Okay, I have got to say that I am completely surprised by the amount of responses I got to posting the first chapter. Seriously! I've got over sixty people following this story which is a miracle in itself. So guys thank you for the awesome turnout and I hope you enjoy this next chapter. It's short obviously, but Amber does meet one of her mates. Hopefully, I'll get a longer chapter out for the next one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any other recognizable works.

Chapter 2: Makin' a Splash in Italy

Welcome to Italy, the historic country that was home to the Roman Empire and many other historical massacres as well as the birthplace of my newest headache. Yeah, not the greatest place to send a gal with the ability to sense chaos.

In any matter, thanks to my abilities, I made sure to stay well away from places like the interior of the Roman Colosseum as well as Pompeii and its general surrounding area as well as other similar places, knowing I was more than likely to drive myself nuts that way. Seriously, even after hundreds of years, many of the area's that were notorious for bloodshed were still hotspots for a chaos overdose for me.

Don't get me wrong, it's kind of neat to see history in motion in a very realistic setting, but, again, I still run the risk of doing more harm to myself in doing so.

Anyways, after a couple inspiring days each in Rome, Naples, and a couple other touristy locations near those, I was now standing in the city of Volterra where I would spend a couple days in before heading to Pisa then later Florence, Verona, and Venice.

Honestly, it was quite a beautiful city that seemed almost timeless in some ways. Many of the buildings were hundreds of years old, yet they were still more or less intact today. The stonework holding strong despite the time worn age they showed, and they were still able to house the people of today (with a little refurbishing of course). Roman engineering really is a spectacular thing.

If that wasn't enough, the people inside the city proved to be something of a marvel as well. Apparently, it was quite renowned for its safety too since crime rates here were at an all-time low. I almost wondered if I should take some notes for my bosses from when I returned to the States.

So far, I had already seen most of the sights like the Volterra Cathedral, the Etruscan Acropolis, the Medici Fortress, and Palazzo dei Priori. My favorite so far had to have been the wide-open area called the Roman Theatre of Volterra as I had fun closing my eyes and imagining all the colorful events that took place there and the delighted reactions of the crowd watching. This place wasn't as heavily tainted by horrors and bloodshed I saw on an almost daily basis no matter where I went.

In any event though, after a day of considerable walking and talking in Italy's native tongue as I toured, my throat practically screamed that it was freaking parched.

However, by the time I had found a small café to have lunch at, it was noon and every table was occupied, including the ones outside, despite the ominous cloud front that had just rolled in and obscured the sun.

Of course, me being who I was, I wasn't about to let that stop me from enjoying myself. I was just going to have to make friends.

Looking around, my eyes landed on the perfect person. There, not forty feet away, a very handsome man stood. But that wasn't what caught my attention, as he was surrounded by a mob of giggling tourist girls who were obviously too close for comfort. And if his body language was anything to go off of, he was in desperate need of a rescue; the corners of his lips kept straining with the need to frown. Many of the girls crowding around the dark-haired man, who I guessed to be about my age, didn't seem to be taking any of the hints the man was dropping about wanting to be left alone, invading his personal space in ways that, had it been me in his place, would have earned each and every one of them a new application of makeup in the color tones of black and blue.

Figuring I might as well get my good deed for the day in, I rolled up my mental sleeves, a plan already in mind.

"Yo, Mario!" I bellowed loudly enough to gain everyone's attention within the vicinity and earn more than a couple dirty looks from some of the other patrons. Whatever, it wasn't like I would see them again. And, yes, I know that that name was not original, but it was one of the first random Italian names to come to mind and it was either that or Luigi; and I chose Mario obviously. Anyways, once the handsome stranger looked in my direction, I grinned and waved before bounding over, pushing several of the girls out of the way. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you," I greeted him in a friendly manner, shooting him a discreet look that told him to just play along.

Appearing slightly surprised at first, the man nodded minutely, directing an equally small but nonetheless convincing smile in my direction. "My apologies, I must have gotten distracted while you slipped off," he replied, his semi-deep voice betraying a hint of an accent that didn't sound quite like Italian.

Ignoring the dirty looks I got from the other girls, I hooked my arm around his, thankful for the sleeves of my green summer lace blouse. It would not be good if my ability accidentally activated by touching him. "Well, don't do it again," I told him in a scolding manner. "I would prefer to keep 'losing my boyfriend in Volterra, Italy' off of my resume please."

He chuckled lowly as I led him away. Meanwhile though, the girls did the real-life equivalent of an anime fall with some of them gushing twin waterfalls of tears from their eyes probably too. Sadly, though, one of the more stubborn and ornery girls either didn't get the hint or chose to ignore it as she said, "Excuse me but we were talking."

She radiated distaste, ire and even a teensy bit of envious insecurity. If I had to guess, I think the last part was due to her being one of those types of girls who were obsessively concerned with her appearance, always checking in the mirror to make sure her make-up was perfect, and she was unconsciously picking up on my own slightly over-abundant self-confidence due to how I held myself. (I had dealt with men and women much more intimidating than this twig of a girl). It's funny because in grade school I used to be intimidated by glamour girls like her all the time as a kid as they seemed so perfect and unreachable to my adolescent mind. Does that make sense? Sorry, I'm rambling.

Anyways, calm as can be, I raised a brow before turning to the man and asking, "Were you?"

He shook his head, shoulder-length black hair swaying lightly with the motion. "No, they must be mistaken."

A laugh nearly escaped me at the furious expression on the girl's face as we walked away, leaving her to fume and seethe with her weepy crew. Ah, how the tables have turned. The bitchy popular girl losing her touch. How pitiful.

"Well played sir," I whispered once we were far enough out of earshot, grinning from one ear to the other.

He chuckled lowly again, the warm sound reminding me of molten chocolate. "Why thank you my dear."

Peering back over our shoulders, it was to my great relief to see that the girls had left. "They've gone," I told the dark-haired man, releasing him though some part of me felt oddly saddened by the loss of close contact. Weird. "I'm sorry about that."

"Whatever for?" he inquired, perfect brow raised. "You got rid of those pesky girls. And thank you for that by the way."

"Your very welcome. I couldn't just leave a handsome man like you to the sharks." Then I realized what I had just said and blushed. I really needed to learn to control my mouth at times.

With a warm smile, he said in that velvety voice of his, "You flatter me. Why don't I treat you to lunch to pay you back?"

"You really don't have to do that," I tried before flushing even more when my stomach voiced its opinion on the matter quite loudly. "But if you insist. Sure why not."

His smile widened, as if greatly pleased by my acceptance. And I'll admit that I felt a little zing of pleasure myself though I don't know why. Maybe it was because he was quite striking and had smiled at me like I was an angel or something. Damn, I sounded like a hormonal teenager. Hopefully though, I wouldn't regret taking up his offer for lunch.

Oh do shut up Ambrosia, I mentally scolded myself. It's not like he's another one serial killer or anything. I mean, what are the odds? And remember, those guys are way more likely to ax-murder you than take you out to lunch like Mister Handsome-Manners is right now. Oh sweet Christmas! I don't even know his name yet either. Idiot. I need to stop getting distracted by drop-dead attractive strangers.

—Marcus' POV—

If he had to describe it, the day started out as any other for Marcus Volturi, beginning just the same as the others for the past several centuries. Which is to say, plain and frankly boring.

He and his soul brothers, Aro and Caius, had held court judging a young, barely fifty years old, vampire who had been going on a killing spree in Russia, drawing a dangerous amount of attention from the humans. He, of course, had remained solemnly silent during the trial, only moving once to grasp Aro's hand to allow him to see his opinion.

Other than that, Marcus allowed his melancholy mind to wander, remaining silent even when the young vampire cursed them out colorfully before being reduced to jigsaw puzzle-sized pieces and thrown into a fire by a couple members of the guard.

Marcus was keenly aware of what almost everyone thought of him nowadays, though he did not possess a telepathically inclined gift like his brother Aro.

