DAN FELT HORRIBLY FIDGETY as he sat in the middle of a secluded library.
His leg twitched as it bounced up and down. His fingers twist and pull together over and over again. His heart races in his chest. He doesn't know why but hes a nervous mess for this sale, never has he felt this nervous before, but the setting he sits in makes him uncomfortable.
The library is cold, dimly lit and smells of old books, despite the obvious expensive art and decor, it feels creepy. No one is in here besides him yet the door was unlocked, allowing him to enter. He arrived five minutes early but has now been in here for almost ten.
He unwinds his fingers and places them atop the table he sits at, he taps his index nail against the surface of it and takes a few calming deep breaths.
And then, seemingly out of thin air, three cloaked figures are standing in front of him, towering over his sitting body. He gasps and his head darts up to look at them.
Slowly they remove their hoods, reveling their long hair and pale skin, Dan gulps thickly.
"You must be Daniel Kensington." The one in the middle with long black hair and odd green eyes says, his voice is smooth and accented.
Dan stands up quickly and nods a few times. "Yes, you must be Mr. Volturi...?" Dan asks, uncertain though the mans voice sounds familiar.
"Aro, dear one." He affirms and Dan finds his choices of words strange. "These are my brothers - Marcus," He gestures towards the man with dark brown, wavy hair and nearly black eyes that seem unfocused. "and Caius." and then to the blonde brother who glares at Dan like hes a piece of scum with unnatural blue eyes.
They all seem off to Dan but he can't place his finger on why, because really, he isn't sure why, they just seem strange and uncanny to him.
"Its—" Dan clears his throat to rid his voice of its quiver. "Its nice to finally meet you." They had emailed and spoken over the phone a few times, but never in person.
"You as well." Aro says, holding out a gloved hand. Dan takes it and shakes it with a polite smile. Aro drops his hand moments later. "Let us sit, yes?"
"Oh, yeah." Dan says, sitting down and positioning himself in the chair to look more professional.
"So, five hundred thousand is not enough for you, is that correct?" Caius asks harshly, his glare anything but polite as he looks at Dan.
Dan gulps again and licks his lips before speaking. "Like I said over the phone, Mr. Volturi, I think its worth a lot more than that." And Dan knows these men are rich, he knows they own countless museums and libraries spread around all of Italy and even some in France and large cities in America, so why wouldn't he get what he can out of them? "My family paid twice the amount for it when they bought it."
"One million, then?" Caius suggests, lifting up one of his eyebrows.
Dan tilts his head to the side and by the look on his face, its obvious that isn't the number he wants either.
"Greedy little human." Caius mumbles under his breath, too quiet for Dan to hear. "You told us one million was fine last week." Caius points out in an irritated tone.
"I know," Dan says, "but then I thought about it and how important that art is to myself and many others, like you three. It deserves more, its been in my family for decades, passed down through generations."
"Then why are you selling it?" Caius questions.
"I could get more use out of it than if it was just sitting in my basement." Dan says with a shrug, he just likes money.
"Give us a number, then." Caius urges impatiently, the dingy library and its musty scent hurt his nose, he hates being here.
Dan inhales and then blurts the number, "Five million."
Caius laughs. "Greedy, aren't we?" But Dan is greedy. He has money, a good amount. He can afford whatever he wants and then some, so the five million is not truly necessary, he just wants it.
"Its important to you, isn't it? I thought you three wanted it?" Dan asks, looking away from Caius to Aro who rests his head on his folded hands.
"Three and a half million?" Aro suggests now, looking at Daniel as he looks at him, knowing that the art is important to himself.
Caius sighs but keeps quiet. Dan shakes his head, though, still believing hes being lowballed. "Five million." He affirms unwaveringly.
Caius scoffs but still doesn't speak. Aro chuckles. "My, aren't you stubborn?" He asks with an amused grin.
"They all are." Caius mumbles—By they, he means humans because he detests them sometimes and now is certainly one of those times, he just wants to go back to the castle and paint or feed but this babbling human is stalling those activities.
Daniel doesn't know what Caius means but ignores him. "As are you. You three are rich, why are you being so cheap?"
Caius feels like ripping Daniels head from his body along with his spine, but he must not because Aro wants his piece of art and would be angry at Caius if he could not get it, so he sits still.
