AN: An early chapter! I'll be changing the time of when I update. Next chapter will be up at this time tomorrow.

The trial continues. There are some pretty graphic descriptions of abuse here, I've tried to use a little medical jargon to soften the blow. Thanks for reading.

S. Meyer owns twilight

CHAPTER 16

BPOV

The trial was excruciating. Carlisle and Edward may have been the ones on trial, but each of the people I loved were being judged, seen through the lens of suspicion. I hated them; the audience and the jury. Aro was like a lion tamer at a circus. Directing their attention and focus to where it was needed and putting his own head in their mouths. It was a calculated risk, one that Peter said would work, but that was little comfort. They lay themselves bare and vulnerable; Aro, Marcus, Esme, Rosalie. My family. Then there was Alice. The worst was yet to come; she was defenseless, unable to voice her story, caught in a haze of broken thoughts and manipulation.

Carlisle and Edward had forced this exposure to happen. All for pride and acclaim, the pettiness of the situation hurt so much. Here we were; fighting for our kind, draining ourselves to protect our species and humans. We were risking our lives for them and, because of the pitiful men standing trial, we were the ones under suspicion. I felt a wave of calm from my mate and gladly accepted it, I pushed down my bitterness and focused on my duty.

The trial was going to continue any minute now. Hopefully the people who heard our pain had considered it beyond mere gossip. The Masters filed in and Aro took his place at the center of the room. I focused on my breathing and the sensations around me. I needed to shield myself. Let the words in, but not focus on them or feel them stab me with pain and anger. Aro spoke the room "thank you for your patience and consideration. We have a difficult time ahead." He nodded to Jane and Alec who brought Carlisle and Edward back. They stood in the place they had yesterday, their faces were a mask of neutrality. They should have been groveling.

"Carlisle, we have touched on your experiences in treating mental health care patients. Your passion for science and knowledge is evident. You maintained your knowledge over the centuries, digesting volume upon volume of literature. You worked with the humans during the times when doctors were desperately needed; Chicago during the Spanish Influenza, various hospitals in the post war era providing rehabilitation to war veterans, hospices, emergency rooms, a mental institution in Biloxi..." he trailed off and stared at Carlisle. Carlisle's face had paled slightly, but his expression hadn't changed. Edward was scowling at Aro.

"What was your role in that mental institution, Carlisle?"
"I was a hospital administrator and I treated patients."
"What treatments did you perform the most?"
"ECT was a new therapy that had been most effective in treating mental disturbance."
"It was supposed to be used within guidelines was it not?" Aro asked. Carlisle nodded.

"Did you follow those guidelines, Dr. Cullen?" I smirked behind my mask, Aro was teasing him. "Within reason." Carlisle was trying to hide his lies. It didn't work, Aro knew how to interrogate. "Please explain what you mean by 'within reason'."
"Some patients were improving too slowly under the voltage recommended in the literature. It stood to reason that the more disturbed the patient the higher the voltage needed to treat them."
"Are you saying you believe treating patients repeatedly with the highest voltage possible was preferable to following safety guidelines?" Aro asked. Carlisle nodded.

"Ms. Mary Alice Brandon was one of your patients, wasn't she?"
"Yes, she was admitted for the ability to see the future. She was mentally ill; depressed and in the midst of a psychotic break."
"You treated her?"
"Yes, ECT mostly."
"Mostly?"
"I had heard of a procedure that had been proven effective, the Leucotomy."
"Please, Carlisle, explain this procedure in detail."

"The patient would be rendered unconscious through ECT, a tool shaped like an ice pick would be lined up against the top of the orbital foramen. With a surgical hammer the tool would be knocked into the frontal lobe and manipulated. In America they called it a Lobotomy. It was very successful."
"Lie" Maggie's eyes were black. Aro kept going, "how many of these procedures did you perform?" I heard Carmen sob quietly. "Many, there were a lot of sick people that needed my care." Carlisle said stoically.

