#at first i thought caius would be one? maybe strength??

[aquanova99]

Remember your Roots

Felix x Reader

Part 4

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A/N: I’m back bitches. Bet you never thought I would finally update this series jesus it’s taken me forever. I am still struggling with those lovely messages but after getting a few more I realized they are just fans of other creators so whatever.

A/N: anyways how are you guys? I hope I can get back into a rhythm. School is finally letting up and I miss writing but inspiration is hard to come by. Also I worry about repeating things so if this is familiar idk I tried lol thank you guys for the patience 🤍

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In the following weeks you began to feel more and more like yourself. Or what you remembered as yourself. It frustrated you that nothing in your past life came to mind. You had appreciated the extra help from Felix. Both with training and with trying to help you remember anything past you waking up with instructions from Riley. You hadn’t gotten much farther than knowing it was some kind of vacation or break. You knew you had gone with friends but you couldn’t even remember their names much less their faces. Felix offered to take you back to the location someday when everything had calmed down with the Cullens. You had been so against helping Victoria’s coven but now, I mean how many enemies can one family have? You had lessons from Heidi and Demetri about what rules the volturi had and why they had to track certain covens just to check in. You would think following what, maybe two actual rules wouldnt be too hard to follow.

            You had begun to get curious. You asked Aro and Caius about officially performing any guard duties, apparently they thought it was best to keep you hidden unless necessary. A surprise for any possible battle. That was alright. You enjoyed being around Heidi and Sulpicia and Corin had showed you several old plants long gone that you had practiced growing when you had a chance. But you wanted to be out with Demetri…and Felix. You felt like you owed him. And you had begun craving his company. It was getting harder when he went on missions. Not that it was that often, but it freaked you out. There was a pain when he was gone for long periods of time. You had come to know he had never lost a fight, learned about the scars he bore, the little memories of his life before the volturi. His stories were in a word, sad. He was forced into a life of fighting to survive, anything he made was sent to his family from what he remembers, but he couldn’t remember faces either. They’re memory fading even in his human life, sending any kind of winnings was more out of obligation. Aro recruited him and he pretty much continued servitude in a different magnitude. He had left for a few years as a newborn, he smiled remembering how his strength now paled in comparison to that first year. Ironically, he said that was the most peaceful time of his life. You weren’t surprised, even now, there were few people who challenged him, besides Demetri and Santiago.

The scars. The scars were so much worse than you had imagined. He had explained about the children of the moon. You were almost 100% sure the person he saved was Demetri, but you didn’t ask. It wasn’t your business. What he hadn’t told you is that unlike most vampires his scars refused to fade. Any scratch from the children of the moon, vampire or otherwise had left some sort of mark on Felix. The trials he’d faced when he had come back to the volturi were harsh. Caius testing exactly how much he could handle had ended up with too many vampires on him at once. He had told you that test had left him plenty of scars all over, you had stayed silent watching his face. It remained unchanging. You worried asking anything more would cause him to stop confiding in you so you chose to stay silent whenever he would recount a story in his life, as if he was telling it about someone else. As if someone else had lived it. You chose only to ask if he was okay and he had only shrugged saying it no longer bothered him. That was the first time you’d seen him lie. You’d think hed be better at it.

It had been a long process. After the night he convinced you to come back to the volturi, he was only slightly more social. Nodding, maybe offering small casual conversation. He had found you in the library once after he had come back late from a mission. It had been the first time you found yourself wondering if he was doing alright. You were grateful he opened up at all. But his stories… you wondered if he would ever process them.

You began integrating yourself more into the large coven. Becoming closer to the guard members. You found a protectiveness growing inside you, it was becoming more glaringly obvious that you would be willing to protect anyone in your new family. No matter the cost. I mean, it’s not like you had anyone else. Nor did you care too much about your own life either, considering you knew so little about yourself. You began to leave the room to your quarters open, so if anyone needed anything it was clear you were available. It seemed to work well for the most part. It was a sort of unspoken agreement that went on in the castle, if your door was open you were available to talk or to help with any trials. Not that you were ever able to go. The queens had helped hone your gift and you enjoyed learning the things they had mastered over the centuries they had been alive. If you weren’t with them or Heidi you had enjoyed spending your time reading many of the books the volturi had accumulated over time. The only one who would still knock to ask how you were doing was Felix. Still, you enjoyed that he would try and make time to visit you when he wasn’t busy.

You were deeply invested into an old horticulture book, Sulpicia told you it was a book known for plants with healing properties. Sulpicia had once gained a piqued interest into the women being persecuted long ago, she discovered their knowledge went beyond what people were ready for and continued to study it over the millennia to see if anything had changed or improved. When Aro had told her about your gift she was quick to want to experiment to see if there was anything that you could do to help their kind, the two of you mainly focused on different plants and herbs known for healing pain and testing whether crossbreeding would prove to someday help any vampires with lasting pain from wars fought long before your time. You knew she meant Caius, but you also secretly hoped you could possibly help Felix. You had noticed he greatly under exaggerated the pain in his arm. You found him putting pressure on it often or would massage it as if it was sore. You knew he had more scars he didn’t feel comfortable talking about, but those scars ran deep inside him. You might as well do something useful if you were going to be stuck in hiding.

You could feel a gust of air pass you as someone rushed past your room. You heard a door slam before Felix’s scent hit you. You knew if he really wanted to that door would have been obliterated, which meant he was trying to restrain himself. That in itself was terrifying. You poked your head out of the room to see if anyone else seemed to know what was happening. Demetri came up soon after.

“Is everything okay?” you felt the need to whisper as quietly as you could

Demetri lips were a tight line, hesitant before he nodded towards your room. You let him in and closed the door to offer him some privacy, “I didn’t mean to worry you Y/n but you should know today’s trial was a bit unexpected. We haven’t dealt with an immortal child in ages.”

You felt the wind get knocked out of you, the transformation process was no walk in the park. To subject any child through that…leave them endlessly unable to grow. It seemed cruel. And the rules. Being caught guaranteed a swift but presumably painful death to both the creator and child. Your mouth felt dry, what was there to say?

“I’m sorry.” Was the best you could do.

Demetri half chuckled, “It isn’t your fault cara. But it certainly doesn’t seem to get easier. We weren’t able to bring them in before the transformation process was complete for the child. Its creator was trying to calm it on their way, as if they could appeal what he did.” You could see Demetris body stiffen, his teeth gritted together. If it was up to him he would let the vampire rebuild itself just to kill him again. You pulled him into an embrace. It couldn’t be easy, feeling guilty at cutting a child’s life so short, even if had been doomed from the moment they were taken from its family’s arms. Demetri was slow but receptive to your sympathy. His arms wrapped around you as he gathered himself together. When he pulled away he made sure to face you,

“Y/n you should know Felix had the unfortunate task of taking care of the child…”

“Is that why he was so upset?”

Demetri sighed, “As long as I’ve known him… he has always been quite good at masking what he’s thinking. When immortal children first became a problem it was made clear no one person would be the ones handling them. Still, the guard assumes Felix is fine with handling it because he is known as our executioner….Though I doubt his pride will ever let him admit it, there are some things that weigh on him more than other.”

You’d only begun to realize the tone he spoke at was so low you could barely make it out. Demetri was still working, still protecting his friend, “What happened?”

“…some of the guard tend to not have much of a filter. They simply see this as a job. Which normally is fine but regardless, the child calmed down the second Felix held them. He hesitated. Someone mentioned that he needed to get on with it, questioning when he began caring about things like this.”

You didn’t want to hear anything else, you felt a pressing need to see him. Demetri held your arm back. Your voice rose to barely a whisper, “Let. go.”

He shook his head, “Believe me I saw Caius handle said member. It isn’t—its not safe for you to see him right now. He needs some time to relax.”

You shook him off of you, “I’m not scared of Felix.” You left before he could protest anymore. You weren’t sure how much he heard. Demetri had centuries to improve how quiet he needed to be in certain situations. You did not have that luxury.  You expected to hear no response at your knocking against his door. When you realized you were and were met with silence you opened the door ever so slightly.

“Hi, are you okay?”

He seemed surprised at your presence, his head lifting up from the small couch he was sitting on. Other than that he didn’t move a muscle, his head had turned back to glare at the fire roaring through the silence and you debated how much you could actually do to help.

“I’m fairly confident you’ve been warned by my friend that today wasn’t a great day.” He looked so…tired. The centuries of not sleeping seemed etched across his face. You stepped into his chambers and as gently as you could closed the door behind you. The soft click of the door, causing him to look at your direction. Clearly, no one has ever tried to push for an answer after his immediate and probably, automatic refusal to talk. For indestructible beings you found the lot of them to be cowards.

“I guess I’m a bit worried.”

“I didn’t mean to sca—”

“You don’t. That wasn’t what I meant.” Felix seemed taken aback by your irritation. You walked towards him slowly, until you stood give feet from where he sat. Ahi’s eyes never left you, he seemed worried as if he doubted whether his anger would get the best of him. You hadn’t had a moment to think Felix was ever someone to be afraid of. You suppose that he probably should have frightened you at least a bit, but thus far, he gave you no reason to worry, “you promise you’re okay?”

He opened his mouth to say yes, you surprised him when you reached your hand out extending your pinky. It was a simple act but you both seemed to understand exactly what you were asking him. Daring him actually. Daring him to lie to you again. He sighed and scooted over to one side of the couch he was sitting on. You were sat next to him in an instant. You waited for him to continue, refusing to say anything else before he changed his mind.

“A pinky promise? Really?”

“Strangely effective though, don’t you think?”

He chuckled, but even that seemed to pain him. Both of you remained silent for a while, “You can ask, I promise to answer.”

It was as if he was already separating two parts of himself. A process in which he would remove any emotion from the events that unfolded today. It was heartbreaking to see him like this. You supposed the coldness was what the people in the throne room saw. An effective mask, to say the least, “What do you need?”

“I- I’m sorry?”

“I would never force you to talk about something, it sounds like today was really intense. If you do want to talk I’m here. But I can just keep you company. Or we could go do something to get your mind off things. Like back to the sanctuary place I found and play with the dogs. Or if you really want to be alone that’s fine. But I need to know what would help. And I mean actually help, not just telling me you need space because that’s what you’re used to.”

“Help.” He quietly echoed, he seemed to be in a kind of daze. You reached out and grabbed his hand. There was in reality, nothing you could say. If and when you had to deal with an immortal child… it would have you tatters for weeks, if not months or years. The touch seemed to somewhat snap him out of it, “can I ask you to do something for me?”

There was a desperate tone in his voice that made you hesitate, “I can try…”

“Would you use your gift on me?”

“What do you mean?” You asked but really, you both knew that you understood exactly what he wanted

“I need to not think about it.”

“Felix. Falling asleep does not mean you will be able to rest.”

“Y/n please,” he begged, “I feel like I’m losing my mind, I need a break.”

“Felix I can’t control how long you’ll be out for. You could have over two days of terrible, horrifying nightmares which would be infinitely worse. What about the leaders, they need you. They would be furious. What if they punish you? What if—”

“Y/n please. They owe me a break at this point. I trust you.”

“Felix. I can’t control anything besides knocking you out.”

“Y/n I don’t think I’ve had a break in centuries. I could care less about what happens. Regardless all I am going to think about is that crying. I can’t… separate this one. She was so tiny, so…helpless? I’ve never had that moment where I’ve had to question what kind of life I could have had. Even as a human that wasn’t in the cards. That was never going to be my life. I feel like I can’t breathe and i need a—”

“Break. I know.” His pleas had worked. He had his limit. You doubted you would be able to say no to him regardless, “okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll figure out how to explain it to the others. I’ll find Aro after.”

You saw panic in Felix’s face, “I-I’m sorry. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you—”

“Felix relax. The more stressed you are the worse sleep you’ll have. I’ll be fine. Besides I’m faster than you so eventually I’ll win anyway.” You managed to get a small laugh out of him, before you gestured for him to go towards his bed. Before he laid down he brought you in an embrace you didn’t hesitate to return. It was sad really, seeing someone so strong look so weak. So tired. You only hoped sleep would bring him some kind of respite. You couldn’t bring yourself to let go first. Finding that somehow you were feeling comforted by his touch instead of the other way around. You both seemed to realize that you were holding on much too long for a friend helping another friend out. Still, you both seemed slow to pull away.

“Ready?”

“Remind me when I wake up that I owe you.”

“Let’s call us even for the time at that wildlife place.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You did a lot more than you think. But if you really want to pay me back you can take me back there when you have time.”

“Sounds like a date little one.” You felt yourself smile like an idiot. It took everything inside of you to not scream. Reminding yourself the way he spoke may mean something entirely different.

“Sweet dreams.”

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Felix

It was a strange experience. Sleep. You wondered how long you had been out. Your senses being overwhelmed for the first time since your transformation. Your eyes were slow to open, your brain still scrambling to get a bearing on your surroundings. Most of your thoughts consumed by wondering if y/n was alright.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, my friend.” Demetri closed the book he was reading

“How long?”

“A few days.” He shrugged, “How are you feeling?”

“Rested.” You grumbled, “Is y/n..?”

“She’s alright. Taking a rest in the garden. She has been working pretty hard to keep a variety of plants alive around you.”

You took in the sight of various plants forming an arch of sorts around your bed. You had a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, “What happened?”

“Your mate is a bit weary herself. The second you fell into your slumber she rushed to inform the kings. The whole castle could hear Caius screaming. I had given them a heads up but he was still less than pleased. She was pretty silent, just held her hand out to Aro. After that she was excused as Aro wanted to talk to Caius. The queens also were not very excited about how Caius showed his concern. After about six hours Y/n began worrying about how restless you seemed. Sulpicia and her were talking the second she left the meeting with the leaders. Afterwards she began bringing in various vases.” He gestured to the various things in your room, “She has been growing a variety of them. Supposedly calming. But she has been trying different combinations, it’s been pretty draining on her so Caius told her to try and relax so she took a walk.”

You tried to remember anything at all from the past few days. You had a vague memory of wanting to wake up early on. But it didn’t last. You weren’t exactly fond of that short time but Y/n had warned you it could be a miserable time. And afterwards you remembered nothing. Well, you certainly felt calm upon waking so whatever she did must have worked to an extent. You wished you could remember. Either way, while the feeling over that trial still lingered it didn’t seem so overpowering.

“I should probably find her.”

Demetri sighed, “Oh? You think so? And are you planning on telling her about the high chance of the mate bond yet?”

His question stopped you dead in your tracks, “Dem. I can’t.”

“Oh, come on Felix. You spend every second you can with her. You don’t think everyone has noticed you trying not to rush into her room just to talk to her. The only one clueless to how bad it is, is … well her. It’s starting to affect her too Felix. You honestly think she would be that worried about anyone else in the castle?”

Yes. “Actually—”

“It was a rhetorical question. Would she care of course, would she spend over forty hours continuously growing things to make sure you slept as soundly as you had, likely not. You’re hurting her more by not saying anything. And I am starting to grow quite fond of her so if you could, just move on with it.”

“It’s only been a few months. Its too soon. She is still adjusting.”

“Who is?” Jane interrupted, followed by Alec. “What? we heard you wake up.” She said in response to your clear confusion.

“Y/n apparently. Felix doesn’t want to tell her about the mate pull.”

“That’s dumb.” Alec stated, “If she finds out about it won’t she think you just dislike her?”

“A very good point, thank you Alec.”

You were absolutely not awake enough for this conversation, “Is she still in the garden?”

Demetri just nodded and you left to find her. Demetri or the twins could inform the leaders if they wanted to. You were in no way quiet but Y/n seemed completely unaware of your presence. She seemed to be taking in the sun as if she were a plant herself. The guilt that racked your body was immediate. You should have been more cautious in your plan. Had Aro not been there…you worried what Caius would do in his fits of anger, you’d seen it. And no matter how much the queens seemed to favor y/n…. The fact that she gotten herself to a point of exhaustion herself…

“Y/n?”

“Felix, you’re awake!” The sun was barely out. Autumn brought more clouds to the small town. Yet the light reflected off of the diamonds on her skin, you’d never been so enchanted by the prisms glittering her body. You spent the first week avoiding her like a fool, and the last month trying to spend any excuse to see her. You found yourself telling her things you’d never spoken aloud. It was as if your mind was waiting to meet her so it could unload everything you had ever wanted to talk about. She never pushed for more than what you were ready to share, and it made it easier to want to keep talking. Had she done so well, you worried about how deep you’d bring her into your world. You worried she would see you for the monster everyone else saw you as. You worried you were putting too much on her plate. And still it felt so easy to not worry about upkeeping a certain persona.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better than I have in years if I am being honest. Though I don’t remember much.”

“That’s probably my fault. I was trying to work with some plants that have been known to cause amnesia. I probably overstepped, I’m sorry.”

“Y/n believe me you have no reason to be sorry. I was not in the right headspace and it was a lot to ask of you.”

“I mean its kind of understandable. If you ever do want to talk about it, you know where I live.” She seemed to dance around saying anything on the actual subject. You wonder how scared you must have made her when you all but forced her to use her gift on you. You remember the warning Demetri had given her on that day. He of all people knew not to mess with you on those kinds of days. You would use any excuse to pick a fight. Y/ns voice still rang clear in your head. You wondered if she had changed her mind.”

“Y/n, would you still like to go see that place you found?”

She tilted her head as if debating on what kind of excuse could get her out of your question. Or perhaps regarding you for what you were, the executioner of the volturi. Dangerous by all accounts. The silence was making you crazy, it was taking everything to not retract your initial question.

“Are you asking me as a friend or as a date?”

“Would my answer change yours?”

“No.” Her certainty out measured your unease.

“Then I do believe we had made plans for a date.”

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Taglist: @adaydreamaway08 @artaxerxesthegreat @aunt-pipie @heartrise @imtoanonymousforyou @lacychick @quarthly @venusdelaroix @volturiwolf @xcastawayherosx @jelly-fishy-babie

#aquas works #twilight #new moon #eclipse #breaking dawn #twilight renaissance #twilight saga #the volturi #twilightedit #felix volturi #volturi #the twilight series #the twilight saga #the volturi guard #volturi coven #felix volturi x y/n #felix x you #felix volturi x reader

[cancankiki]

Where You Belong (2/?)

Read part 1 first. My AO3 page https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marcus_Is_Sexy

No warnings, just a vampire death. This is NOT beta'd so please be kind.

Aro turned to look at Caius, then Marcus and sly expression on his face. "Marcus it seems that your mate, the lovely Isabella, has quite an extraordinary power. Not only is she a shield, but she can project it and shield others over great distances. No wonder I can't read your mind."

There was a small interruption as Edward tried to stand up, but Felx kicked him the back of his knees to make sure he stayed put, while keeping his arm securely around his throat.

Aro continued, "You both understand the other needs to heal. I see endless nights of reading books and long conversations, yet you are both happy."

Marcus felt immense relief as he had no romantic feelings for his new mate. While he wanted to keep her safe and happy, he could never love another the way he loved Didyme.

The relief that flooded Bella massive. After almost being violated one night after the Cullen's left she had absolutely no interest in anyone touching her. Besides, she just turned eighteen and he was obviously an old man. She ached to not be alone, to be connected to others without any pressure of intimacy.

Aro left out that he saw them about a century later building upon their physical intimacy. There was love between them and it only grew stronger.

"See no one wants to fuck you. If you beg me, maybe I'll take you back." Edward sneered.

Bella all but crawled inside of herself, hurt by his words and utterly embarrassed. There was a blur of movements and it took her a few moments to understand what was happening.

Edward was on the floor in pain, Caius was in front of Bella, "You do not talk to a king's mate in such a manner." Marus stood over Edward, holding his head back ready to rip it off. Alice was begging them to stop as Alec held her back.

"That's enough Jane." Aro said and shook his head. We wanted to be kind to your creator, but you have crossed a line. You shall get what you originally wanted. Death."

Marcus looked at his mate, Bella, as Demetri handed him a lit torch. "Would you like to assist me Bella?"

"No, Bella. Please don't." Alice moaned. Bella couldn't believe how much the Cullens have betrayed and hurt her. She sneered at the pathetic woman and walked in front of Edward and held onto the torch with Marcus. Edward began to beg for his life, but Felix put one hand in his mouth and pulled back his head, leaving the lower set of teeth attached to his neck. Marcus helped Bella light him on fire and pulled her back quickly. The smile on her face as he burned to ash was brighter than it has ever been.

"You bitch." Alice screamed.

"Send her to the dungeon until we decide what to do with her." Caius ordered and two other men walked in and dragged her off, while she screamed the whole way.

"You are quite brave, Bella." Marcus said in awe, hoping that helped her feel she got a bit of revenge.

"Thank you. Marcus" She only knew his same because the other king had said it aloud.

"Welcome to Volturi" Aro tilted his head, walked over and held out his hand. Bella put hers in his once again.. This time he gently kissed the back of her hand. "I'm Aro. I know Sulpicia will want to meet you as soon as possible."

"Yes, welcome. That was quite brave of you to burn him. I know Athenodora will want to hear every detail."

"That is Caius", Marcus added. Bella nodded at both kings then looked at the others in the throne room.

"These are our trusted top guards." He pointed to each one and they nodded at Bella. "Felix has great strength and is quite amazing to see in battle. Demetri is the best tracker, there is nothing he can't find. Jane and Alec are twins, she has the power of illusion of pain and he can take away all five of your senses."

Each of the guards studied Bella, she was not at all who they thought Marcus would ever find for a mate. She was young, not educated in any worldly knowledge, and clearly had no self esteem. The future that Aro had seen from the dead Cullen meant that they would be good for each other. They shall wait and see. While they would protect her at all costs now, their true allegiance was still to Marcus first over her.

"Let's take a walk, I'll show you to our quarters and answer all questions you have." Bella nodded and walked alongside Marcus. "Oh, Demetri please find Heidi and bring her to me. Bella will provide her with a list of needed items, food, and clothes." Demetri nodded and rushed off to fulfil his master's request.

"Marcus stopped to look at Bella. After I give you my history you will understand why I want to change you immediately. Aro and Caius wives' are heavily guarded, even though they can protect themselves. It will give me great relief to know you are not in danger"

Bella nodded getting the feeling Marcus had a tragic story. "I should have died that first day of school in Forks. I was supposed to be crushed by two cars, but Edward saved me. I never felt normal or that I belonged. I always feel that I shouldn't have lived and was out of place."

Marcus cointjued walking with Bella telling the tale of his long second life and the loneliness.

In this story, Didyme was killed during a battle, Aro was just as heartbroken as Marcus, but had to be strong for him. He made sure their wives were always protected after that, extra guards, though they could easily take care of themselves. Afterall they also trained for battle as well.

Eventually Bella and Marcus will develop into a romance, but right now he needs time to heal and deal with the guilt of betraying Didyme. Bella needs time to figure out who she really is, what her gift is, and how to trust again.

#MarcusAndBella #BellaVolturi #FuckTheCullens #SlowBuildingLove

[cassianandfenrysaremyboyos]

Thinking about Aurialis telling Faythe "You have already befriended knowledge, courage, and wisdom… Resilience, strength, light, and darkness will find you soon, and together with your power, you will see the world righted." And "Only darkness and light remains" and how:

Knowledge is Marlowe

Courage is Jakon

Wisdom is Nik

Resilience is Tauria

Strength is Reylan

#at first i thought caius would be one? maybe strength?? #and reylan might be light or dark #but reylan has to be strength because caius isn't there in the hut scene and faythe hasn't met light and darkness yet #but anyway i still think caius should of been one #an heir comes to rise #a queen comes to power #ahctr #aqctp #lisa reads ahctr

[imaginingmanyfandoms]

No i dont have a specific request. I just want Volturi King headcanons if you dont mind

i need feedback on these, i don't know how well i write for the kings

ARO:

he would be tempted to just read all your thoughts because he wants to learn all of you

but also he would be so fascinated by you that he would want to first get to know you by talking to you

you would spend countless hours talking to him

how you met: he'd been watching you in your village for many weeks. you were a medicinal herbalist, and the way plants responded to your care, he knew you would be magnificent as a vampire. but when he approached you he fell in love. he let you apprentice someone knew before he took you away. at last wish, if you will. you didn't want your village to suffer from your farewell, but you would go with him happily.

he would give you a few human weeks to adapt and understand how life in the castle worked, so you didn't have to learn the rules while also trying to overcome thirst & strength

in that time, he would host elaborate tea parties for you

filled with all the food & drink he used to love

he would watch you eat it with awe, enjoying the novelty of reliving his human days

heidi is your best friend; maybe it started with her undeniable charm, but she was so flattered when you started inviting her to do things over the phone, meaning you truly liked her for her and didn't feel compelled to hangout with her

when aro was too busy to do something with you, you would help heidi with her elaborate schemes

after your thirst & newbornism was under control he would build you an apothecary cabin somewhere hidden from the world

somewhere for you to spend your time fiddling with plants and herbs

you would have another apprentice, someone who to trained to take care of your garden while you were away

aro would dislike it whenever you tried to join the guard

"you are my beautiful spouse, not my guard."

