Jasper POV
I was a major in the Confederate Army in Texas. I vowed to protect the lives of many . . . Not destroy them. Yet, here I was stealing away the lives of innocent people. I had no choice but to escape. So when the opportunity came for me to leave, I took it without thinking twice.
"Jasper, are you alright?" Peter had asked me. I nodded. Of course I wasn't alright, but I'd never let him know that. After all, if it wasn't for him coming back for me, I'd still be the dark creature I was before.
"Yes, I'm fine. Are you alright?" I knew that his intention was to fall into some sort of deep conversation, but I was determined to avoid one. I prayed that he would catch on.
"We've been worried about you," he said, ignoring my question. Well, there went my attempt at small talk.
"I'm promise you that I'm fine," I lied. He stared at me skeptically. Why did he and Charlotte care about my emotions? If anything, they should be avoiding me. I wasn't the most cheerful person to have around. "Peter, you know that I am forever grateful to you and Charlotte for coming back to me, right?"
"Grateful to us? Hell, you're the reason we were able to escape in the first place! If it hadn't been for you, Charlotte and I would either be already dead, or on the brink of death." I shifted uncomfortably. I didn't do well with compliments.
"Tonight will be the last night I will be staying with you. Once morning comes along, I'll be going my own way." He sighed, looking up at me with sad eyes.
"Well, if you think that's what you need to do, then don't let Charlotte and me hold you back." He gazed up at the stars. I could tell that there was something more he wanted to say, but instead he just remained peacefully silent. Charlotte, who had just returned from a hunt, couldn't stop asking me questions.
"Where are you going?"
"I think up towards Pennsylvania."
"Do you need money?"
"No, I have enough."
"Here, take some anyways," she said, throwing a roll of bills at me. She continued to ask questions until sunrise. "We will meet again?" She asked; Peter looked up at me and I could tell he had wanted to know that as well.
"Yes, of course," I promised them, before pivoting on my heel and darting up towards Pennsylvania. I didn't really have a specific reason for why I had chosen Pennsylvania. I'd never been that far up north before. I didn't know anyone there. But, even though my mind kept making excuses for me to change my course, my legs wouldn't listen. I continued to run, at full speed, until I reached my destination.
"Welcome to Pennsylvania!" Said an old, wooden sign that hung at the border. I instantly stopped. What the hell was I doing in Pennsylvania? I had no idea what to do next. Perhaps, I had made a mistake coming here. I hesitated, not knowing what to do. I kicked at the dirt with my army boots; I hated not having a plan! I was already to turn back and hopefully catch up with Peter and Charlotte when something held me back.
I took a whiff of the air. There was a scent, so mesmerizingly captivating, and vaguely familiar, that I couldn't help myself but follow it. It wasn't a human, no, it was something much better than that. As the scent got stronger, I felt another sensation fall over me. I felt warm, and, for once in the past century, happy. I was so deeply determined on finding the source of the beautiful scent and comforting emotions that I hadn't even realized that I had found my way into a small town. I stopped dead in my tracks when the mouth watering scent of human blood whirled around me, drifting pleasantly into my nostrils.
I couldn't believe how careless I had just been! I didn't want to feed off humans anymore, yet I'd just walked into a grand human buffet! I held my breath, and tried to run away as fast as I could from them. The human scent had finally worn off deep into a bushy forest. I mentally scolded myself for my carelessness.
I knew from early on that I could read and manipulate the emotions of those around me. Maria had me use my special talent when it came to controlling the newborns. However, even though my abilities could be seen as a gift, to me they were more of a burden. Whenever I hunted, I could feel the emotions of my prey. These feelings were so horrifyingly painful, that I had vowed to resist the tantalizing scent and taste of human blood, even if it killed me.
I woke up to the scent of vanilla and cherries, a scent that didn't quite belong in the musky all-male army base I took residence in. On a usual day, I would wake up to the smell of boot polish and dirt. It'd been so long since I'd smelled something so sweet.
I hastily swung my legs over my bed. In less than ten minutes I was suited and polished, running a hand through my wavy blond hair to hurry the process. I was eager to discover the source of such a pleasant scent. There was something about it that completely captivated me.
As I rushed to the common room, the aroma got much stronger. I inhaled deeply and smiled at this wonderfully comforting scent.
"Listen Miss, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there's no way I can arrange a meeting for you and Major Whitlock. He's a very busy man and—"
"Excuse me," I said, cutting him off mid sentence. I abruptly sprang up out of his chair and saluted me with the upmost respect. "At ease solider," I said, as he exhaled in relief and clasped his hands together behind his back. "Now, I overheard you two talking. You wish to meet with me?" I asked to a petite, brunette with shiny long black hair that went flowed down her back. She had emerald green eyes that were bordered by lush thick lashed. I had to hold back a sigh, as I realized that this lovely, unfamiliar woman in front of me was the origin of that wonderful scent.
"Major Whitlock, I am Alice Hudson, from a neighboring town," she told me as she gracefully curtsied. I responded respectfully with a slight bow. "May I have a word with you. . . In private," she added. Her eyes shifting to the soldier aside her.
"Of course; if you'll follow me, I'll take you to my office," I said. She nodded, so I made my way down the hallway and held the door open for her as we entered my office. "Now, what is it that you'd like to speak with me for?" I asked once I'd invited her to sit.
"Major Whitlock—"
"Please, call me Jasper." Although it was abnormal for anyone other than family to refer to a Major by his first name, there was something about this woman that was oddly comforting and familiar—even though I was absolutely certain that I'd never met, let alone seen, in my entire life.
