Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer

AN (1): We are on the home stretch now with two chapters left. I hope, dear reader, you continue to enjoy this tale.

AN (2): To all of my readers, reviews and friends I thank you, for your continued support.

AN (3): Please note that this chapter has been neither pre-read or beta'd, so all poor grammar is my own.

Laying the body on the ground, his mind screaming in pain, Edward swiftly moved to Carlisle. Rather than sit with his mate and allow Carlisle feed from Edward's chest or arm, which would place them both at a position of weakness with the Volturi guard surrounding them. Edward grabbed the back of Carlisle's head and regurgitating the still warm human blood kissed Carlisle deeply and transferred the fluid to his mate, thus sealing the new bond.

Carlisle melted into the embrace, greedily taking the blood, liking the inside of Edwards mouth and sucking the last of the life juices from his tongue. Despite this demonstrated relish Edward could hear the "true" Carlisle screaming in sync with Edward's own pain.

Soon neither of the couple could support the other and they fell to their knees, holding each other tightly. Edward knew that there had been no point pleading for the old man's life, he was dead from the moment he called Italy for assistance. Everyone in the room knew that including, in some small way, the Maestro.

Nevertheless, after being forced to murder someone who, despite his faults, was still an innocent, Edward wished it was he who had died!

But he knew Aro would never allow that, so Edward had had to do whatever was necessary to keep Carlisle with him forever.

~*.*~

It felt like forever, but was less than a minute huddled on the floor, before Edward came to his senses and gently rose; standing Carlisle up with him, wincing at his mates sparkling red eyes knowing full well that they mirrored his own. Clasping Carlisle's hand Edward positioned his mate slightly behind himself and directly in front of Eleazar, Edward then returned his attention to Aro, not escaping the elders smug satisfaction.

"Now that we have all that unpleasant business taken care of," sighed Aro. "We must now determine your future."

Aro raised his hand despite the trio not reacting in any way, "Now be reassured I have no intention to do anything permanent or fatal, we need to make the best arrangements to support you both in your current situation, and provide assurance to myself that matters will not return to as they have recently been."

Gesturing to Eleazar, Aro waved him forward. "My friend, I am going to ask you for something that will, I am sure, inconvenience you and your lovely mate for a currently indeterminate period of time."

Aro paused, taking in the lack of concern in his old friends face and was slightly disappointed at the subdued response.

Straightening and firming his tone Aro laid out his demands. "I would ask that yourself and Carmen accompany the Cullen's to a remote location of your choosing, any of your properties in Alaska or Canada would suffice, and reside with them until such time as I agree that they are free to live away from the safety of your support."

Carlisle tightened his grip on Edwards hand, a silent apology more meaningful than a fleeting thought, as the reality sunk in that they were to be in the vampire equivalent of house arrest, potentially for eternity, or at least for this side of forever.

Eleazar stood, hands clasped behind his back bowing his head to Aro, "It is my honour to serve the Volturi and the law." Keeping his gloves on Eleazar extended his arm, smiling to himself as Aro slipped his own gloves on to shake hands on the deal.

During this exchange neither Edward or Carlisle had drawn breath. Even after the deal appeared to have been done, Edward remained on guard hovering over Carlisle.

Eleazar stepped back to be side by side with Edward, turning his head to the side he looked Edward in the eye and a faint thread emerged from his normally silent mind, This is alright, we will make it work for everyone.

Edward nodded imperceptibly before his attention was drawn back to Aro.

"It is nice to see a worrying situation able to be resolved at minimal distress, I am pleased to see Edward how you and your mate are accepting of your sentence and punishment and hope that your both acknowledge that only your compliance and Eleazar's word to support you has saved you from a more distressing fate."

At this the surrounding guard members relaxed, acting more as bystanders than enforcers.

Studying his hand enclosed glove Aro seemed engrossed in the stitching. Edward caught the trail of thought mere moments before Aro voiced them. "The only outstanding matter is the human boy who was at the centre of all of this strife. What to do there?" tipping his head towards Eleazar he continued. "Eleazar assures me that the child has no memory of the recent events and as such is not a risk of disclosure." He paused, "however what of the events proceeding the last twenty four hours, will he piece together enough details to raise his suspicions or at least unsolved questions. What to do?"

It was taking all of Edwards restraint, combined with Eleazar surreptitiously standing on the young vampires foot, to stop Edward from screaming in protest. The thought of William paying with his life for Edward, Carlisle and the Maestros mistakes was almost more than he could take.

