Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer, not Aljan Moonfire.

"Hello" - speaking

'Hello' - thinking

(After I moved the wo previous chapters together, you might think I'd change this one too. Well, sorry, but no. The only thing I've changed about this is the title and placement...)

Read on, my friends, read on

Chapter 2:

On the Other Side of Things...

Marcus Volturi was what Aro referred to as a hopeless romantic. He spent his entire human life, from the time he first reached puberty to the day he was turned looking for that one woman that would become the other half of his soul. He never found her. Once he was turned he became a bit looser with his affections and had quite a few affairs with other vampires but no matter who he became involved with or looked at with his gift he never found 'The One'.

Marcus watched as his brothers found their mates and fought for that blissful feeling that he had always longed for. It hurt him more than he would ever admit that they had the one thing that he had always longed for, and the one thing that he was beginning to think that he would never find. As the centuries passed a part of him began to die as that one person never came.

.-.

Aro looked at his two brothers in all but blood over the graceful round table in the center of their communal study. The color scheme of the room they sat in matched that of their public hall, the three colors each representing the personalities and preferences of the three men. The brooding black characterized Marcus to a tee as he sat there in all his moody glory, seemingly half asleep as he regarded his unofficial superior across back of his lounging chaise. Caius, in his characteristic grumpy fashion, glared at the paperwork scattered across the table, wondering where the hell it all came from, because if he wasn't a vampire he knew that he wouldn't remember what the table it sat on looked like, seeing as the last time he saw it bare was when it was first placed in the room i.e. over a hundred years ago now.(1) He was sprawled out in a comfortable fashion in a red plush loveseat, his white hair contrasting sharply with the bloody red color he preferred.

Aro himself sat in his own armchair absently wondering to himself how the silvery white colors he honestly preferred represented his own personality to anyone. He thought that the color was far too pure for one as tainted as himself, but those around him, including his most beloved mate, seem to disagree; and who was he to argue if it allowed him to put his favorite color just about everywhere somehow.

He gave an unneeded sigh as he reached over to the table and chose a piece of paper from the top of the pile in the center and drew it closer in order to read. He smiled brightly as he read what was written, and ignored them as his two brothers tensed and looked at him warily.

"It seems," he announced cheerfully, "that we will be having a visitor soon." He was honestly very happy to have a source of amusement such as the woman described in the report be coming to him instead of him having to search her out. What information his spies had been able to glean about her were very positive indeed and he immediately resolved to find some way to keep her around.

With that rather ominous, if cheerfully delivered statement Caius looked up at Aro's cheerful countenance warily. He could still remember when Aro said the same sort of thing about any army invading their city. "Give it to me," he demanded and furrowed his eyebrows in an annoyed manner when Aro tossed it to Marcus instead.

As Aro continued to tease Caius, Marcus looked down at the report he had caught and sighed loud enough to catch the attention of his bickering brothers

"It's just a woman," he told Caius in an irritated way. "It's nothing to get so worked up about." With that statement he tossed the document to Caius and laid back down resolving to attempt to ignore the other two in the room for the rest of the day if he could.

Aro and Caius, both interrupted mid sentence, threw mild glares at Marcus's back, and Caius snatched the paper out of the air before Aro could take it back to torment him with. As he finished reading he snorted. "So it is. Why are you so excited then?"

Aro relaxed back into his armchair and began to speak. "Didn't you notice? Every single piece of information that we have received on her is positive. It's like everyone who meets her automatically loves her. Isn't that a bit disconcerting? I'm thinking that she might have some sort of power over the emotions. It would certainly be interesting if she did." He then turned his head minutely in Marcus's direction. "On another hand, well…I'm sure you understand." Caius nodded.

It had been well over six hundred years now since they had first been turned, and Marcus still hadn't found his mate. They knew that despite his lazy façade their brother was beginning to get desperate. If this Didyme could be his one and only, a little audience was the least they could do to help him out.

.-.

One day, about a week after that conversation the three brothers received word that the woman they had previously been speaking about had arrived, and was waiting on their pleasure for an audience.

As he sent a relatively nondescript guard to get the current subject of his ponderings, he turned to his fellows and asked, "What do you think she'll be like?"

Marcus shrugged and turned to rest his head on the heel of his hand, seeming to ignore the whole affair. "I don't really care." He said and thought, 'It's not like she'll be Her. And I really don't see why Aro's making such a big deal out of it.'

Caius on his other side just grunted and glared at the still closed doors on the other side of the hall. 'This woman really better be worth all of this trouble'. As he thought this the doors finally opened and Didyme made her first appearance to the Volturi.

.-.

She was draped in soft green robes that fell to the top of her feet and were secured with simple gold braid. Her feet were wrapped in simple slippers made of a fabric just a bit darker than the rest of her outfit. As her long, graceful limbs carried her across the massive room the golden strands of her long hair was brought to attention, bound simply away from her face with braids, it followed and outlined her every movement.

As she began to give her greetings to the three vampire lords, conversations erupted around the room commenting on this newcomer.

.-.

As the blonde vampire made her way towards them the three lords each had very different reactions. Caius thought she looked like a pretty toy that could be quite easily broken. He found himself wondering what her screams would sound like as he tore her limb from limb. Marcus really didn't think much of her at all seeing as he hadn't even turned from the oh so fascinating wall to his right to even look at her. Aro, well he would reserve judgment until after he touched her. As she bowed and he began to stand he wondered what kind of power she had.

.-.

As he looked into her mesmerizing eyes for the first time Marcus 'knew' that she was The One. The one he would love and cherish and do anything for. The sad part was; she knew it too.

(1) Paperwork is not only invincible and omnipresent; but it will find you anywhere; even, apparently in Volterra. Honestly Caius would much rather be out killing something, or at the very least burning some paperwork.

Ah! Another day! Another chapter!

Well...on to the author's note!

First: I know your probably surprized that I got this out so soon but I was hit with a landslde of inspiration at three o'clock this morning and couldn't resist. Since it would have just languished on my computer anyway I decided to post it, and here we are.

Second: I'll probably have chapter four posted by the end of the day. That chapter will proably be my longest yet unless I decide to split it into two different chapters.

Third: Does anyone remember the exact spellings for Aro and Caius' wives' names? I can never seem to get them right and as a result I haven't done anything but mention them in passing.

Last: Please, please reveiw. I really want to get some good feedback from this story! (Edit: I mean it about the review thing!)

- Aljan Moonfire