I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years, I know I did and it's given me plenty of time to make sure that this chapter is at the same standards as my previous chapters. So please enjoy chapter 20 after such a long wait.

I love reading your reviews that you have left me so please continue to do so as I enjoy reading them, I also love to thank all the new followers and my current followers to as I appreciate all who enjoy this story.

Jeoliverio- yes he will be coming into the story soon, as I said in my note I do plan to bring him in just got to plan out the best way to bring him in without ruining the story with, hope that's ok.

Cathy29jes- yes they are, I agree with you they should realise how lucky they are, I think for some of them they are more struggling with where they now stand and what that means for them now, but of course your right their lives may not have been better if they stayed away from the volturi life. It's nice to always want to know how things could have been but sometimes it take time to learn that you got to be grateful for what you do have.

Kouga's older woman- same here, of course he will be suffering more later on when Marcus gets his hands on him to punish him for what happened with Marcus's mate/Aro's sister.

Kim67255- no I really did mean 1880's as I wanted to do this story in a different time period than I originally planned to.

Elisabeth123- your very welcome, thank you,I definitely made sure to stay safe. I hope this update for the story is something that you will enjoy.

LunaM303- Hello I'm back again.


I don't own twilight and all rights goes to Stephenie Meyer


Chapter 20

Marcus POV

After spending several hours with the queens, Heidi and Isabella in the gardens, I made a nice slow walk into the castle, while I made my way to the throne room to see if my brothers have returned from their rounds of seeing everyone else, I could hear the majority of the coven mates in their rooms talking to each other but I felt no need to either interrupt them or take interest in what they was talking about as I had a clear idea of what but decided to just leave them to it and just to see what's happening in the throne room.

As I finally made my way to the throne room I was in for a few surprises to say the least, as the more I inched further into the room without looking forward, I could hear both Alec and Jane giving orders in a authoritative tone, which was surprising because Jane I would expect it from but Alec was not someone I would expect to hear it from. The surprises kept coming as when I saw who the twins were giving commands to it was Aro and Caius who they were giving commands to which any other day I would think they were being mind controlled or something but I just was trying not to laugh to ruin the sight I was seeing.

It was funny because I could tell that Jane and Alec had smiles on their faces, not the type of smile that looks fake but actual smiles, I could tell that my brothers was doing this in a way to make up for ruining it before and attempting to make up for it but taking part to help instead of sitting down doing nothing but watching for once, which made me feel proud that things are changing for the better. "More to the left" Jane said, "actually more to the right by a little bit" Alec said, with both of the kings moving the table in the directions given by the twins, Caius clearly showing on his face the disgust on his face with being ordered about by someone who isn't his mate, " you both wrong it should be more forward" I said with a joyous laugh, they all turned facing me shocked by my sudden burst of laughter, "sorry I couldn't help myself, just seeing the twins ordering you two is a sight to behold but please continue, as the quicker we get this all sorted and set up the better, so we can start with inviting the guests" I said.

A few hours passes by but as the time went by more of the guard and even some human staff joined in with the decorations for the throne room and then continued into the hallways, I helped when I could but most of my time was held up when I was asked to get Isabella to sleep for the evening which I very grateful to do as I felt like I needed something to do. Getting Isabella to sleep was always my favorite part whenever I got the chance to spend time with my little niece as I knew all the bonds everyone had with each other and with Isabella and mine was more like an uncle and niece bond, which I know I'm not the only who has that same familiar bond as Caius does too, but I know he is too proud to admit it out loud to anyone. As I continued to get her to sleep I sang her to sleep with some of the little songs that I can just about remember from my human years, which I'm glad I can stl remember those even while it's faint in my memories, the good thing is that singing these songs always gets Isabella to sleep quickly while making myself feeling relaxed.

As Isabella is sleeping peacefully, I just close my eyes to relax while sitting down on the chair that's positioned close to her but also where I can see who comes through the door. Even while I know I can never sleep like a human could which is the one of the many things I do find myself being jealous of I do find that closing my eyes to relax is the closest I will get to it, letting time flow pass second by second, minute by minute, and every so often hour by hour, with nothing to disturb me but my own mind to keep me company.

