Summary: the High Elder Amelia arrives for the Awakening and reveals a secret about Lady Laima. Gabrielle builds a psychological profile of Edward and his issues, confronts him over his reasoning and imposing will and informs him about the likely sentence he would be given.
"There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction."
John F. Kennedy
Bella was silent in the aftermath of the soul-link. Because Edward's trial had not concluded, had not even begun in fact, none of the witnesses who had come to their aid on New Year's Eve were allowed to speak with them, in case it influenced their respective testimonies.
They were in a large sitting room or parlour that looked reasonably Victorian, as compared to the rest of the castle. According to Gabrielle and some of the other vampires, Castle Corvinus was initially carved into the very rock of the mountains themselves. It was where the first vampire Markus and his wife Lady Laima took refuge when they were sheltering whilst searching for Markus' brother William, the first Lycanthrope werewolf, and other world-shaping events in magical history which humans, even magical humans, had largely forgotten about. It had been carved into the rock using magic and later, with Markus' father Alexander's aid they had built this castle using a combination of magic, artificial engineering and supernatural strength. The style wasn't actually Gothic as Bella initially thought, but far, far older. It felt that way too. The fortress had been expanded over the various millennia: first the vampires had tunnelled down into the very depths of the Carpathian Mountains before expanding outwards over time, and then building towers which soared upwards into the skies. None of the Cullens had seen the city below, the very heart of vampire culture and civilisation, but the entire castle and the expanding city was centred and expanded around from the natural cave where Markus had initially sheltered within after the transformation of his brother into the first werewolf and, not long after, this was where his own transformation into the world's first vampire had taken place and where he spirited his lovely wife to safety and transformed her. This was the birthplace of all vampire-kind.
Bella couldn't imagine what it must have been like, especially considering there was no one else with him and no one to guide and teach him, to stop him if he so much as preyed upon innocent people. And to suddenly discover that the sun was capable of burning you to a crisp without powerful magic or some evolutionary biological defence, or that you had to drink blood, including human blood, to survive… It must have been terrifying, horrific: a living, unending nightmare. The hints of the story of how it had all come about had piqued her interest, but not enough to relieve the dull mood and the depression she found herself in. Perhaps another time, she thought, when Ness- Renesmee had arrived. Perhaps she would be interested and they needed something to distract them.
The room they were in looked like it was decorated and designed in the Victorian Gothic style. It was decorated in tastefully subdued tones of black, red and rich walnut wood panels. Lit candelabras were mounted upon the walls and hung from the ceiling and a rose-coloured carpet made of wool blanketed the floor. Ornamental brass lamps with opaque black shades rested on antique mahogany end tables beneath the elaborately carved wood mouldings running along the borders of the ceiling. Unlike some of the oldest sections of the fortress complex, they had windows but as of that very moment, they were draped with heavy burgundy-coloured velvet curtains even though it was already nighttime.
Vampires of every species loitered, some casting curious glances towards the Cullens' direction. At least a few of these glances were venomous, especially from certain members of their kind and in particular in regards to her. Bella was too numb to care. She clutched the glass of blood in her hand, which Rosalie and Esme had forced her to drink. Out of the corner of her eye, Bella could see Siobhan and Maggie casting her inquisitive looks as if wanting to catch her eyes, with Liam being both reproachful yet also… patiently waiting for an explanation. She could feel Tanya, Kate, Carmen, Eleazar and Garrett doing the exact same thing as Siobhan and Maggie. Benjamin and Tia along with Zafrina, Senna and Kachiri whom she had only seen briefly, all gave her curious glances, while Kebi's eyes narrowed and Amun glared venomously. Charles and Mackenna, who had come with the Volturi but had testified on behalf of their innocence, were conversing with another vampire, too busy to even notice the Cullens. Peter and Charlotte looked bewildered at Jasper, also clearly wishing for an explanation while Randall looked both concerned and confused. Alistair however looked… guilty... and ashamed. There were no other words to describe it.
Carlisle had been bemused and Esme taken aback. Did Alistair regret not being there for the Cullens on New Year's Eve? Did he feel guilty? And where in the world were Stefan and Vladimir? Shouldn't they be here, especially if this was their home turf?
Nahuel, his aunt Huilen and the girls who could only have been Nahuel's sisters were also there. The three girls, particularly the blonde girl, all looked shaken. Carlisle did not see a sign of a male that went with them that could be Joham. So this meant that he was killed, either by the Volturi or the Death Dealers. Either that or he was being imprisoned, possibly awaiting trial.
Either way, none of his children seemed to mind his absence very much. They seemed to be preoccupied with other matters on their mind. Carlisle watched as Nahuel leaned closer to speak with each of them softly, his expression gentle.
Radu, the regent of the coven, was speaking with Gabrielle. Her brow was furrowed. Radu spoke softly, too soft for even vampires to overhear, or maybe Gabrielle had cast some magic to ensure they wouldn't be overheard. Either way, Carlisle was surprised to see Radu place a hand upon her arm. Gabrielle… didn't pull away. She looked worried, upset and saddened.
It wasn't the reversal of the imprint bond between Quil and Claire; according to all accounts, including Quil and Claire themselves, both were alright.
Claire and Quil's imprint bond had been successfully reversed. Now Quil was spending a few days in recovery, same as Claire, although in separate places. Soon, Sue would take Claire on a day trip to a theme park and then she would bring her home to her parents in the Makah reserve. Quil meantime would be excused from pack duties on account of helping his grandfather who claimed to be going for a medical check-up.
Everyone seemed optimistic about the two of them, and that had given each of the Cullens including Bella- with the obvious exception of Edward who was still unaware- hope for both Quil and Claire's individual future happiness along with Ness-Renesmee and Jacob's. While Sue had revealed that Quil was saddened, he seemed to be taking it better than they had expected him to. He knew he was strong enough to find happiness on his own and he it looked and felt like he had had a heavy burden lifted from his shoulders. He was sad, yet he was feeling more optimistic towards the future. Quil was still incredibly wary and anxious, not wishing to think about Claire all too much since he feared that he would go look for her and that would make him imprint on her all over again, or worse, on another little girl that reminded him of her. The idea made him feel queasy. He avoided all mention of her, apart from the initial reassurance that she was well, happy and going far away with Sue and then back to her parents.
Although Gabrielle reassured him that something like that imprint would never happen with him again. particularly the next time he imprinted, Quil was still terribly uneasy; they all were, at least the Wolves that already knew and the Council of Elders. None of them wanted to imprint so soon, and they were also deathly afraid that someone who didn't know would imprint, especially without any of the others and the Council of Elders knowing it, and then they would pursue said imprint as aggressively as Sam and Jacob had with Emily and Renesmee. Gabrielle said she understood but she frowned, reminding them that, despite everything that had happened, this instinct was there for a reason, even if it was messed up and required a little fine-tuning and surgery to fix. The more they tried to deny themselves, deny their very nature, the more the higher the chances that it would only end in disaster. She could not get rid of their Pull instinct and she feared the consequences on their species even if she could.
