Chapter 4
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The weather was chilly against her skin, letting the dewy air sink in before pulling the coat closer to herself. It was only a little colder than Forks so she didn't complain. Erika had exchanged her sleepwear for proper clothes when one of them had woken her up just before landing. She now wore a simple pair of dark wash jeans, ankle boots with a grey turtleneck and a beige overcoat.
If anything, Erika liked fashion but she preferred to wear what she liked instead of what was fashionable at the time. There were days where she just spent time in her sleepwear and even went out in them on certain occasions. Then there were other days where she would just lounge around in beautiful dresses, smart suits, or even the single ball gown she had worn for her senior prom.
Erika liked to look put together, and that was the main reason she would get her nails done every few weeks. She would have to see if the city had a salon which did the nails in the way Erika prefered. Thankfully her hair wouldn't need to be attended to, Erika brought the shampoos, conditioners, and hair masks needed to keep her colour as bright and as deep as she liked.
The guards were the first to depart the plane to get all of Erika's suitcases and such things off the plane and into a car. Aro was next, answering his phone as soon as it started to ring before beginning to speak in a slavic tongue. When Erika came down behind him, he helped her down with an offered hand as the other two men walked behind her, both shuffling papers as they quietly spoke.
"A car will be here to take Erika and some of the Guard to the castle," Aro said after putting the phone against his shoulder to silence the call. "I apologise, my dear, but my brothers and I have to deal with a rogue Vampire hunting vigorously nearby. I have already chosen which Guard will come with us and who will go with you."
"Right," Erika said, blinking blankly as she took in the information. "How long is the trip to the castle?
"Three hours, two if we use the flags," Demetri said as the kings looked at him.
"Okay," Erika said and grinning slyly before looking at her smartwatch. "I'm going to need food before we go. I'm absolutely starving."
"I may?" Marcus gestured for her phone and Erika gave it to him, cautiously watching him as he opened an app and added in a virtual payment method. "It will connect to your smartwatch. You may use my card until we can get you your own."
She nodded. "Thank you. Now it is just a problem of trying to find a place where I can eat."
"Yes, you do not eat meat," Aro nodded to himself. "Are you in the mood for fast food or a restaurant?"
"Fast food sounds good," Erika mumbled as her stomach agreed. "Anyway, when will my bike get here?"
"Within the next few days, I would think," Aro stated. "After it has been checked for any safety issues."
"Right," She nodded, having already agreed to having the bike checked for anything that could endanger her more than usual.
Caius crossed his arms loosely as two cars drove up to the plane. "I do not know why you insist on having your motorcycle brought here."
"Because I like my freedom, Caius," Erika said plainly. "Remember? This was one of the conditions of me staying with you all. That and Kiwi."
She stroked his little head which peaked out of the front of her shirt.
Jane and Felix sat in the bulletproof and armoured Range Rover with her. Aro chose them to protect her enough before she could be brought to the castle. They would protect her physically until she arrived.
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She stood in her new room. Windowless, which she kinda expected, but still nice. It was simple with a walkin closet to one wall and a large bathroom to the other. The bed was queen sized and made for two people. She dropped her suitcases and bags at the end of the bed, before curling up on the bed as she accepted the phone call from Bella with a soft smile.
"How's it going?" Bella's voice was sad on the phone, anxious even.
"Fine."
"When you say fine, it usually means you're unhappy," Bella chided with a tut.
Stupid sister intution.
Erika tutted back, laying back on the soft pillows.
"I'm not really as unhappy as I am numb at the moment, Bells," Erika said after she put the phone on speaker and placed it next to her. "They've put me in a windowless room."
"They want to make sure you don't escape," Bella paused then snickered. "Again."
Erika laughed mirthlessly. "Yeah. But it makes me feel like a prisoner even more."
"Have you told them that?"
"When would I tell them this?" Erika sat up in the bed, looking at the stone ceiling as she leaned back on her hands. "We were on an eleven hour flight and then they had business to take care of. I doubt they're even in the castle yet. Look, Bells, look after yourself and tell Rosalie if Edward even thinks of going back on his word to look after you."
"She hates me," Bella plainly stated.
"I know." Erika said. "That can't be helped. Regardless of how much she hates you, she will help because you're my sister."
