Castle Of Changes (Short Post Castle Of Hearts Story)

Chapter One - Who She Had Become

    Author's Note:

  I wanted to put a brief notice here that this short story takes place right after Castle Of Hearts. It is meant to mostly be a post-change story for Sulpicia, something that I wanted to do before by adding it into the Rewritten Edition for Castle Of Hearts, but decided to ultimately make it separate in hoping it would also bring back the inspiration I felt for writing this series in the first place. 

  I'm not sure how long this one will be chapter wise, but I hope you all enjoy it regardless :)

  I will be working on Castle Of Stone and possibly other stories as well very soon! For now... Enjoy Castle Of Changes. 

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  How long had it been... days? Weeks?... Yes, perhaps weeks. It was another thing that had changed for Sulpicia. The concept of time. It did not seem to matter anymore, it was no longer hovering over her, no longer a constant reminder of her possible death and of what she would never have. 

  So much had changed in her life. It seemed that time had skipped over her entirely, that it had sped by and given her no time to let any of it sink in. But now? It felt it had stopped all together.

  She could ignore it, the emptiness that had taken its place. Until she was hungry.. until the burning returned to her throat and wanted- no... demanded that she fill its constant need. 

  It had been a few simple weeks since she drained Aldo. She had focused all her hunger, all of her anger directly onto him and for the time, she could focus her cravings.

  She had sank into a routine in the castle. She learned from Aro on what businesses they would be dealing with, what was expected of them and from her. She had barely spoken to Caius since she had found out the truth, she did not trust herself to speak out loud. She knew that she would say the wrong things that she would not regret, but that she would regret in disappointing Aro. 

  Image was everything now. She had to be strong. She had to show power in her new position, otherwise she would not be respected nor feared and according to Aro, both were needed if they wanted to rule in this world. 

  "You cannot get by on fear alone. You cannot get by on respect alone. You have to find a middle ground and follow that, otherwise you could lose everything.... otherwise WE could lose everything."

   Aro's words echoed through her mind, it was not something that she was going to simply forget. But they were hard to focus on when she felt the hunger rising.

  Aro made sure to keep the castle stocked with fresh humans, the only food supply that they all would need. But it wasn't satisfying. Sulpicia had experienced what it was like to hunt, what it was like to feed from a human who was afraid. It pumped the blood faster through each vein, it made the sound of their heart so much more sweeter to her ears.

  And now?...

  ...Now she did not feel satisfied. The humans that were brought in would be huddled inside a room, under the false pretense that they were brought to the castle for work. The few most trusted guards would enter the room and kill them quickly, feeding from the weaker humans and saving the rest of the blood for the royals. 

  Sulpicia would drink from a beautiful goblet, the blood would pour towards her lips and break past the barrier that they created, only to touch her tongue and then slide down her throat. 

  It would be warm, but not warm enough for her. It was not enough to satisfy her and she needed more. However, Aro was stubborn. He was not against the idea of her hunting, but with their new status, the growing subjects they had outside the castle, it was too risky. There were still many humans who thought they were... unnatural. Instead of dealing with them as she wanted, Aro decided to keep them alive... for now at least.

  Sulpicia felt on edge as she was staring at herself in the mirror, staring into her own eyes. They reflected her hunger, a dull red replaced the brilliant blue that she had become so fond of in her human life. It reminded her that there was more different than just her eyes.

  Her skin was clear of any imperfections, a snowy paleness covered her entire body. Her lips were a pale pink, looking brighter against her skin in certain lighting. Her dark hair laid down the full length of her back, it was smooth now, nothing like it had been before. Among the physical differences, there were many differences that she was unsure of.. at least on the inside. 

  She loved Aro, she would not give him up... but there were somethings that she felt were stolen from her, something she wished she could still have.

  No matter how much she had now, no matter how much she would have what she wanted, there would always be something out of her grasp... 

  Sulpicia glanced down to her stomach where one hand was resting upon it. Her thumb gently brushed back and forth across it, her expression not changing from the already blank stare that she currently held. 

  She would never know what it was like to have a child and not just any child, but one that was a part of her and Aro. She would never be able to give him an heir...

  But perhaps it was for the best, with the only Mother figure she ever remembered having now gone, she often wondered if she could have even filled that same role. 

  But it mattered little now, so much did these past weeks. The only thing that mattered to her was blood. 

  Blood. The very thought of it set her mind and body on edge, made her grip the front of the dress that rested against her stomach. She clenched her fist around its fabric so tightly that she could begin to hear the slight rips begin. 

  She had not only lied to herself those simple weeks ago, but she had lied to the others. 

  To her sister in laws, to the guards, sometimes to Aro.. although, as soon as he would touch her, he would see the truth. She was hiding how hard it was for her, how hard it was to act normal... how hard it was not to give into all of her impulses. 

  She could have never imagined how being a newborn was before. She wanted this, she earned this.

  And now... all she could think of was fighting against it to find herself again. To find who she had become.. and it was going to not only take her strength, but Aro's as well.

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Author's Note: 

  I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! I am slowly pushing my way back to work on the stories here. Thank you all for your patience, I have been suffering from the evil writer's block D: But I look forward to start posting again more often for you all and I hope you all enjoy this.

  Thank you!