DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, and all the characters.

WARNING: This chapter is primarily the disciplinary spanking of an adult vampire. Please do not read if you find such things offensive.

Point of View: The entire chapter is from Carlisle's POV in a first person perspective.

A/N: This chapter references Chapter thirteen from my story 'The Never Ending Night'.

Alice's Lesson in Honesty

Saturday, July 16, 2011

I leaned back in my chair with my hands folded behind my head in contemplation. Now what am I to do with my little pixie? It was only eight days since our last discussion involving honesty and here we are again. Back then, she justified a number of otherwise ill-advised actions, and all in the name of protecting her mother. This I called our protectionist nature, as we focus only on the last goal and tend to avoid our common sense. Her actions earned the punishment, and not the protectionist nature, which drove her decisions. Sadly, after three and a half centuries I have yet to master control over this myself. I suspect we never will.

My daughter's delicate step pulled me from my reveries, as I heard her slow approach up the stairs. Her step faltered, and she paused for a moment. I listened curiously, as she rushed past my office. The door to her and Jasper's room closed with a bang, causing me to sit up. The chair squeaked as it moved from a reclined position, and I heard Alice call out, "Be right there dad!" I can only imagine she thought me on the way to her room, as she knew Edward had run. I remained in my seat, and awaited her arrival.

Alice briskly ran into my office, allowing the door to slam behind her. Rudeness was not the cause, but more the speed she traveled. She glanced to me and said, "Sorry Dad, I had to change first." I gazed to her curiously at that statement, and motioned to the chair placed a few feet from the front of the desk. She appeared relieved by that request and promptly accepted the offered chair.

I studied her curiously, as I placed my arms on the desk and began to steeple my fingers. "Alice," I began, and paused as if needing to breathe. "I am at a loss here. What have I done to warrant such dishonesty from you? Have I somehow lost your trust, or what has happened between us that you now feel compelled to lie to me?" I studied her with my gaze, and awaited her answer.

She swallowed loudly, and shifted in her seat before looking back up to me. "Dad, no, it is nothing like that. I did not mean to lie." She looked to me desperately and threw down her hands in exasperation as she said, "It just happened. I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to do it." She nervously swished a hand through her hair, and pushed back her bangs as she looked to me helplessly.

I leaned forward on the desk and studied her curiously for a few moments before I responded with an eerie calm. "Once more Alice, I find myself at a loss. How is your statement possible? We spoke twice last night. You also talked with your mother at length, and yet neither of us recalled ever hearing about the situation in New York. It is my understanding that my children successfully worked together with the wolves in trying to control the problem. You did this for the better part of the day, so are you telling me that it slipped your mind when speaking to us on the phone last night?"

Alice shook her head in the negative, the motion a little exaggerated due to her current level of anxiety. "No," she said with a squeak, and paused to swallow before she continued, "I did not want to lie to you. Dad, that is the last thing I wanted, but..." she began and then paused to think about what she was intending to say. Instead, she blurted out, "I'm sorry!"

I rose from my chair and walked around the desk to stand at my daughter's side. I placed a hand comfortingly upon her shoulder and gazed down into her eyes as I softly enquired, "Alice, you deliberately choose to hide this situation from me. I wish to know what prompted you to do so, and why you believed it was better for me not to know."

Inwardly I had to smile while she swung her legs back and forth on her chair. Not many others in my family are able to do so, and it helps her to focus. She lowered her gaze to the floor, and went silent. I placed my finger under her chin, and gently nudged. When she finally looked upwards, I could see venom tears running down her cheeks. I gently brushed at them with the back of my hand. Her crying worsened. It was then I realized the tears had little to do with the upcoming spanking. My daughter had more to say.

I bent down, and placed one arm under her knees, and the other behind her back as I picked my daughter up. She wrapped her arms around my neck for support, and cried into my chest while I returned to the large leather backed chair behind the desk. I lowered myself into the chair, and sat Alice on my lap. Her legs easily hung over the padded arm on the right, and my left limb supported her back. She curled into my lap and continued to cry. Eventually she said, "Dad, I'm so sorry. We thought we could get this cleaned up without you ever needing to find out."

My left hand gently rubbed at her back as I enquired in a soft voice, "why was it important that I not find out?" I gazed to her curiously and added, "What did you think would happen if you consulted with me?" I suspected the cover up was a group effort, and now I was certain of it.