"Did all your patients receive this procedure?"
"No, there were some that improved with ECT and Insulin Shock Therapy."
"Lie." Maggie said. Aro asked his next question before Carlisle could react to Maggie. "How long were you employed in Biloxi?"
"Six months."
"Why did you leave?" Aro asked. Carlisle hesitated, I knew he was running through the excuses he'd used in the past. He sighed and answered "a patient died from a cerebral hemorrhage."
"Truth" Maggie confirmed. Aro kept questioning him "there was an investigation. What was the verdict?"
"Medical negligence."

"When Alice showed up on your doorstep as a vampire accompanied by Major Jasper Whitlock did you recognize her?" He nodded. "Did she recognize you?" He shook his head. "What would you say her mental health was like when she joined your coven?"
"She seemed fine. She was happy and we were happy to have her with us."
"Did you take advantage of her gift?"
"No" Carlisle's voice was soft. "Lie" Maggie stated. Aro continued, firing questions in quick succession. "Did you manipulate her to suit your needs?"
"No" Carlisle whispered. "Lie" Maggie countered. "She led you to great wealth, didn't she?"
"Yes, she'd have visions of trends in the stock market. She liked to shop so she needed a lot of money."
"Truth" Maggie confirmed.

"Did she ever come to you for advice on visions that hurt her?"
"No."
"Was it because Edward would see her visions through his telepathy and would report them to you?" Carlisle nodded. I heard Edward growl, Carlisle cut him off with a glare. "Did you and Edward ever use her visions to coerce her into manipulating others."
"No." Carlisle said. Edward was frozen and tense, Maggie instantly confirmed his deception "Lie."

"Were you aware of the visions Alice had pertaining to Major Whitlock's true mate?" They were talking about me again. I felt J stiffen beside me, he didn't know this either. Carlisle looked confused "no, I didn't know."
"Truth" Maggie confirmed. Aro looked to Edward "did you know of the vision Alice had of Major Whitlock's mate?" Edward jerked his head to nod. "When did you see his mate in her visions?"
"A month before she moved to our town." He gritted out.

Aro continued. "Her name was Isabella Swan. Why did you pursue her knowing she was the true mate of Major Whitlock?"
"Alice was upset she'd lose Jasper. She was going to leave the coven so they could be together. I convinced her to stay, I told her I would distract the human. I saw Bella was beautiful. I didn't intend to pursue her until I met her. Her blood sang to me, I enjoyed the challenge of resisting, especially with her mind silent to my gift."
"Why did you leave her?"
"Jasper attacked her, he's a monster."
"Lie." Edward glared at Maggie "he went after her when she got a paper cut. He would have killed her." Edward protested. Maggie shook her head "lie."

Aro turned to the jury "I have seen Edward's memories. When Ms. Swan got the paper cut Alice had a vision of Major Whitlock running to protect her from Edward who had lost control. Edward would have drained her on the spot. Edward threw her into a table full of glass causing Ms. Swan unnecessary injuries. When he heard Major Whitlock's growl it diverted his attention saving Ms. Swan from certain death."
"Truth" Maggie confirmed. Aro nodded at Maggie, grateful for her assessment.

He continued "Edward knew that if they stayed Major Whitlock and Ms. Swan would form a relationship and Alice would leave. To preserve the lifestyle he'd grown accustomed to he chose to strong arm his family into leaving."
"Truth." Maggie said. I could see movement in my peripheral vision, Emmett had buried his head in his hands. Esme raised her hand, thank fuck.

I walked numbly to the Master's quarters, J was next to me radiating pain. We only had a few minutes. Dad popped his head into the room and ran to us. "Shit! Follow me." We ran behind him. He was throwing on his cloak and mask and fumbling with a few strange looking bottles. He led us to the paddock behind the castle. He opened up the bottles and explained "this is tempered glass made with vampire ash and werewolf venom. Focus on your darkness."

His fingers glowed, the light focused on us. I let loose my rage, hate and disgust. My shield caught fire, black flames obscuring my vision completely. I felt J's emotions brush past my shield. The light pierced through my black flames, moving over my shield, creating a barrier between it and the flames. The light moved, scooping up the flames and clearing my vision. I saw the waves of darkness enveloping J break and condense as the light drew back. Dad guided it into the open bottles and quickly added the cork, pressing it down and sealing it.

