Nora was stirred awake, very much against her will, by the sound of people talking–people who were being rude and not respecting the fact she needed her sleep. A sleepy Nora was a grouchy Nora and that meant bad things for everyone.

It was a shame, really, to be woken up just then.

She'd been in the middle of a pleasant dream. A long, detailed replay about her time with Aro that she hadn't wanted to wake from. Come on, who would when fantasizing about such a gorgeous man?

Immediately, the main voice doing all the talking was unmistakeable. Caius. His nastiness was like no one else's...he was like no one else. That was not meant necessarily in a good or bad way, he'd be loath to learn.

To her advantage he did not have his brother's tactile telepathy or the very dead Fuckward's skill to hear thoughts from a distance. If he did then a lot of the time she would find herself in trouble with him for her rude thoughts.

"My wicked, wicked brother. You are a sneaky one. As soon as we're away this is what you do, hm? How very noble." He announced tempestuously.

From the sounds of heavy footsteps stomping along the carpet, he was striding back and forth in a restless and continuous pattern that was beginning to get on her nerves. It wouldn't be long before he wore holes in the floor and Nora could not decide if he was mad or amused by his tone alone, but she really had no desire to open her eyes to check. She was too tired and too comfortable.

"What are you trying to imply exactly?" Aro rebutted with irritation. Nora felt a short burst of surprise when she could feel him speaking, the vibrations of his ridiculously pleasant voice coming from under her.

Her cheek was lay on his bare chest and rather adorably he had her wrapped in a soothing and warm embrace, which was odd when taking into account that he was frigidly cold. One of his arms was under her, the other holding up the covers he had pulled all the way to her neck to hide her still naked body.

Caius laughed at him. It was a sound too pointed and brusque to be happy, harsh like the crack of a whip, more on the deriding end of the spectrum. In fact if anything it was one of jealousy.

"I'm just stating the fact that she was upset, by your doing, might I remind you. She was emotionally vulnerable after your admission. Perhaps...that influenced her judgment to be intimate with you?" Nora felt Aro go rigid at Caius's atrocious speculation.

"Be rational, αδελφός. You know what you are hinting at is in no way the truth." Marcus's deep, powerful timbre compelled the attention of them all, loud in the otherwise quiet room. He sounded mentally and physically exhausted. How long had they been doing this while she was asleep?

Marcus's telling off was interrupted before he could accomplish the task of calming the angry spat between them down.

"You dare to suggest that I would take advantage of her just as that coglione did? Have you lost your fucking mind?!" Aro snarled. His arms tightened around her at the allegation.

He still didn't know she was awake? He should have noticed considering what he was, but he sounded far too angry and absorbed in his confrontation with Caius to have detected the change in her heartbeat or her small movements against him. The thing about Aro...when he got into debates or discussions it dulled him to the things, the people and the sounds around him. It often took a lot of effort to bring him back to speed.

And the swearing? Now that was a treat for the ears to hear and something Nora wished they'd do more.

They were always so put together, so regal and elegant like aristocrats from the 19th century. But what Caius was accusing him of warranted much more than the soft anger Aro had towards him, so much more. Caius knew now what had happened to her. To insinuate Aro would do anything like it was in bad taste.

It was behavior that was pretty much on brand for him.

"You are simply angry like a petulant child being denied his favorite toy! You are envious that Nora trusted me enough to let me be her first but I assure you, I have treated her far better than you would have. No doubt I have satisfied her more sufficiently too." Aro taunted, digging a deeper grave for himself with the frenetic blond king.

Ouch. A toy? Really bitch? Why'd he have to do her like that? That was a harmful term to use.

Caius, though he had such a fearsome and well earned reputation, was the worst one of her mates when it came to letting her know how much she mattered...he was surprisingly sappy.

She was much more than a toy to him, and he passionately proved her right when he took a warning step closer to the bed from what she could just about hear. Damn her inferior human hearing.

"Lies!" Caius hissed in such a furious and menacing way that Nora had to stop herself from feeling afraid. "She is l'amore della mia vita, Aro. I do not need to be jealous and I do not need to debate with you how I would have treated her! Do not make the mistake of thinking that because of your gift, you know how to pleasure her any better than Marcus or I could!" Nora could feel her heart achingly working itself to death when her whole body flushed pink. Did he have to say stuff like that?

Oh—and great. Now she was picturing it. In any other circumstance the images in her head would have had her full attention, but the two clowns arguing and going round in circles were taking all of it.

It went unheard if her heartbeat did increase as Caius continued his slighting of what they had done. "I would never hurt her nor take advantage of her, certainly not when she was in tears by something I had done! Now be serious for once in your life if you can manage it."

He was really pissed off. He was cruel and unfriendly on any given day but...this was reaching new heights. He should win some sort of prize or something.

"You cannot deny the circumstances of your union were not how they should have been. I feel it should not have happened like this. With you. With the irritation and tension that had transpired thanks to your secrecy still so fresh. I could have shown her a much better time–"

"Brothers! Stop this at once!" Marcus chided. He didn't need to raise his voice to be heeded, keeping it at an even level. All at once the angry shouts filling the room quieted. "I care not for such a ridiculous argument and I have quite honestly had enough. Caius, please try not to lose your head over the fact that Nora did not choose you first."

Her troublemaker released a spirited snarl as a reply.

Marcus focused on the raven haired vampire she was splayed across next, taking care to be a lot gentler. It most likely had something to do with the mild shaking of Aro's body brought about by how incensed he was with Caius's claims against him. "Aro, do not forget that you hurt Nora. She may have forgiven you for your decision to hold her assailant hostage and to keep us all ignorant of it, but we were not here to witness such kindness from her. We ourselves have not yet forgiven you...some of Caius's anger with you is rightfully deserved. Now, would both of you be mindful of how you speak? You will wake our darling from her rest."

"Too late you loud ass idiots." Nora moaned in misery. Like Marcus, she was officially done listening to them bitch and whine like hormonal boys. "Can't a girl get any sleep? Is that too much to ask for? Not all of us are immortal Overlords who don't need it."

She moved drowsily, just enough so she could pull the covers down to escape their warmth. Aro wasted no time and caressed his knuckles along her cheek, toying with the hair spilling across her face, pushing her even further away from the comfort of her slumber due to the cold of his skin spreading along hers. He let his touch linger so he could gather her thoughts–as sleepy and scatterbrained as they were.

