Felicity pinched the bridge of her nose as she looked at the stack of paperwork before her, the sheepish expression on Roxanne's face doing nothing to ease her frustration as she picked up the most troublesome piece of information.
"I really did bust my ass to try and keep up with all of this, but I couldn't trust any of the other secretaries to help me and, let's face it, I don't have telekinesis to act as my own personal work load buddy"
The red head grunted in surprise as Felicity picked up one of the manila folders and tapped her on the head with it, enough force in the action to allow some feeling but not enough to truly hurt as she continued to stare at the paper in her other hand. Returning to her duties had gone a lot smoother that Felicity had expected, the transition of leadership from Roxanne back to herself had gone almost without a single hitch. But it was moments like this that Felicity realised that the red head may have struggled more than her pride would allow admittance for.
"It has nothing to do with my gift Miss Valerious. You will find that your skills in organisation have slipped significantly during my absence. For instance, why on earth is this report of a new born army targeting the Cullen coven in the 'unimportant' pile?"
"I did some research on the Cullen's, I just thought that they could handle themselves without the Volturi getting involved"
Felicity sighed and placed the paper upon the 'urgent' pile, picking the small stack up and preparing to deliver it all to the brothers for final inspection. Clearly Roxanne hadn't done enough research if she deemed such an opinion.
"Carlisle Cullen is a very dear friend of Aro, he stayed here during the early years of his creation. As well as the coven may be able to protect themselves, Aro would not wish to seem ignorant to his friends problems and would not wish the vampire community in general to believe that he had turned a blind eye to a clear breaking of the rules. New born armies are forbidden and that is not negotiable. And also..."
An annoyed gleam came to her eye as another thought entered her mind. Roxanne frowned at the sight, still not accustomed to the blonde's acceptance of portraying more emotion with those she deemed herself close too.
"We must make certain updates in our records of Miss Isabella Swan. Last she was here, the brothers ordered for her change in return for the freedom of herself, Edward and Alice Cullen. Caius, most of all, will not be pleased if we discover that an order is being blatantly ignored"
Her hand was on the door handle as the buzzing of her phone within her pocket stopped her retreat. Her brow knitted together as she pulled the device free and the little colour that her cheeks held began to drain. She did not need this right now.
"Are you all right?"
"It's nothing. If you need me, I shall be in my chambers sorting through the urgent paperwork that we have extracted today. I shall bring the issue of the Cullen's to the brother's attention tonight when their own coven business is finished"
A mischievous glint came to Roxanne's eyes as a cheeky grin pulled across her lips. She knew that Felicity was spending quality time with her three mates tonight, and it made her happy to know that she was giving them the chance to make up for their mistakes. But that wasn't enough to stop her from making kissing faces as the blond sent a disapproving expression her way in return.
"Enough of that Miss. Valerious. You are an adult, not a child. Continue to do so and I shall add extra 'homework' onto your workload for after your shift has finished"
Felicity was out of the room before Roxanne could make any form of a comeback, smirking slightly at the groan that echoed from the other woman as the door shut behind her.
Within the sanctuary of her room, Felicity sat upon the plush leather sofa and simply stared at the little cell phone that lay upon her coffee table. She had lost track of the time after finishing the remainder of her own work and now, with a refreshing glass of sweet white Zinfandel, she listened and observed as the device continued to buzz and ring with incoming calls and messages. All from the same person.
"Are you well dearest? You appear to be much paler than usual"
She snapped from her trance as her eyes darted to the doorway, he three mates stood in the threshold of her room and each looking concerned as she took a mind settling sip of her wine and motioned for them to join her on the sofa and armchair.
"I am fine Marcus, there is no need to worry. Nothing more than a glitch recurring upon my cell phone"
Caius sent a suspicious glance towards his brothers before flitting forward and plucking the device from its place on the table, ignoring the angry glare that Felicity sent his way as an angry gleam began to rise within his eyes.
"There are countless missed calls and unread messages, all from the filth you chose not to marry. Have you read any of these messages at all my treasure?"
She sighed as she stood from her seat and retrieved the item, standing close as she touched his cheek to offer some soothing for his growing temper. She did not need his rage adding further stress to her day, not when Julian was doing an adequate job on his own. She just wanted to spend time with the men she loved and push out the world around them for a few hours as they rebuilt their own.
