The Trickster- Caius Volturi

✵FIFTEEN✵

~~~Volturi Palace, Volterra, Italy~~~

~~2005~~

Loki walked into the study, and she was greeted by Caius and Marcus hunched over desks writing furiously. Marcus was currently signing for Chelsea to renovate the Second Wing of the palace since it has fallen into disrepair. Caius was signing to lend one of his paintings to the art museum for three months.

Caius looked up and a small smile graced his cold features. His soulmate always looked beautiful, but even more so now, as she truly showed her queenliness. He almost didn't notice the cowering figure behind the goddess, but Loki stepped to the side.

"Who is this?" Caius asked, his features hardening. He smelled his mate's venom in the newborn's body. It dawned on him that Loki turned the vampire. A follower of her. Interesting.

"This is Imani. She is my new...covenmate." Caius blanched. Abidemi had decided to go by a name of her choice, and she decided upon Imani.

"But, no matter. Caius, I'm going into the city tonight." Immediately, Caius was apprehensive. He adored his mate too much. He didn't want her exposed to humans, and he didn't want her to be away from him.

"Is that wise?" Marcus is the one who asked.

"I will simply walk around. I've only been to Italy once before, and that was in 1966. Besides, I shall bring Jane with me. I wish to get to know her better." Marcus was now as intrigued as Caius.

Somehow, the seemingly cold-hearted goddess had softened. She has a covenmate and now she has a friend...Jane?!

Though Caius didn't want her to leave, he nodded. "Bring Felix and Demitri with you as well." Loki nodded, and as she was about to leave, Marcus spoke.

"Miss Imani, I suggest you find one of our senior Guard members tonight. Alec." The dark-haired King switched his vision to only seeing relationship bonds. Past Caius and Loki's blossoming soulmate bond, the brotherhood bond between himself and Caius, and a friendship bond between Imani and Loki, he saw a bond from Imani that would stretch out to the twin of Jane.

Loki saw that in Marcus' eyes, and nodded. "I will send for him to watch over you tonight while I am absent."

In a split moment, Caius decided something that would go against his beliefs.

"I will join you."

Two hours later, at sunset, the goddess, a king, and three guards met in the front office. The goddess had arrived first and was greeted by the receptionist.

Then, the guards trickled in, followed by the king.

Loki herself looked very human. She wore a red turtleneck with a cutout over her chest and black dress pants. Underneath, she wore sneakers, which were a part traditional human attire.

The guards...looked more conspicuous. Felix and Demitri wore suits that depicted them as secret service agents, and Jane had a black dress that looked like it was in fashion.

In the 1900s.

Caius looked...somewhat normal, in his own way. He wore a loose black dress shirt and black dress pants with expensive Italian loafers. Out of the guards, he looked the sanest.

Loki turned to look at them and each guard fell pray to her beauty. Caius noticed this, and felt something stirring inside of him. No one would try to take her from him.

"Shall we?" The goddess asked. Caius nodded. "Where would you like to go?" She smiled, and each vampire in that room almost melted.

"A museum by the park. I think you're familiar with it." They took the dreaded step out of the castle and left.

Caius had barely been out of the castle in years, the most recent being the trial of the hybrid Cullen girl, which is where he met his mate. He watched her as she walked beside him. The guards were on either side of them, and behind them, walking silently.

She looked so at peace in the moonlight of the human world, that Caius almost forgot that she was not mortal. Her eyes were so icily blue that they reminded him of snow. He supposed that she had spent more time with humans than most vampires, but still, she was so comfortable and almost happy.

"Do you enjoy Italy?" Caius asked as they walked. Loki nodded. "I've only been once, and that was on business. On my pilgrimage, though, I made a few stops and saw old Italy." Caius nodded customarily but watched her hand as she walked. He opened his fist and stretched his hand out.

As if she knew, she held hers out slightly as well, and they held hands. Not in the way where you just do it, but in the slow way.

When one stuck their pinkie out and the other clasped on it. They then moved their hands so that they slowly held each other. Then, finally, their fingers laced together in an absolute way. As if they were each holding on to life itself.

The guards watched this, and could almost see the cold-hearted king melt before the goddess.

"When did you last see the world?" Loki asked. Caius found himself thinking about the question.

"The trial, I suppose. We kings don't leave often. There's too much to do."

"That's sad. My favorite part of living this way is getting to see the world. I've been in every country, city, village, and town, but I've loved nothing more than the Americas."

"Where Carlisle lives?" Caius found himself jealous that she enjoyed Carlisle's presence more than his.

"Yes, but the rain doesn't seem to stop there, which is tiring. I like everything about little old Washington." Loki felt saddened at the thought that she wouldn't see Carlisle for 11 months. But, she knew that her time with the Volturi would be...interesting.

She was excited. 

"They stopped in front of a museum, which was closed. But Loki had already said so much to Demitri, who had bribed the owner to leave it open for them. They walked inside, and the lights immediately turned on. 

"Give us a moment?" Loki asked the guards, her face soft. They were gone in an instant, and Loki and Caius walked through the gallery.

"Why did you bring us here, amore mio?" It was the first time Caius had called her so, and watched her expression carefully to see how she reacted. If she didn't like it, he wouldn't call her that, but he hoped she would.

He did love her, and he wanted her to know it.

"I want to...get to know you, Caius. Tell me something about you."