Chapter 13

Edward was surprised to find the court at Volterra a fascinating and exhilarating place to be. The physical structure was a labyrinth containing countless rooms, the architecture of which dated back as early as the medieval era. Each of the castle rooms housed artifacts attesting to some unique period in the history of its rulers, who had occupied the fortress since the early 5th century. From Antiquity to the Renaissance, Grecian rule to the Roman Empire, the Papacy to the Reformation, the presence and plethora of the primary sources that surrounded Edward made his museum tours in Europe seem inconsequential by comparison.

The personages were as varied as the rooms they frequented: each of the three "brothers" – Carlisle explained that they were no actual relation, each having joined the coven at very different times – had his own followers, some with a very specific purpose, and some with no apparent reason for being at all. Of the three, only Caius, the youngest, possessed no special talent, though he counted among his devotees some of the most gifted - and by far the most savage- members of the Guard. Marcus was indifferent to the newcomers, though Carlisle assured Edward that that was how he treated everyone and advised him not to take it personally. Aro was indisputably the dominant personality and driving force of the entire coven. His position in the small society was unrivaled for all his self-deprecating remarks about being "but one voice among many"; Marcus deferred to his judgment out of resignation to his lower station, and Caius for reasons incomprehensible to Edward.

Daily life in their midst included a vast array of entertainment and visitors: balls, operas and theatrical productions were interspersed with the arrival of dignitaries from near and far, and Edward found himself paraded from one episode to the next, very much in the center of attention for being - metaphorically - under Aro's wing. It was all very exciting!

He could never have imagined anything of this sort: not in his human world, which revolved largely around Carlisle and, more recently, the hospital; most certainly not in any notion he had of the world of vampires (although he wasn't certain he actually had any concept of what that entailed prior to his introduction to court; Carlisle had so rarely talked about his life with the others, and even then through a mirror, darkly, of events long past).

True, he had felt genuine terror when they first entered the hall the evening of their arrival, knowing that if he looked around him, he would encounter the faces that still haunted him in his terrible daydreams. During the journey to the citadel, he had felt very intimidated: the low, narrow passageways that wound underground felt dark and oppressive and made him all the more anxious about what awaited them on the other end. He had wanted to tell Carlisle that that was why he had growled at Heidi even when he knew he was supposed to behave; he was so very afraid! And by the time they stepped into the circular room, he had felt positively sick, rattled to his very core.

But then they were in the middle of it before he knew it had begun: Carlisle nodding his greetings to familiar faces, and Aro standing beside his throne, his smile and arms wide in a genuinely warm greeting. The latter was thoughtful enough to spare Edward prolonged exposure to the inscrutable stares of the onlookers. He had announced that Edward appeared "overwhelmed" by his trip and insisted he and Carlisle retire to their rooms to rest before joining the court, noting that they had ample time for introductions later. It was the casual "ample" that disturbed Carlisle more than anything else.

Their host vowed that he alone would escort them (Renata was simply understood to be included in the singular pronoun), so delighted was he to have his old friend back, and his old friend's new mate with him, and so much did he want to catch up on all that had happened in the past one hundred and twenty years they had been apart!

Edward was feeling overwhelmed – by Aro's flurry of enthusiasm if nothing else.

And so the boy had entered and exited the den of lions in mere minutes without so much as a sighting of his perpetrators. He wasn't actually certain they had even been there.

Aro carried the conversation all the way to their rooms, and Edward was pleasantly surprised to find that as they walked, all his apprehension dissipated and he began to feel quite comfortable – much as he had with Aro in the museum. His only agitation in the transitional journey came when he realized he had completely forgotten to memorize the passageways as Carlisle had instructed. He had a moment of genuine panic for the lapse, but his mate, seeing his face fall, smiled reassuringly at him and silently urged him not to worry about anything. (Carlisle, true to form, had already mentally constructed a complete grid of the routes and was filing away additional bits of information as Aro spoke. Of course it helps that nothing much has changed, Edward. I suppose there are blessings to be found in their sedentary lifestyle.)

Edward was therefore spared any and all emotional discomfort in what otherwise might have been his undoing.

Their host had led them down several more corridors before stopping dramatically in front of an enormous set of wooden doors. His immense pleasure had been palpable, as if he were bestowing the greatest of gifts on a most beloved errant son. "I have kept your old rooms for you, Carlisle! I thought they might have sentimental value."

Carlisle felt he might have atavistic nightmares, but nodded politely. He later explained to Edward that he had fled the city abruptly – when he was given permission to part – and had left all of his possessions behind him. He was astonished to find the whole of his belongings completely intact, exactly as he had left them, dusted and cared for as if awaiting his return.

Edward was actually quite pleased with the accommodations, though he would never have admitted it to Carlisle. The rooms provided him with the first unadulterated glimpse of his mate's earlier life; he had always known that Carlisle heavily edited his thoughts when it came to his past. The boy spent hours in the sitting room studying the portraits, more than a little awed by the fact that Carlisle had not physically changed at all in the 120 years since he had posed for the artists. Edward had difficulty fathoming the fact that the portraits were made well before his parents had been born, let alone he.

