aro asked, Bella scooched to the side as Castiel reentered their row of seats, sitting between Bella and her guard again.
A few guards raised their hands, but for the most part it was just a mess of vampires calling out their opinions, their friends adding their two cents in here and there. It was agreed by most that the attacks had been too direct at first, and that the speed and therefore the momentum of Caius' attacks made his landing points hard to control – the example being the two times he had almost exited the ring by accident.
"And what did he do right?" Marcus asked, Caius smirking at his side.
"He started closing the circle!" A black-haired woman rang from the far right
"Yeah! He stopped allowing her so much reaction time!" A relatively short male agreed from one of the lower seats.
"He attacked from all sides and did not give her time to think about his plans toward the end." A heavily accented voice came from two rows below Bella.
Marcus nodded at all of these things, but it seemed that no one was giving the answer he was waiting for. A few more opinions were called out, more examples given, but still it seemed everyone was missing the key point until-
"He stopped allowing his frustrations to get the better of him." The vampire beside Castiel rang out, and Bella's head snapped around so quickly her neck hurt – she hadn't heard him speak before.
"Thank you, Kemar." Marcus said, sounding pleased. "Yes, if you were watching closely you would have seen that Caius was indeed very frustrated when Castiel stepped out of his path the first few times. His frustration only increased when the clock dropped below thirty seconds."
Bella remembered how Caius had snarled during the middle of the match, and she knew Marcus was right.
"If you were watching Caius at the 22 second mark, you would have noticed his pause, and the deep breath he took before he tightened his attacks. When he stopped letting his frustrations get the better of him, he started making the right decisions. My brothers and I wanted to show you this, so you always remember that no matter how small or helpless-," Marcus grinned, and Bella saw Castiel smirk back at him out of the corner of her eye. "Your opponent may seem you should never underestimate them."
"She'll be a force to be reckoned with once she's no longer mortal." Caius agreed, and without pause, he raised his hand towards Carlisle, beckoning him forward with two fingers.
Bella felt her stomach tighten again as the clock changed to read three minutes, and Caius and Carlisle faced off in the circle.
They remained in the training room for three more hours. Bella and Castiel sat side by side, gradually becoming more tired even as the energy in the room remained high as the guards watched the mock fights and razzed one another. Both of them had become rather desensitized to a body part here and there being thrown outside of the ring. The only things Bella had a hard time with where any of the mock fights involving the Cullens.
She had jumped, squeaked, and hidden her face too many times to count as she watched Caius remove one of Emmett's legs before knocking him out of the ring, saw Marcus kick Alice clean out of the circle and into one of the red circles by the far wall only ten seconds into their fight, and saw Jasper get slammed to the floor and pinned to the ground by Marcus' foot on his neck.
One of the hardest fights for her to watch was Esme versus Aro. Aro had put Esme into a Half-Nelson in the first minute and Esme had tapped out. Bella couldn't help but notice how Aro was considerably more gentle with Esme than he had been against any of the other Cullens – Aro had no qualms throwing Rosalie face first into one of the red circles for example – but she knew this was more so out of his respect for Carlisle rather than fondness for Esme.
Still, it wasn't any easier for her to watch. Bella had unthinkingly hidden her face behind Castiel's shoulder during that fight and had been embarrassed when she realized what she had done, but the other girl only pat Bella's back soothingly when she straightened up again.
The hardest thing of all though, was watching Edward go up against each of the brothers in turn. Bella had thought that due to his mind reading abilities Edward would be one of the only people in the room with the slightest chance of winning one of the matches.
She had been wrong.
Aro moved like a ghost. He and Edward were no more than blurs shooting around the center ring. There was no snarling and no bangs as they crashed into each other. It seemed that they constantly dodged one another. Aro knew Edward better than Edward knew himself and therefore seemed to know exactly how to fight him because at 1 minute and 27 seconds in, Aro stuck a leg out and Edward oh-so graciously tripped over it and fell out of the ring.
The guards hooted with laugher and Edward looked extremely put out as he straightened up, Aro shrugging at him with a smirk.
Then Edward entered the ring again, this time squaring off with Caius. Just before the match started, Castiel reached out and took Bella's hand and Bella had looked over at her curiously at first, not understanding the gesture.
She found out quickly enough.
Caius had been pissed at Edwards insolence when they arrived, and it seemed that he was making Edward pay for it during their fight. Bella was clutching Castiel's hand so tightly she saw the other girl wince, but she couldn't find it in her to let Castiel's fingers go as Caius… well there was no other word for it – as Caius beat the ever-loving shit out of her boyfriend.