"Your species is newly-emerged compared to the rest of the Loup-Garoux, have never had females phase before, have had fewer numbers and have gone for two generations without phasing," she warned them. "Yet during the past few years you've had a massive swell in the numbers of your population- far larger than previous packs of your species, yes, but all too soon to gain such numbers in comparison to the growth rate of the other species of Loup-Garoux. Not to mention, you have more individuals feeling the Pull as compared to previous generations, but it appears to be one-sided since there are only human females around for the majority of you. Also, you're generally the size of barnyard horses in your Wolf forms and now you have three Alphas. The population is split into two packs each led by an Alpha and now there's a clear successor on who the next leader for either pack is going to be. This is all too much much too soon, which is a clear indication that your genes are racing to catch up with the demands of evolution and the other Loup-Garou species. If you so much as try to suppress your inner nature and the magic in your blood, it can only backfire." Gabrielle finished the ominous warning explaining to them the dangers of suppressing one's magical nature. She used the examples of Obscurials, children who were the hosts of an Obscurus, the parasitical magical force Gabrielle had described during the Volturi's trial.
Bella winced when she remembered the conversation.
"Do you think they're insane?" She asked quietly.
Gabrielle blinked. "Alexander and Jehanne?" She asked softly.
Bella nodded, remembering the birth names of the twins.
Gabrielle sighed and closed her eyes. "I have no doubt."
Bella was aghast. She wasn't the only ones. They were standing in a sitting room or parlour of sorts where members of their species were congregating once they had recovered from the shock of all the revelations of the Volturi's trial.
Gabrielle looked saddened at Bella. "Think Bella," she urged. "Do you remember your transformation?"
Bella winced. "Our transformation takes place for three days," Rosalie whispered. Her eyes shimmered with the tears her body was no longer able to produce. "Three days of feeling like you're being burned, without stopping, even when you wish you were dead so it can all be over."
Gabrielle nodded. "For other species the pain is so intense and their systems cannot cope with the overload and they die of the shock. Your species' transformation is actually less… intense than that of the others'. It has to be, otherwise it wouldn't matter if you don't drain a human dry of blood because the virus is enough to kill them by itself."
Bella reeled back in horror at the thought that it could have been worse. Rosalie, Esme, Emmett, Alice and Jasper looked horrified, and even Carlisle was reasonably disturbed. Even the others who had been listening in on this conversation just before Radu had come into the room.
"Yet imagine feeling that at such a young age- or even as a toddler," Gabrielle pointed out. "Toddlers themselves… do you know why Immortal Children are often violent and uncontrollable?"
"They're frozen right?" Bella asked, slowly, dread rising within her for reasons she couldn't explain. "Frozen at their level of development…"
"Not just that," Gabrielle confirmed. "The intensity of the pain, the shock of the transformation, and in your species' case their inability to naturally sleep and rest, replenishing themselves mentally… along with the horrifying trauma of not only the agony of transformation but the need to prey upon blood, particularly human blood… That's more than enough to scar and traumatise a child in the worst ways possible. How does a small child deal with the fact that not only monsters too horrifying for them to understand not only exist but they have become one as a matter of fact?" She frowned. "Even an adolescent child…" she trailed off meaningfully.
Bella swallowed. On top of it all, the twins had seen their mother butchered before being tortured and burned alive at the stake as children, and then forced to become blood-drinking vampires and psychologically and emotionally manipulated and groomed by Aro to be his personal thugs and heavies. They could also never grow up, according to Gabrielle. They felt the frustration of being frozen, old enough to be aware that they were stuck yet to feel frustration because they were unable to do anything about it. They lashed out and had become sadistic, if only to make not only their victims, perceived wrong-doers who endangered their kind or humans who would have endangered them like those witch-hunters, feel pain, but to test whether or not they could feel anything, any sort of emotion or sensation within them, physical or otherwise. They were frozen, removed from humanity and from their very nature. Twisted and warped into tools and weapons that Aro could use and unleash upon his enemies, rivals and potential threat to his reign and power.
They had lived like this, under Aro's thumb and control for thousands of years. Gabrielle confided that if Chelsea did do something to keep the twins loyal, it certainly wouldn't have helped their states of mind.
It was just too horrifying to contemplate. Bella felt sickened just thinking about it.
Gabrielle stood, nodding to Radu who kept his eyes on her as she glided over to the Cullens.
"The High Elder Amelia's entourage is approaching." She warned. "Markus will be awakened and rise from the earth at the toll of midnight."
If their hearts could still beat, they would've jolted. As it happened, every single vampire of their species fell into silence at the knowledge that their universal creator, the first of their kind and their progenitor, would soon rise and be among them.
This was a legendary moment. To say it was historic was certainly understating it. Carlisle's eyes were wide, and so were the eyes of every vampire of their species from Amun to even Alistair and Garrett. The other species were whispering and talking excitedly amongst themselves; clearly this was a celebration to enjoy.
It also helped that Carlisle had heard that Amelia's son David was getting married before his mother would go under the earth. She had postponed it for a few days due to the historic importance: her son's bride was Markus' daughter Ruxandra.
So for a while, both High Elders would be present for what was the vampire's equivalent to a royal wedding which sounded exciting to just about everyone else, apart from the Cullens. Even Alice was too depressed. This would come after their species were formally integrated and welcomed into the Confederation and the High Council which coincided with Markus' Awakening- an auspicious coincidence apparently, Carlisle mused. Everyone seemed to think so. Many of them, Carlisle included, were eager and curious to see Markus for themselves with their own eyes, and to speak with him if possible. And then they would not only have their history, culture and physiology and powers recorded within the Book of Erebus, the vampires' equivalent of the Bible, but they would be privy to all its secrets, and all the secrets and mysteries of their kind.
It was hard not to be excited. However, their mood was considerably dampened at the thought and their worries about what was going to happen to Edward.
He was still being held in the dungeons. They all took turns speaking to him, but Edward was completely depressed. Bella had put off speaking to him after confronting him when they last returned to the Carpathians.
Carlisle didn't know what she had said to Edward, but Alice had sobbed brokenly in her room in their suite. Jasper had simply been there for her and tried to console her, and Rosalie and Emmett gave him and Esme sad looks, shaking their heads when they asked what had happened. Either way, with Esme's comparison of Edward and Jacob to Charles and Royce King the Second, along with the revelations about the extent of how far Edward and Jacob had both been willing to go in regards with Bella and Renesmee both… Carlisle had an awful sinking feeling that Edward and Bella would not emerge from this intact and whole as they had previously done with James, the breakup and attempted suicide in Volterra, with Victoria and the newborns, even the whole debacle or love triangle between Edward, Bella and Jacob, with the perilous pregnancy and the threat of attack from Sam's pack, and the Volturi's arrival and confrontation with them on New Year's Eve. It was as if every ugly thing, every deed and action the three of them had ever committed, even if it had seemed like a minor and unimportant mistake at the time, had come under a new light and was revealed to be far worse, far more horrific and malignant than they had ever imagined or perceived them to be.
Carlisle knew, for example, that Edward had broken up with Bella in what he had perceived to be for her own good. But Carlisle had never imagined for one minute that Edward had taken her out into the middle of the woods to do so, and that she had, clumsily as was with her human nature, tried to follow him, only to fall and become stranded almost to the point of hypothermia, and where her father had gathered all his cops, all the park rangers and some volunteers, including members of Sam's pack, to search for her. Bella had apparently been catatonic for months, and even once she had emerged had suffered from a severe clinical depression- among other things... Of course, Carlisle wondered why neither Charlie nor Renée had ever pushed for their daughter to be treated, even though, by her own shameful admission, Bella herself had thrown a tantrum and became a vegetable yet still refused to see even a counsellor or a psychologist. Her lack of diagnosis and proper medical treatment and care, or at least supervision could have ended in disaster as the harsh breakup and the traumatic manner under which it had been played out had seriously affected Bella's fragile self-esteem and the state of her mental health. Edward's prior emotional and psychological manipulation of Bella, all the 'gas-lighting', had also made things worse, especially since he and Bella had been going out for six months by that point.
