Chapter Thirty Three

Charlie

I knew we had a party to go to this afternoon but in the meantime, I was eager to explore. The citadel was so big and I wanted to see as much of it as I could. Especially the arena down in the caverns below. I had heard two of the Volturi mention it as the place they practiced their fighting skills. It would be cool to see vampires fighting. Maybe, if I was lucky, they would even let me try.

Unfortunately, Mom put her foot down and said I couldn't go exploring on my own even though Aro said I could go wherever I wanted to go. If I was going exploring I had to take my sister along! I mean, Maggie was great as a sister but there were times when I wanted to do my own thing. Anyone would think I was just a little kid when I'd already had more adventures than she ever had.

I knew she would want to see the library and the gallery, boring!

When I told her where I wanted to go she just laughed, "As if they want you there. A little boy who can't even fight. Besides, you're not a vampire, not a real one, neither am I. Let's go into the courtyard and see if we can catch a fish in the pool."

I groaned, my morning's adventures were about to be ruined by her. I suggested hide and go seek but she knew what I intended to do and decided to take her responsibilities as the big bad sister very seriously.

"Good try, Charlie. You'll just run off and then I will have to spend all my time searching for you. We stick together just like mom said."

I dragged my feet as we made our way toward the courtyard trying desperately to think of a way of winning my freedom. There had to be a way to get rid of her for a little while, surely?

Suddenly I heard noises coming from another direction and grabbed her hand, "Listen. Let's see what that is."

Reluctantly she agreed and we followed the sounds along several winding corridors before reaching another larger courtyard. There was no pool or fountain here, instead was a huge cage full of beautiful birds that called and tweeted. Their bright feathers glistened in the sun and I walked up to the wire for a closer look.

"I wonder who these birds belong to. I know budgerigars and the canaries but what are they?" I pointed to the other birds.

Some had beautiful yellow breasts and red faces while others, much smaller moved so fast it was difficult to see their coloring. When one stopped on a perch close to me I noticed it was a pale grey color with dark brown patches on its face and a brown strip with white spots on its sides. Its neck had black and white stripes on it and the beak was red. Another who settled beside it was the same but had none of the lovely colorings and its beak was orange.

A voice behind us made us turn around and we found Marcus standing there. I knew who he was from Maggie's description of the brothers. She had met them all before.

"Hello there. You like my birds?"

I nodded, "I've never seen birds like these before. The ones at home are all wild and not so colorful. Except for the parrots I saw on TV. They can talk, that must be cool."

He smiled, "Would you like a closer look?"

I nodded but Maggie looked less eager, she didn't even like going into the chicken coop!

"Perhaps you'd like to visit the library instead, Maggie?"

My sister started to nod her head then remembered mom's instructions.

"I'm supposed to look after Charlie."

"I'm sure your parents would consider me a suitable chaperone for your brother. You go and have some fun. I'll make sure that he doesn't get lost. Oh, by the way. I know that Sulpicia and Athena are eager to see you again. If you'd like to visit, ask anyone you meet. Someone will take you to them."

Maggie hesitated and then smiled and disappeared and I heaved a sigh of relief.

Marcus heard me and smiled, "We haven't been formally introduced, Charlie. My name is Marcus and I'm one of the three rulers of our world. I find it difficult to remember back to when I was a boy but I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have wanted my sister following me around."

Great, someone who understood me!

Marcus opened the cage which was called an aviary and we walked inside. I expected the birds to scatter but they just looked at us with their bright little eyes and then began fluttering to perch on his large shoulders.

"Hold out your arm, Charlie, and keep very quiet and still."

I did as he said and soon I had some of the pretty grey birds land on my arm.

Marcus saw my interest and explained, "They are called lovebirds. My wife loved them. They are actually parrots, the smallest type and they love to be busy."

"Why are they called love birds?"

His smile dimmed a little, "Because they bond with a single mate for life. Much like we do."