Once again disappointed with the lack of reaction Aro continued, "I will at this time heed the council of my old friend and consider the boy of limited risk, however I will reserve the right to review this after visits by my agents over time." He lifted his gaze to look Edward straight in the eyes, "Make no mistake, this matter will be concluded only upon my say so."

Waving Renata forward with his cloak, Aro shrugged on the garment. "Now that we have a solution for this potential disaster, my guard and I will bid you farewell. Eleazar, I expect a telegram as soon as you are settled and regular updates throughout each year." Aro looked at Edward, "I forbid either you or your mate to leave the safety of Eleazar's care until I advise that it is no longer necessary. I also forbid you to see, or have contact with, the young human for the rest of his lifetime. "

The law laid down and the punishment extoled, Aro made a swift gesture to his guard and the group rapidly exited the building and were soon on the outskirts of town.

The rapid exit by the Volturi was met by the stunned silence of the three remaining vampires. Carlisle was the first to move, leaning heavily into Edwards side, desperate for reassurance. Turning Edward captured his husband in a firm embrace, lightly kissing his face while running his hands down his back and through Carlisle's hair.

Eleazar cleared his throat gently. "We need to get moving. Is there anything remaining, either here or at the house, that you would need?"

Edward looked up from his task of comforting Carlisle, "Carlisle has already packed the house and he arranged for our belongings to collected for storage. I will need to grab a couple of things from my office and other than double checking the house the only other place would be Carlisle's office. If you wanted to take Carlisle to the house, I can check his office before joining you there."

Eleazar frowned, "Edward do not even think of visiting William Pearson. Aro made it very clear that you were not to and doing so could put both the boy and Carlisle at greater risk."

Edward went to interrupt, but Eleazar stopped him with a glare. "The boy is alive, leave him that way. If you care for your friend then you will be happy with that. Promise me!" Eleazar's emphasis of the word friend made Edward drop his gaze as he clasped Carlisle to him more firmly, the young vampire nodded and breathed his promise to the elder.

~*.*~

Edward and Carlisle stayed in a tight embrace for the half an hour that Eleazar was absent. Upon his return Eleazar kept Carlisle company while Edward cleared his office. Once all was complete Eleazar used the Maestro's phone, ignoring the dead man's body, to ring Carmen and advise her of the situation and the fact that she will need to close up their New York house and move to the property in Canada.

Once everything in Oberlin was finalised the three ran from the town. Following Eleazar it became clear to the Cullen's that they were heading towards the boat shed, evidently Eleazar had taken the opportunity to use the mooring point for his power boat. As they came closer to the lake shore, Carlisle became more and more agitated; to the point that within meters of the shed he stopped and then started to back away.

"Carlisle?" Edward turned concern in his voice, would recent memories of the boathouse and the events on the island incapacitate his mate? Would Eleazar and himself be able to manhandle Carlisle onto the boat in event of him having a meltdown.

Carlisle wrapped his arms around his chest and gave Edward and Eleazar a fearful look. "Are we going on a boat? Can we not go another way? Please don't make me go on a boat, I will be sick."

Edward looked at his mate incredulously, "Oh for goodness sake Carlisle, you're worried about being sea sick." Edward knew he was being harsh, but Carlisle's phobia of boat travel was the last thing he needed at this point in time and he just wanted his mate to just get over it.

Eleazar knew that Edward was simply lashing out in frustration of their current situation, but the youngster needed a lesson in appropriate handling of a distressed mate. Walking up to Edward, Eleazar leaned forward and gave him a quiet but firm reprimand, however in a rare occasion he lifted his mental blocks to allow Edward to maintain face in light of the reproof.

Edward, I appreciate that you are upset and angry and even scared, but as distressed as you are, you are responsible for Carlisle's emotions and reactions. Without your calm control Carlisle will panic and can react badly. You may remember your own behaviours when Carlisle lost control of himself. You are in a unique position in that you have been in both a subservient and dominate position, take your experience from the first to help you be stronger in the second.

Edward could not look at Eleazar during the rebuke. He was ashamed of himself, how could he take his frustration out on Carlisle? How could he belittle Carlisle's fear of boats when he knew that that fear was debilitating to his mate, who had many times supressed his panic to accommodate Edward's desires.

Edward sighed and swiftly moved from Eleazar's touch to Carlisle, wrapping his arms around his husband. "I am so sorry sweetheart, I know how much you hate boat travel and should not have been so harsh with you." Edward cupped Carlisles face in his hands and felt Carlisle lean into the touch relaxing into Edward.

"We have to go on the boat, don't we?" Carlisle whispered in a trembling voice.

"Yes darling, we do," Edward confirmed. "But I promise we will only go as fast as you can cope and as soon as it becomes too much we will moor so you can have a break."