Carlisle clenched his hand into a fist when he remembered the words that Bella had confessed Edward had told her during their breakup in September 2005: "I'm tired of pretending I'm something I'm not, Bella... You're not good for me, Bella... I'll make you a promise in return, I'll promise that this will be the last time you see me. I won't come back..."
And to say them once he had brought her into the woods no less! Carlisle gritted his teeth. Leah had said it best: a breakup by text message or email would never have told the recipient that they were this disposable and worthless. Besides, Carlisle was now forced to face the facts: while Edward was certainly sorry that he had hurt Bella and caused a great deal of emotional and psychological damage, not to mention physically endangered her (which above all else, seemed what Edward worried about the most, which made Carlisle huff at that) , he wasn't remorseful and sorry that he took matters into his own hands and foolishly, naïvely made a decision that enforced his will upon Bella. At least not until she confronted him very recently. Why else would he keep insisting upon imposing his will upon her and Renesmee? And he certainly wasn't sorry that he emotionally and psychologically manipulated her, or Renesmee, if he felt it was for their own good. Or the rest of the family, for that matter.
That wasn't true remorse. Carlisle was certain that neither Edward nor Jacob had ever apologised to Bella about making plans to trick and enforce an abortion upon her while Rosalie and Esme's- and Emmett's- backs were turned. They just preferred to pretend that none of that had ever happened and that they wanted and loved this baby from the start.
Carlisle shook his head inwardly at his own foolishness in not spotting the cracks of the so-called perfect façade any sooner. It was abundantly obvious, looking back now, that neither of them felt genuine, true love for Renesmee or her mother. Not before or after she was born. And they never clued in on it when it seemed so obvious now. Edward loved what he believed was a perfect ideal image of a child, a miniature Bella. Or at least, the woman he believed or wanted Bella to be. He may have showered her with more love and attention than she had received from anyone before, Carlisle decided, but he never knew her, nor did he care to truly know her.
Was it any wonder that Bella, who had grown up emotionally distant from her father and been bullied and mocked for being the caretaker for her dependent mother, had her self-esteem and all sense of self-worth practically destroyed? Was it any wonder she sought Jacob afterwards and had absolutely no idea how to let him go even if not to hurt him? Even if she, by her own admission, had been using Jacob?
According to Bella's own admission when Carlisle pressed her for answers, she had done some 'pretty stupid things' after the break-up. Things which caused concern in Carlisle for the state of her mental health and which Bella herself certainly would never wish her own daughter, or anyone else including other children, to repeat: including approaching random strangers and going for joyrides on their motorcycle, leaving her friend in Port Angeles while that happened after dark, riding motorbikes without a license and pulling money from her own college fund to get Jacob to build them, leading Jacob himself on without ever intending to even be with him, as well as, of course, jumping off the cliff which led to Edward attempting suicide and going to Volterra in the first place… and naturally, according to terrible coincidence, being responsible in part for the Della Rosas' misfortune along with the deaths of the other non-magical humans who happened to catch sight of Edward.
But Carlisle couldn't judge: it wasn't as if he and Esme had put their own feet down when Edward insisted that the entire family move, and they had even agreed to go first while he said his goodbyes to Bella. As it turned out, Edward hadn't even given Bella the family's contact details so they could ensure that she was truly alright, anymore than he had passed onto her their farewell messages as they had requested. Edward had been so utterly self-assured, so determined to do things his own way and force Bella into doing something which was supposedly for her own good, even if he had to crush and totally destroy her spirit and mind, along with her heart. Carlisle was more than reasonably angry with him for that, and so was Esme- they all were.
But Edward had been right to leave, if not then to stay away, Carlisle thought darkly. If only he had been consistent. This was an unhealthy, poisonous relationship from the beginning, enough to drive the couple and anyone involved with either of them insane. Even Bella was now forced to agree on that point. Same as her relationship with Jacob and his relationship with Renesmee, along with the couple's parenting approach towards their daughter under Edward's prompting and supervision. If Carlisle or Esme, or even Rosalie, Emmett or Jasper had known that Edward was stalking Bella to and from school in the first place, or that he had even broken into her house and into her very room while she was sleeping at night… they would never have let him get away with this. Even human-consuming vampires who had never made contact with the Confederation or the wizards would have never tolerated such a thing; hence the reason why Victorian Gothic literature about vampires stated that they were unable to enter a place where they were not invited nor to interact with someone who had not entered their abodes of their own free will. Not to mention, everybody in town knew that Charlie Swan was the chief of police in Forks and that he was close friends with Billy Black, Ephraim's grandson, and Harry Clearwater, both members of the Quileute Council of Elders! Carlisle fumed silently.
That foolish boy, he groused inwardly. He and Esme should've put a stop to this much sooner, Carlisle thought darkly. They should've spotted this, how could they have been so blind? Now that he remembered it, Edward's behaviour and his absence from the house late into the night and in the early hours of the morning had been suspicious... Even though their species did not sleep and Edward was technically over a hundred, what in the world could anyone be possibly doing outside of the house in the middle of the night and well into the early daylight hours before ending up in school or just appearing to take the others to school in his car?
Things could have ended so much worse than even this! Carlisle groaned inwardly. At least Aro, Caius and their minions Chelsea, Afton and Corin would finally face justice and their previously imagined long-forgotten and supposedly long-buried crimes had been uncovered! At least the Quileutes had not declared the treaty broken, or null and void, and attacked them or forced them permanently out of town and had even been willing to listen to reason! But at what cost? Jacob had been used and continuously led on at the cost of his own dignity and happiness and his fragile and unstable mental and emotional health had led him to imprint upon a newly-born infant, Bella's human life along with her future and her relationship with her father had potentially been ruined, while Renesmee had come into this world only for her life to be turned upside down at best and her innocence and childhood destroyed or prematurely ended by being bound to Jacob as a new-born infant!
Would this have been avoided if Edward himself could stay away from Bella? Or would he have ended up doing the exact same thing to someone else? Carlisle didn't know- but he was under no illusions that Bella and Edward's relationship was a good and happy one- at least not anymore. Edward had taken advantage of Bella's youth and inexperience, her admittedly fragile or non-existent self-esteem and confidence, as well as her deeply buried yet painful personal issues which had affected her.
Carlisle couldn't help the scowl that crept onto his face as he thought what his son had done. That boy insisted on thinking and acting as if he truly knew everything that was best for everyone! Carlisle shook his head. They would have words and they would all have to take a much firmer approach if Edward ever got out of this mess. If only he and Esme had spotted Edward's problems and not neglected to discipline him much sooner...
Then someone knocked on the door. Everybody fell silent.
A vampire entered, followed by others. Carlisle recognised Yakov, the vampire who had showed them to their rooms when they first arrived. "What is it?" Radu asked.
"Lady Amelia's entourage is arriving." The lead vampire, a male, smiled. His eyes glowed blue. "They're almost here."
At this everyone broke out in excited and hushed whispers.
