Chapter Ten

I was slowly ingrained into the life of the Volturi.

The head guards slowly came to me and introduced themselves to me before they swore to protect me.

I would not become another lost queen to them, they would never fail the kings ever again.

They would sooner fall upon a knife and be killed now than later for they knew Marcus would become a true monster to the whole world.

It was a rainy, dreary day, one that reminded me of Forks and my parents, when the last members of the head guard came to me. The surrogate children of Aro and Sulpicia, the 'Witch Twins', Jane and Alec Volturi. The vampires who would always be frozen at the same age as they died, twelve. Children that were of the top five strongest guard vampires of the volturi.

The bedroom chambers which had been given to me were stunning, something you would only find in the historical society. The detailed crown molding, the type of wallpaper, along with the carpeted flooring. There were golden chandeliers that were hanging above me, sending out little glints of shimmers every now and then but not too much. The fireplace was lit since it would get cold in the tower, and I hadn't left the chambers to hang out with Sulpicia or Athenodora.

I was sitting on one of the Victorian couches, reading a random book that had been on the bookshelf, and barely paid attention to the literature when the chamber doors opened. I had expected for Marcus to come striding in, his veil still a reminder that I wouldn't automatically have him take the veil off. It would take time for him to know I was here for him and would love him even if he never took the veil off in the end.

Instead of it being Marcus it was the 'witch twins' that were slowly coming into the room with their arms folded behind their backs, hands together. They had their backs extremely straight, their chins tilted upwards and their eyes scanning the room to make sure that everything was in perfect working condition. Their eyes went to each other, their crimson irises showing a type of connection between them that was unearthly.

Then they turned and looked at me again before they came forward.

I knew that my heart was rattling in my chest at the sight of them, I hadn't had the opportunity to meet them properly before. Having the preteens that were destined to be my surrogate niece and nephew meant that I would have another important detail to my life that I hadn't known would happen. I would have family members that were children, and even though my child was taken from me, it didn't mean that I couldn't come to love the twins as my children.

"H-Hello?"

I wanted to curse myself for stuttering but maybe that was to be expected. Considering the situation that I currently was in; stuttering would make sense. I would rather have not been doing it though. I wanted to feel stronger and braver meeting them.

"You are our new aunt."

My eyes fell away from where I was still looking at the novel in my hands, not even paying attention to the paragraphs that were wanting to be read. Just blurs of black and white, nothing that brought me to attention.

I brought my hand that wasn't holding the novel up and placed it upon my locket, rubbing my fingers against the surface in a soothing manner. I closed my eyes and took breaths, as the words they had just said repeated themselves in my mind: you are our new aunt.

"D-Do you want me to be your aunt?"

Silence.

I took it eagerly, imagining that it was just me in the tower.

Well technically it was just me in my chambers, since the other queens were either in the living parlor of the tower or were in their own chambers they shared with their husbands.

I imagined that I was somewhere that I had gotten accustomed to, someplace that I would feel at home with…I had already reached such good emotions when it came to the tower.

"Do you want to be our aunt?"

I opened my eyes slowly, turning my head so I could look at the children closer.

They really did have that youthfulness that was unnerving, for though their features were that of a twelve-year-old, their eyes were that of someone who was over a thousand years old. They both shared caramel brown hair, Jane having her hair down to her hip bones while her brother had his slightly wavy hair down to his shoulder blades, which was tied together in a small leather tong.

"I…. I don't know…. I don't even know how to be a mom."

I looked away from the children, shame overflowing me at the remembrance of Avalyn.

I didn't know how they would want me to even be their surrogate mother. I could barely handle myself some days, I would stay in bed and just curl myself upwards. Marcus hadn't come to comfort me yet, perhaps in time he would feel as though he could. Or maybe he imagined he would never be able to comfort me because it wasn't his child either.

"We can teach you. We know you need us. We will need you in time."

It was Jane that had said this, it seemed as though she was the one who would talk for her and Alec whenever they would have small talk. I had barely been able to hear his voice when he was speaking with his sister. I wanted to hear it separately instead of it being in the same pool with his sister's. He needed to let himself be known.

"What do you think, Alec? Do you have the same thoughts as your sister?"

