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Last updated/edited 03/12/2024.
Third Person POV: Jane
The elite guard communed outside of the throne room to discuss who would search each area of the castle.
"Alec and I will take the west wing" Jane volunteered.
Corin and Renata took the elite guards' quarters in the north wing. Felix and Heidi took the royal family's quarters in the east wing. And finally, Demetri, Santiago, Chelsea, and Afton were left to split the main wing and clock tower.
This task was a nice change of pace for Jane as she was almost always kept in court to protect Master Aro or in the dungeon to torture prisoners. This mission of rescuing a human was abnormal for her given that she only ever interacted with humans immediately before feeding - and those humans didn't live long.
Jane and Alec made eye contact, silently communicating, and then sped to the west wing together. She and her brother had lived closely together for centuries and call it twin intuition, but they could invariably guess what the other was thinking just by glancing at each other. Alec would search the upper two floors and she would search the lower two.
Jane descended the marble staircase to the first floor of the west wing. Upon entrance, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to scent the area. The most efficient way for a vampire to track a human was by the scent of their blood. Jane had considered the little human as a potential meal before Master Aro had zeroed in on her, so she could still recall the tenor of the girl's sweet blood.
Jane caught a whiff of jasmine and vanilla towards the center of the gallery and moved towards the source. She came to a stop in front of the statue of the Volturi queens, Didyme and Athenadora, who were the mates to Master Marcus and Master Caius.
The scene smelled strongly of the girl's sweet blood suggesting that she was likely bleeding externally. Had one of the other guards gotten to her already? Jane wondered but calmed down as she heard the girl's steady heartbeat. She stepped around the statue and found the girl curled up unconscious behind it. The girl had a bit of blood smudged under her nose and on her fingertips. However, much to her relief, it did not appeared to be due to an open wound. She gently scooped up the girl's limp body and darted back to the stairwell to meet her brother.
Truthfully, Jane was panicking. She knew that bringing the girl back to Master Aro stained with blood would make it appear as though she had disobeyed his direct orders. She also wasn't sure that she would be given the chance to prove her innocence given the situation.
Although the kings' conversation in the throne room had been discreet, Jane had overheard that the girl was Master Aro's mate. It would certainly explain why she had been bold enough to walk towards him in the throne room when all the other humans had huddled together. She couldn't even imagine Master Aro's rage if the mate he had waited over three millennia for was injured before he had the chance to protect her.
Jane was happy that her Master had finally found his mate, but she hoped this didn't mean she would see less of him. Of course, she had no romantic interest in Master Aro, but he was her sire and because of their bond, she felt compelled to be in his presence and obey orders. Over the centuries, she had even come to think of him as a father figure.
Contrary to popular belief, Jane didn't hate all humans, she just strongly preferred vampires. If this human was Master Aro's mate, then Jane would gladly protect the girl with her immortal life just as she would for her Master.
In the early days of the Volturi, for about two millennia Master Aro had a companion named Sulpicia. Sulpicia provided respite for Aro while he waited for his mate. However, Sulpicia eventually found her own mate - in court of all places – and they left Volterra to travel the world together. Master Aro had not been upset by this, in fact, he had been genuinely happy for Sulpicia. Every vampire knew that forming a mate bond was the pinnacle of a vampire's immortal life.
However, after Sulpicia left, Master Aro became depressed. As the centuries passed without any sign of his mate, he grew distant and less like his chipper self. He hadn't even bothered to find a new companion over the last millennium. Then again, the kings rarely left the castle, so there wasn't much opportunity to meet vampires outside of the court and political functions. Jane knew that her Master was fighting with his sorrow, wearing a mask of joy in front of their guard and allies. She truly hoped this girl would complete him as only one's mate could.
Jane found Alec waiting for her at the bottom of the stairwell.
"Sister…" he murmured while assessing the girl.
"I believe she had a bloody nose and fell unconscious. I found her laying against the statue of the queens."
"I see. Aro will not be pleased if you deliver her in this condition, the girl is his mate."
"I know brother, but I have hope that he will be willing to see my truth." she responded.
If Master Aro took her hand before assuming the worst, he would see the proof of her innocence. However, he did not make idle threats and if he jumped to the wrong conclusion, then this would not end well for her. Master Aro always kept his word when it came to punishment and the guards that he sired were no exception.
Third Person POV: Royal Family
Aro paced back and forth across his office. It had been64.8 seconds since he had ordered the guard to find his mate, and no one had delivered her to him yet.
Aro's office featured a dark stained wooden desk and a comfortable black leather desk chair stationed at the back of the room. Toward the entrance was a large sitting area featuring three red velvet couches with tall bookshelves lining the side walls.
Marcus and Didyme sat paired up on one couch and Caius and Athenadora sat paired up on the one opposite them.
Marcus was currently in bond sight, noting that the girl still seemed to be within the vicinity of the castle. However, her side of the mate bond was now tainted with dark purple showing her fear and mistrust of Aro.
