This was my entry for the Pre-Twilight Round of the Canon Tour. Please visit all the entries and winners at

http:/ www. fanfiction. net/u/3041014/thecanontour

I owe chocolate, kisses and cookies to the following angels who helped me prepare this: lisajackson for her encouragement, bookishqua for challenging me, Raum, my expert on all things Roman, and bookjunkie1975 for her eagle eyes.

Approx. 400 BC

I am nothing without her. I am nothing without her.

That's what Marcus had thought of his wife. Aro had seen it, a thousand times in a thousand different ways. It was the one thought that rang in Marcus' head like a bell every time he looked at Didyme.

Aro sat drumming his fingers on his chair by the fire in the great hall. Out by the stables, he could hear a few of his coven tormenting a kitchen maid they'd found in a far village and brought home. He could hear her screams as they allowed her to try to escape only to catch her again, playing with her as a cat would with its prey.

He'd thought that bringing the vampires together would encourage them toward more civilized behavior, but instead it had only served to egg them on to greater and greater cruelty. It was so plain to him; he'd marveled that others could not see. Something greater than our own selves is needed, something that brings us together. Something that binds us together yet leaves us to be what our natures demand.

Aro had always admired the Roman armies. He'd followed them into battle, taken by their fervor, the camaraderie, their devotion to their cause. The individual soldiers were savage and bloodthirsty, yet they bowed their heads to their commander and threw themselves in the way of danger if he was threatened. They had a purpose, a calling and it elevated them to be better than they were alone.

The most successful commanders were those that inspired. They had a moral code that their followers knew and believed in, a code of honor that all aspired to. Every thinking being needed laws, it was what separated men from animals. Even vampires needed them, or they devolved into the chaos he was now seeing.

He'd been watching the developments in Rome as they'd inched toward creating a public set of laws. The ideas coming out of Athens were intriguing as well, although he'd never countenance the idea of a democracy–beings were not created equally fit to rule and to pretend otherwise was foolishness. Still, watching mankind struggle to evolve their societies was interesting and gave him ideas for consideration even as he considered how best to rule among immortals.

He'd been collecting the best among their kind for decades now, but it was time to give them something to believe in and a purpose to fulfill. The iron had been heated and now was the time to strike, before the vampires started to drift away, to return to the nomads they'd once been.

The sounds from the stable had abated and the smell of fresh blood snaked into the hall. Sighing, Aro rose from his chair and drifted toward the door, venom gathering in his mouth.

(*)(*)(*)

Marcus sidled up to him. "You'll need to watch Felix and Andronicus," he murmured, referring to the two vampires lounging on opposite sides of the room, warily eying each other.

Aro glanced at the two. "Why is that?"

"Chelcacia has been toying with them. I can see her tugging at their emotions."

Aro sighed, resting an elbow against the mantel of the great fireplace they stood in front of. "I'll have a word with her." It wasn't the first time she had stirred up jealousy for her own amusement. "Thank you for the notice."

Marcus smiled, his long face stretching awkwardly, as if smiling was something he did only rarely. "You're welcome."

Aro kicked at the hearthstones in front of him. "This is why I need you, Marcus. You can see these things at a distance. It is a greater power than mine."

Marcus chuckled slightly. "I think not, brother. My net may cast further, but never so deep as yours."

"I can't be constantly touching everyone all the time. I need you by me, if we are going to create some order out of the chaos we now live by."

Marcus clapped his hand on Aro's shoulder. "You will do just fine by yourself, brother."

Aro grabbed the hand on his shoulder. "It's more than that. I need you. You. Here, with me. "

"How many centuries have we sat by each other? Didyme wants to go, so I will follow her." Marcus wiggled out from Aro's grip. "You'll be fine," he said, turning away.

Aro watched his back as he left the hall. He knew Marcus meant no harm, but there still was a bitter taste of betrayal in Aro's mouth.