Caius didn't seem interested in simply throwing Edward out of the ring. He had vindictively made sure that each punch, kick, and slam kept Edward inside the ring at all times. When Edward had finally called out "Uncle!" it was like music to Bella's ears, who by that time – 2 minutes and 42 seconds in – was holding onto Castiel's arm with both hands, her eyes squeezed shut as she waited for it to stop.
Edwards fight with Marcus… hadn't been as bad as it had been with Caius. But unlike Aro and Caius, Marcus did remove Edward's left arm and the lower part of his right leg. Bella didn't know what was worse; watching Edward get beat up or watching him lose a limb.
Marcus had thrown both of Edwards lost body parts into the red rings, which had the vampire named Jethro announcing in his cool, clear voice that in a real fight Edward would have lost those limbs permanently.
Edward didn't stand much of a chance without his leg, so he ended up tapping out about halfway in.
The rest of the fighting hadn't been that interesting to Bella. Sure, the instructions Marcus yelled out as three guards attacked him head on and the advice Aro gave to Carlisle and Caius as they faced off as a team against two guards Bella didn't know the names of were super interesting, but Bella felt like all her energy had been burnt out of her after watching Edward's fights.
Now four of the guards who had participated in the fighting – along with Rosalie, Emmet, Alice, and Edward – trooped out of the training room towards the hospital wing to rest and get care from the resident doctor. Castiel had explained to Bella that Arkos would make sure everyone was patched up and able to get to Forks tomorrow. It would take a few days for the reattached limbs to work normally again but the fighting in Forks was set for a few weeks from now so it shouldn't be an issue.
Aro dismissed the guards and everyone rose to leave. Bella stood with Castiel, not really sure what to do with herself as they descended the stairs toward where Marcus was waiting. Bella was craning her neck to see where the rest of the Cullen's where and ended up missing a step and all but falling on Castiel.
Thankfully, they were only a couple steps from the bottom at that point, and Bella felt more than one set of hands grab her and set her upright.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Bella gasped, looking around at those who had caught her.
Marcus had managed to reach out and pull Castiel out from under Bella's falling form, and Kemar and the blonde vampire Bella had heard Castiel call Athenadora had been the ones to catch Bella.
"It's fine Hunny." Athenadora said kindly, patting her arm before disappearing through the crowd of vampires trying to leave and heading towards her husband.
Kemar offered no such reassurances and only rolled his eyes.
Bella felt extremely awkward now as she stood in front of Marcus and Kemar. Marcus was obviously in the process of checking to make sure Castiel wasn't hurt, looking her up and down at arm's length while Kemar just continued to look unimpressed.
So, Bella was incredibly grateful when Esme and Carlisle appeared at her side, saying that they were going to go out for a walk in Volterra while the others got patched up in the hospital wing and wanted her to join them. Bella nodded, glancing over Esme's shoulder and seeing Jasper's back as he disappeared out the doors. He was probably going to go wait for Alice outside the hospital wing.
As she turned to leave, Castiel's voice spoke up from behind her.
"I'll be practicing in the gymnasium in a couple of hours, Bella. If you'd like to come and hang out, you're more than welcome to."
Bella turned back to the other girl in surprise, only to see that Castiel was smiling kindly at her, Kemar just behind her shoulder. Marcus was standing in the center of the room with his brothers and their wives, his head turned slightly towards Castiel as he spoke to Aro.
"S-sure." Bella stammered, feeling as if it would be impolite to say no, but also feeling incredibly off balance. She has spent weeks worrying about coming to Volterra and hadn't at all been a fan of the idea of spending time with the human mate of one of the kings whom she was so sure was going to be a stuck-up bitch who would look down on her the whole time she was there.
But Castiel really didn't fit any of Bella's imaginings of what Marcus' mate would be like because so far, she had been nothing but kind.
Her shock obviously showed on her face, because Castiel laughed lightly. "You don't have to, Bella. I just wanted to extend the invitation so you'd see that being here isn't as bad as you think it will be."
And with that, Castiel turned and headed towards the center of the room to join her family. Leaving Bella to stare after her for a long moment before she left with Carlisle and Esme.
Castiel joined her family just in time to hear Caius say, "Santiago just sent word that the wolves are causing a problem. It seems as if the winds are bringing our guards scent across the boundary line. Corin relays that the wolves are getting antsy. She was pursued by two of them 3 miles from the boundary line and on the Cullens' territory."
Caius rounded on her, his face sharp as he snapped, "Why didn't you see that? Why are we having trouble from the wolves when you said they aren't an issue?"
