"i'm finally here, start the applause
let's make it louder
this one's for the woman of the hour"
-
Turns out Bella isn't the first human Edward has abandoned.
Claire Avery was his first victim, a quiet and proper young woman that stole his heart. F...
Caius pressed delicate kisses along her collarbone, both his hands firmly holding her waist and pressing her against his firm body.
"Stop it," she complained breathlessly, although she wasn't putting up much of a fight. "I'm not telling you what you're getting for Christmas."
He pouted pathetically and let her go. "You're no fun, piccolo."
"Yes, you keep reminding me." She rolled her eyes dramatically, crossing her arms across her chest.
He eyed her for a moment, alight with playfulness. He had been hassling her for the last few days, trying to get her to reveal what she was getting him for Christmas. He had cornered her countless times, and was being overly affectionate, even for him. He had even stolen her away from his brothers a few nights in a row in an effort to soften her up.
She was genuinely surprised at how much he seemed to like the holiday, and he had been the final deciding vote on allowing Claire to put up a Christmas tree in the lobby. Aro was against it, and Marcus had no problem letting her do what she wanted with the castle. So now the lower levels of the castle, where the vampires resided, was decorated with green garlands and strings of twinkling lights.
Caius had insisted on accompanying her around the city as she hunted down the best ornaments and decoration, and even snuck some red and white stockings into her bags so he could stealthily hang them above the library fireplace on Christmas eve.
"Maybe if I..." he reached for her again, his fingers attempting to slither under her shirt and over her smooth stomach.
"No!" She exclaimed sternly, shoving his hands away and shifting away from her scheming partner.
"Oh, c'mon," he whined, exasperated. She turned on her heel, leaving the sulking vampire in the hallway he cornered her in.
She called over her shoulder as she strutted away. "Nice try!"
---
"Where did you even get walkie talkies from, Dimitri?" Jane asked with a sly smirk.
"And why are they pink?" Claire asked, staring at the device in her hand with a bewildered expression.
"We're doing this on kind of short notice, I didn't have many options," he grumbled, clenching the steering wheel. "I had to get them at a damn toy store."
They were on their way to the small museum that Claire had instructed, where there was a particular piece of art that she wanted for her lovers. Normally, she would be opposed to theft, but she had tried tirelessly to find reproductions. And they technically belonged in the Volterra castle anyway. So, she didn't feel too bad.
"I had to wrestle them from a little girl. I didn't know kids could scream so loud." They all stared at him in disbelief.
"Anyway," she shook her head. "I trust that you all know what you're doing?"
There was a tense silence for a moment before Claire and Jane both sighed loudly.
"For God's sake," Claire groaned. "Just don't get spotted, it's really not that hard. You're vampires, you should be used to hiding in the shadows."
The boys nodded dumbly as Dimitri pulled into a deserted alleyway. Dimitri, Felix and Alec left the car and headed towards the small building, hoisting the hoods of their dark cloaks over their heads and vanishing in a blur before her eyes.
"Are we really trusting them with handling a five-hundred-year-old painting?" Jane asked nervously. It's not that she didn't trust them, it's that she knows them and how clumsy they get in haste.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. What the worst that could happen?"
---
"Oh, no," Felix mumbled as he stared up at the painting on the wall.
Claire didn't tell them much, just the wing of the museum the painting was in, the title of the work and the artist's name. They had no idea what the painting looked like, and none of them were overly educated in the arts. But he had seen this painting before, it used to be hanging in the kings' library, above their fireplace. 6 familiar faces started down at him from the canvas, as regal and as cold as he remembered them being.
"Do you think she knows?" Alec questioned, unease stirring in his stomach. Claire was bright and quick; there was no way she didn't know what she was making them retrieve. Perhaps it was from the goodness of her heart, but they were concerned her kindness would blow up in her face.
"You idiots find it yet?" Jane's staticky voice chimed over the cheap walkie talkies. Dimitri stared at the device in his hand with trepidation. They could pretend like they didn't, maybe Claire would give up and find something else to gift her kings. But he didn't want to lie to her, the thought alone made him feel ill.
"Um..." he eyed his two friends, his voice shaky. This probably wasn't going to end well for anyone. "Yeah, we've got it."
Silent and under the cover of night, the boys deftly unhooked the artwork from the wall and slinked backed through the hallways and into the silent street.
"I'm worried for her," Alec admitted almost silently as he carefully held on to one corner of the canvas. "They aren't going to like this."
"I know, but what can we do?" Dimitri responded, resigned.
Claire clearly didn't understand the wound she was about to open, and the pain she could be causing herself. They wanted what was best for her, but they couldn't protect her from the consequences of her gift.
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a/n: heyo babes. i'm back. updates will slowly be becoming more regular and i might actually be able to finish this before the end of the year!
thank you all so much for your continued support and patience. i know i don't reply to comments or messages a lot, but i read and appreciate every single one.
if you have any story requests, please feel free to message me and i might add them to my list. remember, i already have a Jasper Hale book completed and an Edward Cullen book that I have started (and will get back to updating asap)
