Dean wore a brave face. Inside, her entire being was panicked. If her heart continued to raced at the pace it was at right now, surely she would go into cardiac arrest. She had no faith that if that happened, that she wouldn't be done for. The company she was currently keeping was more into the taking a life side of business, not saving it. She still couldn't believe she had walked into the home of vampires, and that her heart was still beating at all.

We can't, Aro had said, when she'd wondered if they'd kill her. She wondered what that was about. She thought to ask, once Caius had left, hoping for some sort of female loyalty or perhaps pity to aid her in her interrogation. But by the look of cold dislike on Sulpicia and the closed off indifference on Athenodora, she didn't have the confidence that they felt any such ties. The dark haired vampire settled herself by the window, trying her best to divert her attention to the book in her hand, but kept glancing up at her and scowling.

"The blood roaring through your veins is distracting," she sniped. "Leave me be."

Dean was affronted at once, a retort begging to push past her grit teeth, but Athenodora stood in front of her at once, blocking her view of the bitter vampire completely.

"Come, let's go into my room. Sulpicia has been in a mood today," she explains while casting a long look at her sister. The other woman simply rolled her crimson eyes and turned the page, reading at a human pace. Dean supposed that when you had all the time in the world, that it was easy to want to take your time with things. She had found herself rushing through her life time and time again, feeling mortality banging on her life's door since she was a child. Though she never knew why, she'd always tried to experience everything at a slightly accelerated rate, much to the irritation of Mary Constance.

The two left the large common room, pushing open a white and gold wooden door into the spacious room of Athenodora's chambers. The decor in here was much like in the common room, various shades of gold, black, and deep red. A four poster bed with a translucent red sheer curtain draped over the posts, a tall standing oak wardrobe, shoes of every shape and color, as well as hand bags to match. There was expensive art on the walls, as if they'd been plucked straight from a museum, and Dean gasped at how most of them were nude paintings of the woman before her.

A tiny, amused smile played at her lips at the blatant display of vanity, but she supposed if she was half as beautiful as the vampire before her, she might enjoy a painting or two of herself as well.

"My husband painted them. He's quite good at it, isn't he?"

Dean nodded, tearing her eyes away from the frames and hugging her arms to herself, feeling very uncomfortable in the lavish room. She hadn't missed the possessiveness Athenodora had added to Caius' title as her husband. It boggled her mind how someone like her could be a threat to the goddess. Dean knew she was gorgeous, stunning even, compared to other humans. She wasn't someone with low self esteem, but the difference between them was glaring.

Though there was a vanity with a plush red chair, the vampire didn't offer her a seat. Instead, she grasped Dean's hand in her own. The human shivered, having not expected the ice cold touch, even after having pressed into the other woman's husband less than five minutes ago. Caius' touch had been somewhat pleasant to her, despite how angry it had made her, but this touch felt like cold steel, shackling her wrist in a grip that was almost too tight.

"Let's get one thing straight," Athenodora purred. A predatory smile took residence on her lips. "You'll stay up here. I'm going to go share my evenings with Caius. You stay out of my way, I'll stay out of yours. If we can agree on that, we'll be great friends...well," she paused. "For the rest of your short life, anyway."

"I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm not after Caius," Dean assured her. Her cheeks heat, this time with embarrassment instead of anger. She certainly didn't want to tempt fate by pissing off this creature. And though they were all very attractive, she didn't have a kink for dead people. She preferred her men to breathe, thank you very much. Not that she knew very much about that topic to begin with.

"Of course you're not," said the woman, releasing Dean and stepping away to go fluff a pillow for the other girl. "But I know my husband. You'll say yes eventually. And when you do, he will do the same thing he always does and you will die."

Dean swallowed. "Aro said I wouldn't be killed."

"He said no one here will harm you," Athenodora corrected. "Humans die here all the time. Not all of them are fed on. There are other things here that are more dangerous to you than to some." A lowly hissed warning, too low for human ears, caused the blonde to stop talking, pressing her lips together in a displeased expression. It was equally amusing as it was annoying to bait the human girl, watch her agonize over her words and come to no conclusion.

Her words made Dean's head spiral. She seemed to be talking around something, and it frustrated her. Why couldn't anyone here tell her the truth straight? Why was she here, and shoved up in this tower with two other vampires when there had to have been hundreds of rooms in this vast castle? Feeling frustrated tears burn in her eyes for the first time that evening, she bites her bottom lip hard enough to make it turn white, and Athenodora gives her a long, sympathetic look.

"You should get some sleep, Dean. I'll make sure some food is brought up to you. It's been a long day for you, I'm sure."

The sudden softness only contributed to Dean's confusion, and she swallowed the lump in her dry throat once again, forcing a weak smile to her lips. "Yes...it has..."

"There's a trunk in the back of the closet full of things I think you'll find suitable. There's an ensuite bathroom through the door by the wardrobe. Make yourself comfortable."

