Chapter Text
We cordially invite you
Wedding Ceremony for
Isabella Marie Swan to Edward Mason Cullen
Please join us on July 7th at 3 of the clocks
Ceremony and Reception to be held:
468 Hidden path drive,
Forks Washington 45345
Athalia stared back down at the invitation a crease forming on her forehead before she turned back to the window of her high raise apartment to watch the rain that had settled down for the long haul in New York. Unconsciously she placed the envelope against her lips as she lost herself in thought. Her little cousin was getting married and by all accounts it was not a good thing. Even her mother had deigned to call her to discuss the troubling development of her cousin’s checkered relationship to this Edward Cullen. From her mysterious “fall” down a flight of steps when Edward went to convince her to come back to Forks, to her severe episode of depression when he moved, the last-minute trip to Italy that did not add up, all the way to this wedding straight out of high school. Her cousin was much too young to be getting married and that was even if she was in a healthy relationship; and Athalia was not convinced that the relationship was healthy.
So, making sure her cousin was okay and safe was a large check in the pro section of the list she was developing in her head about whether or not she should attend. Her RSVP had arrived over a week ago and she absolutely had to come to a decision today.
But there was the huge check in the con section that her family was unaware of, her lack of mortality. By most warlock standards Athalia was far behind the herd when it came to cutting ties with her mortal relatives. Not that she was particularly close with most of them, but she had always had a special place in her heart for Isabella. Growing up it had felt like them against their mothers. Bella being forced to parent Renee and her own mother’s indifference at best and cruelty at worse towards her.
The biggest problem was that she had already stopped aging. From this point on there would always be the fear that her family would notice that she had not aged a day since the last time they saw her. They would tell themselves it was the skincare she used, next they would complement her genetics, then they would decide she was getting work done, and finally it would be clear that there was no skincare, genetics, or plastic surgery in the world that could have her remaining so young not only in appearance but in health as well. But that day had not arrived. She had time she told herself.
“If I’m going to have to cut ties soon. I need to at least make sure she is safe.” She said aloud to her familiar, Luna, getting a chur back in agreement from the mostly white cat, as well as a swish of the multicolored racoon patterned tail. Decision made Athalia marked the I will attend box and magicked the envelope away to Cullen’s mailbox. Sometimes magic was more trouble than it was worth. But not having to use the US postal service was a plus.
Ring Ring
Speaking of magic being more trouble. Athalia looked down at her phone and sighed as she read the display. High Warlock.
“Hello, you’ve reached sex kitten incorporated. Our current special is Fido’s funhouse of puppy play. How may I direct your penis today?”
She heard a snort of laughter as well as a few mauls of disgust and realized she had been on speaker phone. Lovely. She heard him scramble to pick up the line.
“As much as I love your sense of humor Lia, maybe use a more professional greeting when I call you from the seat of all warlock power in the US.”
“What do you want Raynard.”
He sighed, “I had a vision of you going to your cousin’s wedding. Nothing concrete, I can tell it’s important for you to be there, so I won’t argue you going. However, I want to caution you, tie up loose ends my dear; It’s time, the others are starting to talk. You know how important the statue of secrecy is… and you are already on thin ice. I won’t be able to protect you this time. Say your goodbyes and walk away.”
“I’ll take it under advisement. Consider me warned.”
“That’s not how I meant it. I know you won’t believe this, but I do actually want nothing but the best for you little sister.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“As you wish”
“If you didn’t want me to take it as a warning you shouldn’t have called me on an official line.” Athalia softened her tone, “I’ll start saying my goodbyes, but I can’t fake my death. Not right after Bella gets married, It’s too cruel. I’ll just say I got offered a great opportunity overseas but that I’ll have limited access to technology. Eventually, we will just lose touch. It happens even in families. Once enough time passes, they will get a discrete message from a law office that I died in a car accident or something. I’ll leave a small sum of cash for Bella to make it more realistic and that because of the long distance of my family they went ahead and honored my request to be cremated and scattered.” She finished with a small sniff.
“I know it hurts you to leave her behind. But this is the lot we were dealt. Think of the psychological impact on Bella. Humans are not meant to learn of our world, not unless they become supernatural themselves and that’s not a choice you get to make for her.”
“I know, I just wish…”
“I know, we all have someone that we dread leaving behind. We are half-human after all. It’s in our nature to want to connect to others. But connecting to humans only leads to heartache for us. Let her go, Lia. We’re your people, your true family. Lean on the connections you make to other Warlock’s. You don’t have to be alone.”
“Good-Bye Raynard.”
“I love you, Lia. I know you hate the demon that sired us, as do I. But I hope you know you always have family in me. I’ll be here for you Always.”
“Sap.” Athalia hung up the phone.
