I Fear No Pain
C5: Know Thy Family
Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters.
A/N: For those of you that might recognize certain things in this chapter, I can honestly say that I've always found the lack of a creation myth in the series a bit of a let down, so I used one of my relevant hobbies for this purpose. There will be Vampire: The Masquerade lore sprinkled throughout the story from here on, and the Disclaimer of course also applies to this. Having said that, I want to thank everyone who so far has read and left a review. We are far from done with this one, and I hope you'll enjoy.
Jane's POV
A couple of days after Eleazar's visit I took it upon myself to seek out Alice because it was high time that I had a talk with her. Not only to thank her for keeping my Bella safe, but also to get to know her a little, because since they learned they were Soul Sisters, Bella had been gently nudging me to get to know her better.
I was fully aware that I wasn't the most sociable person, but I could see what the Pixie meant to my mate, and that drove me to want to make an effort to at least get to know her and see if there was a basis we could build a friendship on.
Knowing that she was probably in her atelier, since she had been working diligently on what were to become our new outfits, both for missions and for when we would have to stand guard in the Throne Room, it was the first place I decided to check to see if she was there.
Honestly I was dreading having new outfits since everything I had known for the last millennia had been these robes, and change always made me feel uncomfortable ever since I was turned.
As I walked down the hall to her atelier, I could hear her humming softly and I couldn't deny that it put me at ease at least a little, since that meant while she knew that I wanted to talk to her because of me deciding to seek her out, she seemed okay with it and the fact that her door was open only made me feel more at ease, because that meant that she was expecting me.
As a courtesy I knocked softly to announce my presence, and as she turned to me, she gave me a smile. "Good morning Jane."
"Good morning, I was hoping you would be free to talk a bit." I said softly, not at all comfortable in this situation.
She merely smiled at me and motioned for me to take a seat on the couch. "Of course Jane. It's been something a bit overdue, I would say."
I nodded as we took a seat. "It is, and I promise that it wasn't out of malice or jealousy that I put this off, I merely didn't know how to properly approach you, because as you may have noticed, I am not the most sociable member of the Volturi."
Alice smiled kindly at that. "I know, and I knew that it was a matter of time before we would sit down and talk, especially after what was revealed a couple of days ago. I was more than willing to wait for you to be ready."
"I appreciate that, and I'll be honest and say that I have no idea on how to start something like this, and if you'd allow me, I would like to say a few things first. I am sure you were aware that I felt more than a little bit threatened about how close you were to Bella when we met, and I want to apologize for how I cold I was towards you when you first arrived. She has told me how you and your mate have protected her from Edward to the best of your abilities, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being her sister." I said honestly.
She smiled at that. "Honestly, I saw what Bella would mean to me and Jasper, although I never expected it to be as deep as the bond we actually share. I told Bella a little of what was waiting for us in Volterra, and I saw you two together very early on in my visions about us coming here. I saw that I above all things had to be patient and not rush anything, which I will be honest and say I'm not the best at."
"Bella told me as much, and I will admit that it will take a bit of getting used to, but I am certainly willing to try because it will make her happy if we at the very least get along." I said as kindly as I could manage.
"To be honest, I've seen most of the progression of our friendship, but I also know far too well that my visions are far from definitive at times, and I refuse to always act on them and thus deriving people of their own decisions." Alice said softly.
I nodded at that. "I can't imagine what it would be like to see the future like you do, and I think it is admirable that you haven't gone insane yet."
She smiled at that. "I'll be honest and say that before I found my mate in Jasper, it wasn't easy to keep my sanity. What helped was the fact that when I was turned I had no memories of my human life, so I could become whoever I wanted. It was only when I met my mate some sixty years after becoming a vampire that everything settled down a little. Bella helped with that even more because the moment I first saw her in my visions I knew she was going to be a very important part of not only my life, but that of most of our family too."
"I can honestly say that the first time I saw Bella walk so close to you my entire world was tilted on its axis. I never thought I would be worthy of ever finding a mate, and therefor I have no real notion of how to properly act with Bella." I said softly, embarrassed to admit my shortcomings to the petite vampire.
She merely smiled at me. "Bella is nothing if not perceptive, Jane. You should not be afraid to voice this to Bella. She will do everything in her power to help you and where necessary meet you halfway. She is very selfless at times."
I nodded at that. "I've noticed as much, and I try to talk to her about it, but I have also noticed that her attention span is a bit lacking too."
Alice laughed lightly at that. "Yes, even more so than any other human I've ever met, but it is very much part of what makes her unique."
