"There are so many risks; we simply cannot allow you to cook"
"What, am I supposed to starve instead?"
I opened the one of the wooden cabinets in the kitchen and pulled out a saucepan along with a bag of pasta. The kings had spent the last few minutes attempting to talk me out of cooking myself dinner by listing all of the unlikely scenarios that could occur.
"We can cook for you, tesoro" Marcus responded, turning on the cold water tap while I filled the pot with water.
"As kind as that offer is, I've got it under control" I assured and gently pushed them out of the way, placing the saucepan on the hob.
Everything was going pretty smoothly, and I explained to them that I would be making myself a simple tomato pasta bake, until a tiny droplet of boiling water landed on my hand. I hissed lightly as it wasn't too painful and stepped forward to continue cooking. However, before I even had the chance to regain grip of the handle, a pair of hands grabbed my waist and lifted me up, spinning me around and placing me back down facing the other direction.
"What the-"
I spun my head around to find that Aro had taken over my position and was now continuing to cook the pasta for me, tapping the wooden spoon on the edge of the pot.
"Cara mia, it is not safe for you to be near boiling water" he chuckled condescendingly and adjusted the heat on the hob slightly with a click.
"Aro, I've got it" I tried to squeeze past him but Caius blocked my way, backing me up into the island in the middle of the kitchen with his arms either side of me protectively.
"No, you have not got it. You could have easily caused serious injury to yourself, carissima" he insisted.
"Besides," Aro's voice chimed in from behind, "when is it that you will refer to myself and Marcus as 'babe'?"
So that's what he was after. Huh, who would've guessed that Aro was simply just jealous due to the fact that he wasn't the first one to be called by a pet name? I should've guessed really, he did always come off as the jealous type in all honesty.
"Fine, babe, please step aside" I swerved around Caius and shoved Aro lightly so he would step out of the way.
Aro now had the smuggest grin I'd ever seen on his face, the three of them still watching my every action intently to ensure that no more dangerous situations arose. Fifteen or so minutes later, I was finally finished with my masterpiece with enough food to feed a family. In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have used the entire bag of pasta.
"Marcus, babe, can you please pass me a bowl? They're in the cupboard over there" I gestured, grabbing a serving spoon out of the drawer.
He quickly handed me a bowl and, although not quite as obvious as Aro, he seemed pretty smug as well. Once I'd served myself, I pushed past them and into my living room.
"Outta the way!" I yelled dramatically while carrying my overfilled bowl of pasta.
The three of them followed me over to the sofa, Caius and Marcus quickly sitting on the ends while Aro reclined back casually in the seat between them. I looked around confused until Aro instantly grabbed me by my waist and sat me on his lap with a light chuckle. Well, I guess my mother was right; a sofa for three people can sit four people after all.
"Do you want to watch something?" I leaned forward and picked up the TV remote from the coffee table before leaning back into him.
"We can watch whatever you would like" Caius answered and comfortably rested his feet on the table.
"We could watch an episode of The Middle" I flicked onto the first episode and pressed play.
"The Middle?"
"Yeah, you'll love it" I giggled as Aro rested his chin on my shoulder with his arms still tightly wrapped around me.
I'd finished my dinner only a few minutes into the episode, placing my empty bowl back down and curling up much more comfortably into Aro. The three of them didn't seem particularly interested in the show, and honestly neither was I.
"Do you guys need to, you know, drink blood?" I asked.
"Human blood can easily sustain us for up to two weeks, and we fed before arriving here" Marcus replied, his left leg crossed over his right.
"So you're definitely not going to randomly fancy a snack and drain the blood out of me" I raised an eyebrow.
"All three of us have excellent self-control, we would never dare to. Besides, the mating bond would never allow us to kill you"
"Not kill me per say, but you could still drink enough to leave me alive" I laughed awkwardly.
"Bellissima, we will never hurt you" Caius placed a hand on my thigh while Aro pulled me closer to him reassuringly, my feet now on Marcus' lap.
"Hold up," I sat up straight, "I thought I said not to come and visit just because I'm in pain"
"Actually, you said, and I do quote, 'please don't sabotage your jobs just because my body is acting up'" Aro responded, mimicking my voice.
"Your point being?"
"My point being that we did not 'sabotage' our jobs, but rather simply put them on hold for the next few days" he grinned, clearly proud of himself.
"That's not what I meant" I crossed my arms and scrunched up my nose at him.
"In that case, maybe we'd best leave" Marcus teased, standing up along with the other two.
"No, no, no, no, no."
I was pushed onto my feet along with them until I forced Aro backwards as hard as I could, eventually causing him to fall back with me on top of him, followed by Caius and Marcus resuming their previous seats.
"So you would prefer us to stay?" Caius asked.
