13. SECRET
Athenodora stood at her balcony again, overlooking the forest. She turned the events surrounding Didyme's death over and over in her mind. Something was not right. It just didn't add up. As she looked at the view she was reminded of that night when Aro and Demetri had appeared from the darkness. She remembered Aro being upset but not to the extent that she found him in when she and Marcus had entered the turret only moments later. Perhaps Demetri had not told him yet? She replayed Demetri's words in her head:
"I'm sorry. I didn't expect it. I know you warned me but it was more powerful than I could have imagined. I will never fail you again."
The only thing that Demetri could have failed at was protecting Didyme from the Romanians but that would mean that Aro did know about her death before they returned. It just didn't make sense.
Athenodora jumped from her balcony and decided to walk into the direction that the two men had come from. She followed their weak scent left from their trail until it finally led her to a water's edge. A wide river lay in front of her with a few boats tied to poles sticking out of the water. The trail ended so she assumed this was the extent of their journey, unless they had crossed the river and the flowing water had washed away any evidence of that.
Athenodora sighed. What am I doing? She asked herself. I'm acting like a paranoid fool. Just as she was turning to leave, a small glimmer caught her eye. She walked over to the tiny object and picked it up to investigate. It was a small ring with a beautiful diamond on it. She had seen this ring before. It was Marcus'. It was the last thing he had of his mother when her human life had ended. Athenodora remembered how sad he was. She and Caius had gone back to Marcus' home when he heard the news of her death. Her body had just turned cold and Marcus had slipped the ring off of her finger as a keepsake.
But the ring no longer belonged to Marcus because he had given it to Didyme the night of the ball. The night she died. Athenodora gasped. Was Didyme here? She inhaled the scent of the earth where the ring had lain. She easily picked up Didyme's scent and a hint of someone else's. Demetri. He had been here in this spot with her. Was there a struggle? She began to scour the ground for other clues. After a few short moments, she found a crumpled piece of paper. She carefully tugged at its edges until the message was completely visible.
My Sweet Didyme,
The time has come for us to begin our journey together. Find our stream and follow it until it leads you to the river. I will have a boat ready for us.
I love you always,
Marcus
No, no. This didn't make sense. It didn't make any sense at all. Athenodora was now even more confused than she had been before. Something was definitely not right. I must go to Marcus. I must show him what I've found and ask him about this note.
Athenodora clutched the two clues in her hands and took off running back towards the castle as fast as she could. She moved so quickly that the world around her was a blur. She would not have even noticed him if he hadn't spoke.
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" asked Caius.
Athenodora slid as she tried to stop her momentum. She back tracked a few steps to show Caius what she had found.
"Caius, you won't believe this! I followed Aro and Demetri's trail to the waterfront and I found Didyme's wedding ring and this note!" she handed everything over to him as evidence.
Caius' expression turned hard and serious. He carefully unfolded the crumpled note and read it. He eyed the two objects presented to him and seemed deep in thought.
"Well? What do you think? This just doesn't add up. We must go to Marcus and show him everything." She was about to take off again but Caius grabbed her arm. "Caius?" she said, half with laughter, half with nervousness.
Caius looked at the ground as he spoke. "You never found these things."
"What are you talking about?" she asked. "You're not making any sense-"
"Listen to me," Caius spoke the words through clenched teeth. "You must leave this alone. I can't have the same thing happen to you. Promise me you'll stop this madness."
"Madness? You're the one who's gone mad! Our sister is dead! We must find the ones responsible for it!" Athenodora was so frustrated.
"Are you so blind that you haven't figured it out with the evidence in front of you?" Caius mocked.
Athenodora paused to try to see what Caius was seeing. She took all the puzzle pieces scattered in her mind and shuffled them together in different patterns, searching for the one that made sense. Then it dawned on her. "Aro killed Didyme." It was barely a whisper.
Now Caius looked her in the eyes. "Athena, you must trust me in this. You have to let this go. Telling Marcus won't bring her back. All it will do is divide our family further. We need Marcus on our side. The revolution is so close. Victory is within our grasp! This is bigger than you and I. It is bigger than all of us! You must keep this a secret forever. Marcus can never know. You must do this for our family… for us… for me." Caius looked at her with pleading eyes. He knew the danger that Athenodora would be in if she ever revealed Aro's secret.
Athenodora warred within herself whether she should do the right thing or the right thing for her family. The sorrow consumed her. "Alright, Caius. I'll keep the secret."
