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Anyway, I promised a quick update and a longer chapter so here it is, hope you enjoy it. Greetings to all of my wonderful readers from all those beautiful countries around the globe!
CHAPTER THREE.- NOSTALGIA
"What do you mean by that?" said Stefan, assuming a defensive position.
"It's just a bit hard to believe we are in front of the real Vladimir and Stefan. I'm afraid we have never met in person"; our German interlocutor toned down his words.
"Who else could we be?" I responded, finding it hard to contain my irritation, showing off my teeth.
"We've heard plenty of legends about you. The only ones that got away from the Volturi; that's impressive", praised the younger vampire with a smirk.
"My name is Klaus and this is Johann", the blond boy nodded. "And we could define ourselves as nostalgic. As Johann has already stated, we've heard wonderful tales about you and your skills, so we thought if anything happened, they might come in handy. Whether you decide to join us or just to share your skills with us, we'd be very grateful".
I smirked at those words and glanced at Stefan, who had a brow raised. I pierced both of them with my gaze.
"Let's suppose we believe you. I've got just one more question. What makes you think we'd share our knowledge for free? You could simply be spies of the Italian scum…"
"…And that, obviously, is not advantageous for us", concluded my mate.
"If we were Volturi spies, the least we'd need would be learning new tricks, don't you think?" Klaus pointed out as Johann tensed himself. "At least give us the chance to prove we're worth it; at the end, we're nothing but fans". Both Germans smiled at the very mention of the word.
"Perhaps we're not making ourselves clear enough. There's nothing we could win with this, and if the legends you've heard are trustworthy, you must already know we do nothing for free..." I stated as Stefan did his job with the rest of the sentence.
"...And the continuity of our legacy has never been part of our ambitions".
"You could have us as allies, for the next time you challenge the Italians…" offered Klaus.
"…because you will, right?" questioned Johann.
That was a possibility we hadn't thought about for a while. After the encounter with the Cullens, we had realised how little possibilities we had to get a real fight with the ones that had dethroned us. They had become lazy and stopped chasing us and we abandoned all hopes on having allies worth the trouble. And now the opportunity stood right before us, like brought deliberately to spark off our need of revenge once again. The blond boy seemed quite hopeful of getting an affirmative response, so Stefan and I just nodded, making his face lit up. The other one controlled his emotions in a more effective way, so he only nodded back and extended a hand towards us. We doubted. Sudden images of the day we lost everything clouded my mind for a minute; an interrupted party, heads being ripped off, the smell of burning flesh, the run, Stefan's expression of discomfort and confusion. That was all it took to convince me to grab firmly Klaus' hand. My determination surprised Stefan and made Johann smile, who offered his hand as well, to seal the deal.
"You will not regret this", said the younger vampire, burgundy eyes sparkling bright.
"I hope so", I concluded with a displeased expression and a spark of hope growing deep inside me, too deep to care yet.
Night had fallen and the usual calm was being interrupted by chatter. Our uninvited guests were now sitting at our dining room, chatting and listening to music as I stood by the window, rejoicing in the sight of the bright moon that was almost full. I felt a presence by my side and I immediately knew it was Stefan. I sighed in longing.
"Remember when we inherited this castle?" I asked my old friend, who took his time to answer.
"Of course I do. It was one of the best days of my life".
"Those were certainly great days"; my gaze was still resting on the horizon.
"And certainly quieter", added my mate with an annoyance glance at the back where our unwanted guests rested. I smirked at him, which made him raise a brow.
"Is there anything wrong with my face?" he exclaimed in an irritated manner which only provoked the widening of my smirk. There was nothing wrong with his face; in fact it was one of the most perfect visages I had ever come across with, but of course I wasn't going to say that out loud, so I stuck to the basic courtesy.
"Not at all, you just seem quite upset about having company".
"Company is not what bothers me", he started, "but the fact that you seem to trust too much in them. We just met this two, we cannot lower our guards!" Stefan's annoyance tone increased as he spoke. He was actually worried, and that should ring some alarms for me; he was not easily upset and if something could unsettle my fellow then it was worth paying attention to. I placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him.
"I know and I don't trust them as much as you think; I just want you to consider this for a minute. What can we lose? We are already doomed, we lost our power and there aren't many vampires that would stand for us, they're not even willing to stand against the Volturi. These two seem to be quite excited about the idea and we can take advantage of it".
Stefan's expression did not change but his shoulders loosened up a bit, almost imperceptibly.
