"Are you old enough to be drinking alcohol?"

I swirled around the eggnog in my mug. "The legal drinking age in Italy is sixteen. Considering how long you've lived here, I thought you would have known that."

"Alright, smartass," Santiago said, closing the door and making himself comfortable in my recliner. He watched as I sipped on the brandy-spiked eggnog. "You know the kings will blame me if you get drunk, right?"

"Don't be dramatic, I'm not going to get drunk off of this," I scoffed. "Buzzed, maybe. But not drunk."

Santiago eyed me dubiously. "If you say so. What do you have on?"

"Elf. Haven't you seen it?" I took another long drink of eggnog. Between the cozy warmth of the room, the Christmas tree, and the fleece blanket I had draped over my legs, Christmas Eve was shaping up just the way I had hoped. The only thing missing were my mates.

"Oh, yeah. I've seen it a few times. It's Renata's favorite Christmas movie," he said.

I grinned. "So you two are getting pretty serious, huh?"

"Shut up or I'll tell the kings you've been drinking," Santiago threatened.

"That's an empty threat if I ever heard one," I said with a snort. "Aro will know anyway, and as long as I don't get shitfaced I doubt they'll really care. Where are they, anyway?"

"Last minute trial. Master Caius was on his way over before he got called away by Master Aro; I was in the vicinity so he sent me in his stead. Figured you wouldn't mind a little company on Christmas Eve."

"You figured right," I agreed. "Did he say how long they'd be?"

"Everything happened in a bit of a rush; Master Caius didn't say. No doubt they'll want to make a swift ruling, so probably two hours at the absolute most. Don't be too put out, though. I mean, look on the bright side: you get to hang out with me!"

"I can't think of any way I'd rather spend Christmas Eve," I said dryly, though an amused smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

"I knew you'd see it my way."

Roughly an hour and a half later, after Santiago and I had finished watching Elf and had made it halfway through The Santa Clause, the three kings entered my wing.

"That's my cue to leave. I'll see you later, queenliness. Merry Christmas," Santiago said, standing and stretching unnecessarily before giving the kings a respectful nod and leaving the room.

"We are so sorry for having to leave you alone for Christmas Eve, mia cara. Rest assured we will make it up to you," Aro fretted, his red eyes on me worriedly.

I shed the blanket and stood with a smile. "It's alright, Aro, really. Things happen. Kings don't get days off."

"Don't remind me," Caius grumbled, removing his cloak and hanging it on one of the coat hooks by my door. "That trial did not go quite as speedily as I had hoped."

"However, we're grateful Santiago kept you company. He cares for you deeply," Marcus said, hanging his cloak beside Caius'.

"Most of the guard does. Though I am surprised at how fondly Santiago thinks of you; he is not one to attach to others easily. That said, his budding relationship with Renata has come as no shock to anyone," Aro said. He draped his cloak over the back of my loveseat before pressing a brief kiss to my forehead and taking a seat.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect it. He was a perfectly good warrior until he started fostering feelings for her. Now he's a perfectly good warrior who is constantly distracted," Caius complained.

I laughed. "That doesn't sound like anyone I know at all."

"I have no earthly idea whom you may be referring to, amore," Caius said innocently.

"Oh, yes, brother. No idea at all," Marcus agreed, amused. He took my hand in his, tugging me to the couch so he could pull me onto his lap.

"Must you keep our lovely mate all to yourself? You were not the only one forced to hold court today, Marcus," Aro said.

"What was so urgent that you needed to hold the trial immediately?" I asked curiously. The Volturi castle had dungeons whose cells were strong enough to hold vampires.

Marcus shook his head. "It is a morbid tale, tesoro, certainly not fitting for such a joyous occasion as Christmas Eve. Much to reminiscent of the past to be spoken of."

Reminiscent of the past? Because that's not vague. "You know you can't protect me forever. Someday I'm going to rule with you. I'm going to have to know."

"She's right," Caius said, leaning on the back of the couch and twirling strands of my hair through his finger. "There's no harm in knowing. The offending party met a swift end; he is of no danger anymore. One month ago we were approached my a male vampire. His mate had been murdered by another, who threatened to do so again. A week after that, another vampire approached with the same report. We dispatched one of our lesser trackers, along with a small unit of her own choosing, to track down the vampire and bring him back to Volterra.

"Our tracker found him with relative ease, and along with the other guard she brought was able to overpower the rogue and return with him to Volterra. With all the unrest surrounding this case, we deemed it wise to hold the trial as soon as possible. A rogue vampire specifically targeting one in a mated pair dredges up bad memories, to say the least."

Didyme. Caius didn't speak her name, but the implication was there. I felt sorry I asked.

Marcus must have read this clearly on my face, because he gave me a gentle smile. "Never feel bad for curiosity, carissima. How else would one learn?"

