5. Turmoil
Caius stood where Elizabeth had left him, at the base of the stairs. He stood frozen, completely still, as his mind heaved and reeled over what had happened.
One day. That's all it had been and yet here he was. Caius felt so confused, so very confused. Elizabeth. That name, that woman. What had she done to him? How had he ended up like this? So vulnerable so... so weak... Yet he felt stronger than he had ever been before, in his three millennia, so how could this be weakness?
He remembered yesterday. Jane and Alec had come in with her behind them. He had just thought her a silly human, a nosey mortal who didn't know what was good for her. But then Aro had taken her hand and had seen her thoughts. She had a gift of sorts, Aro had thought, so they should give her the option to join them, but that wasn't what had stalled Caius. That wasn't what had changed him so much, what had led him to a night alone in the mountains nearby.
He had spent the night thinking. Thinking about her. She wasn't pretty but there was something about her, something more. She had thick unruly brown hair. It had looked tangled and knotted and frizzy, but that didn't stop him from wanting to touch it, to feel it, to smell it up close. Her features individually had nothing ugly about them, in fact her dark sea-green eyes enchanted him, but altogether they weren't quite symmetrical, they weren't beautiful. She wasn't ugly at all, but she wasn't pretty. She just... was...
And yet when she spoke, when she showed who she was, Caius had felt something. Then he hadn't liked it, it had made him feel weak. But afterwards, when she had been shown to a bedchamber and he had run off to the mountains, away from his vulnerable feelings, he had had time to think. Time to be.
What was it all for anyway? Immortality. What does it even mean? For Aro: eternal power. For Marcus: eternal grief. And for Caius? Perhaps he had never really known, perhaps he had just gone on out of sheer anger?
But now, now he had something. Surely? He no longer needed to be angry in order to keep going. But she would die, said a voice in his head. Whether now in Volterra or later from old age, she will die. And she wants to die, to be mortal. She doesn't want to live forever, to be a vampire.
Then he'd die too. As soon as he thought it, he knew it was what he wanted. He would live for as long as she lived but then, when she was dead, he'd end it as well.
He felt a dry smile flicker onto his face: so he no longer thought death was weakness then? Or abhorrent. When did that change? Probably at the same time he realised he was in love with Elizabeth.
"So quickly," he muttered to himself. It had all happened so quickly. He smiled again; this time a genuine smile, "How ironic."
He had lived for over three thousand years but it had taken less than forty-eight hours for his whole perspective of life to change.
Far above him he heard the opening of a door. The wives would be going to their separate chambers now, as they did in the evening.
Athenodora.
He closed his eyes. How had he been so cruel? He didn't hesitate, reaching the top of the stairs in less than a second. He walked over to Athenodora's door and knocked. One of the guard opened it. She sat on a chair as she always did, staring, unseeingly into the fire in the grate.
"Leave us," Caius told the two guard, "And make sure no one disturbs us." That was in case Sulpicia came nosing about. She was a selfish woman, Sulpicia: Caius had always felt comfortable leaving Athenodora with her because he knew she would never attempt to destroy her. Sulpicia liked the company, even if Athenodora hated her existence. But Caius had changed now, even if Sulpicia never would.
Caius walked over to his wife. He remembered the high point of their relationship: when they had actually spoken to one another. They had never talked about important things, just the insignificant politics of the time, but it had been better than nothing. Now, however, their relationship was as dead as Athenodora wanted to be.
"Athenodora," he said, gently. She turned to look at him but said nothing. "It's been a long time hasn't it," he went on, "Will tonight be alright?"
She looked at him, her face as impassive as ever, "For what, Caius?"
"Oblivion," he whispered the word as he looked at her, "I've come to set you free from all this."Her eyes flickered, slightly: the most emotion he had seen on her face in fifteen hundred years.
"Yes," she breathed, "But why now?" She spoke the words as slowly as always but this time, for once, she looked directly at him.
"I've changed," he answered, "I'm not sure how much, yet, but I know I've been cruel in forcing you to carry on. I'm sorry." He took her hand, "Could you ever forgive me?" She smiled, the first time in almost two thousand years.
"You're going to free me tonight, Caius," she said, softly, "Of course I forgive you." She looked at him a moment then said, "I'm ready, I've been ready a very long time."
Caius nodded then placed a hand either side of her head. She had closed her eyes, a look of pure contentment on her face. He ripped her head off and threw it into the fire. Then he pulled of her limbs and one by one threw them into the fire.
He watched as her body smouldered to ash and then turned and left. The two guards waiting outside looked at him.
"Athenodora no longer needs your protection," he told them, "But Sulpicia might." The two guards nodded impassively and then went into Sulpicia's chamber. When she burst out of her chamber in selfish anger at the loss of her only companion, Caius was long gone.
He strode along the corridor, feeling lighter. Athenodora was free. He could no longer cause her anymore pain or suffering. He had freed her from the hell she had been living in for so long. It had been too long. He smiled but his smile faltered when he saw Jane coming towards him.
