Disclaimer: I do not own VA or Twilight or their characters.
Chapter 13
Rose POV
When my friends arrived I was summoned to the throne room where they were all gathered with Caius and Marcus. My now cold heart leapt at the sight of them. I walked into the throne room and was immediately surrounded by my friends who rushed to hug me. Naturally the vampires who were like me were the first, while the others stayed back several feet. My heart hurt at the idea that I would ever hurt them. Lissa, Christian, Eddie, Dimitri, and Abe were all here
"Guys it's alright. I won't hurt any of you. I am in control of the thirst and Caius and Marcus allowed me to hunt a few hours ago." I said and I saw them visibly relax. Lissa ran to me and flung her arms around me tightly.
"God I missed you Rose. I was so scared for you when I felt what you were going through. I love you Rose." She said and I could smell the salt from the tears in her eyes. I pulled her back a little so she could meet my eyes. I knew that they were all wary of the bright red eyes that I had now. They hadn't yet had enough time to dilute into the golden honey color like the Cullen's had.
"I love you too Liss, never forget that. I can't be your guardian anymore but you are still my friend and my sister." I said and she hugged me tighter, of course it didn't hurt me with the changes to my body. When she finally released me I looked around the room at my family and friends. I found Dimitri's eyes bored into mine and I approached him.
"Comrade?" I questioned. I didn't want to push his acceptance of me and waited for him to make the first move. His guardian mask softened and he smiled lightly at me. He raised his hand and placed it lightly on the side of my face as salty tears mad tracks down his cheek.
"Roza" was all he said and he placed a kiss on my lips. His scent wrapped around me and it was even stronger than before. I was in no danger of hurting him right now but I feared that I could hurt him so I pulled back gently. I walked over to dad and looked up at him. Tears were streaming down his face and I hugged him gently. Once all the greetings were over, I turned to Caius and Marcus.
"Rose Marcus and I want to formally apologize for our inaction against Aro. We knew that he was recruiting you by different means, but we never imagined that he would go to such great lengths to gain you and your power." Caius said.
"Thank you Caius, Marcus. Unfortunately the damage has already been done." I said and then we switched to why we were here. "What is it that we needed to discuss Caius?" He smiled at me.
"The tree of us ruled as brothers because we had killed the previous rulers. You have killed Aro but the two of us remain. For every ruler that dies, another must take their place." He said and I stopped him for a minute.
"So you mean that since I killed him, I must take his place?" He nodded and I was speechless for a minute. "What if I don't want to rule?" I asked.
Normally you would have no choice but to take his position immediately. However Marcus and I feel that you have earned the right to choose when you would take his place. Marcus and I have a proposition for you to consider first." Caius finished and I was utterly confused now.
"What is it Caius?" I asked and he smiled.
"We have always secretly known about the Moroi and the strigoi. Strigoi create bad publicity and we seek to rid the world of them. We also wish to create a truce between the Moroi and ourselves. If you could help us to achieve this, we could postpone your stepping up to claim the throne." He said placing his hand on the empty seat in the center. I was so unsure of what to do that my head was spinning.
"So let me get this straight. In killing Aro I became one of the three rulers, but I wouldn't have to assume that position as of yet provided I help to create the truce between the Volturi and the Moroi and rid the world of the strigoi?" I asked and they nodded. "The moroi will have a problem with us because we kill humans, just like the strigoi. How do you hope to get past that?" I asked and they smiled.
"Marcus and I agreed to no longer harm humans and have ordered the guard to adopt the same diet. Most as you have guessed were forced just the same as you when they were created. Your job will be mostly away from Volterra, visiting other clans and relaying the message. Those who do not comply will have to be destroyed to maintain truce with the Moroi. This is dangerous Rose, but Caius and I have faith that you will be able to accomplish it." He explained and I could tell he was being truthful. Carlisle and the rest stood there dumbfounded by these revelations. "I asked for your friends and family here so that they might help us and you in this task. Once completed though, you must take your position as queen."
"Carlisle, Eleazar, I trust your judgment so I ask you what do you think?" I asked.
"It is a good plan, but will be met with a great deal of resistance from those who feed off humans." Carlisle said and I nodded in understanding.
"This is something I'd rather not agree to without thinking it through thoroughly. Would you allow me to return to the states with my family and discuss it with them before I make a decision?" I asked and Caius and Marcus smiled.
