Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. If it belonged to me, the Volturi would have gotten their own novel.

01. And The Sun Burned Out

Marcus once believed the Sun was the centre of the entire universe; the stars and planets revolving around her and pulled by the gravity of her presence. He had heard many times of how one day the Sun would die; burn out completely to leave nothing but a dark void behind her. An emptiness that could neither be replaced nor filled. He hadn't believed it was possible; that anything could take away something so beautiful and powerful.

Until it happened.

With shaking hands, Marcus sunk into the soft leather chair, his body seeming to convulse with the effort not to cry out her name. The curtains were drawn closed over the windows, casting the office into darkness and in the centre of the room, Marcus sat. His face was composed into an emotionless mask, so carefully held together one might have thought a simple utterance of condolences would shatter him completely. The darkness seemed to close in around him in a way that seemed too definite and final. The air grew cold. How could… how could she be dead? His face sunk into his shaking hands and a hard sob rocked through his body, breaking through the emotionless wall he had built.

What was he supposed to do without her? Didyme was the Sun of his universe; the heart of everything he had ever let his heart cling to. In such dainty hands, she had held everything. And just as easily as he had allowed her to steal his heart, she was ripped away from him in a cruel twist of fate.

He jumped slightly when a slender hand touched his shoulder and looked up to see Chelsea meeting his gaze. He hadn't heard her enter the room. Even in the darkness, he could make out the worry in her eyes as the guard looked down at her master.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, her own grief showing through. Marcus didn't react to her words except to look back at her with an empty gaze, devoid of feeling. He noticed her mouth twitch at the corners into a frown and knew that she had more to say. But he didn't want to hear it.

"I… I can't stay here any longer," The words left his mouth so abruptly, Marcus was almost uncertain he had been the one to say them at all. He seemed to have trouble breathing; despite the fact the oxygen was unnecessary. Even if the words had surprised him, he realised the truth of them. Without Didyme, it was as if his entire world had come crumbling down around him. He no longer felt like he had any purpose. Loving Didyme, protectingher had been his purpose and he had failed. Marcus closed his eyes briefly in pain, though his face held little evidence of it. "I can't stay," he repeated softly.

Chelsea bit her lip. Her hand moving to rest lightly on his shoulder as she hesitantly met his gaze. For a moment he thought he saw a trace of guilt. "You cannot leave, Master Marcus," she reasoned. "Think about…" she paused for a moment. "Think about Master Aro. You must comfort him. He too, has suffered a great loss. And what of Lady Didyme? What would… how would she feel if you abandoned Master Aro now?"

The words stung a little and for a moment Marcus felt the faintest flicker of remorse. Perhaps Chelsea was right. Somehow through the darkness, the shyest of glimmers presented itself. Marcus may have lost his wife, but Aro had lost a sister. Her death had done double the damage. He didn't realise he was nodding in agreement with Chelsea until she gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Master Aro will need you now more than ever," she continued quietly.

Again, Marcus found himself nodding. Aro would need him. The phrase repeated itself in his thoughts, slowly convincing him that perhaps leaving was not the right choice, after all. Logically, he should stay. He owed that much to Didyme. He could not protect her from fate's cruel clutches, but he would watch over her brother and he would not fail again.

"Forgive me, Chelsea. You're... you're right. I must think of Aro's pain aside from my own," Marcus replied. "I... I will stay. For Aro's sake."

Chelsea seemed to accept this answer, because her hand slipped from his shoulder as she backed away and retreated to the door to leave him be. Marcus was fine with that. He wanted to be alone, wrapped in his own grief and thoughts of the Sun that had burned out of his universe.

In case there is any confusion, or if you need a little refresher, Chelsea has the ability to manipulate ties between people. According to canon, Aro had Chelsea use her ability on Marcus to keep him loyal to the Volturi.

I may or may not extend this to a series of vignettes focusing on various Volturi members, but I'll let you guys decide if it's worth it.

Thanks for reading!