The Rose and The Thorn (Caius - Twilight)

Chapter 1 - An Idea

[A] means Aro is speaking, [C] means Caius is speaking and so on, just to ensure the speech doesn't become confusing when there is more than one person in a conversation.

Dani xxx

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Caius' POV

I glared at Aro from across our antique wooden table and then diverted my glaze back to the book I was reading. Things had been cold between Aro and myself since we'd arrived back from Washington, leaving the Cullens in peace with their human/vampire hybrid child. Not only had he declared them innocent without consulting us, but he dismissed the werewolves at the tip of a hat. I didn't spend centuries hunting those fowl beasts so he could leave the perfect situation to finish their shape-shifting cousins off. The hybrid however, the way she touched his face and his eyes lit up, there was something special there. Her human genes allowing her to have two gifts, a quality never seen before among our kind. Imagine the power if our army contain vampires with multiple abilities, the domination we could have.

"Brothers, what if all hybrids had the ability to harvest multiple gifts?" Aro and Marcus looked at me in surprise, but I could see them mulling the idea in their minds. An army of gifted vampires.

[A] "If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting my dear Caius then it would certainly be an interesting experiment."

[M] "But where would we find a human willing to sacrifice themselves, or a vampire with enough restraint to carry out the deed?"

[C] "We cannot trust the guard, they are too disposable to be involved in such a precious matter."

[M] "How about Alec or Demitri?"

[C] "Given their gifts the child could be an asset to us, however what if they become attached? We cannot risk loosing such prestigious abilities."

[A] "One of us shall have to do it then!"

We looked from one and other to the floor and back. I knew Aro wouldn't risk losing his position or angering Sulpicia, and Marcus was still heart-broken from Didyme's death, which left me.

[C] "But brothers, I have no gift, nothing to pass to the child."

[A] "You have your determination, power, and it's only a test, if it fails we won't think twice about destroying the evidence."

[M] "It may be quicker and easier to convert an adult, however rearing a child gives us the ability to raise it already accustomed to our
ways."

[C] "Who shall be the mother? We need someone strong and capable of carrying the child, yet who knows about us."

As if by magic the oak doors opened and Jessica wandered in. Aro swiftly stood up and rushed to her side.

"Allow me my dear." He cupped her hand in his and frowned. Something was wrong. He hurried back to the table and whispered to Marcus and I, "She overheard everything, our plans to raise a hybrid. She's a liability."

[C] "Destroy her, we can find a new secretary in no time."

[M] "What about what she initially came in to tell us, before you read her mind?"

[A] "The Cullens have sent us a letter, but we can deal with that later, first we must fix the hole in our plan."

[C] "Kill her, we can't let her sabotage the life we've built up."

We turned to face Demetri and the other members of the guard who were waiting by the doors and nodded. They led her to the next room and dealt with her, and out the corner of my eye I noticed Marcus sigh. He hadn't been the same since Didyme died, but then I guess I had changed since Athenodora was brutally murdered by those mutts. That was 2 millennia ago, and unlike Aro, Marcus and I had seen very little action since.

"Okay. I'll lure a human woman into helping us, however if it goes wrong I'm not being held responsible." My brothers nodded. "Oh, and Aro I don't need Chelsea to influence my decisions, you know my loyalty to the volturi." I turned the page of my book and continued reading, ignoring Aro smiling to himself and the guards looking from one and other in surprise. What had I agreed to?