I knocked hesitantly on the door to Aro's office after Afton told me that I'd been requested down there over twenty minutes before. Why everyone in the Volturi's timekeeping was so fucking terrible, I had no idea.
After a few awkward minutes of standing there and not bothering to knock again because I knew they heard, Aro's voice echoed from inside. "Do come in."
I opened the door and walked in with my hands in my pockets, closing it softly behind me. Aro's face lit up when he saw me and I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face.
"Il mio amore, just let yourself in next time, there is no need to knock," he gestured happily over to the sofa.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked curiously as I sat myself down on Caius' lap with my legs across Marcus'.
"We always want to see you, tesoro," Marcus chuckled and pulled my shoes off my feet for me before tossing them across the room lazily.
"How is your back doing, carissima?" Caius asked.
I tilted my head backwards to glance up at his crimson eyes with a giggle. "Great, completely back to normal now."
"Ah, that is brilliant to hear," Aro grinned, "but please, in the future, do not injure yourself like that, and do not insist on the guard training you as if you were immortal. When we heard you'd hurt your back and you were in the medical wing, it gave us the fright of our lives, not to be dramatic."
"Clearly Afton left out the part about it only being a small strain," I chuckled lightly.
"Anyway, we have notizie interessanti," he clapped his hands together.
I stared at him blankly before Marcus translated. "Exciting news."
"Oh," I my eyes widened in realisation, "go on."
"The cloaks we had tailored for you finally arrived," Aro pulled out a pile of black and red fabric proudly, setting it down on his desk.
"I get cloaks?" I asked excitedly.
"Yes, these three cloaks have been made to fit your flawless figure perfectly, bellissima. Here you will find two simple black cloaks, to be worn for certain trials, meetings, visits, and such, and one cloak lined with red fur for any outings or tasks you find yourself on."
He took my hands in his and easily pulled me up from Caius' lap, much to Caius' disappointment, as he picked up one of the plain black cloaks from the top of the pile. Within an instant, he'd pulled the dark fabric around me and was fastening the cloak around my neck. For some reason, I couldn't draw myself away from staring at his perfect lips, which he noticed before pressing a soft kiss to mine with a chuckle.
"How do I look?" I giggled.
He stood back and looked me up and down warmly. "Incredibile, cara mia."
A blush spread across my cheeks and I hid my face in his chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and held me flush against him, tilting my chin upwards with his finger.
"Thanks," I glanced down sheepishly with a timid smile.
He pressed his lips to mine with one hand at the back of my head, entangled into my hair. "You are most welcome, cara mia."
"Do we not receive a 'thank you' as well?" Caius' voice chimed in from behind.
"Of course, how rude of me," I giggled.
Pulling away from Aro's arms, I stepped over to Caius and brought my lips to his, tracing his perfectly defined cheekbones with my right hand. Without any warning, he pushed me onto the sofa on my back between him and Marcus so that he was hovering above me. I let out a startled whimper as he crashed his lips against mine before Marcus rolled me out from underneath him with ease so that I was lying on top of his torso and between his legs. His hand ran down the length of my body from my shoulder, settling down over my ass.
"Your cloak truly does suit you, tesoro," he chuckled, pressing a kiss to my nose.
"Oh, and one last thing," Aro began and I turned my head around to face him, "Do you remember when I mentioned Eleazar from the Denali coven a few weeks ago?" I nodded. "He will be visiting briefly today with his coven in order to detect any gifts you may possess. I do believe they are due to arrive in," he glanced down at his watch. "Twenty minutes."
"Should I maybe go and change out of this?" I gestured to my ridiculously inappropriate grey shorts and sports bra.
"Something more appropriate for our guests would be preferable, bellissima, yes. I will have Renata escort you to the throne room just before they arrive."
"Will this do?" I asked Renata.
I'd changed into a simple black mid-thigh length dress with a sweetheart neckline and a dark burgundy ribbon tied around the middle, with a pair of black flats and my hair braided loosely down my back. Feeling a little too dressed-up, I grabbed a brown leather jacket from my wardrobe and placed it over the top.
"You look amazing as always, but no heels?" she glanced pointedly at my feet.
