We were standing outside a large mansion in the middle of the forest in Ukraine. It was so far away from the rest of society that I was sure we would've gotten lost if not for Demetri tracking the house down. I stood on the driveway for a few moments, my face expressionless as I stared in awe at the building in front of me.

Aro laughed and dragged me up the stairs and towards the door by my arm. "Come on, piccola, you will have plenty of time to stand with your mouth opened like a fish later."

"Why are vampires so rich?" I hissed.

He shrugged lightly and knocked on the heavy wooden doors. "We are given plenty of time to accumulate money."

The door creaked open and a girl, roughly the same age as Lillie, poked her head around it. Her long ginger hair swished around in the harsh wind as she shot Aro a questioning look.

Aro crouched down a little to her height and softened his voice, speaking to her in Ukrainian. "Pryvit Sofia. Mozhe my zaydemo?"

Sofia rolled her eyes and pulled the door open all the way before strutting off inside. "She thinks she's too cool to be talking to weirdos like you," I whispered to Aro teasingly.

We followed her through as she confidently hurried through the house. It was the kind of mansion you'd expect royalty to live in, closer to a palace than anything. Everything was just so regal and expensive, touches of gold here and there, but I couldn't help but notice the other little…quirky additions such as the painting of a bloodied half-eaten man on the wall.

Sofia led us into what looked like a large common room, with several sofas and armchairs, all facing the unlit fireplace. The sun was beginning to rise once more and faint trickles of sunlight were streaming through the windows and reflecting in all directions off our skin.

"I will bring in the others," she said with a strangely adorable Ukrainian accent, strolling back out of the door unhurriedly.

I waited until she was gone and then sat down on one of the sofas beside Aro. "Um…she was nice I guess."

He laughed under his breath and pulled me back into his chest. "Yes, that was Sofia. Also very close with Jane and Alec, and it is no surprise that Lillie considers her her 'best friend'."

"Are all vampire kids like that?" I asked him.

He seemed to understand what I meant. "There are very few immortals of that age, but from the children I know, yes. Sofia was taken under Andrey's wing a few centuries ago, something of a daughter to him. It is not easy existing as a teenager eternally, I can promise you that much."

"My teen years were my worst, especially when I was 13 or 14," I giggled, remembering all of the weird phases and obsessions I went through.

"You were such a funny little thing, if a little strange at times," he chuckled.

Instantly, Andrey appeared in the doorway. Nothing had changed of course. He was still eternally breathtaking with his shaved blonde hair, crimson eyes, and black leather jacket.

"If it is not Aro Volturi!" he exclaimed, pulling Aro into a…bro hug?

Andrey then stepped around him to me and extended a hand. I took it, not expecting him to suddenly pull me into him and cheek kiss me. It just gave me dark flashbacks of family gatherings with relatives I hadn't seen in years.

"Ah, little Eliana, you have grown. Oh, and you are much less edible than before. Again, I fully apologise about-"

"No, no, no, it's okay, really," I insisted, "water under the bridge."

He grinned. "Oh, this is my wife Nadiya, Elizaveta, Alexei, Violetta, and you have already met Sofia."

The woman who I assumed was Nadiya extended her hand out to me and shook it gently. She must've been some kind of supermodel in her human life because her immortality made me feel bad for every other pretty vampire I knew. She flicked a strand of her long black hair behind her back and placed a hand perfectly on her hip.

"It is lovely to meet you, truly," she inclined her head slightly.

The group of us all moved to sit down across the common room. Elizaveta and Alexei took up a loveseat together holding hands, apparently they were mates, while Nadiya sat on Andrey's lap in an armchair, and Sofia sat on the floor while Violetta braided her hair. There was only a small amount of space on one of the loveseat sofas left so Aro sat down first and grabbed my hips, pulling me onto his lap with his arms around my waist.

"I assume this is not a simple friendly visit, no?" Andrey asked.

Aro chuckled under his breath. "How did you guess?"

"Clementine called me yesterday, said you were coming to drop by about bearing witness to an upcoming trial."

"Ah yes, that," Aro began. "I do believe you have met Carlisle Cullen in previous years. His coven, the Olympic coven, has been accused by Irina Denali of the creation of an immortal child."

"No," Andrey breathed in horrified disbelief.

Aro nodded in saddened confirmation. "There is to be a trial for this matter held in Forks, Washington, on the 31st of December, less than two weeks from now. We ask you and your coven to bear witness to the events."

They were all quiet for a moment. "With all due respect, Aro, are you completely certain of what you saw?" Nadiya questioned. "It is just that I simply struggle to believe Carlisle would act so recklessly, especially with such a severe matter."

"The scepticism is completely understandable, my dear, but I am afraid it is true. There is a child, with a strange alikeness to their newest addition, Isabella Swan, who was seen leaping up in the air much further from the ground than any human child is able to."

"In that case, we will join you," Andrey said. "Regardless of the legitimacy of the child, this is a serious offence which must be seen through."

"Of course, I am so glad that we were able to come to an agreement without too much discussion." Aro smiled. "Although we must be prepared for the worst eventuality, that being a battle. The Cullens are likely to put up a fight in defence of the child, and I do believe they have already collected many powerful allies of their own."

My brain hurt at that thought. The thought of going up against the Cullens, of being in battle against them, of slaughtering my own family as if they are the enemy. I couldn't do that, I couldn't be the one responsible for the Cullens' demise. And it wasn't only that, but also the thought of my mates being put in front of the danger of a battle like that. It was a risk I would never feel comfortable letting them take.

