AN: I'm not sure I'll get another chapter out before Christmas, so I'll wish you all well now, and hope you have happy holidays and wonderful new years!

First Day of a New Order - Part 2

JANUARY 31ST

Leaving Kate, Jane and Alec to their game, Eleazar took Corin to the far side of the training field for the self-defence class. They approached as Caius and Alex were putting on a display of sorts. They display was apparently an example of how to 'kick the shit' out of each other, in Corin's opinion. Judging by the wincing and grimaces on the faces of those watching, she assumed the rest of her cohort felt the same.

"Alexander is our most talented coven member in battle." Freyr said to her students. When Caius paused and raised an eyebrow to his mother figure, thoroughly offended whilst effortlessly proving his worth by holding Alex off one handed, she added, "After Caius, of course."

Caius smiled and went back to his fight with Alex.

"I would say you rank high in that regard, too, my dear," said Atia, side stepping the display team as they inched closer.

"That is kind of you, Atia. I dare say it's true." Freyr looked away for a moment - she wasn't usually so boastful and had caught herself off guard. "Because we don't have gifts to rely on, Alex, Caius, and I have all concentrated more on our training to ensure we are safe in battle, or simply in defence." Catching each student's eye, she said, "It is vital to your survival that you can defend yourselves."

The ground shook when Caius slammed Alex into the dirt for a final time. Completely winded, Alex tapped out. Caius stood, chest puffed out, crowing his win.

Poor Alex fought well, as he always did. He and Caius wrestled regularly and though he lost more often than the coven master, he didn't always lose, making it good sport for the two. Alex rolled onto his side and then up to sitting. He couldn't stand yet, needing to catch his breath.

Carlisle and Turk, neither one a born fighter, both far too pacifist for that, looked on curiously. They didn't aspire to be warriors. They would be happy, however, if they could learn enough to defend themselves. If they could learn enough to participate in regular coven training without fearing ridicule, all the better.

Basileus had spent very little time teaching his youngest a few tricks before deciding Carlisle simply didn't have the heart for such things. Eleazar spent more time with his brother after Basileus had thrown in the towel, but came to the same conclusion. Carlisle should be safe if attacked, but nothing more, considering the little time he had spent training with both of them. He would really, really like it if he could feel a little more self-assured.

"How did you get so good?" Carlisle asked Alex. He wouldn't ask Caius as he assumed it involved something grotesque and torture-like.

Whether Carlisle liked it or not, Caius was only too happy to answer for Alex, who was still trying to breathe steadily. "He was my pet and I liked beating him up."

"A lot," Alex said, stretching out his back. He and Caius shared a laugh, which catching both Eleazar's attention and ire.

"You should take him back to the dungeons with you, Caius," he said, glaring at the guard.

Alex closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, he saw Irina appeared a little guilty. The girl hissed at her guardian to 'leave it', but he ignored her if he heard her at all.

Caius cocked his head. He answered Eleazar while smirking at Alex. "For my pleasure, or his?"

"For mine."

Oh, Caius liked it when Eleazar came over to the dark side! It didn't happen very often. Seeing Alex squirm under the Volturi Prince's glare, Caius twisted the knife a little. "Say the word, El, and I'll see it done."

"Gentlemen, that is enough." Freyr pushed Caius and Eleazar aside and blocked their path to Alex. She helped her guard stand and brush himself down.

"Thank you, my lady,"

"I'm still not happy with you," she said with the wagging finger of an angry matron, although dismissed him with a small smile.

When his mother asked why he was there, Eleazar pushed Corin forward a step. "She needs to work on her confidence in defending herself more than she needs to work on her gift."

Freyr brought her young guard to join the rest of the young coven members with a protective arm around her. She'd rather have Corin under her watch and she agreed with Eleazar on the matter. Atia was less pleased.

"I assume you have plans for the rest of your students?" she asked her son.

Whilst she didn't disagree with Corin's need to expand her self-defence strategies, she was disappointed that Eleazar had thrown in the towel with the girl the first chance he had.

Eleazar set his jaw and he levelled dark eyes on her. He had no need of a gift to know what his mother was really getting at. "Why? Do you want them, too?" he sarcastically asked. Without giving chance for Atia to reply, he said, "I'll fetch them."

Atia cleared her throat when he dared to turn his back on her. "You will do no such thing. Unless you would like to fetch your father, too?"

The coven youth began quietly tittering to themselves – Caius laughed aloud.

