Chapter XII - II: Closer

Part II

"Stop it."

When she heard his voice speak from behind her, Altheia laughed. Just as hollow, just as empty. "Stop?" She whirled around to deem him with a tight-lipped sneer. "I'm sorry, in case you don't understand, I'm doing you a favor here."

"Stop. It." Caius snapped, struggling to even out his rage in deep breaths. "Let me make something clear."

Altheia leaned away coolly and shrugged as if to say be my guest.

"I don't like you." Caius stated simply, his tone laced with disdain. Altheia laughed again. "I don't know you. You came into Volterra by chance, hiding behind the misdeeds of a wayward coven, only to be spared because of a seer's cheap mindtricks that my brothers seem keep falling for, and for some unfathomable reason, you even possess immunity to Aro's clairvoyance? You say you were Amun's scholar in earlier in your life?" Caius seethed distrustingly. "I don't trust you."

Altheia blinked at him, taken aback. She stared blankly at him as she tried to think of a response. "I don't know what to tell you to make you believe me," she said tentatively. "I don't know what to say. When you put it like that it does sound awfully convenient..." Altheia winced. "But that doesn't mean you can't trust me – or that you can't try – I was just as clueless about you and everything about this place since I arrived!" She threw her hands up. "I didn't know vampires existed. Hell, I didn't even know Amun wasn't human!" She exhaled sharply and then shook her head, willing herself to calm. "I've spent the last four months learning and understanding everything about this coven. That's why I trust the Volturi. I'm happy to be here, Caius. I'm thankful." Altheia held his gaze solemnly. "But I wouldn't go so far as to force myself to stay." She shook her head at him. "I can't make you trust me. I can leave."

Aro stepped in between them and reached out to her. Flicking her in the middle of her forehead with his middle finger, he said, "That is the wine talking." Altheia scrunched up her nose at him, and he turned to ask Caius, "Do you trust me?"

Caius frowned. "Of course I do."

"Do you trust Marcus?"

The snow-haired monarch glanced at the man in question. "Yes."

"Then trust me that I speak for the both of us when I say this." Aro said. "Through the years that have passed, Marcus and I have only felt more and more godforsaken." His blunt, scathing tone made Caius recoil.

"Aro..." Marcus cautioned.

"No, he has to know." Aro shook his head and matched Caius' hard expression. "You don't have the same abilities as us. It's why you don't understand. To read everyone's lives with one single touch, to see the invisble strings that hold life's meanings – only to confirm every single time that our entire lives were nearly purposeless." Aro pulled his gaze back to stare at Altheia. "Three thousand years without a mate, tell me who wouldn't go insane."

"You deny yourself these thoughts, Caius, because for so long you've convinced yourself unworthy of agape." Marcus said wearily. "For the past few months, you've shown that you're capable of mercy. It's time to bestow it on yourself."

Caius' gaze rested on the woman in front of him. "She's human."

"That's a problem how?" Aro laughed. "She's been inducted. She will be changed. There's nothing to worry about."

Altheia took the silence as an opportunity to speak up. "Well, about that." Their attentions focused on her, and she nervously shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "I... want to go home." Realizing how that sounded, she waved her hands in front of her in panic. "I mean – I don't mean to leave – unless, that's what you all would want, I could leave – but I meant... to take a trip home. One last time before it all ends for me. You know?" She gave a half-hearted smile. "Campania's not that far."

The monarchs shared a considering glance.

"Then I propose an answer for all our concerns," Aro said with a roguish smirk. "Caius has his doubts about you, while you wish to see home." Aro paused. "Why don't you take him to Campania?"

"No." Altheia immediately shot him down. "That's not a good idea at all."

"Isn't it?" Marcus echoed. "Prendere due piccioni con una fava." Kill two pigeons with one stone.

Aro clapped his hands together. "Well it's settled then!"

Altheia sobered at that. "What?"

She gawked between the three. The monarchs started talking fast among themselves, traversing the courtyard in wide strides as they headed back into the castle. The brunette jogged to catch up to their pace.

