Chapter 5 - The rejection

Demetri spend about two hours uprooting trees in the Grasslands Regional Park and killing every living thing that crossed his path. The rage in him knew no bounds. He knew Bartholomew had done something, said something more than was obvious that made his mate turn against him. But for the life of him he couldn't figure out how he'd done it. Claire knew that he liked her. He'd already tried to test the waters to see how she felt about turning. And maybe it had been too fast, maybe she hadn't made the connection yet. She hadn't made any romantic or suggestive advances toward him during this last week, treating him like a friend only. And he'd left her in that belief, remembering the seer's warning about humans needing more time. Demetri had imagined his confession of his feelings to be a grand romantic event, after which they'd share a passionate kiss and she'd gladly follow him into eternity.

Instead he'd ended up begging for a shred of her affection and been met with cold rejection and disgust.

Why? Why didn't she want him? Why was the thought of marrying him so terrible to her? She'd said she'd rather die!

Demetri ripped another tree out of the ground and let out a howl of rage as he threw it. At this rate she would die and probably sooner rather than later too. In the first three days he'd known her he'd thought he would lose her twice. Once when he unexpectedly felt two foreign vampires approach her position and once when those human bastards had harassed her. The former might've turned out to be a non-issue and the latter he had tracked down and disposed of in painful and creative ways mere hours after he left Claire. But he was still painfully aware every second of every day that his mate was mortal. She could literally die any day. She could fall down the stairs and break her neck. She could run into a serial killer or just a random drunk person with a temper late at night. She could get killed in a car accident just crossing the street. She could contract any number of diseases. She was breakable and weak and unbalanced and she was just in danger, all the time.

The idea was hard enough to deal with when he'd been able to be at her side to protect her, or at least following her through the crowd on cloudy days and various buildings on sunny ones. But now...

She didn't want to be with him.

But...

She hadn't said she never wanted to see him again. That was about the only thing she hadn't said as she cruelly broke his heart as effective as if that was her special power.

She didn't want to be with him romantically but he could still see her, couldn't he? She might change her mind. Human hearts were fickle. He could offer her friendship if friendship was all she was willing to give him.

Demetri groaned and sunk to his knees, burying his face in his hands. He didn't want friendship. He wanted to bathe in her scent and feel her heated flesh against his and he wanted to have all of her. But he'd take only an occasional smile over nothing at all.

Except he was terribly afraid that if he approached her again, she would say those final words and chase him away forever.

But he had to try, didn't he? Bartholomew had demanded he leave his territory. He'd love to say screw him and go on stalking his mate for as long as necessary. Unfortunately that would result in a confrontation with the other vampire sooner or later, which was likely to expose his presence to his mate anyway.

No, he had to try and talk to Claire again. He just had to get her alone so Bartholomew wouldn't interfere.

Decision made, Demetri straightened his shoulders and stood. A part of his brain kept the thick cord of Claire's presence strummed constantly. He'd memorized a detailed map of the city and so could pinpoint her exact location down to the number of square inch her feet took up on the ground.

The moment he felt her leave her home, heading for a shopping district, he made his way back to the city on this unfortunately sunny day. He flitted from shadow to shadow, often faster than the human eye could see until he found a car with tinted windows. He ripped the driver out of the car, casually snapping his neck before throwing him into the way of another car. Then he sped down the road before the first screams even reached him.

He spotted Claire walking down the road. She looked so gods damn beautiful with the sun painting her brown hair in honey and bronze.

Demetri left the car and used the cover of a small cloud to hurry into the shade of a construction corridor alongside a nearby building. There he pressed himself into a doorway and waited for his mate.

When he stepped into her path he did so slowly, speaking her name quietly and raising his hands in the ultimate gesture of meaning no harm so as to not startle her. It didn't help much for she made that cute 'eep!' sound she always did when surprised and jumped back from him with wide grey eyes and a racing heart.

"Claire, I just want to talk to you-" he started but it did him no good. Claire turned on her heel and fled, taking the nearest exit out of the corridor and onto the street. Demetri lunged forward, panic gripping his heart but he caught himself at the last second, standing just within the shade behind the arch. He probably could've caught her in time but he wasn't confident that he'd be able to do it while controlling his strength. The last thing he wanted to do was bruise her soft skin.

"Claire, please!" he called out to her instead.

Miracles were apparently still happening because Claire did stop and turn to look at him. She made no motion to come closer though.

Demetri's heart broke a little more when he realized she didn't feel safe talking to him unless the sun protected her.

"I really can't think of anything more you could say, Demetri", she told him coldly yet fearfully.

No 'Dem' for him today, a nickname he'd come to treasure because it came from her, even if he would've ripped the head off anyone else who tried to call him that.

"Please listen to me! I just want to understand what I did wrong", he plead with her. "I swear I'm willing to do all that is in my power to fix whatever concerns you have about me."

"What's wrong!?" she sputtered. "You said you want to turn me! To take me away, to... to do things with me! Well, I refuse and that's that!"

"Claire, I love you", he told her again. "If you don't want to turn I can wait but please, don't dismiss the possibility like that. You're going to die if you do!"

"I'm going to tell my Master that you're still here!" she threatened. "Leave me alone!"

"Don't say that, cara mia, please don't say that. You don't have to be together with me if you don't want to, but please let me at least stay near you. You could get hurt or sick or just grow old and not like your wrinkles one day and Balthazar won't save you then. I will. I will always save you but you have to let me!"

Claire took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"You're not going to give up, are you?"

"I can't", he whispered, trying to make her understand. "I love you."

"Well I don't love you, Demetri. And I can't have you stalking me knowing what I do now. It's creepy, Demetri! It makes me really uncomfortable. But you're right, maybe I will change my mind about turning one day in the future. I can't know that."