His touch...it felt a lot more intimate and intense then it used to. Everything with him did now. She supposed when you were so exposed to someone, when you gave them everything, things inevitably would change and she enjoyed how connected she felt to him. If only it wasn't being tarnished by such unpleasantness.

Caius. Her irritable little firecracker. She loved him dearly, but he was trying to assume things he knew nothing about and it was aggravating. She wasn't going to stand for it.

"Forgive us, my sweet one." The change in Aro's voice made her skin heat up. How he had gone from being so angry and almost self–righteous, to loving and compassionate with her only caused the heat on her cheeks to blossom. She did not see it, but the soft shade of pink rendered his anger into nothing and he stared adoringly at her. "We did not mean to wake you nor did we mean to upset you."

Yet, they had. They had upset her. Caius's impulses were ruining something that had been so special for her. A step forward of progress that he was intending to make three steps back.

God knows they must have been driving her sweet Marcus up the wall if their conversation before she woke up was in any way related to what she'd just heard.

"It's okay, I guess." She whispered as her eyes opened, quickly adjusting to the soft morning light that cast a mute glow around the room. She kept her head on his chest but tilted it back so she could look up at him. For feeling like a slab of icy stone he was actually quite comfortable. "Things were left up in the air when we all last saw each other. I should have expected someo–I mean, something like this to happen."

She smiled up at Aro sleepily and pulled a hand from under the covers to slide it over the hard muscles of his chest, enjoying the way such a simple thing could put him so at ease. His eyes closed, his features relaxed and tranquil and she swore she felt electric little shocks run through her when he kissed her on the forehead. She was filled with unfading happiness despite being suddenly thrust into such a hostile situation.

"Sweetheart..." Caius's anger was gone, swapped for regret. He sounded pathetically sorry, but it wasn't enough for what he had said. Their anger over Aro keeping it a secret? Totally understandable but over this? No way. Not gonna fly. There was no need for it.

Caius had noticed the subtle hint in her words that she felt he was the catalyst. She was not wrong, but it did sting that she was nonplussed, meaning she had been predicting his bad mood over this. He was a lot meeker than he had been twenty seconds ago and it was only fed and morphed into sadness by the fact she had yet to even bother to acknowledge that he and Marcus were in the room.

He said nothing else, watching as Nora shortly placed her hand on a very contented Aro's cheek, stroking his marble skin with such devotion his overruling jealousy was making him insensate.

Aro nodded to whatever unheard question she had asked of him and let his arm fall from around her so she could hold the covers to her chest as she struggled to sit up, his hand that had been laid under her quickly shooting to give her support around her waist. He sat up with her so her side was pressed against him.

She couldn't stop the little hiss of pain that escaped past her lips. She definitely felt the night's activities now. It hurt. A lot. "Okay, ow."

When she heard a cold and triumphant chuckle, Nora peeked at Caius to see him giving Aro a look that read 'this is exactly what I'm talking about.' Her tolerance virtually burst into flames and shriveled into nothing. It was bad enough he was being so critical, but it felt like he was trying to ruin this for her the more he pressed the issue.

"Caius, were you dropped on your head as an infant?! Sense the tone, jackass!" He gaped at her when she yelled, concerned and hurt as she castigated him as if she were his long deceased mother.

From the way his mouth screwed from one side to the other it was beyond questioning that he was dying to put up a fight so she'd agree that Aro was in the wrong to do what he had. He was stupidly dense if he actually assumed that was what she thought. "Stop trying to make Aro angry and try to use the brain that I'm seriously beginning to doubt you have! Do you really think I'd have sex with him if I didn't want to? Do you really think he'd even dare to try if I was too upset to consent? Or treat me anyway that I did not condone?"

He crossed his arms and drummed his long fingers rhythmically on his bicep when he couldn't produce a plausible argument. His brother was an honorable man with matters such as this, as they all were. Aro had never done such a thing, nor would he ever.

He had...reacted a little irrationally, he could admit that.

"No. Of course not." He sighed in the end, the soft noise loaded with regret and sulkily he forced himself to let it go. His now calm exterior slackened her iciness toward him. "I was worried for you sweetheart, I apologize for jumping to such conclusions. It was not my place to question you."

Wanting to see her dazzlingly beautiful smile when she continued to stare blankly at him with no hint of any forgiveness, he smirked winsomely. "Perhaps my jealousy did play quite a large part in this. Can you blame me, my gorgeous little fiore?"

She loosened up then at his poorly timed sweet talking. He really was an impulsive idiot, always trying to worm his way out of his messes.

"Should have known you'd react like this. Men and their inflated egos are and will always be a mystery I will never understand." In that special way only he could achieve, he was prideful with what she had said when it was literally an insult. Unbelievable.

Aro was plastered to her back possessively as she moved closer to the edge of the bed and Nora tempered her stern glower into a neutral look when she appraised a very tense Marcus. He was defensively positioned about a meter from Caius, presumably to stop him if he'd gone off the rails and of all three, he was the only one who didn't by any means seem upset.

He was tense, sure, but not indignant. His blank expression was hard to articulate and nerves fluttered in her stomach. Was he happy? Sad? Indifferent? When he kept his face void of emotion, she could never tell.

"What? Have you got any complaints to bestow graciously upon me too? If you have, may I request that you spare me from it? I've already heard enough from someone." She asked sarcastically with a diffident smile thrown at Caius.

Marcus's answering lift of his lips into a small smile was minimal, but it helped all of her anxiety fade away. He was so angelic and inhuman in his beauty when he did and Nora couldn't connect him sometimes, she couldn't really understand the man he used to be. She still didn't know the reason for his pain, what had made him the way he was before they had become such a large part of each others lives.

From what Aro had told her, neglecting a few major details, Marcus had been an empty vessel drifting through life without a care, but Nora knew better than to pry. Whatever had hurt him had to be personal. He would tell her when he was ready to and just as he had waited to hear of her past, she would do the same for him.

"I have no complaints, little love." He spoke soothingly and stepped closer. His calmness was something she needed after the arguable screaming match between the other two who were still shooting glares at one another when they thought she wasn't looking. They were such imbeciles.

"What I do wish to know is how you are feeling?" His concern for her was charming and precious. It was less erratic, less caused by negative emotions like Caius's had been but then again, most things about Marcus were pleasant. He was the exact opposite of Caius.

