It was well past midnight local time by the time Carlisle arrived in Volterra.
He also, to his great misfortune, did not arrive alone.
No, despite his best efforts, his every argument, and his every assurance that this was not something his family needed to be bothered with, all but Alice and Jasper accompanied him. For some reason, they simply couldn't believe that nothing untoward would happen to him, even if the Volturi were old friends.
Given the circumstances, Carlisle couldn't say he disagreed, just that it wasn't himself he was worried about.
No, Carlisle was worried about Isabella Swan, a girl he had never met, who had now been in Aro's clutches for months and just that morning had entered into the Volturi palace, who had all the worst luck in the world.
God help her.
Carlisle, at least, would certainly try.
Regardless, they'd barely been given a second to put their bags away and unpack their clothes when Aro appeared out of the ether to summon them to the library for a brief orientation and overview before the great charade began.
Carlisle had suspected the entire guard wouldn't be involved and it appeared he was right. The guard all had decent control, but some were better than others, and many wouldn't want to go out of their way to be around a high value human who in Aro's words "smelled utterly delectable, it's a wonder she hasn't been eaten already". Even less would want to be bothered pretending to… do whatever it was Aro wanted them to do.
Sitting in the library with them, what Carlisle assumed were core members of this little deception, was a very small number of the Volturi coven and guard.
Renata sat at the edge of the table closest to theirs, offering a polite and familiar nod. Her clothing seemed to have changed with the times as much as Aro's had. Whether she was involved in the scheme or in the room because of Aro alone was anyone's guess.
Next to her were Alec and a very similar looking girl that Carlisle could only assume was Jane. They were also in modern clothing but… more so, it felt like there was an almost desperate attempt to make them look like modern teenagers. Their clothing looked exactly like it had come off the cover of a catalogue or the mannequins in a department store. At Carlisle's attention, Alec offered a brief wave while Jane offered a dubious eyebrow and pensive stare.
Leaning against a bookcase like a storm cloud just on the horizon was Caius. He seemed anything but thrilled but also darkly amused, like he was just waiting for something to go wrong. Caius, Carlisle was going to guess, wasn't necessarily involved in this madness but would be sure to mock it from an appropriate distance.
It was the Caius thing to do.
And then there was Aro, in front of them all, practically bursting with excitement.
Carlisle and his family, sitting at their own table in a self-contained bubble, more than made up half the room.
How had Carlisle known this would happen?
"Before we begin," Aro said, clapping his hands with excitement, "I just wanted to say what a pleasure it is to make all of your acquaintances."
Behind him, Carlisle heard Caius scoff, a noise clearly meant to be heard by everyone.
Next to him, Edward twitched in annoyance.
… Carlisle probably should have tried to warn them about a few things. Well, it was too late now, Carlisle supposed. He guessed they'd just have to get used to it.
Aro, however, was used to ignoring Caius when it suited him, "As it was, Carlisle left me with the impression that only he was coming."
Ah, there was the first bus that Aro would throw him under obliviously tonight. Carlisle tried to smile while also conveying that Aro had best shut his mouth. Aro, however, seemed to distracted to get the hint.
Edward smiled thinly, overly politely, an expression reserved for when he didn't want to smile at all, "Yes, well, plans changed."
"And I'm delighted they have," Aro said, "You must understand I, the whole coven really, have been curious for nearly a century."
He then grinned and motioned to himself, "Of course, where are my manners? I am Aro. To your left is the lovely Renata, Dear Jane and Alec, and behind you is—Caius."
Aro grimaced at the name Caius, likely catching Caius rolling his eyes or making some other face, but it only phased him for a second.
"I would guess at your names," Aro continued on like a steam train, barreling ahead a mile a minute with no thought for the conversation members who might be left behind, "The rumor mill has given me a few good guesses, but all the same, I'd love to be formally introduced."
The family all looked pointedly at Carlisle. In each of their eyes, from Rosalie to Edward, Carlisle could read the thoughts "Is this guy for real?"
Carlisle cleared his throat, "Well, as you know, I'm Carlisle Cullen—"
"Oh, I'm always delighted to make your acquaintance," Aro interjected without any shame or subtlety whatsoever.