Demetri had about two seconds of hope swelling in his heart before Claire levelled her icy stare on him again.

"So I'm going to make you a deal. I need you to prove to me that you'll let me go. I need you to go back to wherever you came from. No surprise visits, no phone calls, no spam emails. Leave me alone. And if I happen to change my mind about giving you a chance or turning in a year or five or thirty, I will contact you."

"Claire..." he whispered with dawning horror at what she was demanding from him.

"Say it, Demetri. Say that you'll leave", she demanded hotly.

Fuck.

"I'll leave", he promised hollowly.

What else could he do?

Claire stared at him intensely for a moment. Finally she nodded. "Good. Goodbye, Demetri."

His mate turned around and walked off into the sunlight, the one place he couldn't follow her.

The seer had been right. Claire held a ridiculous amount of power over him. A power she'd just used to destroy him.

XxX

March

Demetri stayed in San Fransisco for the first three weeks following his mate's rejection. It was close enough to rush over if need be and far enough away that Bartholomew wouldn't bother him about territory.

He was unable to think of anything but her.

He rented himself a room, pinned a great map of Sacramento on the ceiling and spend his days lying on the bed, staring at the map and following Claire's movements in his mind. At night he was making plans on how to destroy Bartholomew, the moment he left the protection of Claire's good graces.

He also started writing letters.

She'd forgotten to forbid him that. But he wanted to make sure that she always knew where he was and how to contact him, just in case she changed her mind. His first letters were filled with apologies and oaths of love. Eventually he worried that she would grow bored of them though. She never wrote back and he suspected that either Bartholomew kept them from her or that she threw them away unopened. But just in case she read them, he wanted to show her that he was more than a pathetic male pining after an unrequited love.

The problem was that that's exactly what he'd turned into.

Depression had a tight hold in him. Most of the time Demetri felt listless and lethargic. He barely had enough energy to hunt. Again and again her hurtful words would echo in his ears.

But when he did have the energy to do more than imitate a corpse, he liked to do things he thought she would enjoy. He brought out half a media store and spend hours watching vampire movies, science fiction flicks and even the show with the pink unicorns. He researched coffins and funerary rites and carpentry and he made fifty fake Facebook accounts that he used to like and leave comments on her posts.

He missed her.

April

One day a very disgruntled Felix stood in front of his door and asked why the hell he wasn't answering his phone and what the fuck was he doing staying away for this long without giving notice. Did he even know how long he'd been looking for him?

Demetri only gave him single word answers. He had no energy left to fight him when Felix practically dragged him outside, pushed him into a private jet and flew them back to Italy.

His mate had told him to go back to where he came from. He'd bend the rules by staying in San Francisco, where he'd technically stayed for a bit before coming to Sacramento. But he'd always known that he had to return to Volterra if Claire didn't change her mind soon.

Felix was worried about him. He was perhaps the best friend Demetri had, not counting relationships influenced by vampire powers. The tall vampire kept asking him what was wrong but Demetri had no words for him. It didn't matter. Aro would know soon and his misfortune wouldn't remain a secret for long after that.

As expected, the kings were very much displeased with him. Everyone kept giving him weird looks when Felix lead him down the halls to where the kings were waiting. Demetri allowed Aro to take his hand wordlessly. He'd already made a decision for exactly this kind of scenario, remembering the seer's warning. He would not allow his coven to change Claire against her will, no matter how much he himself wished her to be immortal.

If the Volturi send anyone to turn Claire he would take her and leave. If they dared to harm or kill her, he would take out as many of his former comrades as he could before he left.

But if they let her be he would stay. He would stay and he would keep putting his gift to use for his kings and he would be their good little bloodhound.

Claire might change her mind. Human hearts were fickle. If she changed her mind and joined him she could be a part of the Volturi. Regardless of whether or not she developed a gift as a vampire, she would be a treasured addition if only for her culinary skills. He knew his coven well enough to know that especially Aro's and Caius' wifes would love her mixed meals.

"Hm", Aro made in a sad voice that sounded profoundly fake, as did everything about him. "It seems that our dear Demetri has found himself a human mate. Unfortunately he's failed in courting her..."

The present vampires, minus Marcus who couldn't be bothered with a visible reaction most of the time, broke out in whispers.

"Does she know about us?" Caius demanded to know.

"Yes... And no. She is one of Bartholomew's little pet humans. She believes all the wrong things about us and helps him spread that information."

"Claire will realize her mistake eventually, Milord", Demetri said quietly.

He was focused more on the other two though. There was no arguing or convincing with Aro. He either liked what he saw or he did not. But the kings felled no major decision without a two third majority between them.

"She is not lost to me forever. Not yet", he stressed, mainly for Marcus' sake. He didn't know how the ancient king would perceive the bond between Claire and him. She was the love of his life yet she wanted nothing to do with him. If anyone could tell whether there was a chance she felt more for him than contempt, despite her harsh words, it would be him.

Aro, who was still holding his hand, let go and moved over to his fellow ruler. They brushed the tips of their fingers against each other.

Caius raised an eyebrow at them, used to their silent conversations but expecting to be included in their verdict.

"The possibility is there", Marcus said for his sake and Demetri felt his knees grow weak with relief. "Demetri must've betrayed her. But she wouldn't be so hurt if she were entirely indifferent towards him."

"Betrayed? I never betrayed her!" Demetri exclaimed shocked.

"It taints her side of your bond quite strongly", Aro mused, having seen what Marcus saw. "Though I admit I also cannot comprehend why that would be the case."

"Let's bring her in", Caius said dismissively. "We can't have Demetri out of commission chasing after her until she decides to forgive him. Human memories fade quickly. Whatever it was, she'll have forgotten about it by the time she wakes up in her new life."

