A/N: Thank you again for the lovely reviews, I am having way too much fun working on this and hope to be able to keep up this steady rhythm of posting. In this chapter we change POV, I was a little hesitant to write from Carlisle's point of view but I don't think it went too badly after all, let me know your thoughts! For those that are interested, the song I had on repeat for much of the time while writing was The Best Today by Keaton Henson.
It had been an unseasonably warm month of January for the town of Ithaca. The recurring topic of conversation at the hospital was the absence of a single flake of snow since winter first shook the leaves from the trees. I had taken to working nights to avoid the sun's lingering rays and hiding away in my study during daylight hours. We had not had any news from Edward since his brief phone call on Christmas Eve and Rosalie and Emmett were making their way through an extended tour of the British Isles. With only four of us at home, an unnatural calm had seeped its way into the bones of the 300-year old structure. We each had our own manner of trying to instill some kind of normalcy into days that felt anything but. Despite that, I could see that Esme suffered. Could see how her eyes glanced out the window every time the wind brought the sound of phantom footsteps running home.
On one such occasion she stood in front of the window, her eyes staring into the surrounding forest hoping to see the blur of one of her children racing through the trees. I walked up next to her and slid my arm around her waist. She leaned into me and sighed, resting her head against my shoulder. As I leaned down to place a kiss on the top of her head, a small gasp sounded from upstairs.
"Carlisle. Wha-" Alice's bewildered voice was hardly more than a whisper. Esme and I turned towards the staircase in time to see her and Jasper appear at the foot of the stairs.
"Alice?" I could hear the weariness in my voice, knowing her gasp could mean only one thing. A sudden vision alluding to some turn of events none of us could have anticipated.
She glanced at Esme before turning to look at me, unease clouding her features, "It was you Carlisle. And you were in Volterra."
I froze in shock. All human mannerisms of breathing and shifting and movement disappeared as I succumbed to a stillness only known to others of my kind. Volterra. A place I had not returned to in more than two centuries. Memories of my time there unfurled before my eyes. Moments of discovery and contemplation, yes, but many more of unspeakable cruelty and depravity. Esme slipped her hand into mine before asking Alice, "What was he doing there? Was he alone?"
Alice looked down at the floor, "I don't know. It was nothing but a flicker of a vision." She looked into my eyes before continuing, " You were in the same room as the one portrayed in the painting upstairs, that's the only reason I recognized the location. I could not see who you were with. But you were kneeling with your hands clasped behind your back, your head bowed as though you were praying or asking someone for forgiveness. That's it, that's all I saw".
My mind began to race, recalling every single instance in which I had been in that room to witness as Aro and his brothers upheld their vision of justice. To watch as they acted as judge, jury, and more often than not, executioner. What looming turn of events was destined to bring me to my knees before them?
"You say it was just a flicker of an image, Alice? Maybe it resulted as nothing more than a passing thought that someone had in Volterra. Not a fully formed decision?" Esme's voice was hopeful. Desperate to find an explanation for a vision that had everyone leaping to the worst of conclusions.
"Perhaps, and her visions are not necessarily set in stone," replied Jasper. I appreciated his effort to reassure her but the glance we shared above Esme's head betrayed his true feelings on the matter. He knew as well as I did that if Aro had decided to summon me that there would be no second-guessing on his part. No way to thwart the outcome of Alice's vision.
At last I found my voice and was surprised to hear the confidence that belied my true dread. Only Jasper would be able to pick up on that and judging by the waves of reassurance he was sending my way I had no doubt that he did.
"We will just have to wait. For the moment we have received no indication that Aro wants to see me. If that day comes, then of course I will have no choice but to heed his summons."
Esme stopped me, "Are you sure there would be no other option?" But even as she asked the question I could hear the doubt in her voice.
"Yes, love, I am sure. We could try to run and hide in the four corners of the earth. But that would be just as good as an admission of guilt, and guilty of what we can not even be sure. Not to mention, with the tracking abilities of Demitri, the sheer force of their guard, and all the time in the world, they would catch up to us eventually. And I fear the outcome would be much much worse than if I present myself to Aro as soon as he asks it of me."
