You're My Rose (Rosalie x Edward)

Chapter 10 - New Recruits

Arleos struggled for a few weeks to locate a few rogues that inhabited Europe. He was eventually going to head to the States to find some rogues who knew the area the Cullens lived in. Chelsea had helped him track down and contact some rogues close to France and Germany. Arleos was surprised by Chelsea's work ethic. Arleos thought that she would turn on him at any moment. Killing the first recorded crossbreed? A rogue would kill for that. But Arleos never envisioned her stabbing him in the back. She had told him of how she was a Union nurse during the American Civil War after moving from Canada when she was bitten by a rogue when she and her camp had retreated into the woods trying to evade a Confederate force. That's how she met Jasper Whitlock. He had already been turned by then and he even tried getting her to join the newborn army his girlfriend Maria was trying to raise. She could tell what was in store for her if she went, she knew she would only last a year before he would kill her. Chelsea escaped certain death by pure instinct alone. It was from that moment she knew she was a rogue.

Chelsea had grown quite fond of Arleos herself. The strong silent type appealed to her, but Arleos was on a different level. He only ever spoke with inner dialogue. One could tell by the way he would stare off into the abyss. The few times he did speak aloud was when he was receiving or sharing information on potential recruits.

The pair had already recruited some "soldiers" for their cause. Most of them consisted of Muscled and Sprinters. Arleos didn't want too many Psychics. It wasn't just because they were rare, it's because two Psychics could see different visions, and it leads to confusion among the rest. Nonetheless, Arleos was proud of the progress he made. He hypothesized that by December -- the next month -- he would have his army complete. Arleos already had an army the size of thirty-six, but the most predominant members he had remembered by name:

Vito: An Italian Sprinter who basically was outside Volterra the day Arleos and Chelsea began their journey. He was willing to break into Volterra and break all of the monsters kept in that dungeon out so he could wreak havoc across Europe with them. It took a little bit of convincing, but Vito eventually decided to team up with the pair after Arleos said he'd try to convince Aro to release some monsters for Vito's sick version of fun. Vito became the third in command not long after. 

Blaise: A French Muscled that can lift three redwoods at once. Arleos had to get a little physical with Blaise, but he was able to calm him down with the promise of glory for what he would be joining. 

Antanasia: Romanian Muscled with an ironic name. Her name means "One who will be reborn" or "Immortal." She was the toughest one to track, mainly because she never stayed in one place. However, once Arleos was able to find her, the mere mention of the word "Glory" signed her up.

Nikita: The first Psychic other than Arleos to be recruited at the time. He was a tough Russian who was changed at the Battle of Berlin in April 1945. Nikita saw Arleos and Chelsea coming for him, so he went to them. He was tired of living alone and on the run from the Volturi. He wanted to win himself some freedom with this fight. 

The rest of the army were forgettable names and faces. Arleos knew they were good enough for the war. 

As dusk behind the cool, Swiss mountains, Arleos and his army huddled underneath some trees with a few separate fires burning to provide light to the woods. Arleos stabbed at his fire with a stick when suddenly the sound of a tree branch breaking filled his ears. The entire army sat to attention. Arleos used his ability to see what was going on. He saw glimpses of four vampires rushing around the woods. Arleos looked at Nikita. "I saw it too." he whispered. A slight laugh from above prompted Arleos to look up.

Sitting on the thick branches, a group of exactly four vampires --two girls, two guys-- looked down on the army. A few rogues lowered down to pounce, but a deep growl from Arleos halted them. "What are you doing here?!" he commanded the group. One of the girls, a blonde, snickered. "We heard about your army and your plan to take down the Cullens." she said. "This is a rogue army! Not a Coven!" Arleos exclaimed. One of the guys with paler skin than most vampires Arleos has seen stretched his face into a surprised expression. "Not bad, Arleos," he mocked. "But we aren't just a Coven, we're a rogue Coven."

"Ever heard of the Lion Coven?" the second male asked. Arleos shook his head. "Well that's us!" the second female announced happily. 

"I'm Madelyn," the blonde spoke up. "And this is Evan," she pointed to the second male sitting lower in the trees. "And that's Autumn and that's Eryk."

Arleos picked up on Chelsea's uneasy feeling about them. Yeah, it was odd to hear about a rogue army, but a rogue Coven? It's hard enough to recruit for a temporary army, but a Coven was impossible. A Coven is a union. An almost unbreakable bond between members. 

"Why do you want to join us? You'll be under my leadership, not whoever is in charge of you." Arleos reminded. Madelyn smiled at him. "Same thing you've been telling these guys and girls. Glory." she said. Arleos guessed she was a Psychic. "I know you're a rogue now, but I want to see these three prove to me they're rogues too." Arleos commanded. Madelyn still smiled and stared but snapped her fingers. Eryk and Evan leaped from the trees and bolted into the forest. Before Arleos could blink, the pair approached from behind the army in a flash. Autumn joined her adopted brothers on the ground picked the heavy-set men up. Arleos was impressed by Evan and Eryk, but he had his doubts about Autumn. He signaled for Chelsea and Vito to follow him.

Once out of hearing range, Arleos pulled Chelsea and Vito close to him. "Let's discuss." he sighed. "We have more Sprinters than we do Muscled." Vito spoke up. "Well Eryk looks like a Viking, so maybe his strength carried over into his new life." Arleos suggested. "What if it didn't?" Vito asked. "Yeah, can't you give Evan and Eryk your venom so they can become Muscled?" Chelsea asked. Arleos shook his head. "I don't want to risk giving them all three abilities." he added. "Why not?" Chelsea questioned rather annoyed. "Then they won't listen to us. They'll think they can do it on their own." Vito answered for Arleos. Arleos nodded in agreement. "They give us more numbers, so I guess we'll add them in." he said. "What about Madelyn?" Vito asked. Cheslea frowned as she saw a slight grin appear on Arleos' face. 

"She's a Psychic. A good one too," Arleos started. "I don't think there's much debate here on her."

Chelsea rolled her eyes. Vito clearly agreed with Arleos, so there was no point in arguing. "What about that Autumn chick?" she asked to get her mind away from her jealousy. "I don't trust her. I mean they're heavy-set guys, but they don't seem that heavy." Vito answered. "I agree. I wouldn't be surprised if she's just a regular who managed to trick them into letting her join them." Chelsea replied. Arleos nodded. It was a tough choice. "I'll let her join once again because of numbers. But we'll know if she's hiding the fact that she's a regular if she gets killed easily by the Cullens." he warned. Vito and Chelsea agreed. 

Walking back to the fire, the Lion Coven had already settled in. "Talk about cocky." Arleos thought. He then remembered that Madelyn was a Psychic. She probably saw that the decision to keep them was made. "Good, you're already settled in." he said aloud. The Coven smiled upon reading between the lines. An entire Coven just joined the army. And despite his doubts about their validity, Arleos still hoped that this could pay off for them in the future. But for the rest of the night, Arleos took note of how Madelyn couldn't keep her eyes off of him. It didn't matter where he went, what he was doing, they were always watching. And eventually, Arleos realized that he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Something about her face was... familiar.