I waited in a corner of the large room until Aro was done reading Demetri's thoughts. I wondered if he read more than just about what happened with the vampire Demetri had to track. And, if so, if Demetri would be punished for stalling, or warning me about him. But after a while, Aro let go of Demetri's hand and dismissed him with a mere flick of his wrist. I exhaled.
Nobody paid attention to us, as we left the hall and for a minute I was worried that maybe Demetri's worries, or my hopes had been pointless. That I wasn't as important. That I was merely tolerated because they wanted their tracker to remain in Volterra. What would happen if I wanted to leave? Would Demetri even consider coming with me? I looked his way. He was deep in thought as well.
"What's on your mind?" I prompted.
He looked up, smiled a little and shook his head. "I have to be more careful of what I say to you."
"Why?"
"Because he will know."
I didn't have to guess who he was talking about.
"Maybe I should go to him. Ask him about me."
"No!" Demetri's hands were on my shoulders in an instant, halting me with a jolt. "No", he whispered softer, "if he wants to tell you, he will come to you. don't give him any reasons to bind you to him anymore than is necessary."
I creased my eyebrows. "You are bound to him and you don't mind living here. Why should it be bad for me? It's not like I can leave here anymore."
With a sudden look of guilt, he let go of me and stepped back.
"I don't mind", I hastily added. Although I wasn't entirely sure I meant it. It was true, my heart knew that. I couldn't leave Demetri and if he wanted to stay, so would I. As long as I could hunt in the woods, walk outside when I wanted and choose my own path, I wouldn't mind. A nagging little voice in the back of my brain told me that what Aro wanted from me could very well interfere with that choosing, but I silenced it. It was leverage. If he wanted something from me, I could make a deal. It would all work out.
With my brave face on, I stepped forward and took Demetri's hands in mine. "Don't worry. It doesn't matter what he will know. We have no secrets and it is not as if he doesn't already know what you told me. He is what he is and so are we. No need to make life more complicated." Maybe I was being naive, it was probably a result of my youth and upbringing. With the one, obvious exception, live had always been easy on me.
The smile I loved returned to his face and I pushed my worries away. Still, even though Demetri warned me not to go to Aro, I already knew that was exactly what I would do. Dangerous or not, if I was to remain here the rest of my life, I wanted to know everything about everything. My brain could handle it.
---
We rounded a corner, one I, surprisingly, didn't recognized, so I asked: "Will you show me around? I've walked around for hours, but still only know the library."
He smirked, which I ignored.
"I've seen so many closed doors and this is such a big place, there's gotta be more areas I'm allowed access to. What do you do here all day?"
Demetri looked around and seeing there was no one around, he pulled me close and kissed me as if we hadn't just done that exact same thing a little over ten minutes ago. When he released my lips and moved to my neckline, I sighed and pushed him away with very little effort.
He leaned back and laughed at my disgruntled expression. "Alright, alright, I will show you around. You know, I actually have a house somewhere out in the city. I hardly ever use it, but if you want, we can live there."
My eyes popped wide open. He had a house? "Yes, please." A real house, with doors and windows, rooms and furniture. At least, I thought so. Images of the house I grew up in tried to push their way through the cobwebs they seemed to be buried under. Light blue painted windows, checkered curtains, a bed filled with stuffed animals.
Demetri smiled, unaware of the melancholy pang I felt. "I will take you there after the tour. Perhaps we need to hire a maid to take care of some ... stuff. I guess the place will be covered in layers of dust after all those years."
His frown made me giggle, all heaviness already forgotten. How easy a vampire mind got distracted. But than his words landed with a thud.
"A maid, as in: a human?"
"Well, you won't find many vampire servants, so, yes." He took my hand and pulled me along. "Don't worry, she won't be in the house when we'll be there. I will take care of it after the tour. Do you want to change first? I noticed you found the changing room. Did you not like the dress?"
I looked down. The tunic was a bit wrinkled from the outside activities – if I could blush, I would have – but otherwise clean. I'd learned to hunt with great precision.
A little absentmindedly I answered: "No, no I liked the dress, but I couldn't hunt with it. I guess I could change. Won't they mind? I put the dress in your laundry basket and if I change again there will be so much more work." My mind envisioned a laundry service with terrified employees, carrying baskets with barely soiled clothes through the dark hallways.
