The Ribbon: Marcus's Tales

The Ribbon: Marcus's Tales Ch 5: The Telling of Old Tales

Author's Note: There is a great deal of history and mythology in this chapter, please bear in mind that it is all setting the stage for things to come very soon...

Chapter 5: The Telling of Old Tales

What was that, my friend? Oh, yes. Aro. Aro and his plans. Yes, those were quite interesting, they shaped our future. Made us who we became, I suppose it is fair to say. Those plans began to truly take shape shortly after the weddings. What had been abstract ideas and thoughts to Aro before seemed to become more concrete; perhaps it was that Aro had finally found someone to truly support him in his endeavors, perhaps it was that he felt more of a man, perhaps it was vanity to impress his new bride. But regardless of the reason for his scheming shifting into reality, it began.

There was a happy time, the honeymoon time, of course, after the weddings, before things settled down and Aro began making his machinations in earnest.

The newlyweds were insufferable to be around, as newlyweds are wont to be, so very full of their newfound love and joy that they must visit it upon everyone else. Didyme and I watched them with fond tolerance, those couples so profoundly taken by their yearning for each other. After all, we had been quite insufferable ourselves...and still were quite often, to be truthful.

We watched and smiled at seeing Caius present Athenodora with gifts, his normally cold face so transparently eager to please, and nervous about her possible rejection...but she never did. Athenodora was a sweet-tempered young wife, as eager to please her new husband as he was to please her. They laughed a great deal together, something wholly new to Caius's personality. I had never, in all the time he had been with us, seen him laugh. But laugh he did, especially after Athenodora had accepted something for him: a piece of jewelry perhaps, a new book for her growing collection, or even just a bunch of fresh-picked flowers. She took them all the same way, with glee, and told him that she didn't need presents. Just his love.

I scrutinized the bond growing between them and saw that it was indeed strong, healthy, genuine. I also looked at the bond between Caius and Didyme, and, to my relief, saw it weakening as Caius's love for his new wife grew. It never disappeared altogether, but thankfully it decreased to the point where I no longer felt threatened by him.

Aro was also greatly changed in many ways by his new state. He seemed constantly surprised: I would see him staring into space with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, as if someone had just told him something completely amazing. He watched Sulpicia hungrily, coveting her every move with his eyes, and she knew it; she preened like a well-fed cat beneath his gaze, a self-satisfied little smile gracing her lovely lips. They rarely spoke in front of anyone else, rarely showed any outward affection other than the touch of hands; I supposed they saved their words and gestures for their private moments, because their bond was indeed profound, perhaps more so than Caius and Athenodora's. Their relationship was intriguing to me.

One morning I caught Aro in his library, but instead of being entrenched in his books or notes he was staring at nothing again, a slight smile on his face. I knew what he was thinking, or should I say, whom he was thinking of. It was obvious. Dust motes glittered in the sunlight pouring in through the library window, something that was rare: Aro said the light was bad for the books.

"Thinking of love, brother?" I asked him, amused by that distracted expression, those faraway eyes. He was normally so self-possessed, I took a great deal of satisfaction in seeing him brought so low, made so much like me, a slave to his passion for his bride.

He looked up, startled, something not easily done to one of our kind, and his expression darkened. "What I think is none of your concern, Marcus," he finally said coldly.