Velathri, 1000BC
A small smile turned up her lips as she watched the couple strolling through the courtyard below her window, a soft titter echoing behind her as her guard also observed what had made her smile. "It would seem you'll have someone joining you here shortly, my lady," Corin murmured behind her.
Whereas those words would have brought her great upset months ago, now they brought her joy. Lysandra turned to look at the blonde haired woman behind her with a wide smile. "Yes, it would certainly seem that way. Could you ask someone to prepare one of the rooms beside me, please? It would seem we'll have company here soon, and I'd like to make sure she feels welcome."
Corin returned a dazzling smile and swept away to do as she had been asked, and Lysandra turned back to the window, observing Aro and the small, dark curly haired woman walking by his side. She seemed skittish, nervous, all perfectly normal for someone who had just been made aware the man courting them was a creature of the night. All perfectly reasonable.
Moving around the tower inner room, she made sure the hearth was roaring and crackling, missing the company she had just had, trying to keep herself busy while she awaited Corin's return. The woman had become a constant presence in the tower, glued to her side, and itrelieved her. Gone were the days of loneliness, the days of trying endlessly to pass the time with any means possible. The first months in the tower had been a dark and difficult time, slipping her into an almost depressive state, that was, until her brothers and husband introduced Corin to herself. The young woman had instantly taken to being a close companion, and her favourite guard, by far. Corin was never far away, and her days were no longer filled with anguish, but with meaning and purpose, and with happiness.
The door creaked open, and Corin returned, sending a dazzling smile towards her. "It's been ordered, my lady. A lower guard will see to it that it is done." Lysandra sent a smile back, before returning to her perch in the window seat, taking the glass of blood that Corin handed to her as she gazed out of the window, letting the crimson liquid quell the burn in her throat. Caius would be coming to take her out to feed later in a surrounding town, a rare treat at letting her hunt for her food, instead of having it brought to her. Although, with a new sister joining her in the tower, it would make more sense. He was more than likely bringing her out of the tower in order to give their brother and his chosen bride their privacy.
Her love did indeed come to retrieve her that night, helping to fasten her into her cloak with a gentle tenderness that was reserved solely for her, and he immediately whisked her away, a distant sobbing reaching their ears as they left. She looked at him quizzically but he shook his head, waiting until they were further away from the castle, three of her guards following at a distance behind them, Tieto, a shield, ever on his guard around her. They slowed from their run to a walk as they approached a village, the lights from fires in the village square shining in the distance. "Aro has chosen a woman by the name of Ceres, an orphan from the city, to be his mate. She is to be turned in two days time, and is mourning the loss of her own mortality at present." An amused, albeit cruel, tilt of his lips, followed his statement.
A soft sigh left her own lips, however. "Am I to assume she will join me in the tower prior to her immortality?"
Her husband nodded, humming under his breath. "Correct, she will. Aro is moving her in there now at this moment, Corin is helping her settle."
A smile perked at her lips. "Corin is quite good at making one content, after all, such a task for her makes sense," she mused, looking at her love with wide eyes. "Will you stay with me tonight? Or do you have pressing matters to attend to with Lady Ceres joining us now?"
Caius gave a half smirk, looking down at the small blonde by his side. "Come, Lysa, it is time to feed. Such discussions can wait until after you have sated your thirst."
The village was looming now, coming closer with each step they took. Within seconds, she stood in the town square, a collection of frightened eyes gazing upon her inhuman form. A sharp smile glittered upon her face as her husband and their guards appeared around her, Romulus and Willem flanking her husband as Tieto hovered close to her own person. Murmurings whispered around her as the humans took in their small group, the smell of their fear permeating the air. A firepit was roaring in the middle, evident there had been some sort of gathering, or perhaps even a celebration.
Ashortcelebration.