Radu stood and smiled. "Thank you." He looked to the members of his own species. "I suggest you ready yourselves for the High Elder's approach. Other species may be introduced to Lady Amelia if they so wish, but for now… well, we'll have to wait until around midnight for the ceremony to begin."
Yes, Carlisle reflected that the members of their species had been invited to the crypt as special guests where the legendary Markus and the infamous Viktor hibernated below the earth. He wondered if this was the original cave in the Carpathians where Markus had transformed.
There was quite an interesting story there, he reflected. But that would have to wait for another time. Besides he was sure he would be able to find some first-hand accounts within the Book of Erebus.
As the vampires of their species hurried away, Carlisle looked at his family. Gabrielle's eyes looked grim.
"My part in the testimonies are done," she claimed. "If you do not mind, please excuse me. I must speak with Edward."
"There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams — not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart."
F. Scott Fitzgerald in his novel the Great Gatsby
Gabrielle did not speak while she walked through the corridors of the dungeon. Edward Cullen, quite surprisingly, did not testify for or against the Volturi in their trial. She frowned. This was worrying; she assumed that the High Council would have offered him a plea deal, that he would agree to testify against the Volturi in exchange for a lesser sentence, but as it turned out, she was wrong. The Volturi's list of crimes were… extensive to say the least. She doubted that they would receive anything other than execution, or at least it would be so in the cases of Aro and Caius. Hopefully, they would be able to take the guard's forced servitude in consideration.
But right now, she needed to speak to Edward Cullen.
She nodded to the Death Dealer Istvan who as it turned out had been born to Hungarian parents in Wallachia. Istvan cocked his head to one side.
Gabrielle looked hesitantly towards the cell where Edward was contained before glancing back at Istvan one eyebrow raised.
"He can't hear us from out here but we are able to listen in on his conversations," Istvan assured her. Gabrielle sighed.
"Thank you," she nodded. "What a mess."
"On that we can all agree." He murmured. "There's been no bargain?" Istvan looked at her questioningly. "A plea-deal? Edward gets to testify in return for a lesser sentence?"
Istvan shook his head. "There's no need. We've already found out what we know, and they all confirmed it. No threats, no blackmail, no torture." He smirked. "Lord Viktor would be sorely disappointed."
"Well, he's not going to be awake for another century, I've been told." Gabrielle shrugged. "What about the list of charges against Edward?"
"The attempt at forced abortion, if it is considered akin to rape, would also be added to the list of charges," Istvan said quietly. "The good doctor did nothing wrong in refusing him or for pointing out the inability of doing so, any more than the rest of the family had in shielding his wife and her baby."
"But Jacob…" Gabrielle trailed off. Istvan made a face. "Not under our jurisdiction- unfortunately. Otherwise we would have given him a piece of our justice."
Gabrielle grimaced. Well, at least one potential mess could be avoided.
Despite everything, Bella did not want her husband to die. However, Gabrielle had seen resoluteness in her eyes, her stance and poise, something steely within her that had not been there before. Even the rest of the family seemed to have sensed it: if it wasn't Bella that had changed, then something else had: the dynamics had shifted within the Cullen family and particularly within the couple themselves and their daughter.
Gabrielle was silent for a moment. "What can you tell me about the sentences? I know Aro and Caius, and at the very least Chelsea and her mate Afton, along with Corin are the likeliest to receive the death penalty." Istvan nodded. "But what about Edward? How serious…" she trailed off.
"Quite serious." Another voice answered. Gabrielle froze. Radu, the regent of the coven, yet again appeared out of nowhere.
"Nothing to say about that?" Gabrielle asked dryly. "Execution then?" She challenged.
"I did not say that. A long-term imprisonment is just as likely." Radu shrugged.
"For how long?" Radu shrugged. "I wouldn't know. His wife had an audience with Lady Laima and her stance remains uncertain- at least before the trial."
Gabrielle sighed. She pinched her brow. "He's a fool." She said matter-of-factly. "There's no denying that." Radu said flatly. "And the worst thing is he's not even a fool for love. What he feels for her is not even real."
"Surely it's not... overly criminal to be a fool." She sighed. Radu grimaced. "Yet the consequences are far-reaching and this is not technically a child in terms of his own experiences," he warned. "Even if he is permanently frozen as a youth."
Gabrielle grimaced. Bella had come to the exact same conclusion. Because of Edward's permanently teenage years she had been pressured into achieving immortality and jumped into marriage as a means to be with him forever as soon as possible. Her first love. Clearly she had never experienced a teenage passion, an infatuation or a crush before meeting Edward Cullen, much less dated: she couldn't afford to. Bella had been too busy raising her very young mother and trying to be a top student that she never imagined that such an otherworldly beautiful boy would ever take an interest in her. If she'd learned how to navigate teenage passions and the hormones that came along with it, she might not have jumped into this decision so soon, nor would she forgive and forget his harmful actions so easily, even to the point of being embarrassed about what she might have said in her sleep as opposed to someone breaking into her house and spying on her without anyone's permission. What Bella felt for Edward was overwhelming, no doubt; it seemed to physically cause her pain to be apart from him, to even consider that they would never be together. But it was a fire that burned and consumed her and like all fires it would eventually burn out. She had never expected that the overwhelming feelings of passion needed growth and nurturing, or stoking in case it burned out.
Destiny had already done that for them both in their eyes. A mistake that the very young and inexperienced who believe in fairy-tales and fictional love stories typically made. It also never occurred to either of them that the other was more than what they appeared to be and that they didn't know everything there was to know about the other- or the world, love and other people in general.
Edward, for all his experiences and knowledge, had not rid himself of the illusion of what love was in fiction. He loved an illusion too, an illusion that he had imagined and waited for over a hundred years to make into reality, and simply assigned Bella's name and face to it. It explained a great deal: Edward was born into the era that overlapped the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century: the Edwardian era as it was aptly called. His ideas about what the ideal woman was, particularly for him, were very precise and fixed to that date. Edward had, by all accounts, been very opinionated and judgmental which struck Gabrielle as odd considering that he was certainly a telepath. She had never known Legilimenses, including the ones whose power came naturally to them, be so judgmental towards others. In fact, it usually granted them more empathy with the struggles of others. And while this enabled them to overlook the outward appearances of individuals around them, and focus more upon the inner nature of others, particularly when it came to romance, with Edward? When presented with the one mind he could not read, his solution was, first to spy on and invade her privacy, and then put words, thoughts and feelings in Bella's mouth, head and heart.
Seeing or hearing a person's surface thoughts did not mean that you necessarily know who or what that person was, Gabrielle mused. But according to his own family he was certainly opinionated; she had built a profile of Edward Cullen with the help of his family. According to Rosalie everything she did or said seemed to offend Edward's delicate sensibilities a lot of times. He didn't like women to be conscious or confident of their beauty, even her primping and checking her reflection in the mirror and liking what she saw just before she went out. "Stop being so vain. It's shallow." he'd scolded her at one point. He disapproved of her speaking what was on her mind, calling her 'bold' even 'brazen' at one point or outspoken, which was meant to be taken in a negative manner. He didn't approve of anyone swearing, especially if they were ladies asking, "Honestly, must you use such coarse language?" And evidently he did not enjoy her and Emmett having intercourse: "Must you and Emmett do THAT all the time?" It often felt, Rosalie had confided in her and Bella, like she was treading on eggshells and it got bothersome.
