Bound To You: Marcus Volturi

Chapter 12: The Truth Is Partly Out

Back at the Volturi mansion, palace, castle, whatever you want to call it, Marcus is nowhere to be found. The typical grieving bookworm shouldn't have much of a life and therefore should be easy to locate, but lucky me, he's vanished into thin air. The easiest option at finding him would be to to speak to Aro in the throne room, but I do NOT want to see him. That guy really sets me off in a bad way. I have this irrational dislike for him.

It's nothing that can be explained really. I continue down the main corridor, on my way to the tower. The wives might have an idea of where he is. Halfway up the sprial staircase, I bump into another person who curses furiously as a collection of paint brushes fall onto random steps. I take one look at him and regret my clumsiness, he's a vampire.

I place the flowers on a step behind me."Shit! I'm so sorry!" I quickly scrabble up the brushes into my arms. Yes, I'm not usually one for apologising, but judging by the expression of his face, this is not a guy you want to piss off.

"Give those here!" He growls, pulling them out of my arms. "You should watch where you're going!" He snarls. I take him in properly. He has long blonde hair and porcelain skin. Ah, of course. "You're Caius, right?" I ask, looking behind him at the tower door where the wives are held. "You're Athenadora's husband," I state. He gives me a look of disgust. "What would you know about her?" He looks me up and down.

"I'm their bodyguard, hers and Sulpicia's." I stand up straight, showing him I'm not afraid. His face softens by a slight fraction. "Ah, and your name is?" He enquires. "Lee," I hold out my hand for a shake. Yes again, I'm not one for manners, but it'll be a good idea if I stick on his good side. He considers for a second, before shaking my hand.

"Are you about to visit Athenadora?" He asks. "Uh, well now you mention it, I was looking for Marcus," He looks at the flowers. "Why are you giving him flowers?" He asks. "Not any type of flowers. Lilies. Marcus's favourite." I say matter of factly. "What are you, his boyfriend?" He smirks. Wow, this guy could really sass. "Uh, no, I'm a woman," He looks at me for a second, then just shrugs. Well he's been a bit more polite about it. Others just stare.

"He was in the music room the last time I saw him," He makes his way down the stairs. I follow. "Music room?" I didn't know there was one. "Yes. Where Marcus keeps his piano. It was from Didyme." Athenadora's words come back to me. "It was his wedding present." 
"So where is it?" I ask. "Continue down the hall, first room on the left." He instructs. "Great," I take off down the corridor.

"Lee?" He calls back. "Yes sir?"
He looks sheepish before smiling and says: "It was nice meeting you. Take care of my wife," Then he's gone.
"You too," Not that he can hear me.

When I get to the music room, I know I've the right room because I can hear the faint sound of a piano. The door is open ajar. I creep through quietly and stand leaning against the doorframe as Marcus sits at the piano, with his back to me. I lean casually, listening as he plays the first bars of Für Elise. The room is large and dim, the walls painted black, the only light coming from three ceiling height windows at the far side of the room. The piano is in the centre.

I've no idea how I'm supposed to approach him after earlier. My neck still tingles. Should I ask him about it?
When the song ends, I give a small round of applause and startled, he turns and looks at me, taken aback. "What..what are you doing here?" He stammers, rising and making his way over here. "I came to hear you play. And to give you a present." I hold out the bouquet of lilies.

He takes them from me. "Thank you Lee," He gives a half hearted smile. "They're beautiful, I've always loved lilies." His smile widens, and my breath catches in my throat. He really is stunning, in some awful, weird way. Sure, he is old enough to be my father, but, do I like him? Do I feel that way about him? "Why are you staring at me?" He narrows his eyes at me. I snap out of it quickly. "Uh, was I? I don't think I did," I shrug, keeping my eyes level with the floor. If I look at him again, I'm afraid I might confront him about this morning.

"Lee," He says gently. "Look at me." He coaxes. I keep my eyes on the floor, no way am I embarrassing myself by saying something stupid. He tries again. "Sulpicia spoke to me earlier. She said you spoke to her about your feelings about me. Is that true?" He asks, gently. I purse my lips, giving no answer. "Lee," He sighs. "Please answer me, speak to me," He lightly lifts my chin to peer in my eyes. I manage to look away, but his vice like grip has a hold on my entire head, there's no way I could pull away from him completely.

I become frustrated. I try kicking at him, but he manages to hold himself out of my reach. His hand goes to the back of my head, so I can't move. Damn it, he's just so strong. "Answer my question, and I will let you go." He promises. "Do you have feelings for me?" He demands, quietly. "No, not at all. You're too old for a start," I say. He looks vaguely disappointed, but keeps his promise, and releases me. He turns away.

"Then why did you give me these?" He holds up the lilies. "Athenadora said you liked them," I shrug. "Is that all there is? No romantic meaning behind these flowers? Do you feel nothing for me at all?" His voice is strained, as if he's in pain. I don't know what to say. "When I first saw you, on the morning after the party, I felt this strange sense of emotion towards you, like a connection." He explains.

"You may not realise it now, but you will grow to love me," He smiles. "I lost my wife. Didyme was everything to me. Do you not see how we are the same?" He asks. "No, not really," I shrug again, and he sighs. "We both have emotional scars. You deal with awful emotional pain and so do I. Together, we can heal each other. That's what I meant when I told you I would fix you." He explains.

"I didn't really want to be your counsellor at all. It was my way of finding out why you are the way you are, and then I could heal you. After this morning, I have felt an even bigger urge to protect you from anyone who hurt you in your past. I want to keep you safe." He sighs. "There's one thing I don't understand," I say.
He looks at me. "Go ahead," He encourages. "How are you going to heal me?" I ask, curious. He takes one more look at me and smiles, almost amused.

"By giving you love. The one thing you've never had." He says.