Her thirst flared as she seized a young woman, the woman giving a shriek before a gurgle as sharp teeth cut through flesh. An amused titter reached her ears, before synchronized screams accompanied it, the rich smell of copper leeching into the air. Hot and warm, and velvety and soothingly sweet, the blood washed down her throat, soothing the aching burn that had set up home there. All too soon, however, the woman ran dry, and she pounced on another, a younger woman this time, at the peak of her adolescence, frozen in fear at the chaos unfolding around her. She too ran dry quickly, and with a huff, the young woman was shoved onto the other, their bodies creating a small pile.
The small celebration was no more in a matter of minutes, a small pile of bodies, some nine corpses, piled into the bonfire. A grumble tore from her lips as she tossed the body of a young boy into the flames, her third meal, an arm snaking around her waist as a small cloth handkerchief dabbed at the corner of her mouth, its owner amused. "Decades on, and you still feed like an infant at times, my love."
Her head tilted up, and she gave an amused smile. "If they did not fight so much, there would not be so much mess." His answering chuckle made her cold bones feel warmth again, and something far more pleasurable stir in her belly. Crimson eyes, flames dancing in them from the firepit, took in her blood stained attire, and they darkened hungrily. "Come, let us get you out of these clothes and into some cleaner attire, lest you wish to frighten your new coven sister upon your first meeting."
The run back to Volterra took mere minutes, the time it took to change her clothes, however, was considerably more. Her husband, as always, was insatiable, and his mouth found where she burned almost immediately, eliciting moans from her as he pushed her back on the grand bed, making her writhe amongst the furs and the silks, much as he had that first night. Her hand seized into his golden locks as he brought her to the edge for the third time that night, a shudder wracking her bones, a loud, albeit slightly choked, moan leaving her lips.
It was after the fifth time he took pity upon her, gently worshipping her body with a tenderness reserved for her and her only, lips gently questing around the smooth column of her throat and face as he brought her to completion in a dance as old as the age of time, hooking her leg up around his waist as he gently moved above and inside her, showing her the depths of his love. She exhaled softly as he stilled above her, a soft groan in her ear telling her he had reached his own completion. Her hand cupped his cheek as she pressed her lips to his, slowly pouring her own love into his, pulling away moments later, and resting her head atop his chest, placing a hand gently on the grotesque scars that lined his pale skin.
It was only then that she remembered the woman who slumbered mere feet from them. She perked up, looking down at her husband. "What is Lady Ceres like?"
An amused smirk adorned her beloveds face. "This is what you wish to know?" He questioned back, amused at her excitedness. "She is a human, wife, what she is currently does not matter."
With a fixed stare of bemusement, she sighed. "I just wish to know what kind of a woman I will share my spaces with. Is she kind? Brash? Headstrong? Crass? Demure? Abhorrent? What kind of a woman is she?" The answer was a laugh. "Would Aro ever choose a woman to be his mate who wasabhorrent?" He quipped back, amused, and she laughed back, fixing him with another stare. "Need I remind you of Hestia from a century prior? She was abhorrent, I have never met a more foul woman in my many years." She shuddered as she thought of the woman whom Aro had taken a brief, thankfully very brief, liking to. A passing nomad, she had caught his eye for her beauty, her auburn tresses cascading around her face like a waterfall. She had been polite at first, but her crude nature, as well as her lack of respect for their ways, had caused her dalliance with her raven haired brother to be a very short one. She had almost dropped to her knees and prayed to the Gods, the old and the new, from every religion, when Aro had told the woman that theirfriendshipwas at an end.
Caius gave a sigh from where he rested beneath her, pausing in thought for a moment before he spoke, fixing his rose coloured eyes upon her own. He gave a soft tilt of his lips, a hand gently pushing back a whisp of her golden curls. A thumb gently stroked her cheekbone. "Ceres is," he paused, trying to find the right words, without harshness. "She is quiet, reserved, but fiercely loyal. Aro has been courting her for a moon and a half, and she has never once wavered in her loyalty towards him. However, she did not realise that marrying and becoming an immortal included giving up her human life. While an orphan, she has made close friends here within the city, and she mourns their loss, as well as the loss of siring children of her own." The hand continued smoothing over her curls. "I believe she feels,lost, somewhat, alone. I believe Aro is hoping you will become a companion to her, and will guide her through her immortal life when he cannot, be a sister to her."
