Chapter Four

CARLISLE - 2020

"Carlisle, what is going on?" Alice demanded, pulling Jasper back inside. She slammed the door shut and swung a limp Jasper onto the couch Eve had just shortly occupied.

I let out a deep sigh and gathered the whole family into the living room, silently demanding their attention as I got ready to tell a story I never thought I would have to tell. I looked towards Esme and let my face portray a sincere apology before I took a seat in front of the fireplace. "It's a difficult story to tell, the history of Guinevere and I… Had we not crossed paths with the Denali coven all those years ago it may have even been a happy story, but I know the truth now…" I looked off into the distance trying to control my temper, luckily Jasper was nearby and able to calm me enough to dive in.

CARLISLE - 1700

I was traveling from city to city looking for a place to put down roots, I hadn't felt at home since I had been cursed to this existence, but I wasn't willing to give up yet. I found myself in Volterra, Italy, the Winter was cold, but nowhere near as dreary as home had been. I stalked through the allies, looking for a place to hide out from the approaching daylight when a young woman turned down the same ally as me. I was about to run when she whispered to me "I am like you." I spun around to look at her more closely. She was right, her eyes glowed a crimson red, and her face looked to be carved from marble. I had never seen a woman more stunning than her. "I am called Guinevere, what should I call you?" Guinevere asked while approaching me at a painstakingly slow speed.

I stood my ground, allowing her to make her way to me on her own time, though my feet begged me to close the distance much faster. After a second I was able to find my voice and whispered, "Carlisle, my name is Carlisle Cullen."

She laughed, the sound of birds singing floated around me, it was nearly tangible. "You're English!" It was now that I recognised a similar accent to my own.

"Born in London," I called back, a smile gracing my own face.

As she grew closer a look of recognition clouded her features, but it filtered away as fast as it had appeared. "Lincolnshire," she said back, finally standing in front of me and offering me her hand. I took it in my own, and pressed my lips gently to her snow white skin. "When I was younger I longed to live in the city, Lincolnshire was beautiful, but I wanted something more fast paced. I now long for the simplicity my home had offered."

I nodded in agreement, "things were more simple than they are now." I noticed that I was still holding on to her hand and I let it drop gracefully to her side. "Where are you staying?" I asked, while hoping that I didn't come off too presumptuous.

"With the Volturi, of course," she smiled while gesturing about her as if this was a question I should have known the answer to. "You do know who the Volturi are, don't you?"

I shook my head, feeling like I was missing out on something big, "I am afraid I don't know of the Volturi." I watched as her face transformed into a look of pure excitement. She clapped her hands together in glee.

"You have to come and stay with us! Just for a little while at least," she reached out towards me and took my hand. Before I could answer she pulled me along to a large building that looked like an abandoned church."You're going to love it here," she promised pushing open the heavy wooden doors and leading me up a winding staircase.

We walked through long corridors, other vampires turning to stare as we passed by. Guinevere had an air of importance about her, it seemed that she was respected and revered by some of the other vampires. We ended our maze-like journey in a large ballroom, setup were three large wingback chairs that resembled thrones. Only one of the chairs was occupied. A man with long black hair and piercing red eyes sat above everyone else in the room, Guinevere looked over to me and whispered, "that's Aro."

At the mention of his name he looked to us and let out a gleeful laugh that sent shivers down my spine. In a similar fashion to Guinevere he clapped his hands together and beckoned the two of us forward. "My dear Guinevere, you've brought a friend!" His voice was high pitched and almost childlike, a thick Italian accent nearly made him incomprehensible.

"Aro…" Guinevere trilled, when together they sounded like siblings who were hatching up a plan their parents wouldn't agree to. "This is my new friend Carlisle, he's just the sweetest."

Guinevere spoke of me as if we were longtime friends, though I had only just met her a few moments ago. I smiled and tried to match their childish excitement, "It is very nice to meet you, Aro. I do hope that I am not intruding."

Aro laughed as he stood to take my hand. His eyes seemed to study me intensely before spacing out and going blank. "Aha!" he exclaimed before giving me my hand back. Turing to look at Guinevere and giving her a knowing smile, he lowered his voice and purred, "Eve, you naughty girl."

Guinevere swatted at him playfully before linking her arm through mine. "Aro has a gift," she explained. "Aro has tactile telepathy, meaning he can read your every thought just by one. Little. Touch." Guinevere accentuated the last part by walking her fingers up my arm before tapping my nose and giggling. "Did you like what you saw?" She asked turning her attention back to the man in front of us.

"Evie, I did not like it… I loved it!" He said, causing them both to laugh again. It felt as if they both had some inside joke about me, but Guinevere was so kind I decided not to take it personally.

After we said our goodbyes we exited to a different wing of the building, a question stuck in my mind. "Do you have a gift?" I blurted out.

Guinevere stopped in her tracks and I immediately went to apologize, fearing that I had upset her. When I turned to see her face she looked quite prideful. "I do!" She teased, letting go of my arm and walking a full circle around me before stopping. "Would you like to know what I can do?" Before I had the chance to answer our arms were linked again and we were off to her private quarters. As a man of God I did feel quite uncomfortable seeing her isolated space without a chaperone of any sort. Guinevere, however, did not seem to second guess the situation at all.

I looked around the room, there was a long, deep purple chaise pushed up against a window, dozens of books were spread out around it as if she had been studying all night. The window was large and let in plenty of moonlight, so though no candles were lit, I could still see everything clearly. A large oak desk sat in the middle of the octagonal room, under it a bear skin rug and that looked softer than anything I had seen before. The desk looked like it belonged in an apothecary, there were scales and beakers, herbs and crystals of all shapes sizes and colors. "What is this?" I asked, trying to take it all in.

