"Nothing is sweeter than love, all other riches second: even honey I've spat from my mouth"
— Sappho's Lyre: Archaic Lyric and Women Poets of Ancient Greece

Chapter XII - III: Closer

Part III

When Altheia comes around in the afternoon, the rain is still in heavy downpour outside her window. She makes her way down the staircase unhurriedly and follows the flow of dulcet tones coming from the living room piano. She finds Marcus on the upholstered couch, eyes closed in restful bliss as he listened to Caius' slowed rendition of Schubert's third waltz.

Leaning on the doorframe, Altheia's heart swelled with emotion as she watched the vampire play. Her mother would approve. If there was one musician Adrienne and Luciano always agreed on, it was Schubert. And how lovely it was to hear his music in the house after so many silent years.

"You play beautifully," she tells Caius when the piece ends. "I'm relieved the piano is still in tune."

Caius promptly closes the lid and faces her blankly. "Your parents," was all he said.

Ah. She tilted her head at him and hummed. "Would you like to meet them now?"

Later, it was clear to the Campanian native that Marcus had fully anticipated the drive to lead to the local graveyard. The bondreader knew she was orphaned, after all. But not Caius. The platinum-haired monarch realized when they stepped out of the car, under the shade of their umbrellas, only to be greeted by the signage at the cemetery gates.

Mortem obire, it read. Extremum vitae spiritum edere.

"To face death, give up the ghost." Marcus translated absently. "Fascinating."

Caius shifted his gaze to the woman next to him. Altheia didn't meet his gaze. Under her breath, "I just wanted to pay my respects to them. Before I go."

Luciano and Adrienne Beneventi's resting places are beside each other at the corner lot of the cemetery, guarded by a graveyard angel holding a closed book on one hand and a sword in the other. Altheia kneeled next to their tombs and offered an arrangement of white lilies she'd bought at a nearby flowershop on the way.

"My mother's favorite were gardenias," she told Marcus. "But they didn't have it at the shop earlier."

He hummed. "I'm sure she appreciates it just the same."

Caius watched over the brunette silently as she proceeded to recite memorial prayers for the departed. The heavy rain subdued slightly as she said her invocations. Perplexed, his brows drew together when he heard her start talking to the dead.

"Papa, mamma, thank you for watching over me." She whispered. "I brought Marcus and Caius with me. Aro would have liked to be here, but he's a busy man. They'll have to do." She cleared her throat, too embarrassed to meet their gazes when she stood again. "And you don't have to worry about me anymore. I'm where I want to be." She then nudged Caius with her elbow. "Come on, say something."

He looked back at her nonchalantly. "They're dead."

Marcus pulled back a snicker. She rolled her eyes at him and turned away to leave. "Let's go back to the car then."

When Altheia was at a considerable distance away, Caius and Marcus shared a look.

"You first," Caius said.

Marcus scoffed at him. "Fine." He huffed, then directed his attention to the tombstones. "You raised your daughter well. I would have loved to meet the both of you. I'm sure she got her snark somewhere." He paused, deep in thought. "I'll make sure we come to visit after she's turned."

Marcus promptly leaves after his speech and doesn't look back. Now on his own, Caius stood idly, awkwardly, lips pursed as he considered what he could possibly say after that. He didn't really have to say anything, did he?

Eventually, he sighed.

"Apparently, it's my turn to worry about her." He exhaled through his nose in annoyance. "Not that I had a choice in the matter. She's human and annoying. Which of you did she get it from?" He felt stupid talking to nothing. And then, "Rest in the afterlife."

"Caius?" Altheia's voice called over from the graveyard gates. "For the fastest creature on earth you sure are taking your time!" He hears Marcus' faint laugh.

Caius scowled, throwing one last look at the lilies adorning the tombstones before turning away.

»»—- ❈ —-««

THE NORTHERN CHAMBERS, VOLTERRA. . .

The dialogue with the shifters goes better than Ariana could have ever hoped. Initially, Ariana intended for the coven scholar to participate in the discussion of the accord, but the secretary couldn't find her in the castle premises at all. Nonetheless, the treaty was well under way now, and all those present in the legislative chambers beheld that the master's command of the law and diplomacy was simply… unparalleled. As they tackled delicate and nuanced matters, it became evident that the world of the werewolves operated by instincts – packs, territories, phasing, imprinting… Telepathy was an efficient ability to have in negotiation, and Aro was quick to write comprehensive passages on significant topics as the meeting progressed.