"Obviously" I giggled, leaning back with my head on Caius' lap so that I was spread out across all three of them. It was a little weird lying in that position, what with where my head was placed, but oddly comfortable as well.
"Then there is no issue here" Marcus added smugly.
"None whatsoever" I shrugged as Caius ran his fingers gently through my hair.
"Do you have to attend school tomorrow?" Caius asked with a groan.
"Only a few more weeks"
It was now getting a little too late to still be up. With the three of them sticking around by my side all evening, I hadn't even notice just how quickly the time had flown by. I crawled onto my bed and laid down in the middle, Marcus on my right while Caius relaxed on my left.
This left Aro wandering around my small room, assessing the situation and how he was going to spend the night. All of a sudden, he decided it a good idea to attempt to shove Caius off of the bed by pouncing on top of him. The pair of them continued to rugby tackle each other for the space for a few minutes, careful of accidentally hurting me in the process. In all honesty, I had no idea what was happening, their bodies a blur of movement beside me.
"Brother, I was here first" Caius gritted his teeth, struggling to shove Aro off.
"That means nothing" Aro snarled with his forearm pushing down on Caius' neck.
"God, you're like a bunch of toddlers" I remarked, shuffling closer to Marcus' side.
With that comment, Aro decided to fix his attention on me, instantly pinning my arms above my head as he hovered above me with a playful look on his face.
"Did you want to repeat that?" his black hair fell around us, though I could still hear Caius and Marcus' amused chuckles from either side.
"Repeat what?" I played innocent, biting my bottom lip.
His irises looked like they darkened for a split second while he stared at my lips intently, before fixing his gaze back to my eyes. Swiftly, he kissed me tenderly and climbed back off, perching on the end of the bed.
"You do not make things simple, bellissima" he murmured, running his tongue along his lips.
Instead of actually responding with a witty comeback like I usually would, I started giggling uncontrollably, rolling over onto Marcus' lap in a fit. The three of them looked on in bemusement which only made me laugh harder, until it started to cause my cut to ache painfully.
"Ahh" I gasped and clasped my hand over my face.
"Be careful, il mio amore" Caius leant over, soothingly cupping my cheek with his cold hand.
"Thank you" I replied sheepishly, sitting back up and yanking the duvet from underneath him so as to settle under the covers.
Curling up into his side, Marcus placed a gentle hand on my waist while Aro continued to awkwardly sit on the end of the bed. I opened my mouth to invite him to lay closer but before I had the chance to say anything, a thud sounded from the windowsill. All four of us turned our heads in unison, and Caius was instantly on his feet, firmly grabbing what looked like something furry…shit.
"CAIUS, STOP, THAT'S MY CAT!" I screamed just before he had the chance to throw him out of the window.
"Your cat?" he turned around, my cat now held uncomfortably with an unimpressed look.
"Yes, my cat," my heart rate began to level out again, "his name is Fernando, and you almost yeeted him out of the window, you crazy vampire!"
In response, he casually tossed the black and white tabby cat onto the bed, to which he meowed at Caius. He did that a lot to people, and I even considered renaming him chatterbox once.
"Filthy animal" Caius hissed under his breath, earning a chuckle from Marcus and Aro.
"Come on, baby boy, ignore Caius" I cooed, picking him up and cuddling him in my arms.
"Loves the cat more than us" Aro muttered so quietly it was a miracle I even heard, staring up at the ceiling.
"What was that?" I asked, spinning around to face him while still holding onto Fernando. He also decided to chip in to the conversation and let out a pathetic meow.
"Does Fernando understand basic manners?" he scowled at Fernando as I placed him down gently on my bed.
"No, why do you think I wanted to rename him 'chatterbox'?" I responded, resting back down under the covers between Marcus and Caius.
Aro went to lie down with his head on my torso just before Fernando leapt in, curling up in a tight ball on my chest. This left Aro frozen on his hands and knees beside me, still shooting death glares at my cat.
"I wish I was that cat" he scoffed quietly and settled back across my thighs.
"He even looks like you, brother" Caius teased, causing Aro to kick him in the shin.
The room is surrounded by ornate marble walls, a little amount of sunlight streaming through the small windows above. I hold onto Alice's arm tightly, hiding my face behind her shoulder to draw as little attention to myself as possible.
"What a happy surprise!" the man with dark hair stood in front the middle throne gestures excitedly, "Bella is alive after all. Isn't that wonderful? I love a happy ending," he gently grasps Edward's hand, "they are so rare"
His eyes glaze over as if he's in fact daydreaming, leaving a deafening silence between us.
"La tua cantante," he gasps, "her blood appeals to you so much, it makes me thirsty. How can you stand to be so close to her?"
"It's not without difficulty" Edward replies sternly.
"I can see that" the man lets out a soft chuckle, switching his gaze between Edward, Bella, and Alice.
