*All characters except Michel, Marjorie, and Elle are the intellectual property of Stephanie Myer. Jennifer is the intellectual property of me.*

Michel's POV

I watched Carlisle's face as my words echoed across the clearing. He stopped breathing as everything fell into place.

"What?" His voice was raspy and he seemed barely able to speak. I saw his leg buckle and I caught him before he hit the ground. I gently set him down and sat across from him, allowing him all the time he needed to digest this new information. If a vampire could go pale Carlisle most certainly had.

"This isn't the time or place to explain. Your entire family deserves to hear my story but you had to know this." He took a deep breath and I knew that he was recovering.

"Michel this is a shock. You are not the monster I had been picturing my entire existence. I have so many questions but for now, why? Why me?" His eyes held fear and anger and I knew that I deserved his deepest rage.

"Honestly son, it was an accident. I was barely a year old and had no idea what I was. You happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm so sorry." I took a deep breath and stood, offering my hand to my son.

"It would be nice to know the whole story Michel." He accepted my hand and stood. Brushing off his hands he glanced around. "This is very hard and I am not sure I want my children to see me this way. I must admit I am very confused."

"I understand Carlisle. It has been over four hundred years and I am only appearing now. I have always been here, just in the background. Hence the eye color." I gestured towards my face. "I never wanted to leave you alone son but I had no control and no idea who I was. I wanted to look after you but how could I when I could barely look after myself?"

"It makes sense Michel. Perhaps your story will enlighten the entire picture. Shall we go?" He gestured towards the woods and took off at a run. I followed; surprised that he was willing to hear me out.

When we arrived at his home, laughter floated out through the broken window. Emmet was walking across the lawn carrying a large piece of plywood and a hammer.

"I'm always cleaning up Edward's messes." He laughed and winked at me then turned his attention to his job. Carlisle entered through the door and went upstairs, I assume to get dressed. I entered the living room to find all the ladies sitting around talking. Alice was on the floor in front of Marjorie most likely trying to get a vision on the baby. I quickly entered and sat next to her.

Carlisle came downstairs with jeans and a t-shirt on. He called his family into the living room and they all gathered around. He nodded to me and gave me the floor.

"This has been a rather odd and difficult evening for not only myself, but Carlisle as well. Over four hundred years ago, I turned him, not on purpose but in a craze caused by not eating. It is hard to explain so perhaps I should start at the beginning.

I was born to a blacksmith in a small town outside of London. My parents were devoted Catholics who had prayed for a child for many years. I had been the answer to those prayers. My mother named me Michel after the arc angel for she felt that she owed God. They were strict beyond belief. Their punishments would be considered abuse today but they were determined to make me grow up right. I'll admit that it worked. At sixteen I made the decision to devote my life to God. I began the path to become a priest and studied for many years.

At twenty-four I was given a small parish in a town that had been deemed demon ridden by the Church. It was said that they needed God before God destroyed the town along with everyone in it. So I set out and began my mission. The day I arrived I witnessed a young lady being raped by multiple men in the street. People walked by without doing a thing. Being young and stupid, I stepped in. Luck was on my side as those young men feared a man of the cloth. They fled the moment they realised who I was. I took the young woman into my home at the back of the Church and nursed her to health. Sadly, I fell in love with her. I broke my vows and lay with her. Three days later she was found hanging from the Church's rafters. I was not blamed for her death but consoled by the few religious people for trying to save her. Yet I still carry her death with me today.

My story truly begins on a snowy winter evening when I was taking my nightly walk around the town. I spoke to the homeless and offered them shelter in the Church. I watched out for any crimes and aided fathers taking in wood. I was known all through the town and perhaps even loved. By this time I had been there three years and the town had become a much safer place. Anyways, I was on my way back when I noticed someone crouched in the snow behind the town hall. I called out to him and when I received no response, I quickly went to him. When he looked at me all I saw were red eye. Then everything went black.

