Swarms of the minions of the Romanian Coven gathered around as I was being marched towards the ancient looking City Hall building that was in the middle of Refugiul lui Vladimir. I had noticed that most of their minions looked like they were in a trance; their eyes were glazed over.
Why do they look like that, I think.
There was a familiar teenaged girl in front of the City Hall, guarding the entrance. When she laid her eyes on me, her eyes widen. She clearly knows who I am, yet I did not, though she did strike a familiarity with me.
The girl swiftly opens the door and I'm dragged inside by the grips on my arms by Hugo and Vector. The girl, seeing that I'm inside the building and the entrance has been shut, walks over to the grand wooden doors that were in the back of the hallway and opens them to reveal a medieval-themed room with marble walls. The Romanian Coven's throne room it would seem.
Vector shoves me inside and I lose my footing as I land harshly onto the marble floor. I hear two chairs skid across the floor as a man gasps. Claps fill the room as laughter sounds against the stoned walls.
"What a pleasant surprise!" a familiar voice laughs.
Vladimir.
"I did not quite expect this." says Stefan.
"Neither did I, brother." Vladimir replies. "Lady Amity has cursed us with her presence, or as I should say, blessed us. How grateful we should be for the future Queen has gifted us the chance to be in the same room with her." he laughs and snaps his fingers.
Vector grabs me harshly by the elbows and pulls me up to rest on my knees.
"That's much better." Vladimir thanks Vector. "Now, why are you here, Amity? I refuse to use your stupid title more than I already have. Anyway, you are in our territory. Your title does not matter here."
I look at him and at his brother. "I've come with a proposal."
"Oh?" Stefan inquires. "And what would that be?"
"Drop your plans and all crimes against you will be dropped. I swear on my honor." I promise.
I knew my mates would not be happy at my proposal, but I had to ensure the safety of my coven and the vampire and human world. I knew that if the Romanians got into power, every human would become hunted, and then, because of lack of proper hunting, humans would become extinct.
Vladimir appears in thought. "Hm...we could do that, yes. But that's no fun."
I scowl.
"I agree, brother. The Volturi scum deserve having their power stripped away. Wouldn't you say, brother?" Stefan asks.
"Very much so, brother. Girls," just then a pair of women, one blonde, the other brown, walked in and sat on the two remaining thrones. "What would you say?"
"As much as I enjoyed my Volturi luxurious life, I would have to agree husband." the brown-haired says.
As I'm pondering on who the women are, a memory pops into my head.
"Don't need to be such an overprotective blondie, dude. I mean no harm. I'm here just to pass a message." the black-haired man raises his hands.
"Well? State your business and leave us!" Caius growls.
"Relax, dude. No need to get your knickers in a twist as the British saying goes. Four old friends of yours have asked me to relay a message to you, your brothers, and your lovely mate." his gaze lingers on me at the end and Caius moves himself to block me from view. "They're coming. They want revenge. Two want revenge from thousands of years ago. The other two you know personally. Perhaps you knew one of them more than the other. Very blonde. Shares the name of Dora the Explorer and Athena. Ring a bell? Anyway, here's what they said, and I quote, 'you better hold your dear mate of yours close. She won't be living on this earth for much longer. Or perhaps we'll keep her. Your reign is coming to an end, Volturi. Tick tock goes the clock. Tick. Tock.'"
Before Caius could lunge at him, the stranger is gone. His snarls are loud, and I rush to pull his head to my neck so he can breathe my scent, calming him.
"It's going to be okay." I whisper.
Caius weakly smiles. "We need to go. You're not safe here."
"Caius, it's fine. I'm not going anywhere." I reassure.
Caius snarls. "It's not fine!" he shouts. "They're coming after you. You're the primary target with our rule being the second. We have no choice."
"Who is they?" I ask.
"You've met two of them. Vladimir and Stefan. I am sure they are the ones who are orchestrating this. The other two are helping. They want revenge on Aro and I. The Romanians want revenge on the whole coven by regaining power." Caius tells me.
"And the other two?"
"Sulpicia and Athenodora. I'm sure of it. Come, we must head back. I'll explain who they are on the way back."
Athenodora and Sulpicia.
That's who the women are. The blonde is Athenodora and the brown-haired is Sulpicia. Caius' and Aro's ex-wives.
"Athenodora and Sulpicia? My mates told me about you two but I didn't know you would go this low to get revenge." I spit.
Athenodora laughed. "Revenge? Maybe. But it's not like we just chose them for revenge." my eyebrows raise in confusion. "No, no. See, we're mates.
My eyes widen. "What?"
"I know. The irony, really." Sulpicia laughs. "We're mates to our ex-husbands' worst enemies. Ha! The irony!"
Having grown tired of the conversation, Vladimir interrupts. "Dears, perhaps now it is not the time. I grow tired of your pleasantries. Now, let's see, what to do with you?" he gestures to me.
"We can't kill her yet, brother." Stefan pitches in.
I growl. "If you even try, my mates will--"
"Your mates will probably try to kill us, yes I know. But not to worry, we'll kill them before they can try to kill us." Vladimir laughs.
I growl even louder.
"Ah! I know! Vector, take her to the dungeons. We'll have Gabriel introduce himself to her later. Goodbye." Vladimir dismisses.
Vector grabs me and I loudly protest until my mouth is covered by a hand.
"Be silent, will you!" Vector hisses.
Vector continues to drag me down into the basement where the dungeon is and I'm thrown inside a cell.
I bang on the cell bars repeatedly.
"Let me out!" I scream.
"No can do, I'm afraid. Ta-ta." he shuts the dungeon's door and I'm left alone.
In darkness.
Translation(s):
Refugiul lui Vladimir - Vladimir's Refuge.