Updated on November 3rd, 2024: My wrist had been very uncooperative with me which meant that it was very hard for me to write. On top of that work has been getting on my nerves so you can imagine why there was a small delay, but I got it up this weekend (as it is still Sunday for me). We got 10 more chapters left to go so maybe I'll get a good chunk of them out this month.

Bella POV

Sometimes, everything feels surreal, like I'm drifting through a dream— a beautiful one that seems too good to be true. And yet, I couldn't help but feel like I didn't deserve this. I didn't deserve the happiness, the joy or even the comfort that Caius brings- whenever we are in each other's company.

I was almost forgetting about Edward, or even the pain that he had caused me- shattering my heart into millions of little pieces, and having Caius picking every single piece up. He was so patient, caring and making sure that I never felt alone. Everything that Edward simply never did.

I know everyone wanted me to forget about him, to forget about the pain that he caused.

But I couldn't.

It was part of me. It was the only reason why I became like this. The thing about pain- either physically or emotionally- it just never went away, no matter how hard someone wanted it to go. It would always linger and no matter how hard I could even recover, how much time passed- can his presence truly cease to exist?

I didn't have time to dread the matter as it seemed like someone came in- one that I didn't recognize whatsoever, barged into the room.

"Bella, you're coming with us!" A woman vampire greeted, without a care in the world in whose room she just entered. Her dark hair was twisted in a braided crown on top of her head, with her eyes a strange shade of violet. Most likely, being from blue colored contacts placed onto her red irises that made its color, I thought to myself. She was dressed head to toe in a long, long-sleeved dress that reached down a little past her knees paired with black boots.

I looked at the strange vampires in confusion, trying to figure out who any of these four vampires were as I don't think I've ever seen any of them before. Besides, it wasn't like Aro or even Caius introduced me to the rest of the vampires that resided with the Volturi.

"Sorry, who are you?" I asked, hesitantly, looking at them with a frown.

The one with silvery-blonde hair laughed before she responded, "Caius never mentioned me, did he? I'm not surprised one bit, considering. Besides, we won't hurt you. We just want to get to know you first…"

Caius? Judging from the way she laughed, and the way she sounded familiar with him- this must have been Athenodora, and perhaps the rest of the queens. Although, this was as much as a guess of anything, since neither Edward nor the rest of the Cullens dived into the matter of the queens at all, or really anything at all.

"Athenodora? And who are the other three vampires?" I asked, uncertainty lacing my voice.

"This is Didyme and Sulpicia, and of course, Corin, one of the guards." The same vampire said, gesturing towards the other three vampires standing behind her as she said their names. "And yes, I'm Athenodora… I was Caius's wife…."

"Oh… And why do you want me to come with you?"

I didn't sound exactly thrilled, but that was because I wasn't looking forward to being in the presence of vampires I've never even met, or barely even word of =- besides the word of the mouth. Besides, what did I even offer for these three ancient vampires? They could kill me- which I wouldn't mind, although I know Caius might have something to say about that with his behavior.

Probably sensing what I was thinking, Athenodora rolled her eyes and said, "You don't have to fear us… Caius, or really Aro, if you think about it, would kill us if something has happened to you. You're quite literally the safest human in the world. Otherwise, it'd be a death sentence if we harmed a single strand of hair on top of your head."

Ahh, yes, how could I forget that I was Aro's new toy- and just for Volturi's entertainment. Funny, how I thought the same thing when I first met the Volturi kings in perfect, and theoretically, most of the Volturi in general.

"You can't say no to us… We're dragging you either away," Sulpicia chimed in, "Besides… We want to learn about our new sister. We haven't heard anything about you, or what you like to do. No one knows- you're the greatest mystery right now."

"Perhaps, there's a reason why you don't know me… There's no point," I murmured, looking down towards the floor.

"Oh don't be like that…" Didyme piqued up, "You got to have something."

"Nope, nothing. I seem to be like an open book, everyone knows my secrets before I even know," I told them.

"That may be true, but still- that's from someone else's perspective," Athenodora said. "Not yours. There's a big difference."

"What are you planning to do?" I asked.

"Shopping," Didyme chimed in. "It's been a while since we have and we thought you would want to escape this castle for a little while."

I tried to avoid grimacing, as I wasn't a huge fan of shopping but whatever, rocked their boat. And it was oddly clear that they weren't going to be leaving without me- with or without my permission at that- so I might as well get ready, which was really just my shoes as I didn't have any other clothes I had.

"We really need to get you more pairs of clothes," I heard Corin mention, looking at my pair of jeans and t-shirt I still had on.

