The rain, which had been unceasing for a majority of the week following the training session that took place between Edward and I, had finally slowed to a light drizzle. I took the opportunity to venture outside since the weather was largely pleasant now that April was ending and May was rapidly approaching. With the threat of Victoria successfully eliminated I had little to worry about in way of danger, so the Cullens weren't quite as worried about my tendency to range far and wide through the woods surrounding our home.

I found myself walking the path I had worn to the Quileute border, avoiding puddles and patches of mud as best I could, bag of drawing materials thrown over one shoulder. I grimaced as my boots sunk into the water-saturated ground, knowing that Esme wouldn't be pleased if I tracked it into the house.

The woods were quiet, save the rustling of leaves and occasional chirping of far-off birds. It was unusual for the woods to be so silent, especially now that the rain had finally relented. I paused in my journey to glance around, nearly jumping out of my skin when two figures abruptly appeared a short ways down the path I had just walked.

The fright didn't last long - it was Jane and Alec, surprisingly, and I briefly wondered where Demetri and Felix were.

"My queen," they said in unison, giving my slight bows.

I offered them a small smile. "Hi Jane, Alec. You don't have to call me that, just Rowan is fine. I'm no queen."

"It wouldn't be proper," Jane said stiffly, her unblinking gaze never leaving me. It was unsettling but non-threatening, like when a stranger stares a little too long.

"If you say so," I said slowly. "But I wouldn't mind. What can I do for you?"

"We - your guard here, that is - just have a couple of questions for you, if you don't mind," Alec said, his tone significantly warmer than his twin's.

"Go for it. Mind if we walk and talk?" I asked.

"Not at all," Alec said, and they flanked me on either side as I continued my trek. He continued speaking as we walked. "As you know, we are required to follow you at all times to ensure your safety. Due to this, we couldn't help but witness the training session between you and Edward." He spoke Edward's name with distaste.

"Ah." I realized where this conversation was going. "So you're asking why?"

"We're concerned that it may negatively impact your relationship with Master Aro," Jane said in a clipped tone, much less verbose than her brother.

I deliberated on how to respond to this. "How much have your masters told you of my past?"

"None at all, my queen," Jane said, her tone indicating she believed this should have been obvious. "It is not our place. It's hardly our place to interfere in this manner, either, but I was outvoted."

"I'll give you the abbreviated version, then. My mother died when I was young, and my father couldn't cope. He wasn't kind to me. He was very rough; his touches weren't that of a loving parent. Nothing was good enough for him. I successfully ran away when I was fourteen, and that was when the Cullens found me," I said slowly, trying to summarize my distasteful upbringing into a few sentences.

"What does this have to do with Master Aro, my queen?" Alec asked as I stopped, having reached my destination.

I removed my hood, as it had stopped drizzling altogether. "I'm concerned that seeing my past may trouble him. And I want to make sure that I am ready to reveal it, too. Aro's gift is very intrusive, for lack of a better word, and having the choice of when to share my past with him is much welcomed. I wasn't allowed to make choices for myself for much of my life."

"We understand, my queen," Jane said. I could have imagined it, but her tone didn't seem quite as cold as before.

"Thank you for answering our questions," Alec said. "We will leave you now."

I smiled at them. "You're welcome. And it was nice to talk to you both. Really."

They looked vaguely surprised at this, and Alec gave me a ghost of a smile in return before they both disappeared, moving much too fast for my eyes to see. I mused over this conversation for a while, and wondered if I should start actively attempting to befriend my guard. I certainly didn't want them to protect me because just because they were ordered. I wanted them to genuinely like me, but as I barely saw them I had a feeling that this would be no easy feat while I remained with the Cullens.

Aro arrived late Friday evening, well after I had finished my homework and eaten the dinner Rosalie had prepared. I was playing chess with Jasper, as he was the hardest of the Cullens (besides Edward and Alice, both of whom I refused to play) to beat. I still hadn't achieved that, and I cursed as he moved his pieces into checkmate. Again.

"Shit. Remind me why I play against you?" I grumbled as I tipped over my king, signaling defeat.

"Because you're determined to beat me," Jasper said, voice tinged with amusement. "I can feel your determination."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's play again," I said, and once he agreed we set our pieces once more.

"Rowan, your beau is here!" Emmett called, walking into the room. I rolled my eyes and threw the bishop I had to sacrifice at his head. He let out a booming laugh as he caught it, tossing it back once he was close enough.

"Some other time," Jasper promised as the front door opened.

"I'll beat you someday, Whitlock," I said, pointing the bishop at him.

He chuckled. "Sure you will."

I shot him a half-hearted glare as he swept the chess pieces back into the box and Carlisle entered the room, followed shortly by Aro. Like Caius and Marcus, he wasn't dressed in his Volturi robes, but his suit was fancier than what his brothers had worn.