"i can make the trees attack people. i control the trees my love."

he still wouldn't want it, he would want you to spend your time doing things you loved, not going on missions

he would want to hide you from the violence he ordered

he would make you a library, filled with books of herbs and plants and medicine for you to study

he would find you records and records of vinyl for you to listen to

he would try to give you jewels and treasures too often

you would often run up to him, smacking your hand somewhere on his body while talking about a pretty flower you saw

imagine just like open palm sticking your hand on his face and saying "look how interesting it is. look at the healing properties but also it's so cute!" with your hand covering half his face

CAIUS:

he would love you so much

and if you showed him any kind of affection back he would melt

how you met; you were one of aro's treasures. instead of letting your small coven face death, you went voluntarily. that kind of loyalty was something aro respected. you were someone with an amazing ability to calm anyone. to draw their fears out and replace it with euphoria, even while staring death in the face. aro loved you, loved the way you didn't feel bad about killing someone - just that they shouldn't have to feel afraid to die. also you didn't have to fight because your victim would stand calmly while you ripped them apart.

caius didn't want you on the guard, but you insisted.

"gives me somewhere to be while you're busy, my sweet."

felix has direct orders to protect you above all else (except the secret - of course) when you're on a mission

he would need you to love him and much as he loved you

but also he's a but of a grump

so he could be grumpy and still try to compliment you

"well don't you look just beautiful"

"remember how we talked about how things don't sound sincere when you say it like that."

anything you asked for would be his command to grant

and when you wanted to spend time with him, he would give you his full attention when he could

you would become good friends with demetri, and caius would hate it

not because he didn't trust you or demetri.

there were no secrets in Volterra...

but because after you'd spent too much time with demetri, some of his personality would rub off on you, and caius is a calm afternoon type of guy

one time during a pleasant walk through the garden you threw a water balloon at him

he stood frozen in wet robes as you laughed at him, jumping on his back and places kisses all over him

you brought out a little more fun in him, and while he looks like he hates it; he actually really appreciates it

MARCUS:

he was miserable before you

thousands of years of waiting to find his mate

but when you came, it was like a whole new marcus

he was still tired of being alive, but he now would rather live than leave your side

you will fill his senses with things he'd long since stopped appreciating

music sounded lovelier

flowers smelled prettier

poems had meaning again

how you met; you were brought in for questioning regarding an old travelling companion of yours. you offered the information to aro without a second thought, and he saw in your mind that you would never question, or stand against the volturi. marcus saw you in the throne room, and couldn't keep his eyes or thoughts anywhere else. you were exquisite. a gift to the eyes. he'd ask you to stay for a bite. and then he'd ask you to stay indefinitely. as a vampire it's pretty hard to find a home, so you accepted.

marcus would fill your days with things you enjoyed

walking through the garden, reading poems, watching movies

whatever you liked to do, he was eager to do with you

he was always worried about your safety

so he turned a professional mma fight into a vampire and gave him the order to protect you with his life

aro & caius thought it was excessive but... they didn't say anything

he wanted you to be happy with him

#twilight #volturi guard #twilight imagine #twilight headcanons #twilight headcanon #aro volturi #aro volturi imagines #aro volturi imagine #caius volturi imagine #caius volturi #caius volturi imagines #marcus volturi #marcus volturi imagine #marcus volturi imagines #headcanon #headcanons #volturi guard headcanon #volturi guard headcanons

[therealvinelle]

Hi, I was reading a post here in Tumblr about how Edward has two gifts, he can hear thoughts and is super fast, so I wonder what is your opinion about this topic?.

Furthermore, what others power might the Volturi's leaders and guards might have?

Edward has one gift, and it’s telepathy. Being fast isn’t a gift.

Strength, speed and even senses is varied among vampires. Some, like Emmett, are on the extreme end, but that doesn’t make Emmett gifted, nor does it mean that the rest are at an equal level. The Cullens have clear variations between them.

Physique appears to play a dominant role in how these variations play out: Alice, who was malnourished and never made it past 4′10″, is the physically weakest of the coven, while Emmett at 6′5″ and a mountain of muscles is the strongest. This is made very clear during the baseball game:

“Emmett was hovering close to third (base), knowing that Alice didn’t have the muscle to outstrip Rosalie’s fielding." (Midnight Sun, chapter The Game)

There’s also the fact that it’s taken for granted that Emmett would be intimidating to other vampires, and he is dismayed when James is more worried about Jasper, who is lean.

I suspect this disparity exists simply because a large frame means more tissue to have blood in. Newborns, animal, and human-eating vampires all having a difference in terms of strength is proof that blood has the final say in a vampire’s prowess, so Emmett being able to contain more of it than Alice and therefore being stronger makes sense to me.

This isn’t the meta for me to get into that, but I don’t think vampires have muscles in the sense we do. Or rather, we can’t know that they do. Renesmée is proof that Edward retains his human DNA, or she would be a clone of Bella. Nahuel is proof that Joham retains a Y-chromosome. Does this mean that vampires have different cell types? Does a vampire’s stone-like skin still contain human DNA? One would think yes - except, if you rip a vampire apart, you get rubble. The parts are all solid. There’s also Carlisle theorizing that vampires digest blood by absorbing it through porous tissue, which makes me wonder why he dismissed his digestive system (my guess: vivisection fun times with Aro in Volterra. Carlisle couldn’t have done it on his own, and Aro is the only one mad and curious enough to be down for that). I’m getting off-topic - what I’m saying is, we don’t know how vampires work, meaning I can’t build this meta off of the assumption that they have muscles. I simply can’t know for sure that they do.

The important thing is that a vampire’s physique is a deciding factor in how strong they are.

There’s also Laurent’s warning about James, that he has “unparalleled senses”, meaning some vampires are better at sight, hearing, and smell than others. I can believe that, because we have canon examples of vampires being bad at tracking.

There’s Edward in Port Angeles, who couldn’t track Bella’s, his singer, scent to her location, and (I admit this one is conjecture but it’s so probable that I say it goes) Carlisle’s creator, who after taking care of the mob must have realized he’d bitten one of the humans, meaning a newborn would soon be loose in London. This is punishable by death by the Volturi. The fact that he didn’t return to finish Carlisle off means that he was unable to find him. I remind the audience that Carlisle was bleeding and suffering the effects by a venom intended to paralyze the victim. To put it this way, Carlisle wouldn’t have survived James, or anybody with a trace of tracking competence. By comparison, Carlisle was able to locate a dying Rosalie by the smell of her blood, even though there wouldn’t have been a trail for him to follow, as her body had not been moved.

When it comes to these disparities in strength and speed among the Volturi, I imagine Jane and Alec are the physically weakest members of the guard, and among the slowest. They’re prepubescent, meaning no muscle for them, and their height (a humble 4′8″ and 4′10″) implies very short legs. They’re simply not going to get as far as an adult would, not in the same number of steps. Renata at 5′0″ is another tiny vampire lady who likely isn’t very strong or fast.

That’s not to say I think these physically weaker members of the Volturi guard are necessarily useless in hand-to-hand combat, Alec at least is a boy stuck in a playful age, and the males around him are trained warriors. He’s probably picked up a few things over the years.

As for the others, Aro is described as frail-looking, which hints at him being quite thin. I don’t think he’s weak, if he couldn’t win a fight he wouldn’t be around, but I do think he’s probably below average in terms of strength. Caius I picture as a Harrison Ford type, so of course I’m gonna think he’s a bit burly, but this is me headcanoning and not actually hinted at in canon. Marcus is 19, so I imagine he can only be so strong.

Back to Edward’s speed.

He’s a 6′2″ teen, that’s code for “very long legs”, though I’m actually going to go ahead and posit that he’s not actually that fast. Strap in for this next part:

The guy was a teenager who lay dying for an undisclosed amount of time. The fact that Carlisle had the time to get to know his mother points to a few weeks, at least. And Edward was very ill:

Elizabeth worried obsessively over her son. She hurt her own chances of survival trying to nurse him from her sickbed. I expected that he would go first, he was so much worse off than she was. (New Moon, page 21)

Muscles atrophy quickly, never more so than when you’re a teen ravaged by fever, on your deathbed. And as I’ve explained above, I think your physique in life ties directly into your vampiric prowess.

I think Edward is certainly the physically weakest of the male Cullens, quite likely weaker than Rosalie as well, maybe even Esme.

Now, speed is not the same as strength. However, for humans, the two are connected. It’s the muscle fibers in our legs that determine our speed. Basically, type I fibers make an enduring runner, type II fibers make a speed runner. So, assuming that vampires retain their human musculature, one could argue that Edward had a lot of type II in life. However, Carlisle when he was human was able to outrun the mob he was with:

He ran through the streets, and Carlisle — he was twenty-three and very fast — was in the lead of the pursuit. (Twilight, page 158)

Carlisle clearly had a lot of type II fibers, and unlike Edward he was in peak physical condition when he died. He was also an adult who’d had more time to develop musculature, while Edward was a seventeen-year-old. If musculature was a deciding factor, one would think they would at the very least be of equal speed, though realistically Edward should be slower.

So, if it’s not muscles, what is it that makes Edward faster than the others?

It could be a matter of technique. Except, the way Bella describes movement when she wakes up as a vampire, it’s all very automated. Her body knows exactly how to do everything, and executes it without much input from her:

After that first frozen second of shock, my body responded to the unfamiliar touch in a way that shocked me even more.

Air hissed up my throat, spitting through my clenched teeth with a low, menacing sound like a swarm of bees. Before the sound was out, my muscles bunched and arched, twisting away from the unknown. I flipped off my back in a spin so fast it should have turned the room into an incomprehensible blur—but it did not. I saw every dust mote, every splinter in the wood-paneled walls, every loose thread in microscopic detail as my eyes whirled past them.

So by the time I found myself crouched against the wall defensively—about a sixteenth of a second later—I already understood what had startled me, and that I had overreacted. (Breaking Dawn, page 251-252)

Growling, crouching - those are all distinctly vampiric, non-human ways to act. Bella didn’t learn this, her body knew it of its own accord. When she later runs, she explains it as happening the same way - she just does it.

The way Bella experiences it, vampiric movement is like a package she downloaded, and that executes her instinctual commands with no need for her to actually know how to do any of this. Her grace is another example of this - Bella Swan may be in charge of her own consciousness, but the venom is entirely in control of her body.

Given these facts, I don’t think it’s technique that makes Edward a better runner than others. His technique is likely similar to everyone else’s. If it isn’t, if technique is what makes the difference, then who is and isn’t fast is an arbitrary process.

With that, we get to my controversial theory about why Edward is the fastest Cullen: he’s not.

Running and being fast is the only thing about vampirism that Edward enjoys. This is for another meta, but Edward is extremely depressed about every single other bit of it. Every aspect of being a vampire torments him.

Except the running. He enjoys all of it, especially being the fastest, so much. And as a newborn, he would have been faster than Carlisle.

But after that, when his newborn strength faded…

I honestly think that Carlisle decided to just slow down a bit when running with him, let Edward have this. It’s no skin of his back, and it makes Edward happy, so why not.

Esme joins the family, and of course she would be down for this. Nothing is more parental, more maternal, than losing at checkers to make your child happy, after all. Could also be she’s not very fast herself, but even if she were then she would downplay it to make Edward feel like Jesse Owens.

Enter Rosalie, who would think it’s completely ridiculous, yes, but she would also recognize this excellent opportunity to call in a big favor from Carlisle later on. There’s also the fact that I think Carlisle has a gift (yes, yes, meta is coming, people) that makes him very persuasive people. And also that for all that Rose gets a lot of bad rep, she is very generous and loves her family, if being fast makes Edward happy then alright.

Emmett is an easy-going guy, he goes along with things. Alice adores Edward and would go along with it. She also has tiny matchstick legs and couldn’t outrun him if she tried. Jasper could not care less.

Bella does get outrun by Edward after waking up, but she also did zero exercise in life (listing this in case musculature matter), had Renesmée devour her from within rendering her emaciated, and then died like a slasher movie murder victim. There’s not a lot of blood in her, and what little blood there is doesn’t have a lot to work with. She does defeat Emmett at arm wrestling, so I’ll concede that. However, there are enough extenuating circumstances surrounding Bella that I think my “Edward isn’t that fast” theory survives his ability to outrun her.

So, I believe Edward is the fast Cullen because Carlisle told a white lie in 1919, no one ever corrected that, and now it’s too late.

#tumblr ate this ask and i had to spend twice as long writing it #i'm dying #edward cullen #carlisle cullen #volturi #alec #twilight vampires #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #twilight #long post #Anonymous #ask #edward speed debacle

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

While we're on the subject what do you think would have happened if it was Carlisle who came back after Bella's cliff diving? Maybe he happened to be closer to Forks or Alice was in another country and called him to go check on her (or whatever it was she hoped to accomplish by going to Forks) Would he nope out after seeing Bella's alive or would he stick around, become concerned about her wellbeing?

The post anon is referencing, where Rosalie comes back instead of Alice, things get hilarious and awkward. Edward never attempts suicide in Volterra.

So, Why Didn't Carlisle Come Back?

He didn't know.

For plot convenient reasons, he and Esme were out of the house at the time, and it was Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett by themselves.

Alice had her vision, heads down to Forks to see Bella's grave/catch the funeral, Rosalie decides to man up and tell Edward around the time that Alice reaches Forks.

(It probably takes her quite a few times to actually get a hold of Edward.)

I believe Carlisle is supposed to be absent from the time Alice gets the news until the Italy debacle is nearly over. He and Esme come back to everything on fire, Edward very likely to be executed for breaking the law in Volterra itself, and Edward having attempted suicide period.

By the time he gets there, it's known Bella's actually alive.

However, had he been home earlier, had he been there in the period where they thought Bella was in fact dead, I believe he would have travelled with Alice back to Forks.

Well, he would have tried to make the family come. This girl was important to Edward, important to their lives, of course they're showing up for the goddamn funeral.

Rosalie would throw a fit, Jasper would be an emotional wreck (likely feeling somehow complicit in all of this), Esme would be an emotional wreck for what this means for Edward, Emmett would be very awkward, and all in all Carlisle would wonder if, perhaps, he should have left the family at home.

Point being, Carlisle would absolutely have come back, but he probably would not have been alone.

But this is AU world, let's say he did.

Carlisle Returns Alone

His family is imploding, he leaves them behind, he'll tell them when the funeral is.

Alice doesn't come with him because Edward has to be told and Alice is the best one to do it. Alice really doesn't want to, but Carlisle insists, no, Edward has to know and best it comes from Alice who was her best friend.

And Rosalie, bless her heart, lacks the tact.

(Rosalie is mildly offended but agrees, probably best Alice does it).

So Carlisle returns alone, opens the door, "Oh, hello Bella."

Carlisle gets to awkwardly explain that, you see, Alice thought you had died. Neither he nor Bella have any explanation for this. Jake, meanwhile, wants Dr. Cullen out and is giving his "how dare you speech"

Unlike Rosalie, Carlisle sticks around and finds out the awful truth.

Bella is being hunted by vampires, the town of Forks is under siege by Victoria, and apparently the presence of vampires triggers the wolf transformation and so now half the Quileute tribe under the age of 18 is a shape shifter and it's all his family's fault.

Oh, and Bella did just attempt suicide, but isn't admitting it. She just likes jumping off cliffs now because, well, she might be hallucinating Edward? That's normal, right?

Carlisle goes to stand in a corner and breathe in a paper bag.

Carlisle goes into emergency mode.

He gives Bella the pep talk of a lifetime and explains why the family left and what they were trying to accomplish with this. He gets the not so good details of exactly how Edward broke up with her. He returns to breathing in a bag.

Then he gets the phone call.

Alice... may have fucked up.

Edward didn't take the news well, he's decided to kill himself in Volterra, and the only way to stop him is if Bella Swan shows up to stop him in person.

Carlisle speed dials Aro, Aro is delighted to hear from his old friend, except that the conversation is Carlisle's stressed screaming. Carlisle gives Aro the fast version: he's made a coven, his son is coming to ask for assisted suicide, he has a human girlfriend (yes, Carlisle knows, no he doesn't like it, THAT'S NOT THE POINT, ARO) Carlisle asks, for the love of god, stall Aro and Carlisle will be there as soon as he can (yes, with the human girlfriend).

Aro is delighted at the prospect of seeing Carlisle but also a little weirded out. Alright, Carlisle, he'll pretend to humor this Edward and stall him.

So, Aro does, and he does it with magnificence. The throne room is filled with incense, Aro is back in Myceenaen garb, and the only light is from candles. The ambiance is spectacular.

While the Volturi will not assist Edward's suicide, they will grant him a wish, should he pass through the Volturi's three trials. Only then will he be worthy of the highest and most ancient honors.

Edward eats this up. HE IS READY FOR HIS TRIALS.

The first is a trial of strength, he must wrestle Caius and win. Well, unfortunately, he loses. Aro tells Caius that he has to let Edward win, if he gets too frustrated, there's no telling what this kid will do. Caius refuses to lose to this punk.

Aro has to bribe him.

This continues up until Carlisle and Bella finally arrive.

Carlisle gets to witness the madness that is Aro and Edward playing chess in this room filled with incense and candles. Aro abruptly calls everything off and gives the three some privacy.

Carlisle has had the world's worst day and lays into Edward. Edward's processing Bella's alive, human, and that nothing is going his way. It's a giant mess.

Aro returns and goes, "So, onto the real trouble, Bella Swan is human."

Unfortunately, Alice isn't there with them, so Aro doesn't have his out. Aro concludes that Bella Swan will be turned in Italy, though she may leave afterwards with Carlisle and Edward.

As for this Victoria situation, well, Aro and associates will keep an eye on it.

Edward loses his shit. With Carlisle right there. Carlisle gets to witness Edward's Full Edward mental breakdown.

It's a disaster and the flight home from Volterra is the most awkward thing in the world.

However, because the law was enacted and Bella didn't return home human, Caius is much more appeased. He still doesn't like Carlisle, and certainly not Edward, but he's no longer concerned Aro lacks the will to enforce his own laws.

The plot of Eclipse and Breaking Dawn do not happen.

Bella and Edward likely do not end up together, as Edward is eaten alive by guilt at having been responsible for Bella now being a vampire. This makes Bella miserable, but such is life.

At least she's a Cullen now.

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight headcanon #twilight renaissance #aro #caius #the volturi #edward cullen #anti edward cullen #carlisle cullen #alice cullen #rosalie hale #bella swan #edward/bella #anti edward/bella #meta #headcanon #opinion

[aro-is-gay-af]

The Midnight of Despair | Volturi Kings x fem!reader

As you all can see, I got carried away just a little with this one. It was supposed to be a one-shot, but I'm planning at least part two, since this part got soooo long.

Anyway!

I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing. Sorry for any grammatical errors, as well as any confusion with syntax. English isn't my native but I always try my best! Constructive criticism is always welcomed.

Please, pay attention to the warnings. If you are uncomfortable with any of the topics, simply do not read.

I pictured here Aro from the films (as Michael Sheen is perfect for this part), Caius from the films (maybe a little bit older) and Marcus from the films but his younger self (maybe 20?). Also, I wrote at one point that [Y/N] has blonde hair and blue eyes but it just helped me with the descriptions. Obviously, you can picture characters according to your wishes.

Warnings: Rape (graphic description!), Depression, PTSD, Swear words, Forced Pregnancy

Word count: 7816 (!)

Summary: [Y/N] and Bella are childhood friends. They were always there for each other. [Y/N] had tough times and struggles with everyday life. Bella faces depression after Edward had left her. [Y/N] tries to get her going and alive. One day [Y/N] is raped and gets pregnant with the rapist. Not long after that it turns out that Edward got himself into the mess with Volturi. [Y/N], even traumatized and in pieces, will not let Bella go without her supervision to Italy. What is going to happen when [Y/N] will stay at Volterra? Is she really predestined to be Kings' mate? Is she going to have her baby or abort the pregnancy? Will the trauma go away or is she going to struggle for a long time?

You thought that the death of your parents was enough to break you. As they say, if you’re not willing to bend, you’ll break. And you did. After all.

Ever since you’ve been born, everything went downhill. You were a weak child and within your first five years of life, you’ve gone through countless surgeries. Something was terribly wrong with your spine and the doctors were worried that you wouldn't be able to move normally.

You got your ‘happily ever after’. After fourteen surgeries and taking more than a dozen medications, you could be considered healthy. It made you remember the better part of your childhood. At this point, you couldn’t even recall constant visits at hospital or ingesting enormous amount of drugs.

What you could recall, was the agony that your mom went through while dying of pancreatic cancer. You tried to help her but there was literally no help available. Sure, chemo did help, but only a little tiniest bit. When someone got this type of cancer, there was only one way to die. It was neither pretty, nor pleasant.

So your mother died when you were sixteen. Your father followed shortly after her. He suffered from severe depression after your mother’s passing, but it was the car accident that got him killed. You were just before your graduation.

You’ve finished school and tried to go on. It wasn’t exactly an easy path to follow. You had the feeling that fate had made you its whore and the devil knows his jokes. Somehow, you got through college. You used the money from your dad's insurance policy entirely for your education. It was the only thing you could do to secure your future.

At 22, you got a job at the same hospital where doctor Cullen worked. You were a nurse on the paediatrics ward, but the hospital in Forks was so small that you often found yourself working with doctor Cullen. He was always kind to you and exuded a fatherly warmth. However, like everyone from Cullen family, he was slightly withdrawn from all conversations and social activities.

You noticed a slight change in his behaviour when your best friend, Bella, started dating with the doctor's youngest son, Edward. Carlisle has been talking to you more and more. The conversations weren't long – more like short exchanges of words, whether about his family’s well-being or any leisure activities both of you devoted yourselves after work. Nevertheless, you started calling each other by the others’ given name.

You met with Bella on average once a week. Sure, you were four years older than her, but the age difference never was a problem. You always got along well, and age had nothing to do with it. With time, you've watched Bella thrive during her relationship with Edward and you've enjoyed her happiness. Your relationship had loosened a little, but you didn't hold it against her. With Forks being so small, you could easily meet Bella on the street or in a shop and talk to her about silly things or this boyfriend of hers. It made her blush furiously every time you brought up the topic, especially if Edward waited nearby.

And then, just like that, something snapped. Of course, you heard about their huge quarrel about god knows what, and that Bella wanted to make herself scarce immediately. Charlie called you that night if , by any chance, you could talk some sense into her. Bella not once picked up her phone and then she got her stupid ass into the hospital. And magically reconciled with Edward. That’s when you started to be suspicious. Something wasn’t right about this situation, at all, but you let it be.

Time passed and even though you liked Carlisle as a colleague, you became gradually suspicious about him and his family. Things that you noticed were little, almost insignificant, but something told you that there’s more than meets the eye. Bella herself began to limit contact with you, mainly due to her lack of time for Edward. But when you did get a chance to meet and talk, the subject of Edward still came to the surface.

You tried to understand your friend, while not understanding her at all. You also were in love once but your mother's illness and then your father's death took too much of a toll on you, to experience your first love in such an intense way. It was incomprehensible to you, how Bella could lose her head so much for this boy. And yet you tried, tried to be there when Bella needed you the most. Simply because you were a good friend and also because you needed a friend.

You were left alone, out in this world, with no one to care about and no one to love. Only Bella, as present and, most importantly, alive person, connected you with your childhood and good memories from that time. She was the only one left. You considered her your family and you didn’t want to lose her too. Not after all you’ve been through.

At the day of her birthday, you saw her quickly after her school. You gave her a small gift and you both agreed to meet a day later because Edward's family had invited her to stay at their place. After that birthday, everything changed. The next day Bella went missing. You went to her house exactly as agreed and Charlie said she had been gone for a few hours.