Spinning back to face his mother, throwing in a quick warning growl to the kids, Eleazar told Caius to shut his trap and his mother that he was joking. Neither Caius nor his mother paid him any heed.

"Because your father and I have both expressed our disappointment over your attitude towards the new education program, have we not?" Atia raised her eyebrows to Caius, too, who was still laughing. "We have discussed your attitude as well, Caius."

Suddenly, Caius choked on his own laughter, causing an eruption from the young ones.

"Unless you would like to join the classes, Eleazar, you will lead the classes," Atia went on. "There is no middle ground for you."

For one too many of the young students, that would have been perfect! "Please make that happen," Carlisle begged his mother. "I'll do anything!"

Eleazar growled for a second time, a louder than the first. The students took a step backward, though their grins remained. Even Turk struggled to keep the smile from his face. The Denali girls—his girl—looked a little embarrassed for him. Even Irina, who he expected would enjoy his momentary fall from grace, appeared uncomfortable. He needed to salvage any pride they felt for him, however little that might be, and his own pride, too. It would, therefore, be better the lament his situation in private.

"I am always happy to serve the coven, Mother."

Eleazar snatched up his students' books from the pile Marcus had left with the elite women and went back to his side of the training grounds. He spotted Felix returning with his jug of bloodwine, which he planned on downing in one.

Tanya waited until Eleazar was out of hearing and turned to her faux grandmother. "Are you training like that? In a gown?"

A little bemused, as she thought it obvious, Atia answered that of course she was.

Immediately, Tanya rounded on her elder sister. "See?" she said. "I told you I could have worn my dress!"

Irina couldn't care less and told her sister so.

Atia settled the girls before an argument could ensue. Irina was the easier of the two to subdue, with the smallest Denali threatening to argue into the night if allowed. "Tanya, my dear one," she said, placatingly. "If you wish to wear a dress next time, by all means do so. Now, please settle yourself."

Tanya practically bounced on the spot. She knew she'd been right. She knew it! And if Carmen said anything about it, and Tanya hoped she would, she could still wear her dress and win the argument - a double win. Her grin spread even wider realising that.

"Only for training with them," Caius said. "I'm not having dresses in my training sessions." He paused to look at Turk and Carlisle. "That goes for you pair, too."

How Carlisle wanted to tell him to shut his smarmy gob (or worse). He wouldn't with his mother so close by, but the next session would be with Caius and Aro and he'd make sure to tell the coven master what he thought of him then. He probably wouldn't go through with it, but he felt some solace in thinking of all the things he might say.

Irina's voice carried above the quite mutterings of the group. "Can we go to both sessions?"

Caius laughed in the face of Irina's question - well, it was a preposterous proposition. Freyr cleared her throat pointedly, but Caius continued chuckling. When he finished and still did not respond to Irina, the shield maiden turned to face him with her eyebrows knitted together. Caius crossed his arms over his chest and raised his right back at her.

Freyr called to Atia behind her without turning to her dear friend. "Do you think you could arrange for Caius to join these activities, too?"

Caius gaped at the woman's cruelty, diminishing him in such a way and in front of the coven youth! "No, she could not.

"I rather think she could," Atia replied to them both.

Caius breathed heavily through his nose in an attempt to suppress his growl and turned his glowering eyes on the jeering youth before him. They carried on when Eleazar tried the same tactic, but they silenced themselves entirely for Caius.

"Freyr and Atia are only running self-defence. My training is real training because I run attack. Only come to my sessions if you want to come on missions." Self-satisfied, he turned back to the pair of harridans. "Happy?"

"Not really," Freyr said, still shaking her head at his abrasiveness.

"It will save you for now, Caius," Atia added. "But I will check with Basileus when I see him next to find out how far my power stretches. It might do you and Eleazar some good to attend our new program as you both seem so unhappy in your roles."

"What?"

Whilst Caius was given the 'who do you think you are?' speech by Freyr, sadly too quietly for others to overhear, some mused over what their training sessions could look like in future.

For Irina, the matter had been decided - she would do both sessions if only to wipe the smarmy smile off Caius's face. Sharing these plans with Carilsle, and the Volturi prince agreed. He would do both sessions, too, from now on and he'd go on a mission and show Caius what he was made of. Carlisle wasn't exactly sure what he was made of, actually, but he knew it was time he proved himself. Somehow.

Turk left them to it - he wasn't joining the mission crew. "I just want to be safe," he said.

"Then don't come to my sessions, Turk. Missions are not safe." Caius looked at Irina and Corin and gave a condescending chuckle. "I guess some of you learned that already."