Six hours later

"Knock, knock, master are you in here?" One of the guards who I remember clearly must have been still stationed outside of Isabella's room.

"Yes I'm still here, I was just relaxing in here with Isabella while she slept" I mentioned, I slowly rose from my seat while stretching my arms in the air out of habit, then came to realize how long I've been relaxing in here for, "excuse me, but how long have I been occupied in here from the last time you saw me enter this room?" I said while the door was still closed but knowing fully that both of the guards stationed outside the door could hear me.

"You been in here just over six hours master, but don't worry no one has asked or wondered where you been, we just thought to check in on you to make sure you was fine, as it was quiet for so long we ourselves thought we check in on you, hope that hasn't upsetted you" different voice which I assumed must have been from the second guard who was outside the door, I was surprised that they cared enough to check on me, but grateful as I I assumed they saw me differently to how they saw my brothers, as I was more caring and friendly towards them whenever I did speak to anyone.

"That's fine, thank you for checking up on me, I shouldn't be long until I be returning to the throne room to see how things have been going without my assistance" I said quietly to prevent waking up Isabella, as I knew it was quite late in the evening, but then I smelt what I knew was something I wished I wasn't in tbe room for as it came from one being in the room and it was most certainly not me, being a vampire and all.

I turned round to check to see if it was Isabella or if it wasn't then I must have a sense of smell problem which was unlikely, but as I checked I knew I was right as when I lifted part of her diaper I could see that she defecated in it so I moved quietly to the other side if tbe room to get what I needed to change her hopefully while she still continued to sleep, as I grabbed the supplies I picked Isabella up slowly and carefully and took her to her changing station as Heidi called it, I began to change her diaper, placing the odd one in the hole that travelled to a incinerator to dispose of the soiled diaper so no one could still smell that rancid smell.

As I finished changing Isabella I put her back in her bed where she was sleeping before and slowly, but quietly left the room to see what's been happening in my absence.

Demetri POV

After helping everyone with the decorations for the celebration of Isabella's birthday but also a way to bring everyone together plus the other covens and nomads to be invited to, it went fairly well for a good three hours that I spent in the throne room with two of the masters as master Marcus went to get Isabella to sleep from the last we heard of him.

While being with everyone together was fine, it was awkward moments or I felt it was awkward at times with the masters in the room, we all did talk amongst each other, but most of the time we spoke to the masters it was mainly to ask them to help or to grab something that they was near to at the times. I think the masters were just happy that we were in the room together for as long as most of us stayed, even to just help with decorations.

From what I know of, the twins stayed longer than myself, probably for their own reasons which I never asked them due to that when I chose to leave to help the Queens with invites as my tracking gift was more helpful so I could get out the castle to invite whoever is coming here.

"Is there anyone that is invited that you haven't came in contact with or can track that you will need assistance with" surplica asked, I nodded my head as everyone on the list I could find without help, "excellent, so if you can pick a few of the guards to help you to speed up the process as we would like for everything to be on time including the guests which we hope that they all be willing to turn up, we also leave it up to you and whoever you choose to decide what to tell them to get them here" athenodora mentioned.

I took in what they told me, part of me wanted to do this l alone but knowing how long it would take to get to certain individuals or covens it would mean delaying the plan which is already slightly delayed due to recent events, "that works for me, if it wasn't for the fact that we was already delayed on Isabella's birthday, then I would have asked to do this alone but as I don't want to cause any more delays, I will see who volunteers, then tell them what they need to know and who to go to, which knowing how things been recently I don't think I will have problems with volunteers" I explained very calmly as I knew that despite them both being mated to the kings I had no problems with them as they, wasn't involved in the lies that we found out.

"Excellent, I assume you're gonna return to where everyone else is and to let them know of this plan, so it can be done appropriately and quickly" Athenadora said rather proudly, I just nodded not needing to respond, but before I walked out the door, as we was setting and sorting out all these decisions for this plan to work, while being situated in their bedroom, as it was the only quietest spot in the whole castle at this moment in time due to everyone decorating or occupying other rooms that we would have used. I turned to face both of the queens as I bowed my head to show them respect and continued to walk out the door that was still open as we didn't see the point of having it closed.