Alice began breathing short and shallow breaths of unneeded air, while I tried to comfort her. She began to speak, and then went quiet. It took her a few more minutes to form the words. "Dad," she began with a sniffle, "we knew that we messed up a lot. Our eviction from the campsite, and then deliberately disobeying you with the grounding, fighting with humans, and suddenly we found ourselves having broken another major rule by attracting attention." She spun the ring nervously around her finger as she fidgeted.

I placed my right arm gently on her thigh as I mentioned, "I am beginning to understand Alice, and it saddens me." I gently moved my hand to her chin as I encouraged her to look at me once more, as I enquired, "Were you afraid of me?" I sucked in my breath, and stared to my daughter awaiting her answer.

Alice firmly shook her head as she said, "no, Dad. That was not it. Ok, maybe we thought about the punishment a little, but we knew how disappointed you would be in us. We had only been here for two days, and already we managed to break three out of four coven rules. Dad, the only thing we did not do was to feed on a human." She glanced up to me with watery eyes, causing me to pull her in closer for a more affectionate embrace.

I felt her weight push against my chest as she became quiet. Something caused her intense guilt, and her shame kept her from looking at me. I cradled Alice in my arms and spoke gently to her as I enquired, "You act as if filled with guilt. I am beginning to believe that I have not heard the full story. What has you feeling so badly?" Her palms moved to my chest as she began to ball up my shirt in her hands.

Alice shook her head, and I felt dampness on my shirt as she began crying venom tears once more. "Dad, I am so sorry. I knew you grounded the boys, and that mom trusted us. That is what makes it so hard, because I wanted to see the ball game. I wanted to go, and I knew the right thing was for us not to attend. I did not want to leave my mate at the hotel, and I wanted him to come with me. We deliberately disobeyed you. My premonition told me you would find out, and still I did not care. Dad, we blatantly disobeyed you and did it knowing we could not hide it." She paused for a moment, as her crying had once more increased.

I waited patiently without saying anything, other than words of encouragement for her to continue. Eventually she began as she tried to explain, "That is not what I was thinking then. I focussed on the punishment, and weighed it against my wish to see the ball game. I did not even think how I was treating you, and then after I did. I felt so guilty, and ashamed. I am so sorry Dad. I think we all did, as we felt a lot of guilt afterwards. The glamorous Twelve situation made it much worse, as you now had another reason to feel disappointed with us.

I maintained my embrace on her as I enquired, "And you felt I would prefer to hear of this from the Volturi? Alice, did you not have a premonition of my finding out through Aro?" I gazed to her curiously as I explained, "you have no idea the amount of terror your mother and I experienced when we opened the video. Esme had just been tortured, and my orders were to destroy or control my children."

Alice slowly shook her head, as she admitted, "no, I didn't see that." She looked to me earnestly as she enthused, "I would have told you if I had." The words took me by surprise, and I actually chuckled. I quickly restrained myself, but she noticed and said, "Dad, that's not what I meant." When she turned a mischievous smile to me, I knew my pixie had returned. Coyly she mentioned, "My premonitions have helped in the past to make sure I tell you about things you will discover on your own."

I ran my hand through her hair, and then mussed it gently as I said, "So the only time you tell me the truth is when your premonitions tell you of something worse happening when you fail to do so?" I originally meant the question in jest, but the events that have led to this discussion caused me to consider it. With a quite calm to my voice I enquired, "What do you think I would have done if you told me yesterday morning?"

She began to fidget with her rings again, and in a quiet voice admitted, "You would have avoided the Volturi and flown down here to take care of our mess. Dad, I am so sorry. If I was honest, then they could not torture mom!"

My embrace tightened around Alice, as I mentioned, "no, the Volturi is not your fault. Do not even think that for one moment you had anything to do with that. Aro had a message to deliver. Would he have been lenient with the glamorous twelve if he failed to deliver the warning? Alice, there are many things to consider, so do not blame yourself for what they did." I kissed her softly on the forehead and enquired, "So, you did not wish for me to fly down here. Why is that?"

She sighed softly as she finally admitted, "we knew spankings would be given for what we did in disobeying the grounding. We did not want that with the wolves here, and we thought we could fix the mess before you ever heard of it." She squirmed as she spoke of the punishment, and then looked back down to the floor.

