Author's note: So this chapter is quite a bit longer than the last few, so I do hope you appreciate that hehe. Enjoy reading!
I'd woken up tired and groggy, and all of my muscles were paying the price for my panic attack yesterday. Someone had taken my cup and bowl during the night, and apparently tucked me in? This thought was slightly off-putting but I wasn't going to let it stop me, as I lazily climbed out of bed strolled over to the window Jane had opened the day before. Unlike the previous few days, the weather finally seemed to be warming up, the bright sunlight streaming through the glass as humid spring air filled the room.
Remembering that I apparently had plans for that day, I went straight to picking out a suitable outfit, making sure I wouldn't make the same mistake with my shoes as I had the day before. After what felt like hours trying to find some clothes that actually suited me, I ended up settling with a rose pink a-line skirt and a white printed tee I'd managed to spot after rummaging through all of the many tops that had been provided.
I quickly changed out of the clothes I'd worn the day before and decided to walk over to the mirror, only to realise the absolute state I'd left myself in. Messy lines of mascara ran down my cheeks, and my skin was incredibly dry and in desperate need of moisturiser. I ended up using up three cotton wool pads soaked in make-up remover just to fix the mascara, before redoing the same makeup I'd done the day before, only neater. On the plus side, the outfit I'd chosen fitted me perfectly, despite the skirt maybe being a little on the short side, and I considered changing out of it as it made me slightly uncomfortable, but I managed to talk myself into keeping it on. My unbrushed hair formed natural waves down to my shoulders but I couldn't find a hair-straightener, and it would look worse if I tried to brush it, so I left it as it was.
Someone knocked on the door, waiting a few second before opening it and letting themselves in. I spotted Jane strolling confidently into the room through the mirror followed by Alec, who closed the door behind him.
"You know, if you waited a few more seconds, I would've gladly opened the door for you. There's no need to let yourselves in" I remarked, but they ignored my statement.
"The masters have requested your presence downstairs" Alec said with a strict tone.
I took in a sharp breath, flattening any creases in my skirt out with my palms despite there not being any. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Alec dash over to the dresser and pick up a gold necklace with a few small star pendants, before handing it to Jane who fastened it around my neck. I looked at her in confusion, to which she rolled her eyes.
"Your outfit needed something more interesting, now let's go" she said, already walking out of the door at human speed followed by Alec.
Well at least it was nice to know that they didn't completely hate me, for if they did they surely wouldn't want to help me look presentable. I stepped one foot out of the door only to feel the stone cold floor underneath me, now noticing that I'd almost forgotten my shoes again. This time, I picked up a pair of converse shoes from by the door and sat in the doorframe, tying them up at the speed of a six year old. Before I even managed to realise it, Alec bent down and tied my laces for me much faster than I would've done and helped me to my feet.
I followed the two of them down the dimly lit corridors, too nervous to start up a conversation. After a few minutes, I broke the silence.
"So are you two related then?"
Alec glanced over her shoulder before replying. "Me and Jane are twins. Aro changed both of us when we were quite young"
Before I had a chance to ask further, we halted in front of a set of wooden doors, sunlight visible from the window beside it. Jane pushed it open, leading me out to some kind of garden area, and I put my hand over my head to shield my eyes from the sun. Still following the twins, I was lead through to a patio area with a small round table in the middle where Aro, Marcus, and Caius were sat. Instantly I stopped in my tracks, the nervousness beginning to set in.
"Eliana, il mio amore, how lovely of you it is to join us!" Aro exclaimed, before standing up and pulling out a chair between him and Marcus.
Too anxious to actually form any words, I simply smiled sheepishly and sat down, adjusting my skirt so it didn't look so short. Jane and Alec had already left, closing the door behind them. I'd never expected to see such terrifying people so relaxed, all three of them lounging back into their chairs. Caius even had his sleeves rolled up as he leant his head back, the sunlight scattering off of his exposed skin, which made me giggle slightly.
"Do we humour you?" Aro chuckled as Caius sat up straight.
"Oh no, not at all, not at all" I laughed timidly.
"At least you have shoes this time" Caius joked, looking at my feet which poked out from under the table, my ankles crossed over each other.
