The trip to Volterra was long but uneventful. It was dark when we arrived, but I took in all that I could. I knew that jet lag was going to be awful, especially since Italy was a full nine hours ahead, but my excitement ensured that I wouldn't sleep for a long time yet.

"There will be time to see it all, you know," Caius said, looking amused.

"I know! But it's like seeing it for the first time. My original visit was not under such great circumstances," I reminded him, my eyes still glued to the buildings that loomed outside my window. "Plus, you forget that I have pretty good night vision."

"For a human," he said.

I didn't bother sending him a glare. "Fight me."

"Never," he responded, sounding amused.

"Oh, let her enjoy this, Caius. I think it's endearing," Marcus said.

This time, I did turn, giving Caius a triumphant look. "See? Thank you, Marcus."

"You're quite welcome," he said smugly.

"The weather is much sunnier here than it is in Forks," Aro said, taking advantage of the pause in conversation to speak, "so we won't be able to take you out all that much. Overcast weather is when we'll be doing most of our sightseeing."

"Because you're not leaving the castle without some sort of guard," Caius cut in. "Even if Volterra is safe, I don't want to tempt fate."

I rolled my eyes. "You guys are too protective. I promise I won't get killed if you let me walk around outside the castle."

"You could get hit by a car," Marcus said.

"Caught in a burning building," Caius said.

"Crushed by a vending machine," Aro finished with perhaps the most unlikely scenario.

"Crushed by- are you for real? Seriously, of the three things you just listed, only Marcus' is remotely plausible. You need to lighten up."

"We're just trying to keep you safe, mia cara. It's a dangerous world for a umana," Aro said.

I stared at him. "Did you just insult me?"

"Umana is Italian for human, love," Marcus said helpfully. "Just be thankful you haven't witness Caius ranting in Ancient Greek yet. Then you'd truly be lost."

"For now, our conversations are to take place in English exclusively, though Spanish will also suffice, I guess," I said with a grin.

"With your knowledge of Spanish, Italian will not be difficult for you to pick up. They are both Romance languages, and therefore quite similar," Aro said with a smile. "In fact, the two languages-"

"Okay, I'm going to go ahead and stop you right there. Once you start teaching me Italian, then I'll take that lecture gladly. But not right now, because my memory of your legit castle doesn't do it justice and I'm trying to see it all," I said, interrupting him.

Marcus sounded amused. "You do tend to ramble, Aro."

"Of course he does, that's his job," Caius grumbled, and from his tone I gathered that he had to endure many of Aro's seemingly endless tangents.

I laughed, and upon seeing Aro's petulant expression, nudged him with my shoulder and laced my fingers through his. "We're just teasing you."

"I know," Aro said, expression changing from sulky to delighted so fast I nearly missed it.

The car slowed to a stop outside a back entrance, and Felix was out and opening the doors so quickly I started. "Welcome to castello Volturi," Felix said with a dramatic sweeping bow.

"Thank you, Felix," Marcus said, helping me out of the car.

"Your bags have already been taken inside as requested, and Jane and Alec are waiting inside as instructed," he said, clasping his hands behind his back and standing ram-rod straight. When the kings weren't looking, he sent me a playful wink. I grinned at him.

"Ah, Jane, Alec," Aro said once Felix had opened the door. The twins were standing on the other side, their faces unreadable masks. "How good it is to see you. Rowan is here, see?"

"My queen," they said in unison, bowing their heads in an unmistakable gesture of respect.

"Alec and Jane will be your guard while you're in the castle," Caius informed me.

"Good to see you again," I said, giving them a genuine smile. I felt that the kings were going a little overboard, considering I hardly felt like I would be in danger within the castle, but I didn't mind getting to know my guard a little better.

"It's good to see you as well, my queen," Alec said, giving me a small smile in return.

"Demetri and Felix will be serving as your guards as well. However, so long as you're with one of us, your guard is unneeded," Aro added, which the twins took as a clear order to leave, turning sharply on their heels and disappearing with a swish of their cloaks. "How about you get some rest, and in the morning we'll give you a tour?"

"There's no way I'll be able to sleep now! However, I would love that tour," I said, and seeing Aro's skeptical expression, gave him the same look that I had seen Edward use many a time to get his way with Bella.

Needless to say, it worked like a charm. "Oh, alright."

The castle was beautiful, a fact that I hadn't been able to appreciate on my first trip, which is why I wished that I hadn't begun to get sleepy after only touring the first floor and half of the second. I leaned against Caius as we walked, a fact that he accepted with only the smallest told-you-so smile. Once Aro caught on to my exhaustion, he insisted that I rest.

