Chapter 2
The car ride was quiet and long. The two men did not introduce themselves to Carlisle, so he took the hint and remained silent. As they drove north through the English countryside and into Scotland it occurred to Carlisle that he didn't know where they were going and to the best of his knowledge no one had any idea where the Guardians or Executioners lived. This did not put his mind at ease. Once they passed into the Scottish Highlands the men seemed to relax a little, as if they were finally on familiar ground. When they passed Drumberg you could smell the sea and both men inhaled deeply and slightly smiled as if saying I'm home. They had driven all night and 30 minutes past Drumberg the green eyed one said something in a language Carlisle didn't recognize and it felt as if the car and his body had shimmered through something. He wondered if they had done something to him even though he felt no change. They turned off onto a dirt road and in the distance he could see a stone dance on the right. During his centuries he had seen many stone dances in England, what surprised him about this one was that it was still standing and complete. When they topped the hill the forest opened up and there stood a huge castle. Carlisle felt like he had been transported to the London of his youth, only this was much older. It was a true Scottish castle, with a keep and village. It was historically accurate in every way, even down to the protective wall around the village and he wondered how they kept this hidden from the world. The car stopped in front of the castle doors; the blue eyed man turned back to Carlisle and said "Welcome to Hamilton Castle Mr. Cullen".
Carlisle was led into the castle and upstairs to what was obviously an office and told to wait for the Overseer. Minutes later when the door opened Carlisle was speechless, he knew this man. As he tried to remember the memory it was fuzzy, but that wasn't possible. He had met this man in Volterra as a vampire he was sure of it and if that was the case he should have perfect recall of that memory. The man chuckled at the look on Carlisle face and said, "Yes Carlisle we have met before. No I am not a mind reader but it is obvious what you are thinking. We met in Volterra once when I was reporting back from a mission. The Executioners prefer to remain as anonymous as possible and so the memories of those who meet us are altered so that details are forgotten. We do not like to wipe out entire memories unless absolutely necessary. Please, have a seat; I am Gabriel Hamilton, Laird to the Hamilton Clan and the Overseer."
Carlisle, for once, stumbled into his seat. This man had to be close to 7" tall, he had a good 3 inches on the other two he had met and his body was at least 2 times the size Emmett. He looked every inch of the Highland Warlord he was. Once again Carlisle got a whiff of lycan and the scent of the blue eyed one that he didn't recognize. Who are these people he wondered? One thing he knew was that whatever they are, they were higher one the food chain than vampires he knew he was the prey and Gabriel was the predator. So he waited for Gabriel to open the conversation.
"Carlisle," Gabriel started, "as you know a charge has been brought against your coven for abducting and trafficking in human women. Not only is this a serious charge but the fact it is being done carelessly without regard of the secrecy laws is also troubling. Because of your friendship with Aro and the Volturi the Guardians have been asked to step in and conduct the investigation of these charges. I am sure you do not know this but your coven has carried the mark of the Guardians since the day you were turned. My wife personally marked each member and has had a soft spot in her heart for them every since. Because of this, she knew immediately when one of the marks disappeared that some type of problem was occurring with your coven and has had someone watching your coven."
Carlisle didn't know what to say. His coven had been marked and was being watched. While he knew the mark was a symbol of honor in his world, the mark of an innocent. They fact that they were being watched was alarming. The Keeper had personally marked each of them and to then have such serious charges brought. She would be upset about this; it could be seen as a personal slight. Questions flew through his mind. How mad was she? Would he be given a chance to explain? And more importantly, why wasn't she explaining this? The fact that an Executioner was having this conversation with him did not go unnoticed. If he was given the chance to explain, how do you explain something you know nothing about? Carlisle had no idea where to begin.
Before he could Gabriel spoke again. "Let me first see if I can put some of you concerns to rest" he said. "You look as if you would have a headache if that were possible. My wife wanted to be here for this meeting but she has been delayed in Russia mediating a problem with the druids. She is very upset that these charges have been made, but in anticipation of this the watcher has reported that she has witnessed nothing out of the ordinary and Isabelle, my wife, expects to find them false. Isabelle expects to be home by tomorrow afternoon or the following morning at the latest, she would like for you to stay with us until then if possible so she may speak with you personally. You would be permitted to call your coven to let them know you are fine and put some of their fears about your safety to rest." When Carlisle was unable to hide the shock on his face fast enough Gabriel continued, "Carlisle, we would like to consider you a guest at the keep and not a prisoner."
Carlisle agreed to stay to meet with the Keeper and called his family who were not happy that he was staying but understood his position. He was given a room for his stay, told in what part of the surrounding forest he could hunt in if needed and allowed to explore the castle and village as much as he wanted. The sun decided to make an appearance so Carlisle explored the castle as much as possible. When you have the kind of senses that vampires do, especially sight and hearing, finding the hidden passages in a castle can almost be considered a challenge – almost. Eventually he made his way to the portrait hall; this held the family portrait of every Laird of the Hamilton Clan. Carlisle noticed several things about the portraits, most of the Lairds and their sons had the ice blue eyes he had seen on the one man (although the eyes of the wives seemed to vary), the Lairds obviously lived long lives (150 years on average if his math was right) and they always had sons – only sons. As he passed each portrait he began to wonder what are these people, instead of who are these people. He left the portrait hall and returned to the keep part of the castle to look over the fireplace where the most recent portrait of the current Laird and his family would be hung and if possible he would have gone into shock upon seeing it. Isabelle was standing behind her sitting husband, their heads close to each other, surrounded by their 10 sons (including the two who escorted him to the castle), all looking at their mother with love and adoration. Carlisle recognized the woman in the portrait, although he didn't know her as Isabelle, and as he stepped closer to the painting he whispered "Bella".
A/N: I keep forgetting to do the disclaimer so here goes – I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.
Also, the keep is the large dining hall part of a castle.