Chapter Two: Blame

(London, England ~ 1663)
(Charles' POV)
It was the first Sunday after news of Carlisle's death had reached us. My mother and I sat in a front pew of my father's church as he gave his sermon. I just wanted his sermon to be over, so that I could go back to the house. I had barely left the house since we got the news, preferring to sit up in Carlisle's room and spent the day surrounded by the only things that remained of my brother. I hadn't slept in my own bed since that day, either. I slept in Carlisle's bed, wrapped in the blankets he had slept in. I only went into my room to change clothes. We had many people come to the door to offer us their condolences, but after I refused to come down for the fourth set of visitors, my mother gave up on trying to get me down. My father had not been so quick to ignore it. Whenever our guests leave, my father came up to Carlisle's room with a switch and took it to my bare backside until I gave him false remorse. He would then leave me to my grief, my hatred only growing as he continued to give me an unjust punishment. Couldn't he understand I didn't care if people thought I was being rude? Couldn't he understand I just wanted to be left alone?
I looked up, and saw my father looking at everyone in the chapel, taking time to make eye contact with each person. His bible was closed, so I knew his sermon was over. This was some kind of announcement, but what could it be an announcement for?
"As all of you know" my father began his mysterious announcement, "In the most recent hunt to rid this city of monsters such as werewolves, witches, and vampires, four of our brave young men were lost. Three were dead, and one was taken by the monster and could only be assumed to be dead by now as well. One of the dead men was my eldest son, Carlisle. All of you knew my son, and knew what kind of man he was." There were nods from people in every corner of the church. Carlisle was a person who went out of his way to make sure anyone who he met felt welcomed, and many people went to him if they had concerns. Some went to him rather than my father. He knew the bible just as well, and was much more gentle with people. "My son was doing what he could to help keep this city safe from the very kind of monsters who killed him. Let us all work together to make sure his death was not in vain. If any of you see or hear anything that hints to the location of a vampire, werewolf, or witch, I urge you to come forward with your information. You will be greatly rewarded, and you will be serving the memory of my son. We are always looking for young, strong men to come forward and be brave enough to help in our hunts. If any such men sit here in this church today, you to would serve Carlisle's memory by coming forward."
I stared at my father, shock and anger mingling together. How dare he? How dare he use the tragedy of Carlisle dying to add to his damn hunts? How dare he say people accusing innocent people of being monsters was an honor to Carlisle's memory? How dare he call killing innocent humans honoring Carlisle? How dare he say men stepping forward to freely and willingly risk their own lives was an honor to Carlisle's memory? Those were the worst things people trying to honor Carlisle's memory could do! Carlisle hated the hunts, and hated watching his father burn innocent people. These hunts were everything Carlisle was set against. It was as if my father didn't even know Carlisle…didn't know, or didn't care. The side of me that was succumbing to anger said it was he didn't care. All he cared about was getting men to replace the men who died. He didn't care about Carlisle, or any of the other men! It took everything I had not to jump up and storm out of the church right then. I didn't care what people would say about me if I did that, but I knew it would make people look down at my parents. I didn't care if they looked down on my father, but I did care if they looked down on my mother. So for my mother's sake, I stayed where I was.

After the service, my mother, father, and I returned to our house, where my mother prepared lunch. Once it was made, my father blessed the meal, and he and my mother began eating. I picked at my food a little, but I didn't eat more than a few bites.
After a few moments, my mother spoke up, "Charles, are you ill?"
I looked at her surprised, "No mother, why do you ask?"
"You have barely eaten anything"
"I am not hungry" I answered calmly
"Do you not like the food?" my mother asked, "I can make you something else."
"The food is delicious, like all your cooking, mother." I said.
My mother opened her mouth to continue to question my lack of an appetite, but my father cut her off.
"Leave the boy alone, Annabelle" he answered, "If he doesn't eat now, he can wait until supper to get some food in him."
My mother shut her mouth and went back to her own food.
After a brief silence, my father soon picked up a new conversation. "I had three young men come to me after the service to tell me they wanted to help in the hunts. It is good to see young men who want to serve their city."
"If they wanted to serve the city, they wouldn't have waited until today to approach you" I said softly
"I beg your pardon, Charles?" my father asked
"They didn't come to you because they wanted to serve London, they came because of your rubbish about Carlisle!" I said loudly, getting angrier as I went.
"Charles, watch your tone" my mother said.
"My rubbish?" my father asked, "What rubbish are you talking about?"
"All the rubbish about joining in your damn hunt would be honoring Carlisle's memory!" I slammed his hands down on the table and stood up, causing my chair to fall over as I did so. "That is the last thing that Carlisle would want! He thought you were too quick to judge. He thought you were responsible for many innocent deaths! The only reason he didn't tell you himself was because the Bible says he needs to honor you!"
"Perhaps you should follow his example" my father said, "Before you earn yourself a visit to the woodshed with me."
I glared at him. "It's your fault! If you hadn't sent Carlisle on that hunt, he would be here right now! It's your fault he is dead!"
"Charles!" my mother cried out in shock as she stared at me. My father rose from his seat and grabbed the back of my shirt collar and used it to pull me out to the shed where we kept wood stocked for our fireplace and stove. Once we were in the shed, he proceeded to bare my backside and thighs for the punishment I knew I had coming, and then he bent me over a pile of wood and took down a heavy leather strap
"Charles, do you know why you are about to be punished?"
I nodded, "Yes sir."
"And why is that?"
"Because I said you were at fault for Carlisle dying."
"Do you wish to show repentance?"
I stood firm. I knew I was going to be punished for what I was about to say, but I also knew I was in the right. "No sir. I won't apologize for speaking the truth. Carlisle wouldn't be dead if it weren't for you. His blood isn't on the hands of the vampire that killed him…it's on yours."
"You have sinned, my son. The fifth commandment says to 'honor thy father'. You have failed to follow that commandment."
"You have also sinned!" I stood up and turned to yell at him, "The sixth commandment says 'thou shall not murder…and you have murdered many!"
"It was the Lord's will for those monsters to die" Reverend Cullen said, "They were no longer men and women, they are demons, and it is the Lord's will to purge the world of demons. I have not sinned, my son, but you have, and you will repent from your sins." my father said. With that, he brought the first strike of the belt down on my bared bottom.

