COLD HANDS• VOLTURI KINGS

CHAPTER SIX

It had been a week since the oddly comforting talk with Jane, and apart from the garden endeavour with Marcus and the strange lecture from Aro, the kings had been silent. Maybe he preferred them that way, Oliver didn't know if he was relieved or annoyed. What was the point of keeping him here just to ignore him? But, he supposed, that he should be thankful that they're giving him space. Small mercies. Maybe this is their idea of a healthy ‘relationship.'

And after giving that a great deal of thought, he stupidly realised that he has made zero efforts to contact his father or literally anyone. He’d been too focused on the kings and he hates himself for it. He finds his phone in his jeans, where he left them. And somehow, Alice had managed to sneak his charger in his small bag of essentials.

At first he was confused, then it seemed obvious. ‘Of course. Alice must have had an inkling I would stay for a while’.  He’s uncomfortable with the notion that Alice had allowed him to enter all of this without telling him. He would have just stayed home and would probably be in biology with Angela, or at Theo’s house watching a movie and embarking on a three hour gossip session right now. But no, he’s sat at the very corner of the garden, shrouded by bushes and the soft hum of bees, debating where he stands with his literal soulmates.

The first person he called was his father. The  conversation was strangely easy. Well, not easy, he just didn't need to provide an explanation for his departure. Bella seemed to convince Charlie that he was in Italy because he'd won an art contest. Dumb excuse, but hard to disprove. And so, after many apologies and thanks, he was covered for the next month. This contest must be the real deal for paying for a month in Europe, but thankfully Charlie didn't question it. His father's response to questionable good news is usually just, ‘wow’ very flatly.

And then there was the matter of his friends. He didn't bother to message Jessica or Mike or any of those brainless minions. The only people he really cared to talk to were Theo and Angela. Angela's smart, and so the contest ruse obviously didn't fool her, but she accepted it and congratulated him with ease. It felt wrong to lie to her, but he's pretty sure that the first rule of vampires is to not gossip about them. She wished him well on his trip and said she was counting down the days until his return. That felt like a punch in the gut.

Theo, on the other hand, is a sweetheart, but he sort of just goes with the flow. "Wow, a contest? That's great!" And with his praise, Oliver actually felt proud of his nonexistent achievement. The phone call ended with more compliments and the childish sounds of Theo urging him to check out the Italian girls. He's really easy to fool.

Although, from where he's sitting in the garden, leaning back against a rather majestic looking tree, his internal conundrum seems so trivial. As he gazes at the castle in all its glory, and listens to the sound of wildlife, he can't seem to muster up any fear or sadness. The once sizzling feeling of Bella and the Cullen's betrayal, doesn't reach him, it feels…detatched from him. Only the excitement and pleasure of being out in the sun really gets to him. It's warm against his face, it provides infinite protection.

The noise from the town folk is loud today, full of laughter and gossip. And then he knows what he wants to do, what might make him feel okay about his residency in the castle, explore the town. All he has to do is ask the kings. That surely can’t be that difficult.

As it turns out, even gaining an audience with the kings proved to be tricky. After asking numerous random passing guards and calling for Jane, he received the same answer each time. 'I am sorry, but the kings are occupied with a trial right now. Would you like to send a message to them?' No, he doesn't need to send a message. He needs to turn the begging and grovelling up to 100 to be allowed to roam the town. (Probably with a human assistant or something, he doesn't know.) He supposes he should wait in Aro's study or demand an audience at once, but then the curiosity of said trial distracts him.