A/N: A quick thank you to everyone who added this story in their alerts and/or added it to their favorite list. It truly means a lot to me.

Chapter 14-

Bella's POV-

"So, is this all?" Marcus questioned, the last of my bags being dumped into the trunk of Demetri's Cadillac, said person in question too shocked to do anything other than gape at me with his mouth wide open. In all these centuries of knowing and living with Marcus, no one- and I repeat no one- had witnessed Marcus talk as much as he now did, or ask for a car to take a step outside the castle.

It was an enigma to witness, or so I had come to believe.

As the times had passed, most of the Volturi had invested in cars, bikes- anything and everything that the humans discovered. The castle was well lit with lamps and shades, the structure being centrally air conditioned, and almost all of them owned cellphones, too.

All but Marcus.

Marcus had never bothered to keep up with the changing times. He had not a clue of the latest fashion trends, or even what something as basic as Anesthesia was. He just had not cared enough to read the news, or invest in a television when it was finally invented.

And so, watching him observe a laptop had been part hilarious and part sad. He had simply stared at it, jumping at his place in disbelief when it had powered up, unable to believe that humans no longer needed to read several different books in order to attain a simple answer to an unfamiliar question. We had the internet easily accessible for that! Though, from what Demetri had mumbled under his breath, not everyone in the castle was this technology challenged. Aro and Caius owned personal laptops, iPads, and wireless air pods too, Wi-Fi connection being installed in their private chambers.

Though, I still hold by my stand that what purpose would a vampire have with the electronic gadgets of the human world. Weren't they above all this materialistic greed?

They should be.

"Bella?"

"Huh?" I stared at Marcus, realizing a second too late that he was still waiting for my answer, smiling in idiocy. "Sorry. Yup, that would be it. I had not carried anything more with me."

Marcus hummed in agreement, shutting the trunk of the car, signaling Demetri an instruction too low for my human ears, my eyes narrowed as I observed him sit on the drivers' seat and drive away.

"Um, what? My stuff?" I gaped in incoherence; my eyes following Demetri's car as it left the driveway of the hotel I had been staying in.

Where was Demetri driving off with all my belongings?

Was this some cruel, unnecessary trick? To let me retrieve my luggage, only to watch Demetri ride away to sunset with it?

"Bella," Marcus calmly smiled, his fingers drawing circles on my arms, the touch soothing and instantly pacifying. "Demetri is driving back to the castle; he will drop your bags in your room. I would have offered to have Heidi organize your wardrobe for you, but I believe you would not take to that very kindly."

"Yeah," I offered him a shrug, partly relieved to know that my belongings were not being mercilessly stolen. "It would feel weird to have someone I don't even know go through all my stuff. Anyhow, I thought Demetri was our ride back home?"

"He was." Marcus sighed. "Until, I changed the plan, that is."

"Oh." I gulped, taking in his words. "So, what's the new plan?"

Were we not going back to the castle?

I would, not so surprisingly, be rather glad if it were so.

But then why send my luggage there?

What sense would that make?

"I want to court you."

"Yes, I am fully aware of that." I cheekily smiled.

I may be human, but I could boast of a pretty decent memory.

Marcus smiled back, shaking his head briefly. "What I meant is, if it is suitable to you, we could go on our date today?"

"Okay…"

"Right now."

"What?" I expressionlessly stared at him. "You want our date to kickstart right at the moment?"

"Kick…what?" He looked terribly confused, probably having never heard that word before. "By that, if you mean, that I want our courtship period to instantly commence, then yes, you would be correct."

"Jeez." I rolled my eyes in response to his expressionless admission. "I don't think I can successfully match your level of excitement! It seems unattainable."

"Oh."

Those two letters held an unimaginable weightage, as he looked away from me, a billion emotions crossing his face all in the span of the next five seconds.

Gosh.

What had I been thinking?

The man did not understand the common lingo; sarcasm was a land of the unknown!

"Marcus," I smiled. "I was kidding."

"Oh. But…"

I waved him off. "I am very excited for our date. I am really looking forward to it."

"Oh. That's good." His face instantly lit up; an unfamiliar spark visible in his eyes. "Of course."

I let out a laugh, shaking my head to myself, a newfound calmness settling over the two of us. "So, Mr. Marcus Volturi, where are you taking me on this date today?"

"A theatre?" I gaped in question, turning to glance at him. "Do vampires too believe in the movie date theory for the first date?"

I was trying hard not to be disappointed.

But come on, a movie?

I wasn't twelve.

"Movie date theory?" He looked confused, as was expected.

I shrugged in response, "Preteens…um…they often tend to see a movie together on their first date. It is just convenient. Probably. I guess."

Personally, I did not see the charm in seeing a movie together. There would be no proper conversations, the sound playing in the background too loud to permit that. And, more importantly, we were not hormone-ridden thirteen- and fourteen-year old's- there would be no making out in the dark.

But if Marcus had planned for us to see a movie together, I could tolerate it with a smile. I guess.

He had put in the effort, and I would rather not see him sad!

"Oh." Marcus blinked. "Had you ever…"

"Yeah." I hesitantly admitted. "It was pretty common back then."

And pretty shitty, if you ask me.