I felt a sudden wave of calm energy, feeling tranquil and at peace, similar to how I felt whenever Jasper used his gift on me. I glanced up at Aro who gazed back down into my eyes and nodded his head with a comforting smile. Was that what Marcus was talking about before? Manipulating my emotions like Jasper?

Andrey unnecessarily cleared his throat. "How has your witness hunting been going?"

"Rather well, I must say," Aro responded. "The Hamamatsus will also be joining us," Sofia's face lit up at that sentence, "and I do believe my brothers are still deliberating with the French coven and several nomads in Europe. It is safe to say that we will outnumber the Olympic coven regardless."

"Are you okay?"

I glanced up, not even realising I'd been looking down, and looked for who the question came from. Violetta, the girl who looked around my age with light brown curly hair, was studying my expression carefully.

I sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. The Cullens are just…sort of like family to me, so this has put me in a weird situation is all."

Andrey exhaled heavily. "It is such a shame. I honestly do sympathise. Carlisle and his coven had so much potential in the vampire world. I don't understand how he could've fallen so low."

"Will you be staying with us?" Nadiya asked cheerily, probably in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Only for the remainder of the day," Aro replied. "We must get back to Volterra very soon. There is plenty of preparation to be done."

"Of course, please make yourselves at home." Andrey smiled warmly.

Aro held onto the phone as it rang Marcus. The wind was gushing around us, but it was strange to not feel cold in weather like this.

I leaned over Aro's arm to peek at the screen. "Are they picking up?"

"That is the third time you have asked me that," Aro laughed.

"Well I'm sorry for being excited to hear from the other two," I snarked.

There was a quick rustle coming from the phone, shortly followed by a voice I hadn't realised just how much I'd missed until that moment.

"Hello?" Marcus said.

"Wonderful to-"

I interrupted Aro completely. "Marcus!" I gasped and squealed into the phone maybe a little too enthusiastically.

His hearty chuckle came through the phone. "Hello, tesoro. How are you both?"

"Very well," Aro replied. "We have successfully enlisted the help of both the Hamamatsu coven and the Ukrainian coven."

"Excellent news, I can say the same about the French coven."

"Is that Aro?" Caius' short-tempered voice could be heard in the background.

A grin spread across my face and I gasped, although I wasn't really sure why I was surprised. "Caius!"

"Hello, carissima." His voice seemed to noticeably lighten up as he laughed under his breath.

"Did you run into any issues so far?" Marcus asked.

"None at all, brother," Aro answered. "The mission has been going very smoothly thus far. And you?"

"A nomad attempted to attack us once he identified who we were."

"Oh my God, are you two okay?" I asked worriedly.

"We remain completely unharmed, carissima," Caius assured me. "He has now been taken back to Volterra to be punished accordingly."

I sighed. "I miss you."

"We miss you too, bellissima. Caius has become rather insufferable," Marcus informed me, and I could practically hear Caius seething at that sentence.

Caius scoffed. "You are quick to talk. Carissima, he has been moping all day."

"I do not mope," Marcus argued indignantly.

"Yes you do, do not lie to yourself. You did so for centuries, and you were doing so until the moment of this call."

This same argument went on for maybe half an hour or so, quickly losing focus of the topic at hand and going on a tangent to other things entirely. I didn't mind though, just listening to their voices and hearing that they were okay was enough for me. Some things would never change.

Andrey grabbed my face in his hands and cheek kissed me just before I had a chance to leave the door. "It was lovely to see you again, Eliana. Do take care."

"You too," I called behind me shyly as I stepped out of the house onto the driveway.

Aro soon joined me and interlocked his fingers around mine. "It was lovely to visit again, dear ones. We will see you next week."

Nadiya stood in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest as we began to make our way back down the ridiculously long driveway. "Travel safely, both of you."

Once we got to near the end of the drive, our leisurely stroll quickly became a sprint as Aro suddenly tugged on my arm and shot into the distance with me in tow. The dense yet bare trees brushed past us in bland grey blurs and there was a consistent sound of crisp leaves crumbling under our heavy footsteps.

We soon left the tree line and began running through some kind of field. I glanced up at Aro questioningly. "We're going back to Volterra, right?" I asked him.

He briefly looked down at me and then back into the horizon, grinning smugly. "London."

"London?"

"London."

"What do you mean 'London'? We're going to London?" I squealed excitedly with a skip in my step.

He laughed happily at my reaction. "Consider it a Christmas treat, il mio amore. Caius and Marcus will be there several hours ahead of-"

"Caius and Marcus will be there?!" I repeated with ridiculous amounts of enthusiasm.

He nodded and squeezed my hand lightly in encouragement. Not that I needed any, my mood had just shot through the roof.

"London baby!"

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

Author's note: I'm reuniting my babies, yayyyy! I really missed the albino bunny and cinnamon roll content, and there was no way I was keeping them out of the plotline for that long.

I love creating these OCs a little too much, hence I have a whole two covens worth of them aha. Hopefully you guys don't completely hate the new additions to the plot. They don't make a massive difference and they don't really play a huge part in it, but it sort of is nice to have them there.

Translations:
Pryvit Sofia. Mozhe my zaydemo? – Hello Sofia. May we come in?

Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love to hear your thoughts, stay safe, and ily lots!