11th chapter
Monday came sooner than expected and Caroline sat punctually at her desk. She knew that no outsiders were allowed that day and the front door was closed, so no tourists could get in. Just to be safe, she wore the shawl she picked yesterday; she couldn't be too sure. To the people in the castle, she wore her bruises with pride. Though the ones on her arms couldn't be seen due to her long sleeves, her nails were clear on display. The V-neck on her top only forced the attention to her neck, if she would put the shawl down.
She was glad, she could work again. That morning, she could handle her bruises better than the last two days; they might look worse but they healed slowly. It was already 10am when one of the doors opened for the first time. Her head turned to the incoming person and she rose from her seat. "Good morning," she stated and smiled at the person that walked in her direction. Caroline wouldn't show them a weak, hurt and whimpering human, she would stand her ground as good as she could.
Demetri made his way to her slowly, he didn't know why, but he felt like he should check up on her. Her yells and screams over the weekend could be heard through the castle; and if he heard it, most of the others probably did as well. The slight concern was invisible to her human eyes and he quickly smirked at her raising form. "Good morning," he answered her just before he reached her desk. He couldn't help it, his eyes immediately wandered to her throat and even though she tried to hide it, he could see her tormented skin there.
"So," he started again and his eyes travelled up to meet her gaze. "You will be one of us soon." Caroline eyed the man in front of her. He didn't have an order to escort her somewhere, it seemed, so she sat down on her chair again. The smile was still present on her face, though the expression in her eyes changed a little at his words. She let her eyes wander over her desk, before she looked at him again. "I guess so." Her voice was calm and collected, sometimes she wondered how her body managed to do that.
The vampire noticed that she relaxed a little at his more ease conversation. To take away all of the tension, he took the liberty to sit down on the free edge of her desk. It was a human gesture and Caroline appreciated his attempt. She nodded ever so lightly in gratitude and he replied with smile instead of the usual smirk. "If it soothes you, you must be the first secretary to receive such an offer. At least, as far as I'm aware," he said but his eyes switched from her eyes to her neck and back again. "Well, I should be grateful then, shouldn't I?" She couldn't hide the sarcasm in her tone and Demetri's smile turned into a playful grin. "To be fair, I never thought about turning into, well, a vampire." Caroline hesitated at the end a little and her eyes wandered through the room. He, on the other hand, lifted an eyebrow. That was new to him, usually the secretaries dreamed to be turned, to receive the gift of immortality. But then again, she was different in so many things. She didn't dress to impress, she was never toady to anyone and most of all, she didn't back down in front of Aro, which is rare, even his coven mates would have lowered their eyes, but she didn't.
"Really?", Demetri asked back, still astounded at her comment. The woman sighed and looked back at the man. "You see, I've been trying to get a job for so long. I was living of my fiancé's income for years. I was so glad that I got the offer here and to be honest, once I was told about you all being vampires; my first thought was: Great, my job is safe, cause none of my employers would die of old age." She smirked slightly, though a bit embarrassed about her words. The slightest bit of red hushed over her cheeks and only intensified as the man began to laugh. She still couldn't remember his name, but she didn't want to ask him again, so she just hoped that someone would call him and she would hopefully remember the name then.
Demetri couldn't help it but laugh at her remark. That was the silliest, yet most honest thing she could come up with. He shook his head lightly in amusement and he looked back at her, it was refreshing from the mostly stiff and overcalculated answers he got from the past secretaries during their conversations. Soon enough, his eyes settled on her shawl and the hardly visible skin on her neck. Much to her discomfort, his eyes stayed longer than she could handle. She wanted to say something, when he started to speak instead. "How bad is it?" His voice was low, barely above a whisper. Caroline widened her eyes a little at his words and the switch to more serious matters, she didn't expect him to even care. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Her hands moved to the clothing around her neck. "I live, at least for now," she answered as she took it off and looked at her desk. She placed the shawl in her lap and her fingers fiddled with the fabric. Demetri narrowed his eyes as he saw her dark purple bruise. At times he forgot, just how fragile humans were. He knew Felix could easily tear someone apart, not just humans but also vampires. His grasp on her was nothing compared to when he held a rogue vampire, he knew.
