AN: Uni exams are over for another year! For anyone who has seen Braveheart, I've been doing the full Mel Gibson 'Freeeedom' rally cry! I will streak in the streets next June when this degree is over :D
All Ends That Ends Well: Part 3
JANUARY 31ST
Leaving The King to get his brood until control, Magnus took the remaining young tribe to the west tower.
Despite his best efforts, he was unable to filter out their chatter entirely. Tanya wittered on incessantly to her sisters. Kate humoured her with mostly agreeable, if disinterested, murmurs, whilst Irina responded with repeated growls of 'shut up, Tanya', sounding increasingly irritated. Magnus felt more in tune with Irina at that moment.
Aside from the Denali girls, Magnus heard Carlisle say he'd made loose plans to go back to the guard hall later that evening. There were so many far-flung Volturi members around who he wanted to catch up with whilst they were in the coven. Scathing laughter caught in Magnus's throat when he realised Odi intended on joining him. He covered it with a cough, although the self-absorbed young tribe didn't pay him much attention, anyway. True, Magnus hadn't yet read Odi's report, but he knew enough about his day to state confidently that his son wouldn't be going out to play that evening. Or for the following few evenings, in fact.
They passed Afton and Chelsea on the way, who appeared to be in the midst of a hushed row. If Magnus could trust his reading of their emotional output, Chelsea was aggravated with her husband, and he assumed being conscripted to the new coven classes would be the reason. Magnus still felt annoyed by Afton, too. Alex more so, but Afton was no better than that clown. They were both puerile for men of their ages.
Aro had requested that Magnus send the first guard he see to his chambers with a hammer and nail. It felt a little mean spirited to send Afton knowing the coven king would have plenty to say to the guard for his petulance in the hall, but the annoyance bubbling inside Magnus pushed him to do it, regardless.
The bells in Volterra chimed for 7 in the evening by the time Magnus and the remaining young vampires arrived at the creator's tower. The guard master was not being lumbered with this task tomorrow, that was for damn sure.
"Go on, then," he told them, holding the door to the west tower open.
The cheeky brats each huffed at him as they passed, starting with Carlisle, ending with Irina. He could have happily slapped them all.
Following behind them, he heard Carlisle's apartment door open. Magnus wasn't surprised, but it didn't ease his agitated state one little bit. He muttered some dark curses beneath his breath, moving the young ones aside and telling them to wait for him before they tried climbing any higher in the tower.
Magnus threw open the door to the first-floor apartment, allowing it to bang on the wall behind.
"Get back here, now."
"Seriously?" said Carlisle, scowling. "This is ridiculous, Magnus. I'm already home."
He sounded impressively steady for a young man facing the pissed off juggernaut. All the remaining young ones thought so.
To be fair to Magnus, he kept his cool, too, as he took the time to explain he was under orders to deliver him back to his old man, so that's what he would do.
All Carlisle noticed was the man speaking to him to through gritted teeth—Carlisle should have appreciated he was talking at all and not leathering him. He was about to say something rather stupid in return - it was on the tip of his tongue: 'What are you? The creator's lap dog?'
Despite not saying it aloud, he wore the comments on his face clearly enough with an uncharacteristic smirk, one more suited to Aro than Carlisle. Magnus wanted to wallop the cocky prince of Volterra just to get his day over with.
The belt Magnus had used on Corin and Turk was still slung over his shoulder. Light from the main chamber fireplace reflected on the buckle at the man's chest and drew Carlisle's attention momentarily. It was enough to remind the prince who he was dealing with, and what might happen should he continue pushing the man.
The quick flick of his eyes and rapid change in his emotions from annoyed to anxious did not go unnoticed by Magnus. The guard master smiled quietly.
"Have you pulled yourself together, Carlisle?" he asked. "Are you ready to come with me?"
Carlisle couldn't hold the man's eye. He looked to the floor and bit his lip as he sloped out of his apartment. With the last of his nerve, he 'accidentally' knocked heavily into the guard master under the guise of closing the door to his chambers. It was blatantly obvious he'd done so on purpose, though.
Magnus grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him back a step, garrotting him with his own shirt collar. "Don't push it, young one."
He refused to let go of the Volturi prince until they were outside Eleazar's suite, making Carlisle wait with Odi for company.
Irina elbowed her way past Magnus on one side, Tanya did similarly on the other. Only Kate was polite enough––or perhaps shy enough––to wait until he had taken a few more steps into the main room before entering behind him.
"I can wear a dress in training. Freyr and Grandma said so."
