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Last updated/edited 03/12/2024.
Third Person POV: Aro
Late that night, the royal family congregated in Marcus's office. Aro preferred to have meetings in his office but alas, it was still in disrepair. He sat back on the middle one of the three couches in Marcus's office, nervously tapping his heel.
"Dear God Aro, we haven't even replaced your desk yet and you're already cracking Marcus's floor" Caius jested.
"Give him a break, it can't be easy having a human mate." said Marcus. When Aro glared at him in irritation, he raised his hands in surrender.
"I was not trying to offend, brother. It's simply the truth."
Aro had never experienced the memories of a vampire who had formed a mate bond with a human, but he knew as well as the rest of his family that having a human mate was going to be difficult. Most vampires formed a mate bond with another vampire and with both parties feeling the mutually mating pull, things tended to go smoothly. When Aro had sired his blood sister Didyme and introduced her to his brothers, she and Marcus had linked eyes and immediately became inseparable. Didyme had the most ideal situation, meeting her mate right at the start of her immortal life. And Aro was thankful to have had Marcus to help reign her in during her newborn years. No mate-ship was ever perfect, even Marcus and Didyme had their quarrels but at the end of the day they loved each other dearly. Actually… A bit too dearly for his brotherly mindset. He still found it difficult to ignore the intimate portions of Marcus's memories given their frequent activities. He knew he would always maintain his protective instincts towards Didyme, no matter how long they lived.
Of course, Aro had seen a copious amounts of explicit content from the minds of others, regardless of whether the memories were violent, sexual, or otherwise graphic in nature. However, outside of his family, he tended to remain unaffected by what he saw.
The brothers were interrupted by Didyme and Athenadora striding into the office, both of them grinning widely. Aro immediately felt lighter from the effect of his sister's gift.
Some vampires had gifts, usually mental in base, and this included Didyme, who had the gift of projecting happiness in a finite radius around her. When Didyme focused on her gift she could increase the potency and radius but even when idle, her gift maintained an ambient level effect. It was not an offensive gift by any means, but it helped keep their family stable, especially when tensions ran high.
Aro had been an avid collector of gifts over the past millennia of his immortal life. Almost every elite guard had been selected because they harbored a valuable gift. The remaining handful of elite guards who were ungifted had worked their way up the latter by showing unwavering loyalty and superior skills to others in their rank. The first elite guard recruits during the founding of the Volturi in Ancient Greece were Santiago and Felix. Felix possessed the strength of a newborn as a mature vampire. Santiago did not have a gift but excelled in combat and strategy. Chelsea was recruited next, having the invaluable power to manipulate the strength of bonds between individuals. Shortly after Chelsea, was her mate Afton who also did not have a gift but was a dedicated guard and kept Chelsea happy. In 800 AD Aro had saved and personally sired Jane and Alec, the witch twins. Acquiring the twins into their guard had solidified the Volturi's power as the ruling class among vampires, making them undefeatable in the eyes of most of the vampire population. Jane was able to create the illusion of pain in an individual's mind from a distance and Alec was able to manipulate a thick fog that numbed the senses of anyone it touched. Next the Volturi added Demetri, the best tracker in the world. After that, Renata, Corin and Heidi were inducted. Renata joined in the 1200's and had the power to divert attackers within a finite radius. This was achieved not through a physical shield but instead by making an attacker forget their intentions and thus stop attacking. Corin had the power of addictive contentment and was recruited shortly after Renata. Corin's gift was often underestimated but was indispensable. She helped allow the Volturi to keep allies or other individuals that they did not want to provoke inside of the castle without physically restraining them and upsetting their coven or mate. The most recent addition to the elite guard was Heidi, who was able to attract individuals. Heidi's gift was strongest on humans and that made her the perfect bait to discreetly lure humans into the castle for their periodic feedings. Outside of the elite guard, many other guards, both gifted and ungifted, had been recruited and transferred through the ranks along the way.
"How did it go?" Aro asked them.
"Quite well, I think." Athenadora told them as she and Didyme both joined their mates.
