Chapter Three: Family History

"Here we are!" Sulpicia says. We stop at what looks like a coffee shop. I feel confused. I thought we were going to visit my mother's family? Why are we here?

"Why are we here, Sulpicia? I thought we were going to visit my mother's family." I tell her.

"We are, this is where one of your cousins work. She is right inside, so we should go ahead and get in there." Sulpicia tells me. We walk through the doors and Jane points to the woman. She has dark curls and is rather tall. She looks over to us and smiles. Sulpicia and I walk up to her.

"Sulpicia! Since when has the Volturi let their Queens leave?" The woman asks.

"Actually, I'm no longer the Queen. Dora is gone as well. The 3 kings have found this woman as their soul mate." She tells the woman. She stares at me.

"Valentina?" She asks. I shake my head.

"This is Wednesday, Valentina's daughter. She knows nothing of her heritage or magic." Sulpicia tells the woman. She looks back at me and smiles.

"Well, you must be taken to the family Head. She is upstairs. Go ahead a go up there." The woman tells us.

"What is your name?" I ask her. She smiles.

"Diana Marino." She tells me.

Time Skip

"Come in!" We walk through a door and I see a red-haired woman with hazel eyes. She seems really nice and kind.

"Alana! I never would have thought that you would become the head of the family!" Sulpicia squeals with joy.

"Aye. It was Val's dying wish." She tells her. She looks to me and then back up to Sulpicia.

"Diana has already told me. Welcome home, Wednesday." Alana tells me. I smile and nod slightly. I feel frozen as if my free will has been taken from me. A lingering cold and chill, that has just come over me.

"Come, sit." Alana tells me. I walk over to the couch where she is sitting and Sulpicia leaves the room. The mood of the room becomes sullen and somber.

"I will be starting from the very beginning of this family. All the way back to the gods that we descended from. Are you ready?" She asks. I nod. Alana sighs and looks me in the eyes.

"Our family began with Diana, The Moon Goddess, and Neptune, The God of the Seas. He was the second brother of Jupiter, the King of the Gods. Neptune is where our name comes from. The name 'Marino' means 'from the ocean.'" She begins.

"One day, during Veneralia, Diana witnessed many men and women engage in sex. She wanted to feel that passion, but there was no one that she shared that passion with. There was one, but her brother, Apollo, killed him. The man she loved was the son of her uncle, Neptune. So, Diana went to Neptune and presented her with her problem. He liked her problem and gave her a solution. Her original idea was to bring that son back from the dead, but Neptune offered himself to her. Instead of turning him down, Diana saw her chance and took it. So, on the last night of Veneralia, Diana and Neptune made love." Alana carries on. She looks up to the sky and suddenly, I feel a warm presence. I can smell the ocean and feel the breeze. I look to Alana who just smiles.

"A few days after their lovemaking, Diana began to feel sick. She was worried because the gods can't get sick. Their immune systems are too advanced. They're not like humans. Their immune systems never weaken. Anyways, Diana was worried, so she went to Juno, the Goddess of Childbirth, Family, and Marriage. Juno explained to Diana that she was with a child, or in this case, children. The pregnancy only lasted 4 weeks. During these four weeks, the gods and goddesses prepared for the children. Finally, the day of birth arrived. First, came out a female and then a male after her. These children were the first of the Marino bloodline." Alana tells me. I nod.

"Did they, end up, you know?" I ask her. She shakes her head.

"No, Diana and Neptune had many more children after these two. By the time the children were grown, they had 12 children in total. 6 males and 6 females. Each female mated herself to one of her brothers. Since each was gods, their children were gods as well. The only family outcast was the 13th child of Diana. Diana had an affair with a powerful fallen angel named Lucifer. This affair created Aradia, the Witch Queen, and Princess of Hell. She was dark, powerful and the family outcast. She didn't want her husband to be a god, but a demon. While all of her siblings married each other, gods, she married a demon. Mephistopheles was the demon of her choosing. He was a powerful general under Lucifer and very trusted by the demon king." She stops. She looks over to a bookshelf and notices a book out of place. It wasn't there before. She goes to touch it, but it zaps her.

"Of course, we must finish the story." Alana says. She turns around and begins again.

"The 12 other children of Diana wanted to banish Aradia for not marrying a god. Diana forbade it, but her children worked with Neptune, who wanted his revenge on Diana because of her affair. He used his powers over the ocean to trap Aradia, while the 12 children fused their powers to kill her, instead of banishing her. Diana, feeling betrayed, turned to the darkness for help. This allowed her to help Aradia escape back to hell. However, this came with a price. The God of Darkness and Night, Erebus would take her light powers and replace it with total darkness. She became dark and killed Neptune. She took his powers and hunted down and killed 4 out of the 12 children. Aradia and her siblings helped the other gods kill Diana. All of the power and darkness that she absorbed went straight to Erebus." Alana says as books begin to fly off the shelves. She seems scared.

