Chapter Fifteen: Kiss and Don't Tell
So, so sorry about how late this is! I have had major writer's block and school has been literally massacring my life! To me, I don't feel like this is my best work, but I felt like everyone out there deserves the next chapter. MAJOR ROMANCE BLOSSOMING IN THIS CHAPTER!
Fantasy Writer: Thank you so much for the anniversary review! I appreciate all of your support that My Pointe Of View has received over the past year, my little baby is a year old! I'm intrigued by the idea of Ruby's ultimatum, but I'll probably save it for alternate takes.
Lilly Moonlight: Yes, Lucia was executed for being human, not for helping Helen. I'll touch on more of that next time, but I'm so glad you liked the last chapter. Your support is always appreciated!
bff: Glad you like it!
YourEnchantingDesire: Aro and Sulpicia have loved Helen for ages, albeit a little selfishly, but to them she's theirs. Yeah, Chelsea was only inevitable
ZabuzasGirl: I wrote as fast as my blockage would let me!
A pas de deux is a dialogue of love. How can there be conversation if one partner is dumb? -Rudolf Nureyev
Helen didn't seem to notice Aro's absence after really getting into a conversation with Chelsea and Corin, the two of them made her feel so special even as they asked her the simplest of questions. Like, how she was or if she wanted a glass of water. Never in her whole life had she felt so content, so at ease.
"I completely hope the best for you." Chelsea said in a little too sugary voice, "adjusting to Volterra can be a challenge, especially for special people." Helen didn't understand what she meant by special, but Corin masked a snicker.
"Thank you." Helen couldn't notice how utterly helpless she looked to the two of them, or what other motives they may have. Truthfully, at that moment, if they had asked for her social security number she'd probably give it to them. Something about them, ironically, seemed trusting.
"I would not try another stunt like this, though." Corin cleared her throat, "Aro does not take rejection with a light heart."
"I didn't mean to hurt him." She assured, "I just don't think I'm very happy here." Her words seemed to trigger a sort of focus from Chelsea, the brunette's eyes came alive and held a sinister kindness, that Helen could not see in all of her contentment. A light flutter seemed to tickle her heart and she began to see things and people and places differently. She could feel her special connections to Richard, Henry, and Wesley float around and disappear, as if they never meant anything to her in the first place. Sydney and Aggie's bonds were fading, but holding on by a thread, if she'd had a say, Helen would state that those two always had a place in her heart, always. Instead of a feeling of utter loneliness and emptiness, she could feel a great swell of loyalty and belonging to the city and the occupants of this very castle. This was home, this was where she belonged.
Helen felt a strong chain bind her heart to Sulpicia, but a stronger hold to Aro. She loved him, she adored him, she would do anything to please him. Her thoughts were interrupted by the bedroom door swinging open and Sulpicia glared angrily at the two vampires, both of whom looked absolutely stunned to see her interrupt.
"Corin, Chelsea." Sulpicia said coldly, disgusted by the sight of them.
"My lady." Chelsea tried to assert herself, "Master Aro gave us orders to remain with the girl."
"Well," she replied with all of the entitlement that a queen would have. "Now you have orders from me, and you are to leave the premises immediately." Chelsea looked towards the silent Corin who nodded and flickered out the door, leaving the brunette to stand firmly in defiance and face the wrath of Sulpicia. The blonde woman raised an eyebrow in absolute shock and hatred.
"Shall I have Caius correct your insolence with a sound lashing?!" Sulpicia snapped at her opposition, "or would you prefer the rack?! You heard me ask for something and I will not ask twice!"
Chelsea yipped with fear and scurried out the door, trailing after Corin.
Sulpicia returned her attention to Helen, "are you alright? How do you feel?" She sat down next to Helen on the bed.
"I'm fine." She assured, happy to see her again, "really I am."
"Alright." Sulpicia exhaled and then her face grew serious, "Helen, I do not want you to associate with those two ever again. Do you understand me?" Helen narrowed her eyes in confusion, "why? They were both very nice, and I felt really comfortable around Corin, can I at least see her?"