When Bella was found later that evening by Sam, Charlie's colleague, everything became frighteningly clear. The Cullens had moved out of town. Apparently, Carlisle had gotten a lucrative job somewhere else. That didn't surprise you, he was a really great doctor. But how could he not mention a word of it to you? Not that you were so close to him but you considered him a good comrade of yours and moving out of town like this, without a word… It seemed extremely strange to you.

The months that followed were very similar. Bella fell into a deep depression and apathy. You came to visit her, but during these visits it was mainly you who talked. You talked about work, about your next qualification course and about the anniversary of your mum's death. Bella mostly remained silent. Charlie confirmed that, yes, she did go to school, but apart from that, she sat in her room all day and stared at the window.

You knew from Charlie that she was slowly trying to reconnect with her friends. And that she was spending a lot of time with that boy from the reservation. You were happy because it meant that your friend was slowly coming back to life. Maybe not back to normal, not yet, but at least she was trying. And you were trying too. To be a good friend, a good sister to her.

You started talking more during your visits at her house. Unlike before, the subject of Edward didn't exist. It was as if he had never existed. So you did not mention him at all. Bella was healing, slowly, just as you were, when both of your parents died. She was there for you, even if you could only talk to her on the phone because, at that time, she permanently lived with Renee.

For the first time in several months, you hoped that things would somehow work out. In your life, the moments when you were truly happy never lasted long. It was the same this time. One day, you went to Port Angeles to buy new clothes for work. Yours were still from your university days, worn out, but not so long ago you were short of money and preferred to spend it on other things rather than buying new clothes.

By the time you got back to your car it was pretty late. The car park was deserted. On your way to the car, a man accosted you and, before you knew it, he had hit you on the head with something heavy. When you woke up, you were in a squalid alley. The man was pressing you against a wall with all his strength. You only realised what he was going to do, when you felt a cool breeze brush against your bare legs. Your trousers and underwear were almost at your ankles. You started to squirm, trying to free yourself from his iron grip. You heard his quiet giggle next to your ear.

"Don't resist angel, I’ll be quick," he whispered in your ear, pawing at your breasts with his left hand. You felt sick to your stomach. He had hideous breath, as if he had been drinking for three days, then puked and drank again. You started to jerk harder, to pull away, but it only caused you pain. He held tight, pushing against you with his whole body and whispering disgusting things under his breath. When he finally entered you, he tugged hard on your hair. He made no effort to cover your mouth because you didn't even try to scream. You were out of breath, unable to say a word. You were afraid that he would kill you. You wanted him to go away so that the pain would end and you could finally go home.

When he finished, he let you go and just walked away. You stood there, half naked, frozen and shaken, for god knows how long. You were unable to move. When you felt his semen running down your leg, you finally managed to vomit. Your cheek was bruised and scratched from how hard he pressed you against the rough wall. You wanted to go home, but you didn't have the strength to get up from the street.

You weren't sure how much time had passed, but you finally got up. You got dressed and walked to your car. Everything hurt. You didn't want to, but you knew, you had to go to the hospital. You could not leave it like that. He had already hurt you, but what about the others? You couldn't let that happen. All the way to the hospital in Port Angeles your hands were trembling. Returning to that memory, you didn't even remember how you got to the ER.

At the hospital, they took care of you properly. They called the police. Two female doctors were there for a medical examination. The nurses were very nice. You tried to put on a good face. You've thought about how your sexual experiences has been so far. Your first sex, like most people's, was terrible. Your boyfriend was two years older, you were 17 and it all went wrong. You were in pain. He didn't seem too happy either. Up until you graduated from high school, you tried to make it work somehow, but there were never any fireworks. It wasn't until college that you discovered the good side of sex.

However, you never had sex with someone you loved more than life. You haven't met anyone like that. And you were sure that sex with that person would be unique and exceptional. Until now, of course. Lying on a hospital bed, you felt exploited. Abused. Filthy. Humiliated. How can one do something like that to another person? The nurse asked if someone could come and pick you up, and you didn't have much of a choice. You called Bella. While she was on her way to the hospital, you let the police officers question you. You mechanically slurred the words as if it wasn't about you at all. As if it wasn’t you that had been raped.

As soon as you saw Bella, you were no longer able to pretend that nothing had happened. You were sobbing and she hugged you tight, telling you that he would pay for it. You weren't so sure about that. You wanted to be home as soon as possible, so you went back to Forks. Bella said nothing while driving because there was nothing that could be said. In the shower, you scrubbed yourself so hard with the pumice that you thought you had taken off all your skin. To your absolute disgust, you could still feel his touch on you. You could hear him whisper against your ear and you could smell his hideous breath.

A week has passed. Bella texted you every day, and you were able to hang out almost every other day. She was a good sister, a great friend. She didn't want to leave you alone in this. Despite being offered leave, you went to work. You didn't want to keep thinking about what happened. Each time, after taking a bath, you were unable to look in the mirror. On the first day, right after scrubbing, you decided to take a look. You had bruises on your stomach, thighs, buttocks and breasts. Your forearms were scraped, your cheek was scratched and bruised. The worst of it was that you had been bleeding for days. The gynaecologist said, it was due to too much force, and the fact that you actively resisted for a while.

You were trying to get back to normal. You went to work, you were seeing Bella and taking your course. But no one could touch you. You didn't even shake hands to say hello. You didn't care at all, you couldn’t endure a touch anymore. Not in any way. You didn't get your period, but the doctor said it could happen. It was a shock to the body and a lot of pain to bear. Also, you bled for almost a week after the rape.

You started to be afraid to go out alone. When in a shop or at work, if anyone approached you from behind, you started panicking and hyperventilating. You couldn’t walk ordinarily on the street. You looked behind every two or three minutes to assure yourself that nobody was following you. Your hands trembled while driving the car or making the tea. Your eyes were starting to water as soon as someone even tried to touch you. You had nightmares and you started losing your mind because of this.

When your period did not come in the following month, you began to worry. Surely you couldn't get pregnant with this... monster. Not you. Of course you have checked. You would not be able to live in such ignorance. It turned out that yes, you indeed were pregnant. When the doctor confirmed it, you fainted. Not you, not like that. You didn't even think you'd ever be a mum. Let alone like this. You hated your body even more and the fact that it had betrayed you in such a villainous way.

You knew this path led to madness. You were in an even worse mental condition, than after losing your mum; than after dad died in the accident. You have shed countless tears. You didn't want to abort this pregnancy, and at the same time you wanted it with all your heart. If only you were able to defend yourself. Break away from him and run as far away as possible. It would never have happened. But you were weak and didn't even have the energy to scream. Would it have made any difference though?

You were constantly beating yourself up with thoughts about whether you should keep the baby, when something completely bizarre happened. Jacob called you that he had to rescue Bella after jumping off a cliff. Annoyed, you got in your car and drove up to the Swans' house. Bella's car wasn't there, so you waited patiently in yours. When they arrived, you were boiling with rage.

“Have you lost your fucking mind?!” you shouted, as you got out of the car.

Bella rolled her eyes. She looked miserable. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was soaked through. She smiled weakly towards you.

“It was just for fun, you know” she muttered, as you hugged her tightly. It was your first closer contact since…

“It was just for sport,” she tried again.

You snorted in annoyance.

“Yeah, sure, get inside before you get sick.”

As you both stepped onto the porch, Jacob unexpectedly grabbed Bella's wrist. They shared a look.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes. You can go now, Jake,” she muttered, trying to disentangle herself from his grasp.

You smiled weakly at him, while Bella was looking for her keys.

“Cool, I'll take care of her until Charlie gets back. Thanks for saving her stupid ass,” you said. Jacob smiled amused, but still seemed slightly tense.

“No problem. Always at your service,” he joked. “Well... See ya around,” he said goodbye and walked away to his car.

You walked into the house with Bella.

“What were you thinking? You could have died” you muttered under your breath, stripping off your jacket.

“Well...actually I wasn't thinking, like, at all” Bella admitted, smiling apologetically at you.

“Next time think about Charlie,” you said, hugging her once more. Your body screamed that you shouldn't do that, but you were glad that Bella was okay.

While Bella changed into dry clothes, you made hot tea for both of you. Someone knocked on the door. The knocking was not from the front, but from the courtyard. You walked slowly to the door and opened it. Edward's sister, Alice, stood in front of you. You wouldn't have known what she looked like, if Bella hadn't shown you pictures of her. But other than that, you knew quite a bit about her, because when Bella was still with Edward, she couldn’t kept her mouth shut about Alice.

“Hi. Can I come in?” she asked politely. She tried to look normal, but there was something in her behaviour that made you nervous. You were about to reply, when Bella appeared in the kitchen.

“Alice!” she squealed, throwing herself around the brunette's neck. After a moment, she pulled away and looked at Alice in disbelief. "Are you really here? Or am I just dreaming this?" asked Bella.

It was your turn to roll the eyes.

“Of course she’s here” you said, now slightly annoyed. “Don’t be bothered by me, please, proceed to whatever you wanted to say.”

Your sarcastic tone was not intended, but justified. You were slowly beginning to get fed up with this family's games. First they move out and turn Bella's life upside down, and now the big comeback? Something's not right here. Besides, at that moment, you weren't the right person to play with. You had enough problems of your own and your life was messed up enough. What you didn't know at that moment, was that everything was about to change fundamentally very soon.

Alice took no notice of you.

"Bella, listen. Edward thinks you committed suicide. He told me that he doesn't want to live either, so he is on his way to the Volturi to ask them for an execution."

You had no idea what she was talking about. Bella was terrified, and you didn't know what was going on here.

"What, who the fuck are Volturi? Did Edward get involved with some cult? Also, how did he know Bella killed herself?" you asked, not understanding anything of what Alice was talking about earlier.

"We have to go to Italy, Bella,” she ignored you once more. “If they refuse him, I'm not sure what he'll do" as Alice spoke, Bella began to gather herself quickly to leave.

You grabbed her hand.

"And where do you think you are going?" you asked in disbelief. Bella looked at you apologetically.

"Y/N, I have to go. They're going to murder him. Just the fact that I'm alive will convince him."

You snorted in disbelief.

"You're dead serious? And can't you call him and tell him it's a misunderstanding? Besides, Bella, this guy ghosted you. He left you here, alone, with not one explanation and you want to fly to the other side of the world to save this dumb ass?" you asked, trying to take your mind off this ludicrous circumstance.

“Oh my god, we’ll take her with us if she’s not going to back down” said Alice in exasperation.

“And to your kind information, I won't back down. Your douchebag brother and the rest of your family turned her adrift. I was the one who pulled her out of her depression, and I will not let the exact same thing happen again because of any of you,”you hissed out in anger. You saw something in Alice's eyes that you considered to be admiration.

You looked at Bella expectantly.

“Y/N, I still love him. I cannot let this go” Bella whispered and you felt as your chest tightened. “Please…”

You heaved a heavy sigh.

“Okey, but I’m coming with you,” you decided and noticed that Alice's eyes were momentarily clouded with mist. You had no idea what was going on here, but you were sure that this whole affair with the Volturi, whoever the hell they were, didn't sound good.

After a few seconds, Alice looked at Bella, then at you and back at Bella.

“Get your coats, we have to go now,” she said.

“But Alice...” protested Bella.

“There's no time for that. We'll explain everything to her on the way. If we start now, we won't get out of here until noon” she muttered exasperatedly, walking out of the house. You looked at Bella.

“Bells, what's this all about?” you asked, and she just sighed quietly. You both quickly got your shoes on.

“We'll tell you on the plane but I'm afraid the Volturi won't like that a lot,” she said with worried expression on her face.

When you were at the airport waiting for a plane, you had countless questions in your head. Why the fuck Edward was pulling such nonsense? Why to be so dramatic about thing that didn’t even happen? Did this idiot really get involved in some sort of cult? And why was his sister so concerned about it that she decided to tell you ‘everything’, whatever needed to be said? However, the question that kept you wondering was who were the mysterious Volturi and what could they possibly resent about you?

One thing you were sure of. There hadn't been a moment since the sexual assault when you hadn't thought about it. And now your thoughts were occupied by the mysterious Volturi and you immensely wanted to find out what it was really all about.

⋎⋎⋎

On a plane ride, you found out that vampires are no fairy tales and your best friend was in love with one. It was a wild thought but, as soon as Alice started taking, you knew it wasn’t a joke. You were given so much information at once that you were unable to respond to anything as Alice finished her long monologue. You had a drink of water, although at that moment you very much regretted not being able to drink whisky.

“Okey, lets say I get most of this…” you said with a low voice, trying to be careful with what you’re saying. “But can you tell me who are Volturi and why would they want to decapitate Edward?” you asked, looking sideways, afraid that someone might hear.

Alice let out a sigh.

“The Volturi are the equivalent of the justice system in our world. They are the ones who created the laws that help us hide from the world, and they are the ones who enforce them. They consider themselves… sort of royalty, as their leaders – Aro, Caius and Marcus – are over three thousand years old.”

If you were to be honest, you were not very good at processing this information. Three thousand years? The first thought that popped into your mind was that they must be immensely lonely. You were sure you wouldn't want to live so many years without having anyone worthy by your side. Later, Alice quickly summarised all the laws that every vampire must obey. They weren't complicated, but when you thought about it a little longer, some of them weren't so easy to follow.

“I don't want to whine, or come off as ungrateful or anything like that, but... didn't you just break the law? By telling me about you?” you asked cautiously, not knowing if what you were saying was right.

Alice sighed again, this time heavier than before.

“It’s complicated” she said succinctly, which interested Bella, who was eating some kind of sandwich.

“This vision of yours was about [Y/N]?” she asked Alice curiously. Alice merely nodded. When Alice told you about her gift, and this was at the very beginning of the story, you found it hard to believe. It wasn’t so unbelievable now.

"Eat something," Alice said to you. "It's good for the baby" she added after a moment, seeing you hesitate. You swallowed heavily, as you suddenly felt sick. The memories of that evening came back.

Alice smiled softly, as if knowing exactly what you were thinking about. And this was supposed to be Edward's gift.

"Do you want to know the sex of the baby?" she asked, and your eyes almost fell out.

"Can you predict that?" you asked in disbelief. She and Bella both smiled. Alice nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, sure. I can't predict if the baby... you know, if it will be born, however, the sex I can tell you.”

You pondered on it, while eating your sandwich. The nausea eased, when you could think of something different than that unlucky evening. Before you knew it, you fell asleep and Alice woke you up when you landed in Italy. As Alice drove the stolen car, you tried to admire the beautiful views of Tuscany outside your window. When you had almost reached Volterra, you thought how wonderful it would be to live here.

⋎⋎⋎

This stupid boyfriend of hers. That was all his fault. Of course, Bella made it at the last minute. You, together with Alice, went to abandon the stolen car somewhere. Although, you had a feeling that you would be returning the exact same way. You tried to reassure yourself. Of course you’ll be returning. Or maybe not? If you were honest, you gave no fucks about it. You had no one who’d wait for you at home, your parents died, you were brutally raped not so long ago, and you didn’t even know if you wanted to keep the baby. Maybe dying today isn’t such a bad idea?

You have reached the square and entered the palace at a very convenient time. The guy who looked like a wardrobe and the other one, much shorter than him and blonde, looked like they were about to murder Edward in this instant. And actually, you felt like you could’ve murdered Edward too. Barely Alice closed the door, you didn't even glance at the two of them, but immediately began to scold Edward for what he had done. To hell with his gift!

“You stupid, immature, irresponsible, reckless and selfish bastard!” you started descriptively, and even Bella was taken aback by your behaviour. Alice raised her eyebrows and two other vampires looked at themselves and then straight at you. Edward had no time for any reply. “If you ever, I repeat, if you ever again do something as childish and irresponsible as expose my best friend to a nervous breakdown and months of depression, I promise you, here and now, that I will decapitate you myself. You're old, and yet a five-year-old child is smarter than you. You utter imbecile,” you hissed with hatred.

Of course, your malice towards him was temporary, but it's been a long time since anyone has angered you like that. The shorter man laughed under his breath, and the other one, who looked like a wardrobe, said:

“Can we keep her? I like the way she’s ruling the roost.”

He fell silent, as a short, pretty blonde woman entered the room. Her face was like a child's, but her eyes... bright red, staring at no one else but you.

“Jane” greeted her Edward. She didn’t even look at him.

“Aro sent me to see what was taking so long” she said. The atmosphere immediately became tense. Edward and Alice seemed to stiffen at the sound of Aro's name. You were curious but not frightened. Not yet.

Jane turned and immediately started walking towards the long corridor. Bella just looked at Edward, and you glanced at Alice.

“Do what she says,” she muttered to you and you both kept pace with the couple in the front.

Needless to say, it was the most stressful and also the most terrifying lift ride you've ever experienced. Not to add the creepy music background. You guessed it was supposed to make you feel better, but instead it made your whole stomach go up to your throat. You were standing right in the middle, next to Bella, holding Alice's hand. The vampire, who looked like a wardrobe, kept looking at you. You took a deep breath to calm your nerves. Puking on someone's shoes isn't going to make this situation any better. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Edward smile. Yeah, the situation you’ve found yourself in was extremely funny indeed.

When you reached the main chamber, you didn't know what to look at first. At the vampires standing against every wall? Not very wise of you. At the marble floor? Nothing to be afraid of for now, so no. You probably should have looked at the three thrones in front of you and the vampires that sat on them, but instead, you were interested in the Latin phrase engraved between the columns above you.

You glanced at your company. Edward looked as if he was about to die. Maybe that's what's going to happen? Alice looked very out of sorts, and Bella, well, she was hanging onto Edward's arm and also looked like she was about to leave this world for good. She was unnaturally pale and you though she was going to faint any second. But it never happened. The rest of the room felt extremely comfortable. For a moment, you turned your head towards the boy who called out to Jane. You did not let go of Alice's hand but you did not feel any anxiety. Curiosity prevailed, mainly because you had come to terms with the fact of your imminent death.

“Sister! Sent you out to get one and you bring back two. And two halves,” the boy who’s just called Jane his sister probably was talking about me and Bella. “Such a clever girl,” he praised her like he wasn’t his sister but someone else entirely. You sighed heavily. Maybe they’re also into incest-kind-of-relationships? Who knows. You looked above your head again. There was a short inscription “vita brevis, ars longa” but you knew the rest of it. Latin was obligatory in every medical school.

When the man from the middle throne stood up, it was to him that you directed all your attention. You felt that something about him was... you had no idea how to describe it, but you felt a strange pull towards him. As if some invisible force had power over you.

“What a happy surprise!” he said pointedly, wide smile on his face. “Bella is alive after all. Isn’t that wonderful?” he said cheerfully, while walking towards Edward. At that exact moment, you realised that you had managed to get yourself into a huge mess. The lair of the vampires. And you were only a weak human. Recently raped. With a baby under your heart.

As soon as the man stepped down from the platform, you were unable to take your eyes off him. His posture, the way he spoke, his demeanour, it all made you feel incredible respect for him. You’ve never felt this secure and calm in your entire life.

“I love a happy ending,” the man said, while he took Edwards’ hand into his. “They’re so rare.”

You were wondering why this man took Edward’s hand in the first place. You did not have to wait long for an explanation.

“Aro can read every thought that I’ve ever had. With one touch” Edward explained to Bella but you were listening too. Very carefully listening. You’ve finally managed to know the name of the vampire. Aro. It suited him well. Although his eyes were a little scary, you were delighted with his charisma and approach to guests. You realised that indeed, they are called the royal family for a reason.

Aro smiled to Edward.

“Her blood appears to you so much,” he whispered, and you had a hard time hearing his words well. Aro’s gaze rested on Bella. “It makes me thirsty. How can you stand to be so close to her?” he asked Edward, who was feeling more and more uncomfortable. You could tell by the fact that he was practically standing like a statue.

“It is not without difficulty,” muttered Edward from behind his clenched teeth.

You swallowed hard, as Aro turned his gaze to Bella again but he smiled.

“Ah, I can see that” he said pleased, moving away from Edward and focusing all his attention on Bella.

“Although you’re a quite soul-reader yourself, Edward, you cannot read Bella’s thoughts” he made a rather dramatic pause, still staring stubbornly at your best friend. “Fascinating” he said, not hiding his curiosity.

You managed to look elsewhere, than at Aro. The man on the throne to your left seemed unusually agitated. He fixed his gaze on you, as if his life depended on it, yet you did not feel uncomfortable. You were surprised to discover that an invisible force was also drawing you towards him. You almost took a step forward. You tried to remember the man from a few minutes ago. He looked as if he had died in that chair a few centuries ago. And now he seemed genuinely moved.

“Brother” the man spoke to Aro, as he got up from his throne. Indeed, there seemed to be an urgency to the matter, for Aro turned around in surprise. You had the impression that the man from the throne had not risen from it for a long time.

“You knew about this, and you brought her anyway?” you heard Edward's quiet whisper, directed at Alice.

Alice looked at her brother, then at you and finally at a curious Aro.

"It would have happened anyway. Better sooner than later" Alice murmured mysteriously. You still didn't know what it was even about. The third man, the one on your right, did not share his brothers' patience.

"Aro, let's hurry this up, Heidi will be here soon, and we don't want to frighten our guests" he said ominously, grinning like a madman. You were far from solving this riddle, but as soon as you looked at him, you felt the same attraction and enigmatic pulling as towards the other two.

Aro took his brother's hand in his own and you could see that his eyes would have lit up with happiness if they could.

“Ah, my dear Marcus! What an exceptional news!” intoned Aro cheerfully, heading towards you. He was slow in his movements, exactly so that you would not be frightened by him. All his movements were framed by an incredible grace.

“My dear, if I may, what is your name?” he asked, coming closer to you. You were unable to take your eyes off him. It was exactly, as if he had hypnotised you, only the feeling was more addictive. You didn't have to have a gift or to be a vampire to know that. For a split second, you ran out of breath and just stared into his red irises.

“My name is [Y/N]” you said, with your voice trembling, as your throat tightened hard under the intense emotions. You couldn't believe it was really happening. Maybe it was just a dream? Maybe these three beautiful men are just a figment of your imagination? You didn't even want to think about the fact that it might not be true.

Aro smiled encouragingly, while looking at you with all the attention that he’d possibly give you. You felt like nothing more was more important than you to him at that exact moment.

"It is an incredible pleasure to meet you, [Y/N]. I am Aro, but you already know that.”

The smile never left his face and during this brief exchange of words, neither of you took your eyes off the other. You felt that the atmosphere in the room had changed. Aro extended his alabaster hand in an inviting gesture.

“May I, my dear?” he asked you politely.

You gulped. Of course, you wanted to show him that you didn't want to give away their secret. You wanted to show him the strange bond you felt towards him and his brothers. However, there were things you didn't want him to see. You felt deep down inside that this attraction had an explanation and you didn't want him to see... Not that. You’d felt exposed and extremely embarrassed. There was also another issue. His hand. You'd hugged Bella twice since it happened and just now you were holding Alice's hand. You didn't know if, when you touched him, you'd start screaming or crying because you were so afraid of someone else's touch.

Yet, his hand looked so inviting, almost familiar, as if you'd already had the chance to touch it before. Aro himself showed no impatience. He waited, still gazing into your blue irises with his crimson eyes. You extended your hand towards him, at first cautiously, and then with a little more confidence. You took a deep breath, before your fingers made contact. When it happened, you felt as if you had come home after many years of wandering. He closed your hand in his, just as he had done with Edward's. His skin was cold, but he handled you extremely gently. You stared into his eyes as he looked at your thoughts and memories of your whole life. You knew instantly when he was done because he smiled sadly at you. He squeezed your hand gently in his.

"Never again, my love. Never again," he assured passionately, and then he leaned down to place a kiss on your hand. It was so light and as gentle as a breeze on a summer day. You couldn't help but smile.

Aro clapped his hands. He was clearly pleased with what had just happened between you.

"Aro, will you explain to me what's going on? I'm sick of waiting," said the nervous brother, who was the only one with blond hair. Aro smiled widely and turned towards him.

"Ah, Caius, you'll never guess. Finally, after so many years, our mate has honoured us with her presence" he said overjoyed and Caius frowned in awe. You were already able to tell that this did not happen often. Marcus, on the other hand, was sitting on his throne, smiling, still looking in your direction. You didn't miss the glances of the other vampires either. Was it some sort of celebration when Marcus was smiling?