Edward Cullen was stuck in the Edwardian schoolboy phase, Gabrielle thought grimly. A part of Gabrielle sympathised with his inability to move on. In his day, women who wore blush or lipstick on their faces were considered vulgar, coarse and basically akin to prostitutes. Actresses who wore them were considered in the same manner. So therefore Bella refusing to wear makeup or not taking an interest in her appearance was considered 'modest' and therefore acceptable, even ideal in his day and age. The fact that she dressed in clothing that didn't reveal too much skin also helped with her image of 'modesty' and 'purity'. Of course at times, it was a little too downtrodden even for Edward's standards, why else would he have Alice dress her up, even if it meant putting makeup on Bella's face? She was essentially a blank slate or a canvas he could draw and paint over. Like her daughter with Jacob, she was a cup to be filled. And Edward saw his daughter in the same way, if he didn't insist on keeping her as a perfect, obedient and helpful little child, a mini-Bella.
In more ways than one, Gabrielle almost shook her head. Whenever Bella threatened to do something he didn't like or agree with, whenever he wanted her to do something he liked or wanted her to do… Edward had been more than willing to psychologically and emotionally manipulate her, even at the cost of convincing her that she was irrational, or childish, or silly, or unreasonable, according to Bella. It wore down at her self-esteem and her sense of confidence, which wasn't even healthy to begin with. Edward's smothering nature had also not helped her feel good about herself. She became dependent upon him and he took advantage of that to fill her head and heart with whatever he felt was right.
In addition, Bella and the others had confided that she had been quite clumsy as a human. That may have also been part of her appeal to Edward, Gabrielle pointed. He saw her as a damsel in distress, constantly sweeping her into his arms, pulling her into his lap, carrying her far away… Bella had been chagrined and mortified when Gabrielle had mentioned this. Gabrielle had also told Bella that it was clear that the values, culture and beliefs of their respective birth eras had affected their ways of thinking, seeing the world, each other, other people and themselves in particular. In Edward's day the ideal women wasn't a vulgar, crass suffragette, a feminist or a 'New Woman' as the renowned Bram Stoker had put it. They were dainty, swooning ladies who fainted and fell easily and men were expected to catch them: those were the ideals of masculinity and femininity in Edward's day and he had been brought up and bred into that mind-set, and he fully believed in upholding those values. Women were supposed to be 'modest' and 'pure', virginal, hence his desperate insistence on preserving her virginity. Women were not supposed to be 'loose' or 'vulgar', vain or showy in any way by wearing revealing clothing or excessive makeup. Men were the head of the family. Women followed and obeyed without question. Bella seemed to shrink as Gabrielle said this.
By contrast in Bella's day, girls were expected to be seen as equal, as holding their own when compared to men. They were supposed to be confident and strong, smart, assertive and pretty- the precise things Bella had felt herself severely lacking in. Edward mistook her limited and fragile self-esteem as modesty. Even when she developed a constant need for validation and compliments from him to build her up, and felt like a failure every time he expressed dissatisfaction with their relationship, even if it was because she would have to give up her humanity- the very essence of her 'purity' along with her femininity in Edward's eyes- to be with Edward and become a 'monster', Bella had blamed herself for not being this graceful, dazzling, experienced and seemingly wise, supernaturally strong and powerful immortal that Edward and his family were. She thought that if she became immortal it would fix everything. Sh believed him whenever he kept saying she was childish, irrational, silly or unreasonable. She continuously sought for his praise and validation, including in her looks though she never believed it; she became addicted.
Even after achieving immortality, it still hadn't fully solved the issue.
Not to mention that Edward was highly dependent upon his one limited telepathic ability and judged others by the thoughts on the outermost surface of their minds. As mentioned, been presented with a mind that was closed to him had given him the unconscious or subconscious opportunity to invent things, even if he had to twist the words that came out of Bella's mouth, her own feelings and thoughts, even at the price of making her sound and feel silly, childish, irrational, unreasonable or in any way incompetent without his lead, aid and guidance. Edward assumed that everyone was shallow, including all the teenagers in school, even though they were, in fact, teenagers with nowhere near the amount of life-experiences and were undergoing the turbulent hormones of that stage in their development- and they had always lived in a small town. Not to mention they weren't used to the Cullens' inhuman looks.
But worse? He had instantly assumed that Bella was any different simply because he was presented with a mind he couldn't read, a girl who was clumsy enough to appear like a swooning damsel, who didn't have a good opinion of her own self including her appearance, and became increasingly dependent upon his validation. He had essentially groomed her, the way both he and Jacob- and initially Bella- had failed to do with Renesmee.
When Gabrielle, Rosalie, and Bella herself had worked all this out in an attempt to build Edward's psychological profile (and hopefully save him from execution), they had been confronted by these facts. She wondered if, like Leah and Billy had both claimed with Jacob, the trauma of his parents' deaths and particularly his mother's had affected Edward in any way. Gabrielle supposed it could make sense: Survivor's Guilt, along with the fact that he had never managed to quite make it into being the man his parents had both envisioned he would someday be, not to mention his inability to even say goodbye to either of them and his mother's sacrifice of her own chances of survival to try to nurse him back to health… those could have shaped him and driven him to be the man that he believed that not only his parents wanted him to be, but what he himself believed was the ideal of masculinity. The perfect gentleman.
But gentlemen never broke into anyone's house, least of all a girl's bedroom at night, nor stalked her to and from school. Still, Gabrielle pitied him.
But then again, was Edward Cullen, formerly known as Edward Anthony Masen Junior, the only vampire to have suffered such trauma? She knew of countless others that had suffered worse, more traumatic ends to their loved ones and human lives.
They didn't necessarily make the same mistakes, even for love. The renowned Death Dealer Selene had been one of them.
Gabrielle sighed. She looked at Istvan and Radu. "What if his family were to plead to… if not insanity then…" she waved a hand "certain issues with his mind?"
Radu arched an eyebrow. Istvan looked amused. "What issues?"
Gabrielle sighed. "A whole lot of things," she admitted.
"That's hardly specific."
Gabrielle grimaced. "Believe me, if I was to elaborate now, it would most certainly take all night."
Radu sighed. He gave Istvan a look. "Perhaps another time," Radu stated. Istvan slit open a gash upon his palm and inserted his bleeding hand into the lock. The wall shuddered open.
Inside sat Edward Cullen. A sad, pathetic sight as opposed to what he was, or what the seventeen and eighteen-year-old human Bella Swan once perceived. He was very good-looking, Gabrielle admitted. But good looks and charm were not enough to make anyone happy.
It was a hard lesson she herself had to learn a long time ago. And she was grateful for it. If only Bella had learned it before she met Edward Cullen or before they got married.
Gabrielle sighed. Momentary pity surged within her at the sight of this boy. "Mr Cullen." She said quietly.
Edward blinked. Gabrielle conjured a chair. "May I?" She pointed. Edward nodded. Gabrielle sat.
"Loyalty and devotion lead to bravery. Bravery leads to the spirit of self-sacrifice. The spirit of self-sacrifice creates trust in the power of love."
Morihei Ueshiba
The vampires flanked the High Elder Amelia. She was a dazzlingly beautiful woman; although roughly six millennia old, the Lady Amelia had the youthful beauty and haughty carriage of an international supermodel. Her lustrous black hair bound tightly on her gracefully sculpted head and her imperious cat-like green eyes shimmered like emeralds. A strapless, silvery embroidered satin gown exposed slender white shoulders, while a jewelled silver choker-necklace, large enough to shame the crown jewels of many a mortal kingdom, rested on the flawless ivory expanse of her bosom.
