MY COLLECTIVE PLANS WERE CENTERED NIGHT BY NIGHT.

They'd been like that for a while. Each day I wondered what I'd do in the evening if only because vampires can go outside at night now. From what I'd learned the Volturi tried to stay inside with the blinds up during the day so humans passing by the Clock Tower didn't believe that something... odd was happening.

It worked in my favor often, this schedule, but now I had been given a task that filled me with serious anxiety and fear.

I was horrible at discussions around me perhaps doing something wrong. Although in this case I believed that miscommunication was the cause of the fuss. Marcus and I would be back on track after this, after we figured out what was going on.

The problem was that I was the one who was being forced to broach the subject with him. Since Aro had brought it up and I'd agreed to a time, I wondered if there was a way to get out of it. My discomfort around the feelings that came up when I thought of this confrontation of Marcus and what had been going on between us was apparent.

It was obvious why I felt this way. God, it was the past eating me alive again as I paced around in my room. What would I be doing next? Well, I'd be going to his room, where I knew he was by the loud clicking of his keys on his desktop computer. The only comfort I had here was that it wouldn't be outside, in public, where anyone and everyone would hear the two of us discussing our relationship and what wasn't going on.

Marcus believed I was ignoring him, but that just wasn't the case. I wouldn't ignore him. The fact that so much had happened was what kept me from him, the sheer amount of effort I'd put into other things. It wasn't ignoring.

To ignore him meant he did something wrong. He didn't, or at least I didn't think he did. Unless I was getting something wrong.

I had to drag myself from my rooms, noting the amount of guards in my hallway had increased from the days prior. I guess now they were deciding that since one threat had been evaded, they could place all of their focus on the Clock Tower and the important people inside running the government.

Marcus' room was quite close to Caius'. It was near most of the important areas of the multi-story building. The library was only a few meters down and to the right, with at least two offices being in the same corridor. Only now did I realize the layout of this place was made on a whim, when they needed more space they just built onto what was already there. This couldn't have been the first rendition of the building.

Despite me not wanting to go into the room for the sake of my anxiety, I knocked on the door to Marcus' room, waiting patiently for his response. He came quick to the door, looking quite exhausted (or as much as a vampire could be- his face looked a bit droopy from my angle).

"May I come in?" I asked, trying to play it as cool as I could.

"Of course," was his only response as I made my way through the door.

The area was not what I'd expected. I'd barely seen the insides of his room, mainly when the door was left open (a habit that plenty of other vampires seemed to have) and I was passing by. His sheets were a similar style to Caius' with the notable exception that he chose the color blue for most of his interior decor. His computer was the most modern part of the area. All of the furniture looked as if it were at least two centuries old, but I guess that Marcus rarely comes in here and would rather use the computer in his office.

I did myself the pleasure of sitting down on his bed, noting that the frame was creaky and the mattress a bit firm.

"Aro talked to me about the plans for the royal gathering happening in June," I began with, seeing as saying much else wouldn't be a safe option for my nerves. "I'm assured that you and he will pick nice flowers to match the ones I chose."

Marcus still had that tired look on his face when he asked, "Is that what you wished to discuss with me tonight?"

"No," I admitted quickly. "Aro told me that you think I'm ignoring you."

"Are you?" He questioned, clearly pained by the thought of it.

"No." His face did not change from a tired, slightly upset expression, so I furthered my thought, "I'm not ignoring you, Marcus. I have to apologize for making you feel that way, though."

"I shouldn't have assumed-"

I cut him off before he could continue, "But you did. I didn't give you anything to go off of and you believed I was ignoring you. What other conclusion were you supposed to come to?"

"I should have more faith in you." Marcus' eyes turned towards the closed door. "In us."

My heart soured at the idea of him hurt. Just like it hated the idea of rejecting him when I turned.

"I have been pulled towards you since the moment I met you, Marcus," I admitted, standing from his bed and praying that I hadn't made a mess of it. "I'm still figuring this all out. That isn't a good reason for why we've been so distant, but it is what happened."

Marcus gave a little nod, showing an understanding that helped me feel less horrible about what I'd been doing. The distance wasn't fully absolved, but it was at least a start I supposed. As long as he didn't hate me or hurt because of what I did, we could end up fixing things between us.

There was from then on a silent understanding between us. I soon left the room, knowing that despite his inability to verbalize it, I had been forgiven for my wrongdoing. I just hoped that he could see through the bond that I didn't blame him.

