AN: I do not own the Twi-world, thanks SM for sharing.

So we are on chapter 52, nearly 250K words, and over 10k views… and we have only covered 3 and a half years! I have this story mapped out to present day so I hope you all stick around :)

There's so much going on in the '1666, September' chapters and I owe a huge thank you to my lovely beta for battling through it for us!

I feel like I need to warn you all (or perhaps apologise?) Carlisle is a little 'unsettled'. I promise he will return to his senses… eventually! So for the next twenty chapters or so just try to enjoy his monumental fuck ups whilst Basileus attempts to rein him in - eek!

1666, SEPTEMBER - THE WANDERERS RETURN

"A few months you said! It's been nearly two bloody years!" Aro accused as he slammed the door to his father's chambers. He wore a thunderous expression, thoroughly pissed off with Basileus.

"Did you missed me, son?" his father crooned with a warm smile and arms extended, welcoming a hug as he mocked his boy lightly.

"I don't find it funny!" Aro returned, exasperated. "This is your coven, as you remind me oh so often, and you haven't been here for two years!"

As Basileus took his son's fury, it was all he could do to stop himself from laughing. Aro looked ready to blow smoke out of his ears! "Aro, son, there wasn't a good time to leave. I wrote to you, I sent the barrels over." Basileus tried to placate his boy, he failed.

"Letters and barrels - yes, great substitute for BEING HERE"

Okay, I'm not having you shouting at me in my own coven, in my own chambers no less, Basileus thought as he raised an eyebrow to Aro with a stern expression.

Aro knew he'd gone too far. Trying to contain his rising temper, and failing, he purposely shoved hard into his father's shoulder as he passed and took a seat at the table.

"Watch it, Aro!" Basileus warned, less than impressed with his son getting physical.

Aro chose not to respond to his father's warning, though took care to temper his tone at least. "I don't suppose you have found a way to end the Volturi yet? Or were you too busy doing, well, doing god only knows what?"

Basileus joined his son at the table. "No. Sadly, I have not. We could just disband, kill off any who would be a threat ... "

Aro scoffed before Basileus could finish, "No, we can't do that. I am not leaving here just to be tracked to the ends of the earth for being ex-Volturi by whoever takes over the royal seat of the vampire world. That's ridiculous."

Basileus leaned back into his chair as he watched his agitated son. His lip pulled tightly across his lower fangs, he flicked his tongue making a clicking sound as he considered leaving this conversation for another time. I don't have 'another time', she arrives tomorrow, he reminded himself.

"Would you like to know why I have been away for so long?" Basileus broached gently.

Aro looked back to him with hateful eyes brimming of envy. "You have had a couple of years bonding with your new son, what's to know?"

Basileus smirked to himself. "So, now we are getting to it. Are you jealous?"

Aro sat forward, elbows resting on the table. "Hmm, let me think." he started, rubbing his chin in mock consideration. "One of my brothers gets to go on a two-year jolly, the other swans about the castle with no responsibility, duties, or pressures and I am stuck here ruling vampire society, fending off attacks, managing guards, and working every day of my fucking existence!"

Basileus sighed and stood to retrieve two goblets. "Okay, let us calm down, I do have much to tell you but I think perhaps a few drinks are in order first."

Aro snatched his now full goblet, "Calm down! Pft!" and knocked his drink down in one.

Basileus frowned but said nothing as he exchanged his son's empty goblet for his own full one.

Seeing Aro sip more cordially at the fresh offering, Basileus retook his seat, "I wasn't with Carlisle for most of my time, away. He has been training as a doctor, helping people."

Aro looked to his father in disbelief. "Wonderful, something else for me to hide from the coven, just perfect." Could there be anything more ridiculous than a vampire tending to sick humans, he thought. "If he didn't need you, why didn't you come back?"

Reaching across the table, Basileus pulled the small barrel of bloodwine closer and filled his cup. Drinking the sweet nectar down, he realised how thirsty he was.

