Bound To You: Marcus Volturi

Chapter 7: Female Standards and Past History

Another blonde woman, again, very pretty, but wearing a red dress, heads off into the bedroom. "Enjoyed your walk, Thena?" Sulpicia's expression warms when she sees her. Athenadora comes back in, giving me a look. "Yes, blustery, but very refreshing. Who's this?" She asks, as she makes her way to the sofa. "This is Lee, our bodyguard,"
Athenadora looks me over again. "Very smart, sensible shoes, but I was expecting a woman." She sighs.

"Lee tells me she is a woman." Sulpicia explains, but Athenadora shakes her head. "Never. Impossible." She comes up to me, circling slowly. "I am a woman. Long hair, dress, makeup." She states. "Sulpicia, dear, what you are showing me is a man." She protests. "If you let me speak for myself, I'm a woman." I stand up straight, looking her in the eyes.

She gives me a look of disbelief. "Well my sweet, you have really let yourself go." She sighs and walks away. "Actually, I like looking like this. I aim to look androgynous. Demetri said I'm handsome," I defend, crossing my arms over my chest. "And you are handsome, at least you'd make a handsome man. What do you mean by androgynous?" She asks. "Without gender," Sulpicia answers. "Looking between genders. Neither certain female or male." She explains.

I look up surprised. Who knew a vampire of many years knew about gender identities. "Yeah, that's a rough explanation." I shrug. Athenadora nods, she pats the space beside her. "Come, it would be a good idea to get to know you." I stand back, reluctantly. Not many people are approving of my past. "Uh, I'd rather not." I shake my head, trying to back out.

She raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Really? And why would that be?" She interrogates. "I don't want to! Why do I have to listen to you? I'm your bodyguard, not your daughter!" I yell, and they both remain calm. I wait for them to yell back, but they don't. Instead they wait another minute, before speaking. "Are you calm?" Sulpicia asks. I give a shaky nod. "Good, now talk."

"Ok, well my name is Lee, I'm eighteen. I was born in South London, England. My mother was a junkie teen, gave me up, I've been bullied all my life for being an orphan. Moved from place to place. Came to Italy when I was nine, been in a string of foster homes ever since. Been in Volterra's home for children for two years."

"So yeah, that's my life story." I shrug. "It's a shame," Sulpicia sighs. "From now on, no one will ever bully you. I will take care of you." She promises. Athenadora nods agreement. "And I should hug you in an attempt to comfort you, but I don't think you'd like that." She sighs again, amused. "No. I'm not one for affection." I state.

"Now, tell me why I'm here." I fold my arms and sit back, ready for a story. Athenadora and Sulpicia share worried glances. Sulpicia takes a deep breath. "For the last fifty years, we have needed a bodyguard to protect us at all costs. The lady in the picture you were looking at, was Didyme, Marcus's wife."

"So he did get married?" I ask and she nods, sadly. "She was Aro's sister. Marcus and her were deeply in love, but unfortunately, she was murdered by a Romanian coven and since that day, Thena and I have been subjected to living with guards posted at our doors. We don't have much freedom but now you are here, I have the feeling we may be allowed to venture out into the city more, maybe do a bit of shopping." She winks at Athenadora and they smile.

"So was Didyme's killer ever found?" They both look upset. "We're still looking," Sulpicia sighs. "That's why Marcus is so depressed today. When Didyme died, half of him died as well. They were mates. It's a very strong bond we carry. It's a tragedy, Marcus was a talented musician." She wipes a tear away from her eye. "That's why we need a bodyguard, but someone who can entertain us also, someone who can be our friend." Athenadora explains.

"Why don't you take some time off, head to the library?" Sulpicia suggests. I give a small nod, mutter my goodbyes and leave. Marcus is in the library alone when I arrive, sitting at a table, with his back to me. "Why are you in here?" He knows I'm there before I've even said hello. "Yeah, nice to see you too." I huff, before sitting opposite him at the table. "What are you reading?"

I try to take interest to impress him, but he moves his book away from his face and I take a good look at him. For the first time, I realise he's oddly attractive. Sure, he's got to be at least fifty, and there are age lines on his face, but he's somewhat beautiful. I snap out of my trance to find him frowning. "Why are you staring at me?" He's confused as hell. "Uh cause I felt like it. What are you reading?"

"Jane Eyre," He says simply. "I've never read it." I shrug. "It's a very good story." A soft smile passes across his face, and I sit up and take notice. Wow, he really is kind of attractive. I push away the unwelcome thought. I don't need to deal with romance. "Anyway, tomorrow Aro thought it would be a good idea for me to show you around the city, seeing as you're human, I'm sure you'd like to visit shops, fast food restaurants, the usual." He says.

I nod and I as sit up in my seat, I notice a painting of Didyme on the wall. Her kind eyes and sweet smile stand out to me. I clear my throat, attracting Marcus's attention. "Sulpicia told me about Didyme." His breath hitches, and he adopts a painful expression. His eyes close briefly and he turns away. Just the sound of her name affects him. It's crazy. "Tell me about her, was she nice?" He nods. "She was beautiful, I loved her with all my heart."

He presses his lips together and he shakes slightly. He looks deep into my eyes. "My gift is that I can sense emotional bonds between people. When she died, I felt the bond snap. I have never been the same since." He says that, my heart falls, and I feel a huge ache in my chest.