"No, and that is the last I wish to have of this discussion." Sulpicia replied firmly, "is that clear?"
"Okay." Helen sighed in reluctance.
Sulpicia held a meek smile on her face and brushed her knuckles against her daughter's cheeks, "tomorrow, Lucius is stopping by to fix your leg. We need to have you well again before the injury becomes a hindrance."
"How is that a problem?" Helen asked brightly, "it's no big deal if I have to get surgery."
"That is beside the point." Sulpicia huffed, "people might try to hurt you and it could be passed as an accident. Please do as I say." Helen sighed and nodded in defeat, understanding that she was not going to argue with her tonight. Sulpicia relaxed upon achieving what she had needed and pressed her lips to Helen's forehead, a message for her to go to bed. "Sleep tight, little bird," she said softly and streaked out of the room.
Helen leaned over to the nightstand and turned off her lamp, bundling up under the covers and waiting for sleep to take her, whispering gently. "Goodnight Mom."
Helen slept until the sunshine shone on her face and the curtains blew a cool breeze on her skin. The leaves were beginning to change and autumn was entering the city of Volterra, bringing a cold front with it. When she awoke from her dreams, she discovered that the cast had somehow been removed before she woke up, something that disturbed her. Three years ago, Helen got into a car accident with Sydney and her older sister Deana O'dell, the wreck left her with a broken wrist, Syd with a broken collar bone, and Deana with a totaled BMW. The point was, Helen knew how loud the machine used to remove a cast is, so she wondered if there had been some sort of kick to the pain medication she took.
"How do you feel?" Aro's appearence from the balcony made her heart skip a beat and her lungs briefly spasm. Helen hadn't even noticed he was in the room, and she really hoped he hadn't been watching her sleep like some crepy stalker. Suddenly a vague memory of how drawn she felt towards him reappered in her memory and reminded her of how much she loved him, trying to push away his faults. Then, his alabaster skin hit the sunlight and refracted and shone like a million little diamonds, making him even more beautiful. So, that was what happened when vampires ventured into the sunlight.
"Great." Helen beamed, not noticing him smirk at her response. He streaked over to her bedside and lovingly cupped her tiny face in his hands, "very good. I was worried you would have trouble sleeping last night."
"No, I slept fine." Helen assured, glad that he had returned to see her. Aro helped her up and used his arm as support as she limped with him to the blacony, once again not noticing how sinisterly happy he looked.
"When I think back to this moment, I applaud Chelsea for how good of a job she did screwing up my head. Like they say, ignorance is bliss, and I was a content idiot during those days. Aro, of course, was overjoyed to see the immediate change in my attitude. Then again, he wants nothing more than to control everyone and everything. I think that's why he's gotten the way he is, but that story is much farther ahead. Anyway, once I began to try and conform to Volterra, literally the second I did, Aro began tutoring me in regular school subjects, pacing them. The worst was when he started teaching me political behaviors, a.k.a, how to be like him."
Helen had been lead towards the outside, cool, humid air blowing against her skin. Aro was gazing out towards the town and the hills with a greedy intoxication, he sighed proudly. "Beautiful, is it not, my dear? My Volterra, and I control everything that occurs. I have been thinking, and I realize that this glorious accomplishment could be shared with you."
"What do you mean?" Helen asked in confusion. Aro smiled at her and relished in the conversation he was having, "I believe it is time to resume your studies. I was hoping to begin teaching you after Lucius heals your leg."
"What do you want to teach me?" Helen asked nervously, there had been such a curve ball in Aro's behavior towards her.
"Art, Literature, Philosophy. I want you to have more than just some menial public education that will get you nowhere, and I think that this is best, do you not agree?" Aro asked her cheerfully.
"Sure," Helen shrugged. "But, um, what happened to my cast?"
"Oh, I had a private medical technician remove it several hours ago." Aro said carelessly, "I put a little something in that soup to make sure you slept soundly during the night."