"No", Demetri growled fiercely. "I will stay and continue my work however long it pleases you but nobody goes near her without my permission!"

"You dare...!" Caius snarled at him angrily.

"I dare!" Demetri snarled back just as fiercely. He held Caius' eyes for a moment as vampires of the guard shifted uneasily. Then he bowed his head towards Aro and Marcus. "I dare and I plead. Leave the matters of my mate to me. Human hearts are fickle. She will change her mind."

Aro tilted his head and regarded him closely. The kings ruled by a two thirds majority but Demetri couldn't name a single incident in which Aro hadn't gotten his will. His next words would decide Demetri's and Claire's future.

"So long as you do not slack in your duties as a member of this guard", he said slowly, "I see no reason why we shouldn't grant you a bit more time. What are thirty years to one of our kind? Barely more than a sabbatical." He smiled at Demetri then and some of the tension left him.

Caius still looked displeased. Out loud he said:

"I think you're a fool, Demetri. But you have served us well for centuries and never made any unreasonable demands of us before. None should say we don't reward loyalty. I will agree, under the condition that you start training a successor in twenty years time, should your mate still be human by then."

"I will", Demetri promised easily and allowed relief to flood him.

"I disagree."

Everyone turned towards Marcus surprised. The old vampire rarely said more than absolutely necessary. Demetri already had the majority vote on his side, why would he argue against it now?

Everyone quieted when Marcus rose from his throne and slowly stepped towards Demetri.

"She should be turned, your mate. As soon as possible."

Demetri lowered his eyes. The memory of Claire's hurtful words sent another stab of pain through his heart.

"That is not her desire, Milord."

Marcus only nodded. He understood, even if he did not agree.

The king turned away from him.

"Come to me when she's dead", he said as he left the hall.

Aro and Caius sported matching scowls of displeasure as they watched him go.

But Demetri lowered his head gratefully.

"I will", he muttered.

May

Demetri kept his word. He continued to take part in missions and training. He even spend more time back at Volterra than he normally would, both to appease the kings and because he got himself a new obsession. He'd spend about a quarter of his accumulated wealth and brought himself a satellite. He polished his informatics skills until he figured out how to program it to remain in a position right above Sacramento and sent real time pictures of the Earth straight to his computer. Demetri would spend long hours stuck in his room, which started to resemble the inside of an FBI observation van more and more with printed pictures and monitors littering every surface. Every time the satellite detected movement around Claire's house it would start making pictures and send them straight to his computer.

Felix called him a crazy stalker.

He wasn't wrong but Demetri didn't care.

He continued writing letters but he only did so once a week now that his coven did what they could to keep him busy. But no matter what they did, a part of his attention was always on her.

He wracked his brain for what he'd done that his love could possibly see as a betrayal.

June

Demetri kept insisting on taking the jet to whatever missions he was to take part in, even if it was way out in the countryside. He refused to go anywhere without the means to make it to the other side of the world in under twenty hours. His fellow guards started to complain about it as it made the logistics of their trips much more complicated but Demetri couldn't be reasoned with.

Claire might change her mind any day. If she did, he wanted to be at her side as fast as supernaturally possible.

July

Aro tried mixing together and heating up different blood types in the kitchen usually used by their human employees. He ended up setting the counter on fire and his wife spend about an hour chewing him out for ruining her carefully selected silk curtains.

Demetri missed his Claire fiercely.

August

If there was still any blood pumping through it, Demetri surely would've had a heart attack when he felt Claire quickly move towards the coordinates he knew held the Sacramento General Hospital. He checked the satellite pictures and fell into a panic when he saw an ambulance pick her up during one of her walks through the city. He hacked into the hospital's system but there was only so much he could access from the other side of the world and the staff was slow to upload anything.

Demetri had a burning desire to seek out his mate but he knew he wouldn't be welcome. In his desperation he swallowed his pride and hatred and called Bartholomew to ask what had happened. But on the other side of the pond it was the middle of the day. Bartholomew hadn't heard anything and was thoroughly annoyed that Demetri would bug him like this.

In the end Demetri spend about three hours going on Felix' nerves until he agreed to travel with him to the states. Demetri flew the jet to San Francisco. From there, Felix ran all the way to Sacramento, snuck into the hospital and, guided by Demetri via phone, looked for Claire.

She'd slipped on the wet pavement on a rainy day and had twisted her ankle.

Felix was incredibly mad that he'd been dragged on such a journey for what he considered a false alarm. But when he returned to San Francisco two hours later to find his friend still sobbing in relief he decided against giving him the good beating he deserved and just offered him a shoulder instead.

It was the first time since he knew the tracker that he witnessed Demetri cry.

September

If you're over a thousand years old, it's safe to assume that you've tried every hobby you can think of at least once. Demetri didn't have much talent in the musical department but he had, a few centuries ago, learned to play the lute. Now he practiced the guitar, hoping that one day he could play for Claire. His first attempts were pretty bad and Felix banished him to the north tower so he wouldn't have to listen to it. Unfortunately that put him too close to Caius' quarters, who unceremoniously smashed his guitar to pieces.

Demetri had no energy to even get out of his room for a whole week after that. He didn't even feed until Felix shoved a random person into his room and locked the door.

October

According to her Facebook account, Claire's birthday was this month. Demetri gifted her some musical tickets in the name of a woman she'd once described as her friend when they went through her list of people not to kill. He debated with himself for hours on whether he should send her something in his own name or not. In the end he send her a bouquet of flowers together with another letter. He studied flower language for two days to pick out just the right combination to express his yearning for her and his desire for reconciliation.

November

Claire left Sacramento. Demetri followed her path anxiously. Bartholomew was not with her, as he usually was when she left the city for longer. She stopped two states over at what google told him was a hotel. He researched a bit more and found that near the place she was staying in, a Star Wars convention was being held. It was May the 4th. Demetri smiled for the first time in months because he got that joke.