The Lady Amelia was busy greeting the members of her species, along with dignitaries from the other species. Her son David was right behind her. "The Lady Progenitor?" She asked him quietly.
"In her tower," her son whispered. It was a sad existence, she admitted to herself. The vampiress known as the Great Mother, the second progenitor of their kind, was resigned and agreed to outright imprisonment for every two centuries when her husband was not present. All to keep the balance of power within their species and the rest of their kind; an agreement between all three High Elders, although Amelia felt sympathetic, and still did so to this day. However Viktor was a dangerous opponent to deal with, even for the Progenitors. This had been willingly, yet reluctantly accepted by Lady Laima herself. Having to contend and deal with Markus was bad enough.
Even though the Lady Progenitor was capable of Astral-Projection and shapeshifting, and could see with her gift of Sight, she largely resided within the tower as a prisoner. For the sake of peace and the careful balance of power, instead of being the honoured queen she could have chosen to be in name as well in spirit, she had voluntarily became a prisoner in her own home.
No wonder she was sympathetic to the wives of these Volturi, and their guards along with their Marcus.
For the first time in two centuries, Lady Laima would be permitted to leave the tower to enter the crypt for her Awakening of her husband. But even while he was free and he had been released from the confines of his tomb, she would be forever heavily guarded- the vampires had learned that lesson long ago, apparently before the majority of many a species had emerged. Lady Laima had once been exposed to sunlight without the protection of her magic, while she was still in dormant state, due to falling into the hands of an inquisitive upstart. While she had been somewhat burned by the sun, the other vampires, no matter the species, had had it much worse: many of the older and more powerful vampires, including Amelia herself, then fifteen centuries old, had suffered severe burns, while the younger and less powerful spontaneously burst into flames.
After that she and Markus were even more heavily guarded, by Amelia and Viktor's orders. Even with their magic, they could take no risks. And no High Elder could overturn the decrees of another, by coven law.
"How goes the trials?"
"Nothing unusual, except the scandalous extent of the crimes committed by these Volturi, even personal betrayals." Her son muttered.
Amelia sighed. She was weary. Immortality can be burdensome, but at least she would soon rest, although not before seeing her son wedded to Markus' daughter. The only problem was how Viktor would receive the news of their union upon his own Awakening the next century.
It was not a pleasant thought. Once, he had sought to wed his daughter Sonja to the Progenitors' son. But neither had taken a great interest in each other, and not long after Sonja had disappeared…
What happened to her? Amelia never knew. She suspected that Viktor may have known the details of his own daughter's disappearance, but for some reason, kept the precise details a strictly guarded secret. Sonja's name was never even spoken, particularly around Viktor's own person.
She suspected the Lady Progenitor knew, but had been forced to hold her silence for the well-fare of all…
"Nothing is worth it if you aren't happy."
Timber Hawkeye
Gabrielle sighed, casting Edward a grim look.
"Your defence options are limited," she said frankly. "However, your wife has made an appeal to Lady Laima, so it's possible that she may consider lessening your sentence, so you might not end up with the death penalty."
Edward's lips twisted into a bitter smile. "So I'll have to look forward to centuries of imprisonment then?"
"Would the sentence that you have in mind be any less than what you deserve?" Gabrielle asked coldly. "Forced abortion, Edward? Against her freely given and explicit consent- really?" Edward flinched. He couldn't meet her eyes.
"I suppose it would have been too much to even ask whether or not she wanted to keep the baby in the first place?" Gabrielle asked archly. "Before you started making plans with Carlisle on the procedures of an illicit and non-consensual abortion?"
His flinch deepened. "I wasn't thinking clearly at the time," he said softly.
"You never were if what everyone says you've ever done in the thirteen months you've known her is true," Gabrielle remarked sharply. Edward winced.
"What were you thinking then?" Gabrielle challenged him to give her an answer. "What were you thinking, not just during that time, but all those times you have forced Bella, your daughter along with the rest of your family and who knows who else into accepting the whole consequences and entirety of the fall-out of your own decisions? And that question includes the decisions which you have known from the very beginning were decisions that would potentially affect at least one person's entire life, by the way, so what's the answer?" She demanded. "You, a fallible creature, prone to mistakes as any other being, even if you never screwed up as badly as this? What made you think that you were the right person to keep making all these decisions for everyone else, especially the two of them? Weren't they individual persons too? Especially after you realised that you've made mistakes in your planning and decision-making?" Edward didn't answer.
Gabrielle shook her head "Even if you were truly sorry for something, like breaking and entering somebody else's house, taking out someone's car battery and holding her in one place due to your mere jealousy thinly disguised as concern for her safety, as well as the traumatising break-up in the woods, the pressure into accepting your marriage proposal or the attempt at a forced abortion upon your own wife, it doesn't make any difference if you never learn and still insist upon enforcing your will upon other people- including your own wife and child!"
When Edward remained silent, a truly disturbing thought dawned upon Gabrielle. She stared incredulously. "You knew she would wish to keep the baby," she realised, eyes widening. "In fact, you were afraid that she would, especially the more she thought about it… so you hastily made plans without so much as consulting her on her wishes and rushed back to Forks. You didn't want to give her the time to think- or rethink if she had decided to agree with you in the first place."
Silence reigned within the shadowy cell. Edward said not a word, but the way he seemed to shrink and fold within himself spoke volumes.
Gabrielle sighed, closing her eyes. "Mr Cullen," she began sharply. "Did it ever occur to you that you might be doing more harm than good by imposing your will upon others, including your family- particularly your wife and child?" She could scarce contain her own disgust with such actions. Edward only flinched again. "You have made many a bad decision- decisions whose consequences if they were ever even averted, were only averted by other individuals in the first place. None of them were ever fixed by you!" Edward looked like he had been struck. "It was your entire family that dealt with James after they came to your rescue, after you had tried to come to Bella's. It was Sam Uley who rescued Bella from being stranded in the woods and almost catching hypothermia because you chose a convenient place to dump her." Edward flinched. "It was Alice who returned to Forks to check up on Bella and investigate for herself and then stopped you from committing suicide. It was the rest of your family and the pack who took on a small army of under-trained un-disciplined newborn vampires with no battle plan apart from being used as bait and canon fodder, while when you finally took out Victoria and Riley- who had far less experience, knowledge and training about vampire armies and battles than your brother- with Seth's aid in taking out Riley." Edward fell silent, his expression blank and frozen as he stared out into the empty space of his cell. "It was Rosalie and Esme, with Emmett's help, who stopped you from terminating your unborn daughter against your wife's explicit wishes and consent. It was Alice who thought of the plan to search for Dhampyr in South America, while also searching for witnesses, and who thought up of the contingency backup plan for your daughter's survival, while you actively tried to prevent your own wife, especially since you absolutely refused to teach her- from learning how to defend herself, your daughter and the rest of your friends and family against a fully-trained army of talented vampires with centuries if not millennia of experience." Gabrielle narrowed her eyes. "Also keeping in mind that you so utterly convinced yourself that the Volturi 'would be made to listen', even though they brought their entire guard alongside their wives and some witnesses to observe the intended massacre they had planned, despite the fact that you had absolutely no idea what Alice and Jasper had up their sleeves, since Alice herself could not See a Dhampir even if one was right in front of her and was looking for literal blind spots in South America all the while making certain that you would not find out since she also did not wish for Aro to know and try to stop them." Edward looked away. "Neither did you know that they would even arrive on time to prevent the massacre. A massacre which you certainly would have realised was on its way since you pride yourself so highly on your thinking and sound judgment to the point where you insist on implementing your plans without the input of others'" Gabrielle remarked scathingly.
