Bite Me | Volturi Kings

Chapter 9

»»————-　𝟙𝟞𝟘𝟠　————-««

Though his existence extended to nigh on three thousand years, and for the majority of that time he had lived a hair's breath away from it, Caius had never been to the small country of Ashaf. He had travelled to the New World and stayed in the Union of South Africa. Caius had even travelled to places as yet unnamed in the English, Italian, Greek, Spanish, or Portuguese tongues. And yet neither he nor his brothers had made the simple step to a neighbouring island. 

That didn't mean he was completely clueless about the country. Despite it's secrecy, stories had still reached his ear of vampires and creatures out in the open. He knew enough to know that they were breaking the Volturi law. He knew enough to know that he needed to seek permission to travel to the island as a foreign ruler. 

So here he was, swaying with the rocking of a wooden boat as it crossed the tumultuous ocean towards land. He and dozens of other humans all had the same destination in mind. His eyes gazed out to the stormy depths of the water beyond; dark clouds hung ominously above. Wind tried it's very best to throw him overboard, though his unnatural strength made it easy to overcome mother nature. 

In the distance, like a spark of hope, there was a break in the storm. The nightmare seemed to end so suddenly that it made way for idyllic skies and tranquil seas. Oppressive darkness was swapped for the warmth of light. Had he had the gift to be able to see these things, his eyes would've landed on a barrier. That very same barrier, which would be where some of their party would have to board another boat, that no one would question it's sudden appearance, sailed back to the shore where they came from. Nobody would bat an eyelash at this; not even a man known for his suspicions would think anything of how the boat became much lighter after they reached the safety of calm. 

At long last, his foot stepped down onto solid land, onto the wooden planks of a dock. He was quickly ushered into a grand and ornate building along with every other passenger, huffing at the undignified treatment of a king. 

However, when a scantly dressed woman behind a counter took one look at him, he was quickly hurried away to a rather large villa. It's architecture was unlike any other he'd seen—white and sleek. Stone was integrated with wood, glass, and tile to make for a rather unusual appearance compared to all the other modern buildings he had seen back home, but he didn't find it unappealing. 

What he did find unappealing was how ill-at-ease he felt. Caius had been in the country for not an hour, and yet he felt so uprooted by everything around him. Everybody dressed in a way that he had never seen before. In fact, everything was something that he'd never seen before. If it weren't for that familiar blue sky and the normalcy in the verdant lawn that surrounded his temporary accommodation, he would swear that he'd travelled to another world. 

Those few people who had harried him to his current destination had done nothing to make him feel more at home in the slightest either. It seemed as though they couldn't get away quick enough. 

With an out-of-character tentativeness, he pushed open the dark door to the villa. It was as magnificent as the outside, completely open and welcoming. Strange, but that comforting strangeness he had never encountered before. 

All rooms were linked together by large archways; wooden slatted support beams lined the ceiling; beautifully designed rugs were central to most rooms; the furniture provided a comfort that even the most superior of craftsmen from Volterra could not replicate; and impossibly large frames of glass opened onto an almost tropical garden out back. Caius found he could not stop marvelling and could not stop wandering about. Especially at the paintings hung up in various places in Ashaf, no doubt, he admired the artistry behind them as a fellow painter.