𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄, a small smirk on Jane's lips as she stares Cora down.
"What?" Alec smirks to himself, motioning for Cora to sit down. Hesitantly, Cora takes a seat, Felix and Demetri following.
"Your little clan must have caused some trouble while you were gone." The brunette girl raises a brow, crossing her arms and leaning back into her seat.
"What are you talking about—"
"Ugh. Just cut to the chase, Alec." Felix groans, kicking his feet up onto the table. Alec sighs, rolling his eyes at his friends impatience.
"Well... there's an army—"
"Bella hasn't been turned yet." Jane cuts in, a sudden pain causing Felix to arch his back. Cora quickly numbs him, his pain residing.
"Stop abusing people, it's not that hard." Jane narrows her eyes, daring Cora to cut in again.
"If Bella isn't turned, we'll kill her." Jane stated, the people around her questioning her silently.
"Well, she should be turned soon. Is that all you had to say?" the brunette scoffs, resting her slim cheek on her hand.
"No. Aro would also like to see your newborn when he gets back from his journey."
A feeling of nervousness settled in Cora's stomach, and although nobody else could tell, Jane had a suspicious expression on his face.
"When's he coming back?" Cora wonders, her mind plotting a plan as they speak.
"In a few days. I suggest you let your newborn feed, she must be starving." Alec answers, lifting a book into his hands and reading the nonsense.
"I'll take her out to feed. I don't want her to see the... mess you guys cause." Demetri let's out a loud laugh, slapping Cora on the back.
"We get viscious when we're hungry."
"You're always viscous. Does that mean you're always hungry." Cora jokes, laughing nervously.
As the guard chat among themselves, Cora sneaks away, running to her room.
"Alice is watching her! You can't just tell her everything!" Jane scolds the group before turning around and leaving the room.
Margaret is shocked when the door slams open, not expecting to see her creator with such an anxiety filled face.
"What?" Margaret asks curiously, shutting the book she was reading.
"Jesus! Is reading all anyone does around here?" Cora exclaims, resting a hand on her head.
"What's wrong?" The healer glances up, frowning slightly.
"We need to get you out of here." She whispers, sitting down in front of Margaret.
"Aro is coming back soon and... he can't know about you. He'll force you to join his clan and you'll never be able to leave." Cora's voice is full of worry which causes an unsettling feeling to rest in the newborns stomach.
"But how? Demetri—"
"Yes, he'll find you. I know. Let's just get you to the Cullen's first. We need to know more about your abilities. There's something more that we don't know." Cora stops talking once she hears distant footsteps, the tug in her chest deepening.
"Pretend I never said anything." Cora shoves the book back into her newborns hands, taking a seat across the room, wincing as she takes one into her own.
"These books are so boring! Aren't they, Margaret?" Margaret takes a moment to answer, the unnerving feeling rattling her.
"Um... No. I think they're great!" Margaret coughs, playing pretend for the time being.
"Yeah, well you must've not read many good
books—" Jane opens the doors, glancing at Margaret before letting her eyes fall onto Cora, her expression relaxing a microscopic amount.
"We'll be gone for a day or two. We have business to attend to. I trust that you'll be occupied with your little baby." Jane smirks at the angry expression in the newborns face.
She slams the book closed, huffing as she eyes Jane.
"I... am... not... a baby!" Margaret exclaims. Cora shushes her, squinting as a sign for her to shut up.
"If you're going to go, go. See you later."
Jane gains her composure, a slight frown visible on her face as she turns around and slams the door behind her. Her departing footsteps were louder than when she first arrived.
Jane was excited to see Cora, she always is. And every time she is always disappointed by their interactions.
"I always mess it up." She whispers to herself, her eyes on the ground as she storms out of the castle, the little group she's taking with her following behind her.
It's been a few hours since they all left. The castle a little bit quieter without the four guards blabbering and causing problems. But that doesn't mean the castle was empty, far from it. There are vampires everywhere, some more trained than the rest.
Cora didn't know why Jane and her minions left so abruptly, and she didn't know when Aro would come back. But she needed a plan.