They saw a heartbroken ancient being who had lived in torment and melancholy for too long. When they looked at him, all they saw was a predator that had lost his edge; a toothless, old lion with little to live for and only his vast experience keeping him going.

And maybe they were right.

Though he and Didyme had not been true mates like everyone but his coven thought, they had loved each other deeply once before her untimely death. So when she had been ripped apart by the monstrous mutts that were their kind's natural enemies as they dealt with the Romanian coven, something in him broke, shattered like thin ice under too much weight. Here was something, someone, who was very dear to him and close to his unbeating heart, and all of that happiness had been ripped away in one fell swoop. It was no surprise really that he had withdrawn when the light of his very long life had been snuffed.

So he had grieved in his own way, just like how Aro unerringly focused on enforcing their laws and making the Volturi the most feared coven in existence, and Caius went on a murderous rampage, slaughtering every one of those mutts until they were practically driven to extinction.

In time of course, they all had healed from the loss of Didyme, (though he had admittedly taken longer to do so than the others), but nothing would ever completely erase or patch the hole in their hearts. Nothing and no one.

Anyways, back on topic. It was close to noon by the end of the trial, and the morning sun had long since been obscured by a rare amount of cloud-cover that was thick enough to allow a vampire to walk around outside without fear of discovery. And perhaps a little uncharacteristically, Marcus decided on a whim to make use of this rare opportunity and excused himself for the day, taking advantage of the cloudy sky that day to adventure through the city safely without catching unwanted attention from the humans.

As usual, the city was bustling with the sights, sounds, and smells of life.

Conversations from several streets over were clear to him as if they speakers were right next to him, talking about everything and nothing. Colorful signs written in the country's official language hung above shops, with the smells of freshly buttered and baked pastries, ripe produce, and various other scents wafting out of open door.

And all around, he could hear the heartbeats and gush of blood all around him from the humans alongside their personal scents and a myriad of other things. It was enough to make those with already tentative control of their bloodlust loose it altogether. But fortunately for the humans, he didn't.

Walking around the city for an hour or two, Marcus finally decided to stop at one of the cafés for a slight break and hopefully do a little people watching to pass the time. Even with their incredibly short lives, he still found humans quite interesting, though technically he had once been one too.

However, that wasn't exactly the way it played out.

At first, there had been only one girl, a tourist, who had wanted directions to one of the many tourist attractions the city had to offer. The next moment, that one girl had somehow multiplied into entire mob of girls that surrounded him, all giggling obnoxiously, batting their eyes flirtatiously, and reeking of too much cheap perfume. By human standards they were probably considered quite pretty, but to him with his enhanced senses, they were annoying with their shrill and grating voices, wore a ridiculous amount of make-up, and smelled horribly.

Not interested in any of their offers or attentions, Marcus tried to extricate himself from them, using words that were probably kinder than they deserved. But with only one or two of them possessing enough intelligence to understand his subtle hints, he couldn't make it a couple steps before they persistently mobbed him again. This was just one of the many drawbacks that came with having the inhuman beauty of a vampire.

Yet, it was just as he was about to give into his frustration and use words that were a little less kind, that he heard her. Heralded by a loud whistle, a woman's raised voice drew the attention of just about everyone in the vicinity as she bellowed, "Yo, Mario!"

Turning his gaze in the same direction as everyone else, he found himself locking gazes with a very attractive woman with blue-ish, green-grey eyes. She wore little to no make-up and had her dark blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, with her bangs framing her face, parted slightly to the left side. However, the thing that stood out about her the most—at least to him that is—was the way she carried herself as she brazenly pushed past the swarm of girls.

With visible muscles and light scarring, the woman walked not unlike how a predator would, with a sort of careful confidence that was neither cocky nor shy but oddly graceful. It was quite unlike most human's, who either seemed excessively confident, having a cocky swagger in their stride, or they were the meek type, skittering and scurrying to and from like a mouse. He mostly saw that type of modest confidence in vampires but rarely ever humans—which the woman clearly was from her heartbeat.

