Chapter 1

"Styx!" Aro called through the halls of Volterra. I sat up in bed and looked at my door expectantly. Sure enough, two seconds later, Aro came bursting through the door and stared at me with wide eyes, "I need your help with something."

I arched an eyebrow, "My help?" He nodded at me. "What with?"

"Well, you see... Tiffany has been telling me of these marvelous things called fan fictions. She says it is when a fan of a book or movie or anything creates an original story pertaining to that 'fandom' as she put it. I was wondering if you would help me create a fan fiction for a book I read years and years ago," Aro rambled on.

I stared at him for a second, feeling Marcus move beside me. I sighed, "Aro, can this wait till later? Marcus and I were resting..." Marcus sat up next to me, his thick hair ruffled only slightly and his bare chest gleaming in the light coming from beyond the door.

Aro's eyes grew and he smiled, "My apologies. Had I known you and Marcus were busy, I would have waited. I shall go ask Tiffany more about these fan fictions and perhaps see you later?"

I waved a hand at him, a bit annoyed, "Yeah, yeah, we'll be out in a bit..."

Aro grinned, did a small wiggle-like dance in place and nearly skipped out. I laughed quietly at him and laid back in Marcus's arms, perfectly content for the moment. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head, "You are far too kind to him."

I sighed, "Yeah, I know... but if I'm not nice to him, who will be?"

"Miss Tiffany," Marcus said with a small smile and nuzzled his face deeper into my hair, "she seems to have him preoccupied for the time being. She's tolerated his happy mood since she met him."

"I'll have to thank her for that," I said smirking. Before I could say another word, another vampire burst into the room and I growled, "What is it?"

Someone pulled on my arm and I sulked as Sulpicia tugged me out of bed, "Come on! Come on! Wedding dress... oh..." She saw my lack of clothing and giggled. I grabbed the blanket from the bed just as Marcus grabbed a pillow and he managed to cover himself up at the same time I pulled the blanket away to cover myself.

I sneered, "Wedding dress? Wait, a second. Wedding won't happen until he proposes, honey, and that hasn't happened. Don't get ahead of yourself."

"That is no excuse. We have to be ahead of the game," Sulpicia said, pulling out a measuring tape and measuring the length of my outstretched arm. "Aro has already begun to plan Marcus's bachelor party..."

I glared, "Whoa, hold up," without realizing it, in my anger, I had dropped my blanket and now both people in the room were staring at me with huge eyes. "A bachelor party? I swear to God, if Aro brings strippers or something into this castle, they will be stripped of far more then their clothing."

I felt someone place a hand on my bare back and another pull my blanket up around me. I turned to see that Marcus had put on pants and was now smiling lovingly at me, "My dear, there is nothing to worry about. Aro would not dare make you upset. He knows you would tear apart the castle if something were not to your taste." I huffed as he tightened the blanket around me and nodded. He was right, as usual.

Sulpicia cleared her throat, "Well... uh... I shall go warn Aro." With that, she turned and fled from our room.

I sighed and walked to my closet, shuffling through the clothes until I found my black t-shirt, leather jacket and skinny jeans. I slipped them on and turned to Marcus, who was already dawning his black robes. I gave him a peck on the cheek, "I'm going to go see Stefan and Vladimir." Marcus nodded to me and we went our separate ways. It was often a tiny bit painful to have to leave Marcus but I bared it well.

I strolled to the garden and smiled, spotting movement beyond one of the windows. I took a few steps back and leapt, landing on the wall right next to the window. Without making a sound, I opened the window and slid in, right behind Vladimir, who was doing some paper work. As he turned to me, I held my arms up and yelled, "Surprise!"

The look on his face was priceless. At first he was confused, frightened and alert. Then he became angry and annoyed with me, "What is the matter with you? Are you trying to put me in the world's first vampire coma?"

I giggled at him and then hugged him, "No, I just missed you." Since returning to Volterra, Marcus and I hadn't left our room for days, weeks even. We weren't doing what you think we were doing. We're saving that for after the wedding. No, we just talked, kissed, held each other and talked some more. There was a lot about Marcus that I hadn't known before. After the last few days, I felt as though I'd known him for not sixteen years but hundreds.

Vladimir returned my hug and mumbled, "So... I heard you are getting married."

I felt my good mood dampen and I nodded into his shoulder, "Yeah... yippee..."