A small smile worked onto her lips as he spoke, and when he'd finished, she pressed her lips to his once more, slowly savouring the gentle passion between the two. "Of course I will be a sister to her," she murmured, in between stolen kisses. The hand on her hair slowly tightened, but never to a hurtful strength, just enough to press her lips against his again. Familiar stirrings coiled in her nether regions, and with a sigh, she pushed him back once more, sweeping a leg over his abdomen as she moved to straddle him.
Dark eyes watched as she sank down onto his manhood, a soft groan leaving her lips once more as he settled back, content to let her take control of her own pleasure. Fire burned as she moved, the coil in her abdomen tightening, his own eyes sliding shut in a content bliss as she moved atop him, soft sighs leaving his lips as soft cries left her own.How could humans ever think of this as a sin? Wetness coated her thighs as she shuddered atop, a sharp cry as she fell forward onto him, his hands immediately seeking her hips as he sought his own pleasure, guiding her through the quaking aftershocks of her own pleasure. The pleasure began to build again almost immediately, weaving a familiar pattern through her bones as she gasped and shook, still not quite recovered from the last explosion that had wrecked her limbs. Crimson eyes found crimson eyes, as did stone lips, and she cried into their kiss as she finished for what would be the eighth time that night, sinking into his embrace as he too finished, a rumble of his chest as he secured her in his embrace, lips finding her own as they always did.
A soft sigh slipped from her lips. "I love you, Caius," she murmured. "My husband and my saviour."
A hand smoothed down her back, gently, as lips pressed to her forehead tenderly. "And I you, wife."
The circular room was quiet, as she moved out of her chambers, clothed in a blue silken dress, metal circlets around her shoulders keeping her dress in place to protect her modesty. It was so quiet, save for the rhythmic, shallow breaths that came from the woman who was curled up on one of the chaises. Corin, seated by the fire, stood as she moved out of her rooms, Caius following behind her quietly as not to disturb the sleeping woman, tear tracks evident on her caramel skin.
The immortal woman, her guard, gave a small nod. "Master, my lady."
Lysandra smiled her reply, instead silently moving to observe her new sister. Ceres was a beautiful woman, just starting out her womanly life. She was slight of stature, dark curls, not as refined as her own, having fallen across her face as she slept restlessly, her heart stuttering every so often. A slight shaped face, small features, rose coloured lips, plump with the blood that ran through her veins, it was easy to see why Aro had been drawn to her beauty. She was, indeed, a stunningly beautiful woman for the city of Velathri. It was astounding she had not been married before now, at her age of nineteen summers, but with no dowery, it was understandable.
She looked to Corin. "Have her chambers been prepared as I requested?" She asked quietly, her close confidante nodding. "Yes, my lady, they have." She looked to the human woman with a familiar look. "Lady Ceres fell asleep waiting for Master Aro. She does not wish to stay in the tower."
Familiar feelings of such discontent roused in her mind, but they were gone almost immediately before she could focus on them. Caius gave a gentle squeeze of her hand, gently pulling her back from the sleeping human woman. "Leave her to sleep, wife, for her hours of sleep are numbered."
Something burned in her abdomen and she shook her head, gently stepping forward towards the woman again. "I cannot leave her to sleep out here, it must be cold for a human. Lest we wish for her to catch a chill and die before Aro can claim her as his mate?" Gently stooping forward, she gently cradled the sleeping woman to her, standing with no difficulty. Sweet smells of lavender and freshly clipped wildflowers filled her head, and she let out a soft sigh as she turned to face her husband. "Come, help me place her in her chambers. It is the least we could do to help our new sister." She implored.
The answer she received as akin to a sigh.He had never been able to refuse her requests, after all.