(*)(*)(*)

Aro walked along the ruts of the road, his hands thrust in his pockets. It was a fine day to be out walking, and the fields of grass on either side of him swayed in the gentle breeze. He smelled the herder and his swine, long before he caught up with them. He tugged on the edge of his wide-brimmed hat and drew on his gloves as he approached the herder, who carried a crook hooked around his shoulder, and was escorting a dozen or so small pigs. He carried a large loaf of moldy brown bread with him that he broke into small pieces and tossed ahead of the pigs, which squealed and pounced on them.

"Good day," Aro said when he'd drawn even with the man.

"Lord," the herder acknowledged, assuming Aro must be some kind of nobility from the fineness of his clothing and the gem-clad knife hanging at his side.

"You're taking these pigs to market?"

The herder grinned toothlessly at him. "To slaughter, sire, but hush." He looked around craftily. "They don't know that." He threw back his head and laughed at his own humor.

"Suppose they did know. Would they still go, do you think?" Aro asked curiously.

"Good question, sire." He removed his cap, to scratch at the balding head underneath. "They really only balk when they can smell the blood. They don't think about it otherwise, I think. As long as it's not happening in their area, they seem to just go merrily along."

Aro nodded pensively. "I suspected as much." He'd gone a few more steps when he turned back to the herder. "Do they ever turn on you?"

The man scoffed. "Nah, not these little ones. But the big ones, the wild ones? They feel threatened and they'll charge like the wrath of God. I've seen a wild boar surrounded by thirty men and take out ten of them. Dogs, too."

"Dangerous, are they?"

"Well, yeah, sure. But then, so is any creature if they see death coming at them."

(*)(*)(*)

"Brother!" Didyme exclaimed happily. "How kind of you to visit!"

Aro had always been fond of his younger sister. She'd grown into a beautiful woman, and now with the vampire aura was truly exceptional, with pale flawless skin and black hair curling down to her waist. His only regret in turning her was that her power wasn't more useful. Still, though it was always a pleasure to come spend time in her presence. Already, he felt his cares lifting from him.

"Dearest," he greeted her with a kiss on the cheek as he stepped into the thatched cottage. "How goes it with you?"

"Isn't this a lovely spring? We went picking for daisies, the hills were covered with them."

He duly admired the armloads of daisies scattered in vases around the room, letting her ramble about the trip to the outlands. It was a pleasure to watch her move around the room, so delicate and feminine.

"I was so glad to go, we may not have another chance," she said, cupping her hands around a flower and bowing to sniff its perfume.

"No, why not?" he asked, his suspicions already aroused by what he'd seen during their kiss.

Didyme turned toward him. "I suspect you know, brother."

Aro turned to the window, opening the shutters to gaze out to the fields. "I don't understand why you feel like you must leave. What can you find out there that we cannot offer you here?"

"Solitude. A chance to try something different. Perhaps we'll take to the sea," she mused.

"You'll become sailors?" He snorted in derision. "There's nothing to eat on the sea."

"Yes, but we'll be alone, Marcus and I. Surely you can admit that we have this right."

"I need Marcus here. I'm trying to create a new order. I need his power to see who is with me and who just pretends." Aro turned to face her, his arms crossed against his chest. "This is a crucial time."

"Crucial time for what? It's always a crucial time with you, Aro." She stepped forward and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Aro, but we need some time alone."

"How alone do you have to be? Did we not cede you this cottage rather than have you living with us in the main house? I have to tramp through the woods each time I visit my own sister," he said bitterly.

"And I thank you for coming to visit me. But it's not far enough. I can still hear them at night," she said unhappily.

Didyme, gentle soul that she was, found the others' dietary habits hard to comprehend. Their cruelty, their delight in feeding, was too barbaric for her tastes. She always fed on the sick, the dying or the very young. Aro would often save the infants for her that she would cherish before gently draining them.

"They are just following their natures," Aro said. "But I will order them to cease, if it would keep you."

"Please don't bother. It wouldn't help." She placed a hand on his arm in affection. "You should know there is some talk about us among the townsfolk."

"What kind of talk?"

"Not the good kind. They suspect witchcraft."

"Witchcraft, hah!" He turned to the window again. "Ignorant, all of them."

"Still, it seems you should keep the disappearances of locals to a minimum."

"None of my coven has been feeding locally," he said with certainty.