"Well, either way it's lovely to see you again Eliana" Marcus chipped in, "I do hope you are feeling okay after yesterday"
"I'm okay, thank you" I replied, trying to seem as polite as possible.
"Please do help yourself to some breakfast carissima" Caius said, gesturing to the table which I now noticed was filled with bowls of fresh summer fruit, the kind my mother would refuse to buy at this time of year while it was out of season, as well as a jug of lemonade with a few glasses. I quickly made eye contact with each of them as they waited for me to eat something, before looking down and hesitantly picking up a small bowl of raspberries from the middle of the table, placing it in front of me.
"So," Aro began, clapping his hands together, "I'm sure you have many urgent questions about your time here. So, let me begin by saying that in no way are we holding you here against your will. The Cullens, as you may have noticed, are already back in Forks, and you may join them or go home whenever you feel ready"
I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. For the past two days, it'd felt like I was being kept prisoner here, longing to be back at home.
"How long do you think you will stay with us?" Marcus asked, as I took a small bite out of a raspberry.
I took a moment to ponder this. As much as I was tempted to leave back to Forks as soon as possible, it's not every day you get to spend in a fancy castle in Italy.
I pursed my lips together, "Maybe a few more days? I don't see why I shouldn't stay a little while longer, if that's okay"
"How wonderful!" Aro smiled, and I noticed the other two seemed pleased as well, causing my face to heat up, "We were worried you'd leave too soon, we can't wait to get to know you"
"Me too," I said, "I plan to stay in Forks for a week after I leave here before heading back home"
"Why of course," Caius responded, a faint smile forming on his lips. "But we will be sure to keep in contact with you, cara mia"
"Definitely" I agreed, nervously taking another pathetic small bite out of a raspberry.
"Again, we do sincerely apologise if we made you feel uncomfortable earlier, for that is the last thing we would want to do" Marcus added, and the other two nodded in agreement, which made me feel awful.
"No, no," I responded, "please don't apologise. If anything, whatever happened back there was my fault, not yours"
Aro shook his head and took my hand in his for a few moments, before speaking.
"Never blame yourself, il mio amore, your reaction couldn't be helped" he said reassuringly. I gave them a smile of gratitude before our time was ended abruptly by the twins entering. Marcus stood up lazily, disappointed that his morning had been interrupted, and pulled my chair out from under the table to take my hands and help me to my feet.
"It's been wonderful to have you here, cara mia, do enjoy the rest of your day"
I smiled timidly, tempted to put my arms around him in an embrace, but the rational part of my brain prevented me from embarrassing myself.
"You too" I awkwardly called after them as I was lead back inside by Jane and Alec. Well, that could've gone worse. At least you had shoes this time.
"So how was your time?" Alec asked eagerly, clearly hoping for some interesting gossip or something. Jane walked a few metres in front of us, keeping an eye on the corridors.
"I mean, it was good, yeah" I replied ambiguously.
"Good? Is that it?"
"What else did you want to hear?" I laughed.
"I don't know, what do you think of the masters?"
"They seem nice, I guess" I nodded, fiddling with a strand of hair that had fallen down my face.
He hummed in agreement, clearly wanting to hear more than I gave him. However, before I had the chance to explain further, we arrived back to the room and Jane pushed the door open. I sat down on my bed, my feet hanging off the edge so that my shoes wouldn't make a mess, not that they would because they were clearly spotless.
Just as I'd settled, Jane and Alec still standing around in the room with me, I instantly remembered something.
"Shit"
"What did you do this time?" Jane asked, clearly unamused.
"I forgot about something that's kind of important…" I said, staring at the rug beneath my bed.
"Well?" she asked impatiently.
"So, basically back where I live, at home…"
"Yes?" Jane gestured her hands to continue.
"I sort of have a…boyfriend" I said slowly, annoyed with myself that I's almost let someone as important as him slip my mind. The twins looked at me, not really understanding how this is a vital issue.
"And?" Alec asked this time.
"What do you mean 'and'?" I snapped, "I'm supposed to be destined to live the rest of my life here, and I have a boyfriend!"
"Look, calm down," Jane sat on the edge of my bed, "just break up with him"
"W-what?"