Freyr tutted at Caius and sent him on his way. He'd been useful as a demonstration, but she didn't need him ruining the morale of her small group. It was low enough already. She only had to threaten her students once with a note in their reports before they all stopped muttering. On her command, they gathered around, ready to learn.

"This session will be about getting a feel for where you are," she said. "We will work on increasing your abilities after that."

"Shall we take them on together?" Atia asked the shield maiden.

Freyr called her young recruits forward and told them to ready themselves.

"I can't fight my own mother."

Setting her sights on her youngest son, Atia sang out, "Then you will go down very easily, my boy."

And he did. They all did. Repeatedly.

Freyr and Atia's students were left aching and weary when they joined Eleazar's team. Alec, Jane and Kate were equally exhausted from their game. They were all happy, though. There was no doubt about it. Even Irina had enjoyed learning new skills. In fact, she thought she'd learned more in two hours being thrown around by the elite ladies than she had in the rest of her immortal existence.

"Why didn't Sasha teach us any of this stuff?" Tanya had asked her sister during a brief break.

Irina wondered the same and didn't have an answer. Unexpectedly thinking of their mother in a negative light made her stomach lurch, though she couldn't in good conscience think of any positives in that moment either. Her stomach lurched again.

Eleazar exchanged Jane and Kate for Carlisle and Turk and took the lads with him to the front gates to meet Aro and Caius. He had to fend off requests to carry their books from them all. Except Carlisle, who wouldn't lower himself. Even Turk joined in.

"I can't show you," he said. "Now stop asking or I'll write something in the bloody things myself."

He had already made good on that threat with Felix. All the boy had to do was lie in the grass with his uncle, it couldn't be easier. But no. He spent nearly two hours bugging the guy about that sodding book!

"No! Don't! I just needed to know how dead I'm going to be," he'd whined seeing Eleazar begin to write.

When he flicked through the now four pages of complaints against the boy, Eleazar confirmed quite dead, indeed.

Atia and Freyr took the girls to the south tower where Sully, Carmen and Dora (if she turned up) would teach them the art of needlework. Or at least how to hold a needle the right way around.

Jane bounced ahead and threw open the door to her south tower home. It swung right open and bounced off the wall behind, such was her eagerness.

"Mom!" she called across the room. "I've been using my gift!"

Sulpicia wasn't sure how to react. On whom? Who gave you permission? Has anyone died? Seeing the beaming face on her girl she put those questions aside for the moment and congratulated her daughter, listening as she rattled off her morning activities. Each time she thought to interject and ask those important questions, she became immediately overwhelmed by Jane's excitement and put them aside once more.

Carmen, to her delight, was greeted similarly by Kate - no hello or how are you, just, "Mom, it was amazing! I won loads!"

Tanya did likewise when she caught up. Both Denali girls vied for her attention, prattling on in increasing volume about all they'd done that morning. Carmen soaked up their enthusiasm and their desire for her attention. Her cheeks took on the palest of flushes as only venomous blood would allow whilst her heart swelled in her chest. She took each of the girls in her arms squeezing them in close for a moment as they continued to tell her of their day.

Kate wouldn't realise until sometime later that day that she'd mimicked Tanya and called Carmen 'mom'. When she thought about it later, she also realised Irina hadn't complained. It was becoming more common for Tanya to use such words for Eleazar and Carmen. Every single time Irina corrected her sister. The fact that she hadn't struck Kate as a small step forward. One she was happy her sister had made.

"Irina," Carmen called when the girls drew breath. "Have you enjoyed this morning?"

Irina nearly said she had, very nearly. Her face glowed, and the words were on the tip of her tongue for a moment or two before she schooled her features back to indifference and shrugged. "Was I supposed to?"

Irina expected it would dishearten Carmen to hear her cutting remark, as she saw it. But Carmen wasn't disheartened at all. She had seen the look on Irina's face, she had heard the words on the tip of her tongue - though incomplete, they were there. And, just as Kate would pick up later on, she noticed Irina finally submitting to her sisters seeing her as their mother. Carmen knew Irina's acquiescence might be brief, but it was still a great leap forward.

Knuckles lightly wrapped against the open south tower door with Renata stepping inside. "Do you have room for us all, my queen?"

As guard after guard entered the tower, it soon became clear that the queen couldn't hope to offer enough seats for them all. Even the women who had only just returned to the coven from running messages across the vampiric world turned up!

Sulpicia let out a small gasp of a laugh. "Honestly, such a high turnout was beyond my expectations," she admitted. With a questioning glance to Freyr, she suggested taking over the guard hall.