"Caius!" Athenadora, Sulpicia, and Marcus all snapped – Marcus sounding much more dangerous than her two sisters as a snarl ripped from his throat.
Castiel and Aro shared a look that very clearly said, "Oh, here he goes."
Looking thoroughly unimpressed, Castiel folded her arms across her chest with her eyebrows raised.
"No one ever asked me to watch the wolves. You already have me watching a group of newborns slaughter other human beings in Seattle every day, you have me watching everything that could possibly happen in Volterra, you have me watching Victoria… you really want to add another thing to the list?"
"She's only human Caius." Dora defended, hands on her hips, "She gets headaches when she tried to focus on too much at once."
"One of the guards could have been hurt!" Caius snapped, "Corin only shook them loose by entering the Cullen's direct property. Carlisle gave the guards permission to stay in their house an hour ago. We had to send orders that all the guards are to remain on the Cullens' land until further notice. We even pulled out the dozen we had in Seattle just as a precaution. We can't do our job with the dogs getting in the way!"
Castiel's stance softened just a little bit. Caius might be a jerk, but he was only acting this way due to his genuine concern for their coven members safety. He acted like he hated absolutely everyone, but he cared a lot more than he let on.
"Nothing would have happened to Corin." Castiel reasoned, "When we came up with the game plan for the guards Aro sent, I mapped out the course that would make sure no one was harmed. That doesn't mean I saw every little tiny thing that was destined to happen. Corin was always going to cross paths with the wolves, but she was always going to evade them and was never going to get hurt – therefore I didn't see her being chased."
Caius seemed appeased by this. At least is seemed so, since he started making an effort to school his expression into something less confrontational. He glared at the wall behind her rather than directly at her.
"I'll watch the wolves, too." Castiel sighed, ignoring Aro and Marcus' protests. "Not with extreme detail! Just enough to make sure there won't be any problems."
Marcus put his arm around her, his hand resting on her waist as he turned to Aro. "Can't you tell Carlisle to, I don't know, call the Quileute's and explain the situation? Tell them to stop violating their treaty and keep to their lands?"
"Carlisle believes that the wolves know they are not home. Isabella is apparently very close with the pack beta, and he is sure that the wolves are only doing this because they believe that other vampires are coming to harm people in Forks and the Cullens aren't there to stop them."
"Still-," Marcus interrupted, but Aro cut him off.
"The Quileute's won't answer Carlisle's calls. They don't exactly like the Cullens at all. They only tolerate them." Aro sighed.
"Then what do we do?" Caius growled, his gaze snapping to Castiel again, obviously implying that she was the psychic one and therefore she had the best chance of giving some kind of solution.
Marcus pulled Castiel closer, his chest against her back as he began growling at Caius, his expression obviously telling his blonde brother to back the fuck off.
But Castiel ignored Marcus, thinking hard. What could they do? The wolves wanted nothing to do with vampires. They couldn't send a guard across the treaty line even to relay a message; the wolves killed first and asked questions later. They wouldn't answer phone calls apparently. They were close to Bella, and Bella as a human was able to get onto the La Push reservation…
But Bella would not be going back to Washington until after the newborns and Victoria were eliminated by the Volturi. Not even for a day.
What they needed was-
"Someone human." Castiel mumbled the ending to her thought out loud, her brows furrowed as she stared down at Caius' shoes.
Her family had apparently been bickering in hushed tones while she had been thinking, because they all cut off into silence when she spoke. She looked up to see four pairs of red eyes on her face. She was sure Marcus was looking down at her too because he had gone oddly tense.
"What?" Caius and Aro chorused.
"We need someone human." Castiel repeated, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Someone who can cross the boundary line and go to the village elders with a message. The wolves aren't evil. They exist to protect human life. They'd never hurt a human even if that human was relaying messages for vampires."
"You aren't going." Caius said firmly, jumping to the same conclusion Marcus had just as Marcus had been opening his mouth to say the same thing.
Castiel rolled her eyes "Duh."
"Then who do you suggest?" Aro asked. He and her sisters were the only ones keeping a cool head in this conversation.
"Trent."
It was silent as her family exchanged looks with one another, trying to decide if they thought this idea was plausible, until Aro nodded.
"Yes, that could work." He mused.
Caius scoffed, "Why would he do that for us?"
"He wouldn't." Sulpicia said lightly, a small smile gracing her lips. "But he would do it for Castiel."
"Yeah," Castiel grinned back at her raven-haired sister, "That and he'd love to escape the castle full of vampires for a week."
"Then, we shall ask him." Aro shrugged, "We best do it now though. We'll need him to pack a small bag if he is to be leaving with the guard tomorrow morning. It's probably good that the Cullens are going. They should put him more at ease on the plane since they have adapted a fairly human lifestyle."