"Do you know how many teachers know me by knowing you? They called me Erika's sister since I came here." Dad's voice could be heard from the line, something about the diner and how they would miss the special for the day if they didn't leave soon. "Charlie is calling dinner."
"You mean diner, we both know he can't cook to save his life," Erika sniggered as Bella huffed. "Bye. Go have your heart attack creating diner food. I'm going to go exploring."
"Tell them about your fear of spiders!" Bella emphasised that. "Swan girls are fragile—"
"—Like bombs."
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Erika put her headphones on and began to blare music. She wandered the halls with a cautious step, careful of each Vampire walking past. Erika had been placed into the private wing of the castle, so very few people were allowed in anyway. She didn't need to be as cautious as she would the open areas of the castle.
The Library was huge with bookshelves upon bookshelves on the three stories. Each layer was connected by a curving staircase, going from the bottom to the first, then connecting to the second, and finally reaching the third layers.
After browsing for a good half hour, Erika found an ancient book on the human mind that was translated into English by someone with quite feminine handwriting. It was a beautiful script and Erika wished she could write that neatly for the whole duration of hand writing the book.
She sat on one of the long couches, easily fitting into the leather with a blanket from one of the corners that was probably used just as decoration but worked well to keep her warm.
Hours could have passed and Erika wouldn't have noticed. When she began to read, it was like everything around her completely disappeared, vanishing until she took her nose out of the book. That happened a lot but she was always aware of her surroundings enough to let her mind filter out anything unimportant.
Erika was used to being alone. Even with Micheal as her boyfriend, he spent more time on the reservation than outside of it. Erika could spend days without seeing him and still be able to chat up a conversation as soon as they met again. There was no need for her to see him all the time, they trusted each other to not cheat, and neither had in the couple years they had dated.
But Erika became fidgety very quickly when she thought of her mates.
Huh, mates.
She never thought she would find anyone that would fit that description. Micheal was someone she met through Rebecca and Racheal Black, hitting off quite well and quickly getting to know each other.
But every thought of her mates made her feel funny, the strange I don't know how I feel right now but it isn't pleasant kind of feeling. It was a naggingness that made her frown.
She sighed, realising that she wanted to see her mates. After spending more than twelve hours in close quarters with them, they left her alone for the last three hours… and she felt lonely.
Erika Swan didn't feel lonely. That wasn't in her vocabulary. She could be alone for hours, days, and she never felt lonely, and they left her for only three and she felt like she was suffocating.
Erika didn't like this feeling.
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After putting her music on through her phone speaker, Erika resumed her unpacking, and eventually that unpacking resulted in her moving things in her room around. A lot of the pieces were really heavy so she had to shove it instead of lifting it.
The bed would be the first thing seen when opening the door, the foot of it facing the door with the bathroom door next to the strange bench thing at the end. Next to the bed was a small side table with all of her charging stuff for her electronics. Next to that side table was a metre and a half high bookshelf with nothing on it for now, and finally a small dresser sat next to the corner.
A set of double doors went to a walk in closet with plenty of space for her stuff. A Smart TV sat in the next corner, with a wooden table in front of it and a large L shaped sofa that more or less blocked off that section of the room.
It took the better part of two hours to get the room to how she liked it, and then she continued to hang all of her stuff up after she put Youtube onto the Smart TV. She sang along to Sabrina Carpenter's Looking at me as she danced and began to put some items onto the bookshelf.
"Cause I'm young for a teacher, I'll teach you what you don't know, but I can't give it up all at once, you would overdose," She sang, knowing the walls were very much sound proof in the private wings. "Don't you bring any bull in the room tonight. It's a whole new rodeo. It could be you and me, but you know that I'll steal the sho—AHH!"
She turned around to pick something else up, looking up at the very last second as three figures suddenly appeared not even four feet away from her. She released the object in question, a heavy Hymilaian salt rock on instinct.
Her heart was hammering in her chest as she gasped, bringing her hands up to her eyes as she groaned. She rubbed her hands down her face as she tried to calm her heart. "You scared the living shit out of me."
Caius stood in front of her, getting out of a crouch as he held up the heavy salt rock as if it weighed nothing. It probably did for him.
"You almost dropped this onto your foot,"
She took a step back, looking down with her eyebrows furrowing. "Shit. Did I? I didn't realise. I drop stuff when I get startled."