The door whispered shut behind her as she left Dean alone to hunt down the chest. The clothes inside were in surprisingly well condition, if a little old, but very different than what Athenodora looked like she'd wear. Most of the clothes were in light colors of white, baby and royal blue, blush pinks, and pale greens. She pulled out an old nightgown. Floor length, white down the middle with sky blue outer fabric. A pink ribbon under the bodice and laced up the short bulbed sleeves.

After a short shower, she dried off and slipped the soft material over her head, looking at herself in the mirror. Though her hair lay in damp dark waves around her body, she thought she looked like a princess. How fitting, she thought. A knock at the door had Sulpicia bringing in her meal of spaghetti with meatballs, an amused grin on the brown haired vampires face as she looked down at the red sauce. Surely the cooks thought it was a hilarious joke.

"Thank you," Dean said as the woman handed her the plate. Sulpicia just snipped, turned, and walked out the door without a word. It miffed the girl a little, having no idea what she'd done to rub the woman the wrong way. She thought it was unfair...but then, how was any of this fair?

Her stomach didn't so much as growl at the sweet aroma of the food before her. Realistically, she should be starving, but she pushed the meatballs around the plate, unable to take a single bite. Now that she was alone, she was able to throw herself down on the bed and hug the pillow to herself as the tears finally came.

Gabriel was dead. Her best friend. She'd fantasized they might have had a relationship in some other life, had she not been brought up in the nunnery. Hell, even then, she hadn't taken her vows yet. She still had the freedom to choose what kind of life she wanted. She could have had sex. Now, she wasn't sure she'd ever get that chance. At least...not willingly.

She thought of Caius, briefly. Athenodora made him sound like a man who took whatever woman he wanted without fail. That he would attempt to sleep with her, and that she would say yes. She clenched her jaw, dismissing it with disgust. She'd never do such a thing. Of all of her sins, her skepticism, she was not a homewrecker or a prostitute to be bought. If he thought he could turn her into one, he would have another thing coming. She pushed all thoughts of Caius away, instead choosing to dwell on the pain of losing Gabriel.

Sleep eluded her. She listened hard from her position on the bed, before moving to push her ear against the wood of the door. Everything seemed silent and she wasn't about to sit here a willing prisoner. She looked out the window, and felt a slight vertigo at how tall the tower was. She was well above the other roof tops, but between the curtains and the bed spread, she might be able to climb down to the nearest roof. What would they do to her if they caught her?

Torture? She wouldn't put it past them to have an actual dungeon.

Taking a deep breathe, she sent a quick prayer to whoever was listening that she could pull this off without becoming a wet, red smear on the stone streets below. But hey, maybe that would be a better fate than becoming someone's meal here. Maybe her heart would give out before she hit the ground and she wouldn't even feel the impact. Aware of how dark her thoughts had gotten, she shook them off before they turned her into a coward, and ripped the drapes from the rods above the windows.

There were two windows in here, and the moon illuminated the room enough that she didn't have to turn a light on to see what she was doing. Two windows made for four long drapes which she tied together. Next, she stripped the king size bed, eyeing the expensive material with an almost apologetic look. It wasn't silk, thank goodness, because she'd be afraid of the knots coming undone if they were, but the tag on the bottom of the sheet labeled it as Egyptian Linen and the guilt pooled in her as she ripped just below the seam. It took some muscle, but when the fabric gave way, the stitching was weaker and eventually gave as well. She tied the newly torn sheets to the drapes.

She threw one end of the improvised rope through the window and furrowed her brows at the distance still between the end and the roof. She pulled the sheets back through and ran to the wardrobe, trying not to think about her host's murderous eyes as she yanked a few gowns from the portable closet, once again avoiding the multiples of silk that were in there. She went around gathering as much viable fabric as she could find, tying it and tossing it out the window.

The door in the common room opened and Dean rushed over to lock the door, hoping that the two who were in conversation in the other room had been too engrossed in each other to notice the click of the bolt as it slid in place. The room was a wreck, and one glance around would be all it took to figure out what she'd been doing. Feeling like she had everything to lose, she secured one end of the rope to the heavy vanity table and silently pleaded that the rope was strong enough to hold her as she lowered herself down the outside of the building.

The rope jerked as the vanity table slid towards the window and Dean winced in fear as she fought to steady her feet against the tower. The vampires in the common room had definitely heard that. So, she picked up the pace and the vanity jerked again, slamming into the wall and nearly making her lose her grip. A small scream escaped her throat, and the sound of the door crashing open reached her ears. She repelled down the wall as fast as she could, heart racing and breathing coming out in harsh huffs.

"You stupid girl!" Sulpicia hissed from the window as she peered out with Aro on her arm. The two brunettes looked down at her, the woman seething in rage and Aro perpetually amused. Sulpicia grabbed at her make shift rope, beginning to tug her up. The rope had already been about three feet short of a safe landing, but the vampire yanking on it brought it another odd five feet above the roof in short tugs.