"Your grandfather only paid one million, why should we even pay more in the first place? Three and a half is surely enough, young Daniel." Aro says, shaking his head like hes disappointed in the man sitting in front of him.
"Five." Dan keeps his head tall and voice sturdy.
"Lets just give this petulant man five million and move on. I am bored with this now." Marcus comments quietly to Aro, speaking for the first time since being in the library. He only spoke because Daniels prattling is annoying him and, much like Caius, he wants to go back to the castle and sulk or read a book in the confines of his room.
"No, do not let him win!" Caius whispers back. "No human should be able to take five million from us." While he may already be over this whole thing, Caius will not let anyone beat him in pretty much anything, especially a human.
Aro grumbles and looks down at the watch on his wrist to check the time and then he sees that Heidi will be back shortly with humans to feed on. He slowly looks up from his watch back to Daniel. "How about we meet for dinner later and we can discuss this some more?"
Dan sighs but nods. "Fine. Where do you want to meet?"
"Ristorante La Buca." Aro answers. "A new restaurant that has just opened." He then sticks his ungloved hand out for Dan to shake, now wanting to read his thoughts, hoping to see something that could possibly persuade the man.
Dan nods and smiles politely. "Sounds good, Mr. Volturi." He takes Aros hand and shivers at the coldness of his smooth skin as they touch.
In his mind, Aro sees that Daniel is really nothing but a spoiled man who really has never had to do anything for himself. His father paid for his college expenses, his home, cars and any bills he had. And then when his father died, he still was taken care of financially. Aro watches as Daniel meets a man who offers his daughter to him for marriage in exchange for providing some money, Aro feels disgusted.
Soon, Amara is introduced to him and they marry which is unpleasant for Aro to have to reel through, but as he does, the only thing he can really pay attention to in Daniels thoughts is her, he can't help it, hes just drawn to her. The thoughts become more recent and then they end, only giving Aro Daniels current thoughts, so Aro drops his hand.
"Will you be bringing your wife?" Aro asks, eyeing Daniels simple golden wedding band.
Daniel truly hadn't thought about Amara coming to dinner, but he supposed he should bring her, he smiles at the thought of showing her off to others. "I will be." Daniel nods.
Aro actually feels interested in meeting Amara, never having been that drawn to somebody through anyones thoughts ever before, and the fact that shes a human makes him want to meet her more. "Wonderful! We will see you later. 8:30." He says and then rises up, Caius and Marcus shortly follow his lead.
The three brothers pull their hoods up and quickly leave after with a breeze. Daniel sits at the table alone, still reeling in the meeting they just had—his ego feels a little hurt that he couldn't talk the brothers into five million dollars just yet, but he hopes at dinner he will be able to persuade them.
•°. *࿐
AS AMARA WALKS THROUGH the streets, the sun is nearly set and less people are out now. Even shops and some restaurants have closed their doors and turned their lights off. So, she figures its time to head back.
She hasn't been gone for too long, only almost an hour, and all she did was get a coffee, but she figures she'll have more time to do stuff tomorrow during the day if Dan is still busy with the brothers he's told her about.
She hopes he's still gone when she gets back to the room, because if he isn't, she'll need to hurriedly think of an excuse and hope he doesn't notice her clothing enough to be upset with her. She walks a little faster.
She quickly makes it to the hotel and smiles as she enters the lobby, she waves at the receptionist as she walks past and waits patiently for the elevator when she nears it.
The doors eventually slide open and she steps inside with a sigh as she presses the button of the floor they're staying on. When she looks back up, she can see Dan entering into the lobby, heading straight for the elevator with his head pointed at his phone.
Amaras eyes widen and she presses the button over and over again frantically, not sure if it even has any effect. Thankfully, the doors close just before Dan lifts his head to look at them — Amara lets out a breath of pent up air before diving her hand into her pocket and fishing for the keycard.
When the elevator stops, she lunges out of it and runs down the hallway, she unlocks the door quickly and scurries into the room, throwing the door shut behind her. She kicks her shoes off and jumps into the bed, she hurriedly throws the thick covers over her body to hide her outfit.