As I made my way through the many hallways to get back to the throne room, I stopped to see if anyone I required to look for is in any of the rooms that I so happen to pass along my way to the throne room. My last destination would be where the masters are located, who even though I don't fully trust them after what happened recently I still got to let them know what's happening, and so they know where a heavy majority of us will be.

As we are leaving the castle with less guards than it would usually mean the castle would be unprotected, but unlike what our masters did when they closed themselves off from the rest of us in the library for several months, what we're doing now should take no less than a day or two to accomplish if everything goes according to what we planned. Of course certain individuals will take more attention and persuading as not all of them are Volturi loyalists or appreciate the laws that we enforced when the kings came in power, which is more reason why the Romanians aren't invited which I know that no one will have an issue with.

I've already worked out how to divide and conquer to ensure we get everyone on the guest list invited, with as much speed to get from one guest to another. I definitely know it's a wiser choice for myself to deal with the nomads as being nomads they will be the most difficult for anyone else in the guard to track down as they are constantly on the move, but with the covens and certain individuals like Aro's friend Carlisle will be easier to find and talk to, while also inviting them along for the celebration date we hope that be on time.

I etch close to the throne room doors, I take an unnecessary breath and know that I have to remember not to let my emotions get the better of me and just tell the kings what I need to tell them, as I'm certain that they should be fine with the whole plan. I push open the doors to see that everyone seems to be getting along still and are just chatting to themselves, I walk up to my masters, "masters I would like to discuss a plan that I've been working on with the queens to get all the guests to agree to come along and be here on time, which I hope you both approve of" I say while bowing my head to show then respect, even though I still hesitant if it felt right to do.

"You don't have to bow to us at this time, not until you all feel it's right to feel like we deserve that respect, but I am thankful that you still bowed to us" Aro explained, which I lifted my head up so I could talk face to face again, " you may let us know of this plan, as I'm most interested to hear it as often I usually am the one with the plans and strategies, so please continue" Caius said showing to be quite proud even while his words may have be said differently.

As I explained the plan in every single bit of detail that was thought of when myself and the queens discussed it, I was shocked that both kings seemed to not have any ways to change it or to dispose of it but instead showed to like the sound of it, "that is a very well thought out, in the future when we discuss plans I will have to let everyone take part as if this is what has come from you and the queens then I'm most interested to see how everyone else compares with planning and strategizing" Caius praised with a actual smile on his face, which made me feel better about explaining it to them instead of just going off on my own to do this.

"Everyone line up please, anyone who would like to volunteer to help demetri with his plan please stand by him, anyone who doesn't then just stay where you are, just so I can work out if we have enough volunteers and enough guards to ensure we have enough protection for the castle for the couple of days that this should take" Caius ordered, everyone besides myself lined up, then as I watched as the masters got everyone to decide whether they was volunteering or not, I was shocked to see how many volunteered to join me, but I was glad to see that Heidi and the twins decided not to volunteer as I knew there reasons without needing to ask them about it.

"Is that enough volunteers to suffice if not please let me know as I think we can lend a few others who should be willing to join, even though I'm surprised that the twins didn't volunteer" Caius informed me, I looked to all who volunteered and walked to look at them to work out in my mind if I had the correct numbers for it to work, "it will suffice, not just that having some fresh faces should help with certain individuals being more agreeable to come along" I said, feeling very happy that things are going right so far.

"Very well I assume you are taking them all to the training room to discuss with them where they are going and who they will be paired with as they are going in pairs like missions usually works" Caius said, I just nodded and directed all the volunteers to follow me, I walked out the door with the others following behind myself heading towards the training room,

As we got to the training room, I stopped near the door "everyone line up and I will tell you all where each of you be going" I instructed, seeing them all move to line up in the middle of the room, looking at them all again I saw that some of who is here are new at this, as they seem to be talking to each other to work out why I ask them to line up, despite me being not their master but not realising that I'm the one in charge when it comes to missions as my gift makes me the most valuable, "excellent I see we have a few newbies when it comes to going on missions, I won't point you out as you will know who you are, but I am the one in charge when it comes to missions, even though I'm not your master like the kings are towards you, so please listen closely to what I'm gonna be telling you as you know like the training sessions we have I don't like repeating myself twice" I ordered while raising my voice so that no one could say they didn't hear me.