Taking another cupful from the barrel, Aro noticed something about his father. He looks nervous! "What's wrong with you?" Aro pried, inquisitiveness superseding annoyance.

Basileus took a sip as his eyes travelled to meet his son's. "I have met someone, Aro," he confessed.

"I'm sure you have met many people!" Aro retorted, missing the implication in his father's words.

"No, you imbecile! I have met someone ... a woman." Basileus reiterated.

Aro looked blank, "Huh?"

Basileus continued with his drink, "I hoped you might be happy for me." He pushed a little harder for a response.

Aro still looked blank! "Huh?"

"Have you been hit on the head whilst I was away? I have met someone, that someone is a woman, my mate." Basileus spoke purposely slowly.

Aro looked confused now. "A mate?" he questioned, as though it were a foreign concept.

"Bloody hell, Aro!" Basileus brought his hand down hard on the table, the boom it created shook Aro from his confusion.

"I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting that. Who is she?"

Aro's thoughts were racing. Basileus tried to pick through them to see if there were any questions his son wasn't voicing, but the speed of his wonderings rendered Basileus' gift useless.

"Her name is Atia, she is a vampire, kind of. Has been since the Roman age. I can't believe I have never come across her before ... " Looking back to his son, he realised Aro wasn't listening to him.

"Are you going to say anything?" Basileus pushed.

Aro shook his head and puffed out his cheeks. He looked floored by his father's revelation. "I don't know what to say ... after Xanthe ... "

"She is nothing like Xanthe." Basileus interrupted, wanting to set that straight without delay. He knew Aro would first think of his early attempt to take a mate. It had been disastrous. Though Basileus had loved Xanthe very much, she tried to kill Aro in a jealous newborn rage and Basileus was forced to take her head.

Aro caught the determination in his father's eyes. If you say so, he thought ... but, in all honesty, he did trust his father to be sure of the fact.

Aro passed his cup back to his father. I need much more than a drink to digest this conversation, he thought.

Basileus caught his thoughts and filled his son's cup, "Well, this is as good as it gets for now." he answered.

"Does she know about us? ALL of us and not just Carlisle?" Aro asked, still sounding spiteful when he talked of his brother.

"Yes, she knows, son. Atia hasn't met Carlisle. We decided it would be better to meet you all together." Basileus replied.

'We?' Aro repeated in his mind. Already deciding things together ... it must be serious then, he reasoned.

"I know how jealous you get." Basileus slipped in with a smirk.

Aro's mouth hung open with an indignant expression, "I do not!"

The two fell into a comfortable silence as Basileus gave his son time to process the new information.

Aro sat mulling over his thoughts, playing with his rings on one hand and sipping regularly from his cup with the other.

"Hmm, you aren't happy. What's wrong?" Basileus asked, bringing him from his brooding.

"Nothing, just that the last time you took a mate she tried to kill me." Aro answered, coolly.

"I told you, Atia is nothing like Xanthe. At all." Basileus sounded serious.

This is obviously something you are worried about too, then, Aro thought. "You've only known her a year ... " Aro shrugged as he spoke, as if his father couldn't possibly know the woman well enough to know whether she would try and kill him ... like the last one!

"I've known her for a decade, at least." Basileus revealed as he emulated Aro's shrug. Aro looked aghast. "Yes, son, I have a life outside of this castle." Basileus whispered cheekily with a wink.

Aro was shocked, but as ever he was still ready with a retort. "If only we could all be so fortunate, my lord!" He mumbled, though it was purposefully loud enough for Basileus to hear.

Sitting to his full height with arms crossed, Basileus looked down his nose to his slouching boy. "I will choose to ignore that."

Aro felt the oppressive glare Basileus offered and chose to shut his mouth, quickly.

"So, where is she?" Aro asked casually.

"Atia, Aro. Her name is Atia. And she arrives tomorrow. I think some celebratory drinks are in order. I have brought opium bloodwine for the occasion." Aro's eye lit up hearing that. Yes, I hoped that would sweeten the deal, Basileus thought happily.