"We will have to take that into account," He said, handing the salt rock so she could place it to the side. "What is that for?"
"It's a salt rock," Erika said it like that explained it. "The two little holes on top are for small tea candles… Which I forgot to pack. Damn. Anyway, it's just a pretty candle holder with the additional purpose of a paperweight or chucking it at my sister when she snoops through my room while I'm in it."
"You have thrown a salt rock at your sister?" Marcus said slowly, his lips curling as Erika nodded. "Are you so inclined at throwing things at people?"
"Well, if you had touched me when my back was turned, I would have thrown it at you regardless of who you were. If you had touched my neck or shoulder blades," Erika cringed at even the thought of someone doing that. "I would have tried to elbow you in the face. Reflex. Have you finished with the rogue Vampire?"
"He has been sentenced to dungeon time for the next fifteen years,"
"Hm. Cool," Erika said, fiddling with her thumb ring on her left hand.
Aro narrowed his eyes. "You seem uncomfortable. Has anyone been rude or discourteous towards you?"
"No," She twisted it once more.
"Then what has made you so… jittery, for the lack of a better word?"
"It's just my room…" She looked to the door,
"We thought it best that it didn't have windows because—"
Erika shook her head. "It's not about the windows, I can do without them until I have your trust again. I have this thing about my bedroom, or any place I deem mine. I hate anyone coming in unannounced." She brought her thumb to her lips, running her nail against it before biting it gently for a second. "I'm the kind of person that needs a sacred place that I can feel safe in, otherwise I'm really uncomfortable, enough so to become detached from the people around me."
Aro stuck his hand out, silently asking. Erika looked at it for a moment before taking it, letting the select memories and feelings be seen. After a moment, he nodded and dropped her hand, remembering that she didn't like physical contact so much.
She missed the contact already but shoved this feeling back as they all looked at her.
"You would prefer that the cleaners skip your rooms?" Aro inquired. "Or that they come in rarely?"
She mutely nodded, before saying quietly, "I feel stupid for asking."
"You were brought up by a mostly single father, and your sister only occasionally visited. You are used to having your things staying yours. Everyone should have a sacred space that doesn't get invaded. We each have a private room which none of us go into without permission." Marcus softly spoke. "We ask that you do not go into these rooms without permission, and we will do the same for you."
Erika nodded, her hands now in her back pockets of her jeans. "That's fair. Bella thinks you should know that I have a fear of spiders. Like I hate them. I will either leave the room, scream, cry, or a mixture of all three, if I see one anywhere. Tarantulas I am okay with, anything smaller than my hand will result in a panic attack, or worse."
They seemed hesitant to ask what or worse meant.
"Or worse means that I'll become emotionally numb for a few days. It doesn't happen often but it happens."
"We will see if we can keep as many spiders out of the castle then," Aro nodded to himself. "I do not think we want you crying."
Erika shrugged, sitting on the edge of her bed with her hands behind her a little so she could lean on them. "We really need to discuss what's going to happen next, and I mean in the next few weeks and months, not years. Because I'm quite sure that there will be some sort of disagreement very soon. Where am I allowed and not allowed in the castle? The girl, Jane, was it? She said that this wing is heavily guarded and no one unauthorised is supposed to come in. Who's authorised then? Where's the kitchen? A better question would be is there a kitchen? Do I get to choose when I have my meals or do I have to eat at certain times? Are there gardens? Is there a pool? Oh, is there a training room?"
She fired off the questions in rapid succession. If they weren't Vampires, they doubted they would have understood what their mate said. Her words jumbled together at some parts but only because her tongue couldn't handle how fast her brain was going at the moment.
They blinked unneededly as they processed what she said.
"I started to ramble, didn't I?" Erika said, her speed now slowed back down as her mind realised it was going too fast. She brought her legs onto the bed, sitting cross legged on it as she twisted the ring on her thumb. She looked down as she did it. "I start to ramble sometimes… I can't help it but sometimes I realise and stop myself because it makes others uncomfortable when I speak so fast."
"You need not slow yourself down, my dear," Marcus had a soft smile on his lips. "We can understand you perfectly fine either way. Vampires process things at a quicker pace compared to Humans. Do you wish for us to answer the many questions you had?"
She nodded. "Please."