I couldn't help but smile in agreeance, since even I had to admit it was adorable to see Bella try and do ten things at once.
Bella's POV
I'll admit that it was a load of my mind that Jane finally decided to go and talk to Alice, because I felt that it was weighing heavily on her mind that she hadn't taken the time to get to know her yet, and I was pretty sure that when she would come back that they would be the best of friends, Alice had the ability to charm anyone after all.
I was also looking forward to my day with my mother, who after learning of my love of history had basically kidnapped me to the library so I could learn everything I wanted to know about vampire history, and while I expected a lot of things when I imagined the library, noting could have prepared me for the true size of the space, which seemed to be much bigger than what I saw when we first walked through the doors. "Even though I've seen it before I still can't believe a library like this could be real."
"It's very Disney, isn't it sweetheart?" Didyme asked sweetly.
I couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at that. "You know about Disney?"
She giggled and pulled me against her. "Of course we do sweetie. I am a very big fan of their movies. Beauty and the Beast is one of my personal favorites."
I smiled at that. "Wow, you never fail to surprise me Mom. I never thought you all wouldn't want anything to do with modern technology."
"I will admit it has taken a few decades before we saw the benefits of moving with the technology of the day, and as you will probably find out in the next couple of months, everyone has taken to it to a degree. Sulpicia especially has become somewhat addicted to something called Candy Crush on her phone, while my interest lie in movies." Didyme said with a soft smile.
"Every time you tell me more about yourself, I get more and more intrigued." I said softly.
She smiled at me as she led me further into the library, to what seemed to be a private corner where one could read in peace. "That is one of the reasons I brought you here sweetheart. Athenodora is one of the last true ancients left, and while Sulpicia and I are very old as well, she has at least double that on us. By learning those stories, you will get to know me and your aunts better too. There isn't a lot in writing, yet, but we are planning to do that at some point. I do want to take the time to tell you at least how I was turned."
Sensing that this was not only going to be a lengthy, but also a good story, I cuddled into her, which made her smile brightly as she made sure I was comfortable in leaning against her.
"My story begins more than three thousand years ago, in a small town near Athens, Greece. My early childhood is very much a blur, but I remember very well when I met Sulpicia and much later Athenodora, who as I told you is the one that turned us after learning that one of her siblings was after us. He is a Seer like Alice, but unlike her he saw no issue in using that power to control others and their destinies. He is a bit like Edward, now that I think of it, with the big difference being that her sibling genuinely has no control over that.
Together we drove him off and then sought to live as peaceful a life as we could together, which worked for a couple of centuries. At that time the rulers of the vampire world were a lot more open about their nature and above all very cruel, demanding everyone to submit of perish for their disobedience. They saw themselves as gods and acted with impunity over mortals and vampires alike.
We decided to travel the world in search of vampires who opposed that rule, eventually gathering a small army, over the course of five hundred years and eventually we moved on what was to become Volterra.
I know I already told you most of this, but I promise that it serves a purpose, because after we set up our rule and had settled a little, we started to think on how we wanted our rule to be. We wanted it to be a far cry from the previous rulers, but we also wanted to make sure that everyone knew that there would be rules going forward, most importantly among those were that the mating bond was sacred, and that we would no longer expose ourselves to humans.
To uphold these laws, we eventually formed the Guard, and while everyone believes we only select members of our Guard for their gifts or their use to us, our most important reason is that the excel at the job they are required to do.
We make it a big point to let every new Guard member know that they are family, and that we will always provide in all of their needs, no matter what those may be. While we to the outside have to portray ourselves as the cold and uncaring rulers and lawmakers, but as you may have noticed in the past couple of days we try to build a family atmosphere here, because we feel that loyalty shouldn't have to be enforced, but rather something that grows naturally. Love in any form works both ways after all."
I smiled and nodded at that. "That it does, and thank you for telling me all of this Mom. It certainly answers a lot of the questions I had. I am however very curious about how you all actually fill your days. Do you sit in the Throne Room all day?"
"Not usually sweetheart. When there is no pressing matter before us, we are all more than content to spend our days pursuing one of our many hobbies. On those days I am either here or in my personal movie theater, which I am sure you will love too and of course you are welcome to use if you would ever want to. Sulpicia usually spends her spare time researching historical artifacts, and trying to preserve history. Athenodora divides her time in personally training the Guard, devising battle strategies and trying to get started on a complete record of our history. Being as old as she is and having experienced everything concerning our kind from the very beginning, she wants to impart her wisdom to everyone who wants to learn." Didyme explained with a sweet smile.
