gift or curse (A Twilight fanfiction)

Chapter 11

My frown made him chuckle again.

"So amusing, when one doesn't know herselve. Follow me, I will show you where you can ... hang out?" His last words came out as a bemused question that made me smile. Jane's assault was already in the past.

I did as he bid and tried to mimic the fluent manner of walking as we went through yet another part of the castle. I wasn't very good at it.

Up till now, almost every vampire I met seemed to have a preference for walking at human speed. It helped with passing the time, I figured. I could have crossed every step of the elaborate structure within half an hour, but somehow I hadn't. It wasn't for the benefit of my mind, I could store almost the same amount of details when moving at high speed. Yet I kept reminding myself my reason for staying here would not be back for another week. Moving slow just felt more sensible.

I was so deep in thought, that it wasn't until we rounded a second corner, after a few stairs, I noticed we weren't alone. Two cloaked figures moved close behind us. I wanted to warn Aro, but he stopped in front of a door. When he turned and saw my alarm, his eyebrows shot up.

My thumb pointed backwards and again Aro chortled. "My bodyguards. They never leave me."

Did he need them inside his own home? That was rather alarming. He opened the door and allowed me to go in first. The room we entered looked a little like a drawing room from the Victorian Era. Little tables stood between small sofa's and comfortable arm chairs, in which sat a variety of vampires. A large fireplace with a blazing fire heated the room from its centerpiece. I felt the blaze in my skin. Many incredible paintings hung on the walls and in the back I could see several easels, most with canvasses on them. I relaxed as I took in the many colors of this room. It was as if every color that had been missing from the passages and the large tower hall, had been brought together here. This room was lighter, happier.

"Sit down, let me introduce everyone. I have been dreadfully negligent there."

I took a seat, starting to get used to the posture and watched Aro as he drifted from one to the other, naming names and explaining relationships. My impossibly large mind stored every bit of information with ease.

There were two wives. A dark-haired one, Sulpicia, who was Aro's and a the fair-haired Athenodora, the wife of Caius. Both had the same powdery skins as their husbands. Corin was a younger vampire who seemed to keep the wives company. At the moment she was painting, but I received a friendly nod as her name was called.

Guards stood silent at every entrance and were apparently not important, as Aro didn't mention them at all. The last figure was Caius himself. The oldest looking vampire in the room and the one who scared me the most. His look equaled Jane's and somehow I knew he disliked me just as much. He stoically ignored me and that was fine by me.

Outside, a crescent moon fought the darkness and I guessed this was how the Volturi spend their nights when there was no law to uphold. Would Demetri be here if he was at home? I saw no one of the others I had seen before. No Felix or Jane, or one of the many vampires that assisted today during the trials. Perhaps this room was only for the family, as Marcus had called it. That would probably mean this would be the only time I was invited.

"Tell me", Aro spoke, directing my attention back to him, "did Demetri explain our laws to you?"

If I could have blushed, my cheeks would have turned a dark shade of red. Nevertheless Aro seemed to understand and chuckled.

At the raised eyebrows that were now directed his way, he explained: "Ariadne here has had quite the impact on our Demetri. It pained me to have to send him on a mission, but I am sure he will make haste to return."

I looked down at the dress I wore, thinking about the reason I had to change. Soft laughter erupted around me and I sighed embarrassed.

"I'm guessing he has not told you then?"

Looking up, I shook my head. No, talking had not been a priority the last time we were together.

Aro let the subject go, to my great gratification and began explaining the many facets of the law. Sometimes Caius piped in, adding a portion or elaborating on a subject with examples I'd rather not have heard. The women never spoke a word.

In the end it all kind of boiled down to one big rule: the vampire world had to remain hidden from the humans. Every other law was subject to that.

"I am so glad you understand, my dear. I do wish for you to feel at home here." With that, Aro rose from his seat, nodded to his wife and left the room. Caius followed his example and for a moment I wondered if I should too. But then Sulpicia began to speak.

"You are to stay here, then?" Her voice was gentle and even though I could see she had been turned as a young, beautiful woman, listening to her felt like conversing with a grandmother. In return I guessed, in her eyes, I must seem like an infant.

"I don't know. I didn't know I could."

"Demetri won't leave here", Athenodora added, eyeing me curiously and I knew she was right. If this bond Marcus spoke of was truly real, than I guessed I had found a new home.

"Is he often away?"

The wife of Caius smiled. "No, only when the need arises. No one can find someone like Demetri can."

I sighed and nodded. He was probably the best tracker in the world. Aro didn't seem like someone who surrounded himself with second bests.

"He is rather handsome, isn't he", Corin said from behind her easel. She winked at me and I bit my lip. Yes, he really was. I guessed I should be grateful this bond didn't happen with someone like Felix.

Without their husbands present, the wives were much more talkative. I learned they hardly ever left the tower we were now in, because of the devastation of Marcus, after the loss of his wife. Even though I understood the reason, I still felt bad for the women who were basically prisoners.

There wasn't an awful lot we could talk about. They asked me about my life up till now, told me a little about the Volturi and their history, but in the end we were just too different to chat comfortably. Their alienation from the world outside these walls made them unable to understand anything I had done or dreamed about. Their youth had been spent many hundreds of years ago and I knew neither cared enough about history to want to hear about that.

After a few hours, in which I discovered I had not much patience for painting or sewing or any of the fine arts ladies did to spend their time, I left them with a thankful smile. They didn't invite me to come again and I wondered if they were even free to invite people. Next to the door I closed behind me, stood two vampires that almost matched Felix in height. Their grim expressions chased me away in a hurry and I was alone in the hallways again.