"I have read a couple, which were swiftly deleted, and rejected all of his attempts to call me. You do not need to worry about him Caius, or about me, he will grow tired of his pestering eventually and forget that I ever existed in favour of a new trophy"
"And if he does not? What would you propose we do then dearest. I feel that you are yet to understand just how deeply our desire to protect you runs within our beings"
Aro had moved to stand beside Caius, touching the blond vampire's hand and allowing a trickle of his own rage to seep into his eyes as he read the messages through his brothers mind. They grew rapidly more violent and threatening with each new message. He was not about to allow some human boy to bring harm upon the woman he and his brothers adored.
"I understand full well that your desire to protect me runs deep Aro. But you must also understand that I am my own person, fully capable of taking care of myself and unwilling to be treated anymore like a fragile China doll simply because you fear I may sustain a few bumps and grazes in the remainder of my humanity. I refuse to be a prisoner to your paranoia"
Marcus couldn't help but chuckle at her words as he moved to stand behind her, sighing contentedly as she leaned back against his chest and allowed him to embrace her around the waist, earning a jealous scowl from his brothers. She may have grown into a woman before their very eyes, but Marcus could still see some of the stubborn teenager within their young lover, fighting for her right to freedom against two overly protective vampires. It was nice to know that her hidden fire still burned strong within her heart.
"You would never be treated as a prisoner my love, but perhaps you may be willing to see such matters through the eyes of those who love you? This 'Mr. Travelli' Is openly threatening you and that is not something that would sit well with any vampire in regard to their mate. If you will not allow us to deal with him in our own way, then at least accept a guard to guarantee your safety when you are out and away from the castle. It is the least that you could accept from us"
The three scowled at Marcus as he smiled fondly, realising in that moment that certain similarities that they all shared. None liked that he was forcing them to meet half way in their argument but, as Felicity gave a small sigh of resignation, he knew that it was the only option they would all agree upon in this matter.
"I can agree to that condition, as long as it is just a single bodyguard"
She moved back towards the sofa once more, the brothers following behind as she mulled over how she would broach the topic of the Cullen's that had been brought to her attention that morning. It was not the simple matter that there was a new born army on the move towards the Cullen's that was the difficult part of her request, more that she didn't know how they would react to her own personal request on the subject.
"I have something else that I was hoping to discuss with the three of you... It was brought to my attention this morning whilst sorting through my paperwork with Miss. Valerious that a new born army is being formed by a rogue vampire known as Victoria. She is seeking revenge after her mate was destroyed at the hands of the Cullen's and is targeting dear Miss. Swan"
"Then we must send them reinforcements to aide in this matter. It would not do to allow Carlisle to face this threat alone"
Felicity mulled over her own choice of words as Aro spoke, deciding that there may be no other way than to simply move straight to the point of her request and deal with their reaction rather than beat around the bush.
"I wish to accompany the team that you send to handle the matter"
The atmosphere seemed to freeze as the brothers stared at her in mixed shock and horror. She was asking to leave the safety of the coven, but not simply to go into town, to leave the country all together. Aro sighed as he looked into her eyes, she was not planning to leave them again, that much was clear, but he could see the determination within those sapphire orbs and it was only fair to hear what her motive was before making a decision.
"What makes you request such a thing my precious?"
Caius snarled at his brothers words. Was he genuinely considering allowing her to join this mission? Aro had always been a little eccentric, but Caius had never thought his truly insane before this. The look within Marcus' own features showed that both himself and Caius shared the opinion.
"There is something about this new born army that intrigues me. I cannot see what it is but it is there and I wish to know what it is. Also there is the matter of Miss. Swan herself, I would like to make sure with my own eyes that she is no longer human and that no further rules have been broken by the Cullen coven. And finally, I simply wish to see how such missions are handled, understand more of how this coven is run before I, myself, am changed and reborn as a true member of the Volturi... Is it really so much to ask?"
Aro's jaw tightened slightly as he weighed out her words. Why did she need to be such a talented debater. It was necessary to check on the condition of Miss. Swan and just as essential that she learn the finer details of running the coven before she truly became the queen that would rule by their side. And then there was the simple matter of her own curiosity, Aro knew all too well how irritating it could become when curiosity was left unresolved.
"You may go. But the team that you shall be accompanying will be Jane and Alec, Felix and Demetri. They are the only members of the guard that can truly be trusted with your safety"
Felicity smiled happily as she placed a kiss against Aro's cheek, ignoring the disapproving glares of her two other mates. She was more than happy with the guard that she would accompany and relieved that she would finally be able to resolve the nagging feeling at the back of her mind about the new born army itself.
She had attempted, throughout the day and between messages and calls from her phone, to see into the future in regards to the new born vampires. But it failed each time, either because of the lack of clarity within her own mind or through some outside interference. All she could be certain of was a single name that continued to resound within her mind. Bree Tanner.