“What does that mean?” it was Bella who snapped that question. Aro immediately appeared by her side. He gently stroked her hair, pulling an unruly strand behind her ear. You felt the sting of jealousy, when he touched her face. You should be the one asking that question and not her.

“Ah, and dear Isabella. What to do with you,” he wondered aloud, as if asking others for advice. “As I have far more important matters to deal with....” he began, looking directly at you. “I’d love to see if you’re an exception to my gift as well,” he whispered to Bella, extending his hand towards her. She didn't have much choice, did she? She took his hand, a little hesitantly, but after a short while Aro moved away.

“Interesting” he muttered. “I see nothing.”

“You already know what you’ll do with her, Aro” said Marcus, his eyes never leaving your person. “Just do it, as we want to know our little angel a bit more.”

You looked at Bella for a moment. She was terrified, not only with her own case, but also with yours. You have already guessed that you are not going anywhere. They would never let you out of their hands. Aro knew perfectly well that you didn't even have anything to go back to. Of course, you had plenty of questions, but you were sure it wasn't about your case now. Just about Bella's situation and what the Cullens had done, or rather what they hadn't done. However, you guessed it, Bella was afraid you wouldn't get out of here alive, and at the same time, you were worried about the exact same thing but about her.

Aro was smiling continuously.

“I have an idea” he said, after a long while. He approached Alice this time. “Would you be so kind, dear, and show me if you saw Bella's transformation in your vision?”

You were smart enough to know that it wasn’t a request. Alice undid her glove and boldly gave Aro her hand. He was absent for a moment and then smiled again. You were impressed by the aura he spread around himself. When he smiled, you felt like smiling too. You still had the impression that it was only a dream, and simultaneously you were sure that it was really happening. Aro's touch was definitely real, you couldn’t forget his cool hands embracing your own.

“Ah, lovely. I know everything now,” he declared. You and Bella probably looked similarly confused, but you weren't the least bit concerned and she was as pale as a sheet.

Aro turned directly to Edward.

“As I have seen Isabella's transformation in Alice's vision, I can let you go with peace of mind, my dear young friends. I trust that a date will be set sooner, rather than later and that I will be able to see for myself, what your mate will be capable of, Edward. As for you, Isabella, you are promising immortal material and I hope your potential will not go to waste," he said, this time speaking directly to Bella.

She was still brave enough to look him in the eye.

“And what with [Y/N]? You never mentioned what will happen to her” she noticed, looking in your direction. You smiled gently to her.

“I’m staying here, Bella” you said calmly, trying to reassure her with your tone of voice that all shall be all right.

You saw pure admiration and joyousness on Aro’s face as you said that.

“Isn’t she remarkable, brothers?” he asked Marcus and Caius, who looked as if they had just received the most beautiful Christmas present.

Bella seemed to be thoroughly outrageous.

“You can’t be serious [Y/N]! You cannot stay here, please, come back with us. You cannot be here while you’re pregnant” she cried, holding your hand and looking at you with disbelief.

What she said made you very uncomfortable and extremely upset.

"Bella, I have nothing to go back to. My parents are dead. You knew that if Alice told me everything, it would have to be resolved somehow," you stated matter-of-factly, squeezing her hand in yours. "I can't go back there, Bells." Your throat tightened with despair as memories of recent events flooded inside your mind. You tried to hold back tears.

"I am a shadow of my former self. I'm afraid to leave the house alone to go shopping or to work. This paranoia is overwhelming me, Bella. I keep turning behind me to see if anyone is following me on the street. I cry at night, knowing that it doesn't change anything. And then there's this unfortunate baby," you sighed helplessly, trying not to burst with tears. "Even if I keep it, I don't want it to have a mother who's afraid to leave the house. I can't live like this, we both know that" you whispered, squeezing her hands in yours again.

“But you cannot possibly be mated with all three of them” Bella whispered with despair in her eyes. You only smiled, sensing that this sentence got on Kings’ nerves, especially Caius’s.

“I think it’s predestined, Bella. Just as you are destined to be with Edward, I do belong here, with my mates” you said cautiously, glancing at Aro and looking for approval in his eyes. He was only looking at you with delight, as he said nothing.

You saw that Bella had hard time processing such information, whilst Edward and Alice said nothing at all. You knew that Alice knew prior about this, and Edward could see the vision in her thoughts. You pulled Bella into a comfortable hug.

“Hey, sister, we don’t see each other the very last time. We’ll meet again. Probably in a different…condition but still.”

Bella looked devastated.

“You promise me that?” she asked warily, her tone full of hope. You smiled at her.

“Of course I do.” You kissed her cheek and caressed her long, brown hair. “We can call each other, you know. It’s not like I’m moving to the Moon,” you joked, to release the tension a bit. To your astonishment, everybody in the room laughed at that. It made you blush, just a little tiny bit.

After another farewell, in which this time you also included Alice and Edward (barely, because you were still mad at him) and an official farewell from Aro, who told them to give his friend kind regards from him, the guests left the chamber.

They left, and Aro was immediately by your side. He gently stroked your long blonde hair, but didn't touch a single piece of a skin. After the display of your memories, he probably knew very well that you did not wish any touch for the time being.

You still couldn't free yourself from under his spell and if you were to be honest, you didn't want to at all. Aro offered you his arm.

"I believe, we have much to discuss, my love."

You took his arm gratefully.

"I have a ton of questions," you admitted as you walked out of the chamber with Marcus and Caius slowly following you. You didn't need to look back, the strange bonds that drew you together informed you of their presence in a yet unknown way.

Aro, as usual, smiled magnificently.

"My dear, one thing at a time," he said in a gentle tone, as he patted your forearm with tenderness. When you entered the study with the round table, Aro immediately pushed back a chair for you.

"No one is to disturb us" you heard Caius' sharp tone as he closed the door behind you. You tried to feel comfortable and at ease. After all, this was your home from now on.

Part 2 | Part 3

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Memories from the past (Part Fourteen)(Caius Volturi)

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The beasts within Caius and Athenodora calmed down once they knew the venom was in Xandria’s bloodstream. Caius grabbed his robe he had tossed over a chair and quickly put it on, calling for Jane and Alec. They appeared shortly and Caius informed them of what was occurring at the moment. “Inform my brothers and sister of Xandria transformation. And make sure Felix and Demetri stay near.” Was all he said before closing the door again, helping his wife clean their little mate up. Dora put her in a comfortable red dress, trying to give their mate as much comfort as was possible. Caius quickly put on his boxers again and tossed the robe again. Dora put on a less sexy night gown type of dress. It may have taken the couple about five minutes to do all of this but the first screams escaped Xandria’s lips. Their hearts broke and soon Caius had curled her against his bare chest, hoping the contact would perhaps sooth her pain, or calm her down at the bare minimum. Dora quickly followed, sitting beside her husband and holding her little mates hands in hers. And they stayed like that for the following three days, holding her close, slightly flinching at her screams and trying to sooth her as much as possible.

Their bites send me over the edge even more and a warm feeling nestled in my neck, a satisfied smile on my face while I laid down on my back, enjoying the high of what had just happened. I finally made love to my mates and it was the best and most wonderful feeling in the world. Although the high was slowly wearing off as the warmth in my neck increased. It got hotter. Uncomfortable now. Too hot. Much, much too hot. Like grabbing the wrong end of a curling iron. My automatic response was to try and get whatever was on my neck to hit it off. But there was nothing on my neck. The heat was inside me. The burning grew—rose and peaked and rose again until it surpassed anything I’d ever felt. I felt the pulse behind the fire raging now in my chest and realized that I’d found my heart, just in time to wish I never had. This felt like pure torture. The fire blazed hotter and I screamed. I wanted to move my arms, to try to end myself and the fire within me, but I couldn’t move. My body was being kept in an iron grip impossible for me to escape from. I started to beg for someone to kill me now, not wanting to live a second longer in the pain. “Shh, my love.” I hear Caius whisper in my ear. “You can do this, amore.” Athenodora said, her voice seeming to come from besides Caius. My body felt heavy and another scream escaped my lips and hot tears run down my face. The flames nestled in my chest and engulfed my heart. Burying me in the flames that were chewing their way out from my heart now, spreading with impossible pain through my shoulders and stomach, scalding their way up my throat, licking at my face. “Please, please. I don’t want, it hurts too much.” I cried out. My mind was unbearably clear—sharpened by the fierce pain and I could hear them clearly. “We know, we know. Shh. You are doing great. It will be over soon.” Caius whispered, his voice cracking softly. I had never heard him like this, so fragile. He was a warrior, a king yet now he sounded like a man in despair. I tried to stay strong, to fight against the pain that soared through my veins, changing every cell one at a time. But I had no idea how long I could manage to stay quiet and fight this fire. All I wanted was to die. To never have been born. The whole of my existence did not outweigh this pain. Wasn’t worth living through it for one more heartbeat. Let me die, let me die, let me die. And, for a never-ending space, that was all there was. Just the fiery torture, and my soundless shrieks, pleading for death to come. Nothing else, not even time. So that made it infinite, with no beginning and no end. One infinite moment of pain. The only change came when suddenly, impossibly, my pain was doubled. The lower half of my body was suddenly on fire, too. I could not help the scream that erupted from deep within me and I tried to curl my back, trying to keep the heat in my upper body, but to no avail. The endless burn raged on. It could have been seconds or days, weeks or years, but, eventually, time came to mean something again. Three things happened together, grew from each other so that I didn’t know which came first: time restarted and I got stronger. Though the fire did not decrease one tiny degree—in fact, I began to develop a new capacity for experiencing it, a new sensitivity to appreciate, separately, each blistering tongue of flame that licked through my veins—I discovered that I could think around it. I could remember why I shouldn’t scream. I could remember the reason why I’d committed to enduring this unendurable agony. I could remember that, though it felt impossible now, there was something that might be worth the torture. I could feel strong arms surrounding me while two delicate hands held onto mine. I knew I should keep my screams in for them. For my mates. For my beautiful Dora and my handsome Caius. And so I did. I kept quiet and tried to endure it as much as I could. To anyone watching me, there would be no change. But for me, as I struggled to keep the screams and thrashing locked up inside my body, where they couldn’t hurt anyone else, it

felt like I’d gone from being tied to the stake as I burned, to gripping that stake to hold myself in the fire. I had just enough strength to lie there unmoving while I was charred alive. My hearing got clearer and clearer, and I could count the frantic, pounding beats of my heart to mark the time. I could count the shallow breaths that gasped through my teeth. I could count the low, even breaths that came from Caius as he gently inhaled my scent, trying to keep himself as calm as possible. I could hear Dora’s steady breaths as well and I slowly felt that she had moved her head to rest on my belly, curling around my legs, trying to keep me as still as possible. These moved slowest, so I concentrated on them. They meant the most time passing. More even than a clock’s pendulum, those breaths pulled me through the burning seconds toward the end. I continued to get stronger, my thoughts clearer. When new noises came, I could listen. “You are doing amazing, my love.” Caius whispered and I felt his lips press against my temple. “We love you so much. And we are so grateful for what you do for us.” Dora said as she pulled my wrist towards her lips, pressing her lips against it. It calmed me down but something wasn’t right. Normally their cool skin cooled me down, yet I could only feel their touch without a difference in temperature. I wanted to response but I stayed paralyzed, too afraid that I would start screaming again or trash around. Not while I had the strength to hold myself still. Through all this, the racking fire went right on burning me. But there was so much space in my head now. Room to ponder their conversation, room to remember what had happened, room to look ahead to the future, with still endless room left over to suffer in. Also room to worry. Would I be able to do it? Be a vampire? Make them proud? Or will they regret their decision? I quickly shook those thoughts away. It was too late to dwell on actions from the past. I went back to counting their breaths to mark the time. Ten thousand, nine hundred forty-three breaths later Dora spoke again. “How much longer?” she asked. “It won’t be long now,” Caius told her. How long? Couldn’t they at least say it aloud for me? Was that too much to ask? How many more seconds would I burn? Ten thousand? Twenty? Another day— eighty-six thousand, four hundred? More than that? “I never thought it was possible but she is becoming even more breathtakingly beautiful than before.” Dora said and I felt her slender fingers gently caress my cheek and her fingers gently followed the curves of my lower lip. If I wasn’t in so much pain I would have gently bit down, just to tease her. “I am afraid others will think the same way. If one of them as much point a finger at her in a way that displeases me I will not stand for myself.” Caius growled softly. Dora chuckled. “Neither will I.” Their words gave me hope that maybe I didn’t resemble the charcoal briquette I felt like. It seemed as if I must be just a pile of charred bones by now. Every cell in my body had been razed to ash. “I still cannot believe we are finally complete, after all those centuries.” Caius said, his voice so soft and full of love. “I know, my love. And I promise I won’t go back to the tower. I will pick up my duties again.” Dora said. “You will?” Caius’ voice was filled with amazement and admiration. “I will. I am sorry I distanced myself from you for centuries. I- I had just lost all hope of finding Xandria. But you pulled me through and now I want to repay you both. Give you both my time and energy and love.” I felt a slight movement and Dora’s head lifted off of my belly. I heard the distant sound of vampire lips colliding in a passionate kiss. I never knew she had distanced herself from Caius. Maybe that is why he had grown cruel according to the stories I was told in the two weeks I have been here. They whispered things in ancient greek to each other, but it sounded very soft and lovingly that I was almost certain they told each other how much they loved one another. A small smile made its way around

my lips. “She is smiling, Caius. Look.” Dora said. “You are almost there, my love. Hang on.” Caius whispered and I felt Dora place her head back on my belly, a small sigh of content escaping her lips. I heard the quiet buzz of the light hanging from the ceiling. I heard the faint wind brushing against the outside of the castle, and I could even feel the soft breeze against my skin from the opened balcony doors. Although, sadly, it did nothing to soothe the fires within me. I could hear everything. I could hear tourists and locals chatting, children laughing. Merchants trying to sell their wares. Singers and musicians trying to entertain the crowds. I counted the seconds along with the rhythm of the music. Twenty-one thousand, nine hundred seventeen and a half seconds later, the pain changed. On the good-news side of things, it started to fade from my fingertips and toes. Fading slowly, but at least it was doing something new. This had to be it. The pain was on its way out.… And then the bad news. The fire in my throat wasn’t the same as before. I wasn’t only on fire, but I was now parched, too. Dry as bone. So thirsty. Burning fire, and burning thirst… Also bad news: The fire inside my heart got hotter. How was that possible? My heartbeat, already too fast, picked up—the fire drove its rhythm to a new frantic pace. “Dora, listen.” Caius said as he heart my heartbeat picking up in a frantic pace. “Finally.” Dora breathed out in relief. The fire retreated from my palms, leaving them blissfully pain-free and cool. But it retreated to my heart, which blazed hot as the sun and beat at a furious new speed. The loudest sound in the room was my frenzied heart, pounding to the rhythm of the fire. “It is almost over, my love.” Caius whispered, holding me even closer to his chest. My relief at his words was overshadowed by the excruciating pain in my heart. My wrists were free, though, and my ankles. The fire was totally extinguished there. The room went silent besides the jack-hammering of my heart as they all stopped breathing for a second in response. I considered speaking for a moment, and when I opened my mouth to call out to them then the fire ripped hotter still through my chest, draining in from my elbows and knees. I screamed once more. My heart took off, beating like helicopter blades, the sound almost a single sustained note; it felt like it would grind through my ribs. The fire flared up in the center of my chest, sucking the last remnants of the flames from the rest of my body to fuel the most scorching blaze yet. The pain was enough to stun me, to break through my iron grip on the stake. My back arched, bowed as if the fire was dragging me upward by my heart. My hands broke free from Dora’s grip and I was scratching at my chest, trying to rip out my heart. Caius and Dora quickly held onto one hand each, preventing me from possibly hurting myself in the process. It became a battle inside me—my sprinting heart racing against the attacking fire. Both were losing. The fire was doomed, having consumed everything that was combustible; my heart galloped toward its last beat. The fire constricted, concentrating inside that one remaining human organ with a final, unbearable surge. One final and agonizing scream left my lips and my entire back arched as my head fell backwards. The surge was answered by a deep, hollow-sounding thud. My heart stuttered twice, and then thudded quietly again just once more. There was no sound. No breathing. Not even mine. For a moment, the absence of pain was all I could comprehend. And then I opened my eyes and gazed above me in wonder.

#caius volturi #athenodora volturi #volturi #volturi imagine #vampire #twilight imagine #twilight

[lapinmiel]

Mirror, Mirror

Felix and OC (Female), 2,4K. (Part 2)

Phoebe’s life was never one of an adventure, even as a vampire — after being discovered by the Volturi for her talent, she finds herself running away from the world’s most powerful organization, and soon she finds herself in a complete lie and truth situation, with the anchor of her lover leading her to his side.

Part 1, Part 2

Saladin's jaw was clenched like a vise. Horror was evident in his eyes as if they were water droplets in a river as clear as glass, and the water droplets colliding with each other soon found Phoebe in all the confusion and fear. If her heart was alive, it would already have kept pace with the footsteps of approaching death, pounding madly — for she knew, the death was close now, like a shadow lurking around her neck.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Phoebe.

Both of their minds seemed to have stopped. Ideas did not flow with inherent ease. His thoughts, like an elephant trying to get through a door, and the instincts that were supposed to get them out of this trap, were silenced now.

“Should we take another plane and go?”

Phoebe frowned. “We are not close enough.” He looked back to where they had come from. She was right, they had proceeded on a straight street, quite far from the airport. It wouldn't have taken them a minute to come back, of course, but Phoebe wanted to fully understand the situation before she gave herself up to fear.

“I wonder where we are,” she said quietly. "Maybe we're not close to Volterra. Sicily?"

“This is not the time to think about it.” said Saladin, with clear determination in his voice. “Wherever we are, it takes minutes to get caught.”

Phoebe tried not to get caught up in the blinding energy of her afraid friend, but if a centuries-old vampire was so afraid of the Volturi, the intensity of emotion she had to feel must have been more than she could handle.

“Let’s go then.” she said.

Within seconds, they disappeared into the shadows and returned to the airport, waiting for the planes to take off. Unlike the first place they went, it was more secluded and the planes didn't take off as often. They waited for about ten minutes. Then, as an airplane started to move, they run, got into the wheels section as before, and waited for the take off. But nothing went the way they wanted, and it wouldn't for a long time.

Contrary to expectations, the plane made its way to the hangar, not the runway. Since Phoebe and Saladin could not see where the plane was going from where they were, they thought that the vehicle was proceeding normally, and during the minutes they spent on the ground, they thought that they were on the runway. Even the growing voices of humans didn't make them think something was wrong, as it was only the second time they had boarded a plane. They didn’t know what was normal and what was not. But within fifteen minutes of being there, they realized they weren’t going anywhere. This understanding brought a storm and a flood of fear that would be hard to stop.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Saladin.

Phoebe's brows were furrowed and her eyes were squinted like a fox's. She was trying to think. In addition to protecting himself, she also felt in her heart not to let down a vampire who had traveled the world for centuries but now needed her protection, and that responsibility felt like it would crush her if she didn't shed it quickly.

“Let's go on another plane,” she said. "If it doesn't take off, to another one."

Saladin's eyes were so innocent that Phoebe felt the emotion to protect him mix with compassion.

Then, all of a sudden, he was torn from where he was and crashed into the ground.

There was a loud thump, and a smashing sound — then Phoebe was pulled by someone by the shoulders with a speed that her eyes couldn't catch, and she found herself outside the plane, in the middle of the hangar.

She could see Saladin struggling with something unseen. He got punched with a left hook first, then a blow to the jaw; Then whatever was beating him somehow dropped him on his back, and then grabbed him by the neck and swung him in mid-air, hitting the ground. They couldn't see anything. Neither Saladin nor Phoebe knew who they were up against.

Phoebe was aware that someone big was holding her, for her neck had been pinched by one's arm, and both of her arms were held steady by another, as if with a chain. She couldn't see who it was, maybe she didn't want to see it, because the fear running through her told her to just close her eyes. It was as if all her senses were blinded.

She heard Saladin getting punched several more times. Then the voices stopped, and the steps made it clear that two people were approaching Phoebe.

"Use your shield," said a strange, weary voice, "Surround us all."

His body full of fissures trying to heal. Saladin did what he thought was the only way to avoid being killed, and focused, using his shield to envelop all four.

Then, at the other end of the hangar, two rushing footsteps were heard. The two owners of the steps approached the quartet and stopped.

"It was a tragic mistake to think you could escape from us."

A familiar voice. Phoebe opened her eyes, a wave of shock and fear hit her.

It was right in front of her. Jane. Next to her stood a woman with light brown hair, whom she had never seen before. She was considerably taller than Jane, and she had slightly smiling lips, in contrast to Jane's bloodless killer expression. These two women, clad in jet-black robes, gave Phoebe fears she had never felt before, and she felt her nonexistent blood burning in her veins.

Jane sighed lightly.

“Can you get past the shield?”

The woman beside her squinted slightly after Jane's question. She was trying to do something. But it didn’t work, because,"No." was her only reply.

“Then it should be something else, not a shield. A neutralizer, perhaps.”

Phoebe felt the sound waves emanating from her chest throughout her body as the giant holding her spoke. The voice was deep, rough, and judging by his accent, he was at least five hundred years old, and worst of all, he was close enough to kill Phoebe in one hit.

“Have we encountered such power before?” he asked.

“No.” the woman next to Jane said. Jane curled her lips slightly at this answer and smiled. “Aro once talked about a vampire that had a similar talent, he could stop anyone’s talent from working. But he died before Aro could invite him.” Her smile disappeared.

“Aro will like it. We're leaving." she said, giving Phoebe a cold look. Jane and the woman next to her disappeared in an instant. Then, Saladin and the little man holding him, who Phoebe could see now, left, leaving Phoebe and the person who had strangled her alone.

She was looking for something to hold onto and use. Maybe this person had a power, augmented strength, or something — she searched, tried to feel it in her mind, but found nothing. “I don't have any power for you to take me down,” the man said, when he finally realized that the girl's inactivity was due to her focusing on something else. “You can only defeat me with your body.”

Phoebe grit her teeth. Then she found herself being carried in his chest as he ran.

Soon after, she found herself in a hilly city. The man slowed when he got to the big doors, and when the doors opened he entered with the same pace. His grip on Phoebe must have looked funny to those who opened the door for him, as Phoebe heard a slight chuckle, but the giant man instantly turned around and gave the giggled man a stern look. So, Phoebe thought she did look weird, because even though she had been held by him for so long, she still couldn't see his face. It was possible that he was one of those who had come to catch her the day before, but she did not know how many giant vampires the Volturi had, and she certainly did not want to put him at a psychological advantage just because she had seen and feared him before. In the blink of an eye, she found himself walking through another set of doors and into a large, domed hall.

In front of her, on a platform, were three men sitting on thrones. She knew them from Saladin's stories: Caius, the blond and ruthless o e, the sickly-looking Marcus, and Aro in the middle, whose eyes were shining bright even from there.

Aro. The nakedness of the name left a strange taste in her mind. Sour, and also bitter.

The giant holding her slowly loosened his arms and dropped Phoebe to the ground, grabbing her softly by one shoulder and pushing her forward.

Aro slowly descended from the platform he was on, and joined his hands in front of him.

"Welcome." he said, raising his hands slightly to the sides. He had an innocent smile on his face, as if he wasn't the biggest mafia in the world.

She couldn't help her expression, Phoebe frowned while her lips tightened as if she were staring at something hideous. Saladin, on the other hand, was trying to collect himself.

“I heard that your talent is a rare one that no one has seen before.” said Aro, in his same calm voice. He quickly turned his eyes to someone else and looked back at Phoebe.

Then, Phoebe felt the same thing again: something was trying to seep into her skin. This time it wasn't harsh, it wasn't like fire either, it was more like a sneaking mist pouring through the windows. Cool and almost numb.

Phoebe invited him in. She then gathered the feeling up, turned it into a light, and reflected it like a mirror.

Startled, she saw the mind reader's eyes widen as he pulled back, and he audibly gasped. Then she saw the memories flooding into her mind. The brightest was the way she looked at herself through his eyes, then she saw simultaneously his devotion to Aro, and the man behind her. That was him, she thought, the man from that day.

He quickly turned to Aro, the mind reader, whose name she had learned was Gerard. When Phoebe looked at him the same way, she saw admiration in his blazing eyes. Fascination.

