A/N:- GaijinVamp asked how or why 3/4 human to 1/4 vampire. Easy, I blame his veggie diet for making his swimmers shit! Just cause your parents are one of each, don't always make you half & half, lol xx Alexis

Paradise Epilogue Part 2

'I..., holy..., well damn!'

That was all my brain could process at that moment, Esme staggered backwards and only Rose's quick thinking stopped her from falling to the ground. Hybrids were not unknown, I learned that day, but as they always killed the mother at birth. So most vampires changed their human mates to stop them becoming pregnant and dying that way. Therefore that poor woman was not his mate and he allowed her to die in horrendous agony.

The room was filled with loud hissing and growling, this was collectively thought of as totally barbaric and unacceptable, he was a doctor for god sake! Where was his compassion for humans now, did he ever have any at all or was it just his excuse to experiment.

"As bad as this revelation is, we are still trying Alice Cullen at this time. Please remember that!" Marcus said speaking for the first time and the crowd quietened at his request,

"Esme my dear are you alright? Do you wish a break?" he asked solicitously,

Carlisle bristled at the gentle tone and concern for his mate, even if it was still only on his side. She smiled at Marcus and indicated that the trial should continue. Carlisle looked like he was remembering when she used to smile at him this way before Edward had started to poison his mind against her. The doctor was a fool and didn't deserve pity or love, he had gotten himself into this mess.

"I have spoken at length with someone well acquainted with his mind being destroyed by insanity. I know many of you are aware of Malachi and about his enforced stay here in Volterra, for his and your safety I might add. He informs me that Alice has at no time actually been fully lucid since her change, she is a high functioning psychotic, there is no cure and she will eventually decline into complete mental collapse, with no higher brain function to control her vampire nature, she would be running on basic survival instinct alone! Thus becoming a danger to vampires and humans alike. Having no ability to keep our secret." Aro explained to the room.

Alice stood as if totally unaware that she was the topic of conversation, as she fussed with her clothing and hair. The unanimous vote was that she was not guilty of any crimes due to her insanity and also Edward's blatant manipulative blackmail. But they asked the brothers to consider a request that for her own sake and that of the vampire race, she should be humanely put to death by Alec's hand.

The room was utterly quiet except for Alice herself, humming a nonsensical tune, all three of the leaders nodded their heads in unison and the trial halted until the next day when Carlisle would be the focus of everyone's attention.

Later that evening, Rose and Esme, as a last act of kindness, took Alice to get dressed in her prettiest dress and lead her to the smaller chamber next to the brother's office. They told her she was going on a date with Jasper and he was waiting there for her. She was sublimely unaware of anything that happened once she stepped through the door, Alec had started his gift already so that it encompassed her immediately and looking up he was given a nod of ascent to remove her head and burn it first and then her body, thus causing her no pain.

PIWTID

The mood the following morning was sombre, many of the coven leaders present had been there to witness Alice's execution, although necessary, they still did not enjoy such events.

'God I feel so bad, all those times I accused her of being mad and she was! That sucks, I know I'm a little strange but to be an insane immortal, that's scary' I kept thinking to myself.

Demetri had held me close as if he knew what I was thinking and poor Jasper looked very tense, the mood of the room affecting him badly. I took Demetri's hand and we circulated smiling at everyone and making small talk, little by little the oppression lifted and Jasper bowed to me saying,

"You're very special little darlin', I don't think it's your shield that's your gift but your innate kindness and love towards your fellow man and vampire!"

"And you would be correct Major, I have never in all my time as a vampire met anyone with as many connections of every type as this young lady here. She can make bonds within minutes, I have seen it happen with my own eyes, or gift actually" Marcus had told him.

I was a little embarrassed by this and just smiled at them both before joining my brother and his mate. Alec was very quiet and oddly shy for one his age, but I thought I was wearing him down, he gave me a tentative hug and we chatted until Aro called the gathering to order.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, today's proceedings will be in three parts, first Carlisle Cullen will be judged on his inability to control any of his four covens, also why he felt the need to destroy said covens rather than free them!" Aro stated plainly, so all could hear,

"Second, the treatment of his then mate, by his own hand and his allowing others to also mistreat her! So much so that she was able to break her bond with him, without outside interference!" Marcus told the gathering with a clearly heard sneer in his tone,

"And finally his terrible negligence in respect of the recently deceased Alice Cullen! He left an insane hybrid free in the human world and never once checked on her until she turned up at his door as a vampire! " Caius forcefully concluded.

'Wow! I think his goose is cooked for sure!'

I had thought as the three brothers read out the indictments against Carlisle, those in the audience who knew him were scandalised that they had once thought him to be a friend. But there were a few who were not as surprised by this, he had shown several times over the centuries his callous nature and thus they had pulled back from him.

As there were no witnesses to the events during his first three covens, Carlisle's own memories were used against him by Aro.

"Why was it necessary to kill the last remaining member of your first coven? Agatha, I believe she was called? Well, Carlisle?" Aro demanded,

"She was of no use to me anymore, all three were a disappointment!" he said in an offended tone.