"And…" Aro rubbed his chin, "We can arrange for him to stay at a hotel in Forks. We will station guards around to keep him safe, but I think he would be more willing to go if we can – as Castiel said – limit his exposure to vampires for a little while."
Marcus moved to stand beside Castiel, taking her hand, "Will this work?"
Castiel looked up at him, her pupils going wide at his words as she searched ahead – obviously checking to make sure that there was a point in all of this and her friend would be able to make contact with the wolves, as well as reassuring herself of his safety.
She saw many small flashes at first. She saw Trent at the landing strip with the guard and saw him sitting on the plane next to Alice as they took off. She caught a glimpse of him in what was obviously a hotel room – probably in Forks – and quickly switched to see something else because he was undressing, watching for when he would go to La Push.
Castiel saw him driving along a windy road alone, thick forest on either side of him before he entered a tiny town. Little flashes continued to flow through her mind, she let out a tiny sigh without realizing it when she finally began to see things of importance.
Trent was looking a little awkward, standing on the porch of a small house and talking to a man in a wheelchair. The vision changed to Trent standing on the lawn of the same house, the man in the wheelchair nowhere to be seen, and Trent now facing off with three extremely large men who watched him with stony expressions as he talked.
The largest man in the middle – Castiel catching in the conversation that his name was Sam – looked extremely grave at what Trent was telling him about the newborn army. He obviously wasn't pleased at the news a bunch of vampires would be coming to their general area, even if they were coming to kill the even larger group of volatile young vampires who would undoubtedly massacre the towns if not stopped.
Sam invited Trent back later, asking him to come to a bonfire where the village elders would be present as well as the rest of his pack. Sam was gruff with Trent, basically ordering him to be there at ten o'clock and to be prepared to tell them everything.
Now she saw Trent sitting on a log near a fire with strange blue flames, politely answering the questions of the – what looked to be at least – 15-year-old who was tending to the bonfire and happily chatting as they waited for others to arrive.
Castiel saw as the other shifters arrived, a few elderly humans among them whom she very much doubted to be sifters themselves.
And then Castiel watched as a young woman showed up at the fire; obviously the last person the pack was waiting for. She was clearly the only female wolf in their group, and Castiel wouldn't have thought much of it if the vision didn't skip forward a few moments to show her something new.
She saw the young woman lock eyes with Trent, and Castiel recognized the look on her face right away.
She didn't need the following flashes of Trent and the woman together to know what happened.
Visions of Trent with his arms around her. Holding her, kissing her… Castiel watching the seasons changing around them as if witnessing five second snap shots of their lives together that were all merged into one big montage.
Trent was getting older and the beautiful woman always by his side. Castiel watched months turn into years, and she saw what could only be Trent in his late twenties, sitting on a hospital bed beside the woman who was undoubtedly now his wife if the rings on their fingers were anything to go by. His wife looked tired and was leaning against his arm as he kissed the top of her head, a bundle of blankets cradled against him.
"Thank you, Leah."
Nearly eight minutes passed, and when Castiel's irises finally returned to normal size, her expression became that of shock. Her heart rate was elevated slightly higher than what was normal with each passing second.
Her family tightened their circle around her at her apparent alarm, mistaking her shock for fear.
But due to their imprinting bond and the subsequent shaking of their emotions, Marcus understood that it was not fear on Castiel's face.
It was surprise. There was shock, yes. But not fear.
Marcus took her face in his hands gently, "What is it?"
Castiel opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, unable to articulate words before thrusting a hand out to Aro, who caught it in a split second.
More silence as Aro read her thoughts, her sisters and Caius becoming more tense with each passing second until-
"I see." Aro looked just as surprised as Castiel, and Dora, Sulpicia, and Caius all began demanding what Castiel had seen in hushed voices.
Only Marcus remained calm, so it was Marcus' gaze that Aro focused on when he replied.
"One of the Quileute wolves…" Aro said slowly, "Is going to imprint on Trent."
Everyone gaped at him. They all knew that imprinting among shifters was common and not at all like vampire imprinting – but what were the chances?
The chances that of all the people in the world it would be Castiel's best friend who was meant to be the subject of one of the Quileute wolves imprinting, were very slim indeed.
"You're…" Caius paused, glancing from Aro to Castiel, "You're sure about this?"
Castiel nodded, "Yes. It's… it's very firm. His future is more solid than most of the visions I see."
Castiel bit her lip, looking back up at Marcus. It was his advice that she wanted for her next question. "The only question is do I tell him this when we ask him to go?"