"So as I said as this may be the first time some of you have been on a mission, things can go wrong if you don't listen closely or disobey orders, so for majority of you, you will be heading to the covens who I know haven't moved location since I last with them so they should be easier for you lot to deal with" I explained, I took a pause to allow them to take it in, " for the more experience guards you be finding the individuals who are not in covens but stick in mated pairs, apart from that I will be tracking down the last of our guests who are nomads who are more trickier to find as my gift will help me to find them without too much issues" I continued, I watched everyone look to be waiting to see if I was finished, but one of the guards raised their hand in the air which I wasn't sure if he was stupid or just trying not to interrupt me if I was gonna continue to talks again.

"What do you want? You don't have to raise your hand like some child even if I'm grateful that you didn't interrupt me" I said sounding a little irritable as I spoke, "who is sorting out Master Aro's friend Carlisle?" one of the newbies who I don't remember the name of but know he has only been here for just over a year but was surprised that he knew the name of Aro's friend as not everyone knew it, but it wasn't like it was a top secret either. "No one will be as you said sorting him out as master Aro is the only one to contact him if he wants to invite him along" I expressed.

I really want to get this over with so I continue with the last part to tell them before they get paired up and set off to where they be heading to, " so as I was saying, I would like for you all do follow orders and to follow the instructions and protocols that you all know by now so there is no problems or issues that I will have to inform the masters about when we return, as I really don't have the patience to be babysitting any of you as if I had my way, and we didn't have a time schedule to get this done with, I would have done this alone but I want this done quickly so we have to do this right" I finished explaining.

After everyone heard what I told them, I began to start pairing them all up and telling them who they were finding, with the newbies I gave them extra warnings just to make sure they behave according to what I am expecting of them if they want to continue to go on missions in the future. With everyone informed and knowing who they are going to, we all headed out the castle doors to get this mission sorted.

Marcus POV

As I finally made my back to the throne room where I was surprised everything was fully decorated in magnitude of different types of decorations that brought together a way to its celebrating Isabella's birthday but also for something that gives it the impression that its a Volturi style celebration as it showed in the colours of shades of red and black but had a mix of purple and pink so it still gave off a children's party look too.

"I'm impressed that everyone has done a grand job of the choice and colour selection for the decorations" I said while showing off a genuine smile to express how happy I am, "Did it take long to do?" I asked as I was still shocked with how well it looks but just surprised how quickly it was done to this extent".

My two brothers moved closer to me as they was on the far end on the room but surprisingly not sitting on their thrones like they would normally being, but from what I could guess they must have been talking to the remaining coven guards who are in the room like Jane, Alec, reneta and Heidi who seem to still be be willing to stay despite all the decorating being finished. What I could only guess is that they are on the path to starting to trust us again or they have their own reasons for staying which I could only guess at. Even if I can see their bonds not much has changed in them too much to really say unless I was asked about it.

"Aro, Caius, everything is looking very good, in both the decorations and that some of the guards have continued to stay, which I am definitely impressed with as it showing an improvement it what we had a couple of days ago" I mentioned to them probably sounding more surprised in my tone of voice than I meant, but I couldn't shake of how well everyone was doing, I will still continue to keep a good look at everyone's bonds for a few more days quite regularly, just to be on the safe side, definitely as I was caught off guard with Felix's bonds shifting without myself noticing and I feel dreadful if that happens again under my watch.

I know that my brothers mainly know that I check the bonds often, the guards know I have the gift but I'm uncertain of how aware they are likely to know how regularly I actually check them as unless it's a mating bond that's just occurred or one of the coven asks about another type of bond then no one really asks about the shifts in colour of the bonds or any effects that may happen to them from conflicts or anything. I think that only Aro is more aware of them when he uses his gift on me, but even then I don't think he either fully grasps the concept of what I see or know of it, as I don't think he understands it as much as he likes to think.

