╭ ⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸ ╮
𝑳 𝑰 𝑭 𝑬 𝑷 𝑨 𝑻 𝑯
❝ 𝚋𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 ❞
╰ ⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸ ╯
ㅤ"𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐄?" Ariadne asked, after a conversation with the Cullens. Carlisle was the only Cullen she ever met, meeting him a few years after he turned. The man tried to get her to join his vegetarian lifestyle, but she informed him of her attempts, but all she's gotten from it was weakness.
"He's picking up who we hope is another witness," Edward replied. After meeting, he'd told her about him being the first to join Carlisle's 'family,' and how the patriarch had often spoken of her before.
Ariadne hummed. "I haven't seen him since the late 1600s."
Jacob snorted. "Are you the oldest here? Because the way you reminisce is just blowing my mind." He turned to Bella, who he considers as his best friend. "Like, seriously, haven't seen him since the 1600s." He mocked.
But the princess just smiled at him, used to comments like these, even from fellow vampires. "Well, Amun is the oldest, and Kebi is older than me," she pointed to his friend, "other than those two, I'm older than all the vampires here combined."
A smile slowly grew upon Jacob's lips. "Awesome."
The princess winked, and turned to Bella, who she could tell still had questions on her mind. In the short time she's known the newborn, Ariadne was quick to realize her genuine curiosity about vampires, especially vampire history. And with her being part of one of the greatest civilizations in history, she was particularly interested.
"You have more questions?" Ariadne teased the newborn, who would've blushed if she was still human.
"I-I just," Bella stuttered. "I have so many questions. I read Iliad and Odyssey when I was in high school, and things I remember about your parents weren't exactly...nice things."
Laughter erupted from her. "Well, the stories were mildly true. From what I can remember, my father wasn't the kindest man, dare I say he was cruel to anyone who wasn't his family. He would sacrifice people into the labyrinth to please the gods."
"And your mother, Pasiphae?"
"My mother was..." Ariadne pursed her lips in thought. "My mother was as normal as a woman in her time would be, I suppose. She was willing to give my father as many heirs as he pleased, and I guess that's what made her so passive. I spent more time with the servants than my own parents anyway. And all my siblings had their own interests. By the time I was born, my brothers would join my father, and my sisters, well, we weren't close, not really."
"What about the Minotaur?" Emmett cut in, his lips raised in a smirk.
"Now, that wasn't real," Ariadne rolled her eyes. "When Daedalus made us the labyrinth, my father used it to sacrifice Athenians as a revenge for Androgeus' death. Because of its complexity and how it was shrouded in constant darkness, many were led to believe that the screams they could hear, from those that were chosen to enter, were due to a monster."
"Damn, I really thought the story would be epic," Emmett cursed.
Ariadne laughed. "Well, it wasn't. But many people started to believe in the existence of the so-called monster, and father never corrected anyone, so the Minotaur was born. Then Theseus came."
Edward turned to her then, reading her mind and watching as scattered, broken memories tried to put themselves together. This wasn't uncommon for vampires as old as them. They'd often forget much of their human life slowly as time went by.
"What about him?" He gave her a sad smile.
"He was beautiful, if I remember correctly," her eyes glazed over as she tried to recount her human life. "I was drawn to him almost immediately. That's why I helped him navigate through the maze. When he came out alive, everyone rejoiced and came to the conclusion that he'd defeated the Minotaur. But apparently I wasn't good enough for him, because when we stopped at Naxos to rest, I woke up and they were all gone, even my sister Phaedra, who came with us."
"Did you ever try looking for him again?"
"I did," she smiled sadly. "He'd wed my sister."
An awkward silence filled the room, so Ariadne decided to stand up.
"That's enough sad stories for today," she clapped. "I did get my revenge, though."
"How?" It was Rosalie who asked, knowing very well how satisfying revenge plots are.
"I met him at the edge of a cliff, red eyes and all, and in his shock, he threw himself off."
More and more vampires trickled into the Cullen home, and more and more became aware of who Ariadne was. Many of the older ones have met her before, while the younger vampires came up to her with awe written across all their faces, and would often ask her if they were making the right choice, coming to defend the family.
Her answer was always yes.
Eventually, the last witness arrived. Hearing the tires of Carlisle's car, Ariadne rushed outside to greet her old friend. With Edward and Bella by her side, she ignored the newcomer, and instead focused on the blond man.
"Carlisle, old friend!" She greeted, pulling into an embrace before releasing him. She turned to look at the woman next to him and hugged her too. "And you must be Esme. I'm Ariadne."
"It's good to see you again, Ari," Carlisle smiled, watching as his friend and wife introduced themselves to each other. He then turned to his 'son'. "How many came?"
"Nineteen," Edward smiled. "You have some good friends."
"And Alice?" Esme asked, pulling away from Ariadne's embrace. Her daughter-in-law regretfully shook her head in response, and Esme pulled her into a reassuring hug with a small frown.
"Well, we'll all be on Aro's list now," the new witness suddenly spoke up, bringing all the attention to him. That's when he and Ariadne's eyes first met, and Edward smirked. The mind reader gave a look to his 'father'. Alistair tried to ignore the pull he felt from the princess, and she did the same. So he continued. "Centuries on the run, that's what you've brought me. Some friend, Carlisle.
Carlisle smiled, used to his moods. "Alistair, come meet everyone."
"I already told you," he began, his accent making Ariadne swoon. "If it comes to a fight, I won't stand against the Volturi."
"It won't come to a fight," Carlisle reassured.
Alistair clenched his jaw, before turning to Ariadne. "I'll be in the attic." Then he jumped away, giving one last look to his mate before disappearing inside.
Edward started laughing. "Bet you didn't see that coming," he said to Ariadne who let out a scoff in disbelief.
"I never made it a goal to look for a mate," she pointed out, yet she was still in shock.
"Alistair?" Carlisle gave her a smirk, "wow."
"Shut up."
"Well, go on," Esme gave her a warm smile. "He's waiting for you."
Ariadne shared a look with Bella who gave a shrug, before she jumped up after her mate.