Timeless Ties || Volturi Kings

24. Do I Wanna Know?

Have you got colour in your cheeks?
Do you ever get that fear that you can't shift the tide
That sticks around like summat in your teeth?
Are there some aces up your sleeve?

— Arctic Monkeys

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The first thing Alessia did that morning was anxiously check if the fan gifted by Helios remained unharmed. Fortunately, it was intact. This prompted Alessia to move to the spot where she had placed Caius' relief stone. After tidying up the area a bit, she positioned the fan on its side, making a mental note to acquire something to keep it upright, just as she had done previously with the art piece Caius had given her.

Regrettably, purchasing anything had to be postponed, as Alessia found herself grappling with a multitude of more urgent concerns and unpleasant feelings. Alone in her room, she no longer needed to put on a mask of ease around anyone. Following her conversation with Ramesses, a peculiar sense of disquiet lingered, and Alessia couldn't shake it off.

It wasn't a conventional sense of fear that she experienced. Alessia harbored no belief that Ramesses posed a direct threat to her. Nevertheless, an unusual unease crept over her, disrupting her usual sense of peace.

Being threatened — vaguely threatened, yes, but threatened nonetheless — served as a stark reminder that Alessia was essentially defenseless in her daily life, whether at home, walking on the streets, or engaged in any activity. While she had been intellectually aware of this vulnerability before her encounter with Ramesses, it had never truly registered with her. Aro, Caius, Helios, and Didyme were individuals she cherished, and her positive feelings towards them had shielded her from viewing vampires as a potential threat. Even if, on a rational level, she did entertain the possibility that supernatural beings and elements might be a product of her imagination or a manifestation of a mental break, the existence of vampires had, in a way, provided a sense of comfort. Because if vampires existed, this meant that Alessia now had four more people that cared about her just because of who she was, and for a child that grew up in a broken home with a single friend, this meant the world.

Hence, since she found out she wasn't dreaming, Alessia had decided to fully accept vampires. She had even been slightly worried about the absence of any signs of vampires existing in her time, which is why she was so ready to accept Ramesses' implication that he knew vampires still existed in the future. Still, Alessia had to confess that she had been way more concerned about the werewolf issue. She had taken primary actions against them, even with the note from her possible future self.

Perhaps it was strange, and her perspective on everything was obviously influenced by what she had heard about Children of the Moon from her vampires, who unequivocally despised them. In spite of that, the mere idea of werewolves sent a shiver down her spine, and she harbored a deep-seated aversion to the thought of them being anywhere near her, even though she had never encountered one.

For all that, Alessia now underwent a shift in her perception. It dawned on her that vampires, previously regarded as nothing more than treasured figures in her life, could be just as perilous as any werewolf. The obscure yet unsettling threat she had received from Ramesses underscored the potential dangers she faced. This realization prompted Alessia to reevaluate everything and recognize the need for caution against all supernatural beings.

Because, while Alessia had been cognizant that not every vampire shared the benevolence of her friends, the impact of this realization had never truly sunk in until now. Witnessing Aro's encounter with those Dacian followers — Radimir and another name she couldn't remember — and the aftermath of their destructive actions had been vivid but hadn't fully registered. This recent encounter with Ramesses marked the first time a vampire had behaved in a manner that wasn't entirely favorable towards Alessia herself.