Marcus considered her question, his eyes thoughtful as he stared back at her before asking, "Would warning him change anything?"
Castiel paused, and he watched her pupils expand. She was still for nearly thirty seconds before she came to, and she shook her head. "No. It won't change a thing."
"Then you have your answer." Marcus said gently, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "Don't give him the opportunity to worry about something that, in the end, will turn out well. I know you feel you should warn your friends and family of everything you see. But all people do have to experience life naturally. Naturally for you is to watch the future and plan accordingly, but naturally for those who are not gifted with foresight is to follow their own path and take all the bumps and curves that go with it."
Edward laid silently in his hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling and doing his best to ignore the chatter around him. He was trying to ignore the thoughts of everyone around him, but found it a lot harder to tune everyone out than usual.
The female in the bed across the aisle from him was sulking as her right shoulder prickled in pain as her arm reattached. Two men were talking animatedly with each other about some sports game they had been watching the day before and Edward found it strange they could be so ignorant to the fact that one of them currently had their knee braced and the other had both of this arms wrapped across his chest in a jacket that looked like it belonged on someone in a mental institution.
The Volturi were such savages. They put four of their own guard in the hospital. One of them still couldn't speak since he had been decapitated by Caius and everything was still reattaching. The black-haired doctor was bent over said patient and checking his neck when Edward's thoughts were interrupted.
"Will you stop moping Edward? You're really making my life more difficult than it needs to be." It was Jasper, who was sitting on the edge of Alice's bed as she chatted animatedly to Rosalie about a shopping trip she was planning for when they returned to Italy to get Bella after the newborn mess was over.
Alice was probably the luckiest person here because only her left hand was in a cast. Four of her fingers had been removed when she and Caius were fighting, and fortunately for her, fingers and toes didn't take very long to reattach. She would be clear to take the cast off when they reached Forks tomorrow.
Edward sat up quickly, his arm twinging in pain when he did so. He had been offered bagged blood by the doctor to help speed up the healing process, but he had vehemently refused.
Rosalie had refused as well, and Alice wasn't even offered since her injuries were so minor.
Emmett was the exception. He felt no guilt consuming the human blood brought to him. He had defended himself by saying "Hey, no one got hurt for it. Chill Eddie-boy," before tearing his teeth into the two bags he was given.
The smell of the blood in the air had put himself, Alice, and Rosalie on edge until Emmett finished. Edward had been glad that Jasper hadn't been present at that time and had arrived in the hospital wing a few minutes after the fact.
But Emmett was never one to feel guilty over consuming human blood. He had been always the fastest to move past his slip-ups over the years. Edwards thoughts were bitter as he glared at Emmett, who was bending and unbending his injured leg, before he turned to Jasper.
"I'm not moping." He growled.
Jasper rolled his eyes. "Of course you aren't. I must just be imagining all the self-pity."
"They fight like savages here!" Edward spat, unable to help his defensive tone. At his words, the two guards who had been discussing sports stopped talking instantly, and the female in the bed across from him pushed herself up on her good arm, glaring at him from across the aisle.
Edward looked around at the guards in the other beds defiantly. "Well they do! Just look at yourselves! Why would you want to be a part of a coven who does this to you during simple practice matches?"
The two men snorted and rolled their eyes, the guy having his head reattached didn't sit up, opting to just lift his arm to give Edward the finger, and the female across from Edward laughed rudely.
"Just because we practice for real doesn't mean we're savages." She snapped, ignoring the doctor as he made to push her back down so she would recline in her bed again.
"Why would we want the masters to go easy on us?" The vampire with his arms in the straitjacket said in a heavily accented voice. He sounded like he was from the Ukraine to Edward. "Why would we want to be trained in such a way, so we are less prepared and less aware for what we are up against?"
"We have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world." The other male said, raising his eyebrows. "We like that our training is rough. We need to train as if every fight is a real one."
Edward was silent as he tried to think of how to respond to these people. It was difficult to come up with a retort when their thoughts were so sure. They were so convinced that their way of thinking was the right way. They needed to see things his way. They needed to see what monsters they were.
"They arranged to have Caius attack the human they swear is Marcus' mate."
The girl across from him laughed again, but this laugh was amused. "You think they were actually going to hurt her? Caius loves that little mortal. He'd never lay a hand on her."
"None of us would." The words came out slightly garbled from the guard with the neck brace. He seemed to only just be regaining his speech, "You might not think us capable, but we are very fond of Mistress Castiel."
The other three guards nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. And you can't deny that her match with Caius was cool." The heavily accented one said.