Jane almost had a look upon her features which let me know she didn't appreciate having me try to have him start a conversation or respond to one.

Maybe it really was rare for him to even speak at all, and he knew his sister was stronger willed than he was. A sister that could easily gather control and make sure things would turn out well for the both of them and not just her.

"It…It would be nice to have a mother who cares about us. Queen Sulpicia is afraid to bond with us because of the loss of her child. Queen Athenodora on the other hand is more interested in King Aro than she is in us."

I noted how Jane's voice had a harsh tinge to it, despite the fact that there was a hypnotizing vibe to it. That was to be expected with how she had hated the world so much there was a hateful Gift given to her in immortality. Her features were a little harsher too than her brother's, while her brother had very soft features to him.

Alec's voice was barely able to be heard. It was so quiet, too light. Barely noticeable but it brought me to ease instead of causing trembles in discomfort.

I needed to give him along with his sister the benefit of the doubt.

They were children, plain and simple.

They had lost their biological mother over a millennium ago. Even then they must have had barely any memories of their biological mother. That was if there were even memories that were still there after all these centuries.

Then the others they had gotten in their second life weren't able to be there for them in the same way. One was too broken due to the trauma that still haunted her from her human life, while the other one was more interested in her relationship with her husband than the idea of being an actual mother. So yes, neither of them was in the position of giving them the care and love they craved.

My eyes scanned over both of them, and how there was a tinge bit of nervousness in them. Along with hope. It was so small, barely there. A speck of dust that was drifting through a sunray that came through a window. It was enough for me to know it was real, they were asking me this because they wanted me to say it was okay to be their mother.

My fingers reached up and played with my locket, while my other hand dropped its holding from the book and placed itself against my stomach.

I remembered the sound of Avalyn's heartbeat during the ultrasound. The feeling of her little feet and hands hitting my stomach, showing off little hands against my stomach or little feet pressing up against my stomach. Little reminders that she was letting me know she was here and was happy I was her mother. She couldn't wait until she would be born and be held in my arms, and there was a part of me that still wished she would do one of her sudden kicks or hits.

"She's just as br–"

"Yes."

Silence.

Only the sound of the fireplace on the other side of the chambers I was in was popping and cracking, allowing me to know that the fireplace was making sure to keep me warm.

The bedroom was still quite breathtaking, all in the shades of warm gold, emerald, green, and brown. The wallpaper was too detailed, with so many flowers and vines that seemed to almost be pinned to the wallpaper instead of it being a part of the wallpaper through paint and ink. The drapes that covered the windows were emerald, while the rugs that were draped throughout the flooring were Persian and combined all the colors in the room together.

"Yes?"

They had asked this at the very same time, their voices being one. Their eyes flickered towards each other, silently asking each other if what I had said was true. Or they were expecting me to start laughing and telling them I would never be their mother. They weren't good enough to be my children, the only child that was good enough to be mine would be Avalyn.

"Only on one condition."

"Condition? What condition?"

"You ask Marcus to be your father. I will not accept the role of your mother, if you do not accept the role of a father when it comes to Marcus. You get both of us."

The bedroom doors opened, and Marcus came gliding into the room, pausing when he saw me sitting on the couch with the twins not too far away from me. As though he was not expecting to find that I would have company, even if he had sensed two vampires in the room with me. He probably thought they were Sulpicia and Athenodora.

His beautiful crimson eyes flickered away from looking at the twins to me again. Double checking to make sure that what he saw was really there.

He swept forward, his pale and thin fingers reaching out to touch my hands. He took them in his hands, sending that sense of calmness and completeness that no one else could ever give me. He quietly sat there for a minute, before turning his attention towards the twins.

"I'm sorry that my brothers and their wives never gave you the opportunity of being their children. You shouldn't have to feel as though you need to ask someone to be your mother due to loneliness. Especially with your past…"

Alec and Jane stiffened, at the mention of their past. The loneliness and longing for them to have parents that loved them in their immortal lives. They had each other but even then, they saw parents flocking around the town with their children. Children who would be loved.

"I would be honored for you to be my children; I had always wished I could have had children with Didyme and she did hold a fondness in her heart for you even till the end. I can see the same when it comes to Bella. Am I correct in that assumption, my darling?"

