Chapter 27
"How long have you known?" Edward whispered when he finally found his voice.
"Since yesterday. I was able to google the painting near the spare room in your house. I read about Varin and Alfheim. About how the elves could choose to stay on Midgard, or go back to Alfheim. That lead me to search for elves and half elves."
"And?" Edward prompted.
"I thought the similarities between you two and what I read was uncanny. It was if it was describing you both perfectly."
"When did you have time to do this?" Carlisle asked.
"When you were unpacking. I got lucky. There were a few minutes of phone reception. It was slow but I was able to find the most pertinent information."
"Why didn't you say something then?" Edward asked hesitantly.
"I wanted to be 100% sure. Try and do some more research but it's kind of hard at the moment without the internet or library. I read that book about magic last night but it didn't really tell me anything more about you guys. And then this morning I woke up to you talking."
Edward somehow managed to turn paler than he already was when he heard Bella's admission. "You heard us?" He gasped.
Bella rushed to finish before he could get the wrong idea. "I didn't mean to, I just so happened to wake up when you both were talking. I wasn't trying to spy. I promise." She said, becoming slightly hysterical by the time she finished.
"Hush, Bella." Carlisle comforted. "We know you weren't. These things… they somehow have a way of happening."
Bella nodded, glad he understood. "I decided to wait until morning to confront you. It was early and I was tired, so I rolled over and went back to sleep."
"Wait. You didn't hear the whole conversation?" Edward asked, perking up.
"What do you mean?"
"What did you hear?" He counted.
Bella thought carefully for a moment. "I heard Carlisle tell you that I knew what you were. Then I heard you get frustrated and say you were aliens. Then you said something about how I would run away screaming."
Edward let out a sigh. "And then you want back to sleep?"
Bella nodded.
"Thank God for that." He muttered under his breathe.
"What did I miss?" Bella asked, annoyed.
"Nothing." Edward responded, too quickly for Bella's liking.
She narrowed her eyes at him but Edward refused to make eye contact with her.
Sighing, Carlisle suggested the trio go back to the bunker, out of the cold, to discuss things further. Together Bella, Carlisle and Edward walked to the bunker, pulled the doors closed behind them and sat down in the small living room Charlie had made. It was cozy and perfect for the discussion they were about to have.
Carlisle began by asking Bella to recount what she had read on the internet the day before. Bella explained all she remembered about the nine realms and how Earth was the human realm, or Midgard. Alfheim was the name of the elf realm. She couldn't remember the names of the others, but Carlisle told her not to worry. They weren't important for her to know about yet.
She recounted how humans and elves lived on Midgard for a millennia together as equals, right up until the 16th and 17th century. Then the church decided they needed to be hunted and killed because of the powers they possessed."
"It was a truly terrible time." Carlisle recounted.
"You were here then? That far back in history?"
"Carlisle nodded. I was a young man. Only 300 years old at the time."
Bella's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe how causal he was about it.
"So, you… your…"
"More than 700 years old." Carlisle clarified for her.
"Wow." Bella whispered, thinking about what it really meant. Not only was Carlisle an elf, he was 700 years old. "The amount you've seen…" Bella said, training off. "I can't even begin to comprehend it."
"Neither can I." Edward agreed.
After gathering her thoughts Bella cleared her throat and continued.
"I remember the genocide made Vanir, the lord of the elves, angry. He came to Midgard to save you. But he gave you a choice."
"Yes, always so merciful that Vanir." Carlisle clucked sarcastically.
At Bella's confused look he explained.
"It was hardly a choice. I had a family, children, a wife. How could I leave them behind? Vanir wouldn't allow humans to go, except a select few. And he completely denied half elves the right to return home, to where it was safe. Staying or going. There was no choice for me. My family was here." He finished simply.
"I understand the painting better now. The people who are crying, they are elves, like you. Some of your family left for Alfheim, didn't they?" Bella asked.
"Yes, some of my brothers and sisters left. But the worst was my parents. They made the choice to leave. They didn't want to pay the price."
"Mortality, you mean?"
"Yes. They still had thousands of years left to live if they went to Alfheim. The thought of only 800 more years… even if it was spent with the ones they loved… it wasn't enough." Carlisle explained, his tone becoming more sorrowful as the moment wore on.
"I have about 200 years left on Midgard, more if I am lucky. I've already lived a life time with Edward. And I'll live another with him. However, no amount of time would ever be enough."
Bella's heart thumped at the depth of love between father and son. She could barely begin to comprehend how well they must know each other after all these years. The strength of the bond they shared was beyond a magnitude Bella could understand.
"How old are you, Edward?" Bella asked.
"Just a child." Carlisle chuckled.
Edward smiled at his father's antics. "100, I have about 200 years left. Vanir… he despised the halflings and so our punishment was to only get to experience a very short amount of this life."
"To punish you, for something you weren't even around for… it's cruel." Bella said emphatically.
Both men nodded in agreeance.
"Carlisle, something you said before, I had a question about it."
"Yes?"
"You said only a select few humans were allowed on Alfheim, why did some get to go?"
"The Elven species has many great things and is so advanced in many ways, but giving birth is a tricky business for us. Humans have always assisted elves in the birthing process. Elves would often come to Midgard to have their babies and then come back. This was when elves could travel freely between Midgard and Alfheim. Long before the reformation.
But when Vanir came to save his people he knew he would need a few humans. He chose a few of the widowed midwives to go back with them. To teach the elves how assist in the process."
"Did they get to return to Earth?"
"No. There is no return trip for humans. One way is enough toll on the human body. To return… it would have killed them."
Bella gasped at the revelation. "So, he just took them, without any regard for who they might be leaving behind?"
Carlisle shook his head. "Many children were left without parents that day."