Only a few moments later, the door is reopened and Dan walks into the room, oblivious to the fact that his wife was just in front of him only minutes ago. He looks at her in the bed.
"Hey," She greets sweetly, "how'd it go?"
He shrugs. "First they offered five hundred thousand," Dan shakes his head with a scoff, "and then a million. I told them I wanted five million and then they offered three and half! I never backed down, though." He boasts and Amara tries to look interested. "We're having dinner with them at 8:30 to negotiate some more," he peers down at his watch, "that gives you an hour to get ready."
Amara wants to roll her eyes but instead she nods compliantly. She slowly sits up but keeps the duvet around her hips to cover the jeans she wears. "What should I wear?" She asks, she always has to ask what to wear besides if what shes is wearing pajamas, though at home she only has silk and short nighties that he wants her to wear at night.
"The black dress I bought for you before we left," Dan tells her, a smirk on his face now, "you'll look great in it."
Amara tries to smile at him but she isn't sure that it looks convincing. "I have to call a car," Dan informs her and stands up, he heads for the balcony. When hes out there, Amara runs for the bathroom so he doesn't see her outfit.
She locks the door after she shuts it, she knows it may make Dan angry, because he often likes to join her while shes in the shower, but she doesn't care.
She strips out of her clothes and starts the fancy shower that already has her products prepared for her. The warm water welcomes her and she takes a soothing shower, using the time to shave her legs. When shes done, she pulls one of the fluffy white robes onto her body and ties the rope around her waist.
She dries her hair with the blow dryer that the hotel provided and drags a brush through it, she leaves it down and to the side, letting it fall over her shoulder. Next she applies subtle makeup; mascara, concealer, blush, highlighter and a light shade of lipstick.
When she leaves the bathroom, 40 minutes has passed and Dan is already dressed in a light gray suit, he glances at her as she walks past him to the big closet that their luggage resides in. She finds the black dress and slips into it, when its fully on her body she turns to look at herself in the mirror and decides that she looks good enough. She pulls a pair of black heels onto her feet and steps back out into the main room.
"I'm ready." Amara tells Dan while glaring at him as he ties his shoes. It isn't uncommon for her to stare at him with anger and hatred in her eyes while hes distracted, its really the only way she can get through the day. She really can't wait for the moment that she can take his life and get revenge on him for everything he has done to her, shes been planning the day since the wedding. He looks at her with a nod and forces her to lose the look in her eye.
"Great, the car just got here." He looks her up and down again. "You look great, honey."
She lifts her lips into an unconvincing smile. "Thank you."
He stands up and grabs Amaras hand, making her scowl to herself. He leads her out of the room and into the hallway where her shoes echo as the hit the wood.
He presses the button for the elevator. "So, what'd you do while I was gone?" He asks while they wait.
"I was reading." Amara lies.
Dan nods. "You always are." He acknowledges.
"I know." Amara agrees. Reading is another thing that keeps her sane every day, it momentarily takes her mind off of her, well, life, and lets herself pretend shes elsewhere for a few hours.
Theres a ding and then the elevator is there for them. The couple enters and silently ride it down to the lobby where it opens. Dan leads Amara through the lobby and outside to where the car is already waiting. The driver opens the back door for them and slams it shut after they enter, soon he gets behind the wheel and begins driving to the restaurant.
Its completely dark now and the streets are now empty, Amara notes that every shop is closed down, except for the restaurant they venture to, obviously. The drive is quiet but Amara prefers it that way with Dan. When they get to the restaurant, no one else is around.
Amara looks at the restaurant, the outside lights are on but she can't tell if the ones on the inside are, too. "Are they even opened, Dan?" She asks, peering over at him.
"I don't know." Dan answers with uncertainty. Maybe the brothers were upset with him and how he treated them, so they decided to back out of the deal and pull a prank on him.
But then the doors to the restaurant open and there stand the brothers ominously in the shadow of the awning. Amara stares at them, her head tilted to the side. She can't really see their faces, but she can see their long hair, each varying in length and color, and she can see that they're each quite tall, something Dan is lacking in.
As she stares at them, the pressure on her heart grows stronger, so she lightly touches her fingers to her chest.
"Is that them?" She whispers to Dan.