When I awoke I was alone. My throat burned with a fire that was unquenchable. I had been thrown into a sewer which meant I was close to a large town or city. I knew that the water was poison but I drank it anyway. The pain never dulled. I remember finding a small alcove and curling myself into it, praying to God that I would die. I had no idea where I was or how I had come to be there. Days, even weeks may have passed before I slide out of my hiding hole. Death had not come. Perhaps my sin of lying with that young lady had led to this punishment. This must be hell for those who broke Holy vows. I accepted my fate and decided that I would live out eternity in this hovel.

At some point a rat entered my section of the tunnels. My throat turned into a scorching ray the moment I heard its heart beat. Within seconds I had the animals drained yet it had done little. I did notice a slight change and knew that I wanted more. The moment that thought crossed my mind I knew I had to punish myself. I grabbed my left hand and tore it from my arm. I bit down, slicing through my lip to make myself not scream. I threw my hand across the room and sat, or rather collapsed.

I was shocked that I was left with a stump that did not bleed. The pain faded after a while, how long I cannot be sure. After I felt that I had paid for my crime, I went and found my hand. I held it to the stump and was shocked when it reattached to me as if I had never removed it. I will admit that I was glad but also fearful for I had no idea what I had become.

Time was no longer relevant to me. One could say that I began to go crazy, with only myself for company. I starved myself for months on end, eight I do believe. Then one evening I hear voices. I thought for sure that I had finally lost it. Instead of staying where I was, I decided to follow them to see if perhaps my punishment was over. I wound my way through endless tunnels and came to the surface next to a brothel. The enticing smells drew me in and before I knew it I was the reason for fifteen deaths. In horror I crawled back to my hovel and ripped my legs from my body. I sat, rocking back and forth and praying to God to end this horrible demise. I regretted everything I had ever done and all I wanted was to be with Him in heaven.

Four more months went by and I finally allowed myself to reattach my legs. I was almost delirious with thirst. I had tasted human blood and to deny myself now was to be driven into madness. The madness, or monster within, had taken over. I found my way out and was hunting for a meal when I realised that I was the one being hunted. I fled, to my tunnels in hopes that no one would follow. Yet one young man with blond hair seemed determined to find and kill me. He followed me into the tunnels and I lost control. I bit him and when I realized what I had done, I fled.

Two days passed and I returned to where I had left him. He was thrashing in the murky water and crying. I took pity on him and carried him to a dry area. I backed away to watch over him, praying that God would allow his soul into heaven. When his heart stopped beating, I knew that it was over. I took his body to a nearby cellar and gently laid him in a peaceful position. I then left. That man was you Carlisle." I paused for a second and had to swallow. It was as if there was something lodged in my throat stopping me from continuing.

Marjorie squeezed my hand and began to hum gently. I felt calmer, almost at peace. Glancing up I saw the young man called Jasper watching me vigilantly. He must be using his power over emotions to aid me. I smile at Marjorie and continue.

"I ran until the tunnels ended trying to escape my past and mistakes. When there was no where I could go underground, I went above. I waited until I knew that there were no humans around, took a deep breath and climbed out. The night was cool and rainy with a sharp wind. I had most of the town behind me and only had to make it through the outlying homes and farms. I refused to let the stale air of the tunnels out and continued on my way. I decided to not run just in case someone was out and searching for the young man I had killed. Walking quickly but quietly I made it to the woods about a mile away. I glanced behind me one last time and plunged forward. I decided at that moment that I was no longer a man of God but an abomination that was here to plague those who had done wrong.

I spent months in the woods training myself to be oblivious to animal blood. I would drink a deer or bear dry only when I had plans to enter a town. I wanted to have enough control to not harm those who were being victimized. My plan, which I must say shocked me, was to kill those who were committing crimes and getting away with it. I do not mean stealing to feed one's family. No. I meant the crimes that the rich and elite committed and got away with. The men who preyed on little children. The unfaithful husbands and wives. Those who stole from the poor to line their pockets. Those were the ones that I went after.