"What if they end up taking advantage on us?" My mate's gaze pierced me, as if he was looking for the answer in my soul and I swear if I still had a beating heart, it would be racing like hell by now. I smiled back and added in the most composed tone I could manage:
"Then we'll have to add two more names on our death list".
That seemed to enlighten my mate's mood; he patted my back and excused himself, heading to his chambers. I watched him part and again I felt as if nothing had changed over the years. Stefan held the same grace he used to have when we reigned over the rest of the vampires; his elegant walk, his educated manners, his distinguished bearing…I had always admired him beyond words; I couldn't remember for how long, I just knew I did and that admiration had turned into something else as time went by. We grew closer and more powerful and my feelings for him increased too, but if that was unacceptable as a human, as a vampire it sounded like sacrilege. Besides, he had never shown any traces of sharing my thoughts, at least not beyond a deep friendship, a brotherhood.
I shook my head as the laughter of our guests burst in my ears; I turned to look at them in annoyance but they didn't even seem to notice, they were too busy with their jokes and talking in their mother´s tongue. I headed back to the window and stared at the moon, the same moon that had seen us rise and fall, that planet that had been reached by men in the past centuries but that they would never completely understand. Memories assaulted me once again and I couldn't hold back another sigh.
Stefan paced around in his room, thinking. It was almost too hard to believe that a few days ago, he and Vladimir were talking about changes and that suddenly they had happened in such an unexpected way. He could still hear the laughter coming from the dining hall, once crowded by the most influent vampires of the whole world and that nowadays was not even a resemblance of what it used to be.
He was worried about many issues, but the one that mattered the most was Vladimir. His mate wasn't naïve or careless, he wasn't easily fooled either but he could get blinded by his craving for vengeance. The dark-haired vampire had hoped for a while that his partner had let go of the angst that poisoned his soul; they hadn't talked about revenge for a while, disappointed for the lack of common sense the rest of the vampires seemed to have. Vladimir had seemed so gutted that Stefan thought for a minute it was all over, but now this big chance presented itself before them; fresh faces with presumable ulterior motives showed themselves as possible allies, and everything that seemed to have been forgotten awakened from its hiding place, stronger than ever.
He hadn't forgotten either, but he had managed to resign himself for the sake of his own mental health. Not that he didn't want to crush those Italian's skulls; in fact, there were few things in this world he wanted more but now there was something else he wished to protect, even though he couldn't accept it yet.
It started out as a furtive glance, being followed by subtle touches, certain words, nothing too risky. But time managed to draw them closer and suddenly he dreamt about him, even when he was awake. Feeling his coldness beside him was painful; seeing that beautiful pale skin and not being able to touch it was an urge he had to endure and supress. There was no way someone like Vladimir could ever look his way and he had learnt to live with it, contented with seeing him smile less and less often, rejoicing in the sight of his gleaming blond hair under the sunlight or the sound of his voice, deep but at the same time child-like. He couldn't hold back a smile at the thought of this. And now, he knew he was afraid of losing him, of not being able to protect his beloved one but at the same time there was something else troubling him, something he still couldn't accept. How could he be jealous of people they had just met? The older German seemed to be obnoxious to them, but the young one…the way he looked at Vladimir, the way he talked to him, the way he smiled…everything seemed like a game, a strategy, flirting. He kicked his bed anxiously, feeling the poison of jealousy rush through his veins, filling his whole body and settling in the place where his heart should be. He would not let him win; he would do whatever it took, he would fight…fight for what? Something that wasn't even his.
Stefan grabbed his head in desperation. How could he let himself get this far? When had he lost control of his emotions? When had his "brother in arms" become something different, indefinable?
He felt the urge to hunt. He headed to the door of his chambers and opened it in a decided manner. The vampire expected to find their German guests laughing and chatting in the dining hall but everything was silent; they weren't there anymore. Stefan looked for the blonds until he found them in the main hall, installed in the sofas, presumably taking a nap after their "little party".
Stefan couldn't believe time had slipped away so quickly; at first he thought he may had fallen asleep though that would be improbable since he was a vampire, so he dismissed the possibility. He then wondered where could his mate be; the dark-haired wandered about the castle but couldn't find Vladimir. Therefore, he exited the place with a feeling of uneasiness growing inside of him.
Stefan opened the front door of their castle. There was something in the air that reminded him of the night the Volturi had ended with almost everything he cared about. The unpleasant feeling increased; the night seemed endless ahead as he closed the door behind him and ran through the forest, letting his instincts take over.
He had made up his mind; as soon as he found Vladimir, he would tell him, no matter what happened afterwards.
