Disclaimer: If you don't know by now then you never will. Stephenie Meyer owns it all. I'm just having fun.
Chapter 11: PAST
Edward POV
I had poured my heart out and Bella's first reaction was to mention Jasper. How stupid was I? She didn't want me. Why would she? I was a soulless monster who had unintentionally hurt her by being associated with a woman who wouldn't take no for an answer. Was it Bella's fault that I didn't deserve her and she knew it? No it was mine. And now we were walking hand in hand down to talk with the one person that I didn't want to hear owned her heart.
"Jazzy, it really is time." She let go of me and walked directly over to his side. I took small comfort in the fact that at least Alice and I would be able to help each other through the heartbreak. She really had become my favorite sister and maybe that was all that there was for me; my family.
"I know" Jasper had his arm around her shoulder and I wanted so bad to knock it off. He was touching the love of my world right in front of me as if it was nothing to him. He looked over at me, Calm down Edward everything will be alright. At least I hope.
Sure he had reason to hope. He was going to walk away tonight with my angel and I would be left alone once again. I wonder would she block the two of them from me. I had to believe so. I didn't think I could bear to hear them going at it night after night.
"Did you talk to Alice?" She looked so nervous. Well it served her right. She shouldn't be calm when she was about to break my heart and her best friends.
Really Edward, Jasper looked back at me. Give it a rest. Your emotions are killing me. Jasper rubbed his head and my smile had to have told him I was glad. The woman I wanted to spend forever with was about to chose him and he wanted me to make it easier for him. If I could feel every emotion in the book I would just to shove it in his face.
"He told me, Bella." Alice bounded into the room looking just as high spirited as always. Didn't she know what was about to happen? She walked over to Bella and pulled her into one of her bone crushing hugs. What was going on? Could Alice be that excepting of Jasper and Bella? Didn't she realize that we were both about to have our hearts crushed? "I wish you two had shared this sooner but I understand and you are still my very best friend and my sister and if anyone wants to get to you they will have to go through me." She pulled back and gave her a stern look. "Understood?"
"Yes, mama" Bella smiled at her.
"I wish I could see your future." Alice ignored her while looking puzzled. "That might help because at least I could get a look at this Maria and maybe be able to track her to see if she is coming for you."
"Do you think that would help?" Jasper was staring Alice down.
"I'm not sure, maybe." Alice shrugged. I didn't understand any of their conversation and I wished they would let me in. I felt like I was missing something important but I didn't know what.
"Well, Bella can drop her shield and you could probably get a read on her." Jasper told her.
Alice's mouth dropped open. "Isabella Maria Swan, why have you never told me that before?"
"You didn't ask" She laughed and Alice puffed. "Really Alice it's no big deal. I don't do it that often and there was nothing I could think of that you needed to see in my future so I never thought to let you look."
"Nothing for me to see?" Alice practically wailed which brought the rest of the family into the room. "You only have a deranged vampire stalking you hell bent on killing you and anyone else and you didn't think that was important?" What? Now I was really confused and more than anything I wanted to pull Bella back to me and stand guard over her every minute to protect her. She might not be mine but that didn't stop me from loving her and wanting her safe and I would lay down my life to make sure that she was.
"Not really" Bella's voice sounded shaky.
"Alice it's not her fault." Jasper stood up for her. "I didn't want to tell you." He walked over to her and hugged her to him. "I was scared."
"Scared?"
"I didn't want to lose you." He kissed her forehead. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me and I love you so much. I was scared that if you knew, really knew my history then you would be disappointed. You might not love me the same."
Alice laughed. "You're so silly. Did you really think that would make a difference? I love you Jazz. I have always loved you. When I woke up I knew that you were the only person I could ever love. No amount of history could change that."
"You are amazing" He kissed her and I looked over at Bella to see her reaction. She was looking at me with a smile. Maybe all hope wasn't lost.
I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Will you please explain everything?"
"Yes" She nodded and stood on her toes to kiss my check. "Jazzy?"
"Right" He pulled away from Alice and looked at the rest of the family. "Bella and I have a few things we need to share with you and afterwards if you would like us to leave then we would understand."
"Leave?" Esme questioned. "Why would you think such a thing?"
"We're family now" Emmett spoke up. "Family sticks together."
"Because there are things in our past that aren't pretty" Bella explained. "Things that are still after us and would stop at nothing to destroy us."
"Bring them on" Emmett flexed his muscles.
Bella and Jasper laughed but sat down on the sofa next to us. Alice was beside Jasper and Bella had pulled me next to her. She was holding my hand as if she couldn't let go and that was fine with me. I never wanted her to let go.
"Perhaps you should explain." Carlisle spoke in his always calm voice.
Bella looked to Jasper and he began. "When I went off to war I had no idea that as we were fighting the North there was another war taking place alongside us."