Quickly moving out of my thoughts I realized that I haven't asked why they're so few guards here as it's only now that I wanted to know if they are still within the castle compound or off to do something else while I was occupied with Isabella. "Is there a reason why there are less guards here than there was before I left to settle Isabella down to sleep?" I asked curiously, "actually that is what we need to discuss as we would have informed you earlier but we knew you was with Isabella and wouldn't like to be disturbed, so we hope you won't be offended as if you wasn't busy then we would have involved you earlier" Aro finished saying, with Caius clearly in agreement.

"That is fine and thank you for not disturbing me, as I know it would have made it more difficult to get her to sleep, so what is it that you want to discuss that I miss out being involved in" I mentioned. Aro and Caius both looked to each other and the turned to me, "well as you might have gathered there is less of us here, but don't worry there is a good explanation for it, as Demetri and the Queens devised a simple yet effective plan which caught all of us off guard, as it was surprising to hear it that they came up with this plan that was well thought out" Caius informed me, "as my brother was saying, the plan they came up with, helps us as are gonna ensure we have guests to arrive but instead of forcing anyone to take part in it, they allowing anyone to volunteer which normally I would disapprove of but as it's just getting guests who need someone who is gonna make them fear us or decline the invite it is a sensible option, not just that but it uses Demetri's gift, training and leadership skills to its fullest which is something I have known for a while he wanted to show" Aro explained.

I was trying to think of what the word I was looking for that explains how I felt about this, I think the word Im looking for is astounded as they was right it was definitely simple and effective even if others hearing it think it's complicated, as complex plans is something that Caius does well at but Demetri and the Queens coming up with this plan that is simple and effective that even Caius can agree with is perfect. "You're right it is perfect plan, how long did he say it should take as I assume it shouldn't take too long to do it even with the distance issue" I said curiously, "he said it take no more than two days at most, but as he has newbies who volunteered I assume he be even more determined to make sure they don't cause any delays as they will be new to this type of thing and would be the main reason for causing it to take longer to achieve" Caius informed me.

"Wait a minute did you say newbies? Like guards who have never been on a single mission yet and this be there first one, now colour me impressed I didn't expect any of you to allow them to go, as if things go wrong and they end up dead then we be even less guards down, but I'm sure that Demetri's training and leadership skills should ensure that they be fine, and that's why you allowed the newer guards to go on this particular mission" I said trying to hide my surprise with bring appreciation of them thinking highly of Demetri's skills, "yes we did, but yes with Demetri's gift and skills we have faith that everything will go smoothly" Aro responded calmly.

"So what else have I missed or is that everything?" I questioned them, "you haven't miss much despite how it looks, we are still doing what we can with everyone here to fix things and see what we can do in the time going forwards to improve how things are run without none of us losing our roles as the kings and their masters, as something like that is a huge change and would cause too much of a impact that might not work out the way everyone thinks, but like I said not much has gone on, as you can speak with them all and they will catch you up on anything that they think is important for you to know" Caius explained quite thoroughly, I just nodded my head and decided to walk round to see how everyone else is myself.

Unknown POV

Unknown location

These last couple of days of this job has been feeling like it's been months being here doing the same repeated chores of this job or that's what I have been referring them as, because my usual jobs have more excitement, keeps me on edge and ect but this job isn't like that, it feels more like a boring house chore, which isn't what I expected or signed up for.

Throughout the time that has passed during those days, I have done so much second guessing myself or wishing that I declined the job despite the huge payment the boss offered me, but not just that the chores itself just don't give me anything that interests me to want to keep doing them, which is why I been second guessing myself as parts of me wants to change them up so it go in my favour which then other parts of me would know is wrong to do as it he against the orders I was given by the boss.

So many choices, yet no one else besides myself to talk to about all this, of course I know there is the two women in the room too, one who is nameless and the other I know is called Chelsea but that's where I'm struggling, because i would love to have them conscious to be able to talk to but the boss was very persistent and told me to always keep them sedated without giving any reason for why that was.

So as I was sitting at a small wooden table eating my last meal for the evening which consisted of smoked haddock with some vegetables that i retrieved from the root cellar, to be boiled which always took awhile to do but It always felt worth it as it helped to pass time here, I also choose to have a small glass of wine to go with it as I found I couldn't have food without something to drink and tonight I really fancied an alcoholic beverage to try and get through the last few hours till I have to do another round of sedation for the two women.