"These imprints," Aro echoed curiously. "You have no control over them whatsoever?"

"Not at all." Jacob answered with a shrug. "It just happens."

"It's not the same for vampires, you see," Aro murmured distractedly as his fountain pen continued to glide over passages. "We are mated, but courting and assent precedes the relationship. Otherwise the bond becomes damaged."

"The human who was in the throne room," Leah inquired as she propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on entwined fingers. "She's your mate?"

Aro stilled briefly. "Not yet."

Jacob and Leah shared a quick, knowing glance. "Courting, then."

Aro hummed absently.

Ariana dropped her pen in the hush that fell over the room. Heidi and Renata's crimson eyes widened in shock. Jane, who had been listening impassively throughout the meeting, smirked.

Aro paused from writing again. He scanned the room. "Where's Alec?"

Jane's grimace was almost imperceptible.

»»—- ❈ —-««

THE QUEENSGUARD CHAMBERS, EAST WING, VOLTERRA. . .

"These quarters will be yours after you have been turned." Alec trailed his gaze on Bella's back as she passed him and walked into the bare room. "Until then, you will stay in the west wing."

"Okay." Bella turned about the amply-sized room with a considering hum, but the space was practically blank, save for the furniture. She promptly made her way back to Alec's side with a question. "When are we leaving for Washington?" She needed to help Charlie.

Alec shrugged. "As soon as the accord is ready for signing, I suppose."

"And, after we deal with the newborns… you'll be…" Bella trailed off and flushed pink under him, dropping her gaze to the ground.

"Changing you, yes, as the masters have decided." He finished for her, a smirk pulling at his lip. His gaze shifted mischievously. "Where would you like to be changed?"

Bella's eyes widened, but she kept them locked on their feet. Her cheeks felt hot. She tucked a lock of her hair behind an ear nervously. "A-Anywhere, I guess. I'm not picky." Her voice and heartbeat stuttered.

Alec breathed in slowly. With half-lidded eyes, he took a step toward to her. "Anywhere?" He pressed.

Bella swallowed and nodded, taking matching step back. "I—I mean, as long as it's far from people… The Bermuda triangle, maybe…"

"Bermuda triangle," Alec echoed with a low chuckle. "I'll remember that." He continued to saunter into the brunette's space with careful, languid steps. Bella kept walking backwards until, suddenly, her back hit the wall, and a surprised gasp left her. "You misunderstand me," Alec murmured, one hand resting on the wall near her face, the other ghosting over the side of her figure, rising slowly to lift her chin. He forced her to meet his heated gaze. "Where would you like to be changed?" He asked again, face leaning in closer, close enough for Bella to see the meaning in his eyes, his breath tickling Bella's mouth. His cold, index finger dropped from her chin to trace soft routes to tease the sweet spot behind her ear, "Here?" He murmured. Down to the side of her neck, "…Here?" Bella shivered involuntarily, wide, brown eyes focusing on the shape of Alec's mouth as he spoke to her. A sharp moan escaped her as his hand roamed past her shoulders, feeling, moving down the side of her hips, and then slightly back up again. His hand moved past the hem of her blouse, and with a firm tug, gripped at the flesh of her waist. "Here?"

"Ah!" Another gasp left her. Her eyes squeezed shut and she bit her lower lip tough. God, her entire body was humming with excitement, and she didn't know how much she could take with the feeling that was burning within her. A shaky breath left her parted lips, and she whispered low, "Anywhere." Please. "Anywhere."

Alec paused, scarlet eyes not leaving the brunette's face even for a second. "Anywhere?" He moved his face closer and nearly growled into her ear, "I like that."

Bella couldn't help but moan again, low and guttural, and when his nose nuzzled the shape of Bella's ear, she shivered deliciously under him.

"Tell me, little swan," His breath ignited the blood under the skin it touched. "Did you stay here for me?"

Bella's heart stuttered again, and her breath hitched in her throat. Barely a whisper, "Yes."

She could feel his answering smile stretch on the side of her face. Dark orbs gazed at her when he pulled back slightly. "You feel it, too?" His hand was still on her waist, skin on skin, firm and grasping, and oh god, was she going to come apart on his voice alone? He tugged her to him again, hard, and a soft cry left her. "The pull," he pressed. "Do you feel it, too?"

