Rescue Me : a Volturi one-shot
Per a request by @iloveslasher (hope you like it, kiddo. It came out a bit longer than planned.)
I was wondering if I could request a one shot of: The reader (human) knows the volturi in a friendly way and was let go for whatever reason.
She sees an attack happen between felix and Demetri and a rogue and as the attacker runs away from Demetri and felix She jumps on him and tumbles down to help them! But of course she gets injured cause she's a human knocking down a vampire.
ooooooooooooooooooooo
You are human. In normal circumstances, that would not be an issue. As a friend to a coven of ancient vampires, your humanity was most definitely an issue, and a half.
One September afternoon, you are strolling the Piazza dei Priori, where the castle casts a cool shadow over the square. Summer was refusing to give way to Autumn, and the heat through the hewn brick is felt on the bottoms of your sandals. You stop and pull a bottle of water from your bag, and take a deep drink. Looking around the square, you notice a group of tourists gathered near the castle. You'd always been curious about the ancient building, but stories about strange happenings had kept you away. Older now, you know ghosts and strange creatures don't really exist. If you joined the tour, you could get out of the heat, and leave when the sun lowered below the horizon. Home was not a far walk, but in the afternoon sun, it felt further than it was.
Putting your water away, you head for the small crowd milling around an attractive woman who is giving them instructions before entering the castle doors. Unnoticed, you linger at the back of the group and follow them inside. Low murmurs fill the old fashioned hallway that is lined with fire-lit wall sconces, as the tourists comment on the antiquity of the building.
You wonder how the rumours about such a typically old work of architecture had come about, especially one in Italy, where antiquity was commonplace. Inexplicably, a shiver runs through your body. You shake it off, assuming your sun-heated body is just adjusting to the cool air inside.
The woman leads the crowd down a dark corridor, through archways and past columns. The lanterns now sit on floor stands, casting shadows dancing on the walls. Your unease grows as everyone approaches a pair of carved wooden doors. They open to reveal a round room made of stone, and decorated with statuary that looks old...very old. Across the room sit three chairs on a dais, and on the chairs are three motionless men watching the tourists. Along the wall, stand several people, all dressed in black and at attention. You feel a sudden urge to run.
Once the doors shut, all hell breaks loose. The tourists begin to scream as the people in black appear before them, grabbing for throats, attacking without mercy.
You slink back, hiding behind a large column. Falling to your knees, you close your eyes, but can not close your ears to the sounds of screaming, gurgling, and thuds as the dead fall to the stone floor. You open your eyes, waiting for the massacre to end, no doubt with your own death. You spot a red beetle as it crawls over the stone. You fixate on it, willing yourself to disappear. Suddenly, you feel a strong hand grip your shoulder, pulling you up from the floor.
When you turn to face the person the hand belongs to, you see a tall man, eyes as red as the blood on his lips. He easily drags you across the floor to the dais and pushes you to the floor.
You look up, seeing the man on the middle chair staring down at you, unblinking. A brief smile appears on his reddened lips. Fingers brush over them, removing traces of blood, an extended tongue licking them clean.
"Now, my dear. Since our meal is concluded, what shall we do with you?" the man says, not expecting you to answer. Instead, a blonde man sitting to his right replies.
"There is no question, Aro. She must die. Or we could store her in a cell downstairs, and save her for a later meal." His red eyes stare at you, a taunting expression on his face.
You begin shaking, realizing now the rumours you'd heard your whole life were true. Today, you would either die or be imprisoned, and no one will even know what had happened. You glance around the room, seeing fallen bodies and blood, but notice the mess is already being cleaned up by several people, the bodies now piled near a grate in the floor.
With no prelude, the man who sits to the left speaks low. "Wait, Aro. This one is different. Don't kill her."
The blonde starts to protest, but is silenced by a raised hand from the man you now know as Aro. He stands and walks down the three steps to stand before you. He reaches down and raises you off the floor. His hands take yours, and he seems to be listening, to what, you don't know. Then he smiles and releases your hands.
Aro has read the woman to find an ordinary human, with no special qualities or gifts. She is a native Italian, twenty-four years old, unmarried, her parents dead, and she has lived her entire life in Volterra.
"You will stay here, with us, Cristina." How does he know your name? "Don't attempt to escape. It will only result in your immediate death." He was letting you live? "Do you understand?" Your answer is a frightened nod. "Felix, take our guest to a room. Make sure she is comfortable."
The tall man takes you by the arm and leads you from the room. You soon find yourself in a comfortably furnished room. Not the dungeon you imagined.
And so this was the beginning of a friendship between a human and a coven of vampires. Over the following weeks, you remain with the Volturi, as you have discovered they're called, learning from them, keeping them company, and doing odd chores. Aro treats you well, his curiosity compelling him to sit with you for hours, talking about many things past and present.