Dan nods. "It sure is." He clears his throat. "Aro, Marcus, Caius, hello." He greets all three of the brothers formally.
Amara furrows her eyebrows at the strange names of these men, well, maybe except for Marcus, but Aro and Caius? Never has she heard names like theirs.
The one in the middle steps forward and then Amara can see his face. To her, hes gorgeous. His skin is quite pale and while it would likely look deathly on anybody else, it looks pretty under the yellow street lights on him. His black hair is long and perfectly compliments his light complexion. Then she looks at his eyes and everything around her feels blurry, muffled and euphoric, the pressure on her chest feels like its been lessened slightly.
And to Aro, Amara looks stunning. The same dizzying euphoria surrounds him too as he gazes at her. He knows that hes found her, his soulmate, the feeling is undeniable and hes seen it through the minds of others.
Marcus watches as a bond is formed between Aro and the woman whom he does not know the name of, a quaint smile forms onto his lips because hes happy for Aro, it truly is a marvelous thing to find. He looks at the woman next just as she turns her head to look at him, their eyes meet and again, the pressure from Amaras chest is lifted and she feels a buzzing sensation swirling around her.
And Marcus suddenly feels alive again, well, as alive as a vampire could be. He no longer feels weighed down by sadness and dread, rather free and happy when he looks at her. He also knows what has just happened, which is profound.
Not even two seconds have passed since Daniel has greeted them. Aro blinks his eyes and shifts them away from Amara and to Dan, he puts a grand smile on his face and presses his gloved hands together and walks forward, Marcus and Caius follow behind.
"Daniel, hello again." Aro greets with an abundant amount of enthusiasm and friendliness. "I take it this is your wife?"
Caius looks to her then, and just like the two before him, their eyes meet and its like some force has enveloped the both of them, the weight is now gone from Amaras heart, which is a great relief for her.
Amara stares back at the blonde man, strands of his light hair fall in front of his forehead and his strange blue eyes sweep over her face after the dazzling contact, she does the same, noticing how attractive he is, and strangely alluring.
"Yes, sir, this is Amara." Dans voice pulls her from her admiration of Caius's features. He roughly grabs her hand and pulls her closer, the three kings watch with disgust.
Amara smiles at them, ignoring Dans uncomfortably tight hold. "Nice to meet you."
"You as well." Aro speaks, his smile becomes less creepy and forced as he does, not wanting to spook the poor girl. "Let us get inside, yes? We don't want to keep you waiting."
Dan nods. "Yeah, that sounds good." They begin to walk and he still keeps a grasp on Amaras hand. They enter into the restaurant, the door being held open by Marcus. The inside is dimly lit and there are no other patrons, a soft melody plays in the background throughout the restaurant.
Amara finds it strange that no one else is there, it isn't too late and this town is quite the tourist attraction, you'd think the restaurants and stores would be open a little later than they are.
Aro leads them to a table, no host greeting them. Amara sits next to Dan and the three brothers sit across from them. A candle sits in the middle of the table and casts an orange glow around their table.
"This restaurant is nice." Dan compliments, glancing around the quiet space. "Do you own it?"
"Part of it." Caius answers bitterly. He already didn't like Daniel, he finds him snotty and annoying, but now that he knows Daniel is the spouse to his soulmate, he detests the human more than is comprehensible.
Dan slowly nods, a nervous and quivering smile appearing on his chapped lips.
Soon, a waitress appears at the table with an armful of menus, she places them down and then asks what the group would like to drink; the brothers order nothing and Dan orders merlot for he and Amara, despite the fact that Amara doesn't really like wine.
Small talk commences as they wait for their drinks.
"So, Amara," Marcus begins, "how has Italy been treating you?" He asks sweetly, looking just at her.
Amara shifts her gaze to Dan who just slightly nods his head, so she looks back to Marcus with a tight smile — all three of them notice this little action, of course.
"Its nice so far." Amara answers simply.
"How long are you staying?" Aro asks her this time.
But Dan starts to answer for her. "A few—"
Aro cuts him off with a loud clearing of his throat. "I believe I asked Amara, Daniel." He chastises Dan like hes a young boy or something, and Dan doesn't like it.
But Dan doesn't say anything. "Just a couple of days, I think." Amara answers after a few prolonged moments of awkward silence.