As if they had failed him rather than the other way around. The crowd hissed but otherwise said nothing,

"Your second coven, why did you kill Oliver and Claire? Were they dangerous? Did they pose a threat to the vampire world?" Caius asked staring at the arrogant man before him,

"No! They ruined my experiment, I gave them immortality in exchange for them being my children and they threw it in my face demanding to leave! How dare they mate!" Carlisle stated in an unrepentant voice,

"And Brandon?" Aro enquired,

"He ran, but was of no importance, the boy was not very bright so I left, leaving him financially bereft!" he said in a cold uncaring voice.

Once again he blamed the coven, not himself for the failure to meet his impossible standards of the time they lived in.

"That's stupid! How could they behave as your children then, they would have been adults long before you changed them. Christ, they probably had families of their own! You're not very smart for a supposed intellectual man!" I had blurted out, unable to keep quiet.

"Quite so Bella, you seem to have grasped what Carlisle could not! You can't make a child from an adult, no matter how you try. Even our venom can't work that kind of miracle! Oh and Carlisle, Brandon may not have been bright in your eyes but he survived for over a century after he left your experiment!" Caius sneered.

"So now Carlisle, your third attempt at playing 'Daddy'! What went wrong this time?" Marcus asked plainly disgusted by the Doctor,

"I admit I may have made a mistake using people from a less desirable gene pool, they lacked the intelligence to accept the life I gave them and behaved more like the newborns of the 'Southern Wars'. Therefore I had to be more ruthless and weed the bad ones out. It became apparent eventually that I was wasting my time and energy so I killed them all." Carlisle stated in a voice devoid of all emotion.

The room erupted then, his total disregard for life be it human or vampire was staggering. Calls for his execution mounted and eventually Aro had to raise his hands and demand silence.

"Carlisle guilt will be dealt with at the end of the trial have no fear! Now as we know he next delved into the making of a hybrid child, but that too will be dealt with later. Finally his making of coven number four, most of whom are here today. Only Emmett McCarty and Alice are missing" Aro explained patiently to the gathering.

"At long last Carlisle had made the son he wanted, he was everything he ever wished for, Loyal, fun loving and dependant on him, as a son should be to his father. Unfortunately for Carlisle, Emmett came along well after Edward" Marcus said with a touch of malice in his voice, amused when he saw Edward start to puff up only to deflate when Emmett's name was mentioned.

"Rosalie whom you all heard at Edward's trial, became the daughter he wanted and could have loved beyond reason too. But again she came after Edward and he saw to it that neither had the attention from Carlisle they deserved. He used his gift to destroy any chance of Carlisle having what he wanted from anyone else, but incapable of giving it to Carlisle himself" Marcus had continued,

everyone saw the sadness on Carlisle's face, he knew he had it all and was denied by Edwards evil machinations. Some felt it was his just reward for the treatment of his previous covens.

"So as an example of the depths that Carlisle's coven had sunk, we are going to call as a witness Bella Swan. Her story is one of great fortitude in the face of adversity, in both her human and vampire life's" Aro declared smiling at me then.

So I told everyone everything that had happened to me since my change and then the Cullens interference that caused me to involve the Volturi. The congregation listened to me, scowled at the mention of Laurent and James, smiled at the saving of Vicki. They applauded my handling of Phil and running of the hotels. Once the Cullens were mentioned they growled, laughed and murmured their understanding of how I dealt with it all. They were amazed by my taking in all of the unwanted members and the making of the 'Paradise Coven'.

Carlisle was found guilty of all charges and banned from having a coven for eternity, everyone knew this was just a formality but also that the law had to be seen to be done, as a warning to others. Caius called a halt at this time for feeding and the crowd started to break up once again and many shook my hand and gave out invitations to visit anytime. I had made lots of new friends and allies that day.

PIWTID

When the court resumed the only witness against Carlisle for part two of the trial was Esme herself. She told of all the meddling that Edward and Alice did to her relationship, how she believed her mate to be telling her the truth as he should have and therefore accepted that this must be the way she was meant to be treated. But when everything came to light and with Bella's help she managed to break free and sever her mate bond with Carlisle.

How she now saw that mates were meant to be revered, not reviled and how she wished she had known earlier, but knew Carlisle kept her away from other vampires so she would never learn the truth. The vampires in the chamber all agreed he was guilty of mate abuse but that he had been punished for it anyway by Esme breaking her bond to him, but which he still had to her.

The third and final part of Carlisle's trial now began, everyone was surprised by the last witness to talk about all of his wrongdoings.

"I now call Malachi to the stand, he has an not insignificant role in this trial!" Aro said and the vampire was finally brought out from the last room. Carlisle hissed on seeing him and the crowd were perplexed.

"Please state for the gathering before us your connection to Carlisle Cullen!" Marcus asked him as he came to a halt in front of the brothers.