The blonde, whose name is Caius, took longer to overcome his disdain for a human, but eventually he comes around, speaking to you with simple civility while enjoying a game of chess.
And the older of the three, Marcus, the man who had essentially saved your life, brings you flowers from his garden.
The tall man, Felix and his ever present companion, Demetri, have warmed up to you as well. They teach you self defense moves, unnecessary, since you're never allowed to venture outside the castle walls. You teach them card games, using biscotti baked by the castle chef as wagers. Since neither Felix nor Demetri eat human food, they give you all the cookies after you finish playing, regardless who wins.
You even come to know a few of the humans allowed to work at the castle, but dare not question if any one of them disappears suddenly. You come to know that is not a safe topic for discussion.
One day, when you think it's the right time, you decide to make a request of the Volturi lords. You go to Aro's private room and knock on the door. In a fraction of a second, the door opens, revealing a smiling Aro. He steps aside, saying, "Come in, my dear. I was hoping you'd visit. You just missed my wife Sulpicia. She was asking for permission to go shopping."
So old school, you think. A modern woman asking her husband permission to go shoppping. But Aro insists she be escorted by one of the guard whenever leaving the castle.
"Would you like to accompany her?" he asks.
You shake your head. Whenever Sulpicia or Athenadora go out, Aro asks you if you want to go too, giving you money to buy whatever you want. Today, shopping is not important to you.
"Aro, can we sit? I need to ask a favour of you."
Aro leads you to a velvet-covered settee. "Of course. Is anything wrong?"
Eager to take advantage of his good mood, you speak quickly. "Aro, I want to go home."
The vampire looks at you full on. "You want to leave us? But my dear, you know the rule. If a mortal knows about us, they must be changed or die."
"Please, Aro. I'm so grateful for everything you have done for me. But I need to be home. I need my normal life back. I swear, I would never tell anyone about you. I love you all too much to endanger any of you, you must know that."
"I know you would never betray us, Cristina, but this is a hard rule, and we cannot ignore it." Aro can sense your need, and he hates to deny you anything. "I'm sorry."
You try another tactic. "Aro, I know I'm nothing special to you, having no talents or gifts, but if you give me my life back for five years, I promise to allow you to change me. Just five more years, and I can return for visits during that time. I can't live without you all, in any case. But I need to be human for a while. And I'll have time to be with my friends while preparing to come back to you, for good."
Aro considers your words. "Let me speak with my brothers, see what they think about your request." He stands, taking your hand, and places a kiss on it. "Go to your room and I will come to you to let you know our decision."
"Alright, but please consider it. Don't say no just because you feel there is no other answer, Aro." You turn and leave his room to return to yours.
Rather than sit and pace the room, you go out into the garden. The sun's warmth feels soothing as you walk the large courtyard. You hear a cough behind you, and whirl to see Felix standing behind you.
"Aro wants to see you in the throne room." You'd thought Aro was coming here, to you. You didnt know if either way bode for good news or ill. "I'm coming, Felix."
Once there, you peer up at them, anxiously awaiting their decision.
"Although you asked us to break the highest of our laws, basically THAT being no human can know about us and live, we will this one time make the allowance, provided you stay in touch as much as possible. Also, after five years time, you return to us and agree to be changed. You will then become a member of our coven. We would do this for no one else, Cristina. Do not disappoint me." Aro sat back, head held high, his body stiff. The almost regal stance was spoiled though when he gives you a wink. Marcus is smiling at you in his sorrowful way, while Caius smirks.
Running up the dais, you give Aro a tight hug. "Oh, thank you, Aro. I agree to your terms. I just need to do this. But I will be back. I promise." You hug Marcus, and then stand before Caius, finally hugging him when he gives you the slightest assenting nod.
"You big softy," you murmur in his ear. Laughing with joy, you run to your room, Felix behind you. He has been ordered to take you home. Unbeknownst to you, he will become your invisible protecter, making sure nothing happens to you.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Three years later...
It was a cool April afternoon, when you are returning home after watching a friend's ten year old son. His mother had an errand to run that was going to take all day, so you offered to help. You're carrying a basket of fruit your friend has given you, humming as you head home. You turn down an alley that leads to a street three blocks from your house. Many of the shops are closing, and the streets are quiet as people go home to prepare for supper.
You cross a street devoid of people, when you hear a commotion coming from behind the wall that separates your yard from the main road. The ground slopes on the far side, and that was where you hear growling...growling? Are dogs fighting one another? You tiptoe to the wall and peer over the top. There you see three men struggling with one another. Two are obviously paired together against the third man, who seems to be fighting with no finesse. But he has strength, making it difficult for the two men to get a grab-hold on him.
The battle is fierce, the taller of the two men being knocked down and rolling down the small hill. The lone man flies to him, grabbing his head in his hands.
It is then you recognize...
"Felix!"
Apparently, Felix and Demetri are after a rogue vampire, since you have never seen him at the castle.
