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"Weapons of war, symptoms of madness.... Don't let your eyes refuse to see, don't let your ears refuse to hear.... And I could hold you in my arms... I could hold on forever." --Ray Lamontagne
Seeing Raoul looking at Alice that way had thrown Jasper into a fury. It was the second time he had felt that angry in such a recent time. The first was when he had seen what they had done to her when they were keeping her here to lure him in.
"An hour to hunt, and then we're leaving," Maria ordered again before whisking herself away to prepare for the trip.
Jasper knew the route well. He had helped plan it. They would travel through Texas to Arkansas and Tennessee. They'd wait in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee during the day, and then continue into Kentucky, West Virginia, and eastern Pennsylvania. They'd wait again in Philadelphia, and then move up to New York City.
He found it ironic that they were waiting in two locations that meant something to his family. Emmett had been from Tennessee, and he and Alice had met in Philadelphia. He wondered if he had subconsciously planned around those two places because they felt safer to him.
Letting out a breath, he looked around. The two of them had ended up in the woods shortly after Maria's order, getting ready to hunt before the trip.
Jasper looked over at Alice now as her emotions faded in and out, distinct to muffled, over and over again.
"Anything new?" he asked aloud.
She shook her head, her eyes focusing on him. "Same vision. The letter."
He suppressed the rage that was starting to build in him again. "Raoul... did he...."
She was in front of him in a mere second, her arms wrapping around his waist as she peered up at him.
"He didn't hurt me, Jazz. Promise," she whispered, waves of contentment flowing off of her.
That was all he needed to hear. He latched on to her tranquility and held it in, reveling in it.
Using Alice's calmness, they hunted in the forest, feeding until their eyes shone with golden hues.
"What do you think is going on with Aurelie?" Alice asked him later, as they slowly made their way back to the house. To Maria.
Jasper hoped it would be the last time that they would be going back to her. He wanted to go home to Carlisle's wisdom and Esme's warmth. It was the first time that he found himself craving the company of Emmett, Rosalie, Edward, Bella, Renesmee, Jacob, Seth... all of the wolves.
He knew that all he needed was Alice and he would be eternally happy... but he did miss the Cullens. They were family. His and Alice's family. And he knew that Alice missed them, too.
He shrugged. "Aurelie... she's complicated. Broken. I don't think she's ever been whole.... She wanted to be. With Raoul. When that didn't work out, I think she gave up on it and threw her life into serving Maria," he thought out loud, disgusted by Aurelie's choice.
"That's so sad... to always be broken...." Alice pondered. She tried to see what the future held for Aurelie, but couldn't see that far. All that she could see was a glimpse of Aurelie and Raoul in New York.
Jasper nodded. "It is. But maybe her mate just hasn't been created yet," he said, remembering the time in his life when he was broken. Empty. Not whole. He hadn't known it then, but he had been like that because Alice hadn't been born yet--as a human or as a vampire.
Alice smiled sadly, sensing what he was reflecting on. "I have hope for her," she said quietly.
He met her eyes and nodded, taking in her uplifting emotions and smiling. "Then so do I."
She changed the subject as they got closer to the house.
"Do you know Luc?" Alice asked him.
Jazz shook his head. "Not really. He had been around, but so were many others. Other than Peter, I didn't really make friends...."
She nodded. "I guess Etienne told him everything he could about me. About us. That's why Luc wrote the letter."
"So you had been seeing flashes of the letter, then?" Jasper wanted to confirm. He wanted to make sure they understood what they were walking into.
"Uh huh. For days. Sometimes just single words... probably words and phrases that he was concentrating on most. But then they'd form into a sentence. I didn't know what it meant until it all came together later... I guess I couldn't see the whole thing until he had finished it and wanted me to," she reasoned. "Luc seems to want to like us."
"While he'd prefer to communicate with us over Maria, I'm not sure that he likes us. We killed his brother," Jasper told her, his frustration picking up a bit. He was nervous about what would happen in New York. No matter what, his goal was to protect Alice and to make sure that she was not harmed while they were there.
Alice wrinkled her brow. "We didn't kill him."
"We instigated his death. We did our part," Jasper said stiffly. "That's the reality of it."
Alice came closer and stared up at him, sensing his tension, but not being offended by his rough tone. "What's bothering you, Jazz?"
He sighed and shook his head. "I didn't... want it to go this far. I don't want you to kill with them."
They walked at human pace now. She smiled sadly. "I'm not killing anyone. What kind of person would I be if I let you go off with Maria alone?" she shook her head. "I don't want you to have to be alone with her and people who think like her. Not again...." she admitted, stealing a glance at him.
He took an unnecessary deep breath. "If you let me go off with her alone, you'd be the type of person who realizes how... scared I am to have you there with me. I know that I can come out of it okay... I have before...."
He looked over at her to emphasize his next words. "I don't want them to taint you or try to change you. It's something they'd do if they wanted you badly enough and that thought terrifies me," he admitted, his voice low now.
She took in a sharp breath and he felt her emotions shift into painful realization as she understood what he was saying.
"Jasper..." she started, "They would never taint me or change me. No matter what, I'm yours. I would never... ever... let them take me from you. Or let them take you from me. We belong together, out of that world...."
He nodded. "I know," he agreed, their fingers brushing each others in comfort. "I know that. I just... I'm ready to do anything necessary to keep us both out of that world... but if it came down to it, then I'd do anything to keep you out of that world...." he told her, knowing that her response would be one of anger.
He felt the anger, but she subdued it, controlled it, before speaking.
"I'm never leaving you, Jazz. And right now, think of me coming along to keep you company," she said, somewhat stubbornly, though he knew she was trying hard to be serious.
"Like I got to come along with you to Italy?" he retorted, not able to help himself, giving her a look.
"That was different and you know it," she said quietly. "The Volturi and Maria are two different things."
He knew he could easily point out that she was saying that Maria wasn't as dangerous--and then use that to back up his argument that Alice not come with him.
But despite his concern, he did not want to be apart from her again. They had promised each other, after she had come back from Italy, that neither of them would do anything like that again. They vowed that they would fight together, travel together, live together, and--if fate called for it-- die together.
"I just want this to be over," he conceded finally, pulling her close to him.
"Soon," she said, nuzzling into him. "I've seen it."
They made their way back to Maria in silence. As they approached the house, the crowd that was coming with them was gathered, waiting for them.
Jasper felt Alice's hesitation, but kept her moving, knowing that an abrupt stop would cause for suspicion. They did not need Maria to be wary of them now.
"All finished hunting?" Maria inquired, staring tauntingly, her red eyes meeting Jasper's gold ones.
"Yes," he answered shortly and clearly.
"Good. We've been waiting. You're lucky I like you," she winked. "Let's go!"
And with that announcement, they were off, whipping through the woods effortlessly.
Alice looked over at Jasper as they ran. She glanced at Maria and then back at Jasper, her emotions confused as she mouthed "Insane?"
He would've laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. Maria's emotions were swirling with a ton of emotions that he wasn't even going to try to process. The one thing he could determine from her though was that she was ruthless and bloodthirsty. This entertained her. She was ready for a fight with Luc-- if she had adrenaline, it would be pumping right now.
Jasper merely nodded at Alice, confirming her thoughts. More than you could know.
She cocked an eyebrow, amused, and he shook his head at the way she tried to joke with him about her human life in the insane asylum. He hadn't meant to draw on that comparison, but he was glad that it had lightened the mood a bit.
They ran until they made it into the mountains of Tennessee. The group then settled for the day, some going off to explore while others simply sat or stood around, waiting.
"Seven P.M. we'll start again," Maria ordered. "Be ready."
Jasper and Alice found a shady corner and sat together, leaning against a wall of the mountain. They wrapped themselves in a protective blanket of emotions, held together with more than just a thread of hope. When covered by this blanket, nothing could come between them.
A few hours later, Maria summoned Jasper to confirm their travel route to Philadelphia. Alice could feel his reluctance to leave her, but she nodded encouragingly. "I'll wait for you here," she promised.
They exchanged a look and then he slipped out of the comfort of their blanket, going to see what Maria wanted.
As Jasper walked away, Raoul and Aurelie walked toward Alice.
"How is it going, ma cherie?" Raoul trilled, his French accent decorating his words.
"Just fine, thank you," she answered, standing now, stepping out of the shade and looking casually toward the direction Jasper had gone. Raoul made her wary.
"Enjoying the scenery?" he inquired.
She shrugged, a human-like gesture.
Raoul didn't seem to think it was cute. She watched his face just barely twitch.
"See anything new?" Raoul demanded from her.
She was annoyed by his attitude, now.
"No," she said simply, controlling her emotions.
"Liar," he growled, coming closer. "I asked you if you had seen anything new."
"Raoul--" Aurelie started, reaching her hand out, but he flung it away from him. "You stay out of this," he hissed.
Alice really hadn't seen anything new.
"And I answered you and said that I had not," she replied sharply, her eyes flashing.
It all happened very fast, then.
"I'llseeformyselfthen," Raoul growled before he was jumping at her, his teeth reflecting the light of the sun, casting rainbow prisms against her own sparkling cheek.