In the evening he convinced the witch twins to join him on a Star Wars marathon. They loved it.

He felt a little closer to his mate.

December

When stuck in Volterra, more and more often Demetri was assigned bodyguard duty, following Marcus around. Not that there was much to follow. None of the kings left the castle often, seeing as their age made their physical appearance even more obviously supernatural than was already the case for most vampires. But Marcus still spend time inspecting the guard and the relationships binding them. He worked in tandem with Chelsea and Corin to fix any bouts of rivalry or animosity that naturally occurred in a coven of their size. Demetri could feel the effect their presence had on him. Corin's influence dulled his pain to an almost manageable level and Chelsea helped him to realize how lucky he was to have such understanding friends. He felt supported and grateful in his time of need and carefully optimistic that Claire, once she chose to finally join him, would be welcomed warmly into their family.

She would change her mind one day. Human hearts were fickle.

And if not at least he had Marcus on his side for what came after.

January

"We need to do something about Demetri", Caius said in an emergency meeting he'd called with his co-rulers. "It can't go on like this."

Demetri was switching between bouts of deep depression and ridiculous attempts to improve his courting skills on a weekly basis. It was giving everyone whiplash just to watch him. He spend far too much time on stalking his mate from the distance instead of keeping an eye on the Volturi's enemies, missed an awful lot of combat training sessions and was generally far too disinterested in his work.

"We agreed to give him four years to bring his mate in before we do it for him", Aro reminded him. They had claimed differently in front of Demetri but privately, the kings had come together to decide on the best course of action. "He is determined to turn away from us or even against us if we lay a hand on her. That hasn't changed."

"Then we just have to make sure his mate choses to join us", Caius argued. "We've done it before, this will be no different. And if it doesn't work, at least we'll know. Demetri is good but there are others who could take his place. He doesn't even try to win her back and it's almost been a year. Nothing will change at this rate."

"What is your suggestion then?" Marcus asked.

"Let's bring the woman in. Not openly - we can address an invitation at Bartholomew and tell him to bring his pet human. So long as she is nearby, Demetri won't be able to stay away. With some luck he'll follow his own damn instincts and turn her himself, as he should've done the day he first saw her."

"Bartholomew is a very... unusual example of our kind", Marcus said. "Just because she is unconcerned about his nature does not mean she would feel the same about our coven. What if it drives her even farther away?"

"Then we'll kill them both and finally put a stop to Demetri's pathetic attempts of learning an instrument!" Cairus spat.

"I believe I know how to take care of that problem", Aro mused, rubbing his chin in thought. "From what I've seen in Demetri's mind, his mate has a weakness for fabricated vampire portrayals in present day entertainment. We could build a favourable environment that would appeal to the lady without going against Demetri's wish to leave her her precious choice. It would require some effort from everyone but it could be fun. If nothing else it would give me an opportunity to read her and find the best way to bring her in."

Caius had a bad feeling about this. Aro usually only ever had fun at the expense of others.

"What are you thinking of?" he asked suspiciously.

Aro grinned, showing all his teeth. "Have you ever watched the musical 'Tanz der Vampire'?"

XxX

Dear Claire.

Today I saw the first snow of the year that didn't melt over the day. I hardly feel the cold but I wish for your heat at my side to keep me warm. I've never felt as dead as I do now, knowing the only way I can bring you joy is by putting an ocean in between us. Corin keeps telling me to forget you but I can't. I see nothing but your lovely smile when I close my eyes. I try to pretend, to go on like nothing happened but it is hard.

I'm in France now, on a trip with Jane and Alec. You said once that you might want to go traveling one day. I keep wondering if I'll run into you. I know I promised to leave you be but it wouldn't count if you just so happened to take a vacation in the same area I have been sent to by my Lords, would it? The Côte d'Azur looks amazing even in winter, by the way. Such lovely trips we could take, sailing and hiking and diving underneath the waves. Ah, but I suppose it would be too cold for that this time of the year for you. Maybe in summer? We could see the alps instead. They looked breath-taking. I saw them from the sky once, when they invented the first parachutes. You should've seen the pilot's face when I jumped without one.

Maybe one day we'll take the time and explore all of Europe together. Wouldn't that be nice?

My heart aches for you, my love, my Queen of Ice.

Forever yours,

Demetri

Ria folded the letter and put it back into its envelope, trying to suppress a smile. Demetri still wrote her at least once a week. The first couple of weeks she'd burned the letters without opened them. Then she decided not to make such an effort and they just ended up in the trash, then unopened on her desk as she went through her Master's post for him. Eventually, she'd become worried when the letters didn't stop. She wondered if maybe they contained death threats and other harassment and if maybe she should be worried he'd return and murder her in the middle of the night one day because she was ignoring him. So one day, she'd opened one. It was a love letter. It was obviously penned as one of many, with some details about Demetri's nighly life mixed with different variations of 'I miss you'. Nothing in it suggested that he was or had been at any point in time, mad at her or wanted to harm her.

It had calmed her a bit and she went back to ignoring the letters. She kept that up till she got the flowers for her birthday. They were simple but lovely and she put them on her desk, just a little bit touched, Demetri's card leaning against the vase. The next letter she coincidentally got on Halloween and she read that one too, wondering if he'd share some snippet of what the holiday meant for him. Disappointingly, he did not.

From that moment on though, she didn't throw away the letters anymore. She didn't always read them right away. Sometimes they gathered dust for weeks in a drawer before she pulled out a whole stack of them and read them. Ria had a little metal box now that she hid underneath her bed which contained all the letters and postcards and sometimes photos Demetri sent her. She knew it was stupid but she couldn't help it - they were love letters from a vampire. Even if it was all lies and manipulative drivel, it was still kind of cool.

