Outside the throne room, Cecilia took a quiet minute to regain her composure. She brushed the dust of the dungeons from her black clothing, raked her fingers through her brown curls in an attempt to smoothen out the twisted locks. She straightened her spine, raised her head and pushed back her shoulders, before throwing the doors open and walking in calmly.
"I believe my presence was required," she said softly, doing her best to remember her father's habits. The world could turn upside down and he always managed to stay calm. Even your breathing as you talk, she reminded herself, and keep an even tone. No one is on to you, you saw through it all.
"Ah yes, my dear Cecilia," Aro said excitedly, clapping his hands together. He was standing in front of his throne, flanked by Marcus and Caius sitting in theirs, both wearing their own infamous facial expressions. There was a fourth person standing in the room as well, close to the stairs that led to the thrones. It was Charles, wearing a smug smile that was identical to the one Alec had been wearing earlier.
She remembered Alec's words, about the Masters wanting to test her and her loyalty. She would pass their test with flying colours and leave the room with them not remembering a single thing about either her or her soulmate. That was how it was going to be.
"I asked Jane to retrieve you from the dungeons, after a rather interesting conversation with our new prisoner from Germany," Aro continued. He pretended to look through the room before his milky red eyes landed on Cecilia again, a hint of question in them. "If you don't mind me asking, where is Jane?"
"There was some unexpected trouble with our grande red princess and Jane wanted to take care of it," Cecilia lied smoothly. She watched Aro's face carefully, the way his muscles tensed and relaxed and how that continuously resulted in new masks. It was a skill she wanted to master as well.
"Ah yes, Vasilisa," Aro said, trying the name in his mouth. He looked over his shoulders to his brothers, who didn't appear to be bothered by the news. "Now that she isn't causing a half-hearted rebellion in Russia one could almost forget her presence entirely. We must get rid of her one of these days, preferably publically."
"It could be part of an unforgettable wedding," Cecilia suggested, watching Charles from the corners of her eyes. Some of the smugness had disappeared from his face, replaced by impatience. She thought he would do well not to show it. After all, the Ancient Ones and specifically Aro decided what the topic of conversation was and how long it lasted.
"Yes, that would be just delightful," Aro said, nodding in approval. Suddenly, the muscles in his face twitched and a second later his face had fallen, looking like a man in deep grief. "That is, if the wedding is still to be held in Volterra, because I am afraid I've heard terrible things from our prisoner."
Cecilia didn't allow her posture to falter, kept a straight face as she tried hard not to think about what was going on in the dungeons. For all she knew Jane had turned into a mighty ninja who would come racing up to the throne room any minute now, telling her of her true betrayal. "Might I know the content of these terrible things?"
"Of course," Aro said, nodding immediately. He turned their back on them, walking at an excruciatingly slow pace to his throne and lowering himself in it gracefully. He looked down at Cecilia sympathetically. "Please do not be insulted that we have called you to us on what might be the futile, desperate lies of a prisoner fearing execution, but as the guardians of the supernatural, we have to examine each and every testament."
Cecilia nodded politely, silently willing the vampire to get on with his story already. "I completely understand."
"Now if I understand correctly, and please do interrupt me, Charles, whenever I make a mistake, it was Cecilia who offered you a deal, isn't that correct?" Aro said, looking at Charles, who nodded in confirmation. Cecilia resisted the urge to send the slimy bastard a glare. "In exchange for an audience with us, you would use your gift and make up some elaborate lie about why Cecilia and Demetri would be gone. It would be your own ticket to freedom, and yet you have come forth to us to tell us this." Aro's eyes snapped at Cecilia, observing her with a look that wasn't too unkindly. "Now, what am I to make of that?"
"I would offer you my hand and show you the truth, but unfortunately we both know that isn't an option," Cecilia began. With a little jolt, she realised she was enjoying this. She was enjoying the thrill of a political game, in which a lot of things were at stake. She enjoyed knowing that she had played all her cards right. "I would ask you to read Charles' mind, but his gift is to lie."
Aro nodded sympathetically. "It does seem we are at an impasse."
"Fortunately, there's someone's mind that can be read," Cecilia continued. She had folded her hands in front of her, the rest of her body appearing relaxed. "Because, in fact, it was Charles who offered the proposition. I accepted it, only under the pretence of gaining his trust so that I could find out more about this stranger. Right after I accepted, I hurried to the library, to clear my restless mind. Marcus met me there, and I told him of my plan and the things I'd found out about Charles."
