Infinite Bliss || Volturi Kings

|18| AWKWARD CONVERSATIONS

By the time she'd packed up and entered one of the insanely-expensive black BMWs parked along the Cullens' driveway, she was still dealing with a slight hangover from the previous night. Even once in the car with the dark-tinted windows sheltering her eyes, she kept a pair of sunglasses on which Aro had handed to her once he'd realised just how out-of-it she was feeling. Whether they were his or a spare pair he'd carried around for her, she didn't know or frankly care.

"We're opening this window," she muttered matter-of-factly as she leaned across Marcus for the little button on the windowsill to her right.

However, he caught her hand before she could reach and pressed a button between the two front seats which caused the overhead window to crack open a few inches, just enough to sweep a gentle breeze into the car.

She sat back in her seat apathetically until a plastic water bottle was thrusted into her hands. She glanced down at it and then back at everyone else in the car bemusedly. "Who just gave me this?"

In response to that, Aro held his hand up briefly from where he was in the front passenger seat beside Demetri. "Rehydrating yourself is essential during a hangover, regardless of how mild. I also have what Americans call "cookie dough", but try not to vomit if you eat any."

Eliana held up the labelless bottle warily. "What's in this?"

"Poison," Caius replied sarcastically. "Drink up."

She didn't even particularly have the energy to argue with him, simply twisting the cap off and holding the contents under her nose for a moment.

"Cara mia, I cannot say I'm not offended by your scepticism," Aro commented. "I assure you, what you are holding is just water. If we wanted to kill you, we would have done so a long time ago."

"How?" she asked as she swallowed a mouthful of water. "Actually, that's a good question. What's your preferred method of execution?"

Marcus simply shook his head. "Tesoro, I dare not even think about-"

"Waterboarding," Caius concluded with certainty.

"Caius, brother," Aro gasped. Evidently he'd planned some kind of response that didn't actually involve a genuine answer to her question.

Caius rolled his eyes. "Creative executions only work on humans, and waterboarding is a classic favourite of mine. Don't act like you have never found joy in it either."

"No, no, I respect that," she replied. "Aro?"

Aro hesitated. "Amore, I wouldn't-"

"I'm not suggesting you demonstrate any on me," she reminded him, "just that you answer the question."

"Okay," he relented after a moment. "Death by burning."

"Of course, a toddler loves the opportunity to play with matches," she muttered. "So Marcus," she continued before Aro could interject with any indignant retorts, "favourite execution method? Do you even do executions?"

"Oh," Caius laughed, "you don't know the man like I do. No one can quite send a person to a slow, painful, agonising death like he can. If you can think of it, he has done it."

"Seriously? Wow." She blinked, her gaze turning to Marcus' as he kept his attention on the view out of his window. Judging by his lack of reply to that, she could only assume that it wasn't exactly a part of himself he was proud of. "I guess you never really know a person."

Aro shrugged. "Well, Caius' perpetual anger and aggression," He paused his sentence briefly to dodge Caius' fist before it could make contact with his face, "is only rivalled by Marcus' protectiveness and strength."