When he was not sitting in the chair admiring the images, he might well have had his nose buried in one of Carlisle's old books; the texts still retained the scholarly man's astute commentary written in the margins in the same neat hand Edward knew so well. And they offered yet another clue to the enigma of the person who had chosen to overcome his true nature. Apart from the cultural and medical arts, Carlisle had devoted most of his existence to the study of theology, and Edward could see the beginnings of his unorthodox philosophy in the marginalia of the tomes before him.

"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear."

"You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."

"We are what we believe we are."

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive." **

When he was not in their rooms or with the court, he was with Aro and Carlisle exploring the grounds. The former had taken it upon himself to thoroughly instruct Edward in all matters pertaining to his kind – although, as Carlisle acerbically pointed out, the Volturi leader left out any mention of the merits of the opposition; he mentally promised to tell Edward the other version of events.

Thus, Edward learned how the uncivilized Romanians, through their own recklessness, were largely responsible for the creation of so many vampire myths held dear by humankind – and all the consequent problems therewith; they had no regard for secrecy and no thought for the perpetuation of their species! In the library, he studied the history of the vampire wars in the American South and the successful eradication of that threat to all. He was exhorted to appreciate that the immortal children had nearly brought about an end to his kind and how the wisdom and beneficence of the current regime had ensured peace and prosperity for vampires everywhere. (Carlisle nearly choked on that one, and even Edward found it hard to refrain from laughing at the former's riotous commentary in his head.)

Aro also took pains to regale Edward with tales of Carlisle's "youth". (Edward cringed a little, realizing that if Aro considered Carlisle young, he was most definitely an infant in vampire years.) But he was greatly amused by the images of a boyish Carlisle that struck such a different chord to the poised figure he knew so well.

Carlisle was usually too preoccupied with surveying the surroundings and studying the complex relationships between players to pay much attention to the discussion at hand, unless he felt the necessity to save Edward from Aro's egregious falsehoods and tell him how events actually transpired (That is what is known as 'revisionist history', Edward, and I do not mean that in the progressive sense of the word) or if a remark was intended to lure him into the conversation. ("And Carlisle, did you know that recently in Palestine they unearthed the Pool of Siloam? We practically had to rub their noses in the site! ")

In addition to establishing himself as their protector, their guide, and Edward's mentor, Aro went to great lengths to ensure their comfort, leaping with great alacrity to fulfill their every request. Even the ones that made him delicately sniff in his sincere disapproval.

"Are we permitted to leave the grounds to hunt?" Carlisle was not optimistic but felt it was worth pressing their luck as Edward's eyes were already turning black and their host appeared to be exceptionally cheerful and generous that morning.

"That depends on whether or not you can be surreptitious." Aro said dryly.

"Will that even matter if your denizens are already stalking us?"

"My dear friend, you offend me! I am not the one putting the dogs on you!"

"Then who is?" But he knew Aro would not answer him. The Volturi leader did, however, allow them to hunt - in their own unusual way.

Carlisle was more than aware that they were being watched almost every hour of the day. Even – it made him very self-conscious to acknowledge it – when he and Edward were engaged in more, ahem, pleasurable pastimes. Not that he let his inhibition stop him from pursuing the latter…

He had devised a means of communication with Edward that he hoped evaded the ever watchful eyes and ears of the Guard. If you need to tell me something, write it in your breath on the mirror and then erase it thoroughly. But for the most part, Edward was only able to keep abreast of developments through his ability to read Carlisle's mind.

Carlisle instructed him to listen in on the others – largely members of the lower rank and file as Renata's shield appeared to blanket most members of the inner circle. Listen for anyone who might be important. Everyone here thinks they are, but few actually have any connections that matter. You will be able to differentiate; they will have information that no one else has.

It was a curious thing, listening to other vampires, for their brains were so much more complex than humans. Edward was accustomed to Carlisle's mind, as his mate's "voice" milled comfortably about in his head almost all of the time. Edward had lived with it for the entire two years of his existence, and found over time that it required very little effort on his part to keep up with Carlisle – unless he was worried that the latter was hiding something from him, and then he simply redoubled his efforts until he was able to tease the meaning he wanted from the often contradictory thought mass.

He was therefore very surprised that he had to really concentrate to ascertain the information Carlisle needed. He had grown lazy using only the smallest fraction of his brain power necessary for Carlisle and human thoughts. Having to listen and think gave him an edginess that he never knew he possessed. Increasingly, he became the predator he was meant to be, stalking his prey.

It was on one such occasion, when Edward was lurking the halls with his senses, combing the minds of the individuals he chanced upon, processing their thoughts for what yield he could - that he stumbled across Jane.

He sat bolt upright in the bed, panting hard, and screamed. Carlisle, reading in the other room, rushed to his side in a fraction of a second. Edward, what is it?!

"Carlisle! She's coming for me!" The traitorous words were out before he could check himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On the other side of the one-way mirror in the wall, Aro smiled to no one in particular, completely satisfied. He uttered a single command to the two men flanking him without ever taking his eyes off the boy who was clinging to his mate.

"Separate them."

Demetri and Alec turned swiftly on their heels to obey.

** These are, of course, C. S. Lewis' very famous quotes, because when I imagine Carlisle the theologian, Lewis always comes to mind! For the record, I am Jewish...