"When I was human I trained with an herbal healer, I was killed for witchcraft," she

laughed, but I could see the hurt in her eyes. "I suppose maybe I was a witch of sorts, I was able to use herbs and crystals to change people, heal the sick, provide confidence to the weary…" Guinevere trailed off.

She picked up different bottles and small bags filled with pungent herbs and spices, "each one of these does something different." I approached the table and picked up a crystal that was a near perfect match to the color of my eyes before I was changed. "Interesting choice," she said, taking it from my hand and stowing it away in her dress pocket. "I'll make you something special. It's an azurite, it's often known as 'The Stone from Heaven.'"

"What does it do?" I asked, longing to have it back in my grasp.

"It's used to connect someone to their soul, it helps create a clearer communication between the owner and God." Guinevere turned and smirked, "if you believe in Him," she added with a roll of her eyes.

"I do," I commented, wanting her to give me the stone back. I had been searching for God since I was turned, before turning I was the son of a pastor and spent my life learning His Word and ridding the world of evil, like myself. A realization hit me, if I had known about Guinevere and her gifts before I was turned I may have been one of the people calling for her execution. I shook the thought from my head. "How does all this work?"

Guinevere sat down on the chaise and beckoned me over, "well a lot of this stuff works for anyone, no gift required. Peppermint for nausea and headaches, lavender for calming and sleep, aloe or eucalyptus for burns, the list goes on. Some of the stuff only works if you have faith, I think it's called a placebo… like if you believe it works than it works. I, however, have something special about me. It all works when I use it, I can pass it on to others too." She looks wistful for a moment before her face hardens. "Before I was hanged I worked with a doctor of sorts, we helped people, a lot of people. Cured them of the incurable, but people thought it was witchcraft and called for my death. Twice!" Again, she laughed, but this time she sounded bitter.

"I'm sorry, how did you escape?" I asked, taking her hand in mine. She looked me over, a sadness in her eyes that could melt even the coldest of hearts.

"The first time? I fell in love. Madly in love." She smiled a real, genuine smile while recalling a time much further back. "He was a guard at the prison I was sentenced to, we ran away together and got married. Here in Voltera, actually, but a few months later he was killed in a duel, fighting for my honor of all things." She rolled her eyes as if her honor was something that shouldn't be fought over. I knew in that moment I would die a thousand times to protect her and her honor. "The second time was less pretty. I was hanged, for three hours I swung at the end of a rope while crowds jeered and yelled witch. My neck never snapped, lucky me. I eventually lost consciousness and was cut down and thrown into the heap of other dead bodies. Aro found me that night and brought me back here. He had heard of my gifts and hopped to find me alive. He heard my heartbeat and turned me. I quite literally owe him my life."

I was enraptured by her story, to survive three hours of hanging and humiliation, and yet she now seemed so strong and sure of herself. "I cannot believe what you went through…" I trailed off. I had no idea what to say.

Guinevere smiled and rubbed circles on my hand with her thumb, "We are all in the same boat here. Damned to eternal life, we just have to make the most of it." How a woman who had been through all that she had could still be positive I wasn't sure.

CARLISLE - 2020

"That was the night I fell in love with Guinevere Parrish. I spent twenty years loving her. She turned vegetarian for me, and used her gift to heal people again, instead of hurting them like she told me the Volturi had manipulated her into doing. One night I asked her to marry me, I bought a ring and took her on a late night gondola ride under the full moon. We were so in love I knew she would say yes, but I was wrong." I took a deep breath, though I didn't need to breathe to survive, I needed to breathe to stop myself from getting choked up. I still had all eyes on me. "She told me she loved me, but that she owed too much to the Volturi, to Aro…"

Esme wrapped her delicate hand around my wrist and gave it a squeeze. I looked up to meet her eyes and she gave me an encouraging smile and told me to keep going. "Guinevere knew that Aro would never let me leave, he used me to change people, he knew I could control myself. I begged her to run away with me, but she could only promise to cover for me when I ran. So that's what I did. I ran. I don't know what she did to make sure they left me alone, but I hadn't heard from her or the Volturi until today." I wasn't sure if I wanted to finish my story. I knew that Alice talked of a girl named Eve, a soulmate for Jasper, and I didn't want to ruin his opinion of her, though I wish someone had told me the truth in the beginning.

Jasper looked like he was in pain. I had grown to love him as a son though I wasn't the one to change him or bring him into the family. "I'm sorry Jasper, I don't intend to bad mouth Guinevere, I just think you should know the whole truth." Jasper nodded, letting me know that it was okay to continue on. "While we were living with the Denali coven I talked to Irina. She told me she had heard rumors of me running with the Volturi, she expressed her surprise when she found out I had taken Guinevere to be my mate. I was shocked that she had heard the story, but I was even more shocked when she told me why she didn't believe the rumor at first. Irina told me that Guinevere was the one who changed me."

Shocked gasps filled the room, this was the first noise to be made aside from my talking in a while. Esme squeezed my wrist again in encouragement.

"That's not true!" Jasper said standing from the couch and pacing behind us all. "She wouldn't lie to you like that, trick you into loving her…" he trailed off looking confused and heartbroken.

"I didn't believe her at first either, but then I started to remember things. Things I had tried to forget. It was her… in the sewers, and believe me, I wish it wasn't." I sighed and fell back into the couch, pulling Esme into my arms while taking questions from the family. Jasper stormed out of the room and ran off into the woods, Alice followed after him telling Edward and the rest of us to stay put.