"Even though you certainly were aware that the only reason your Denali cousins were spared during their mother's execution was because Aro 'felt like being merciful that day' according to Carlisle, even though Caius wanted to burn them for mere association with someone who broke the law but kept things silent." She shook her head. "You foolish, stupid- no, ignorant boy. I don't care how old you really are. Stupid, uneducated people are actually not so bad; at least they can be taught and educated. They can accept new knowledge and learn, including from mistakes. But ignorant people? They are the ones who refuse to learn or even listen to logic and reason." She leaned forwards. "The kind who are so utterly self-assured that they know best, they even refuse to accept otherwise. Guess which category you have proven yourself to belong to? If you refuse to listen to reason and logic simply because you don't like the truth when it is staring at you in the face, you are a dangerous liability, not because you're a blood-feeding vampire, but because you're a superior, condescending ignoramus and a control-freak who insists upon enforcing and imposing his own heavily-flawed plans and opinions upon others. Even at the risk of your family's lives." Gabrielle's eyes narrowed. "For one thing, if you had simply taught Bella to fight, that might have seen her better-prepared at the very least. But then again, it's not like you've proven yourself capable of taking on anyone that isn't a comparatively weak human criminal, people who are just easy pickings am I right?"
Edward swallowed. "I tried," he whispered, voice hoarse for a vampire. "I tried to teach her, I just couldn't... I couldn't bear seeing her like that, analysing her as a target, imagining how the Volturi would see and think of all the ways they could take her down."
Gabrielle looked grim. "Would it have been better to have seen the real thing? Bella being taken down and torn apart by the Volturi along with your daughter and burned?" Edward flinched like he'd been stabbed in the heart. "Because that was what almost happened, Edward. If Alice hadn't gotten there in time, if she hadn't actually found a Dhampir who proved to the Volturi that they can control themselves and do no harm. And you not only had no idea what your siblings had planned or that Nahuel existed until Alice and Jasper alerted you on their approach with their thoughts; they themselves did not know what they were looking for, especially since Alice could not actually See Dhampyr."
Edward swallowed and looked down. His face looked ghostly. Gabrielle felt a momentary twinge of pity, but felt it more necessary that someone speak to him about this for what appeared to be for the first time in Edward's entire life: from his apparently pampered and cushioned childhood to his immortal status as a supernaturally powerful vampire with a wealthy family.
He had always been privileged, Gabrielle reflected. Edward was even in control and very much not at risk of any harm even throughout the duration of his 'rebellious phase' where he had preyed upon ordinary humans who were weak, often mere criminal thugs. Until he had came face to face with James when he rushed ahead before the rest of his family, and then stupidly left Bella on her own with no protection or even any means of contacting the rest of his family whenever she needed aid, just in case Victoria turned up even though he knew she had already gotten away (and he was, by his own admission, a poor tracker), as well as the incident which brought him, Bella and Alice straight into the Volturi's lair and costed the Della Rosas and other innocents their lives simply by glimpsing the willfully blind Edward risk the endangerment of his family and species, if not the entire supernatural world, all because he wished to commit suicide due to the supposed consequences of a mistake he himself had made...
And like a child he took all his good fortune and his- or rather, his family, friends and allies' ability to take down certain threats completely for granted. He was more of a spoiled child than any of the rich brats she'd encountered at Beauxbatons who had never been told no a day in their lives by their parents. They were the kind of kids that expected to go out into the world and have things go their way because they were so confident in their own abilities, all because their mums and dads, and maybe their teachers, handed everything to them on a silver platter. The kind that thought themselves adults and knew everything there was to know about the world.
Edward had been cushioned from the harsh realities of the world he lived in, even the non-magical one. Gabrielle remembered that Edward had been kept aside with Bella and Seth, the youngest Wolf of the pack at the time, when Victoria's army had invaded. Gabrielle also remembered that Victoria had been only indirectly involved with the newborn vampires' training and battle plans, and that her cohort Riley was inexperienced, especially as compared to Jasper. She also remembered that Bella admitted that Edward was unable to handle analysing her as a threat to teach her how to defend herself and as a consequence refused to do so. And that he had not been aware that Bella and Alice had made contingency plans for Renesmee and Jacob's getaway and had absolutely no idea what Alice and Jasper were up to (made even worse by the knowledge that since Alice herself could not See what she was looking for when she searched for Nahuel and his sisters, since she was unable to even see hybrids if they were in front of her, let alone in her visions).
Yet so mind-numbingly self-assured and confident was Edward that he reassured Bella (and himself, Gabrielle suspected) that her training to defend herself or to protect their own child or any of their family and friends would not be necessary and that the Volturi, who had a more experienced, trained and talented army not to mention millennia of experience in battle, would be made to listen, even though by all accounts they were so keenly assured of the Cullens' impending execution and guilt that they had dragged along their own witnesses, even their wives, to enjoy the show and prove some points. Even though by Carlisle's own admission that when the Denali coven's mother had been executed for creating an Immortal Child, Tanya, Kate and the late Irina had narrowly avoided execution simply because Aro felt like being merciful that day, despite Caius' own sadistic whims, what did common sense matter to Edward's self-assured beliefs about his own invincibility, wisdom, experiences and abilities to keep everyone safe?
What a foolish child, Gabrielle thought. What a naïve and foolish child.
Edward didn't grow up not because he was frozen in time, but because he refused to learn or even think.
Merlin, did reality slap a harsh one in Edward's face, Gabrielle thought dryly. It was truly like witnessing a child interact with the adult world for the first time and suffer the harsh blow of the law for something they thought they could get away with, even because it was trivial. But she couldn't muster that much sympathy for someone who had actively abused his powers, became emotionally and psychologically manipulative and remained ignorant of his own volition and carelessly caused the deaths of many people who unfortunately happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, including a small child and her father. Any other spoiled brat, maybe, but Edward had long since ran out of excuses.
If he wanted to make adult decisions, she thought grimly, he had best be prepared for all the consequences. And that included his marriage and approach parenthood.
Edward probably wasted years of his own youth even as a human, trying to prove himself a man by throwing his weight around and being judgmental and condescending towards others, if all the first-hand accounts of his life that she'd heard about were any indication. It somewhat nullified the usefulness of all the high school and college experiences that he had had, along with the experiences of immortality. What a waste of money and a good education. Not to mention university and high school placements. And the food ingredients and lunch money spent too for the sake of attempting to be more inconspicuous.
Gabrielle mentally shook her head. Even if Edward wasn't frozen or if he had never gone to Volterra, his own marriage, the results of his poor parenting and his family's safety could only have ended in disaster.
"While such decision-making and imposing your will, insisting on having your way and doing things your way is harmful enough and would still affect the rest of your family if you had made those decisions in regards to yourself and only your own self, you seem to be more than insistent in imposing such decisions and ways of thinking in ways that directly affect others, especially your wife and child." Gabrielle shook her head, sadly. "This is not an attitude of a responsible parent- or a good spouse. And it certainly hasn't done any good towards the rest of your family, only caused them hurt.