(Carlisle was going to murder him. He was going to murder him right here and could the man not hold it in for thirty minutes?! Was thirty minutes too long for him?!)
Carlisle bravely continued, pretending he hadn't heard that, and more importantly not giving Aro a chance to get any other one-liner in (he'd always been fabulous at innuendo), "Next to me is my wife, Esme."
His wife, he said strongly, hoping Aro would read between the lines. Aro and Sulpicia might have… whatever the hell their marriage even was, but Carlisle intended to be faithful to his wife and always had been. He knew Aro would respect that, hoped he would, but Aro also had… a very different view of marriage.
And he viewed flirting as a harmless pastime.
Esme, for her own part, shyly waved at Aro and brightly said, "Lovely to meet you, Aro. You have such a lovely home."
Aro grinned back, "Thank you, and I should hope it would be lovely after several thousand years building up the place. Renovations, I swear, they always cost a fortune and they never get any easier."
Carlisle felt the sweet sting of relief, nearly collapsed onto the floor, and pressed ahead while he had the chance, "This is Edward, my son."
"Ah, yes, the one you turned first," Aro said in recognition, "I believe you wrote me about him."
Edward gave Carlisle an accusatory, almost betrayed look. Carlisle rushed to reassure him, "Nothing much, Edward, just that I'd turned someone and taken them on. We write letters, now and then, turning you was a major event."
Edward softened imperceptibly, however, the rest of the room went tense. What had only a second ago felt like congenial introductions now felt like barely concealed hostilities. Aro, in particular, looked as if he was no longer so certain of his footing.
This wasn't good.
Glancing at Edward and hoping for the best, Carlisle decided to explain, "Edward's gifted."
Edward flinched while Aro's expression twisted into one of surprise, delight, as well as confusion. As if he had no idea why Edward might be nervous meeting a man who was described by many as "collecting" talented vampires.
Honestly, he and Aro would have to talk when this was over.
"It's a bit like yours," Carlisle said, "He reads minds, though at a distance, and only stream of thought. He was concerned, when I first told him about you, that you might take—undue interest he couldn't refuse."
Aro blinked then realized what Carlisle was getting at, "Ah, yes, well, as much as I love The Godfather, I'm afraid I'm not quite Vito Corleone. I don't make offers that can't be refused."
Aro thought he was very funny, Edward, it seemed, did not.
Best to salvage this while he still could, "Well, otherwise, this is my daughter Rosalie, and her mate and my other son Emmett."
Alice and Jasper, of course, were not going to be mentioned. At least, not here, Aro would hear of it soon enough but that could be done in private.
From behind him he heard the voice he least wanted to hear, "What's this son and daughter business?"
Carlisle turned to find Caius staring at him with a raised eyebrow as well as a confused and almost contemptuous look on his face. As if he didn't know what Carlisle's answer was going to be but he knew he wasn't going to like it.
Esme answered for Carlisle, "Oh, see, we think of ourselves as a family, not just a coven."
"And we pose in human society as a family," Carlisle quickly amended for her when it looked as if Caius was going to open his mouth and let poison spew out, "With so many of us, with our physical similarities, a family makes the most sense. I'm the father, Esme my wife, and the rest pose as my children."
Caius looked towards Emmett, huge and hulking in his chair, then back to Carlisle, "Are you telling me that you play father to that behemoth? In front of the humans?"
"Yes, Caius," Carlisle said dully, "And, as Esme said, we also think of ourselves as a family."
Caius gave Aro a truly despairing look over Carlisle's shoulder, then looked back at Carlisle, "Well, Carlisle Cullen, I see you're still the lunatic who eats rats in the—"
"That's quite enough, Caius," Aro hastily interrupted, "I think it's perfectly splendid. Family bonds are so few and far between for our kind, and do we not also call ourselves brothers?"