"Her name is Astrid. And don't worry Aro, she may not have had the best first impression of you," Didyme said and Aro couldn't help but wince - that was an understatement on his sister's part. "But" she continued, seeing his facial expression "We made sure to talk you up and I think she may be more liberal with her opinion of you tomorrow."
Aro trusted his sister's word, but he also didn't want to get his hopes up.
"It's true, Aro, I can see the difference in your bond already." Marcus added and offered his hand to Aro so he could see for himself.
True to his word, Astrid's side of the bond was considerably lighter in color, no longer as darkly tinged with fear.
Aro felt his confidence lift, maybe this would work out for him.
"She was under the misconception that you had been intending to drain her when you rushed at her in the throne room. But we corrected that misunderstanding and I'm sure it made a significant difference to your bond. We also mentioned that you were the one who arranged for her room and amenities." Athenadora informed him.
"Thank you, sisters." Aro said with an appreciative smile.
"Of course, brother, we will do everything we can to help you secure your mate." Didyme said and the rest of the family murmured in agreement.
"Let me know if you need any tips on how to woo your mate, Aro. God knows it's been a millennium since the last time you had to romance a woman." Caius ragged him.
"I'll manage Caius." Aro replied with a chuckle. "Speaking of which, now that the bond is looking better, I want to give her a grand first date, something she'll never forget."
"Oh! You should take her to Le Jules! She would love Paris, after all, what girl doesn't?" Athenadora said dreamily.
"I agree, and it would be a wonderful first date Aro." Didyme added.
"Speaking of which, we haven't seen the French coven recently, it would be good to check in with them. Although, they are currently scheduled to visit after the Spanish coven." Marcus said.
"Then it's settled. Now, sisters, what have you discovered about my mate?" said Aro.
"She's a sweetheart, rather shy though. Then again, having a demure mate might be good for you Aro." said Didyme.
"She also asks a lot of questions though, very curious. Why don't you just see for yourself?" Athenadora suggested.
Aro's brow creased as he considered if he should wait until he could interact with his mate directly instead of snooping through his sister's thoughts.
"Come now, you'll see it eventually, plus you may learn something that will help you tomorrow." Didyme told him, sensing his hesitance.
Aro reached out and took Athenadora's hand.
He skipped through the familiar portion of her extensive life and slowed as he reached yesterday in the medical room. He felt his heart drop as he watched Astrid cry when his sisters revealed the truth of their world. She looked so small, curled up in the hospital bed. He wished to reach out and comfort her. Of course, he couldn't do that now without frightening her further since they hadn't even spoken. He had to remind himself that although he felt an immense connection to her, they hadn't even met properly yet.
He was relieved that Didyme and Athenadora hadn't revealed anything about the reason he had saved her. He wanted to be the one to break that news. And finally, when he saw her reaction to her suite, he felt like everything was worth it. Every lonely night, every battle to secure the throne, and every monotonous day in court. It had all been for her and she was worth it. Lastly, Aro watched Astrid's awed reaction upon entering the suite.
"If you're done replaying her reaction to the suite, I could use my hand back." Athenadora teased him.
Aro released her hand, he would have time to marvel at Astrid the next day when they were finally able to meet.
"She loved it! And imagine once she allows me to touch her, I'll be able to make it even better!" Aro chattered excitedly. His family humored him as he rambled on until Caius interjected.
"So, Aro, have you thought of when you'll put out an announcement? I'm sure the other covens will be interested to hear that you've found your mate. I imagine they will also be quite eager to meet her."
"Absolutely not! I trust our guard and visiting allies to be discreet with the information we provide them. I do not plan on announcing anything until Astrid is through her newborn year or at the very least, until she is no longer human." Aro replied with finality.
Earlier that day, the royal family had gathered the guard to announce the discovery of Aro's mate and to set expectations for Astrid's treatment and protection. Aro had already arranged for the tailor to start on Astrid's cloak and had sent the last, long neglected, Volturi royal crest to be polished for use. Astrid would be unmistakable in her pitch-black cloak and crest, not to mention she would be constantly tailed by the elite guards he had assigned to her. There would be no excuse for mistakes of ignorance regarding his mate. The only non-Volturi vampires currently residing in the castle were chained in the dungeon and heavily guarded. In fact, Aro was considering relocating their prisoners - you were only given one mate and Aro was not taking chances.