Sometimes, late at night in an empty house, Ria wondered. What if it wasn't a lie? Would any man, even an immortal vampire with a different concept of time, really make such an effort and spend so much time penning such lovely, sweet letters if he felt nothing for her?

Ria had noticed her Master be interested in a woman in a sexual way exactly three times in the years she'd known him but she also knew from the women's complains that nothing had ever come of it. She'd asked her Master about it once, seeing as there was no lack of admirers. He told her that holding a human even just during feeding was an exercise comparable to juggling raw eggs. A sexual relationship with a human, while entirely possible, would result in the bothersome task of having to bury a body at best and an annoying legal case for bodily injury at worst. Also, the screaming would ruin the atmosphere. That's why, despite his flirty personality, he didn't act on his baser urges - at least not with mortals.

So she knew that vampires still had those desires and she knew there was a certain danger for the human party that went beyond just being a donor. Ria had zero desire to end like that. But Demetri's offer to turn her was even more outrageous. She'd made it clear to him that that wasn't something she would want from the very beginning. He should've never started to pursue her, knowing that. Even if Demetri was honest, she couldn't be with him as a human and she refused to reconsider damning herself to un-life in eternal darkness for the possibility of a relationship she might enjoy. That would be like faking her own death, marrying AND moving to another country with a stranger she knew from the internet after chatting with him for five minutes. There was no guarantee she'd be happy with Demetri and even if she were, there'd be no guarantee she would be happy with being a vampire. Considering that was an irreversible decision, it just wasn't worth the risk.

And yet.

Ria was flattered by the attention she was receiving. At the end of the day on some days, she was just a girl. She could dream.

Ria pulled out her box from underneath the bed and opened it to put in the newest letter. On top of the stack sat a photo of Demetri together with some of his coven members he'd sent her. Demetri was standing in the middle, looking slightly annoyed. There was a tall, muscular vampire standing next to him, one arm slung over his shoulder and another over a third male, who looked bored. The one in the middle was grinning widely at the camera. In the letter that picture came with, Demetri had named that one Felix, his best friend and the other his colleague Santiago. Next to him stood a gorgeous vampire woman who was named Corin according to the scribbles of a red pen over her head. She looked off to the side where another vampire (Alec) had managed to flee from the picture, only half a leg still visible at the edge. On Demetri's other side stood two vampires, Chelsea and Afton, wrapped around each other in a suggestive way. In front of the group on a pair of chairs sat two other women, a nervous looking brunette named Renata and the most beautiful being Ria had ever seen, a vampire named Heidi, who smiled at the camera angelically.

Ria had put that picture on top of the letters as a constant reminder of why she wasn't answering any of them. Every time she saw it she wondered with how many of those brides Demetri had slept with. Every time she had to conclude that just statistically speaking, probably with all of them. Every one of those four women was a thousand times more beautiful than Ria. There was no way he was living together with that lot and still thinking of her. When at home, he mentioned being around Corin and Chelsea most often. And the fifth female he kept mentioning in his letters, the one he actually worked together closely, wasn't even in the picture, probably having been the one to take it.

From the letters, Ria knew that the 'guard' Demetri was a part of was split in two, the base crew and the mobile team. The base crew focused mainly on protecting the coven leaders while the mobile team went out to go on 'missions'. Demetri never specified what those missions were but Ria knew that the colleagues he worked with the most were Felix, Santiago, Alec and Jane. So it was actually five gorgeous vampire brides he was surrounded by. It did not escape Ria's notice that most of the vampires of the 'base crew' were females. Figures. And that was just the members of the 'core guard'. His home city, Volterra, must be a giant vampire nest. Ria actually googled the place once - it had a suspiciously low crime rate but a lot of missing tourists in the surrounding area.

Ria closed the box back up and pushed it back onto its place.

She went back to her desk and picked up the other three letters that had arrived during the day, all of them addressed to her Master. One was the water bill, which she threw away. The amount would be automatically deducted from her Master's account so there was no action required from her. The second letter contained the monthly financial statement from the bank, which she opened, read and put in the respective folder. Then she looked at the third letter and did a double take - it was from 'the Volterra tourist center'. It was much more formal looking than the usual love letters she got from that town, with printed letters instead of Demetri's clean penmanship and it was not addressed to her.

Ria hesitated. Her Master had given her blanket permission to open all of his letters and to only hand to him what really required his attention. This looked like it might be such a case. Yet the curiosity burned in her and so Ria took her letter opener and freed the paper from the envelope.

To all affiliated Kindred,

you are hereby formally invited to our upcoming Spring Ball.

In the names of our Lords, Caius, Aro and Marcus, we hope to see you at 11pm on the 15th of March at Castle Volturi. Formal clothing will be required and refreshments will be provided.

We await your answer no later than the 28th of February.

Sincerely,

Santiago Volturi

On the back of the printed, very expensive looking invitation, someone scribbled with blue ink:

I hope you'll come, B! Bring your pet human, she can help with the catering. I've heard wonders about her creations! Best, A.

Ria felt hot and cold at the same time, reading over the letter again and again. An invitation to a ball, held by vampires.

Oh, she wanted to go so badly. The little girl in her squealed in excitement, imagining Victorian dresses and an old European castle with Gothic chandeliers and classical music. The professional in her preened at having her talents be recognized. She knew of only three vampires in the Volturi whose name began with A: Alec, Afton and Aro and from Demetri's descriptions she doubted it was the former two who wrote that message. That meant one of the Vampire Illuminati leaders had personally asked for her talent. Of course, the little cowardly human in her was simultaneously scared shitless at one of the Vampire Illuminati leaders knowing she even existed, much less where she lived. And then there was the... Well, Ria didn't know which part of her it was but it was a very big one, who was acutely aware that Demetri would be there and if she went she'd see him again. That would be... Ugh, that would be so incredibly awkward. She'd ignored his letters for months now. What would she even say if she saw him again?