You hop over the wall and run carefully down the hill, sliding on the grass as you go. Reaching the two men, you jump the rogue, catching him off guard. He releases Felix, but now flips you off him, and is about to take you by the throat, when Demetri jumps him from one side and Felix the other. In the madness, you are sent flying further down the slope, your body helplessly rolling until it reaches the bottom. You lie there, unconscious.
Felix holds the rogue vampire by his arms, pulling them behind his body, while Demetri grabs his head, twisting until it has been torn off. He sends it flying up against the wall while the now-headless body has collapsed at his feet. He bends and lights the fabric of the cloak, watching as it burns the unmoving body. Felix picks up the head and throws it on the fire. Fortunately, it is now dark, and the fire burns unseen on the opposite side of the wall until there is nothing left of the rogue vampire.
The two Volturi notice in the darkness your prone body. Fearful the worst has happened, both men fly to your side. Felix checks you over and is relieved to find you still alive. But it is obvious you are gravely injured. He gently picks you up, and both he and Demetri speed back to the castle. They have succeeded in their mission, but at what cost.
On their arrival at the castle, the three Volturi masters greet the guards, but when they see you in Felix's arms, their expressions change.
"She's still alive, Master," Felix says grimly.
He transfers your unconscious body to Aro's arms, whereupon the leader of the Volturi speeds to his room. The bed is bigger there. He lays you gently on it, then checks your body for wounds. "What happened?"
Both Felix and Demetri expain that while fighting the rogue, you had wandered by and must have seen them. "She saved us, Master Aro, by distracting the rogue. But he knocked her down the hill. He's burned now."
Aro gestures for them to leave the room.
"How is she, Aro?" Marcus asks, but you cannot hear him.
"No bones broken," he replies, feeling your arms and legs with cool fingers. "It could be a concussion. A bad one by the looks of it."
Caius is oddly more concerned than he had imagined he would be. "Change her before she dies, brother."
Hesitant to make that drastic decision, he looks at Marcus. "The five years have not passed. We gave her our word."
"If she dies, what will our word matter?" Caius shouted. "Do it, before it's too late!"
Aro leans in close and whispers to you, "My dear, it's Aro. Can you hear me?" He hopes to get just a groan from you, but you are silent. He holds your hand, but your fingers remain limp. Your heart is beating, he can hear it, but is it getting slower or is it his imagination.
"Perhaps you should change her, Aro," Marcus says. He knows if she dies and is not changed, it will be more their loss than yours. You will never be aware. Not many humans had stolen the hearts of the cold Volturi masters. He had said you would be different, and you have proven that.
"Save her, brother...or I will," Caius hisses.
Aro made his decision, and bending close again, his arm slips under your neck. He supports your head and lets it fall toward him, exposing your throat. He inhales your sweet scent, then presses his lips against warm skin. He bites hard, feeling the flow of venom from special glands in his mouth. His teeth make holes large enough for the venom to fill them, quickly flowing into your blood stream. He lays you back down, making sure you will be comfortable. "So now we wait."
It has been nearly three days of extreme pain for you. You are aware of nothing but the pain. You thrash on the bed while all three vampires take turns holding you, trying to calm you. Finally, the pain ceases and you sleep. Your breathing has stopped, and already the transformation is in the final stages. Your hair has thickened while your skin has taken on a pale complexion, all blemishes gone. Once you wake, your eyes will have taken on a red hue.
Felix comes in to see how you are doing, and marvels at your inhuman beauty, not that you hadn't been pretty before. He knows the masters are waiting anxiously to welcome you to their world.
When you do awaken, you notice a hunger inside you. You see the three Volturi lords and your friend Felix gathered around the bed, watching you. "Aro? Where am I?" You see both Marcus and Caius looking concerned. you reach up to feel your smooth face, your thick brown hair tumbling around your shoulders.
Marcus helps you off the bed and leads you to a cheval mirror that sits in the far corner next to a wardrobe.
You see your brown eyes are now bright red. Everything about you has been changed, perfected. "Aro?"
The Volturi master moves behind you, his hands resting on your shoulders. "We had to, my dear. You were badly injured, possibly near death. We hope you are not disappointed."
You laugh and hug Aro impulsively. "It would have happened eventually. I still didn't get to settle my home and say goodbye to my friends." Your one regret.
"We will let you write someone, to ask them to dispose of your house and belongings as you desire. This castle is your home now, and we are your family."
It was true. The ancient castle you had heard so much about, with its frightening stories about creatures you once feared as a child...you are one of them now. "Alright. I can do that." You turn and give both Marcus and Caius hugs. You trust them now more than ever.
You speed over to Felix, bumping into him when you don't stop in time, and hug him. You feel this will not be the last time you hug the tall protective guard.
And so began an immortal life of the only human ever allowed to leave the Pallazo dei Priori, alive.
