~Carlisle - I know you're in here.~

~You meddlesome bitch!~

~That's not you, Carlisle. When have you ever been so vicious? Talk to me.~

Within his mind, Caralla could see his memories flashing by, some more swiftly than others. It was difficult to work with someone who was awake, and more so when that someone was a master of controlling his own thoughts and emotions. It made it that much more deadly when they snapped. She knew this could easily kill her, him, and Bella as well, regardless of the confident nonchalance she protrayed to the others. She'd vowed to never assist in rebuilding a bond again, not after...at any rate, never again. But then Alice called, and she couldn't help but feel guilty in part. She'd explained a bit about the bond to Bella, but had never imagined the two of them would take it so far.

~Caralla..?~ His thoughts reaching out to her were hesitant, scared, and she knew he was fighting his inner demons himself. At least he was willing to fight them.

~Yes, Carlisle, it's me.~

~What's going on? I can't...hold myself in check.~

~The bond, Carlisle. I...neglected to inform you both as to the dangers. So in a way this entire debacle is my doing. Can you feel the bond, Carlisle?~

~Ha. As if I can feel anything else. Even now it's nearly overwhelming. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold on.~

~It's okay. Simply lead me to it. The quicker I can home in on it, the quicker we can fix this. It's going to hurt, since I'm essentially ripping a hole in your mind.~

~Don't care...about pain...~ The strain was becoming too much for him, but then she was there, she could feel the knot of sensation in his subconscious.

~Okay, Carlisle. I promise to make this as quick as possible.~

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He'd been thrashing about, trying to free himself, and if it had been just one of them holding him he would have succeeded easily. But with five of them there, all attempts at escape were futile. They watched Caralla mostly, everyone entranced by the glowing blackness of her eyes as they stared, wide and unblinking, into Carlisle's own. It seemed forever had passed before anything chaned, but when it did it was sudden. All at once he went limp, totally unresponsive, causing Esme to squeal in alarm and turning all attention from the woman standing there to the man in their arms.

"Carlisle!!" Her voice was panicked.

"It's done," came a whisper from below them. Everyone turned at once to see the graceful vampiress in a decidedly non-graceful slump on the ground.

"What?" echoed five voices at once.

"It's done," she repeated. "They're both safe. There is only one more thing left to do, but neither Bella nor Carlisle will be alert enough for at least a day, so we should all go back to the house." She tried to stand on shaky legs, almost made it, and dropped to the ground again. "Go on. I will follow you in a moment, as soon as I have my strength back." Jasper could sense her annoyance at her own weakness, but also her pleasure at having succeeded in...well, whatever she'd just done.

"Take Carlisle back to the house," he said to the others before turning to Caralla. "If I'm not mistaken, darlin', you could use a bite to eat. I'll go grab something and bring it back." She smiled at him in wordless thanks and lay down on the soft ground, closing her eyes. She could hear the rest of them as they carried their familial leader back to their home, and smiled in satisfaction. Only one more thing left to go, and that would be the easy part. It wasn't a minute before Jasper was back, carrying a mountain lion. He'd knocked it out, leaving it alive as he knew she'd prefer that, and she murmured a grateful thanks as she dug in. He sank to the ground across from her, watching as she cleanly divested the animal of its blood, finishing quickly. He could see the life returning to her eyes, watch them fade from hunger black to muted gold.

"Thank you, Jasper. Thank you so much. I don't know when I would have had the energy to call one to me, let alone go find something myself."

"Not a trouble at all." He paused, unsure of whether to tread on sensitive territory, but needing to know if he was correct. "It was your mate, wasn't it?"

"I'm sorry?"

"The last time you attempted to repair a bond. It was your mate." She blinked, then understood.

"You've been talking to Edward, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have. While you were in Carlisle's head I was keeping tabs on Edward and Bella. To distract himself he related the conversation you two had." He reached out for her hand, sending calm through her, and while usually it wouldn't have had much effect, as weakened as she still was it felt like heaven. "You don't have to answer."

"Yes." He nodded, sensing she needed to talk and staying quiet to let her. "We were both new to our lives, both young. We'd enjoyed a wide and varied life beforehand, but when...well, those details aren't necessary. After we'd been changed, our love was still strong, but we realized how empty the millennia ahead could be if we were held to one another then entire time. A few centuries would be easy, but then it would just get harder. So we'd made a decision to spend a decade together, then one apart, traveling, seeing what we could.

"I hadn't heard form him in almost eight years, so when he mindcalled me, I was so startled I let my prey escape. He said it was urgent, that he needed help and didn't know where to turn. As it was, he wasn't very far from me, only a country or two away, so when I got to him he'd just finished chaining himself to a dungeon wall. I knew the manacles wouldn't hold him, but it scared me to wonder why he'd done so. He told me that he'd mistakenly bonded to one of his favorite ladies, and he'd nearly killed her.

"In those days, the bond wasn't myth. It had been in practice for years. In fact, that's what precipitated my change...there I go again, rambling. I found the girl, broken and bloody, but still alive, and knew that I had to sever the tie somehow before it killed her. I dove in, having no idea what I was looking for, but I knew it when I found it. I had some idea of how to repair the damage to a human mind, and when I was done she was resting peacefully. I knew she would die anyway - her injuries were far too extensive - but this way I hoped she wouldn't take my husband with her. When I was done with her I went to him.

"He'd yanked the chains from the walls but had yet to get through the dungeon door. Perhaps he was holding himself back, or maybe it really was that strong. I'd never tried to mend the mind of a vampire, however, and though I thought it would be similar, when I plunged into his mind it was anything but. I nearly killed myself trying to locate the bond, and broke through it with more force than finesse. I wrenched myself from his mind and heard him fall to the ground before I myself blacked out.

"When I came around, he was gone. The door had been ripped off its hinges. I could hear this godawful screeching from above me, and made my way outside to where my husband stood. I didn't recognize what was around his feet at first...until I saw her eyes. And when he turned to me, he wasn't my husband anymore. He'd become something else. He lunged at me, and I was too weak to fight him off. I thought to simply let him kill me, as I knew without a doubt I would never have him back again. Instinct had me fight back, however, and a few moments later..." She couldn't finish, and Jasper was perfectly fine with that. She was shaking, lost in her own memories, and she leaned against him gratefully when he moved closer.

"It took me almost a hundred years to regain my strength. I decided then that I would never let anyone suffer that fate if I could avoid it. I studied, I asked, I researched. The years flew by, and before I knew it, the thing I'd considered my life's work was regarded my many vampires as myth, a story no longer worthy of even being told to fledgelings. I am the only one walking the earth today that has this knowledge. And while I am proud of that, I just...I could wish I knew then what I know now." She lapsed into silence for a long time before standing up, still shaky but much more in control.

"Thank you, Jasper. I've never been able to purge that from my mind before." He was standing next to her, his hand on her shoulder.

"No, thank you, for sharing it with me."

"Let's go back. We've got about twenty hours before they start to come around, and I think I owe everyone some explanations." In a companionable quiet, they headed back through the woods to the house.

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Author's note: So we finally learn a little about the elusive Ancient One. She's got a few more surprises in store, but luckily nothing bad...or at least, nothing that ends badly. Stay tuned!