"You're talking about the southern vampire wars?" Carlisle interrupted.
"Yes" Jasper continued. "I was changed to become a part of that war. I didn't understand what had happened when I woke up. There was no one there and all I could think of was that I needed to get out of there. I ran and found myself in a field." He looked over at Bella. "You were there and for years it always puzzled me why you were out there in the middle of the night."
"I was to be married the next day." Bella supplied. "I wasn't in love with my fiancé. Truth was I couldn't stand him but my father and his were friends and they had signed my betrothal the day after my birth. I was out there trying to think of a way out." I squeezed her hand. I didn't like the fact that she had been meant for someone else but I took comfort in the fact that she said she didn't love him and he was long gone.
"I came upon her and bit her without knowing what I was doing." Jasper continued the story. "I didn't know that I could feel emotions at that time but hers overwhelmed me and I stopped. I rushed back to where I had woken up in hope that someone would be able to save her but I was told that it was too late. She was already changing."
"We were taught to fight by the woman that had changed me. She saw that there was more potential in me versus the others so she kept me close." Jasper was in another time. I could see it all playing out in his head. Every word he spoke brought forth a memory. I saw Bella as she was changed and felt her pain. I saw the two of them fighting side by side; Jasper risking himself to protect her. "The only problem to her was Bella."
"Jasper felt responsible for me since he had changed me." She looked at him and smiled. "I would also say he felt guilty too but me, I was just happy that I didn't have to go through with that sham of a marriage. I hated what we were doing but I was happy to be away from my family. Which I know sounds harsh but they were not a loving bunch." I wanted to pull her into my arms. I hated that she had suffered and I had not been able to be there for her. I thought of the memories that I had of my parents. They were long faded but I knew that they had loved me. I knew that we had been important to each other but Bella didn't have that. I put my arm around her and swore that she would from now on. She would know that she was loved, that she was important to me if no one else.
"Maria hated that." Jasper took over again. "She hated that Bella was always with me. That I would protect her in battles. We probably would never have found out about Bella's shield if it wasn't for her."
"She attacked me one night" Bella spoke but Jasper relived the memory. "She came into my tent and jumped on top of me. Before I could move she had me pinned and I was sure that I was going to be destroyed. All I did was wish that she would let me go. That she couldn't touch me and within seconds she had moved away. I ran but she chased me. She would get close but couldn't reach me. I stopped outside Jasper's tent and screamed for him but he wasn't there."
"I heard her though and I took off in that direction." Jasper looked at her. "I had sworn to protect her the day I had taken her life and I meant to keep that promise. When I reached my tent I was in shock. Maria was moving around her but it was like Bella had some kind of shield around herself. She couldn't get within a foot of her. I went to stand beside her and Maria backed off."
"After that she spent a month trying again." Bella finished. "Every other night she would come at me but I had learned to think of her not touching me and she couldn't. It infuriated her but she finally gave up and decided to let me die in the 'year curse'."
"The what?" Rosalie asked.
"When a newborn vampire reaches the year mark they lose a lot of their newborn strength, right?" Jasper asked and we all shook our head in agreement. "Maria was intent on having only the strongest of armies so when the year was up then she would have that crop of newborns destroyed and make new ones. I always hated that day but Bella wasn't going to be destroyed like that."
"I worked with her to build her shield." Jasper kept going. "We pushed and tried everything and soon she was able to push it out from just around herself. She could cover others and as we continued to work she could push it further. By the time her year came up then she could cover have the troops without even thinking about it."
"That was why you had to learn how to extend your shield?" I remembered that first conversation in my room. She hadn't sounded happy about knowing how far she could project it and I now understood why.
"It was the only way to save myself." Bella looked up at me. "Maria was dead set that I would be destroyed and if she couldn't do it then she was going to have it done somehow. I had to prove to her that I was worth keeping."
"It worked too." Jasper added. "Maria couldn't destroy her and that only made her hatred grow. But after that she left her alone. We continued like that for more years then I ever want to think of again." I saw the fighting again and I felt the pain and frustration with each vision. "We would talk about leaving but we both knew we never would. Even though we hated it; it was the only life we knew."
"Then one day a friend of mine Peter showed up. He had run a few years before when his mate Charlotte was scheduled to die in the flames." Jasper moved on. "I had let him go and Maria had started to resent me for that and other things. He came back to tell me that he and Charlotte had spent their time in the north and not once came across the fighting that we experience day after day. He asked me to come with them and I debated. I knew Maria was plotting something and if I didn't get Bella out of there she would most likely go for her first but still it was all I knew."
