"The Volturi"

Carlisle POV

Volterra 1720

It was morning in the city of Volterra. Finally, I had arrived to the place where –according to that unknown vampire- the most important coven of our race lived.

I walked slowly, careful not to disturb anyone… not that there where many people to disturb at this hour. Most humans were still sleeping in their houses, unaware of my presence there. So far I hadn't found any other vampire here; I was starting to think it was just a rumor, but then I saw something.

A woman, obviously human, was walking by the street. There was already sun out there, so I remained in the shadows… but she saw me, and seemed to guess what I was. Her eyes showed panic, and she started to walk faster. I was confused; in the shadows there was no way she could have suspected anything, but then I realized she wasn't looking at me.

Some other men, with heavy black robes, were approaching. I walked slowly, pretending I didn't see them; they followed me. Soon, I saw more of them at my sides… I moved faster, but I couldn't run right now –that would expose me-. I entered a blind alley, shuddering slightly at the odd similarities with the fateful day of my transformation. The robed figures entered too, and approached me with superhuman speed. They were vampires, and had me surrounded. I raised my hands, trying to show I was no threat to them.

"I'm sorry. I mean you no harm; please let me go my way… I promise that I won't disturb you" I said with a calm voice. One of the vampires, apparently the leader, took a step towards me.

"Vampires are not allowed to walk by day here. Our master prohibits it" he said.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again" I promised. The vampire shook his head.

"No… because you'll come with us" he added. The rest of the group crouched, prepared to attack if I resisted. But I didn't like to fight. I nodded for them to take me.

Minutes later, I was in a round dark chamber. For any human, it would have been impossible to see, but I was aware of three figures sitting on chairs at the other side. Now I was afraid; I didn't want to die, and didn't know exactly why they had brought me here. When they moved towards me, I instinctively tensed, taking a step back.

"Don't be afraid. We just want to talk" one of them said. He had red eyes and long black hair, and seemed very old. The two behind him sighed.

"Who are you?" I asked with respect. I had the feeling they were important. The vampire smiled warmly at me.

"My name is Aro… and these are my brothers: Marcus –he signaled the other black haired vampire- and Caius –the vampire with white hair-. We are the leaders of the Volturi coven" he added. So the vampire had been right, the Volturi existed. "But tell me, what's your name?" he asked.

"I'm Carlisle Cullen" I answered immediately. The vampire, Aro, smiled and offered me a white hand, which I took. The moment I did it, Aro closed his eyes; in what seemed like hours to me, he never let go of my hand. Finally, he released me, obviously satisfied and… surprised?

"That's incredible! I have never met someone who had learned control on his own! Don't you think its amazing Caius? Marcus?" he said cheerfully, looking at the other vampires. Both sighed, apparently annoyed by Aro's enthusiasm. I didn't know how to answer that.

"How…?" I said, unable to stop. Aro smiled.

"I can read anyone's thoughts just by touching them. And you're a very interesting vampire, I must say. I certainly would enjoy hearing your story" Aro said.

"It's a long story" I said, confused.

"All of ours are. I'd really love if you stay for a while… I'd like to hear your, hum, philosophy" Aro said. His brothers looked at him in awe.

"But… no offense to Carlisle, he has no special gift for us" Marcus said.

"He's right, Aro. He's not useful for us" Caius added. Aro made a dismissive gesture with the hand.

"Don't you think his control is more than unique? Aren't you curious about his 'diet'?" Aro asked them. Caius and Marcus looked at each other, then at me. Since I feed only with animals, my eyes were golden instead of red, something they evidently found fascinating. Both nodded slightly. Aro clapped his hands in joy.

"It is decided then. Would you be our guest, Carlisle?" Aro asked. I didn't know what to say; they barely knew me, and Aro was offering me to stay? Despite my doubts, I was as intrigued by them as Aro was with me.

"Thank you very much. I'd feel glad to accept" I said.

After that moment, I lived with them. It was fascinating. Unlike other vampires I'd known, they lived permanently in a place, just like I did, and were certainly more refined and cult than any other vampire Id' met. They studied and read books, and knew almost everything about anything. They told me everything they knew about our race, explained all about us. I told them about my turning and my life until then, and exposed my reasons for my 'unusual diet', as Marcus called it.