Freyr simply chuckled and nodded before dishing out orders to her female staff—the whole female staff, it seemed—to find something to carry. And there was lots to carry!

The ladies first project was to turn the wolf hides the children had tanned into capes because pelts are forgiving if the stitching isn't neat. Sulpicia didn't know what to expect from the women in the coven, so she hadn't planned the next project, deciding it would be best to get a feel for abilities before she went any further.

With the Outcast's haul, there were easily enough pelts for every member of the coven to have a new fur cape, which would be much cosier than the black woollen capes they owned.

Freyr made sure to stipulate that the fur cloaks would be worn beneath their regular Volturi capes, for appearance's sake, when they were working for the coven.

For future projects, Freyr gave Sulpicia a copy of the list of measurements for the whole guard. As vampires couldn't grow or lose weight, measurements were taken on admittance to the coven and kept to send to the tailors rather than having human tradesmen traipsing through the castle.

Whilst tailors made the uniform along with any other items the coven inhabitants required, the elite ladies sewed most of their own dresses, and their husbands' shirts. Sulpicia used to make her children's fine clothes but hadn't had the time in the last few years - not since she'd taken over (and overhauled) coven accounting. They were all overdue updates to their wardrobe, as her mother-in-law reminded her of often. But Sulpicia couldn't magic up spare hours out of thin air, as she reminded her mother-in-law just as frequently! The elite women made repairs to the clothing in their households, and Dora had silently taken on the task for Marcus when Didyme died.

Freyr was the only exception - too many years as a guard and she'd lost the knack. When required, she'd pay Chelsea to do the job who was the only member of the guard with any notable skill with needle and thread. A good number of the guard did the same - she hoped some of the non-mated guys would continue on as clients as Chelsea practically earned a second wage from the repairs she made to guard uniform.

It's not really the sewing the women came for, however. There were precious few male-free experiences in the coven. None, in fact. The guys appeared to monopolise the conversation when more than two of them were together. A chance to sit back and relax with a goblet of wine and have a good chat…perhaps a little cliched, but desired, nonetheless.

Vaguely puzzled, Magnus welcomed them all inside the guard hall. As all the guys who weren't on shift had gone to check out what Aro and Caius were putting on, he offered to play barkeep for them, too. Freyr playfully told him he could only do so if he remained silent, because he wasn't supposed to be at the sewing class.

Before he could open his mouth, Freyr said, "And you can't say no, because you aren't allowed to talk."

To a guard hall shaking with laughter, she kissed his cheek, thanked him, and requested some jugs of wine for the tables.

Irina took the wolf pelt Carmen offered and went to sit at an empty table away from the rest of the rabble. There were sewing supplies there already, she assumed for anyone to use.

"This is our table," Dora said, gesturing to the array of materials she had placed there. "You should sit somewhere else."

"I thought this table was free." Irina began gathering her items together. "I wouldn't want to sit with you."

Internally, the Denali girl seethed. Her ire was not directed solely at Dora - her own failure in properly assessing and predicting the situation niggled at her, too. She could have kicked herself!

"I'm trying to avoid animosity, Irina," Dora explained. "I'm not trying to start it."

"Yeah, alright, you tell yourself that." Oh, how patronising! Irina internally kicked herself again.

Her annoyance made her clumsy and gathering her materials became painfully drawn out. This was not aided by Dora's muttering about what a bitch she was, and that this was exactly why Irina couldn't sit at her table.

Renata and Chelsea joined Dora carrying their table's jug of wine, followed by Corin carrying the goblets. Renata heard Dora's dark mutterings and tried to hush her friend.

Just as Irina was leaving their presence, Ren said, "She's not that bad."

"You see her for ten minutes at a time, Ren." Dora took the seat Irina vacated. "Anyone can be nice for ten minutes."

"Not everyone," Corin said quietly.

It wasn't quiet enough.

Irina dropped her wolf pelt to the floor in the middle of the guard hall. She knew better than to really tell Dora what she thought of her, but Corin? A jumped up little bitch of a guard - and not even a proper guard. Corin represented the very, very bottom of the guard! No way would she take Corin Volturi talking shit about her.

Corin moved a step closer to Renata. "I'm not fighting you," she said, voice an octave or two higher than usual. "You've got me in enough trouble today."

Rolling her eyes and with the hint of a smirk, Irina replied, "You got you in trouble, you mean - Basileus wrote in your report because he caught you being a twat. Nothing to do with me."