"Aro can read every thought I've ever had with one touch, and now you know everything," Edward scowls at him menacingly, "so get on with it."
Aro's face turns to that of concern as he turns his head to glance over again at Alice. My grip on Alice's top becomes tighter, fear mixed with some other emotion taking over my mind itself. The man instantly drops Edward's hand and glides elegantly towards us.
"Although, it appears you have brought another human companion along with you, how delightful" he adds with a sense of false joy, his footsteps echoing through the hall as he edges closer to where I'm stood.
"She does not concern you, she has nothing to do with this" Edward steps forward to defend me, only to be held back by a much taller man in a light grey cloak.
Aro chooses to ignore Edward's comment, tilting his head slightly as he peers around Alice to where I'm stood with my face hidden in her shoulder.
"Do not fear us, young one" he steps back with a menacing appearance, his pale hand extended out in front of him.
My cover is taken away as Alice is pulled to the side, allowing me to hesitantly shuffle forward towards him. My heart rate quickens achingly with every second as if my heart is going to burst out of my chest. Before I have the chance to take his hand, the bored-looking brunette man stands to his feet, handing Aro his hand while studying my face himself. Both of them stare at me intently, Aro's darkened eyes widening unsettlingly.
"Vero amore" he mutters hungrily, once again extending his hand out to me but this time he seemed more demanding than before.
Warily, I place my trembling hand in Aro's, both of his ice cold hands encasing mine. His grip abruptly becomes firmer, painful, excruciating, like flames erupting through my arms and into my entire body. I try to scream but my mouth remains closed, every limb in my body frozen into place. The other two men pace closer. There is no escape. My breath leaves my lungs, no oxygen flowing back in. My surroundings morph together in a confusing blur, completely removing any sense of sight. The ringing sound in my ears becomes louder, overtaking every thought in my mind. I just want to scream, to scream, to scream-
My eyes widened open as I sat up straight, my frantic breathing the only sound in the room. The kings looked at me with concern, Fernando hidden away petrified under my desk. Caius' cold hand reached out for mine but I pulled away terrified, fear clouding all my judgement as I shuffled away to leave as much distance from all three of them as possible. I stared at the wall, feeling both confused and scared.
"Tesoro, please talk to us"
I warily turned around so that my gaze met Marcus', but I simply shook my head, pulling my knees closer to my chest.
"Maybe I can be of assistance"
Aro glanced at me hopefully, his hand outstretched towards me. Again, I shook my head in fear, my nightmare not only leaving me confused but scared of my own mates as well.
"Please, Eliana, we only want to help" Caius added sincerely, worry in his tone.
After taking in a sharp, trembled breath, I reluctantly offered Aro my hand. Tears pricked at my eyes while he read my nightmare, his expressions constantly changing from horror, to sadness, to remorse, to fear. He forced himself away sharply as if holding my hand had physically hurt him, while his saddened eyes locked on mine.
"Oh, cara mia" he cooed, pulling me into his arms as he held me protectively and ran a hand through my hair.
"Brother?" Caius murmured almost silently.
Aro looked back down at me, as if asking for permission to tell Marcus and Caius what I saw. Tell them, but do it quickly so I don't need to listen to it again, I thought, which he seemed to hear. He nodded his head, before speaking hurriedly in a language I couldn't understand. It wasn't Italian like it usually was, but instead maybe Greek, or something else entirely. Still confused, I stared absent-mindedly into the distance, while Aro continued to hold me close to his chest and tightened his grip every once in a while.
I hesitantly looked up, and my gaze met Marcus' and Caius'. Both of them had almost the same expression as Aro, except Marcus seemed to be slightly more sympathetic while Caius' face had a subtle anger to it. Within an instant, I was pulled onto Marcus' lap, curled up delicately into his chest as if I was the most fragile object in existence. No sobs came out of me, but a lone tear ran down my cheek which fell onto his dark maroon shirt.
"Sei al sicuro, il mio amore. Nessuno può farti del male" he whispered, moving us over to the middle of the bed so that Aro could sit on our right.
My mind still couldn't form any words even if I wanted to say anything. In all seriousness, I didn't remember much at all from my first meeting the kings; all I did remember was fainting and being caught by Aro before I could fall to the ground. Was what I saw true? How much of it?
Caius leant over me and gently pressed his nose into the crook of my neck, the soft hum of his purring lulling me to sleep as his lips soothingly brushed my skin. I wanted to believe that I was safe with them, that I was out of danger, but my conscience somehow didn't trust all three of them and willed me to pull away from their reassuring hold.
Author's note: A little angsty, this chapter. I think I must've rewatched that scene in New Moon a hundred times by now, I can literally recite it perfectly word for word haha. Hopefully the next chapter I post should answer some questions about Noah and what happens to him as well, but I guess you'll just have to wait and see. Thank you again so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love reading your thoughts, stay safe, and ily!