What if Bella wasn't just some strange human that turned up in Forks that day? What if Jasper was her sire from his times with Maria? What if Bella had watched him and followed him from afar since he left Maria? What if Bella's existence relied on one factor? Jasper recognising her.
What If?
Chapter 5
I was getting close. I could smell his sweet woody-musk scent as I approached the boundaries of Forks. I'd always made sure to change direction so that nobody with powers could possibly trace where I was headed.
I stopped running abruptly as I smelt more scents, mingled with his. All were unrecognisable, meaning I had never met any of them.
The reason I'd always followed the Major was because he was always the most controlled from Maria's clan. He created and trained me. He saw something different in me that Maria passed off.
Flashback
"Maria, Isabella had something inside her, something different to all the other newborns. Something that makes her deadly in a fight." The Major told her one night.
"She was your first made Major. You'll always believe the best in her, it's normal." She growled sweetly.
"This is more then some weird vampire sire and child thing. She could have a power Maria, and a strong one at that. In the aftermath of a fight, even when I'm down and covered by 10 others, she can manage to find me. When we're training, it's like she knows what I want the group to do and how to do it perfectly before I even open my mouth. She's the most civil, strong, fast and perfect-newborn or otherwise- vampire I've ever seen." He was pleading with her to keep me.
We all knew how it worked around here. After your first year, you were destroyed by one of the older vampires. After your first year, your strength and speed start to wear down. You were no longer useful.
"Jasper, you can't just expect me to keep her just because you're her sire." Maria scoffed.
"That's actually what I was hoping for Maria. She's my first and only remaining child Maria. Please, I'll push her extra hard to become like us. Any trouble she causes will be on my head." He promised.
"If you're willing to vouch for her then so be it. I'll hold you to it. You're dismissed Major." Maria allowed. I almost jumped for joy before making myself scarce before the Major came past.
End Flashback
Ever since he left with Peter and Charlotte I've trailed him. Our disappearances didn't go unnoticed by Maria, especially when Jasper went back and destroyed her. Now all I need to hope is the Major hasn't forgotten me.
I continued searching for his freshest trail, ending up at Forks High School. Maybe he is as in control of his thirst as I. Maybe, like I have heard from nomads, he has in fact gone vegetarian. I rarely hunted on humans, even as a newborn and I only hunted animals now.
Whenever I wandered into human towns, like this one, I made sure to wear contact lenses, blue, like my human eyes, so I didn't freak out the humans with my golden eyes.
I waited in the outskirts of the forest, but not before running through the campus to spread my scent. Hopefully to catch the Majors' eye.
I waited for a few hours until the last bell rang. I made my way to where I could be seen by vampire eyes as I saw him emerge with two females and two males close by. All four of which were vampires. It seems the Major has got a family.
I saw him stiffen as he crossed my scent a few times, followed by his family also smelling me. They all knew the scent was vampire, now all I needed was for him to trace the scent and for his eyes to glance over here.
I saw the youngest looking male glance in my direction and saw his lips move discreetly. The Majors' eyes looked over to where I was quickly and nodded. From this distance I couldn't hear what they were saying so I just watched.
A wave of patience hit me from the Major as they walked to the car park. He wanted me to wait. I did, only for about 5 minutes before I heard rustling coming towards me from behind. I delved into deeper forest before spinning to watch them enter.
I wanted to speak first.
"Rosalie, she wants to speak." The youngest male said quietly.
I nodded silently at him, "My name is Bella. I do not wish to harm any of you in any way nor any humans in this town."
"How do you know Jasper?" The youngest male asked cautiously. I winced at hearing him say the Majors' name used so casually.
"I know the Major from time spent at Maria's clan." I answered quietly but respectfully.
"Why are you here?" The Major asked kindly. Strange to not hear him in control mode, but it's obvious he's changed in the years since Maria.
"I dislike being alone Major. You were always the most controlled in the clan so I've tracked you for years Major." I answered quickly. I didn't need to get into too much detail it the present time did I?