"Ah, well..." She shyly averted her eyes to the floor, feeling bashful now–so embarrassed she didn't want to look him in the eye for fear she'd fumble her words. Her voice was a soft sigh and awfully quiet, something that always happened when she was feeling insecure and it was a trait of hers each of them adored. "I'm a little sensitive and sore, but it's nothing I can't handle. I promise."

Aro slouched heavily, his chilling fingers traipsing calming patterns on her skin when she blushed at all of their worried gazes.

"I didn't...hurt you, did I darling?" He was so upset as he asked her this that she could have planted a punch on Caius's stupid face for making him doubt one of the best exeriences of her life.

"No! Aro, please don't ever think that!" Nora's eyes widened and she was quick to shake her head to try and alleviate his worry, crestfallen by the fear etched into his entire being. It was a fear that was even embedded in his soul–she could see it in his eyes. Caius must have had him convinced. She swept the hair that hid his face from her away from it with the hand that wasn't holding up the covers, troubled by his sorrow and guilt.

"Aro, listen to me." He did, his hand closing over hers to press it to his cheek, worrisomely taking in all the bruises on her neck even when she tried to allay his concern through her words and her thoughts. "Last night was one of the best of my life, surely you can see that? You didn't hurt me, you didn't do anything I didn't want to do. Don't for a minute think that I regret it. I only hope that you don't."

"Never, my darling. How could I?" He was aggrieved by such a ridiculous thought. Hearing how happy she was contrary to what Caius chose to believe, he was easily soothed. He only held pure adoration for her and was appalled she could think he would ever regret it. She smiled, shrugging with a breathy giggle that relaxed him.

"Then there you have it." She answered. Awkwardly, she stretched her body to be able to kiss him as further reassurance.

It was short and sweet, simply to prove the truth of her feelings, but it worked. All of his doubt was flung out the window when she playfully trailed her tongue over his lower lip, teasing him. She broke the kiss before it could get too heated, bopping him on the nose with a cute little impish grin and what she stage whispered to him made a certain headstrong man huffy.

"Ignore Caius, you know how hot headed he is. He's just pissy I won't put out and I've left him with blue balls."

Caius grumbled in the background, always so stroppy. "I'll have you know, that's rude and not at all true."

"Hey, it's okay. This is a safe space Caius. If you need to cry because you're sexually frustrated then we won't judge." She said in a purposefully demeaning way while blanking his existence, instead watching with joy when a thundering laugh burst from Aro at Caius's reaction that she couldn't see.

"Don't be so absurd. I do not cry. Ever. Certainly not because I have blue balls—which I do not."

Nora shared a look with Aro as she giggled and still ignored Caius who seemed to become even more enraged by having to talk to the back of her head. "Could have fooled me." She said patronizingly through another laugh, the happiness on Aro's face only stoking her mockery of Caius.

It was making him smile, so it was worth it. Plus it was just funny.

"Now, now amore."

Marcus gained her attention with his scolding tone and Nora turned her head mindfully toward him with wide, innocent eyes; still not looking at Caius as punishment. "Behave, my love." He tried to sound stern, but his own maroon eyes were twinkling.

Nora complied and shut her mouth, raising her free hand in faux surrender. She was happy again now that things had cooled off, now they weren't at eachothers throats like bickering teenage boys...she could back off from him. He had learned his lesson. Hopefully.

Clocking the time on the digital clock on the bedside table behind Aro when she turned back to him, she realized if they wanted to get their long list of plans for the day done, she was going to have to get her ass into gear and stop poking the bear to see how long it would take for him to explode. She would listen to Marcus, even if he always had to spoil her fun.

Twisting around under the suffocatingly warm sheets, she faced both he and Caius fully with intent to tell them to get moving but...

"Oh. Oh. Now that's gross." She stopped in place with a disgusted frown when she only just registered that their clothes were covered in blood. She blamed it on her being half asleep that she had missed such a...barbaric detail. "Damn, what happened? Did you go on a killing spree with Ted Bundy? If so, you could have learned a little something. He wasn't so messy."

She'd reacted quite bluntly and her poor little cinnamon roll Marcus looked embarrassed and slightly ashamed at her exclamation. Caius being Caius was the opposite and shamelessly looked down at himself with a shrug, not seeing the big deal.

There must have been a lot of frustration for them both to work through. Whatever person/persons they had found and picked as a late night snack were the literal punchline to the phrase 'wrong place at the wrong time.'

She felt so bad for the luckless people they had hunted and eaten...but they were vampires. Who would she be to crucify them for doing what they were created to do? They never got on her case about slaughtered animals when she chowed down on a stake.

Nevertheless, she wouldn't focus on the nitty gritty of it. It still made her feel sick but it was who they were, who she would someday have to be. She could only hope that they had cared enough to pick bad people to nom on, not innocent ones.

"Wow, t–that's...okay. Wow." She repeated herself like a broken record, struggling to pull herself together as her overactive imagination ran wild with sickening images. She was cool with it now after being with them for so long, after seeing them after feedings. Caius was always a messy eater; but it didn't pay to have a bright and artistic mind that self inserted the images of them doing...that.

"You'll obviously want to get changed." She advised with a shuddering breath when she pulled herself together, shrugging Aro off when he tried to pull her back into his arms to stop her from leaving him. Clingy much? "I doubt my father, the chief of police, is going to receive you well if you are covered in blood from head to toe like the serial killer versions of Tweedledee and Tweedledum."

She wasn't ecstatic about them all coming to her house and she was much less enthusiastic about the story Aro had concocted and rehearsed with her before she'd fallen asleep, but things needed to be sorted, ends needed to be tied or they'd be stuck in Seattle forever.

There were too many bad memories in the rainy city for her to want that.

Marcus and Caius would have nodded, already being informed of the day's plans by Aro before things had turned shitty and chaotic, but they were completely distracted and transfixed when she dropped the covers and exposed her naked body to them.

Caius's jaw almost hit the floor in a comical and cartoonish way.

Aro had every right to look self–satisfied as he leaned back onto his elbows and watched them gawk. He sank into the pillows with a shit eating grin, the sheets pooling loosely over his bare hips.

Now his brothers could see all of the marks he had given her that covered her body–every intimate part of it from her neck to her inner thighs. Yes, he'd had a very gratifying time and a lot to show for it.

"I'm going for a long bath." She called over her shoulder when she reached the bathroom, twisting her hair into a messy bun. She heard a pair of footsteps begin to follow her like a mindless zombie and snorting, she spelled out in simple terms what she meant by that.