"What the hell is that?" I breathed in shock. Dad explained. "When we arrived in Volterra I got in contact with the local witch coven. They had some knowledge of future and handed me instructions on making these bottles. Somehow Aro managed to obtain werewolf venom and I collected the vampire ash of the prisoners that were executed. The Masters got me in touch with one of their craftsmen who combined the materials and made these for me. The witches told me to make several, that they'd be needed to bring justice. I have filled quite a few of them from healing Marcus."

J smiled "I can probably fill a few more jars. I've been holding onto the negative emotions throughout the trial. I haven't absorbed them, I keep them within me waiting to be released." Dad was surprised "I don't like that you took all that on, but I'm grateful you did. Come back to my room and you can release it."

He led us into the room and handed us each a cup of bear blood and flask of vile human blood. We drank while he prepared the bottle. J finished and concentrated, I couldn't see anything happening, but dad had paled and put a cork in the bottle when J relaxed. "Those pieces of shit had caused so much pain. I look forward to seeing their sentence carried out." Dad said. He looked up at us "you'd better return to the throne room. Will you guys be okay?" J nodded and I answered "I'll be fine now. It's so close to being finished."
"Good. Alice will probably wake in a few days. We'll need all hands on deck."

We arrived just as Pete and Char had started walking in, we smoothly lined up behind them and walked over to our spot. The mood in the throne room was somber. I searched my peripheral vision and saw the audience and jury sitting and standing in silence. Some people were looking at Esme and Rose with sadness. Others were glaring, their black eyes focused on the place Carlisle and Edward stood before the recess. Carlisle and Edward were led in by Jane and Alec. When they reached their spot I saw a few of the jury members lean slightly away. I could only imagine the emotions J was feeling from them.

Aro turned to the audience "you came to observe the trial of Carlisle Cullen and his mate Edward Cullen. You have listened patiently to testimony from former coven members and witnesses. We thank you for your patience. We will open the floor to questions. We will answer any we are able to, but there are a few answers we cannot give." Eleazar moved forward "who changed Alice?"
"There was another vampire that worked at the Biloxi Mental Institution. He was Alice's true mate, he tried to protect her and got Carlisle fired. The nomads that attacked Ms. Swan killed Alice's mate, but not before her mate bit her and started the change."

"What will happen to Alice?" Randle, a nomad, asked. "We will do our best to heal her. The Healer has been working tirelessly for the last two months, repairing the damage." Each member of the audience asked questions. Some were asking for dad to heal them, some were asking questions about us, some asked about the mission to the southern states of America. When the jury asked their questions a few more details came out about Edward's rebellious period and Carlisle's suspicious behavior, people were starting to search their memories for signs of Carlisle's deception.

Edward lost it "fair weather friends and fools. None of you understand the meaning of loyalty. How dare you! Carlisle told you what he saw during his time with the Volturi and now you listen to them and a handful of bitches in heat instead of us? You disgust me." He spat. Someone called out from the crowd; "the feeling's mutual buddy!" Amused snickers broke out and lightened the mood for everyone in the room but the criminals.

Aro turned to Edward and raised an eyebrow "it's interesting you mention Carlisle's discussions regarding his time here. You're both lucky we aren't the tyrants you make us out to be or you'd be executed for treason. As it happens we are not concerned with your slander or whether our kind likes us. This isn't a popularity contest. Our sole aim in governing our kind is the safety of our species. Our biggest threat is knowledge, this is why we ensure our secret remains hidden from humans."

"You claim to concern yourselves with the safety of our kind, but you used Eleazar to hunt down gifted vampires for your collection. Our kind isn't safe from you!" Edward accused. Eleazar stood up "may I speak freely, Aro?"
"Of course" Aro agreed cheerfully. Eleazar began, "I came to the Volturi after years wandering alone. Eternity is a long time to spend drifting. They offered stability and a purpose in life. I aided the Volturi and I free-lanced. Many of the covens in existence today have utilized my services to identify the gifts of newborns they created. Gifts can be tricky and disorientating, I was able to give clarity to a lot of vampires.

