Chapter 4
"First, I need to explain about being marked and how exactly they work", Isabelle explained, "the fact that it disappeared suddenly is what makes the charges suspect."
"In our world an innocent is not someone who is pure in thought and deed as in the human world. But rather someone who goes against their nature to better themselves, be all that they can be as the saying goes. You definitely qualify as an innocent, not only by going against your vampire nature to drink human blood but to be able to train yourself and deny your nature to the point where you can be a surgeon to humans, very few in our world are as innocent as you are Carlisle. Your nature and your actions are why you were selected to be marked. Your beliefs, ideals and the way you cherish human life are the reasons why I marked you personally. You are also the reason the new members of your coven were "given the benefit of the doubt" and also marked as they joined. The mark does not disappear with one or two offenses, it will slowly fade with repeated, malicious actions as the soul moves from light to dark."
"For example, when Edward went off for a decade his mark started to fade but he was never close to losing it. Yes he fed off humans, but by feeding only off the scum of the human world he actually saved human lives and slowed the fading of his mark. Rosalie's killing of the men who raped her did not affect her mark at all. Jasper, Emmett and Esme's occasional slip ups have never affected their marks either. Over time Edward's mark was fully restored, as his actions brought him back into the light. Do you have a better understanding of how the mark works now?" Isabelle asked.
Carlisle nodded, "But I have never seen a mark on myself or any of my family?"
"You will never be able to see it without the aid of a Guardian, but trust me it is there." Isabelle said. "When you return with your coven we will need to check all of your marks and if you like I can show them to you then. Now about the missing mark, your coven was checked a year ago and at that time Emmett's mark was gone. Remember that they fade slowly and yet it was if Emmett had never been marked. At that time a watcher was put on your coven and a separate one on Emmett to gather information and observe, nothing out of the ordinary has ever been reported. This is why we believe the charges to be false and agreed to investigate." What Isabelle didn't explain to Carlisle was that whoever did this either fabricated the evidence against Emmett well enough that they could manipulate even Emmett and his coven into believing he did it or they had used very powerful magic to remove it and had covered their tracks very well. The fact that the Guardians were not immediately alerted of the change to his mark and it was found during a random check made Isabelle think it was removed intentionally by someone powerful and very, very good at hiding their actions.
"The charges" Isabelle began, "are for one of the most serious crimes in our world. The crime against the human women is bad enough but with the risk of exposure added in, if found guilty, I expect destruction to be the penalty and not just for Emmett but for the entire coven." Carlisle had no idea where to start, his family lived in peace and hurt no one, why was this happening to them now? "But why" Carlisle started, only to be cut off by Gabriel. " If found guilty no one will believe that he did this by himself. Who better to help him then his father and brother figures? Does anyone outside a mate have more loyalty to him than them? Few people worry about the reasons behind an action, the action itself is what they seek punishment for." Carlisle knew Gabriel had a point. He had seen enough in his existence to know that most times the accusation was enough to condemn his family in most eyes, so what did they do now to fight this. "How do we fight this?" he asked.
Isabelle and Gabriel looked at each other before Gabriel spoke. "Have you been paying much attention to the human world lately? The taking of the women, the animal mutilations at Stonehenge and the sightings of wolves and animal attacks in Russia have people in the human world taking notice. What people would normally overlook is not happening now and the "crazies" are gathering a following. People are starting to believe again in the supernatural and that is not good for those who wish to remain hidden. Also, the way the charges were disclosed was very irregular. That it happened at a council meeting of the clans is normal, that they were anonymous is not. I believe that there is more at stake here than just your coven, possibly our entire way of life and the destruction of your coven could be what starts it all. This is why the Volturi asked the Guardians to step in and investigate, but having them do the investigation could present new problems I am sure the Volturi knows nothing about."
"How could that be a problem? They are mediators!" Carlisle declared. At his outburst Isabelle spoke, "Because the Volturi have no idea I marked you personally and I would bet that whoever brought the charges does. It will be argued, if you are found innocent, that I was not impartial and I would never destroy your coven. This, of course, will cause people not to trust the Guardians as I am sure it is meant to do. You must realize how your coven is viewed in this world. People's opinions on your way of life are very black or white. Either they understand and feel you should be free to live how you want or they consider you a freak against your nature and should be removed because of it. Either way your coven is a good way to start a clan war and possibly one with the humans as well. You must see the bigger picture Carlisle." Carlisle sat completely still for five minutes while he processed this information and then asked the question that he was sure sealed the fate of his family, "What should we do?"
"First you must understand that we can only speak freely within the castle walls. The wards my sons and I have put around the castle are strong enough to keep any but the fae out and I am 100% sure they are not behind this." Isabelle explained. "Once you leave here your memories will remain intact but Edward will not be able to clearly read your mind about things, they will be fuzzy as were your memories of Gabriel. Be careful of what you speak of with them. They must believe you are just going to look into why someone would set up Emmett and not the bigger scheme of things. Always remember that any one could be listening and probably is. It will appear as if the Guardians are doing nothing more than a regular investigation but please be assured that we will be doing much more. We realize, perhaps better than anyone, what is at stake. You are expected to return to the castle in two weeks time so your coven can be checked and we can obtain statements from them. There are standard procedures we do in interrogations, they will not be pleasant and you need to prepare them for that. You should be at the castle for three or four days and then be will allowed to return to your home."
At this point Gabriel turned to Carlisle, "when the time comes four Executioners will be sent to escort your coven back to Hamilton Castle. In the meantime talk to your coven and the Volturi, they will be expecting you to contact them. Make arrangements to go to them, you need access to the most ancient history and documents and the Volturi have that. Edward, Jasper and Alice need to be on constant guard for anything out of the ordinary and write it down. Do not discuss anything specific until you are back here inside the castle. Look carefully at what is not there as well as what is. If someone is hiding their emotions or thoughts, maybe Alice sees someone's future disappear or can not see it at all. Take note of all of it, in the end we do not yet know what may make the difference. Do you understand? Your coven must be ready for this task Carlisle, at the very least their lives all depend on it." Carlisle assured Gabriel that he understood and he would make sure his coven did also, they would be ready when the time came.
As Carlisle stood to leave Isabelle spoke, " Leif and Soren will escort you back to your home. They are the two that brought you here. I would like to apologize for their rudeness, they should have introduced themselves to you. Be safe Carlisle." She called for her two sons, Leif (the green eyed one) entered followed by Soren (the blue eyed one), kissed their mother on the cheek, nodded to their father and turned to Carlisle once again and said "Come" and then strode out of the castle leaving Carlisle to follow. Isabelle shook her head then turned to Gabriel stating, "They get their arrogance from you." Gabriel laughed and spoke, "that they do 'nam gràdh but it is part of what will help carry us through the coming battle." With that he plucked his wife up and over his shoulder to enjoy one of their last carefree days for while, her laughter following them out of the castle.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters.
'nam gràdh means my love in Scottish Gaelic