THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT MY REPUTATION IS ALL I HAVE IN THIS PLACE.

People didn't know me for long enough to know why I did what I do, only that what I do seems to matter to their lives. I'd gained a good reputation with the guards, who found me funny (unintentionally) and my boyfriends who thought I could do no wrong.

Maybe that was why I searched in the library for all of those old law books. These people needed me and I also needed my reputation upheld if I was going to be a ruler.

The memories I have of my childhood weren't that great. I'd been an easy target for bullying, I thought the people who bullied me were my friends. I couldn't see until they had been publically humilating me for months that they didn't like me at all, that they'd poisoned the well for me at my schools. I went to six schools in four years, my parents willing to change me out but quite uninterested in finding the core problem with me.

They hadn't messaged me in years, I didn't even know what they were doing right now.

Every memory seemed slightly muddled, too extreme in my developed brain. Hindsight is 20/20, and my vision was horrible back then. I really had to learn how to spot these people before they began taking over my life.

It was only a blessing that Edward and Alice were so open with their hatred, or I may have tried to earn back their trust. I was too much of a people pleaser in that way. I wanted to change that in my immortality. No more apologizing for being myself, being a real person. If I did something wrong, sure, but otherwise? Otherwise it just wasn't worth the trouble.

Call it what you want. Protecting my peace is what I believe it to be.

And somehow that all ties back to the letter I'd been given. I didn't want to read it over again, to see the words for what they are. Carlisle wanted to ask for my forgiveness and I wasn't sure if I would give it too him yet.

The bridge wasn't burned, but it was on the brink of death. I wouldn't apologize if it died, but I wasn't trying to uphold it either. Edward was trying to poison my well again and despite how much Carlisle was apologizing to me, he wasn't doing enough to stop his child from ruining my reputation with their allies.

At least my Coven was on my side with this matter. They agreed on the ruling that if Bella didn't turn until after the wedding (which I believe Edward only now broached with Bella by the tears in her eyes) the Volturi would come and kill her. No if ands or buts about it.

It was quite nice having that matter settled, even if it meant that I was not on speaking terms with Carlisle. The letter he sent me wouldn't change that. Jasper wasn't on speaking terms with him either. Why would he be? He'd testified against him at trial, at court.

Court would have to begin soon, Aro told me after the trial ended. They needed the relations between the other Covens, to introduce me to everyone. It was a fact of vampire life I'd never experienced before, unfortunately. Social events weren't particularly my style. I'd always been a wallflower at every school dance I'd attended. Though I could suffer a night just to see the Coven happy.

In terms of the lockdown, the Coven all came to an agreement that if their allies attended an event, the likelihood of someone showing up and ruining it was slim. Andrei was a coward. He couldn't be that desperate so as to come into a room full of enemies and show off how much he hated the Volturi for making me Queen.

The Cullens, of course, were not invited due to the worsening relations. The Volturi didn't want to host a human for longer than required. I didn't want to see any of them, besides maybe Rosalie and Emmett, for a while.

"What we must decide is whether or not the Pack is invited," Aro said as he slunk back in his reclining office chair. "Whether or not they want to come is unknown."

"I think they should at least get an invite," I said, facing my boyfriend in a similar chair to his. "Could help us introduce them to vampires and have a bit of solidarity between species."

"It is clear they don't like vampires, though." Aro sighed and grabbed one of the many fountain pens in his little gothic pencil pouch. "I wouldn't want to overstep with them and make things worse. We would not host this gathering for at least four and a half weeks. They may be busy with work or other events."

"Most American schools will be out by mid-June," I reminded him.

Though the adults will have jobs, lives, that they have to get to in order to make a living. They had families and people that relied on them. Not everyone could drop everything to come to Italy for at least three or four days.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't invite them though. That would be impolite considering their recent debut into the greater supernatural world.

"I wouldn't want Edward and Alice to poison the well for them," I said. "They could be doing that right now. Nobody knows anything about them. Vampires like their gossip, you know."

"Truly, I wish I didn't know." Aro huffed as he began writing something down on a piece of blank paper. "Have you spoken with Marcus recently?"

"Not that much, why?"

"He seems to be under the impression that you're ignoring him," Aro confessed for his brother as he continued his writings. I couldn't decipher what was on the page, his handwriting absolutely incoherent. "Are you?"

"No," I denied. "I don't know why he would think that. We've all been quite busy with Victoria's army and then the trial."

That drained everyone honestly. Those three weeks of preparation and wondering what we would do next. Hearing about a new girl that had gone into a coma. It was daunting and my focus had been directed at my new friends.

