Woman of the Hour // volturi kings

39. will you...

In the early hours of Christmas morning, Marcus gracefully carried Claire to her bedroom, being careful not to wake his sleeping beauty. He tucked her into her plush bed and left her to sleep in peace with a delicate kiss to her forehead. He gazed at her for a moment, her cheeks flushed pink in the cool air of the castle, her curls in a messy halo over her silk pillows and a small, content smile on her lips.

He was still in disbelief that this gorgeous creature loved him, a monster that lived in the shadows, and trusted him enough to give herself to him, body and soul. He swore to never disappoint her, to never harm her in any way. He'd keep that promise for as long as he lived, and he had no doubt that his brothers would make her the same promise. But he was now connected to her on a deeper level, the completion of their bond would make him more attuned to her emotions and needs. He was going to be able to be more attentive than ever before, and he was going to shamelessly enjoy that.

That was until his brothers also solidified their bond with her, of course.

He finally left her room, gliding elegantly into his own chambers. He quickly threw on some clothes, a pair of black suit pants and a white button-up, slipped on a pair of shoes and left just as fast. He wanted to talk to his brothers, about Claire and about their future.

He found them in Caius' study, a small room with walls lined in art and full bookcases. He barely used it, only when he was angry at Marcus or Aro.

"Marcus," Caius greeted him when he entered, barely looking up from the game of chess the two kings were in the midst of. "How is she?"

"Sleeping, at the moment. I believe she's a little worn out."

Aro chuckled and moved a piece across the board.

"I imagine so," he said lightly.

Marcus nodded and slouched into the leather chair near their table. While he was elated, feeling on top of the world, he was sure the next topic of conversation would cause argument.

"I was thinking..." he began, gaining this brothers' attention. "Everything is on the table now; she knows everything about us. And we know everything about her. Is it too... soon to propose marriage to her?"

They both blinked owlishly at him, a little stumped.

The three of them had admittedly already purchased a ring for her, the same day that she had finally moved into the castle. It was custom made using only the finest gems money could buy, of course. She deserved nothing less. But they held on to it, waiting for the right time to ask her for her hand. And then their receptionist informed them that technically, Claire couldn't marry all three of them.

They were devastated, completely forgetting that their relationship wasn't "normal". They wanted to give her everything she deserved; an extravagant wedding, a luxurious honeymoon. But they couldn't, not really.

They eventually concluded that they could still give her that, without the laborious paperwork involved. But she wouldn't be able to invite Layla or Ryan, or any of her friends from back home. It would raise too many questions, and it would be incredibly unsafe to have so many humans around the invited vampire guests.

"She loves us, why wouldn't she say yes?" Marcus continued when neither of his brothers spoke up.

He wasn't wrong. She had practically already told them that she would stick by them for the rest of time. But they were still... apprehensive.

"I'm not sure if it's wise," Aro stated. "She would be most upset about not being able to share her day with the Malloys."

"So, we have another ceremony. A small one, our coven and her friends," Caius countered.

He was very much eager to marry her, even if it wasn't "real". He couldn't wait to go around calling her "wife"; "my wife this" and "my wife that". He was proud to call her his, and he was proud that he was hers.

"She'd like that," Marcus mused. "I'm not sure she'll be too eager for a lavish wedding."

"So, two small ceremonies. One with some covens, the most civilised obviously. And one for her family,' Caius suggested. Marcus nodded in agreement, a thoughtful look on his face.

"And if she says no?" Aro questioned. He was... nervous.

"If she says no about what?" Claire's melodic voice chimed in. They turned to the door, where she was standing, dressed in one of Marcus' dress shirts and nothing else.

Her hair was still a lovely mess, and her eyes were glazed and sleepy. Her feet were bare, and as soon as Marcus noticed he rushed over to scoop her off the cold floor. She instinctively curled into him, unphased by his coldness. He sat back down in the chair, cradling her in his lap.

"Nothing, amore. Don't fret," Aro attempted to sooth her.

"It's never 'nothing', Aro," she argued. She could feel his trepidation and the tension on the air.

"She'll say yes," Caius muttered, loud enough for Claire to hear him, his eyes focused back on the game in front of him.

"'She' is right here," she huffed. She didn't like being excluded, especially when they were clearly not in agreement about something. She could always make them see eye to eye over anything.

Marcus chuckled, pulling her tighter to him. "It's alright, my love. They're being idiots, like usual."

She hummed in acknowledgement.

"Actually," he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He was confident, more so than Aro, so he was going to take matters into his own hands. "We have a question for you, my love."

She sat up straighter at the serious tone in his voice, as did his brothers. Aro went to argue, but Caius shot him the dirtiest look imaginable and he decided to shut up and let it happen.

Marcus combed his fingers through her hair, his other hand tracing soft circles on her bare thigh.

"We know we did ourselves no favors, keeping those secrets from you. And we will spend forever making up for our mistake. But we love you, wholly and completely. And we would be honored if you gave us the privilege of becoming our wife."

a/n: alright, we're almost at the point where our timeline is going to quicken rapidly. i'm excited to show ya'll how i've changed the outcome of events from new moon to breaking dawn.