"We will show you the rest tomorrow, mia cara, I promise, but for now you must sleep," Aro said. "I'll escort you to my room, as it is closest."

"Is it?" Caius asked, raising a pale eyebrow. "Because I am quite sure that-"

"Mine is closest," Marcus finished.

I rolled my eyes. "You all are insufferable. I thought I had my own wing?"

"It's still under construction," Caius told me, looking displeased. "It should be complete before you leave here again."

"Just take me to whoever's room is actually closest, then, and I'll swap rooms every so often." Marcus looked smug, as his wing was indeed closest - one corridor over and through two large, wooden doors.

"Why the hell do you have such a big bed? You don't sleep." It was easily king-sized and while I could appreciate the irony there was still no reason for it.

Aro chuckled. "For you, love. We wanted to make sure you had somewhere to rest."

Caius snorted, and even though I suspected that the beds were most certainly not for sleeping, I was too tired to really care. Instead, I kicked off my shoes and flopped down on the comforter with a sigh. "Goodnight," I said, my words muffled by the bed.

I heard Caius let out a true laugh this time, and I strongly suspected it was his fingers that combed gently through my hair. "Goodnight, love. We'll leave you to rest."

"Until morning, mia cara," Aro said, giving my fingers a gentle squeeze.

"Marcus, you staying?" I asked, cracking my eyes open to see that he was the only one of my mates that still remained in the room.

"Of course," he said, removing his shoes and jacket before climbing onto the bed and gathering me to his chest. "I'll be here when you wake. Get some rest."

I woke in a similar position to when I fell asleep, curled against Marcus's chest. At some point he had wrapped me in a blanket, though I don't remember ever stirring during the night. I yawned, stretching across his chest. My words, when I spoke, were still sluggish and sleepy. "What time is it?"

"Eleven," he told me, running his fingers through my hair.

"At night?!"

"In the morning. Did you want to go down to the kitchen for something to eat? I can have our secretary cook for you," Marcus offered.

"Food, yes, but I can cook myself. I've had lots of practice, considering my family is made up of vampires. But I think I want to shower and change first. Okay?" I asked.

"Of course. Demetri dropped your bags off here while you were asleep, Caius sent him up. And Jane dropped off the toiletries that we bought for you."

"Thank you," I said, sitting up and dropping the blanket from around my shoulders. "I shouldn't be long."

"Take your time. I'm going to the throne room, as Aro needs me for trials now that you're awake, but Jane and Alec will be waiting outside the doors to escort you down to the kitchen," Marcus said. "We shouldn't be terribly long, but you'll be in good hands."

"Alright. I'll see you later, then," I said, squeezing his hand. He smiled and kissed my forehead before leaving me alone to prepare for the day. Everything in the castle was luxury, even compared to my house with the Cullens, from the floors to the ceiling to the shower, which took me five minutes of fiddling to figure out how to use. After a long shower and rooting through my bags for something comfortable yet appropriate for public wear, I pushed open the doors to Marcus's bedroom, revealing the lavishly decorated corridor outside.

True to his word, both Jane and Alec were waiting outside for me, and the both bowed their heads when they saw me. The halls were much warmer than Marcus's room, but not unpleasantly so. "Good morning, Queen Rowan," Jane said primly, standing straight as a board. "We were told by Master Marcus to escort you down to the kitchens for a meal, is that correct?"

"Yes, Jane, thank you. And just Rowan is fine, really," I assured her, though I had a feeling that she wasn't going to drop my title.

"Right this way, then," Alec said. Jane was on my right, and he flanked my left side as we walked. "How do you like the castle so far, my queen?"

"It's beautiful. I'm excited to explore it more, and the city, too. Italy is such a beautiful country," I enthused, smiling. We passed an open window, a warm breeze blowing in from outside. I ran over to stick my head as far out as it would go, taking in the spotless blue sky and sun that was shining brightly overhead. "It's so warm and sunny!"

"Yes. We have the air conditioning running everywhere but the corridors. I hope that's too your satisfaction," Jane said seriously, though the slight twitch of her lips told me that she found my actions to be amusing.

"It's fine. It's never this warm in Forks, or this sunny. Is there a garden or something behind the castle?" I asked them, mood buffeted upwards by the warm weather and being in Italy with my mates once more.

"Yes. We can visit after you eat, if you'd like," Alec said.

I grinned broadly. "Oh, yes! That'll be awesome. I don't remember the last time I've seen a sky this clear and blue. I'll probably sweat to death, though. I'm not used to the heat."

"Please don't," Alec said. I wasn't completely sure if he was serious or not.