"Well, someone has. They found several drained bodies in the vineyard just last week.'

Despite the sense of relaxation and peace he found in Didyme's company, he could feel his anger start to gather in the pit of his stomach. "See? This is what I mean. The actions of one rash vampire can endanger us all. What if they come for us?"

"What if they do?" Didyme asked reasonably. "We are ten times their strength."

"But what if they come at us in hundreds?" Aro's expression got fierce. "I was there, Didyme," he whispered. "I was there with Ged when they came for him. He'd flaunted his feeding in their face long enough."

Ged was Aro's Maker. Aro had spent his first years with him, but Didyme never knew the circumstances of their parting. She raised her hand to her throat. She'd never suspected this. "What happened?"

"We'd crossed the Drobuja in the Pricopan Hills, and hadn't seen anyone for days when we came across a marriage celebration. We drank and drank, but as we lay sated and intoxicated with blood, the children who had escaped brought back an entire city's worth of humans. I barely escaped with my life and Ged…" Aro leaned against the wall and ran a hand across his face. "They surrounded him like an ocean, until he was drowning beneath their weight. They sacrificed themselves to hold him down as they burnt him alive."

Aro lowered his head. "I watched him burning from the hillside," he whispered. Ged had been over a thousand years old. He'd shown Aro the Sphinx that he had labored on with thousands of others.

"Oh, Aro…" Didyme's face had fallen.

Aro's expression turned steely. "Never doubt that we are vulnerable. It is our secrecy, our stealth, our ability to mimic our prey that keeps us safe. When we shed that, they will come for us." He crossed the room, heading for the door. He paused before ducking through the doorway.

"They will come for us all."

(*)(*)(*)

"Come in, Caius," Aro answered to the knocking on the door.

Caius entered and bowed slightly, his nearly white hair shimmering from the pale light of the candles. "Master."

"What news from the countryside?" Aro asked his lieutenant. Although without a talent, over the years Caius still had proven himself useful. His loyalty to Aro was unshakable, at least as long as Aro held onto power. Caius had ambition, as well. But what ambitions could there be? Marcus and Aro ruled the coven, respected because of their powerful gifts, gifts that had become legendary among their kind. Caius had none of that. What did Caius have, other than a quick mind and an unyielding ferocity?

"We found the rogue," Caius reported. "Among the mountains to the north. He left a trail of corpses behind him like signposts."

Aro jumped up from the chair he was sitting in and began to pace. "This is where we are most vulnerable. One vampire can cause humanity to rise against us all. So far, their superstitions hide our reality, but what if they realize that we are not some mythical monster but walking among their midst? It only takes one. One."

Caius' voice was like a whisper in his ear. "Certainly some kind of order is called for."

"Exactly. If we patterned ourselves along the lines of the military, we could be as effective as a Caesar."

Marcus spoke from his chair in the corner. "And who would lead this army of vampires?" he asked in his low, husky voice.

"Is there anyone better than you two?" asked Caius. "You to know their hearts and Aro to know their minds."

Aro nodded. "It makes the most sense."

Marcus rose from his chair. "I have told you that Didyme and I are leaving. I wish you all the luck with your new order, but I have a wife to love and a world to wander with her."

Aro whirled around. "By the gods, Marcus! Stay with us just a while until we−"

"No! We have delayed our departure for decades while you have been plotting and gathering your forces. There are a dozen vampires beyond that door, half of them with talents."

"Yes, but none I can trust as you."

Marcus shook his head. "It is well past time for us to be gone. Didyme desires it and so do I."

"This may be the most important decision we ever make as immortals!" Aro approached him, his eyes boring into Marcus, trying to share the passion he felt. "Think of it," he said, his eyes gleaming. "This could change our world for a thousand centuries." He cocked his head to one side. "Surely, a small sacrifice of time now is well worth such an important project."

Marcus drew himself up, glowering. "You dare to speak to me of sacrifice? What do you know of it?"

From his place by the mantle, Caius spoke. "Masters, please. Surely we can come to some accommodation."

Marcus strode toward the door. "There already has been. Didyme tires of this life and I as well. We leave at the next new moon." The wooden door slammed heavily behind him.

