1I don't just want your heart. I want your flesh, your skin and blood and bones, your voice, your thoughts your pulse and most of all your fingertips, everywhere.

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Volterra, Italy

Sulpicia was gone for a total of four days. She returned to the same situation she left us in.

Chelsea was trying, along with me, to calm Marcus, who was constantly babbling an repeating himself at this point.

"I should be there." "I should go" "She needs me" I don't want to wait anymore" "I want to see her again"

Felix and Demetri got quite the "kick" out of watching their once apathetic leader in such a fuss all the time.

The presence of Alistair caused quite the stir in the castle, but since he mostly stayed out the guards way, it was hushed. His presence alone was barley noticeable expect to us.

Sulpicia was as bad as Aro about the matter in some ways. Aro was so. . .calm and bittersweet about the whole ordeal. Which, may I add, was very out of character for him. Forever trying to curb his enthusiasm. Caius was calm about the matter, but in a more joyful way. Yes, my husband was joyful for her "return", if you may. She was ours. After all. All of ours. But the guard didn't know that. They didn't know that story. Except for Chelsea and Afton , whom had been among the very original guard convoluted, and created, by Aro, Caius, and Marcus during the Divine War. They alone stayed.

Sulpicia, Chelsea, Afton, I, Alistair, and Marcus were spending most of our days in the large library room. One of the many. It had a two large stairs running down on either side of the room for a double entrance. At the top of those two stairs was an open hall lined with book shelves. At the end of each hall were two dark double doors. The room itself was a light pastel blue and purple color of springs, like Easter's. there were many old victorian tables with silk cushions with brass buttons holding them to the chairs. Under the large passing open hall connecting the stairs was a sort of alcove. There was a fireplace and two love seats of the same victorian material. We hardly ever used the fire except in winter when it was just a nice effect. The room had a large window seeing down into the squar with a window seat going across it. Large drape curtains of black hung on each side, but they were never shut. Ever. The floor was a white wood. Sulpicia's pick. At the end of the right side of the room was a double door of cream white and gold that lead to the hall. Another in the front of the room that lead to the hall of the thrown room. We all but locked ourselves in that room.

When the door opened revealing Sulpicia, Marcus just flew at her. I faintly heard Alistair smile and return to his gaze out the window.

"You saw her?! No? Tell me you saw her, Sulpicia!" he was frantic now. I don't know how long we all could take it either. Centuries of waiting, now only more. . .

Sulpicia looked over Marcus' shoulders. He had a fragile grip on her's. She winked at me.

"Yes, dear brother. I saw her. ." her tone so bittersweat.

The room went into a quiet reverie remembering her face, and what it was now.

"Dimmi!!" he almost cried.

"Va bene, va bene," she laughed dryly at his strained face.

And we all sat and heard the story of her. Well, the human her. How she looked. Her strange piercing's and "attempts to fit in!" as Aro had told Sulpicia. Rosy cheeks, long black hair, petite, bright green eyes, fair skin.

"It does sound like her," Alistair muttered. If Marcus could cry, I think he would have been. Chelsea put a soft hand lightly upon his back. Sulpicia was holding both his during the entire time. As if to say, "I did see her. I'm here". She looked in his eyes the whole time. I sat in one of the chairs by a tea table with my hands folded neatly in my lap. A faint smile simpering upon my lips. Oh, how I remembered the laughter she brought through this home. She was the first thing I saw when I awoke. Her big eyes with Marcus hovering behind her. I was the last wife to be added. The five of them were all in the room, but it was Didyme who I saw. Caius next, then Aro and the ever awaiting Sulpicia, whom has become and always will be the nearest to my heart. But there was a missing heart. It was so hard to believe she was there, somewhere. With no idea.

"She's really there," Marcus said in a choking voice. For the first time in centuries, as we all saw, his face cracked into a smile. A real smile, full of pain, hope, joy, but overwhelmed with love.

I tried to picture the Didyme Sulpicia talked about, but could not. I, like I know everyone else did, saw the Didyme they knew. She wore white, of the Roman attire, like the rest of us. Her hair was long and straight and black as Aro's. She was small with a pixie nose. Her eyes were big as almonds and deep as the sea no matter the color. She was smaller than the both of us, Sulpicia and I. I was tall like the Gaul, and Sulpicia was a mix of many things coming from a servant to a senator. But, in the the gist, it was Didyme. The rest was "removable". I could only remember her laying on the large cushion couches when we had them with me. Her white garbs all in tangles around her and my blonde hair flowing like a halo around my perfect face.

"Athenodora!" she would laugh my name.

"What?" I would smile back at her.

"I have a secret." she had whispered in my ear though there was no need.

"What?" I said faux anxiously like a gossiping girl.

"I'm going to travel the world with Marcus."

I shook the memory away. It would lead to bad things and ruin the moment.

Everyone had continued conversing without me, except Marcus and Alistair, who had remain silent. Marcus still held shadows of the grin he held, but had fallen silent in thoughts. In memories.

I looked to Alistair. He had a rather large melancholy look about his face. He turned and caught me staring, which was a tad embarrassing, so I looked away in a sour proudly way, because my egotism was still that big after all these centuries. He gave a short laugh that no one noticed and turned away.

"Do you wonder if she's lonely?" Sulpicia said curiously, like it wasn't even that big of question to contemplate. She said it in an brief pondering tone. In a way that was like dwelling on the matter would be of a useless effort to exert. But out of the corner of all our eyes, we saw Marcus' shadow-of-a-smile crumble. I restrained a sigh, as Sulpicia looked to me sheepishly.

"Oh, Marcus! She's so compatible with people! I'm sure she's fine!" started Chelsea, her hands fluttering like a mother's hands would over a crying child. It really just made the whole thing worse.

"What about what Vera said about her memory? What if it truly pains her?" he reproached in an anguished tone.

"I know, I know but-!" continued Chelsea but was cut off.

"She may be in pain, yes. And her memory may be so potent it wakes her every night, but she's o.k. She has Aro there, and Caius. And all those other people you sent. Which I don't know why you don't just bring her back, but that's Aro I suppose," Alistair sighed out of some irritation for his own reasons I suppose, "But Didyme is still Didyme." he finished. And it was true.

No matter what.

Didyme was Didyme.

But that's not the end of the story.

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(AN)

1) someone tell me if I start being melodramatic , please? Thanks.

2) I know this chapter sucks (no pun intended) but I felt like we needed to know what everyone was doing while waiting. I probably will only have one other chapters without Didyme directly in Volterra but "everyone" else is. Get it? Ok, well you'll see, if you don't. Enjoy?

3) Athenodora talking, cause she's cool :p

4)Review? Thanks :D