Carlisle's attention drew towards Eleazar who continued, "We are going to the Canadian mountain house,"

Edward raised an eyebrow at Eleazar, who nodded in confirmation. Edward returned his attention to Carlisle, "So we will only travel as far as we can in the lakes and rivers system and will then travelling on foot. I promise you love, it will be as short a boat journey as we can make it." Edward turned Carlisle to look him direct in the eye, "Are you willing to try this for me?"

Carlisle looked at Edward and then to Eleazar who gave him a small smile. Taking a deep breath, inhaling the smells around him, all of which were dominated by the scent of his wonderful mate. He returned his gaze to Edward who had an adorable worried frown on his face. "Okay, l can do this. But can we please get it over with as fast as possible?" Edward smiled and embraced Carlisle tightly. "I love you," he murmured into Carlisle's hair. Lifting his head up he mouthed thank you to Eleazar.

It took a few starts to get Carlisle on the boat however they were eventually underway. Despite the serious nature of their journey Edward cold not help but to admire with envy Eleazar's newest possession, a custom made replica of Edsel Fords Typhoon Speedboat. The triple cockpit mahogany beauty was unlike anything Edward had ever seen, let alone owned and he could not resist perusing the vessel over the scenery rushing by at 55mph. Carlisle was huddled at his side in the middle of the three cockpits, whimpering each time Edward moved too far from his grasp.

They progressed in stages, allowing Carlisle breaks from the water. In many cases simply stepping off the boat calmed him instantly, however once or twice Eleazar had taken his friend to hunt, while Edward stayed with the vessel. At one point when it was too light to stop and the coast was too far away, Carlisle began to get extremely agitated, the only solution to calming him was Edward feeding Carlisle. When they finally had to stop and continue on foot Eleazar ensured that Edward was able to feed substantially to regain his strength and be physically and mentally able to support Carlisle.

Back on land and well fed, Carlisle began to feel and act his old self again, this didn't go unnoticed by Edward and Eleazar, as he began to engage in conversation. After a while of small talk Carlisle started to ask the questions he actually wanted answers to.

"Why are we going to Canada and not Denali?" Edward raised his eyebrows leaving the question to Eleazar.

"As much as we would love to go to Denali, we have been asked to limit our contact with others for the immediate future. So we have chosen to move to the Canadian safe house, Aro agreed that the choice was a good one…" Eleazar paused and threw a worried look at Carlisle.

Carlisle broke his gait for a microsecond, barely enough time to register unless you were two vampires monitoring his every move. Rather than ask any questions, Carlisle pondered Eleazar's response which was both vague and informative.

He knew that they were under the supervision of Eleazar and Carmen, but he had not expected the couple to lose the anonymity of one of their most hidden houses. Additionally the stipulation that they do not have contact with others not only punished Edward and Carlisle, but Eleazar and Carmen as well.

Carlisle did not speak for the remainder of their journey, despite both Edward and Eleazar attempts to engage him in conversation. Edward was not worried about his mate, his mind was calm, but was not planning to let this introspection become depression.

They slowed as they entered Canada and again when they crossed the border to the national park. Edward regularly scanned the immediate are to ensure there were no humans nearby. Once it was all clear, they headed directly for the mountain hut that had been Carmen and Eleazar once hidden safe house.

At first glance the hut was a normal wooden hut high up in the Rocky's Mountain Park. It was built against a face of the mountain above the snowline. It was not until they entered the hut that Edward and Carlisle discovered the secret of this home. At the back of the small hut, instead of a rear wall, the side of the mountain had been excavated to create a vast space divided into a number of rooms. The space was comfortably decorated, showing clear signs of Carmen's taste and style, and vast enough to allow shared, personal and intimate space for the two couples.

Five days after the three arrived, Carmen appeared at the door, along with two very docile mules laden with the personal effects of both couples. She had performed a number of logistical activities on behalf of the Cullen's, having taken a detour to their storage facility to collect clothes are other belongings that she knew would ease their time in exile.

~*.*~

The next decade could be described in one word…slow! It was a perfect time and place for Edward and Carlisle to settle into their new dynamic. Eleazar and Carmen were able to provide Edward with an expanded vampire education and were able to fill in many of the gaps in his education that Carlisle had been unwilling, or simply unable, to provide.

After a brief period of embarrassment, resulting from the lack of privacy, much of their time was spent in intimate activities. It took Edward years to fully embrace his dominant status, he forever felt that he was in the wrong role and sometimes was so stressed it felt like his skin was too small. Eleazar would watch Edward closely until the signs of his distress became suffocating, quickly removing him to the nearest body of water and allowing the mind reader the time to decompress without fear of distressing Carlisle.

