Author's note: A huge THANK YOU to chthonya and ashling_c at Team Aro on Livejournal for their help sorting out the ancient history of Aro and co. That was arguably the liveliest intellectual exchange I have ever had and I learned a great deal in the process. Be certain to check out their fanfics when they publish them!
Further to our readers' speculation as to what was going on behind the mirror in the last chapter: honestly, Carlisle didn't give it a thought. He was simply very grateful to have Edward back - cognizant and in one piece - and far too preoccupied with other, ahem, matters. But for the record, let us just say that Caius was amused, Aro infuriated (the two were reunited in spite of his tremendous efforts), and Marcus, as ever, merely very uncomfortable. Recall that all three had lived through the rise and fall of Grecian and Roman civilization where man love was perfectly commonplace and accepted.
Cheers! ~Pace is the trick
'Thinking again?' the Duchess asked, with another dig of her sharp little chin.
'I've a right to think,' said Alice sharply, for she was beginning to feel a little worried.
'Just about as much right,' said the Duchess, 'as pigs have to fly.'
-Alice in Wonderland
Chapter 19
Aro's fingers were tapping against the arms of his chair. He was pointedly not looking at the hapless figure before him. The others clustered around the great hall were subdued, intimidated by his foul temper. Even Jane, usually vibrant with her childish delight in all turbulent things, kept her eyes downcast.
"It has been," Aro drawled, flicking an imaginary speck of dust from his sleeve, "one week?"
The woman before him said nothing. It was a moot point anyway.
"And I see no evidence of any… change?" He looked up at her for confirmation.
She shook her head a very little, unable to meet his eyes.
"And why is that, my dear?" Aro asked softly.
She struggled to muster her courage. "I… I am not certain, Master," she said in a shaky voice.
"Not certain," Aro repeated, while tapping his finger tips against the wood. "You have been one of my most trusted and reliable Guards, have you not?"
A small sob broke in her throat and she nodded. The use of the past tense was not lost on her.
"And now you… fail me?" He looked back at her, raised eyebrows that suggested he was aghast by the perfidy.
Panic gripped her and she fell to her knees to plead for her life. "Master, I beg you! Spare me! I do not know what has happened to cause my power to fail me! I cannot seem to touch the boy!"
The others became agitated by her piercing cries.
"Silence!" he thundered and the arm of the chair broke as he gripped it.
Every person in the room first jumped in alarm and then immediately grew still.
He sighed heavily and turned his attention to the broken arm of his chair, as if dismissing the matter of the unfortunate woman altogether.
Would that she could be so lucky!
"Jane, dear," he called to her, ruefully inspecting the damage. "Be so good as to… encourage… Chelsea to… improve… her performance."
Jane's face registered her surprise and consternation. Chelsea was like a mother and a sister to the girl, and she knew that the boy's powers had evaded the influence of more than just one. She herself had been unable to pull him from his trance, and even Marcus was baffled by the inexplicable strength of the bond between Edward and his mate. She opened her mouth to voice her objection, but saw the sharp warning - and fear! - in Alec's eyes.
Her breath came more rapidly as she struggled to do her Master's bidding, but her will failed her as she looked at the stricken woman before her.
"Jane!" Aro reminded her quietly, and the full force of the threat was evident in his tone.
And, suppressing a small sob deep in her throat, she turned her power against her frightened friend.
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The shaking Chelsea was carted off to her chambers to recover and the three were left alone.
"So," Aro tapped the tips of his fingers together, "What exactly has this achieved for us?"
"The boy is lucid, as you requested," countered Caius, perfectly unperturbed by the Sturm und Drang that had been the prevailing mode at court for several days.
"And more tightly in the clutches of Carlisle Cullen than before!" His superior retorted bitterly.
"Yes, I suppose there is that," droned Caius.
Marcus stared at the floor, unwilling to be drawn into the dispute. He did not approve of Aro's actions, but neither was he willing to take the risks Caius would to challenge him.
"You dare to make light of this matter!" roared Aro, shaking with rage. "You have only succeeded in furthering his attachment to his mate!"
"Really, Aro, I hardly think I had anything to do with it. I merely proposed that the good doctor might have a solution to the problem. It appears I was correct as the boy is no longer non compos mentis."
"I had a solution! Jane could have brought him back!" he thundered.
"Well, my recollection is that we tried that. And failed." Caius pointed out, unflappable even in Aro's worst rages.
"Clearly she was beginning to succeed as the boy remembers her!"
"It rather seems to me the boy remembers everything, which only begs the question, What was the matter with him? Have you reflected on that? I do believe that Dr. Cullen has produced a plausible theory, unlike anyone you consulted."
