MAKE THEM GOLDEN, caius volturi

the letter ⸻ 021

25 years later

"Ha! Checkmate!"

I groaned as Nessie took my king, a smirk exactly like my father's gracing her lips. She teasingly held it in front of my face and I scowled, swiping at her hand.

"That's no fair!" I whined, seeing as I had lost the previous five games as well.

Dad and Carlisle chuckled from behind me.

"It is fair," Nessie corrected as she stood, still in a triumphant mood, "You suck at chess and I won. What else could you want?"

I copied her actions and huffed. "A rematch!" I demanded with fiery eyes, just as my mother and Aunt Rosalie entered the room.

They both smiled at me and as I pouted, I locked gazes with my mother. She looked at me, at Nessie, and then back at me when she saw more white than red on board.

"Ness beat you again?" She asked, a small laugh leaving her lips.

I pouted.

The more time I spent at home, the more I realized that I looked almost exactly like my mother.

While Nessie had auburn hair and greenish-brownish eyes like my father, I favored my mother with her dark hair and previously dark eyes.

Not only that, we also shared some of the same mannerisms. She was quiet, I was quiet for the most part. She preferred reading to the company of others and as did I.

And like her, I was also a very sore loser.

"I would've won had she not cheated," I grumbled slightly under my breath, though a smile peaked on the corner of my lips in spite of myself.

Carlisle chuckled as he came to pick up the pieces of the chess board. Squaring it away, he turned to Nessie and I with a smile.

"Why don't you both go help your Grandmother in the garden? I'm sure another game and Nessie will end up in a headlock, like last time," He laughed, much to Nessie displeasure.

She frowned at the memory and shirked away when I grinned at her.

And then, before I could even blink, she was racing off and yelling something about catching her.

I shook my head.

"If one of your daughters doesn't come back then I assume you know what happened," I turned to mom and dad giggling, before racing after her and catching up in no time.

* * *

A few hours later, I sighed in content as I lay back on the soft grass of my parent's meadow. All around us were different color flowers, plants and small specs of life.

It was peaceful out here, despite it being in the middle of the woods. And ever since I'd been home, I loved coming out here with Reneesme just to relax and talk.

It was one of the things I missed the most in Volterra. And briefly, I wondered if Caius would be opposed to planting a meadow like this back at the castle, before Nessie spoke again.

"I'm gonna miss days like these whenever you go back to the Volturi," She said sadly as she ripped out a random piece of grass.

I frowned as I turned to her, my heart dropping at her glum expression.

The sudden reminder of my return in two days hit me like a brick. I sighed.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Ness," I told her as my red eyes met her green ones. Dread danced behind them, replacing the happiness that was usually there. "You're always welcome to visit, though."