Aro stared at the fire, gritting his teeth. "I need him to make this work. Why can't he see this?"

"That wife of his has him besotted."

"Didyme, yes." Aro nodded. "She can do that to a man."

There was a pause with only the crackling of the dwindling fire. Caius' voice was as soft as ashes shifting. "Without her, he would stay."

Aro grew very still. His voice when he finally spoke was low and hoarse. "What are you saying?"

Caius stepped closer. "This Guard that you dream of, it is more important than any one being."

Aro looked at him from the corner of his eye. "This is my sister we speak of. A sister whom I dearly love."

"Of course you do. Forgive me for saying anything." Caius bowed to take his leave, but paused with his hand on the door. "Sacrifice," he said softly. "It comes in many forms." He withdrew and left Aro staring at the fire.

(*)(*)(*)

It was evening and the halls were lit only by the occasional sconce when Aro passed Caius on his way to the stables. "Master," Caius said, nodding. "Where are you headed? May I attend you?"

"I go to visit my sister and her husband, to beg her to postpone their plans for departure."

"You'll not find Marcus there. He has taken Felix and gone to the west. He said he'd be back in two days time."

"All the better. She may be more amenable without him." Aro turned and continued down the hall.

"And if she's not?"

Aro paused mid-step and turned to look Caius in the eye. "Are you wishing violence against my sister?"

"Oh, no, Master. But if anything should happen to her, of course, Marcus would likely stay here to help create the Guard that you dream of."

Aro stepped closer to Caius. "If Marcus ever suspected that I had any hand in violence against her, he'd leave out of pure sprite."

Caius leaned his head to one side. "But if someone, someone you trust, were to vouch on your whereabouts, there would be no such suspicion."

Aro searched Caius' eyes. "What would a person require for such a voucher?" Caius raised an eyebrow, but impatiently Aro demanded, "Give me your hand."

Aro nearly gasped when he saw the image of three thrones in Caius' mind. "A steep price," he said, dropping Caius' hand.

"Perhaps, but better power shared than there be no Guard at all."

"It won't come to that," Aro promised. He whirled and started back down the hall.

Caius was only partially successful at hiding the smile that tugged at his lips as he bowed. "Of course."

Didyme was sewing by the faint light of the fire when he found her. Aro silently watched her from the doorway for a moment, admiring the line of her neck as she bowed over her work. She sat on a low stool by the fire, the white cloth gathered on her lap and her needle flashing in and out of the fabric.

He stepped into the room and spoke her name.

She looked up from her work and smiled when she saw him. "Brother, come in. Two visits from you in as many days. I am blessed."

"No, it is I who is blessed," he said, drawing a stool up to sit near her.

"Are they not keeping you busy enough, settling squabbles and drawing up rules and laws?" she teased gently.

"No, they keep me busy as a mother with too many children," he admitted ruefully.

"You could just leave it," she offered, continuing her needlework.

"No, I can't," he said. "I don't think you know how closely I hold this in my heart."

"By this, I'm to understand you mean this Guard, correct?' she asked, smiling. "What would you do with such a militia?"

He scooted closer to her and took her hand. "Right now, we vampires live a lawless existence, answering to no one. But as the humans' population grows, we become endangered. They are becoming as many as the stars, and we could be swallowed up whole by them. In this century alone, we've seen how they crowd the cities."

Didyme scoffed, the shaking of her head sending tremors down her long dark hair. She gently slipped her hand from Aro's grip. "They are weak and we are strong. You worry too much."

Aro shook his head, serious. "They will turn on us, sister. Surely they will. Our secrecy is our best protection."

"Secrecy. They barely acknowledge us now."

"Yes, and that has been what has saved us! We must become unseen among them; let rumors of our existence fade into the veils of time. Only when they no longer believe we exist, will we be safe."

"Safe? Is that what drives you?"

"Shouldn't that be what drives us all? We wouldn't be just losing a lifetime. It's eternity we forfeit."

She dropped her hands together in her lap, looking at him fondly. "Oh, brother. You worry too much. You always have."

He jumped off the stool, stung by her condescension. "This is not just worry. This is seeing the world as it is and how it will become."