Please don't let me break a leg, Dean begged as she sucked in a deep breath and let go of the rope. She landed on her feet, shocks of pain radiating up her shins from the impact as she managed to absorb the fall in a crouch. She grit her teeth against the pain, taking in deep breaths and harshly releasing them through her nose. The shingles were rough and uneven under her soles and with the slant of the roof, she had to be careful not to tumble over the side.

She almost fell when Aro took one leap and landing a mere foot from her. His hair had barely ruffled in the wind as he came down. The moonlight glinted off his complacent face as he held his hands out to steady her. As soon as she got her footing back, he stepped away and held his hands up in surrender.

"Peace, Dejanna," he said softly.

Even so, she looked over her shoulder, searching for a window. Admittedly, she hadn't thought this through. The tier below wasn't as far as the one she'd just jumped onto, but it would still hurt like hell to free fall onto. It seemed to be her only option. She dove to the side, catching Aro off guard and he wasn't quick enough to catch her as she threw herself over the side.

She landed on the next roof top with a loud thud that forced the air out of her lungs. She could have sworn she felt all of her organs slam into her rib cage. She'd managed to not hit her head, thankfully, but the rest of her body was screaming in agony. She turned on her side and coughed, a splattering of blood painting the dark sun burned shingles under her palms.

A window crashed, glass flying everywhere as Caius didn't bother with opening it before he was crushing her to his chest. His face was furious, anger causing him to hold her a little tighter than he probably should have. Dean gasped, looking up at him and feeling her legs shake. His grip on her hurt, but she didn't try to pull away. When she realized how complacent she'd gotten, she tried to shrug him off of her, but he only tightened his grip, causing her to gasp.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Caius snarled in a voice that promised pain and death. "You could have been killed!" He shook her, making her head bob back and forth before he realize what he'd done and released her.

"I was rescuing myself," she says in a breathy voice. It was almost an inside joke to herself, but the darkness on his face...in his eyes, the pain she saw there suddenly made the joke die inside of her.

"You've been here half a day and already you're throwing yourself off roof tops." He says in a low growl. "I'm sorry if our hospitality isn't up to your high standards."

"Hospitality?" She bit back, taking another step away from him. He didn't allow it, closing the distance between them once again, just incase she decided to take another swan dive towards the streets below. "You call locking me up, hospitality?"

"You'll notice that the only locked door, was your own, during your hair brained escape plan," he bites back.

"But I can't leave."

"No."

"Prisoner." She jabs a thumb into her sternum, wincing from the bruises already forming.

He rolls his eyes, the darkness melting away to exasperation. "Let us go back inside. You need to sleep." He brings his hand up without thinking, gently brushing the pad of his thumb over the dark circles forming under her eyes. "We will explain more to you when the sun arises. I'll have someone bring you something for your pain."

Dean is frozen under his touch, unable to step away or to take her eyes off of his. She wonders if he's compelling her. Is that something real vampires are capable of? But still, as she commands her body to move, it does, but only as he begins to guide her back towards the window. Though she protests, he picks her up and gently carries her through so that she doesn't step on any of the glass shards. No doubt that would be a disaster if she got cut by one.

"You were worried," she said as he gently placed her back on her feet in the hallway. They were alone, and she wondered where Aro had run off to. Had he been the one to fetch Caius? Or had he sent Sulpicia? Half of her was thankful for it, because she really didn't want to have to jump again. She looked down at the broken pieces of window, slightly touched that he'd been panicked enough that he hadn't bothered opening it.

"You have been told multiple times that we aren't going to kill or hurt you. Make it easier on all of us, and refrain from pulling stunts like this again," he redirected, choosing not to answer her. His voice had hardened again as he had caught his slip up. He wasn't sure what made him angrier, the fact that he still couldn't control himself even after all these centuries, or that Aro had called after him instead of finishing the chase himself. It would have been so much easier to explain things if the 'kind' king had rescued her.

Aro would not have let his emotions get in the way. Aro didn't have anything to lose by letting her fall, either. Things would go back to normal for them. Perhaps without them having the chance to fall in love, their torment would be over if she'd died. That stoked the fires within him a great deal, just like it always did at the thought of allowing such a thing to happen. That's why he had been unable to stop himself from smashing through that window and pulling her back. Why he'd snapped at her, letting her know that some part of him did care about what happened to her, whether she realized it now or not.

He couldn't tell if she knew who he was on some deeply convoluted level. Buried deep within her, did she know what they were to each other? None of her past versions had, but she'd proved this time that she was not like those other versions of herself. She didn't automatically struggle to get away from him. There was always a pause, a moment of realization before she would try to fight away from him. It was only their second meeting in this life, and already she was feeling the pull towards him.

It wasn't good for either of them. It meant he'd have even less time with her than usual, and that scared the hell out of him.