"Were you afraid of me," I enquired softly once more, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Alice shook her head vigorously as she said, "no, Dad never that. It is the humiliation, and Dad we are adults. People today don't spank their children, and especially not the ones who are adults." She gazed into my eyes and pouted. Her arms crossed firmly over her chest as she suggested impishly, "we should discuss that at the next family meeting and vote on it."

I smirked to her with a shake of my head. I admitted in all honesty, "Esme's vote could go either way, and then I risk there only being the one yes ballet." Alice looked to me enthusiastically with a nod of her head, as if maybe I would consider such a thing. My hand moved to her head as I affectionately mussed her hair and said, "That is not up for a vote." She gave me a playful pout, and then I enquired, "Why am I about to spank you?"

She stiffened noticeably on my lap and offered cheekily, "Because you refuse to let us vote on it." I rolled my eyes in response to her comment, and then she became a little more serious, "because I kept information from you. I guess I manipulated you again, Dad." She looked up to me apologetically as she admitted, "I knew you would have made different choices if I had told you. So I lied and misinformed you to manipulate your actions and avoid the consequences of ours." I remained quiet, while she played with the hem of her shirt. I sensed there was more she wished to say. Sullenly she admitted, "You spanked me eight days ago for the same thing."

I nodded my head to her in agreement, "yes that is true."

She lowered her gaze, and then looked up to me anxiously, as she wished to say something. She wiggled around on my lap to make herself more comfortable, and struggled with what she had to ask. Finally, she questioned in a low voice, "Dad, why do I get punished for not telling you, but nobody else did, and they were just as able to phone?"

I squeezed her affectionately, and realized the seriousness of her question. I had expected it. I spoke with her in a calm voice, but one filled with respect as I gazed into her eyes, "everyone in our family has a role to play. Alice, you are very important. I turn to you for information. Your premonitions have placed you in that position. I think of you as my advisor, and someone who I can trust emphatically without question when it comes to the safety of the family. It is unlike you to lie to me. When you speak, I am very open to hearing what you say, as I believe in you. You implied that everything was fine. I had no reason to think otherwise.

She gazed down to the floor as I spoke, and a hand moved to her eye as she gave it a slight rub. "I'm sorry Dad, I did not mean for any of this to happen."

Sensing she was now ready, I rose from the chair and set her down atop the desk. "It is time," I mentioned quietly, before I turned away and walked to the couch I had used for the boys earlier today. I sat down, and motioned to a spot on my right.

Alice quickly approached me, and worked at the buttons of her jeans as she stared to me with an impish expression. That somewhat threw me off. She placed herself over my lap, and worked her jeans down to her knees. Cheekily she added, "This is why I had to change," she quickly explained as I noticed the string across her lower back. "I figured you didn't touch it last time, so it was worth a shot."

Thankfully, vampires cannot blush; otherwise, I would be crimson right about now. A father cannot possibly prepare for a conversation such as this. I scoffed to her statement and boasted, "The only G-string I touch is my wife's"

From a distance, I heard the shocked voice of Esme as she loudly scolded, "Carlisle!" It was then I realized the music in the foyer had gone silent. I misspoke, and had announced intimate details about my wife.

Emmett's voice could easily be heard as he teased, "Bam, way to go Dad!"

"Esme, please forgive me," I apologized sincerely, and hoped I had not completely humiliated her in front of our children. Their amused laughter vibrated throughout the suite. I sure hope it was me they laughed at, and not my wife. Despite the position Alice now found herself, she broke out in a fit of giggles. I playfully glared down to her and accused, "now look what you've caused." This only worsened the situation, and I heard more laughter from downstairs. I called out, "can someone please turn the music back on?" The hyenas in the basement roared, but the music did return.

I wrapped my arm around Alice's right hip. Her giggles died, and she stiffened while waiting for the spanking to begin. I laid my right hand upon her back as I offered comfort, as I was not yet ready to start. Alice seldom ever needed correction. Her transgression is very similar to the one from eight days ago, and obviously, my message failed to get across. In trying to clarify it I enquired of her, "Alice, why are you getting spanked."

"Didn't we cover this already," she asked cockily in trying to mask her anxiety. I rewarded her with six firm swats to her backside, and then paused to see if her answer would change. "Arg!" she grunted after the first, and by the sixth, she had a sniffle in her voice as she quickly added, "Because I lied."