He drugged her? Well, that's not exactly what she wanted to hear, but still, who even does that? "Now lay down for the next couple of hours, my love, Lucius will arrive soon."
Helen nodded and remained still when Aro tucked her back in and kissed her forehead. For some strange reason, she didn't feel the urge to retract from his touch anymore.
Helen's eyes fluttered back open and awoke to someone opening her bedroom door. Sulpicia and a man with long, silvery blonde hair and eyes black as coal entered the room. He looked about as old as Caius, and was just as handsome, too, but Helen knew he was easily as old as Aro.
"This is her?" The man asked with an eyebrow. 'So, that must be Lucius.'
"Yes, Lucius." Sulpicia sad bitterly, clearly not delighting in his presence. "Do you need me to fetch any of your old spell books?"
"No, my amulet should suffice, dear Sulpicia." Lucius smiled coyly, "now leave me and my...niece be." The blonde vampire reluctantly nodded and blew Helen a kiss as she exited the door. An awkward silence filled the room and Lucius gently removed the covers from her leg, his lips pursed when he saw her silk pajamas that were formerly under the sheets. She gulped.
"Alright, then, we've never met before. I am Lucius, warlock extraordinaire." He replied proudly, extending his hand for her to shake. Helen, however simply stared at him, silently. He was the sole reason that she was here, and despite how at ease she felt being around Aro and Sulpicia, it was his fault that she had to leave Sydney and Aggie, oh, and Richard. Oddly enough, she had stopped missing the Hendricks family, little by little.
"Do you talk?" Lucius snorted and retracted his hand.
"Yeah, I just have nothing to say."
"You mean yes. It is always yes, never yeah." Lucius corrected her, making Helen roll her eyes. "This does make me feel a glimmer of hope for this era, a woman should always know to hold her tongue unless spoken to."
Nope. She didn't like this man at all.
"Never mind this conversation, I am here to fix what is broken. It is the left femur, correct?"
"Yes." Helen replied with an eye roll, not caring if he took offense from her. Lucius reached near his collar and revealed an large and ornate ruby shaped like an egg hanging from a tight, gold chain. With little effort from the gem, his hands began to grown a malevolent orange and hover over her left leg. Suddenly, a question popped into her mind.
"Do you know Ruby White?" Helen asked bluntly, making him jump. Lucius' eyes grew wide with shock, but he never ceased his magic.
"How are you aware of that name, you are nothing more than a human?" He retorted coldly.
"She tried to help me escape from Aro, back when I was in St. Louis." She replied calmly, "how do you know her?"
Lucius inhaled deeply and mumbled something spiteful under his breath, "she is my wife." Helen jumped and felt her leg lock up with pain when she did. Ruby's married?! Wait, Rubes said that her husband was dead.
"Ruby told me she was a widow," Helen thought out loud.
"She is referring to that miserable piece of filth that used to call her his," Lucius sneered. "Ungrateful bitch, I gave her everything I could and she still left me after one hundred years. You said she was in St. Louis, correct?"
Helen simply nodded, regretting even mention the subject. Suddenly, a cold, harsh feeling spread over her upper left thigh, and it didn't hurt to move her leg anymore. "All done. If you are planning on strenuous activity today, wait three hours; if you feel any discomfort, take pain medication and think nothing of it." Lucius gave her a curt nod and left the room, leaving Helen to herself.
After testing out her leg and amazed by how easily it had been repaired, she soaked and threw on a tan skirt with black polka dots, tucked in a black boyfriend shirt, and stepped into a pair of black flats. She diffused her hair to add more wave than curl and washed her face.
Helen walked over to the sitting room and noticed that her MacBook was open and that the Wi-Fi had been turned on and programmed. Did Aro trust her to use the internet. Cautiously, she opened up Google and typed in: Helen Hendricks Missing, St. Louis.
It took half a second, and the page filled with various news reports and her eighth grade picture as a hotspot on Google Images. She noticed a Facebook page entitled: The Search for Helen. She clicked on that and it opened to a page run by Sydney and Aggie.