The chamber she's requested to be put together was akin to hers, minus the window seat, or the view of the courtyard. Rather, the windows from this room overlooked sprawling countryside. In the distance, she could make out the small settlement where they had fed earlier, far in the distance, the flames now roaring high as they consumed flesh, not wood. A bed, not as grand as her own, had been placed awkwardly in the middle of the room, and flames roared from the fire hearth as Caius brought life to them. Heavy furs lined the bed, just like her own, and she placed the sorrowful woman in the middle of them, placing a heavy pelt over her, ensuring she would be warm for the rest of the evening and well into the dawn. Ceres gave a soft sigh, moving under the warmth of the furs, her arm revealing a grotesque scar down the inside.
She too had known hardship and horrors, it would seem.
It would be many hours before she was graced with her new sisters presence. Birds sang their songs as they chirped from the trees and the foliage below, Caius having left many hours prior to converse with his brothers, and her brother, about their impending addition. Corin had sat with her, conversing in Latin literature about the impending war, reading the scrolls which they had accumulated over time.
The door creaking open tore her from her studies, the slight and slender woman moving quietly out into the circular room. She balked at the sight of the blonde immortal woman, bemused by the wide smile that was directed her way. "You're awake," she greeted gently, standing. The human woman appeared skittish, as though she wished she could flee any moment. Lysandra held a hand out, gently, beckoning her forward. "Come, Ceres, I'm quite anxious to meet you."
Ocean blue eyes gazed upon her with realisation. "You are Lady Lysandra." She uttered, unsure as if to come forward or not. Her betrothed had mentioned his blonde sister a handful of time, each of them describing her as kind, albeit a bit headstrong, but kind nonetheless.
Soft laughter echoed a kind smile. "Please, just Lysandra, or Lysa. We are to be sisters, there is no need for such formalities between sisters. Come, you must be hungry." She turned to Tieto, who was stood by the door, observing the encounter silently. His eyes found hers as she turned to him. "Please source somehumanfood for Lady Ceres, Tieto, and inform my brothers and husband that she is awake." The giant of a man gave a deep nod, before vanishing from sight.
Ceres watched her quietly, before moving forward hesitantly, accepting the seat Lysandra offered her. "Do you mind if I ask you a question, Lysandra?" The pain in her voice immediately disclosed what she wished to know, and Lysandra gave a gentle nod. "I already know what you wish to ask, and yes, the loss of never being able to have children does fade with time, but it will never completely go away."
Fresh pain welled in the eyes of the woman, and she steeled herself, as if willing her sorrow to disappear as not to seem weak, something the blonde could not bear. She gently clasped Ceres's hand, soothingly, and gave a gentle smile. "Time heals all wounds,sister, and I will be here throughout all of them. The happy times, the painful times, all of it, I will be there for you."
Footsteps sounded up the steps to the tower as she spoke, and her brothers, and husband, entered, Arcadius moving to stand by the wall, Tieto joining him, the lack of human food letting the blonde know that such sustenance for her new sister was soon to be no longer needed; the brunette noticed it also. Ceres whipped her head around, her heart increasing as she noticed the newest arrivals, and Lysandra gave her hand a soothing squeeze, gentle enough so to not hurt her, recapturing the woman's attention, whose blue eyes met her red ones with a nervous fright.
"I promise, Iwillbe there, for it all."
It seems her reassurance soothed the woman, for when her raven haired coven brother stepped forward to claim his bride, she stood without hesitation, following him back to the chambers which were to be her own. Murmured whispers of love echoed from the room, just as the screams did hours later as her newest sister gave over to the fiery torment of the venom as it tore through her limbs, as with each scream, Lysandra looked to her husband, meeting his gaze with a gentle, but determined look. He met her gaze, as wails and cries met her ears from the brunette as the flames of immortality began to claim her human body, his face solemn, but his lips titling up at each cry. She gave a soft sigh.Ever the sadist.
"And so it begins."