"I ought to be out there searching!" Aro insisted as he continued to pace.
"Brother, you need to calm yourself. You have the entire elite guard and upper guard out searching. If your mate is anywhere to be found, they will find her." Marcus attempted to reassure him.
"Are you able to help locate her through bond sight?" Aro asked him.
"To an extent, I believe she remains within the castle." Marcus responded.
Aro let out a sigh of relief and held out his hand expectantly towards Marcus.
Marcus hesitated. "Are you sure you want to see the bond?" He had a feeling that Aro would not be pleased by the impact that his negative first impression had on his mate's side of the bond. Seeing his mate's side tainted with negative emotion would likely upset Aro even more. But Aro nodded at him, and Marcus reluctantly placed his hand in Aro's.
Aro sucked in a breath, darting to the back of the room, and slammed his fist down through the center of his desk. The desk split in two, and wood chips flew.
Aro stilled and took a ragged breath. He may have already ruined his chances with his mate based off what he saw on her side of the bond. How could he redeem himself after he had caused her side of the bond to become so tainted with fear?
"I'm sorry… I can't seem to control myself. I feel as if I am a newborn all over again." Aro told his family.
Newborns, as they called newly sired vampires, were stock full of human blood, giving them strength and speed surpassing that of a mature vampire. Newborns were notoriously temperamental and aggressive, wanting only to feed, fight, and fuck - also known as the three f's. Although the duration varied, a vampire was considered a newborn for one year after their change. If Aro was lucky and had not done irreparable damage to his mate bond, then hopefully he would eventually be siring his mate and helping her though her newborn year.
The Volturi hadn't had a newborn in the castle in over a millennium. When they recruited members, they sent them off to be trained in the less populated areas of Italy, or occasionally to their allies in other countries. Even after a vampire's newborn training ended, only a select few were recruited into their guard. On top of that, the guards who were provided with a permanent residence in the castle had to meet a minimum two century age requirement on top of showing skill, control, and determination that surpassed their peers. Aro would not see his mate trained outside of the castle though, precedent be damned.
"Aro," Didyme, his biological sister, began cautiously. "When we find the girl, I think it might be best for Athenadora and I to speak with her first."
Athenadora jumped in, "Yes! I want to meet my new little sister. Plus, I don't think she saw our faces in the throne room so it may be less frightening for her."
Aro sighed, but he knew his sister was right.
"Fine but please wear contacts and bring her to her suite afterwards. I will order the staff to clean the suite and attend to her."
Aro had taken the suite next to his and tailored it for his future mate. Over time he had held out hope, having the room and its amenities updated to contemporary standards. After he frightened his mate by charging at her in an unsuccessful rescue attempt, the least he could do was provide her with human comforts.
"We must also inform the guard and human staff of this development. I will not tolerate my mate being treated as anything less than a queen. She may not know it yet, but she is of the same status as each of us." Aro continued and his family nodded in agreement.
A knock on the door sounded and the room froze for a moment before the five of them flashed over to the door. Aro swung the door open so fast that it fell off its hinges, but he couldn't care less, his mate had been found.
Jane stood outside the door cradling his mate bridal style. Aro would have cried in relief if it were possible for a vampire. Except… She was unconscious and had blood smudged under her nose and on her fingers.
Aro felt the fire of rage build in the pit of his stomach. He had specifically ordered that she was not to be harmed in any way. Seeing the deadly glare Aro was sending her, Jane stepped back and handed the girl off to her twin.
"What have you done Jane?" Aro hissed darkly.
"Please Master, take my hand, you must know that I would never disobey you." Jane implored.
Aro hesitated; logically, he knew Jane had been a loyal guard for centuries, but unfortunately, his anger was currently outweighing that logic.
Marcus placed a hand on Aro's shoulder to hold him back.
"Aro, you sired Jane yourself. Do you really believe she would harm your mate against direct orders? Just take her hand and see." Marcus advised him and Aro's jaw ticked.
Jane remained waiting patiently with her head bowed in submission. Aro gripped her fingers tightly for a moment, but then quickly released them as if burned.
"Jane…" Aro began.
Sensing an apology, Jane interjected. "I do not fault you for your assumption, Master."
Aro nodded in acceptance and turned his attention towards his mate. He looked at her laying in Alec's arms.
"Didyme, Athenadora. Would you please clean her up and take her to the medical room?"
As much as Aro craved to hold his mate, he didn't want her to be upset with him when she inevitably learned of his gift. He knew that many individuals despised the breach of privacy and the last thing he wanted was for her to feel violated.
"Jane, Alec" he continued. "Find Santiago and tell him to report to the medical wing to tend to my mate immediately."
Although Santiago did not have a gift, he earned his way into the elite guard with his superior combat technique and penchant for battle strategy. He also happened to have numerous medical degrees which, prior to today, Aro had considered absolutely pointless. However, now that he had acquired a human mate, he knew Santiago would become invaluable to him.