Marcus turned his attention towards me, his voice soothing and simple.

There was no judgment in his voice and though there was a tiny bit of sadness at the mention of his late first wife he knew that things would get better. He knew that Didyme would want him to find love again, and it had helped him to remind himself of this.

It was the same predicament I found myself in when it came to the twins and Avalyn.

Avalyn would have wanted me to have a second chance of being a mother. She wouldn't have wanted me to have only the experience through her, especially with how it turned out.

Even if she couldn't be raised and loved by me while still alive, I could do so with the twins.

I was given an opportunity where I would never lose another child through death because they were immortal. They would live forever, and I would once I would be turned. We wouldn't have to be separated from each other ever.

It was enough for tears to rise in my tear ducts, prepared to cascade down my cheekbones. I turned my head and rested myself against Marcus, surprising him for a moment before he wrapped his arms around me. He shushed me and kissed the top of my head, sending actual tears flowing down my face. I knew it was a maelstrom of emotions.

Both because of me adopting the two misunderstood twins that just wanted to be loved for who they were, and because Marcus had initiated a kiss on my head. It was the first time he had ever done this. It made us closer, and in the three weeks that I had been here I was more than pleased with this progression in our relationship with each other.

"Jane…we should–"

Without thinking I pulled away from Marcus and fell onto the ground, the carpet and the rug helping me from having my knees turn black and blue. If it were a stone that I was landing on, even with a rug over it, there were chances where I would probably bruise myself or even break my knees because of the luck I always had with injuries.

"Come here."

They appeared before me after I had barely said this.

They didn't have to have their names spoken for them to know I had asked them to come to me. They came to me and sat down in front of me, on their knees so they were close enough to me. I reached my hands out and grabbed their robes, well part of their robes to motion for them to come even closer. They did so, without saying so, enough for me to be able to feel them take my arms and pull me up so that I could sit better on the rug.

I leant forward and wrapped my arms around the both of them, enough for them to stiffen enough as though I was trying to hug two statues to life.

Then slowly, very slowly, as though ice was being thawed, they eventually wrapped their arms around me. They wrapped their arms around me hard enough for me to know that they were absorbing the first step towards us being a family. They held me, with a desperation that would have probably made anyone else start crying, for the twins were showing they were without unconditional parental love. They had been missing out on something most people took for granted.

Eventually I pulled away from them, noting the watery essence of their crimson eyes. It was obvious they wanted nothing more than for tears to fall down their faces to relieve themselves of some of their inner pain. Yet, vampires were not able to cry and so the watery essence stayed in their eyes, slowly but surely absorbing itself away.

"I won't abandon you. You can be yourselves with me, and I will be the same for you. I'm certain that with time we can heal each other a little bit," I promised, making them nod their heads, watching me as I took one hand from each other and held them. Their hands were so small, thin, so childlike that it was unfair they were turned at such a young age.

"Alec…Jane."

Two crimson eyes and my brown ones turned their attention towards Marcus still sitting on the couch. He had one of his fingers resting against my shoulder, a reminder that he was behind me.

He was allowing me to start the bond between us and the twins. It was a fragile, slow thing, but I was going to make sure it would flourish for all of us.

He knew the importance of bonds, that had to do with his Gift, and though they were in the romantic sense he still could possibly have some of his Gift work towards knowing platonic bonds too.

He'd never have to say it, but I swore I could see him witness the creation of bonds for him and me along with the twins, intertwining together in a way that would never be torn or weathered away no matter how much time would progress.

"You can see platonic bonds too, can't you?" I whispered, without meaning to, which in return made Alec and Jane crane their heads to the side, their hands still in mine. I would have to initiate the ending of our handholding, but they would know it wasn't something that was negative.

"I can see the bonds of everyone, not just mating bonds. My brother has the tendency of spinning things in the direction he wants them to be. He thought that if we only mentioned the mating bonds then I would sound more unique than just seeing general bonds," Marcus supplied, lightly reaching down so he could take the hands of Alec and Jane.

"In order to cement our familial bond, we will need to add our venom and blood together," Marcus continued, which in return made the twins shake their heads. Marcus held their hands this time, squeezing them gently. He was making sure they wouldn't want to run away because they didn't want to hurt me in order to be bonded to me.