Renata forgot about Irina completely and turned to face Corin tucked in behind her. "You are in trouble with Basileus? The creator, for Christ's sake!" Bloodwine curdled Ren's stomach as she dreaded to think what that meant for the girl, or for herself as Corin's minder. "For arguing with Irina?"

"Oh, well, you see…" as she drifted off, Corin began to blink rapidly like she'd taken a blow to the head. She tried to sit down but Renata pulled her back up, telling her to 'fess up' before she went and asked Freyr to read Corin's report instead. "I wasn't arguing, Ren," Corin said. "It's her!" She nodded in Irina's direction - smirking cow. "She's always—"

Renata shook her head. "I don't care what Irina was doing. How did you end up pissing off Basileus?"

"Irina, dear," Atia called across the hall. "We saved a seat for you here."

She nodded to show she'd heard, but Irina couldn't leave without a final jibe. "Just so you know, Marcus wasn't too pleased with her either."

"Bitch!"

The low rumbles of the hall inhabitants weren't loud enough to cover Corin's outburst. Far too quiet. The poor young guard wished the floor to open up and swallow her whole. Alas, her wish went un-granted. She started to offer Irina her apologies until she saw the giant smirk on her face. And then she wanted to call her a bitch again, and a good many things else.

Carmen stood. She cocked her head to one side watching Corin, making her squirm on the spot. "Irina," she called causally. "Over here please."

Once Dora's group, Renata and Corin included, were seated, Magnus brought over a jug of wine and an extra goblet for Heidi. She would usually have teamed up with Sadie, her closest friend in the coven, but as she was on shift, Heidi was joining her wider clan for the afternoon. Magnus wasn't too pleased by this. Heidi and Sadie together were a good team, Heidi and anyone else could lead to volatile situations. He arrived just in time to hear Heidi agreeing with Corin and backing the girl up, stirring the pot because she loved the drama, despite Renata and Chelsea insisting it was a stupid thing to say regardless.

Magnus plonked the jug in the middle on the table, fixing Corin and Heidi with the look of a tired and disappointed parent who's had it with their child's bullshit. In fact, he told Heidi and Corin that was exactly how he felt! He gave the same look to Dora, the de facto leader of the group, who seemed to find the whole matter quite funny.

Heidi began to mess with the cottons in front of her but offered no reply. Corin chose to mimic her actions. Dora had the nerve to tut at him, expecting Magnus to react with regret and deflection for misspeaking against her. She'd seen him act that way when Caius dismissed him so easily many times before.

Resting his hands on the back of Corin's chair, Magnus bent at the waist a little, leaning over the young guard with his glare fixed on Dora opposite. "Do you want to try that again, young lady?"

Dora quietly gasped, realising how badly she had misread the situation and suddenly felt very small. She made herself small, too, shrinking in her chair.

"I asked you a question," he said. "You will respond, or you will leave my hall."

Okay, so Dora may have misjudged the level of sass she could show Magnus outside of their private chambers, and she may not have held Caius's position in the coven, but she had the same self-destructive ego as her husband at times.

"Freyr said you aren't supposed to talk."

Then she laughed lightly, and Heidi did the same.

Dora and Heidi were both 24-years-age, only one year older than Carlisle who had been forced to attend the whole program of education along with the accompanying report. This fact became the basis of the round of fucks he gave the pair after he took them to the masters' office. He also made sure to point out that he could arrange it so that they joined the young ones in each and every activity for the rest of their living days, should he wish it.

Before they re-entered the guard hall, both Dora and Heidi promised proper decorum. It was hard to do when, on re-entering the hall, the first thing they saw was Irina's gurning grin.

The rest of the ladies session went by without a hitch. Poor Magnus spent half of it blushing. He became tempted to pour hot candle wax into his ears to block out the things he was learning about the women in the coven! He considered doing the same to Jane - surely such conversation shouldn't meet her young ears? Kate and Tanya, though they didn't join in, barely seemed fazed. Which was quite distressing in a different way.

Jane and Tanya had been glued together throughout the session, and neither appeared to have sewn a thing. They sat a little distance away from everyone else, deep in conversation, speaking in hurried whispers to one another. When the ladies stood to leave, they followed their grandmother, egging each other on.

"You do it," Tanya said, giving Jane a prod towards Atia.

Jane prodded her right back! "Why don't you do it?"

"You've known her longer."

"Not much longer."

"Nana," Tanya squeaked. And then stopped.

Jane huffed and took over the conversation. Now she knew how annoying it must be for Felix being the designated spokesman for her and her brothers.