The others heard the reason in my arguments but it did not make it any easier to accept.
"We will continue to live as we always have, until the day that we receive news from Volterra. For after all, we have done nothing wrong. In the meantime, we can allow ourselves to hope that whatever my reason for being there is, is a harmless one."
Jasper and Alice nodded solemnly, before slipping out the back door and disappearing off into the woods. I turned towards Esme and pulled her into an embrace. We stood in silence, unwilling to allow the smallest breadth of space between us.
"We will go with you of course, " she insisted.
I sighed, "I think it is best we wait and see what Aro asks of us. If I am the only one he mentions, the only one he invites, then I could not in good conscience bring you with me into that city. It is a risk that I am not willing to take."
"But you should not have to face whatever awaits alone, Carlisle."
"Aro is an old friend, I am sure we have nothing to worry about." I could tell she did not believe me but I needed to speak the empty reassurances as much for myself as for her. We would know soon enough what awaited me in the ancient walled city.
In the end, we did not have to wait long. The following morning, tucked in between the rest of our mail, was a small brown envelope. There was no return address to give any indication of its sender but its origin was obvious. I carried the small pile of mail into the kitchen and placed the rest of it on the counter. Sitting down on one of the stools, I studied the envelope. In the centuries that had passed since my departure from Volterra, I had yet to come face to face with Aro and his brothers. Aro and I had exchanged letters on occasion, an infrequent correspondence with at times a decade or two between letters. The letter I held now gave no indication of being any different from the handful of other ones I had received over the years. But the sense of foreboding emanating from my unbeating heart prevented me from opening it nonetheless.
A small hand grasped my shoulder, I turned to see that Esme had arrived unnoticed by me. She smiled sadly before reaching out and taking the envelope from my grasp. Without a word, she slid her finger beneath the flap and pulled out a single sheet of paper. I watched her face, hoping for a sign as to what the contents of the letter might be.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath before a look of determination settled across her features, "Please bring me with you".
I pulled the letter from her hand and looked down at Aro's unmistakeable scrawl.
To Carlisle Cullen,
Your presence is requested in Volterra. I will be
expecting your arrival within the week.
Yours respectfully,
Aro
I had spent the better part of the night preparing for this but it did nothing to dampen the unease that washed over me upon reading his message. In the hours since Alice's vision I had planned for a number of different situations.
"We will travel together to France. You, Jasper and Alice, and Emmett and Rosalie if they wish, can remain at our home in Normandy while I continue on alone to Volterra. It is only a few hours away but still far enough that the Volturi will not know you are near. If they truly do have a grievance against me there is no reason to implicate the rest of you," Esme opened her mouth to interject but I pressed on, my voice infused with all the affection I felt for the woman before me. "Esme, if something were to happen to me, though I truly do consider it unlikely, the others would need you. If I am going to see Aro I need to go into that chamber knowing that the rest of you are safe."
Esme thought for a moment, her eyes locked on mine before nodding in agreement. She tilted her head up towards mine and our lips met briefly. Taking the letter from me and scanning the words again she whispered, "and Edward?"
I sighed, wishing more than ever that my first true companion in this world was here now. I knew there was little chance that I would see my youngest son again before making my way to Italy. Hoping to appease the Volturi leader, we would be taking the earliest flight possible. The last time we had heard from Edward he was in South America, even if he did answer our call it would take him much longer to arrive on the European continent. "If we are able to reach him we must tell him as soon as possible." Though both of us knew that unlikely, Edward had yet to answer our calls, preferring to contact us himself every couple of months.
It was time to prepare for our departure, "Jasper?"
Within seconds he was downstairs and stood before us, "yes, Carlisle?"
"Can you book the plane tickets? We will fly into Paris and then make our way to the house in Normandy. Have Alice call Rosalie and Emmett and fill them in. Contact Jenks and make sure everything is in order. Esme and I will try to reach Edward." He nodded and headed back upstairs, busying himself with the logistics of our parting.
I turned back towards Esme, "I am going to let the hospital know that something has come up. Meet me upstairs? Together we will try and get through to our son."