"Hello? Are you just going to ignore how this is such a terrible idea?" She threw her hands up in disbelief when they continued to brush her off. "Wow. You guys just do what you want, don't you?"

Aro sent her a sparing glance. "Best get used to it."

"Okay, stop!" She ran ahead to block their path and nearly tripped over her own feet. Marcus caught her by the arm. "Think about this. Number one: it'll take a day's commute to get to Campania. Second: there'll be sun. Sun! And third: humans!" She erupted, hoping to be the voice of reason. "Aro, didn't you say you had a treaty to be finalizing?"

"I've no problem with staying behind if it means you and Caius will be able to sort out your differences." Aro answered resolutely. "And what do you take us for? Primitive? We have tinted cars at our disposal, dearest scholar, you'll be at Campania before sunrise!"

"W-We're leaving now?" She sputtered, glancing at her wristwatch. 11:15PM. "I haven't even slept yet!"

"Sleep in the car then. Oh, and take Marcus, would you?" Aro added, waving a hand airily. "I'm certain he won't be useful anywhere near here."

"You read my mind," Marcus smirked. "It's like you're a mindreader."

Altheia pulled a face at them and questioned Caius skeptically, "You're seriously doing this?"

He barely even looked at her. "O mangiar questa minestra o saltar questa finestra." Take it or leave it.

"Oh dio." Altheia couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out from her mouth. "I haven't heard that one since my great grandmother." Caius stilled from his pace and turned back to glare at her. She raised her palms innocently. "Well, you are older than me. Is age a touchy subject for you?"

"I, for one," Caius intoned. "Will enjoy your hangover in the morning."

"I don't get hangovers." Altheia stuck her tongue out childishly and headed for the separate hallway. "I'm going to go get my stuff ready."

"We'll meet you in the garage," said Marcus. There was an unnerving, wicked glint in his eyes when she parted ways with them at the lobby, and she heard him mutter something along the lines of "unearthing the Mercedes guardian," but she was too far and too lightheaded to turn back and ask about what that even meant.

Aro trailed after her through the west wing. As she climbed up the staircases leading to the dormitories, she told him, "I can walk just fine, you know."

Aro kept his arm firmly around her waist. "I just know you'll fall."

When they arrived at her bedroom, Altheia went straight to her closet and pulled out two leather duffel bags. The black-haired monarch pulled the desk chair and opted to watch her as she packed. Sorting through her clothes, Altheia asked Aro over her shoulder, "How many days should I pack for?"

A thoughtful hum. "A week's worth should be enough."

At his answer, Altheia slowed from packing her clothes and took a breather. She would have a week to reminisce, at least. A week to come home and marvel at all she'd ever known, then never again. Not everyone had the chance.

"I'll leave a message for the housekeeper so that she knows that I'm coming back. Estrella will be delighted." Altheia chuckled to herself as she typed a message into her phone. "I know I am. I missed home."

When she zipped up her bags, Aro appeared at her left and carried them for her wordlessly. He gazed down at her and murmured, "You'll stay safe, won't you?"

"I'll be with Caius and Marcus." She assured him. "I'll be as safe as I can possibly be."

He smirked at that. "I can imagine the chaos already."

Altheia grinned, and then sombered just as quickly. "I wish you could come with us," she whispered. "I'd love to show you around my hometown. It's beautiful in the night. The sea's quite close. And you'd meet my parents."

He stared at her silently for a long moment. "I have obligations."

"I know." She rested her head on his shoulder. "We'll be back before you know it."

A huff. "And be good."

"I will." She answered immediately. "I just wish you'd be there with me."

Altheia supposed that she was starting to understand Aro better, too, because the smile on his face was not as convincing as it used to be.

»»—- ❈ —-««

The Mercedes Guardian is quite possibly the most luxurious sedan Altheia has ever seen her whole life. Sleek and glossy black exteriors, leather seating, supposedly missile-proof, and equipped with a satellite GPS of its own. She inputs her hometown address into the car system and settles into the backseat, relishing in the cool temperature of the airconditioning. She felt completely exhausted from the week's events, and she was sure she'd spend the entire duration of the transit to Campania slumbering and dead to the world. Before the car could pull out of the garage, Heidi knocked on the passenger window and handed over a box filled with multiple pairs of contact lenses for the monarchs' eyes. Marcus thanked her.