"Grandma," Irina repeated, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, Grandma," Tanya snapped back, daring Irina to reply.
It's how Jane and her older brothers referred to Atia, and it's what Tanya wished to call her, too. Atia appeared to have no objections so Irina could butt out. Although Alec called the woman 'Nana' and Tanya drew the line there. That was a little too cutesy.
Irina continued to screw up her face as though she'd swallowed lumpy blood, but Tanya didn't care. She'd got the better of his sister twice in training. Irina had won at least ten rounds with her baby sister, but Tanya would hold on to those two wins for dear life. Irina could keep that lumpy blood expression and Tanya would keep calling Atia Grandma. Her sister would have to get used to it.
Back in the south tower after earlier that day, Kate and Tanya had called Carmen 'mom' in front of Irina and she had said nothing. Truthfully, she had thought little of it then, barely noticed, in fact. Perhaps now the day was closing in, she had more presence of mind and Tanya referring to Atia as with another familial epithet reminded her of the earlier interaction with Carmen.
She flopped into the chair next to the fireplace and held out her hand for the goblet of bloodwine Carmen offered her, taking it without a word of thanks. Carmen merely rolled her eyes to the heavens, already used to picking her battles.
Magnus watched with a raised eyebrow, too annoyed to let such simple disrespect pass. "Nothing to say, Irina?" After all, it's hardly difficult to thank someone for a drink!
"Yes, I do, actually." Irina took a long draw of her bloodwine, ignoring the juggernaut's oppressive glare before turning her own glower on her baby sister. "Why are you suddenly pretending you have a whole family here?"
"I'm not pretending," said Tanya. She made a big point of saying 'thanks, Mom' for her bloodwine, something she also wouldn't have bothered doing had a Magnus not picked Irina up on her manners, or Irina hadn't commented on the family thing. "It's alright for you," she continued. "You've had me and Kate all these years—we've only had you."
Irina was on her feet, her goblet, half drank and abandoned, spilling on the floor. Carmen got between in an instant.
Tanya wasn't done. "We've finally got a proper family now and you aren't ruining this for us."
The girls couldn't get to each other with Carmen in between them, so they erupted into a war of words instead. Even Kate joined in. She wasn't as vicious as her sisters, but her voice was just shrill and drew Carlisle and Odi from the stairwell to open to the doorway to see the row in action.
Magnus pulled the report books into his chests and folded his broad arms around them. The noise those girls produced when they got into it with each other, even Kate, who could be so meek and mild around the castle, really surprised him. The argument with each other soon involved arguing with Carmen, too.
He huffed to himself and leaned against the wall next to the door, where Odi and Carlisle watched with rapt attention.
"Aren't you going to stop them, Dad?" Odi asked, surprised by his father's reticence. Carlisle had no such expectation as his father barely moved a muscle in relation to the girls.
Truthfully, Magnus wasn't sure what to do with himself. Odi's surprise was justified. Had Magnus walked in on such a scene at home, he would have knocked his son into next week! Assuming Freyr hadn't already done it, of course.
He'd been around enough times when Sulpicia had trouble with her children before and stepped in to remind them of their place. Even before he'd become a coven master, he'd interrupted the young princes in their interactions with the queen to remind them who they were addressing. He was an 'it takes a village' kind of guy. The Denali girls were still so new to the coven, though. Outside of the guard hall, Magnus didn't feel it was his place. Still, he'd have to do something if Carmen didn't end their argument soon—his psyche couldn't cope with it continuing much longer.
Thankfully, Eleazar wandered through from the bedchambers to save Magnus from having to make a choice. True to form, the eldest price of Volterra looked as unbothered as ever. In fact, he barely seemed to notice that the ladies in his chambers were tearing a strip off each other. The girls certainly didn't react to his entrance, either—he had to pick his way around them to get to the door where Magnus, his brother, and Odi stood.
Magnus couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Basileus and Atia had told him how pathetic things were in the middle suite of the west tower, how the girls were ruling the roost, how detached Eleazar was even though he had arguably 'stepped-up' considerably compared to when they arrived.
In his human days, when Magnus walked in, his sons ended their arguments asap. They would have been offering every apology they could think of by the time they were in grabbing distance, despite knowing it was pointless when they'd been caught arguing with their mother. Even now, the entire guard tried to end their arguments when he stepped into the guard hall. A few might try their luck arguing with him, but they wouldn't wish to be caught doing the same with others by him.