"You heard me. Besides, it's not like you and him are mates or anything, so no harm done."
I was about to argue back, but I knew it was pointless and this moment was inevitable. It felt so wrong though; I'd been with him happily for a year now, and our relationship was going fine. We'd always agreed on everything, and he was so sweet and supportive, so I decided to attempt to keep this break up as amicable as possible. Sitting further into the middle of my bed, I pulled my phone off of my dresser and pulled up my contact list. Alec was stood next to Jane with his arms crossed, both twins clearly eager to see how this was going to go. Eventually I stumbled onto his name and glanced at the two of them before hesitantly pressing call. Unfortunately for me, he picked up instantly.
"Hey babe, what's up?" God, he was already making things difficult for me.
"Um, hey, so I need to talk to you about something. Or, I should say, tell you something" Why was this so damn hard?
"What is it?" he asked patiently. At least he didn't try and change the subject like he usually does.
I drew in a sharp breath and grimaced, before replying.
"Noah, I'm breaking up with you."
There was an eerie silence both over the phone and in the room, until he replied in disbelief.
"Excuse me?"
I bit my lip and repeated myself again. It hurt me so much, and I wouldn't ever want to do anything to hurt him like this. However, I reminded myself that this had to be done, that this was unavoidable. I expected him to say something, but I looked at my phone to see he had hung up, and not only hung up but blocked my number. Jane half smiled at me, in an attempt to provide some level of reassurance. It was weird though; I'd never expected to see Jane smile in my entire life.
"Put it by this way," she began, "I think it wasn't smart of you to be with him in the first place"
"But, how did you expect me to know that I'd have to break up with him eventually?"
"Oh no, that's not what I meant. What I meant was he is a rather terrible 'boyfriend', I can't believe you ever got on with a man like him at all"
I guess she was trying to be comforting, but it really wasn't the time for remarks like that. Instead, I raised an eyebrow at her and leant back onto my pillows, focusing all of my attention on avoiding crying and making a scene. Okay, so maybe I wasn't exactly 'in love' with Noah, but I the end we were friends, and I trusted him with everything. His reaction completely tore me apart inside, as I'd not only just lost a best friend, but I felt solely responsible.
A knock on the door perfectly interrupted my train of thought.
"Bad time?"
I sat up and turned to my right to see Aro stood by the door, his left shoulder leaning on the doorframe. He was still in the same clothes as before, his Volturi crest around his neck and the addition of a pair of sunglasses hooked onto his pocket. His crimson eyes locked onto my turquoise ones, and it was clear he could sense that something was wrong. Jane instantly stood up from the bed, and both of the twins bowed the heads slightly before darting out, their shadows zooming past Aro and into the corridor.
"Not at all," I lied, "what's up?"
"I was just wondering if you'd be willing to keep me company on a little trip into Volterra, cara mia" he spoke with his feather-soft voice, carefully stepping into the room. I decided to agree to it, considering it wasn't like I had anything else on my agenda for the day.
"I don't see why not" I replied happily, giving him a quick smile.
"Marvellous! Well, we'd better be on our way before the weather changes" he said, nodding towards the window. I looked out to see that while the sun had been beating down earlier, grey clouds were gathered above, and it seemed to be much colder than it had been in the morning. I guess it's easier for him to go out when the weather's overcast, as vampires are less likely to reveal themselves.
I began to attempt to shuffle off of my bed, mindful of my short skirt as I really wasn't in the mood to accidentally flash him. Fortunately I didn't, but however I stumbled as soon as I stood up, only to be caught by his arms before I could drop to the floor, the side of my face leant against his chest.
"Sorry, sorry" I fumbled awkwardly, before quickly regaining my footing, as Aro placed his hand on the small of my back and led me out of the room and down the corridor. A few steps later, I placed my hand on his arm to stop us.
"Wait one second" I said, pointing my index finger up, before running back into my room and flinging open the wooden door of my wardrobe. After a couple of minutes rummaging through the endless clothing racks and singing "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls under my breath, I grabbed a fleece-lined denim jacket from its hanger and put it on, just to have in case the weather got too cold later on during the day. I mean, it still was only March.
"Ready?"
