Annalise Monroe has lived alone most of her life, travelling between foster homes since the age of six, and she is willing to do what it takes to keep it that way. When she moves to Forks after she is emancipated at the age of 17, she truly doesn't...
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** note that this chapter at the end contains mentions of past suicide //
I was apprehensive to the concept of leaving Marcus' sacred living space after the conflict between Sulpicia and I. While Demetri and Felix surely provided me with needed protection that would extend to throughout the Clocktower, memories of the horrible woman wandering around unchecked disturbed me greatly. Despite my clear aversion to the idea of wandering around with guards at my toe, Felix popped his head in and reminded me that the whole reason the Coven was in the Throne Room was to explain my situation and my standing within the Volturi. Hence, I'd need to introduce myself to the guards who would protect me when Demetri and Felix couldn't, as well as meeting advisers to my mates.
Meeting new people isn't my thing. Endless disappointments made sure of that. The wounds from Bella's words tugged at my chest as I walked down the halls. My latest lapse in judgment, letting myself learn to trust her. Cursed words used as affections because she knew that I'd fall right into place if she called for me to. Not anymore. I wasn't going to allow anyone treat me badly again. If they did, I'd fight back.
"Your heart is going a mile a minute, or so the phrase goes," Demetri said as he loomed over my left shoulder. Felix chose my right. "Is everything alright, my Queen?"
"Of course," I lied through my teeth.
"The Coven could not say or do anything to you, my Queen. Speaking to the Kings or Queen directly during a formal meeting is... taboo if it is not your turn to speak. To speak a word against you would get any of them thrown out of the Volturi entirely, leaving them stranded and without proper guidance or means of making money," Felix explained from my right.
"So what of Sulpicia and what she said to me privately? Is it alright as long as nobody else hears?" I asked with bitter edge. "She should be dealt with."
Neither of my guards responded, as we'd nearly made our way to the Throne Room and didn't need the woman in question or anyone else overhearing my comments on the former Queen. Chatter could be heard from inside the large wooden doors. Voices quieted as I stepped back to allow Felix to open up the doors for me. Heads turned to face me as I walked to where I'd stood just but a few hours before. No longer did sun stray through glass windows. No, it was darker and nearing nightfall.
Of course, she was right next to the door as I walked through. A smug grin on her face. Sulpicia had an aura that told me she'd never not gotten whatever she wanted. She appeared young enough, being turned right after she hit prime adulthood. Perfect age for optimal beauty and life in her era, thousands of years ago. Sulpicia's face didn't have the wisdom required to mask her disgust and righteousness over me.
It's a good thing her opinion won't matter in the Coven anymore. If she'd been nice to me, I'd have been nice back. Hell, it would have been a perfect way for her to worm her way into the decisions the Volturi made. An older, wiser Coven woman wanting to make sure I was comfortable and understood what to expect. Frankly, it's a shame she wasn't smart enough to take that chance by the reigns and use me to her benefit.
Volturi Coven members from all sides gasped and whispered to one another. Sulpicia stood next to a blonde woman, presumably Athenodora, at the back of the room. The blonde leaned in and spoke to the red–eyed diva, who let out a high–pitched laugh in response.
My mates' eyes were on me as all three stood, prompting silence from the crowd.
Aro spoke first.
"I am proud that everyone was able to make it into the Throne Room tonight. It isn't always that we have our Coven together. Tonight is a special occasion that will live on for the rest of time, as a special woman came into this room and chose to stay with us. Though we are saddened by the events and trial of this morning, this melancholy can't overshadow our happiness over finally meeting our true mate and Queen." His pale hand lowered to me. A bright, wonderful smile fell down onto me. "She will be made into a vampire when the time is right, as she poses no threat of exposure to our kind while here in Volterra. As always with a new member of our dear Coven, responsibilities may change between you all. This is why we have brought you here tonight."
Murmurs darted between vampires, with many being excited. Everyone, it seemed, was happy.Except for Sulpicia and Athenodora.
They didn't voice their concerns now, however. Caius cleared his throat before continuing off of what Aro explained, "The Elite Guard will have more duties that can be divided up as they please. As for the Main Guard, more shifts must be done in the Western Hallways. There is no need for the Eastern Towers to have more than three outside and two inside. Our main advisers will be making time with our Queen. Paperwork will be divided between the advisers and Main Guard. Please, do not wait until the deadline, as we would prefer to keep things peaceful in the Guard Quarters in the morning hours. I am once again asking you to share. I will ask you again. This is a reoccurring issue."
Most of the guards bowed their heads in understanding, though a few decided that this was a good time to let out a little laugh. This caused no response from my mates, who simply continued with their small speeches. Marcus decided to speak next.
"Our Coven is the leading Coven of the world, which means any change to our ranks is divulged to the rest of the vampire community. Annalise may be human, but she is just as much a member of our family as you or I. This means my brothers and I need your full cooperation in our next few affairs. Changes for our kind can often be a time of upheaval, but this shouldn't be. Our nature as leaders and protectors is to accept change as it finds us. Be the good examples I know you have and will always be."
Almost every vampire in that room showed respect for the Kings, bowing their heads kindly after they finished their messages for their members. Almost every vampire seemed happy that I was there in the room with them.
Even after Caius and Marcus spoke, Sulpicia and Athenodora weren't happy. Their visible upset daunted on the room and many turned to face them. This Coven, though larger than the Cullens, was not massive. Everyone could fit into one medium sized room. It wasn't even filled to the brink, plenty of space could be made if certain people moved.