Demetri shook his head. His expression one of fondness, like I was a child who didn't realize the dishes could be put in a dishwasher. I scowled at him.
"No, they won't mind. You can pick whatever you like, whenever you like it."
"You know I could wear the same outfit for weeks and still smell the same, right?" I mumbled, allowing myself to be pulled along again.
"Where's the fun in that?" Was his answer and I shrugged. True.
The changing room was empty, but as I looked towards the rack with Demetri's name above it, something was altered. Next to his, there now was another rack. With my name above it. It was empty except for the dress that now hung quite lonely, but very obviously cleaned. The smell of detergent still clinging to it. It smelled nice. I'd forgotten how soap smelled.
"Hmm", was Demetri's only comment. I saw how different emotions quickly passed his expression: worry, fear, even dread, but then he shrugged and smiled a little.
"Take whatever you like. It seems you are now considered one of the residents."
My mind hadn't quite decided if I liked that thought, but for now I would accept it. "If we'll live in your house, we won't need very much, anyway", I finished my musing out loud.
"True. I will take you shopping. You can buy whatever you like and put it there."
That idea made me giddy. Not worrying about money seemed trivial when I lived in the woods, but actually living like a human being and still not worrying about money was something else.
"I will become a spoiled brat, just like you."
Demetri laughed with me and stood with clasped hands on his back as he watched me pick out a new dress. I held one up, and looked his way. He merely cocked his head. It was a green one, dark, like almost everything in the room. The bodice had a layer of lace that made it look old. Perhaps a bit too old. The red dress also had lace, but still looked a bit more contemporary. Or didn't he like green?
I moved to a dark blue one. The material was velvet and I pressed it against my face, humming in delight. However there wasn't one in my size.
"What if I pick a dress that someone else already has, won't that be strange?" I scanned the room as I said that, but noticed that my concern was unnecessary. No two dresses in the entire room, as far as I could see, were the same. "Ah, never mind."
I moved to the place where dresses my size were and found an other velvet one. Lighter, yet gray and not blue. I held it up and saw approval in his eyes, so I rushed behind the screen and changed.
The movement made swiveling air touch my exposed skin. Images of Demetri's hands on me came crashing down and it took all of my self-control not to indulge in the sudden desire that flooded me to call him. The thought widened my eyes and when the velvet dress hugged my form like a perfect painting, I shivered.
Demetri must have heard the soft sigh that left my lips, because the moment the hem of the dress touched my ankles, he stood beside me. Apparently his mind had been in the exact same place, because he crashed his body to mine and almost ripped the dress right of me again.
The material was saved, by something that had been precisely the fear that had kept me from calling him in the first place: the door opened. Someone walked in.
We jumped apart, I smoothed my hair and then couldn't hold back a giggle.
A noise that was very much a disapproval came from somewhere near the door and I peeked around the screen.
Jane. Figures.
Apparently Demetri hadn't forgotten about my running in with the little girl, because before I could stop him, he rushed to the petite doll-face and towered over her. I had to hand it to her, she wasn't very impressed by him. But I guessed, when you could cause pain by merely thinking it, who was there to fear?
Demetri's voice was very low. If I had been on the receiving end of his scolding, I would have been very afraid. "If I ever hear you hurting Ariadne again, you will wish you had never been born. And no amount of torture will save you then."
My stomach fluttered as I looked at him, being all protective and furious and a small victorious smile brushed my lips as I saw how Jane did cower a little after his words. She narrowed her eyes, looked at me with nothing but hatred and then made a hasty retreat. I let go of air I didn't know I was holding.
Straightening up, Demetri glanced my way and grinned. "She won't be bothering you again, méli."
I loved how he kept using Greek words of endearment for me. If he hadn't been a vampire, my dad would have been very proud that I had found a Greek lover.
The word lover made me bite my lip. Was that true though, was he really my lover? Apparently he was my soul-mate. Would it ever become more? There wasn't really any need for anything else, yet I had already learned that marriage was a common thing, even among vampires. Or had they all been married before they were turned? Had they additionally turned their spouses as well?
So many questions. I would safe them for Chelsea.