Giving a quick glance at the clock, she clicked her tongue at Luna “You were honestly going to let me be late huh?” The cat giving her a judgy look back as she moved to her room to get changed. She had a business meeting in an hour and her t-shirt and jeans would not get her very far. With a twirl in front of her mirror she was dressed with her make up changed to match her current outfit. A quick check confirmed that everything that was supposed to change did and was changed correctly. No missing pieces or unexpected color changes. With a dropped kiss to Luna’s head she was off, if she was able to catch a cab in time she might even be able to avoid a trip on the subway. One of the worst parts of living in New York was the ban on portaling to any place public. Portaling was a form of teleportation but since you would never be able to confirm that the place you were portaling to was free of mortals it had been mostly banned in the highly populated metropolis. Anyone that worked for the warlock’s council were given an exception and allowed to wipe the mind of mortals that may see them arrive. At least this business meeting would not end up with her in a summoning circle arguing with a demon, the lot of most Warlocks that worked for the high warlock and the greater warlock council. No, she was more then happy to make her own way. Alone if she had to, even if that meant taking a cab that smelled like cabbage. At least the driver was too busy talking on his Bluetooth to try to engage her in conversation as they sat in the typical jam of cars. She pulled out her phone and looking at the text that had just come in.
‘I’m so happy you are coming to the wedding! We just got the RSVP back, the local hotel doesn’t take pets but Luna is welcome to stay with me and Charlie’
‘That’s okay, I have a friend that will be willing to take care of Luna while I’m away.’ Well, Athalia, thought more like he had interns that would be told willing to take care of her familiar while she was away.
The driver pulled up to the curve and she smiled even with the traffic she was early. Nodding to the doorman as he held the door open for her. Her foot had barely crossed the threshold when hell broke loose. Literally.
--
Aro looked back at the wedding invitation as Valentina was dragged away. The wives were due to be back soon, and it really had been too long since he and his brother’s had traveled out of their city. The inaction was making Caius even more recklessly violent than usual, well that and the fact that Athenadora and Didyme were traveling with a few of the guard members. Edward and Bella really had picked a most unfortunate time for their little drama; all of Volterra was tense anytime the Queens traveled.
“I think we should attend the wedding.”
“Brother?” Caius’ voice displayed equal measures of disbelief and annoyance.
“Dear Didyme and Athenadora will be home soon and it really has been quite a while since we went out as a family. I’m sure we and the elite guard would be most welcome. The lower guard can protect the castle while we are away. Our presence may be just the incentive needed to speed up the process as well as a chance for me to read them and make sure that Alice’s vision still holds true.”
“What are you up to Aro?” Marcus’ voice cut in. Aro barely held back a twitch. Marcus usually let him have his fun unless he was truly concerned that he was pushing things too far. While time had healed most of the wounds in their friendship, Aro knew that Marcus would always be cautious of his actions. Ciaus and Marcus had just barely managed to stop him from making the greatest mistake of his life when Aro had decided to kill his sister. The resulting fights and Aro’s temporary suspension of power were a millennium old problem but every once in a while, Marcus would make it a point of reigning Aro in on his schemes.
Though Aro had never pointed it out his plan had ended in the desired outcome. He could have gone without the century he was on probation but his scheme did result in Marcus and Didyme staying with the Volturi. Some changes had to be made so that they were more comfortable and happier but it had been worth it to keep the family and coven together.
“Believe it or not I’m not up to anything particularly nefarious this time. I just thought we could use the chance to stretch our legs. We really have been sitting around the castle too long and I’m getting restless. I thought you two may be feeling the same especially since Didyme and Athenadora had been gone for so long.”
“I wouldn’t mind getting out of the castle.” Caius agreed. Marcus gave Aro a studying look, which Aro responded to with an exaggerated innocent one of his own, before he nodded his consent.
“Then it is settled. Since we are once again without a receptionist, I will send a yes for our RSVP for ourselves and your wives as well as the elite guard. Though I’m sure Alice will have already seen our decision. I wonder if I were to decide to say hello to her would she see it? Almost like a one-way communications device? That could be rather convenient, to make the decision to communicate something and have the other person see the communication immediately.”
The other two brother’s stopped paying attention at that point walking out of the room so the lower guard could clean up the mess their meal had made. Valentina really had been foolish to come in as they were finishing their meal. They were still in the feeding mindset and it was a surprise she had managed to get the letter to them at all without someone making her a snack.
Aro carelessly waived the lower guard to do their work despite him still sitting in the room. His eyes hazing over while looking at the bodies. She hadn’t been in this group, it wasn’t surprising, she hadn’t been in any group or meeting. 2,000 years, he was unimaginably old even by their kind’s standards, not that there weren’t older vampires, but he was still in the top 3 in terms of age. All that time and he was still alone, still hadn’t found his mate. It was almost unheard of for a vampire to go so long without and Aro wondered if he had missed his window. If she had lived and died a mortal death years or centuries ago it wouldn’t have mattered how long she had been died if he had missed his chance to met her as he was becoming more and more sure of as the years went on. It was part of the reason the wives traveled. The three kings could leave so rarely that Athenadora and Didyme in addition to just trying to get out of the castle would sometimes search for what they called potentials, and it wasn’t just the wives either. All of the guard were on the look out for Aro’s destined mate. Any of their kind could do the secretary job but somehow it was always a human girl selected, young and attractive with dreams of becoming a vampire. It was the worst kept secret in the place and yet despite the fact that Aro could read their minds and knew exactly the purpose of them the practice continued. That was probably the thing he regretted the most about Valentina’s death. He knew that within a week he would be introduced to a new secretary, the entire coven holding it’s breath as he read her mind and Marcus watching to see if the bond formed. As well as the inevitable bad mode that would follow when once again it was not her. Then came the waiting, for one of the coven to get impatient and at the barest of excuses kill the girl for falling to be the one so the cycle could start anew.