"What do you like to do at home?" Caius asks, joining his brothers in the asking of the questions now.
Dan feels confused, they didn't ask him these many questions about himself when they met earlier today.
Amaras eyes bounce from place to place as she thinks of an answer, she doesn't really talk about herself, so having the conversation on her is strange.
"I like to read, I guess." She answers quietly and then shifts her eyes down onto her folded hands on the table.
"Thats all?" Caius asks, catching her eye. He raises his eyebrows up at her, a welcoming smile appears on his face.
Amara hates to admit that she feels shy under his gaze.
"We like to..." Dan, again, starts answering for Amara.
"...She was asked." Caius intercepts and chides with the angriest glare Daniel has ever seen.
Amara inhales. "I don't really know..." She pauses, thinking — when Dan is around she cleans, cooks, bakes, gardens and does chores around the house, so does she tell them that or tell them what she really does when shes alone? Painting, reading, sketching, listening to music and watching old niche movies? "Baking is fun, too." She settles on just adding that, not wanting to upset Dan by giving out more information about herself, she can already feel his disapproving eyes peering into the side of her face.
The waitress then appears with the couples wine and asks if they are ready to order, Dan says yes and orders he and Amara the same dish, the kings want to rip his limbs from his body at his obvious controlling nature. They order nothing, just like the drinks — they fed earlier or else they would have likely had a glass of blood.
"How long have you two been married for?" Aro asks, trying to seem human and interested in their relationship, though really he knows that the answer and that the marriage was forced upon Amara. It hurts him to treat it as a genuine and fully consensual relationship.
"Five years." Dan answers this time and no one interrupts him.
Amara looks down at her sparkly wedding ring with a slight frown — those five years have, most definitely, been the worst of her 23 years on this planet, having spent them forcefully married to the horrible man sitting beside her.
"I hope you continue to lead a happy relationship." Aro says, except he doesn't and is actively praying on the downfall of Dan and his marriage. Caius scowls next to him, not agreeing with the words his brother speaks at all.
Dan smiles cordially. "Thank you, Aro."
Aro nods once at him and then clears his throat. "Let is resume our conversation from earlier, yes?"
Dan sighs but nods and places his hands on the table in front of him, he clasps them together. "Lets."
So they begin to discuss numbers and Amara just zones out, not noticing the stares sent her way by each king at multiple different moments throughout the conversation.
The food was placed in front of the humans during the talk, so Amara ate her food in silence though she didn't really like it, but Dan wouldn't know that because he knows nothing about her, so she has to eat it, knowing she won't be able to get anymore food until tomorrow.
When she was done eating, as was the discussion. They had settled on four million, Dan strived for five but he took what was offered.
And now they stand by the entrance, bidding hopefully their last farewells, well, Dan and the kings last farewells; the three brothers don't like Dan at all and he isn't their biggest fan either, obviously.
"This was a lovely time. It was a joy working with you Daniel," Aro says with such politeness it feels fake. "I'm glad we came to a decision."
"Me too, Mr. Volturi." Dan says, not going in for a handshake like he normally would because Aros cold skin freaks him out.
Caius doesn't say anything to Dan, he just glares. Marcus smiles softly at the man but it isn't genuine, just a face Marcus has learned to wear over the centuries to appear less stoic.
"And you," Aro turns to Amara now, "it was lovely to be in your company this evening." The words he speaks now do not feel forced.
Amaras cheeks flush red, she just hopes the lighting is dim enough to shield it. "Thank you, Aro."
He reaches his leather gloved hand out to her, she places hers in his and smiles as he kindly shakes it. "Of course." He releases her hand.
Amara smiles at Marcus and Caius, and then Dan is reaching for her hand and pulling her out of the desolate restaurant with his same rough grip. Amara feels a longing sadness as she walks away from the fancy place.
The kings watch her leave from the door, frowns and scowls on their faces.
"Demetri," Aro calls, the guard materializes beside him in just a second, "follow them." Demetri nods once and then takes off after the SUV as it pulls away. Aro sighs after they disappear into the quiet of the night. "We will have to get her to stay."
He doesn't know how they're going to accomplish that, but he won't let Amara be with that scum of a human any longer.