Chapter 9
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Erika's first trial came as an accident.
She and her mates had been sitting at the table in the throne room, Erika looking at various websites on her tablet as she did research on some long standing laws in England for a book idea she had, and her mates looked at various books as they solidified their knowledge. A small group of unfamiliar Vampires stormed into the throne room with another having to be dragged in.
Caius was the first to notice the calm but disheveled state the dragged Vampire was in. He stood up, glancing towards Erika as she was the last to realise that something was happening. Ananias stood next to her as soon as the other people had entered, acting as a guard straight away.
"What is going on?" Caius demanded. "Why has the Wellerman clan decided to invade the throne room without permission or forewarning?"
"My apologies, Master Caius," The person who spoke was a tall female with pin straight black hair and slight asian features. She came forward first, bowing her head a little. "We would have sent word ahead but we didn't think we would have time. We have a traitor in our midst and he decided that he was going to try to sell information to UCOM."
Erika brought her hand to Aro's, asking him what UCOM meant. He answered it as a thought. UCOM was the United Council of Ordered Magic, an organisation of Witches that tried to control Magic a couple centuries ago. They stopped interactions between Governments, the Volturi, and UCOM in the seventeen hundreds when the Witch hunting craze came over Europe.
"Wait. Witches are real?" Erika said aloud, dropping her hand back to her lap. "Not surprising but still."
"Yes, Witches are as real as Vampires, Lycans, and Shifters." He said to her in a low voice even if they both knew everyone in the room would be able to hear it. "There was a treaty with the Witches forged in the twelve hundreds but by the seventeen hundreds, there was turmoil between both our races. Witches are as powerful as their strongest, and their strongest had shifted sides and became a Vampire."
Erika made a tiny humming sound for a split second, acknowledging the information before turning silent as Marcus continued the conversation.
"They have been dormant for a few decades." Marcus said. "Why would they resurface again unless something is coming? Is there something happening we need to know of?"
The woman shook her head. "Not that I or my informants know of. Should we be talking about this in front of our current company?" She sent her topaz coloured eyes, telling that her diet was quite one way or the other, towards Erika. It wasn't dark or evil, or even resenting, but it had an edge of curiosity.
"Our current company is perfectly fine," Caius waved it off, sitting down in his seat again. "Erika is our final mate and Ananias is her guard."
"Oh, you found your final mate. How wonderful… Daphne Wellerman, coven leader. There is something familiar about you, Mistress Erika."
"Cambridgeshire rampage eight years ago. My mother was killed before you could kill the rogue Vampire. I survived because you came in time but you erased my memories afterwards." She said, "My name's Erika Swan."
"You...remember everything? Strange," Daphne muttered. "I never had a person be immune to it."
"Not immune, but my memories of that night were triggered by a trauma response to seeing red eyes of a Vampire."
"Our dear Erika is gifted with being either a copycat or an adaptor, we do not know which yet," Aro stated with a small smile at her. "She has a preference for being in control of herself so it would make sense for all forced barriers on her to be lifted to her preference."
"I guess it is alright for her to know then," Daphne stated, nodding her acknowledgement before continuing. She pointed to the man who had to be dragged in, a disgusted look of betrayal on her face. "I doubt he got very far with the information but I'd like it if his thoughts are read."
"Of course," Aro stood from his chair, giving Erika's knee a quick squeeze as he moved away and Ananias came closer to her. Santiago appeared, taking the claimed traitor and holding him so Aro could take his hand without fearing he would escape. "You have been naughty, selling our secrets to Witches. You have made a grave mistake, Mr Manon. You should have thought before you did it. Bring him to the dungeons, Santiago."
"Yes, Master," It didn't take much for Santiago to wrestle Manon out of the room, getting him down to the dungeons with ease.
"Wellerman Coven, you have permission to stay in the castle until we have come to a verdict for Mr Manon's trial," Marcus stated clearly. "We will summon you when we have decided. Dismissed."
"Thank you, Master Marcus," Daphne said, nodding her head in a slight bow before disappearing with her coven from the throne room.
The doors closed after Ananias left too, stating he would keep an eye on the coven by Caius' request.
It was silent in the throne room for a couple seconds as Aro sat down and placed an elbow on the table while he rested his chin on his hand. Erika moved one of her legs closer to her chest, bending her knee and resting her chin there. She didn't speak as the men thought, only watching them as seconds passed.
"What information did Manon give out?" Caius asked.
"Well, there was not a lot that he could have given the Witches even if he had wanted to. They already knew everything he told them," Aro admitted. "But the blatant treason and disrespect he has for our authority has made him a security threat. We need to make an example out of him."
"So we kill him," Marcus said.