Aro encouraged me to study medicine once he heard my previous desire to do it. Surprisingly enough, he found a night course for me, and was obviously fascinated by my self control during classes. He usually asked me each day to touch my hand, so he could see what I saw. Caius and Marcus were not as enthusiastic about me –they were still wondering what Aro saw in me- but were not rude or cold to me. My studies continued; soon I was doing practices with corpses, something that increased even more Aro's fascination. He couldn't understand how I could stand in front of a class full of human blood –and human classmates- without loosing control. I explained to him many times that it was simply because I respected human life so much to destroy it, but my logic seemed strange to him. He and the other members of the Volturi saw humans as tools, as mere food, and couldn't understand my reticence to kill them.

In fact, that was the main problem. Each time we had to eat, Aro and the others would ask me to join them, and started arguing when I refused. They said to me this was what we were, and that there was no point in trying to change it. I, on the other hand, exposed to them my ideals about human life, and showed them it was possible to live with animal blood. Each time the issue ended in a heated discussion, for none of us was willing to reason with the other. They always tried to force me to drink human blood, but other than that, I lived in peace there… until I saw something that made me sick.

It was night. Aro had asked me to join him at the round chamber, where I knew they fed. I didn't want to go, but it seemed important, so I ignored my instincts and went there. Once I entered, I knew I should have left.

There was a massacre going on inside. I heard screams and whimpers from the humans as the Volturi drank their blood. The smell was unbearable; I felt the natural burning sensation, and felt venom in my mouth, but refused to be part of the hunt. At the center, Caius held something, and Marcus made a signal for me to approach. When I did, I noticed a woman was kneeling in front of Caius, her face twisted in horror.

"For you, Carlisle" Caius said. I looked at him, terrified.

"You can't hide you're hungry, Carlisle. Why resist?" Marcus said, signaling a wound in the woman's neck.

"You're a vampire… you shouldn't deny what you are. Drink" Caius said to me, dragging the girl closer. For a moment, I wanted to obey; the blood was so tempting… but I took a step back, repulsed.

"No! It doesn't have to be like this! I don't want to be like this!" I said. My entire body was shaking, tensed to attack, to eat… but my will and my faith were stronger. I turned and ran.

"Carlisle!" I heard Aro's voice, but I didn't turn back.

An hour later, I was packing my things to leave. My medicine studies had finished, so I had no reasons to stay longer. I couldn't stand their way of life. Suddenly, Aro entered my room.

"So… you're finally leaving?" he asked, calm. Now his strange attitude didn't bother me, I knew him.

"Yes. I'm sorry, Aro… I just can't…" I said. After all, he'd helped me, and I felt bad for leaving like this. He smiled as if he counted on it.

"I told Caius you were strong, that you'd never surrender" he said. I approached and grabbed his hand.

"Thank you, Aro. You helped me a lot in all these years; I'd never be able to repay your kindness to me" I said. He smiled.

"You're welcome, Carlisle. I enjoyed your company very much… if you want to return again, you know were to find me" Aro said. He then searched in his clothes and pulled a small bag. He placed it on my hand.

"What…?" I asked, feeling the weight of coins inside.

"Just in case you need it. Good bye, my friend" Aro said, and leaved.

I stood there, shocked, still holding the bag in my hand. Despite my aversion to their diet, I couldn't hate them; they'd been my company for many years, and had treated me with kindness. I felt bad for leaving, but I knew it was the best… at this rate, we'll end up fighting if I stayed; or worse, they'll force me to eat like they did. I couldn't renounce to my principles, so I had to follow my own path.

My last thought when I leaved Volterra was that maybe, out there, I could find someone who shared my ideals.

I know, I can hear you… so little Volturi, so resumed, but hey! This is about the Cullens, and I can't spend so much time with the Volturi… ;)By the way, Aro and the others are not too present in the book series, so I had no base for their characters, or for the way they met Carlisle, so I invented some things… hope they don't sound so bad Un.n

Next chapter we'll start seeing some of the members of Carlisle's family… but be patient. Its not easy to resume 300 years of life, don't you think? Lol.

Next one, we'll see the first encounter between Carlisle and Esme (when she was 16) argh!!! Difficult!