Seeming genuinely surprised by this confession, Aro's head snapped to Marcus. "Is it true, brother?"
"It's true," Marcus said, giving the slightest of nods. He held out his hand and Aro had taken hold of it within a split second, spacing out entirely.
Cecilia let her gaze wander to Charles, whose arrogance had disappeared altogether. Knowing that the whole situation had been put into scene, she couldn't help but wonder what the Ancient Ones had offered to Charles for making her betray the Volturi. Better yet, what would happen if he failed.
After a couple of minutes, Aro let go of his brother's hand, turning to Cecilia with a pleased expression on his childlike face. "It is true then."
"That doesn't prove anything," Charles suddenly said, losing his patience. "Just because she happens to fabricate a version of the truth, which is her gift, as you would do well to remember, doesn't mean it's God's honest truth. I could have accepted her offer and be away from this castle, my freedom returned, yet I put my neck on the line to assure of this truth."
"How ironic," Aro murmured softly, appearing deep in thought. "Two people squabbling with each other. One is able to tell outright lies and make people believe them, the other can make different versions of the truth and plant them in someone's mind. How is one supposed to believe one over the other?"
Cecilia couldn't deny that a steady and sly was creeping up her spine. She hadn't thought about the option of Aro suspecting her of planting memories in Marcus' mind, hadn't even thought of the option altogether herself. Not allowing herself to lose her calm like Charles had done, she continued calmly. "I would like to remind the wise Ancient Ones of both the past and the future. You have sent me and Demetri away on many a diplomatic mission, many of which offered countless perfect opportunities to run away in betrayal if we had wanted to it. Instead, we completed the tasks given to us without a fuss, returning as loyal as ever."
She watched the reactions of the three old vampires closely, looking for any signs of approval. Marcus was nodding along sightly, Aro's face didn't betray anything, but his body language suggested that he was listening attentively and Caius was glaring, but not at her. "As for the future, I think my gift will be useful in many ways, from the settling of tiny rivalries to bigger issues like rebellions. Besides, I speak my mind truly when I say I fear the future of the Volturi with this creature in its ranks. Charles, if that even is his real name, could cook up some elaborate lie that will mean the downfall of us. It might not happen now, or in a week, or even in ten years. For all we know he will think on it for years, before we see the outcome of it. I know it's true, for I am such a person of careful thinking as well, as are you before me. It's why we are where we are."
The room had fallen silent, everybody thinking over her words quietly, Cecilia most of all. She had read many of Cicero's works to pick up little habits, the ancient us vs them, making sure her role in the future was made clear, explaining the threat of Charles. She looked from the Masters to Charles, fascinated by the way his face displayed exactly what he was thinking. Truth be told, Charles was nowhere near being a person of careful thinking, after all, if he was, he would never have been caught in this tricky situation, but making him appear to be one anyway made him a bigger threat to Aro, who did have a very strategic mind.
"Very well," the said person exclaimed after a while. He clapped his hands together, rubbing them for a moment before settling them on the armrests of the chair. For all his masks and acts, Aro looked oddly regal sitting there like that, the only thing missing his crown. "I have thought the issue over and here is what I've come to conclude. This prisoner has been in the castle for exactly six days, during which he has had the time to think his actions through. This is complimentary with the statement Cecilia has made, who has, admittedly, served us loyally for the past thirteen years. More than that, I deem her fear of Charles, a vampire with such an extraordinary, but dangerous gift, legitimate. Therefore, brothers, I think no other solution is left to us than to sentence Charles to death for the abuse of his gift against the true Kings, thus committing an act of treason."
Cecilia, who'd been standing further from the thrones than Charles had, saw the way his muscles tensed before anybody else. He had only made up the first step of the staircase when Cecilia had grabbed hold of him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gave one mighty pull and listened to the satisfying sound of stone and diamond breaking, his head coming loose in her arms.
She dropped it and looked up at the Ancient Ones, who were looking down at her with a look of approval. "Let this be a sign of my dedication to the Volturi."
Aro smiled at her, holding out his hand. "Let us shake on it."
"Gladly," Cecilia said. She grabbed his hand and cracked open his mind.