Ban Together Chapter 34

Athenodora was pissed. She paced her office as she thought about what she could do from where she was at. She knew what needed to be done, she knew she would be the best to do so. But her wife was handcuffing her to the castle. She had no doubt if she tried to go against her wife’s wishes, Cia would use specific guard members to keep her contained.

She really didn’t understand why her wife wanted her to stay away from Ireland. There were two hostiles there. They knew without a doubt two of the vampires they were hunting were there. They knew they would be able to catch them and de-attach their heads fairly quickly. Neither Carlisle nor Esme were much of fights; and even if they were, they were so much younger than Athenodora that it wouldn’t even matter.

She could have them in her hands within the week. She could have them within her mate’s grasp within the week and she would have all their answers and every bit of information Rosalie and Emmett weren’t privy to.

She could ensure her daughter’s safety.

But her wife didn’t want her to do that.

Her mate wanted them to wait and have the Irish coven bring the Cullen’s to them. Sulpicia wanted to stay on their territory. Sulpicia wanted some sort of homefield advantage. Athenodora knew the castle would remain safe if Athenodora took only a handful of guards. She wouldn’t even take just gifted guards! She would only take the bare minimum knowing the Irish coven would help them if a fight were to break out.

But no. Her wife wanted her to sit in the castle on her ass doing nothing. How the hell did Cia expect her to do that?

Athenodora growled again in frustration as she turned around to start her trek over again. She had to come up with something to get past her wife’s orders. She knew the guards would rat her out the second she even looked like she might be leaving the castle. The pieces of shits were on her mate’s side and she thought that was thoroughly unfair.

“You know, you could perhaps try talking to her?” Didyme offered from her spot on the couch.

She and Rosalie had come to Athenodora’s office so the blonde warrior queen could try and pick Rosalie’s brain some more on who else the Cullen’s may try and recruit to ‘their side’. Didyme was hopeful the Cullen’s wouldn’t have many friends that would try and go against them. The noir queen was under the impression most coven’s were openly vocal about their support of the Volturi. The only coven that may try and ‘help’ like the Irish were doing would be the Egyptian coven. But they were almost too afraid to go hunt for food, much less try and pretend they would back up the Cullen’s.

Rosalie and Didyme had given up trying to offer Rosalie’s help about an hour ago and were just now relaxing next to each wondering what the angry blonde in front them was going to do. Didyme promised her mate that most fights between the mated royal couple usually ended with Sulpicia embarrassing Athenodora in some elaborate plan that likely took much too time to plan. Sulpicia was much too dramatic and stubborn and loved the attention too much to not try and go big and flashy when Athenodora fought with her. It was practically a live show whenever those two fought and Sulpicia was in a mood to play.

Athenodora’s only response was to growl towards her sister. Of course, she tried talking! What kind of mate would she be if she didn’t talk through her issues with her mate? Sulpicia just thought she knew better than someone who’s actual gift was strategy. And that pissed her off more.

Sulpicia claimed that while Athenodor’s gift was strategy, the gift was only short-sighted. Athenodora could never be beat in combat, while actually fighting. Planning out a war over an extended period? Athenodora’s gift didn’t care. Her gift was more in the moment than the future. But that was where Sulpicia complemented her wife. Sulpicia loved planning for the long haul and sending in her wife ensured her plans didn’t fail.

And Athenodora knew Sulpicia was right.

That was why she was so pissed. Athenodora, while not entirely useless as she was a strategist no matter the setting, the warrior queen knew her strength lied on the battlefield, not in some castle waiting for the prey to come to them. She wanted to go do something and she knew she couldn’t.

“What do you two even want?” Athenodora said with a sigh, finally allowing her anger to roll off of her as she stopped her pacing to look at her sister and the young vampire. She had barely registered when they walked in. If Didyme had said anything, she knew Rosalie wasn’t brave enough yet to say anything, Athenodora would have tuned it all out in favor of thinking of ways to sneak past her wife and the guards.

“We were hoping you could pick Rosalie’s mind to perhaps gain more insight on what Carlisle and Esme, perhaps even Alice and Jasper, may be planning.” Didyme answered.

“Hasn’t Cia already seen everything?” Athenodora asked with a skeptical look. Her wife had the ability to pick and choose which memories she saw, she was too nosy most of the time to do so. But given the situation, she wouldn’t have skipped any memory the blonde had. Rosalie was a lot more perceptive than Emmett. Emmett may have seen and heard a lot but the young man had a habit of tuning things out or purposefully ignoring something that didn’t sit right with him. Rosalie, on the other hand, made sure to see and hear as much as she could in case she needed to use it to protect her and Emmett. Emmett relied too much on his strength to protect them while Rosalie relied on her mind. Sulpicia knew that and would have scoured through her memories to try and find something.

“So she claims.” Didyme admitted. “But we were hoping, since you have much more experience with hiding in plain sight, you could talk with Rosalie and try and see if perhaps something Sulpicia thought was insignificant really wasn’t.”

“I don’t mind go over anything and everything if it will help end them.” Rosalie added. She knew the ancient blonde was very good at what she did, at finding weaknesses when there didn’t appear to be any. Sulpicia claimed there wasn’t much they could use in Rosalie and Emmett’s memories but Rosalie was adamant there must be something she had seen in the near century she was with the Cullen’s that would help them. “I really just want to get this over with.”

Athenodora sighed, knowing a long day was about to turn into a long week. “Well, let’s start at the beginning then. Tell me all about when you first remember seeing Carlisle and Edward, was it before, after or even during your changing?”

Athenodora collapsed in her armchair in the most undignified way she knew her wife would be annoyed with if she saw. She would spend some time going over memories with Rosalie and then go see her daughter and then start all over again with Rosalie’s memories. It would be her mission now to find something her wife couldn’t; it would have to do since she could physically go out and do something. It was going to be boring as hell.

‘The things she did for her daughter.’ Athenodora thought with a roll of her eyes and she settled herself to listen and pick apart everything Rosalie uttered.