"Still. I don't want to cause you pain," I said softly.

"There is little you could do, my dearest Rowan, that could ever cause me pain. Your very existence is cause for my greatest joy," he said seriously.

My face burned with and I ducked my head, grinning. Marcus chuckled, pressing his nose against my warm cheek. Caius checked his watch. "It's customary that a few presents are opened the night of Christmas Eve, correct?"

"Yes," I said, glancing over to my tree, which had a fair few presents underneath it - some were from the guard, who had been stopping in intermittently over the past day to drop them off, and some were from me to the kings. Though it was agreed that my tree would be used for the presents, the kings had yet to put anything under it.

"I suppose I should go fetch my gifts for you from my quarters. I'll be back momentarily," he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead and running off.

"Oh, are we putting our presents under the tree now? I see the guard has dropped off their gifts already," Aro said, motioning to the tree.

"Yeah, they've been dropping by fairly consistently ever since yesterday. I think this is all of them, though," I said.

Caius reappeared kneeling by the tree, arranging several carefully wrapped parcels underneath with the look of utmost concentration that I usually only witnessed when he was painting.

"Caius, love, you know we're going to be moving the presents when we open them, right? They don't need to be perfectly arranged underneath," I said, smiling.

"I'm aware. However, it looks much nicer this way, rather than everything simply placed arbitrarily," he said, still rearranging the presents.

"I ought to go fetch mine," Aro said thoughtfully, standing in a fluid motion and disappearing off to his own wing.

"The only downside to Aro's gift is that he already knows what I got him," I grumbled.

Marcus chuckled. "Perhaps, after your turning, you'll have enough control over your gift to conceal only certain thoughts."

"Finding out the full extent of my gift is one of the things I'm looking forward to most," I said thoughtfully. "Well, that and spending eternity with you three."

"Thank you for that afterthought," Caius quipped.

"Hey, it wasn't an-"

Caius interjected, looking suitably amused. "I am only joking, amore."

"It's so hard to tell with you sometimes," I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

"I do have a sense of humor, you know," he pointed out.

I grinned. "I know. However, if I were to tell that to anyone else, I doubt they'd believe me."

"Aren't you hilarious," Caius said drily, smirking.

Aro reentered my wing at human pace, the several presents precariously balanced in his arms explaining why he hadn't used his speed. "A little help would be appreciated, brothers."

"I'm a tad busy at the moment, I'm afraid," Marcus remarked, not sounding sorry at all as he pulled me more snugly against his chest.

"Yes, clearly," Aro said. "Caius?"

"Very well. But only because you'd destroy the gift arrangement I have so meticulously done," Caius agreed, taking several bags and boxes from Aro and setting to work placing them around the tree.

"I suppose that's my cue to retrieve the presents I have for you?" Marcus asked me.

"Probably," I agreed, giving him a light peck on the lips before getting off his lap. I walked over to get myself more eggnog as Caius and Aro bickered over present placement, my heart feeling incredibly full. I hadn't realized this was the sort of domesticity I wanted before I had it.

"Is your drink spiked?" Caius asked, glancing up as I curled up against the armrest of the loveseat.

"Maybe," I said, shrugging. "Who cares? It's Christmas Eve."

"I suppose," Caius reluctantly agreed.

"Yes, brother, you can't exactly say anything against it. From what I've heard, he ingested a fair amount of alcohol during his human days," Aro said amusedly, looking incredibly smug when Caius turned to glower at him.

Marcus reappeared in the room by the tree, not encumbered by enough packages to prevent him from using his vampiric speed. "Where should I put these, Caius?"

"By Aro's," Caius said, pointing to a gap between his presents and Aro's. "I trust you can manage that?"

"I believe I can," Marcus said somberly.

I muffled my giggles with a cough. Caius glanced towards me. "Something amusing, amore?"

"You're taking the present arranging very seriously," I said.

"Yes, well, it's a bit like art. I don't like things being out of place," he said, watching as Marcus carefully placed the last of the gifts before nodding in satisfaction.

"Oh, I met Afton in the hall; you'll have dinner delivered to you shortly," Marcus said. Things had finally settled between Marcus and Afton after the training fiasco that had happened months ago, which meant I was seeing Afton much more frequently.

"Great. I was starting to get hungry. We can open a couple presents after I eat. In the mean time, I think cuddling and Christmas movies are the way to go," I said, gesturing towards the movie, which had been paused for upwards of fifteen minutes at this point.

"That sounds like a lovely plan, tesoro," Marcus agreed at once. It took several minutes for us to get settled - I eventually ended up leaning against Aro's chest with my legs thrown over Caius' and Marcus'.

After dinner, the four of us migrated to the floor so we could pass out a few presents. The kings insisted I open one from each of them, and they each opened one from me.

"Okay, on a scale of one to ten, how overboard did you go?" I asked Aro before I opened his gift.