There was the Spanish coven's visit to consider, as Marcus had mentioned. In every major country, there was a ruling coven who oversaw the minor covens in the region and reported on any nomadic activity. It took the Volturi about decade to cycle through hosting each major coven for a two-week visit with month long break between visits. The Spanish coven was a long-standing ally to the Volturi. Having said that, most of their alliances were long-standing given that the Volturi had maintained rule over vampire-kind for the last two millennia and there were few covens willing to oppose them at his point.
The Spanish coven's leader, Mateo, had sent his yearly report only a month ago and it had been pleasently unremarkable. The two new members they acquired a decade ago were well out of their newborn years and had developed gifts that would help their coven maintain control of the region. Acquiring new members, especially gifted ones, would invariably increase a coven's power but it was not incriminating by any means. Aro's preference and the safest course of action, was to cancel the Spanish coven's visit outright in addition to every visit following until Astrid became immortal and made it through her newborn year. However, postponing the visit was not advisable since it had already been postponed once, and delaying again certainly be taken as an insult. Despite the coven leader, Mateo, being rather passive in personality, Aro had not had the chance to read his mind for far too long. Not to mention, if the Volturi stopped allowing major covens to visit for the foreseeable future with no explanation, it would cause serious political turmoil throughout the world.
Aro pondered, considering the best course of action. He would allow the Spanish to visit but would add another the set of guards to tail Astrid for the duration of their visit. He would also attempt to limit the Spanish coven members' access to her to further ensure her safety - however, he would not actively prevent Astrid from engaging with their coven members if she chose to. Once Aro was able to shake Mateo's hand upon arrival, he could confirm the Spanish coven's continued loyalty.
"Now, when Athenadora and Didyme retrieve Astrid from her room tomorrow, they've promised her that she can ask her questions and I want to make sure we're all on the same page when responding. First off, I don't want anyone upsetting her." he said, glancing purposefully at Caius.
"Don't worry brother, I'll be nice." Caius replied, flashing his fangs as he grinned.
Athenadora giggled at his antics, but Aro sighed in disapproval.
"Right, maybe it would be best for you to just observe, Caius."
"Oh, come now Aro, you know I only joke." Caius replied.
"Fine, fine." Aro said, praying that the meeting would end up as a total disaster.
The family continued to discuss their general strategy for the meeting. Since Aro insisted that they avoid upsetting Astrid at all, they would have to word their responses very carefully. Athenadora and Didyme would take the potentially emotional questions since she knew and liked them already. Then, Marcus, Didyme, Caius, and Athenadora would dismiss themselves at the end and leave her and Aro to speak alone. Aro wanted to be the one to tell her about both their bond and his power. If things went badly, he wanted Astrid to feel comfortable with the rest of his family.
"Aro, must you tell her so soon? You could wait to explain the bond and try to develop your relationship at a more human pace." Marcus suggested.
Before Aro could reply, Didyme interjected. "No, I agree with Aro on this, it's better to tell her now rather than have her learn though her own deduction or gossip. She would have every reason to feel deceived then."
"Thank you, sister." Aro said smiling fondly at Didyme. "We will not be able to stop Astrid from noticing that her cloak and crest match ours, nor can we stop the guard from being curious of her. If she hasn't already become suspicious of her special treatment here, she is sure to question it eventually."
Marcus nodded in understanding. The situation was not ideal, but Aro did not have the luxury of an environment where he could slowly introduce her into his life.
"There is one last thing… I will need time to court Astrid - assuming that she is willing. So, I will likely be missing from court until I am able to strengthen our bond."
"Of course, Aro! I can't believe you think you even need to ask. Didyme or I will gladly sit in for you on trials until you have secured you mating." Athenadora assured him and Didyme nodded, agreeing with her statement.
"Heaven knows you've worked hard enough over the past three millennia to deserve a break." Caius said.