"What do you want?" He asked, his voice hostile.
"Aro sent me to look for you," she said, "Heidi's due back soon."
Caius nodded. Heidi brought them humans from outside Volterra for them to feed off. It was a system which worked well due in large part to Heidi's charm and cunning when rounding up mortals. They went to the circular hall where he had first seen Elizabeth and he nodded to Aro and Marcus. Marcus made no response but Aro stood up and offered his hand.
Caius hesitated a moment before laying his hand against Aro's.
"Oh that must have been hard for you Caius," Aro said, "And poor Sulpicia will miss the company, but perhaps it was because you have your eye on a new possible mate."
Aro was finding out about Athenodora, a thing still at the forefront of his mind but then Aro's grip tightened and his face darkened.
"You'd die if she died," Aro said, hesitantly, "You don't even think she will join us?"
"I love her," Caius said, fully aware of everyone listening in, "You've noticed how much she's changed me."
"I have," Aro answered, "But have you realised your effect on her? She will join us rather than make you suffer watching her die. Of that, I'm sure, brother."
Caius took back his hand quickly as soon as Aro released it. He had never much minded Aro reading his mind, he was loyal to him of course, but it now unnerved him how Aro seemed to know more about his feelings than he did. The day before, Aro had realised before Caius had even thought about it that he was falling in love with Elizabeth. And now he saw it all, so much clearer than Caius did.
At that moment Heidi entered the room, followed as always by her retinue of mortal humans to be feasted on.
Caius hadn't thought much about this part, not really. But as he watched the others kill them all, he felt disgusted. Not at them; not at the way they ignored, so easily, the cries and pleas for mercy, or they way the blood trickled down their chins before they wiped it away; but at himself. He was disgusted because that was what he had done, so easily, for over three millennia.
He stayed sat on his throne, watching, and when the bodies were piled in a corner, he looked at each individual face and felt sickened.
Aro took his leave soon after and everyone left, leaving just Caius and Marcus alone in the room. Caius walked over to the older vampire. Marcus looked up at him, as emotionless as ever.
"I've never thought much of you before Marcus," Caius said, trying to find somewhere to start.
"I noticed," Marcus replied, looking slightly amused.
"It never bothered you?"
"Nothing much does anymore." Caius smiled at Marcus's reply but it was a sad smile. The loss of Didyme had destroyed him.
"No, I suppose not," he said.
"So, Athenodora's struggle is finally over," Marcus said, sensing that Caius wanted to talk about it.
"Yes," Caius said and paused a moment, "But we never really had what you and Didyme had."
"No, you never did." Marcus said and chuckled for what must have been the first time in centuries, "It was raw attraction to begin with but soon even that disappeared."
"Yes," Caius said, smiling. He didn't think he had ever got Marcus to smile before, let alone laugh. "What do you think of Elizabeth?" He asked, for some reason craving his good opinion of her more than he thought possible.
"I like her," Marcus said simply. Caius felt a strange sense of relief, "She's very insightful," he added.
"She is," Caius agreed.
"There's something strong growing between you two," Marcus carried on, "It reminds me of Didyme and me right at the start. I loved her of course, who couldn't, but initially we disagreed on the silliest of things."
"The value of mortality isn't really a silly thing," Caius countered, seeing the parallel Marcus was attempting to draw.
"No," Marcus said, "I suppose not" There was a long moment of silence before Caius broached a subject which had long been on his mind.
"You want to end it," he stated, "Just like Athenodora."
"Yes but I have to carry on," Marcus said, sadly, "Aro has done so much for me. I owe him my loyalty."
"Don't we all?"
"You don't."
"I don't?" Caius asked, confused, Marcus turned to him and there was so much meaning in his look alone that it brought Caius up short.
"Go," he said calmly and certainly, "Go with Elizabeth, go and be happy - like Didyme and I wanted to."
"Before she died" Caius said almost in a whisper. She was killed by Aro, her own brother, he thought to himself, in order for Aro to keep hold of Marcus.
"Yes," Marcus said, his face darkening.
"I..." Caius trailed off. Marcus looked at him. There was nothing more to say, Marcus had told him what to do. Why should he have happiness though, when Marcus had lost his? But there was nothing to do about Marcus's happiness but his own could still be salvaged.
"Aro and I are going to Rome this evening along with all the inner guard," Marcus said, "You're welcome to join us... unless you have more important things to do." Caius looked at him, knowing exactly what he meant by what he said. Then he shook his head.
"No," he said, "I won't be going to Rome with you and Aro." He looked Marcus in the eye, then took his hand, "Goodbye Marcus."
And with that, he left the room.
A/N: That was Caius's point of view. I thought the best way to describe Elizabeth was through someone else's eyes because she wouldn't do it herself; she's not exactly vain. But I also wanted Caius's own perspective on what was happening so... I hoped you enjoyed it... :D :D X