"We need to talk to you," she said, stepping closer to be heard in a whisper. "In, um, in private."

Atia knew the session was over and the hall would soon be flooded with guards, and there already seemed too many ears in attendance for whatever it was her granddaughters wished to disclose. She ushered them from the hall quietly before either of their mothers noticed.

To the annoyance of her guards, Freyr pulled her trusty duties list from thin air. Before they could blink, and certainly before they could hope to leave, Freyr began reminding certain guards of the shift they should be on. She did similarly with the rabble of men who entered the hall, turning many on their heel to get to their post without delay, despite their protestations that they needed a drink first. Freyr, too, left to check all posts were manned and those on cleaning duties were actually cleaning - standards had been slipping and it did no harm to remind the guards that 'someone is always watching'.

The first man to arrive from the mens' activity was Caius, who promptly thumped on the bar to get Magnus's attention. "Two whiskeys."

"Two?"

"I've earned them."

Magnus poured the drinks and passed them over, marking the tab next to Caius's name. He did a double take seeing the younger master's total and, for not the first time, wondered how he managed to get anything done with the amount he drank.

"Get yourself one," Caius said, and most uncharacteristically, he told Magnus to put it on his tab. "Why is it so busy in here?"

The guard hall was packed to the rafters now 'classes' were over. Some far-flung guards from outposts and those who ran messages for the coven had returned that morning and the hall was a buzz of life. It took Caius a moment or two to realise he knew them all, after which he returned to his whiskey.

"So," Magnus said, aiming for breezy. "How did you and Odi get on?"

Caius rolled his eyes. "He's lucky I didn't punch him for his mouth, but he's still alive."

Magnus theatrically rolled his eyes, too. "Freyr and I have asked you to lay off that boy. I hope you've laid off Turk, too."

"I said I would."

"You say a lot of things. Recently, you've said a lot of things that we have yet to address."

Caius knew exactly what Magnus wished to address. He knew the man well enough to know he'd want to dissect every thought and feeling behind Caius's recent admission. It was a conversation the younger coven master refused to have. So what if he'd told Magnus and Freyr he loved them, or that he wanted them to love him to. So? It had been an admission under duress, clearly, and not something he meant, obviously. Honestly. Completely. And all other words ending in 'ly'. Caius had no desire to hurt the juggernaut, but he was prepared to if Magnus forced him to have an awkward conversation.

"I have a few things to say myself—"

Caius's head whipped around to face the man. Magnus sounded far gruffer than he would have expected for a man who wanted a slushy conversation about fathers and sons. Had Caius made the wrong assumption? Was it a different, though no doubt still awkward, conversation that the coven empath wished to have? Did Magnus know about his abrasion in the training fields with Atia and Freyr? Had Atia really spoken with Basileus already? Had Basileus already spoken with Magnus? And more horrifying than all of that…was Magnus ready to speak to Caius about it? In the guard hall with so many ears on them? Too many questions, and Caius wanted an answer to none of them.

Though he knew he might regret it later on, he felt there was no other way to proceed than to prevent the conversation proceeding at all. He fixed his glare on his father figure, eyes widening dangerously, mouth snarling, as he allowed a growl to rumble within his chest.

Magnus looked the younger master up and down, and Caius felt his insides twist. Magnus scoffed and but said no more.

Aro walked into the hall and stepped back in surprise - he'd made short work of the journey back from the woods outside the walls, but Caius still beat him to it. "How did you get here so fast?"

Caius held up his glass of whiskey. "Fuelled by desperation."

"Ah, ah, ah. Back here," Magnus called to the young tribe with Aro. "You're only coming in here if you all have good reports. Except you," he said to Turk with a grin. "Get your backside behind this bar and start serving."

Turk obeyed, avoiding Magnus's eye. Pretending around an empath was a fruitless endeavour, however.

"What's going on with you, young one?"

Turk shrugged and collected glasses from the bar, moving them to the sink behind him whilst Magnus watched his every move.

"Change of plans," he said slowly to the barkeep. "Get from behind there. I'll keep serving."

"You don't have to do that, master!" Turk insisted, refusing to move.

Magnus pulled him out by the wrist, his hand wrapping all the way around and squeezing tightly. "I said, I'll keep serving."

Turk found himself being manoeuvred around the bar to retake his place with the royal brats. They all looked over at the old outcast table longingly where Corin and Kate waited for them. Irina sat a little distance away, staring out of the window, looking miserable.

"I can take over, Master" said Richard, appearing behind the guard master.

