"Ready?" Sulpicia inquired, a delicate hand poised on the heavy oak door.
After concluding that Bella had not stepped foot outside since first entering the castle, the Volturi had unanimously decided that it would do Bella some good to have fresh air prior to exploring the interior of the property. After all, the inside of the castle was not going to change in their absence.
Fixing the last button of her jacket, Bella nodded and followed the three Queens outside.
Eyes watering at the harsh glare of the sun, Bella paused for a moment as brown hues adjusted to the drastic change of light. As her vision cleared, Bella noted that it was well into the afternoon. However, despite the warmth radiating from the sun sparkling high in the cloud speckled sky, it was still rather nippy for being the end of March. Wrapping her arms around her torso, Bella followed the three women along the covered path as she turned her attention to the courtyard around her.
Just like the inside of the castle walls, the outside appeared frozen in time. From the stone walkway, Bella could make out that she was now in a small, enclosed area full of minimal vegetation. Beyond distinguishing the basic stone decorations that encompassed the courtyard, Bella was unable to fully appreciate the intricate craft before her. If Bella had retained the information from her history courses, rather than utilize the material only long enough to pass her course, the girl would have noted that she had been led out a side entrance into the innermost courtyard.
As such, when the four women passed through a stone arch, Bella's eyes widened in astonishment as the stone gave away to grass and the path extended from the inner to the outer courtyard. With the true extent of the inner castle grounds now revealed, Bella paused in wonder as faint snaps echoed around her.
"If you were to stand upon the terrace, you would be able to note that the castle rises above the dominion of the underlying territory," a soft voice spoke in Bella's ear as a shadow fell over her.
Blinking in surprise, Bella refrained from reacting as cold air tickled her ear. Redirecting her attention, Bella realized that the shadow was simply the shade of an umbrella. "Dominion?"
"The territory of a sovereign," Athenodora explained as she offered an arm. "When the castle was originally built, the strategic placement kept the castle from being unapproachable from every side without alerting the tenants well in advance."
Hesitating for a moment, Bella eventually slipped her arm through the taller woman's. Although she preferred to traipse beneath the warmth of the sun's rays, Bella couldn't help the faint smile tug at the corner of her lips in response to the kind gesture.
Returning the faint smile, Athenodora easily guided Bella out a side gate. Moving beyond the castle walls, Bella took note of the large garden that resided in front of the castle and the breathtaking view of the Tuscan hillside.
"We will show you the courtyard when we return," Sulpicia remarked from Bella's other side as she strolled arm-in-arm with Didyme beneath their own umbrella.
Distracted by the fact that she would not be able to see either of the three vampires sparkle in the sunlight, Bella belatedly realized that the brunette woman had continued speaking as she stared on. By the time Bella realized what Sulpicia was talking about, the Queen had already skimmed over the fact that the castle had three inner courtyards, one of which was a private garden specifically designed by the Queens. In turn, she had provided a brief overview of the castle's basic construction, from the defensive barbicans, to the towers, gatehouse, kitchen, great hall, and the donjon.
"Volterra is one of the most important historical Tuscan towns, first settled in the 5th century A.C." Athenodora picked up when Sulpicia fell silent. "According to many of the history books that you would have access to, Volterra was the first great Etruscan lucumonia before turning into a Roman settlement."
"Luco-monia?" Bella inquired before biting her lip as she realized she had interrupted the Queen as she would a friend.
"Never fret about asking questions, Bella. We want you to be curious about our home." Smiling, Didyme caught Bella's hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "A lucumonia is another word for metropolis. The Etruscans referred to Volterra as Velhatri."
Feeling the tips of her ears burn, Bella simply nodded in response, baffled as to when the two women had swapped places during their walk.
"Velhatri was the last of the large cities within the Populonia to be conquered by the Romans," Athenodora continued as if she had not been previously interrupted. "Eventually it was attacked by Hungarian troops, who had been invoked to help the residents in the way against Benengario I, the king of Italy. Left in ruins, the town became uninhabited compared to its former glory."
Busy processing the impromptu history lesson, Bella stumbled over thin air as her mind finally registered what the blonde Queen had said. "Wait… you said the 5th century?"