"Yes," Caius admitted, "But I sure as hell have never called you son, and I at least was twice your age when—"
"Caius," Aro chided again, his smile now strained as he tried to look like a man with some semblance of control over the conversation, "I know it brings you great joy to see Carlisle again, but if you can't be productive—"
"I was not the one being unproductive—"
"You most certainly were, we had an agenda—"
"What agenda? We've wasted minutes just sitting here—"
"It's called social niceties, Caius, it's polite," Aro said, and with a deep breath commanded, "And now we truly are moving on to the actual topic of the evening. Carlisle, and family, I am so sorry for—Caius."
Not Caius' behavior, just Caius, Carlisle felt that. He truly did.
"Oh, it's quite alright," Esme assured Aro, "I'm sure he's had a very difficult day at work."
Aro blinked for a moment and simply stared back at Carlisle's wife as if, once again, he wasn't entirely sure what to think.
"Right," Aro said when he regathered his wits, "Well, I suppose I should begin by asking how much Carlisle's told you."
Rosalie looked as if she dearly wanted to say something, she had certainly on the way here, but she held her tongue. Rosalie was deeply uncomfortable with the idea that this human girl had effectively no choice in her future because of the whims of vampires (and vampires not on their diet at that). She'd argued loudest that Carlisle not involve himself at all in the sorry affair.
Instead, it was Emmett who offered, "You guys are turning some human girl and uh… have to pretend to be human for some reason?"
"Correct," Aro said, "As for the why, it's complicated, and perhaps saved for another time. The basics are that Bella Swan believes she's attending an art program here over the summer along with other like-aged students."
It seemed Aro was finally getting a read on the room, Carlisle thought to himself, in that he realized he would not be able to quickly explain the pragmatic ruthlessness of the Volturi to his family.
Bella might not be given an offer she couldn't refuse, but Aro would make it such that, by the time the offer was made, she'd have no wish to refuse it. It was simply how he operated, and, of course, why he was still ruler of the vampire world.
"And what's our role in this?" Edward asked, though by the look on his face what he really wanted to ask was something else entirely.
"Excellent question," Aro responded, and motioned to Jane and Alec, "While Dear Jane and Alec have graciously volunteered their time, I'm afraid it would, ah, push the bounds of credibility were they to be in Bella's art class. Given your ages, I would be most grateful if you all could pretend to be fellow students, with perhaps one or two of you joining Bella's class while the rest pretend to be involved in other classes."
Carlisle's entire family stared at Aro as if they had no idea what he was saying. Finally, it was Esme who said slowly, "Fellow students, you mean… not as a family?"
"Ah, yes, that would be correct," Aro said, "After all, you were all turned around the appropriate age for either high school or university."
Esme's lips twisted into a confused frown, she darted an almost panicked look at Carlisle, "I—Well, that's never been our cover story before. We've always shared the last name Cullen."
Now it was Aro's turn to frown in growing confusion, "That may be but—how do I put this—you do realize that you're… a very large group of individuals who look nothing alike. Carlisle and Rosalie, perhaps, could pretend to be siblings but—"
"The cover story has always worked fine before," Edward interjected, "If needed, Carlisle and Esme can go elsewhere while the rest of us pretend to be in this program with the human."
Aro's frown deepened somewhat, "I see, but, given that Carlisle is not pretending to be a working professional with a valid medical license and a gaggle of… followers, I really don't see why he and his wife be left out of—"
"It's fine," Carlisle hastily interjected, "It's something new."
He turned to look at his family, reminding them with eyes alone that they had voluntarily come with him, "Haven't you been complaining for years about how routine everything is? This will be something of an adventure, and no matter what we pretend to be in public, we are always a family."
Behind him, Carlisle heard Caius groan something very familiar in his native tongue, an expression that Carlisle had always interpreted as, "Oh Dear God" or "This Dumbass".
"And, from what Aro has said, most of us will only have to pretend at meals and these—um—cultural activities," Carlisle said, briefly wracking his brain back to the folder the human secretary had given him when they'd arrived.
"We have to eat with the human?" Rosalie asked in despair.
"Well, it'd look a bit odd if you didn't," Aro said to himself, "Though I suppose anorexia is a human condition that you could feign if you so wish."
Jane glanced at Rosalie, looking very confident and pleased in herself, "Alec and I practiced, we've got it down, you just push the food around the plate and then fling it into the trash faster than she can see."
"We call it trash hockey," Alec expanded, "I have the high score."
"No you don't," Jane corrected, "We don't start keeping score until tomorrow, that's when it actually starts counting."
Rosalie did not look thrilled by the prospect of "trash hockey".
"My point is," Carlisle interjected, "That outside of class, outside of meals, you are not required to pretend to be anything."
They weren't, in fact, required to be here at all and any one of them could still leave for that extended European vacation if they wished. None of them, however, was volunteering, just as none but Alice and Jasper had decided to let Carlisle do this alone.
Carlisle decided it was best to finish this up, "I assume the question now is which of us is in class with Bella Swan?"
"Yes," Aro said after a very long pause.
He looked as if he was no longer certain he wished to involve Carlisle's family. As for everyone else in the room, well, Renata was looking very judgmental at all of them while Jane and Alec were openly staring.
Carlisle could only imagine the face Caius was making.
With a great sigh, as if he were making a particularly noble sacrifice, Edward raised a hand, "I'll do it."
"I'm the best artist in my family," Edward explained, clearly excluding Alice, "And I don't mind taking class with the girl."
Carlisle highly doubted this, Edward always struggled with the high school routine and proximity to humans in general, flooded as he was by unwanted thoughts. No, as usual, he was taking the hardest task upon himself to spare the others (including Carlisle) the pain of socializing with the girl.
Well, maybe it'd be good for him. His children, for all they integrated with humanity and respected human life, sometimes forgot human beings were people as well. They were a distant concept, at times, and maybe being in a class alone with the girl might remind Edward that humans were more than their thoughts.
Especially if, given Aro's gift failing against the girl, Edward's did as well.
"Alright, Edward, that sounds fine to me," Carlisle said with a smile, clapping him on the arm. Edward smiled back, a wry thing but one that also truly was grateful.
"Well," Aro said after a pause, "I guess that settles it, Edward will be taking class with Bella."
He then looked at them all. "Anything else? Otherwise, please decide on names and histories sometime between now and breakfast, the different programs are detailed in the folder given to Carlisle."
Carlisle's family didn't need to be told twice. Rosalie was out of her seat before Aro could even finish the sentence with Edward following close behind. Yes, they had… not been enthusiastic over participating in Bella Swan's fate, for obvious reasons. Emmett gave the rest an awkward wave but trotted out dutifully after Rosalie soon enough.
Which left Carlisle and Esme.
Carlisle let out a long sigh, patted Esme's hand, then stood to greet Aro. Before Aro could get a word out, he stuck his hand in his, and let Aro read three hundred years of history from his mind. After several seconds, Aro moved again, and let out a breath, "Ah, that… Explains quite a bit, my old friend."
Carlisle smiled, "It is good to see you, all things considered."
"Of course," Aro said, "And I shall be—mindful."
He said, and to his credit his eyes didn't move to Esme, still happily sitting at the table.
"Thank you," Carlisle said, "I do appreciate it, and for what it's worth—even though I disapprove—"
"You'll help in whatever way you can," Aro said, "I know."
He then paused, looking Carlisle directly in the eye, and then said, "You realize, Carlisle, if we succeed—the girl will want to stay here. She will have good friends among us, and a place in these walls, it will be no hardship for her. For all the pretense, it will be genuine."
"Just the same," Carlisle said.
They'd have to find another moment to talk, Carlisle supposed. The guard did not appear to be leaving, nor did Caius, and for all that Carlisle wanted to introduce Esme to Aro, now didn't seem to be the time.
"Later," Aro promised, "I believe you still need to unpack."
"Yes, thank you," Esme said, standing from her seat with a smile, "And when we are we'll be sure to meet everyone properly."
Carlisle hoped, when that time came, he could be as hopeful as Esme seemed. In the meantime, all he could hope was that Caius didn't turn his sharp tongue to either Esme or Carlisle's children.
Author's Note: Ah, I love the Cullen dysfunctionality. So very much.
Thanks to readers and reviewers, reviews are much appreciated.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight