Chapter 46 - The Invitation

"Ugh," I groan, crumpling yet another sheet of paper up into a ball and throwing it away. I'm trying to brainstorm a bit more on how I could possibly convince Caius to let me train more when the time comes, but my mind is completely blank. He has thousands of years of decision-making experience and I just don't know what's behind his thought process for any of it. It still feels like no matter what I come up with, I can find flaws in everything.

How can I prove myself to him when I don't even know what I need to prove, or if I even have anything to prove to begin with? He trusts me, he has confidence in me, he knows I have the strength to do it, so what's left? Literally just his fear of me dying.

Whatever. I'm going in anyway. I get up from the table and slowly open the door to Caius's office, where he's been working for most of the morning.

"I'm here for your scheduled break time," I tell him.

"I wasn't aware that I had a scheduled break time," he grins, looking up from his desk.

"You do today," I say, walking behind his chair to rest my chin on his head, and wrap my arms around his neck.

"I suppose I can spare a few minutes," he says, turning to face me.

"I want to take on more responsibility," I finally let out. I have no idea how to convince him about the training issue yet, so I suppose the vaguer the better.

His eyebrows lift slightly.

"I want to make a difference here somehow. I'll do anything; I know I still have a lot left to learn from all my classes, but I just want to feel more useful."

"Hmm," he starts. He's silent for a moment, looking like he's thinking about it. Good sign. "I suppose there is one matter you could help us with."

"What is it?" I ask.

"Our human secretary is no longer with us, and since you're still learning to control your thirst, we haven't hired a new one. A lot of that work, such as managing the correspondence, doing records, archiving, scheduling, logistics, and reports, have been divided amongst some of the other members as of now. It's not glamorous, but if it's a role you'd be interested in taking over it might be a good first step for you to begin understanding the intricacies of the Volturi on a more hands-on level."

"That would be perfect!" I say, relieved, "but what happened to her?" I only vaguely remember when I saw her way back when I first came to the castle with the tour group. I was curious at the time, but since our paths never crossed again after that I forgot to ask.

"Humans provide services that are necessary sometimes, like if there's an errand that needs to be ran on a sunny day, but eventually they become a liability."

"You killed her?" I ask. I shouldn't be surprised, but I guess I assumed she'd get more of a thanks for helping them.

"Aro usually does, but on very rare occasions he changes them if he decides they'll be a useful member of the guard." Old human habits break through and I search his face for any trace of remorse, but I know to them she's just another human. He isn't remorseful obviously, but what I find in his expression instead is something I don't expect, empathy. Surely not for the act itself, but for how I feel about it.

I sigh. The past can't be changed, but the thought of them hiring a human secretary in the future knowing they'll be signing their contract with their own blood doesn't sit right with me. My newborn-ness is saving one person right now. Maybe I can convince them not to take any more human secretaries in the future? Like Caius said, this position will be a good first-step for me to understand how the Volturi works. If it's a good first step for me, maybe it'll make a good first step for another new guard member who needs experience? If they need someone to run daytime errands? We have hoods for a reason, or maybe it would be possible to hire a Nephilim.

"Let's go," he smiles, taking my hand and standing up.

He leads me through the halls until we stop at the small wooden desk in front of the throne room. Unlike the last time I was here, papers are stacked haphazardly on the surface, along with a few books. "As you know, this was the secretary's station. As a human, her position required easy accessibility and visibility. For you, however, that will not be necessary. We'll set up an office for you in our quarters where you can work undisturbed." He grabs all the files that have been piling up.

"So what should I do with all this?" I ask, taking a pile of papers from him and thumbing through a couple.

"First you can organize and prioritize the correspondence into categories: alliances, invitations, threats, and what you'd deem to be trivial matters. I'll double check and help you rearrange them if need be until you get the hang of it. Then you can write a report at the end of each week that summarizes all the important information from both the correspondence, and the summaries that the leading guard members are responsible for writing."

"Okay," I say, "And how about scheduling and all the other things?"

"I'll show you a bit more each day." We leave the desk and continue into an underground wing of the castle I haven't seen before. We stop in front of tall, arched wooden doors with gold locks. Caius pushes the doors open, revealing a massive space with shelves reaching the ceiling, lined with books, scrolls, maps, and art. In the center of the room stands a large wooden table, illuminated by the glow of the chandelier above it. I can't tell if it's supposed to be a library or a museum. "This is the Volturi archive. Every record, every artifact of significance, every decision we've made is all here."

"This is incredible!" I say, walking up to the first shelf I see and running my hand along the spine of a leather-bound book titled "557 A.D."

"It's not a place we grant access to lightly. You're welcome to read anything you'd like, but please make sure nothing leaves this room," he explains.

"So what would you like me to do here?" I ask.

"For now, start with organization. Since it's the beginning of the year, last year's summaries and files still need to be sorted and bound. Study how previous books were organized, and try to replicate that for last year's files. It may take a while, but you have all year. When you're finished, bring it to me to check and then you can learn how to bind everything into a book."

I nod, moving closer to the table. The sheer amount of papers makes the task look daunting, but I also feel a thrill at the challenge. "What about all the artifacts?" I ask, noticing a glass case with what looks like an ancient dagger inside.

"For now, there's nothing that needs to be done with those. Our secretary would usually be the one to dust off the shelves and cases, but there's no need to waste your time with that. The guard member who has been tasked with that after the new year will keep that responsibility."

"Is that everything?" I ask.

"Well..." Caius starts, lifting my left hand up to his lips with a smile, "We still have a wedding to plan, don't we?" My face immediately lights up.

"Oh, true, when should we have that?" I grin.

He tilts his head, considering. "I was thinking January 4th of next year."

"The date we got engaged," I realize.

"Why not make an already sentimental date even more sentimental?" he says, pulling my body gently against his.

"Agreed!"

"Now for the rest of it. Do you have any preferences for how it should be planned? From all the praise I heard from Aro, it sounds like you put a lot of effort into planning his and Sulpicia's anniversary. If that was something you enjoyed we can plan it together, or we can bring someone else in to do the bulk of the work," he suggests.

"Like a wedding planner?" I ask, "I mean, even with Aro and Sulpicia's party I couldn't have done any of that without the blueprint that was already there. I'd like to be involved though of course... I guess I wouldn't mind some help."

"Good, then we can begin the preparations soon."

"Wait, what about the guest list? Can we invite humans?" I ask, thinking back to my family. I grin at the prospect of Uncle Jack coming to see the wedding he predicted.

"It'll be a year out; I'll leave it to you to decide what you can handle. But I assume you understand that unfortunately, it will be impossible for your sister to attend," he tells me. I figured that already. Not only would it be a wild shock for my family to discover she's here, but it could be dangerous for them. It would be problematic for other vampires we invite to see a vampire of her age too. Maybe I can plan a private, second ceremony at the Cathedral and hopefully make it feel as special as the main ceremony.

I rest my head against him, letting the excitement begin to build. On one hand, next year feels like a lifetime away, but it's nice to have something tangible to look forward to for the first time since becoming a vampire.

* * *

The stack of mail on my new desk is endless, but after giving everything an initial look-over, I think I'm finally starting to make sense of it. The mix includes reports from Volturi scouts abroad, formal acknowledgements from allied covens about the status of Caius and I, and even a weird cryptic message that looks like the kind of letter a serial killer would write. Each letter looks like it's been cut out of magazines individually and glued onto the paper to hide the vampire's handwriting.

You can't silence us forever. Wake up.

I roll my eyes at all the dried gluey fingerprints stuck to the paper. You'd think someone so worried about their identity being discovered would wear gloves.

