Hello everyone!
First, this chapter ended up being sensual and I liked it.
Second, next week I'll be taking a break for personal reasons. Don't worry, this time, if I'm away for more than a week, I'll leave a notice on my profile.
Thank you very much for reading.
I hope everything works out, but I'll keep updating this fanfic that I'm loving more and more every day.
Thank you!
[Twilight characters belongs to Stephenie Meyer]
[English isn't my first language, so please be kind]
27
Bitten
On the way home, Demetri noticed something peculiar: Renata was trembling near him like an ant frightened by the size of human feet, as if he were the shield and not the other way around. Since the execution of her cousin, a rebellious nomad, Felix and Demetri had noticed that Aro had been summoning Renata less and less, which was odd since they were outside and could be surprised by an attack. Afton had been the one to accompany Aro most of the way back, while Renata had taken on an increasingly dark expression.
She also seemed to be avoiding the presence of the masters.
- When one of you receives the order to kill me, please be quick - Renata said suddenly. They were a day away from Volterra, but Aro's entourage had gone another way. They needed to split up so as not to be noticed.
- That's absurd - Demetri was the first to answer. They knew the Guard changed over time, but an execution order was different. - Aro won't kill you.
- You say that because you don't have a family member who committed high treason! - Renata replied, she could no longer hide her nervous expression. Her hair, previously shiny and well-combed, looked like a disturbed bird's nest as she kept shaking her head. As for her clothes, if long missions weren't tiring enough, Renata looked like she had bumped into several branches, which contributed to her unkempt appearance.
Demetri just rolled his eyes, keeping his gaze away, towards the sky. At Volterra more precisely. He didn't want to sound selfish to Renata, he cared about her, he just couldn't show it now. Demetri really wanted to see Elia again, especially after the nights they spent together.
- Your little smirk is unbearable! - Renata stood up suddenly, she moved away from Demetri and shrank into Felix's arms who was in front of him.
Demetri didn't even realize he was smiling.
- What did I do? - he asked in genuine confusion despite Felix's gestures for him to be quiet.
The trio was a little further away from the others so they could do whatever they wanted, which Renata understood as a private stage.
- You're acting just like Alec, after you met this girl you only care about her! What about me? Am I not your friend? Aren't we family?
Renata stood up to kick the music box that Demetri was holding, but Felix was faster. He picked her up like a doll and carried her away.
- That's enough, can't you guys go two minutes without fighting? - The vampire left grumbling with Renata in his arms.
Everything only got worse after Demetri tried to make peace, as Renata refused to talk, but Felix warned him that he should have more consideration for her, after all, they had known Renata for over a hundred years and no matter how much they denied it, no matter how much they thought Aro wouldn't do anything, there would always be the possibility of retaliation.
- Renata's family has always been in a gray area - Felix whispered to Demetri after the vampire seemed calmer. It was getting dark, they were getting ready to leave and Demetri could already feel that Aro's group was moving.
- Still, Luca is a powerful ally, isn't he?
- Powerful or not - Felix sighed, he seemed genuinely moved by Renata - I don't want to be the one responsible for ripping her head off.
He pushed Demetri lightly, making him almost drop the music box.
- And you need to focus, what do you think will happen when we get back to the castle?
At that moment, Demetri ignored Felix's warning, preferring the temptation of his imagination. He and Elia had already consummated their relationship, hadn't they? There was no reason for her to stay with Alec, there was no reason for him to insist on a relationship built on lies and schemes. Alec needed to accept Elia's decision, after all, weren't the Volturi a family?
When he arrived at the castle, Demetri expected Elia to be waiting for him, and he had already lost count of how many times he had imagined her running towards him, but she wasn't. He preferred not to go down first, pacing in circles around the front desk while Gianna shook her head when she looked at him every five minutes.
- Where is she? - Demetri asked Gianna. She knew he had arrived, didn't she?
- With Master Alec, of course - Gianna replied with a sigh.
Demetri didn't give up, he stayed there, and as the hours passed it was Minos who he saw the most, walking from one corner to another, as if he wanted to get used to the castle again.
- He gives me the creeps - Gianna whispered, adjusting the glasses that were sliding down her nose.
