I Do Not Own Twilight

As soon as all of the days business was finished Caius and Marcus flew to Aro's sides. "Brother, what can we do?" Caius asked helplessly. He wasn't overly fond of showing emotion but he knew how devastated his brother was even if he outwardly did not show it.

Aro waved him off, "There is nothing to do. What has happened has happened. I won't pretend that I am happy for Sulpicia but I don't see any reason to fall apart either. We both always knew we were not mates, merely companions. We both knew it would end someday." Aro paused and exhaled an unnecessary breath before continuing. "I think it just comes as quite a shock after three millenniums together. I would have thought we would have found our mates by now. I must admit I am glad she found hers before I found mine. I would not have relished having to ask her to leave."

Caius nodded and furrowed his brow thinking over what it would be like to break off a three-thousand-year relationship. Attempting to break the tension with some humor and knowing Sulpicia's love for shopping he smirked, "Do you think you have anything left in your rooms?"

To this Marcus laughed knowing how the materialism found in his former sister used to annoy Aro. Once Marcus laughed, a rare treat since his mate died, Aro began chuckling bitterly. He glanced at Caius, "Of course there are things left in my room," mock disgust evident in his tone, "she would want to buy brand new!" This caused all three of the rulers to laugh heartily.

After a few moments Aro sighed, "Still I really will miss her." He frowned and shook his head bitterly. He glanced at Marcus who he noticed had gotten lost in his bond sight. "Do you see anything new, brother?"

Marcus hesitated a moment, "Actually, since your bond with Sulpicia has been severed a whisper of a bond has formed. This would indicate that you have a mate out in the world somewhere right now. You probably can feel the pull toward them slightly. If you wanted to find your mate you could follow the feeling."

Furrowing his brow in deep concentration Aro stood quietly and felt his body. "I do actually feel a pull in my chest. I assumed it was a feeling of loss."

"No," Marcus breathed, "you wouldn't have felt the subtle pull since your bond with Sulpicia would have overshadowed it. You would have known instantly if you had met her in person of course."

Looking between the two vampires before him, Caius's face brightened, "Will you go after your mate then, Brother?"

Instantly reflecting on the possibilities with his enlarged vampire brain, Aro shook his head, "No. I will wait. You know the reaction to the Volturi appearing at someone's home. Imagine if I showed up there. I would no doubt scare the poor thing and all would be lost."

The two brothers nodded in agreement. "Also, I feel it would be wise to spend some time processing and getting to know myself alone before jumping into something new. Something that should be better. No, I will wait, patiently."

It was just after this declaration that Heidi walked into the thrown room carrying an iPad. "Master, I have found a suitable candidate for your modern American language classes. However, if you would rather not do this today, we can put it off."

Caius raised his eyebrows questioning what was going on. Aro chuckled, "Remember that vampire a few months ago, Tyrone?"

Rolling his eyes Caius groaned, "Yes, he was obnoxious. Why?"

"Well, I have since learned that his mannerisms and speech are a modern American way of speaking and I thought it would benefit us to learn these new colloquialisms."

"How dreadful," Marcus groaned.

"Quite," Aro solemnly nodded his head in agreement. "I discussed this with Heidi and tasked her with finding an appropriate way to learn this new manner of speaking." At this he gestured for Heidi to continue.

She smiled, "Yes, Masters, online there is a language learning tool that partners people up for conversations. The girl I found is learning Italian and French, is fluent in Spanish, she loves classic literature, classical music, and makes good grades. She is also seventeen and American so while she should be able to carry on an intelligent conversation, she should understand the modern American English you are trying to learn." She paused trying not to offend her master, "But we don't have to do this anymore. You have no obligation."

Aro waved the idea off, "Of course, I will still go through with this plan. It will give me something to do in the meantime. Feel free to arrange everything according to our schedules as you see fit. You do not need to leave time for my wife anymore."

Heidi bowed her head in acknowledgement and removed herself from the throne room.

"I don't envy your task at all, Aro." Caius frowned deep in thought. "That young vampire had a very vulgar way of speaking. I hope you won't attempt to use this manner of speech unless you have to." Caius sneered at the mere thought of Aro attempting to use this dialect.

Aro chuckled lightly his eyes twinkling with mirth, "No, but it would go well with my manic persona would it not?" To which both brothers groaned.

That night Bella was pleased to see that she had already received a notification that someone was interested in partnering with her. She smiled as she noticed her preferred time was chosen and looked forward to meeting this Italian speaker, Aro Volturi. She looked forward to their first appointment.

At the appointed time Bella sat nervously in front of her computer screen. Anytime you met someone new online you were taking a risk and video chatting with a stranger was very risky. He could do anything in front of that camera and all she could do would be try not to look and turn it off. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

On the other side of the world, Aro was putting brown contacts in his eyes to hide the bright crimson eyes of his kind. Heidi was fussing around removing anything suspicious out of the camera screen. She flitted over to Aro and picked some lint off his suit. He smiled at her, "Thank you for your help, my dear. I think I can handle the rest. I do know how to work a computer you know."

"Yes, Master," Heidi bowed and left the room.