𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 ; volturi kings

CHAPTER XIX

CHAPTER XIX

Miles upon miles of neatly overgrown shrubbery and thick patches of colourful flowers were cocooned by a tall, stone wall- in the shade of which Jas and Marcus sat.

Large, paper-like, magenta flowers stood proudly atop crooked stalks, neighbouring stark-white carnations with pink edges and cypress trees which-

"Wait- who actually does the gardening?" Jas thought aloud, creasing her eyebrows.

As equally confused, her soul mate thought for a moment before replying, "I've never seen a gardener... I think it's more of a group thing- you tend to get a bit bored after a few eternities of existence."

"Fair enough."

"But there is one thing I can tell you for sure," he suddenly leaned in, a small smile on his face, "Aro had a gardening phase that lasted for a year or so."

He motioned to the cluster of tall trees at the very back, "just behind there, he had this greenhouse- spent hours in it- and then he threw a hissy fit and wrecked the whole thing when the plants wouldn't grow quick enough."

"What?" They chuckled together as Jas' eyes widened comically.

"You didn't hear that from me, though."

She made a zipping motion against her lips, throwing the invisible key into the evergreen abyss surrounding them.

"My dad had a disastrous gardening phase as well, y'know. He was so confused when nothing was growing, and so he bought tons of seeds," Jas couldn't resist the small giggle that escaped, "and we learnt in the summer the next year that all of the plants he bought were out of season."

"You should've seen the look on his face at the huge mess of flowers that suddenly appeared when it turned warmer." They both laughed at the image, Jas instinctively holding her chest.

Despite her contentment with her soulmates, Jasmine would always have a small, Charlie-shaped hole in her heart- the thought of which tightened her smile slightly.

"You don't talk much about your family," Marcus stated, attempting to tread carefully around the avoided subject.

"There's not much to tell..." She replied lightly.

"You're a terrible liar, innamorata."

She chuckled dryly at his reply, "hmm, let me see..." She feigned thought for a moment, "well, I haven't seen my mother in years- which is her own choice, by the way- my sister and I were close, until she got together with my boyfriend- which I was probably the last person to find out about- and..."

She bit down on her tongue, "my dad was murdered exactly three and a half months ago, killed by the same vampire who kidnapped and turned me."

At Marcus' silence, Jas raised an eyebrow, "and you're probably regretting asking now, aren't you?"

"Of course not," he reached up, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "for the many millennia I have been alive, I have more than experienced the great tragedy that is the bond of blood."

He thought for a moment, "but... Family isn't always blood- it's the people in your life who want you in theirs, who would do anything to see you smile."

"As for death... that's a subject of which the aftermath no one is very informed of. But I believe that the dead are never truly dead, not until we have forgotten them."

The lingering echo of watery eyes plagued Jasmine as she gave Marcus a small smile.

Neither knew what to say after that, but that was okay- they basked in the comfortable silence as their hands slowly intertwined.

━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━

As a vampire, physical exhaustion was out of the question.

But mental and emotional? Still very much possible.

Jasmine sighed aloud as she lay comfortably upon the large, cream bed, flicking mindlessly through a book she had picked up in the library.

When she had shown Jas to her room earlier, Corin had raised an eyebrow at the battered, blood-red copy of Hedda Gabler.

Despite only speaking to the guard for a short time, she felt a sense of contentment- one which was so fleeting and strong, that she was sure it was caused by a gift.

It was also nice, however, finally seeing another female in the castle.

When she had been exploring her new suite, the redhead had giggled delightedly at the younger vampire's shock at the large, filled walk-in closet.

"Holy shit," Jas had frozen for a moment, eyes analysing every scrap of expensive-looking clothing, "this is all mine?" Disbelief bled from her voice.

"That's correct- and if nothing is to your tastes, or you require a different size, we can go down to the shops in the village- with another guard- and find you something else."

She winked at a still-shocked Jasmine, "which will all be covered by your very generous mates, of course."

The feminist, self-relying pride within her battled with her inner fashion diva for what seemed like an eternity.

"Y'know," she thought aloud, a sarcastic tone lacing her voice, "I think it could do with a few more pairs of heels."

The two girls grinned slyly at each other, thoughts of retail therapy racing through their minds.

I could certainly get used to this, Jasmine thought to herself.

But, as usual, this dreamy contentment was simply the soothing silence as the storm began to sow its seeds.