It was just the same as Basileus's sons ending any quarrels when he walked through the door, or Aro's children suddenly forgetting why their mother had annoyed them in the first place when he came home. There were things you just didn't do in front of those in charge of you. The Denali girls continuing their row with each other and Carmen when Eleazar strolled through the living chamber proved unequivocally that he was in charge of no one at all.
Eleazar winced at a particularly high-pitched noise coming from Tanya (he couldn't even tell what the girl had said, it really was just a noise in his opinion).
"They're so loud, aren't they?" he said to the guys.
Magnus didn't disagree. He included Carmen, too. "Do something about it, then, El."
Eleazar looked back at him with the most confused expression Magnus had ever seen a man wear before. Confused not only by how he would go about doing something about it but also by why. At least, that's how Magnus interpreted Eleazar's expression.
"She likes it," said Eleazar.
It was Magnus's turn to look confused. Confused and annoyed by the excuse Eleazar presented for his own inaction. "Are you mad?" he asked. "You're mad, or you're joking, El. Which is it?"
"Honestly, she does!" Eleazar chuckled lightly. "Carmen enjoys arguing with the girls like Aro does with Felix."
Eleazar sensed the sort of parental disappointment rolling off Magnus in waves that he was well accustomed to from his mother and father. He realised it was better to intervene quickly lest the juggernaut grass him up to one of them on his travels around the castle. As Carlisle was still with him, Magnus would likely head to his father's apartment next. Along with a report on the creator's youngest son's day, the juggernaut could well report the creator's eldest son's evening, which wouldn't bode well for Eleazar's neck if he had yet again failed to rein in the Denali girls.
"Girls," he said, calling out weakly over the din. "Give it a rest now, please?"
They didn't even register he'd spoken, just as he'd expected. Eleazar grabbed Irina's left wrist and yanked her sharply towards him—she wagged her finger of that hand in Carmen's face as she continued to rant about what a brat Tanya was being and how Carmen 'had better sort her out before I do'. Irina seemed not to notice that Eleazar had removed her wagging finger or pulled her aside as her mouth continued unperturbed.
Magnus dragged a hand down his face as Carlisle and Odi began laughing beside him. By the Gods, it was a pathetic scene. He glanced at the clock and saw it was twenty past seven. The elite were meeting in the guard hall at midnight—at the rate he was going, Magnus would be going straight to the hall with Odi in tow! Squaring his shoulders, he decided to take charge.
"Oi!" he roared, bellowing above the voices in the room. "That is enough!"
Everyone stood statue still. The girls, Carlisle and Odi, Carmen and Eleazar, too. Tanya's mouth was half open as she'd been midway through a shout at Irina. Irina directed a scowl towards Carmen, while keeping her eyes fixed on the juggernaut in case he moved her way.
He didn't though. Now they had stopped arguing, Magnus softened his stance, too. "The lads have been a complete embarrassment today," he said, reminding them all how good they'd been. "Don't lower yourselves to their standards now you're home, ladies."
The juggernaut's intervention had had the desired effect. The girls all settled immediately, muttering their agreement with his claims of their good behaviour vs the lads bad, whilst Carmen mouthed 'thank you' in his directuon.
At the same time, Carlisle and Odi decided it was best to withdraw to the safety of the stairwell again if Magnus planned on being so mean about the guys in the group. Irina watched their faces disappear from the doorway with a smirk growing on her face. Everyone knew Odi had a difficult time coming with his father that evening.
"So, dresses," Tanya said, turning to Carmen with hopeful eyes. "I can wear a dress, right? Tomorrow?" At least she was more subdued and quieter than before the row.
Carmen looked at the state of Tanya's clothes––grubby was one word, an understated word considering the grass stains and tears in the guard uniform she'd worn to training. Even if Carmen had to hide every dress the girls owned to ensure it, they would wear uniform to classes for the foreseeable future.
"What kind of princess trains in a dress?" said Irina. She ran her fingers through the ends of her hair, snagging in a lug, which rather ruined the uninterested pretence she aimed for. "I suppose it proves you're not a princess after all."
"Irina is right, Tan," said Kate.
Tanya expected Irina to be a bitch, but Kate agreeing with their eldest sister side-swiped her—it shocked everyone, actually. Before anyone could contest, Kate continued.
"We only own dresses fit for royal princesses," she said. "Would you really want to ruin them in training?" Kate brushed at her sister's knee where her guard britches had scraped against the hard ground in the training fields in her battle with Irina. The fabric had torn a little and Tanya's mind, as Kate had intended, immediately went to all those pretty dresses she so loved. "We need to wear guard uniform for now, Tan. At least until we're better trained or we've got cheaper dresses we don't care about so much."