"Did it ever occur to you to even stop?"
Edward couldn't answer. He took a shuddering breath and his shoulders shook.
"You took things too far," Gabrielle whispered. "I cannot lie- you have actively endangered her- endangered both of them along with the rest of your family, your acquaintances from around the world- including those that came to witness and testify on you and your family's behalf on New Year's Eve- and even strangers like the Della Rosa couple and their small children who simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." Gabrielle winced herself, seeing Edward seemingly fold into himself.
"Even if and when you are released, you cannot continue like this." She warned him.
Edward was silent for a long moment. And then he sighed.
"The court and the High Council cannot allow you to roam freely," Gabrielle warned "even without the threat of a curse or war with wizard-kind. Many of them are already calling for your execution."
"What about my family?" Edward finally spoke, his face hidden in shadow.
Gabrielle shook her head. "They do not seem to be at risk for the moment," she said flatly. "I cannot promise that once their stay at the Old-World Coven is over that they would remain under the protection of the High Council, including against aggressive vigilantes who wish to take matters of justice into their own hands and feel particularly outraged, including in regards to the Della Rosa children." Edward flinched.
"Perhaps we may find a way," she reassured him. "But for now, my suggestion is that you worry about yourself. Bella and the others are more capable than you know and they will be protected," she said flatly. Gabrielle sighed.
"Will I stay here forever?" Edward asked. Gabrielle grimaced. "Or will I be executed?"
Before she could answer, Edward questioned: "How do they execute people here?"
Gabrielle shrugged. "That I do not know. I do know that these… lodgings of yours are only temporary, for prisoners who have yet to or are being tried. But if you are sentenced to imprisonment…" She fell silent for a moment.
"You can expect that you will often be unconscious and even when you are not you will not be able to receive visitors," she informed him slowly. "Vampires are usually entombed if imprisoned, although in a more… oppressive manner than the High Elders or anyone hibernating in their crypts."
Edward was silent for a long moment. "You will sometimes be unconscious and sometimes conscious and aware, but you will be removed and unable to see your loved ones or the world in general for centuries if not millennia." Gabrielle said, reluctantly. "It all depends on whether they will lessen your sentence and upon the severity of your crimes. But your family and friends would not be able to meet with you- and even if they could, you won't be able to communicate even if you are conscious. Conscious or not you will be cut off from your senses and unable to move, the way Alec of the Volturi, formerly Alexander of Wessex, was said to have been capable of doing to others." Edward made no reaction upon the mention of his name. "When that happens, you will be aware of the passing of time, although I doubt you will be able to measure the days, but you will not be able to do anything about it. No one, not even your guards will communicate with you in any way. There will be silence, and you will be sealed and cut off from all your physical senses, the use of your body and powers, even your voice, along with the outside world. Everything will be dark. You will be fed blood intravenously, enough to keep you alive but not enough to restore you to full strength so you will regress to a… more solid or deteriorated state, in the admittedly highly unlikely event that you escape. You will not be able to taste, touch, smell, see or hear anything, nor will you be able to perceive anything even if it lies right in front of you, and you will certainly be unable to move or communicate in any manner. While they will make certain that you, despite the limitations of your species, will be able to actually sleep from time to time, even when you are awake- and you will be awake as well- you will be cut off from your senses and body as much as the outside world and essentially frozen but aware.
"It takes quite a while and quite a bit of effort once a prisoner has been released, for them to recover the strength, control and independent function of their bodies. The difference between the hibernation or slumber, which is the death-like sleep the High Elders commit to for two centuries each, or which many a vampire commit to once they find immortality to be too tiresome and burdensome," Gabrielle explained. "Is that while you can and often sleep, you are also forced to become conscious from time to time, even though you are entirely cut off from even your senses and the outside world, trapped within your very body which has become like stone. You cannot move of your own volition. You will become a conscious stone or a corpse, just... buried alive and kept in that state until it's time for your release."
Edward was silent.
"Your sentence will be this for centuries if they are feeling particularly merciful," Gabrielle warned. "Due to the... serious nature of the crimes you are accused of. If not, millennia. Or at worst, you will receive the death penalty." Edward finally spoke:
"I think the death penalty would be far more merciful. It certainly would be preferable."
Gabrielle agreed. "That's not up to you to decide though," she said, reluctantly. "They will drain you of strength first and ensure that small doses of blood would be fed to you intravenously throughout the duration of your imprisonment before they seal and entomb you. If that truly is to be your sentence."
Finally, he sighed. "So I can expect that my family would never be charged for my crimes?"
Gabrielle shook her head. "On that you have my word. Especially since you have acted largely of your own volition without so much as consulting others- and they will be forced to testify in regards to your more… manipulative tendencies." Her voice held a hint of reproach.
Edward didn't speak. "Was it worth it?" Gabrielle asked, finally.
"How can you look your own daughter in the eye and impose your will upon her, especially knowing what you have done or tried to do?" She asked him quietly.
Once again, Edward had no answer. "Dhampyr aren't immortal," Gabrielle warned. "They're half-human. So while they may live for centuries, you will be absent for at least a large portion of your daughter's life, if not for it's entirety. I hope you can give a good enough reason to her for that and for the actions and ill intentions you have had or committed against her- and a goodbye, especially if your sentence is long enough that you may never see her again. It would be terrible to end things between you on a sour note."
Edward looked anguished. Gabrielle felt strong pity for him, despite the serious nature of his actions. While she knew he had to be punished and his wife and child were truly better off not just without him but without his influence, this was still bitter and painful to observe.
Gabrielle sighed. Bella had approached her and the two of them had spoken before she ended up in Edward's cell. They had a discussion. Gabrielle could not bring herself to tell Bella or the other Cullens, especially Renesmee, of the conditions of Edward's imprisonment- or entombment to be more precise. She feared that Edward would take advantage of any of them, especially with regards to Bella's feelings of pity, guilt, self-blame and self-hate to ensure her attachment to him continued or that his influence over them was strengthened. Same as Renesmee. It wasn't something which hasn't already happened before, to the detriment of all, including Bella and Renesmee themselves. And it had already harmed them; if it had not placed them under direct physical danger and threat of harm, then it had certainly mentally and emotionally damaged them. While Gabrielle felt strongly inclined to be honest to the adult Cullens about the conditions of Edward's potential sentence and she hated to know that anyone could be suffering this, no matter what they did, Gabrielle was more concerned about Edward's family, especially his small daughter who had lost her innocence far too soon and suffered far too much already.
She also feared what would happen if Edward was set free via pardon, as unlikely as that was to occur, or an early release. His influence was manipulative and invasive as well as toxic. But she also feared if he were to be executed and become something like a martyr or a ghost in Bella's mind or Renesmee... his influence in life while present was bad enough. In death, they would never be free of his influence.
Bella was still healing and developing a backbone of her own. They simply required Edward to be temporarily removed from their lives for a long while, before anyone, including Bella herself was certain that Edward had no influence or hold over any of them.
But Bella had made her own decision. And the thing was, she had no intention whatsoever of telling Edward what she was intending to do.
If Edward ever emerged... he was going to have a terrible shock. Gabrielle could only pity him terribly for that as well as his potential sentence, even though he would only reap the rewards of what he himself had already sowed. While his execution would cause his family terrible pain, she had no doubt that it would be much more merciful than what was in store for him, even once he got out of his sentence.
Child of Dreams and Ptool: Thank you!