the trickster // caius volturi

✵TWENTY-THREE✵

~~~Volturi Palace, Volterra, Italy~~~

~~2005~~

Imani waiting in the library, fiddling with a fountain pen that had some weird Italian inscription. The goddess had said that she would meet her here around this time.

Finally, the door opened, but it was not Loki who walked in. It was Caius.

"My King." She stood and bowed in respect. He nodded. "Miss Imani, I'm afraid that your lessons will have to be postponed. Marcus does wish to continue his, if it's any consolation." Imani nodded.

"Understood, My King." He had turned around and was halfway out of the door when Imani called after him.

"Make her happy, and I can live without my lessons." He stopped briefly, nodded over his shoulder, and then walked out of the room. Imani smiled happily as she propped her feet up on the table and grabbed a book.

After an hour of just reading, Imani was joined by someone.

alec took her feet off of the table and put them on his lap as he sat down. She grinned. "Hi, Alec. Came to join me in my time of solitude." He rolled his eyes. "You're being dramatic. The Queen is just busy. I'm sure you'll see her soon."

"Too busy making out with His Royal Hotness," She muttered under her breath but didn't know that Alec heard it.

He grabbed her legs and pulled her so that she was straddling him. He had a smirk on his face.

"His Royal Hotness, huh?" She shook her head, embarrassed that he heard her.

"I was kidding, Alec," She said quickly.

"We'll see."

~~~Room of Ice~~~

Loki sat on the chaise in her room and petted Fenrir. He had missed seeing her.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. Do you miss home? It's no fun being in here all the time, is it?" He groaned, and she sighed. "I'll talk to Caius about me taking you guys home for a little. Does that sound good?"

Ulf barked happily. 

"Then it's decided." Loki talked to Caius later, who said of course it was okay. She would be back soon, anyway. It would only take an hour. She would just check on her home, and drop them off.

She entered her fabled ice palace, and the wolves ran in happily. Fenrir was slower, simply stalking through the doorway. Loki walked in slowly as well, breathing in the magic that surrounded her.

She went into her bedroom and smiled at the painting. She had put that painting of Caius here for two reasons.

1. Whenever she was home, she could see his face

2. Caius would never see the horror

She was still a trickster, after all.

She looked in her closet and changed. She liked wearing Italian fashion, but when she was home, she felt called to wear clothes that better suited the weather and the fashion.

She kneeled to look up at Fenrir. "Keep watch over them. I will be back in a week, yes?" He nodded and pressed his forehead to hers.

"I will miss you."

And she was gone.

~~~Volturi Palace, Volterra, Italy~~~

Aro sat in the tower. Sulpicia was lying behind him on the bed. Aro's tie was loosened and he just stared straight at the wall. Sulpicia was frustrated. Aro wasn't paying attention to her, he was only thinking about the Trickster.

"Aro, come here, love." He shook his head. "I can't. I need to solve this problem of mine. What will I do about this Trickster?"

Sulpicia sighed and sat up behind him, then crawled over. She kissed his collarbone and moved his hair to the side.

"Maybe I can take her off your mind?" She murmured as she kissed the corner of his mouth. He sighed and stood up, much to her dismay. She just grunted and stood up.

"Fine. Let's talk about it. She can't be a Queen. She's too dangerous." Aro nodded halfheartedly, but still. "That could be useful. Our grip is loosening. Now with Athenodora gone, word is spreading. If we had the Trickster  on our side..."

Sulpicia growled. "But she isn't on our side! She's on her side, and everyone is going to hers. Can't you see? She's our enemy. When Caius asked who was loyal to her, every guard member in that room bowed," she hissed. 

"What do you want me to do, Sulpicia? An alliance is our only hope. When she marries Caius—"

"He will control her, you're right," she said. Aro snorted and took his tie off completely, tossing it to the floor.

"No one can control her. She's...she's like an element of the world. I wonder if bad things would happen if she didn't make them so. The Plague, disasters, everything. But good comes from the bad, and I believe that is her purpose in life. To have humanity prosper from bad occurrences."

The corner of his mouth turned slightly upwards.

"It's somewhat admirable, don't you think?"

He shrugged and sighed. "I just need to stop thinking about work, my love." He sat on the bed and motioned for her, but she shook her head. 

This...Trickster was like a siren. She was swaying everyone to follow her. And now, Aro was sympathizing with her.

"Why don't we hold a ball, my love?" Aro frowned. "Why?" She smiled and stood between his legs, pushing his hair behind his ears.

"I don't know, it could be fun. Of course, I won't be there, but you should enjoy yourself. You haven't had one since Carlisle was here last in the 1700s, no?" He tilted his head to the side.

"Yes, it could be fun." He smiled and looked up at his beautiful soulmate. "How did I get so lucky to have such a perfect mate?" She giggled and he had her way with her.

Aro did love his mate deeply. He searched for her everywhere, and finally found her, then she was turned. He gets the privilege of spending eternity with her, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

If only he wasn't so distracted. Then he would've seen Sulpicia's plan.

The Queen wasn't nefarious as a habit, but she was threatened. And hurt. She was jealous and hurt and threatened, and it was the Trickster's fault. So, she would hurt the Trickster and make her feel threatened.

If only Aro hadn't been so distracted, he would've seen Sulpicia's plan.

To kill the Trickster's protégée.

Imani

(A/N, the first half was filler, but I'm tying it together.)