Ria wasn't as mad at him anymore as she'd been the last time she'd seen him but she hadn't changed her mind about his offer. It would be awkward to tell him to go to hell on an event like that, not to mention incredibly rude, probably dangerous and well, he was being very sweet in his letters and he had kept his promise to leave her alone. She didn't want to appear like she'd cave but she also didn't want to make a scene.

But she was getting ahead of herself. First she had to show the letter to her Master. Then her Master had to decide to accept the invitation and then he had to decide to bring her with him and even then it was possible she'd be expected to just stay in the kitchen. But if she did end up attending the ball, then... Ugh. Ria would have to at least warn Demetri that she'd be there. It wouldn't do to show up and surprise him like that, it would look like she came to see him.

No matter the fact that she was maybe also a tiny bit excited to see him.

Ria looked at her watch. It was still three hours till sundown. She was done with all her tasks for the day and she knew she wouldn't get anything else done. She was too excited by the prospect of a vampire ball. So she decided to just assume that her Master would say yes and sat down at her desk, trying to pen her very first response letter to Demetri. She made about five attempts, throwing each away until she settled on something that she found acceptable, something that she hoped wouldn't anger him but also wasn't taking back any of her words. She knew there would be literally no way around talking to Demetri during the ball so she might as well have that conversation on her terms.

Dear Demetri.

Almost half a year has passed since we parted on bad terms. My initial anger at you has calmed since then and I started actually reading the letters you sent me a few months ago. I realize that I may have been harsher towards you than you may deserve.

My position on your offer has not changed. However, I will soon accompany my Master to Volterra for the upcoming Spring Ball, which I expect you'll probably attend. I've been asked to help with the preparation of refreshments but I would not be opposed to granting you a dance, if time permits it. Maybe that could help in clearing the air between us.

Best wishes,

Claire

XxX

Demetri stared at the words on the small sheet of paper in a mix of incredulity, shock, fury and desperate longing.

Two weeks ago Aro and Sulpicia had announced that they wanted to host a ball, for no apparent reason or occasion. Just a spring dance. Athenodora and Sulpicia were the main persons in charge of organizing everything but Chelsea and Heidi were also quite enthusiastic in helping out. They'd dragged their mates into dance rehearsals, spend hours going through catalogs and websites in search for the perfect decorations and distributed discount coupons for sightseeing tours to unsuspecting humans in nearby cities.

Demetri hadn't thought anything of it at that time, mainly because he was too busy mentally counting Claire's footsteps on the other side of the world. It wasn't all that unusual for the Volturi to throw parties in the castle. After all their leaders and their wifes were pretty much stuck in the building most of the time, during to the fact that their skin had turned a rather visible translucent white in their age. When they wanted to go out, especially during the day, they had to dress up as burn victims or cover themselves with religious clothing head-to-toe, not a speck of skin to be seen. That's why the Volturi had social get-togethers at least once a year. Sometimes they would even book a private viewing for theater or music shows to take place just for them at the castle.

But with so many vampires around who all had their own birthdays, as well as mates with their anniversaries and a number of special holidays they kept, it was unusual for such an event to take place on a weekday with no apparent excuse for merriment at all. Especially if vampires from outside their coven were invited.

But when Demetri received a letter from his mate, a woman who had ignored any and all of his correspondence thus far, he suddenly realized the reason behind the unusual date.

His Lords were trying to set him up. They'd gone behind his back to bring his mate here and he was both furious and elated. He longed to see Claire again, to hold her in his arms. Her letter wasn't nearly as cold and biting as she'd been when they last met. She'd read his letters! She wanted to dance with him! Maybe there was still hope for them after all!

At the same time though, dread was building in his heart. If Claire came to Volterra and met the rest of his coven, she would surely learn about the true nature of vampires. The kings would never let her leave alive after that. Just when Claire was apparently coming around, not hating him anymore, she would get her choice taken from her, a choice she was yet again clearly spelling out.

This was bad.

Demetri started to pace in his room.

This was really, really bad. He couldn't allow Claire to come to Volterra. There was enough time left, he could write to her to warn her, no screw that, he would call her to warn her. She may have forbidden him such contact but this was an emergency. On second though, no, he should just go straight to her, take her and run, hide where his Lords could never find them. It was the only way to keep her alive. Except the moment he left, the kings would immediately know where he'd gone. He could probably make it to Claire before they did but he couldn't outrun them with a human slowing him down. Then another thought hit him, what if they had foreseen he would do such a thing? He had clearly threatened it towards Aro after all. What if they already had a member of the guard ready to kill Claire the moment he made a move? Demetri furiously went through every member of the guard in his mind, checking all of their presences.

Fuck.

Santiago was in San Francisco.

Demetri cursed up a storm. He blamed himself for not keeping a closer look on his colleagues, for constantly being so distracted. He should've seen this coming.

He could still call her though and tell her to leave. But would she listen to him? She had so much trust in that damn Bartholomew to protect her from hostile vampires and he of course wouldn't want to anger the Volturi by declining an invitation like that. In fact not only did Demetri have to convince Claire to leave but she'd have to do so without telling her protector, trusting him to pick her up wherever. Which he couldn't even promise he'd be able to do, as the kings surely kept a close eye on him now. Given Demetri's track record, he'd probably only end up alienating his mate further.

His furious planning was interrupted by Jane, who knocked on his door and then came in without waiting for an answer.

"Demetri, Aro wants to see you in the hall", she told him.

Demetri stared at her with wide eyes, his fists still clutching a crumbled letter. Fuck. It was already starting. If he went to see Aro now he would read all of his plans, which would make them utterly useless. If he refused and bolted right now he'd have to go through Jane, which would be impossible, even for him.