"I will make the arrangements." Aro confirmed, already planning to enjoy the festivities with as much of the special brew as he could physically drink.

Basileus smiled, "Good. Thank you."

He allowed his son run through party preparations in his mind for a minute or two before pressing on with the conversation. "I need your help," he said solemnly.

Aro laughed. "Married life not all you expected?"

"Wipe that grin off your face. I am very close to slapping you, just so you know!"

Aro looked away, sheepishly, but couldn't keep the smile from dancing on his lips.

"Carlisle is my problem." Basileus said darkly.

"Saint Carlisle? Surely not?!" Aro proffered playfully.

"Aro!"

Okay, that was too far, Aro thought, seeing his father eye him dangerously.

"Why is he your problem?" Aro pushed, trying to take the focus off himself.

"I have brought a different son home than the one I took away, Aro. His anger is palpable!" Basileus told his son seriously, seeming very concerned about his youngest son's state of mind. "He didn't react very well to having to leave London. He wanted to stay. The city was burning and I had to drag him back here. I couldn't trust him to walk with me until we were halfway through France."

Aro's eyes widened. "You went through France?" he asked in shock.

"Exactly," Basileus confirmed. "If I went through that damned werewolf ridden place, you must understand just how volatile both his behaviour and attitude were."

Aro nodded to himself. He must have seriously pissed you off, he thought to himself, wincing at the retribution Basileus must have sought against Carlisle for forcing such a thing.

"Give me your hand, I will show you," Basileus offered his son, extending his arm across the table to facilitate contact.

Immediately, Aro had a front row seat to his father's recollections of the trip.

"Carlisle, we need to leave!" Basileus called to his son.

The two of them had worked tirelessly to move as many humans as possible through the smog of the city and out into safety as the burning buildings fell around their ears. Basileus had been flooded with panic seeing London ablaze. Vampires were just so damn flammable and he knew his boy would be trying to help the humans if he could, completely disregarding his own safety. He wasn't surprised to find Carlisle flashing back and forth through the city with his human cargo.

"No, we haven't moved them all yet." Carlisle replied, set to go back inside the city walls for another round ... at least.

"And neither will we, son. We cannot save the whole of London alone!"

Carlisle looked his father up and down in disgust. "You can go if you wish, I am saving my patients."

Carlisle had been serving the needs of the plague-ridden city since arriving in London and he had grown quite attached to them. Sadly, he couldn't cure anyone of the disease, but he offered the suffering care and companionship which others in their communities, even good friends and family, refused to do so for fear of catching the deadly illness.

"I'm not leaving them now, and I'm taking no advice from you on the matter of humanity, either." Carlisle said venomously.

He tried to leave but Basileus blocked his path. "You are not going back in there, son. It's too dangerous. We have spent long enough in England – we are going back to Volterra." Basileus decreed with a finality that enraged Carlisle.

"You can't tell me what to do! I am staying here and I am helping the humans. If you don't like it, you can go!"

Basileus felt his whole body shake, bristling to the open disrespect Carlisle was bringing to the table. With a dangerous grimace, Basileus took hold of his boy's arm before he had chance to leave.

"WE are leaving before you say anything else you will regret."

Carlisle pulled at his father's grasp. "I'm not going anywhere with you!" he roared. "And, I won't regret a thing!"

Basileus started dragging Carlisle away from the humans, "Oh you will, my boy. I promise you, you will. Unless you want me to kill every human in a one-mile radius you had better lower your voice!" Basileus was done.

Carlisle resisted for all he was worth, throwing every ounce of his vampiric strength into digging his heels into the ground. As Basileus dragged his son around the city walls to avoid the blazing fire held within, Carlisle spewed forth a vitriolic tirade against his father. Basileus, somehow, managed to largely ignore his son's diatribe aside from tugging a little more forcefully than necessary now and then. That was until Carlisle decided to up the ante and physically attack his father whilst decrying what a 'fucking hateful cunt' he was. Basileus stopped dead in his tracks whilst Carlisle pummelled his chest with his free fist.