"But why me? Peter and Charlotte are still around. I'm sure they'd welcome you with open arms." He replied. I took a deep and unnecessary breath to prolong me speaking.
"I helped you fight against Maria when you returned." Was all I said. I couldn't tell him outright who I was, otherwise he'd be forced to remember me. I didn't want to make him remember, I wanted it to be because he does remember me. Not just me sparking him memories.
"She wants you to remember her of your own free will, she doesn't want to say too much and spark your memories." The youngest one spoke. I frowned. He must be a mind-reader, I placed up my shield so he couldn't read me. Now it was his turn to frown.
"She's a shield Edward." The small pixie looking female told him. So the youngest male was Edward...
"Thankyou, Alice." He sneered her name.
"Shut it guys." The Major told them sharply before turning to me again. "I understand your wants but could you please assist me with a few small details?"
What was something small I could tell him? Too detailed and he'd figure it out straight away, but too vague and he wouldn't have a clue. I scrunched up my nose slightly as I was thinking –human habits die hard- and I heard a gasp.
"Isabella?"
"Major?" I replied respectfully.
"Isabella Swan?" He couldn't believe it. I forced myself to remain impassive.
"That was my name. Before I was changed Major." I wasn't going to give him an exact answer. His face dawned slightly with realisation. Such a small spark that I don't think anyone realised.
"Isebelle Whitlock?" He made sure to pronounce my first name correctly.
"Yes, Major Whitlock?" I allowed myself a small smile at my not-so-often used full name.
"Why did you introduce yourself as Bella? I mean if your name is Isabelle, shouldn't your nickname be Belle?" The blonde female asked with a sneer.
"Her name is Is-E-belle, Rosalie." The Major's words were laced with warning.
"Why did she follow you Jazz? You trained lots of newborns with Maria, so why is this one special?" Alice asked him. It wasn't in distaste or anger, just curiosity. But I nearly growled at the use of his nickname of 'Jazz'. The Major walked over to stand next to me.
"Quick question first Isebelle, why did you introduce yourself as Bella?" He asked.
"I took Bella up because most humans I can across couldn't comprehend Isebelle. They thought it was weird." I chuckled softly as I wrinkled my nose again slightly. The Major chuckled with me.
"Now Isebelle, this is my family. My brothers, Edward- the annoying one and Emmett- the stupid one. This is my sister, Rosalie, she's the ...umm... she's just Rosalie. This little pixie one here, she's my mate, Alice." He chuckled throughout his talk as he put his arm around my shoulders. I froze at the mate comment.
The Major continued, "Family, this is Isebelle Whitlock, she's my first child." Silence followed his statement. That was until Rosalie broke it.
"You have a child?" She laughed.
"I changed her and trained her. She has a few powers, which probably multiplied over the years and is extremely defensive." The Major defended.
"Venom is more powerful then blood." I spoke quietly, mostly to myself.
Emmett said something, but I wasn't listening, I was too caught up in my memories. I felt someone approaching me. I suddenly looked up to see Emmett approaching. The Major wasn't paying attention and could get hurt. I slipped out from under the Major's arm and sunk into a defensive crouch in front of him and snarled.
Emmett looked startled, as did everyone else in the space. He stopped and slowly backed away. Good, no-one hurts the Major. Even in the fights with other clans, I could feel it when he was hurt and it hurt me.
"Isebelle." The Major said sharply. I span around to face him quickly and stood up from my crouch. I saw his face had pride all over it. "Emmett meant no harm, he was simply coming to introduce himself properly." I span back around to face Emmett. I sped over there quickly to stand in front of him.
"I'm sorry Emmett, I didn't mean to alarm you." I apologised sincerely.
"Apology accepted Isabelle. May I give you a hug?" He asked sheepishly. He obviously didn't want me to lash out at him again. I simply nodded before I was pulled into the biggest bear hug ever!
"Emmett," The Major chuckled happily. Emmett put me down and I ran back to my spot next to the Major. He gestured to me, "New girl. No scaring." Emmett just laughed. I smiled genuinely for the first time in years.