Jane tilted her head, looking so angelic and beautifully innocent. She was an elder stuck in the body of a twelve-year-old. Demetri had worked with her for centuries. He was one of her main caretakers and his bond to her and her brother was almost as strong as the one he had with Felix, the partner that had his back during countless battles. Despite, or maybe even because of that, he knew she'd torture him mercilessly if he dared to betray the coven.

"What's wrong?" Jane asked, having no idea what was going through Demetri's head.

"Nothing", he whispered, trying and failing to keep the tremble out of his voice. "I'll be there in a moment, thanks."

"I'll wait for you, I'm heading in the same direction", she said.

Fuck.

Demetri looked down at the crumbled piece of paper in his hand. Claire's first letter to him and in his distress, he'd crumbled it.

Jane's eyes lit up as she noticed the object of his conflict.

"Is that a letter from your mystery mate? The one you've been mooning over?"

"I'm not mooning!" Demetri denied reflexively.

"Could've fooled me", she muttered. "Well, what does she say?"

Demetri mumbled something.

"What was that? "

"I said, she's coming to the dance!" Demetri snapped.

Jane crossed her arms in front of her. "That is good news, isn't it? You must be happy to see her again." She looked him up and down critically. "You don't look happy."

"She doesn't want to be a vampire", Demetri reminded her hopelessly. "And I still don't know what to say to make her change her mind. I doubt our Lords will let her go without some sort of progress in that direction."

Jane shrugged. "You have to have some confidence in yourself. You've been practicing, haven't you? And if she still says no, she'll just stay here until she does. Chelsea will work her magic, we'll all become great friends and she'll turn around eventually, you'll see."

That didn't make Demetri feel better in the slightest.

"I'd prefer it if she chose me without being coerced", he said between gritted teeth. Jane couldn't possibly understand. She was too young, she'd never yearned for a mate and nobody expected her to ever find one. She was forever stuck in the 'kisses are yucky' state of her psyche. Demetri was the first of her three main caretakers, the other being Felix and Santiago, who'd found a mate and he thought she might even be a bit jealous that he hadn't paid her as much attention as he usually did, being so lost in his own thoughts. But Jane knew, even if she didn't understand, that mates were important for adult vampires and that you couldn't have one without the other.

Jane huffed. "Well a dance is the perfect opportunity for you then. Come on, I'm sure that's what Aro wants to talk to you about." She grabbed Demetri's arm and dragged the protesting vampire after her. He followed her in the end, knowing there was no point in fighting. In her own way, Jane and Alec were just as effective in disarming someone with their looks alone as Heidi was. Demetri knew they were little monsters. But he looked at them and saw children, innocent, playful ones that must be protected and kept safe and that must be forgiven for any mischief they got up to. It didn't help that Demetri, as part of the physical fighters of the guard, was tasked with protecting the two powerful talents during missions. He might be able to bring himself to attack her if she was an immediate threat to his mate or himself but in almost every other case, he had a hard time denying her. She was the closest thing he had to a daughter, or at least a favorite niece.

It didn't matter that she was older than him.

When they arrived in the hall, they saw Aro and his mate Sulpicia. The latter was chasing around her husband, sending him crawling all over the walls, holding up sheets of dark blue, purple and white-gold embroidered satin curtains for her to judge.

"A little more to the left!" she called out, regarding the result critically. Aro, using the decorative plastering on the walls to hold his feet without damaging the stone as he crawled over the wall, moved a bit to the left and held up the curtain.

"Yes that's perfect... But it looks horrible", the vampire queen decided.

"What is it dear, does it look perfect or is it horrible?" Aro asked patiently.

"The position is perfect but the color clashes too much with the brown from the window frames."

Aro jumped back down to the ground, exchanged the dark blue for the white-gold satin and flashed back to his exact position, holding the new curtain up. "How about now, love?"

Sulpicia tilted her head this way and that.

"I liked the blue one better", Jane threw in as she stepped at her side.

"Me too", Sulpicia admitted. "I know! Let's repaint the window frames. A nice creme color would go well with those curtains. Or maybe eggshell, I'll have to see."

Aro let the curtain droop sadly. "More color choosing?" he whined.

"Well you want it to look gorgeous, don't you, honey?" Sulpicia asked rhetorically.

"Of course, dear", Aro replied meekly. "I'll tell Gianna to order you some samples."

"Good, now hang them up properly, I want to see how the hall looks with every second wall covered with them."

Demetri cleared his throat to remind the two of his presence.

Sulpicia whirled around and pointed at him.

"You!" she called out in a commanding voice.

"Me?" Demetri echoed, just a little less meek. If there was one mistake a guard member could make that was worse than angering one of their kings then it was angering one of their queens. He'd get it back ten times over from both of them.

"You, young man, need to get fitted for your suit. I've had a selection brought in that we'll chose one from."

"A suit? You mean, for the dance?"

"Of course for the dance, silly! You have to look your absolute best that night. How's your waltz by the way?"

"Err, decent?" He looked at Jane for help, who demonstratively looked away, letting him know he was on his own.

"We've just got the confirmation that Bartholomew will be attending the dance", Aro explained from where he was still hanging up curtains. "He's bringing your little love interest. Surprise!"

"About that..." Demetri began hesitantly.

"Demetri is concerned he'll be rejected again and that you'll lock up his mate till she agrees to be turned", Jane stabbed him in the back.

"Why you little traitor!" he growled at her.

Jane stuck out her tongue at him.

"Children, children! No fighting please", Aro admonished them from where he was still hanging at the wall.

"You're too far up on the right again!" Sulpicia admonished Aro.

