Author Note: This is a story that I'm writing for madnessdownunder2, because she took on my challenge of reading and reviewing a million words of fan fiction and completed it in record time. :) I promised a reward to all who complete my challenge and this is what she challenged me with, writing her a story. Of course, this was SUPPOSED to only be a one shot, but anyone who really knows me would soon come to realize, I do very few things lightly; it's a curse. So, I'm not sure how long this will be, but with my real life duties, my fandom duties, a charity project coming up, and my regular blog postings, I don't want this to get lost. So I'll release it as a multi-chapter story and update it when I can.

Here's the premise of the story: It's supposed to be mostly in character but slightly against nature. She wanted to me to create a tale where Carlisle had to drink human blood in order to save his life, but she wanted the blood to be willingly given, like he had to talk someone into sacrificing themselves to him.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own any part of the twilight characters. However, they do talk to me on a regular basis, and it would be really nice if Emmett would stop throwing balls of paper at me WHILE I WORK! I love him dearly, but he can be really annoying. If you don't believe me, just read my Fan Fiction Friday posts on Dr. Cullen's Love Shack. :)

"In Nature's plan, there is no such thing as a good or bad animal. There are only those animals that kill to eat (predators) and those that are killed and eaten (prey). It is unfair for us to judge their natural survival actions by our own ideas of what is good and bad or to decide that all predators are villains."
~Ilo Hiller, Young Naturalist

There are so many events in the history of mankind that are veiled by the indistinct memory of humans. Of course, that may not all be bad, the human psyche is only able to process so much and if they were fully aware of the monsters that lurked in the shadows then surely they would appear quite mad. So it's best just to leave them blissfully unaware of the shepherd that tends to his herd until it's time to lead them to slaughter.

Volterra, Italy 1728

"Leaving so soon, my young friend?" Aro inquired from the young vampire that had shown up in Volterra only a brief time ago.

"Sir, you know I can't stay while everyone else feeds." Carlisle explained. "The burning is torture despite the fact that I resist my urges. I'll return from my walk along the hillside once everyone is finished, just as I always do."

"Very well, however, I'll never understand why you resist. It's only a meal and if we didn't consume them something else would." Aro stated with a wave of his hand.

Carlisle turned to the ancient vampire, puzzlement written across his face, "What do you mean by something else would?"

"A discussion for another time, my friend. Perhaps when you return." Aro knew very well that making such a statement would only further guarantee Carlisle's return, because his thirst for knowledge, unlike his thirst for human blood, was insatiable.

"Yes, when I return. Good evening, Sir." Carlisle respectfully nodded his head and continued his journey outside the walls of Volterra.

Aro watched as Carlisle fled the city and then headed back to the main room. He remembered the day that Carlisle appeared, his clothes were clean and of good quality but worn, his hair wind-blown from his journey, he had the appearance of a nobleman's apprentice and although, they could identify him as vampire, the color of his eyes had frightened a good many of the guard. They would have destroyed him on sight had Aro not stepped in.

It was not uncommon for nomads to appear in the city from time to time. Their scent and eye color made them relatively easy to identify and the guard kept careful watch. Volterra was their sanctuary and they were prepared to educate or destroy any and all visitors in order to protect it and their secret.

Never before had any of them seen a vampire with gold eyes and the only way they knew how to deal with the things they were unprepared for was to eliminate it. Some feared he was diseased or would harm them, but Aro was curious and the guard trusted him. He gently placed his hand to Carlisle's face, trying not to frighten him, but also preparing to destroy him if he needed to. He opened his mind to bear witness and saw the chase and bite from the ravenous sewer trash that turned him, observed his wakening among the potatoes, grew somber at the years and years he'd attempted to destroy himself, then the discovery of an existence of feeding from animals which made his eyes a blazing gold. Aro chuckled out loud when he realized the source of the oddity and invited him to stay.

Aro knew that no one was in danger from this young one, even though he'd only been living this life for less than a hundred years. Amazed by the fact that he had managed this long without any guidance whatsoever, Aro, Marcus, and Caius decided it would be in their best interest to give him the education he'd been neglected.

Carlisle had already spent a good many years educating himself; he'd studied music in France and Science in Greece, which had given him a desire to study medicine at the universities in Italy. The brothers were eager to share what they could, and encouraged him in his endeavors, for what was an existence without a hobby. In addition to Carlisle's human like pre-occupations, Aro felt he could teach him about his new life thereby making him more like one of them. When opportunities for vampire education would present itself, Aro would encourage Carlisle to observe and add insight to decisions that were being made. He hoped that by including Carlisle, even in the mundane activities, it would help him to embrace the predator within instead of trying to suppress it.

So at every feeding opportunity, Aro gently encouraged Carlisle to join them and so far he had politely declined every invitation and left the city, hunting down his usual meal along the hillside.

As he opened the door to the room, his brothers frowned at him as they realized he was once again alone. "Were you still not able to convince him to join us?" Caius asked.

"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time and we've got plenty of that." Aro replied as he joined the others and signaled for Heidi to bring in their meal.

Outside the walls, Carlisle ran. Mostly, just for the pleasure of running, but also to be far enough away so that he wouldn't be able to hear the screaming. That was one of the worst parts of being here, listening to the innocent scream as they were drained.

