7th chapter
Caroline barely noticed how Aro thanked Corin for bringing her and how the woman disappeared from her side. Once more, she stood alone in the middle of the room and as she looked at the man in front of her, she gulped hard. She tried to keep her face friendly and not afraid. "Welcome back, master," she stated and a small forced smile appeared on her face. Aro rose from his seat and made his way down to the human. "How lovely of you," he started and eyed her for a moment. He saw the fear in her eyes and he wondered what caused it. He would find out soon enough, but inwardly he chuckled darkly. She had no idea, the fear she would feel soon, regardless of what caused her current one.
"I hope you didn't feel lonely those last two weeks. Unforeseen circumstances, I'm sure you understand," he eyed her every movement as he stopped in front of her. "Of course, master." Caroline tried to look him in the eyes, but today it felt almost impossible to do. It was silent for a moment, until Aro slightly bent over and held out his hand. "Your warnings were true. We faced exactly what you showed me and as promised, I'd love to work with it."
Caroline's eyes widened for a moment; she couldn't believe her 'little gift' was right again. She noticed his hand and, again, with no hesitation she put her hand in his'. Eagerly he explored her mind, he almost grinned as he found out that her fiancé finally broke up with her, but his reactions were too fast for her human eyes. Obviously, he found out about the scene in the restroom and for a split second, his eyes wandered to his prized tracker, who in return had his eyes on the human.
Aro didn't mind her absence from her work at that time, when he let go of her hand, he said nothing. He looked into her eyes and she knew that he was aware of what happened. Caroline blinked a few times as Aro stepped back. "I'm sorry, I," she started but Aro immediately lifted his hand to silence her and she obeyed.
"In the following days, we will put your ability to the test," he said and looked at her with a slight smirk on his lips. "That's all, my dear." With these words he waved her off and Caroline nodded and turned to leave. She opened one side of the door, not without difficulty though, and closed it behind her. When she was back at her work place, she exhaled deeply. Only then she realized her shallow breathing and she needed a moment to calm down.
Unbeknownst to her, Aro made a special plan just for her. He wanted to wait a bit, to make it not too obvious. He gave her time; his plan would take place next week until then she would be free from him. She could take care of her chores and not worry about a thing. He had to involve his guard though and with a calculating smile he looked at Felix, who made a step forward. "Felix, I have a special order for you. I just want to inform you up ahead as I won't say a thing in that moment." The guard looked at Aro with a slight confusion but waited patiently. "Next week, on Friday, I will call for our dear Caroline. Unfortunately, I saw something in her mind that can't go unpunished. As soon as she walks through this door, I want you to hold her in place. But don't kill her immediately, I want to read her memories first. I will give you further instructions, when we get there." Aro's eyes were burning in anticipation as a dark grin spread on his face. "Of course," Felix answered. Still not sure, why the woman was treated as a rogue vampire, since she could do nothing against any of them, but he wouldn't question his master's decision.
Aro turned to leave but when he reached the door, leading to the tower where his wife resided, he stopped once more. He slowly turned around and held his right hand up; the index finger pointing at the ceiling. "One more thing," he started and looked at the tall man. "don't be too harsh, she is just a fragile human, after all." He smirked slightly and went out of the room. Demetri and Felix eyed each other with a frown. They didn't know what Aro was up to or what the secretary probably did to deserve such a treatment. In human pace, they left the throne room. "Heidi won't be pleased, that she has to find a new secretary," Demetri started and grinned at his companion. "And especially not about the fact, that she has to take over her duties again." Felix laughed lightly. "Or," Demetri started, "he just wants to test her ability. 'Danger sensor' or something like that." Felix hummed while being deep in his thoughts. They walked slowly to the east wing, where they could take some time for themselves after the mission.
When Caroline's shift ended, she let out a deep sigh. She put off her shoes and once she entered the bedroom, she let herself fall on the huge comfortable bed. She closed her eyes and thought about her day. Aro knew that she was absent from her work that one day, but he didn't say anything about it. Caroline wondered why that was. Maybe because he wanted to be nice, due to her condition that day. She groaned and tilted her head to the sight. She looked at the small wardrobe on the wall, while her mind was drifting away. After a few minutes, she got up a little and rested on her elbows. Caroline wondered how Aro wanted to test her 'little gift', she couldn't control it. All she could do was wait and wonder. He would probably tell her, when he wanted to know more.
Caroline shrugged and got up; she was tired. The whole day was exhausting and she just wanted to relax for the rest of the day. She changed into more lazy clothes and went back into the kitchen to make herself something to eat. The rest of the evening, she spent on the couch, watching TV and barely moving at all. She hardly managed to get herself into her bed, later that night.
When Caroline woke up the next morning, she stretched herself extensively. With a sleepy yawn she looked at the clock and rose into a sitting position immediately. Completely startled she jumped out of her bed and under the shower. As soon as the water hit her, she rolled her eyes and let out a deep groan. A few seconds later, a tired laugh followed. For a moment, she thought she had overslept. It was Saturday, she didn't need to work on weekends, so she could do as she pleased. The last two weekends, she still worked to occupy her mind, but that one she would try to enjoy, even though she didn't know what to do. After a while she decided to start the day relaxed and maybe she could go out in the city later.