Aro folded his hands in front of him again. The smile on his face turned into a completely happy expression.

"Matchless." he said as he approached the girl. “Nobody like you has ever existed.”

He stopped one step ahead of her. He lifted his hand and brought it close to her face, but did not touch it. His hands were close enough to feel her warmth, but he didn't come any closer, realizing the damage a single touch could do to him. He wasn't going to touch her, ever.

He couldn't hide her admiration for her, but then pulled back, remembering his role. He made his way to the middle of the hall, and turned back to Phoebe. All the while, Felix, who was the name of the man behind her as she learned from the mind reader, was holding her softly on her shoulder. The heaviness was uncomfortable, but she knew it: releasing it would give her the upper hand.

“Join us,” said Aro. “Find yourself a place at the top of the world.”

Phoebe didn't answer.

Aro must have taken it upon himself to persuade her, so he continued speaking.

“Rise with us to the top of our clan. You are too important to be left alone, you were born to serve a higher purpose.”

“What I was born for is none of your business.” said Phoebe suddenly. He was surprised, too, but the words were out of his mouth once. She believed that she was made to live with Saladin after all, to spend his life with him while they looked for Zareen. Saladin had told her before that being erased from the minds of all vampires could be the only way to true freedom, and Phoebe was convinced that living as a ghost would serve her better.

Aro's smile faded slightly, but he wasn't going to give up.

"I'm offering you a week's trial," he said calmly. He was showing Phoebe the privilege he didn't show to others, he had to. He could not allow such a precious diamond to be lost in the hands of uncivilized savages. "Join us. If you want to go after a week, you will be free.”

Phoebe was thinking. Coming here and standing under the dome of this hall, seeing that the Volturi were not monsters with colorless skin, overgrown teeth, and elongated nails, had turned the cogs in her mind.

“We'll help you hone your skill,” Aro continued after a short pause. “We can help you understand exactly what you do, how you do it, and teach you to use it. Over the years, you will become one of our strongest.”

Phoebe saw a faint glint in the expressionless eyes of Marcus, who sat behind Aro. Then she had that feeling again. Her skin was tingling. It must be Marcus, she thought to herself. Saladin hadn't told her what Marcus' talent was, but Phoebe couldn't pass up the opportunity to get to know a new talent.

She let the feeling come into his and then used it. Suddenly she saw how everyone in the room felt about each other as clearly as day.

Caius had hidden his anger towards Aro in a black box and covered it with devotion. Jane could suffocate anyone in the room but her brother and without feeling any remorse, the light brown-haired woman next to Jane loved everyone, and everyone loved her, in a shaky way.

Phoebe saw everyone in the room. She couldn't understand what had happened when she saw a few gray bruises in the love bond between him and Saladin, but then she saw weak flower buds just beginning to sprout between herself and the man standing behind her.

She suddenly threw the skill she had used out of her mind. Marcus was beginning to suspect that she was using his talent, it was evident in his eyes. Aro was still in front of him with his smiling but frightening face.

Phoebe didn't know what to decide, what to say. The wheels in her mind began to turn again. They can't hurt me, she thought. Their powers are useless on me. I can fight. If they try to imprison me, I can escape.

It bothered Phoebe that the Volturi no longer looked like terrifying creatures, and that Saladin's feelings for her were not as innocent as she had expected. She felt a vague disappointment in her dead heart, and that disappointment was changing the course of her decisions.

I can escape.

It was the last straw. She mustered up her courage. She could at least stay here for a week. She could see what the Volturi were doing. Not only that, but she could find out if they were truly monstrous or simply maintaining order and secrecy. Most importantly, he could learn what he could do with her talent. And if things didn’t go her way, she would escape, and find Zareen herself.

She took a deep breath, even though the oxygen didn't do anything to her.

“Okay,” she said with a certain shakiness in her voice, “I'm staying.”

#twilight #volturi #aro #marcus #caius #jane #alec #felix #demetri #imagine #fanfiction #scenario #breaking dawn #eclipse #new moon #bella swan #edward cullen #alice cullen #jasper hale #rosalie hale #emmett cullen #carlisle cullen #esme cullen #renesmee #mirror mirror

[radioactivepeasant]

Fic Prompts: Final Fantasy Friday

(Some backstory for last week's snippet, and how Ardyn escaped Angelgard)

Spoilers for XIII 2 and Lightning Returns, so be forewarned

It was always silent in the chamber. In what was meant to be his tomb. The only sound was the soft rattle of the chains on those rare occasions when he tried to move. Even his screams had lost their strength over time. What use was there in screams, in pleading or tears, when there was no one to hear?

In this Astrals-forsaken place, there was not even a glimmer of light. Nothing but the darkness and the silence in any direction -- not that he bothered trying to look around after the first ten years. That was more agony than it was worth.

Memories of sunlight, and wind on his face, and the feeling of grass under his feet, were all so far away they seemed like fantasies. Had that life been a dream? No, he could never have dreamed up anything so wonderful as trees and water, and Aera.

Aera.

He'd no more tears to cry, but his eyes burned all the same.

That world outside- it was still there, somewhere. Everything he remembered was real -- it had to be, or he wouldn't be chained here, would he? Because he was the Adagium now.

No. No, that was not his name. That would never be his name.

He was-

Was-

"Ardyn."

The name crawled out of his lips and slipped away into nothingness.

He tried to raise his head, to ease the pain in his back, his arms- it didn't help, it never did. Pain was his constant companion. His only companion.

"Ardyn."

His own name, parroted back. But this time, in the voice of a young girl.

Slowly, painfully, Ardyn forced his eyes open. He knew what he would see: nothing. Nobody knew where he was, maybe nobody even knew who he was.

Do I even know that anymore?

Through dry, watery eyes, he almost thought he saw a shape. He dismissed it as a creation of his loneliness and blinked to be rid of it.

But the figure remained.

Floating before his face was a child -- certainly no older than thirteen or fourteen -- with silver blue hair cut short and a ceremonial veil covering her mouth. The child's eyes were haunted in a way that Ardyn recognized.

He blinked again, and yet she remained. The girl held out her hand to the side and another girl, identical save for the length of her hair, floated into Ardyn's field of vision to clasp the first girl's hand. Twins?

At the corners of his eyes, Ardyn thought he saw many more of the girls with the same face. Ah, so they were illusions after all.

"We are not creations of your mind, Ardyn Lucis Caelum."

The girls spoke in unison.

"We are Paddra Nsu Yeul: avatar of Etro."

Etro?!

The Stygian? The lost goddess of death? The original patron of the House of Caelum before Bahamut chose a king? Ardyn had never heard of any myths mentioning avatars. The Messengers, when they had spoken of her, described her as living crystal, sleeping in the very heart of The Crystal itself.

"H-ow?" Ardyn croaked. He had not the strength to say more.

"Do not be afraid, lost king. We have come to aid you." the girls said in their soft, whispery voices.

Help him?

The Adagium? Help? Now I know they are not real.

Ardyn closed his eyes again.

"Do not doubt Etro," a stern voice interrupted his thoughts.

Ardyn felt a hand touch his face and opened his eyes.

He stared into the fiery eyes of a man of indeterminate age with a hard face.

Who was this? Who would touch him?

Was this real?

"Is this the one you spoke of, sister?"

"Yes, Caius. Save this one and bring him to our Etro self in Valhalla. To leave him would open the timeline to fractures again."

Caius nodded sharply and looked up at Ardyn.

"You balance on a wire," the man said, "the precipice between life and death. You have taken on the Scourge for others, and so they do not call you living. But you have been prevented from dying by the Mother Crystal."

As if Ardyn wasn't keenly aware of that.

The identical girls rose up to surround the long-haired man and Ardyn, each placing cool hands on his burning skin.

"Poor Lucis Caelum. Bahamut is thoughtless and cold, playing all sides against each other. To create more illness in order to cure it? No. He does not wish to heal. But you are not forgotten by the Astrals."

Not forgotten? Ardyn tried to ask the strangers how they had learned of him. What the Stygian wanted with the man rejected by the Crystal. Why they had called him king when the throne sat only his brother.

Nevertheless, they seemed to know what he meant to say.

"We are the children of Etro," the man declared. "Each Yeul has succeeded her, and jointly perform her duties to the dead. I stand as her High Messenger."

"You have always had Etro's favor, Prince," one of the Yeuls remarked. "Because you have known our brother's pain, as we have known the pain of Aera."

"Aera?" Ardyn gasped weakly.

"She speaks of you often," the short-haired Yeul remarked with a sad smile. "She will be happy, I think, to see you again."

The man -- the Messenger? -- drew an elaborate blade and slashed through each of the chains. With a ragged cry, Ardyn dropped. The arms of the children caught him long before he'd reached the floor.

"Bahamut forgets himself," Caius Ballad announced. "He has lost touch with both humanity and reality, creating tragedies to battle monsters he made himself. And humanity needs a champion while the Chosen King remains unborn. Will you accept?"

Ardyn knew the answer before he even understood the question.

#fic prompts #writing prompts #final fantasy friday #final fantasy xv #ffxv au #ffxv #ff xiii #caius ballad #paddra nsu yeul #paddra ballad caius #ardyn izunia #ardyn lucis caelum #knight of etro au #knight of etro #in which Besithia finds only an empty cave and broken chains #and Ardyn is able to recover physically and psychologically in Valhalla before heading out with Odin

[raindancer2004]

Jane and the Wolf

Word Count: 3,191 Jane x OC Part One Warnings: Jane is aged up. Fluff

It was about six months after Demetri met his mate Lily Cullen that preparations to change her were put into action. Jane had offered to be in the room when Demetri turned Lily just in case she was needed as she would be able to subdue him with her gift. Demetri had expected Lily to want to remain human a little longer; maybe even have a baby with him like Bella did with Edward, so he was surprised by her answer when he approached the subject one afternoon.

“Lily can we talk about the future…our future?” “Of course Dem, what did you want to discuss?” She asked in response “I-I wanted to discuss the topic of children with you” He began, feeling a little nervous “Did you want children before you are turned?” Lily thought for a moment before answering him “I have thought about this a little since we got together and as much as I love you and would love to have a family with you, I just don’t know if I want to take that risk. What if something went wrong? You’d be left all alone forever and wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt; if you were the reason something happened to me” She paused and took his hand in hers “I thought we could have a family another way…we could do what my parents did. We could adopt a child; I mean there are lots of children out there that need a home and we can offer that and I’m proof that a human child can be raised by and around vampires” She added and saw he was smiling at her “Wow. That was not the response I was expecting…but I am totally on board with your suggestion Lils” He replied and leaned in to place a kiss on her lips “Are you sure Dem? I feel like I’m taking away your chance to be a dad…to have a child of your own” She said looking into his eyes, trying to read him “I would be lying if I said I haven’t imagined a little me or you running around the castle but…” He held her hand a little tighter when he felt her try and remove hers from his “I would rather have you by my side forever and give a child a home that needs one, than take the risk of losing you. As you said what if something went wrong? There are no guarantees that you will survive having my baby and I don’t wish to risk your life…not when we have another option available. I love you Lily” He pressed his lips to hers again “Always” “I love you too Dem” She wrapped her arms around him.

Jane stood by the door of Demetri and Lily’s shared room as he leant down to bite her, to change her and was pleased that she didn’t need to step in and subdue him “I’ll keep you company for a bit Demetri” She said as she took a seat on the sofa “Thank you Jane for today and for your company” “I had every faith in you and your self-control Demetri…it was merely a precaution…just in case” She replied smiling “Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing Lily as a newborn. It was nice of the masters to allow her to spend her newborn phase here” “Caius didn’t want her going home and following the vegetarian diet, only for her to return in a year or two and have to change to our diet” Demetri answered, “That and Lily asked for permission to spend her newborn year here…with me” He added “Really? She didn’t want to go back to Forks?” Jane asked sounding a little surprised “No, she told them that she wanted me to change her and that means that I have to take responsibility for her; to be one to teach her how to survive in this life and I cannot do that we are half a world apart” “Wow” Jane breathed, nodding “I bet that made you feel good knowing she wanted it to be your venom running through her and not her father’s” “It did actually…I wanted to be the one to change her but didn’t know if she’d want that kind of bond with me…” He trailed off “Why wouldn’t she? She’s your mate” “Exactly Jane. We’re mates…changing her means I become her sire; her creator…it would change things between us…” “It would only strengthen your mate bond” Jane cut him off smiling. “That’s another thing” He said chuckling “She also told them that as we’re mates, she couldn’t and wouldn’t spend that amount of time away from me. She looked right at Marcus at that moment and I knew then she had won his vote” “Clever girl” Jane praised looking over at Lily with a smile “I think Caius agreed because he likes having Lily around and is curious to see whether she’ll be the one Cullen who doesn’t follow the vegetarian diet” Demetri said “That sounds like Caius” Jane laughed “I bet Aro agreed because he likes the idea of Lily ‘belonging’ to his family” Jane added smiling “Not to mention it links his family to Carlisle’s forever too” Demetri added.

Demetri took Lily hunting for animals in the Tuscan countryside and showed her what she needed to do “Well done Lils. Are you still thirsty?” “I am but…” “But what?” He cut her off “I’m not liking the taste of animal blood” She answered and he chuckled “Ok, but can you do me a favour please Lils?” She nodded “Please try again, maybe try a different animal” Lily agreed “Can I ask why this is important to you Dem?” “I just want you to try the vegetarian diet, it’s what Carlisle would have wanted. However, if you don’t like it and want to follow the traditional diet then you can. I will support you either way” “Thank you Dem. I love you.” “I love you too.”

Lily had tried the vegetarian diet but she found the taste of animal blood unpleasant and that she was thirsty all of the time. The smell of human blood appealed to her much more and she spoke to Demetri about her concerns when she was tempted to kill her friend Gianna; the Volturi’s secretary, so it was agreed that she would follow the diet of the Volturi “You owe me €50 Brother” Caius said to Aro “Fine” He replied handing over the money “I cannot believe you two had a bet on what diet Lily would follow” Marcus said as he looked at his brothers “Oh come on brother, like you were not curious about Lily’s diet choice” Caius replied, Marcus shrugged “I mean Demetri even went to the trouble of asking our permission to teach her to hunt animals so she could honour her family’s lifestyle choice and yet her true nature prevailed” Caius added sounding proud, if not a little smug.

Lily was displaying a level of self-control that newborns do not normally show and the Kings were impressed and pleased that their faith in her and Demetri’s ability to handle a newborn had paid off. Felix had offered to help with fight / combat training as he is the strongest vampire and would be the one less likely to get hurt by her newborn strength.

Lily had been a newborn for six months when Demetri, Lily, Felix and the twins went to Forks to visit Lily’s family. Carlisle had contacted Aro and advised him that he wanted the packs to meet Lily now she had been turned, especially as the treaty now applied to her and Demetri. Aro agreed and thought it may help Lily to get a change of scenery and wanted to know how she would handle being around humans or more specifically Renesmee.

Two days after they arrived in Forks Jake came over to the Cullen’s for a visit and bought over the pack’s three newest members to meet the Cullens; to get them used to their scent and vice versa. As soon as the wolves entered the house Jane recognised Jake’s scent from the battlefield, she then noticed the scent of ‘mint and cedarwood’ followed by the unpleasant smell of two other wolves. The wolves entered the family room and as soon as Sebastian looked at Jane he imprinted on her; he knew then he had found his mate and was shocked to discover that his mate was a vampire; their sworn enemy. The only silver-lining in this strange situation was that the pack could never harm her, she would be protected by him and the packs always. Jake and the other two wolves growled the second he imprinted on Jane due to the pack’s telepathy; they turned to glare at her and they growled again, almost like they were trying to intimidate her.

Meanwhile, Jane felt something inside her click into place the moment their eyes met and she knew she was looking at her mate but wasn’t happy to discover that after waiting over 1000 years to meet him, he was a shapeshifter; a wolf no less. However, she couldn’t help feeling drawn to him, the need to be near him, to protect him. Edward choked back a laugh after hearing her thoughts which led to her glare at him “Stay out of my head, or else” She growled low. “What’s wrong sister?” Alec asked placing a hand on her shoulder “I er…I found my mate” Jane answered low looking at Sebastian. Felix sniggered “Ha-Jane’s mated to a wolf. Caius is going to love that” Felix said nudging Demetri in the side “Felix. Not now” Demetri warned, Felix raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing more.

“Jacob, please can you introduce Jane to your friend?” Carlisle asked, Jake nodded “Jane this is Sebastian. Sebastian this is Jane, she is a member of the Volturi” “It’s nice to meet you Jane” Sebastian said with a smile “Likewise” Jane answered, a small smile tugging at her lips. The tension in the room was so thick you could it with a knife.

“If you hurt her in any way, I will have Demetri and Felix hold you down whilst I neuter you and I won’t use my gift to take away your senses” Alec said straight-faced to his sister’s mate, Sebastian, who didn’t react.

“You never say stuff like that for me babe” “Lily” Edward scolded her “I’d kill anyone who hurt you mi amore. You may not be aware, but I did threaten our guards with dismemberment and the dungeons if they hurt you when you came to stay at Christmas when we first met” Demetri said looking into Lily’s ruby eyes “Aww babe...you’re the best” Lily replied before kissing him “Don’t you forget it” Demetri smirked at her; his arms wrapping around her waist, Carlisle and Esme choke back a laugh at their behaviour. Edward rolled his eyes, still not pleased that his sister was mated to Demetri. “Edward, Demetri and I are mates so you better get used to it because he is a member of this family now and we protect our family” Lily said looking at her brother, Demetri tightened his hold on Lily’s waist.

“Maybe the two of you would like to take a walk, maybe get to know each other a little…away from everyone” Esme offered softly, looking at Jane and Sebastian who nodded “Shall we Jane?” He asked softly, she hesitated for a few moments then stepped forward and making her way out of the house, Sebastian following behind her. They walked away from the house until they were far enough away that they could not be heard, ensuring not to cross the treaty line and being careful to not expose Jane to any humans.

The air between Jane and Sebastian was awkward as neither of them were initially pleased with the thought of being mates as their kind have been sworn enemies for generations, although Sebastian did point out to her that he was not a child of the moon; he was a shapeshifter and can transform whenever he likes. “I would like to apologise Jane for the behaviour of Jake, Liam and Riley; they had no right to growl at you like that, I have no choice over who I imprint on and they know that. Jacob knows that better than anyone” Sebastian said looking into Jane’s ruby eyes “Th-thank you Sebastian, although it-it is not you who should apologise” She replied “However, that said my brother should not have threatened you and I can assure you he will not harm you in anyway, not ever” She added looking into his blue eyes “Thank you Jane, although I did find his threat of ‘neutering’ me slightly amusing” He chuckled and Jane couldn’t help the slight giggle that passed her lips. “I would like to ask you one thing if I may?” He asked and she nodded “Felix mentioned Caius would love that you are mated to a wolf. What did he mean by that as I’m guessing he was being sarcastic?” “Er…yes he was. Caius is one of the three Kings that rule the vampire world and he hates werewolves; more specifically children of the moon. He made it his mission to eradicate them from existence” She replied low, no longer looking into his eyes “I see. I am aware that your family has seen the pack before during the day during the confrontation involving Renesmee, so he must realise that we are not children of the moon” He responded “He does but I feel he will be the one King that will oppose this ‘union’ the most. He will take some convincing I am sure” She said looking up at him “I understand this will be difficult initially, but I am prepared to make this work Jane, no matter the obstacles”

He took her small cold hand in his larger warm one “Just so you are aware as the imprint, you decide the nature of this relationship…” He cut him himself off when he noticed the confused look on Jane’s face “Although imprinting is the way we find our mates, it doesn’t always have to be the case. As the imprint you decide if you want us to be friends or mates. If you tell me you see me as nothing more than a brother or a protector then I will honour that decision, even if it will be hard to do so at first. You will always be my top priority Jane; you will always come first…even before the pack” He said softly and gently placed his hand on her cheek, she leaned into his touch slightly “I have a brother, I do not wish for another. You are my mate Sebastian, and that means I will protect you always” She replied, her hand coming rest on top of his “I will protect you always too. I would very much like to be your friend as well as your mate Jane” “I don’t really have many friends, but… I think friends is a good place to start…the rest will fall into place I’m sure” She replied and he couldn’t help smiling down at her ‘she doesn’t seem as scary as Jacob made out’ he thought to himself. If only he knew.

“How will this work? I mean I am immortal and you…you are not?” Jane asked curiously “I am immortal too…kind of…” He replied and she raised an eyebrow at him “Once we start phasing we stop aging, so as I long as I phase regularly I will not age…therefore essentially being immortal like you” He replied and she nodded “I could turn you later down the line…if you wanted?” She offered “I’m afraid not Jane, vampire venom is toxic to us, it would kill me not preserve me” He replied “Oh, I’m sorry I had no idea. Thank you for letting me know…I now know that I am unable to mark you as mine” “I’m sure we can figure something out…if that is something your kind do once you find your mate” He replied “Will the pack accept me or will it be…difficult?” “They will have to accept you, protect you. The treaty we have the Cullens will apply to you now too…you will also be able to come onto our land as you are my mate. Although things may take a little time to settle down” He answered her “I understand…this isn’t going to be easy for either of our families to accept.”

Sebastian and Jane took it turns to ask one another some questions to get to know one another a little better “My favourite colour is grey/silver. What’s yours Sebastian?” She asked “I like green. My favourite animal is a chimpanzee, you?” He replied “I like horses. Can I ask how old are you?” “I’m 18 years old and you?” He asked “I’m 17…physically, but I have been around for about 1000 years” She replied watching him for his reaction “Wow. Well may I say I think you have aged beautifully” He smiled at her; she looked down taking her bottom lip between her teeth, if she could have blushed she would have. He chuckled low. “What hobbies / interests do you have?” He asked “I like to read; I have quite a few books not to mention the castle has a huge library. I collect china dolls…I have quite the collection. I spend a lot of time with Alec and since she moved into the castle I have become friends with Lily, Demetri’s mate. What about you?” “I hang out with the pack and train with them. I like swimming and soccer and spending time at the beach. I enjoy reading although I probably do not own as many books as you” He responded. “What do you like to do for fun?” He asked “Fun? Er I like shopping. Does practising my gift on Felix when he annoys me count?” She asked “Er…possibly” He answered sounding unsure “I do not know what your gift is…not really” “I am able to cause people excruciating pain that incapacitates them instantly, just by looking at them. It only works on one person at time and I must be able to see them. I am able to make the pain seem mild and turn the level of pain up as and when I want” She answered honestly “Huh…remind me not to piss you off then” He answered her “I would never use my gift on you Sebastian…you are my mate and to hurt you would be to hurt myself” She was making him a promise and he nodded “Thank you, that’s good to know.”

Jane was feeling conflicted about everything as she was still a little annoyed with fate for giving her a shapeshifter for a soulmate but she knew she couldn’t stay away from him; the mate pull was there and she couldn’t deny it…she didn’t want to deny it, she just hoped he meant it when he said he wanted to make this work no matter the obstacle.

#jane volturi #demetri volturi #felix volturi #alec volturi #aro volturi #marcus volturi #caius volturi #demetri x lily #carlisle cullen #esme cullen #renesmee cullen #bella cullen #edward cullen #emmett cullen #rosalie hale #jasper hale #alice cullen #volturi #the cullens

[bonjour-rainycity]

The Long Way Around ~ Chapter 15

Link to previous part: https://bonjour-rainycity.tumblr.com/post/625017063484833792/the-long-way-around-chapter-14

Pairing: Jasper x Reader

Word count: 3041

Warnings: None

Jasper’s POV

“And you’re being safe?” Y/n’s voice, sounding small over the phone, floats from the speaker to my ear.

“I promise, Darlin, we’re taking every precaution possible. We won’t even meet officially with Aro and the others until later; Carlisle wanted to wait for a formal invitation to approach.” The reassurance, as well as the pet name, rolls off my tongue easily. I had used it the other day and felt her immediate affinity for it, and vowed to use it more often.

“Does he know what he’s going to say?”

I shake my head and lean back against the door. “He’s working on that right now with Esme. But Carlisle’s a natural diplomat, I have no doubts the right words will come to his mind.”

“That’s good…What’s the hotel like? I haven’t been to one in forever.” Then, she chuckles lowly. “I haven’t been anywhere outside this house and these woods in forever.”