Turk repeated his words, sullenly adding, "If he can work the bar, I can."

Magnus narrowed his eyes at his usually placid barkeep and nudged Richard. "Do you know what's going on with him."

"I'm sure you'll find his report interesting reading, Master," Richard said, then he began taking orders.

Aro dumped all the books on the table beside the bar and tapped the top book on the pile to indicate which was Turk's.

Magnus sighed to himself and moved Turk's book aside, choosing Demetri's instead. He assumed he'd deal with Corin and Turk, at least in some capacity, so wished to avoid reading their reports too soon. He ignored Odi's for the same reason. Saving their reports until their guard hall hours neared the end would be better for them all.

"I know the girls have had a decent day. What about you, lads?"

He didn't wait for their response. Instead, he quickly flipped through their books - books they hadn't been given permission to look at yet. As he read, he nodded in some places, chuckled in a few. There was more than the odd grimace, too.

Magnus scanned the group and realised Carlisle was not among them. The creator's youngest son posed a problem for the new school regime. On a good day, he was too old and levelheaded to be considered one of the coven youth. On a bad day, he could be considered one of the worst.

The general chat between the coven masters about who should or shouldn't be forced to attend lessons had been a one simple in all but a handful of cases - Carlisle being one of them. There were a few guards Carlisle's age, too, but they hadn't been conscripted as he had been. This was largely because, despite some silly moments with the likes of Heidi and Sadie, neither had committed the level of poor behaviour that Carlisle had. Dora was only a year old than the young prince, but, as Freyr had pointed out, Dora's transgressions had occurred at a time when things were fraught for her in the coven.

"Like when she pushed my kids down the stairs?" said Aro, to a healthy dose of scorn from Freya and Caius.

Neither tried to defend her actions, as they were undeniably indefensible. But they did call for Aro to be reasonable and see that she was a different woman then to who she was now.

Well, Freyr did. Caius called him a cunt.

Aro relented on the point, and agreed Dora and the female guards were a different kettle of fish to Carlisle. For now. If his little brother lived up to the high expectations their parents had for him, then Carlisle would lead his own lessons at some point. Then the light might shine more starkly on those other young adults in the coven.

That was an issue for another day, though.

Magnus looked to Aro to explain Carlisle's absence. "If you've left your baby brother for dead in the woods, your mother will skin you."

"He's with Marcus. I've told him to be here before 6."

That was all Magnus needed to hear. One less to worry about.

Whilst he flicked back and forth, he ambled into the office and came back with a bundle of parchment, which he absentmindedly passed to Aro. He finished up reading Felix's book and noted that Caius had filled it out, not Aro. The coven king was doing the same thing Magnus was with his own son - putting off the inevitable round of fucks. He dropped the books he'd read back on the table, leaving Corin's, Turk's, and Odi's to one side.

Aro shifted through the parchment Magnus gave him. "What's this? Have you done your paperwork?" His surprised was hardly unfounded - next to Caius, Magnus was the most difficult to get to put quill to paper.

"Go ahead, young ones," Magnus finally said. The lads breathed a sigh of relief and started queuing at the bar. "I have," he said to Aro. "Every scrap. I've had a great day!"

"Your hall has been empty, hasn't it?"

"This place is packed! The ladies held their session in here - too many for your place." The juggernaut shuddered. "I've learnt more about women today than I have in my entire existence. Much of which I'd rather never have known."

Whist the rest of the coven youth dispersed between tables and the bar, Turk remained in place. He looked lost. His eyes shifted between Magnus, his report book, his fellow young vampires, and the bar. He was about to ask Magnus what he should do, but an argument between Richard and Felix began, drawing Magnus's attention. Rich waved a note he'd found behind the bar that Magnus had left for Turk, who was supposed to be working.

"No, I'm not being a dick," Rich explained patiently. "If you're on report you're only allowed one goblet of bloodwine."

Magnus nodded to his temporary barman then turned on Felix. "You're not in here to get drunk, young one," he said, daring the boy to try arguing with him. "You're here to socialise. Go socialise or go to the office."

"I thought guard hall time would be drinking time," Felix complained.

Aro looked around the guard master. "You thought wrong." He, too, dared Felix to try arguing about it. "You can sit and chat, play games, lounge about. Any more than that is not allowed."

Corin joined Felix and pulled on his arm. "Shall we go to my dorm?"