Caroline sat comfortably on her couch and looked at the TV without really following whatever was shown there. A knock on her door startled her, as she didn't expect anyone to visit. She glanced at her watch and stood up. Slowly she walked to the door, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. Once she opened it, she was met with the sight of a familiar woman that looked at her with a smile.
"I'm sorry, did I disturb you?" Caroline shook her head and smiled as well. "Not at all, do you want to come in?" She stepped aside and let Corin in. The vampire looked around the room as Caroline closed the door. "To what do I owe the pleasure?", Caroline asked and directed her guest to the couch. She shut down the TV and looked inquiringly at the other woman. "Oh, no reason in particular," Corin answered and sat down on the couch. "I'm just nosy and you are of interest." A wide smile spread on her face and Caroline couldn't help but blush a little. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Corin added and winked at her.
"To be honest, I have a few questions as well, if you don't mind, that is," Caroline said and looked at the vampire. "Ok, sounds fair. Tell me about yourself?" Caroline folded her hands in her lap. "I'm 28 years old, single for two weeks, I don't like to be the center of attention, I love to relax and watch movies or play a game and I wish I could get a dog." She laughed lightly at the end and Corin joined her shortly after. "A dog, really? What kind of dog?"
"A Great Dane," Caroline answered immediately, it was her favorite dog breed, but she lacked the time and money for one. "Well, that's a start," Corin said after a while, "what do you want to know?" Caroline shifted slightly in her seat and took a deep breath. "About this whole vampire-thing, I mean, I know close to nothing about it, except for the legends of course," she said. An amused laugh escaped Corin's mouth. "Oh yes, those myths are mostly made up, but still funny." Caroline lifted an eyebrow, wondering what she meant with that. "How, I mean, what is then," she started not able to form a proper sentence, which made Corin laugh even more. She patted Caroline's arm in a reassuring manner. "Sorry," she said and calmed herself slowly. "What do you want to know?"
"Well, what of those myths is true? Do you sleep? Well, obviously not the whole day, but in general? What happens to you in the sun? Does any religious artefact affect you? What about the blood?" Caroline rambled and didn't even try to hide her curiosity. Corin sat upright when she began to answer.
"Ok, first things first. We don't sleep, ever. The sun doesn't harm us, though you can easily tell us apart from any human. I don't want to go into detail, you will find out soon enough." Corin paused for a second, still an amused expression on her face. "We can't be harmed by holy water or crucifixes; we can enter houses without permission, but we can't turn into mist or a swarm of bats. Humans don't have enough power to kill us. Well, and the blood. That is actually true, we do need blood to stay strong and have a clear mind."
Caroline could only nod at her explanation, but before she could ask any further, Corin spoke up again. "Once bitten, you either die or become a vampire. It takes a lot of self-control to stop in time, so that our venom can work. You can say, human blood is like a drug. It's very hard to stop before you drain them."
Caroline was deep in her thoughts, that was a lot of information in a very short time. "But how did anyone come up with those myths?" She couldn't interpret Corin's facial expression, maybe she asked too much. Just when the vampire wanted to answer, her head spun to her right, as if she heard something, Caroline didn't. "Sorry, I have to go. Sulpicia needs my help with something. It was nice talking to you. We will continue our conversation soon," she said in a hurry and stood up while still talking. In a quick pace, she was at the door and before Caroline could even stand up, the vampire left the room.
The rest of the day, Caroline thought about Corin's words. At least, she got a few answers, but with those answers only more questions arose. She sighed deeply. She knew from Heidi, that vampires had enhanced senses, fast movements and were frozen at the time they were changed. Some of them carried an ability, according to Aro and Heidi explained further, that mostly it was foreshadowing in human form. Could it be that her 'little gift' would strengthen if she was to become a vampire? She massaged her temples almost aggressively to get rid of the upcoming headache and decided to really just relax for the rest of the day, she could go into the city another day.
On Sunday, she finally took the chance to explore the city again. She wore her warm dark purple coat and a black scarf, when she left the castle in the early afternoon. She took in a deep breath and strolled mindlessly over the plaza and into some smaller streets until she stood in front of large park. Her eyes widened in awe and without thinking further, she followed the path. Caroline inhaled deeply and an eased smile spread on her face. Maybe she needed some fresh air and see a bit of green after all this time behind walls.
Her warm breath was clear to be seen in the cold winter air, but she enjoyed it. She watched the other people around her. A few children played some game of tag, others fought with sticks pretending they were swords and the older teenagers sat or stood around, smoking cigarettes and were occupied with their phones. Caroline's eyes wandered and her face lit up even more when she spotted some people walking their dogs and, in the distance, she could see a dogwalker with five different breeds on their leashes.
Caroline couldn't believe, how free she felt. Thinking about John still ached her broken heart, but she managed to stay positive and move on. "Everything happens for a reason," she always told herself and maybe the hurtful break up after such a long relationship would just strengthen her mentally. She couldn't help but let out a shivering sigh. The first few days, she still wished he would have been with her, comforting and laughing with her. But that changed, she was glad she got the job and moved away to find out about his true nature and especially today, she felt happier than ever. Why, she couldn't tell but she enjoyed it.
After a while, Caroline made her way back. It was getting dark already and the cold slowly got through her thick layers of clothing. When she was back in her room, she changed into her pajamas and covered herself with a blanket on the couch. Her eyes switched to the fireplace; she definitely needed to ask someone, if she could make a fire there one day.