Meeting new people wasn't my thing, it gave me abundant amounts of anxiety. Meeting everyday people that I would probably never see again made me question if I had acted correctly. Today I was literally to meet who were supposedly my new family. "You need not worry my queen everything will be fine," Alec reassured me. "You are the new matriarch of our coven, they have no reason to dislike you," Jane piped in, putting away the pile of clothes that had materialised over the past hour. "I just hope I don't come off as rude," Alec gave me a confused look, "Why?" I shook my head, chuckling, "Alec, if I'm mated to the three kings that means one day I'll have to step into the shoes of queen." Alec nodded, "then why are you worried of being rude? Queens are rude?"
His idea took me by surprise and I began chuckling, Jane looked dumbfounded as well not understanding my amusement. "Gosh what queens have you been around?" They both stiffened at this and looked away. "Queens are leaders and leaders shouldn't be rude, the only way a leader can lead is if they know what problems need fixing. How do you suppose they'll know that if they aren't equal and kind?" Jane seemed to understand but Alec's face was still set into a confused frown. "Alec, if I act rude will anyone tell me what's bothering them?" He shook his head. "Then how will I know what to do?" Alec seemed to finally understand as he exhaled loudly. "I get it," he said happily. "No wonder Sul-" Alec was abruptly cut off by Jane. "My queen, you should wear this!" she said excitedly, pointing to a dark red button up. "We already tried that Jane, it's a tad bit too loose," I was confused, 'what was Alec about to say'.
"You both are twins aren't you?" I asked instead of posing the obvious question. I had tried to get information out of Jane and by now I had realised that if there was something I should know they would tell me. Unlike usual Alec spoke up, "Yes, we were born in England in 800 AD," he looked proudly at his sister who just rolled her eyes. "Who's older?" Jane seemed a little awkward due to my interest. Alec on the other hand was grinning like a child, I realised quickly that that's exactly what they were, they couldn't have been older than 13 when they turned. "Technically I'm the eldest my queen, however, Alec seems to forget that at times," Alec snorted at the playful jab. My next question seemed to strike a nerve, "when did you turn?" All humour left Alec's face and Jane also stiffened again. "Sorry, you don't have to answer" I said gently, taking a step towards Jane trying to ease her distress.
"We were 13, the towns-folk thought our family were witches. They killed our parents and were going to burn us at the stake. Then Master Aro showed up. He turned us just in time." Jane's voice had an angry edge to it. Alec was looking off into the distance trying to escape the memory. I could see the pain in both of their eyes and my heart-wrenched. We weren't all that different. We had all lost our innocence at an age that was sinfully too young. "Aro sired you?" I asked, trying to dispel any amount of tension that I could. Jane nodded a small amount of light returning to her eyes. No wonder the twins idolised Aro so much.
"We can never thank him enough for the life he has given us," Alec looked stern. "We are happy he found you, you seem good for him," Jane sounded as though she was reading out a fact. Chuckling I voiced my thoughts, "I hope that one day I mean as much to the both of you as he does".
"By the way, who's part of the main guard again?" My attention was once again brought to the daunting task in front of me. "There is Santiago, Afton, Corin, Renata, Heidi and Chelsea, oh and you've already met Felix and Demitri." Jane sounded happier now that she was helping.
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The guardroom was a spacious hall that had various activities in each corner. There was a huge flatscreen TV in the centre of the left wall and black leather bean bags in front of it. It seemed more like a goth clubhouse than a guardroom. Thankfully the casual aura in the room set me a little more at ease. Around 20 or so vampires were inside the room conversing with one another. Caius had suggested that I meet them all in the throne room with him accompanying me, but I knew I wouldn't get to know anybody if Caius was there. I wanted to see what they thought of me when the king's weren't around, it was a daunting thought but a necessary one.
As I walked into the room all eyes flickered over to me and the crowd dipped into a bow. Standing straight they all looked at me expectantly. Anxiety clenched at my heart and I tried to put it into the back of my mind. I made sure my expression didn't give it away, being afraid and vulnerable didn't seem popular in this coven.
Alec POV:
Jane and I stood next to the queen. It was an expectation that the coven would be respectful because of her title. What worried us was that the Cullens weren't popular among our covenmates. For some reason I felt that the vampires in front of us were threats. We had known them for hundreds of years and this perspective didn't sit well with me. Jane thought it was because of our connection to the queen through Master Aro.