Caius said he wanted everything sorted by alliances, invitations, threats, and "trivial matters," but I'm not sure what would be considered trivial. It all looks somewhat important. I just focus on the main categories first. Since Caius wants to double check everything, he'll be sure to explain what he considers trivial, and why. I put each letter into its correct category and continue working until I see an envelope that stands out. It's heavy, and sealed with a fancy wax crest. I carefully break the seal and pull out what looks to be an invitation.

The Harlington Coven requests the honor of the Volturi's presence at the Three-Hundred-Year Leadership Celebration of their leader, Aric Harlington

Date: April 10th, 8:00 PM

Location: Harlington Manor, South Downs, England

Dress Code: Formal Attire Requested

RSVP: By March 1st

I've never heard of the Harlington Coven, but it sounds interesting. I turn the card around to read the back side of the invitation.

Itinerary of Events:

· 8:00 PM: Welcome Reception and Introductions

· 9:00 PM: Leadership Toast and Historical Presentation

· 10:00 PM: Unveiling of Aric Harlington's New Art Gallery

· 11:30 PM: Exclusive Tour of Harlington Manor

· 1:00 AM: Closing Remarks

Also Invited:

· The Beaumont Coven (France), known for their focus on art preservation, the Beaumont Coven avoids political disputes but is well-respected in cultural circles.

· The Devonshire Coven (England), a small, but peaceful coven with long-standing alliances with local covens.

· Vivienne Laurent (Switzerland), a charismatic ally who travels frequently and has connections with artists across Europe.

· Augustin Barré (France), a well-known figure with a name in theater.

· Isabelle Montrose (England), a scholar of art history who occasionally corresponds with the Volturi for archival purposes.

Special Notes:

Harlington Manor has been fortified to ensure the safety of all guests during their stay. If there are any added measures we can take that would make thou's presence more comfortable, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Into the "invitations" pile it goes. When I finish the mail and enter Caius's study, he glances up at me. "Finished already?"

"Yeah, I sorted everything by category, but I'm not exactly sure what you would consider 'trivial'," I explain as he starts taking a look at everything. His eyes narrow when he gets to the weird magazine letter note and shakes his head, placing it off to the side. "I assumed it was some sort of troll, but I didn't want to be too sure," I laugh.

"Either that or someone with an intelligence level that would drag ours down for taking them seriously."

He puts a few other papers in the trivial pile after explaining why, and once he gets to the invitation from the Harlington Coven, he does the same.

"So, you're not going to that?" I ask, picking the invite back up.

"Aric Harlington," he mutters, "Absolutely not. It's ridiculous that Aric thinks of himself important enough to bother us with this nonsense. If someone has to turn the whole invitation into an advertisement to convince us to go, it's nonsense."

I hesitate, glancing at the invitation again, "What if I went?"

His gaze snaps to mine, "You? Why?"

"It could be a good opportunity to practice diplomacy, meet other covens, and learn more about how events like this work. If it's not important enough for the Volturi as a whole, what's the harm in using it as field experience for me?" I ask.

He leans back in his chair. "You've been an official member of the Volturi for all of two weeks, Anna," he reminds me.

"I wouldn't be going alone," I point out. "Surely Felix would go with me. And maybe..." I trail off, thinking back to my conversation with Sulpicia, knowing she wants to travel more too. "Could Sulpicia come too? She would be the perfect person for me to shadow. She would know how to interact with everyone and I could follow her lead."

Caius raises an eyebrow. "Sulpicia doesn't leave the castle."

"I know, but since we're at the same rank we should be close, but we don't really have any shared history or experiences between us. It would be a good way for us to bond, if she's also interested in going, of course."

He says nothing for a moment, but keeps his eyes fixed on me. "I'll speak to Aro about it. If he agrees to let Sulpicia go, you may go too."

"Thank you!" say, running to hug him.

"Don't thank me yet," he says, "Aric Harlington doesn't deserve your enthusiasm."

While it's not set in stone yet, I can't help but be excited at the idea of having a true Volturi job out in the field.