Author's Note: WARNING! Slash scene at the very end of the chapter (last portion) for the E/C contingent. The rest is clean.

Chapter 23

Senator: There are those who say you cannot hear properly, you cannot speak properly, and that you've got no experience of government.

Claudius: Senators, it is true that I am hard of hearing, but you will find it is not for want of listening. As for speaking, again, it's true I have an impediment. But isn't what a man says more important than how long he takes to say it? It's true again I have little experience of government. But then, have you more? I at least have lived with the imperial family who has ruled this empire ever since you so spinelessly handed it over to us. I've observed it working more closely than any of you. Is your experience better than that? As for being half-witted, well, what can I say - except that I have survived to middle age with half my wits, while thousands have died with all of theirs intact. Evidently, quality of wits is more important than quantity. Senators, I shall do nothing unconstitutional; I shall appear at the next session of the senate where you may confirm me in my position or not as you wish. But if it pleases you not to, explain your reasons to them.

I Claudius, Robert Graves

Carlisle spent most of the next several days avoiding Aro's attempts to worm his way back into their good graces - the Volturi leader kept appearing unannounced in their rooms to see if Edward was feeling better or needed anything - and imparting to Edward what little information he had been able to glean from his conversations with Caius. Communication had become a serious problem for them with Aro always underfoot (Caius had warned them to take extra precaution now), and the conversation was invariably one-sided: a transmission rather than a dialogue. Caius and Carlisle corresponded in print, which, as Edward pointed out, was really incredibly stupid. Carlisle replied that at least this mode compromised them both, and Edward's rejoinder was that, yes, but Caius was a member of the Volturi while Carlisle was the impediment between Aro and his current obsession, which clearly meant the one's position was much more precarious than the other's. Carlisle won the argument by remarking that, obviously, they didn't have a choice in the matter as they were doomed if they didn't act, and they at least stood a fighting chance if they did.

Chelsea's role in all of this is extremely important, so you must be certain to be respectful and appreciative of her efforts. She has been part of Aro's exclusive inner circle since the earliest times, and is nearly as old as he is. Bear in mind that she will have heard negative things about you from her closest confidants and she has no reason to have any interest in us apart from her current misfortune. Few people realize how indispensable she is to the survival of the coven. Most of my own knowledge of her comes from Eleazar, who worked quite closely with her when he was a scout for Aro. Know that as instrumental as she is at binding the members of the coven to one another, she also has the ability to weaken ties between others. Manifestly that did not work in our case, which is why Aro banished her. However, once he comes to his senses, he will send for her, and I have no doubt that she will readily take up his cause again, both from habit as well as from her sense of loyalty. We should count our blessings to currently have her on our side.

Edward felt that they needed to run as far away from her as possible if her allegiance was so tenuous, but he kept his thoughts to himself. He knew Carlisle wouldn't listen to him anyway.

There are things you do not know about Marcus - and again his mind went smoothly blank, sending Edward into a mild state of panic - things I doubt he even knows. And it will remain that way. YES, Edward! He cut him off before Edward could open his mouth to protest. For your own safety as well as his.

Marcus is an interesting person because he and Aro have been together since the very beginning, which makes them natural allies by virtue of longevity as well as proximity. And, yet, he didn't always approve of his brother's actions. My knowledge of him is limited to my own time here - and bear in mind that we were barely acquaintances as I was Aro's guest - and what Caius has told me recently. His role in all of this is actually by far the most crucial, as he has the respect of the others. He has been Aro's right hand for the entire time they have been in power. Again, my expectation of you is that you will accord him the honor he is due. You must not lose your temper or say whatever comes into your head. He is accustomed to being treated deferentially and old people find it hard to accept modern ideas of egalitarianism. He smiled to himself, certain Edward was rolling his eyes, even though he couldn't see him. He will not be tolerant of or amused by youthful impetuousness. So try to behave when you are around him.

Finally, there are members of the guard whom... he took a breath, reluctant to even think it, you will remember. I know that this will be very painful for you, but you must understand that alliances shift frequently and easily in this milieu and, for the time being at least, their interests are aligned with Caius, whom they regard as their true leader. Caius has always been a presence on the military front, while neither Aro nor Marcus spend much time with the rank and file. They are important because if they were on the other side, we would be ash. Or, at least, I would be... He added as an afterthought and Edward nearly jumped out of his skin at the idea.

Edward, he turned to take him in his arms, if there were any way I could spare you having to go through this, I would. But we simply don't have any other options.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You're looking old," Caius remarked, eyeing his brother with an amused smirk.

Aro all but snarled at him. "No thanks to you! I have been waiting all afternoon for a report from you."

"All afternoon? My, my! How time does drag when one isn't having any fun -"

"And what exactly is this plan of yours?" Aro was impatient, surely a first for the man who had witnessed the passing of three millennia.

"Rest assured that things are progressing exactly the way they should and at exactly the anticipated rate," purred Caius, leaning against the wall and smiling mildly at him. "Carlisle should be permanently gone within a week -" he pretended to count on his fingers, "That would be seven afternoons - "

"I fail to see how I come out ahead if you emerge the shining hero! The boy continues to avoid me," Aro muttered angrily, pulling at his robes in an agitated manner. Caius had never seen him so out of sorts.

