(Requested by Anon)
It had been the brief flickers of images that had come first to you.
The back of black cloaks as they marched away. The pale blank features of frozen faces that stared at you. A castle. A familiar face staring back at you, the only one that smiled at you. Red eyes. Sometimes, they looked like your eyes. And in more absurdity, the red pool that was slick across the floor beneath you as the euphoria bundled inside you like a sating need.
A need you did not experience anymore.
The castle was the first to become reality. A place belonging outside your imagination.
Italy, you thought, your lips twisting in a soft smile. Triumph blooming in your chest. The castle was real.
What was better than staring at the outside of it? The free tour that was offered by the friendly face of a tour guide calling last minute additions.
Inside was beautiful. The high-topped ceiling, echoing clips of heels on marble. A yearning reaching inside of you. I have been here before.
Soon, the tour was winding down, coming to an end. ‘The great surprise.’ The guide boasted, with a dazzling smile on her red lips.
You stood outside the large doors, excitement buzzing through you. The doors opened, ushering the tour inside.
Moments later the screams began.
Time had passed since then, months; and more things belonged outside your imagination you learned.
Red eyes.
The black cloaks that hung on the statue-like-bodies.
The one friendly face that stared at you. Marcus. He saved you that day, the day you arrived at the Castle, the day you was ushered into the room that reeked with death. The day you learned the truth about the world you thought you knew.
More memories had come back since then. All of them revolving around someone who struck fear into your very being.
Aro.
“Y/N,” His voice soft and hollow. “Remember me?” He asked, his lips twitching in amusement from the sound of your heartbeat jumping with anxiety.
You willed yourself to be calm and looked up at him, trying to find his motives in his face. It revealed nothing, except the same flicker of amusement from before.
“No.”
“Lie.” He said with certainty. His finger trailed down your cheek and to your chin, tilting it so he could stare you in the eye.
“You remember more. You know the truth.”
He was different now than he was when you first arrived. While he was full of contempt at your arrival, now he was curious. He was searching for something in your eyes. His finger travelled, running along the side of your jaw, down the line of your neck and settling along the nape. You shuddered when you felt the rest of his fingers curl around it like stubborn Ivy.
Just a small squeeze of his fingers and your eye were brimming with tears. “I can do it again.” He leaned closer, a small smile on his face.
“Will you betray me, sister?”
Translation: Will you tell?
He knew the answer. But Aro continued to toy with you.
He would continue to do so until you died again, whether it be by his hand or not.
Back in Marcus chambers, you were sprawled on the bed, staring at the ceiling as you furiously blinked away tears. I will not cry.
Marcus returned moments later, his red eyes seemed more vibrant with from both the feeding and seeing you.
“My love,” He whispered, his hands wrapping around your waist as he laid down next to you, his chin resting on top of your head. “When will you change?”
Translation: When will I be able to stop worrying about your fragile humanity?
You had been thinking about it for a while. But you were at a crossroads. Aro had turned you, your past self, in hopes that you would be a potential advantage. You had been a disappointment, but he kept you around until the infatuation between you and Marcus began causing issues.
You lost interest in trying to gain power, and Marcus was only interested in being with you. Since neither of you cared for Aro’s plan of chasing power, he decided to eliminate the weakest of the two, even if it was his sister.
Could you risk it again? Could you risk Marcus?
“Why are you upset?” Marcus asked, smelling the faint wet saltiness of nearing tears.
“Aro …” You started before stopping yourself. Mustn’t tell.
I know what you will do, Marcus. You thought. If I tell you how I died, it will only cause more problems than solutions.
“Yes?”
“Nothing. I think I’m ready.”
It’s not like you had the option to say no, you would have to change eventually. Your time as a human was simply borrowed and it was time to pay the piper.
Marcus smiled down at you, adoration in his gaze. “You have nothing to fear.” He brushed strands of your hair from your face. You could hear Aro’s voice echo in your mind.
Lie.