"It's not as simple as that," Caius sighed. "To truly get across that we will not stand for treason, he will have to be killed in front of the whole Coven, allowing word out that we will not have traitors of any sort. Have we decided that we will kill him? I vote to kill him."
"I vote to kill him too," Aro nodded.
"As do I."
Suddenly they all looked at Erika.
"What?" She lifted her head from her knee, a little confused.
"Do you vote to kill him or let him live?" Marcus asked.
Erika hesitated. "I'm a little confused on… on why you're… asking me? You three are the kings, you're the rulers."
"Your input will be desired by many of our Coven mates,"
Right, by their Coven mates, but perhaps not by them. They wanted to know what she would say because she had started to gather sway with the Human staff since she was making life easier for them. A lot of the Human staff had been killed off before she came to the castle, and now very few of them were killed for small errors. While the Humans didn't speak to her much, she had started to add features to their lives that they wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
Erika just cracked a smile, nodding stiffly. "Just kill him. Easier."
They looked surprised at that, not expecting her to agree to what they had done.
"Is that your true answer or are you trying to appease us by agreeing?" Marcus questioned, eyes switching between hers to try and find the truth.
"A little bit of both, I suppose," She said. "I'm a writer. While I haven't finished any of my works yet, one is a semi-fantasy based in a royal court. I understand to show that the main authority isn't scared to discipline their subjects to keep peace, hard decisions have to be made. This is one of them."
"Even if it happens to be someone's death?"
"Even then."
"Will it not stay in your consciousness that you could have prevented his death?"
"Am I the one dying? No? Then his death does not matter to me," She said, letting her foot drop to the ground so she could sit up properly. "While I'm Human, my morals aren't fixed by Human logic. You don't see me questioning you about your diet on innocent people because I don't care about them. Their deaths don't matter to me. You lump Humans and their morals together. Mr Manon's death is just a tiny ripple in a large ocean of waves, barely stopping a tsunami but stopping it nonetheless."
"The tsunami being more people thinking they can betray us," Caius cleared it up.
"Kill him and make him an example, and you'll have people rethink their positions. Perhaps a few will think that you've gone too far, but you're the Volturi, the ruling Coven, and your rules are law."
"The rules can be bent but never broken,"
"That's why you've allowed Bella to live until she and Edward are married, then she will be turned. There is not a rule saying when a person has to be changed, only that they will be before they can expose Vampires,"
Aro was quick to change the topic back to the right one, noticing that Erika was beginning to become a little angry and frustrated by something. He shifted in his seat. "So it is decided. Manon will be killed. I will have one of the higher Guard send word out that there will be a trial at midnight tonight, giving us a couple hours to get ready. Erika, have you any outfits that would benefit a trial? Formal preferably?"
Erika gently touched a fingertip to his hand for only a second, imagining an outfit. "Will that do?"
"Yes, that will do. Perhaps with the Janus Boot Alta from Christian Louboutin?" Aro suggested. "I believe they would pair nicely with your outfit in mind."
"Sure, I'll try it out," Erika nodded. "Do you want me in here during the trial? Won't that be dangerous for me since I'm Human?"
"You could be with us, dear," Caius said. "Ananias would be with you at all times anyway. It would be to show a united front."
"Okay."
Erika had the feeling that this was to appease the Human staff and those who had Human mates yet to be turned. She didn't voice her worries, only agreeing and stating she would be ready in time. She excused herself, saying she wanted to get ready early when in fact she wanted some alone time.
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Spending the first hour just mindlessly watching TV seemed to stop her worries for the time being, letting her mind become a little bit more numb and kept her from overthinking what was going to come in the next few hours.
Erika spent the next hour showering, doing her makeup, ruining her makeup, showering again to get it off, and redoing it again. She groomed her eyebrows, plucking out the annoying hairs that didn't want to grow in the right position or in the correct direction.
She dressed up for the trial, nothing more than she would have worn in the Human world.
The dark red of her silk button up shirt was beautiful against her skin, the top few buttons undone to show off a dainty little silver chain necklace. The silk was tucked into a smooth black skirt, clinging to the curves of her hips, ass and thighs until it stopped at mid thigh. She had sheer tights under the skirt to cover up a little more, finishing the look off with the heels Aro had suggested.
Unlike what the shop actually sold, Erika got the Janus Boot Alta from Christian Louboutin in a shade of beautiful red that matched her shirt. It went well with her outfit and she liked the new shoes.
She straightened her two-toned hair, and matched her lipstik to her shirt and heels, and made sure her eyeliner was sharp enough to kill before she left her room to find that the kings were just coming out of theirs.
"Are you ready, Erika?" Marcus asked, now dressed in a more formal outfit that the rest of them were wearing too.
She took in a breath, exhaling slowly but nodding. "Yeah. Never expected to go to an execution but it can't be helped. I'm ready."