"You ignorant whelp! How dare you!" Basileus roasted his boy before releasing him. "Do you want to fight me? Is that it? Come on then!" Basileus bellowed with arms stretched wide – offering his son an open target. Naturally he didn't actually expect his son to try it ... which of course means Carlisle did!

Carlisle ran towards his father and turned his shoulder into Basileus' chest, hoping to knock him to the floor. BANG! It sounded like an explosion as the two vampiric bodies collided. Basileus barely moved an inch as his son rebounded and crashed to the floor.

Basileus dragged Carlisle to his feet with a hand around his throat before lifting him clear off the ground. Carlisle dangled precariously, but it wasn't an end to his rebellion - he tried again to resist; he kicked, he swung punches, he attempted to bite ... none of it made a difference.

Basileus, with a deadly glare, continued to hold his boy by the throat, squeezing his hand now and then in line with his pulsating fury. It took longer than he had expected for his boy to calm down, but Carlisle eventually realised that not only was he no match for the ancient creator, but he was also digging his own shallow grave with his efforts to attack him.

"Are you calm enough to walk?" Basileus spat to his youngest son. Carlisle simply growled in reply. "Fine. I will carry you!" he announced.

Throwing his son over his shoulder, Basileus made his way to England's southern coast to find a boat to take them home.

Basileus released Aro's hand and sat back in his chair.

"I'm surprised you didn't beat him for all that grief!" Aro exclaimed, knowing full well if it had been him Basileus most certainly would have found the time to tan his ass.

"Oh, I did! Once we were safely in France ... though how safe a vampire can be in that god forsaken place is anyone's guess.

"Why does he feel betrayed by you?" Aro asked quizzically. It was one of the repeated insults Carlisle threw out whilst Basileus had been dragging him around London's walls.

Basileus stared into the bottom of his cup. Because I killed the pastor, of course, Basileus thought, though he wasn't ready to voice his son's reasoning just yet. Basileus shrugged and shook his head as he distracted Aro with more bloodwine.

"I assume his attitude was more than just leaving the city?" Aro asked, believing it would be about their father's new woman, too.

"I told him we had to leave, he wanted to stay on his own in a burning city 'to help people'." Basileus threw his hands in the air at the audacity of his son's desires.

"Vampires are very flammable - that would never have worked." Aro said to himself, scoffing at the idea.

"Yes, I explained that. His first arrogant rebellion was bad enough. I didn't tell him about Atia until we were in the boat and sailing away from England, then he started again!" Basileus confirmed.

That's the real reason he's still so pissed off, no doubt, Aro thought. "He was less than impressed at the idea of having a mother figure in his life, I take it?" Aro guessed, smiling to himself.

"You are less than impressed, Aro. Carlisle went fucking mental." Basileus confirmed darkly.

Aro was surprised by his father tone and word choice. "Oh!"

"Hmm. 'Oh', indeed." Basileus mimicked, taking a large swig of bloodwine and finishing his third cup.

Aro tried to wave off his father's concern. "Well, he never had a mom, did he? It may be a painful reminder, that's all."

Basileus shook his head whilst filling another cup. "No, Aro. I read his thoughts. He's pissed off. With me ... with all of us. With the whole damn world."

Aro laughed. He sounds just like Felix to me. Aro waited for his goblet to be refilled, enjoying drinking with his father without the constant nagging over his intake.

"He's so immature, Aro." Basileus moaned, frustrated with the apparent U-turn his youngest son had taken in the behavioural department.

"Well, he's lived in a bubble his whole life - the pastor saw to that. Since he came here, he's lived in the Volturi bubble." Aro thought it was pretty obvious.

Basileus nodded, "Yes, he certainly wants to spread his wings."

Aro raised his eyebrows, suddenly more interested in the conversation. "Will you allow him to?" he asked.