"I'm Lycoris, you all can call me Lyra." The queen began. When no one spoke she continued "I want to make it clear, I do not expect you all to bow down to me... because I'm not your queen." I sent a panicked look to Jane who was also looking at the queen with concern. The confusion within our coven members was clear. Her eyes were unmoving. Instead of fear her eyes had a power in them that froze anyone they landed upon. It was strange it didn't seem like she was speaking, it was like the kings were speaking through her. She truly was the destined mate of the mighty Volturi kings.
"I am your king's mate and perhaps one day I may also be your queen... if you let me. Until then though all I ask is that you accept me into your coven. Into your family. As an equal".
Relief found its way into my unbeating heart. She would be the true queen, she had the grace, power and most importantly as she had explained to me, humility. My thoughts were cut short as a voice cut through the group.
"Are the rumours true? Are you really a Cullen?" The sneer in my covenmates voice caused Jane to take a step forward. Demitri and Felix both dissipated from the crowd and stood besides us both. Demitri discreetly pulling Jane back.
We didn't have to think hard to figure out who had spoken out of his turn. Barnabus had a habit of sticking his nose in places where it didn't belong. It was only Chelsea and Corin that made sure he was tolerated.
"The rumours you have heard are true. I have spent my life with the Olympic coven". Her voice didn't waver despite the uncomfortable looks that the coven was giving her.
"Lived your life with the Cullens yet stand in front of us with such vanity. Although that actually makes perfect sense," Barnabus spoke silkily as if he had proven a point. I had never had such a burning passion to kill someone. Vapour gathered in my hands, Felix's hand being the only thing grounding me. Looking over to the queen I saw her lips had pursed into a thin line, however, her eyes were now burning. The crowd had parted to reveal a smirking Barnabus. Despite the anger we felt, I could feel the excitement buzzing in the room.
"I may have only known you for the past 40 seconds but I can tell you have the subtlety of a bus and the depth of a shot glass," the queen sighed looking disappointed. I could see Santiago and Afton trying not to snicker in the crowd.
"How dare you?" he snapped. A melodious chuckle resounded in the room. "Why this has got nothing to do with daring, I'm simply pointing out the obvious" Afton and Santiago both started snickering along with most of the room. I had to use all my self-control to not laugh. Barnabus was fuming and he began walking towards us.
"That is enough," Renata's voice boomed. "Barnabus if you cannot behave I suggest you leave lest we lose all self-control we have, and rip you to shreds in front of the queen you mock." Corin and Renata walked towards us. Barnabus smirked, "do you really think you'd be able to even lay a fing-". He fell to the floor and began screaming. Almost all of the vampires in the room sent looks of approval to Jane, who was looking at the queen highly confused.
Barnabus seemed to be trying to claw his brain out. After a few minutes the screaming stopped. I was surprised the kings hadn't came over. He shakily got back up to his feet and glared pointedly at Jane. "You little brat," he looked murderous. The queen pushed Jane back slightly. "That wasn't Jane," there was a smirk playing on her lips. "I thought you wanted a demonstration. You see no one here has to lay a finger on you to hear you scream," the looks of approval now turned to confusion.
The more experienced vampires looked proud, whereas the younger ones looked at her with admiration. "Ernest would you mind taking Barnabus to his chambers," Renata said, still glaring at the dunce. "You will regret this," he breathed shakily. "We shall see," the queen looked bored. The new guard named Ernest grabbed him and led him out of the room.
"The rest of you, I believe you have duties to attend to, the elite guard will stay," Renata instructed. All of the guard dipped into a low bow and walked out of the room, looking at the queen with adoration.
Lyra POV:
I don't know what came over me. I had done nothing for him to disrespect me. The Cullens were my family, he had no right to disrespect them. As all of the guards filed out of the room, Alec caught my eye, giving me a small smirk and thumbs up. The woman who had stabilised the situation looked up at me and smiled warmly, I would have to thank her later.
"I apologise for that, I'm still pretty new to this," I chuckled. "You have nothing to apologise for,
Barnabus had it coming for the past millennia, you just did what all of us were itching to do," a woman with amber hair spoke. "I'm Corin by the way". I nodded at her smiling. "I am Renata Aro's bodyguard, I apologise for Barnabus' behaviour, he is quite the insufferable cretin at times," the woman who had commanded the situation spoke. "Thanks for intervening," she smiled happily at me.
"I assume you have questions, I mean a random human girl walks into your home claiming to be the mate of your kings..."
"What's your favourite colour?" I laughed when I saw a dark-skinned and buff looking man at the front. "Excellent question" I internally thanked the dude for breaking the awkward silence, "red, who are you?" He dramatically bowed and looked up at me, not blinking once.