"This is absolutely unacceptable!" Athenodora seethed, her hands flying into the air with her fury. "Caius, we are married–"
A member from the crowd I'd yet to meet spoke up instantly. He had to be one of the advisers, having knowledge I'm sure the guards did not.
"I was the witness to that marriage over two thousand years ago. In the agreement, the marriage dissolves immediately after one or in a rare case both finds their mate or mates. You knew that when you married Caius, and now that he's found his mate the marriage is rendered void. The Coven you came from knows this and even as the marriage is void, the treaty is still intact," the man said as many turned to face him.
At that point I'd lost all empathy I'd had for this woman in her situation. She could grieve the lost love in private, but she knew this would happen. It was in the works from the very beginning! To make a fuss over it in front of everyone screamed entitlement to me. Did she think she could put on a sad face and angry voice and expect to get whatever she wants? If she did, she's the problem here! Obviously! Imagine knowing this and fussing when it happens. That's like getting mad when a vampire you turned needs blood. It's a vampire, your marriage is over.
"Athenodora," Caius began, presumably to attempt to placate her, "You're not expected to go back to your original Coven if that's not what you want, but the marriage contract specifically stated that our marriage would occur in the absence of true mates. You only get that chance once. They change the whole way you view life and all of that mushy stuff. You will be welcomed in our Coven as a member rather than having elevated status due to our marriage. I hold no ill will towards you and I expect you to be good while inside this castle's walls."
Then came the wrath of the other queen, who I assumed had a similar marriage contract with her former husband. Sulpicia looked ready to murder the Coven member who called out the terms and conditions of the marriage contract. If she were a human she'd be bright red, worse than a tomato.
"We're legally married in the human world that we blend into! We are married and that is the end of it. I won't be the other woman. For over a thousand years I've been by your side, Aro, and I won't be tossed to the wayside as if I meant nothing to you!" Sulpicia began to move, heading into an open space right in front of her former husband. "If what the Cullens say about this girl is true, she will destroy the vampire world! She's mentally diseased and tried to–"
There it was. The reason why she'd gotten up close and personal in the room. She wanted to slander me, to use things that happened in my past against me. Well, I surely wouldn't have it, and at that point I snapped.
"You have no right to use anything that has happened to me against me! You're a bitch who stays in her tower all day expecting guards to do whatever you say because you're married. Newsflash, Sulpicia, you aren't married anymore and after you've decided to go lower than the ninth layer of Hell today you're out!" I roared. "Get the fuck out of here with your bullshit of what I'd do inside the Coven. Your only information comes from three people who say I betrayed them for staying here in Volterra. For the record, my past mental instability was caused by people like you who think they own the world!"
Dead silence. The kind you get when you say something you can never take back. Or right after they call time of death in the hospital. You never get over the unsettling feeling, or the weight of the words that come after.
"So what if I tried to kill myself two years ago? So what if Carlisle's my legal guardian? So what if the whole reason I'm still alive is because your former Covenmate thought my life was worthy enough to save, even if it meant revealing himself to me as a vampire?" I was near to tears with the upset of the admission. "So how fucking dare you try and use that against me right now. I was a kid! A broken, messed up child who was abandoned and abused and treated like shit by everyone who claimed they wanted what was best for me!"
I wasn't one to be open about what I'd been through. Carlisle had put me into therapy when he decided to be my foster parent, but those months hadn't scratched the surface of the pain that the adults in my life put me through. Pure malice for people still laid within me, ready to jump whenever spoken to the wrong way.
Before that wasn't an issue. If I snapped at Edward or Alice they'd try and calm me down. The techniques they used weren't known here. The monster inside of me was stirred by that point and I felt my vision blur at the edges. I wanted so badly to punch this woman straight in the face. Every instinct in my body pushed me to scream and attack.
Immortality was the only thing that saved that woman from my wrath.
Marcus saved me from self–destruction.
"Sulpicia, Athenodora, clearly you can't behave in a Coven setting with my mate. I'll give you two days to pack your bags and move out. You may use enough money to get yourselves in a place outside of the city. Until further notice, you're under a gag order. Talk to each other if you like, but you're not allowed to talk to my Coven or my mate after you leave this room," Marcus ordered with a deadly glare to his fellow kings, who didn't have the courage to go against his word. He added, "Get back to your duties, everyone, we have paperwork to do. May this be a reminder of what happens when you disrespect the Queen."
Surely, this would've been the end of it. Everyone would leave the room and I'd be able to move on from this and get a nice night's sleep. Despite the rudeness, the fighting and the distrust I had in my situation, I could have at least had some time to myself, right?
Wrong. I am always so terribly and utterly wrong in the worst ways imaginable.
The sounds of Athenodora's shrieks could be heard throughout the entire castle. These terrible, horrid sounding shrieks that reverberated against marble and pure stone. The main window that was reasonably covered in thick fabric broke, the pieces shattering and crashing into the floor. A startled noise ripped from my throat as two guards pushed me to the right. My knees hit the floor, damage being evaded from the thick denim I'd chosen to throw on as Alice ushered me out of my room the day before.
A hiss ran out of my mouth as I covered my ears, unable to be worried about any potential injuries to myself. Two more windows fell down. Cloaks rushed around the room and suddenly the noise stopped as fast as it started.
Athenodora was in my eyesight. Her head, to be exact.