I smile, feeling empathy for her struggle. “Give you just a few more months and I think we might be able to take a trip somewhere. Not somewhere too populated, but maybe camping?”

Her voice takes on a dreamy quality when she responds, and I can hear the smile in her words. “We could go to the mountains. Watch the sky, go swimming, eat bears.”

I chuckle at her addition. “Alright, it’s a date.” She hums in agreement and I take a minute to enjoy the melodic sound of her voice. I can’t wait to hear her in person again. I shake myself out of my thoughts before I can get too stuck on missing her. “But to answer your question, the hotel is really nice. Gold ceilings, open balconies, huge bathtubs…you would like it.” Ugh, I wish she was here with me. Again, I have to stop my thoughts. I have a job to do, and I need to be focused if I’m going to fulfill my promise of getting back to Y/n. I have respect for the Volturi, to a degree, but part of that respect involves acknowledging their capabilities. And, if they wanted to, they could destroy Carlisle, Esme, and me in a blink of an eye. Sure, I would put up a good fight, and, based on my experience, I would have a good chance of making it out alive. I could possibly even take Carlisle or Esme with me, thought I had no desire to ever make that choice. So, I must make every effort to avoid a fight. And that means helping Carlisle prepare for his discussion with Aro and, once we’re in the room, not letting my focus slip, even for a second. I’ll have to keep a close monitor of everyone’s moods, and adjust them in a way that will influence a favorable outcome.

“I’m sure I would.” Y/n’s voice pulls me from my assessment. Then, from her side of the phone, I hear Rosalie calling her name. There’s regret in Y/n’s voice when she speaks. “That’s Rose, I’ve gotta go. She and Emmett took the day off from classes and are helping me with the blood desensitization. I promised her we’d go outside at eight.” A quick check to my watch confirms the time, in her zone at least. Here in Italy it’s well into the afternoon.

“Good,” I say, wanting to focus on the positive. “The more you do it, the easier the burning and temptation will be to bear.” I would know. “I’ll be with Carlisle and Esme here in the hotel, at least until dark. It’s so sunny here.”

She can hear the distaste in my voice, and laughs. “Poor Jasper, he has to stay inside. That must suck.”

I laugh with her, and hear Rosalie calling her again. This time, impatience colors Rosalie’s voice. I sigh. “Well, I better let you go. Good luck with desensitization, and call me if you need anything.”

Her voice is soft, sad, when she responds. “You too. Gosh, Jasper, please be safe.”

I desperately hope my voice doesn’t betray my own sadness when I respond. “I will, I promise.”

She’s quiet for a moment, the only sounds coming from her shaky breathing, and I want nothing more than to get on the first flight home, or swim if I have to, and scoop her into my arms. But her voice is steady when she speaks, and that calms me slightly. “Bye babe.”

“Bye.”

She hangs up the phone.

I love you.

The words, on the edge of my lips already, beg to be said. But it’s not the right time. Those words need to be said in person, when she can hear, see, and feel how much I mean them. So I’ve got to focus on making sure I get home so I can prove to her how much I mean them.

I take a deep breath, then open the door, entering the hallway. We’d decided to get two rooms in the hotel. Mainly, it helps avoid suspicion. An obvious husband and wife plus some random, only slightly younger guy makes no sense, especially when we don’t want to attract unnecessary attention. But the second, unspoken reason, is so Carlisle and Esme can have a space to themselves. Again, I feel a pang, wishing Y/n was here with me. One day, I remind myself, and continue down the hall to Carlisle and Esme’s room. I make my footsteps extra loud, even by human standards, so they’ll be warned of my approach. But they welcome me in, having only been working on Carlisle’s talking points.

Esme scoots over so I can sit next to her at the foot of the bed, opening her arms for a hug. “How’s Y/n doing?”

I smile, enjoying Esme’s affection. “She’s good, just worried about us. Rose and Emmett called her away to work on desensitization.”

Carlisle nods. “Good, consistency with that is important.”

“It must be strange for her,” Esme muses, “without us there. Especially you, Jasper. What’s the longest you two have been away from each other?”

“Six hours.” The answer comes easily, because I’d already done the math. Right now, it’s been fourteen hours, and I’m antsy. It just makes me feel anxious being away from her, especially with all that could go wrong. A human could surprise them and she could lose control, another vampire could attack and she could be hurt or killed. And, of course I know no one in our family would ever hurt her intentionally, but say she wrestles with Emmett and he overestimates her strength? What if she loses a finger or gets another bite?

Carlisle’s hand on my shoulder breaks me from my thoughts. “It’ll get easier with time, son.”

I rub the back of my neck, sheepish. “Am I that obvious?”

“Yes,” Esme says with a soft smile. Her happiness surrounds me, and I uncharacteristically lay my head on her shoulder. Her joy increases, as does Carlisle’s fondness.

“Okay, you two,” I chuckle, ready for the focus to be off of me. “Let’s get to planning.”

“Right.” Carlisle straightens and walks back to the front of the room, all business.

{***}

In the middle of the night, when most humans are sound asleep, I feel a new presence, one harboring suspicion.

“Carlisle,” I caution, darting to the hotel door. He and Esme freeze, and we wait quietly.

We hear the footsteps, four sets of them, hitting the carpet, two heavy, two light. They walk slightly faster than the average human, supporting my theory that it’s vampires who come to meet us. Their scent hits me a second later, and I fight the urge to go on the defensive. Still, I position myself in front of the door, blocking the path to Carlisle and Esme.

The footsteps come to a stop, and a heavy knock hits the door. At Carlisle’s nod, I open it, and am met with four familiar vampires wearing robes in varying shades of Volturi black.

The smallest, the most terrifying, of the four speaks, a smile on her face that does not reach her bright red eyes. “Aro will see you now. You may come with us.”

{***}

The way into the castle is dark and smells old. At least one vampire with glowing red eyes guards every exit, and the message is clear: You don’t leave unless we allow you to. From my spot at the rear of our group, I keep a watchful eye. Carlisle goes first, keeping an arm around Esme’s waist. The only one who’s spoken to us so far, Jane, turns to us, and thankfully, she only means to speak again.

“Wait here.”

I feel Esme and Carlisle’s apprehension, and do what I can to calm them and give them courage. I also feel suspicion from Felix and Dmitri, who I see in the corner of my eye, and I ease that as well. Not taking any chances. From the corridor above, I hear a clumsier set of footsteps, and the scent hits me in the face. Human. I turn to Carlisle, having not expected to smell that sweet temptation here in this fortress of vampires.

“The Volturi keep a handful of humans in their employ,” Carlisle explains, seeing my questioning gaze. “Eventually, it is likely that they will become vampires.”

“Or a meal,” Alec, who stands to my right, smirks.

Ah.

The mahogany door creaks open, and Jane peeks her head out. “Come in.”

The air inside the room feels cold, even to a vampire. I’m guessing it’s due to the high, lofty ceilings and complete lack of natural light, as well as the ten vampires now occupying the space.

“Carlisle, my dear friend,” a pleasant, high pitched voice coos. I immediately recognize him from Carlisle’s paintings: it’s Aro. In chairs to his right and left sit Marcus and Caius. “It is truly a pleasure to see your smiling face once again.”

Aro stands, sweeping forward to stand in front of Carlisle. I’m tempted to tense, but Carlisle seems unaffected.

“I have missed you too, my friend. It has been too long.”

“Indeed.” Aro’s voice carries a measured amount of regret, but I feel none from him, only curiosity and suspicion.

“I’m sure you remember my wife, Esme, and this is my son, Jasper.”

“Ah, the lovely Esme! So wonderful to see you again. And Jasper, I am so pleased to make your acquaintance.” He’s not lying. I can feel his joy as well as his envy. “I must admit that I am intrigued by your gift. May I? I so wish to understand how it works.”

Knowing refusal would only get us into trouble, I take a few steps forward so I’m on Esme’s other side and hold out my hand. Swiftly, Aro grasps it in his, his hand papery. His eyes flicker as he takes in my thoughts. I concentrate, feeling his emotions as he invades my mind. Fear, suspicion, anger, annoyance, curiosity, and desire. As quickly as he took it, he releases my hand, taking a step back.

“I was aware of your involvement in the Southern wars for territory but I admit I did not understand the extent. It is miraculous that you survived.” Aro feels shocked, as well as calculating. No doubt he’s considering how to use my past to his advantage.

“Yes, I am very lucky. I don’t believe I would have lived had I not gotten out when I did.”

Carlisle comes to my aid. “The Southern wars were truly horrific. We are very glad Jasper left that behind and joined our family.”

Aro’s interest piques. “Yes, and it seems you have collected a new member of your coven! Tell me, how is she adjusting?”

I fight the urge to grit my teeth as we get closer and closer to a topic I had very much hoped to stay away from: Y/n.

“Well, thank you,” Carlisle’s voice is calm, but his words are careful. “We have taught her our laws and are educating her in our lifestyle. She is learning quickly.”

“Yes, I can see that.” Aro licks his lips, his eyes flickering to me. “Jasper, allow me to offer my congratulations. I wish you and Y/n both a long and happy life together.”

I barely register Carlisle and Esme’s bursts of happiness as I zero in on Aro, not liking where his mood, or this conversation, is going. “Thank you, I appreciate that.”

“And perhaps, when she is better controlled, I will get a chance to meet her. I must admit, her powers intrigue me.”

No!

Now I do grit my teeth as I fight to keep my precarious calm. Esme slips her hand into mine, and I use that as my anchor. Do not provoke anything. That will only make Aro more curious and bring further trouble for your family, for Y/n.

Aro diverts his attention momentarily to explain Y/n’s abilities to the room. I feel their interest and curiosity, and it makes my skin crawl. Carlisle smiles, trying to lighten the tension I’m causing. I force myself to reign it in and send waves of calm throughout the room. Focus.

“Yes, perhaps,” Carlisle allows, taking a noncommittal stance. “But my friend, there is a matter I had hoped to discuss with you.”

“Why yes, of course Carlisle, what is it?” He already knows, having seen the thoughts in my head, but still, I breathe a sigh of relief. For now, the attention is turned away from my love. As much as I miss her, I am so glad she’s not here. There’s no doubt in my mind that conversation would have turned out differently had she been standing at my side.

Carlisle continues. “My family and I were attacked a few days ago.”

Aro feigns shock. “My, my, Carlisle, tell me everything.”

Carlisle launches into an explanation of the past few months, starting with Esme’s encounter and ending with a telling of the battle. All throughout, Aro maintains a mask of perfect reactions: shock, outrage, sympathy, determination. But that’s exactly what it is: a mask. The whole time, I feel only his annoyance. He’s upset at having been found out. But of course, we can’t present our suspicions and he can’t acknowledge his involvement. Each party must tread carefully in order to keep the peace. I do what I can to push us in that direction.

“Carlisle, I regret the turmoil your family has been through. Tell me, how can I help you heal from this?” I nearly quirk a smile. To anyone who wasn’t me or Edward, Aro would be incredibly convincing.

“Many covens visit the Volturi. I came to request that, if you or a member of your coven becomes aware of an impending attack, you do your best to discourage such actions. Many people respect you, friend. Your words will carry weight.”

Such a diplomat my father figure is, I think fondly. I’m grateful he’s here.

Aro’s annoyance deepens, but his face shows nothing unpleasant. “Of course, I will do what I can.”

Carlisle offers a smile, and I can feel his satisfaction. “Thank you. I knew I could count on you.”

Aro claps his hands, his anticipation rising. “Now that we are done with business, perhaps we could move along to pleasure? We were just about to start dinner. Wouldn’t you join us?”

The request, innocent enough to human ears, has a terribly sinister connotation in the vampire world. The burn increases in my throat, and I swallow, trying to ignore the pain. Esme’s hand tightens in mine, and I wonder if she’s suffering as I am?

Carlisle’s sadness doesn’t seep into his voice, but it is still evident. “Thank you for the invitation, but my family and I are content with our diet.”

Aro’s eyes, glistening red with the pigment only gained from true, human blood, dart to me. “Yes, I’m sure you are.”

The chatter of a group of humans, as well as their scent, reaches me, and I force myself to stop breathing. Do not slip up.

“I’m afraid we must be going. It will be light soon, and I do believe it would be wise to avoid attracting attention.”

Aro chuckles, enjoying Carlisle’s banter. “Yes, I agree. Safe travels, my friend.”

As we turn to leave, Marcus catches our attention. “When your newborn is more adept at controlling herself, please extend our invitation. We would be interested in meeting her.”

Burning with thirst and fear at their mention of Y/n, I clench my free hand into a fist. Carlisle sends me a cautioning glance.

“I will pass on your offer.”

“Yes, do that,” a new voice, Caius’, joins the conversation. “It will be interesting to see how her powers compare to our Jane’s.”

Absolutely not. I whip around, taking a step in Caius’ direction. Immediately, Carlisle is on my other side and he and Esme have a firm grip on my shoulders.

Aro giggles, evidently enjoying my reaction. “Now, Caius, you know it is not wise to speak against someone’s mate, especially when it is so new. Jasper, I assure you, your young love will find no danger here. Go in peace.”

I don’t believe him, not for a second. If Aro decides Y/n is a threat or an asset, she’s in danger.

But Carlisle and Esme’s hands are tight on my shoulders and the scent of the humans is getting stronger. It’s time to go.

On our way out, we pass the group of humans, most of them college-aged, chattering excitedly. It seems to be a late-night ghost tour. Little do they know, their demise is imminent. I’m thrown into flashbacks of my own experience killing humans, and the remnants of fear I feel from them nearly chokes me. We’re almost out the door when the first few realize something is amiss, and then seconds later that breaks into panic. I’m torn between the desires to run back to the room and save them and to run back and massacre them. I cling tightly to my hard-earned self control and follow Carlisle and Esme as we are escorted from the castle.

One thought keeps me from breaking: Soon, I will be home.

A/n There we go! Sorry for the wait! I’m deciding between ending this story soon or dragging it out longer. I’ll make a decision soon but I’d love to hear your thoughts! Let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list. Don’t forget to donate to the Quileute tribe’s Move to Higher Ground Project! A quick Google will bring up the link. Remember, their tribe was appropriated, incorrectly portrayed, and commodified and they did not receive a cent. Let’s do what we can to lend a hand. 

xx, 

Bjr

Link to next part: https://bonjour-rainycity.tumblr.com/post/625767180394479616/the-long-way-around-chapter-16

Tag list: @meri-soni-meri-tamanna @one-thread-can-save-a-life @salsameter @enchantedcruelsummer @meashy-moo @sana-li @femflorals @80strashbag @tomisbaeholland @heyimval13 @triscuitcracker @deviantly-gayy @sleepywinnie847 @vexingcosmos @avalongrey 

#jasper #jasper hale #jasper cullen x yn #jasper whitlock #jasper whitlock hale #jasper twilight #jasper hale fanfiction #jaspertwilight fanfiction #jasper hale imagine #jasper whitlock fanfiction #jasper cullen fanfiction #jasper x reader #jasper x y/n #jasper hale x reader #jasper hale x y/n #jasper cullen x reader #jasper cullen x you #jasper hale x you #jasper whitlock x you #jasper twilight x you #twilight fanfiction #twilight reader-insert #twilight renaissance

[like-rain-or-confetti]

Can you do a little text with your opinion about the Volturi members? What you like and dislike, they personality, they story... Would be interesting! Kissessss and have a great day! 💜

Imma have a little fun and throw the very young me into the mix to. Let's see child me vs adult me's opinions on the Volturiiii.

Fun fact: I wasn't team Volturi until I was like fifteen. Before that I was team edward... I don't want to talk about that 🤔😒

Also I'm a sucker for villains. If it isn't obvious already, I like the villains more than the heroes. (We all love a bad boy though, don't we?--- TIK TOK NOW IS NOT THE TIMEE.)

So everything i say is just my opinion and should be taken just as that.

Aro: Younger me was like "this...is a terrible person. There really is no need to expand on this." However adult me has been like "GUYS this guy is possibly the SCARIEST character. This man rips off heads AND SMILES ABOUT IT." He gives me child snatcher vibes (from the movies in particular). I thoroughly enjoy the power hungry persona. He's really fitting to be the puppeteer behind the Volturi. Even if he makes it seem it's a group effort with himself, Marcus and Caius. Realistically, Aro gets what he wants and isn't afraid to do what it takes to get it...sorry Didyme. What's even darker about it, WHICH I LOVE, is that he isn't heartless. Smeyer wrote that Aro genuinely loved his sister. It's all good to have a character that's a evil heartless monster but what's more terrifying to me is the ability for someone to do evil despite their love and emotions. It doesn't hold them back and that's what I find particularly frightening now that child me didn't comprehend. Micheal Sheen, from what I remember of his interview years ago, played on the idea that vampires of Aro's age kinda begin to lose their mind. Which, hell freaking yes. However there is one thing I hate for Aro's character that happened in the movies. Breaking dawn part 2. That fucking laugh. Don't get me wrong, hilarious. I can't not laugh but for his character I felt it was too 'hey hey I'm a crazy man hehe'. It was a but too much, even for an eccentric Aro. However, I'm not to mad at it because again, it was funny to watch. I thoroughly enjoy the ‘friendship’ Aro and Carlisle share and i love that it is ‘maintained’ throughout the books. I think it’s just a really nice detail. (I love lore. I am a sucker for it.) The one thing that didnt sit right with me is Aro marrying someone so that he wasnt the alone one whilst his co-leaders were very much in love? Was a little off for me but i suppose that just adds to the character.

Caius: child me would shrink into the seat because what did I do to this man? High key still think I wouldn't want to be Caius' child because imagine doing something wrong and you get that glare? No thank you! Scary angry man. As an adult... "He's an angry boi but...DAYUM WHY IS HE SUDDENLY SO HOT?" Just...don't get angry with me. You'll get annoying real quick and you're too pretty for that. I enjoy the taking-no-shit attitude he has but felt it could have been a little more prominent in BDP2 where Aro asks if Caius' is challenging him. I full believe Caius to an extend would be like "yes, yes I am. Don't be an idiot Aro. Use that braincell!" Which is why I adore the meme vibes I see every now and then of Caius hating Carlisle because why does Aro love that blonde so much? CAIUS HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT LOYAL-- Anyways, I can totally get why Aro wants him on his team. Caius is so angry and has so much hatred that he’s a good asset to the coven, even if not having a special ability.I do find it hard to imagine that Caius is a century older than Aro though. Although I cant picture him over forty years old lol. Although i do personally enjoy the whole Caius x Athenodora route. IT’S TRUE LOVE! Okay so maybe thats a little dramatic but its better than Aro’s lmao.

Marcus: movie Marcus is absolutely not nineteen years old and that's just a fact. If anything, he's the forty year old one lmao. Child me couldn't care about this man. He was the man who said nothing and slumped on a throne. That was Marcus. That was his character summed up. Then adult me rolled in and OMG NO DON'T DO THIS TO THIS SWEET MAN. LET HIM BE IN LOVE. As an adult i definitely became more attached. I feel like i was too young back then to get why Marcus was in the Volturi. He seemed very out of place and like a filler co-leader more than anything. However as i’ve gotten older (and written for him), I recognised that's the point. That’s Marcus’ evident grief. He isn’t there by choice and losing Didyme caused him to fall out of line with the coven. He’s lost point or purpose. Almost like its become meaningless because the love of his life was gone and he couldn't save her.So what was the aims of the Volturi to protect vampire kind when they couldn’t protect their own? He couldnt protect her. I had never heard of anything like bond identification and once i had- i was shook, like it became clear why he had been so necessary in the first place. That really is handy to understand everyones bonds in a coven, he could direct Chelsea and the two alone could destroy covens by bonds alone. Marcus makes the Volturi more realistic in a lot of ways. Like in a family, there is the happy times, goofy people like Felix, the twins representing a close bond. Afton and Chelsea, love that cant be divided. The list really goes on. Marcus represents love and heartbreak, pain, loss grief, the sad moments every family goes through. In that way he makes the coven seem less invincible, a group of people who at the end of the day, have their own weaknesses and immortality doesn’t mean a perfect existence. Especially when, in my opinion, Bella fantasized about immortality and how perfect it would be. Even after her change, she waited for her happy ending because that was somehow guaranteed in some level. Which in the end, she got but not everyone gets that happy ending we all want. I also personally think Marcus is the most feeling of the Volturi, despite being apathetic. A result of heartbreak. It’s shown he can still feel more in his own ways when he voted against Renesmee being destroyed. Furthermore, he advocated that vampire hybrids were a lot like vampires. He made that relation openly before anyone. Its almost as though losing Didyme helped him value a life?

Jane and Alec: Child me thought these two were  badass...and that still remains in my adult life. It’s always been uncomfortable to me that someone so young is so sadistic and powerful. Jane is the older twin with the ability of pain illusion...yikes. Her ability was evident in her human life along with Alec’s. His gift is sensory deprivation and these two were my favourites in the whole Saga. Still kind of are if im honest. I thoroughly enjoy the twins backstory. It has the most detail. I have a tag for the twins. Canon!twins is the tag for the twins in their book age. Unless this tag is present, the twins have been aged up :). They are very much canon but I put a bit more emphasis on tantrums. If they get angry, they both have tantrums. So whilst (unless tagged) they aren't children they can be very childish and these tantrums are pretty deadly. They’re also very possessive? I dont even know if thats the right word i’m looking for in all honesty. Lets say they get very attached if they like you. These two are probably the most secluded out of the whole Volturi.

Felix: Felix! High ranking guard due to strength and speed. I am a major supporter of Felix being a gladiator when he was human. He as a lighter grey cloak meaning he isn’t as high ranked but is so good at what he does that he’s been kept for centuries...and a lot of them. Personality? FINALLY, WE’VE GOT ONE WITH PERSONALITY!! (Im writing these out of order and i’ve just finished a chunk of Volturi members who have personalities as invisible as Afton.) Flirtatious and Light hearted, we love flirtatious and light hearted! Basically a comedian! Helllll yes, keep it going! Extremely vicious and highly aggressive? You know what? I still like it. He wouldn’t be a Volturi without a dark side. Cold blooded murderer. Yes. 10/10. Finally, someone Smeyer seems to actually care about. He flirted with Bella a couple of times in the books and i was FOR IT ALL THE WAY. I was very sad i saw none of it in the movies but im used to heartbreak by now. Im in this fandom after all. We were robbed of a lot. Strongest vampire in the world? I believe you, he’s also a hecking treeeeee. HE DO BE A TALL BOI. He actually makes Demetri look small and that’s still hilarious to me. Demetri is actually tall. However, if it isnt obvious we clearly traded backstory for personality. I cant get both smh. So...as i said before I fully believe Felix was a gladiator back in the day, hence his physique and height and excellent fighting abilities he has even as a vampire but then it kind of ends. I will say from the dawn of time, i don’t think Felix is the most academic man, just because of his era. I also think majority of the Volturi couldn’t read of write in their human lives and had to learn much older, most learning as vampires. Felix was one of these vampires, Although even now he isnt the most great at it. Then a wonderful writer known as @wallwriterstuff included it and now it’s canon in my eyes. I fully believe Felix is a slow reader and writing isn’t his strong suit either. Wallwriter also includes the possibility that Felix could be dyslexic which im all for too. For a very long time i’ve considered writing a dyslexic reader with the Volturi but have always hesitated because i don’t have it and wouldn’t want to upset someone for any misunderstandings or inaccuracies. However what i will say is that i think vampires would be the most understanding to humans with dyslexia. Learning things like that in later development or as an adult is difficult and they wouldnt think any less of you for struggling with reading, writing, numeracy- you name it. You’ll probably find they’re with you in the struggle at least half of the time. He’s also the goofball of the Volturi, even though he’s not really a goofball in our eyes, he’s the closest to a goofball out of the whole Volturi ...Emmett beats him in the Goofball wars.