I acknowledged the statement, and then peppered her backside firmly with ten more swats. She wriggled on my lap to escape, and threw her hand back to protect herself. I lifted it with my one hand, and gave her three very firm swats in reward. She screeched in response, and writhed in desperation as she began to plead, "Dad, please, I'm sorry!"

With a stern voice I calmly enquired again, "Alice, why are you being spanked?" I gave her six firm swats to her backside, and paused to hear her answer.

She gasped, but seemed to appreciate the reprieve as she wiped at her venom tears and tried to explain, "For hiding stuff from you and manipulating you."

I slowly peppered her backside leaving about two seconds between each swat as I firmly lectured, "good, now I want you to remember that Alice. I am very disappointed with you. We have built our relationship on trust, and yet I find you have taken to deceiving me when it is convenient to do so. I can not tolerate that Alice, and I assure you any future recurrences will result in a very sore backside."

Her 'Ohs' and 'ahs' quickly turned into "OW, OUCH, AIIiiII" I tilted her forward and lifted my left leg slightly as I began to work on her sit spots. Her legs kicked vigorously, as her jeans first turned inside out and then flew across the room. She screamed loudly "Dad, I'm so sorry; I promise it won't happen again! DADDY, STOP!" This turned into a loud squeal that continued until she broke down into sobs.

I moved my hands to rub at her back in comfort, as the spanking was now completed. I heard her sobbing helplessly over my lap. I cringed inwardly; as this was one of the worst spankings, I have ever given my little pixie. I felt like a monster, and hated knowing I caused this degree of pain. "Alice, I love you and it terrifies me to think you would try to hide something from me that could harm you. I want you to come to me with everything. Alice, I cannot stand the thought of losing you." She felt a little tense yet, and I thought of what I said. Finally, I added, "I forgive you Alice."

Her tension released into a fit of sobs as she quickly repositioned herself on my lap. I spread my legs wide, to not cause her further discomfort for her tender backside. I wrapped my arms around her, and embraced her tightly. She curled into me with her face against my chest. Through her cries and sniffles she said, "I love you to Dad. I'm so sorry."

"We have dealt with your transgressions, and you have my complete forgiveness," I mentioned to her in comfort as I continued to embrace her. I planted a soft kiss on the top of her head, and whispered how proud I was of her.

Her arms grasped the material of my shirt, as she cried out her misery. I recalled a catchy little tune Edward was working on earlier this month, and began humming that softly to her. She seemed appreciative of it, and when she regained her composure, she gave me a firm hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I love you Dad." She rose from my lap, and studied me for a moment.

She shook her head slightly, as a look of disapproval crossed her face. I moved a hand through my hair self-consciously, as my little fashion aware pixie gazed at me in contemplation. I knew by her look that something was wrong, and cautiously began to do a quick check of my wardrobe. Buttons in the right holes, check. Alice suddenly flew from the study, and I heard her in my bedroom. I rose from the chair curiously and followed her. I made it halfway there when I saw her returning.

She thrust a forest green shirt into my hands and said, "Dad, you need to change that shirt." I could feel the dampness through the material, and glanced down to see that the venom had made a less than pleasant discoloration on the front. I could only hope it washed well, but I thanked her for the shirt, and returned to my suite to change. It was not my modesty I worried about, but her own as I wished to give her the privacy she needed to dress.

I moved back to the study, and saw her jeans still lying in a heap upon the floor. I dipped my hand into the bowl of ice, as it was starting to smart something fierce. Once more, I wondered if I would be able to handle the rest of the punishments. I have now finished five spankings, and had three more to go.

I wished to give Jasper some time with his wife before I called him. He would need to cool off more than my other children, as he detested my punishing his mate. He had learned to accept it, but it was harder for him to do so as I had not been their Sire. I hope Jasper can eventually become comfortable with this, as Alice has.

My little black-haired pixie burst into the study wearing a blue blouse and a pair of white yoga pants. She grimaced at her jeans, and picked them up while admitting, "I knew what to expect today, and still I thought jeans would be fine." She turned to me and her voice became more serious as she affirmed, "from now on, I am telling you everything. I do not ever want to repeat that." I agreed with a nod of my head. She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, and then whispered low so only we could hear, "good luck with mom tonight, you will need it." With that, she turned to leave, and offered me a friendly wave as she headed off to rejoin the rest of the family.

I had no clue what she spoke of, but I made a quick call to the florists.