WHAP!

I jumped, but refused to make a sound as my father brought the strap down three more times.
This is his fault. I thought to myself fiercely as the strap repeatedly fell down on me. He made Carlisle go on that hunt! If he hadn't made Carlisle go, Carlisle wouldn't have died. If Carlisle hadn't died, I would have any reason to blame him for Carlisle's death! This is his fault!
"You will never speak disrespectfully towards me, my son. That is not honoring me" my father said as the strap fell again.
As long as you don't taint Carlisle's memory with your lies, I won't speak disrespectfully towards you I retorted mentally.
"Honor thy father" my father said as he brought the strap down again. "It is one of our Lord's commandments, and it is a commandment you broke today."
I was silent at my father's words, but this time it was not because my pride refused to allow my father to see his actions getting to me. It was because of the words himself.

Honor thy father

How many times had Carlisle and I talked about that commandment? We had talked about it right before he left on the hunt.

{Flashback - 1 Week Earlier}
(No POV)
"Must you go on the hunt, Carlisle?"
23-year old Carlisle Cullen looked down at 12-year old Charles. He smiled at him reassuringly.
"You know the answer to that, Charles. Father told me to go, so I must go."
"I thought we both agreed father was too quick to point fingers. I thought you didn't like all the killing his accusations were causing."
"I do think he is too quick to judge, and I don't like the killings. However, you know the fifth commandment as well as I."
"Honor thy father and thy mother" Charles recited softly.
Carlisle nodded as he put on his riding gloves. "If I am to honor father, I must do as he asks of me, even if I do not like what he is asking." Charles looked at the ground with a pout on my face, upset that Carlisle was leaving. Carlisle placed one gloved hand under Charles' chin and forced him to look up.
"Will you do me a favor, Charles?" he asked.
"Anything for you" Charles said eagerly
"I know you don't get along with father, but please…while I am gone, would you please not do anything to infuriate him? For me?"
Charles nodded, "I'll try, but father isn't the most patient person, so I can't promise I won't accidentally infuriate him."
"Honor thy father" Carlisle reminded Charles. "If you keep that commandment while I am away, I will consider your promise kept."
{End of Flashback}

(Charles' POV)
I let my head drop as I thought about that last conversation with Carlisle. I had failed him. I had promised to honor my father until he came home, not until the hunt was over. Carlisle was still not home, and I had dishonored my father. I had failed Carlisle.
With that realization, the tears fell freely from my eyes. Carlisle's last request of me had been to honor my father, which is what he always did. He died honoring our father. If one wanted to honor Carlisle's memory, it would be to live as he lived…and I had done the opposite. I had been disrespectful towards my father, thinking that he was tarnishing Carlisle's memory, while in reality I had been the one to tarnish the memory. Carlisle would have looked on at me disappointingly if he had seen how I treated my father, and if he had known it was in his name I was acting like that, he would have been hurt and offended.
I noticed the belt was not falling as my body shook with my sobs, and I heard my father above me.
"Would you like to repent now?"
"Yes father, I would like to repent." I said as my body continued to shake, "I am sorry for breaking the fifth commandment, father." I am sorry I failed you, Carlisle, I added to myself.
A minute later, I heard the strap being hung back on the nail in the wall where it rested when it wasn't being used for correction.
"Stand up, son" my father said, and I did so, then refastened my clothes in place. I hissed as the fabric of my clothes was pulled up over my well-punished backside, and then followed him back into the house. My mother was in the parlor, and when I walked in, she got up, and held her arms open to comfort me.
"Annabelle, don't" my father said. "He was punished for his own actions. He does not need you to coddle him after paying for his sin."
I gave my mother a small smile to show her I was alright, and then slowly made my way upstairs, so I could have some privacy to think things over.
As I walked into Carlisle's room, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror that was in his room. My blonde hair was in a slight bit of disarray, and my soft brown eyes were red and swollen from crying. I went to sit on Carlisle's bed, but realized what a bad mistake that was, and instead laid down on my stomach. Carlisle would not want me blaming our father for his death, but part of me couldn't help but say someone had to be responsible for the death of my brother. Suddenly, a part of my father's announcement this morning came to me.

"My son was doing what he could to help keep this city safe from the very kind of monsters who killed him"

That was it! My father wasn't to blame for Carlisle's death, the monster that killed him was! If the monster, and other monsters like him, didn't exist, there would have been no hunts for Carlisle to go on. If there had been no hunt, Carlisle would still be alive. If that monster hadn't turned and attacked Carlisle, he would still be here.
My father had been right all along. Carlisle and I had just been to naïve to see it. There was only one answer to the problem of these monsters, and it wasn't reason or sympathy, like Carlisle had believed. It was as my father answer was elimination.

"They were no longer men and women, they are demons, and it is the Lord's will to purge the world of demons."

A new surge of hatred went through me. This time it wasn't directed at my father, but at all the monsters in the world, who killed people just so they could live, like the monster that killed Carlisle. These monsters had to be eliminated. All of them. And once I was old enough to help with the hunt, I would help carry out my father's mission of elimination. I would eliminate these monsters, so that the citizens of London would not need to fear anymore. I would eliminate these monsters so they could never hurt anyone like they had hurt me. I would eliminate these monsters for Carlisle.