10th chapter
As Caroline opened her eyes the next morning, she felt beaten. Without thinking further, she tried to lift her right arm but a dull pain made her stop in her tracks. She groaned and her face was contorted in pain. In an instant, she remembered what happened yesterday. How she got those countless bruises and what she agreed to. She rolled her head back on the backrest of the couch and looked at the ceiling. Caroline breathed heavily as her mind kept spinning around the events in the throne room. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to concentrate on a constant breathing before she moved her arms again.
Her neck hurt from her overstretching it during the night and she was perfectly sure, that her lower back would hurt badly as well. She winced with every movement until she finally stood. She let out a dark groan as her back cracked a little, when she got to an upright position. Caroline sighed deeply and went into the bathroom, she would abstain from showering that day, but, so far, she still had some human needs that needed to be taken care of. As she was done, she looked at her reflection in the large mirror. Her face was unfazed, tired and pale. It was a stark contrast to the large dark red and purple bruise on her throat. Her arms and hands didn't look any better and her muscles beneath hurt from her actions yesterday as well.
She scoffed lowly at her current thought of being thankful that everything below her waist was unharmed and working properly. Once she got into the kitchen, she made herself a coffee and breakfast. She glanced at the clock on the wall shortly and sighed. "More like lunch," she said to herself and looked around the room. She didn't trust her arms' strength, so she brought everything one by one to the couch and placed it on the table there. First, she took the plate with her food, just to make sure, she could even remotely carry something. Her coffee followed shortly after and with a mixture of a sigh and a groan, she sat back on the couch. She put on the TV and began to eat.
Caroline tried not rest her arm on one of the bruises and she quickly got reminded, whenever she forgot for a second. At least, her fingers were not swollen anymore, so she could take care of her broken nails. It was something she could fix, but all those dark bruises on her skin would need time, lots of time to heal. She didn't know why she didn't hate Aro or anyone for it. Of course, she accepted his offer, it was an act of pure self-preservation. If she declined, she would have died the other day; that, she was sure of. In all honesty, it wasn't much of a choice she had, though she wondered what it would be like to turn into one of them. Would it hurt, did she have to die first or even how long would it take? She had absolutely no idea and wished for answers. But once more, she had to wait until someone got to her.
She groaned, quickly followed by a loud hiss as she forgot one of her bruises again. She looked at her bare arms and wondered what would happen if the police saw her like this. A quick smile formed on her lips, when another thought arose in her head. She wondered, how a coven as big as this, could live freely in a small Italian city, even offering tours, and no one would notice. A frown formed on her face, as her eyes wandered around. Maybe that was the reason for human staff. She could walk in the sun undetected, though she still didn't know what exactly happened to vampires there, as Corin wasn't that specific about it. She could interact with humans, without being suspicious. Either through the unnatural beauty or the red eyes.
Another amused smile spread on her face. The fact, that she took so long to notice their different and, honestly, very haunting red eyes. A feature she would share with them in the near future. Caroline wondered further, what she would do then. If the secretary was there to interact with the humans, they definitely needed a new one, once she was turned. Which made her question the whole thing about self-control? Would that mean, she was a bloodthirsty, red-eyed demon until she got it under control? A dark chuckle left her lips at the thought, that she should visit her ex first.
Her body and her mind were still tired, she couldn't even be sad or angry when she thought of John. All she could do was letting out a deep sigh and not move.
Before yesterday's events, she didn't even think about being turned. As absurd as it might sound, but it just never occurred to her. She coughed slightly, her lungs were still in a healing process, though they seemed to do far better than her skin. A headache began to build in her head at all those unanswered questions. She couldn't take it anymore, she needed answers. Caroline let out a frustrated sigh. Slowly, she stood up again to get herself some water. While she was up, she took the chance to get into the bathroom again, so she didn't have to force her body to such actions in the next minutes again.
As she dried her hands with a towel, she couldn't help but look in the mirror again. Almost automatically, her left hand moved to her throat. Against her body's reaction yesterday, she could touch the skin and even put a little pressure on it. It just looked worse than it actually was; the bruises on her arms and hands though, were something else entirely. As soon as she got into contact with them, they hurt like hell. Caroline tilted her head slightly to see how far the bruise went. Her mind got back to the man responsible and another cold shiver ran down her spine. His appearance alone was threatening; she remembered how he opened the door for her and she truly believed that he was, at least, partly sorry. She knew the guard had to do what was asked of them, they had to obey the masters. She didn't hate the man, but she feared him, though she was sure anyone else could have switched places with him easily. She was no match for any of them, but that man was physically and visually the most intimidating, which only helped Aro to force her 'little gift' into action.
Once Caroline was back on the couch, she let out a groan, closely followed by a tired yawn. She tried to lie down again and this time, she was more successful. She finally found a position in which her bruises wouldn't hurt and her neck and lower back could relax as well. Not five minutes later, she finally fell asleep again.
After a few hours of refreshing sleep, Caroline woke up again. She felt a bit better and her headache was gone. She took a large gulp from the water she got earlier and sighed. She sat up and looked out of the window. The sun was starting to set behind the horizon and she let out a deep sigh. After another few minutes, she stood up again. She probably should eat something, so she went into the kitchen and got the dinner, she actually prepared for yesterday. Since she didn't eat anything then, she could warm it up, so she took the luxury of not being forced to cook that day.