"She won't need to give much blood; she'll still be human for now. She won't be changed until she is completely ready to become a vampire," Marcus explained, before he stood up from the couch. He motioned for us to stay where we were as he swept out of the room.

"We don't want you to get hurt. We just want you to be our mother," Jane confessed, showing more vulnerability this whole time verbally than before. She must have been remembering the pain as she was being burnt alive by those that were extremists in their faith.

"I'll be fine. I can't be your mother through vampirism yet. But I want to cement my bond to you in a way that isn't just through words. Marcus must have picked up on this," I stated, earning weary nods from them both.

Marcus came into the room again, with a beautiful ceremonial knife that was crafted beautifully. There were detailed etchings and carvings in the silver blade along with its gold veined black stone handle, but I barely paid attention to this.

Instead, I noticed behind my veiled king the faces of Athenodora and Caius behind him, their eyes flickering towards the twins with guilt in their crimson eyes (it was obvious they felt bad they couldn't be parents for the twins, but they weren't regretting their choice). Their hands were intertwined together, and they shot me reassuring smiles that let me know they were here for us.

"Caius and Athenodora insisted on the witnessing of our bond. Partly because this ceremonial knife is technically Caius's, and also because they want to make up for not taking Alec and Jane as their children," Marcus explained, his eyes still those stunning, hypnotizing crimson orbs that I wished desperately to see along with his whole face instead of behind his veil.

It didn't surprise me when the twins decided they wanted their 'blood' to be shed. The knife came forward and sliced against their palms easily, which surprised me.

I would later find out that Caius had gone to a witch shortly after turning into a vampire and she had put a spell upon it to be able to cut the skin of vampires.

He had wanted his child brought to the world, alive and healthy, but witches could not bring the dead back to life. So instead of his child given to him, Caius was gifted with the ceremonial knife instead. He used it ever since, during his executions and intimidations to those who wronged the Volturi and vampiric world.

Witches were soon put into extinction after Caius had been given the knife and they didn't exist anymore. Only their books and other personal belongings were any evidence they were real. Vampires and other supernatural creatures collected them now, having been the only ones that had been able to see what humans could not with their naked eye.

It wouldn't surprise me if Caius had collected every item the witch had after she had died, in order to have a reminder that someone had helped him. She might not have been able to have given him his child back, but she had not cursed him nor pushed him away. She gave him something, something that would be in play for centuries later.

Its purpose today, to bind a mere human, me, to two vampire children and a vampire king.

Venom came seeping out of the twins' palms, clear.

It reminded me of droplets of water, nothing that was special.

Yet I was certain if I touched it, I would probably hiss from the pain that it would bring me.

Vampire venom was more than what meets the eye.

Marcus soon cut his own hand, allowing his venom to show. He turned towards me, with the hand that didn't have a slice through it obviously, and I brought my hand to him–palm up. He sliced the palm of my hand, red blood bubbling up and out of my pale skin.

Athenodora came over to me with a small silver goblet, where I could see the venom inside of it that belonged to the twins. Marcus turned and allowed a good bit of his venom drip into the goblet before he licked his palm, the slice healing itself completely in a matter of seconds. He wouldn't have any scars as a reminder of the bonding ceremony.

I brought my hand forward and allowed a small amount of my blood to pour into the goblet. The dripping of my blood hitting the goblet was so loud. It reminded me of when one could hear their blood rushing through their ears.

Marcus handed the goblet back to his sister-in-law, and cleaned up my slice to make sure there wasn't any infection that could appear. Then he took the cup back from Athenodora and took a sip from it, allowing the vampire venom and my blood to go down his throat.

The children took sips, before the goblet was handed to me. I could feel the eyes of everyone on me, waiting to see if I would backtrack and tell them I didn't want a chance to have children again. I merely raised the goblet up and allowed the venom and blood to go down my throat, cementing the familial bond between me, Marcus, and the twins.

I was Bella Swan, future vampire queen of the Volturi, and mother of the witch twins now.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: venom can only turn a human into a vampire through bite marks. At least that's true in this version.

as always: Twilight doesn't belong to me.

-it'semmynotemma

ps: next chapter: Marcus and Bella walk around the castle together and bond.