He was at no fault for any of this. I was so new to being in a healthy, or multiple healthy relationships. Distance and mistrust was so common with Andrei, I would never trust that man. Marcus was so different from him that just being in the same room was like a breath of fresh air.

I could mend this rift. We'd talk more, I'd make more of an effort to consider him in the actions I took throughout the day. This was on me. Somehow I knew innately that Marcus went too hard on himself, that he had some underlying insecurity that needed to be addressed. Before he did I could pick up some of the slack, help him feel more secure in our relationship.

That was what soulmates do, after all.

---

THE RAINLY SEASON HAD NOT YET LEFT VOLTERRA.

In years past, Aro would have made a fuss about it. He didn't like the rain at all, finding it a damper on his mood even as a vampire. Something about the gloomy atmosphere messed with him on his happiest days. And he was happiest right now, as joyful as a man could be while planning the biggest event of the season.

Within the plentiful days of chaos Aro would find solace in the fact that he was indeed a perfect party planner. He knew which people to invite, what flowers would make the immortal guests happy. This was partially why everyone allowed the Volturi to rule. Nobody could outdo Aro's gatherings.

The flowers had been decided that night. Marcus gave his input, as he did actually care about the meaning of the gathering and the florals more than attending the party itself. In years past that was the most Aro could get out of the depressing old sod. Now, he was still glad that Marcus wasn't getting in his way.

Now was for the calling of guests. Aro did like this part, partially because he couldn't for the life of him keep his mouth shut about anything happening in his life. The guests would know that his mate was in attendance. It was such a wonderful thing! He only got off the call when he realized that he would not have enough time to talk to every one of the coven masters in this fine detail.

None of them minded his ramblings. Most were fond of a vampire so open about their lives. It didn't come often in their immortal bunch. It made sure that some of the more introverted vampires didn't have to do much of the talking.

Like a madman he went down the list and called everyone up (he thanked the Gods for this modern technology- he used to use so much paper in his invitations) to request their attendance.

By the next week he'd gotten answers of yes from almost everyone who he invited. All of the Volturi's strongest supporters would be in attendance, only one small coven from France could not come due to a Newborn that couldn't be trusted near human settlements at the moment.

The negative from them made him glad that his mate was so easy in that regard. How many vampires as newborns could stick to the schedule? Very few, in his experience, yet River did so well.

Truly, she'd done so well in most regards. She'd done her reading on their laws, become good friends with the elite guard, and not started a single fight with anyone! What a good job for the first two months of being immortal, Aro believed, and she did it all with a good attitude.

He'd been worried before that her traumatic turning would stain the first few years of her immortality. He was glad that it wasn't so.

The damn Cullens and their issues really didn't make it easy on any of them. Yet River seemed to shine through it all.

He was truly getting off topic in his thoughts: Aro needed to plan.

There was no way of getting new tables in time, but the ones from the last gathering with different table clothes would have to do. The gold or the jade vases would work best with the Chinese Wisteria. Then he had to remind himself to tell his brothers to wear their gold.

Guards could wear silver if they wanted, but the Coven Masters were not to be seen wearing different metal from the accents. That would be terribly unseemly.

Aro could barely think with the pouring rain outside. He wished that he'd been blessed with the arid summer already, it would make him hate the area he'd settled in a little less if it came quickly. Gods, he'd never gotten used to rain even in his three thousand years of living. There had to be a better way of doing things.

He hoped it would not rain on the day of the gathering. That would be awful. Mud on people's boots, tracking all of the wet, fallen leaves into the ballroom. What a mess for him to clean up afterwards.

Aro only did messy in his office and in-

"Brother, has the Uley pack responded to your request for them to come?" Marcus peeped his head into his brother's office to ask.

"They have too many graduations during that period of time, they said." A completely reasonable decline.

"So that's a no?"

"Obviously, you fool," Aro snapped. "Out. I am becoming too unfocused. This rain and you cannot exist here at the same time, lest this gathering be an immortal stain on our reputation. We would be deposed and killed."

"Should I pray the livelihood of the crops away for you?"

"Yes, yes, go do that. Make use of your prayers."

---

So sorry this got uploaded on accident last night so I had to unpublish it! This is today's upload. I took a bit of time off so I could recover from a health episode I had last week. Thanks everyone for their understanding.