Not long after finishing my meal and beverage, I felt slightly better as I didn't find myself hungry or thirsty any more, even though I know that I was told so many times in the past that alcoholic beverages do not satisfy being thirsty but at this moment in time I really didn't care. I decided to look around for something to read as I looked at the timer on the wall that still said I had a roughly three hours till it's time again, I was hoping finding a book of any kind would take my mind of the idea of skipping the sedation and finally having two others to talk to, while having fingers crossed that the boss doesn't return to check on me to see that I disobeyed his strict orders.

After several minutes trying to find a book to read, I will say that it most certainly wasn't easy to do as I'm not one to read as even though I can read I choose not to mainly with that the jobs I've had in the past I've never had much of the time to do so, but as I've most certainly said to myself or even the unconscious females numerous of times this job isn't like them, so I found myself sitting at the same table I was at to eat as it was the only sitting area near the timer. The chair wasn't the most comfortable to sit on for reading but it definitely serves its purpose to allow me to sit and read to pass the time, oddly enough looking at the book trying to read just didn't seem as easy as I was still, having trouble taking my mind off seeing what would happen if I neglected my duties just this once.

One hour later

I decided to look up from my book which if I was being honest with myself it was actually really interesting, the timer didn't seem to have gone down that much, which made me feel even more irritable about it going down closer to the time. I started to feel a little peckish so I got up out of my seat to grab some fruit as it was one of the things I liked to eat for when I feel like I want to snack instead of eating a big meal.

As I walked about the whole building while eating my fruit, I ended up back in the room with Chelsea and the nameless woman, I wished that I knew her name as calling her everything but her name just didn't sit right to me, as I looked at them both for a few seconds, I decided to grab my wooden chair and bring it closer to them, as I just continued to stare for a bit longer, it made me feel more certain that I know what I really want to do now that I've had time to think.

I knew that the boss wasn't due to arrive for at least another week so I went ahead with this plan of mine to allow these two, to awaken from their very long sedated sleep, I should get some answers about why they are here and maybe learn more about them so it makes being here less boring for myself.

As I got out of my chair, I began to get everything I thought I should need, so I grabbed my book I was reading earlier so I could do something until they awaken after the time on the timer ends, I also decided to grab something to write on and with so I could write all the information down that I've learned just in the most probable situation that the boss arrives and that I have to sedate them again, so I will have something to read until I can get them to talk again. Of course all this planning I was doing is only if everything goes accordingly, as I knew there was plenty of possibilities that things could go wrong, such as allowing these two to awaken and get attacked, the boss arriving even earlier than he was expected as some of the times he has done, but I try to leave all those possible possibilities in the back of my mind as I was more curious about the positives of this going well than wrong.

With everything ready I began to look at the timer noticing it had only about a couple of minutes remaining, so I took a turn towards my chair that was seated close but not too close to the two females with the sedatives at the side ready for when they may be needed if anything goes wrong. As I sat down I knew it wouldn't be to long now, with the last couple of ticks the timer buzzed off, which I turned it off as I brought the timer with me as I didn't want to get up and turn it off and possibly miss any changes in the two females after the sedatives should have worn off.

As I continue to watch with my book in hand and writing materials on the ready, I hear some movement coming from the sounds of the chains rustling against each other, so I lift my head up to see where it was coming from in front of me. Both of the females seem to be awakened but not aware of what's going on around them. I observe while still not saying a word but continue to watch.

After about roughly five minutes that must have gone by, both go the females seem to be more aware of their surroundings yet neither spoke, even though they both noticed each other in the room and myself, which I assumed that they mustn't have been bothered almost like they expected it from the facial expressions he witnessed, he began to start writing down everything that he has seen so far including how long it took for certain things to happen, after he finished writing everything down he looked up to see that both females was just staring at him almost like they was waiting for something.


If you have enjoyed this chapter please continue to follow the story and review as I love to hear what you thought about this chapter.

I'm in need of ideas for my mystery human male unknown character, and a nameless unknown female character.