I started in a little town about twenty miles from London. It was a Friday evening when I ventured into town. I had stolen a set of clothes off a line from a farmer two weeks earlier so I was not as rugged or awful smelling as I had been. I figured that the best place to begin was the local tavern. Upon entering I was overwhelmed by the stench that had seeped into every fiber of this building. I took small breaths, glad that the smell covered the scent of the humans that were present. I took a booth in the back, ordered a pint and listened. What I heard that night, in the drunken stupor that had devoured all those men, was beyond appalling.

One man stood out in particular to me. He was talking about his new young bride who had just found out she was pregnant. From what I could tell, she was fifteen at the most. He kept talking about keeping her in line and forcing her to so her wifely duties. When the man left, I followed in the shadows. I stalked him all through the town until we came to a dark and quiet place. I grabbed him, snapping his neck. I used my nail to crave the words 'abuser' into his chest. Then I fled.

The next morning all anyone could talk about was the murder of the man. I heard woman whisper that they had a protector now and they should not fear. As I killed more people who had committed awful wrongs, I became more popular. I stayed in that town for almost a year.

One evening when I was making my way through the woods to the next town, I heard something odd. Unable to match the sound I quickly looked for its source. To my shock, I found the young man I had killed over a year ago sitting in the middle of a very dead herd of deer. He was just sitting there. I stayed back, sure that I was seeing things. Yet he seemed so real. So I followed you for a while. You never guessed that I was there so I simply assumed that you had lived.

I noticed that you never once went after any humans that you passed. You only ever went for animals. Months must have gone by before I realized that you were living off of them! I was repulsed that you preferred the watery taste of animal blood over the filling and amazing flavor of humans. Yet I knew that if that was the way you wanted to live, I was fine with it.

To say that I stayed with you for years would be a lie. I followed you for six months then decided that I had better let you live your after life the way that you were meant to. I said a prayer over you on the evening of the first full moon of the summer and then left you. I parted with my guilt and moved forward.

For about a hundred years I spent time saving people that I deemed to be victims. I became an unknown vigilante who was adored by the poor and weak. No one ever saw me or knew that I was the one saving lives and righting wrongs. I ran into the Volturi at the hundred year mark of this new life. They decided that I was fine to leave be as anyone had yet to see me. We parted ways on mutual good terms.

The best chapter of my life began on the solstice. I had arrived at a town in Scotland that was then named Dunfermline. The year was 1650 and the witch trails had flared up yet again. I remember entering the village to find a mob dragging a young woman with vibrant green eyes and black hair into the square. Over the screaming mob I could hear her speaking, almost whispering a prayer. The god she petitioned I had never heard of. I decided to see what was going on.

A priest stepped forward and announced that she had been accused of being the lover of the devil. She was sentenced to burn at the stake for her deeds and this would cleanse her soul, allowing her into heaven. All through this she just stood there, silent. I remember our eyes meeting and it was as if she was the very sun that kept this world alive. Her mouth moved once and I hear her say help. I glanced around to see if anyone else had heard this and they had not. It was meant for my ears alone.

When all the prayers were said, they tied her to the pole and lite the wood. As the flames grew, I saw no fear in her eyes. Once I was sure that no one would see me, I ran to her and lifted her from the flames. Without blinking she smiled and asked me to take her away. So I did. After that my life turned around for the better.

I don't really think what happened after we found each other is as big of a deal as the beginning. Marjorie showed me that all life is valuable even if the human has done wrong. So I began to feed off animals, just as my son had showed me all those years ago." I looked around and saw anger and peace and just about every other emotion on the faces of those around me.

Marjorie smiled at me and settled further into her seat. I looked at my son and his children, waiting for some kind of response. I noticed Alice shifting uncomfortably in her seat, as if the question she had was hurting her. Marjorie laughed and leaned forward.

"Go ahead Alice darling. Ask." Marjorie had that twinkle of mischievousness in her eyes that told me she wanted to shock this family.

"Well, Michel found you over three hundred years ago. You don't smell like a vampire nor do you look like us. I mean yes you are beautiful but what the heck are you?!" The room went completely silent, almost as if everyone was holding their breath.

"My kind is the creator of all other supernatural creatures. We are rare and few." Marjorie smiled and winked at Alice.

"I'm a witch."