The rest of their stay seemed to go pretty smoothly, and by the rest she meant the next few hours. She'd left the house as she did every day, only to arrive back to a note left by her door and all three of her mates gone without a trace.
It wasn't like she was exactly shocked — to say they were important and thus busy people would've been an understatement, and they'd never exactly specified the duration of their stay — but she couldn't say it hadn't stung that she'd received literally no warning whatsoever beforehand.
Not only that, but she hated how she'd left things off with them. Eliana wasn't nearly ready to forgive them, and they knew that, but she wanted to at least get to a point where they could move past what they'd done, but the remaining stiffness and awkwardness in their conversations hadn't even been completely lifted.
She turned her gaze back down to the note in her hand, written very neatly in Caius' cursive handwriting, a handwriting style she was certain anyone would seriously struggle to replicate.
Carina,
I apologise, but we are needed in Volterra much sooner than we anticipated. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that we will meet again until the summer. Grazie for allowing us to visit you.
Until then.
Ti vogliamo bene.
With a heavy sigh, she trudged up her stairs reluctantly into her room and tossed her bag aside. She tucked the note away into one of her desk drawers and slowly closed it-
"Hey."
Eliana screamed in fear and tripped forward as she crawled away from the window. It was only once she looked up and saw Santiago that she steadily released the breath she'd been holding. He was reclined pretty comfortably across her windowsill, a magazine open on his lap.
"What the fuck was that for?!" she demanded. "You gave me the fright of my life!"
"I was looking for something more along the lines of, "Santiago, I've missed your glorious presence in my life!" but I guess that'll do," he quipped.
Her eyebrows were drawn together. "But if you wanted to let yourself in, couldn't you have just used the front door? It's not like I locked it."
"For your reaction, I'd do this again any day," he retorted. "By the way," He held up the front cover of the magazine, "what the fuck am I looking at?"
"A magazine."
"Yeah, well no shit," he snorted a laugh, "but that doesn't answer my question."
Eliana looked away from him in a useless attempt at concealing her embarrassment. ". . . 2006 Girl's Life Magazine. I was going through a thing."
"Apparently so. But I understand why. I mean, look at this headline. "Is he into you? How to tell for sure!" Damn." He nodded his head in mocking interest. "Now I'm intrigued."
"Don't be an ass," she snapped. "Anyway, where did you get that from?"
Santiago nodded towards her wardrobe. "There's a box of them at the back with your maid dress-"
"Why are you snooping through my things?! Give me that!" Eliana didn't hesitate to snatch the magazine from him, but the moment she did so, he had another open in front of him.
"My dude, trying to beat me is like playing whack-a-mole," he replied with a shrug. He opened the first page and his eyebrows rose theatrically. "Oh, a "Super Quiz Special". And look at these. "Get your dating rating! Are you for real? What's your friendship style?""
"Please, I know your dating rating is lower than mine, but control your jealousy," she snarked.
Santiago scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I've been dating for longer than you or your Girl's Life Magazines have existed. I think mine would be higher."
"How long have you been dating?" she asked him.
He crossed his arms smugly. "Guess."
"One hundred years?"
"Higher."
"Five hundred?"
"A little higher."
"Six hundred?"
"Still a little higher."
"Seven hundred?"
"Lower."
Eliana rolled her eyes. "Six hundred and fifty?"
He frowned in thought and nodded. "Give or take a few years. Beyond the age of 200, it gets boring trying to keep track of birthdays and ages and shit like that. Dude, your mother's back by the way."
"What?" she hissed. Snatching the last of the magazines away from Santiago, she opened her wardrobe, haphazardly tossed them inside, and slammed it closed again. "Bloody hell. When did she get back?"
He shrugged. "3 hours and 32 minutes ago, maybe? About 69 minutes after the masters left — don't you dare make a 69 joke."
"Oh, but sex jokes are my forte-"
"What's your forte, sweetheart?"
Eliana froze. Her shoulders very stiff and her arms by her sides, she slowly spun around on the spot to find her mother, Sarah, looking at her with interest. ". . . Sex jokes."
"Oh." Sarah nodded casually. "Okay. You kids behave yourselves."