Demetri nodded, and then, when Minos' pale figure passed by for the twentieth time, looking at him from the corner of his eye, he decided to retreat to his room.
XXXXX
The tracker didn't dare go down to face Alec, but not out of fear, he just didn't want to put Elia in an even more uncomfortable situation.
"She'll come to me when she's ready," Demetri thought. He hoped so.
Now he was clean and his clothes were properly burned after a mission, Aro and Caius were with their wives, only Marcus wandered around the castle, so Demetri didn't feel pressured to watch the city. A few nights passed until he finally saw Elia in the flesh.
He was in the front desk again with Gianna, she had just arrived for the morning shift while the humans wandered upstairs. Demetri had placed the music box on the secretary's desk and was tapping his fingers on the varnished wood when he suddenly saw the girl with her hair tied in a loose bow and loose clothes walking with Minos towards the great hall.
It was only for a moment, Elia appeared and waved, then he only saw the pale man taking her away. At first he thought it was just a hallucination, the result of his desire, but she was really there. The freckles on her face persisted despite her paleness, and her expression was a little less melancholic than before, but still sad.
Demetri jumped to his feet and he would have gone after her if he hadn't seen Alec following them both. Unlike Elia, his expression was pure ice.
- Don't follow them - he heard Gianna say, the human held him by the coat for a few seconds, then withdrew her hand.
- What are they doing? - Demetri asked.
- Experiments, I think - the human began to rummage through the drawers - at least that's what I heard from Chelsea and Corin...
- Was Corin here?
- She came while you were burning the clothes, you know she doesn't stay downstairs when Aro is present.
Demetri nodded. No matter how much Gianna talked, he couldn't absorb it. What were they doing with Elia?
- Here - Gianna put something in his hand and only after a few seconds was Demetri able to focus: it were letters.
- Who are they from?
- From Renata's uncle - Gianna sighed - he knows what happened to one niece, and he fears for the other.
- And I bet you didn't show them to Aro…
- He would burn them - the human sat down again - now get out of my sight, you're making me anxious.
XXXXX
As Demetri was about to enter the hallway, he felt someone running right behind him, but he didn't have to turn around. Elia jumped on his back, her arms around his neck, in a way that Demetri had seen many young couples do these days. The vampire grabbed her hands and kissed them readily, ignoring the smudges of what looked like dried paint, until Elia released him and they finally stood face to face beneath the roots of a plant that Demetri was certain was a mistletoe that had grown too far underground.
- You're really here… - Elia took a step forward, her voice a mixture of emotion and apprehension, something that Demetri couldn't explain why.
Demetri was sure that Elia tried to push him away when he threw himself at her, but she couldn't, or maybe her strength was finally fading. He preferred to think that she simply couldn't resist in the same way that he couldn't resist her.
- You look whole - he took a deep breath, a gesture of relief, tightening his grip on her waist a little more before letting go - what are they doing to you?
- Talking - Elia moved his hands away from her face, but Demetri kept trying, he wanted to see every part of her up close - Minos just talks to me.
- If it's just a talk, why does Alec seem so...
Elia covered Demetri's mouth, taking advantage of the fact that he had leaned towards her. There was something in her eyes that made Demetri furious, it looked like fear.
- Please - Elia spoke before the tracker could protest - I want to see your room.
Demetri knew she was distracting him, but Elia's enthusiasm cheered him up. He wanted to take her with him wherever he went and keep Alec from seeing her, from having her too... The feeling of sharing her with someone was unbearable.
Elia walked ahead, like someone who had walked this path many, many times. When she reached Demetri's hallway, she simply tilted her head to take a look first.
- There's not much to see - Demetri said, taking her by the hand and leading her to the room - it's close to the surface, and Renata is my neighbor.
The vampire growled lightly, making Elia turn around.
- It looks like she's inside.
If he had first wanted Elia to live with him inside his cramped room, he felt a little embarrassed after letting her in. In addition to finding Renata in a corner, crying imaginary tears, there were many objects there that made that place difficult to live with. Demetri didn't usually spend much time between those walls since he was constantly moving, so the place soon became a depository of things he liked to look at. A bronze shield, reliquaries, fragments of objects from past battles shared space with a dark wooden desk, old and worn, covered in scattered papers from when he tried to write letters to Elia and still hadn't cleaned them.