He opened his mouth to answer, but decided otherwise. "It's okay, that, at least, looks worse than it is," Caroline said finally and looked with a small smile at the vampire, while she pointed at her throat. Through this action, her sleeve moved a little and another bruise on her wrist became visible. Demetri's eyes immediately darted to her hand and he noticed the other dark purple spot, as well as her sickly dark nails. He wondered how many more bruises she got from that short moment in the throne room. "How are you feeling?" He didn't realize he said that out loud, until he saw her slightly shocked facial expression. Caroline was completely taken aback by his question. It was the first time since she arrived there, and if she was honest, in several months, that someone asked about her feelings. She held her breath for a moment and tried to sort her mind. Her eyes wandered through the room; looking for help. "I," she started not sure, how she should continue, when a door opened and another person walked in.
Caroline rose to her feet at the arrival of the other man and once Demetri saw, who entered the room; he stood as well. It was not ordinary, to see Marcus roaming those parts of the castle. He looked from one to another. "Good morning, master," Caroline greeted him and received an approving nod in return. A small smile formed on his lips. "Good morning," he answered her, finally. Then his eyes travelled to the, now standing, guard. "Demetri," he started, the smile still on his face. "A word, please." His voice was calm and soothing. "Of course," Demetri answered immediately and Marcus left the room again. Caroline looked at the man in front of her, who gave her a short look before he went after his master. Caroline sunk back into her chair, making a mental not of his name, so she hopefully wouldn't forget it again. She put her shawl in her bag behind her and returned to her work.
Marcus and Demetri walked slowly through the empty hallway. The guard, always a small step behind his master, he waited patiently for him to initiate the conversation. "You two seem to get along," Marcus started after a while and he kept his eyes on their way. Demetri, on the other hand, looked at the man next to him. "Master?", he asked, not quite sure what he wanted from him. "Our dear Caroline, I mean," he explained but Demetri still wasn't sure where the conversation was going. "She will be one of us soon, so I thought it would benefit to get to know her better, so we might know what kind of newborn we have to deal with." Demetri answered, his brows still furrowed slightly.
"Good," Marcus said, the smile widened a little in amusement. "She will be a feisty newborn, for sure." The guard chuckled lightly. "Most definitely," he answered the same amused smirk on his lips. "She is loyal, open-minded and brave," Marcus continued. "Some might say stupid," Demetri added, the scenery from the throne room was clear in both of their minds. The master looked over at the man next to him. "Challenging Aro might seem stupid from your point of view, but imagine being in her position," Marcus mused, leaving out on an actual answer. They continued their walk in silence for a few minutes, both after their own thoughts. After a while, Marcus stopped and turned to the other man once more. Demetri came to an immediate halt and looked questioningly at his master. He knew, he wanted something important, otherwise he wouldn't have come to talk to him.
"My dear boy, you are with us for such a long time. You never failed us and I think an honor to your servitude and loyalty is in order," Marcus started and looked directly into the other man's eyes. A small, but proud smile spread on his lips. Demetri furrowed his brows slightly, but remained silent and waited patiently for him to continue. "I want you to turn Caroline." To say Demetri was shocked and speechless was an understatement. His usual quick mind was completely taken aback by his request and he needed a few seconds to properly understand, what was offered. "Master, I," he started but stopped immediately, until he started again. "Master Aro usually turns new members." Marcus hummed slightly. „He won't interfere, I will talk to him. You deserve this opportunity; your self-control is by far the best we've seen. But I hope you are aware of the responsibilities that follow," he answered shortly after.
