It had been several weeks since the incident with the woman claiming to be Caius's mate, and the days have not been boring since that time. There were several vampires caught breaking the rule of showing themselves to humans in the sunlight, a vampire who attempted to be part of the guard to kill Saphira and, unfortunately, no new news about the four vampires they were worried about. Saphira was not super concerned, but the stress and anxiety coming from her mates made her worried for them. They were very scared about losing her, and they ensured to have intimate nights with her as often as possible. She did her best to comfort them and ensure that she will be okay. She even went on a shopping trip with Jane to Florence as Saphira had the need to get out of the castle. Nothing happened on the road thankfully, so the kings were happy to allow for her to go to other towns and cities in Italy if she had company. Though the day finally came for Saphira to pay her respects to Aro's sister, the anniversary of her death had come around and Marcus had become distant again. But he did his best to keep his attention to Saphira, although she definitely sensed his distraction. It was the first year he had a mate since Didyme, and the first year the anniversary would be different. So it was harder for him, and Aro too. Aro wasn't as distant from Saphira as Marcus was, but the guilt he carried for destroying his younger sister emerged and Saphira had to block him to ensure she didn't feel that guilt carry into her heart. After all, she was not responsible and she didn't want to feel like that.

Saphira wore a beautiful, straight, black dress with silver, diamond shaped patterns at the bottom of the dress and clipped a red rose to her sleeve. She didn't know what to wear, but as she had seen this morning of what Aro and Marcus were wearing, she wore something similar. Caius wore black too, but that's the normal wear, it wasn't formal, and he didn't have the same connection to Didyme as the other two had. But he would go down to her grave to give respect, and because Saphira had asked him to come down. Walking down the stairs, the air felt heavy and cold, this was the first time Saphira had even come downstairs. The kings didn't show her where it was, but the entrance was on the opposite side of the castle from the bedroom. As they walked down, Saphira noticed this wasn't used much by others and she didn't know if there were other vampires buried here. When they reached the bottom, the kings walked to the door to the left and Saphira glanced at a partially open door to the right before following them. The kings lit the torches and her question to other vampires being buried was answered. There was at least a hundred graves here, and she was a bit unnerved, despite she knew that the vampires were technically undead.

"Are you okay?" Caius asked, sensing Saphira's nervousness.

"Yes, I didn't really ask if there were other graves," She said with a slight smile. "I guess I wasn't sure what to expect. But…it is kind of creepy…not going to lie. Sorry if I'm making today uncomfortable."

"It is okay Saphira," Aro said, smiling slightly as he pulled Saphira closer to him. "We don't blame you il mio amore, these crypts aren't intended to be nice to look at."

Saphira saw the sadness in Aro's eyes, she didn't need to sense it. She leaned against him as they walk, she knew which grave was his sister's as Marcus had already reached the grave before they did. Saphira wasn't sure how to feel, Marcus was kneeling by the grave and holding several very old frames of Didyme that she has not seen before. But she saw Aro's face in them and realized how much they looked alike. She didn't think she would ever understand why he made the decision to kill her.

"She looks a lot like you," Saphira comments gently, looking at Aro with a small smile. "It is a shame I'll never meet her."

"Yes…I regret a lot of thinks il mio amore, and her not meeting you is one of them," He said, kissing Saphira's forehead gently.

Saphira looked at the grave and stepped forward, placing a hand on the stone gently. "I may never know who you really are Didyme, but I am glad you were able to give Marcus love that he was needing back before I was born," Saphira spoke gently. "I know he loves you, and will continue to, I will always respect that. I am sorry your life was cut short, and now your brother has me to answer to and I'll ensure he won't do that mistake again. Ma forse in un'altra vita ci incontreremo."

"That was beautiful," Marcus said, his voice cracking as he looked up at Saphira. "Thank you…for being here. And for the future anniversaries."

"You're welcome il mio amore," Saphira said, kneeling next to Marcus and holding his arm gently. She glanced at the pictures, she could see how happy Marcus was with Didyme, and it was the same happiness he feel with Saphira now. "At least you have these forever to remember her by Marcus. I know you and Aro have a hard time forgiving, I hope you will as I am sure Didyme would want that for you. To no longer carry around that weight on your shoulders. Especially if you feel like you could have saved her."

"Ora mi sono perdonato Didyme," Aro said gently, moving closer to the grave. "It is true, I have never forgiven myself since that day, and I can never say enough apologies as they will never bring you back. I have found healing now, and Saphira here…I couldn't do it without her. Somehow, my mate has brought me to a place of happiness I never thought I'd have again. I regret you're not here to see it, but at least in spirit you are with us."

Saphira smiled and felt tears on her cheeks, she didn't realize she was feeling emotional. But Aro's sadness made her cry and she couldn't help it. She hugged Marcus before unclipping her rose and placing it down by the grave. He smiled and kissed her gently.

"Thank you Saphira," Marcus said before breathing deeply and looking at Saphira. "You don't have to stay here all day. Please, you and Caius go spend time with each other. I don't want you to get bored."

"I could never get bored with you Marcus, but I understand, you both need this time alone," Saphira said, smiling before standing. She turned to Aro and hugged him. "I'll be upstairs if you need me."

"I will remember that il mio amore," He whispers sweetly into her ear.

Saphira sighed deeply and pulled away from Aro before walking to Caius, taking his hand to walk together back upstairs. She was curious about the other door though so as they walked through the door into the crypt, Saphira glanced at the door opposite it and moved towards it. Her hand slipped out of Caius's and he looked at her in surprise.

"What are you doing?" Caius asked curiously.