"Alone, Cai."

She reeled around to face the door. She had been correct to assume it was him and he stopped in the doorway with a smirk, his arm and clenched hand leaned above his head on the frame, his other hand loosely placed in his trouser pocket.

She was aware it was pretty sick of her to think, but he looked ethereal even in a blood splattered black suit, the white shirt underneath absolutely tarnished and covered in sprays of red. His hair was pushed away from his face in unruly waves, and mischief glowed in his hooded eyes. The morning light only made his angular cheekbones look sharp enough to cut and his pale skin bloomed with dull luminance.

Jesus, what was wrong with her? He had been out murdering innocent civilions and all her horny ass could focus on was how lucky she was. The blood on him should have put her off but there was no disgust or revulsion bubbling up like it would in a normal person.

Maybe witnessing so much bloodshed and violence as of late, like with Edward, had desensitized her to it?

"You know, sweetheart, my brothers have both gotten a taste of you in ways I am regretful to not have been allowed. I'm starting to get a little impatient." He deceptively fretted while effectively veering her from the wondering path her mind was going down.

He was captured in a trance as he looked her over and inched his body closer to her; imagining all of the things he would do, imagining his marks in place of Aro's and how enticing her skin would look covered in his bites. Enraptured, his control was dangling on a thin and dangerous thread. One wrong move and it would snap.

"What are you going to do about that, my beauty?"

Nora was not embarrassed by his appreciation for her nude body like she would have been before her and Aro's intimacy. Now, she secretly laughed in her mind as an idea came to her. She was having a lot of those recently...bad ones in any case.

He wanted to play? That was fine with her.

"Don't worry, baby." She lulled to him softly and watched with satisfaction as he stiffened when she dragged her hand from his groin to his chest, laying her palm flat to stop him from bending his body toward hers. She leaned up so their lips would brush as she spoke and Caius's breath shook with need and excitement, his arm dropping from the frame and his fingers dancing along her jaw in the gentlest of touches. Nora enjoyed the way his eyes flickered from her own to her body and were obscured with lust...he was under her spell. Was he really so easy to rile up? "You'll get your turn eventually. Be patient for me, hm?"

He groaned in actual agony when she denied him a kiss and stepped away from his seeking hands, winking before evilly closing the door in his face. He was way, way too much fun to antagonize that she just couldn't feel bad about it. He did much worse to others.

Spotting her reflection in the mirror as she moved to fill the tub, Nora stumbled to a stop and backpedaled with a loud gasp as she finally noticed what had made Aro grin so largely. Her eyes went wide as she took in all the little dark bruises. They were everywhere. Her conceited attitude was long gone.

"Aro! W–what the hell?! I'm gonna fucking kill you, you moron!" She shouted and shook her head when he let out an exuberant laugh at her expense, not one bit of regret heard in it. Touching a finger gently from a hickey on the skin above her breast to a particularly large one on her neck that ached at the contact, she felt a burning panic settle in her chest.

"Fuck."

How the hell was she going to hide all of this from her dad?

After her much needed bath to ease her stiff muscles and her struggle to force Aro and Caius into more casual clothing–only dark colored jeans, boots, loose jumpers and coats to blend in, but from the way they reacted you'd think they were in bikinis–they were now waiting on the front porch of her home, much like she and Marcus had done days ago.

She'd already knocked about two minutes ago and challenging her lovely Caius in his position as the most theatrical man in her life, her dad was taking ions to answer the door and was steadfastly coming closer to winning the title.

Marcus was next to her and had one arm wrapped around her waist respectfully, his hand lightly touching her. He was doing anything not to invoke her fathers disapproval.

It had taken him so long to get Charlie to at least tolerate him. If he could not touch her as he wished, then so be it–Charlie would most likely use the excuse to shoot him this time if he messed up and was too overzealous. The man's dislike was not well disguised, not that he tried to hide it in the first place, and it was only sure to get worse when Aro and Caius were introduced; both of whom were disparaged into a rare, peaceful silence as they stood behind the pair.

Aro was sulking which was unusual for him, having complained the whole ride there how unfair it was that they had to pretend not to be involved with her and how unfair it was that she had successfully covered his marks. His exact words were: 'I gave them to you for the purpose of people knowing you are mine.'

Since they had now 'done the deed' and strenghtened their bond, he was getting way more overprotective and clingy. She didn't mind it at all when they were in private, but this really was not the time for it. Her dad would have his head and mount it on his wall like a prize deers if he suspected something between them.

She allowed him to play with and tug at her loose hair that was cascading down her back, his fingers combing through the strands. If it would keep him quiet and indulge his need for physical contact until later, she didn't mind. It felt good anyway as he plaited and twisted little individual strands together.

Nora clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, at the end of her tether when Caius exhaled impatiently. It was purposeful. Patience must have been some sort of enigma to him and she couldn't recall a time she'd ever seen anything similar to it emote from him.

To get him to shut up before he could even begin to criticize her family, she raised her hand to knock again. She paused an inch away from the glass, raising a brow when something thudded against the door followed by a pained little mumbled 'ow.'

It creaked open and the timorous and embarrassed frame and face of her little sister awaited them on the other side, her normally pale skin bright red. That red turned to a distinct white when she took notice of her sister's intimidating, terrifying guests. Nora's lips quivered as she desperately tried to hold in the laughter that was begging to be unleashed.

"Bella, hey! Are...you okay?" She tapered off unsurely, all humor absent when Bella rubbed the side of her ankle through her jeans and hopped on one leg in her effort to regain her balance.

They'd been here for all of three minutes and already her sister had hurt herself. Aro owed her $50, or as much as she could coax out of him, for betting that Nora was over exaggerating her sister's clumsiness when she had said that Bella would most likely have about five new injuries by the time they finished their visit.

Bella nodded, a twinge of pain wrinkling the skin of her forehead when she stood straight. "Oh yeah, I'm totally fine. I just tripped on literal air. Classic klutz move, I know." She was gibbering to hide the pain, awkwardly running a hand through her ruffled and tangled hair. It looked like she wasn't long out of her bed.

She eyed the three fearless leaders of the vampire world standing dutifully around her sister, tormented with fear by Caius's harsh leer ruining his pretty face and Aro's Cheshire cat smile at her clumsy human tendencies. The ebony haired vampire flashed his brilliant teeth in a predatory way and did that insane giggle that had made her want to crawl out of her own skin the last time she'd heard it.