"My dear fellow, surely any win for the greater good is also in your own interests. You can hardly expect Edward to rush back to your side after all he has been through. He is very suspicious of all of us at the moment. I think to act too hastily would send the boy right back into the state he was before. And then where would we be? Particularly without Dr. Cullen there to save the day. As it were."

Aro growled at the human servant entering the room, who quickly backed out again. "I am trusting you, Caius. But I warn you! My patience is waning."

"Apparently!" The man's expression was all mock horror as he turned, laughing softly, to leave. "Oh, and Aro," he turned back, "if you aren't going to eat that servant, would you mind terribly saving her for me? I am parched."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The meeting was to take place in the dungeon, where Chelsea was housed. Purportedly, Caius had chosen it knowing that they could not be overheard there, the walls reinforced to dampen the screams of prisoners.. Edward followed Carlisle down the stone steps, through a narrow passageway, down more steps, into a wider hall on the right, then right again into a narrower hall, then more steps, then a dark tunnel, and then into the light and down another corridor. He was very grateful Carlisle had an excellent sense of direction as he was quite certain he would never make it back on his own. The former was eyeing him, concerned. He had been altogether reluctant for Edward to attend the assembly - knowing that others who might upset the boy would be present as well - but neither was he willing to leave him alone.

They heard arguing as they approached the room and Edward noted that he was still unable to hear anyone's thoughts, apart from Carlisle's. He remarked to himself how strange that was as he had assumed it would be different down here in the deepest catacombs of the castle, where he lost Jane whenever she wandered too far.

"It is no longer a question of resolving disputes!" Edward could hear the voice raised in anger and recognized it but did not know to whom it belonged. "The time for action has come!"

"Ah, here they are," Caius said easily as he turned his head to greet them.

Entering the poorly lit room, they were met with silent stares from Chelsea, Marcus, Alec, and Demetri. Edward did flinch when he saw the latter two and Carlisle squeezed his hand to reassure him.

Caius, who had been mediating the argument between Marcus and Demetri, was slouched lazily in his chair, as if it were all a matter of no consequence.

"Carlisle, I believe you know everyone. Edward - " Caius was doing his duty of making introductions, but Carlisle cut him off.

"Thank you, Caius. We are all acquainted." He glared at Demetri, suppressing the growl in his throat. To Chelsea he added softly in a genuinely grateful tone, "Thank you so much for helping us." And then to Marcus, softer still, "Marcus, how very good to see you so well."

The ancient figure nodded. He still seemed sad to Edward, but much more alive. "Edward," he said in what was surprisingly a strong, clear and confident voice. "I am very sorry for all that you have suffered at our hands. I hope now that things may improve for you."

Edward nodded, lowering his gaze to the floor. There really wasn't much he could say.

Carlisle took a seat beside Marcus, and Edward sat down beside his mate.

"Well," said Caius, summarizing for the new arrivals "The matter currently stands as follows: Aro is clearly incapable of rational thought - witness Chelsea and poor Alec! We'll tell you about that shortly, Carlisle - and the only logical solution is to 1) demote him, so that he cannot continue to damage us, or 2) remove him, if option number one is not successful.

"Did you want to add anything, Marcus?" He looked almost bored.

Marcus paused briefly before beginning.

"Friends," he said, rising from his seat and standing immobile in front of them as he began his address. "We stand together at an impasse, threatened for the first time not from an external power, but from dissolution within. We three who reside at the helm of our coven have never before found ourselves divided, one against the others. Historically, our differences have been subverted with the assistance of our most gifted guards," here he bowed low to Chelsea and nodded to Alec, "and mitigated by our commitment to the stability of the regime. I would argue that this was a necessary and, yes, even a good and correct approach to the tremendous responsibilities we took upon ourselves when we came to power. It made us formidable: a cohesive unit capable of enforcing law and order in an anarchic society. The human population - " he bowed his head deferentially towards Carlisle "also benefited from the cessation of the rampant public killings and the consequent terror so prominent in our predecessors' time.

"We now find ourselves at a position in our regency where we can no longer overlook the actions of the leaders, for a society looks to its leaders to set the standards. Of late, we have allowed ourselves to splinter into diverse interest groups, neglecting our responsibilities as the party entrusted with the task of governing. Our military might is wasted on child's play;" he pointedly did not look at Caius, who frowned at the reference, "Our spokesman consumed by his obsession for another man's rightful mate; and our most trusted and venerable guardsmen punished for acts beyond their control." Chelsea shook her head, still disbelieving all that had happened to her.

"If we act swiftly to correct the demise of our regime, we may well be able to repair the damage. If we wait, our destruction by implosion is inevitable. We have before us a proposal to demote, or, in a more extreme measure, remove, one of our own. This seems a rash and unwise move on our part."

Demetri stirred angrily in his seat, looking across the room to Caius for support. The latter raised one finger to silence him, and returned his focus to his brother.