The men had changed into more formal attire, going for black shirts and trousers with a dash of red, Aro's tie, Caius' scarf, and Marcus' waistcoat, while they put a suit jacket on top with shiny black shoes with red bottoms.
"Is this appropriate?" She asked, referring to her outfit. "I've not ever really gone to a formal court. The closest probably was my prom and I went to Forks, which isn't known for being formal or classy in any way."
"You look beautiful," Caius said.
"I know that, I want to know if it's appropriate or if I should put on a longer skirt or different shoes."
"It is the twenty-first century, as long as you are dressed respetable, we see everything as appropriate," Aro smiled. "Heidi does not care for modesty, but she is comfortable with what she wears. As long as you are comfortable, we do not mind."
Erika exhaled heavily. "Thank fuck. I don't want to change. I look and feel great in this."
Marcus stepped forward, a small box in his hands as he slowly brought it in front of him and showed the contents to Erika. "This is a necklace similar to ours. It has been charmed against all sorts of things, including the repellents you would need after you are turned. Aro thought it best to get you a black tourmaline stone instead of a diamond, stating something about the properties of it being more appealing to you."
Erika pulled the golden chain out of the box, holding it by the chain with another hand on the pendant that hung low. It was the Volturi V, golden with the four panels that made up the crest of the Vampire ruling coven. The two gems, a larger, oval one at the top with a smaller, angled square at the bottom, were the black tourmaline as Marcus had stated.
The corner of her lip twitched at the sight of this, not out of annoyance as it would usually be, but out of her efforts to try and stop the huge smile that wanted to bloom across her face. Instead, she compromised and let a soft one appear as she turned the pendant a couple degrees to see the way the light would flicker off of the gold and stones.
"It's gold."
It was more of a statement rather than a question as it should have been.
Placing the chain on, she untucked her hair and made sure it touched her skin. She liked the feeling of jewelry against her skin, reminding her at times she wore it. She felt teh pendant become warm, shrinking the chain a little so it sat on the lower part of her sternum and close to the tops of her breasts, exactly where she would have had it anyway.
"What's going to happen in the throne room?" She asked cautiously. "How does a trial even go in the Vampire world?"
"It is more of us just announcing his death and that we will not stand for treason than anything else," Caius explained. "Did the cloaks we ordered come for you?"
"Yeah, I think so. Should I put one on?"
"It would be best to show that we are a united form, dressing as such will help," Marcus nodded. "I will be back with ours in a moment."
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The royals were the last to walk into the throne room, everyone else already in there and lined up around the edge. More than forty people stood there, many in lighter shades of grey and some not even wearing cloaks. Those with dark cloaks, such as Ananias, stood nearer the thrones.
The royals didn't look at anyone as they almost strutted into the room, Marcus at the front with Erika and Caius walking together right behind him with Aro at the end. When they got to the thrones, Marcus sat first at his side, then Caius sat with Erika carefully leaning on the edge of one of the arms of his chair, with Aro being the last to sit.
Erika balanced on the right arm of Caius' chair, sitting on the arm closer to Aro's chair. The arms were already thick so it wasn't difficult to make herself comfortable as Caius' arm held onto her waist in comfort and reassurance of her safety in a room of untethered Vampires.
Ananias stood closer to the steps near Caius as that was where his mistress was. The Wellerman Coven stood on the other side of the room, near Marcus as Aro addressed the room.
"Santiago, bring Manon in,"
The man had to be dragged in as he struggled, Santiago just rolled his eyes and put one hand into the man's hair and another onto his shoulders and dragged him like a sack of potatoes against the marble floor. A member of the Wellerman Coven stepped forward to stand on the other side of Manon, making sure to keep him in the middle and on his knees before the royals.
"We have decided your fate, Manon," Aro said slyly, a dark twist of a smile occuring on his face. "Manon here, from the Wellerman Coven, has committed treason against the Volturi, against Vampires. He decided that any help he could be to the Witches so they could try and overthrow us was better than being an upstanding member of our society."
"The Wellerman Coven found out that Manon had betrayed us and came forward about his actions," Marcus continued. "The Wellerman Coven have been investigated and we have decided that they are not at fault."
"But Manon is," Caius grinned at what they all knew would be coming soon. "We have voted. This trial will end in his execution because of his actions against us, against Vampires."
"I doubt you all voted!" Manon yelled from his kneeling position on the floor. He glared up at them with ruby red eyes, darkened with anger and fear. "Has the queen voted or did you not allow her to? I think we should hear her vote for ourselves since it has to be unanimous."
Erika stifled a laugh at his audacity, keeping it down to a small curl of the lips. "I voted to kill you, Manon. You look surprised."
"I deserve a second chance!"
