Chapter Warnings

Mentions of death/corpses

20. A Faded Memory

The screaming had long since ceased. How could they not? Humans were dreadfully breakable. He had to admit though, it was the first time in a long time - maybe in a good four centuries - that he was glad for the quiet. Usually enjoying the feast, today he needed to think. Ever since his prodigy had returned with a job well done, he couldn't rid himself of the itch furthest back in his head. It almost felt something had slipped his mind. Granted, that was not possible. And yet, there he found himself, standing behind his throne. Thinking. For such a long time, the bodies decorating the floor would start to show first signs of rot soon.

Aro finally broke his request to be left to his own devices by addressing the sole guard that was allowed to remain in the chamber. „Renata, be a dear and send for Jane", he turned back around to his throne, catching a glimpse of Renata's bow in recognition before she slipped through the door, „And for someone to clean up the mess."

Of course his demands were fulfilled momentarily. After two of his loyal servants made away with the remains of his last lunch, Caius and Markus joined him back in their throne hall. Followed by Jane. It seems his two fellow leaders deemed him bearable company again. Though equal, they also knew when best not to be around.

„You summoned for me." Jane kept respectful distance, dipping her head in a bow.

Aro gave a ghost of a smile, waving a graceful hand to her. „Yes. I wish for you to reiterate your observation with the Cullen Clan."

„They were too prepared. We saw the amount of newborns who had attacked. It is obvious they had help. And their future seer is very powerful."

Aro hummed. „I agree, from having seen your observations. But-", Jane blinked in surprise when he whipped his pointer finger up, „There seemed to be another layer to the matter, which appeared rather… odd."

„Odd?"

„How about the one they were protecting?"

„She was not worthy to be one of us. A mere shell of fear and-"

„-Not the girl. The other one."

„Master?"

Bordering on impatience, strongly trying to keep his frustrations at bay, he reached his hand open palmed to Jane. She complied immediately. Once in reach, he quickly moved to clasp her hand in both of his, eager to filter through her memories once more.

There they stood. It was easy to focus on Carlisle, his former member, and his mate. Edward, of course, was prominent in the encounter as well. However, usually easy as breathing, he couldn't filter through the entire scene. It appeared as though there were invisible barriers restricting him from exploring each detail. He could tell there were more people in their group - one of which must be Alice and her mate, of course. They wouldn't stray from their coven in such times. But he couldn't see their faces, or anything of them really.

It was trying to recollect a dream which slipped away further the more one strained to grab hold of it.

„Why did you never focus on all of them, Jane?"

She was lost for words for a moment, obviously confused by such a question. He instant memories of their current exchange showed him she thought she had focused on every last detail.

„Forgive me for disappointing you." She attempted to bow once more, but couldn't when Aro pulled her hand even closer in concentration.

„I believe someone had their fingers in play", he mused. More to himself than anything else.

„What is your trouble, brother?", Markus' sighed from across the hall, clearly tired with the situation.

Aro didn't give him an answer.

Instead, he kept pushing against the edges of Jane's past sense. Pushed to make her focus on her own memories too, hoping to piece together whatever had been hidden from them.

Slowly, he was able to make out three people. This was the work of their empath, he realised. It was like a cloud of nothing, shielding… someone away into irrelevance. He could tell though - this perceived irrelevance was fabricated.

„It's true."

And then, it was gone. There stood a tall, young looking, golden eyed vampire. He had never seen her with the Cullens before. And just as quickly as she had appeared, she faded away into the scene again a moment later.

„There! Her! Who is she?"

„There was nothing-"

„I know, I know", he interrupted immediately, trying to focus on staying within this split second of Jane's memory.

Not quite golden eyed yet, he noticed upon further inspection. So she had been feeding on a proper diet not too long ago. Another one pulled to Carlisles' cause.

Where had this one come from so suddenly? And what was she doing with the Cullens? He almost wished he had been more involved with the ongoings of the newborn ‚army'. He still stood by his choice, needing to be out of Alice's reach. However, he deemed this turn of events intriguing enough to the point where he felt a modicum of regret for his decision.

The biggest reason being… Aro, in his confusion, saw himself confronted with the realisation that this new face seemed familiar. And at the same time it didn't. He had often heard the belief of humans, that every person had 7 mirrors of themselves roaming this planet. Although, in all his years, he had never found himself able to confirm such a notion. He had even gone as far to say that it was a mere result of the small mindedness that every human was ailed with. He still would. But might this be the first case in which he was confusing a face he had seen in ancient times with this new one?

No. That couldn't be. Aro made no errors.

He let go of Jane's hand. „Thank you, dear. You may go."

„Thank you, Master." And so she left.

Seldom had he found himself stuck in such a conundrum. And he would never admit to it out loud either. His sole focus was once more attempting to find where the scratching notion was coming from, tormenting him with the knowledge that there actually was more to it than mere chance, but not giving him anything more than that. The more he tried to remember, the more it was slipping away.

Which heightened his frustrations even more. His kind were gifted to the point of impeccable recollection. Memories simply didn't fade anymore.

And then, it finally came to him.

He had seen that face before. Just not by is own eyes. It had been in someone else's memory entirely.

„Send for Demetri. He needs to find someone for me."

Guest: Thank you for your comment ✨ I'm glad you liked the reunion.

ShionHale: 1. I will continue posting in the same document here for now! So no need to search for the sequel. If and when a sequel or some side stories come out, I will tell you the title immediately. 2. about Edward and his annoying antics... I won't say too much, but let me promise you, he will be dealt with hahah

NeoMulder: Thank you sooo much for your lovely review oh my gosh - I'm really happy to hear you enjoy the story and Sascha so much. It really means the world to me. 💕

End Notes:

Hello hello~ I know it's been a while, but life was a little much these past few months. Hopefully it will calm down at least slightly from now on, but (just as a warning) it seems I will be still stuck in a bit of chaos for the next year or so. You know, such is life lol
This could be considered a bit of a filler chapter, but it is necessary, and I thought it would be a good place to put it. After this, I need to figure out how to bridge where we are with the main plot right now, and where I want to continue. Sometimes the most difficult thing is not coming up with story points - but simply connecting them into a coherent plot is what gets me sometimes hahah I'll do my best to shape a good result for you guys. Bear with me.

So for now, I hope you enjoyed this short bit. It was definitely a challenge trying to write from Aro's perspective for a change. He definitely is an eccentric character.

Alrighty. I unfortunately can't really tell you when I will upload the next proper chapter - I will do my best to be quick about it though.

Until then, take care~
If you have the mind and time to leave your thoughts in the comments, I'm of course always happy to read them.

Posted: 13.10.23

Last Edit: 13.10.23