It took one hour and thirty minutes to reach Volterra from Florence. It would have taken ten minutes less if we hadn't run into traffic. When the plane touched ground in Florence, I was escorted to the second limousine by Marcus who then scooted inside the limousine along with Aro and Caius. The ride was silent with a few exceptions. I was asked all sort of questions and I had asked some back.
"How long have you been alive, carissima?" was one question asked by Aro. He could have taken my hand to find out the answer, but I guess he didn't want to use his invasive gift on me.
"Since 1780." I had replied. All three looked pained to hear that I was around for almost three centuries and they hadn't known I was alive within that time period. In fairness, I didn't know much about the Volturi except for a few small things. I was taught the laws by Garrett, but I didn't know who the people were who made and enforced the laws until Eleazer. "You?" I asked back in return.
Aro wasn't sure since the calendar had been changed. He just knew it was a thousand years before the birth of Christ. He didn't know the exact date or year. He just knows he was born in Ancient Greece and is in the three-thousand years old margin. Caius was born in Ancient Greece and knew he was just a bit older in years than Aro but was turned at an earlier age. Marcus was the youngest when born but was the oldest when turned. They all were three-thousand years old in vampire age. Physically, Aro was 22, Caius was 20, and Marcus was 24.
When we reached the Volturi castle and parked in the underground parking lot, a human servant walks up and opens the door for my mates and I. Marcus, being on better standing with me, takes my hand and leads me into the castle with Aro and Caius following behind us. Marcus tells me about the various paintings that adore the inside of the castle's walls and how almost all of them were painted by Caius. When we reach two large, oak wooden doors, Aro walks in front of us.
"The throne room, mia cara." Aro opens the doors and my jaw drops. The inside was beautiful. It was marble all over and was adorned by grey marble benches that sat against the wall's curves. In the back of the room was the most beautiful and was the center focus of the room. In the back sat three stairs on a higher foundation. Leading up to the thrones were marble stairs. "We will be installing a fourth throne beside mine before your coronation." Aro tells me and tries to press his hand on my back to lead me to his throne but I quickly dodge his hand. "Tomorrow will be an overcast day and so I have ordered Chelsea and Heidi to gather clothes for your wardrobe. In the meantime, you will have to wear Chelsea's dresses until your new wardrobe is presented."
"Can I come with them? I'm sure it would be easier for them if I was there to try on the clothes." I say.
"Absolutely not!" Caius hisses. "I will not allow you to go outside of these walls."
I look at him. "Why not? Chelsea and Heidi will be there."
"It doesn't matter. The Volturi have many enemies and if one enemy saw you outside these walls, they wouldn't hesitate to hurt you." he reasons. "You are our mate. If anything happened to you, we would feel it. We would only feel comfortable if one of us were with you."
"Then one of you come with me." I say.
Aro shakes his head. "Mia cara, I'm afraid we cannot do that. As rulers, we have a busy life and almost every day calls for our attention. We have trials to do. Paperwork to do. Both take up a good amount of our free time. Caius is right. If an enemy vampire got through the guards that protect the city of Volterra from enemies and saw you come out of the castle walls, they wouldn't hesitate to hurt you. Being our mate puts you at a higher risk of being attacked. You could be taken or killed. Hurting you would hurt us."
"But--"
Marcus interrupts me. "My brothers are right, il mio piccolo fiore. We can't afford to let anything happen to you."
"But I--" Caius interrupts before I could say anything further.
"This discussion is over with, Amity! Besides I believe my brother has something to give to you."
"That I do," says Aro before taking a wooden box out of his pocket. "This here," he opens it to reveal a golden necklace in the shape of a v. "Is the royal Volturi crest. This lets other vampires know that you belong to Volturi and are therefore protected by the Volturi. The Volturi guards have red rubies on them, while ours have blue. The blue signifies Volturi royalty and is only worn by my brothers and I and now you." Aro takes the necklace out before walking behind me. "Con questo, sei la nostra regina. Indossalo con saggezza. With this, you are our Queen. Wear it wisely." he says as he puts the necklace on me. When locked in place, I hold and admire it. It was beautiful. It had four blue rubies on it and had four carvings in the middle. "We've been wanting to wear this crest for a very long time."
I smile. "Thank you."
"You are very welcome, mia cara. Now, I believe it is time to show you our chambers." he says.
I squint my eyes. "What do you mean by our?"
"Don't fret, mia cara. Our chambers are just linked to one another."
"But Demetri said--"
"Demetri was wrong. We've had him punished countless of times for making inappropriate comments. That idiot." Caius growls.
"Brother, I am sure Demetri meant no harm by it. Just a stupid joke. There is no need to punish him by throwing him in the dungeon without blood for a week." Aro consoles.
"He made an inappropriate comment towards our mate!" yells Caius.
"Brother, calm." Marcus says as he puts his arm on Caius'. "We should put this discussion aside and show our mate more of the castle."
Translations:
Mia cara - my dear.
Carissima - dearest.
Con questo, sei la nostra regina. Indossalo con saggezza - with this, you are our queen. Wear it wisely.