"There are only a few places we do not wish you to go into," Marcus started. "The dungeons are our main concern. We have people down there doing sentences for various amounts of time, or they are there to be sentenced eventually. The throne room on the days we get our food is another. Every wednesday at noon, Heidi brings in her catch, and we would prefer it if you stayed in your rooms, or at least this wing during that time."
"Only the Guard are allowed in these halls, about eight or nine people, besides ourselves," Caius stated. "Though only on rare occasions do most of them come in. Our personal guards are allowed in whenever, otherwise permission must be attained."
"Hmm, and who are they?"
"Renata is Aro's guard, Jane is Caus', and Alec is mine," Marcus said. "We have not decided on yours, but for now we will have them changing shifts to determine who would be a best fit for you."
"Okay." She shrugged before smiling. "Kitchen? I hope there is."
This caused the three men to smile, knowing she was only teasing.
"There is a kitchen that the Human staff use," Aro stated. "You had a question about regulated feeding times."
"You make me sound like a dog," Erika rubbed a hand down her face. "I only asked that because my sleep schedule has been really bad recently and this move won't have helped. I'll get hungry at awkward times, I always do, so regulated food times won't work for me. I snack a lot anyway."
"Right," Caius looked like he had no clue what she meant by that.
"Caius, you look confused. I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. This might mean I might eat very little in a day, and then eat too much the next." She almost jumped from the awkward position she was in, her back now straight as she looked at them with daring glance. "Is there coffee in this place? And I mean proper, coffee bean coffee, not instant because we will have a bit of a problem otherwise."
Aro laughed quietly, his hands clasped in front of him. The other men looked at him confused and accusedly, knowing that he knew something. He waved towards Erika as she gave off a sheepish look.
"Erika has been drinking coffee since she was fourteen, she had become addicted to it. She had grown an intolerance to instant coffee, she abhors it to the same degree we abhor animal blood. We can drink it but we will not be happy doing so." Aro shook his head. "At one point in her teenage years, her father always said that the instant had to go before she could get more beans. This resulted in her getting rid of all the instant coffee in her house by putting it in the sink and letting the water run, ensuring that her father would get the coffee beans she had run out of."
Erika rubbed the back of her neck, bringing her hand to the side and applying too much pressure on the bruise. She winced, forgetting that she had a few days left of a bad bruise before it would start to heal. Looking at her hand, she quickly shook it off and turned back to them.
"We have a number of beautiful gardens, but most are open to all Vampires visiting or local. There are a small number that are secluded and are only accessible by the higher Guard and us." Marcus mentioned with a small nod of his head. "There are facilities for the Human staff, pool and such. As long as you are escorted there and supervised by someone, we do not mind." He saw the look Erika had, the slight disbelief and disgust. "We want you to be supervised because the Humans we employ want to be Vampires but many won't be. There is a chance of them trying to hurt you because they know you will become one of us."
Erika's fuming look diminished. "Alright. And if I want to leave the castle?"
"As long as you tell us," Caius said, one of the most reasonable things she had heard all day.
She stood up from her bed, quickly gathering her phone, tablet and laptop and bringing all three electronics to the Vampires. Reminding them of a cat, Erika looked at them sheepishly with a small smile as she gestured to her electronics.
"What's the wifi password?"
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Erika quickly got into a quite random routine within two days of arriving.
Waking up whenever she wanted, she turned off the sleep mode on her smartwatch. One of the Guard had tried to wake her up at seven in the morning the other day and the whole Guard soon realised that you should not wake Erika Swan up unless it was an emergency, and someone better be dying and still dying when she got there.
She spent a lot of time in the library, finding out that it was attached to Aro's room and she didn't dare venture into that side of the library then.
If she wasn't in her room, she could be found in the library with about three different books around her and her laptop open. Her wireless headphones would be in and everyone that entertained the room would be ignored. One of the Guards had to bring her a plate of fruit when she got hungry but couldn't be asked to leave.
Within those two days, Erika hadn't left the master wing and she grew bored.
It was time to explore the castle and that meant she had to have whichever guard was on shift follow her, and it was Jane.
With how hot it got during the day, a grey crop top and a pair of black shorts it was. Regardless of how much Erika wanted to walk barefoot, she pulled on a pair of low heeled sandals. She had a feeling her mates would appreciate the view when they saw her and hate her for it too. Bras were a last resort for when her girls hurt.