Demetri: Oh yeah, it's Demetri's turn! So Demetri was previously in Amun's coven. When Chelsea gave him the old razzle dazzle...I've said Chelsea's gift so many times at this point it's getting old. I have two characters left after Demetri 😂😂 Anyway, with that Demetri was like "welp, I'm in the Volturi now." And now that they had a better tracker the previous one was kicked out. He isn’t much of a talker, polite and formal. He’s elegant (more graceful than i could ever be) and charming...yeah he is, you can say that AGAIN. He is also very calm, when next to Felix, i think everyone is calm but you know, we’ll say he’s a very calm person. I like how he was originally in the Egyptian coven with Amun. Given Amun’s goals this a pretty nice detail. NOW LETS GO TO MY VERSION. He’s very charming, calm, polite, formal and even a lil’ but quiet, i kept him pretty canon because he actually had a description to go on :))))))))))  Moving on. Demetri can be a very successful flirt when he wants to be and does have a Casanova reputation. However beyond the charming Volturi guard who has a brutal side like the rest of them, he has a chewy centre, deep down. I added that he had a child in his human life, one he doesn’t remember and very few people know about. He remembers that they died of an illness very young (around six?) but can’t remember what they look like. For that reason he doesn’t like talking about his child, he feels awful he doesn’t remember them and the loss still hits a pang in his chest. 

Heidi: Alright im ready for this one! Child me didn’t necessarily enjoy Heidi? I was rather passive about her. It was all ‘pretty vampire used for her looks’ in my eyes back then and i was never comfortable with that. I’ll get into my take on Heidi in a moment, roll on the backstory!  So Heidi knew Victoria as they used to be coven mates and we’re going to continue on as though Heidi didn’t care when she was killed? Like...its genuinely a burning question in my mind! If she didn't care, could that show the extent of Chelsea’s power in action!? (can we tell im enthusiastic about this coven yet?) It’s quite smart to have someone lure in prey. I wont lie, Heidi has quite the badass role in the coven. I wouldn't have thought about that I reckon. I’ve always thought that showed a kind of superiority. Oh you guys need to hunt your prey? pfft, ours literally comes to us. Her backstory really starts with Heidi being mistreated in her human life...a common theme Smeyer has. It can get old- i wont lie but when i give it some thought it kind of makes sense. Rosalie said it herself in eclipse, if any one of them had their happy ending, they’d be six feet under but i’d love a little bit more creativity. I could go on about how male vampires ended up being changed in comparison to female vampires but i’ll swiftly move on because that’s a whole other thing alone. Heidi was changed out of pity. (Which kinda infuriates me just to type, a pity change? Really? Really Hilda? we’ll see why it annoys me when i explain my take on Heidi.) Heidi was happy in her coven with Hilda, Victoria etc, which is hell yes. We love that. This is around the time she discovered her gift. Vampires were attracted to her and humans fell prey to her easily. Yup okay. I’ll take that. After a newborn vampire caused ‘too much attention’ Aro spared Heidi and Chelsea used her gift on Heidi. Nice, very nice aaaaand that’s where it stops and im left hanging.  Personality time with Smeyer! Lets goooo.  From what i remember and can find- she didn’t fucking have one. Apparently being pretty is enough for everyone.  Which in hindsight, fair enough on a human Bella’s perspective, its literally Heidi’s gift to lure you in no matter what. She could tell you she’s a serial killer (and technically is lmao) and is about to sell your kidneys on the black market as to which you’ll be like ‘sign me the fuck up, want my liver too? Here, let me lie on the table for you. I’m down.’ without even realising what just happened. But even beyond that...Heidi has no personality traits mentioned. In New Moon she appears to be a little flirty which im all for, why the hell not? But...thats it? Thats all I get? Then we get into fanfictions, because i read them growing up. Heidi was depicted as flirtatious, promiscuous and then it varied between manipulative or she wasnt very smart. Which i’m knocking absolutely no one for. I think you can get a badass character who is incredibly dumb. I think all characters are actually valid whether they’re a genius or flat out dumb. I love them all. However it never really sat with me. I was never quite satisfied which i was fine with until i started writing for myself. That’s when i knew i’d have to really think about what my version of Heidi would be or i’d never be happy with my work. That and you also begin to fill in the blanks? The more you write the more you flesh out a character for yourself and so that rolls into my version of Heidi! So for my Heidi, she often gets the same trope of ‘she’s pretty and rich, those types of girls have easy lives who always had everything given to them.’ Then when it’s discovered she didn’t have a good human life. It turns to the next assumption of ‘oh she’s pretty and stupid enough to be used and manipulated’. In a lot of ways, that’s what Heidi wants everyone to think. Underestimate her, please, its all the easier to manipulate you if you do.  She’s actually very smart and her rough human life made her more tough and intelligent. She’s very manipulative and yes she’s very flirty. You can look but you cant touch! She enjoys the attention her beauty gets her but if only these people would care more about what she’s like as a person. She’s not a barbie doll she will play you if she needs to. The only one who’s actually gotten far enough to sleep with Heidi is Demetri and even then the two don’t see each other romantically. They’re good friends who thinks the other is very attractive but that's where it ends. They’re basically friends with benefits some times lmao. However, Demetri got that far because he see’s the intellect Heidi actually has and acknowledges it. He thinks shes a queen who should be treated as such. She could take anything she wanted, a storm that people can only hope to survive in one piece.  Secretly she enjoys a family setting. Whilst she never really wanted children (especially when she was expected to when human), she couldn't help but melt inside seeing little human children with their loving parents. She wants that for all children. Whether that's because she lacked such affection growing up, no one knows. She’s also a really good friend, you bet she’ll have your back. Crappy ex? Well we’ll show them, wont we (Y/N)? She’ll be a bitch and enjoy every second of it. She also loves the single life, believe it or not, you’ll have more difficulty getting Heidi to settle down than you would Demetri which speaks volumes.  So yeah, move past her gift and really get to know her and you might have a very good friend.  I also don’t see Heidi having a preference between male or females and that’s in all honesty. Times have changed and if she is attracted to another female then she wont be ashamed of it. She never has been (Demetri was the first to figure that out, Felix may be the last.) Even when the times weren’t approving of different sexualities, she didn't care. She will flirt with you and find it ridiculously cute if you get flustered.

Sulpicia: Sulpicia was an orphan which i used to develop my own version of her. Sulpicia grew to love Aro which im on the fence about but yup, i’ll take it. You’ll see what happens with my version in a bit lmao. and that’s where it stops. I get no personality again but do you know what we do in this fandom? We create one and fill in the blanks baby! So i write Sulpicia very materialistic and vain, she’s most snobbish of the wives and due to the other two, also considered the meaner one. She didnt have such things as a child being an orphan so when she got the opportunity to have it-she jumped. She isnt easily impressed and married Aro not for love but for immortality, money and status. (He’s only married you for your money, princess Jasmine! HE ONLY MARRIED YOU FOR YOUR MONEY! Damn it tik tok, but make it princess Aro) Which works well, because Aro doesnt necessarily love her either, he just wanted a mate so he wasnt the odd one out.He literally created her because he was like “Yup, you’ll do.” The two recognised they made a great team and image so they kinda grew to love each other? A little bit? Sure we’ll say its love...sorta. ANYWAY, It’s a highlight to Sulpicia being locked in that tower where she doesnt need to see Aro every little moment, it’s better than having a husband who she’d need to see everyday. ...Yeah my Sulpicia is something else lmao.

Athenodora:  Athenodora is one of the oldest vampires in existence which kinda has me shook but I'll take it. She met Caius when he was fleeing from the Romanians, the two travelled together until they met Aro. Whilst on their nomadic travels they seemingly became mates. That's all we know about that. As to which the Volturi coven was made. Athenodora is completely loyal to Caius as well as highly dependent on him and I think that's very realistic given her circumstances. That's where their story ends...maybe for Smeyer but not for me! 😁 So I picture Caius and Athenodora being different sides of the same coin. Athenodora really mellows Caius, she is no where near is violent and sadistic as he is but due to her unwavering loyalty and dependency, she doesn't feel inclination to go against him...also because of Chelsea and Corin but I've said that so many times in this post I think we get the point. I think she's actually more gentle and soft spoken but that being said. She is very reserved and if she were to be angered she'd very much change. She could cut you down with words alone. Caius loves it. However beyond this is someone who is very maternal. Caius would appreciate it more if the two had children but instead it has created empathy. Caius doesn't want that when he can rip their head off. She struggles a little more with the 'no second chances' and that's another reason why Caius keeps her locked away and away from it. These two love each other more than words can describe. After being through so much with someone, the love can only grow. The two would happily risk their life for the other. Caius is saddened that he could never give her the family she wanted. He knows that to this day, Athenodora tries to reign in that side of her. He's a very supportive husband who's very different around his wife. He's much more tolerant, and angry. Simply more at ease. If anything happened to Athenodora, to put it simply...there would be hell to pay.

Didyme: Married to Marcus and Aro’s biological sister. Cute, me likely, keepy going. Her gift was happiness induction. VERY ADORABLE- Dont be as menacing as your brother...please. She was born several years after Aro and was changed by Aro ten and a half years after he was turned. (Dont tease me with all this lore Smeyer, I know what you’re gonna do) Aro was deeply disappointed her gift was just to make people happy- its okay Didyme, we love you. Aro is just...Aro. Her gift made many fall in love with her and its so freaking cute i CANT- but she only felt the same feelings for Marcus. MY HEART IS SO WARMMMM. Unfortunately they were so happy together that they lost interest in anything Volturi and were ready to leave. (Uh oh.) Aro, being the sneaky fellow he is, was like “I’m really happy for y’all of course you can leave. I love you my babies. My best friend and my sisterrrrrrr, I am the captain of this SHIP.” but was actually like “wait, no, no, no, not my Marcus. D-D-Did-Didyme I NEED him.” Think Sid the Sloth from ice age in the first movie when Sid really wants the baby. So this man is like...gonna have to do it to em and murder. He killed Didyme secretly (dunno how he pulled the secret part off- like i know how he did it but how did no one hear or see anything or even suspect anything IT WAS LITERAL FRIENDLY FIRE but we love the drama so continue.) Ironically enough she was very close with Aro and the two actually did love each other, Aro is just...murderous apparently, to the extent that even his sister isnt safe. And that’s it. That’s Didyme. Which im like...alright Smeyer i see you. I like this and expanded on this with my Didyme.  i get the vibes that Didyme is the most innocent and kind of all the Volturi. Losing her meant losing the consciousness within the Volturi making them all the more ruthless because there was no one to say. “Guys, maybe lets rethink this? and quickly because i cant get Caius to put down the torch thats currently on fire.” Losing Didyme made Marcus mostly become passive and would rarely stop anything that happened. I often wonder if that provoked a lot of guilt for Marcus later on. (However thats a spoiler for something im currently writing...;) ) I also think of her as a major daydreamer and the most soft, gentle person anyone will ever meet. Like its difficult not to like her despite being in the Volturi, even the Romanians would have struggled if they met her. So in the long run...i hate nothing about Didyme, only find more and more love lmao.

Corin: So im going to be honest and tell you i have no idea what Corin would look like. I’ve got nothing and when i was younger i wasnt even sure if Corin was male or female. Like a lot of these names, i had never heard of the name ‘Corin’. I dont write for her as of yet because im still trying to figure her out. I think she’s quite quiet, she lets her gift do most of the work for her in keeping the wives, Chelsea and Caius when he doesnt get to go on a rampage, content. She was brought in also after Didyme died but Marcus refused her gift.That’s all i’ve got for her. Her gift is amazing, pretty underrated in my personal opinion since like Chelsea, she really helps keep the Volturi unified but other than that, I dont have much to say about her. :(

Afton:  Another character i basically filled the blanks in for myself. So what we’re told is that he’s Chelsea’s mate and has the ability to disappear . Whilst thats a pretty cool trick...the volturi dont necessarily need it but they have to keep Chelsea happy and she demands that Afton stays so welcome to the family Afton! I also recently learned that if you hide behind Afton and he goes invisible infront of an opponent, you too will also be invisible. I figure that is until the opponent moves and basically changes their perspective but i could be wrong with that last part. That’s all we get so time for my unnecessary input!  SO AFTON IS A TOTAL SWEETHEART. He’s very shy but polite. This is a complete opposite to his mate Chelsea. It’s actually what she liked about him. At first is was just be flirtatious to the shy vampire but when she actually got to know him... she fell hard. It was also Chelsea who had made the first move since Afton was so shy. Of course she’d never say so and Afton would never want to embarrass her so that was never really disclosed to anyone who wasn’t around at that time. She brings Afton out of his shell a lot and it wasn’t long before the two were mates. Chelsea is the light of his life. Hands down. He puts up with a lot for her and is happy to do so. She could ask anything of him and he’d do it and she doesn’t even need to use her gift. He buys are anything she wants almost instantly. He cant help but adore her passionate personality, like how hooked she can get on era’s such as the 1920′s, her love for jazz music and her ability to gush on and on about anything. The two had what the other lacked and that made them an excellent team. I love their relationship. I cant help it. However, as i said before Afton is very shy and tends to keep to himself. Sadly that, paired with Chelsea’s demand to keep him in the Volturi has left Afton a little bit outcasted. All the other permanent guards were wanted and considered important whilst Afton...not so much. Although that isn’t to say the other guards are mean to him or anything. They aren’t! (Except the twins who are...the twins.) Felix and Demetri tried to include him a lot but it was very difficult to break him out of his shell. That doesn’t mean to say they wont invite Afton when he’s around. Chelsea always appreciates their efforts. Afton is notably good friends with Santiago, who often preferred solitude as well. 

(Guard to the left is who I imagine Afton is)

Chelsea: So supposedly Chelsea’s original name is Charmion? When i was younger i didnt really care much about her. I only really knew her gift and that she was the reason Afton was kept in the Volturi, since they were mates. From what im aware Chelsea basically wasnt in the movies/not identified. There wasnt much said about her in the books either. So since then i’ve kind of developed my own persona of Chelsea that could be completely inaccurate to canon but canon was my foundations with characters like these. She was always a red head in my eyes with ringlets, a copper kind of red head. I also pictured her to be small. However the newest addition to her character would have to be the mid-Atlantic accent. I blame Poppy Hill for this one. That character screamed Chelsea to me. She was very close to how i imagine Chelsea to be. So now Chelsea has an accent that i have no clue how she managed to maintain being in Italy so long and being born in Greece. LMAO. We’ll say she was very attached to that time. However, I think the time she joined the Volturi was actually very good for the story. She first came around just after Marcus had lost Didyme and Aro had her use her ability to keep Marcus in the coven. it’s really cool how she could really make or break the coven. Although, Aro was smart enough to not fully rely on her, using Corin’s ability on Chelsea to make sure she’d be happy and stay within the Volturi. Thats where the information on Chelsea really ends Over the years Chelsea has appeared in my writing and so beyond this point, Chelsea’s character is only my depiction.  I figure Chelsea is a talker, like she can talk her way in and out of situations with ease. She enjoys being manipulated and even more so, being needed.Much like her gift, she gets under people’s skin- not in terms that she’s annoying but more so she can figure out people very well. Her mate is the complete opposite and so she often speaks on the behalf of them. Chelsea is very social and charismatic. She along with Heidi are the only two Volturi members who will be out and interacting with humans if necessary. Heidi for her ability but Chelsea purely for her social skills. She’s also the most interested in human culture. She loves the parties- the 1920′s being her favourite era in terms of fashion. She has no issue changing her name and has done so multiple times when the names run out of fashion.It’s like playing dress up! I’d actually love to write more about her. I’ve really grown to love her character, even if i filled in some blanks for myself. I think she and Afton’s relationship is one of the best, up there with Carlisle and Esme- despite the two being very different. It’s a part of their dynamic!

(I always imagined Chelsea to be a red head but Poppy Hill from THOHH is a very close depiction to Chelsea in my eyes)

Renata: A stressed little bean that lives on stress. I remember thinking when i was younger she was the big threat since she was Aro’s shield but now that im older i see...a stressed little five foot bean. I have no idea what she looks like but always imagine her dark hair tied in a tight bun, looking almost painful. Another who wears heels, like Heidi but she is very rigid just as she has been described. Her uncle is a bit of an ass considering he begged her to go with the Volturi so there wouldn’t be a threat. Dude, can you not just...hand over your niece? At least hesitate! Just like that, thanks to Chelsea, she’d give her life to protect Aro and...I have nothing else. Yes it does drive me mad that there are two named guards i know next to nothing about.

Santiago:So what’s known about Santiago is that he doesn’t actually have an ability. He’s just very good at battle techniques and fighting which is why he’s kept around. If they need fighters, they’re top three are Felix, Demetri and Santiago...in that order. Santiago is also much faster than a regular vampire (as shown in breaking dawn part 2- he caught up to Jacob and Renesmee quite fast despite the two having a running start and wolves supposedly being very fast- much like a vampire) That’s all we know of him so then i got in there and this is how I write Santiago. I gave him the background of coming from a superstitious family. Like he would be told tales of demons and witches growing up as well as things like voodoo. He knew an awful lot of urban legends and whilst he stopped believing in the bad luck his family taught him, he still held interest and couldn’t help the instinct of unease when witnessing such things as rituals. It’s ironic really. However Santiago always deems that humans have it all wrong. These forces are beyond human understanding and shouldn’t be played with. In that way, perhaps Santiago still has some belief in things such as superstition. He’s very secretive about it and would never clarify it for you. Santiago keeps to himself and can be quite standoffish. He can also be blunt even if it’s insulting- he doesn’t tend to care. Although he and Afton became quite good friends since the Afton was an outcast and Santiago didn’t enjoy large groups, or most people in general.

[darkanima2345]

A continuation. It gets quite dark at the end, you've been warned. I thought I posted this on Tumblr ages ago, clearly I was wrong! Enjoy!

-----------------------------

They spent the rest of the day outside, eating, drinking, recounting tales from the previous world, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company.

“Do you remember the first time Sazh tried to mount a chocobo on Pulse? He jumped up onto its back head first, slid straight off the other side and right into a mound of behemoth droppings!” Lightning, currently doubled over in laughter, remembered it well. She had learned several dozen new expletives that day from Sazh, and distinctly remembered Vanille laughing so hard that she had to hold herself up on Fang, who was herself laughing so hard that she was using her staff to keep herself upright. Snow was on his knees, mouth open in silent laughter, and Hope was beet red, getting redder at the ever lengthening string of expletives coming out of Sazh’s dropping covered mouth.

Lightning and Hope spent a good 5 minutes laughing at that particular memory. Just when one of them was starting to calm down, they would look at the other and burst into laughter all over again.

Wiping his eyes, Hope finally managed to calm down. “Would you like another drink Light?” he said, getting up and stretching. Lightning looked over to the formally full, now empty, bottle of champagne sat on the table.

“Just a glass of water please.” Hope nodded, taking the tray that had contained their snacks back into the kitchen. Lightning looked out to the mountains; twilight has descended and Hope was correct, the view was even more magnificent at sunset.

“Here you are Light.” A glass appeared in front of her, brimming with water and a slice of lemon on its rim.

“Thank you.” She gave him one of his exclusive smiles. They spent the rest of the evening in comfortable silence, watching the sun fall over the horizon.

Lightning shivered. Hope’s jacket appeared over her shoulders without her even noticing him moving.

“If you’re cold Light, let’s go inside. Your not near immortal anymore” He offered her a hand, one which she took and he pulled her up with remarkable strength and into his arms.

“When did you get so strong?”

“When I got my adult body back,” he said sticking his tongue out at her. She smiled at him, blushing ever so slightly. You’ve smiled more today than the past year combined. I woooonder what’s different!? Lightning really needed to find a way to shut Lumina out.

They made there way inside; Hope lit a fire while Lightning made hot chocolate.

They continued talking well into the night about their lives in the new world; Hope being a Professor of Physics and Lightning being a doctor.

“A doctor!? No offense Light, but I don’t really see you being a doctor.”

“None taken. I’d always wanted to be a doctor, even in the old world. But when my parents passed, I had to look after Serah. The guardian corps was good money and I was the right age. I couldn’t afford to study medicine.” Hope had his brow furrowed and was deep in thought.

“I suppose that would explain why you specialized as a medic when we first became l'cie. I always found that odd.” Lightning raised a brow.

“What’s so odd about it?”

“Well when I first met you, I would have thought that the sabatour role would have been your thing. But your passion for healing must have been reflected in your affinity for the medic role.”

“Hmm maybe. Anyway, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”

“Well a farmers market is on every week. It’s about a mile down the road and it’s a very pleasant walk. Fancy it?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“We can also pick up some steak. Because as I recall, a certain someone promised me a home cooked meal, even if that meal is grilled steak.”

“Oh yeah. I did promise you that didn’t I?” Hope nodded.

“And I am very much looking forward to it. Its getting quite late,” he said glancing at his wrist watch. “I’m going to head to bed Light. If you want to stay up there’s a collection of books over there that you ma-"

“I’m tired myself Hope. I’ll be heading to bed too.” He nodded, holding his arm out in invitation for her to take the lead.

They arrived at the guest room, with Hope’s room being further down the corridor. Lightning opened the door and turned to face Hope.

“Thank you for letting me stay here Hope.”

“No problem Light.” He pulled her into a hug, which Lightning reciprocated. When Hope broke the hug and went to his room, Lightning felt a profound sense of lost.

Getting into bed, Lightning sank into the memory foam mattress and feather down pillows. She could feel sleep washing over her. She let sleep take her while she stared at the box containing Odin’s crystal.

Lightning found herself in a familiar place; chaos swirled round the throne of the goddess upon which sat Lumina head resting on her palm.

“Well hello there Miss Savior.”

“I’m not the Savior anymore Lumina.”

“Oh yeah, right. Shall I call you Mrs Estheim them?” Lumina wiggled her eyebrows.

“Wha- No I- What do you mean!?”

“Oh come on! You sooooo have the hots for him!”

“I think you are the one with the ‘hots' for Hope.”

“Yes, but I’m part of you. So therefore you have the hots for Hope.” Lightning growled in annoyance. It was like arguing with a little kid.

“What are you doing here Lumina? I thought we merged.”

“We have done. Yet I’m still around. Your mind hasn’t accepted me yet I think. You are still clinging hard onto the ‘Lightning' persona. You need to truly become Claire.”

“So if I accept you then you’ll disappear and leave me alone?”

“Yes, but that is easier said than do-. Hmm?” Lumina tilted her head, as if trying to listen for something. “I think it’s time for you to wake up, woman-who-was-going-to-be-a-goddess-but-changed-her-mind.”

“No. We haven’t finished talking.”

“You’re right, we haven’t. But Hope needs you.” For the first time that Lightning could remember, Lumina sounded serious. Chaos condensed around the throne, obscuring all from Lightning's vision.

Lightning eyes flew open when she heard a man screaming. She jumped out of bed and opened her door, heading to the source of the screaming: Hope’s room.

Lightning barged into the room, Hope’s screams echoing throughout the cottage. She ran up to the thrashing man, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him as hard as she could.

“Hope! Hope! Wake up!”

Hope’s eyes flew open, and for a split second, Lightning saw piercing green eyes in place of Hope's calming green. He blinked twice and his soft green eyes returned, filled with tears.

“Hope are you okay?” He was trembling, shaking in her grasp.

“So- So- Sorry Light. Just a really bad nightmare that’s all. I- I- I’m alright.” He smiled but it did not reach his eyes. Lightning saw so many emotions in his eyes; longing, fear, hate, pain, love, and anger. She wouldn’t leave him like this.

“Tell me about it,” she said climbing into his bed next to him, reaching for his head and moving it to her shoulder.

“What?”

“The dream, Hope. Tell me about it .” She ran her thumb over his knuckles.

“It was Bhunivelze.” Lightning’s breath hitched. Images came flooding into her mind; a boy held by strings of light, a huge finger snapping the boys neck, and his body being crushed into dust. Lightning shook her head in an attempt to dispel the images.

“What was he doing?”

“He tried to take me Light. He tried to make me his,” his voice was very close to breaking. Lightning could feel her chest constricting; she hated seeing Hope in so much pain. But how can she help? Hope is a scientist! Use that! Use logic! Lightning silently thanked Lumina for her advice.

“Hope, I’m going to ask you some questions and you are going to answer them.” She moved her hand from his knuckles and began to stroke his hair. He swallowed, trying to hide a sob.

“Okay.”

“Where is Bhunivelze right now? Where did we leave him?”

“In the new unseen realm. He was trapped in crystal.” Lightning nodded.

“Indeed he was. Who else is in the unseen realm?”

“The Yeuls. They became the new goddess of death in your place.” Lightning was sure she heard a ‘thank goodness’ whispered at the end of that sentence.

“Yes they did. Who is the guardian of the Yeuls?”

“Caius.”

“He is. Who does Caius have to call on, as I did when I was the guardian for Etro? Think about what you saw in the Oracle Drives.”

“The eidolans.”