Before his teeth could pierce her skin, he was in the air. A split second later, he and Jasper were a heap on the ground.
"Stop!" Alice screamed. She caught Aurelie's eye for the briefest of moments, the pure fear in Alice's eyes shining evidently.
She watched as Raoul and Jasper took turns pinning each other, snarling and snapping as they fought, no words being exchanged.
Alice's eyes went blank for a split second, and then they widened before she lunged herself at the two of them, trying to break it up.
Aurelie couldn't just stand there. She jumped in, too.
Alice and Aurelie tried to separate them, but Raoul and Jasper just kept moving away from them.
Jasper. Alice thought as she kept trying to break up their fight. JasperPleasePleaseStop.
She hoped that he'd feel her concern and calm down, but he was too lost in the fight to pay attention to the climate around him.
Raoul had made a move to bite Alice --randomly-- she thought, since she hadn't seen it in a vision. And this was Jasper protecting her from that, though she had been ready to defend herself.
Alice noticed Raoul switch directions, and suddenly, again, he was flying through the air at her, teeth bared.
But Jasper forcefully shoved her out of the way, taking Alice's place just as Raoul's teeth sliced through the skin on Jasper's shoulder, near his neck.
Raoul clamped down, attaching himself to Jasper's shoulder, pouring his venom in before smoothly sucking it out again--taking Jasper's gift with him.
"No!" Alice shouted. She snarled and jumped on Raoul as he was pulling away from Jasper. She tightened her arms around his neck, but as soon as her skin made contact with his, she felt an overwhelming wave of lust shoot through her.
She froze and then jumped off of him as if she had been burned, while he chuckled.
Aurelie's eyes were downcast, as if she wasn't sure what to do. Jasper was on the ground on his knees, and Alice was now just feet away from her Jasper.
"What? Didn't like that?" Raoul asked softly, his voice deep and gravelly. "Because I can make you like it...."
She was next to Jasper in a heartbeat, trying to block out what Raoul was projecting. It struck her that Raoul had now stolen Jasper's gift with his bite. And it was her fault.
That thought stung like nothing else. Raoul would've bitten her, but Jasper had taken the bite instead....
"Raoul," Maria's voice echoed off of the walls of the mountain.
Raoul growled and then turned to look at her.
"I thought I asked you to tone it down. Leave them alone, now... I need them ready to move in a few hours," she told him, but her eyes were just as amused as Raoul's.
Raoul smirked. He gave Alice a look and one more shot of lust before wordlessly joining Maria.
Aurelie was shaking her head, as if she wasn't sure what to do now. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't kn-know... I didn't know...." she whispered, before running off.
Alice squeezed her eyes shut and crouched down to where Jasper squatted on his knees.
"Jazz," Alice whispered. She reached up and ran her small white fingers over the harsh red scar that Raoul had left between Jasper's shoulder and neck.
He winced at her touch, but didn't cringe away from her.
"I'm sor--" she started to apologize, but he put a finger to her lips.
Neither of them said anything. She wasn't used to him not being able to show her how he was feeling. She knew she could still check the future for what he would do next, but she wanted to just live in the moment with him now.
She came closer and rested her knees on top of his. She pressed her forehead against his and closed her eyes, taking a breath of him.
Alice felt Jasper do the same, breathing her in as he slowly ran his fingers down her arms.
"I can still feel you," he whispered, his voice quiet, but steady.
She narrowed her brow, puzzled, and opened her eyes to meet his.
He nodded, answering her silent question. He could read her emotions in her face.
Her eyes told him she was afraid. The way that her eyebrows pointed told him that she was concerned.
Her mouth told him that she was sorry, even if he didn't want to hear it. And the way that her body was leaning into him told him that, once again, she was worried about what had happened.
She wanted him to be okay. She needed him to stand and slowly start moving again. She loved him. And he could feel all of that through just being with her and looking at her.
"You did it again... trying to protect me...." she tried to scold him as she melted into his arms. She was upset that he had let himself get another bite at her expense. She didn't want him hurting. And she was somewhat relieved that he couldn't feel her guilt....
"It's fine. I barely...." He wanted to say that he barely felt it, but he wouldn't lie to Alice.
She very lightly let her lips graze the fresh scar, but it still sent a cool wave through his body, comforting him.
Jasper and Alice stayed like that, wrapped in each other, protecting each other, their blanket of emotions now a sheet, as they waited to be told that they were moving on to Philadelphia. To the place where they had started.
Author's Note: I feel like a broken record. School's busy. Life's busy. I'm hoping to try to update once a month.... *crosses fingers*
Story is slowly coming to a close... answers will be revealed...!
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