"Do you not want to?" he asked carefully as he pulled away from me. I'd thought about it and yes, I wanted to marry Marcus but I felt as though I'd never be ready to walk down the aisle to him. I always felt so nervous and afraid. What if I said the wrong thing? What if I tripped and fell? What am I saying, vampires can't trip. I was just being neurotic.

I nodded to Vladimir, "Of course I do. I'm just nervous. All brides have a right to be nervous before their wedding."

"True," Vladimir said with a smile, "Do you have any idea what you're going to do for your bachelorette party?"

I laughed, "Do you actually care?"

"Yes," he said with a grin. We both found this conversation very humorous. Why would the proud Romanian leader Vladimir 'the Impaler' ever show any interest in a bachelorette party? "Stefan and I have been pondering this for a while and... we would like to ask you what you want to do. We will take care of everything. Just say it and consider it done."

I smiled, "You'd do that for me?"

He nodded, "Of course! Why wouldn't w-" He couldn't finish because he'd been tackled to the ground in a hug and was being kissed on the cheek repeatedly. He laughed and tried to push me off, "Stop, stop! If Marcus sees this, he will suspect something."

I rolled my eyes as I stood, "Oh, come on. He knows I love him. Why would I leave him? He's perfect... not that you aren't." I added and then sighed, "Well now, let's see. What do I want to do for a bachelorette party?"

I held up my hands suddenly as I had an epiphany, "Wait! I've got it!" I grinned at Vladimir, "What if... wait, this needs to be very secret." He nodded and I continued, "He can't know about this, none of them can. It's between you, me and Stefan, got it?" He nodded again, becoming impatient and I grinned wider, "I want to spend my bachelorette spying on Marcus's bachelor party."

I felt my grin get wider as Stefan's simpering face appeared in the doorway, "Did I hear the word 'spy'? I hope you know, draga mea, that I was an expert spy in my human years."

"Then this should be a fun exercise for you," I said, tilting my head in thought. "Now what would Aro be planning for Marcus's bachelor party?"

Stefan scoffed, "My bachelor party was amazing. It consisted of fine women and plentiful drink, the blood flowing like wine. It was perhaps the best day of my life." My blood began to boil. Fine women? There was no way in Hell I would let Aro bring in women and let them loose on Marcus. I made a mental note to tell Tiffany of this soon so that she could have some control over her new 'best friend'.

"Let's hope Aro isn't stupid enough to bring other women into this castle," I grumbled angrily and I paced, my hands behind my back as I thought, "None of the leaders like to leave the castle... so they won't be leaving for a strip club. The castle will be swarmed with Volturi guards... so we'll need a man on the inside to find out where they are... I'll give that job to Alec. Can someone keep a tab on the phone lines?"

Stefan grinned, "Already taken care of, mea draga. I've even hacked into Aro, Marcus and Caius's cellphones so that anytime they get a call, it tranfers information to us. I'm sure Alec would be more than willing to be our spy on the inside, trading secrets to Jane whilst in the presence of your fiance..."

I sighed, "He's not my fiance yet."

"He hasn't proposed?" Vladimir asked confused. "But you said you were getting married."

I nodded, "Yeah, I am. I'm just waiting on Marcus."

Stefan scoffed, "The poor bastard... I'm surprised Aro hasn't nagged his ear off because of it. Marcus will propose soon enough, I'm sure. Aro wouldn't let him go this long..."

"He's already tried to propose," I interrupted.

"What, did you decline?" Vladimir asked.

I smiled, "Why would I ever decline a marriage proposal from one of the most gentle and loving men in the world? I was going to say yes but before he could actually propose..."

"Sulpicia..." Stefan grumbled, "That's it, isn't it? She tore you away from him before he could propose. God damn it, that woman..."

I sighed, "It's fine, I'm sure. I've learned a lot from that experience and, aside from not being able to answer Marcus's proposal, I am very glad she did it. He'll ask again, soon I hope. We have forever... I just don't want to spend part of eternity waiting for him."

~M/S~

"Brother..." Aro whined, "Why have you not even considered proposing?"

Marcus glared at Aro, "Are you sure your moronic wife won't try to tear her away from me again if I do? Who knows what catastrophie she'll cause next! She ran into my room earlier today to measure my mate for her wedding dress, as if she has any right to plan our wedding, and spoke of a bachelor party that you were supposedly planning. The mere mention of a bachelor party upset my mate! Aro, control your wife!"