I turned on the balls of my feet so that my gaze met Aro's, who was stood patiently a few metres away from me, his arms crossed over his chest. Had he really heard me sing? God, that was embarrassing.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied, gesturing towards the door, "leggo!" Seriously Eli, you just can't help it, can you?
Aro drew his eyebrows together, apparently slightly confused at my sentence and use of the word 'leggo', before placing his hand where it had been earlier and guiding us back out and down the corridors. We walked virtually in silence, but my room apparently wasn't far at all from the main entrance. Just as we reached the set of large mahogany doors that separated us from the normal human world, Aro stopped and pulled the sunglasses from his pocket to slide them over his nose.
"Sunglasses?" I asked, curious to hear his explanation.
"Need I remind you that we do have red eyes? The last thing we need is one of us revealing ourselves" he explained.
"Of course, but why the sunglasses? Surely it would make more sense just to put in a pair of contact lenses?"
He pulled the frames down so his crimson eyes made contact with mine, a smile playing on his lips.
"I find they're a brilliant fashion statement, don't you think?"
I snorted with laughter before slapping my hand over my mouth.
"Definitely" I agreed, still giggling like a school child.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was a very quiet Monday, with very few people around the streets of Volterra. We'd walked around the cobbled lanes together for about an hour, Aro explaining the history of the town along the way. I had been listening to what he was saying at first and it was honestly fascinating, but his voice was so melodic and soothing to listen to that I'd completely zoned out. After around half an hour of listening to his voice with my arm looped around his, he broke out of his tour-guide mode.
"Are you hungry?"
I instantly snapped out, shaking my head quickly, before turning to him.
"What was that sorry?"
"I asked if you were hungry," he chuckled, "there are some really lovely restaurants that some of the human staff have recommended in the past"
Perfectly on cue, my stomach decided to remind me that all I'd eaten up to that point was two raspberries for breakfast.
"I mean, I guess I could eat" I replied, shrugging my shoulders.
Aro suddenly took a right turn, leading me down a different lane. This town really did make me feel like I was walking in one of those holiday brochures, as the entire feel every place gave off was incredible. We stopped at a restaurant on the right and settled down at a table, Aro still wearing his sunglasses proudly with a smug grin on his face.
"And that is exactly why I asked you why you weren't wearing contact lenses instead" I laughed quietly, shaking my head. In his defence though, sunglasses suit him surprisingly well.
"Don't you like them, cara mia?"
"Oh yeah, totally. You look stunning, like a model" I responded, but I think he picked up my sarcasm.
The restaurant was relatively quiet as it was only lunchtime in the middle of the week. The aroma of freshly cooked Italian food was so strong it made my mouth water. Turning my attention back to Aro, I noticed he was already running his eyes over the menu, one also placed in front of me. I picked it up, skimming the pages for something to eat, but everything was in Italian so that did make things quite difficult.
"I thought vampires didn't eat human food?" I murmured, in case someone was listening to our seemingly ridiculous conversation.
"We don't," he said, lowering his menu so our gazes fixed, "I just thought I'd help you find something to eat, or offer my translation services"
"Wow, not only a tour guide, but also an Italian-to-English dictionary. What would I do without you?" I joked.
"Well, if you would prefer to simply guess what you're ordering, that works too" he snarked playfully.
I rolled my eyes and grinned before turning my attention back to the menu. I had taught myself some Italian in the car on the way to Volterra, but apparently not nearly enough to have any idea what to eat.
"What the hell is a 'pici all'aglione rosso'?" I asked, definitely failing to pronounce it correctly. I hoped he wasn't offended by my appalling pronunciation
"It's similar to spaghetti, with tomato sauce," he said, pausing, "oh, and that pronunciation was simply dreadful, we must teach you to speak fluent Italian at some point"
I narrowed my eyes at him jokingly, before the waiter came round and I ordered my meal. While we were waiting, Aro placed his hands over mine.
"Will you come back after you've finished school?" he asked.
"Sorry?"
"The mating bond, it is very different to what Edward and Bella have, for example. Bella is simply Edward's blood singer, la tua cantante. However, the bond between you and me and my brothers is much more powerful. This allows us to become more closely affected by each other's actions or decisions, but also means that distance for a prolonged period of time can become an issue"
"So…I basically have to come back?" I queried sceptically.
