Jasper POV
The air hummed with tension and apprehension, mixed in with other things. