TRAINING WITH SANTIAGO was interesting to say the least; although he possessed no supernatural capability, he had superior physical strength and battle technique that almost always ended with Selina on her ass.

"Give me a break" she flopped onto her stomach and the dark skinned vampire rolled his maroon eyes "you're killing me here"

"You are a drama queen" he pointed at her and she stuck out her tongue childishly "get up. I am not having my arms ripped off because you are being lazy"

She sighed heavily, inhaling and exhaling dramatically before rolling onto her back and heaving herself to her feet "now you're being a drama queen" she teased.

He barged into her shoulder and she landed on her backside with an 'oof'.

"Keep your guard up Selina" he pinched the bridge of his nose and hoisted her up by her outstretched arm "we have been at this for eleven hours"

"Exactly...eleven hours of boring fighting with you of all people" she lunged and he span out the way so she grabbed at thin air "Will. You. Stop. Being. So. Good" she stomped her foot in frustration and a pulse escaped her hand, once again knocking her over after lifting her into the air.

"Have a nice flight?" He asked, his arms crossed over his chest as he peered down at her.

"Really funny man. Seriously. You should be a rodeo clown. Right now. Go. Far away from here to join a circus" he raised an eyebrow.

"Are you done?" He asked.

"You know what else you should do?" She growled.

"Apparently you're not" he sighed and tilted his head to the sky as if asking why this was happening to him.

"You should march your ass to Aro and tell him I'm untrainable so I can lay on the ground and contemplate my worthless existence as an undead creature" she ranted.

"You're impossible" he deadpanned.

"And you're insufferable" she shot back.

They stared each other down; Selina from her spot on the floor and Santiago a metre to the left of the large room.

"Let's try something new" he suggested.

"Finally" she jumped up from the floor.

"Your ability" she furrowed her brows and looked at the ground "don't look so glum, it takes a while for vampires to fully develop an understanding and control of their powers. Sometimes decades"

"Decades!" She shrieked.

The corner of his mouth twitched up in a half smile "the stronger the ability, the harder to control. Think yourself honoured to have such a blessing"

"Honoured" she tapped her chin "I suppose so"

"Good, so to start. Hit me"

...

Nineteen hours. Nineteen hours of practising. Nineteen hours with Santiago as her only company practising.

"Do it again" he braced himself and she pushed both her hands outwards in an attempt to concentrate her ability to the palms of her hands "clear your mind. Feel it as a part of you"

"It's harder than it looks" she pointed out and he shrugged.

"I understand" she looked at him suspiciously before focusing on the task at hand "If it helps, think about how much I frustrate you" she grinned and a sound wave rippled through the air to knock him off his feet- a few cracks webbed over his body.

"I suppose I shouldn't feel overly offended" he struggled to his feet and Selina tilted her head "at least we know your powers truly operate based on your emotions"

"Fucking nineteen hours to grasp one piece of information" she grumbled.

"Hey, we're getting somewhere"

...

Fifty two hours and she had relatively good control over her ability- just enough so that Aro was pleased with her progress and allowed her a break.

"Same time next week?" Santiago teased and Selina stuck both her middle fingers up over her head as she walked away down the hall.

"In your non existent dreams" she shouted and heard him chuckle under his breath.

She gazed out one of the many windows and caught sight of Emmett in the garden with Felix. Surprisingly they had not engaged in any sort of brawl- instead they sat attempting a game of chess. Selina laughed at their looks of concentration and opened the window to sit with her legs dangling on the outside.

"They decided after many harrowing trials that their strength was matched. Now they test the capabilities of their minds instead" a voice sounded from behind her and she looked over to see Marcus.

"Good Evening my King" she bowed her head politely and he in turn did the same "a bit of friendly competition keeps them entertained"

"It appears so" he moved a few steps behind her so he could admire the gardens "are you finding the Volturi to be of your liking?"

She glanced at the king before staring back out to the garden, tapping her fingers on the bricks of the wall in thought.

"Your hospitality has been much appreciated..." she thought through her words carefully "the Volturi has been kinder than I ever thought they could be"

"But you are unhappy" he commented off handedly as his eyes were kept trained on the maze in the view of the window "why?"

"Not unhappy. Scared" she corrected and he turned his gaze to her in curiosity "I'm scared because everything seems so easy here. Sure, there's rules and regulations but somehow I find them simple to follow...I'm scared because I feel as if this is my home"

"And why does that scare you?" He asked.

"I've never had a home before- not a proper one" she looked over to meet his sad eyes and smiled "and maybe what scares me is that it could all be taken away so easily"

"That's where you're wrong my dear" the corners of his mouth upturned the slightest degree "no matter the rumours, Aro does not force people to stay here just as he does not force people to leave. He gives them choices- albeit some are unfair- but he truly cares about this coven just as he cares for you and your fellow newcomers"

"How can you be so sure?" She asked and he tilted his head.

"I suppose you've heard about Anthenodora" she nodded minutely and Marcus sighed "it was Rosalie that brought it to Aros attention that she suspected something was off"

"She...what?" Selinas jaw dropped and Marcus nodded.

"He didn't even attempt to dive into her memories; he listened to her and treated her with respect. He believed her even though Anthenodora had been with us for centuries. Caius of course insisted that she was a liar as well as demanding Aro double check" Selina frowned.

"Why?"

"My brother has a way about him. Yes, he is greedy for power and yes, he trains his guard to reach his expectations but he trusts each and every one of them until they do something to break that trust. He is harsh and some would say cruel but he is fit to rule"

"It's fascinating how far things differ from expectations" she mumbled and Marcus left her to her thoughts as she stared back down at the two mals vampires still playing chess.