Words, she reminded herself. She could still think, she could still speak, couldn't she? "Yes," she was sure she looked like a writhing mess under him but she couldn't care less, "I do."

A satisfied smile settled on his face, and Bella was mesmerized. "Good."

Her lips parted freely when Alec dove in.

»»—- ❈ —-««

CAMPANIA. . .

The gloomy weather allowed the trio to continue with their visit around the province unhampered. Altheia takes them around town amongst other vacationers, dipping into secret wine libraries, galleries, and antiquated landmarks as a way for her to reminisce and sightsee at the same time. Peculiarly, Caius rivaled her interest in monuments and vintage pieces, and being knowledgeable about the history of her town worked in her favor as she toured them around. For the most part, Marcus stayed behind and watched them walk ahead, piping up with pleasant conversation here and there, more often opting to watch the bonds between the two morph into lighter colors in happy silence instead.

Campania was a province with its own little world, and a lot of the locals recognized the coven scholar when she passed by their shops in the mainland. There was no lack of ogling at the men that accompanied her, and despite their standoffish behavior, Altheia's friends and relatives wasted no time in telling animated stories about the brunette's embarrassing childhood anecdotes. Marcus warmed up to their intentions as the day progressed, and by the time sunset came, Altheia had had to pry him from her aunts so that they wouldn't miss the night market, or the sunset at the driveby to the seaside cliffs.

Caius was just Caius when people were around. If anything, Altheia was just relieved to end the day without accident.

They return to the entryway of the hillhouse past midnight, and the brunette stubbornly insisted on collating the photographs she'd taken for the day in a new album before she turned in. Smiling faces, friends, family… places she wouldn't see again.

She shook the feeling away and focused on the novelty of having Marcus and Caius in her childhood home. The sight of them in it is really something else – akin to two vast worlds crashing and blending. She tells Marcus just as much, pasting another film onto the scrapbook and going on to say, "Aro would have liked to see all these. It's why I'm taking so many pictures!"

"Like he can't read out minds or something?" Caius snarked. Altheia grumbled under her breath.

Marcus rose from his place on the leather couch and made his way to the hallways. Altheia paid him no mind as she busied herself with the photobook once again. Some time later, he heard Marcus call her over to where he was in the house, and that she was to bring her camera with her.

Marcus was standing outside, past the open frame of the front door when she found him. She made her way to the patio curiously and nearly dropped her camera in shock.

Aro was standing in the driveway, leaning on an Italian vintage car parked behind the Mercedes, folded map in one hand.

"Take a picture," Marcus told her fondly. "It'll last longer."

The smile on Altheia's face was blinding. "Aro!" She nearly launches herself at him and buries her laughter into the collar of his trench coat. "You're here," Altheia whispered, looking up to him in bright awe. "But the treaty?"

"The shifters have left with their copy. It is awaiting receipt and signatories, but otherwise fulfilled." Aro answered with a chuckle. "Have I missed much?"

"Worry not," Caius shouted from inside the house. "She's taken a thousand images for your perusal."

Deep laughter rumbled from Aro's chest as he set the brunette on her feet. He reached into the open window of the car behind him and pulled out a bouquet of gardenias from the passenger seat. "Caius tells me your mother loves gardenias?"

"I…" Tears of happiness start flowing from the edge of her eyes. "She does." She blinked and blinked, but happy tears kept flowing. "She'll love you." She breathed in a sniffle. "But how did you know?"

"Really now," He intoned at her with an unimpressed stare. "Caius messaged me."

She bit back a surprised laugh. "You have a phone?"

"How primitive do you think we are?"

"Quite, Aro." She laughed softly. "After all, you're holding an actual map."

With a scowl, he threw the map back into passenger seat, and levelled her with a lighthearted glare. "Well, I'm still learning is all."

"Yes," she murmured up at him with glassy eyes. "Yes, you are."

Aro leaned in imperceptibly, and Altheia's breath hitched in her throat. Her eyes closed of their own accord as soon as their noses grazed and suddenly—

"Come in already!" Marcus complained loudly, holding the door open with an open hand as they jumped apart. Altheia reddened and buried her face in her hands. "It's starting to rain again."