Bella felt much the same now, confronted with it for a second time. In her mind, she couldn't help but to liken him to the Mad Hatter from Alice in wonderland. He was a less flamboyant Hatter in appearance, but his personality? Exactly the same.

Marcus was sympathetic enough to be kind to the girl, trying to spare her from her embarrassment and keep the vow of pleasantries he'd made to himself. His two brothers just couldn't stop, could they? The damaged mortal child looked as if she was going to faint.

"It is good to see you again Isabella. In much better health mentally I presume, after last we met?" He impugned on her well–being out of politeness, not genuine care, but he was glad to have won some brownie points with Nora for doing so. She cuddled into his side in appreciation.

Bella bowed her head, overly grateful that at least he was being sweet to her. From what she remembered about them from...Edward, Marcus was always viewed as the kindest of them and often chose to be apathetic unlike his overactive and vindictive brothers.

Bella recalled a parallel she'd made in her mind while in history class when she had still been forced to attend school, when they'd been learning about the Cold War. Coming back from the horrid visit to Italy, the three kings had been stuck on her mind the way a nightmare stays with you for days on end and what she'd learned she couldn't help but apply to them and their personalities.

It pretty accurately summed them up: Caius was the aggressive Russia, Aro was the pleasant and helpful but self serving Nato and Marcus was the peaceable, conflict avoiding Switzerland...the epitome of a neutral party.

"Yes, much better thank you...M–Marcus?" She replied tonelessly and said his name as more of a question. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to use it over his title or if she'd be punished or something for saying it. Caius did seem like a bit of a sadist. It was better not to risk his hand in showing that side of him to her.

She pulled her bland brown hoodie closer around herself to try and hide away from the three kings, feeling exposed and unsafe. It felt as if she was back in the threatening yet stunning grandeur of the marble room, on trial before them as they debated the value and worth of her life...or if they would let her live at all. Again, Marcus had been the only one in that scenario to not outrightly want her to be killed.

Aro tried to soothe her as he watched her struggle. Years of experience rooting around in others' minds had given him the ability to assume quite accurately what they were thinking without having to use his gift, and Isabella was suffering from a fear of them. It would not be remedied anytime soon, she was making that clear-cut.

"We truly come in peace. There is no need to fear us, dear Isabella." As expected, he was not successful.

His attempt nearly caused Bella another minor injury when she jumped about foot in the air as he spoke to her directly and avoided tripping on the welcome mat by a lucky misstep.

Aro. He petrified her. There were no two ways about that. She had not dismissed from her mind how perplexing and forcefully invasive he had been the last time she had made his acquaintance. Not for lack of trying, of course but...that smile, the freaky laugh and those crazy and ambitious scarlet eyes. They sent tremors of horror right to her soul.

"No need to fear two of us." Caius commented cynically, his abhorrence toward the young mortal leaching into her like poison with every harsh word whirled her way.

Nora's sister or not, he had not forgotten that she was still in breach of the law. They would have to remedy that and think of a solution soon. Until she was made immortal, his kindness was not something he was willing to extend to her.

His squinted eyes were like two glowing violet beams of hate through the murky, misty air and Bella turned so pale with literally no color or pigment on her face that Nora worried if her heart was still pumping blood around her body.

Affixing an angry scowl onto Caius over her shoulder, Nora's mouth turned crooked with distaste. "If it wouldn't fuck up my foot, you'd have just warranted yourself a kick in the balls. You're on thin ice, blondie, do yourself a favor and stop trying to break it." When Caius sardonically pretended to zip his lip with a sly smirk playing across his face, Nora's eye twitched and she was on the brink of doing what she had warned.

Carlisle was a good doctor, he'd have it patched up in no time when they visited later, but no. She had to let it go and mellow out. She repeated this to herself in her mind to stop forming creative ways to kill Caius for frightening Bella.

One wrong word, one look or comment or anything remotely...Caiusy thrown Bella's way, though, then Nora would happily follow through and make him more infertile than he already was.

And once more it was awkward when Nora opted to turn back around, much too awkward as Bella trembled like a small and helpless animal in the headlights of the car seeking its death...the allegorical car being her kings. Nora had to save this utter trainwreck. She puffed out her cheeks, bouncing on her heels.

"Okay. Moving on from that wonderful little display of horridness," She flung a hand at Caius. She was expecting a sarcastic remark for it, but he was distracted, back to analyzing the place that she had once called home. He thought a grand castle suited her much better than this small little house that didn't do her justice.

It was probably for the better that he appeared not to have taken in what she had said.

"We should come in and get this over with, yeah?" Nora proposed while taking a shuffled step forward, balking in slight surprise when Bella scrambled her stiff and trembling fingers around the door, closing it by a small amount to stop them entering.

That wasn't a good sign.

"Um, well...I–I thought a warning was in order. That's why I answered the door instead of Charlie." Bella sputtered, doing her best not to slam the entry to her home closed when Caius rolled his eyes so hard she expected they'd drop right out of his sockets.

He sneered at her over her sister's shoulder so he knew she wouldn't be able to see him. It was a diminutive imitation of the one from the throne room and Bella was hard pressed to fathom or figure out how Nora was so calm around them. If she hadn't seen their proficiency to be so loving with her older sister that night at the Cullens, Bella would find it hard to believe the otherworldly men could be better than the cruel and heartless dictators she still thought they were.

Caius made her blood run cold without even trying to. One look from him as she had experienced would have you wishing you were in the presence of anyone else. Even Death would be a more pleasurable choice of company.

The only one Bella liked—er, actually withstand was probably better? Yeah. That would have to be Marcus and that was only because he looked so unbearably bored at everything going on around him and hardly moved. He was so passive that Bella felt nothing toward him. It was better than what she felt for the other two.

"What is it that you must warn us of, Isabella?" Aro hid a creepy smile when Bella flinched again as he unexpectedly spoke up.

He had expected and intended for it to sound polite, but the way Bella reacted made it clear he had demanded the information from her. It couldn't be helped. It was his job to be flawlessly authoritative so that he could easily win the respect and fear of others, so they would not dare think to cross him.

But there was something so...easy, about humans. They became frightened so quickly. Eminently, no one more than the young Swan. He was not putting in any effort to be scary and yet she still stood trembling before them. He didn't want or enjoy it, she was family to his darling and he always tried his best not to upset his sweet one, but there was a part of him so used to fear that it felt natural to see others react to him in such a way.