Seeing Tanya bobbing her head along with Kate's wise words, Carmen smiled at Kate in congratulations, proud of the girl for diffusing the situation so expertly. Irina was less impressed. She'd been keen on another argument with the youngest Denali.
Eleazar wasn't entirely wrong about Carmen and the girls enjoying the rows like Aro and Felix did. It was a safe way to blow off a little steam and Irina had more steam to blow. She wouldn't wish to admit it out loud, but she was nervous about those damn reports in Magnus's arms—picking on Tanya was her best distraction.
Unfortunately, her faux mother figure ruined her plans.
Whilst Carmen ended the argument between Irina and Tanya before it had the chance to ramp up too much, Magnus dropped the girls' books on the dining table. Eleazar joined him and pulled out a chair, made to sit, then seemingly changed his mind with his mood suddenly souring significantly.
He stood miserably in his chambers with the same hang-dog expression his brother wore in the south tower and Magnus had the impression it wasn't merely the return of the Denali girls, causing his bitter mood.
"You look as happy as Aro. Have you pair had a scrap?"
"Something like that, Magnus." Eleazar wrapped a hand around the back of neck and averted his eyes. He would have blushed if it were possible. He spotted the belt over the man's shoulder. "Is there any, um, reason for that?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh." Magnus wrapped his hand around the buckle, but left it in place. "I've had a busy evening." He gave a chuckle and slapped a hand down on Eleazar's shoulder. "What is wrong with you, El? It's made you more nervous than your baby brother out there."
Before Eleazar could say anything in return, they both turned to the open doorway with raised eyebrows. Then Magnus stalked back to the door. He couldn't be sure what was said, but he definitely heard something, and Carlisle was the one who said it. If there was any doubt, the wide-eyed stare he gave the guard master once they were face-to-face spoke volumes.
"I hadn't planned on mentioning anything to your old man, but you are really pushing your luck."
Carlisle mumbled an apology of sorts with Odi smirking wildly at his side. Who needs enemies with such wonderful mates around?
"You really have had a busy evening, haven't you?" said Eleazar. "Have my lot had a good day?"
"Read for yourself," said Magnus, returning to his side, tapping the reports on the table. "Read and sign."
Eleazar winced. He'd only read a few of the reports that day, and none had been exactly glowing. Of his girls, he'd only had access to Kate's so far.
"I hope there's nothing else to read, Kate."
Kate squeaked. Whatever words she'd tried to say stuck in her throat, which her charming sisters found frightfully amusing. From the outer hall, it sounded like her hero Odi and new Uncle Carlisle found it a little funny, too.
"She's a darling," said Magnus. "Best behaved of the bunch."
Carmen preened. Kate did, too, with a hint of relief.
Irina and Tanya were less pleased. The better Kate looked, the worse it was for them by comparison.
Eleazar turned his back on them for a moment and puffed the air from his cheeks. He looked more relieved than Kate, but Magnus could still feel his stress, and Eleazar knew it.
"I've got my father on my back. My mother, too," he quietly explained to the coven empath, ensuring the rest of the room wouldn't hear. He laughed despite himself. "Though you'll know already as they tell you everything."
Conversation between Magnus and Basileus often turned to their sons, and Eleazar's handling of the Denali girls was a frequent topic, but there had been nothing specific recently and certainly no mention of Atia being annoyed with him. If anything, she was usually on his side, blaming Basileus instead.
"I can't face another round of fucks from them today."
So that's why Eleazar looked so rough? Magnus assumed the 'round of fucks' explained the state Aro was in, too. Interesting. Eleazar was right, though—Basileus and Atia were likely to tell him and Freyr about it soon enough.
He'd suffered his own run in with Basileus over Caius and Odi that day, which had been 'uncomfortable' enough. But at least the creator hadn't left him limping around his own chambers. He might, though, Magnus realised, if he didn't get a grip on the situation. Being best mates with the big boss brought many benefits, but it sure made some things, like answering for failings, much more awkward.
Dropping a heavy hand on Eleazar's shoulder, he said, "I think you're safe, El."
Eleazar wanted to believe him, but he wouldn't feel secure until he'd read those books. Irina's in particular. He couldn't put it off any longer.
He caught Irina watching him from the corner of his eye, though she was doing her very best to appear unbothered by her report being on top of the pile.
"Do I want to?" he asked the girl, picking up her book.
Irina scoffed in the man's general direction before turning away, annoyed he'd caught her interest in the first place. "How would I know what you want?"