"Very cool." Emmett agreed, grinning around at them all before focusing on Edward. "You're only salty that each of the kings kicked your ass."
Edward spluttered, incoherent words coming from him as he tried to come up with a defense, but he was cut off by Rosalie.
"Yeah, I particularly like how you flailed your arms when Aro tripped you."
Everyone laughed, and Edward slumped back in his bed cursing them all under his breath.
Castiel was relived to be alone in the gym with Kemar a couple hours later. It was dim in here, only the emergency lights illuminating the room as she chalked up her hands to practice on the bars. Funnily enough it seemed that Kemar actually enjoyed being here in the gym – they barely spoke to one another but he was… a lot more helpful than usual as he spotted her when she practiced on the high beams and worked on some floor routines. He only spoke to give her constructive criticism, and he had helped her when she was having difficulty doing the Tsukahara vault properly. She kept doing it tucked when she meant to do it stretched. He had given her good advice and had not laughed at her when she didn't regain her footing a couple of times and fell to her butt.
She had done it successfully half a dozen times in a row though, and after a brief break for water he suggested she practice on the bars. He noticed she had done a lot of vault, floor, and beam routines recently and had been neglecting practicing other skills.
She really needed to practice some tap swings on the high bar, and Kemar had graciously helped her adjust the bars to the appropriate distance for her height.
Castiel was only practicing for about ten minutes with slight pauses here and there when Kemar corrected her form and – just like a teacher – would give her instructions. He was looking at his watch repeating, "Hold it, hold it…" As Castiel did a handstand on the high bar, staring at her white clenched knuckles as she tried to keep her posture straight.
"Good." Kemar said after thirty more seconds, and Castiel swung down, adjusting her grip to turn her body in one neat swing and raise herself so her hips were against the bar. Getting herself into a birdie perch, Castiel adjusted so she was sitting on the bar just as Bella entered the gym, looking unsure as she approached Castiel and Kemar.
Castiel waved at her, "Hey Bella."
Bella grinned sheepishly up at Castiel, who was wearing a dark purple leotard with long sleeves, her bare legs swinging as Bella came to stand near the mat below her. Her curly red hair was still in the braid Marcus had given her, but it was pinned up again to keep it from hitting her in the face while she practiced.
Bella's gut twisted as she looked up at the other girl, feeling a pang when she realized just how pretty she was. Castiel was someone who looked like she belonged there when she stood beside her mate.
Unlike herself. Bella thought, imagining what she looked like next to Edward.
"Hey," Bella mumbled looking around, "You know when you said gymnasium I kinda pictured a high school gym, not a full gymnastics gym."
"Yeah," Castiel laughed, "When Marcus found out I was a gymnast this was one of the first places he brought me to. It helped make the transition easier when I first got here, working out again was a good way to release some energy."
Bella nodded and asked the question that had been on her mind since she first heard Castiel speak before she could stop herself. "How did you and Marcus meet? I mean… you aren't from Italy…" She trailed off, feeling embarrassed. Why did she find it so hard to have a normal conversation with this girl?
But Bella knew why.
It was because she was bursting with question and things she really longed to speak to another human woman about. She remembered trying to explain to Angela the situation with Edward and Jacob and being frustrated because she could never really explain it to her closest girlfriend.
But she could talk to this girl. Castiel was human and in a relationship with a vampire just like she was. Bella longed to have her companionship a lot more than she would ever admit, and it was harder to control that desire now when she saw that Castiel was nice. It was easier before when she believed the nameless human mate of Marcus Volturi would want nothing to do with her.
Castiel sighed, looking down at Bella with a wan smile, "Yeah, I know, the American really jumps out at you doesn't it?"
Kemar snorted, and Bella glanced over at him to see that he looked amused for a brief moment before he controlled his expression.
"Well… sorta." Bella said honestly.
"I thought you'd know! But I guess I'm not totally surprised you don't. I'm not really sure what most of the immortal world knows about me." Castiel sighed, "I was brought here to stand trial. One of my… friends traveled too close to Volterra and was brought to the city for questioning by Aro. Aro saw me in his thoughts and found out I had nearly a dozen other immortal friends from around the world. I was a security breach and was given trial rather than automatic execution because Aro saw I was talented and wanted to give me another option. I've lived in Volterra ever since."
"You stood trial? How… I mean – what was that like?" Bella imagined her first time in the throne room with Alice and Edward and the feeling of imminent death that had hung over her. There was also something weird about the way Castiel paused before she initially said friends, but Bella really wasn't sure how to ask about that hesitation.