Saving the shivering Bella from having to speak to Aro, Nora had already assumed the issue before Bella even had the chance to reveal it. "Let me guess. Dads making threats?"

Bella's face was warped by an uncomfortable wince and she gladly focused singularly on her sister who looked like some sort of angel among the three deivilish men. She hoped they knew how lucky they really were to have someone like Nora as their mate. "He saw you coming up the drive through the kitchen window. He was...not happy with who you've brought along. Let's just say that."

Nora could have let out a string of curses then and adding truth to Bella's point, there was a loud crash and banging of something heavy somewhere in the house. Her dad liked to make his displeasure obvious. Smashing shit around was the easiest way to let people know you were not happy.

Marcus breathed deeply next to her and when she spared him a glance, he looked like he was going to be sick at the prospect of coming face to face with the angry man.

Caius ignored his normally stoic brothers out of character behavior and breathed out a groan of exasperation, rudely scuffing and tapping his heavy boot on the worn wood of the porch. He was not put off by Bella's pointless warning or the quick look of caution he could see Aro was giving him in his peripheral.

"Let us just go inside instead of prolonging the inevitable. There is nothing your father can say or do to intimidate me, sweetheart." He boasted, stepping up on Nora's other side, his arm outstretched toward the door. "Shall we?"

Inwardly, Nora thought he was hilarious. Not because he was funny, no, but because he was always so outlandishly presumptuous. He hadn't even met him yet and already he was underestimating her dad's rage. Where did he think she got it from?

"Oh really, hotshot? Fine." Nora agreed with a ridiculing chuckle at his confidence, contemplating his bored face. Her mischief subconsciously lifted the corner of her lips into a half–smirk. Her dad was going to eat him alive with that kind of attitude. "Your temporary funeral, buddy."

She joined hands with Marcus when his arm slid from her waist and winked at her sister when she opened the door wider for them all to come in. It was at least nice to escape the cold, damp air. It had rained that morning in Forks, nothing out of the ordinary and it was something Caius did not appreciate–spouting some crap about it making his hair frizzy. Nora was relieved it had given up by the time they'd got there or she had a feeling he would not have stopped his whining.

Bella pulled at her clothes and focused really hard on not tripping over thanks to her nerves as she let them in and closed the door, hyper focused as she lead them to Charlie. She could feel their stares pinned to her back and she felt more ungraceful and pitifully human then ever. It's not like she was her sister, who was so beautiful and elegant she could easily pass for an immortal already. Everything about Bella screamed she was human and she hated it.

Nora felt bad for her sister. She was visibly having a hard time, her inner turmoil easy for Nora to spot. Skillfully, she reached behind her without caring to look to smack Aro on the arm who she was overly conscious was the main culprit of the her sisters fears.

He could not help himself and Nora's attempt was in vain. His fascination for Isabella's gift and its potential was filtering through his mind and his eyes seemed to gravitate toward her without him knowing it as he pondered the intricacies of her gift.

Nora shook her head at him and weighed different ideas and plans as they walked to meet her father, spurred on by her sister's unease. She couldn't have this forever. Maybe, eventually, she could find a way for them all to get to know one another better with less ill–disposition from them all. Her sister was still going to become a vampire one day. They were all going to have to learn to like one another if they were to be together for eternity.

To Nora's surprise, Bella led them past the kitchen and through the living room. Nora thought her dad would be watching football or something, but instead he was doing something that made Marcus tighten his hand around hers to the point she thought her bones would break. If it was possible for vampires to have PTSD, he'd be having some kind of flashback.

Her dad had chosen this convenient time to clean and re–arm his large collection of shotguns and pistols, but Nora could have laughed. It was just a guise so he could brandish them at the three men as a scare tactic. She could just imagine him hurriedly rounding them all up while Bella answered the door.

When he didn't look up at them and continued to clean his favorite disassembled 9mm Browning pistol with a grubby white cloth, Nora sighed.

'Here we go.'

"Hey dad." Fuck, she sounded so weak, but Marcus's constant fidgeting was making her feel just as bad as he was and she could feel the anxious energy suddenly emanating from Aro and Caius. She could have grinned then despite feeling so nervous. She knew it. Kings or not, her dad could frighten the most tough and evil of men.

He stopped what he was doing, throwing the pistol onto the dark mahogany table with a harsh and resounding noise that set her teeth on edge.

He grabbed his almost empty beer–it looked to be about his third, the spare cans a sign–and took a long drink that finished it off before he pushed himself to his feet, facing them all.

"Hello, Elenora." Oh. He was so formal. That was...not good at all. When her dad used her full name like that it was never for a good reason. He smiled at her reservedly, but as soon as he looked at her entourage he was as cold as the steel of his many guns. "Who've you brought with you, kiddo? Friends, I hope?"

Her nervous laughter was back and shakier than ever at the undertone of malice in his voice and his decision to be so detached. Tapping Marcus on the chest encouragingly, she diverted her dad's subtle annoyance with her and her intrusive guests onto him.

When it came to this, it was every man or woman for themselves.

"Obviously you remember my boyfriend, Marcus?"

Her dad nodded and stepped towards him with a hand outstretched, at least a little less frosty with him. He could admit the kid wasn't so bad. "Yeah, sure. Nice to see you again son."

"You as well, Chief Swan." Marcus said, thankful he was supernatural and he couldn't feel the crushing grip Charlie was trying to apply to his hand. If he was a mortal man, his bones would have been broken for certain.

He stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets when he let Marcus go, once more quite disgruntled at the sight of Aro and Caius as he sent them a disdainful glare. Both of whom were beginning to believe Marcus when he had said Charlie Swan was frightening.

Her father bristled when neither man outwardly reacted to his intimidation attempts and Nora was cheered faintly at how far he was willing to take his protection of her. "And who are you two?"

"My brothers. They are in Seattle on business and wanted to meet you. After all, they are very fond of Nora after meeting her when she stayed with us in Volterra." Marcus supplemented with a smile, but behind his friendly and calm facade he was demanding the two panicking men take over when he referred to them both. He was practically pleading. Begging. Willing to drop to his knees to get them to listen so this visit could end as quickly as possible.

"Yes, I bet they are." Charlie snarked, his fixed glare not moving from either of them. It was chilling for the two kings. A shock, really. He was mortal and they were ancient. Feared, respected and ruthless vampires. Murderers. All of the horrible things history made them out to be. Yet they both felt the need to please him and earn his approval.