- What happened to you? - Elia ran to Renata's side as soon as she saw her, ignoring the whole mess with the tracker, making him feel a little jealous.
- I'm fine - Renata lied, even with her immortal face the concern was visible - I just didn't want to be alone...
- You could have gone to Felix's room... - Demetri grumbled, once again he knew he was being selfish.
- But we're neighbors! We're practically siblings and...
Renata finally fell silent when Demetri handed her the letters.
- Uncle - she muttered as soon as she recognized the handwriting, running out of the room and locking herself in her own.
Once the vampire was gone, Elia was free to explore. She was drawn to the desk, to a plain, worn frame that held an old, hand-drawn drawing, the lines delicate and faded with age. Yet it was something Demetri refused to throw away.
The soft, cold lighting made the space seem even smaller, but Demetri wouldn't mind sharing it with Elia.
- She looks like you - Elia said, touching the frame carefully - maybe a sweeter version of you.
- A sweeter version? - Demetri approached, he took the frame from Elia's hands and replaced it with the music box he had taken from the Romanians.
Elia turned the crank three times until the box came to life, revealing a ballerina that spun with the soft touch of the music.
- Look at that!
A smile, a wide and beautiful smile that seemed to Demetri to light up the entire room. He clung to Elia's waist and rested his head on her neck, feeling her scent, something that would always make him find her.
- It was Amun who made the drawing - Demetri said - my creator, at the time I thought I would remember my sister forever, but I still accepted the gift.
- You don't remember her anymore?
Elia's smile disappeared at the question and Demetri regretted saying those words.
- It doesn't matter, it's just a portrait of someone who's gone.
The girl put the music box back on the desk.
- No, I want you to keep it!
- If I take it downstairs, I won't have any more excuses to come here.
The girl stared at the floor after saying that, leaning on the desk, lightly touching the papers spread out on the wood, her insistent breathing slower. She seemed to hesitate, her eyes diverting from Demetri, searching for some kind of inner strength, but when the tracker reached her in a quick movement, his hand gently touching her chin, forcing her to look at him, their eyes finally met, and there, in silence, something between them broke. Suddenly, Elia had no more defenses. Demetri leaned towards her, his lips almost touching hers, creating an electric tension in the air, the same one Demetri felt the day they saw each other in the park, when she was still human. Elia closed her eyes when their lips finally met. The kiss was urgent, but also careful, as if they were both aware of the weight of what was being shared.
Demetri felt Elia's body respond to his touch, but something made her stop and this time he couldn't avoid being pushed.
For a moment Elia turned her face away, but only because she heard the sounds of Renata's lamentations, who was still reading the letters and luckily hadn't realized what was happening. That, the feeling of being less important clashed with the sight of the silver mark on the girl's neck. Demetri avoided thinking about the attack that took Elia's life, it was easier that way, after all the newborns and nomads were already dead, even so, how he hated that mark.
Demetri advanced again, this time pressing her against the desk and, in a movement almost without warning, tilting his head to the side of her neck.
The bite was quick, but full of desperate need, as if Demetri wanted to feel Elia's pain and, at the same time, take revenge for what he could never have. His teeth sharpened and dug into Elia's cold skin, who writhed in pleasure at the impact and the sound of her moan only caused Demetri to bite even deeper. The mark was a vivid reminder of the pain of her change, still throbbing beneath her new, hardened skin, and it was at that point, at that scar, that Demetri fixated.
When Demetri noticed that her skin had begun to crack, he flinched, but he still held her by the waist. Elia covered the mark with her hands and for a moment Demetri thought she was absent, as if only her body was there, because her gaze seemed distant.
- Did I hurt you? - Demetri caressed her face.
Elia finally seemed to return to normal, as did her skin.
- The church outside the city walls - the vampire said suddenly - I would like to go back there.
Demetri nodded quickly, covering Elia's face with kisses, unaware of the memories that flowed into her.