Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. The plot is just my imagination refusing to be quiet.
A/N: I hope you enjoy this - I fought with myself over actually posting this. To me, Alice and Jasper have the most complex relationship of all the Twilight characters and I wanted to do them justice. I'm not sure if I have.
He was watching the water flow down the creek, lost in thought when the air shifted and he caught the smell of another vampire. Immediately tensing for a fight, he rose and turned to meet the newcomer only to be greeted by a small, pixie-like vampire with short, black hair. Entranced, his mind yelled at him to be cautious. Remember what got you into this mess? Trust no one! His screaming thoughts were interrupted by the newcomer's enchanting voice.
"You're not going to fight me. Even if you tried, you wouldn't succeed," she said as she observed his stance.
He felt himself relax at her words rather than bristle while his curiosity took over. He noticed that she barely reached his elbows, but her excitement radiated from her to the point of distraction. Shaking himself mentally, he brought himself to humor her.
"How would you know that? Can you predict the future?" he grinned at the thought.
"Actually, yes." At the shock that passed over his features, she continued. "I get premonitions. When decisions are made, I can see the outcome before it happens. It's not an exact science, decisions can be changed, of course, which alters the outcome," she shrugged. "It's enough to go on." Her expression then got stern. "It's not meant to be used as a weapon."
He had to courtesy to look sheepish."I've been involved in war since the Civil War. Old habits die hard, but not without a fight. Unfortunately, I cannot change my past but I can make different choices for my future," he said looking down, not sure why he was pouring his story out to this stranger. Oddly, she didn't feel like a stranger; he already trusted her.
She moved to stand in front of him, taking his chin in her small hand and tilting his head up slightly to meet her eyes. The heat between their touch was something he had never felt before; he thought he was cursed to feel ice for the rest of eternity. If she noticed, she didn't let on.
"I don't want to fight anymore," he whispered, deep red eyes meeting her gold ones.
"You don't have to," she replied just as quietly. "You've noticed my eyes are gold, yes?" At his nod, she continued. "There are other ways. You don't have to take human lives forever. Animals will work, too. The alternative isn't as satisfying, but you would never have to feel their fear and pain as you take their life away. It takes a lot of practice and determination, not even then will you be immune to the scent of human blood, but it's another choice."
"And why would I fight my nature to do that?" he asked, amused at the idea.
"It will bring back a sense of humanity. You don't have to be an evil monster. There's less guilt and self-loathing. Eventually, you can even play human and go back into society without massacring everyone."
She was serious! "Where did you get such an idea?" He was genuinely curious; in all his years he had never even heard of this other way.
"A vision." She let go of him and went over to his former place by the creek to sit. He found himself following and placing himself next to her without thought. She continued once he was seated. "There's a family of seven vampires that strictly feed this way. The head of the family is actually a doctor," she added with a smile. "They support each other. It's like nothing I have ever seen; they really are a family. Even after one makes a mistake and they are uprooted to go elsewhere, they stay together and keep encouraging each other. Since they don't feed on humans, they can actually settle down and only move when the humans get suspicious of their never changing appearance despite time passing. It would be nice to not constantly have to move," she mused to herself.
"You want to join them?" he looked at her incredulously. At her nod, he sighed and shook his head. "If things go bad, we would stand no chance against seven vampires. There's only two of us."
"There won't be a fight. They're peaceful and prefer to keep things that way. It draws less attention to them. There will only be a lot of discussion."
"You want me to go along?" At her nod, he sighed. "I've slaughtered humans for a majority of my human life. After I was changed, I continued killing humans and forcing others to endure our plague knowing full well that they would be savaged in battle by other vampires. I have destroyed more vampires than I care to remember. I really don't think I can come back from all of that. Any lingering humanity from my transformation is long gone."
"Well, I don't think, I know you can," she encouraged while lightly tapping her her temple. "You're still there, just lost. You want to change, right? I want to stay and help," she said with a shy smile.
"I would like that," he said, returning her smile. "I just have to know, why is this so important to you?"
She was quiet for a long time before finally answering. "I don't remember anything from before my transformation. When I awoke, I was completely alone in the woods. The closest thing to me was a mental asylum. I...I don't think I have ever been so scared. I had no idea what I was, who I was, what I should do and I had no one to explain or help me. Everything I have learned is from instinct or my visions of the future. The only thing I've had to go on for the last 28 years is knowing that one day I would find you and maybe we would join the family I told you about."
He studied her as she spoke. Something about her had captured him. He yearned to take the sadness out of her voice, but settled for taking her small hand in his. She smiled at him. He felt empowered knowing that his little gesture put that smile on her face. Startled, he realised that he would do anything to keep a smile on her face. He had felt every emotion there was - anger, lust, envy, love - but nothing had ever measured to what he currently felt. The deep, unexplainable attraction didn't scare him. For the first time in his entire existence, he felt whole and infinite. If she believed in him, he could and would do anything. Right now, that meant changing his very nature and helping her find the family she wanted to join. He felt a light squeeze on his hand and noticed her smile grow. She had seen his decision.
"By the way, my name is Alice."
"Jasper Whitlock." She nodded and silently rose before heading toward the woods. Without question, Jasper got up and followed.