I could see Demetri's eyes watching me in the rear-view mirror as I attempted to yawn again and again to try and pop my ears. Despite having slept through the majority of the flight I had still suffered from the pressure change.
The sun was setting over the horizon, the rich reds, oranges and pinks washing the sky like a water painting. It was a sickening feeling, admiring the rolling landscape but breaking on the inside, how could I appreciate the beauty of this country when I was now a hostage.
"We don't usually have guests, Celestine, so if there is anything, we have forgone please let me know and it will be righted immediately," Aro says turning to face me.
"I'm surprised you don't have more humans staying with you, just in case you fancy a midnight snack?" my eyes followed the smirk that crossed his face, he looked paler now. With the knowledge that no blood filled his veins I noticed the pastiness of his skin, the almost papery effect, although I had touched him before, I now worried that he would flake away beneath my fingers.
"I would like to introduce you to my brothers before you get too settled, Caius and Marcus are ready for you today, and then I will introduce you to Athena and Didyme tomorrow after you have fully rested."
"Why do I need to meet them? I already dislike them...I'd quite like to just be alone...please."
"It'll only be a quick introduction, and then I will show you to your room. Formalities are a necessity, and it will only take a few moments," Aro insists and I sigh back into the leather of the car.
I was still feeling confused about how I felt. Should I have been afraid? I wasn't sure I was afraid or just silently in shock, everything had happened so quickly my brain was just taking time to decide how to process everything. I could see myself breaking if I didn't hurry up and pick an emotion to depend upon. Anger, sadness, fear...there were several to choose from and each had its equal share of reasoning, they were all good emotions to rely on, but which one should I succumb to?
A bastide style town grew into view on the horizon, its walled boundaries making me feel even more trapped before we had passed through the stone archway.
It was beautiful and hideous at the same time, such a quaint little town with normal people selling fruit and veg from rickety stalls outside their homes but as we drove past, the large car squeezing its way through the tight streets reminded me that the vampires ruled this place. I wondered if the locals knew how much danger they were in, did they work for the vampires? Maybe they sacrificed one local a month to feed the vampires and secure their safety from whatever other creatures may exist?
We seemed to veer away from the town, following the outer wall which turned from cobbles to smooth tarmac. The car paused at a set of tall wooden gates, only for the briefest of minutes before the gates opened and we drove down into darkness.
Gone was the setting sun and now florescent lights clicked on as we passed under each one, at the base of the slope the room opened up into a massive garage. Sports cars galore were lined up and all perfectly shiny and clean. We stopped, and Demetri and Felix exited swiftly.
"We will head upstairs into the castle now, Caius and Marcus are already waiting in my quarters they are looking forward to meeting you properly at last," Aro smiles softly.
I shake my head, "You've fucked up big time, you do realise this, don't you?"
"I would appreciate it if you didn't use such language Celestine."
"Oh, don't try and treat me like some sort of child, I wouldn't have anything to do with you if I had a choice...but I don't have much choice, do I?" It was difficult to stare at him for so long, hatred bubbled up inside me, yet his face was still the same, his eyes drew me in even though I felt disgusted by the deep red of his irises.
"You will come and meet my brothers," Aro exits the car and as soon as his door was closed mine was opened and his pale hand extended inside the car. I ignored the gesture and stepped out into the enormous garage. There were cars for miles, I almost couldn't see the end of the brightly lit concrete room, it was like a cave.
"This way," Aro placed a hand on my back and ushered me to one end of the garage.
The hallways were long, tall and wide, the stone was completely exposed, with several large golden framed oil paintings and woven tapestries alternating along the walls. The slates beneath my feet were freezing, their icy cold seeping through the soles of the flip-flops I was still wearing and causing my toes to seize up. My eyes roamed the cavernous expanse of the halls, eyeing the odd alcove and door, different passageways peeled off the main hall and I found myself growing curious as to where they led.