Aro deigned Marcus with an annoyed look when they passed him in the entryway. Marcus, with a smug and self-satisfied grin, crossed his arms on his chest and muttered low under his breath, "All is fair in love and war, brother."

"Then may the best player win." Aro replied darkly.

»»—- ❈ —-««

THE SWAN RESIDENCE, FORKS, WASHINGTON, USA. . .

Sulpicia pocketed her phone. "The Cullens have settled back in. We'll meet at the meadows to scout the area again later tonight."

Charlie cleared his throat, hovering around the living room. "Well, if you need anything. The entire house is…" He gestured awkwardly to the entire space with a flailing, open hand. "…at your disposal. Or. My blood, if you're tempted to sample the neighbors. Er, your highness."

Sulpicia blinked once, twice, and then broke out in half-hooting, half-snorting laughter, pausing to look up at the chief and promptly bursting into giggles again.

Charlie nearly turned scarlet. "What?"

"Don't ever speak like that to me again. It is laughter fuel." Sulpicia's laugh is a wonderful sound. "I'll be fine, Charlie, thank you. Don't worry about me. The objective is for me to keep you as safe and comfortable as you can possibly be." She walked to the kitchens and opened the fridge to see it empty. Sulpicia frowned. "You haven't been eating well. That won't do at all."

Before Charlie could say anything, Sulpicia was out the front door, calling over her shoulder, "I'll drop by the grocery before we meet with the Cullens. That'll be in two hours. Send me a message if you need anything else."

Charlie looks around his house. His living room, his kitchen. "I'm.. alright." The place could use a little cleaning in his absence, but otherwise… He pulled his gaze away to settle on Sulpicia. "I have everything I need."

"Silly human," Sulpicia tutted at him. "To be on the safe side, Mele will trail you if you step out of the house. Monsters crawling in the woods and all that."

"Well… alright." When Sulpicia's car pulled away from sight, Charlie hovered around his residence again. Was it possible to feel lost in your own house? Apparently, yes. He turned about the rooms, the hallways, and then made his way back down to the kitchen. "Mele?"

A woman appeared at the edge of his vision, and Charlie startled. By instinct his hand moved to the gun holster on his hip.

"Yes?" Mele sniffed, pert nose in the air. "That won't work on me, signore Swan. May I suggest an atomic bomb?"

Charlie took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers.

"No, Mele, you may not."

»»—- ❈ —-««

THE BENEVENTI HOUSE. . .

The night of Aro's arrival, when Altheia was already settled in her bedroom for the night, two knocks rapped on her bedroom door. She peeked an eye open from under the comforters and called out hoarsely, "Come in?"

The door opened, and she heard faint music playing from her mother's piano again. This time, it seemed that Marcus had exhumed her old violin from somewhere in the house and tuned it to play along with Caius. Sitting up on her bed and yawning, she smiled warmly as her visitor closed the door behind him.

"Hey, Aro."

"I was curious," Aro said as he sat on the edge of her bed. "What your room would look like."

Altheia shrugged and let him rake his curious eyes over the room. "Fai come fossi a casa tua," Altheia told him. Make yourself at home.

Altheia leaned against the headboard of her bed as she watched Aro go over her desk. He trailed his fingers over her notes, her old sketches, books she'd dog-eared years before. By the time Aro turned back to Altheia, she was undeniably half-asleep, head resting on the knob of her bedpost. Her comforter pooled at her thighs, and unbeknownst to her, the strap of her satin slip had slid off a shoulder.

Moonlight cascading her form from the open window, hair tousled around her face and past her shoulders, she smiled at Aro softly. "Are you done looking?"

Aro's eyes darkened. No, he wanted to say. Instead, he sauntered over to sit next to her. Gingerly cupping her face, he told her, "You're too defenseless, merendina."

"Pray tell, signore, what would I need protection from?" She leaned into his touch and savored the coolness of his skin. "You?"

Aro hummed absently in agreement, no longer interested in speaking. He dove in to catch Altheia's mouth with his own, lightly, at first, trying to gauge his own control, perfectly aware that the soft, blushing, humming skin underneath him needed him to be as gentle as he could possibly be. He placed a hesitant kiss at the edge of her lip first, and then at her cupid's bow, only pressing firmer when he finally captured the whole of her lips in an open-mouthed kiss.