Altheia yawned and tapped Caius on the shoulder. "Do you even have a license? What if we get pulled over?"

He glared at her from the rearview mirror. "Don't worry about it," Marcus answered goodnaturedly. "The police will be too scared to stop a car with the army chief's plate number."

Her lips thinned into a straight line. "I'm not even going to ask. Just wake me up when we get there please."

With a quiet hum, the Guardian pulled out of the garage and into the night. Heidi looked on apprehensively until the vehicle disappeared from view.

"They'll be fine." Heidi muttered, almost to herself. "Won't they, Demetri?"

Demetri casted a nervous glance at the retreating figure of a certain black-haired monarch, who was making his way back into the castle. "I don't think you should be worrying about them."

Heidi's brows pushed together. "What do you mean?"

"We're about to find out," Demetri sighed deeply. "What it's like to be stuck in the cage with a lion."

»»—- ❈ —-««

THE BENEVENTI HOUSE, CAMPANIA, SOUTHWEST ITALY. . .

Altheia roused from sleep nearly five hours later. She rubbed the bleariness away from her vision and peeked out the window. Sitting up eagerly, a wide smile overtook her face.

"I was just going to wake you." Marcus said from the front seat. "We're nearly there."

"How fast was Caius driving? I can't believe we're already here." She murmured in awe. "We'll pass Estrella's home – the housekeeper – just straight ahead. Turn left after the plumeria tree. The house is a bit farther out, but if you drive along the gravel path we should get there in no time."

Caius glanced at her. "You don't sound so sure."

"It's been three and a half years." She rested her chin atop her fingers on the shoulder of the driver's seat. "I don't even know if it's clean enough to stay in."

Eventually, they pull up to a familiar driveway, and Altheia pushes the door open as soon as the car slows down to a stop. The sight of her family's ancestral home was enough to sober her mind. Though the bougainvillea flower bushes were wildly overgrown in the driveway, the house seemed to be relatively well-kept in her absence.

They step up to the porch, and Altheia fished her house key from her coat pocket. Although slotting her old key into the doorknob felt unfamiliar to her now, strong waves of nostalgia and emotion bombarded her mind when she stepped into the house and turned the foyer lights on.

"I should pay Estrella much more than I do." Altheia muttered as she crossed the entryway and surveyed the first floor. Her father's study, the kitchen, the dining area, the living room... "It's like I never even left."

"Where should we put this?" Marcus gestured to their bags.

"Oh, er, my room's the one on the left on the second floor. You can keep your things in the bedroom opposite." Altheia replied absently as she turned on the lights around the house.

As Marcus carried their luggages up the staircase, he took his time looking over the hanged photographs and paintings on the walls. He proceeded to explore the bedrooms on the second landing, easily able to distinguish between the homely quarters that had obviously been occupied by a woman, and the masters bedroom that was nearly bare. He eyed at the rocking chair next to the window.

Downstairs, Altheia found Caius in Luciano's study, the ancient vampire going over her father's book collection with rapt curiosity. She tapped his shoulder as she passed him and pulled his attention to her father's desk instead. "This is what you're looking for, I think."

Luciano kept newspaper clippings, images, and records of Altheia's schooling in his desk. "My parents met in Greece, but they settled in Campania after making a career out of their love for classical music. That's why most of the books on the shelf are on those subjects," she told him as she pulled out old scrapbooks and photo albums from the desk drawer.

"And which instruments do you play?"

Altheia looked up to meet Caius' gaze, surprised. "My mother was a pianist, so naturally, I had to take lessons from her. The piano in the living room is hers." She answered. "But I prefer the violin, like my dad. I'm sure my violin is in the house somewhere..." She shrugged. "Do you play?"

Caius held her gaze silently and nodded.

"What do you play?"

"A bit of everything." He muttered as he crossed the room to focus his attention on the books she'd retrieved. He flipped open one of the compilations, and a smirk pulled at his lip instantly. "This is you?"