"I really don't have the coordination for heels," I laughed.
She rolled her eyes. "Let's go then," Renata took my arm and began leading me down the corridor, "I am curious to see how this will go."
"Why?" I asked.
She sighed. "The Volturi and the Denalis have somewhat of a…dark history, you could say. They are very close friends with the Cullens though, so maybe you also being close to them might make things less awkward?"
My heartbeat began to pick up the pace a little and I was beginning to have second thoughts about this whole visit. It was too late for that though as we had already arrived at the throne room. Marcus and Caius were both seated in their respective thrones as usual, while Aro was pacing slightly anxious lengths of the marble floor. Should I be nervous?
I awkwardly darted past the nervous Aro and stood beside Marcus' throne. He shot me a warm smile, taking my hand in his and curling his fingers around mine. "There is no need to feel nervous, tesoro."
Those words calmed me instantly just as the doors to the room swung open. Demetri stepped to the side, allowing the five vampires into the throne room.
Aro clapped his hands together and forced a smile. "Eleazar, my good friend, it is a pleasure to see you again."
The man who I assumed to be Eleazar had short black hair, a pale complexion, and very angular features. Behind him stood a dark haired woman, both of them with the trademark veggie-vamp eyes. Funnily enough, the whole group had irises of liquid gold, their gazes darting around the room nervously. Most nervous of all were the three blonde women at the back. They were unbelievably gorgeous, granted, but also seemed absolutely terrified out of their skin and itching to leave the castle.
"You too, Aro," he nodded politely as Aro took his hand and briefly skimmed through his thoughts, "You needed a favour?"
"Yes, in fact."
He gestured subtly for Marcus to come down. I held Marcus' hand nervously like a small child on their first day of school, standing behind him as a blush spread on my cheeks. He squeezed my hand lightly in reassurance and gently nudged me forward to Aro's side.
"This is Eliana," Aro gestured to me and placed a hand on my shoulder as I waved with an awkward grin, "Eliana is the true mate of mine, Caius, and Marcus."
The coven's faces became that not only of shock, probably because of just how weak and naïve I seemed while waving at a bunch of deadly vampires like a complete dork, but also of disbelief. Glancing behind them, I noticed Afton internally chuckling and he mouthed the word 'dork' to me.
"How is that possible?" The dark haired woman spoke up.
"This fact confounds us all, my dear Carmen. Eliana is to be transformed soon so, if it is okay with you Eleazar, would you mind identifying any ability she may possess?" Aro requested politely.
"Of course," Eleazar turned his attention to me, extending a hand, "It is lovely to meet you, Eliana."
"You too," I smiled timidly and shook his cold hand.
"Would you please step back into that empty space there for me?" he pointed behind Carmen.
"Sure," I giggled awkwardly and took a few steps back, accidentally bumping into Carmen, "sorry, sorry."
"No need to apologise," she smiled warmly and stepped to the side to join the rest of her coven.
Eleazar's eyes instantly glazed over similarly to how Aro's did as he stood two metres in front of me with his head tilted downwards, concentrating on me solely. This lasted for a few seconds before he broke the concentration and looked at me curiously.
"What?" I asked with a nervous chuckle.
"You have a gift of incredible strength, Eliana, but I cannot see what it is," he cocked his head to the side and resumed his concentrated stare.
This time he looked much more focused and driven than before, making me feel slightly uneasy. After a few silent moments, he collapsed onto the floor and I jumped backwards with a gasp. Carmen and the rest of the coven began to help him back to his feet and he managed to stand up fine as if nothing had happened.
"What was that?" the curly blonde haired woman asked worriedly.
"Oh geez, I'm so sorry, did I do that? I didn't mean to, I swear," my eyebrows drew together and my eyes widened in concern.
"There is no need to apologise, Eliana. Your gift is like nothing I have ever encountered before," he studied me in incredulity, "I have not seen strength in a gift like that since I first met Jane and Alec. In fact, I do believe yours is stronger than theirs. Yet somehow, I do not know what type of gift you possess. It's like a dark void, all I see is…darkness."
"Darkness? Oh my," I breathed in sharply.
"Magnifico," Aro murmured to himself.
"Darkness? What's that supposed to mean?" the woman with pin straight blonde hair asked before turning her gaze to me, "I'm Kate by the way."
"Nice to meet you," I nodded with a sheepish smile.
"I have never seen anything like it. It is not like that of a shield, but something physically damaging. It managed to harm me just by looking for it," Eleazar explained.
"Are you certain of what you saw?" Marcus chimed in much to their surprise, placing a hand on my shoulder.
Eleazar nodded in response. "I am intrigued to see what will become of your gift, Eliana."
"Good, because I'm seriously dreading it at this point," I laughed.
"Could it be umbrakinesis?" Carmen suggested.
"Umbrakinesis?" I questioned.
"It's the manipulation of shadows and darkness," the curly haired blonde explained softly, "I am Tanya, it's lovely to meet you."
I shot her a timid smile. "You too."
"I've met a nomad with umbrakinesis before. This is completely different, as if where her ability should be, there is a void, there is nothing," Eleazar appeared to confuse himself at his own words.
Great, so now I was the mystery gift. What joy.
"Should I be worried or…" I trailed off nervously.
"There is no need to be, bellissima," Aro assured, holding both of my hands in his, "thank you again for your time, Eleazar."
"Not an issue. I apologise if I was not of much assistance," Eleazar turned his attention to me, "you have a gift that is beyond even my expertise."
"Again, I'm sorry about the whole…making you keel over in pain," I winced.
"That was my bad, it couldn't be helped. I wish you the best for the future, Eliana, and I hope our paths cross again soon," he smiled warmly as Demetri and Felix began escorting them to the doors.
"You too," I added shyly. Damn it, I need to come up with a new response other than 'you too'.
"Demetri, please take our guests to the reception area to wait until nightfall. It has been lovely having you here, my dear friends," Aro exclaimed gleefully, "I hope to see you again soon."
"Thank you for your hospitality, Aro," Eleazar called behind him politely, closely followed by the rest of the nervous coven.
Once the doors were finally closed behind them, I exhaled a deep breath I hadn't even realised I was holding. A pair of cold arms quickly wrapped tightly around my shoulders from behind, and I could tell from the white blonde hair dangling in front of my face and the familiar scent of firewood and acrylic paint that it was Caius. He purred lightly into my ear, calming all of my senses.
"That was a rather interesting turn of events," Aro remarked.
"I seriously didn't mean to hurt him, it was an accident-"
"I know, bellissima, do not fret," he reassured, cupping my cheek with his hand and smoothing his thumb along my cheekbone.
"So, whatever my ability is, it will hurt people?" I raised my eyebrows, concerned.
Marcus stepped over and pressed a kiss to my temple. "Do not worry about that, tesoro. We will keep you safe."
A few weeks passed since the Denali's eventful visit. Just before they left, I'd introduced myself to the coven properly, and they seemed nice enough. The next few weeks went by painfully, with not much to do except hang around with the guard, and I'd even made a new hobby of riding down the spiral staircases of the castle in a cardboard box.
Corin and Chelsea were both sat bored with me in my room, randomly scrolling through their phones while I did the same. I suddenly remembered something and gasped.
They looked to me in unison. "What?"
"Group shopping trip!" I bounced up and down on my bed excitedly.
"Oh my god, how did we forget?" Chelsea squealed.
Corin gasped. "We should go tomorrow, make a day out of it!"
Chelsea turned her attention to me. "Have you been shopping in Volterra?"
"Not yet, is there anything good?" I asked.
"They have so many designer stores around, and don't you have that unlimited credit card from the Masters?"
I pointed to the card which was sat on my vanity. The kings had gotten it for me so that I could buy whatever I wanted, insisting that 'our money is your money'.
"Perfect, you can never have too much clothes," Chelsea clapped her hands joyously.
"Never?" I eyed her sceptically.
"Never."
Author's note: This chapter was kinda weird to write for some reason, I don't know. Anyway, what do you think Eli's gift will be? I sort of wanted to incorporate maybe a slight friendship between her and the Denalis as well. Damn, there's literally only five chapters left which is depressing as fuckkkk but it's fine, I'm not crying you are.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love hearing your thoughts, stay safe, and ily lots!