"The only time the Volturi give second chances is when we know there is a chance for redemption. You, Manon, have commited treason and there is no coming back from that." Erika stated, tilting her head to the side a bit. "Why should we be merciful when you did not even hesitate to go to the Witches and spill all the knowledge you had?"
He became even angrier at her words, trying to stand up but Santiago quickly brought him back to the floor again. Caius' hand stiffened on her hip, almost curling her closer to him but not enough to force her to move.
"You're Human," Manon said. "You're supposed to be merciful! You're supposed to have a conscience. You're supposed to hate killing!"
"I am Human, but my mercy has to be earned. Your death wouldn't stay on my conscience any more than a bug's." Erika smiled softly, letting a flash of teeth and a heat of anger show. "Your death is inconsequential when we can prevent so many more from dying because of your ill thought out actions. Did you think my humanity would save you?"
"Did you think your queen's humanity would be a tactic you could use to prevent your death?" Caius scowled. "Cruelty can come in many forms, and none are as imaginative as Humans can be. Would you rather see the limits of a Human's cruelty or would you prefer to die quickly?"
If Vampires could lose any more colour than they already did, Manon would have looked like he lost it all as he saw that Caius told the truth.
The queen leaned on Caius' chair, sitting comfortably before she gracefully crossed one knee over the other and perfectly balanced on the wide arm of his chair. It was inhuman with how she sat there, balanced as if the action was simply Magic. The pure look of interest and intrigue as she observed the room was strange, less of the horror that they would think would be seen in a Human observing a Vampire trial, and more of the simple acceptance and the need to seize control from all the people in front of her.
The kings were known as judge, jury, and executioner.
There was no kindness in their judging, no leniency in their jury, and only swiftness in their executioning. They created the laws to keep the Vampires safe from Humans, to keep a sort of truce between the two races. It was created when the Volturi decided that there were too many Humans being killed and too many Vampires also being killed because of the amount of deaths.
Humans were creative and resourceful in the way they found out how to kill Vampires.
All the Vampires knew this, all Covens tried their best to keep under the radar, teaching new members the rules so they didn't suddenly have to appear before the three kings and be judged for crimes that could have been prevented.
These three kings kept the Vampires under a couple rules that allowed them to live and yet hide their nature so they weren't exposed. There weren't a lot of rules, most hiding away from Humans and trying to keep the Vampire race hidden.
The kings were fair in their ruling, taking into account many things before they voted.
All the Vampires knew that the kings disliked Humans in the know, but their own mate knew. Those that knew had to either be turned or killed, one or the other, or if they were useful while Human and not as Vampires, they could petition to stay Human and in the service of the Volturi.
Somehow Manon knew that even by Caius' words, Erika was worse.
The Human Queen of Vampires was much crueler than the kings. Her humanity was not a stopping factor in her decision to kill Manon, rather that her position as Queen allowed the savageness that Humans obtained within their DNA to be released.
The smile that spread across her smile was too similar to the one that King Aro had when he came to a conclusion of a trial that ended in a death, a hair's breadth too wide with teeth a shade too bright and canines too sharp to be human.
The look in her grey eyes dared Manon to try her and her cruelty, the lights from the lit torches that were around the edge of the room made her eyes have a slight silver gleam, a darkness hidden in the brightness.
"Quick death," Manon said stiffly.
"Do you not trust that your queen will give you a just death?"
"I trust she will make it as painful as possible,"
Erika looked impressed, looking down at Caius with a matching grin. "He's not wrong."
Aro smiled at the two from his seat, turning back to Manon who had Santiago holding onto his shoulder. "Santiago, Afton."
To watch a Vampire have their arms ripped from their torso before their head was cleanly twisted off, it wasn't as strange as Erika would have thought it would be. She just sat calmly and watched, unflinching as Santiago and Afton took off each arm and Aro walked forward, declaring that treason isn't acceptable and will be met swiftly with death.
He tore Manon's head off like it was butter before being handed a lit torch and lighting the body on fire.
The ashes that remained were dark and blacker than any ash Erika had ever seen, a touch of green in there from the venom.
While this was the first execution Erika had ever witnessed, it wasn't the first death and it wouldn't be the last. Vampire deaths happened every few months, sometimes only once or twice a year but there was always someone hiding from the Volturi because they knew they commited a crime.
Erika wasn't disturbed by the savageness of the killing, she was actually surprised with how easy it was.
In all the tales her mother used to tell her as a child, Erika found that she wasn't going to be a princess. They needed saving in their stories, always naive and sometimes strong. Erika found that to be a queen of Vampires, she needed to be like a queen from a fairy tale, one that had no mercy to the merciless and fairness to the merciful.
The look in Manon's eyes would always be a reminder that she was a ruler now.
In his eyes, she was a merciless queen but she was fair.
She could live with that.
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