Various comments on the page appeared as she scrolled down.
Elizabeth Hartman: Known her since fifth grade, hope she's okay and knows we love her.
Victor Pugliese: I miss her like crazy. Haven't talked since September, but I owe her for helping me come out last year.
Annie Sergeant: Helen, if you read this, please come home. We care about you and said a prayer for you on Sunday during Youth Group.
Sydney O'dell: Helen is my best friend, and I honestly don't know what I'll do without her. I have so much I want to tell you, Helen. Aggie's parents are pulling her out after this semester, and if my Dad wins full custody, I have to move to Springfield with him and his new fiancée Caren. I hate Caren, she made my Dad leave us. Why did you leave, what did we do wrong? Please come back!
Helen had to stop herself from crying. She hadn't seen Lizzie, Vic, and Annie since the fourth of July, and she couldn't believe they missed her this much. After middle school, Liz went to boarding school in California, Victor went to St. Louis High School, and Annie transfered to Notre Dame High School. Worst of all, Sydeny might have to go live with her body image critical Dad and that twenty year old, size zero stripper he left Lisa Baines-O'dell for. Anytime Helen met Caren, she treated Sydeny like shit when her Dad wasn't in the room.
Oh, and she couldn't believe that the Becker's we're going to take Aggie from the Academy. Helen knew that they never supported Aggie with dance, but never did she think it would come to this. She wanted nothing more than to find Aggie and give her a big hug, and the fact that she couldn't brought back a gut wrenching feeling of leaving.
Suddenly, three sharp knocks on the door made her jump and close the lid on her computer. "Come in," she replied nervously. Helen turned and saw Alec wearing a dark grey suit, looking as handsome as ever.
"Hey." Helen said happily, glad he was back. "How was the trip?"
"Busy, as usual." Alec shrugged and zoomed right in front of her, "I heard you messed with a werewolf. That's pretty, how do you say? Goodass?" Helen giggled at him, "no, you mean badass."
"Oh, yes, that." Alec replied with an embarrassed smile.
"Well, you know I am a certified badass." Helen confessed snarkily, "I should've brought the official document, but I don't like to brag."
"I've heard," Alec chuckled back at her. "So, tonight's the first quarter of the moon, and it's my night for the Astronomy Tower. Would you have any interest in stargazing with me?"
"Sure." Helen replied happily, "I get to see what all the fuss is about."
"See you then." Alec grinned, "meet me when the sun sets." With that, he winked and streaked out of the room. Helen couldn't help but smile at this, she'd missed Alec while he was away. Well, it wasn't a date, right?
Helen decided to take a break from being cramped up inside her room and took a walk in the hallowed halls of the Volturi castle. Eventually, she walked down a series of stairs and towards the outside gardens. Helen noticed that the only vampires out here were Miranda and a statuesque vampire with dark brown hair and hints of olive in her pale skin.
"Well, look who decided to show her face." Miranda smiled nastily as she appeared right in front of Helen, her friend following suit. "Told you she was frail looking, ugly too."
Helen narrowed her eyes in disgust, what did the two of them want?
"She looks stupid too," the other one said in a thick Spanish accent, a harsher version of Sofia Vergara. "Can you talk at all, flaca? Are you like all other dirty and dumb Americans in your country?"
"I'm not afraid of you." Helen huffed out loud. Miranda snickered and pushed Helen towards the ground, clearly enjoying what she was about to do. Helen, however, tried getting up, only to be pushed back down by the other woman.
"No one here will miss you, right Adrianna?" Miranda laughed dangerously and picked up Helen by her collar and dragged her back towards the stairs. "Once you're dead, Master Aro can go back to giving us the attention we've earned. It'll look like an accident, like your clumsy human body crushed on impact with the cobbled steps." Adrianna giggled with malevolence when Miranda started pulling her up, trying to kill her.
"Get away from me!" Helen screamed, "I'll scream! Someone will hear me! You both are just jealous, vindictive, little bitches!"