Castiel shrugged. She was so nonchalant about the whole thing that Bella could hardly believe it. "Aro read my thoughts. No real decision could be made before I locked eyes with Marcus over his shoulder. Marcus imprinted on me and the rest, well…" she trialed off.
Bella thought about the wolf's version of imprinting, and how Carlisle had tried to explain what it was like for a vampire to imprint and how it was different as they left Forks for the airport. Bella knew imprinting for vampires wasn't for furthering genetic lines, and that it was something much deeper and more intimate than the bond between normal mates.
If there was any such thing as normal.
"And it just…" Bella paused, trying to think of the best way to orient her thoughts, "It was just all good after that?"
Castiel raised her eyebrows, "I mean… it wasn't easy for me at first. I cried a lot. I wanted to go home. My guard Afton – I don't think you met him yet – was a good friend to me in those first few days. He introduced me to Marcus and left me to spend some time with him. Marcus didn't tell me I was his imprint right away because he didn't want to force himself on me when I was so… scared. And vulnerable."
"We started off slowly. Marcus never pushed me into anything and let me take the lead on what I wanted, but…" She smiled, not at Bella though, her eyes looked as if she were looking at something far away, "He's very easy to love."
Before Bella could say anything else Kemar spoke.
"Alright enough talking." He snapped his fingers, "Back to practicing, Castiel."
Castiel groaned theatrically, looking down at her palms. "Can we stop here for the day? My palms hurt. Ever since Jane the calluses on my hands healed up and now everything is so sensitive."
"You have to build up your calluses again." Kemar folded his arms, "You asked me to help you devise a training schedule, and we agreed that you'd practice on the bars for one hour. You still have 37 minutes to go."
"I'm sorry," Bella interrupted, causing both Castiel and Kemar to turn to her, "What do you mean by ever since Jane?"
She truly couldn't help the question. Castiel's statement about Jane had been so casual, but yet there was some bitterness there when she had said it and Bella hadn't seen Jane at all ever since she got here. She assumed Jane was back in Forks.
Castiel and Kemar shared a look; Castiel nonverbally asking if she should tell Bella what happened. Kemar's only answer was a shrug. He did not see any reason to keep it from the Cullen's human. The rumor of Jane's dismissal was not spreading like wildfire in the supernatural world like the news of Marcus' imprinting had, but it was still a small whisper in the winds that could find its way to the Cullen family at any time.
"Jane attacked me a few months back. Not physically, but she used her gift and caused me to hit a marble bench when I collapsed." Castiel's easygoing smile had vanished as she relayed this to Bella, who stared at her wide-eyed, "I broke multiple ribs, and one of the bone fragments punctured my lung. It put a really bad strain on my body… my heart stopped. I was in cardiac arrest for 12 seconds."
Bella's hands shot up to cover her mouth, completely lost for words.
"Jane was dismissed from the coven." Kemar continued, Castiel's expression showed how much she didn't like talking about it. "She's dealing out a sentence working for my old coven in Russia. She will only be allowed to return to the Volturi after she feels genuine remorse for what she tried to do. Castiel was healing from her injuries for weeks, and the only reason Jane wasn't killed was because Alec is still loyal, and because Castiel is too soft hearted to let anyone die for her."
Castiel shot a beseeching look at Kemar but didn't challenge what he said.
"You're from Russia?" Bella didn't know why this information had stuck out to her so much, but Kemar grinned a smile that showed just a little too much teeth for Bella to feel comfortable.
"No, you only get beautiful skin like this from Kenya." Kemar said teasingly, indicating his dark complexion.
Castiel smiled at this. She really wasn't used to Kemar being so… approachable? He must be in a really good mood today.
"Okay, now back to practicing," Kemar said clapping his hands together twice. Castiel rolled her eyes and Bella stood to the side.
Watching Castiel practice was actually very interesting to Bella. When she asked Kemar what Castiel was doing as she spun around, letting go and re-grabbing the bar at different points, and practicing random dismounts here and there, Kemar said they were working on a level six routine. This didn't mean much to Bella, and Kemar did not explain any further. All he said was that Castiel was capable of more complicated stuff but she was out of practice on the bars.
More complicated stuff? Bella thought, stepping onto the mat as she watched and staying just out of range of Castiel's legs. This all looked really complicated to her. Bella knew she was too clumsy to ever have a prayer in the world of doing anything like Castiel was doing now.
Bella took one step closer to Castiel, just as Castiel let go of the bars to dismount.
It all happened so quickly. Bella yelped and threw her hands up in defense as Castiel's body came towards her, but she felt no impact. Castiel, whose mind was naturally very good at giving her alarm bells due to her ability, warned her of the fact that she was about to land on Bella – which would hurt a lot – and she twisted her body to avoid it.
