As a child, Felicity had hated the game of chess, she had never quite seen the point in sitting still when she had a castle too explore. Life with vampires had been too exciting to simply sit staring at a board game, trying to outsmart her opponent.
Now that she was older, she found that she had a new appreciation for the game. She enjoyed being able to take the time to merely sit and think, rather than running around in a flurry of work. A chance to think of anything other than the numerous phone calls she had to make, to forget the copious amount of orders she had to place to keep the castle functioning too its usual high standard.
When she usually played, she would choose to forfeit her ability as a seer to give her opponent a fair chance. But today was different, today was her full day with Aro, and god only knew that he never played fair.
"Now now, my treasure, we taught you better than to cheat"
She raised a single eyebrow at the raven haired ancient, returning his slight smirk with her own as she knocked away one of his pieces, collecting the little pawn and placing it amongst the other fine, ivory pieces that she had won from him.
"Yes, I believe that you did. But you also taught me that, if another has an advantage over you, you must use your own means to even out the playing field, if not turn the tables completely in your favour"
He chuckled lightly at her words, grazing his fingers against her hand as she moved another of her pieces, a mischievous glint in his eyes as she gave a huff of annoyance that he had seen her next move. Again.
He took a moment to study her features as she sat, contemplating the board in front of her. She had truly blossomed in her adulthood, like the most beautiful of roses, and she grew more enchanting by the day. But for the past few months, the three kings had noticed that she had seemed weary and stressed, the ever mounting work load from that foolish woman, Gianna, making it almost impossible for Felicity to find a moment to simply relax.
But, that morning, when she had entered his office, he had noticed the changes within her. Three days after the disposal of Gianna and the placement of Roxanne into the vacant position, the dark circles beneath Felicity's sapphire eyes were almost completely faded, a healthy glow had returned to her skin and there was a slight spring in her step. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the young blonde was finally getting some proper sleep.
"I have noticed, my dear, that you have been in a much finer mood these past few days. You would not usually indulge me so easily in a game of chess. You would usually choose your work over me"
The mock hurt in his voice made her roll her eyes as she rested her chin in her hands, a content smile across those lovely lips and her eyes glittering with her happiness. As much as he sometimes irked her with his little 'games' too prolong her day with him, his excuse being that he wished to spend more time with her, she cared deeply for Aro, just like she cared for his brothers. She may have gotten annoyed whenever he chose to send her on wild goose chases looking for items that he had supposedly 'lost' or when he would pester her for a game of chess or a slow dance around his office to some music from years gone by, but she knew that she would never wish to change him.
"Thank you for noticing Aro. But if I indulged you too often then it would not be as enjoyable and this rare moment that we spend together would lose a little of its meaning. I would hate to think that you had grown bored of me"
Her words were meant only in jest, but Aro couldn't help to think that some part of her heart believed he and his brothers would one day discard of her. The thought alone repulsed him, the mere notion that they would simply grow tired of her was ridiculous. He could never tire of his most precious of treasures.
"You must never entertain such thoughts, Felicity. Promise me that you will never believe we would hurt you"
She was startled slightly by the sudden seriousness of his words, seeing the concern in those ruby orbs as he looked at her for an answer. Why would she ever believe they would hurt her? They had shown her nothing but kindness and given her nothing but happiness in her life. Even knowing the truth of her mother's death could not dampen the trust that she felt towards the three kings. Aro had only lied to her because he thought it best at the time, she had been too young to know that her mother was dead. She had felt sadness to learn the truth but that had been all, she could barely remember the woman that had given birth to her beyond the fact that they had shared the same eye and hair colour.
"Aro, you know I would never think such a thing, I was merely teasing you"
He gave a small smile as he took her hand within his own and placing a gentle kiss against the knuckle, seeing all the memories of the time she had spent with him over the years, feeling the emotions she had felt each time and feeling a slight twinge of annoyance that she had yet to feel anything close to how he and his brothers felt when with her. She had not realised it yet, but he had to believe that she would, Eventually, open her eyes to the truth.
"Such a little minx you are, dearest. Now, would you care to tell me what has brought such positive change too your mood?"
He already had a very good idea of what had been the influence, but it was a beautiful sight to his eyes as she smiled a little brighter and a small chuckle passed her lips.
"I believe that a thank you is in order. Your selection of Roxanne too replace Gianna has proven to be better than I could ever have dreamed of"
"I am glad to hear that you approve of my choice. But I think it is more than just her ability to work to a high standard that has made you warm to her so well"
He was right of course. For the first time in her life, Felicity found herself in a real friendship with another human, one that didn't consist of the other person fearing for their life when in her company. From the moment she had given Roxanne the tour of the castle, she had struggled to find anything that she truly disliked about the woman and her opinion only strengthened when she had discovered that the woman was a highly efficient worker as well.
"Yes, it's quite refreshing to have another human to speak with. We have even arranged to have, what Roxanne calls, a 'girls night in' on Thursday. I'm actually looking forward to it"
"If you are happy, my sweet, then that is what matters. We know that life within the coven is often quite lonely for you. If you care for Miss Valerious then I will see to it that she is not brought before our judgement anytime soon"
Felicity's smile brightened at his words, happy to know that she would not have to face the pain of losing her only mortal friend any time soon. As she drew their attention back to their game, scowling at him playfully as he knocked one of her bishops out of play, she thought that perhaps she would finally be able to enjoy a more active social life now that she had another person to spend time with.
Aro could not find words to describe how delighted he was with the result of his decision. When he had first stumbled across Miss Valerious' application for the position, he had been about to throw it into the reject pile when a thought had occurred to him. All the other applicants he had ever hired to help Felicity had been complete failures, she had never taken kindly to women who cared more about getting the attention of the immortal residents of the castle over actually getting their work done. Perhaps he had been going about it all the wrong way.
Roxanne had stood out like a neon light amongst the other applicants when she had arrived for her interview, her attire nothing like the other women who had shown up in overly revealing little suits and her attitude completely laid back despite being in the presence of a Volturi king. It had dawned on Aro then that something was different about the woman and that, perhaps, she would be the ideal choice for the role. Aro prided himself on being able to notice a gifted being when they were placed before him.
The only downside to the woman, it would seem, was that she was very open with her opinions and fearless in her approach to the immortal residents of the castle. But, if she meant so much to Felicity, then he would tolerate the loud mouthed mortal as best as his patience would allow. And besides, they had a deal that dictated her appointment within the coven. If she broke that deal then, and only then, would he have her killed.
Can Felicity really trust Roxanne? What is the deal made between Aro and the new woman? Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think and I promise that a fresh update will be up as soon as possible.
Also, a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourite/followed this story. I hope you all continue to enjoy it :) Thank you!