Beneath the veil of indifference, there was a hint of nervousness, and it wasn't only Magnus's empathetic gift that picked it up. Much to Irina's annoyance, both her little sisters spotted her weakness and circled her like sharks.
"It isn't all good," said Magnus, quickly holding a hand up to silence the eldest Denali girl so he could continue uninterrupted. "But Irina's is much better than most."
Carmen flashed forward with a growing (if somewhat wary) smile, taking the book from Eleazar before he'd so much as set eyes on the first page.
Eleazar knew Carmen would give him the highlights. He actually preferred that to reading it himself. It was a win-win for him.
"So, I take it you've read Odi's then?" he said to Magnus.
Magnus's shoulders simultaneously dropped and tensed - an odd feeling. Everyone who'd spoken to him about his son that evening seemed sure he would want to wallop him before nightfall. When he admitted he had yet to look at his boy's book, Eleazar sucked in his breath and wished him luck.
"Some of them had a rough morning with Marcus, so I went easy on them," said Eleazar. "But he really blew it in the woods. Awful. Truly awful."
Magnus kept one ear on the hallway behind him, sure he heard Odi quietly cursing the Volturi prince for making his lot in life worse. A slightly louder 'for fuck's sake' came when Eleazar added that he'd seen what Aro had written about the 'incidents' (plural, Magnus noted) and that for once, he hadn't exaggerated. Magnus gripped the remaining report books in his hand a little tighter until his knuckles turned bright white from the pressure.
"Irina!" said Carmen, wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulders. "This is wonderful."
Taken aback, Irina didn't even shrug the woman off.
"Mostly," said Carmen, continuing to read, thumbing the pages one handed.
Eleazar wore his relief on his face. "I'll take mostly under the circumstances," he said quietly for the juggernaut's ears alone, who promptly agreed.
"Marcus has given you a glowing report," said Carmen. "He says you were the most engaged and really livened up discussion."
"Did he?"
Carmen showed Irina Marcus's script, and the girl looked, scanning his words with interest and a brief smile before she caught herself.
"Oh, I mean—whatever."
She finally shrugged out of Carmen's hold, but Irina knew it was too late. The damage was done. She could cheerfully kick herself for showing such vulnerability in front of so many morons. What on earth was she playing at? Clearly, it had been a very long day or something. Tanya had elbowed her in the back of the head in training and it must have caused a temporary brain injury—it was the only excuse Irina could think of for being so weak.
She couldn't deny the warm feeling of fluttering pride when she saw Marcus had something nice to say about her, though. No one ever had anything positive to say about Irina - not since she'd moved to Volterra. Truthfully, seldom before then, either.
"Do we have any paper?"
With undisguised confusion, Eleazar nodded toward his writing desk and Irina headed off to collect what she needed, leaving Magnus to explain why.
"Marcus wants them to do some homework for him."
As Carmen had signed the girls' books, she gave Irina the inkpot and quill, fetching another two and a penknife for the girls to use. She giggled a little when passing the younger girls, both gawping at the audacity of their eldest sister making the unilateral decision they would be doing Marcus's so-called homework.
The youngest Denali princess had never looked more like her eldest sister - the perfect Irina-esq scowl flashed across n her pretty little face.
"Are we actually doing it?"
Tanya hadn't planned on it and from the look on Kate's face, she'd taken the instruction from the library master as more of a suggestion, too.
"Obviously." Irina sat at the table and slapped a crisp sheet of paper in front of the chairs for her sisters to sit at. "Sit," she commanded when they remained standing, gawping at her. "Write."
Carmen beamed when, despite a few huffs from Kate and Tanya, they all set to work. "I'm so proud of you, girls."
"We both are," added Eleazar.
Irina observed her sisters greedy for the 'parental' pride, akin to puppies eagerly devouring scraps thrown by their master. Pathetic little urchins.
Carmen laid a hand on Irina's shoulder. "Of all of you, sweetheart."
"Oh, right," said Irina, trying to play it cool. "Thanks, I guess."
Her eyes flashed briefly in Magnus's direction, knowing he would feel everything she felt - why was he still in their quarters accessing her private feelings, anyway? The jerk!
"Freyr mentioned that Irina has put herself forward for extra training, too," said Magnus, bigging the girl up a little more. "She wants to join the guards on Saturdays."
Irina glanced at him again. Okay, he could stay a little longer if he insisted on sounding so impressed with her.
"So do I," said Kate. "I want extra training, too."