"Isebelle? What would you say to meeting your Major's parents?" Rosalie chuckled nicely. She had her hand twined with Emmett's so I guessed they were mated. I looked to the Major who nodded hopefully. He wanted me to meet his parents.
"I'd say, I'd love to meet them." I replied hesitantly.
"Follow me newbie, if you can keep up." Edward challenged.
"Edward, she's older then you." The Major laughed loudly. Edward kept his smile on his face as he sped off into the forest.
"And wiser Major." I called back to him as I raced after Edward.
He was surprisingly fast but I was faster. What he called running, I called jogging.
"You call this running child?" I teased, surprisingly more comfortable.
"Obviously you do too midget." He teased back.
"I would go faster but I don't know the way." I grumbled. I heard the Major chuckle from not far behind.
"You do Isebelle. Follow me." The Major informed me. I smiled and followed the scent he'd made earlier this week. I sped off ahead of Edward until I reached a house. I stopped suddenly at the enormity of it. When everyone caught up, the Major laughed.
"May I escort your child in Jasper?" Edward asked as the Major was about to speak. Jasper looked at me knowingly.
"The Major was about to speak." Was all I said. He smiled while Edward frowned.
"Thankyou Isebelle. If you feel uncomfortable at any time, I'll assist you. You will love Esme and Carlisle, they are the most –shall I say, human- of us all. There is no need to refer to me as the Major if you don't want to." The Major walked in first to the house. Alice gestured for me to enter next so I did.
"Jasper, who is this?" A friendly looking woman asked as we entered the room.
"Esme, this is Isebelle Whitlock, my first and only remaining child. Isebelle, this is my adoptive vampire mother, Esme." The Major introduced.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Isebelle." She held her hand out for me to take. I shook it carefully.
"Likewise Esme."
"Isebelle, this is my adoptive vampire father, Carlisle. Carlisle, this is the child I told you about all those years ago. She helped me destroy Maria." The Major introduced me to a handsome blonde. I shook his hand.
"So you're the one who assisted my son on more then one occasion in a fight. Maybe you could help with our training session tonight." Carlisle was simply stating what he knew.
"I'd love to, thankyou." I replied kindly.
"Three minutes Jazz." Alice spoke as she walked out the open back door. Everyone followed her, including me.
"We've caught wind of a group of 25 nomads joining up to try and destroy the most powerful covens in the world. They are due to be arriving within the month, correct Alice?" Carlisle explained to me while Alice nodded. I assumed she had visions of the future or something. "Jasper has been helping us with some newborn tactics as well as some rather difficult sequences. Would you care to help?" I nodded. Carlisle sat on one of the benches lined up against some trees where everyone except the Major and I were sitting.
"Isebelle, Emmett has the most direct attack, like most newborns. Can you demonstrate the best way to deflect them from grabbing you please." The Major gestured for Emmett to stand up and come at me.
Emmett ran straight at me, I stepped to the side and ran behind him and put some distance between us. I placed my hand up to stop Emmett coming at me again.
"If you have enough space to put some distance between you repeatedly, the newborn with get angry and his attacks with become sloppier and less controlled. Another tactic is to trick them, watch carefully." I motioned Emmett to come at me again.
As he reached me, I started running circles around him. He was getting really confused as he tried to grab me. At my at least 30th chance, I pounced on his back and placed my teeth at his neck. He looked shocked and unhappy.
"Rosalie is the fastest attack." The Major supplied as Emmett went to sit down. Rosalie got up and walked to me.
"When dealing with more experienced fighters, the one's who are faster with the attack even out of the newborn stage, can control their anger better. The easiest way to tell if the vampire is a newborn or not is by their first attack. Most newborns will try to wrap their arms around you while experience alters that. Go ahead." I smiled at Rosalie.
She stalked slowly up to me and sunk into a fighting stance. I copied her movements. She struck out with her left arm, which I deflected with my right leg. She tried to strike again, getting faster with each of her movements. I deflected them all before making my move. I kicked her right shoulder and stomach in the same blow. Then I hit her left shoulder with my left hand and ran around her in the same second, squeezing her neck in a headlock. I let her go when I unwrapped my arm. She smiled at me, obviously impressed.