Altheia reddened when she peered at what album he was going over. Altheia Abrielle, December 10th, 7.8lbs. Her babybook. She shut it closed with an undignified squawk and hurriedly replaced it with a scrapbook from her older years.

"This is what you want to see. I was in my teenage years here. This is when I was studying under Amun." She paused thoughtfully as Caius flipped through the pages. "My mother was annoyed at him, during my graduation. He was my mentor, but he refused to take commemorative photos." Altheia chuckled. "I never really realized how... constant he was. He was always just, old to me, so I didn't think to ask questions. I suppose his age always worked in his favor when he wanted to conceal his... immortality. How old do you think he was when he was turned? Fifty?"

"Give or take a few years." Caius shrugged. "How did you meet him?"

Altheia cringed. "Well, it started when I was eleven..."

»»—- ❈ —-««

"Get your ass down here, young lady!"

"No! I will not go to school!" Altheia barked down at her mother petulantly. She was completely fine living up the plumeria tree, thank you very much. "Signora Giulia keeps making me read idiotic books and my classmates can barely understand simple mathematics! It is a waste of time!"

Adrienne grit her teeth together. "Oh, when I get my hands on you...! I'm getting your father!"

"Oh I'm so scared!" She bid sarcastically as her mother stomped her way back to the hillhouse.

Her father arrived at the base of the tree fifteen minutes later. Her mother didn't come back with him, so Altheia instantly knew he was going to try and coax her out with promise of leniency.

"Your mother's mad, Altheia." Luciano said, arms crossed on his chest, unimpressed. "She did pull strings to move you up multiple grade levels."

Altheia scowled at him. "Yes, and I did try to last a month! But it's not my fault I'm better at academics than my own teachers! I know the books better than they do! I'm learning nothing new!"

Luciano stared at her darkly. She blew a raspberry at him.

"I'd rather die than be surrounded by idiots for the next four years of my life! Lock in me up in my room for all I care!"

She saw her father's brow tick in annoyance. He breathed out steadily and then said, "Fine. You think you're too smart for school?"

"I know I am!" She hollered as she moved from one thick branch to another. "I've answered all my schoolbooks, I've sat through all the exams, not one wrong answer, papa! I even corrected Signora Giulia's solution in class, but she sent me out! I hate school!"

A smirk pulled at Luciano's lip. "Really?"

"Really!"

He sighed. "Alright. Fine." His tone made the eleven year-old pause and look down at him again. "Let's go to the library in the mainland. You like the library, don't you?"

She perked up, and then eyed at him distrustfully. "Are you lying?"

He tapped his foot on the ground impatiently. "If you come down right this second, I'll take you to the library in the next town. And you'll show me the books that you can't understand. Agreed?"

"Agreed!"

With a chesire grin, she braced herself and hurtled herself off the tree.

"No, don't—! Oof!" Luciano barely caught her in time. He swatted her bum lightly and Altheia laughed merrily into her father's neck. "There's not a dull day with you, hmm, dolcezza?"

"Not at all! I am the god of mischief!" She replied in Latin, just to prove that she'd gone over the language books Luciano had bought to occupy her time. She'd devoured the pages in two days. "But this god is bored."

Luciano laughed and swatted her bum again. Altheia giggled. She peered up at him through her lashes and asked nervously. "Is momma very mad?"

"Of course not." He booped her on the nose. She giggled again. "Now let's get to the library and see what we can do about your schooling."

»»—- ❈ —-««

Caius snorted. "Somehow I am not surprised."

"I'll take it as a compliment."

"And I presume you met Amun at the library?"

"Well, not exactly..."

»»—- ❈ —-««

Luciano was apologizing to the librarian profusely. Altheia refused to accept the library's borrowing limit with a scowl. "I'm really sorry about this, signorina... My daughter just goes through books at a speed you wouldn't believe..."

The librarian looked back at the skinny brunette, and then the stack of academic books on her counter. She blinked twice. Advanced calculus, physical chemistry, theoretical physics, linguistic anthropology... "This is for her?"