Aro was brave and stepped up first. A force of habit, his hand was already hospitably held out to the man. "I am Aro. A pleasure to meet you, Chief Swan. Marcus has told us so much about you." His usual overbearing charisma when meeting new people was reigned in to the best of his ability. If Charlie was anything like his daughters, that would put him off. The last thing he wanted was to unsettle Nora's father when he was trying to make a good impression.

Charlie didn't question why Aro was still wearing gloves as their hands connected nor did he say anything in return.

The three men were weird, his years of service on the force had refined his sense for people and it was telling him something was amiss, but understanding them and their evident issues would take effort he just didn't have or want to give. He had hope that his daughter would soon explain why she had shown up with two more concerning additions to her life.

"What about you, twiggy? You a selective mute or something?" Charlie harassed when his eyes moved onto Caius who was standing back.

Bella, who was idling away from them to avoid being brought into it, let out a shrill gasp of fear. She could only plead to higher powers that the perpetually devious king wouldn't hurt her father for insulting him.

A shock to everyone who knew how unpredictable he could be, Caius simply made a museful sound–like he was speculating what to do and how to react. He wandered forward with arrogant confidence to greet the mortal, more imperious than ever when the human man took a small step back at the power he was exuding. He was fairing better than most in his presence, Caius would give him that. He was impressed.

"Caius. Honored, Chief Swan. As I was when making the acquaintance of the enchantingly beautiful Nora. Such a kind and caring woman you have raised. My brother is one lucky man." Her heart lept into her throat in a panic when he smirked at her flirtatiously as he shook her fathers hand. Was he trying to get himself fucking murdered?

"Hm." Was all her dad said when he released his hand a little too viciously, shoving it back toward the tall, narcissistic blond. He had not appreciated the way Caius had raked his eyes over her.

It looked like her dad was trying to commit mass homicide with his eyes and speaking no further, he trudged back to his chair and collapsed into it, picking up where he left off. He only looked up again to address her little sister. "Bells, run and get me a new pack of beers out the fridge would ya? I think I'm gonna need em'." The last bit was deliberately passive aggressive, but Bella was giddy with relief at the opportunity to escape the nerve–wracking situation and practically flew to the kitchen with how fast she walked.

As she left he surveyed the odd group, his mustache twitching in mirth. What an odd bunch his daughter had met. They were so...unnatural. From their uncomfortable rigid posture to their perfect features to their violet eyes that were just as freaky as the Cullens golden ones. His mind had already made the relevant connection of the similarities these three men shared with the family, but he would remain quiet about it. It wasn't any of his damn business and he was staying out of matters that did not concern him just like he did with the Cullens.

"Well? Are y'all just gonna stand there like statues? Sit down. We've got a lot to talk about." They moved toward the table immediately, but Nora stopped when her dad wagged a disapproving finger at her when she attempted to join Marcus. "Nuh–uh, I don't think so. You sit with me kid. Your buddies can sit together."

She obeyed with a childishly loud huff, occupying the chair next to him close to the end of the table. Aro sat across from her, with Marcus to his right across from her dad. Caius was on Aro's left and pulled his chair to be as close to her as possible, his foot pushing against hers. He was really trying to die today, wasn't he?

Her dad stood firm against him and the way the boldly assertive man was consciously pushing his limits, his mouth pressed into a hard line as he pushed the chamber full of bullets into his gun with a click.

Well, that was a threat if she'd ever seen one.

"So..." Nora broke his concentration, shrugging her thick red coat off to drape over the back of the chair, her long sleeve black top and thick boot cut black jeans protecting her from the cold air in the room. "You said we have a lot to talk about?" She knew they did, but she wanted to know what information he wanted. "Lets try and make it all quick, yeah? I'd love to stay longer but we have to be at the Cullens for 12."

"The Cullens?" His distaste was clear in his voice, as was the bewilderment. He didn't hate the family that had been cast as outsiders from the town from the minute they'd come back, but he had the same strange feelings toward them as he did his daughter's companions. "I thought they left town?"

Nora shook her head and checked to see if Bella was going to reappear as she explained.

"Edward left. The others are still here. I wanted to make sure things were good between us all. You know, considering what happened the last time we spoke...with him leaving Bella again. I wanted them to know I wasn't mad at them over him being a cowardly, immature boy that runs away from his problems. It's not their fault."

Her dad nodded emotionlessly, sighing. "Wonder what the hell it'll take to finally get rid of em' all."

"Get rid of who?" Bella was back, a whole pack of beers in her arms. She cocked her head to the side when Nora and Charlie clammed up like they'd been talking about something they shouldn't be, plopping the six pack in front of her father and standing behind her sisters chair.

Caius crossed his arms over his chest and leant back into his seat as he candidly filled her in, not caring if he upset her. She would have to face her pain sooner rather than later and he never tiptoed around things to make people more comfortable. "The Cullens."

Nora kicked his leg under the table when her sister went solemnly silent. He jerked in his seat with a grunt that was simply for show and looked at her with an insulted frown. He could read the message on her face perfectly: well done, dumbass.

Bella shifted her weight from foot to foot and tried to act casual, but the small lump in her throat that added a croak to her voice was heard by everyone and Nora just felt awful for her. Through texts Nora had learnt that Bella hadn't been near the abominable family since that horrific night and it had become something of a touchy subject for her that Nora normally avoided.

"You're seeing them today?"

Nora mumbled a yes and warily gauged her reaction, not certain how her sister would take it. "I had some things I wanted to discuss with them. If you don't want me to go, I can–"

"No." Bella smiled, but it was dead. Dead like...Edward. "No, it's okay. Maybe...I can come with you?"

Nora's mouth formed an 'o' of surprise and her dad clamped his hand around his freshly opened beer, the can crunching horridly under his tight grip. The vampires in the room tried not to show how affected they were by the discordant noise.

"Bells, are you sure? It's not that I don't want you to come, but won't it be too painful?"

Her chocolate eyes brightened when she pulled them from the floor to meet Nora's, a slither of confidence coming back to her. "Yeah, I'm sure I want to. I haven't seen Alice in a while, or Esme and Carlisle. They've always been so good to me. I don't want to ruin things with them because of him."

The pain that was encapsulated in that single word made Nora pray that Edward was perishing horribly in hell like he deserved.

"Well...alright. As long as you're certain." Nora conceded.

