Bella's POV

The garden was rather pleasant to visit. There were a variety of flowers, all in a palette of different colors ranging from bright red, bright orange to a more cool tone of a lovely shade of blue, or a violet color. I couldn't guess what type of flowers they kept in the garden, perhaps my mother may know, but I've never really been much of a flower person. The variety of flowers casted a sweet aroma around me, creating a delightful floral scent of sweetness, and the freshness that came from them.

"There are a bunch of flowers over here. I'm not sure exactly how many types of flowers we have, but I'm certain Didyme or Marcus may know. They spend most of the time in the garden," Caius explained, as we rounded the corner of the garden to see more flowers. "I'm pretty sure it was Didyme's idea too, like five or six centuries ago."

"What about me?" A vampire asked who I assumed was Didyme, flitting right in front of us.

I blinked, unsure of where she came from. It must have been from nearby, or she decided to see what the conversation was. Either way, I really didn't know. Didyme was a young vampire, and almost reminded of Alice in a way with the way she smiled at me- almost looking like a fresh new meal. She held out a couple of pretty pink flowers that had a shade of bubblegum pink to them. They looked like they were freshly cut by the way they were perfectly cut on the bright-green stems.

"I was just explaining to Isabella how the garden was your idea," Caius told her. "Although, you probably heard. You just wanted me to say it."

Her grin turned wider before she admitted, "You caught me… Besides, what's the fun in life if you don't decide to annoy people?"

"Didyme, don't you really have anything better to do?" Caius asked.

"Not really," She said with a light roll of her eyes, "Besides. I was curious. It's not every day that we have a human in our midst."

"Who is off limits," Caius growled, wrapping an arm around me, and keeping me close. I leaned in towards me, feeling a sense of calmness and security- knowing that he wouldn't let anyone harm me. "You should know that Didyme. I could rip you into shreds if you dare touch her."

"Relax," Didyme said, "It's not like I was going to… Besides, she brings out a side that we haven't seen, or rather… I haven't seen in my entire immortal existence. She suits you."

With that, Didyme left us, leaving me and Caius alone in the garden. My thoughts were still trying to process what just happened. The vampire was weird, but she seemed rather nice enough. I briefly wondered what else the vampires thought about.

"Sorry about that," Caius apologized, "Didyme isn't really like that… Although, I'm not surprised that she would do that."

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"Didyme, Sulpicia and Athenodora were very close with each other and liked newcomers basically. Sometimes, they would do things, but I really didn't pay attention. What they did was on their own terms as long as they respected the rules." He shrugged, as if he really didn't care.

"Athenodora?" I questioned.

"Athenodora is my wife… I only took her because I wanted companionship and that we could be mates," He explained to me. "Although, I haven't seen much of her lately, not since I came back with you. Perhaps, she is off doing something like spending money, or something. Regardless, you won't have to deal with her."

"Oh," I frowned.

A strange feeling almost like jealousy came over me. It was only a brief moment, but I don't know why I was feeling this way. Perhaps, it was because he had someone that he once probably loved before. He was a vampire, he was allowed to have companionship and marry someone, I tried to rationalize my thoughts together, before saying something,

"What are you going to do about her?"

"I'll probably send her away, for her to be able to have the opportunity to find her mate. Help her find happiness," He replied after a brief long pause. "Shall we continue our time in the garden?"

I nodded.

We walked around the garden, barely talking to one another. I took in the solitude that the flowers gave me. The rows of flowers, all of them looking healthy with no wilted petals, or anything like that. It brought a strange feeling of peace in me. One that I haven't really felt. It was almost like it was one place where I knew no one would be able to find me, or for anyone to want my attention. The garden was nice, and one that I could probably see myself simply walking in from time to time, whenever I feel overwhelmed about something, or to get away from something.

Soon, we walked through the entire garden. I didn't see any other vampire in sight, which was probably a good thing since I really wasn't in much of a mood to talk to them too much.

"What do you like to do?" I asked. "You mentioned earlier that you don't hang around the garden. So what do you do… I can't imagine you brooding and being an angry king all the time."

"I paint," I told her. "Perhaps another time, I'll show you my art studio."

"Okay."

"You should probably know that the trial of Edward Cullen is set to be in three days. I thought you would like to know," He whispered the last part to me. "That way, you're able to prepare yourself in the meantime to be able to handle him."

"Oh… " I said. "Thank you for telling me that."

Great. I really didn't want to deal with him, considering the fact that I was still hungover about him, and everyone was telling me to get over him. But, I couldn't help but feel like that aching hole in me started easing a little bit with each passing minute, the more I hung out around Caius.

Updated (July 16th, 2023): It's been a while, but I got an updated scene with very much better grammar, spelling and everything. I really like how Caius and Bella's relationship is forming.

This story is on AO# under Fire is Everywhere