Kissing Aro was like waking. Slowly, softly, little by little, and then all at once. Each cell in her body hummed as she woke into him, and she pushed herself up to meet his kisses, hands resting themselves on his shoulders as she pushed herself up to meet him at every liplock. Her fingers trailed up his neck, to the sides of his face, into his hair…

His hands moved from her cheeks with a caress, making their way down as they traced the sides of her figure until they found the anchor of her hips. Almost shyly, she slipped a tongue into his mouth, and moaned at the deepening hold on her waist as he matched her wet tongue with his own. When the skin of her tongue grazed deliciously against the tip of a fang, she pulled away.

Heavily flushed, breathless, lips plump and red with want and attention, she breathed in shakily, heavy lidded as she marveled at the expression on his face.

"I…" She didn't know what to say.

Aro makes an excuse to go, something about control, but she doesn't even want to think him leaving and says immediately, desperately, "No… I—" She takes a hasty breath. "You can stay, Aro."

His eyes widen in the dark, and Altheia panics when she realizes the implication and quickly clarifies, "No! No. I meant, we don't have to do anything—I meant, we can just sleep—wait, I mean, I know you don't sleep, but—I meant we could just stay on the bed, and we don't have to—"

Her words trail off on their own when she realizes Aro's shoulders are shaking in silent laughter. Altheia buries her face in her hands and mumbles incoherently, "Forget I said anything. Please."

Cool fingers wrap around her wrists and tug, prying her hands away from her red face. Aro is looking at her with an expression she's never seen on him before – loose, boyish, devious, fragile, and adoring, all at the same time – and her eyes soften.

Oh Aro.

"Forgive me," Aro whispered, putting her hands next to his mouth and placing a kiss on each wrist. "Everything about you eludes me. I decide to stay away, and you take one step closer and I end up wanting and craving you all to myself. I convince myself to put boundaries and one word from you all the walls are down and broken. I've spent three thousand years controlling myself and proving to myself that I'm not a monster ruled by instinct and emotion," Aro murmured into her skin, breathing her scent deeply. His eyes flashed crimson in the dark. "But you make me feel like I am."

She stared at him wordlessly. She still didn't know what to say. "I…"

"Now, let me prove to myself that I'm still in control," Aro smoothed a hand over her head and smirked. "I'll watch over you while you sleep."

Altheia matched his stare quietly, lip pursed, until she whipped around and threw herself under her sheets, burying her face into her pillow. Aro chuckled at her childish display and furrowed his brows at the incoherent grumble she'd mumbled from underneath the covers.

"I didn't catch that." He patted the blanket lightly. "What did you say?"

"I said," Her voice was small, barely audible when he pulled off the blanket from her head. His eyes widened when he saw tears trailing from the crinkles of her eyes. "I'm so happy, Aro."

Altheia breathed deeply.

"I'm so happy I think I could die," she whispered to him when Aro lifted the arm covering her face. "I want so much more than kisses, even if you're the first person who's ever touched me like that." Aro's palm cupped the side of her face again, and Altheia smiled up at him. "I'm so attracted to you, Aro. I want you, even though I don't know what that means. I just do."

His eyes never leave her face, searching, memorizing, committing the moment to his mind. When he spoke again, his tone was gentle.

"Sleep." He cleared his throat and swallowed. "Rest. I'll be here."

Altheia nodded, suddenly feeling all her exhaustion catch up to her. Sleep didn't take long to come, and in the comfort and company of the king whose touch was both ice and fire at the same time, the call of the void had never been so treacherous.

»»—- ❈ —-««

They spend the following days going over the parts of the house and landmarks of the province that Aro had missed during his absence. At his behest, they even went to the seaside night market to purchase food and ingredients to stock up the house. After all, during sunny days, they couldn't leave the confines of the Campanian hillhouse until sun had set to darkness.

While Marcus and Caius preferred to lurk upstairs when people visited (Altheia's return was news in the neighborhood by then), it quickly became evident that Aro simply loved talking, meeting, learning, and most specifically, messing with people. One afternoon, Estrella, her fifty-eight year old housekeeper, had dropped by with her son Antonio in tow.

"I'm so sorry to spring up on you out of the blue," Antonio had greeted her at her door with a boyish smile. "My mother, she insisted…"

Altheia laughed and waved his worries away. "Come in, come in."

They were childhood friends. Antonio liked to think he knew the Campanian lady better than anyone, but seeing her after three years of travelling nearly knocked the wind out from his lungs. Was it possible that she only became lovelier as the years passed? She'd turned him down once, but that was when they were teenagers, and many things had changed since then. Would he have a chance? Perhaps his mother was right to cling to hopes of her return after so many years.

His thoughts came into a screeching halt when Altheia led them into the kitchen and introduced her company. "This is Aro. I'm showing him around town," Altheia said. She missed his sigh of relief, but Aro didn't. "We met in Pisa a few months ago. Have you been there, zia?"

"In my youth, but you know I've never left Campania since you were born." Estrella replied as she ambled her way into the kitchen, smiling toothily at Aro when he dutifully pulled a chair out for her at the table. "Altheia must have found a good friend in you, so much that she brought you home with her."

"Si, signora. Please, take a seat. I will cook for you." Altheia didn't miss the faintest of touches Aro flitted on her old housekeeper's shoulder.

"Be careful," Estrella teased with a naughty smile that only old women could pull off. "Campanians are picky with food."

Without missing a beat, Aro replied, "We have that in common then."

Altheia glared at him meaningfully, but he just shrugged and proceeded to cook. Altheia expected chaos, really, and she kept most of her divided attention on Aro as he began puttering around the kitchen and cooking like he owned the place. While he cooked, she gathered her visitors at the dining table and told stories of her travels to different countries. Altheia noticed Aro shrewdly ghost the tip of his finger over Antonio's arm as Aro poured wine for them and busied over the kitchen, and thought nothing of it until she realized Aro had joined in on the conversation and started antagonizing the man. The worst part of it all was that Antonio seemed to be returning the monarch's ire with backhanded eloquence.

"A writer?" Aro made a noncommittal noise from his throat. "A… brave profession in these trying times."

Altheia kicked his leg when he passed by her. Aro gave no reaction that he felt it.

"What did you say you were again, signore?" Antonio inquired, hiding a scowl behind his wine glass.

"He's a businessman," Altheia interjected hurriedly, taking the ceramic dish of the meal Aro had prepared from his hands and then anxiously trying to steer the topic back to her travels.

But Antonio would not back down. "And what businesses do you do?"

"Oh, I dabble in all sorts of businesses." The smirk on Aro's face made Altheia infinitely nervous. She helped him set their utensils around the table. "Trade… Finance… Human resources. You wouldn't want to know all the gory details."

"That's good! Danari fanno danari," Estrella said. Money makes money. An involuntary giggle escaped Altheia, and she hoped that Caius would hear from… wherever he was upstairs. "Oh, you rascal, always laughing when I speak old. Now, what have you prepared for us, Aro?"

"Risotto alla pescatora," Aro answered as he served Estrella. "Nello stile antico."

In the ancient style. Altheia's brows rose to her hairline. So he spoke old, too.

When Estrella took her first bite, there was nothing but praise for Aro's supposed talent for cooking. "Bravissimo! Ah, you will make women fall in love with you!" Estrella declared. "This tastes exactly how I would cook it!"

Altheia breathed a sigh of relief, and then nearly choked on her spit when she realized. '…exactly like how I would cook it…'

She shot a distressed look at Aro, who had a humble, innocent look on his face as he discussed his recipe with Estrella.

Rolling her eyes, Altheia hid her smile into her wine and pretended not to see her childhood friend gritting his teeth together. "It does taste good," he muttered reluctantly under his breath.

Altheia bit back her laughter.

Antonio never stood a chance.

»»—- ❈ —-««

Altheia spends the remaining days sifting through the shelves and drawers of the house, packing sentimental photographs and items into boxes she would bring back with her to Volterra. For some reason though, Marcus seemed to jump at the slightest inclination between her and Aro, seemingly intent on breaking them apart, and she took the hint and started to douse him with attention, too. He had an aura of doom and gloom around him, but the brunette pulled on his heartstrings with her little touches and vocal declarations of endearment.

When the time to leave finally came, Altheia pulled Marcus to the patio and said, "Ah, one film left. Aro, could you take a picture of me and Marcus before we leave?" She handed over the camera and pulled Marcus to the porch before they could say anything. "Smile, Marcus," she told him. "Countdown please!"