I showed no reaction after hearing what she said, and put on one of my shoes.

"I'm glad you made this easy for us," Sulpicia mentioned as I put on one of the shoes I had, "Otherwise we were going to drag you out of this castle… Now hop on."

She bent down into a crouch and I grabbed around her neck. As soon as I was settled, the vampires flitted out of the room and headed out of the castle. I kept my eyes closed, feeling the cold rush of air until it stopped and I opened my eyes. We were at the entrance of the castle and headed outside.

It was overcast out with gray clouds, blocking the way of the bright sun. People stopped and chatted with one another with parents watching their young children run amok in the plaza. The four vampires ushered me forward until we entered a random shop that looked like it was a really fancy clothes shop from the way it looked, from the inside.

Rows and rows of dresses, skirts and nice tops flooded my vision. A lot of stuff that I probably didn't want to know what the cost was, and things I wouldn't really wear in my day to day life. It seems like Corin, Athenodora, Sulpica and Didyme knew what they were looking for and already rushed away to look at heels, jewelry or just looking through the stacks of clothes while I stood there, awkwardly. I never knew how one would love shopping like this.

"Oh, Bella- do you not like shopping?" A voice asked behind me.

Athenodora asked, sneaking up on me. She already had a couple of pairs of clothes in her hand that she handed to me as soon as I turned around and looked at her.

"Here, try these on… They look like they are in your size," was all she said, before she disappeared into an aisle of clothing.

Shrugging, I headed towards the fitting room and tried on the clothes that Athenodora gave me. It was fun, trying to navigate the stitches I still had on my abdomen, as I tried on a tight-fitting, navy blue dress- one that seemed to hug my figure. It wasn't me- I wasn't the one who liked to show my figure or anything like that and it seemed that all the clothes that Athenodora picked out for me, did just that. If it wasn't clinging to my body, it was showing my legs, or had a deep neckline to it. Nothing that screamed at me.

Grabbing the clothes, I headed out of the dressing room and put them back on the racks. Didyme and Sulpia seem to saw what I was doing with Sulpicia asking,

"Do you not like those clothes?" She asked, with a hint of concern in her tone.

"Not really. They're not what I would wear on a daily basis," I told her. "Those kinds of clothes are not for me."

"We'll find something," Didyme mentioned before she tugged Sulpicia at her wrist, and darted away into the racks of clothing.

It didn't seem to take long before the two vampires returned with arms filled with clothing and headed to me, and directed me back into the fitting room with the instructions to show them the articles of clothing that they picked out.

It seemed like Sulpica and Didyme tried their best to avoid picking out the tightest clothing or the ones with deep necklines. They picked out sundresses, skirts and dress pants that were sometimes a little too short for my liking but I liked the way it looked to the shirts they also picked out. A lot of it was clothing I wouldn't be caught dead wearing back in Forks but I suppose with the much warmer that Volterra had, I'd be wearing these clothes.

Eventually, all the vampires were satisfied with the clothes, shoes and accessories picked out and picked out a lot of the shoes that had very limited heels (thank goodness), and lots of jewelry that they simply tossed in without looking. The way the four of them were, they seemed really happy that they had fun with me, and picking out clothing for me to wear.

"Well what do you think Bella?" Corin asked, on our way out of the store. "I know shopping isn't for you, but we thought we'd give you the offer to head out… Besides, you are with the Volturi now."

"I know," I murmured, looking straight ahead at the fountain- where the sound of water hitting the water in the fountain was heard.

"It's okay to not be adjusted… It's a bit of a big change, but we're here for you no matter what," Corin said.

"Yeah… I know I enjoyed your company. I could see why Caius took a liking to you rather quickly. You have mellowed him out a lot since you arrived," Athenodora commented.

"So I heard," I told her.

"It's a good thing. Mates are supposed to be compatible with each other. In the short time you've been here, you have changed Caius for the better. He is a lot less angry, more caring and isn't going to rip someone's arm off for pissing him off. He cares for you, deeply and honestly, I think he loves you, just like you love him… You two are just too stubborn to admit it," Didyme mentioned, taking me by the shoulders.

"We just met- how could we have fallen in love with each other?" I asked.

"I don't know, it just happens sometimes. Don't ask me to explain it- it's honestly hard too," Didyme told me. "But everyone, besides Athenodora, can explain to you what it feels like having a mate is like- if you're interested."

"Not really… I think I've heard the same comments several times," I said.

"And yet, it's the truth," Sulpicia mentioned, "You'll hear it until eventually you and Caius admit that you two love each other, or until you two end up in bed together. One of the two."