Bella nodded, already turning her body to leave the room and Nora took no insult from Bella wanting to be alone. The sooner she was by herself, the more comfortable she would be to face what was upsetting her and let it out. That was just her sister and how she coped with her pain.

"I was gonna go and try to call Jacob again, see if he'll talk to me. I'll see you in a little bit?"

Nora hummed, acknowledging how her dad shook his head angrily when Jacob was mentioned. What had that idiot done now? "Sure. We'll catch up later."

Bella's lips pulled themselves robotically into a false smile as she left. What was she going to do to help her sister? Even with Edward now gone, she was still broken. Wounds that deep took time to heal...but how much time and care was she going to need?

"Right." Her dad was straight back to being serious. Nora guessed she'd have to figure out how to help Bella when she had some spare time to think. For now, her main focus was keeping her dad from killing the three men across from him. His hand was placed, palm down on the table and suspiciously, he was directing longing looks at his guns every three seconds. Nora took things seriously while watching him do it. Never had the three vampires looked so frightened.

"Does anyone wanna tell me why you're all really here?"

Oh. Oh, fuck.

Nora tried to be poised and calm but her mates were having a harder time then her. Aro was calculated, like he was evaluating her dad to see what would be the correct response.

Marcus's face was tight with inadvertent horror, like he wished vampires did burn in the sun so he could be free of this.

And Caius...even he was having a hard time remaining collected. She bet he was regretting being such a pompous asshole now. She had warned him one day it was going to come back and bite him in the ass.

"Uhh, what do you mean dad?" She redirected his attention to her to save her speechless mates who had begun to falter under the pressure of her fathers harsh lour. She felt no better for attracting his focus when he clenched his hand around the can again and that same displeasing noise caused a sharp jolt of pain to pierce her ears.

He gave her that look he always did when he knew she had done something wrong...the disciplinary one that always made her crumble and confess to escape its intensity. She felt like her six year old self again under such a look. "Elenora, do you really think I don't know something is wrong? I'm not the chief of the god damn police for no reason. The nervous behavior and body language? The conveniently timed arrival of his brothers? The guilty look in your eye you've always had when you're keeping a secret or you've done something I won't like? I wasn't born yesterday."

He softened his stoicness when she dropped her eyes down to the table, ignoring the three men who were just as nervous as her and who felt they were intruding. When she was little, the averting of her gaze meant that she was trying not to reveal too much. It was a little quirk that had stayed with her.

Wisely, the kings chose to keep their mouths shut and let Nora talk to him. If they spoke up in such a sensitive moment it would make things worse. This was between father and daughter and when it got to what they had come there to tell him, Nora would have to be the one to do it.

"Baby, if somethings wrong you know you can tell me." He said and Nora felt tears spring in her eyes, tears she speedily blinked away. Now wasn't the time for her to get upset. "Is this...about him?"

Her blood froze it's rushing stream through her veins at the hidden name behind the harmless word. Her head snapped up with a fierce jerk, her eyes cold and her face blank.

"What? You mean...J–Joshua?" The name tasted vile as it rolled off her tongue and she felt a spark of defeat within herself when she stuttered. Always, it seemed, he would have an effect on her.

Her dad leaned back, examining the way all of the warmth in her had disappeared and the way the three stooges who were staying out of it weren't surprised at the name–they even looked angry and disgusted, the raven haired man grabbing the tables edge so strongly Charlie heard it crack and moan under his grip.

It was an unusual thing, to learn she must have told them some version of the story and he felt his disapproval lessen. If Nora trusted them enough to tell them, then she really must be happy with the brother she was dating.

She was desensitized and calm at a surface look, but he knew her. It was a front–one she had learned from him. Never let people see your vulnerability.

"I heard the news about him going missing. Can't say I'm all that surprised. He deserves whatever crap is happening to him but...I'm just concerned it's upset you somehow? God knows you're a good person. I thought maybe it was affecting you."

"No!" She disagreed hastily and closed her eyes for a short moment to get rid of the sudden memories trying to take control over the volume at which she spoke. "No. I–it was...odd, to know that he's probably locked up somewhere going through hell." Her eyes very quickly zipped over to Aro. He was blank in face but under it...she could see the truth, that the word hell was an understatement for what he had been doing. If only her dad knew the one responsible and deserving of his gratitude was sitting right across from him. "As fucked up as it sounds I'm glad."

Her dad skimmed over her cursing, something he would normally reprimand her for,  and seemed acceptably happy at the knowledge. "Good. You know Nora, that you shouldn't feel ashamed for that. It doesn't make you a bad person."

Damn, he could read her so well. That was exactly what she had been thinking. He...had done the most unspeakable of things to her but there was one part of her that felt a little bad for what was happening to him–and then there was the other part, the one that had savaged Edward's face. The one that wanted to hurt those who hurt her just as badly as they had done; and it was a part of her she hated. Not because she was in denial of its existence in her and not because she felt it was improper...but because it made her feel ashamed. It made her feel just as evil as he was. It was foolish to feel that way but it was not something that was in her control, she couldn't command it—either side.

Her dad...he knew exactly how to make that feel okay. Of course, he was right, but in her soul she wasn't a truly malefic person and she felt some small part of her would always feel guilt for the enjoyment that came with hurting others and being glad for their misery–even if they had hurt her first.

"I know, dad." She said quietly in the end, wanting this discussion to be over.

He didn't dwell when he noted how uncomfortable they had all become. He went right back to where he had been going before that little blip and Nora loved that part of him that was able to move on and not make things unbearably uncomfortable.

But his next question made her feel no better and Nora felt herself on the cusp of giving up. The day was going to be full of difficult and uncomfortable situations, but none would be worse than this. What was happening right then, what they were going out of their way to tell him. It was crucial and he was either going to be happy for her or absolutely livid.

"If it's not that then what the hell is going on?" He demanded. He didn't spare the men any attention, he was asking her.

She might as well have come on her own.

Her three mates were not even trying to be any help at all. They were silent as the grave and her nerves played through her entire body, so strong her bones felt like they were chattering.

Her anxiety was threatening to make her throw up when all three men sent pointed expressions to her. She understood. She was alone in this. They were gonna get there air asses kicked later for throwing her to the wolves.

Nora could only hope this nightmarish experience would lead to a good reaction when she told him the news and hoped at the end of this, everyone would come out alive.

But that seemed like a pretty silly wish.