The only sounds were my heavy breathing and the flip-flap of my shoes, everything seemed to echo which only heighten my nerves and therefore my breathing. It was rasping, I was confident it would take days, maybe even weeks until my throat stopped feeling like sand paper. My other injures were difficult to place a time line on. The burns would fade slightly but never disappear, the tattoos could be removed eventually, the cuts would scar but the memories would never change – they would remain as vivid and horrifying as they were now.
"We'll take the elevator," Aro says, pulling me out of my thoughts and directing me towards the disguised aluminium doors.
"Why do you have music in the lift?" I couldn't help but ask the question as we stood surrounded by the soft tinkling tunes.
"I'm not sure," he replies. "I must admit I very rarely have need for this, it's used purely for our guests."
"Humans you mean?"
Aro sighs audibly. "The majority of our guests are human, yes."
"Do you eat them all?"
"We don't...eat them..." Aro frowns.
"You just murder and drink their blood?"
He turned to me fully, I couldn't avoid his stare. "Yes."
The lift chimed and the doors opened onto another lavish hallway. This time the floor was carpeted, and the paintings seemed more intimate, the walls were closer to each other and several doors lined each side. Aro walked a few steps ahead of me and paused at a set of double doors, waiting for me to catch up.
"My brothers only wish to meet you, I'll keep it short so you can make yourself at home and get some more sleep." Aro pushed open the doors and we headed inside.
"Brother, we were worried you'd lost your way," a silky voice chuckled.
Two men were seated across the room. Caius and Marcus, I remembered Aro talking about them. Caius was the blonde, his platinum hair was razor straight, his features sharp and angular, his eyes piercingly red that seemed to be glowering so harshly across the room I was surprised I wasn't physically scalded by them. Marcus was slightly more passive, his hair was a dark shade of brown that fell in soft waves around his face, his eyes were equally as red, but his stare missed me completely and was instead focused on Aro stood beside me.
"Marcus, Caius, this is Celestine," Aro introduces me.
Caius' head snaps sideways making me flinch, the movement would have been normal if it had been slowed down fifty times; Aro was much better at pretending to be human. "What an extravagant name," Caius says.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Celestine," Marcus says and slightly slower than Caius, but by no means normal, Marcus stood up and strode over to stand before us. "I hope that your journey was not too uncomfortable considering your condition?"
I couldn't bring myself to speak at all, my teeth were locked together, and my lips were firmly sealed, I felt paralysed. Fear was the prevailing emotion; however, it was difficult to discern whether the fear I felt was because I knew what terrors they were capable of or because I couldn't quite believe anything was real.
My body startled when Aro's hand fell onto my shoulder. "I think it would be best for Celestine to get some proper rest, excuse us brothers." With that the hand on my shoulder became heavier and forced me to take a step forward.
Aro directed me through the room and down an adjoining hallway, several other rooms led off from the carpeted passage, but I didn't pay too much attention. My mind was racing, and I couldn't keep a thought in place long enough to think about it properly.
I was in a castle, full of vampires that murdered groups of people to survive off their blood, one of them thought I was their soul mate, the others probably just viewed me as a potential next meal. My body was scarred physically and mentally from the torture inflicted by another deranged vampire. My family were most likely loosing their minds thinking I had been abducted or was dead in a ditch somewhere...
Aro released me and stepped in front of me to open a door. The bedroom was vast, so much empty floor space that wasn't occupied by anything but extravagant rugs and carpets. A desk was in one corner, bookshelves lined another and a bed was positioned between two grand balconied windows. All the furnishings were a deep maroon, complementing the dark wood furniture but making the whole room feel deprived of light.
"I had one of the guards fill a draw with some clothes for you," Aro says and walks purposefully over to a chest of draws and removes a set of pyjamas. "I hope they all fit, of course, we will get you a complete wardrobe soon enough." He lays the pyjamas on the end of the bed. "The bathroom is just through there, it has been fully stocked with everything we assumed you would need, but if anything is missing just let me know."
My tongue still felt heavy, I didn't know how to respond to him.