I nodded and leaned into her. "Will I be allowed to accompany Jane on missions?"
"If that is what you want, of course you can. I think that you two will be quite the formidable pair, but at the same time we should also ask Jane on her thoughts. She is by far our most experienced Guard member and her insights will be very valuable." Didyme said softly.
Again I nodded, seeing the wisdom in that, and I honestly wanted Jane to give her input, because while I would love to accompany her, I also had more than my fill of action and would also be more than content to spend my days in Volterra discovering my wants in life.
Athenodora's POV
I will admit that Bella's request to spend a day with me surprised me a bit, but of course I wasn't going to deny my newfound niece anything that she wanted to know about our world.
We were currently in my drawing room, which is where I held most of the maps I had accumulated over the course of my life.
Bella on her turn was looking around with an amazed look on her face. "Wow, these are amazing. Did you draw these yourself, aunt Athenodora?"
I nodded at her. "Indeed I did. It is one of the things left over from my early days of being a vampire. I've always had a love for battle and strategy and it is something that brings me peace of mind. What I have here is over three and a half thousand years of maps of various parts of the world."
Her eyes widened at that. "Mother said you were the oldest, but I didn't expect it to be by so much. I can't imagine those times even if I wanted to."
"I'll be honest and say that everything of that time is long buried and that vampires back then were very different too. We were a lot more powerful back then because human blood was a lot more potent from the constant warfare, especially in the area I was turned in. That was as much a hotbed of war as it is today. I am also far older than that, but cartography is a thing that has only been around for about three thousand years." I said kindly.
She smiled at me. "Where were you turned aunt Athenodora?" She asked sweetly.
I couldn't help but smile at her as we took a seat. "I was turned in what is now the border of Iraq and Kuwait more than ten thousand years ago, but originally I am from Greece like your mother and other aunt. My sire, as we usually call our creators was ancient, by any standard. He was in fact one of the first of our kind."
"I've honestly always wondered how vampires came to be. Could you tell me auntie?" She asked with a sweet smile.
I nodded at her. "Of course sweetling, but before I start I have to ask. How familiar are you with the biblical stories of Cain and Abel?"
"I know that Cain murdered his brother and was exiled from paradise because of it. Bible study was never part of any curriculum I followed." Bella said with a slight blush.
"The bible's tale of Cain and Abel is mostly fictional, but it is true that Cain murdered his brother and was indeed exiled from paradise because of it. What is not stated is that he was cursed by God, to walk the earth forever, not being able to sleep, and only being able to draw sustenance from blood. Old tales say that while wandering the land of Nod, he met with Lilith, Adam's first wife. She nursed him to health and shared her own blood with him, which gave him certain abilities, which is where a lot of people believe gifts come from.
He sired at least three vampires, one of which was my own sire, and three of them sired thirteen others, among which myself and my brother, although I was known by a different name then, but that is a whole other story. Most of my so called siblings then hatched a plan to kill our sires for what they had done to us, and succeeded too. Now the majority of my siblings are dead, somewhere they can never be found, or in a deep sleep, every millennia or so one of them comes to visit." I explained with a soft smile as I saw her eyes widen more and more.
Bella seemed to process that for a moment before she spoke again. "I never knew you were literally at the cradle of history, I can't imagine the things you've seen."
"Too many things to speak of, little one. I've seen empires rise and fall many times over, and I will readily admit that for most of my unlife it has been a very lonely existence, until I met and turned Sulpicia and Didyme. They truly are the lights of my life and the reason I do everything in my power to keep our world safe." I said honestly.
She nodded and smiled at me. "Now truly knowing how much finding your mate can make everything suddenly make sense, I can only imagine how it must feel to have to wait more than three millennia to find your mates."
I smiled at her. "Once I found them all the time spend alone didn't matter anymore, and when we established our rule I made sure that no one would ever threaten us again. Being three women in power back in those days brought along a lot raised eyebrows and attempts to overthrow our rule, which as you might imagine were quickly squashed."
"Mom told me about your early days in Volterra and I admire you all greatly for not only being able to create a just environment, but also one where people are allowed to have their freedom." Bella said with a soft smile.
"That was one thing I insisted on when we established our rule, because I know what it is like to live under the yoke of your elders. It is also the reason why Sulpicia is our leader. She is the youngest of us, but also the most outgoing of the three of us and with her gift she always knows exactly what we are dealing with, so it made the most sense. I don't know if your mother told you, but we all have our clearly defined roles in our triumvirate"
She nodded at that. "She did. She told me that she is the diplomat, Sulpicia is the leader, and you are the strategist, and seeing a bit of how you three interact, I can clearly see those differences."