"Margaret, we're going to work on your abilities. I need to know what Didyme was going to say." Margaret scoffs, shaking her head and letting her eyes roam the pages of probably one of the dumbest books Cora's ever seen.
"You know I can't—"
"In your human life, how were you able to see ghosts?" It's quiet for a moment as Margaret thinks.
"I just lit a few candles and meditated really—"
Within a few seconds, Cora had placed candles in a circle, two sticks in her hand.
"Why are you using sticks?"
"Cause these dumb people don't even own a lighter! Like are you that scared of fire? These losers." Cora scoffs, runbing the sticks together until she creates a spark, using that to light one of the candles.
The candles are all soon lit and the sun is starting to go down. "Meditate, stay focused."
Margaret reluctantly sits in the middle of the circle, shutting her eyes and focusing her mind.
A few moments go past before Margaret rolls her eyes, opening her mouth to speak when another voice is heard.
"Hello?" Their voice echoes, a sudden happiness filling the room.
"Didyme?" Cora questions, as a figure starts to appear.
"Oh! You're the girl I talked to last time. What was your name again?" Didyme questions, cocking a brow at the short girl.
"I'm Cora... Cora Auclair." Cora introduces,
pausing for a moment before adding. "Cullen." Her smiles grows as she looks down at the fifteen year old.
"Cullen? I've listened to Marcus, you're Carlisle's child, right?" Cora doesn't answer. If Didyme knew of Carlisle, which was impossible because she was long gone before he came around, it means that she's been watching over the Volturi.
"Yeah. I am. But we have more important things to talk about." Didyme nods hesitantly, the happiness slowly draining from the room.
"Remember how you died a long time ago. When we told you that you had passed. When we told you how you passed, there was this horrified look on your face like you know something we don't. What was it?"
Margaret watched the interaction quietly, wondering how Cora picked that up.
Didyme frowns, venom glossing her eyes.
"I don't want to say... I love my family very much and this would severely hurt them." Cora frowns at that answer standing up and taking one of the Queen's hands into her own.
"I won't tell anyone."
"Marcus! Look at this!" Didyme giggles, dragging her mate towards a patch of grass in her home country of Greece.
Birds were flying above them, their little sounds forming a lovely melody.
"It's beautiful." Marcus smiles, a beautiful smile that nobody but her could cause him to reveal.
"Not as beautiful as me I hope. I wouldn't want you leaving me for a bird." His eyes are now trained on her side profile.
She was so beautiful, a work of art in his eyes. There was nothing on earth that he wouldn't give up for her. She was the only one who truly made him happy. That made his long life worth living.
"Nothing is more beautiful than you, agápi mou." Didyme turns to look at him, an invisible blush rising to her cheeks.
"You know I like it when you speak Greek. But you don't need to flatter me so." He chuckles to himself, using the end of his pointer finger to lift her chin, her dorky smile only growing.
"I'm not trying to flatter you, Didyme. I just want you to know how much you mean to me." Marcus smiles as her eyes widen slightly, a happy aura floating between the two.
"You make me the happiest man. Before you, nothing mattered. I was just... another sad vampire. But I joined the Volturi. I met you. I want you to know that I would do anything to make you smile." Didyme looks down, fiddling with her hands slightly before meeting eyes with her lover again.
"Anything?" She questions, her voice a bit quieter now. The sun had started to go down, the orange hue of the sunset leaving a nice glow on her cheeks.
Marcus nods his head, waiting for her to speak her mind.
"I want you to leave... Leave the Volturi with me, Marcus. I want to live a life with you."
The moon started to rise, the starts more visible than ever. The birds when to sleep along with all of the humans. The world was silent. A world with only the two of them.
"Whatever you wish."
"Marcus... I wanted him to leave the Volturi. To be free from my brothers tight hold on both of us. Aro wanted power but I just wanted my mates love and my brothers support." Didyme starts, her eyes drifting down, memories flashing back to her.
"And what happened next?" Cora questions, her eyes slightly wide. Didyme sighs.
"We asked Aro for his blessing."