"No, you shall not." Magnus pulled the love birds apart and directed them to their usual table. They once aptly named it the Outcast table, though no one would dare call it that again after Aro's decree on Sunday. "I'm responsible for you for the next two hours, so you will be where I can see you." He caught Corin by her chin when she scowled at his words and added, "We've already spoken once today, young lady."

The implication was clear - if more words were needed, Corin could expect more than words.

"Why are you hanging around?" Aro asked Turk, "Find something to do." Expecting he would do as he'd been told, Aro grabbed his whiskey from the bar and laid into a disinterested Caius for cheating in their horse race.

Turk cursed his luck. He wanted to ask Magnus what he should do, and ideally talk him into letting him back on the bar for the evening shift. The coven king was not so easily swayed, and it would be particularly difficult after Turk's meltdown in the woods.

"Like what?" Turk winced hearing his pissy tone. He hadn't intended to sound so abrupt.

Three angry coven leaders slowly turned to face him.

"I mean…I mean I didn't mean…"

Aro stared at the young barkeep until Turk searched the guard hall floor with his eyes. Before he looked down, he saw Richard throw a dishcloth on the bar and shake his head. His disappointment bothered Turk more than he'd like to admit. More than he could admit, even if his life depended on it, in fact.

These were brand new feelings for Turk. He had no human memories and had been in the coven for centuries – most of those alone, with only Odi as sporadic company. Phil and Rich started showing an interest in him when they began brewing bloodwine for the creator some twenty-something years ago. Turk assumed this was because they had to – bloodwine and the guard hall bar went hand in hand, after all. To go from hundreds of years flying solo to suddenly having a pseudo-family was all a bit of a rush.

Most importantly of all, Turk wasn't sure he wanted a family – pseudo or otherwise. The royal brats needed one as they were younger than him. Odi did alright with one, too, he supposed. But Odi was more troublesome than he was. Turk was neither young nor troublesome, thank you very much!

"Rich is arguing with customers," said Turk, his eyes nervously drifting back up to fix on Richard. "If he can't handle the bar, I should take over."

He'd been quite brave, he felt. So, the reactions around him were odd. Richard scoffed and continued serving. Aro and Caius whistled into the air. And Magnus grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He took Turk to a table on the opposite side of the bar and told the guards sitting there to move.

"I don't know what's going on with you, young one," Magnus said, forcing Turk down onto a bar stool. "But don't worry yourself, I'll get to the bottom of it." His words were kind, but his tone was icy cold.

"Wait until you read his report," Aro called over to Magnus. "You won't believe it."

Magnus couldn't believe it already. Turk was the only one the elite weren't worried about. He was steadfast, submissive, calm, conducted himself with decorum and was generally pleasant, if a little quiet, company. Magnus wasn't sure where his young guard had gone wrong that day, but he wouldn't let him succumb to the same poor behaviour as the other young vampires in the coven.

"Master, please—"

Magnus shushed Turk before he could say any more.

"I'm going to go through your report with Phillipe and Richard. We'll decide where to go from there, understood?"

Turk gulped and nodded, his momentary bravado dissipating instantly.

Magnus left him then and looked back to the rest of the young vampires under his supervision. He was pleased to see they were all seated and paying attention. Nothing like seeing one of their own going down to sharpen the minds of rest. He bobbed his head in approval and rejoined Aro and Caius on the other side of the bar.

With all the young ones in his eye line, he asked Aro about the rest of their plans. "Do I deliver them all home?"

"Only if you can spare the time?"

Sarcasm dripped from Aro's every syllable. The words soon froze in his throat as his father strolled into the guard hall.

Basileus didn't mention Aro's petulance, however. He was far more interested in snooping through everyone's minds to find out how the first day had gone. He sighed deeply hearing his eldest grandson's primary thoughts - Felix believed Aro would wallop him when he read his book at the end of the day. After a little more fishing and seeing the day Felix had had, Basileus hoped he boy's fears would come true.

He'd spoken to his grandson the day before, as had the boy's mother and father. Basileus had spoken to him again that morning, as, it seemed, had every other adult Felix had come across. Even a few of the guards had offered the boy some friendly advice throughout the day. Yet the walking oxymoron, both exuberant and self-pitying at once, still wondered why anyone was annoyed with him? when all he'd done was voice his opinion in a calm and timely manner? Those adults who'd had the misfortune to interact with him might have phrased it differently.

Still, Felix was only a child, if a rather large and disruptive child. For the time being, Basileus focused his ire on Caius. An actual adult—a coven master, no less!—who remained frustratingly fixed on his position that the new program was a pointless waste of his time.

You would think winning the horse race that morning would have cheered him up a little, though…