He knew he needed to hunt before he went back, for no matter how well they attempted to clean that room, he could always smell the blood. It would assault him the second he walked into the palace but only when he was fully sated, was it even remotely bearable until the scent faded.

He ran south until he reached the Cecina river and then east along its banks. Eventually, he happened upon some wild hogs and finished them swiftly; no desire to prolong their suffering if it wasn't needed. Then feeling satisfied and without urgency to head back, he continued east until he came upon a small town that for the most part appeared to be sleeping with the exception of one small dwelling.

Curious as to what someone would be doing awake while the rest of the town slept, Carlisle slowly approached the window and peered inside. What he saw was really not that unusual though, simply a man hunched over papers that contained a scribble of calculations. The man got up, walked to a table, tore apart some plants, and threw them in a pot that was sitting over the fire. If it weren't for the bizarre odor, he would have assumed the man was making soup. Then just as he was about to leave, he saw a tiny girl enter the room.

"What's wrong, mia cara? You should be sleeping." The man whispered to the tiny girl as he picked her up and she wrapped her small arms around his neck.

"Why you not sweeping, papa?" the girl mumbled into his neck.

"I'm working on a remedy for Signor Torregrossa. I'll go to bed when it's finished. Now let's get you back to bed." And he turn toward the door and walked out of the room. Having nothing else to see, Carlisle sped away from the residence and back toward Volterra pondering all the while what the remedy would be for.

Several days passed before Aro had time to revisit his conversation with Carlisle, so when he found him sitting in the library, he wasn't at all surprised. "Good day, my friend. How goes your studies?" Aro asked pulling a few books from the cases and placing them on the desk.

"Quite well." Carlisle replied closing his book. "Do you have time to talk? I wanted to talk about what you said the other day."

"That is why I'm here, unless you have something else you what to discuss." Aro stated as he stood across the large desk from Carlisle.

Carlisle shook his head, "no, please join me." Then gestured to the chair across from him. Aro sat and flipped through the pages of one of the books until he found what he was looking for and continued.

"In this world there are other creatures than us that feed off human-kind, not all of them are visible to the eye, which I find even more frightful than the predators that can be seen. What also makes them worst is the fact that they torture their prey while they feed, whereas we make it quick." Aro explained and Carlisle's eyes grew wide. Aro moved the book aside, opened another, and then continued.

"Not that long ago, but before you were born, there was a plague that ravaged most of Europe, called 'The Black Death'. It killed nearly half of the population of Europe during the 1400's making its victims suffer for days before it would finally kill them. Since vampire-kind wanted to remain undetected, we stayed out of it, but it made it necessary for us to ration the blood we consumed. Some vampires went mad and had to be destroyed. Those that survived fed off the weak, old, or infirmed. Those were very dark days.

"It took 150 years for the population to get back to where it was and we were finally able to lift the rations, but then the plague hit again. That was when we knew; we couldn't sit idly by and watch some disease deplete our food supply. What kind of shepherds are we if we don't care for the sheep that sustain us?

"Many began to study alchemy and as apothecaries, while others would go to work in hospitals as aids, draining the plague victims to stop the plague from spreading. It still managed to kill thousands in spite of our efforts. When it came back around near Volterra in 1679, this time infecting the population of Vienna, my brothers and I acted fast.

"We entered the city under the guise of a religious order called, the Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity. We built special hospitals, fully staffed by our own vampire guard. The basic care offered was very simple, but was a vast improvement over other medical and public health measures in the city. Our own scholars had found some success in treating those who were still in the early stages using emetics, but those that were too far gone, we had no other choice but to drain and burn them. Because of our early involvement, the people of Vienna only had to suffer with that disease for a few months.

"When you first appeared here, the city of Marseille was suffering the same fate, but the city was so far gone by the time some of our guard got there, we couldn't get a handle on it." Aro looked Carlisle in the eyes and cocked his head. "I wonder if it would have made a difference, if we'd sent you over there to drain the rodent population."

"But Aro, this is a disease, not a predator." Carlisle rationalized.

"So tell me, how is a disease any different from us? Why should it be allowed to kill without remorse; it's only seeking nourishment. Aren't we seeking nourishment?" Aro sat back letting his words sink in. "Carlisle, whether it's too small to be seen or as tall as a clock tower, a predator simply seeks out food to secure its own survival. It also keeps the population of any particular species from over running the earth.

"If all the birds were to suddenly disappear from the earth, which creature do you suppose would keep the locusts from devouring all the vegetation? And without the vegetation, the deer and cattle would cease to exist, thereby also killing those creatures that fed off of them and ultimately man. So, you see my young friend, it is the delicate balance of nature that gives us purpose. We are the natural predator to the human species and it is our responsibility to make certain that their population levels are in balance with nature for if we don't, nature will provide another in our absence." With that final statement, Aro rose from his chair and left Carlisle to ponder. Once Aro was out of the library, he smiled to himself and hoped that this discussion would bring him one step closer to encouraging Carlisle to release his repressed vampire tendencies.

Simply a matter of time, and we have plenty of that, Aro thought to himself as he walked down the hall.

Well, I know I would sacrifice myself to Carlisle, but that's beside the point. I have an outline for some key point in the story line, but I need time to fully weave them into something worth reading. I hope you like it, madness and I'll try to get the rest of it together soon.

XOXO
Andi