The Trickster- Caius Volturi

✵TWENTY-SEVEN✵

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

~~1712~~

Sulpicia growled and took Corin by the neck He struggled for a moment before Athenodora pried the Queen off of the confused guard member. He sped away and bowed.

"My Queens, I apologize for whatever I—"

"You demon! You keep us locked in here forever, is that what you would do?" Sulpicia was blind with rage as she struggled uselessly against Athenodora. Athenodora was older, and Sulpicia was too erratic.

Corin sped out of the room, and seconds later, Aro, Caius, and Marcus walked in. They were calm, but Aro felt pained at seeing his mate restrained with a feral look in her eyes. 

He saw it in her mind just days before—her deteriorating mental state. She was slowly losing herself as she stayed in the tower, but there was nothing he could do to help her.

Caius watched as his wife held the Queen, and could see how she was losing herself. 

Their bond—Aro's and Sulpicia's—was strayed thin. Sulpicia's end, which had once been a bright gold, was now black with a festering infection. She had been suffering for years, but just recently felt the plight of her circumstances.

Corin's power could no longer hold them docile in the tower.

Sulpicia wanted out.

"Leave us," Aro said to Corin, and he did. Cracks formed on Athenodora's arms where Sulpicia held on, but she didn't let go.

She loved Sulpicia as a sister, but she could see that her once kind and just mind had been replaced by a starving and broken one.

Aro looked at Athenodora and nodded. As soon as he did, she let go of Sulpicia, and the brown-haired Queen fell to her knees, holding her chest in pain. 

She didn't know what was happening to her, but she could feel herself slipping away. She could hear voices in her mind, and she couldn't separate her fantasies from reality.

"Caius, take Athenodora to her bedroom." Caius held Athenodra by the arm, and they sped away. Marcus stayed, though, silent in the corner, not daring to move.

"Ah, my love, what pains you?" Aro asked as he kneeled and met her eyes, which were shaking and starving. The bright red had faded to a cloudy one, and they were forlorn.

He had never seen a more horrifying sight, than when he saw his soulmate's mind break. 

But, Marcus had seen something like this before. The constant attack on Sulpicia's mind by attempting to make her content by Corin, and never seeing Aro as frequently...

The soulmate sickness had taken her, piece by piece, and now she was just a husk of her former self. Of course, Aro would never see it that clearly. He was blinded by his mate, and had to protect her.

"I want to leave. I can't stay, Aro. I can't. Please, let me leave," She whispered. He shook his head and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm afraid that can't happen, my love. You have to stay here. It's safer—"

"Safer?" She hissed a whisper as she sped away from him and stood.

"It's not safer! We're just sitting here, and soon, one will come and kill us. We're powerless." Aro sighed. "You must stay here, my wife, I am sorry." She growled and charged at him, but he held her arms in his hands.

Her eyes were crazed, and her body was shaking, which shouldn't happen. She's a vampire.

"Where's Chelsea? Bring her." Seconds later, Chelsea walked in.

"You know what to do," Aro whispered as he walked away and heard Sulpicia's screams. She was not in physical pain, but emotional and mental.

Aro had been using Chelsea for years to renew Sulpicia's love for him and the Volturi. She would have been gone years ago if he hadn't.

He convinced himself that it was right, but it was not.

But vampires would do anything for their mates. No matter what.

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

~~2005~~

Imani hummed to herself as she walked in the hallways, heading to the lounge to meet with Jane, Alec, Felix, and Demitri. They were all off this afternoon and decided to relax.

She walked in, and Alec greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

"Please, spare us," Felix muttered. But, he was happy for his friend. He hoped to one day find his soulmate, but it was rare.

"Oh, calm down, Felix. As if you wouldn't be the same with your mate," Jane said. Felix laughed. "You're right. We wouldn't even leave the bedroom." Imani rolled her eyes and took a pool stick, then started. She was stripes, and Demitri was solids.

"How did you come into the goddess' service?" Demitri asked Imani as she hit one of her own into a pocket. She frowned. 

"I'm not sure exactly. She's only told me a few small details. She found me in Forks, and she had me moved here after I was turned because I was fatally injured." She shrugged.

Alec frowned. It was not the explanation that fazed him, it was how she said it. She said it almost exactly as the queen had.

"Hmm. And do you have any gifts?" Imani shrugged again. "She said she wants to take me to some vampire...Eleazar? He can sense gifts." Demitri nodded. "Yes, we know of him. When will you go?"

"Sometime soon, I suppose, after this party thing." Felix snorted. She was a modern vampire, so she still spoke like a teenager.

Demitri then made a clean sweep by getting all of his balls in the pockets, then made the 8-ball. Imani scowled, and he chuckled. "Practice," he emphasized.

"Where is the queen now?" Jane asked as she set the table up again, ready to play against her twin.

Imani grinned. "Somewhere frolicking with Caius. Well, they're getting fitted for the ball, I believe." Felix grinned as well.

"How about a friendly wager?" She raised a brow. "I wager that they'll match clothing, and they'll leave early." She narrowed her eyes. "Okay. They won't match, and they'll stay the full length of the event. Stakes?"

He told her, and she sighed. "Deal." And they shook hands. Jane scowled. "Felix, you're too old for this foolishness."

"Everyone needs something to brighten this life, Jane, don't be so stuck up." She looked away and Felix sighed. Felix took over for Alec and played against Jane as Alec sat with Imani curled up beside him.

"What about you, Demitri, have you found your mate?" She asked the stoic guard. He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. Hopefully one day I will. I envy you and our goddess." She frowned. 

"I'm sure you will someday. Or you can have Alec." Alec and Demitri scowled, but Felix barked out a laugh and almost couldn't stop himself.

"I like her."

There was a growl.

"Calm down, Alec."