"Edward has his talent to fall back on but with shields it is rendered useless." The Major said.
"Prepare to go down midget." He teased, completely forgetting that I was his opponent.
I struck the side of his stomach and kicked his chest. I placed my teeth at his neck.
"I'm pretty sure you'd be the one that is dead child." I turned around and walked away, knowing full well he would attack again.
He jumped on my back to which I responded with a kick to his groin. He growled and I smiled as I flipped him off me easily and placed my teeth over his neck once again. I jumped away.
"If your opponent knows you aren't down for good and he walks away, don't go after him, especially in a move like that." I informed the rest of the group.
"Do you remember the time with Darcy, Miki and the rest?" The Major asked me as Edward grumbled and went to sit back down.
"The team, sure. Everyone up please." I smiled at my lack of challenge. "We're going to do this last exercise before splitting you up into pairs. Do NOT hold back due to fear to hurting anyone. Things like this can happen in reality, think about the nomad situation. Take note of the techniques used and work together."
"What are we supposed to do Isebelle?" Rosalie asked with one hell of a confused expression plastered on her face.
"First step, circle me." When they didn't move I looked at the Major and channelled my inner Major. "NOW!"
The did as they were told all with hesitant movements.
"You will all attack me as a team. Your objective is to render me useless. The Major will look on and will help me correct you afterwards. To render me useless is to rip my head off. If you feel you need to take limbs off, go right ahead. For all intents and purposes this is a real fight and I am a real threat. Please don't actually rip my head off. If my teeth touch your neck you step back and watch. Close ranks and go." I laughed a boisterous laugh as they closed in.
Esme was immediately on my right so I attacked her first. She wasn't expecting it so she stumbled but regained herself.
"Use different tactics, brute force and/or speed won't work in a situation like this. Use each other and don't underestimate your opponent." The Major called from somewhere outside the circle.
I saw an opening between Emmett and Carlisle. With my speed I slipped between them and jumped on Emmett's back, I pressed the flat part of my teeth on his neck and jumped off him. He stepped back and stood with the Major. Carlisle came at me and I dodged him and jumped over Alice and Rosalie and landed on Esme's back. I pressed my teeth to her neck and jumped off. Edward grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. I span out of his grip and ducked under his arm (did I mention I'm only 4"9?) twisting it behind him. Rosalie came from behind me and jumped on my back but didn't have a secure grip. I shook her off and pushed Edward into Alice easily. I started to move faster and put more force into my blows.
"See what I said about underestimating your opponent and working together." The Major said about 5 minutes later when everyone was eliminated.
"One day, all 7 of you may be able to take me down. Trust is the main key in teamwork. If you don't trust each others judgement and skills, you will perish." I laughed.
"Has anyone actually ever taken you down?" Emmett chuckled.
"Yes, but only one person. Major Jasper Whitlock has on numerous occasions, especially as a newborn. He vouched for me to Maria and pushed me harder to become like him, unbeatable to everyone except me." I giggled at the Major's expression.
"500 smackaroons on Belle." Emmett held his hand out of Edward. I extended my shield from my body and pushed it out to cover Alice so Edward couldn't cheat.
"Since she blocked my only method of sure winning..." Edward was interrupted by Alice.
"I see neither winning but it will sure be interesting to watch out of my head." Alice smiled.
"Alice!" Emmett whined as he dropped his hand.
"Would you like to show them?" The Major whispered in my ear.
"Only if you don't use your talent against me again." I replied. Once he made me lethargic and really calm just to end a 3 hour fight.
"Don't worry, if it goes over 10 minutes, we'll stop it." Edward assured.
"Pigs ass you will. You don't interrupt when Isebelle is fighting. You'll end up as purple smoke." The Major snorted.
"Mind if we prolong this fight for a little? I want to talk to her." Alice piped up. I shrugged. "Great, let's go."
We were running for about a minute before she stopped suddenly.
"What's up Alice?" I asked carefully.
"How do you make him so happy?" She whispered.