"That is well within your right Rose. If you wish to decline the offer though, we would still need you back here as queen." Caius said. I nodded and noticed that the entire guard, Athenadora and Sulpicia had entered the room and wanted to see me off. I smiled at them. When all the goodbyes were said, Sulpicia handed me a cell phone, begging me to call her while I was away and I agreed. The others were surprised that I had become so close to the guard and the Volturi wives. I went towards Cauis and Marcus and hugged them tightly. I suddenly felt the grief and pain coming from Marcus over his long dead mate and I whispered in his ear.
"You will find love again Markus. You are a good man and there is someone out there for you. You just haven't found her yet, but she is closer than you realize." His eyes widened as I pulled away and he smiled.
"Thank you Rose. You are a strong person in both heart and mind. You will make an excellent queen." He said still smiling and I returned it. I knew that they all wondered what I had said to Marcus but I just wanted to get back to the states.
"Let's go guys. They can only handle so much of me at a time you know." I said and the room filled with laughter. I saw the curious looks from all my friends when we boarded the jet but I ignored it. I was still filled with the guilt of killing the young girl and saw her face every time I closed my eyes. I felt her fear as her blood flowed into me, her gratefulness as I drained her instead of allowing her to become like one of us. I felt that she understood that I didn't want to kill her, and if I didn't someone else would have. I was brought from my musings as Jasper sat down beside me and smiled at me.
"It'll be okay Rose. The guilt is something we have all dealt with at one time or another. I know you wouldn't have done it if you had any other choice." He said and I leaned into him. He wrapped a comforting arm around me. Jasper and the others were for all practical purposes my brothers and sisters. Dimitri was uncomfortable with Jasper being so close to me and I could somehow feel the emotion rolling off him in waves. I sat up quickly and glared at him.
"Don't even start with the jealousy bullshit Dimitri. You know as well as I do and everyone else here that I love you and you alone. Just because I seek a little comfort from someone that understands and even feels what I feel doesn't mean that I don't need comfort from you as well, but what I need most from you is love and understanding." He softened a little bit but stood up and went to the back of the jet. Eleazar was looking at me curiously and I raised an eyebrow at him in question. He smiled at me.
"Rose how did you know what he was feeling?" Eleazar asked.
"Well aside from the fact I could always read him like a book, I felt the emotion coming from his, kind of like I imagine Jasper does." I answered. "The jealousy was rolling off him like waves, but I felt his hurt and a little bit of betrayal."
"Do you still have all of the powers you had before?" He asked and I nodded. "So you're getting stronger, gaining more power?"
"I guess. I mean that was why Aro wanted me so badly. He said I would be stronger and have more power when fully turned." I said. I turned to Carlisle.
"Carlisle, would there be a possibility of getting the other covens and the nomads to come back to the house? I'd like to see what they all think of the Volutri's change of heart." I asked.
"They would probably come, but I must warn you Rose that the lifestyle change they are proposing will make a lot of them hostile towards the Volturi. However, they will be glad to hear that the attacks will be lessened since Aro is no longer giving them free reign." He said and I nodded in understanding. I knew that this would get pretty hairy and I really didn't know how to prepare for that.
"I know Carlisle. Honestly I'm not sure that this is the Volturi's best course of action. It really isn't that much different from what Aro did to me if you think about it, to eliminate them just because they refuse to change their diet? I really don't know how to approach this. I could tell that Caius and Marcus really do want things to change for the better, but they may be creating more problems by forcing it." I said. "If they force hard enough, they may be overpowered by those that are against this." Carlisle smiled at me.
"Honestly Rose, I had my doubts that you could handle something so big like this. It seems though that you have a very good understanding of our kind already and you will be a fair queen." He said and I groaned at the queen thing. After what seemed like forever, we arrived back in the states and made our way to the house. When we got there, some of the Denali that stayed behind had welcomed other vampires that Carlisle called to meet us here. When they saw me they were all surprised that I had been changed. I promised them that I would tell them my story once everyone was present. Dimitri and Eddie took the Moroi over to our place where they would stay for now. Abe stayed close and ignored the other vampires who looked at him curiously and with slight blood lust in their eyes. There were also some others that came this time that weren't present for the attack in Forks. There were two that immediately sent warning bells off in my head. I told Edward in my mind that I didn't trust them and he whispered to me who they were. They were Romanians, Vladimir and Stefan. They held a grudge against the Volturi so this news would be something for them to hear. When everyone was gathered, Carlisle spoke.