"Those of you steeped in the tradition of military training and the battlegrounds of war find the process of negotiations and compromise tiresome, but those of us accustomed to the affairs of state, know that that process is the only way to uphold the validity of the government. If we allow an individual or entity to be crushed by might each time there is a dispute, we surrender ourselves to a perpetual series of upheavals, wherein superiority of strength determines who shall rule. The absence of wisdom in government is best left to the human population. We ourselves, as the wiser species, know that a rational decision-making process that upholds the standards of the Law alone will withstand the test of time.

"The question then becomes," the Voltur continued, never once moving, "How best to address the problem when one portion of the corpus is diseased? Does one assume that the sickness is irreversible and amputate? Or does one treat it in the hopes of recovering its full use?

"It occurs to me to look to the historical example in determining our course of action. Time and again the removal of a tyrannical leader has led to the emergence of an even greater tyrant. What do we stand to gain if one despot replaces another? I believe that a response to that requires us to look for another model of government. I believe we would do well and benefit most from Rome's Republican model."

Edward wondered if Marcus had ever heard of modern democracy, outside of the Roman context, and chuckling, glanced at Carlisle, whose eyes and mind were locked on Marcus. But then he cleared his throat guiltily when the older man turned to look at him questioningly. The boy suddenly remembered that until very recently, Marcus had had no contact with the outside world, living as he did numbed by Chelsea's powers and under Aro's thumb. His respect for the ancient ruler grew rapidly when he realized how far Marcus had come in such a short period of time. He suddenly felt ashamed of his youthful arrogance.

"True stability lies in a true division of power, wherein each party plays an essential role in determining the outcome. This, my friends, is what I propose to you. That Volterra, and by extension the world of our own kind around us, be governed not by the whims of a single individual or faction, but by all parties for the greater good."

Carlisle applauded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Marcus and Carlisle stood conversing in earnest in one corner while Alec and Edward eyed each other suspiciously across the room. Edward wanted to ask Carlisle why, if Alec was suddenly on their side, he still had his extra sense cut off. It only seemed fair that Alec give it back.

Caius was placating Demetri, who was still furious that there would be no repercussions for Aro's attack on Alec and Chelsea.

And Chelsea stood above it all, not accustomed to participating, so long had she followed Aro's orders.

When Carlisle finished his discussion, he remembered Edward and, turning, kissed him lightly on the cheek to signal it was time to depart. Carlisle seemed suddenly much younger to Edward; his entire mindset was lighter, much more positive than it had ever been. Edward might have been jealous that Marcus had been able to elicit such happiness in his mate, but he understood implicitly that Carlisle was in no small part relieved that he and Edward finally appeared to have a way out of the nightmare.

Caius walked them into the hall, thanking Carlisle for coming and nodding dismissively at Edward, who groused a little under his breath. He knew Caius thought he was a brat, but that had been Aro's doing. He wished he were older and not Aro's favorite so that he would be taken seriously! And then he remembered what Carlisle had endured at the other man's hands and grew somber.

"Oh," Caius said, turning back to them as he was walking away,"and your dinner is in the next room."

Carlisle and Edward looked at each other and then both men jumped simultaneously for the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Edward had already drained two of the deer frantically leaping about the room and was well into the third when he felt his mate nuzzling his haunches. He smiled to himself, a warm, happy sensation spreading through him, but continued to feed. It had been more than a week and he was ravenous! He felt Carlisle's fingers deftly undoing his belt and moaned when the older man reached in to touch him. He moved into the hand, in spite of his thirst, eager for the pressure, and bit down harder on the throat of the now lifeless animal to draw the blood out faster.

Carlisle was panting hard, pulling the boy's trousers down and then running his tongue across his buttocks and further down to mouth his manhood. A shudder ran through Edward, who was fast losing interest in his meal. He began to rock his hips back and forth and Carlisle moved to mount him.

He abandoned his feast altogether when he felt his mate enter him, pushing himself hard against the other man so that the latter was thrust even deeper inside of him. He arched back against him, moaning loudly, his breath quickening. Carlisle licked the blood from the boy's chin and reached around to grip his length and stroke him in a pace even with his thrusts. Edward's attention was divided between the motion in front of him and that behind him; the taste of the blood in his mouth and the taste of it on Carlisle's lips; his own sensations and the ones shivering through Carlisle's brain. He reached up with both arms to pull the man's head against his neck, and the latter rewarded him with a gentle bite. Edward hitched faster into the hand, rocking back so that both of them cried out when Carlisle buried himself in him as far as he could. The pressure built until neither felt they could endure it, the one almost climbing inside of the other, who opened himself as wide as he could to swallow him.

Edward gripped his muscles, exploding, and his body went soft. Carlisle, in turn, gave one final thrust and released his warm semen inside of him. They sat quietly for several minutes, motionless, struggling to regain their senses, and then, Carlisle, chuckling, pushed Edward's head back down onto the deer's neck.

"Finish your meal!" he growled affectionately at him.

And the boy placidly resumed feeding.