"You don't have to follow me, you know," Erika said, her eyes on her phone as she walked at a slow pace and replied to a text or two from Bella and Rosalie.
Jane walked a step behind her, wearing a full on dark dress and cloak. Her face was neutral as she spoke, "Master Caius has stated you aren't to go anywhere without a guard. While the whole Coven knows about you, not all of them approve of your Human status, my lady."
"Tough luck," Erika shrugged, frowning before taking a step back so she was in line with Jane. "Better. Walk with me rather than behind me. I don't like people walking behind me. I never know their intentions. You have a disdain for me, that is quite clear to see. Why? "
Her jaw was clenched but it relaxed as Erika stopped and was expecting an answer.
"You are Human, you go against our laws by knowing,"
"Yet there are secretaries and staff that are Human and in the know," Erika rolled her eyes and began to walk again. "The law states that a Human is to join the immortal or be permanently silenced. I plan to be turned, but on my own terms. And I have a feeling your disdain for me goes further than me being Human. Just because your little gift of illusion doesn't work on me, doesn't mean you get to hate me because of something I fear."
"What do you fear enough to shield yourself completely from everything?"
"I'm not telling you to get pity, so do not pity me. Do you know the rampage in Cambridgeshire, England eight years ago? The one time I visit my mother is the time she is murdered in front of me. I was fourteen and a Vampire killed her in front of me before he tried to attack me. The local Coven that was hunting him got him before he attacked me, swiftly killing him." Erika took a small breath in. "I sat there on the ground next to my mother's dead corpse, numb and crying as they discussed what they were going to do with me. They decided on erasing my memory and it worked for a time. For weeks after that, I wasn't myself. I felt like a piece of me was missing. I couldn't remember my own mother. My mother and my memory was taken from me. My memory came back when I saw the nomad Coven that lurked around Forks for a bit."
"What do you mean by your memory came back?" Jane paused in thought. "Daphne Wellerman's ability of memory extraction and erasion is perfect, Master Aro had it tested but she decided to not join the Coven and created her own instead. How did seeing these nomads cause it to come back?"
"I was in the forest, I like running in the wooded area," Erika sighed in memory. "I saw them, the three Vampires with their feral appearance and red eyes. Those red eyes haunted me for years. Those eyes were the thing that stopped me in the forest, I couldn't look away. It was a few months before my twentieth birthday when I remembered. I went home and the memories came back suddenly. I never linked Vampires to my mother's killer or the Cullens, I didn't actually know until a few weeks ago."
"How does this link in with the shield aspects you hold? You are not your sister, you have a different gift."
"Bella is a mental shield, while mine is more physical. I hated the years of not knowing what was wrong with me, so when I remembered, I forced myself to keep the control over what I had left." Erika looked at Jane's face, now realising that neither of them were willing to show emotion. "Your hatred of Humans is well founded. I'm not going to give up my control over my body and my mind for someone else to mess with me."
"You want to have control over yourself, is that the reason you did not want to be turned straight away?"
"If I'm turned now, I won't be able to see my father," Erika frowned. "My mother's side of the family is all gone, he and Bella are all that is left. I'm only here because Bella needs more time. She has to finish school before she is turned. I'm here to make sure she is turned."
"What are you talking of?" Jane stopped, her young eyes searching Erika's tired ones. "You are a mate of the Masters. Do you not see how special you are? You are to be our queen, the Vampire Queen. Do you know how many people would be willing to kill you to get to the kings?"
"Plenty, I'd think. Two weeks ago, I was a student almost failing her degrees because I was so stressed about my sister, and now I live within a whole new community with new rules and live with three men I have to believe are my soulmates." Erika stepped closer to Jane, fully knowing she was facing a dangerous creature but she didn't care, not anymore. "My sister almost got herself killed because she jumped off of a cliff just to hear Edward's voice. My mother was killed by a Vampire. My memories of her were tampered with."
Tears pricked her eyes but she didn't let them fall. If she wanted to cry, she would do it in her room. "So excuse me if I don't want to be a member of a race that has brought my family nothing but pain."
Erika had remembered the way back to her room, gotten back without a hitch, and changed into workout leggings and a sports bra.
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