"The most powerful of the children that helped was the child that Diana was pregnant with when she was dark. This child was your mother, Valentina. She was the last child of Diana and Neptune. After Diana's death, the other gods found Valentina. They were amazed that a child survived the darkness inside of Diana's soul. The gods believed that Erebus planted the child there to kill them all. However, Erebus denied it. Erebus is many things, but he is not a liar." Alana keeps up with history. The dark presence from before is gone. She looks around and then his eyes stop at the space behind me. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn, but no one is there.

"Erebus." Alana says.

"Anyways, throughout the years, your mother helped with wars and she helped royals make their decisions. Val loved helping others. Throughout her life, the gods kept their eyes on her. They just wanted to make sure that her power and her soul never became dark. All of us cared for Valentina. Even Aradia loved her. We were all devastated when she passed." Alana explains.

"What can you tell me about my father?" I ask her. The grip on my shoulder tightens and then, I hear a voice. I see a man behind me. He almost looks like an angel. He is so goddammed beautiful. This man is Erebus, the God of Darkness and Night. Alana becomes uneasy and shifts in her stance. He smiles at her.

"Alana Marino. Head of the family and yet the first daughter of Diana and Neptune. It took you well over 5000 years to become the head of the family. How does it feel?" Erebus asks her.

"Fine. Anyways, she asked about her father, so her father should tell her." She glares at him. Is he my dad?

"Yes. I am your father, young girl. Perhaps, I should tell you how your mother and I made you, but I've never been a good storyteller, so I'll just show you." He places his hand on my head and his hand glows white. I appear in what seems to be the past.

"Aradia! I need to ask you something!" I see my mother. I've seen pictures of her before, so I know it's her.

"Yes, what is it Val?" Aradia asks.

"It's been too long! I miss you." My mother tells her. Aradia scoffs.

"What do you need Val?" Aradia asks.

"I need you to find Erebus." My mother tells her.

"Why?" Aradia asks.

"Why do you think? I'm tired of the gods expecting me to birth a child with Pluto or Apollo. I'm in love with Erebus, so please, do this for me." My mother begs. Aradia smiles.

"I knew there was darkness in your soul, but you do realize that whatever the gender of this child, it will become the ruler over the Darkness. Meaning, if you have a daughter, she will be the Queen of Darkness." Aradia tells my mother. She nods. I gasp. I'm the Queen of Darkness.

"You asked to see me?" Erebus asks my mother.

"Yes. Did Aradia already tell you?" My mother asks.

"No." Erebus tells her.

"I want you to father my child." She tells him. Erebus smiles and they make love. I come back from the past and I see that Erebus is gone. Alana remains and smiles.

"As you saw, Valentina wanted to get away from the gods, so she went to Aradia and begged her to contact Erebus. Your mother knew the risks, but she didn't care. She wanted a child so much that she didn't care about what the gods would say, so she got pregnant with you. She gave birth to you, but the birth made her weak. It kept her from being able to be her full power. She knew the only way to protect you was to keep you hidden. So, she hid you with her human lover and ended killing herself. She created a barrier around the house with her life so that the gods would never find you. Now, you're here and the gods know, but they don't want to piss the family and Erebus off. On top of that, they'll have hell to pay from Aradia. You're protected in ways you don't even know." Alana tells me.

"Can you show me my powers and how to use and control them?" I ask her.

"Yes, but as for your dark powers, Erebus will have to teach you." She tells me. I smile and I get up and I walk to the door.

"I should tell you, the Kings have inner vampires. They're quite dangerous and possessive. Aro has Ceris. Marcus has Thanatos and Caius has Ares, the God of War. When Caius was being turned, Ares got inside of him to hide and now he lives inside of Caius. Watch out for Ares." Alana tells me.

"I will." I tell her, but now I'm curious. I want to annoy Caius until I see Ares. Sulpicia comes through the door and smiles.

"Let's go back home." She tells me. I nod and with that nod, I find out just how tired I really am. I hope that at the castle, the kings are frustrated in a certain way.

Time Skip

"Ah! Wednesday! Welcome back! How was it?" Aro asks me.

"I learned the entire history of my family. I also learned about my father. He's Erebus the God of Darkness and Night. Alana was the one that told me about your inner vampires." I tell him with an innocent smile. His smile and that of Marcus and Caius diminish. They all look at each other and then back to me.

"She didn't tell me their personalities, except for one. She told me a bit about Ares." I tell them. Caius's grip on his throne tightens.

"Wednesday, we'll tell you about Ceris and Thanatos when you're ready, but for now, you can't know." Aro tells me.

"Alright, then I'll just annoy you until they show themselves." I tell him.

"You won't get to us that easily." Caius manages to get out.

"Good luck. I can be very annoying." I warn them.

"Then let the games begin!" Aro says. Indeed, let them begin, but I will be victorious.