┏━━━━⋆｡‧˚ʚ ❀ ɞ˚‧｡⋆━━━━┓

THE ART OF RESURFACING

"WHY IS IT THAT WHENEVER SOMETHING GOES WRONG, YOU FOUR IMBECILES ARE ALWAYS INVOLVED?"

All four of the higher ranking Guard members were being chastised in front of Aro, as though they were school children who were about to have their recess time taken away. Even the three who were not involved in the incident were being lectured, but the rage their master had felt at seeing his mate in such a state guided in by Alec?

Oh, they were lucky it was just a verbal reprimanding. 

Speaking of the blonde, she'd been standing like a statue under Alec's command— her senses continuing to be pulled from her the longer they all stood there. She stood just behind the so-called witch twin, and you wouldn't have even seen her if it wasn't for the peak of her hair coming from just behind his shoulder blade.

"Portala qui," he demanded, eyes narrowed in Alec's direction. Bring her here.

The Guard members parted like the sea, unveiling the state of Billie behind them. Alec all but shuffled her forward, the black particles of his power still swirling at his fingertips as he did so. As he walked her towards the man, neither party really noticed the way Jane subtly inched forward, only to steel her shoulders back beside Demetri.

He noticed, because of course he had, and he'd be teasing Jane about it later when the energy calmed.

Billie then stood in front of Aro, covered in blood that was most certainly not her own. It caked the dress she had worn, and there were specs of it splattered across her face like freckles. Alec fell back into line as the black specs floated back into his being. With his power no longer having an influence on the girl, Aro watched as the foggy darkness that covered her eyes cleared.

The change was instantaneous, and was marked by the snarl that escaped the newborn. While Alec might've missed the mark the last time around, Aro wouldn't; he was their leader for a reason, and that reason was rooted in his vast array of knowledge and experience. He'd dealt with his fair share of newborns, but this one in particular was a special cause.

She attempted to sideswipe him, but he got her arms around her quicker. "Dismissed," he snapped at the Guard members, and that was quite frankly all the notice they needed to get the hell out of there.

When the grand doors clanged shut, Aro hold on the thrashing newborn lessened. He keenly noticed that she wasn't using all her strength to fight him off, because if she had, she surely would've eliminated the Guards and the threats that she perceived them to be.

Aro held her a bit closer, keeping one hand on her bicep as the other migrated to her jaw. "What is the matter with you, amore mio," he whispered out, though it was more to himself as his gaze raked over her being. He was searching for something, for some sort of reason as to why she had yet to snap from the bloodlust that ravaged her mind.

It was like she wasn't even seeing him standing before her, wasn't acknowledging the pull she'd begun to feel either. His eyes snapped to her fingertips, and in a moment of determination, he pulled them to his own forehead.

Because though she hadn't registered him, she seemed to register her own abilities based on Alec's recount of the night's events. He observed her as her crimson eyes clouded once, a sure sign of her using her abilities, coupled with a prodding sensation in his own mind.

What was that saying again? Two halves of the same coin?

Aro watched in distinct relief when her eyes cleared with a solid blink, and as her neck craned up to look at him with a type of sorrow he hated seeing on her face, he knew she'd returned to him.

His thumb brushed over her cheek softly, his gaze unwavering from her own.

"There you are."

Her eyes flickered back and forth between his, lips downturned as she reeled her head away, placing a bit of distance between them. "Don't look at me like that."

The confusion was clear on Aro's face. "Just how am I looking at you?" he asked, head tilted to the side as he looked at her.

Her mouth clamped shut, eyes staring holes into the marble flooring of the grand room. "Just... don't," she stumbled out, hand migrating to her own neck to scratch at it. "I don't deserve your kindness— not after I just..."

The sentence hung thickly in the air, the discomfort swirling around her entire being stood in stark contrast to Aro's calm nature. "You did nothing wrong, amore."

The scoff that was ripped from Billie was raw. "I killed someone!" she spat, nails digging into the marble column of her neck, "so you can't stand there and say I didn't do anything wrong, because I most certainly did!"

Billie was an enigma to Aro for a multitude of reasons, but mostly due to her unwavering concern for others. He'd learned over time that humans were weak, fickle things, and had assumed Billie would naturally adopt this point of view.

He was clearly wrong about that.

The man was in front of her in an instant, wrapping his fingers around her wrist in an effort to yank her hand away from her neck. She let him, her eyes wide at their closer proximity as he looked at the subtle cracks that had formed in her neck with a sort of worry he couldn't cover up.

"You are far too compassionate, Billie," he mumbled under his breath, though the blonde girl could hear it as clear as day.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," came her muttered retort, eyes once again averting away.

Only this time, as she went to crane her head to the side to avoid his piercing eyes, he gripped her chin to stop her from doing so. "It amuses me, that's all," he replied with a soft smile. "Even as a vampire, your empathy for others still remains as strong as the day they brought you to me. You are extremely special."

Billie had an inkling that she'd been told this fact quite a lot in the past, but she knew for certain that she had a kind soul. The nauseating fear she felt when she resurfaced from the hunger that consumed her mind was more than proof of that because evidently, her remorse remained intact.

"Is that a good thing, though?" she questioned, eyes daring to meet his once again.

"Very much so, yes," he affirmed with a nod, and some of the weight lifted off of her shoulders at that. "So I shall say it once more; you did nothing wrong."

Billie frowned. "Then why does it feel like I did something wrong?"

"It's because you aren't quite used to our way of living yet, amore," he reassured her, using his thumb to brush a piece of hair away from her face as he shook his head. "You shouldn't worry about it too much. Accidents happen, and you aren't in any trouble."

Now that last part is something Billie hadn't considered right away. She remembered Jane disclosing that it was a rule in Volterra that vampires couldn't hunt in the city— they were supposed to bring food in from elsewhere to remain inconspicuous. And there Billie was, literally fucking up their most important rule without even realizing it.

"I feel like such a fraud," she groaned in misery, trying to ignore the sensation of Aro's fingertips dancing down towards her collar bone. "And I know you're gonna say otherwise because you always do, but I don't— I don't fit in here."

Billie was feeling immensely troubled, her emotions going haywire in her mind, and it was obvious to see just by looking at her crestfallen face. No, that wouldn't do at all.

Aro decided he never wanted to see such a look on the girl's face ever again.

"I'd like to show you something," Aro said, offering out his hand to her, palm side up as an invitation to take it, "if you'll let me."

The blonde girl, for the first time in a while, didn't hesitate in slipping her hand in his, acutely watching as his fingers curled around her own. She reciprocated, feeling a tug at her chest upon looking back up at him as they prepared to exit the room.

He was already looking at her; really, he was always looking at her, even when she didn't always notice it.

⋆｡‧˚ʚ ❀ ɞ˚‧｡⋆

[ wyn's note ]

update 3 of the pre-scheduled chaps!! :) EEEEK billie and her newborn troubles.... aro to the rescue LOL

all my love! by the time you see this, i should hopefully be back to normal chap uploads if i did this right (meaning it's the 19th a la suisse LOL) xx