She hadn't considered such a thing until that very moment, actually, but she wanted all the training she could get after nearly dying
Eleazar ruined the good morale with a single sentence: "Hmm. I'm not sure about you joining mission training, Kate."
Kate scowled at the man, whilst Irina scoffed. "Don't mind if I die on a mission, though, right?"
"Irina, that isn't what I meant." Eleazar deftly avoided the withering eyes from his wife and the smirk tugging on Magnus's lips as he tried in vain to placate his eldest charge. "Kate's young and she's an anxious little thing."
Kate's mouth dropped open. "I'm not an anxious little thing!"
Carmen closed her eyes. There really was no hope for her husband.
"You so are, Kate," said Tanya through a big, cheesy grin. "I mean Thing."
Magnus slipped out of the middle floor apartment to the sound of younger girls arguing and Irina yelling at them to 'shut the hell up' so she could get her homework done. He even chuckled a little. Unsurprisingly, his face fell again as soon as he set eyes on his troublesome son.
"Come on," said Magnus, annoyance renewed, directing the remaining two up the stairs to the top floor of the west tower.
Carlisle walked straight into his parents' suite with Magnus following behind. Odi slouched against the wall outside the creator's chambers without needing to be told to wait. He thanked the Gods they wouldn't be doing this every day - waiting outside doors is super boring. Although, hearing his mates take a dressing down for the day's events was quite amusing, he had to admit. It was the only reason he had to be grateful for being dragged around the castle with his father - no one would be there when the miserable old git finally let rip at him.
The West tower stood as the tallest in the Volterran castle as the three palatial apartment levels were set above the grand front entrance to the castle. The great height of the west tower was really put into perspective for Magnus as he sat in the window seat of the main chamber whilst he waited for Basileus to join him.
"Why do you live in the clouds?" he asked the creator, passing over his son's report. "It's unnatural."
Basileus bumped his shoulder into Magnus and handed him a glass of whiskey. "Natural for a god."
"Half a god," said Magnus, bumping him back. "I'm not walking up all these steps every day."
"I imagine it's tough at your age."
"It is," Magnus agreed. "How on earth do you manage it?"
Basileus was quick to call him a cheeky bastard in return before he looked to the mantle to check the clock. "How long has it taken you to climb up here? I expected you over an hour ago."
Magnus checked, too. Twenty to eight! His so-called 'shift' with the young ones ended at six.
"You were last on the list, my friend. You can collect him yourself tomorrow." Before Basileus could object, Magnus quickly explained Aro's agreement and his preference for keeping the reports in the office going forward. "If you want to argue about it, take it up with the king, not a humble servant like me."
Basileus nearly choked on his whiskey. "Humble bloody servant?"
"I do not need collecting," Carlisle grumbled. "This is a joke."
He'd been to his parents' bedroom, the bathroom and the terrace already, hoping to find his far more reasonable (and preferable!) mother. Of course, she'd abandoned him to his father's mercy. Maybe she wasn't much better than him, after all.
Basileus would prefer to agree with his son—he shouldn't need collecting from classes. The idea behind putting Carlisle into the education program was to give him some structure, to gear him up to leading soon…to keep him busy. It was a similar reason to making Eleazar run a class—to make the lazy sod DO something!
"So," said Basileus, chinking his whiskey glass lightly against Magnus's metal buckle on his chest. "What's all this about? Are you trying to invoke some fear in the youth?"
Magnus laughed and took a swig from his own glass, the amber liquid burning pleasantly when it hit his throat. "It works for you, carrying that cane everywhere. Here," he said, handing over Carlisle's book.
Basileus flipped to the end of Carlisle's report, where he'd find comments from Magnus, but it was blank. He gave the guard master a questioning raised brow.
"Nothing to say," said Magnus. "He caused me no bother."
Carlisle grumbled behind them about the indignity of being checked up on in this manner. There were many repeats of: 'at 23 years of age, for God's sake', and 'it's beyond insulting'.
His father made no response other than to continue with reading the few brief comments in his son's book, occasionally muttering over what he read.
"What?" Carlisle asked, his irritation growing.
"I'm very disappointed by Marcus's remarks, son."
"Oh…yes," said Carlisle, cringing into himself. He and Odi had 'squabbled' a little (he believed that was the word Marcus had used, rather than 'disagreed', which Carlisle and Odi both preferred). "It was a challenging start to the day."
"I'm sure Marcus would agree with you," said Basileus. "Made even more difficult by young men arguing in the library at 8 in the morning."
Carlisle closed his eyes momentarily and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why was he having this conversation with Magnus looming over him and Odi stood hanging onto every word?