"Have it as you will, then. But you must do it without Marcus and I." She set her sewing off to one side.

Aro stood behind her, unmoving. "How successful I am in creating this Guard depends largely on knowing who our friends and enemies are. I need Marcus here."

She stood up, turning to face him with defiance growing in her face. "And Marcus will come with me! I have stayed here too long, listening to the depravity of the vampires you are gathering and I cannot stand it one more week!"

Aro took her hands in his. She stiffened as he did so, knowing he was reading her, but resolute that he would not sway her. "Didyme," he whispered, waiting until her eyes met his. "I am begging you. Reconsider."

He knew what she would say before it left her mouth and he closed his eyes against the pain it caused him. "No, Aro," she said, raising her chin. "This time you do not win."

Didyme watched as his face screwed up in pain. He took a ragged breath inward. "I always win," he said softly.

She pulled her hands from his. "Not this time, brother."

Aro's face lost its vitality, his eyes growing immensely sad. "I cannot persuade you to stay?"

"No, brother, you cannot." She stepped closer to him, resting a hand against his face. "But I love you for trying." She moved as if to turn away, but found her arm trapped by his grip. She looked up at his face and could have sworn he was tearing up, impossible though it was.

"You will remember that I love you, more than anyone?" he whispered intensely.

"Of course," she said, smiling as he stepped closer, to kiss her cheek, she thought. Mercifully, she had no time to struggle before she felt Aro's teeth at her neck.

(*)(*)(*)

Aro felt like he was feeding his heart to the fire as it flared up with each addition that he tossed into the flames. It was pain, pain as he'd never known; not even the change to vampire had left him feeling as lost and bereft. That had been burning, the fire consuming him from inside. This was frigid, creeping in from his fingers and toes like slowly being imprisoned in ice. He gasped with every piece he fed to the flames, as if each time he was newly thrust into a frozen lake, the icy water rushing at him, slashing like a thousand razors. When he finished feeding the fire, he stood staring at the daisies, before he dashed them against the wall, the pottery smashing into smithereens.

He left the house woodenly after all traces of his sister were burnt, setting the walls within it on fire, barely escaping being trapped in its rapidly growing inferno. He'd stopped thinking, stopped feeling, stopped breathing, only moving by some automatic process that kept him going forward at all. Inside, he felt the slow creep of icy fingers, crawling up his arms and legs headed for his heart, like an ice storm slowly blanketing the landscape.

He walked slowly down the path back to the main house, unseeing, stumbling and uncaring. He was met by Caius, who rapidly picked him up in his arms. "We must hie you away before any see you," Caius hissed, hurrying off the path and into the woods with Aro lolling limply in his arms.

Caius ran with him for a while before Aro suddenly took an inward gasp. He could feel a stony, frozen numbness reaching into his very center. He grabbed at the fabric of Caius's tunic. "What have I done?" he cried agonized.

"You did what had to be done," Caius answered.

"I did it, I did it," Aro cried, sobbing dryly into Caius' shoulder. "I had to."

"Of course, you did," Caius murmured, settling onto the ground with Aro in his lap. He stroked his hair, comforting Aro like a child.

They stayed quiet, listening to the far-off footsteps and voices as others rushed to the cottage to see if they could offer help. Some time had passed before Aro pushed himself out of Caius' arms. The pain in his heart was gone, replaced by a numbing winter, and as he stood, he knew something irrevocable had changed within him.

He turned to Caius, his face like a stone mask. "We will never speak of this," he said.

Caius nodded. "Of course."

He took a few steps, pausing to raise his face to the star-encrusted night. "It will not be for naught," Aro promised to the dark sky above him. "The Guard will rule, I swear it." He brought his hands to his heart and bowed his head. He would make the sacrifice mean something.

They stood there in silence for a few moments before the smell of burning wood wafted over them. Caius shifted his feet, anxious to leave. "Aro," Caius called softly. "We should move further away."

"Yes," Aro agreed, noting the change of address that Caius used. The new order would begin tonight. "Let us go. There is much work to be done."

A/N I do have a weak spot for bad boys...