"Yes," Athenodora confirmed.
"Then that means you're all over 1600 years old?" Bella determined incredulously as her brain quickly calculated the time difference between now and when Volterra was first established.
"Oh, no, dearest," Didyme corrected with a chuckle. "We're over 3000 years old."
Choking on her own breath at the nonchalant correction, Bella stopped in her tracks. "But, you said-"
"We merely mentioned the origin of Volterra as historians are aware of it," Athenodora countered.
Her world reeling at the realization, Bella ran her hand through windblown locks.
Logically, she was aware that vampires were essentially immortal thanks to her conversations with the Cullens. Hell, Carlisle was over 300 years old. But to actually know and converse with someone whom had ten times his experience forced her brain into a level of comprehension beyond its current capacity.
Rather than panic about this small detail, Bella simply filed the shock away, like with most things she had encountered over the past year, and proceeded as if everything was on a plane of normalcy most people simply missed out on. Instead, Bella decided to return to something her brain was capable of wrapping itself around – the history of Volterra.
"You were explaining Volterra as humans know it, but what is the way vampires know it?" Bella inquired almost as nonchalantly as Didyme had previously sounded.
"Volterra is indeed one of the most important historical Tuscan towns," Sulpicia responded in mirth. "However, it was settled long before the 5th century." Taking up Bella's arm this time, the brunette Queen resumed guiding the younger woman about the castle grounds as she began to spin the true tale of Volterra.
By the time the history lesson had ended, at least the shortened version, the four women had traipsed back inside the outer gatehouse. No longer overwhelmed by the sights before her, brown hues re-scanned the area and were fully able to appreciate the details that were briefly discussed while on their walk. As such, Bella's eyes happened to befall upon the aforementioned chapel, which was tucked away to one side, and what appeared to be stables on the other.
Baffled by the notion that vampires kept horses, Bella's next thought was spoken out loud. "Are some of the residents of Volterra vegetarian like the Cullens?" Bella suddenly inquired.
Following Bella's gaze, the three vampires smiled.
"The Cullen's dietary habits are a rarity among our kind," Sulpicia responded, "but, yes. Some of the residents are more inclined to feast on those with four legs rather than two."
"As for the stables," Didyme included as she watched a frown appear upon Bella's delicate features at the connotation, "a few of the vampires enjoy raising horses as a remembrance of their past lives. We do not eat them."
"Similarly, there are others who partake in falconry. If you look past the stables we also have mews, or houses, for the birds of prey." Athenodora indicated toward the far side of the stables.
There, tucked away from most of the noise and bustle of the other structures within the outer wall stood a large, multistory building. Unable to see within the enclosed portion, Bella took note that in the opened section there were a number of perches, some of which were occupied. "Unlike the traditional mews, these are freelofts, which encompass larger chambers than the traditional mew and allow the birds to fly freely."
"Is that what you're interested in?" Bella questioned the blonde Queen.
"Not particularly. I prefer fencing and gardening."
"Whereas I enjoy my books and sewing," Didyme added on.
"As for myself, I like to dabble in the arts," Sulpicia supplied.
"Like witchcraft?" Bella blinked.
"Why ye-," the queen began only to be elbowed gently by Didyme. "Spoil-sport," Sulpicia pouted, causing Bella's brow to arch in surprise at the transaction.
"Although that is a fascinating topic, I was referring more along the lines of the fine arts," Sulpicia corrected Bella. "Painting, music, literature, dancing; I relish it all, especially when we attend the plays held in town."
"What about you, dearest?" Didyme inquired.
Pausing to think, Bella eventually shrugged. "I didn't really do much back in Forks."
"Come now, there must be something you partook in," Sulpicia pressed.
"Well, there was one thing I did to pass time," Bella reluctantly admitted. It wasn't that she did not want the women to know, she was simply embarrassed by her admission for she wasn't very good at it.
"And that was?" Athenodora reiterated.
"I liked to write," Bella smiled sheepishly.
"I always knew we would get along nicely," Sulpicia purred as she led Bella down the paved pathway toward another section of the castle.