Acting on an impulse, Marcus activated his gift, which allowed him to see the relationships of everyone around him in the forms of varying strings of all different sizes, colors, and thicknesses, like some colorful spider web. And then he laid eyes on her and his mind went completely blank of everything except one word.

Mate.

She was his mate, and the proof was laid out before him in the form of an extremely, dull but exceedingly delicate gold chain linking him to her, which hummed faintly (oddly enough).

As she got closer, a large, jovial smile plastered on her face, Marcus breathed in the scent of her, of summer baked fruit (especially lemons), rose and sugared peach, various spices and herbs, and fresh earth after a rainstorm. It was a combination that perhaps should not have gone together but smelt wonderful coming from her all the same.

"There you are. I've been looking all over for you," she greeted him in a friendly manner, shooting him a discreet look to just play along.

A little surprised, he allowed himself to smile, inner beast practically purring at her close proximity, as he replied, "My apologies, I must have gotten distracted while you slipped off."

Not that I could be distracted from her natural beauty, which is distracting enough as it is, he thought, drinking the sight of her in. Pity her shirt, while its olive-green color complemented her eyes and hair, did not really show off her feminine figure as it should.

"Well, don't do it again," she told him in a scolding manner, hooking her arm around his, the lace sleeves of her summer blouse thankfully protecting her from his cold skin. "I would prefer to keep 'losing my boyfriend in Volterra, Italy' off of my resume please."

He chuckled lowly, finding her stab at humor as amusing as the girls' reactions to the word 'boyfriend'. Sadly, though, the humorous moment was ruined when one of the more stubborn tourist girls got right up in his mate's face and said snootily, "Excuse me but we were talking."

He resisted the urge to hiss at the girl—no, child's imprudence. How dare she talk to his mate that way! his instincts screamed, already feeling protective even though he had just met the nameless belle who was his mate.

Speaking of said belle, despite the tourist-girl's obvious rudeness, her expression showed a surprising amount of unwavering calm. Most would have probably been angered to be addressed with such a disrespectful tone, but she wasn't in the slightest, (at least not visibly).

Instead, she turned her attention on him, raising a dark gold-flecked brow and asking in a dull tone, "Were you?"

Marcus shook his head, replying simply, "No, they must be mistaken."

Inwardly, he laughed at the expressions on the faces of the women surrounding him, which were either full of pure loathing or defeated sadness on the verge of tears. Really, it was almost comical. And judging by the cat who ate the canary expression on his mate's face as they walked away, she obviously had noticed too.

"Well played sir," she eventually congratulated in a low whisper once they were far enough out of earshot.

He chuckled lowly again. "Why thank you my dear."

"They've gone," she told him after risking a glance behind them. She let go of him, and Marcus immediately felt the loss of her close presence, which left him feeling a little empty and sad. "I'm sorry about that," she apologized, obviously talking about how she had randomly grabbed him.

Despite himself, he smiled at her. "Whatever for? You got rid of those pesky girls. And thank you for that by the way."

"Your very welcome. I couldn't just leave a handsome man like you to the sharks," she smiled back before probably registering what she had said and blushing cutely.

His smile widened. He couldn't wait to show Aro and tell Caius about their mate, as since they were soul brothers, she was their mate too. (Hopefully, that wouldn't scare her away, along with several other things she was bound to find out from them).

But first and foremost, he needed to get to know her a little better. He didn't even know her name yet.

"You flatter me. Why don't I treat you to lunch to pay you back?"

"You really don't have to do that," she tried to refute before flushing even more when her stomach let out an audible growl. "But if you insist. Sure why not." It was adorable how she tried to play off the embarrassing moment.

His smile widened, pleased by her acceptance. He couldn't wait.

And to think, this all started out as an ordinary day.

A/N: Well, what do you think? Interesting start to a relationship that is no doubt going to get chaotic in the future? Pun intended.

Please review, favorite and follow. Please and thank you! Until next time!

Bianca out!