Chapter Text
The twenty fifth day of April had never been a calm day in Volterra ever since some time in the 4th century – 378 AD but they didn't want people to remember exactly- Saint Marcus – and definitely not Marcus Volturi- cleared the city of all vampires that plagued it. To celebrate this wonderful occasion the people of Volterra would dress up in red and carry torches around the town, casting light in every dark corner and alleyway, sharing wine, and giving thanks to the saint by coming to the great mansion he used to live in – and definitely no longer lived in- to feast and dance and sing about how God and his light conquered all.
Thankfully over the years, the Volturi managed to move the feasting and the celebrating to the outside yard instead of inside the mansion, and later they managed to focus the thickest of it to take place not on their premises. It's not that they didn't like having hundreds of humans in their home walk around and sit on their furniture and get drunk. Of course, anyone would love that. But it was a very dangerous game to play, having humans in their home celebrating the lack of vampires, and then accidentally have a new guard lose control and reveal that the vampires were well and thriving in fact.
It really was remarkable that all through the centuries no accident had occurred, and all the crowds of people that gathered in and around their home all left intact.
It was in very recent years, after the mayor of the town had come knocking on the palace doors and asked to see the owner, one Caius Volturi -it was his name that was used for the next eighty or so years and he had the misfortune to have to sign papers about it- along with some museum expert and the district chief, and made the suggestion that the palace became a visitable museum. It would greatly raise the number of tourists, they all had said, and of course, signore Volturi would gain coin.
Caius had sat at the first floor office -the one used by the secretaries and the one he had never really set foot in before- accompanied by their oldest secretary and pretended to listen and think about it, while he could hear his brothers and his wife and all of his higher guards walk around in the second and third floor unnerved and curious. He listened to the suggestion, agreed that he looked a lot like his father, explained that albinism was genetically inherited, all the while the other two kings and queens argued above him on whether or not they should accept. He of course, had no say in this case, he had to keep the humans unsuspecting and calm, and when the decision was finally made two floors above him, he breathed in, and smiled softly.
“A very interesting suggestion, one which I'm inclined to accept, gentlemen,” he had said and the three men beamed. “I do have one qualm however. You see, I do live here. So does my family and some employees. I'm afraid the visitable area can only be on the ground floor. There are some things in the other floors I think have historical or cultural value, I will leave that estimation to you,” he nodded towards the museum expert, “but you cannot ask me to have my bedroom, for example, be visitable to guests.”
They came to an agreement, Caius was hard to disagree with afterall, and the secretary took care of everything -god bless her.
But that meant, once again after centuries of peace, way too many people flocked about inside the Volturi palace on the day of Saint Marcus.
And so, the sunrise found Caius staring out of his bedroom window with a frown one preserves for his deepest enemies.
“Will you relax, yet? All we have to do is stay inside, and stay quiet. Why would this be any different than last year?” Aro said from his spot on Caius' bed. He had come in in the middle of the night and took up all the space there as he watched Caius pace anxiously.
They both knew Aro's words would ease none of the tension. They both knew Caius was usually right to be anxious over upcoming events. He had a talent for knowing when shit was about to happen, and he had hardly ever been wrong. But if Caius was going to focus on being nervous, then Aro had to take the role of the calm one.
The church bells rang, much earlier than on any other Sunday and as opposed to most Sundays, a lot of people could be heard already walking and talking and actually going to church. The service was going to be long, and at around eleven the parade would begin, where the people dressed in dark red cloaks walked around the town, and the priest, at the head of it, would stop every now and then to chant and pray, essentially blessing the town.
Caius disliked that part especially. Sure, holy water had never hurt them before, but he did not like taking chances.
And then, after the parade and blessing had finished, the tourist groups would come one after the other into the palace, led by Chelsea herself, and their tourist guide, and that was when the guards needed to be on high alert. There needed to be someone on every staircase that led up, on every door or corridor that could lead them to a room they shouldn't be in because people ignored the little red rope barriers very easily. After the first year, where they had made the mistake of keeping everyone in and trusting no visitor would wander up the closed off stairs – which led to a human coming face to face with a very red eyed Corin- they changed tactics. They put a few more doors in corridors that led to the garden and locked them, they planted thick bush plants to fence up the backyard where it connected to the inner garden, they sent most guards away -to Florence, usually. Caius didn't want them to be too far and thus, render the palace completely defenseless- and essentially only left the main staircase as a possible pathway to the rest of the palace. All they had to do was put a guard on the staircase and the problem was solved.
The palace doors would open at eleven and not a minute earlier.
The church service had begun, and Aro had pulled Caius away from the window.
At quarter to eleven, the massive wooden gates were opened and all the remaining residents of the palace focused on the sound. Demetri's light footsteps rushed to the king's room and a polite knock quickly followed.
“Enter,” Caius said seriously.
Demetri opened the door and looked at both his kings deep in thought. “A young vampire requests a hearing of all three kings.”
Caius looked at his soldier. He had been correct.
“Who?” Aro asked from the bed.
“Claims the name Cullen, sirs,” Demetri said carefully. “Edward Cullen.”
Aro and Caius shared a look and in an instant Aro was out of his room, running to find Marcus, as Caius ordered Demetri to let Edward in, lead him to the throne room and not let him out of his sight.