"Could we do this in private, please?"
Basileus skipped his son's pleading entirely. "It looks like you may soon get your wish, son." His head bobbed long as he read, agreeing with what he was reading. "You could lead some of these activities. At least assist those leading them."
Carlisle perked up.
"Aro said you need reminding of the difference between our public faces and our private ones—"
"I don't know what he's talking about, Dad."
"But," said Basileus, sternly, annoyed by the interruption. "You were the only one who knew how to rig a horse, and you were a good and willing teacher to others."
"That's good, then, right?" It sounded good! "I'm off out. The guard hall is calling my name." Carlisle tried leaving before his father could chip in with something negative.
"We need to talk this over before I release you," said Basileus.
Magnus helpfully blocked Carlisle's path to the door and Basileus pulled his son back and told him to start stoking the fire. Carlisle grimaced at the instruction—maybe it was just a psychological response, but if the fire needed stoking, it felt like he'd be there for a while.
"Marcus is my oldest friend, someone I thought you respected—"
Carlisle dropped his chin to his chest and insisted to his father that he did respect Marcus, very, very much.
"Evidently, that is debatable, son. Take a seat."
Basileus dropped the report into Carlisle's lap - he'd been the only young vampire given their report to read and he wasn't sure he really wanted to. It didn't look like he had much choice in the matter, however. Knowing his father, he wouldn't be leaving those chambers until he they had discussed every solitary letter in his report.
"Odi," he called from the sofa. "I'll have to meet you in the guard hall."
Basileus threw Magnus a quizzical look and stepped a little closer to him. "Surely not?" Carlisle could still hear him, and it was quite likely Odi could, too.
Magnus chuckled without a hint of humour. "He's dreaming," he said, and held up the last book in his hand—Odi's. "I haven't even read it yet and I know he's dreaming."
Relief washed over Basileus. He had 'read' enough minds to know who had done what that day—Odi had been a bloody nightmare for everyone he'd come into contact with and certainly shouldn't be allowed out to play in the guard hall for the evening.
He knew Magnus had a tough night ahead, however. Handling Odi would bring enough of a headache…then there was Caius to think about. He felt bad for his mate, but needs must, and unfortunately, sorting Caius and Odi out really needed doing. They were both 'musts'.
"Magnus, remember what I said today?"
"Rain thunder."
Basileus grinned at the juggernaut's impression of him, complete with a deep gravelly voice that almost hurt to perform. "Exactly," he said. "I expect to see some deference tonight."
Magnus knew that—it went without saying. He was hoping he could have Caius catch Freyr in the north tower before they all met in the guard hall at midnight to give him a chance to apologise for being such a muppet in the training fields. That would be the extent of the privacy Caius could expect, however. Basileus would expect some grovelling in the guard hall and throwing in some to Atia would sweeten the deal. It was time for Caius to pull his head out of his arse and show certain people the respect they were due before they all went down for his stroppy mood swings.
Basileus only half followed along with Magnus's thoughts before stopping his friend in his tracks.
"No, Magnus," he said, cutting his hand through the air. "Deference to you, you prat!"
Magnus raised one eyebrow as though the words made no sense. He actually repeated them in his mind. How the hell was he supposed to get Caius to show him any deference in the guard hall where others might see? If Caius slept, Magnus was sure such a thing would form the basis for his nightmares.
"That's a taller order, my lord."
"It's my order nonetheless," said Basileus. "I want to see you manage him. I want to see that he's fallen into line."
That was unfair in Magnus's mind. Basileus knew he could manage Caius, and he'd seen many times already that Caius had fallen into line.
"Yes, my friend," said Basileus, reading his mind. He placed a hand on his shoulder, speaking in comfort. "But I also saw you submitting to him in the guard hall this afternoon, again, over something innocuous. I've had enough of it."
Basileus closed his eyes, and for a moment, his jaw tensed. Magnus cleared the thoughts from his mind, knowing that the defence he was immediately concocting for Caius had been the reason for the creator's reaction.
"His pride will suffer even more greatly when I feel compelled to tell him a few home truths in public, my friend, I can assure you."
There wasn't anything to be gained by continuing the conversation and the longer it went on, the more likely Carlisle was to pick up on who they were talking about. Knocking back his whiskey, the guard master left, collecting Odi on the way.
Magnus stretched out his neck as he descended the stairs behind his son. "Your anxiety is killing me, son."
Odi looked back over his shoulder, hoping his father didn't appear as pissed off as he sounded. He was sadly disappointed. "I can't help it," he said. "You seem pretty angry."