"When I met my mate I asked Aro himself if I could leave, his words have stuck with me. He said 'your life is your own to lead it as you will.' Carmen and I met with Tanya and her sisters and have lived in peace ever since. I consider many in the guard and the kings themselves to be friends." Silence rang after his words. Maggie broke the silence by announcing "Eleazar is telling the truth."

Edward was determined to paint the Volturi black. "They force loyalty onto their guard! They use Chelsea to trap people to them!" He yelled. Aro shrugged "Chelsea strengthens the bonds in the guard with the permission of each guard member. Our kind does not work well in large groups, strengthening the bonds reduces the conflict that may arise through the concentration of people in our castle. There are many people in each level of the guard who have chosen to forgo the alteration. Furthermore, Chelsea cannot alter bonds if they don't exist. I have seen the rumors spread about us in the memories of many people. Where crimes are committed by a coven the punishments are always met. Any innocent people, gifted or not, are not recruited."

Tanya stood up "may I speak?" She asked. Aro nodded. "The sire of Kate, Irina and myself created an immortal child. Aro read us and saw we had no knowledge of the crime. Our sire was executed along with the child she turned. Neither Irina or myself are gifted, however Kate has a gift to incapacitate. At no point were we pressured to join. We stayed with the Volturi after the death of our sire, but we left when we had grieved and could move on."

Amun was watching, still suspicious. He stood up and asked "what if one of us has a coven member with a powerful gift? Would you swear in front of all of us to allow him to stay with his coven?"
"I swear" Aro kept his eyes locked on Amun's. Amun turned to Maggie "he's telling the truth Amun." He nodded and sat down again.

Carlisle had his hand on Edward's arm, his eyes pleading with him to stay quiet. Edward shook his arm off "you painted Carlisle as an incompetent, fraudulent doctor. You claim to be a man of science, how much pain have you caused? How do you use that knowledge? How can you call Carlisle cruel when you drink from humans! Carlisle saves their kind!" His voice had grown louder. He smirked at Aro, expecting to crack the king's calm veneer.

Aro didn't rise to the bait. "That is a good question, Edward" Edward's smirk grew, he thought he'd won. "We do drink from humans, perhaps Heidi will describe how she fishes for our food." Heidi stepped forward and explained "I, like many of you here, have connections to humans in the legal system. This system covers all of Western Europe. I receive a list of names from various officials who have been unable to prosecute those who have committed great evil. The humans don't have the resources available that we do; they can't see incriminating memories or scent out clues like we can. There is only so much they can do. When I receive these names I send out a package to each of the people named, it contains plane tickets and a letter of congratulations. They meet up with me for a 'tour' and I introduce them to Aro who confirms their crimes.

"We also patrol the streets regularly and those committing a violent crime are brought in to stay until the feeding." She stepped back and Aro thanked her. He turned to the Jury and audience and added "recently we have been able to supplement our diet with animal blood, our healer has been able to make it palatable and satisfying. Animal blood alone reduces strength and never satisfies our thirst. We must remain level headed enough and maintain our strength to fulfill our duties. We have strict rules for feeding on humans; the neck must be snapped immediately. There is no cause for increased cruelty.

"As for Edward's question regarding how I use my scientific knowledge, I have never harmed a human in the name of science." He gestured to Maggie "truth." She said and looked confused. Aro added "I also haven't harmed any vampires in the pursuit of scientific breakthroughs."
"Truth" Maggie confirmed. The audience froze in shock.

Aro continued "I have a confession for you, the blood we offered you yesterday was not human, it was animal blood, our healer enriched and improved the flavor." Conversation and angry mutterings started up "truth" Maggie said softly. "I am sorry to have deceived you this way. I do have an agenda concerning our feeding habits.

"For the last century I have been working with scientists to create synthetic blood that can keep us sated and wont weaken us. In the last few years we have had more success since the humans made headway in cloning technology. The samples we used were taken from hospital waste; cotton swabs from surgery, used needles et cetera. We have been able to create small amounts of blood, but it has been time consuming and lacked taste and nourishment. Thanks to our healer we may be able to create blood that tastes better than our traditional food source and satisfies us for longer."

