Twilight: Darling of Volturi (YURI/GL)

The cold candlelight flickered softly.

With the trial of Sophie and Fabio brought to an end, the guards stationed within the Volterra tribunal withdrew one after another like a receding tide, their black-robed figures melting back into the shadows until silence reclaimed the ancient chamber.

Jane had no choice but to obey the master to whom she had sworn absolute loyalty. Suppressing the irritation boiling inside her, she clenched her teeth and replied, "As you command, Master."

Aro burst into laughter, amusement laced with unmistakable malice. It was obvious he had granted Jane the exclusive authority over Sophie's life and death simply because he wanted to watch an entertaining spectacle unfold.

Sophie has already witnessed Jane at her most terrifying, Aro mused with quiet satisfaction.

By deliberately forcing her to remain at the side of someone who could kill her at any moment, he hoped Sophie would reveal her true dark gift in order to survive. At the same time, he was equally eager to see whether she might instead meet her end at the hands of the very person she admired.

Whichever ending awaited them, Aro looked forward to it immensely.

Jane was the first to leave the tribunal, abandoning the newborn who had just been assigned to her care. The sharp flutter of her cloak silently betrayed the frustration simmering beneath her composed exterior. Alec casually hooked one arm beneath the still-dazed Sophie, hoisted her up as though she weighed nothing, and hurried after his sister.

Watching the three disappear through the doorway, Aro slowly brought his hands together in a quiet clap and murmured to himself, "Now then... which ending will this story choose?"

Outside, in the long stone corridor, Alec hurried after his sister. Jane's irritation over her newly assigned responsibility showed itself in every step she took, the heels of her knee-high boots stamping shallow dents into the worn stone floor.

"Jane, you forgot something!"

Following closely behind, Alec held firmly onto what looked suspiciously like the black cloak Jane had been wearing moments ago. In truth, the "cloak" had begun struggling the instant they stepped outside the tribunal, and keeping hold of it had already required more effort than Alec cared to admit.

Jane finally stopped walking.

"I know," she answered flatly. "I left behind one enormous headache. Thanks for bringing it with you."

Lowering her gaze, she glanced at the troublesome "cloak." After all that frantic struggling, Sophie had achieved nothing besides tangling her hair even further and tearing her already tattered clothes a little more. Controlling a newborn vampire of this level didn't even require Alec to use his gift. One hand alone was enough; his other arm still hung casually at his side.

"Why didn't Aro appoint you as her guardian instead, Alec?"

Resigned to her fate, Jane took Sophie from Alec's grasp. She pulled back the hood covering the girl's entire head and warned her coldly, "Stand still. Those rags you're wearing are practically falling apart."

Sophie froze instantly.

She tilted her head upward and stared directly into Jane's red eyes. The sharp fangs she had bared while struggling disappeared, as did the desperate snarls she had directed at Alec only moments before.

"I'm sorry." Her voice stumbled over every word, her throat still burning as though she had swallowed broken glass. "I've been... waiting... waiting so long... to see you again..."

She had kept her promise.

She had taken a proper bath, scrubbed herself clean, and even hoped she would arrive pleasantly scented before finally visiting the place she had dreamed about.

Yet somehow, their reunion had become even more miserable than their first meeting.

The realization made her lower her head in embarrassment, unable to continue meeting Jane's gaze. Looking down, she noticed her feet were completely bare, covered in mud, bits of grass, and dried dirt. Somewhere along the desperate escape, both her shoes and socks had vanished without her ever realizing it.

Her bare feet had sunk into the shallow footprints Jane's boots had left in the stone floor. Without the extra height her shoes once gave her, she seemed almost a head shorter standing beside the twins.

The only small comfort was that although her throat still felt raw with pain, it hadn't ruined her voice. Instead of the hoarse rasp she had expected, her words emerged strangely clear and melodious, carrying an almost ethereal softness.

Sunlight streamed through the glazed skylights overhead, spilling across the ancient castle walls. The uneven stone reflected the light from countless angles, bathing the entire corridor in a warm glow.

Whenever a stray beam landed upon Jane's skin, her already extraordinary beauty seemed to blaze with even greater brilliance.

Drawn helplessly toward that dazzling radiance, Sophie couldn't resist stealing cautious glances at her.

That clumsy little act of admiration subtly pleased Jane.

She didn't need to lift a finger. Simply standing there was enough to influence Sophie's emotions, enough to command every flicker of her attention. The realization satisfied Jane's deeply rooted desire for control, making the burden of supervising a troublesome newborn seem... somewhat less unbearable.

"My name is Sophie," the girl said quietly. "Sophie Luca."

"Aro already told us," Alec replied with a smile. "I'm Alec, and this is my sister, Jane."

"Alec," Jane interrupted before he could continue, "go to the blood storage and bring back some blood."

"Oh, come on, Jane." Alec sighed dramatically. "You never drink refrigerated blood. Why don't we just wait until Demetri gets back and go hunting together in Florence?"

Despite the complaint, his body had already turned obediently toward the cold storage.

"It's not for me," Jane explained. "Bring plenty. Then meet us at Gianna's place."

Understanding dawned instantly.

So his stubborn sister had no intention of locking Sophie inside the dungeon nor was she planning to drag the girl somewhere secluded and quietly execute her.

Relief spread across Alec's face.

"All right," he said cheerfully. "Looks like you're finally getting used to being someone's guardian."

His figure disappeared down the corridor in a blur, leaving Jane and Sophie alone.

The moment the person who had nearly torn off her head vanished from sight, the tension visibly drained from Sophie's body. Summoning every ounce of courage she possessed, she pleaded softly, "Jane... could you... not kill me? At least not yet? I'm... I'm really happy to see you again. I'm afraid of Aro, but... he asked you to take care of me and you agreed..."

Jane answered with a malicious smile.

"Aro also gave me the right to kill you."

Slowly, she removed her black glove. Long, elegant fingers closed around Sophie's smooth neck before effortlessly lifting her off the ground with a single hand. Her posture remained graceful throughout the motion, almost refined. 

Then, with deliberate cruelty, Jane shifted Sophie's suspended body into a shaft of sunlight, exposing her completely beneath the bright rays and leaving her nowhere to hide.

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