Caroline ate her dinner at the table, not on the couch. She didn't want to get the couch or the blanket and cushions dirty. When she finished, she put her plate and the cutlery into the dishwasher and without thinking further, she stumbled to her bed. That day, Caroline listened only to her body, it deserved it and for the moment her body wanted nothing more than to rest. She got into bed and took her mobile phone. She looked at her emails and checked her social media accounts. Even though she had accounts on some of the more famous sides, she barely posted anything. She logged in to follow some interesting channels or some stars, but her life wasn't that important. No one would be interested in reading or listening to her more than boring life. Though it would be of much more interest now, she knew full well, that it was forbidden to write or talk about anything on that matter.
She watched a few funny short clips until her eyes grew heavy once more. She put her phone away and plugged it in, so it could recharge overnight. Caroline tried to copy the pose she made on the couch, to lie comfortably once more. Shortly after, she let out a relaxed sigh, feeling much more comfortable in her bed, than on the couch. It didn't take long after that for her to fall into a dreamless sleep again.
On Sunday, Caroline awoke better rested than yesterday. In her still tired state, she stretched her sleepy form, only to be instantly reminded of the events in the throne room. She still had sore muscles and she groaned slightly as she lifted her right arm to inspect it further. The bruises darkened even more, they had a dark purple color and built a heavy contrast to her pale skin. She called it a 'poor gene pool'. Once she got into the sun, she instantly got a sunburn, when the red disappeared from her skin, she was pale again. No matter what she tried, she couldn't get tan but she learnt to live with it. She found joy in cloudy days, she began to love the rain and also her whole body seemed to get accustomed to colder temperatures better than warmer ones.
Caroline turned her head to the window and she noticed the cloudless sky. A small smile appeared on her lips; she might like the colder temperatures but she loved the warmth of the winter sun. It wasn't enough to make her sweat, but enough the let a warm feeling spread through her. Carefully, Caroline stood up and made her way to the bathroom. She took a shower and sighed in relief as soon as the warm water hit her maltreated skin. Originally, she planned to go into the city that Sunday, but regarding her bruises, especially the one on her throat, she decided otherwise.
Due to the fact, that she had to watch her every move, she took much longer to get ready. Once she tangled her hair into a towel, she dried her body and wrapped the towel around her and tugged it in, so it wouldn't fall down. She went back to her bedroom and looked into her wardrobe. She had to find something to cover her throat and neck, that would go well with her outfit. She couldn't just wear her black scarf she used when getting outside. After some rummaging, she finally found a shawl and a neckerchief, she could wear. Probably everyone in the castle knew what happened, but when tourists came in, she had to hide it. Her arms could be covered and the few dark nails could be explained by clumsiness in the kitchen.
Caroline wasn't proud that she had to lie, but most of the time she thought rationally. Should she fear those vampires she shared a roof with? Yes. Should she hate Aro for doing all of that to her and forcing her to choose between death and immortal life of servitude? Definitely. And should she try to get away from and talk to others about it, maybe even go to the police? Absolutely.
But what would happen? Nothing. She might not know much about vampires, but she knew one thing: they would never let a human get the best of them. Every vampire she met so far had some sort of pride they carried, ethereal beauty and remarkable grace. As Corin put it so nicely: humans can't kill them. Those vampires would probably only laugh at her attempts and either force her or drain her. A humorless chuckle left her throat at the thought.
Despite her still aching muscles, she decided to leave her room in the afternoon. She didn't bother to cover up her bruises while inside the castle walls, so she stuck to her hoodie-jacket, a pair of jeans and sneakers. She hoped she would be alone that day, as she didn't feel like talking. It didn't take her long to reach the library, she visited some time ago. It wasn't in Caroline's intention to actually read anything, but she needed a change of scenery and so she took the liberty to explore that huge room. She walked slowly through the aisles and her eyes wandered over the different signs above each bookcase. She strolled mindlessly through the room, until she came to a language section. She wondered, why those vampires had those kinds of books, but then she remembered that that library was open to the public of sorts. It was open to any guest of the coven as well as the secretary. If anyone from the coven wanted a book, they probably used one of the larger libraries, that were exclusively for their eyes.
With a smirk, she took an Italian-English dictionary and looked up a few translations, she thought to be useful for any upcoming interaction in the city. She definitely needed to try one of the local restaurants. If she was stuck here, she could make the best out of it. If she had an eternity ahead, she would learn, she would gain as much knowledge as she could. Caroline knew, once she was turned, she had a duty to fulfill, she would serve her masters. Despite her already existing pride, she was loyal. As soon as she signed her contract, she swore her loyalty, not by the signing it per se but in her mind. That was the only reason, her 'little gift' gave her a heads-up warning for the vampires, she could tell. She never got random dreams and warnings, only when it affected her in any way. She swore to be loyal to her employers and through this unspoken vow a connection was made. Maybe they didn't need her warning, maybe they would have been fine without it, but it happened nevertheless.
And despite everything that happened, she still felt loyal to them. After a few hours, Caroline made her way back to her room. Fortunately, she didn't meet anyone so she had a full weekend of peace and quiet. It was something, she definitely yearned for. By the time she was back in her bedroom, she changed into her pajamas and made herself ready to get to bed. She had to be back at work tomorrow, she needed to be well rested, especially since tomorrow was the first time one of those 'internal affairs' happened. She still wondered what it was, but she would probably find out soon enough.