Caius sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. As much as he enjoyed having the old, lively Marcus back, he didn't quite enjoy the yelling and the accusations. He held up a hand, "Marcus, brother, not to create any more stress and anger but it sounded like you just said you weren't going to propose because you were afraid of what Sulpicia might do. There is no reason to be afraid or upset. It is your wedding, your mate and your choice. You may do as you please, whether or not Sulpicia wants you to or not. You are a king and she is a mere queen. Take charge, Marcus, or you shall lose your mate."

"I shall control Sulpicia to the best of my abilities. Caius is correct. This is your wedding. You may choose when to ask your mate for marriage and you may choose what to do on said wedding. Sulpicia has no say and I shall make sure she knows this," Aro said calmly, trying to divert some of Marcus's anger. "Go to Styx now. I'm sure she misses you."

Marcus felt some of the anger leave him and become replaced by happiness. Seeing Styx always made him feel great; whether they were cuddled close or just talking together, her mere presence made him happy. He left the room, giving Aro a narrow warning glare before darting to the Romanian castle.

He skidded to a stop beside Vladimir's office door. He could hear Styx talking, "He's not my fiance yet." Marcus's venom ran cold. Why would she be talking about him to the Romanians? They were her closest friends. Perhaps she was confiding some secrets to them. Just in case, Marcus kept quiet and listened in.

"He hasn't proposed?" Vladimir asked. "But you said you were getting married."

"Yeah, I am. I'm just waiting on Marcus." Marcus winced. He never meant to make her wait this long. Guilt surged through him and it made him want to barge into the room to propose right then and there but he didn't have the ring with him. It was in his room.

Stefan scoffed, "The poor bastard... I'm surprised Aro hasn't nagged his ear off because of it. Marcus will propose soon enough, I'm sure. Aro wouldn't let him go this long..."

"He's already tried to propose." Marcus's eyebrows shot up. She knew what he'd been trying to do before? Well, it wasn't a mystery. He'd been reaching for his pocket when they'd been interrupted. It must have been obvious.

"What, did you decline?" Vladimir asked.

"Why would I ever decline a marriage proposal from one of the most gentle and loving men in the world?" Marcus beamed. "I was going to say yes but before he could actually propose..." Marcus's heart did a back flip. She was going to say yes?!

"Sulpicia..." Stefan grumbled, "That's it, isn't it? She tore you away from him before he could propose. God damn it, that woman..." Marcus felt very much the same way now. She would have said yes. They would be married already. She'd have his last name. She'd officially be his. He was going to murder Sulpicia!

Styx sighed, "It's fine, I'm sure. I've learned a lot from that experience and, aside from not being able to answer Marcus's proposal, I am very glad she did it. He'll ask again, soon I hope. We have forever... I just don't want to spend part of eternity waiting for him."

Marcus sighed as well and decided this was as good a time as ever to reveal himself, "You don't have to."

As he stepped into the room, Vladimir and Stefan hissed in anger. They both crouched, "You were spying on us?" Stefan snarled, "How much did you hear?"

"Styx was talking about how I'm not her fiance yet," Marcus clarified and everyone else in the room sighed in relief. Marcus wondered idly why they were so concerned about how much he heard but it flew to the back of his mind when his mate flew into his arms. He cradled her and nuzzled his face to her cheek, "Cara mia, I'm..."

"Don't," Styx said sternly, staring into his scarlet eyes, "Don't be sorry. Never say that to me. You have nothing to be sorry about. You are perfect and even your mistakes are perfect, not that you've made one. When you proposed before, I was nervous and uncertain if I wanted to marry you but the time away from you, meeting new people and battling old foes, made me realize how much I really needed you. I realized I couldn't live too long without you or I'd go insane."

Styx grabbed Marcus's face and pressed her forehead against his, closing her eyes, "The time you've spent 'procrastinating' or 'waiting' or whatever, has given me time to think. And after thinking long and hard about it, I have one thing to say."

"And what is that, my love?"

"Yes," Styx said with a smile. "Yes, I will marry you. You don't need to propose because proposing is just asking if I want to be with you and you already know the answer. Yes, yes, a million times yes and know that from this point on, I'm yours and you are mine."

Marcus grinned, "I agree whole-heartedly," and he leaned up, pressing his lips to hers.