Aro sighed and positioned the camera. "One, two, thre—"

Right as Aro clicked the shutter, Marcus had angled Altheia's face to plant a firm kiss on her mouth. The film ejected from the vintage polaroid instantly after, and the sound of breaking glass pulled Altheia back to reality.

"Ah." Aro said tonelessly, letting the shards fall to the ground. "I broke your camera."

Altheia didn't know what to say for a minute. She blinked dumbly as she waddled her way through the driveway to inspect the developed photo. "Well… that's… fine. That was the last film and the picture's okay anyway…"

Marcus' grin was smug. Caius honked impatiently from the driver's seat of the Guardian.

"Well, it's time to go." Aro said, dusting off the glass fragments on from his hands with a scowl. "Come on, Altheia. You're riding with me."

"Er… okay." Still spaced out, she made her way to Aro's glossy black Maserati Levante. "We'll see you in Volterra then," she called out to Marcus and Caius as they pulled away.

When she slid into the passenger seat next to Aro, there was a glint in his eyes that made her nervous.

"Technically, they did have an extra day with you. And I'm nothing if not a man vying for equal opportunities." The car started up with a soft buzz. "Now, hypothetically speaking, if you had an extra day, where would you like to spend it?"

"I knew you weren't staying behind out of duty!" Altheia barked out her laughter as she strapped on her seatbelt. "Shrewd man. You do not play fair."

"Do you blame me?"

Altheia shook her head disapprovingly but then offered, "What about a detour to Palaia?"

"Perfect," Aro shot her a mischievous side glance. "They have a local wine variety there – Bonomico – and we have a Volturi resthouse in the vicinity."

"A resthouse? Whatever for?" Altheia asked. "We're just going for a detour, right, Aro?"

The monarch kept his gaze concentrated on the road as he drove.

"Aro?" Still no response. Altheia huffed. "Fine, but just so you know, Marcus put my bags in the other car. If we're staying long, you're taking me shopping."

That elicited a reaction. "You're going to be an expensive woman," Aro tutted. "I should have known."

"Excuse me?!"

Hopefully, the castle would still be standing by the time they came back.

CHAPTER EPILOGUE 1

While in transit, Marcus discovered a bundle of images stored in the Mercedes dashboard. When he started chuckling to himself, Caius peered at the image in his hand and rolled his eyes.

CHAPTER EPILOGUE 2

THE UNDERGROUND TEMPLE. SOMEWHERE IN EGYPT. . .

"Welcome back," A deep voice greeted the coven sire as he stepped into the foyer. "How was your hunt?"

"Cairo was crowded, as usual."

"Oh, a letter came in the post for you last week. I left it on your desk."

"Is that so?" A smirk tugged at the edge of Amun's lip. "It has been months since her last letter."

"Her? Ah, your student?" Amun nodded. Benjamin rose from the hammock and trailed his red gaze on the dark-haired vampire. He watched curiously as the patriarch created an incision on one side of the envelope and unfolded four pages of thick parchment. The faint scent of ink reached his senses. "I have always wanted to meet her, Amun. You never let me meet your friends. Do your stories give her justice, I wonder?"

Amun didn't respond, and instead his brows furrowed as he read through his student's latest correspondence. Blatant incredulity etched itself onto Amun's features as he read through what was written again.

"Amun? Has something happened to your student?"

"I must travel to Italy at once," Amun announced. Benjamin's eyes widened. Amun clicked his tongue as he strode away, muttering under his breath, "That girl… she always did have a penchant for trouble."

"Well," Benjamin prompted after a moment of consideration. "Can I come with you?"

Version 18 January 2021

Notes:

Once again, I made a collage edit of the photos that Altheia took throughout the trip! Please see the bundle of photos Marcus found in the Guardian dashboard here: (eserethriddle.) (tumblr.) (com/) post/630598367511232512/alethiology-in-volterra-chapter-12-part-iii-old

Notable things that happened in this whirlwind of a chapter: Bella's Mystery Guard is revealed! And yes. He won by one vote over the runner up. Crazy. If you might have missed it in Chapter 10, it was mentioned that the witch twins were changed at their later teen years (~18-19ish) by Aro. So, yeah. If you think about it my way, Alec is 500+ years old, and Bella is 21. I am god here and have done the math. (I have not, actually, done the math.) Non-negotiable, goodbye.