"I only bought you what I believe you deserve, mia cara," Aro said.

"So that's code for super overboard, got it," I said with a grin.

"I assure you that you'll like it," Aro said confidently.

"Are we going to chat or open presents? I'm sure sitting on the floor is quite uncomfortable as a human," Caius said, his tone that of thinly disguised impatience.

"I'm opening it, I'm opening it," I said, pulling the bag into my lap and pulling out what was wrapped in the tissue paper. It was a gorgeous, incredibly soft scarf with more colors than I could possibly name.

"What do you think?" Aro asked eagerly.

"This is beautiful! Aro, I love it, thank you," I said, admiring the shimmering fabric for several more moments before wrapping it carefully in the tissue paper and returning it to the bag. "You all should go next."

"We'll go last. Open your gift from me," Caius said, handing me a small, wrapped box. "I'm not saying this gift tops my brother's, however..."

"You are saying that," I said, giggling. "I'm sure all of your gifts are fantastic. And since you insist, I'll open yours now."

"Thank you," Caius said, watching me intently as I tore into the wrapping paper, a small smile on his lips. It was a ring, the gold band intricately crafted and set with a blood-red ruby, the same type of gemstone inlaid in his crest.

I gasped. "Caius, this is gorgeous. I love it."

"I'm glad. The ruby in your ring is from the same stone that my crest's ruby was taken from. There was leftover when they crafted my crest so long ago, and we've had the excess in storage until I had jewelers craft this ring for you."

"Thank you," I repeated fervently, slipping it onto my right ring finger. The ruby matched my dark red sweater and glittered in the light.

"Here you go, dearest," Marcus said, passing one of his gifts to me. "Open this, and then we'll open your gifts to us."

"Alright," I agreed. The box he handed me was small, but still bigger than the ring box that Caius had given to me.

I opened it and smiled. "A bracelet, it's beautiful."

"The date there, in Roman numerals, it's the date we met," Marcus said, pointing to the inscription on the pale gold bracelet.

I grinned wider. "Put it on?"

"Of course," he obliged me. "Our turns now, then?"

"Yes. It's these three," I said, passing them to their intended recipients. "You can open them at the same time, they're all essentially the same."

"Alright," they agreed, Caius and Marcus looking quite curious. Thanks to his gift, Aro already knew, but he was still clearly excited.

"Go ahead," I encouraged. They tore into the wrapping paper - none of which were wrapped quite as nicely as any of their gifts to me - and smiled in unison.

"New cloak clasps," Caius said, examining his golden clasp closely. "Opal stones?"

"Well, I got the idea after looking at my own crest, which has your gemstones plus opal for me. So I thought I could get you each a clasp that had a different colored opal stone. Fire opal for you, black opal for Aro, and green opal for Marcus," I explained.

"That's a clever idea," Marcus said. "Now we carry a reminder of you wherever we go."

"I think, out of all my gifts, those are the ones I'm most proud of. But I couldn't wait until tomorrow to give them to you," I admitted.

"You can rest assured I'll be using this often. I lost my last clasp over a century ago, never did get around to having a new one crafted," Caius said thoughtfully.

I laughed. "And now you don't have to worry about it."

"Shall we clean this up and return to our Christmas movies?" Marcus asked.

"Sure, I'll grab the paper," I said, snatching up the wrapping paper before any of my mates could protest and smashing it into a ball. I threw it at Aro, who was so busy looking at the cloak clasp he didn't notice until it hit him on the side of the head.

I doubled over laughing, flopping back onto the loveseat as Aro tossed it back with a gleeful laugh. I chucked it at Caius, who caught it just before it hit him in the face. Instead of throwing it back, Caius threw it at Marcus, who was too distracted by my laughter to catch it before it nailed him in the shoulder.

"You knew I wasn't paying attention," Marcus accused, narrowing his eyes at his brother.

Caius smirked. "Never lose focus in battle."

"Don't use my own words against me," Marcus said, looking as if he was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Here, I'll help you get revenge," I said with a giggle, hopping off the couch and making my way to Caius.

"Wait, you can't do that. That's cheating. I'm pretty sure there are rules against this," Caius protested, knowing exactly what I was planning on doing as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"All's fair in love and war," I teased, bringing my lips to his. He relaxed involuntarily and didn't even pull away after Marcus hit him with the wrapping paper ball.

"How do you know that wasn't my plan all along?" Caius asked when he finally pulled away, giving Marcus a smug look.

"Oh, very clever, brother. Very clever," Marcus said, rolling his eyes.

"So, Christmas movies?" I asked brightly after retrieving the wrapping paper and tossing it into the trash.

"Christmas movies it is," Aro agreed, the four of us settling back down on the loveseat. As Aro ran his fingers gently through my hair, I thought idly that there was no other way I'd rather spend Christmas Eve.

Edited 6/26/2021