"You don't have to worry about a thing", Aro continued while he pulled the curtain down a bit. "I haven't forgotten about your... unique situation. It's all planned out already. Truly, it disappoints me that you would doubt me so."

"And what exactly is the plan?" Demetri asked carefully.

"Everyone in the guard will be briefed that they are to either stay away from her or, if they do talk to her, not to let on that their nature is different from what she expects. We only have to keep her away from our guests from the outside. I expect you'll remain at her side of course, so we'll leave that to you. During the day she will be in Gianna's care, who will also be briefed on how to handle her. If all goes well you'll have a lovely, romantic evening with your lovely... What was her name again?"

Demetri gritted his teeth and didn't answer. Vampires never forgot anything so this was clearly meant to mock Demetri's failure in finding out even the most basic of information about his mate.

"It's Claire", Jane reminded the king unnecessarily.

"Thank you dear", Aro said. "Is this good like this, love?" He was done hanging up the last curtain and flitted to the front, spreading his arms wide and grinning at his wife.

"It will do", Sulpicia allowed. "Now we have to add the candles."

"But... they'll all burn down if we turn them on now", Aro protested.

"Then we'll just get new ones. I want to see how the hall will look once the light is on." The queen leaned forward and gave Aro a kiss on the cheek. "Off you go, honey."

Aro gave her a besotted look and dutifully went over to a crate holding a few hundred candles. He grabbed an armful and pushed them onto Demetri, who sighed and got to work putting the candles into the few dozen candle holders spread around the hall.

"Where were we?" Aro made as they worked together. "Oh yes. So your lovely Claire and you will have a wonderful evening but that's just the main event. Before that, the girls have agreed to pretty her up a bit, which will give them some bonding time. Our dear Gianna will advocate for vampirism on our behalf as well, seeing as she's been bugging us about getting turned for years now."

"Is there any plan to actually do that?" Jane wondered.

"Well no, she's not gifted after all. She's not even interested in the guard, she just wants to turn her son, who has some kind of incurable disease - but don't tell her I know that."

"If we kill her, can I have her?" Jane asked.

"Sure, if you want. But she's still useful for a while longer. I did bribe her with enough money to pay for the next 12 months of treatment for her kid, that should keep her placated for at least that long."

"No, no, don't turn them on yet!" Sulpicia protested when Aro went to grab a lighter from the crate. "First you have to put them all in position and then you light them, else they will all be of uneven lengths!"

"Of course, of course", he made and put down the lighter, grabbing some more candles instead.

"What if even with all of that, she still doesn't want to turn?" Demetri asked quietly, while putting his own candles in a nearby holder. "Is she free to go if she remains unawares?"

"I really don't expect that she'll want that", Aro replied with conviction. "It would be quite the disappointment after all the effort we're putting into this."

That was not a definite yes. Which meant it was an obvious no.

"Oh Aro, don't torture the poor boy so", Sulpicia made when she noticed Demetri's grimace. She came over to wrap one arm around her husband's waist and pull him against her. Aro had to raise two handful of candles over his head to allow his mate the space to do so.

"Of course your mate will be free to go if she so chooses", Sulpicia told Demetri kindly. "Isn't that right, Aro, honeybun?" She smiled at her mate, making him flounder.

"Why, of course. That was just what I was saying", he claimed and was rewarded with a long kiss.

Demetri's shoulders sagged in relief. "Thank you, my Lord, my Lady." When Aro turned towards him again, at his back Sulpicia winked at Demetri. Jane snickered.

Demetri set up the rest of the candles quickly. The lighting test passed Sulpicia's judgement and she turned her attention back to Demetri.

"Now we'll get you fitted for your suit. You're going to have dance lessons with me twice a week - no arguments! 'Decent' is not going to cut it!" She grabbed Demetri's arm to drag him with her. "We'll make sure you get hitched, child, don't you worry. I've helped nearly a hundred couples to tie the knot. When I'm through with you, no human on this earth will be able to withstand you."

"Help", Demetri mouthed silently at Jane but the little monster was too busy laughing and pointing at him. Aro simply waved at him happily too. They were all against him - but at least they wouldn't hurt Claire. Probably.

AN: From the very start, the idea of this fanfiction was to combine traditional vampire stories with Twilight. The first part of that was the whole vampire servant thing. The second part is the classic seduction route. Ria is and has been for a long time a huge vampire fan. However, it's something she enjoys observing from a safe distance, not something she wants for herself. That, however, is mostly because of all the wrong information she has been fed about them. If it weren't for that, she'd probably think about vampirism just like Bella does. So while she honestly does not want to turn, she can't resist playing the female lead in her very own vampire seduction story. I mean, be honest, could you?

Then you have the Volturi. I like to imagine them (at least the core guard) to be just like any big family, except they will ruthlessly cut you down if you betray them. A bit like a mafia clan. Yes there's a lot of supernatural emotional manipulation going on but just because their bonds are artificial doesn't make them any less strong. This means Aro and the others do honestly care about Demetri and the pain he feels because of his mate's rejection. If he becomes too much of a liability, they wouldn't hesitate to go to Chelsea and tell her to cut him off from everyone so they won't feel bad for killing him. But they would try whatever they can to solve the problem differently first. They also won't let him know that that's what they'd do, even if it's an open secret. So even though the kings told Demetri he'd have thirty/twenty years, you take that with a grain of salt. And when they see him being so passive and no progress being made, they're going to intervene.

Also, I imagined Aro in the role of an excited parent who learns that his son has finally found a girlfriend, is frustrated he won't introduce her and just wants his son to hook up already so he gets to play with some grandkids. You know, except without the grandkids part. There will be no hybrids in this story, pinky promise. But the idea of Aro trying to play matchmaker was so hilarious I couldn't resist. I have some really funny scenes planned for him. Do you look forward to it? Leave a comment if you do ;-)