"I am his sire!" he stated calmly,

"You were not involved in his induction to the vampire world were you?" Aro asked

"No, not at all, I saw he would survive without me and for a while, he was a better man for it. But eventually, he became self-absorbed and reverted to the obnoxious man he was as a human" Malachi commented to the room at large.

"That makes you related to his covens by venom, does it not?" Caius enquired,

"Yes, in the case of some bitten by him he passed on some of my less pleasant qualities and it didn't surprise me his covens failed. But in regards to poor young Mary-Alice it was tragic," he stated quietly,

"How so Malachi?" Aro pressed,

"As a hybrid, her humanity could not contain the power within his venom. Thus he passed on my gift of sight to a mostly human child and madness was her unfortunate birthright. I have been going insane myself over the long centuries, but as a human, it was almost instantaneous!" he concluded looking at Carlisle for the first time since entering the room.

"Yes, this is why we should not have children with humans! They can be damaged beyond the normal venom transference, is this not so?" Marcus said pushing Malachi for an answer,

"It is Marcus, you yourself know this through research and have added its drawbacks and dangers to vampire law over the centuries as something not to be considered without permission and a comprehensive check on lineage first. All of which Carlisle completely ignored" was his reply.

"Why have you come forward with this information? Carlisle was unaware of your existence here in Volterra!" Aro asked of the ancient vampire.

"I must carry some of the blame as his sire, as he must for Edward's behaviour. I willingly shoulder the guilt and penalty for his atrocities" was his clear and concise answer.

The three brothers nodded and asked the gathering to not only decided on Carlisle's guilt but that of Malachi too. So with very little time wasted, they declared them both guilty in respect of Alice Cullen. Carlisle for allowing her to be conceived and Malachi for not stopping it as he would have seen it happen before the event.

The brothers stood and made their decisions on the fate of the three vampires before them.

In the case of Malachi, death for creating Carlisle, knowing what the future would hold and having already been warned by the 'Romanians' not to do so.

In the case of Carlisle, death for allowing Alice to live beyond birth.

In the case of Edward, death to be deferred for five hundred years. He would live within the walls of Volterra for this time, after having his gift neutralised, never to be reinstated. If he showed any sign of repentance and the ability to grow by then he would be free, if not he would be executed.

PIWTID

The gala opening of the Villa Paradiso arrived, at last, Charlotte had outdone herself on the replica jewellery. The seamstress' had risen to the occasion and everyone was stunningly dressed in period costumes. Emmett and Victoria had surprised me by arriving two days ago for it, I was so happy to see them again and Em had brought my truck. Rose was elated and took herself and Felix off to get started on the re-spray. I was so happy to introduce them to not only Demetri but Riley as well. Emmett took to everyone so easily, he really was a good man. Vicki was a little nervous being here but soon was incorporated back into the new and improved 'Paradise Coven'.

Everyone who'd stayed on after the trial loved the dressing up, especially those who came from this time period. Food for the humans was set out buffet style, so the vampires there would not be forced to eat it. Dedicated servers with carafes of warm blood circulated amongst them and everyone was happy, even those wearing contacts.

Of course, Demetri surprised me with the proposal, right there in the Villa with everyone watching he dropped to one knee and asked for my hand in marriage. I was so stunned for a couple of seconds but managed a strangled yes. The ring was so beautiful and suited me to a tee. My brain was all over the place then,

'Well fuck me, I'm all grown up and getting married!'

As we returned to the Citadel after the Villa's opening, I had led Demetri to the garage with everyone else following behind, to where Em left my truck, Rose got started on it the minute it arrived and it was now as pristine as it had been when it rolled off the factory floor.

"I didn't get you a ring since I didn't know you were going to ask, but will this do?" I had asked him as I pulled him to the spot where the Chevy sat.

" Theé mou, s 'agapó, but how did you know I wanted one? You were obviously made just for me, this is beyond amazing. Hell who wouldn't want their mate to come with a 1950's Chevy Pickup truck?" he said and everyone had burst out laughing at his exuberance before fading away leaving us alone with the truck.

"I take it, you like my surprise? I was given this by my human father, well Isabella was anyway and I'm happy to give it to you now" I told him honestly.

PIWTID

So all that has to happen is my wedding, the girls decided since we were all together it should be soon and here in Volterra. I was happy with that and we threw ourselves into preparations for it. Demetri true to his word was taking me to Rhodes and I was looking forward to having a hotel there too.

The night before the wedding I was lying on the bed with Demetri, thinking of our eternity when a strange thought entered my head,

'If the humans ever make it to the moon to live, I could have a hotel there! We could call it 'Aikum Hamlan'. God, I slay myself sometimes! Live long and Prosper everyone!'

Theé mou, s 'agapó (Θεέ μου, σ 'αγαπώ) - Oh my god, I love you (Greek)

Aikum Hamlan - Lunar Paradise (Vulcan)

sourced from: Vulcan Language Dictionary (VLD)
Compiled by Selek from Vulcan Language Institute, Marketa Z., Star Trek episodes and Movies