Remember: Alex and Aro (boyxboy)

Chapter 11

August, 2017, Present Time

The first thing I notice is the thick wooden door, with a large brass 'A' hammered into the material. Once Aro sweeps me inside, I am in awe of the amount of beauty and grandeur that the room holds.

Aro's quarters are by far the most luxurious and sosphisicated I've ever seen in my life. The way the room is decorated, you'd think it belonged to a five star hotel in London or Paris.

Classy deep red curtains hang from a shuttered window, the cords tied to hooks on the walls to keep them looking bunched together nicely and glamourously. The carpet is also a dark shade of red and is so soft and looked after, my feet sink into it as I walk.

The furniture is a dark wood, polished until it shines. Cupboards and shelves showing off old fashioned books and leather bound diaries. He has a desk with a full writing set, quill and ink set up for him so he can write whenever he needs to.

Thick, yellowing paper sits in a stack beside the quills. There are several scrolls kept together behind the desk, each stamped with dates and numbers to keep them in order.

"Come along, my dear." He waltzes through a door at the end of the room which connects to a bedroom, just as luxurious and beautiful. A four poster bed takes up a lot of the space but it's fancy and takes a lot of my attention. The four posts are also dark wood but the pillows are burgundy.

The duvet and pillows are covered in a material that can only be described as the finest silk I've ever seen. He crosses the room to open another door which leads to a balcony, overlooking the town.

"I sit here sometimes in the evenings. It's very relaxing to read a book in such a marvellous setting." He leans on the balcony, watching the people pass. "Sometimes, I sit here on the look out for my next meal." He meets my eyes with a devious smile. "I become the predator and they are my prey." He walks back over to me.

I try not to appear frightened. I knew there was something weird about his eyes. He's one of them. Volterra has always been buzzing with stories of the vampires. Many have always believed they never really died or left. They've been here all along and I've been able to see this castle since I first moved here to go to the asylum.

"Why not just kill me? Why not make me your prey?" I challenge, though I can't resist stepping backwards, distancing him from me. He notices, and smiles. "Because I don't want to kill you, my dear." He closes the gap between us, so close that the tip of his nose brushes mine.

"Mates are special to one another. We should protect, not kill." He teaches, grasping my chin. I shudder from his touch. "And besides," He swipes my cheek with his nail, slicing it open. "If I wanted blood from you, I could just take it." He runs a finger across the snall gash and laps up my blood leaking from it.
He licks his finger clean and I shudder again. "That's disgusting. Get some manners." I try to push him away from me but he stays put, not moving an inch. "You won't be able to move me. I'm much too strong." He grabs me and moves so quickly, that we land on the four poster bed before I can blink.

He pins me down on my back, staring deep into my eyes. Red against blue. He leans down and whispers in my ear. "I am the hunter and you are the prey. You are the weaker one." He teases, his tongue snaking towards my cheek again. He squeezes it so more blood leaks out.

"Let me take care of that for you." His tongue runs across it, not bothering to use his finger this time. "Enough, Aro." I keep my stare on him and I notice his eyes close for a second, seemingly in bliss and surprise at my use of his name.

"Say it again." He grabs at my chin, eyes probing. "Aro." I oblige and his face takes on that look of pleasure once more. "Good." His voice becomes husky with arousal and I look away, afraid of what he'll do. He's much too forward. He's had visions of me and knows everything there is to know, but I know barely anything about him.

He releases me and pulls me onto my feet. "Your clothes are in there." He points to the chest of drawers opposite the bed. "Wait," I stop him before he can say anything else. "I'm sleeping in here? In your quarters?" I check quickly. He looks surprised and excited, taking on the look of the predator once more.

'He's goiiiiiing to kiiiill yoooou.' Sandee starts to sing urgently into my ear while Richard for once is staying silent. Carl crosses and comes to my side. "This guy is psycho. Like you." He reminds, nudging me towards Aro.

"What's not to like?" He pushes me so I fall into Aro's arms and I scream from the surprise, trying to collect myself up and get away from him. "Carl!" I turn to hit him but he vanishes, his smile lingering like a cheshire cat before evaporating.

Aro steps forwards. "Now now, my dear. Ignore whatever they say." His eyes have become bright and have a sparkle to them. No doubt me falling into his arms has lifted his mood to an even higher and more dangerous level.

"Alex, you are free to explore any part of this wing of the castle, however, if you try to escape, I will insist that you are mentally unfit to stay here and send you back to the asylum." He threatens blatantly and I blink a few times. "Even if you wanted to escape, guards are everywhere. Even in places you can't imagine."

He leads me towards the main room where his desk is, and ushers me into the corridor. "The bathroom is down here. I want you out of that asylum uniform and into something more suitable." He insists, pushing me into a room with a tiled floor.

"The shower is in there." He points, beginning to try to shed my clothes. "Hey!" I slap his hands away. "I can undress myself." I protest, walking towards the cubicle. I swing open the door and slide the bolt into the lock. Once removed, I throw the clothes over the door so they land somewhere beside Aro.

I press the power button and the water begins to spurt out in heavy streams. I take the shower gel and begin to lather it over my body. As soon as I'm covered, I notice the water is rising instead of going down the drain. I rub at my eyes. It's not real. It's not real.
I press my back against the cubicle door, away from the water building, inching over the middle of my legs. I hunt around for the drain but can't spot it. I frantically pull the power cord which controls the whole shower but the water persists, covering me regardless.

The water has risen to my thighs, making it's way to my hips. I have to get out. It'll kill me otherwise. "Aro! Aro!" I scream over the relentless stream of water but my voice won't carry across to his room and I know it's being drowned out by the water.

I hear someone at the other side of the door. "Aro?" I scream again and I hear an amused chuckle. Carl. "Stop this, Carl. I can't breathe! It'll suffocate me." I beg though I hear him calmly washing his hands in a sink.

"Relax, Alex. You're getting what you deserve. You're going to drown. Suffocate. And no one's going to hear you scream." He walks out of the room and I cry out after him.

"No! Carl, please!" The water collects around my mid chest now, getting higher and higher. It shows no sign of stopping or getting lighter. The tears begin to pour down my face, stinging the cut on my cheek. "Aro!" I cry again helplessly. God, please don't let it end this way.

I keep trying to scream but the water gets louder and harder to the point that it hurts. The water is against my chin. Sooner or later the entire glass cubicle will fill and I'll be gone. Drowned.
"Aro!" I scream again and the door opens with a sqeak of hinges.

I fly forwards with huge momentum into his arms, but this time it's with relief and a sense of calm. I start spluttering madly, coughing and coughing, rubbing at my skin frantically trying to remove all traces of water while Aro wraps me in a towel.

"It wouldn't stop!" I sob, as he covers me. "He almost killed me. The water was up to here." I gesture to my chin and Aro looks across to the cubicle. "It's empty, my dear. You were hallucinating. It's all over now."

It's not real. It's not real.

He pulls me my feet and I see the cubicle is almost dry with just drips of water. I can see the drain which I couldn't see before. Carl. Stupid, horrible Carl.

"Come along, Alex. I think I underestimated how much you need your medicine."