"I know that this is a little unorthodox, but things have occurred that will change our world from now on. Has any news reached any of you of the Volturi?" He asked.
"Only that Aro was after a very powerful person that he wanted to turn. It was said that he would stop at nothing to turn this person and wanted them in the guard." Peter said.
"Yes, well he did succeed in turning the person. After turning, they requested to hunt animals instead of humans. Aro brought in a human and cut them, causing them to fight the blood lust, but they eventually gave in while Aro laughed at the newborn vampire." He said and the others sat there in shock at his words. "After feeding, the vampire, furious with Aro killed him and two of the guard members." Shocked gasps filled the room and they still didn't know who killed him. This was about to get really hairy.
"So we have a new ruler to take his place? Who is the guy?" Vladimir said and I scoffed before I could stop it. He whipped his head in my direction, but Carlisle continued.
"The person who killed Aro is a woman and she is sitting right here in this room." Carlisle said and every head whipped to me. I felt all of the emotions in the room and it was overwhelming. I felt surprise, shock, anger, jealousy(probably from the Romanians), and sympathy for what I went through.
"Alright Jasper, you're going to have to help with the emotional whirlwind here. I'm not used to this yet you know." I said looking at Jasper and he laughed a little.
"Sorry Rose." Jasper said.
"So now we have Caius, Marcus and an unmated newborn queen?" Stefan asked and Carlisle nodded. "So Sulpicia didn't try to kill you?" I shook my head and laughed.
"No actually after she heard all the details of what Aro had done to turn me, we actually became pretty good friends, Athenadora too." I said and they were still in shock.
"So why are you here instead of in Volterra? And why were we called here?" Zafrina asked.
"Caius and Marcus have had what you might call a change of heart. They want to be like the Cullen's and Denali's, feeding from strictly animals. They want to also eliminate the strigoi because they cause unwanted attention for our kind. To accomplish that, they want to form an alliance with the Moroi. That being said they want to issue an order that will probably be very unpopular to most of us, which is why I asked for you all to come here." I said.
"And what is that?" Peter asked Carefully and I sighed heavily.
"They want all of our kind to stop hunting humans altogether. I don't like the idea of hunting humans, but to forbid it and end those that don't comply isn't the right way. We do need to work with the Moroi, but we need to find some middle ground here. That is why you all are here, just to get any ideas from you on how to come to a compromise." I said and most of the room was filled with mixed reaction. Some welcomed the chance to stop pursuing humans while others were furious that the Volturi were trying to force a lifestyle on them they didn't want. "Look I don't agree with a mandatory rule either. It is no different than Aro forcing me to drink from a human after I specifically chose to hunt only animals. It's the same thing, but in reverse." I said and they calmed a little. I suddenly had an idea that might work. Edward looked at me.
"What is it Rose? You just thought of something?" I smiled and nodded.
"Okay, Moroi and Volturi both want the strigoi eliminated. What if those that want to feed like they normally do divert their targets to less innocent prey and as long as they help eliminate the strigoi, everyone will get what they want. Then a truce can be formed with the Moroi, the strigoi are systematically eliminated, and we maintain most of our feeding habits. Granted that our kind do not harm Moroi or Damphirs, the truce stays intact." I said.
"That just might work Rose." Carlisle stated while Eleazar nodded. Even some of the others nodded in agreeance. "Not all of our kind will be so eager to agree though." Eleazar added.
"I know but so far that is the best solution I could come up with." I said. "I've only had this little assignment for a day so give me some credit." I said smiling and they all laughed except for Stefan and Vladimir. Those two would be trouble. I went to call Caius and Marcus and they agreed reluctantly that it was the best way to create the truce with the Moroi. After that, I went to Lissa and told her about the idea. While she didn't like the idea of any of us killing humans, she understood our nature and took some time off from school and the Moroi, Damphirs, Carlisle, Eleazar, Edward, Jasper and I were heading to the Moroi court in the morning to attempt to work out a truce. Abe called in some favors and had Sydney meeting us at court. Abe said that she had all of the statistics on all the attacks that have occurred at the hands of our kind and the strigoi so the Moroi could see that the strigoi were the greater evil. I vaguely wondered what Sydney would think of me now that I had been changed.