--
Athalia rinsed the shampoo out of her hair and went back for another dallop. She had been very wrong about her meeting not ending in a summoning circle. She had washed herself thrice over and still had a lingering smell of sulfur and brimstone stuck to her hair and skin. What should have been an easy meeting with a human to discuss her investing in his company had taken a turn for the worse when a dormant and unused summoning circle was opened when she stepped into the restaurant. The blast of initial hellfire killing no less then 5 humans that had been in the circle when it had flared to life by her presence. Heads would roll when the council finished cleaning up the aftermath. She would hate to be the warlock that had failed to properly close and sanitize the area after the summoning had been scrapped, not to mention the legality of placing a circle in such a populated area in the first place. She rinsed and rung her hair and stepped out of the shower. Thankfully, the smell was mostly gone and would be gone completely before the wedding; as long as she didn’t accidentally walk into any more summoning circles.
Towel wrapped around her, she went to her closest and pulled out some of her business clothes, preferring to dress herself now that she didn’t have a deadline to make. The clothes she had been wearing earlier she’d have to get specially cleaned by a fairy that specialized in getting the smell of hell out of fabrics. Pulling the slacks and blouse on, she lamented the fact that she would not be able to change into her jimjams just yet. She was expected to go to the council and give a witness statement of what had happened. Being the half-sister of the high warlock did have the perk of being allowed to go home and shower before they started questioning her. Though Athalia wondered how much of it was more for the sake of their own noses. It’s not as if any of the council would dirty themselves by going to investigate at the restaurant.
The slack and blouse she chose were more modern, the slacks were form fitting and the blouse lacked sleeves and a hint of breast could be seen. Still professional by modern standards but several of the council that still acted like it was the century they were born in would be miffed but Athalia was not willing to give up mobility by being in a dress or skirt. She was not very well liked by the council and she was always worried about the possibility of an ‘accident’ happening while she was in audience. Traditionally the positions of high warlock and his council were determined by magical power. Some warlocks chose to abstain. Either because they felt they were too young, not interested in politics, or just ready to retire for a while. Athalia usually blamed being too young for her reason for not taking the council seat offered to her and while there was some truth to that she also did not care for the politics of the council. They rarely made a difference in a good way and Athalia was skeptical that anyone could change that. She had watched as more than one of her wide eyed peers had taken seats on the council only to constantly be dismissed for their young optimism it usually ended with the young warlock deciding they were too young after all and whoever they had replaced gleefully reclaiming their seat. Saying change moved at the pace of a snail would be kind. Change was almost non-existent when those in charge were immortal.
She smoothed down her clothes and waived her hands to summon a portal. It was time to visit the court of miracles.
---
Aro closed his book and gave a sigh of relief. Didyme and Athenadora were once again home. As the time drew nearer his brothers had been driving him insane. Their every thought was centered around the return of their mates and he was quickly getting sick of having to push through the fog to get to their thoughts on a current case, though thankfully Aro had learned centuries ago to compartmentalize and ignore their more intimate thoughts. There is nothing worse than hearing your sister’s husband’s thoughts about their marital bed. Aro again thanked the gods that they had seen the wisdom of soundproofing the castle. While soundproofing was not 100% effective especially not for their kind, between the sound proofing on his office, the sound proofing on the bedrooms and the length of the castle between his office and the bedrooms he could only hear a faint whisper and only if he concentrated. He didn’t. He gave a look around his office and rolled his eyes.
“Jane, get your foot off the wall. I don’t want to tell you again.”
“Sorry Master.”
“It’s alright my dear, why don’t you go play with Alec. Renata is more than capable of keeping me company.”
“But who would protect Ms. Renata while she protects you? I’m alright here, Master, I’ll keep my feet down.”
Aro and Renata gave each other a look. Jane had been extra protective since Bella had escaped her powers. The problem was that with their young age, Jane and Alec did not do well with long periods of actual guard duty. Normally they were free to play unless called for a trial or threat. In fact, often they were given their own guards both to protect them from un-noticed threats or to keep them out of mischief.
“Jane, why don’t you send Felix in. He can protect me while I guard Master. Alec has been missing you.” Jane hesitated but then agreed and a few moments after she had zipped out Felix stepped in.
“Jane said I’m to protect Ms. Renata?”
“Well honestly your mostly here to keep Jane out of Master’s hair for a few hours.” Felix bellowing laugh filled the room.
Aro rolled his eyes and returned to his writing or rather correcting. The replacement for Valentina was already proving to be a disappointment and he had a feeling she wouldn’t be surviving the week as he circled yet another grammatical error. What were they even teaching in schools now a days! They may be a government agency made of supernatural beings but they were still a governing entity. There were expectations for the paperwork!