19. THE LAST GOODBYE
Everyone was celebrating and cheering. The victory was finally theirs. Vampires, worldwide, no longer had to live by Romanian rules and were free. Many of them reentered the castle and made themselves at home. Caius raced up to one of the golden thrones and took a seat. It felt right to him to finally sit in a seat more valuable than his wooden throne back home. He laughed aloud and said "Aro, you've done it! We can move into this place and live like kings!"
Aro had a serious look on his face when he spoke, "I'm sorry brother, but we will not be staying here. In fact, I intend to have this castle destroyed."
Caius was bewildered. "What? Why would you do that?"
"I don't want us to be looked upon as just the 'new' Romanians. We must distance ourselves from them as much as we can. To be successful rulers, we cannot in any way emulate our predecessors." Aro had already thought this out.
Caius looked down at the golden throne that held him and asked "Well can we take the thrones with us?"
Aro smiled like a parent to a child. "I was thinking that we should keep our wooden thrones, to forever remind us of where we came from. So that we may never get too comfortable in our rule, lest someone should overthrow us the way we have just done."
Caius was disappointed but conceded. Just then, Heidi entered the great hall and a powerful aroma followed behind her. She had gone to a nearby village and lured many of the humans away. The vampires were famished after fighting so hard and immediately began feeding. The human screams flooded the castle and reverberated off the walls. It was a feast for kings.
When Aro had had his fill he looked around for Marcus but he was nowhere to be found. He was about to leave to look for him and Renata started to follow. "It's alright, dear, the threat is over. Stay and enjoy yourself." She smiled thankfully at him. On his way out as he passed Heidi he said "Excellent work. We might have to make this a permanent position for you, our little fisherman." Heidi was pleased.
Aro inhaled deeply, searching for Marcus' scent but the smell of fresh human blood was too overpowering. He listened intently and heard faint sobs. He followed the sound up a staircase, down a hall, and up a second staircase. He finally found himself at a bell tower with balconies on all four sides. There was Marcus, kneeling upon the ledge of one of the balconies with a stone gargoyle on either side. His face was hidden from Aro and the sobbing was stifled now that he was aware of another presence.
Aro was concerned. "Are you alright, Marcus?" There was no answer. "There is a feast in the great hall, I'm sure there are a few humans left." Still no answer. "I know that you are still upset about Didyme, but the Romanians are defeated, you have avenged her."
"The Romanians are not to blame for Didyme's death." Marcus spit the words through gritted teeth.
Aro tensed and his eyes widened. He knows, Aro thought to himself. Aro gulped before proceeding. "Marcus, I-"
"She's gone Aro. She's gone and it's all my fault." Marcus' shoulders heaved as he broke into another sob.
Aro breathed a sigh of relief. "You cannot blame yourself, Marcus."
"Can't I?" Marcus asked. "She begged me to leave with her, Aro. She begged me! She wanted to get away and I made her stay." His voice cracked. "She stayed because I wanted to help with the revolution. She's dead because of me." The pain swelled in Marcus, he did not even need Nadia's amplification of his misery to make it unbearable. "I thought that killing them would make it hurt less. I thought avenging her could somehow make me feel better but I don't feel better, Aro, I don't!"
Aro walked forward and put an arm on Marcus' shoulder. "Shhh, brother, it's going to be alright," Aro tried to soothe him.
Marcus heaved another sob and couldn't catch his breath. He cried out in anguish. "Aro, please. Please, please Aro," he whispered desperately.
"What Marcus? What would you have me do?" Aro asked, concerned.
"Please Aro, please… Kill me."
Aro pulled back abruptly to see Marcus' face. He had not realized how much Didyme had meant to his friend because Aro had never felt that strongly about anyone, not even Sulpicia. Marcus' face was filled with anguish and despair. He had nothing left to live for. "Marcus…" Aro thought for a moment. "Wait here." Aro left the tower and in his absence the sorrow consumed him.
Marcus looked up at the starry sky. "Didyme?" he spoke. "If you can hear me, I want you to know that I'm not mad at you for breaking your promise. It wasn't your fault and I want you to know that." He inhaled the night air deeply. "I'm so sorry I let you down. I miss you every second of every day. I don't think I can do this without you…" His voice trailed off. He heard the sound of two pairs of feet climbing the stairs and knew his time alone was limited. "Didyme, I just want you to know that I love you, always. No matter what happens, whether I find my way back to you or not, just know how much I love you." He gripped the cross with red jewels that he had been carrying in his pocket and pressed it to his lips. "Goodbye," he whispered.
Marcus closed his eyes and was ready for his brothers to end this life to help him move onto the next one. But Aro had not returned with Caius as Marcus had expected. Instead he brought back with him Chelsea. She immediately began to focus all of her energy on creating a strong bond between Marcus and Aro. She filled Marcus with a desire to be loyal to his coven so much that he could never abandon them.
Marcus was overwhelmed by the powerful feeling that overtook him. Aro embraced him in a hug and whispered "It's going to be alright now, Marcus. We can go home and everything will be fine. You'll stay with us and we will continue to be a family."
The feelings inside of Marcus were like two magnets repelling each other. Finally the familial loyalty won. Marcus entered an almost vegetative state. All emotion disappeared from his face. Aro led him away from the balcony, away from the tower, away from the castle, and away from Didyme.