Demetri thought for a moment, he knew it was an honor, that wasn't given lightly. Aro wanted someone and to make sure, that that person survived the transformation, he usually turned them himself. He wouldn't risk losing a potential new member, due to a guard that couldn't control themselves. But Demetri never turned someone, he honestly didn't know if he could stop himself, it probably would be an honor and a test for himself equally. "It will be a test, won't it?" He looked over at his master, who smiled and sighed. "Yes, Aro will make sure that she survives the procedure, so he will take precautions."
Marcus continued his walk and Demetri quickly followed him. "Do you know what it means to turn someone?" He said after another few minutes of silence. When Demetri didn't answer immediately, Marcus continued. "Once turned, you will share a special bond forever. You will feel connected to each other, no matter how far apart. That's why you always feel Amun's tenor a little stronger, than others." He explained calmly, trying to prepare his favorite guard for what might happen after he turned their secretary. Both walked in silence, Demetri had a lot to think about, he didn't know that changing someone would hold so much responsibility. True, it would be an honor for his years-long loyalty, but it came with a price.
The next time Marcus stopped; they reached the door to his study. He turned to his guard once more. "You need to inform her. She needs to know, what awaits her, so that she can prepare herself. It will make things easier for her and for you as well. She won't be a tame newborn, but she will be more settled if she knows what she has to face, beforehand. She will have a lot of questions." He looked distinctively at the tracker, who nodded shortly. "I won't disappoint you, master. I thank you for your trust." Demetri bowed a little and Marcus smiled. "I know", he simply stated and made a gesture. Demetri understood and turned to leave, as his master entered his study. His mind still raced and he couldn't help but sigh deeply. Although, his ego rose at the thought, that he earned such a privilege, his mind was busy with everything that followed. He couldn't disappoint his masters, he had to control himself when he turned her and furthermore, he had to make sure, that she wouldn't cause havoc, once she awakened.
Caroline was on her way back to her room, when she met Corin in the hallway. The vampire looked a little astounded at her smiling form. "Hey," she greeted the human and smiled as well. She only heard from Sulpicia what happened in the throne room, but she forced herself to only look at Caroline's face. "Hi," Caroline answered and stopped in front of the vampire. "You probably should be going to your room as soon as possible," Corin said in a slightly hurried voice. Caroline frowned at her remark. "Why is that?" She tilted her head a little and put her weight on one foot.
Corin looked at the woman through narrowed eyes. "You don't know, do you?", she started. "Today is feeding day, Heidi should arrive with her newest catch soon." Slowly Caroline's expression turned into a state of realization. "Oh," she whispered. "That's what 'internal affairs' means." Until then, she didn't think of the humans that would be brought there to feed on. Corin lifted an eyebrow, wondering how she didn't know, but quickly remembered, that Heidi didn't have much time at teaching her anything. "Trust me, it's better if you stay in your room for the rest of the day. Some of the lower guards aren't fully trustworthy with their self-control and we wouldn't want to give them a reason to look for you." Corin laughed lightly at her comment, but Caroline only chuckled nervously. "No, not really. I better get going then."
With these words, Caroline left to her room and without really noticing, she locked the door behind her. It was on instinct, nothing she really thought about. She changed into her comfortable clothes and went into the kitchen to make herself something to eat. She tried not think too much about what would happen that evening to so many unknowing and probably innocent souls. She spent another evening in front of the TV, watching a movie, while eyeing her bruises once in a while. Despite her best attempts to not think about the humans, who were devoured by the others, she couldn't help but shudder every so often. To think, that she had to hurt, to kill innocent people regularly, to feed on their blood, kill with her bare hands; a pained expression appeared on her face. A shivering sigh escaped her lips, she wasn't sure if she was ready for that. Being immortal and all was one part of her soon-to-happen change, but being a murderer was something she couldn't reconcile with her consciousness; it went deeply against her education.
Without realizing, tears fell down her cheeks. As that realization hit her, she began to fully understand what her agreement to be turned meant, what she had to do in the future. Caroline shook her head slightly, she had no idea, if she was ready for that part of being immortal or if her moral compass changed as well. When Caroline fell into a dreamless sleep, the tears were still wet on her cheeks.