"Is this another crypt?" Saphira asked curiously, pushing the door open into a pitch black room.

"No, but it might become one," He responds. "We haven't really thought of a use for this room. It's huge though, and the walls are made of material that can withstand extremely high temperatures. We weren't the only owners of this castle, it might have been a furnace."

She doubts it, the castle already had a huge furnace, so this was interesting to her. Then Saphira got an idea, she rubbed her chin gently and looked at Caius with curiosity. "How high of a heat does it take to kill a vampire?"

Caius widened his eyes at the question. He wasn't sure how to respond. "Why do you ask?"

"I just think…it's an appropriate punishment for those who are targeting me to punish you three," Saphira said, turning back to the room casually and leaning against the door. "A more meaningful punishment then beatings and breaking of limbs."

"Uhh…well…just normal fire would kill use eventually." Caius frowned as he wasn't sure if he wanted to go with Saphira's idea. He normally enjoyed killing, but he preferred doing it himself. "Is this kind of torturous way to kill a vampire you want to have permanently?"

"Yes." She looked at him with a smirk. "I honestly thought you would agree. But I think it is fitting, don't you think? After all, you used to burn immortal children alive."

"That…uh…"

"Don't say it's different, because it is not," Saphira said, chuckling and shaking her head. "At least we'd have some other way to destroy vampires. That room you usually use often needs maintenance, so this might be easier honestly."

"You're right, I will talk to Felix and Demetri about making this a proper set up and I'll let Aro and Marcus know your idea later," Caius said, though he was still unsure of her idea. "I doubt they'll like the idea however."

"I still dislike your hesitation on killing those two women," Saphira said with a sigh, turning to walk up the stairs. "It seems you are avoiding the idea of torturing them. They would have been able to live if they weren't consumed with envy and resentment. You know this, if Aro was my only mate, one of them still would have had to leave. I don't know what you even planned originally for when you met your mate."

"We didn't have one because we had given up hope when we turned them," Caius explained. "But I think we should have had a better plan to be honest. It's too late now and we have to deal with them. I think Stephan and Vladimir deserve a different death to them though."

"Maybe, but I don't know them enough other then what I've read in your history," Saphira said softly. "I think they should at least be tortured."

"Agreed, but we will discuss that when we can get them," Caius said as they reached the top of the stairs where Jane was waiting. "Ah, Jane, is Demetri and Felix busy?"

"I believe they are overseeing the services of the cars," Jane responds, before looking at them curiously. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I just have an idea for the empty space downstairs," Saphira responds casually. "Time to put it to use of another way to kill a vampire."

Jane smirked slightly at the comment, she was often entertained by torturing others so this would be no different. Even if it wasn't her doing the torturing and she became extremely curious about it, though she noticed Caius seemed uncomfortable so she didn't ask further.

"I shall go and talk to them, what do you plan on doing for the rest of the day Saphira?" Caius asked curiously.

"I think I might get some fresh air, it was quite stuffy down there and dusty," Saphira responds. "I didn't sneeze luckily, but it tickled my nose a bit."

"Right…I forgot that humans can be sensitive to dust," Caius mumbled before speaking up some more. "Well, there's a few hours until sundown anyway, so enjoy the sunbathing. You won't see Marcus and Aro until much later, so I'll be around. It's today, and Didyme's birthday, that Aro and Marcus take a day off. But when your birthday comes around, along with Christmas and Easter, we will ensure to take those days off for you."

"How sweet," Saphira said with a smile. Then she realized that getting a vampire a gift was not easy. "I do wonder what a vampire would want for Christmas though."

"Your love is enough for me," Caius smiled, stepping closer to gently grab her arms. "We have no need of materials, as they simply fade away and lose value. But our love is far greater then that. However…as you're still human, you can expect a lot of gifts."

Saphira giggled, and then a thought popped into her mind. "I think we should have someone in the guard dress up as Santa Claus."

"And why would we do that?" Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because it would be a great way to get into the Christmas spirit," Saphira said with a giggle. "Also, seeing someone with a white beard and red suit would be quite endearing."

"I think there was a plan for that," Caius said slowly, glancing away playfully.

"Is one of you dressing up as Santa?"

"Perhaps we were," He responds, dragging out the words deliberately to tease Saphira.

She giggled and playfully hits his shoulder. "You really love teasing don't you? But I think I will look forward to it. Now I have the task of guessing which one of you will be wearing a red suit this year. I hope you'll be taking turns."

"I can assure you, we will," Caius said with a wink. "I'd better get going now. I don't want to keep you too long."

A growl from Saphira's stomach made both vampires glance at her. Saphira was slightly embarrassed and pulled away from Caius. "Yes, I'd better have food or you'll be annoyed by that."

The vampires chuckle softly as Saphira walked away to get food. Saphira had gotten very used to moving around the castle now, she still would get turned around, but there were areas of the castle she hasn't seen yet. But she didn't need to as a lot of rooms in the Volterra castle were empty or used for storage of things that had sentimental value to the vampires. Saphira stumbled across one room once that held some things from Aro's childhood, including a doll Didyme used to have and was somehow still in good condition. Though Aro was a bit upset Saphira found it, he didn't stop her from checking out these things and she learned he was from Greece. She was curious about the Greek language now and had started teaching her.

For now, Saphira decided she needed some fresh air after lunch. But she couldn't shake the faint feeling of something being off that day. She figured it was due to being Didyme's death anniversary, but she was not sure at this time.

Translation:

Il mio amore: my love

Ma forse in un'altra vita ci incontreremo: But perhaps in another life, we will meet

Ora mi sono perdonato Didyme: I have now forgiven myself Didyme