I wanted to ask about his wife but I didn't dare so instead I listened as he named the other birds which were zebra finches. The longer we stood there the more birds settled on us until we looked like the pigeon lady from Mary Poppins.

"You can visit any time. Just remember to secure the aviary door to keep them safe when you leave."

Noticing that he had left the door open I asked if they wouldn't escape.

"Why would they? This aviary is large enough, they get fed and have plenty of fresh water. They can fly as much as they want and their friends are all here. Sometimes one or two will disappear for a while but they always return at feeding time."

He whistled twice and the birds seemed to understand the message because they flew off our arms and shoulders and back onto their perches.

"Now, what else would you like to see? Perhaps our armory?"

I frowned, "What's that?"

He grinned, "The place we keep all the weapons. Not to use, of course, it's more of a museum, but there are some interesting weapons in there."

A smile spread across my face, this was getting better and better! "Yes, please. Could we visit the arena as well?"

He stared at me, "How do you know about that? I doubt that your father told you."

I shook my head, "He thinks I'm too young to fight. I heard some people mention it. Could we see it? Just a peek? I promise not to get in the way or anything."

He bent down to look at me more closely, "You really are your father's son. Very well, but it might be best not to say too much to your parents. I'm not sure they would approve."

I grinned, relieved now, and we set off together out of the courtyard into the gloom of the interior and down two flights of stone steps. My footsteps echoed off the walls although Marcus made no noise at all. I should learn to walk silently if I was going to be a warrior like my dad.

At the bottom of the stairs was a thick wooden door which groaned as Marcus pushed it open.

"Not many people come in here. Vampires don't need weapons so this is a novelty, nothing more."

The room was huge and filled with suits of armor, swords, guns, and lots of other weapons that I didn't recognize. Marcus explained the use of any that I showed an interest in and he even let me hold one of the smaller swords. It was very heavy and I wondered how anyone could swing it for hours in battle.

He even let me take down a gun that was like the ones my father would have used when he was a soldier before he became a vampire. He explained that guns weren't like they are now. They didn't shoot lots of bullets before you needed to reload like the ones in films or on TV. It must have been exhausting to fight a war in those days.

"It's much easier to fight as a vampire isn't it?"

He shook his head, "No fighting is easy. When you start a fight or a war, you intend to harm or even kill your opponent. That's never an easy decision to make. Don't let anyone tell you that fighting is a good way to work out problems, it should always be the last resort of an intelligent man."

I wasn't sure that I understood everything he said, but enough to understand that he thought fighting wasn't always a good thing.

He smiled, "I'm sorry, I forget how to speak to such a young person. Come on, let us see if anyone is using the arena, shall we? Just keep very quiet and stay in the shadows if anyone is there."

I nodded feeling a little apprehensive now and took his hand as he led me to another door at the far end of the room. This one opened more quietly and we descended another long flight of stairs until we reached a huge open area lit by huge fires around the outside. It was cold and smelled a bit damp like the old barn and I could hear people talking at the far end.

"It looks like you are in luck. A practice fight is about to start."

I peered at a big circle painted on the floor in faded white paint, that must be the fighting circle. Two men entered, I hadn't seen them before but knew that they must be two of the Volturi guards.

It was fun watching, they were so fast, although they never hurt each other. It was like watching a very fast dance as they avoided each other's punches and kicks. The longer I watched, the more I longed to try. I wanted to be a good fighter like my dad. One day I might help him if there was trouble, he'd had to fight to keep us safe when I was a baby. Next time I could stand with him if I learned how to fight like these men.

I tugged Marcus' sleeve and he bent close so I could whisper in his ear, "How do you start? Could I learn to do that?"

He smiled, "I think you should ask your father to teach you. He would be better than anyone here, except maybe for Felix."

I knew my dad could beat anyone, even Felix who was huge.

The two men finished and I noticed there was now a crowd around the arena and gasped as I recognized one of the two new fighters as my dad. The other was another big man that Marcus told me was called Santiago.