"We'll ensure that you stay cool and well-hydrated," Jane told me as we descended a flight of steps. "The kitchens are just down here."

"Great. I'm starving," I said as they led me into a huge kitchen. Why vampires needed such a large kitchen considering none of them ever ate was beyond me, but I wasn't about to complain.

"Gianna went out for groceries just yesterday, so there's plenty of ingredients to cook with," Alec said, leaning against the doorframe and watching with interest as I opened the fridge and looked through its contents, eventually settling on making myself an egg sandwich.

"How long do trials usually take?" I asked as the eggs sizzled in the pan.

"It varies. Some take longer than others, and they have several to do today due to their absence over the past days," Jane said. "However, I am sure the masters will hurry the proceedings in order to see you."

I finished the eggs, placing them carefully on the bread I had toasted. "Interesting. Will I be able to see any?"

Alec nodded. "One day. After you're changed, most likely. It's too dangerous for a human there, even with us. Cornered vampires do dangerous, desperate things."

"I'll keep away from the trials, then," I said, before busying myself with eating my sandwich. Jane cleaned the few things I had used without prompting, doing it much quicker than I'd ever be able to. "Thanks."

She looked faintly surprised. "You're welcome."

I insisted on cleaning my plate once I was done eating, and after putting it in the dishwasher and grabbing a water bottle, I announced our next spot: outside. The twins smiled at my excitement. "Follow us, then, my queen," Jane said, leading me off into the castle. This walk was longer than the one taken to the kitchen - it took nearly ten minutes to cross the castle. Alec threw open the doors to a large, magnificent garden, complete with twisting paths throughout the flowers and trees. Bees and butterflies flitted among the flowers, unbothered by the heat.

I felt myself begin to sweat the instant I stepped into the sun. It would take a while to get used to the hot weather here. Regardless, I wanted to explore, and began wandering around with Jane and Alec trailing behind me. They'd answer my questions about types of flowers or butterflies but were otherwise quiet. Eventually I settled under the shade of a large tree to drink my water and simply enjoy being outside.

"This place is so pretty," I said, leaning back against the tree and stretching out my legs.

"I agree," Caius said, strolling into view. Sun scattered off his skin in a myriad of colors, near blinding in the already bright sun. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow and he had his hands tucked in his pockets. I patted the ground beside me.

"Where are Aro and Marcus?" I asked curiously.

"Finishing up. I had a head start," he said with a smile.

I giggled. "So you ditched them, huh?"

"Call it what you will. How did you sleep?"

"Good. I ate already and asked Jane and Alec to take me here. They've been great," I said happily, taking another gulp of water. "I'm not used to it being this hot."

"I suppose it is warm for you. We don't notice," Caius said thoughtfully. "Shall I have another water bottle brought out?"

I glanced at my half-empty bottle. "I'm okay for now. It would just get warm if one was brought out now. Is the garden walled off on all sides?"

"Yes. There's a gate, but it's hidden behind ivy and locked to keep out any curious humans that may stumble upon it," he said. "Though it would be their misfortune if they did."

I grimaced. "Right. How were the trials?"

"As expected. Some were guilty, others innocent, and we have obtained another possible guard member. Demetri, Felix, and Santiago usually handle them, and if they're unsatisfactory they're either cut loose or killed," he said. "But let's not discuss that; tell me how you find the castle."

"It's gorgeous. I can't believe I didn't notice before," I told him.

"You were here under different circumstances before. You can't imagine how shocked we were when you appeared out of nowhere. It was the shock of our lives," he said with a laugh. "Felix nearly attacked you and I saw red. It was terrifying."

"You think it was terrifying for you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "Imaging being me! I thought I was about to become vampire chow."

"Impossible, I never would have allowed it," he said, humming in contentment as I traced patterns on his exposed forearm.

"Thank you for leaving us to deal with that, brother," Aro said, sounding displeased as he and Marcus walked up, looking distinctly ruffled. "Demetri was down an arm, Felix was locked in combat with two vampires, and you decide that was as good a time as any to find our mate?"

"You had it handled," Caius said airily. "I never would have left otherwise."

"Did Demetri get his arm back?" I asked interestedly.

"Of course, but that's not the point," Marcus said. "The point is he left us there to-"

"Oh, sit down, both of you," I said, cutting him off. Aro and Marcus did so immediately, the four of us now sitting in an awkward sort of circle. "Caius, you can't just ditch your brothers to come hang out with me. As tempting as it is, it's not fair. And honestly, if you two wanted to see me, you should have left first."

"Problem solving at its finest," Aro remarked dryly.

I grinned.

Edited 4/19/2021