"And how do you propose to separate them when Chelsea has not succeeded?" His wrath was growing with each passing second and threatened to consume him entirely.
"We already know that the boy will not comply without his mate. Why not use that situation to our advantage?" Caius purred.
Aro checked himself, momentarily at a loss for words. Then he nodded, thinking. And then he chuckled. "Very good, Caius, very good! I had not thought of that possibility."
Marcus frowned, extremely upset by the prospect.
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They lay peacefully together, their hands lightly tracing the familiar contours of each other's bodies.
"Where did you go, when you left us?" Carlisle murmured, stroking his arm.
The boy shook his head. He still wasn't entirely certain. "I remember being with Aro. We were arguing." He sighed. "And then I was in the dark water. Falling to the bottom. But I never reached the bottom.
"It felt like forever! I couldn't see anything around me, but I wasn't afraid." He looked questioningly at the older man, wondering if he could comprehend the strangeness of it all.
Carlisle nodded. If I am not mistaken, you somehow retreated very deep in the recesses of your mind. In that sphere you can't access when you are conscious. I have heard of such things, but do not fully understand the phenomenon. We attended the lecture in Vienna, remember?
Edward had been preoccupied with other matters in Vienna but he was relieved that Carlisle had an explanation and so continued. "I wasn't worried at all, it was very peaceful there. Until she came. But she was so... sad. She only came to talk." He pondered that for a moment.
What did she say? The older vampire urged.
Edward shook his head, still trying to make sense of it all. "First she showed me how she died. Oh, Carlisle! It was horrible! The things they did to them!" He shuddered at the memory and his mate held him tighter. "She was so frightened and the burning in her lungs hurt her so terribly! There wasn't enough fire. So she and her brother burned for a long time! The people... they were cruel, Carlisle. Worse than anything I have ever seen here. They were... laughing, spitting on them, taunting them. And they were just children, Carlisle! They were so frightened!
"And then Aro came. He killed all the people there and took care of Jane and her brother. That's why she loves him so." He looked at the older man again, hoping he could understand.
"Of course she does," Carlisle said softly. "He saved her, after all. How could she not love him?"
Edward was encouraged and continued. "Then she showed me other things. And I started to remember my life." He grew hesitant at the memories. "I remembered my mother and father, and my home. Like before, in Paris." He paused before confessing regretfully, "I wasn't as happy as I thought I was."
Few of us are, my Edward. But it is what you do with your life that matters. We make our own happiness. Know that your parents loved you more than anything else, but in the only way they knew how to love.
"And I remembered that I was going to war. That was what I was doing before..." He was going to say 'before you', but instead added, "before I was sick."
Carlisle nodded again, very understanding.
"Then she showed me what happened to the men in the war." His voice grew very faint. "Carlisle, how can people be so horrible to one another?"
Carlisle took a deep breath before commencing.
"The world is filled with pain and suffering, Edward, and man creates many of his own problems. All men have within them the dichotomy of good and evil dueling for dominance. Many allow themselves to succumb to the easy path of evil. It takes far greater strength than many believe they have to find the path of righteousness."
"How did you do it? Without anyone to help you?" Edward asked quietly.
"After I was changed, I spent many months near my father's home, trying to find a way back, as absurd as that seems. I was confused by what I had become, and not entirely convinced it was a permanent state. We knew so little about the others back then. Most of what I remember Aro showed me.
"My father was a cruel man, and his method was to stamp out any and all threats to his lifestyle. Whether in his own church or outside of mankind altogether, he believed in brute force to accomplish his means.
"I... disagreed. It was in those first few months of my new life that I realized I had created my own identity in contradistinction to him. I set out to find a way to make myself useful by doing good works in this world, even though I was no longer human.
"There is a passage in the Bible that says God is closest to those furthest from His mercy, as they are in the most need of it.* Likewise, I believe it is our responsibility, as His emissaries, to help those furthest from His ways first. I have always believed that the best way to attract others to my way of thinking was to live by example. My work as a doctor allows me an outlet for my compassion as well as providing me with access to a broad sector of society. Thus have I been able to help others while redeeming myself. "
Edward looked up at him, his eyes shining. "Carlisle," he said quietly, taking his hand and holding it tightly. "I love you! I am so grateful to have you in my life!"
Carlisle bent to kiss him again. As I love you, my Edward! You are the greatest gift!
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She came to him again. He was resting quietly in the dark crevices of his mind when he felt her approach. He knew she would come, and while he did not trust her, he realized that he was no longer afraid of her. He knew she had only come to talk.
"Edward?" She said softly, so as not to startle him. He didn't even stir in Carlisle's arms.
"Show me more of my life," He requested, but it was a command, not a plea.
"I cannot." She shook her head. "I only know those things I have seen. You must find your own memories in your mind."
"Help me, then!" He turned to stare at her.
"I cannot," she said again, and this time it was only a whisper. "Only you know that path."
"I need to know!" He clenched his fists in frustration and felt Carlisle stir beside him.
"You must learn, Edward. You are still so very young! You are not responsible for those in your past or those away from you. Only for those who walk with you now."
She leaned her head against him, relaxed, and curled her body against his. He lay motionless between the two of them, deep in thought. How was it that she and Carlisle both made perfect sense when they were saying exactly the opposite?
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"What do you know of our history?" Caius asked curiously.
Carlisle felt the answer to that was so convoluted, they could well be here forever. So he answered simply, "I know the gist of your travels prior to your ascent to power, the details of your years as the governing body for our kind, and intimately the day to day routine of the years I spent with you."
"What do you know of me?"
Carlisle frowned a bit. "That you joined forces with Aro shortly after your transformation, and that you were quickly elevated from the rank and file to the leadership for reasons -" He wanted to say 'that elude me' but instead finished with "I do not know." He wasn't so foolish as to bite the hand feeding him, so to speak, even though he had had quite enough of the games afoot.
"I have been Aro's second almost since the beginning," Caius corrected.
"Apart from Marcus, who is, after all, his brother-in-law." He almost added that Marcus was at least gifted, which Caius was not, but wisely continued to curb his tongue.
"Do you know what happened to Marcus' wife, Aro's sister?"
"She was killed," Carlisle shrugged. It was all long before his time. She meant nothing to him.
"Do you know by whom?" Caius pressed.
"I presume some enemy of the ruling powers." He wished the discussion would return to Edward, who was his only concern in all of this.
"Aro." Caius smiled broadly.
Carlisle was taken aback, and not entirely sure he heard correctly. "Aro?"
"Yes. His darling sister and Marcus were set to leave. They had grown weary of their life here and decided to strike out on their own. Well! We couldn't have that, could we?" Caius asked in mock horror. "So what were we to do? Aro took care of it! Of course, he had to keep Marcus, who really was the more useful of the two, talent-wise."
"Does Marcus know?" Carlisle was stunned. To kill one's own sister? What sort of man could ever commit such treachery?
"No, of course not. But he has been sick at heart since she died, let me see, 2600 hundred years ago.
"That's why he never says anything," he added, looking a bit askance at his comrade's fate.
"Who else knows of this?" Carlisle asked.
"Aro, of course, now you, me, Chelsea, and I rather think Jane and Alec, but it isn't small talk at gatherings, you understand."
"Chelsea?" It seemed an odd choice.
"Yes, Chelsea's task is to keep Marcus with us. Just in case he gets any ideas, you know." Caius chuckled.
"Does Aro know you know?"
"Would I be here talking with you if he did?" He looked at Carlisle as if he weren't nearly as intelligent as he had initially thought.
"Why are you telling me all of this, Caius?" He was irritated at his and Edward's predicament and a bit concerned to be receiving information that only furthered the likelihood he would find his life in danger.
"You should know," Caius plucked absentmindedly at his robes, "That many in the court feel that Aro's... obsession... with your Edward has rendered him unstable. He is now attacking his own personnel!"
Carlisle swallowed hard. He wished now that he had not requested an audience with Caius.
"Even Marcus is upset."
"Caius," he was suddenly very frightened. "What is Aro going to do with us?"
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"I will tell him if you continue to persecute them," said Marcus, for the first time in his life standing up to the younger man.
"And how would that benefit you?" Caius, as ever, was unruffled by the threat.
"Caius, why not leave them alone? What have they ever done to you? They clearly love one another and pose no threat to us." He quickly re-assumed his subservient position.
"I have no interest in either of them," the younger man laughed. "It is immaterial to me what they do. But as to your earlier statement, you can tell him what you like of my loyalties - I defy him to harness me! - but what will you say when I tell him Chelsea has dropped her responsibilities with regard to you?"
Marcus stared unhappily at the ground and wished he could think of a reply.
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"Edward," she called to him as she was retreating. "You must be very careful of Caius. Carlisle thinks they have a common purpose, but Caius will use him, and he will be harmed. You must warn him."
Edward called after her to come back and explain, but she had already disappeared in the castle corridors.
He realized then that he was sitting up and that Carlisle was watching him, concerned.
* "Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the LORD. "And I will heal them." Isaiah 57:19 This is based on a rabbinic interpretation.