By the spring of 1935 Carlisle joined Carmen on regular foraging excursions, collecting local vegetation for use in distilling into medicines and topical remedies, which Carmen would then disappear for a couple of day providing the remedies to those living around the mountains. During their times together Carlisle expanded his knowledge and skill in "pharmacopeia" beyond that he had developed in his decades as a practicing physician.

In the meantime, Edward wrote! He journaled everything he remembered, everything he had learned, and everything he had seen in his short time as a vampire.

He also started to draw.

But rather than capture images of the people he had met and places he had seen, he made an effort to unscramble the various thoughts forced upon him. Edward spent time in contemplation and meditation recalling and deconstructing the millions of images in his mind, from the light of the innocent, the sinking blackness of the evil, and everything in between.

~*.*~

In 1940 everything changed. Canada had joined the war in Europe in 1939 and events were moving at a pace that lead Aro to request that Eleazar return to his post in New York, where he would be better able to work as the Volturi liaison during the troubled times.

The two couples returned to New York at the end of 1940. While the Cullens were seen as safe after the decade in exile, Aro continued to be firm on the need for supervision.

Upon their arrival in New York they immediately moved into a newly built apartment building on 5th Avenue opposite Central Park. Expert negotiation skills, and an unlimited budget, allowed Eleazar to secure the two penthouse apartments between which he had built a hidden pocket door, allowing the perception of privacy for Edward and Carlisle, whilst also maintaining the level of supervision required by Aro.

Each penthouse apartment was spread over two levels and the group were able to use the rooms effectively to separate interests and hobbies. In addition each penthouse had a private courtyard allowing for discrete time outside, even on the sunniest days.

It was in New York that Carlisle returned to western medicine. While he was not authorised to work in a hospital Carmen was a silent trustee in the New York Foundation, and was able to get Carlisle involved in a group undertaking medical research at the New York City Bureau of Laboratories.

The role was part time twice a week, and was highly stimulating for Carlisle, while also meeting the terms of his confinement. Carmen would chaperon Carlisle each morning, do her errands, and then collect him at the end of the day. The restriction grated on him, however he willingly accepted that the circumstances could be worse than having a beautiful intelligent companion to journey to and from home.

Edward tended to go to the river. Many a time Eleazar would join him and, using their small sailboat, they would cast off and let the breeze and the current move them away from the house and city.

During their time away, Edward and Carlisle's relationship had strengthened and as strange as it felt to both of them, their bond was tighter than it had been even before Oberlin. Despite this Eleazar knew that Edward was struggling much more than Carlisle with the current situation. The young vampire missed the previous relationship, despite the trauma which an abuse of that relationship had caused. Edward was not naturally dominant and had needed to learn how to meet the needs of his mate, while also maintaining a level of control over the relationship.

Edward was fascinated to learn how much subtle control Carlisle had had in the past, of which Edward (and possibly Carlisle) were unaware, until such time when had needed to unravel issues of sex and seduction, priority in feeding or even simple things of how they hold hands or embrace each other when resting.

During his conversations with Edward, Eleazar was constantly surprised at how much the other couple were missing in regards to mating and their relationship. Eleazar calmly talked Edward through the rite of passage for being a mate and having a "sub", for lack of better term, to care and be responsible for.

Edward made a point of journaling Eleazar's teachings for the time when he and Carlisle returned to their natural roles. Edward was absolutely sure that one day they would return to the original configuration. He hoped to be able to petition Aro in a decade or so, once Eleazar had determined that Carlisle was fit to take control of the coven once more.

In the meantime Edward would learn, meet his obligations as coven leader, and love him mate unconditionally; all the while suppressing a small bubble of resentment. In the past he would have run for miles to escape the feeling, he accepted now that that was the response of a child and he needed to stay and meet his problems head on.

Running from Carlisle, now of all times, was a bad idea. The one time he had not returned at the promised time it had taken Carlisle weeks to trust Edward to not abandon him. For now he had to accept that there were things that were not possible for now, but was surprised that it was the little things that he missed the most; Carlisle leading him in the bedroom, being surrounded by Carlisle's arms or the feeling Carlisle inside him. All of which were not possible with their current arrangement.

While Eleazar performed his duties on behalf of Volterra, and Carmen and Carlisle were out twice a week, Edward tended to stay to stay home alone. Like Carlisle, his movements were restricted and he would often join Eleazar on his errands. However many times it was not appropriate for Edward to join Eleazar and he was required to stay at home.