"Mr. Jasper, I heard from the townspeople that you're the man who handles relocating citizens to keep them safe from the war," she started. I nodded for her to continue. "This will sound strange, and I'm almost certain that you won't believe me," she warned me, a worried look in her eyes. I had noticed from this point that she had an accent that I wasn't familiar with, one that I'd never heard from any Texan.
"I will keep that in mind, but please, carry on."
"Well, first I must warn you that I'm not from around here. I'm from a northern state. However, I want you to know that I'm completely neutral to this war and even though I'd understand if you want to boot me out of your office right this very second, it'd be ever so gracious of you to hear my tale before taking such actions," she said without taking a single breath. "Please, I beg of you." If this woman in front of me had been anyone else, I would've had them removed immediately, for they could've been a spy. However, there was something about the desperation and sincerity in her face that persuaded me otherwise.
"I promise you that I will listen to whatever you have to say with an unbiased mind. Please, continue."
"Thank you, I will be forever grateful to you for your kindness. However, I've come to warn you, for you, as well as the other people of the south, are in grave danger." She took a brief pause before giving me a reason. "My brother was a soldier, sent to these lands to fight for the north. However, only a few days into battle we received a notice that he'd gone missing one night. We'd been told that he was most likely dead," I saw a single tear slide smoothly down her angelic face. "We prepared a funeral, even though we hadn't a body to bury. But, the night before the funeral, something truly bizarre happened. That night, as I laid in my bed in complete darkness, I heard the creaking of my bedroom door. The noise was followed by the squeaking of my wooden floor, getting closer with ever step from whoever had made their way into my room. I froze with anxiety, as the noise came closer and closer.
To my happiness, I discovered that the person approaching me was my dear brother. I clapped in joy at his return, but he silenced me almost immediately. As he stood in front of me in the pale moonlight that poured in from my window, I noticed that there was something different about him. I can't truly recall what it was, but I vividly remember that his eyes were a shocking shade of red.
He spoke to me of a war that he'd escaped from. Not this current war between the regions, but from another war. A war that would 'end all life,' he said to me. He told me that here, in these southern states, many would soon have their lives stolen from them. He told me that it would start with people disappearing randomly, and then lead to entire towns being destroyed. Either the people would be recruited to fight, or killed in a most terrifying fashion.
Then, he requested that I move further up north, for I would be safer there, at least for now. At the end, he told me that I could never see him again. Because," he stopped again, and by this point her eyes were completely flooding with tears. "Because, the longer he stayed with me, the more dangerous he would become to me. Then, before he could explain why, he left."
"That's, well, I'm not necessarily sure how to respond to your warning," I told her truthfully. She continued to cry, so I handed her my handkerchief. "However, I doubt that you would travel this far if your claims were false."
She sighed in relief, but continued to worry about whether or not I'd truly believed her. "I know it's hard to believe, but you have to trust me."
"Yes, very difficult to believe indeed. But, as I said, you would have gone through this much trouble if you weren't telling the truth." I paused, as I put further thought into her words. "Miss Alice, what do you suggest I do?" I asked curiously.
"I'd say for you to relocate to the north, even though I'd know that you'd refuse." I nodded. Moving to the north would mean surrendering. It was completely out of the question. "So, I guess all I could really do is warn you and let you decide what to do," she said softly.
"Well, Miss Alice, you've definitely given me much to think about."
"Now that I've done all that I can do, you'll have to excuse me, for I'd like to respect my late brother's request, and retreat further up north."
"Of course," I said, as I stood up. "Let me walk you out." Although there was nothing I requested more than to keep this woman always by my side, I unwillingly walked her to the door. "Until we meet again," I said, tipping my hat to her as she stood in the doorframe.
She flashed me a stunning, yet sad, smile. "If only it were that simple," she sighed. "Perhaps, if this war ever ends, this will occur. But for now, I must bid you farewell. I have a long journey ahead of me." She curtsied before adding, "No matter how far up north I travel, I will always remember you and your kindness." I smiled, breathing in her sweet scent for the last time.
I watched her walk away from the base, as her hair danced in the wind.
My head snapped up, as I pulled myself out of that distant memory from my human life. It was that night that I patrolled the land, Miss Alice's words still running through my head, in search for anything dangerous nearby. After deciding that things were safe, I headed back towards the base. However, I was stopped by three women, who were travelling alone in the dark. It would've been quite ungentlemanly of me if I hadn't stopped to escort these ladies back to their home.
I soon discovered that I had made the wrong choice, when one of them pounced on me and changed my life forever. I closed my eyes as the fiery pain of this woman's bite completely engulfed me. I woke up three days later as a vampire.
I closed my eyes and put my head I my hands as I painfully reflected back to those dark memories that I knew would forever scar me. However, I was distracted by an intoxicating sweet scent. It was the scent from earlier, and it was much closer than earlier.
"Oh my," I said to myself, as I realized that the pleasant scent that danced around me was none other than the scent of cherries and vanilla. Her scent.
Once again, I found myself standing up from where I was seated in the forest, and moving towards that mesmerizingly captivating aroma that had enchanted so long ago. I followed it back into the town. The scent of human blood had dramatically increased, mostly because it was raining and already dark out. I realized soon that the scent was coming from inside a small, nearly empty diner.
A/N: Hi, so I'm not sure whether or not to stop the story here, because I think it's obvious who he meets in the diner. But, if I get enough reviews requesting that I continue, then I'll go into more detail about what happens after they meet. So, we'll see! =)