"Would you want to?"
I thought about this for a moment, and then questioned myself on why this was a thought process I was even thinking about. There was absolutely no reason for me to not want to come back. Sure my time here so far had been…eventful…to say the least, yet still something about being around the kings just made me feel more comfortable, happier even.
"Yes, I would want to," I smiled, "but either way, I'd have to convince my parents first"
"Of course, you have living human parents! I'd love to meet them someday" he exclaimed.
I was about to question why he was so surprised by the fact that my parents were still alive, until I remembered that he was a vampire and an ancient one too. His parents must be long gone by now.
"How do you recommend I get them to let me, you know, move to Italy?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.
"We'll figure out a way," he reassured, "While we are on the topic of your stay, the three of us have something of a gift for you. Consider it a little 'Welcome to the Volturi' gift"
He pulled out a small wrapped gift box from underneath him, confusing me a little.
"How long did you have that with you for?" I laughed as he passed it across the table to me.
I unwrapped it quickly and lifted the lid, revealing a new black iPod with a small portable speaker. I gasped, as my last iPod had broken literally a week before, after I'd been listening to music with it on the windowsill and I'd accidentally flinged it out of the window and onto my parents' driveway. My father took one look at the smashed iPod before dropping it in the bin, claiming it was virtually unsalvageable at this point.
"Oh my God, you didn't have to get me anything!" I squealed, remembering how expensive these were.
"Do you like it? If not, it can easily be exchanged for a different colour and as for the speaker-"
"No, no, absolutely not," I responded, now clutching it to my chest with my left hand, my right hand still in his, "these are expensive as well, please don't spend money on me again"
"Oh, we will" he grinned as I scrunched my nose up at him.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After our lunch date – lunch date? Can it be called a lunch date? Fine - lunch date, we headed back to the castle, taking a shorter route through the park. I was glad I brought a jacket with me, as I would've freezed my ass off if I hadn't. The weather did in fact take a turn for the worst, the cold breeze beginning to pick up as I stood beside Aro with my left arm looped in his right, protecting myself from the chill. We strolled down the pavement for a while until something caught my eye in the distance, and I gasped.
"Oh my God!"
He drew his eyebrows together and looked in the same direction as me, before returning his gaze to my excited face.
"What are you looking at?" he asked, finding humour in my unexplained enthusiasm.
"Look, over there!" I pointed into the distance and pulled away from him before running towards a playground I'd spotted behind a small cluster of trees. I was always a child at heart to say the least, and my very few friends knew me for skipping through the corridors at my school and getting excited over every playground we'd ever walk past. In fairness, I should've probably tried to hone it in while around the kings, but if they couldn't deal with me and my humiliating actions, that was their problem, not mine.
I sat on one of the swings, which was clearly made for a small child as my hips only just fit, and turned to see that Aro had followed me over, settling down on the swing adjacent, positioned ever so slightly sideways so that he could sit properly.
"I've never seen anyone so excited over a child's play park before, it's delightful!" he laughed.
I swung myself slowly, lifting my feet so that I wouldn't destroy the soles of my new shoes by dragging them on the ground, the hinges of the swing squeaking above me.
"Well, put it by this way; childhood is way too short" I smiled, my gaze fixed on my hands in my lap.
"Agreed"
We sat in silence for a few minutes, the swing now squeaking louder as I propelled myself further away from the ground.
"I do hope you enjoy spending time with us. We've been waiting for a mate for thousands of years" he smiled with sincerity in his eyes.
"I didn't realise it was possible for one person to have three mates" I mused.
"Not impossible, simply rare. It comes as a surprise to us too"
"Wasn't there a law of yours that goes against humans knowing about all you vampires and stuff? So… do I go against that law?"
Aro went silent and looked down, before gazing back up at me.
"That isn't an issue you should concern yourself about for the time being, cara mia" he murmured reassuringly, placing his cool hand comfortingly over mine.
Author's note: Awh, so she's finally beginning to open up around her mates. Honestly I'm really enjoying writing this story, #TeamVolturi all the way hehe. Thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, and ily! :)