It was not much of a chore for him, the house was full of diversions and Edward was able to keep himself occupied. Of all of the things that were available the one activity that he would not partake was music, or more specifically, playing the piano.

There was a piano in the house, but Edward had refused to play or write any music since they left the conservatory. The instrument had originally been placed in their apartment and when he discovered that Edward had simply thrown a tantrum, screaming and tearing around the apartment, threatening to throw it off the roof if it was not removed.

Thus grand piano found a home in the main living room of Carmen and Eleazar's apartment in which, Carmen had determined had the best acoustics for when Edward eventually wanted to play it. For himself Edward did not believe that he would even play again and would actually go out of his way to not enter the room in which it resided.

Initially Carmen and Eleazar had thought the reticence was simply as a result of the destruction of his piano in Oberlin and the grizzly happenings in the conservatory. However after an aggressive confrontation between Edward and Carlisle the latter unthinkingly asked his mate to play his favourite composition, resulting in Carmen taking a distraught Carlisle out for a walk, while a shocked Eleazar stayed to calm Edward. It became very clear to them all that there was more to the trauma Edward experienced than he had shared.

Edward refused to expand further than that he did not wish to play again and requested that the issue be no longer raised. Edwards music was the biggest casualty of the events in Oberlin and one he believed that would never recover. He often felt resentful of Carlisle's slow movement back into medicine, when he seemed to be stuck without his passion, maybe for eternity.

So it was a massive surprise for Carlisle, Carmen and Eleazar, who had met up with the others on the walk home, to hear the sounds of the piano emanating from the apartment. They paused before opening the door, to listen to the loud and fast tempo piece. It was nothing that the trio had remembered hearing and as they listened they began to feel uneasy, throwing glances at each other, this did not feel right, there was something wrong.

Opening the front door, the concern became panic as they all caught the faint smell of dried blood, human blood. Swiftly moving to the music room Carmen gasped at the disaster in front of them. All furniture, barring the piano and stool where Edward was seated, had been smashed. The music books and sheet music that had resided in the floor to ceiling shelving was shredded to smithereens, leaving a carpet of parchment and paper over the floor.

Edward himself had not shown any indication that he was aware of the others presence, his playing was frenetic, in his left hand was a crushed up piece of paper, his body bowed over the keys, his face contorted in agony with sobs tearing through his body.

Stunned, Carlisle attempted to move forward, resulting in Edward emitting a ferocious growl. Carlisle paused, unwilling to continue further, but desperate to reach his mate who was in such agony. He silently appealed to Eleazar, who in turn looked at his wife. Eleazar was not keen to put his mate in potential danger, but he was willing bet that Edward would never harm Carmen, and even if he tried Carmen could well and truly defend herself.

While the two males stepped out of the room, Carmen walked along the wall until she was in Edwards line of sight. Edward gave a whimpered growl and raising his eyes he looked directly at Carmen, his expression full of pain. Carmen sighed and opened her arms out to the young vampire. Scrambling away from the piano he kicked the piano stool aside, throwing himself into Carmen's embrace.

Carmen held the trembling vampire, all the while trying to block out the scent coming from Edwards left hand. They stood in the firm embrace for nearly an hour, Carmen simply waiting for Edward to calm enough to want to let go. Getting him to talk was a long way down her list of priorities.

After five hours Edward slumped in her arms. Rather than having him fall to the floor, she folded him into her arms and carried him out of the room and into her sitting room, placing him gently on the large settee facing the courtyard windows. Carlisle and Eleazar, who had remained just outside the music room door for the entire time, followed into the sitting room, keeping their distance in case they trigger another episode.

Resting Edwards head on her shoulder, Carmen gently stroked his hair calming him further. Eventually his left hand relaxed and the crumpled bloodstained sheet of paper dropped into his lap. Moving slowly Carmen picked up the paper and quietly handed it to Eleazar who sat in the wingback beside her, Carlisle standing behind him.

Flattening the paper, trying to avoid the blood smeared over it. Eleazar was confused at the document, which was clearly a telegram, but had also been written on with ink. The addition of the blood made it macabre. With a sinking feel he read the typed text.

"MRS PEARSON, WEST COLLAGE STREET, OBERLIN, OHIO. THE SECRETARY OF WAR DESIRES ME TO EXRESS HIS DEEP REGRET THAT YOUR SON PRIVATE WILLIAM GEORGE PEARSON WAS KILLED IN ACTION IN THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS DUTY. ULIO THE ADJUTANT GENERAL."

Then in the bottom corner, in a hand he would recognise until the end of time, was the following…

"Dear Mr Cullen. The events at Oberlin are now concluded. Await further contact in regards to your confinement. Aro Volturi."