"Why would we change our diets?" Mary took a step forward and asked. Aro answered her "human knowledge had evolved leaps and bounds since the inception of forensic science. It will be harder and harder to dispose of the bodies from our meal. This will pose problems in the future concerning our secret. We must evolve alongside."

"Why not just enslave humans?" A young teenager, Bree, asked. "We were all human once, we must remember that. Enslaving humans would upset the balance in the world. Conflicts would arise bringing forth a global war that would rival the Vampire Wars of the southern states in America. We are more civilized than that. We are not monsters who live on instinct alone, we can choose to retain our humanity and coexist with humans and share in their successes. Humans aren't just food, their sentient beings capable of great good and great evil, just like Vampires. They also possess weapons that could easily kill our kind."
"He's telling the truth." Maggie stated.

Edward looked desperate, he glanced towards us and looked smug. There was conversation amongst the witnesses, audience and jury. He yelled over them "he has aligned himself with agents of the devil!" The room silenced. Fuck. "They are the four horsemen of the Apocalypse!" He crowed victoriously. All eyes turned to us and Aro started to explain "they aren't evil demons Edward. They're vampires like you or I."
"Truth" Maggie said as Edward spoke "we are demons. We're soulless and damned." Many of the jury looked at Carlisle in anger. I was never sure if Carlisle had instilled those beliefs or whether Edward had adopted them from his strict, god-fearing upbringing.

Aro looked at him in sympathy "you were brought up in a conservative time in a household ruled by the Old Testament. It's a sadness that you have not found peace within your existence. Good and Evil reside within us, just as it does with humans. Evil is a choice, Edward. The Four Horsemen aren't here to end the world. They're here to save it, save us. They are recently returned from the Second Vampire War in America, they fought for the safety of human and vampire kind."
"Truth" Maggie said. Aro smiled at her, grateful for her assurance.

"Why do they wear masks?" Mary asked. Aro explained. "Their skill and abilities are strong, but they are still people who need peace. They sacrifice their time and risk their lives to protect innocents. They deserve to walk in the human world and vampire world without harassment. Please respect their privacy."
"He's telling the truth." Maggie said. I saw Alistair smile and nod at Aro.

Edward looked defeated. His eyes turned angry when he glanced at Carlisle. In some ways he had been betrayed too, but I couldn't find it in me to feel sympathy. Aro called the end of the trial and asked the jury to deliberate and come to a decision which would be given the following day. It was 7pm and we headed up to Caius' study to debrief with the others.

Charlie was sitting down with a cup of coffee. We entered, took off our masks and slumped into the arm chairs. Esme, Emmett and Rose walked in a short time later and announced "you might want to put your masks back on, Alistair wants to speak to you." We groaned and straightened ourselves up. A knock sounded through the door, Rose opened it. Aro had Alistair with him "Alistair was wondering if he could talk to the Horsemen. J walked forward and nodded. Pete, Char, J and I headed to the privacy of Aro's study.

Emmett POV

I knew they'd be gone a while, Alistair's story took some time to digest. Hopefully he had gained some trust for the Volturi. I turned to Charlie who was still masked "you may as well take it off, they'll be a while. You could get away with keeping your hood up and facing away from the door." He took his mask off. "Thanks Em, I've enjoyed walking around without wearing the damn thing today." He said in relief. I smiled "me too, Charlie."

"How did you guys go?" He asked and turned to Rose "I heard you had some trouble."
"I'm fine Charlie, I needed this so much." She smiled. Esme told him everything that happened in the trial.

"Christ, no wonder Bells and J needed to be healed." Charlie said. "They told me how you called recesses for them so they wouldn't look suspicious, thanks for being there for them."
"It was hard enough being a part of the trial, having to stay still while others talked for you and spilled your secrets would have been a nightmare" Rose said. She shuddered in sympathy for the Horsemen. I put my arm around her "it's over now. You and Esme were so brave." I kissed her cheek.

Marcus came in after we'd caught Charlie up, he went straight to Esme and knelt in front of her, looking at her intensely "are you okay?" He asked gently. She smiled widely. "I'm fine. It was hard, but we did it and now we're free." Her eyes sparkled with happiness. I'd have to ask J about their emotions. It looked like their relationship had changed.