"He's very sensitive, my brother." Aro stopped writing for a second before continuing, "Doesn't always know how to say what he wants. Didn't care much for being alive before you came into our lives. I believe he's overthinking this one, like he usually is, but I did promise him that I'd talk to you about it."

I wanted to get defensive, the feeling rising in my chest before I let it go. It was only a question, one in good faith. Aro didn't ask bad faith questions, he was always just curious. If he'd promised something to Marcus, I couldn't fault him for that.

"I'm not ignoring him," I said quietly. "Not talking to someone doesn't mean that you're ignoring them."

"Of course it doesn't, mia amore, that is not what I was implying." Aro fully set down his things to talk to me now, a loving look in his red eyes. "He is only worried for your relationship. If you do not talk, how is it to grow? Marcus often worries for the relationships in the Coven and between those he cares about. He cares about you most of all."

Cares about you most of all.

"I've been too focused on other people, I guess," I admitted despite not really wanting to. "The guards have taken up a lot of my time. It hasn't been that long since I turned."

"You can still spend as much time with them as you wish, mia amore."

"Not if it's making him worried for our relationship." That was the last thing I wanted. Feeling unwanted or under-appreciated is the fastest way to kill love. I didn't love him yet, but I never would if I didn't at least talk to him. "I'll talk to him. Tonight. After we're done with the gathering ideas."

That was what I was most interested in and what we were discussing before. The floral arrangements, what the attire would be. June meant the end of spring and the beginning of summer. Vampires would have to stay inside due to the sun making them stand out too much. Humans would take notice to the shiny people in the Clock Tower.

"Good, good." Aro had a sweet smile on his face as he glanced over at the book of flowers we'd taken out before to manage these things. "We usually use a mix of human friendly and poisonous flowers, as a reminder of our immortality. It is a tradition that marks our clear line between vampires and humanity."

"So, what ones were you thinking about?" I asked.

"Flower decisions usually depend on why we are having the gathering rather than the flowers themselves," Aro explained as he toured the pages of his book, "Cultures have always found meaning in plants, vampires are no different. We are superstitious as much as any people, especially elders."

"Yes, yes, remind me how old you are."

Aro laughed and continued, "It is quite easy these days to get flowers. Any flower can be brought by our Allied Covens, since most grow flowers."

"Oh, so it is not just us who has a little flower garden in our backyards?" I teased.

"Of course not! Every vampire has to have a hobby and a collective one we all share seems to be gardening." Aro chuckled. "Makes us seem less dangerous, doesn't it? Most authorities who see a man outside gardening with his wife would not suspect him responsible for the disappearances in the village next door."

A clever way of getting away with murder.

"So we can get any flowers we want and they do have to mean something for the occasion."

"You should have at least two that you want there, Marcus and I can discuss the rest at a later date."

I thought about what I even knew about flowers. We planted them growing up, it was one of the only things my father and I did together before I stopped liking it. Before getting my hands dirty would get me made fun of at school (because somehow the dirt always got under my nails).

"Azalea and Birds of Paradise will be enough for me." They were beautiful and I didn't want to think too hard on it, lest I remember how many other flowers I planted in my youth. "You and Marcus will be sure to pair them well with some others."

"You have my word that I will do my due diligence in working your choices into the setup," Aro promised. "This is your introduction to the rest of the world, after all, and you deserve to have only the best for this."

I appreciated it from him. I knew by the way he beamed when talking about it that these gatherings were his idea, that he enjoyed them the most. His energy matched what was required for planning and going to them, so it only made sense. I suspected that this tradition started with him and just lasted so long due to his persistence.

I liked it, I liked it a lot, even if I don't really like social gatherings in general.

"So, what people are our allies?" I asked, knowing that he knew the answer.

"The Seattle Coven, the Korean Coven, the London Coven of young vampires, the three Greek Covens, Upstate New York has a Coven we are quite friendly with, and last of all the Dubai Coven," Aro answered. "All of them have wealth, land, and plenty of social gatherings of their own. Jane and Alec love visiting London to hunt with their little friends.

"We are very connected to the Greek Covens due to the Volturi's inherent Greek heritage. The Korean Coven is a split from the original Japanese-Korean Coven that had a falling out during WWII. Caius likes to gamble with the Dubai Coven, much to Marcus' dismay."

"I've got a lot of history of these Covens to catch up on."

"They will tell you their stories, I am sure of it. If there is one thing that is universal amongst most vampires it is that they do not know when to stop talking."