"Let me draw you a bath," he says and disappears into the bathroom. I heard the water start running and the faint scent of milk and honey filled the air. "Are you hungry?" Aro was stood much closer than I anticipated, I hadn't heard him leave the bathroom yet alone seen him get so far across the room.
I shake my head and shuffle forwards to pick up the pyjamas. "I must insist that you drink something though, I'll have some water and tea brought up," he says and ushers me into the bathroom. Unlike the bedroom the bathroom was much brighter, the floor was tiled white and the cabinets were a soft pine. The bathtub was very regal with clawed feet and looked large enough to fit at least four people in it, bubbly water was slowly rising and filling the room with its fragment perfume.
"I will leave you to relax, if you need anything while you're in here just say," Aro lingers in the doorway of the bathroom. "Please call if you need anything Celestine."
Aro closes the door softly and I drop the pyjamas on the floor. The sound of running water filled the room drowning out the steadily increasing rasps of breath I was drawing into my lungs. My hands shook as they stripped off my clothes, some sick and twisted part of me wanted nothing more than to see the wounds that littered my body. The pain from them was hard to associate with what they were, I never wanted to forget how they'd gotten there or why.
In the stark white lighting of the bathroom, the tattoos seemed darker, the skin around the lines was still angrily red but they'd healed back slightly, only leaving an outline of damage around each letter. I very carefully unravelled the bandages around my wrists, thick scars fully encircled them like I still wore the restraints. Scabs had formed over most of the damaged skin, I hoped submerging them in water wouldn't undo any of the healing. My ankles were similar, although the band of damage was much thicker where I had obviously tried harder to move my legs.
I winced as the tap holding the dressings over my burns pulled at my skin, I had only briefly seen the burnt V's that had been branded into the centre of my stomach and the tops of my thighs. They almost looked ornate, the right-hand side of the V was slightly curled, and the charred skin made it look strangely neat. I could touch the burns; they'd gone so deep the nerves had been damaged, but I was sure with time and healing the pain would return.
The water was hot, and I bit back a scream as I plunged my left leg into the water, not to prolong the inevitable I followed with might right leg and stood in the water desperately trying to stay silent as tears leaked from my eyes. I turned to face the taps and took a deep shaky breath before sitting down as fast as I could, making sure every part of me from the neck down was below the water. The air was forced from my lungs and I couldn't help the wail of pain that escaped me. Everything hurt, below the water my body was shaking, it made me feel short of breath and the heat from the water seemed to have shrunk the size of my lungs.
Water rushed into my mouth. My back arched but my arms had lost all strength, my fingers could feel the smooth base of the tub, but water kept filling my mouth despite my struggles. For a split second I was almost hopeful, perhaps drowning would be the best thing to do, there would be no more torture or pain, or vampires in death.
Cold hands gripped the tops of my arms and drew me up. I coughed, water spilling from my mouth, air was drawn back into my lungs and my hazy vision started to clear. Aro looked disappointed.
"Killing yourself isn't the answer," he says.
"I –" he didn't give me time to fully reply before he lifted me clear of the water. A soft towel was quickly placed over my shoulders, he took care to avoid every would and allowed my own hands to position the towel better.
"You won't be allowed to do these things alone if I cannot trust you not to harm yourself," he picked the pyjamas up off the floor and left the bathroom, leaving the door open as a clear sign for me to follow. "I would like you to eat, some jam and toast, I know you like it." A tray had been set on the bedside table, along with a glass of water, some tea and a packet of pills. "You can only take the painkillers if you eat." His tone insinuated that I would challenge him, and he had the power to administer medication I couldn't pretend I didn't want.
"I fainted," words finally came to my lips. "I didn't try to kill myself," I explain.
"Until you are back to better health you will be accompanied to wash, deliberate or accidental, it won't happen again."
"I hate you," Aro's eyes follow me as I snatch the pyjamas off the bed and drop the towel. Any embarrassment that would have originally developed in this moment never arose. He'd just seen me completely naked, and from the frown on his face seeing my wounds and his own name scrawled across my body made him uncomfortable.
"I know," he replies simply. "Now, please eat."