I smiled at her. "Yes, we are very different in personality but as a unit we're usually of similar mind."
"I've noticed that, and of course how different you are in private then to when you are in the Throne Room." Bella said softly.
"To be honest that is by design. Because I am regarded by everyone as the Queen Bitch of Volterra and I am quite content in that role. Sulpicia is far too inquisitive and your mother is too happy to be that way, even more so since she found you. In private however I am more than comfortable to let go at least a little bit." I said softly.
Bella smiled at me, both of us more than content to spend the rest of the morning talking to each other and getting to know each other further.
Bella's POV
The following morning I woke up in Jane's arms, which was a bit of a surprise, since she usually was more than content to let me have my privacy in bed. "Good morning Jane. Is there any particular reason you decided to hold me this morning?"
"Not really, I just missed you yesterday and I felt the overwhelming need to touch you." She said softly.
I smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek, which seemed to surprise her. "I'm sorry for neglecting us a little over the last few days, Jane. I just couldn't resist learning more of vampire history."
"It's okay, mia Bella. It is more than okay that you are inquisitive about our world, that is something I would never hold against you. It's just that my inner vampire screams about holding you close and it is making me feel at the very least a bit possessive." She said honestly.
I smiled at her as I stretched. "Then for today, I will be right by your side, no matter what you want to do. Today is about us, unless, and only then, if my mother needs us for something."
Jane nodded at me. "There is actually something I talked to her about yesterday that I wanted to discuss with you. The biggest reason I am so possessive of you is because of the fact that my scent isn't on you yet, and your mother suggested I talk to you about me marking you. It would ensure that my scent will always be on you and that I am less inclined to put people under my gift for just looking at you."
"And what exactly would marking me entail Jane?" I asked softly.
"It would require me biting the pulse-point in your neck, take a little bit of blood from you and seal it with my venom, which would ensure that my scent is on you and makes it clear to every unmated vampire that you are my mate. It would also make me a lot less agitated towards others." She said softly.
I smiled at her. "If it helps you then I am all for it Jane. Will it hurt?"
She shook her head and pulled me close. "No, it will not hurt. We can choose to make a bite hurt at any time besides the time where we turn someone. If venom is used to break the skin it will hurt, but if it is for feeding, then it will not hurt."
I nodded and presented my neck to her. "Then by all means Jane, mark me as yours, because I am more than ready to accept our mating bond in every way, shape and form."
From the corner of my eye I could see her eyes darken just a bit. "Are you absolutely sure Bella?"
I merely nodded at her, and that seemed to be all of the encouragement she needed as she first gave my neck a soft kiss before biting down, and to my surprise, it did not hurt one bit.
It felt like I was instantly wrapped up in a warm blanket of love that spread through my entire body as I felt her drink from me before sealing the wound with a long lick, which I couldn't help but giggle at, since it tickled a bit.
As she pulled back from my neck I couldn't help but turn around to look at her, staring straight into the dazzling rubies that were Jane's eyes. "So, how was it?" I asked softly.
She laughed lightly at that. "I should be asking you that, but it was heavenly. I knew your blood had to be sweet from your scent alone, but nothing could have prepared me for how amazing your blood tastes."
"I've heard a lot of people talk about how sweet my blood smells, but no one has ever been able to say exactly what I smell like, and I'm honestly kind of curious about it." I said mostly without thinking.
Jane smiled and nuzzled my neck, close to the mark she had left on me. "You smell like coconut, vanilla and coffee. It is the best thing I have ever smelled in my life."
I smiled at that. "You know, that actually makes a lot of sense. I sort of live on coffee and vanilla is definitely in my top three of favorite scents."
"I've noticed Bella, and I can also hear that your stomach is trying to add to our conversation. Shall we go and see if I can fix you up something edible for breakfast, with a nice cup of coffee?" She asked sweetly.
I nodded at her. "If I can have a few minutes to take care of some human business and then get dressed, I would gladly join you for breakfast."
She smiled sweetly at me as she removed her arms from my waist so I could get up and use the bathroom, while I felt that she flashed into the closet to change.
Having a feeling that my dear sister would've already seen Jane's decision to make me breakfast and wanting to make sure I didn't accidentally die of food poisoning or worse, she would at the very least be present to guide my darling mate.
I didn't worry about Jane snapping at Alice in the least, because from what Jane had told me yesterday, they had talked a long time yesterday and had started to form a friendship because of it, which was something I was happy about, because I really didn't want to choose between Alice and Jane. That truly seemed like an impossible task.