"Santiago at your service my queen" I smiled recognising the name. "My turn," a man with black sharp hair spoke.
Demitri, Felix and Santiago all groaned in unison. "Who might you be?" I laughed. "Afton your queenliness, my question is how did you end up with the Cullen's?" The question took me off guard. "Afton, you mustn't ask things like that!" A feminine voice sounded from behind Afton. "Chelsea, she said we can ask questions," Afton sighed exasperatedly. "Please don't worry about Afton," a woman who I assumed was Chelsea said. She levelled a glare at him when he huffed.
"Nobody here really bothers with Afton, he's almost as bad as dear Barny," Santiago offered. The girl named Chelsea now set her glare upon Santiago. "I don't know how you manage Chelsea being the mate of Loki's descendant" Corin spoke with sympathy.
The main guard seemed to be a lot more fun and talkative than the others. "To answer your question Afton, not all of them are terrible, just Eddy". I could see many faces turn distasteful at the mention of my adoptive brother. He seemed to have a reputation for being a douche.
"I assume you're already acquainted with the twins and the 2 blocks of ice," Afton said, looking over at Demitri and Felix. "It's almost as if the kings wanted to bore you out of your mind," looking over I saw Demitri and Felix frown. "Just because we like to live and don't prank the kings does not make us boring Afton".
"Hey I might be a prankster but I ain't no demon, Barnabus already fills that role with passion," all of the vampires in the room seemed to agree to this statement. "Who is this Barnabus?" I wanted to know who I had antagonised, now kind of regretting my actions.
"Barnabus was Athenodora's brother when they were human but a soul bond didn't form between them when they both turned. He was gifted with the ability to possess an individual and control them which is why master Aro asked him to join our coven." Santiago spoke very grimly as if remembering a horrible memory. "You think he's bad, wait till you hear about Athenodora, she spoke to everyone like she was a god," Afton sounded angry at the memory of this Athenodora woman.
"Is Athenodora part of the guard?" I could see Demitri and Alec send a look of warning to Afton. "Oh no, Athenodora was Master Caius' wife; she ruled over us with Master Aro's wife Sulpicia for many millennia before you turned up." Afton said cheerily. I could feel my heart drop deep into the pit in my stomach. Wives? Why was I only hearing about this now? They had wives? Where were these alleged wives?
I tried my best to smile at Afton who now looked thunderstruck as everyone in the room glared at him. I continued conversing with everyone for another hour or so, but words didn't register. I learned about the movie nights the guard did on every full moon and learned more about who Sulpicia, Didyme and Athenodora were. There was a buzzing in my brain. I felt guilty for it, but I felt betrayed, rejected.
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Like a corpse I walked back to Aro's chamber's. I wasn't upset that they had wives, that would make sense, living alone was horrible. I was upset because they didn't think I deserved to know. I realised that I had done the same to them. Sure they didn't tell me about their lives, but I hadn't either. I had cloaked my darkest secrets deep within my mind so not even Aro knew. In a perfect world I had to be open to them so they would be open to me.
If that didn't work I could always run away and spend my life alone away from everyone. If they rejected me, then it would be for the best.
With this determination, I walked back towards the throne room. Silently I slipped past the doors, the sight in front of me may have made me laugh if not for the cloud in my head. Caius was holding Afton from the scruff of his neck and Chelsea looking on scared from the corner of the room with the rest of the main guard.
"Avevi un lavoro Afton," Aro called pacing in front of the thrones looking worried. (You had one job Afton).
"Caius let Afton go," all of my mates looked towards me with a look of shock on their faces. Caius reluctantly let Afton go and walked over to me. I put my hand up stopping him in his steed, causing a look of hurt to flicker across his face. "You may all go," I said looking over to the main guard, they cautiously looked over at Aro who nodded.
Once they were all gone, I sighed looking up at Caius. "You shouldn't punish Afton Caius," I said softly. He looked confused but no one dared to speak. "You didn't tell me because you thought I wouldn't be mature enough to handle it." Aro went to speak but I shook my head. "I don't blame you, ever since I got here I've reacted in such ways that would lead to you thinking this," at this all three of them interjected speaking over one another trying to defend me from my accusations.
"No it's true, I haven't been mature, nor have I been honest. Not even with you Aro." I waited for this piece of information to sink in. Aro looked hurt. "And because of that it's stupid of me to expect you to share your lives with me." Another pause. "It's time I told you the truth."
I don't love this chapter, is it bad? I think it's pretty bad. Future chapters will be a lot better I promise.