"I told him that I would try to join him and we made a date to meet. I hadn't told Bella in case it didn't work. The last thing I wanted was to get her hopes up if there wasn't a chance. Still I figured that even if I couldn't get out I could send Bella with them and at least she would be safe." He was always protecting my Bella as a father would his daughter. I owned him an apology; I owned them both one. "When the time came I knew that I couldn't stay. I went to Maria and told her we were leaving. I knew that she would be angry but I thought that I could control the situation and her emotions and be able to leave quietly. It didn't work out like that. She went crazy and attacked me. When she realized that she couldn't win she threatened the only thing in this world I cared about."
"She told him that she would kill me." Bella took over for him. "He thought he had controlled her emotions and that was why she stopped attacking but I was outside the tent and had shielded him. I heard her spit my name in venom swearing that she would find us no matter where we went." I pulled her closer. My mind was racing with ways to protect her. This Maria would never, ever lay a hand on her. Not while I lived. I would kill her first.
"I left her screaming in the tent and went to find Bella who had made it back to her tent without my knowing that she had been outside." Jasper nudged her. "We packed up everything and took off. We traveled with Peter and Charlotte for a few years but I had become so down. I hated taking a life and I didn't know there was any other way to survive."
"I felt the same although probably for different reasons." Bella added. "We left them and traveled alone until we met Alice." She looked over at her and smiled. "I had figured that the constant threat of Maria finding us was weighing on Jazzy and that was why he was so down. I had decided that we should go our separate ways. I was packed and ready when he came home with this crazy woman who was talking all kinds of nonsense. I didn't understand but he seemed so much happier. It was like he had let go of all the pain and loneliness and guilt. You saved him and in turn me and for that I will always love you."
Alice looked like she was crying and of course she jumped up and hugged Bella. "Although you could lighten up on the hugs" Bella whimpered.
"Sorry" Alice went back to her seat. "But you never said you love me before. I just got excited and oh Bella I love you too. You are the best person I have ever met. You put up with me even when I know that I'm getting on your nerves and you hardly ever yell at me except when I'm trying to do your makeup. I have always loved you and I will always love you no matter what."
"Thanks Alice" Bella reached over and squeezed her hand.
"So that's basically it." Jasper looked ready to bust. I could only guess that he was feeling Alice's emotions and they were very happy. "We don't want to put your family in danger and with what happened with Bella earlier we can only presume that Maria has found us. We will leave and you won't have to worry about her attacking any of you."
"If you leave I'm going to" I didn't need to hear what my family said. Bella was my mate and if she was going somewhere then I was also. I had no intention of letting her face this alone.
"So am I" Alice jumped in.
"You're not leaving me out of any fight" Emmett stood up. "Especially if someone is coming after my little sister. Family protects family."
"Emmett calm down" Carlisle spoke. "No one is going anywhere."
"We're not?" Bella looked confused.
"Bella" Esme smiled at her. "You and Jasper and Alice are a part of us now. You can't tell us that someone wants you dead and then expect us to do nothing about it."
"As Emmett said, family protects family." Carlisle completed. "You are safer here anyway then running through the forest not knowing where you're going."
"But she might not come alone." Jasper warned and I could see armies marching in his head. "And she's quite vindictive and cunning when it comes to attacking."
"So be it." Emmett was always ready for any type of violence. "And I don't like to brag but my Rosie can match vindictive and cunning with the best of them. Not to mention downright mean."
Jasper, Alice and Bella turned and looked at Rosalie. They didn't know of her past and the men that she had killed. If they thought this Maria could be ruthless they had no idea that they had been living with the champ.
"I can hold my own." Rosalie smiled.
"Wow" Alice's eyes still bugged out. "I didn't see that coming."
"Okay so everything is settled." I pulled Bella closer. "No one is leaving and we are sticking together. We need to talk strategy so that if Maria attacks we will be ready."
"Agreed" Emmett sat back down and he and Jasper dissolved into planning. Emmett looked like a kid in a candy store he was so happy to have someone that he could plan out fights with. Everyone was listening closely but I couldn't stop looking at Bella. She had her head resting on my shoulder and the softest smile on her face.
This was what I had wanted. There were still parts of her past that I didn't know and things of my own that I needed to tell her but we were a team. She had opened up to me, to the family, and let us in.
By the way Edward, I heard Bella loud and clear in my mind. I forgot to tell you that I love you too.
I smiled a content smile and leaned down to press my lips to hers. She was mine and she would stay mine. I would keep her safe and we would spend years getting to know each other.
Aw, Emmett interrupted the moment. Eddie's finally going to get some.
I laughed it off. Emmett could say whatever he wanted. Bella was here, in my arms, she loved me and I was happy. There was nothing that could destroy that.
AN: Thanksgiving surprise. You guys should know by now that I love to share extra during the holiday and this time I am giving not just one chapter but two :). Wow, I must be feeling great or something. Now here is where you reward me with lots of reviews. I would hate to think that no one liked my Thanksgiving gift :(.
Don't make me blue; please review :)
