Nora found herself sitting alone on a cold stone bench awaiting the arrival of the so-called kings. Her time hadn't been wasted though, she spent a good chunk of her waiting making fun of Jane and Alec at the way they sparkled in the sunlight. She still couldn't believe it. From what she knew about vampires they burnt in the sun, they weren't supposed to shimmer like a fucking disco ball-It was hiarious and made vampires a little less intimidating to her.

It was funny how fast  Jane and Alec had left when the dreadlocked man known as Santiago had come to relieve them of their duties, though he was now forced to take the brunt of her jokes instead. She did stop eventually, resigned to just sit quietly and admire the garden.

She had placed herself in a shaded area that looked strangely like a building nature had reclaimed, it was overrun with numerous pink, white and purple flowers that were covering empty windows and the other benches spaced around the area; she thought it was stunningly beautiful. She'd always loved the imagery of nature overtaking the things man had created, there was something poetic about it.

So lost in it's beauty she was oblivious to the sound of three pairs of approaching footsteps, the kings nodding to Santiago before he vanished into thin air. They watched their mate as she marveled at their garden, captivated by the way the sun's rays that peaked over the wall made her chestnut hair glow like molten copper. Her grey eyes flitted around, blues and greens battling in their depths like a turbulent thunderstorm. The little black dress she wore complimented her lean yet curvy figure and olive skin effortlessly. Among all of the magnificent flora she truly was a sight to behold.

A throat was cleared loudly making Nora squeal in shock, whirling around to face the three men who were now laughing at her. Thanks to the shaded area she chose they weren't sparkling which was a huge relief. 'Thank fuck for that. I couldn't have talked to them if they looked like they'd just had buckets of glitter dumped on them.'

"Our apologies, fiore, we did not mean to startle you." Aro's voice was a lilting whisper; he skulked closer to her with the grace of a panther stalking its prey. An unwanted shiver passed over her, enthralled by his crimson eyes. He stopped a few feet away and leant against the cobbled stone wall. She looked to Marcus and Caius who both moved closer at her acknowledgement of them.

Clearing her own throat she grinned awkwardly and tried to ignore how her stomach fluttered with butterflies now that she was near them again. Nervous as she was she felt undeniably and inexplicably safe, something instinctual in her just knowing that despite what the three men were no harm would come to her. It must have been the...bond that they all shared. As each day passed it was harder to deny its existence.

Leaning his back against the wall, deceptively muscled arms crossed over his chest, Caius smiled softly down at her. She wondered why he was so fond of scowling and glaring when a smile looked so damn good on him. Like the other day the first three buttons of his black dress shirt were undone-a look he seemed to favor. Blood rushed to her already warm cheeks under his hopeful hooded stare. "You wanted to talk to us, Elenora?"

Nodding her head distractedly, eyes still trained on the way his muscles pushed against the thin fabric of his shirt she clarified something. "You can just call me Nora. Everyone else does."

Curly hair blowing in the gentle breeze and hands stuffed in his pant pockets, Marcus tilted his head, curiosity dancing in his round eyes. "Nora, what did you wish to speak about my love?"

Sighing she looked away from them and twisted her hands that lay in her lap nervously together. She spent a few moments gathering the courage to speak. It was hard and she thought about how when she'd been alone it had been so much easier. Easier to convince herself that she was okay with what she had decided.

It was better to look at the floor, their enamored stares and tender smiles would only make her crumble. It was a hard choice-the one she'd made but it was necessary and though it pained her she thought maybe she'd be better off.

"Okay." She breathed to herself, willing away her mounting anxiety. "I wanted to talk about the...bond that we all share." At this the three men were rapt with attention. If vampires could be sick she thought Aro might have actually thrown up with the way his face twisted. It was funny that they were so nervous about this but a very inappropriate time to laugh so she reigned the urge in.

"I apologise for the way I reacted though I feel it was justified. I should have stayed and given you more time to explain. It's just..." She paused for a short second, groaning with the struggle of finding the right words to say. "I've never...known love in the volume that you described; to think that this gargantuan magnificent thing could be mine-not with just one person but with three, it felt like the world was playing some cruel trick on me."

Still avoiding their intense gazes she pushed on, afraid that she'd lose the courage to finish what she was saying. "What I'm trying to say is despite how I might have reacted initially, I'm willing to give this whole thing a try. No matter how much it scares me." Silence rang heavily, she waited with bated breath for their reactions. Maybe she'd left things too long and they would reject her now.

Shifting her eyes to garner their reactions she was surprised. They truly looked like statues, each man was completely and utterly frozen. Caius was the first to react. He blinked rapidly though she was sure vampires probably didn't even need to.

He approached slowly like he was scared she would change her mind if they acted irrationally. Dropping to a crouch in front of her he looked at her reverently, lifting his hand to place it on her cheek, stroking the heated flesh softly. "You truly are magnificent, mio caro. There are not many women who would be brave enough to wander so willingly into the wolf's den, let alone be able to make such a difficult decision when faced with a new world so intimidating."

Continuing to stroke her cheek his presence became a lot more serious. "I'm sorry Nora that this was all forced upon you so suddenly. I'm also sorry that you're scared of staying here with us but I promise you, we will do all in our power to show you that this was the right decision. You won't regret it."

Overhwelmed by his attention she was speechless. 'Well, this has gone a lot differently then I thought it would. I was kind of hoping they were gonna tell me to fuck off and then I wouldn't have felt guitly about wanting to leave. No, I said I would give this a chance and I will, no more playing games.'

For the first time in many millenia the kings were paralysed with fear. When she had said she wanted to talk they were sure she was going to tell them that she wanted nothing to do with them ever again, not that they could have really blamed her. This was a brand new world that held no spark of familiarity to her and to top it all off she'd been thrown into it carelessly by her own family.

To know that despite her reservations and fears she was willing to stay, It felt like a large weight had been lifted off of all of their shoulders. The fact that she had made it clear how angry and upset she was at the idea of being with them, it felt like the whole world was ending. To a vampire there is no greater pain then losing your mate or having them reject you.

This whole situation had been especially strange for Aro. He was always so in control and knowledgeble thanks to the aid of his gift but recently he'd felt like a fish out of water.

In any other situation he'd have used his ability to weedle out why she didn't want to be with them but morally he couldn't. He refused to invade her privacy in such a way, he would wait until she was ready to show him. Perhaps now, however, wasn't the best time to reveal his rather invasive talents. She was stunned enough as it was.

As well intentioned as Caius's affection was it appeared their delicate mate was becoming rather overwhelmed again. Fearing that she would flee he decided to step in.

"Brother." Caius didn't hide how irritated he was to be interrupted, an angry sneer caused his lips to turn downward. "Forgive me but we seem to once again be neglecting Nora's needs." She tilted her head at his words, chestnut hair falling gracefully to hang over her shoulder.

"Would you care for something to eat, my darling?" As if suddenly remembering how little she'd eaten in the last few hours her stomach growled loudly, she flushed with embarassment when they all smiled at the noise. To save her from her mortification Marcus stepped forward with his hand outstretched to her.

"Come Nora, allow us to escort you to the kitchens. You must be starving my love." Shyly she accepted his hand and was surprised with the little amount of strengh he used to help her up from the bench. They appeared so human sometimes that it was difficult to remember that they weren't.

As she walked with them through the now cloud shaded gardens she couldn't help but to notice how content and at peace she felt, all the fear that had been tormenting her the day before was now gone.

She only hoped it would last.