Didyme's nonexistent heartbeat was fast and she was a nervous wreck. She told Aro she would always stay with him, that she'd always be loyal to him and she would. All he had to do was call and she'd be there. But she wanted to live a life away from him for a bit. She wanted to live a life of love, not one of power.
Marcus and Didyme's hands were conjoined as they stood in front of Aro's throne. There he sat, the king, her brother in all red from head to toe. It's almost like he knew what she was going to ask and had dressed for the occasion. He stared down at the pair, a hard look in his eyes as he waited for his little sister to speak.
"Aro..." Didyme starts, her voice quiet but she knows he can hear her.
"Yes, adelfí?" Aro questions, his eyes now on Marcus who stares up at him, a sad look in his eyes.
"I love you. You're my brother and I'll always look up to you. I told you I'd always be loyal to you and by asking this I am not breaking my promise. All you have to do is call my name and I'll be there beside you." Her voice shook as she spoke, her bottom lip trembling slightly as she lifted her gaze away from the ground, making eye contact with her brother.
His expression hadn't changed, it was still expressionless but there was a small amount of pain in them. She thought it was because he knew what she was going to ask but the look of pain in his eyes was because he knew what he had to do.
"And... I want to leave the Volturi with Marcus. Only for a few decades, maybe even centuries. I want something more, Aro! I want to see the world with my mate. I don't seek power, I seek love! I am asking for your blessing." She finishes.
Aro's expression was the same but venom now welled in his eyes.
A small smile grew on his face as he steps out of his throne, the clacks of his shoes only causing her unease to grow.
Didyme casts her eyes upon the ground again as Aro takes her hand into his own, frowning slightly.
The king sighs to himself, taking a step back from the couple.
"You have my blessing. But we must finish this battle against this clan first. I need all the help I can get." Didyme's eyes lit up with joy as she made eye contact with her mate. Marcus can't help but smile at the good news, turning his head towards Aro.
"Thank you."
". . . Of course."
"He gave us his blessing! It was one of the happiest moments of my life. I had a chance to be with my mate." Cora smiles softly, Didyme's happiness causing everyone else to smile. Cora could almost feel the excitement from that day, her heart twisting as she knows her and Jane will never love like they did.
"But what went wrong?"
"We were fooled..."
As they fought against the rogue clan, Aro had pulled Didyme away from the rest, her eyes wide as she saw the state her brother was in.
"Aro? We need to get out there! What's wrong?" She questions, resting a hand in his cheek. The normally odd man couldn't help the venom that pooled in his eyes as he leaned into his sisters hand.
"I love you, Didyme. Our mother would be so happy for you." Her eyes softened as he spoke. Aro knew how much she seeked their mothers approval, but she was never good enough for her. Which is why Aro killed her without a second thought. He would do anything for his sisters happiness.
Or that's what he had been telling himself all these years.
But he grew selfish as life went on. That's usually how it tends to go.
"I hope so... But what's wrong?" His dead heart cracked a bit, her gift of happiness not working on him at the moment.
Aro squeezed his eyes shut, peeling his sisters hand off of his own and holding it tightly in his own.
"I'm sorry, Didyme. My sister. But there's something I must do." He whispers, her head tilting slightly as he turns around, grabbing a dead vampires head and body before setting them down next to her, causing her to furrow her brows curiously,
"What is this—" Within a moment her head is within his grasp, her eyes widening at her brothers actions as she starts to struggle against his grip.
"Aro! What are you doing?" She cries out, her fear over the roof.
"I need to do what needs to be done. I hope you can understand. Father... would be proud of me."
Crack.
Thud.
"Aro needed Marcus would stay with him, stay with the Volturi. His lust for power was more important than his friendship with Marcus. More important than his own blood..." Cora's eyes are blown wide as she steps back, shaking her head slightly.
"He..."
"Killed me."
Authors Note :: SORRY FOR THE LATE PUBLISH. but I wanted to add a bit more to this chapter and I think it ended up quite well !! make sure to comment, i don't really like silent readers, and leave your thoughts 😁
written:: 2/08/2023