𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 ,, - Caius Volturi

𝐀𝐑𝐓 - 𝟎𝟑.

——

Santiago had sprinted away from the hall, now out of sight but not out of mind. Caius was furious. He had heard everything and could see the discomfort on your face as Santiago flirted.

I'll kill him. He thought, his eyes darkening. He was snapped out of his... angry trance when Alora huffed. He squints at her, brows furrowed.

"Did you just huff at me?" He questions, his furrowed brows raising into a really? expression.
"Yes. I can't find my room." She mumbles, tired of the whole situation.
"I guess I can spare some time to walk you." Caius states with the ghost of a smile on his lips. Alora grins, happy. She took this as a sign that he wanted to be near her just like she wanted to be near him. But she wasn't aware of the kings mood swings nor of his hate for humans.

As they walked in a comfortable silence he noticed her admiring the architecture, a golden glint in her blue eyes.
"Do you like it here?" He questions in a careful tone, nervous of what her answer would be.
"I... I don't, yet. I do like this building though, it's beautiful. Maybe I'll learn to like living here, if I was given time, which I doubt I will be." Her answer confused Caius. Did she think they wouldn't give her time to adapt?

"What do you mean?" Alora glances up at him with a small smile before answering.
"I had only assumed that I would be the next meal, most likely. It seems as though nobody really likes my presence here. I came to the conclusion that the only reason I'm here is as... dessert. Just like that receptionist." Although she was trying to act strong, Caius could see the fear in her eyes as she spoke. She had believed she was only here so they could eat her, which wasn't true. She was here because Aro wanted Caius to warm up to her. They were mates after all, but she didn't know that yet.

"You're not here because you're a meal, Cara Mio. You're here for a much bigger reason but trust me when I say, no harm will ever come to you." He spoke in such a comforting tone she couldn't help but get butterflies. The endearments rolling off his tongue sent electric shocks down her spine, in a good way. In the best way.

He quickly switched the topic, gesturing to the art hung up on the ancient stoney walls.
"Do you enjoy art?"
"Yes. I adore it. I like to paint but I believe admiring art is more of my thing." She speaks, a small chuckle exiting Caius' lips at her response.
"Do you?" She asks him, not wanting to be rude.
"Indeed. This painting is mine, one of many. Is it good?" He knows they're good and he's somewhat confused to why he even asked that. Maybe he wanted an ego boost since he knew her answer would be the same as everyone else's. But it wasn't.

"It's sad. Look." She gets close to the painting, a portrait of an unknown man, before gesturing towards the surrounding colors.
"The coloring of the painting is mostly dark brown mixed with other non vibrant colors. But brown isn't sad, it's more like... the shade of this brown is sad. The brown doesn't have a bright, orangey tone. It's more gray. A cool tone mixed with various grays and blacks." She begins to explain, glancing at him to see his reaction. He looked somewhat interested, causing her to continue.

"There's also a sadness in this man's eyes, do you see it? His eyes are somewhat droopy and although his irises are red, if you look further you can see past that. I believe that peoples eyes are a portal, a place where you can see what they truly feel. He seems to be sad and scared but also knowing. Like he was waiting for something to happen, something bad. Why did you paint him?" She finishes, looking up at him, waiting for his answer.

"As a trophy. This was right before his execution. We killed him after decades of searching. He committed a great crime and paid the price." Caius answered slowly, his eyes meeting hers. He was interested with her. She could read this man so deeply, could see the emotions he held right before he died. All by looking at a painting.
"Remarkable." Caius whispers to himself, a proud smile tugging at his lips.
"Maybe when I have time you can explain a few more paintings to me. It's rather fascinating." He proposes to which she replies with a small nod and a smile.
"Sure."

She now lays on her stomach in her oversized bed, wearing sweats and a long sleeved top, a book in hand. It was around... noon, maybe. And her stomach was betraying her, grumbling as if she hadn't eaten in months. Right then, she senses another presence in her room. Lifting her head from her book she makes eye contact with... Felix was it?

"Hello..." She says, confused as to what he was doing in her room.
"Your stomach is grumbling and we can all hear it. It's rather annoying. We've have a chef for you. Follow me to the kitchen." Felix notifies her and she only nods standing up from her bed and slipping on some slippers before following him out of the room.

"So... Felix. What do you guys do here? I mean, the guard." She was ever so curious as to what vampires did in their free time.
"We assist the Masters with missions and trials."
"And what do you usually do? Are you... gifted? Aro explained that to me, somewhat."
"I kill them, the people on trial and missions too, sometimes. I'm not gifted with an extraordinary gift like mind reading or some other unrealistic thing. I just have extra strength." Alora hums in acceptance before smirking to herself.
"So you're like the... hulk?" Felix can't help but let out a laugh, shaking his head at her question.

"If you put it that way, I guess I am. Except I'm not green." She grins at that, thinking of a new topic as they near the kitchen.
"Felix, why am I here? Caius said I wasn't here to be eaten but I'm not sure why else I would be here." Felix raises a brow, glancing over at her with a confused expression.
"You don't know?" Alora shakes her head, squinting at him since she could tell that he knew.
"Well... You're here because you're—" He cuts himself off, realizing he shouldn't be telling her if the Masters didn't tell her themselves.
"You'll know shortly. Maybe." He states, opening the kitchen door and letting her walk in. Many meals were displayed for her which caused her to gasp.

"I don't need all of this food... It's such a waste."
"Well Caius decided that you needed options. Just throw out the stuff you don't want."

Alora was a kind soul and knew that there were people out there that would kill for this food and yet here they are, telling her to throw it out. So she did what was right. She ate what she wanted, put some leftovers in the fridge and told the chef to pack up the food she didn't eat.

It's an hour later and she decided that since there were no guards nearby she'd have a little stroll into town, secretly.

—

Caius was confused when Felix entered the throne room, a nervous expression on his face.
"Yes, Felix?" He questions, squinting at him.
"Alora isn't in the castle—"
"What?" You'd think Caius would yell at this, but no. Although he didn't express his anger towards Felix with shouting, you could see his eyes darken, turn sinister even. His hands tightened around the armrests as he stood up, ever so composed as he steps down the steps, now in front of Felix.

"I said to watch her. To babysit her. Are you telling me that you, the gladiator, let a little human escape...?" He questions. Felix had to break eye contact, turning to looking at the wall behind Caius as his gaze was frightening. It was as if he was planning all the ways to make Felix suffer for this little mistake. But if you looked closer you could see fear. But Felix couldn't see that fear, the worry in his eyes. He was only paying attention to the anger that Caius was showing.

"She was eating so I left to train the lower guard. I didn't think she'd—" Caius cuts him off with a sigh, turning on his heel and walking back up the steps, taking a seat and leaning forwards, his hands knit together as if he wanted to punch him.
"You didn't think. Now you and Demetri will go and find her, now."

Felix nods his head, muttering a "yes master" before exiting the room. Felix wished Caius had screamed at him as it's scarier to see him angry and calm than it is to see him angry and yelling.

They were on a mission to find her.

——

AUTHORS NOTE — I'm feeling VERY motivated to write so maybe a few of my other stories will be updated soon, muahahaha. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I loved writing the small details about Caius and Alora they're adorable.