Thirteen years had passed since that night. For ten years she had served the Volturi, erasing a lot of people's minds, only to fill them with things she'd made up. She had learned to fight, both with her gift and physically, and killed just as many vampires as she had managed to turn crazy. The grip of the rulers had increased over the last decade, all the other covens following the rules quietly and obediently. It was all thanks to her.
She moved through the castle calmly, her cloak moving behind her. It was only a shade lighter than Aro's, and many tints darker than the one the witch twins wore. Moving up to the highest-ranking guard had many profits, but brought along certain responsibilities as well. It meant that she had to attend all the meetings with high nobility, standing there like a lapdog she had Alec made out to be.
Cecilia wasn't a lapdog, though, not really. She was simply waiting out her time. Patience was key. If she was fortunate, she would have multiple lifetimes to spend with her soulmate and so she had to wait for the perfect opportunity to flee. Three necklaces hung around her neck, all of them reminding her what she was working for. It was the ruby pendant she had gotten from Demetri as a late birthday gift all those years ago, the Volturi's crest, and a small version of the key to Angelokastero.
She was on her way to the throne room, wondering what task the Masters had for her and Demetri. She met the said soulmate halfway, instantly rushing to his side with a soft smile on her face. After a decade she still felt like she was falling more and more in love every day, from the way his eyes shone with excitement to the way the left corner of his mouth curled up in a smile. All of it made a rush of happiness move through her body every time she laid eyes on him.
"Cara mia," Demetri greeted her with an amused smile. He pressed a soft kiss on her cheek, intertwining their hands. "Do you already know what Aro's going to ask from us?"
She shook her head. Sometimes Aro would inform her of the tasks before the other members of the Guard, even if she wasn't involved. It always led to a lot of annoyed glances and mental daggers stuck in her back from the evil twins. Ever since she moved up the ladder, the two of them had been pushed to the side. Demetri found it thoroughly amusing, considering the exact same thing had happened to Felix and him centuries ago.
They made their way to the throne room quickly, matching cautious expressions on their faces.
"My young friends," Aro said as soon as they walked inside. He clapped in his hands, smiling excitedly. Cecilia resisted the urge to tell him that Demetri was over a thousand years old, realising that in comparison to the oldest vampire, everybody seemed young. "Once more I have a diplomatic and sensitive mission for you. I only trust the two of you to succeed."
It reminded Cecilia of all those years ago. She'd been standing here as well, being told that they had to go to Greece to visit the Markis' coven. Now, that ancient name had been wiped from history. She wondered if they were about to end another coven.
"I'm sending you to Russia, Moscow, to be exact," Aro said. "I want the two of you to dig up information about a woman who is better known as the red princess. Concerning rumours have reached me, telling me that her ambitions have grown from being a princess to a queen. I want the two of you to figure out who she is and what she's really up to, without showing your faces."
Cecilia nodded, her movements in synch with Demetri. She felt a tug in her mind, like a memory trying to resurface, but she pushed the feelings away. In the last ten years, her mind had grown with so many taken memories that it was sometimes hard to discern her own from the different ones. Though she hid the feeling very well, both from Demetri and the Volturi, she was sometimes afraid that she was losing her own mind. From the very start, she'd been keeping a diary, writing her own experiences in it and once Aro started using her gift, she'd bought a USB and started typing out all the memories she'd taken, the lies she'd fed and to which people. She always hid it in the lining of her ballgown and the only other person knowing the location of that USB was Demetri.
"You will take a commercial flight, which will depart in four hours," Aro continued. He looked at his brothers. Marcus still looked as dead as usual, but over the years Caius scowl had disappeared. Cecilia could swear that sometimes she saw his face light up at the sight of her, especially whenever she used her gift to gaslight someone or demanded someone's death. "I'll give you a month."
They nodded once more, Demetri bowing and Cecilia curtseying, before they left the throne room. Missions with Demetri were the ones she loved the most, because it meant spending time together. Sometimes days or weeks would pass, in which she was forced to stay at court while he cleared some dirty job in another place of the world. Nine out of ten times he had Felix at his side, but she had no one. Being Aro's right hand ensured that most of the other guards shunned her, afraid that she would snitch them and her gift didn't make her very popular either. It was a lonely life in Volterra.
The only people who still loved her and accepted her the way she was, was her family, but she didn't get to see them often. The only times she could visit them was whenever the Masters sent her on a mission in the area of Washington. Her family had moved to Island County five years ago, when it started to get suspicious that her father hadn't aged a single day in the last seven years. She hadn't even been able to say goodbye to her home and she supposed that soon they would move to another place yet again. Cecilia would have to ask for the new address the next time she heard from them.
She looked at Demetri with a hint of wonder in her eyes. "Do you reckon this is going to be difficult?"
He looked up from the clothes he'd been stuffing in his suitcase. "I think we'll have to get our hands dirty," he replied. "But I know we'll be just fine. Why, are you worried?"
She shrugged, packing some of her own clothes. She wasn't sure how she felt about a mission to Russia, because to be truthful, she'd been waiting for it for over a decade now. It was one of the pieces in her perfect plan, but now that she actually had the opportunity, she wasn't sure that she actually wanted to go through with it. She also knew that it was probably because Chelsea had been meddling with her emotions, tightening her relationships with the Volturi. She hated the vampire for meddling with her emotions, realising she probably was the biggest hypocrite that currently roamed the earth. She meddled with people's minds after all.
"Hey," Demetri said, gaining her attention. He'd let go of his clothes and joined her side without making a single sound. His hands enveloped her cheeks, bringing her face close to his. As soon as their eyes locked, red and gold, she felt some of her worries slip away. "We've never failed, right? You and me, together we're unstoppable. We don't fail."
"You're right," she answered softly. She pressed her mouth to his in a chaste kiss, enjoying the instant feeling of warmth spreading through her body. "And I'm looking forward to spending some time with you."
He smirked, letting go of her cheeks. "Imagine you wouldn't."
"It's not as if we're tied together," she said teasingly, giving him a shove. Her eyes fell onto her ring finger, still empty. Every time she received a letter or a call from her family she heard the same question over and over, when are the two of you finally getting married?
She couldn't help but wonder the same. It was a stupid and petty feeling, she realised that very well. After all, they knew they were soulmates, together for as long as time granted them, and that was a lot more than people usually got, but ever since she'd been a child she'd dreamed of a big and white wedding, her own fairytale story. Besides, it would give her the opportunity to see her family more often, because there would be no way that Alice would let the Volturi plan the wedding.
Demetri turned to her, not looking particularly bothered by her comment. It wasn't the first time she'd said something along the lines, but he had noticed that it happened more often after she'd spoken to her family. "Has Rosalie been nagging again?"
"No," Cecilia answered, but the look on her face betrayed her. She shrugged, turning back to packing her suitcase. "Well, maybe a little, but you can't exactly blame her."
"We have all the time in the world, dear," he said. "Literally."
She folded one of her favourite dresses and laid it in her suitcase. "Yeah, you're right."
Demetri turned to her again, grabbing her arms and pulling her body in front of his. He raised her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes again. He smiled. "I love you," he said. "You know that, right?"
"I know," she answered. Suddenly she felt stupid. Demetri was the best thing that had happened to her, and here she was, nagging about a stupid ring and a big feast that would probably only cause her a headache, but would not change anything about the feelings they shared with each other. She grabbed his hands, squeezing them while she smiled softly. "I know, and I love you too. I'm sorry for being such a whiny pout."
He chuckled and pressed a kiss against her temple. "At least you're my whiny pout."