"When he has matured, I will." Basileus conceded.

Aro laughed. "He won't mature whilst he is here."

Basileus' brow furrowed, seeing no reason why not.

Aro explained, "You have given him too much - he expects more from life than living as a guard and he isn't young enough to be kept here, regardless, like my children ... " Aro stopped himself. He worried often that he would lose his children to the dizzying delights of the outside world.

"Eleazar has lived his whole vampire life here." Basileus countered, pulling Aro from his own demons.

"Yes, but you travelled with him. You took him around the world. He's been on many missions with me and the coven. Also, Eleazar was much older when you turned him."

Basileus nodded again to his son, he could find no fault in his words.

"Eleazar matured as a human in the high courts of Lords - Carlisle was dragged up in a backwater parish." Aro continued.

"Harsh!" Basileus said, not enjoying hearing his son be so disparaging about his brother.

"But true." Aro returned quietly. Basileus let it stand.

"You must have heard him making some plans at least?" Aro asked, knowing his father would have been listening in on his brother's thoughts.

"I did. He's wants to push me; test me."

Aro's heart sank. That doesn't bode well for your hide, little brother, he thought. "So what are you going to do?" Aro asked whilst grimacing, knowing his brother was in for a merry round of hell pushing Basileus.

"I will let him." His father replied simply, "I'm not going anywhere. He can push all he likes ... I will still be his dad."

Aro watched his father curiously. "Why do I feel like I am going to be dragged into this?" he asked in concern.

"Because I overheard him talking with Felix ... "

Aro was on his feet shaking his head before Basileus had finished his sentence.

"I have had Felix on the straight and narrow for a good year now, I can't be dealing with him fucking up again."

Basileus pulled his son back to his seat and offered him another drink. Aro took it. He was already feeling on the way to pissed up and he now realised that had been part of his father's plan all along.

Basileus tried to allay his son's worries. "It won't be Felix fucking up, son. It will be Carlisle - Felix will be going along for the ride, that's all."

Aro looked up with a raised eyebrow. "And, you expect me to allow Felix to be used like this?" he asked.

Basileus nodded with menacing smile.

"No!" Aro exclaimed. "You are being entirely unreasonable!"

Basileus shrugged. He couldn't see why it would matter if Felix went along with Carlisle and got himself in trouble - he would only be causing trouble on his own anyway!

"You could give him a free pass?" Basileus offered.

Aro swigged at his drink, feeling a little light headed as the sweet blood flowed down his throat. "Yeah, because that won't have any repercussions for his behaviour at all, will it?!" he retorted sarcastically. "Not to mention the other three."

Basileus smiled. "Jane and Alec are golden."

Aro laughed heartily, "I like how you left Demetri off that list."

Basileus couldn't counter and his growing smile gave away his agreement.

"Did you overhear their plans at all? I'd rather know what to expect, at least."

Basileus was glad to hear Aro was beginning to concede already. "Only that they plan to live it up in the guard hall."

Basileus hadn't heard much else, no firm plans yet.

Aro shook his head. Suddenly he wasn't so worried. "That won't be happening. Magnus is running the guard hall and Felix is still scared of the guy from his last run-in with him."

"Yes, I heard about Magnus. Good job there." Basileus complemented his son's managerial skills.

"Thank you. One of my more inspired ideas." Aro preened.

"Magnus may ease my worries, actually. He won't take Carlisle's shit, surely?" Basileus asked. If he can deal with Aro's tribe, he can certainly manage Carlisle, he thought.

"If you tell him he doesn't have to, he won't." Aro said as he chinked his father's cup. Basileus nodded to himself whilst wearing a pensive expression. "What are you thinking?" Aro asked, hoping his involvement in the whole charade ended with allowing Felix to be a pawn.

"I'm thinking it may do Carlisle well to experience a rise before a fall ... "

Aro's eyes widened. He knew that whatever 'rise' Basileus allowed his little brother to feel would not be worth the 'fall' he would receive in return.