Eliana winced and glanced back at Santiago over her shoulder. Unsurprisingly, he hadn't so much as budged. "We wouldn't — we're not . . ." she sighed defeatedly. "Whatever. How was your work trip, mother?"
"Same as usual," Sarah replied. It was as she leaned backwards against the doorframe that Eliana noticed the basket of laundry in her hands. And then she noticed her panties at the top of the pile way after Santiago had noticed. "Your dad's still in Germany, but luckily I managed to leave a few days earlier to see my baby-!"
"Mum," Eliana interrupted quickly. "Rearrange the laundry pile please."
She glanced down at the basket and gasped. "Oh, I see. Well, that could've been embarrassing for you," she laughed as she began moving items from the bottom to the top. "And who's your friend over there?"
As she mouthed "Hi!" to Santiago, and her guard did the same back, Eliana felt like she was in hell. This was hell. If the ground would swallow her whole, it would be welcome-
"So?"
"Oh," Eliana shook herself out of her thoughts, "Yeah, er, mum, this is Sa . . . m."
Sarah raised an eyebrow at her. "Sam? Well, it's lovely to meet you, Sam. I'm Eli's mum," Eliana stepped back as Santiago stood up to shake her mother's outstretched hand, "can I get you anything? Will you be staying for dinner? Tonight's pizza night, and I bought more than enough earlier."
Eliana laughed stiffly. "Oh no, I don't think-"
"That would be lovely, Mrs. Arrowood, thank you," Santiago responded politely. Somehow, he'd managed to leave behind his mix of several accents and replace it with a perfect English accent. "Due to a current medical condition, I will be unable to eat with you. However, I will gladly join you for dinner."
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Sam," Sarah answered sympathetically. "You're welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like. And Eliana," Her steely gaze turned to her, "I expect you to vacuum this floor thoroughly once your boyfriend has left."
"He's not my-"
Before Eliana could properly finish her sentence, her mother had already left the room, closing the door gently behind her. The sound of her humming slowly decreased as she descended the stairs.
Her mouth wide open, Eliana spun around to face Santiago again. "Dinner? You invited yourself to dinner? Why would you do that? What are you up to?"
"Whoa," Santiago staggered back with his hands up in mock surrender, "chill dude, it was your mother who offered. Besides, wouldn't you say it's rude to turn down an offer like that?"
"You don't even look my age!"
"Now that was unnecessary." He pouted. "I'm only 23."
Eliana grimaced and fell back onto her bed. "Please leave."
"No can do," he replied. His smugness was so blindingly present that she felt queasy. "Anyway, maybe if I'm lucky your mother will be embarrassing enough to crack out the baby photos."
"Santiago!"
"So, Sam," Sarah began, "how long have you and Eli been together for-?"
"We're not dating!" they shouted in unison.
"Ah, just friends then," she concluded. She sat down opposite them at the table and placed down two sliced pizzas. "Okay, I won't push it any further. How did you two meet?"
"I'm in Eli's math class," Santiago replied. "We usually get the train together."
"Wow, what a surprise!" she exclaimed, before turning to her daughter. "Eli, baby, how come you never mentioned Sam before?"
With an apathetic look at each of them, she reached across the table for a bottle of wine Sarah had retrieved from the fridge and poured herself a large glass. "Didn't come up in conversation," she murmured as she took a swig.
Sarah nodded. "I see. Now I wonder . . . has Eliana ever shown you her baby photos-?"
"Mum!"
"What could we have possibly missed that resulted in such a bad mood?"
Eliana held her phone to her ear. "Pizza dinner with my mother and Santiago," she drawled. "I finished half a bottle of wine while they looked over my baby photos and then accidentally threw up my pizza two hours later."
"Let the record show," Caius began, "that I told Aro that it was far too early for us to leave your company."
"My mother returned whether you were there or not," Eliana reminded them. "Are you really going to try to convince me that I would've been less embarrassed?"
"I have seen all of your baby photos already," Aro responded. "There is nothing we would see that could possibly be that embarrassing to you. And I will talk to Santiago about his behaviour today to ensure it never happens again."
She sighed. "Go easy on him. He did hold my hair back while I vomited."
"And if at least one of us were there to keep an eye on you, this never would have happened," Caius concluded.
"Hey, don't-"
She went quiet and clasped a hand over her mouth as her face contorted into a grimace.
"Cara mia, I don't recommend vomiting in your bedroom," Marcus advised her.
Eliana shook her head and took a deep breath to steady herself. "I'm fine, false alarm. What was I saying?"
"You were just about to argue with Caius," Aro prompted.
"Oh yeah. Hey, don't act like I made you leave. And some warning would've been nice, you know."
"I left you a note!" Caius snapped. "That's enough warning!"
"Couldn't you at least tell me in person?!" she argued.
"Fine. Eliana, we have left your company," he retorted. "Happy now?"
"I think this is veering off-topic," Aro interrupted, his tone exasperated with the pair of them. "Eliana, amore mio, would you rather it if we returned?"
She paused in thought. "No," she said finally. "No, I'll be fine. Besides, I'll see you in a few weeks in Forks."
"Why you refuse to cancel your visit to Forks, I cannot understand," Caius grumbled.
"Because even if they're being assholes by not texting me right now, they're still family . . . in a way . . . and I did promise I'd go."
"Promises can easily be broken," he countered.
"Caius, brother, if Eliana would like to go, let her go," Marcus reasoned. "Just be careful if you do, tesoro."
She hummed a laugh. "I'm never careful."
"Um, Jane?"
Jane's head turned so instantly that Eliana almost jolted. She was sitting in the seat opposite her on the private jet that had been sent out to take them to Forks, but hadn't spoken a word to her all trip unless necessary.
Jane looked her up and down and half-sneered. "Yes, mortal?"
"Can I ask you something?" Eliana requested slowly.
With a roll of her eyes, her eyes flickered back down to her book. "If you insist," she sighed. "But make it quick."
"Sure. Um . . . I was wondering, just out of curiosity, what were the kings' ex wives like?" she asked.
Jane hummed in acknowledgement and placed down her book. "And here I thought this question would be boring," she remarked. Eliana noticed that, for a 12 year old, Jane had to be one of the most discomforting people she'd ever met, from the way she sat to the looks she gave everyone she spoke to. "The masters' previous wives were not exactly the kindest of vampires, you could say. They were vain, self-absorbed, materialistic-"
"They were divas," Afton contributed from somewhere across the plane. She'd almost let herself forget that he was there in the first place. "But that was understandable considering how they lived."
Eliana gave Jane a quizzical look. "How did they live?"
"Due to . . . circumstances," Jane began, "they were locked in a tower overlooking Volterra for a long time, longer than a human like you could fathom. They would only leave when accompanied or given permission to do so. This was done out of love for them, as well as fear of their premature demise."
"O-oh, okay," she replied. ". . . Will that happen to me?"
"I doubt it," she answered. "The possibility is certainly nothing to be concerned about. Corin used her gift to-"
"What's Corin's gift?" Eliana interrupted.
The look Jane gave her signalled for her to keep quiet for the rest of her explanation. "Corin has the ability to make anyone feel content with their situation. That was why she was assigned to the tower to enforce her gift there. But I don't think that will happen to you." Jane continued to read her book as she spoke. "I have not seen the masters genuinely happy in a long time."
Eliana sighed disbelievingly. "Sure you have. You can save the sappy love story bits. There's no need to make this more interesting for me."
"I wouldn't say so if it were untrue," Jane snapped. Her voice was instantly calm again. "The love between the masters and their wives died out several centuries ago."
"Then . . ." she trailed off. "I don't understand. If they weren't in love anymore, why didn't the wives just leave?"
"Think about it like this." Jane finally closed her book. "If you could stay in one place for the rest of time but in turn receive all of the money, material items, and sex that you want, would you leave?"
"No, I'm not that materialistic — oh. I get it now. Because they're-" Eliana nodded in understanding. "Right. You said the kings have changed though. How so?"
"From what I have observed, Master Marcus has withdrawn himself from his depressive state, Master Aro's smiles are no longer forced, and Master Caius has become far more aggressive and ruthless," Jane responded.
Eliana blinked. "Well that took a turn. What do you mean by "aggressive"? Caius is a lot of things, but he's not aggressive. Irritable, maybe."
"If you think the way he treats you currently is irritable, you truly don't know him," Jane humoured. "And what would be the point in him acting in that manner towards you? You are his mate. It's like how most humans act very differently in work compared to how they act towards their significant other. I think if you were shown the way Master Caius conducts trials and punishments, it would wreck your world view completely."
"He can't be that bad," she said, "but I'll take your word for it. What were the wives names again?"
"Sulpicia and Athenodora," Jane answered.
Eliana raised an eyebrow. "That's two."
"I know," she stated. "But that is a story for another time."
Once she arrived at the airport, Eliana was met with Emmett sweeping her off her feet into a bear hug faster than she could've possibly expected. She yelped in shock as he lowered her back down, although his iron grip still didn't loosen.
"You scared the crap out of me!" she gasped.
Emmett simply laughed at that. "You're so easy, Mistress Volturi."
Eliana winced. "Don't call me that." She wriggled away from Emmett and straightened herself out. "Hi, Rose."
Rosalie was standing just behind him apathetically, her phone in her hand just to show her disinterest. "You two can have a sentimental moment between yourselves," She took her suitcase from her and began to wheel it out of the terminal, "once we're in the car."
"Why's she acting so weird?" Eliana asked Emmett as they followed her out.
"She's annoyed because she's missing the latest episode of Love Island," he snickered, "but Jasper and Alice are busy, Carlisle's at work, and Esme's cleaning, so you get us instead. Alice has been planning for this party like crazy, you know. She always does, it's her thing, but this time she's constantly preparing something. I guess it's fine as long as it goes better than last time."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What happened last time?"
"Don't tell her, Emmett," Rosalie interjected. Now that they'd reached the car, she opened the trunk and placed her suitcase inside. "Paranoid humans are exhausting to deal with."
"One thing led to another, and Jasper tried to take a bite outta Bella," Emmett told her, completely ignoring the look Rosalie gave him. "But it's cool, there'll be way more people here so nothing will happen."
"Or Jasper will eat me," Eliana added. "Either-or."
"In fairness to the guy, I'm not sure if he's even getting involved with the party," he assured her. "And he's gotten his control way better now. If anything at all happens, it'll be a surprise to us all."
She winced and nodded. "Reassuring."
It was literally seconds after she'd entered the house that she was instantly cornered by Bella. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Eliana, a little bewildered, nodded her head slowly. She let Bella take her hand and drag her up the stairs and through the house towards Edward's room. She noticed the faint aroma of food, assuming Esme was likely cooking something for her and Bella to eat, but wasn't given long to wonder what exactly before the door was closed.
"I just . . ." Bella sighed, "before I put it off at all, I wanted to apologise. For everything."
Eliana gave her an uneasy look. "You did?"
"Yes, of course, I-," Bella paused and sat down on Edward's futon. "I have a lot to apologise for. I was way out of line."
She nodded in agreement. "You were."
"And I don't know what I was thinking. What I said was awful, I made you sound like such a bad person, I was thoughtless, careless, horrible-"
"All words I'd use to describe you, yes," Eliana cut in shortly. "Is this leading to an apology?"
"It is." Bella reached for her hand and pulled her towards the futon. Eliana sat beside her hesitantly. "Because I was wrong. So wrong. You're happy with them. I can see that, I'm not that dumb. I was just . . . shocked, I guess — and I know that's not an excuse," she added quickly, "but I . . . I'm sorry. I don't know why I said what I said. I don't really know where it came from."
"If you're so sorry, then why didn't you text me earlier?" she questioned.
Bella shrugged lamely. "I figured you wouldn't want to talk to me after all that. And I wanted to apologise in person. If not for school, I might've just flown out to England instead."
"You'd have to make sure you didn't accidentally time your visit with the Volturi's," Eliana mused. "Caius hates you."
Bella's expression darkened a little. ". . . He does?"
"He hates everyone, really, but you too," she told her with an indifferent shrug.
"Oh. That makes sense. But I'm sorry," Bella insisted. "Really. I am."
After a long moment of contemplating her words, Eliana sighed and nodded, a smile twitching at her lips. "I know you are."
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
Author's note: Whoa, never has a chapter existed quite this long yet uneventful. I like to call this part two of Everyone Slowly Fucking Eliana Over And Having To Apologise For Being A Little Backstabbing Shit. On the plus side, things will get plenty more interesting very soon, that much I can promise you.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, stay safe, and ily lots!