“Correct. So Bhunivelze has to break out of crystal, get through the new goddesses of death, their guardian, and all of the eidolans. That is not happening.” Lightning felt Hope relax against her. “And even if he does manage all that, he would still have one more thing to get through.” Hope sat up and looked at her.

“What’s that Light?”

“Me. I make you this promise Mr Hope Estheim. As long as I draw breath, Bhunivelze will not take you, nor get anywhere near you. You’re safe as long as I am around.” A tear escaped Hope’s eye.

“Thank you Light.”

“Do you feel better?”

“Yes, thank you.” Lightning smiled and went to get up. A hand grasped her arm with substantial force.

“Please Light. Stay here. Just until I fall asleep.” Lightning looked at Hope; his eyes were down and he was clearly still shaken from his nightmare.

“Of course.” She lay down. Hope lay down next to her and she wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close.

“I’m so glad to have met you Light.” Nightmares did not trouble Hope Estheim for the rest of the night.

Lightning woke up in Hope’s bed, alone. The smell of bacon and pancakes was in the air. Smiling to herself, she went back to her room, showered and changed. Spending a moment to admire Odin’s crystal, she moved into the main room of the cottage. Sat at the dining table was Hope with a cup of steaming coffee and two plates stacked with bacon and pancakes. Lightning sat across from him. Hope picked up the cup of coffee and passed it to her.

“White, one sugar.”

“How did you know?”

“Serah. There was a small note slipped into the back of the frame of the drawing of Alexander. She also said that your favourite breakfast was bacon and pancakes. Please help yourself.” Lightning’s eyes flashed.

“I’ll kill her. I’ll absolutely kill her.” Hope just chuckled.

“I’m sure her intentions were good. She probably just wanted you to be comfortable.”

“I could have told you all this myself.”

“Its a nice surprise at least.”

“True.” Lightning took a plate and helped herself to bacon and pancakes.

“So anything else in that note I should know about?”

“No. Nothing you should know about.” Lightning did not like the way Hope was smiling.

Lightning and Hope enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, give and taking banter, and after all the food had been devoured they found themselves at the kitchen sink washing up.

“Light, about last night...”

“Don’t worry about it. Just remember my promise okay?” Hope gave her a brilliant smile.

“Thanks Light. The market will be opening soon,” Hope said as he put the last of the washing up away. “Shall we head out?”

“Yeah sure.”

Hope was correct when he said the walk to the market was a pleasant one. Fields of flowers stretched in all directions filling the air with aromas Lightning had never smelled before. The sun beat down on them while they talked about Hope’s research in space-time. Lightning struggled to keep up with some of the technical jargon but she saw the fire in Hope’s eyes when he talked about it. That was a fire she hadn’t seen in him since he was determined to kill Snow after the death of his mother.

Arriving at the farmers market, Lightning was amazed at the number of stalls there where all selling unique items. Flowers, different cuts of meat, ornaments, plants, cakes, and all sorts of desserts. They explored all the stalls eventually arriving at what Hope said was the best butcher at the market. Lightning froze when she saw who was behind the counter; one Alyssa Zaidelle. Lumina screamed. Lightning grabbed Hope and dragged him away from the stall.

“What the hell Hope? You do know who that is right!?” she said jabbing her finger in Hope’s chest.

“Yes. Alyssa. Once my assistant and potential assassin. She doesn’t remember our old life, she doesn’t know who I am or what I did, other than a customer.” Hope met Lightning’s eyes and was shocked to see them welling with tears.

“Do you know what powers Vallhalla gave me Hope?” she said, her voice unsteady. “It allowed me to see all of the timelines, whether they were paradoxes or not. I saw her kill you, so so many times. I saw the light leave your eyes. I saw you take your last breath and there was nothing I could do about it! I couldn’t be there with you!” She punched him in the chest, causing an oomph! to escape his lips. “Please Hope. Please. Don’t have anything to do with her. I can’t see you hurt again. I can’t watch you die again.” To her surprise, Hope pulled her into a hug, gently stroking her hair.

“I’m so sorry Light. I didn’t think. All I have are my own experiences. She failed in the attempt on my life, and that’s the last I ever saw of her. I didn’t realise you saw all those failed timelines. All my- All those other deaths. We will go somewhere else.” Hope released Lightning from the hug, grabbed her hand and guided her to another stall. They picked out two sirloin steaks, accepted the packs, paid the butcher and moved on.

They stopped for lunch at a van for pulled pork sandwiches, which Lightning thoroughly enjoyed. One of the last stalls they visited was a dessert stall. Hope saw Lightning’s eyes sparkle at all of the cakes and puddings. Hope picked out two pieces of succulent chocolate cake to which Lightning nodded in approval. Lightning grabbed the box they were in a little bit too quickly, but Hope just chuckled.

The walk back to Hope’s cottage was mostly silence, each individual lost in their own thoughts. Arriving back at the cottage, they moved through to the kitchen. Hope gave a pan to Lightning, who placed oil in it and rubbed around the base. She placed the pan on the stove and turned it to high. She placed the steaks in and enjoyed the sizzle they made when they came in contact with the metal. Hope passed her a glass of white wine with a smile.

Lightning was crushing garlic when she spoke, “I’m so sorry Hope.”

“For what?” He took a sip from his own glass.

“For what I said at the market. A lot of emotion rushed at once, I couldn’t control it. I don’t know what happened.” For the second time that day, Hope pulled her into a hug, stroking her hair.

“Okay, let me tell you two things. Firstly, you cannot believe how flattered I am that you took time to check on me when you were trapped in Valhalla. You were watching the rear the entire time, and I had my eyes front. Thank you for that, and I’m sorry you had to do it alone. Secondly, if I had to watch you die over and over and over again, I’d have a far worse reaction. You made your promise to me last night so allow me to make you; the same one I made in Palompolom all those years ago. I’ll do my best to look after you.” He released her from the hug and picked up his wine glass . “We are partners after all.”

Hope cut into his garlic encrusted steak. “I doubt Seedy's food was as good as this. I’m glad refused that takeout this is amazing Light.” Lightning blushed.

“Thank you. I think I overcooked the steaks though.”

“Nah its absolutely perfect. As I always knew it would be.” They spent the evening talking and joking and sharing stories about their jobs.

Night eventually fell. Several more glasses of wine accompanied by the chocolate cake went down far to easily. Eventually, after several bouts of yawning they both retreated to their respective rooms.

Lightning climbed into bed and her eyes gradually closed; her last thoughts were a prayer to any deity that was listening that Hope had a peaceful nights sleep...

“Submit to me.”

“No! No I won’t!”

Two familiar voices echoed around the crushing darkness Lightning found herself in. She spun round, trying to find the source of the voices.

“Submit to me.”

“NO! NO I WON’T!”

“If you continue to refuse, then...” Lightning suddenly became aware that she was suspended above the floor, and that she had her eyes shut, “she will pay the price.”

“No. Not her. Please.” Lightning opened her eyes. She was 10 foot in the air , suspended above a kneeling Hope. Looking around, Lightning saw she was being held by strings made of pure light, all of which lead up to a hand belonging to... No! It cant be him. He’s gone, trapped. He cant be back! Bhunivelze can’t be here!

“Submit to me. Or she will suffer. I will do to her what I did to you over those long 169 years.” Lightning tried to speak, but found she had no voice. Lightning tried to struggle, but the strings of light cut into her and spilled her blood.

“No! Please! Please don’t hurt her!”

“I will not hurt her anymore if you submit.”

“No! No! Don't hurt her!”

“I won’t if you SUBMIT!” Lightning was powerless, held in the air like a puppet unable to speak or move. Please Hope, don’t worry about me! Please look after yourself! Please, don’t let him take you again! I’ll be fine!

“I- I-...” Hope looked up, his calm green eyes looking across Lightning’s body where the strings had cut and tore and blood dripped from her. Hope prostrated himself. “Forgive me Light. I’m not strong enough... I can’t see you hurt.” Hope stood up, looking past Lightning towards Bhunivelze. “I submit. Just please let her go. Please allow her to find her happiness. Please let her be happy.” Humourless laughter echoed. A single tear fell from Lightning’s eyes. She fell like a doll, just as the hand of God rose and crushed her in its grasp.

Lightning Farron woke with a start, heart pounding, tears streaming from her eyes. Her clothes and the bed spread were drenched in her sweat and blood, cuts stinging where they stuck to her clothes. She jumped out of bed and flung the door open knocking the vase of roses to the floor, shattering it. Running down the corridor she skidded to a halt when she reached the front door. She turned and saw a familiar figure.

“Truly a beautiful view.” The man stood looking out of the giant window, head cocked to one side. Rain was lashing against the window.

Lightning smiled, Hope was here, he was safe. He was still here, with her. “Although the river should have gone through the mountains, instead of below them, creating a waterfall. That would have been much more pleasing.”

Lightning stepped closer to him heart still pounding, “Hope? Are you okay?” He turned. Piercing green met calming blue. Lightning gasped.

“Bhunivelze...” she whispered. He smiled.

“Hello savior.”

 She had broken her promise.

#hoperai #hoperailoveeternal #hopelight

[gregmikaels]

60 Days - a FF13 fanfiction (Lightning x Hope): Prologue

Take note: the story takes place a year after the events of REMINISCENCE: TRACER OF MEMORIES.

----

PROLOGUE: THE UNMATCHED

I really didn’t see that coming from Serah, not by a long shot…

One year had passed since the journalist Aoede had interviewed us all, save Lightning. She desired to uncover the story of the memories that she had regarding the “other world” we once lived in, along with our journey from Cocoon to Gran Pulse, our battle versus the Sanctum and Caius Ballad, the end of the world, and most but not least, our battle against Bhunivelze, the god of light that we vanquished to free humanity. I had to admit, she really had guts to look after each and every single one of us. She had been brave to pull something as such.

She recently contacted me. She told me that she accidentally was able to finally meet Lightning, but only was able to be brief with her, telling her thanks for what she did for humanity, along with a promise that this world would be looked after, no matter the mistakes of the past.

Reminiscing Aoede’s journey, it made me nostalgic. Though we kept in touch with each other, it had been a while since the last time we had gotten together. Of course, all of us were busy walking our own path and pursing our own lives, ambitions and passions, I couldn’t help missing them.

But luckily, an event was in the making that would gather us in a happy reunion. I had Serah and Snow to thank for that.

Despite our rebirth, their love never lessened for each other. That was something that had left me in awe. To know that such feelings, despite everything that had happened through hurtful struggles and hardship, would survive and grow even stronger, this was the fabric of love that couldn’t be broken. Demons and gods have tried and failed, while their love only hardened over the course of time.

The two destined lovers had taken time to meet and spend time with each other. Serah had become a full-fledged teacher for students at the elementary level. From what I had heard, she is an instant favorite for her class and is known for the kindness and supportive personality. But she had taken a page from her sister is known to be disciplinary when needed. As for Snow, being a great enthusiastic for motorcycles and cars, he had opened his own repair shop for vehicles of all sorts. Serah wasn’t too fond when some of his clientele tried to flirt with him, Snow’s love for her was as immovable as the universe itself; it would be loyal and present forever still. After their accomplished dreams and ambitions, they had resumed where they had left off their relationship, leading Snow to make a new demand for her hand, which of course Serah agreed.

The future duo of husband and wife had announced the news to all of us. We’ve all been genuinely happy and relieved. We knew this moment had to happen, especially after all that we went through. Lightning offered her home and have the wedding and reception. Her place was spacious for such occasion.

Speaking of Lightning… ah, gosh! Why in the world Serah said something like this?

When Serah and Snow had called everyone individually to announce the news of their wedding, I had been the last person on the list. We made a video conference on our laptops for the conversation and my joy was as exquisite as theirs. As we ended our conversation, Serah’s name popped again on my computer screen an hour later.

Perhaps a forgotten detail, I thought at first. Far from it.

“Wait, what?” I exclaimed onto the screen. My face turned instant red as a freshly picked apple.

“See? I knew it! Your face tells it all!”

The purpose of her second call? It had been to ask me about myself… and Lightning. In a matter of… matchmaking.

Lightning…

Back in our first adventure on Cocoon, we had a long and shared history. I’ve learned a lot about her regarding of inner strength, survival and wisdom. Afterwards, she became a role model for me as I wanted to do everything in my power to grow stronger and wiser for the betterment of humankind. And even when we were manipulated by Bhunivelze, stripped of our emotions, I was ready to betray the god of light for her. All I wanted to do was protect her.

But why did Serah’s question made me react as such?

“It’s not that!” I had told her, trying my best to regain my composure. “The topic just came out of nowhere. I mean… me in love with Lightning? That—”

“Oh, she’s not your type?”

“I didn’t say that! I—”

“So she is your type!”

“I mean…!” Serah was really pushing me into a corner. “She’s beautiful, elegant, strong and determined, intelligent, caring and possesses a such a beautiful smile and—”

“Such a beautiful smile?” she repeated my own words a mischievous look. “Wow, that’s quite a long description you’re doing here lover boy.”

“My point is,”I had literally fell into this one. “Anyone would love a woman like her!”

“Even you?” she yearned for an honest answer.

I tried evading this. “Okay, why the sudden talk about Lightning and me? What’s going on?”

She sighed and returned to her usual calm and charming self as she waved head left and right, undecided about the nature of her next words. Or she didn’t know how I would react to them.

“I talked to her the other day, and your name popped up.” She started. “We were talking about all and everything. And then we talked about our shared past. She talked about you. She’s really proud of you, you know; of your accomplishments and on how you’ve grown throughout all of this time, but…”

“But?”

“It’s just that when she mentioned you, there was something there in her heart. And at the same time, there was this distance in her eyes when she talked about you; as if she misses you.”

I was honored that Lightning was holding me in great esteem, I really was. As I said, I learned a lot from her inspirational figure. It helped me shape myself into the person that I am now. Yet, what Serah had been trying to explain didn’t make any sense. At least without any grounded bases.

“Serah, we all haven’t seen each other in a very long time. I’m certain she feels the same towards everybody.”

“I know my sister, Hope, and trust me; there was a tiny spark there, especially when it comes to you. I could be wrong, I know, but… I think your journey from long ago really built something between the two of you. After all, you’ve grown a lot thanks to her when you were on the run as fal’Cie fugitives and even when you were manipulated by Bhunivelze, you were ready to betray him for her, despite not having all of your feelings.”

I sighed, loosening my tie in exasperation. “Maybe you’re just imagining things.”

A tone of frustration carried her voice. “Then tell me right now that you don’t have an ounce of romantic feelings for Lightning and I’ll drop the whole thing.”

“I don’t have romantic feelings for Lightning.” I said swiftly. “As amazing as she is, I don’t feel like that for her.”

There was a direct surprise in Serah’s face following by a teenage-like disappointment. It was as she had been supporting a favorite pairing from a love drama for years only to see them annihilated for good.

“Bummer…” She rested her head on her right hand.

“I’m really sorry, Serah.”

She let out an embarrassing laughter. “No, it’s okay. I was so sure about the two of you. I guess I got carried away a little bit.”

“No need to apologize.” I humbly replied with a soft laughter of mine. “I think your intention comes from a good place. Seeing people happy together; there is nothing wrong with that.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I really do hope that someday that you and Lightning find your own soulmates someday.”

“The day that happens,” I said, “you’ll be one of the bridesmaids, I guarantee it.”

“That’s so sweet! Thank you, Hope! See you at the wedding!”

“Likewise, Serah. Take care of yourself and send Snow my salutations.”

“Will do! Bye!”

The screen shut down, I inhaled and exhaled a large quantity of air, feeling the fatigue of such conversation. Her persistence had been hammering, but at the end, reason and logic grasped victory.

The setting sun was smoothly kissing the ground and ready to bid us good night. The warm and gold light carpeted the horizon in a lovely and celestial way. The view from my apartment was breathtaking indeed. As my eyes tasted this wonder of nature, they caught the attention of a shelf that supported framed pictures. I rose from the couch and approached the collections of wonderful memories.

Some pictures showed my parents and I, others of them showed me with old colleagues at school and work, etc. As colorful and memorable they all are, my favorite ones were captured at my graduation some years ago.

When I think about it, this was the last time that we had gathered together. Learning of this event, they had told me that they wouldn’t miss it for the world. That promise was held with flying colors. I was asked to make a speech. I was very honored of the opportunity. I thought my words back then were words that anyone would say, but I was very applauded by my inspirational message for the future. My father actually cried. Everyone among my friends and old classmates had wanted to take picture with me. Our group picture; the one with my parents and my friends from our past life was beyond timeless. Everyone that I cared for was there. My one and only family.

Among the graduation pictures, there was one that I took with Lightning. Her words of encouragement and support really touched me on that day. Being slightly shorter than I, her arms had circled around my neck and she offered a beautiful and serene smile. With my hand that had rested on her left shoulder, we resembled like a charming couple. I remembered I had blushed fiercely with her being so close to me. And I didn’t mind at all.

I took the picture and took a closer look at it. If I was being honest, I loved how we looked on that picture. I smiled to the memory, then Serah’s words came back to me.

I was so sure about the two of you.

“Me and Lightning?” I asked myself. “I don’t even think that I would be her type.”

So she is your type!

I shook my head in disbelief. What was I thinking? This topic was closed and done for. I didn’t have any feelings nor was I attracted to Lightning. Case closed.

And yet, here I stood in silence, holding a picture of me and her, questioning my own heart. What the hell?

“I need some air,” I put the picture back on its shelf and hasted myself out of my apartment, grabbing my keys along the ways.

Serah’s words; those were the reason why I couldn’t stop thinking about Lightning. She was insisting that there was a romantic bond between her sister and me. I was certain that it would pass.

And yet, an annoyance within myself would later remind me that it was just the beginning.

 For more: https://www.wattpad.com/story/212238725-60-days

#ff13 fanfic #hope x lightning #lightning x hope #ff13 hoperai #hoperai #hope estheim #lightning farron #claire farron #ff13 hope #ff13 lightning #final fantasy 13 fanfiction #ff13 fanfiction #ffxiii

[pickle-inspector]

Fictober Day 8 | original fiction | 1304 words 

“Can you stay?”

“I didn’t come all this way just to leave immediately. How’s she doing?”

“They, ah, they kicked me out a bit ago,” Sylmore Burnett admitted, looking anxiously at a nearby flight of stairs. “She started yelling at me about how it was all my fault and–”

“It is your fault,” Belxari interrupted.

“I suppose.” He could feel his cheeks burning. “At any rate, I got kicked out–”

A pained cry rang through the house, causing them both to look in the direction from which it came. Sylmore’s face paled, but he did not make any motion to go help. Belxari watched the concerned half-elf in silence, then grabbed his arm and began to lead him toward the front door.

“They’ll come get you when it’s time,” she said nonchalantly, waving her free hand dismissively. “In the meantime, there is nothing you can do, so you should... I would say relax, but that’s not going to happen.”

Sylmore said nothing, allowing himself to be led by the young goddess. She chattered away about some nonsense, attempting to provide a distraction for him, but his mind was wholly focused on the events transpiring in an upstairs bedroom in the Burnett estate.

He was no stranger to blood and violence. His youth had been filled with too much of it, and his years with the troupe had been filled with even more. But this was one of the worst things he had ever experienced. Perhaps it was because it was Azaria. Maybe because Azaria was angry about it. Somehow, she was almost never angry, but today...

Another cry reached their ears, and even Belxari faltered at the sound. Her eyes shot up to the window of the room Azaria was in. Sylmore could see her debating flying up on her broom to make sure everything was going well. The tiefling decided against it and swiftly turned her attention back to him.

“She’ll be fine.” She might have been reassuring herself, but he noted the effort she was making.

He smiled at her, half-hearted perhaps, but genuine enough. “Yeah, she will be.”

It was sort of funny that the woman before him was so worried. Surely this was nothing compared to what she had experienced in her life. Her first kill had come when she was barely a teenager, and she had herself nearly been killed many times over.

He shook his head to rid it of those thoughts. He had to focus on something else, something better, something happy. Something significantly less frustrating.

Belxari leaned down to look him in the face. “Hey, man, are you okay?” she asked, concern evident in her voice and expression.

He wasn’t sure when he sat down. The heat of the stone steps leading to the front door seeped through the material of his clothes, as did the heat from Belxari’s hand upon his shoulder. He placed his own hand on hers and offered her an attempt at a smile. “I’m scared,” he said at length. “Dealing with Caius might have been easier.”

Belxari flinched at the name, but remained where she was. “You’ve done this before. You’ll be fine.”

“It’s different this time,” he whispered.

Belxari looked over his head, the movement somewhat more jerky than was typical of her.

“Sir, you’ve been allowed back in the room,” came Porter’s voice behind him.

Sylmore turned to look at the butler, then at Belxari. Porter’s expression was almost professionally neutral.

“I’ll let you have some time together before I come up, if that’s alright with you,” Belxari said. She had a mischievous grin on her face. If he thought he could ever make her stop, he would ask her to; the expression was unsettling most days.

“You’ll definitely stay?”

“Of course,” she said with an inclination of her head toward him. “Family is what I’m all about, Sylmore.”

Sylmore nodded and rose unsteadily to his feet, and followed Porter into the house. This had been his home–legally and emotionally–for a number of years now, but sometimes it still felt foreign to him. Now was one of those times, as the fear in his gut reached up and gripped his heart in its cold fingers.

He reached the door before he expected to, out of breath, having apparently broken into a run. He gripped the door handle, but made no motion to open it for several long moments. He focused on breathing. Opening a door was hardly the most difficult thing he had done, and yet it took all of the strength in him to do so now.

Azaria was propped against several pillows in the bed, blankets piled up beside and on top of her. His wonderful, perfect, exhausted, sweaty, gorgeous wife. She looked at him as he entered, and she smiled. Gods, how did he manage to be so lucky.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she said softly as he sat on the bed beside her.

“I deserved it,” he said, moving a stray strand of hair from her forehead and placing a kiss in its place.

The blankets in Azaria’s arms yawned.

He looked down at the source of the sound, then back to his wife, finally able to smile. The fear was entirely replaced now with excitement. He wasn’t alone; they would do this together. Sylmore searched her eyes for a moment, then reached down and removed some of the blanket that had fallen over his child’s–his daughter’s–face.

For the briefest moment he froze, taking in his first view of his daughter. She had a lot of hair for a newborn, pitch black and sticking straight out like the fluff of a dandelion. He could see crescents of silver peeking out at him as she hovered the border between the waking world and her dreams. He brushed his thumb against the soft red skin of her cheek.

Then he wrapped his family into a hug, kissing Azaria’s temple fervently. “She’s beautiful.”

“She is,” Azaria breathed. After a moment she added, “This will... pose some difficulties.”

“Luckily I have some experience in raising tieflings,” Sylmore said lightly. “She’s going to be amazing.”

Azaria smiled and leaned into her husband, cradling their daughter closer to them both.

After a few moments he chuckled, “We’ll need to invest in earplugs. An infant with Thaumaturgy is a literal headache.”

The couple sat together with their newborn for some time, softly discussing names and whispering loving things among themselves. Eventually, Sylmore asked that someone fetch Belxari. She had been the only one able to travel with the speed necessary to arrive so close to the birth; everyone else would likely arrive over the next few days.

Belxari seemed to be taking the situation rather seriously, Sylmore noted as she knocked gently on the door before peering around it. He had expected her to teleport directly into the room. He waved her over, smiling in amusement. With practiced ease, Belxari slid into the room and padded over to join them.

“Well?”

“It’s a girl,” Azaria whispered, smiling at the goddess as she leaned over Sylmore to look at the infant.

Sylmore felt a sudden surge of pride. He was unsure whether Belxari’s domain ever manifested in a way that could be felt, but in that moment he would have believed it could. It was rough going, but somehow his first “unofficial” daughter had accomplished more than most parents would ever dream for their children.

The temperature dropped noticeably as Belxari backed away from the bed, abject terror on her face.

“Bel, what’s wrong?” Sylmore asked, half-rising from the bed, worried.

She tore her eyes away from the child and looked at Sylmore. She shook her head–or he thought she did, the movement was so small. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. A soft pop punctuated the statement, and Belxari was gone.

[part one] [this is part two] [part three] [part four] [part five] [part six] [(part seven)]

#fictober19 #my writing #Belxari #Today was a day to write for me #which naturally means I ended up with just *so* many words #I'd like to do a part two to this at some point #Not sure if the prompts lend themselves to that #we'll see #RWI