"I think someone must have persuaded your father to go a few rounds with the Volturi guards."

"Why are there so many more people watching now?"

"The Major is legendary among the Volturi."

It had always seemed a bit odd when someone referred to poppa as The Major before but now, here in this arena it seemed to fit him.

Like the earlier fighters Santiago and Dad were stripped to the waist and I could see all the scars on poppa's arms and shoulders, in the flickering light they made him seem dangerous.

As they began I saw that the people watching were making bets on who would win and I wondered how many thought that The Major would.

I thought the earlier two were fast but this was just a blur. I couldn't see much of anything until there was a shout and Santiago lay on the floor with poppa's booted heel on his throat. The chamber echoed with excited shouts that almost deafened me but I saw that it wasn't over. Dad helped Santiago up and the two started again.

"They're going for the best of three falls," Marcus explained.

I felt the excitement in the room and my own nervousness and thought that I might be sick but then the roar increased and I saw with relief that poppa had won again. A lot of things were changing hands in the crowd and I saw a lot of beaming faces. Most people must have bet on my Dad. Dad sounded more grown-up than Poppa. I decided to use that and if Maggie didn't like it then that was just tough.

"One day I'm going to be just like my Dad."

Marcus burst out laughing but I meant it and then I saw that my Dad had seen me and was striding over, his shirt over his arm and I moved a little closer to Marcus for support. Would he be angry?

"I thought you were supposed to stay with your sister, Charlie?"

Marcus laid a massive hand on my head and tousled my hair, "He's a young man, Major. He doesn't want to be trailing the girls. I offered to show him my aviary and then the armory. I thought this might be a good thing for him to experience, seeing how his kind defends themselves. We even had a small wager."

I stared at him, a wager? I didn't remember that.

He put his hand in his pocket and drew out a small knife I had seen in the armory. He had explained that it was the kind of pocket knife that my Dad would have owned when he was a boy.

"Here you go. I always pay my debts. You take good care of that, Charlie. Well, I suppose my services are no longer needed. You have your father to take care of you now. Just remember, you can visit the birds whenever you like. I think that they like you. Goodbye, Charlie, Major. I'll see you both later."

When Marcus had gone Dad slipped his shirt on and we made our way slowly back to the suite.

"So, you enjoyed your morning after all?"

I nodded telling him all about the aviary and how the birds had settled on my arms.

"Marcus told me that lovebirds are called that because they have one mate for life, like vampires. He was very sad. What happened to his wife? Did she die? I thought that vampires lived forever."

"They do unless they're killed by another vampire or a guardian. Marcus has been alone for a very long time. His wife was Aro's sister and she was murdered although they never found out who did it. Since then he has lived here alone."

"That's so sad. I bet he'd still like to discover who did it and get revenge. How come they never found out who killed her?"

"I have no idea. It happened centuries before I was born. All I know are the stories that Carlisle tells."

"I'm going to ask Grandpa if he knows anymore."

"If he did he would have told Marcus, Charlie. Besides, it happened centuries before he was born too."

My head was spinning with talk of all these centuries. Everyone was so old compared to me except Maggie and Mom. I wasn't sure I would ever get used to how old most of my family was although it would be cool if I ever studied history. I could ask people who had actually been there at the time.

"Come on. Let's get back. You need a shower and something to eat before the party."

"Will Edward be there?" It was something I knew Maggie was nervous about too. Neither of us felt comfortable around him after the fight in the barn although she wouldn't admit it.

"I don't know but if he is then just be polite and remember, he won't start anything here in Volterra. OK?"

I nodded.

"And keep that knife out of sight or your mother will have questions for you."

I patted my pocket. I wouldn't even show it to Maggie. That would be my secret from Volterra, that and watching my Dad fight in the arena. I wondered if he would teach me, or if Mom would stop him. I'd have to work on that.