And it was due to trying to avoid hurting Bella that Castiel missed the mat. When she hit the ground, she slammed her left knee on the hard floor as she threw her hands out to avoid banging her face into the ground.
Eyes watering, Castiel was gasping in pain as Kemar flashed over to her and ignoring him she tried to stand.
Pain shot up her leg, and her knee seemed unwilling to hold any of her weight.
She crumpled, and Kemar caught her and lowered her to the floor.
"Oh my god!" Bella gasped, rushing over to Castiel and kneeling beside her, putting her arm around the other girl's shoulders and helping her lie back at Kemar's prompting. She watched as the guard stood and vanished, obviously to go find help. "Castiel I'm so sorry-,"
"It's okay Bella." Castiel gasped, and Bella felt terrible as she watched a tear of pain roll down her left cheek. "It's okay. It was an accident. I didn't hit you, right?"
Bella shook her head.
It was quiet aside from Castiel's heavy breathing as they waited for Kemar to return. The silence was only broken when Bella said, "I notice you call me Bella. You called me Bella the first time you spoke to me, too but everyone else here says Isabella."
Castiel smiled, "Yeah, I could see that you preferred to be called Bella. No one else here will call you that though. Marcus and his brothers see it as really rude to shorten names. Sulpicia, Athenadora and I use nicknames for each other, and Afton will call me Cas sometimes in private, but you'll never catch anyone else calling you by a shortened name."
Castiel exhaled loudly and kept talking, trying to ignore the pain in her leg, "I didn't like my name growing up either and only went by nicknames. But I got used to it when it became clear that asking Marcus and his brothers to call me Cas was never going to happen."
Before either of them could say anything more Kemar returned with Marcus in tow. Bella felt her heart race, sure that this wouldn't end well.
Kemar and Marcus both crouched down beside them, and Bella shuffled slightly so she was behind Castiel, her hands on the back of her shoulders to continue providing support.
"She only banged it a little hard on the floor Master Marcus," Kemar relayed, continuing from an earlier explanation the girls had missed. He sat back on his heels as Marcus knelt by Castiel, the ancient's hands gently moving hers away from where she was clutching her knee. "There won't be any lasting injury. Nothing happened to any of the bones, but she isn't able to put any weight on it at the moment. She'll likely limp for a couple of days and should probably try not to walk on it right away."
"What do you recommend?" Marcus asked, ignoring Bella who he could hear was nervously shaking one of her feet as she listened to their conversation.
"RICE for one thing – rest, ice, compression, and elevation," Kemar explained quickly at Marcus' uncomprehending expression of the meaning. "It would probably be best if she stays in bed for at least 24 hours." Kemar had to focus to keep his lips from twitching as he tried not to grin at the expression on Castiel's face when he mentioned bed rest. He knew she hated sitting still for any extended period of time because she had quite enough of that after Jane. "Her knee might be swollen for a day or two, but I don't think there's anything to be concerned about."
"Good. When you have a moment tell Arkos that I want him to come and check on Castiel tomorrow morning."
Kemar nodded, and Bella felt like her stomach fell into her butt when Marcus' red eyes locked with her brown ones.
"Rule of thumb Isabella," Marcus said calmly, "Is that unless you are instructing or spotting, stay off that mat. Okay?"
Bella nodded mutely, taking the light scolding graciously enough because she knew she deserved it, and because she was feeling incredibly relieved that she wasn't in more trouble for inadvertently causing Castiel to get hurt.
Marcus slid his arms under Castiel then and scooped her off the ground in one quick movement, being careful not to touch her injured knee.
"Kemar, if you could, please escort Miss Swan back to her rooms. I believe Edward is waiting for her there."
Kemar nodded, and Castiel spoke from Marcus' arms as he turned away from them. "Please don't run Marcus. I'm starting to feel kind of nauseous and I might throw up if you run."
She certainly sounded like she was going to throw up, Bella thought, unable to hear Marcus' quiet reply to Castiel as Bella shuffled awkwardly to her feet.
Bella and Kemar watched in silence as Marcus carried Castiel from the room. Bella couldn't help but notice that he moved much like the other ancients. He seemed to glide rather than walk and Bella hoped that that would be enough for Castiel to not throw up on him. She would feel really guilt if Castiel barfed on him because of something she was at fault for.
"Let's go Miss Swan." Kemar said stoically, following in Marcus' path and not turning back as Bella hurried to catch up.
Revised January 26th, 2021
(52 Pages 22,853 Words)
