Chapter 131: Treasure Vault

The wedding began precisely on schedule.

The groom, Chino, had left a much larger coven to join the Finnish coven to which his bride, Aurora, belonged. The five members of the Volturi delegation sat together on the side reserved for the groom's relatives, in the order of Aro, Sulpicia, Jane, Alec, and Sophie. 

Alec deliberately wedged himself between his sister and Sophie, determined to keep them apart, yet his exceptional eyesight immediately caught the jeweled bracelet now adorning Sophie' wrist, one that had unmistakably belonged to Jane. He clenched his molars so tightly they nearly cracked, maintaining an impeccably elegant smile even as his teeth ground together in silent frustration.

The ceremony itself was flawless. Before the loving gaze of their families and friends, the newlyweds shared a lingering kiss, and every red rose throughout the church bloomed simultaneously. Countless vibrant petals drifted down from the ceiling in a dazzling cascade, transforming the sanctuary into a sea of color. 

Aro instinctively raised an arm to shield Sulpicia, leaving himself buried beneath the floral shower instead, though nearly every guest looked just as disheveled beneath the overwhelming rain of blossoms. No one minded in the slightest.

Because this was a vampire wedding.

A celebration of love.

For creatures whose eternal existence resembled stagnant water, love alone possessed the power to stir ripples across an otherwise lifeless eternity.

Alec quietly copied Aro's example, carefully brushing the scattered petals from Jane's golden hair before taking his seat again, after which Jane patiently picked leaves and blossoms from her brother's dark locks in return. 

Sophie, however, stubbornly refused to remove a single flower from her head. To her, the shower of petals was simply an enormous version of a bride's bouquet. Whoever catches the flowers is blessed with good luck, she thought, and she fully intended to keep every bit of that fortune.

The celebration continued until three o'clock in the morning. Finland's nights were long, but if they lingered much longer, the sun would inevitably rise. The brief gathering of vampire clans gradually drew to a close as guests began offering their farewells. Chino, now officially a member of the Finnish coven, accompanied the clan leader in seeing each guest off, though for most visitors the leader handled nearly all the conversation. When it came time to bid farewell to the Volturi, however, the groom himself became the primary speaker. He was a tall, quiet young man whose usually stoic expression softened only when Aurora's name was mentioned, revealing a happiness that lingered long afterward.

Aro once again demonstrated his unparalleled social grace, conducting himself with perfect courtesy while never sacrificing the dignity expected of the Volturi ruler.

For Sophie, the journey had been wonderfully relaxing.

It was a pity she hadn't been able to see the northern lights.

The reindeer, frightened by vampires, had refused to come anywhere near them as well.

Still...

She had truly fallen in love with the Nordic landscape.

Once they had left Finnish territory, Heidi piloted the helicopter to rendezvous with them above a narrow strait. Aro and Sulpicia sat together in the front, Aro graciously yielding the window seat to his wife. By the time they reached Volterra, dawn had begun to brighten the horizon. They entered Palazzo dei Priori through the hidden tunnel beneath the abandoned church on the mountainside, returning quietly before the city fully awakened.

Sulpicia's brief outing had come to an end, and she returned once more to the heavily guarded depths of the underground palace. Jane, meanwhile, took Sophie directly back to her own territory. Despite everything, Sophie stubbornly insisted on preserving the chaotic nest of flower petals tangled throughout her hair. After enduring vampire-speed travel, the hairstyle had become even more spectacularly disastrous, hovering somewhere between ridiculous and impressive while repeatedly trampling all over Jane's aesthetic sensibilities.

The waterfall greeted the morning sun, its shimmering surface reflecting warm golden light across the lush vegetation surrounding the pool. Summer seemed to overflow from every flower and blade of grass nearby. Jane abruptly pressed a hand against Sophie' shoulder, sat her down face-to-face upon a broad stone beside the water, and began methodically removing every flower and ornament from her hair. 

"Wash all this colorful mess out of your hair," she ordered. "Then take those clothes off and get into the water."

The dry northern air had filled their clothing with static electricity, leaving flower petals stubbornly clinging to every fold of fabric.

The helicopter's seats and floor had been littered with petals throughout the return journey. Jane was certain Aro had noticed and had quietly grown dissatisfied, though he had ultimately chosen not to comment. His restraint alone spoke volumes.

"Wash my clothes too?" Sophie asked, kicking off her boots and socks before folding her legs beneath her. "If I soak these, what am I supposed to wear afterward?"

Jane straightened the overturned boots before setting them neatly aside. "Just wash yourself. Leave everything else alone." Before turning to leave, she cast one final glance at the hopeless bird's nest still perched atop Sophie' head. Without saying another word, she silently added aesthetic education to Sophie' future curriculum.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to wash my hair while I'm bathing? Why make things so complicated?" Sophie muttered to herself as she wandered behind the curtain of cascading water. Hidden there was a massive artificial bathing pool carved directly into the rock, luxurious enough to rival anything in the palace. The bathing pool attached to her own room had clearly been modeled after this one.

Removing her clothes, Sophie loosened her hair and slowly submerged herself beneath the surface, holding her breath as cool water embraced her body. Sunlight filtering through the pool transformed the chill into a strangely comforting warmth. She allowed herself to sink all the way to the bottom, floating on her back as fractured blue-green light shimmered overhead. The petals tangled within her hair drifted free, rising lazily toward the surface where they floated beneath the waterfall like blossoms scattered across a flower bath.

"Oh no!"

Sophie planted both feet against the bottom and shot back toward the surface. Only then did she realize why Jane had insisted she rinse her hair before entering the pool. The loose petals had scattered everywhere, drifting farther away with every current. She frantically tried chasing after them, but the moving water only carried them farther from her grasp, turning every attempt at cleaning up into an increasingly hopeless endeavor.

"You look like you're having fun."

Jane had returned without Sophie noticing.

Half-crouched on a nearby rock, Jane had already changed into a black formal dress beneath her familiar black Guard cloak. The jasmine bracelet Sophie had painstakingly made for her was gone, leaving only the pale ribbon wrapped around the scar on her wrist. Beside Jane rested a neatly folded olive-green dress laid carefully atop a brand-new gray cloak. The cloak's color was only slightly lighter than Demetri's, identical in style to the one Felix wore.

"Forget the petals," Jane said, lightly tapping the folded cloak with one finger. "Try on your new clothes. They were tailored specifically to your measurements."

The meaning behind the gray cloak could not have been more obvious.

It was proof of status.

Recognition.

A reward.

After scouting the werewolf territory, helping locate the Moonheart Grass, and pulling Jane back from despair, Sophie had already guessed that her reward would amount to far more than a priceless jeweled bracelet.

Still...

Receiving a position equivalent to Felix's...

That was something she had never imagined.