"Oh." Marcus nodded his head to himself. "I am aware of the concept of cinema. Many in the castle were affected by its uniqueness when it was first invented. But never have I thought of indulging in the activity."

"Okay." I smiled briefly. "You make it sound like a disease."

"It can be addictive!" He wildly protested.

I chuckled in agreement. "So, is this the day of the first's? You know, first date with me, first time watching a movie…"

"We are watching a movie?"

He looked somehow puzzled by my sentence; how?

"Um, yeah." I stared at him. "Isn't this why you got me here?"

We were standing outside a movie theatre; what else was I supposed to assume?

"Oh!" Marcus's booming laugh resounded through the air. "This isn't…"

Cue the endless chuckles.

"You really thought…"

"No. No." I sarcastically smiled, his guffaws refusing to stop anytime soon. "Take all the time you need. I am so not offended."

His laughs vanished all of a sudden, as he attempted to hide his smile. "Come on in. The name, Roman theatre, is often misleading. You will understand."

Okay then.

I took a step ahead, following him in through the narrow door, my eyes wide as I observed that contrary to what I had initially assumed, this wasn't a movie theatre.

Heck, it wasn't even a complete structure.

It was simply an endless open land, created on a slope, greenery adorning it in his shiny coat, a few stairs of limestone littered in the path, possibly to sit on- random names engraved, as the person admired the few stone pillars carved with precision.

It looked…broken.

Or maybe, never fully constructed.

"Time has not been kind to the structure." Marcus sighed, looking ahead. "They did attempt to make it reusable a few decades ago, but alas, they could achieve nothing more than a tag of an archeological site not many would bother to visit."

"Oh." I gulped, looking around me with renewed eyes, the lack of public around no longer a point of discussion.

"It seems…"

Pretty?

No. The last thing anyone could call these ruins would be pretty. Or beautiful. Or worth wasting hours in.

Sure, it was good for a photo or two, or if you were a huge history buff. But for a first date idea, this was a big no-no.

"Um, interesting."

Yes, I would have to settle for the word interesting.

Marcus must have put some thought into bringing me here; I could not break his heart.

Marcus laughed, surprising me. "They hold events here."

Okay…

"We are here to see a performance. A play, if you could say."

"Oh!"

"Yeah." Marcus smiled. "I had to pull in a few strings; there were no events coming up in the next few weeks. But they agreed to perform for just the two of us. At a small price, of course."

"Oh…I…What are we seeing today?"

A new ray of excitement lit up in my eyes; I liked watching plays. They were interesting, and so uncommon these days.

Marcus smiled, taking my hand in his as he led me towards the top-most stair, the two of us settling down as a few humans made their presence known, greeting Marcus with a genuine smile.

"Bella," Marcus whispered in my ear, "I know you don't like being compared to Didyme, and I get it. Had I been in your place, probably it would have upset me too, to be constantly analyzed in such manner."

"Why…are you bringing this up right now?" I stared at him.

Why was he so keen on ruining the good mood?

Marcus let out a sigh, wincing, "The thing is…Didyme was not just a part of my life; she was my very life. After she left me and this world, nothing seemed interesting or worth admiring. I stopped going out of the castle. I stopped painting, or indulging in any other hobby. I just…stopped living. I gave up. But contrary to what I had believed, the world did not stop adapting to the changing times. Time did not stop moving, just because I no longer had the wish to survive. It kept moving. Things changed. New inventions were discovered. Clothes, languages, the dietary tastes of humans, everything changed with time. What had once been a site to witness turned into a ruin, the passing time sparing no one." I took Marcus's hand in mine, squeezing it tight. "What I am trying to say is, Bella, will you experience all what I have lost with me?"

"How? What?" I stumbled over my words; my mind blank as I pondered over what he could mean by that.

How could I experience the gone-by era with him?

Was something like this even possible?

Unless you watched a historical movie or read a book concentrated on said period, it was impossible to get a feeling of how things had been back then.

"Oh." The word left my mouth all of a sudden, realization settling in. "The play is on…"

"Yes," He smiled, squeezing my hand tight. "I want to start living again. Not just surviving. But actual living. And in order to do so, I need to fill in the gaps. I need to witness all what I have missed. This play revolves around the era gone-by. It takes us back to Volterra in 1398, letting us experience the 14th-century Tuscany. I know this is not similar to what humans do on their first date, but with me not eating human food…."

I waved him off, smiling. "It is something new. Something not many would bother to think off. It is nice."

"Are you sure?" he confirmed. "If you wish to do something else…"

"No." I shook my head in surety. "I would like to watch this play. I have never been much of a history lover, but I like listening to stories."

Marcus smiled back, relieved, motioning the performers to start their performance, ladies, knights, artisans, merchants, nobles, peasants, musicians, jugglers, monks and doctors greeting us, as they celebrated the life of the 14th-century Tuscany, the two of us sitting on the edge of our seat, our eyes fixated on the captivating scene ahead.

Marcus wrapped his arm around my shoulder- sometime during the juggling act- with me letting my head rest on his shoulder, a sigh of utter relief escaping my lips, as we relished in the comfort and serenity of this moment.

This wasn't like one of your typical dates, but as I had come to realize, with Marcus nothing would be the expected and assumed.

I would get used to the charms of this newness. Probably.