"Rowan, mia cara," Aro crooned, completely ignoring the other Cullens in favor of approaching me. I shielded my mind just as Edward and I had practiced, but I found it was unneeded - while Aro gathered my hands within his own, he was wearing gloves that prevented skin-to-skin contact.

"Hello Aro," I greeted him with a small smile. "It's good to see you."

"You as well, bellissima. I saw through Caius what happened, are you alright?" he said, sending Carlisle a reproachful look.

"I'm fine, Aro, just as I told Caius. It wasn't my family's fault," I told him, wording posing as a gentle reminder that the Cullens were very much my family and not simply the people who had taken me in.

"I am sure they meant no harm to you," he said, though it was easy to tell that he was not satisfied with how things had played out that day. "I hope I didn't keep you up too late waiting, mia cara."

"Not at all. I was just playing chess with Jasper. Someday," I said, sending my brother a pointed look.

Jasper chuckled. "So you keep saying."

"You play chess?" Aro asked, as I beckoned for the two of us to take a seat on the couch.

"Not very well," I admitted with a grin. "But I'd like to think I'm improving. Jasper is no easy partner."

"No, I would think not. And where are the rest of your siblings?" he questioned.

"Edward is with Bella, I think. And Alice is around somewhere, I'm sure. She saw you coming four days ago, so I doubt she'd miss it. She's probably just letting you settle in," I said.

Jasper had moved off, probably to wherever Alice was, leaving the room empty sans Aro and I. Aro leaned back into the couch, gaze washing warmly over me. He spoke after a few moments, the subject as to the whereabouts of the other Cullens dropped. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable with my abilities, hence the gloves."

I felt I owed him something in way of an explanation. "Thanks. It's nothing you've done, you know. I'm just not ready."

"Please, mia cara, you don't need to explain yourself to me. I would accept your choice even if it mean I never got to touch you," he said softly.

"Thank you, Aro. You can take off the gloves. Edward helped me to learn how I hid my mind from you the first time, when I did it accidentally," I told him. I pressed my hand to his once he removed the gloves to show him, the shadow guarding my mind with little thought now that I had grown used to it.

"I hope you will trust me enough to someday show me," Aro said, squeezing my hand. "But I can wait until then."

"Thank you," I said, my words filled with gratitude. I was glad that Emmett had been right. Aro understood.

Saturday dawned cool and bright, sun shining through the patchy clouds. I knew the sun wouldn't last forever, though I hoped it would persist throughout the day. I didn't mind the rain much, but I did miss seeing the sun more than once every few weeks.

I stretched and rose to get ready for the day, conscious of my empty stomach. It seemed that everyone was present in the house, returning to normal volume now that I was awake. Emmett was playing Mario Kart with Jasper and Edward, both of whom were losing much to Emmett's glee.

"If it wasn't breakfast I'd come over and kick your asses," I said with a grin, pausing to watch their game. I snickered as Jasper ran off the track. "Nice try, Jazz. Better luck next time."

"That's cold," he groused.

"It's what you get for those chess comments last night," I said with a smirk, giving him a mock salute when he glared before heading to the kitchen.

Aro was seated at the kitchen table, deep in conversation with Carlisle, though he looked up when I entered with a large smile. "Bellissima! I thought I heard your voice. You slept well, I hope?"

"I did, thank you," I said with a smile. It was the first decent night's sleep I had gotten since Caius had left, largely because I had grown so used to his presence with me at night after the incident with Victoria that it was more difficult to sleep without him. What troubled me most were my nightmares returning with increased frequency, but last night had signaled a blissful, uninterrupted sleep. My guess was Aro's mere presence had something to do with it.

"I am glad to hear it! Do you have any plans for the day?" he asked pleasantly as I moved about the kitchen preparing myself a bowl of cereal.

I poured my cereal into the bowl and tossed him a shrug. "Nothing I can think of. Were you planning on something?"

"I decided any plans of my own would be best executed back in Volterra. Until then, your wish is my command, mia cara. Perhaps you can show me around?" he suggested. "My brothers say you are well-versed in these woods?"

"Sure, I can show you around. I know the woods pretty well. I enjoy spending time there when it's not raining - like today." I gestured towards the window with my spoon, where light filtered in from the morning sun. "Guess it's a good thing there's no school today, otherwise I'd be stuck going by myself."

"Bella would be there," Carlisle pointed out.

I hummed in agreement. "True. But it's weird driving out to school alone."

"And how is young Bella?" Aro asked curiously.

"She's still human, if that's what you mean," I said with a chuckle. "And Bella and I are close to the same age, Aro. Though I suppose I'm rather young to you."

"Everyone is young compared to me. Who out of the two of you is older?"

"Me, by nearly a year," I said between bites of my cereal. "I was held back a year, otherwise I would be graduated by now."

"When is your birthday?" he asked curiously.

Considering I had just put the spoon in my mouth as he spoke, Carlisle graciously answered for me. "July 29, 1986. She's physically older than Edward, which is something she never lets him forget despite the fact that she is also technically older than Rosalie."

"Rose is like my mom, I can't give her a hard time about it. Edward, on the other hand..." I offered them an unapologetic grin.

"So you'll be graduating with Bella and Edward, then?" Aro asked.

I nodded. "And Alice and Jasper."

"I'll have to make sure we're present for such a momentous occasion!" Aro said jovially, and I doubted there was anything I could say to him to change his mind.

"If you want. I'm warning you though, it's gonna be boring." I stood with my now-empty bowl.

"Anything with you involved is far from boring, mia cara. We will be there," he said, clapping his hands together. I gave a consenting nod, deciding to simply roll with it, and placed my dish in the dishwasher.

"We can go out once I brush my teeth. Sound good?" I asked.

Aro gave me a delighted smile. "Sounds wonderful. Don't rush on my account, bellissima."

I nodded and headed back upstairs, pausing to laugh at Emmett's indignant expression as Jasper won their race. Edward, who had came in second, laughed as well before turning his gaze on me. "Good morning, Rowan."

"Morning, Edward," I greeted. "Win any races yet?"

"Two. Emmett has me beat by one, and this is Jasper's first. He's off his rhythm today," Edward said with a grin. Looking seized by sudden thought, Edward reached over and grabbed a paper airplane sitting perched beside him. "Catch."

It floated lazily towards upon Edward's throw and I was easily able to snatch it out of the air. "Uh... thanks?"

"It's a note," Edward told me, amused.

I quickly unfolded it and read the few lines he had written in his perfect handwriting. He really wants to see the rocks you showed Marcus and Caius. "Oh. Thanks, Edward."

"Sure. Have fun," he said, turning back to his competition with Emmett and Jasper.

I took his advice once I had come back downstairs, tugging on a light coat to ward off the late morning chill. Aro's curiosity couldn't be contained as we left the house. "So, where are we heading first?"

"I was thinking I'd show you to the rockpile first. It's only fair, since Marcus and Caius have seen it too," I told him with a smile.

He beamed at this. "I was hoping I'd get to see it."

"I wouldn't deprive you of that. Especially since it's my favorite spot," I said, making sure my thoughts were carefully shielded before offering him my hand. "Shall we?"

I could see the disappointed look in his eyes when he took my hand and found my mind still hidden from his view and I knew my resolve to keep him in the dark about my past wouldn't last through his visit.

Aro was rather good at hiding his true feelings, however, as he had a giddy smile on his face moments later. "We shall. Lead the way!"

We set off into the forest, which was still dripping with the remnants of rain from last night, but the path was relatively dry and we made good time through the peaceful forest. It wasn't long before we broke through the trees and into the clearing that surrounded the large tumble of smoothed rocks.

"This is natural?" Aro asked, looking surprised.

"As far as I know. It's been here since before we moved to Forks," I said. "Before Forks we lived in Alaska."

"Is that where you're from, then?" Aro asked.

"No. I'm from Colorado. Rose and Emmett found me when they were honeymooning, and, uh, looked after me until Carlisle and Edward could meet them," I said. No need to mention that 'looked after' was synonymous with 'kept alive'. "Carlisle and Esme agreed to take me in after they found out why I was on the run."

"How long did it take you to figure out that they were not human?" he asked as I hoisted myself onto the topmost rock. It was still slightly damp from the rain, but not enough to soak through my jeans.

"Like, less than a month. To be fair, I was hyper-observant of their every move since I didn't trust them yet. Edward let Carlisle know the second I figured it out and that's when they sat me down and explained everything," I said. "That was when I showed them my gift for the first time."

"It is extraordinarily strong for someone who is still human," Aro observed thoughtfully.

"I've had years to practice. It manifested when I was six," I revealed.

He looked awed at this. "Fascinating. How does it work?"

"Well, I have to have some sort of shadows around. For example, my own shadow isn't enough, but I can work pretty well under these trees. Then I just sort of, step back into them. The shadows do the rest. I don't know how to describe it," I said with a shrug. "I'm not even entirely sure how I do it. I call, the shadows answer."

"Incredible," he breathed. "You already know about my gift."

"Tactile telepathy. More limited than Edward's but much more powerful," I said.

Aro smiled as he glanced down at our hands, his hand covering my own. "That's a rather accurate summary. Though it is rather invasive."

"But not bad," I said softly, following his gaze.

"No," he agreed after a moment's silence. "Certainly not bad."

Edited 4/16/2021