"Very perceptive."
That hardly helped the anxiety at all! "Am I in that much trouble?" Odi shoved the door to the ground floor hallway open. "It's only the first day, for fuck's sake."
He cringed, his head ducking into his shoulders, expecting a good clout for his foolish words. Why did he become so stupid when he was stressed? Thankfully, nothing came. Stupid, but quiet. Odi promised himself to keep just as quiet and ideally be a little less stupid for the rest of the night.
"I haven't heard pleasant things about you today." That was an understatement - no one had a nice word to say to Magnus about his son. "I purposely haven't read your report yet, so you tell me if you should be in trouble or not." When Odi fixed his eyes on the floor, it told his father all he needed to know. "Aye, I think so, too, young one."
In his peripheral vision, Odi saw his father making a show of opening that damn report book. Oh, hell. This would not be good. He tried telling the man to wait until they were home, but he wouldn't hear sense on the matter.
When Odi reached out to take the book, or maybe cover the page—he hadn't decided really, he just needed to try something—he received a smack on the hand for his effort. Like a young child who'd snatched a biscuit without asking! It didn't hurt, but that was hardly the point.
Odi looked over at the page of the perfect script Marcus had left for Magnus to read, damning him. He groaned and folded his arms tightly, hugging them to his stomach for all the comfort he could offer himself.
Magnus flipped the page, his breathing getting heavier as he read. If he was pissed off already, he would be breathing fire by the time he reached the whole 'in the woods business'.
"At least you've all been brats for Marcus today."
"I'll do better tomorrow."
"Damn right you will," said Magnus. His voice ricocheted off the stone walls and slammed back into Odi's face - or that's how it felt to the kid. Like being slapped in the face by his father's voice! "I'll be coming with you to make sure of it otherwise, young one."
That sounded horrible. Terrible. No way could that happen without Odi dying of shame.
"I wasn't that bad, Dad."
Magnus stopped dead. They were only halfway through the halls to the north tower. Odi did not want to have it out with his father yet. There were far too many guards milling around - they weren't even pretending not to listen either, the bastards.
Turning the report book to face Odi, Magnus jabbed his finger and the ending line of Marcus's section:
Though Felix has been the most difficult this session, Odi was a close a second. Please address this with him.
Odi gulped.
His opinion of Marcus had dropped considerably. Felix had been the most difficult, certainly. How could he claim Odi as a 'a close second' though? Demetri and Alec had argued with each other from the moment they sat down, for crying out loud!
"You're twenty years old, young one," said Magnus, as if Odi didn't know. Then proceeded to read out the highlights from his two-hour library session that earned him his 'close second' title.
Alright…it sounded a little worse than Demetri and Alec. But Odi was still convinced Marcus had made it over-egged it to make it so. The git.
"Why hasn't Eleazar included you and Demetri doing sod all but slob around this morning?"
"He took pity on me, or just regular pitied me." Odi pitied himself, too. "Between you and her, I'm too sore for running sprints. Not that Aro cared - he had me running through the woods for two hours."
"Her?" said Magnus, sneering.
He'd stopped dead in the halls again, and Odi winced, realising his mistake. If he was in any doubt, the pinch as his father's hand enveloped his right bicep and pulled him back to stand with him
"Her, who? Because if you're talking about my wife—"
"I meant nothing by it!"
He'd had the presence of mind to reply quickly and quietly, but his voice was an octave or two higher than usual. It was enough to have Heidi and Sadie do a double take as they passed the guard master and his son.
In a more controlled tone, he whispered, "You're stressing me out, Dad."
Magnus could tell that - the effect he was having on his son, considering what he'd read so far, did not displease him. He pushed Odi ahead and started walking again. They turned the last corner towards the north tower, and Magnus turned the page to Aro's tale of the incident, or make that, incidents in the woods.
Oh, hell no. Odi could not let him read that until they were safely behind a locked and bolted door where the guards would not see his demise (or hear him beg).
"Not yet," he said. "Please, Dad? Not yet."
Odi's eyes were so wide, and his emotional output so fearful that they stopped Magnus in his tracks. He glanced at the pages - there were three pages of Aro's handwriting followed by a single line from Caius:
See me, C.
When Magnus snapped the book closed, Odi breathed a sigh of relief and followed behind the man with a slightly lighter step. His evening would be miserable, sure, he knew that. But privately miserable, at least. All things considered, that was a win.
Sadly, Magnus ruined everything when he turned away from the stairs in the north tower and entered the ground-floor apartment instead…