"PUT HER DOWN!" She turned and saw Jane standing a few feet away from her and the two murderous women. Adrianna shrieked in pain as she experienced the receiving end of Jane's gift. "Put her down, Miranda, or I'll personally contribute to your demise."
Miranda huffed and casually let Helen fall to the floor, disinterested. Helen skinned her knee and dusted herself off as she stood up, leaving Jane to lessen up on Adrianna. The two women scurried off, clearly bored after having their fun spoiled.
"Don't worry, Master Aro will make sure they truly suffer for their actions." Jane assured, rubbing her burgundy eyes, irritated.
"Thanks." Helen said sheepishly, "I, um, I really appreciate you helping me out." She nodded curtly and went to walk back up the stairs, only for Jane to speed up in front of her.
"Wait, there is something we need to discuss." Jane said firmly, "I understand you are spending the evening with my brother, correct?"
"Yeah," Helen shrugged.
"Well, are you planning on engaging in amorous or sexual activities with him?"
"No!" Helen insisted, stunned by the fact that Jane had even asked that question. "Christ, no! We're just friends, I barely know him!" Jane sighed in relaxation, "good, because it would be very distasteful if anything occurred without my consent." Jane waved nonchalantly, "enjoy the stars." After that, Jane streaked along up the stairs, achieving what she came for.
'Why would she think that? Alec is just my friend, right?'
Several hours later, with a salad lunch and a special vegetarian pizza dinner that Aro surprised her with. The sun had begun to set, and Helen decided to change into a pair of black skinny pants, black boots, and a maroon, purple sweater tunic.
'This is not a date.' Helen told herself while she puckered her pink lip gloss, 'I'm just looking nice for myself, no one else.'
Helen walked outside and huffed up and down the stairs towards the Astronomy Tower.
The Astronomy Tower was located on the highest point in the entire castle. Up above the cobbled steps and Tuscan fields, the tower made Helen think that all of the people below her looked like little ants.
"You made it." Alec said happily while looking up from a telescope, eager to see her there. Helen beamed when he smiled, her heart was beginning to flutter and she unconsciously flipped her hair. She never flipped her hair unless she was flirting. "You're just in time to see the Canis Major, it's the first sign that winter is coming in Volterra; you'll love the snow, well, actually do you like snow?"
"Oh, I love snow!" Helen exclaimed happily, "everything good happens when it snows, I follow the Lorelai Gilmore ideology of winter."
"The who?" Alec asked, confused.
"She's a character on Gilmore Girls, it's one of my favorite TV shows. I fell in love with The Bangles and Willy Wonka after watching season one." Helen explained rather nervously, "I never usually ramble this much."
Alec gazed at her with happy eyes, and invited her to lay down on the blanket he set out for them to watch the stars. Helen nodded and laid down next to Alec on the ground. Never, and she meant never, had she been this close to a boy without anyone else in the room. Alec looked up and sighed, okay, maybe this could be classified as a date.
"So, are you okay?" Alec asked softly, "it is alright if you're not. I know this has been a difficult transition for you."
Helen turned and looked him directly, his lips looked so inviting and just perfectly kissable, not to mention how his ruby eyes were staring right into her soul, enticing her. "I'm better," she confessed a little bit. "I mean, I'm still getting used to things. Your sister is actually not as scary as she seems."
"You better not let her hear that." Alec chuckled lightly and looked Helen right in the eyes, happy to see her smile. Without any second thought, Alec leaned in towards Helen's face and lips met lips. She smiled against his mouth and preceded to softly kiss him back, enjoying that her first kiss was with someone who cared about her.
'Oh my god! I can't believe he's kissing me!'
However, no one in the state of bliss, noticed Aro holding an Astronomy book, watching Helen and Alec go about their business in a newfound relationship. "Helen." Aro replied in a dark whisper, making the two of them jump and stare in shock at the very man who controlled both of their lives.
"Exactly what are you doing, young lady?"
And, the match hits dry grass...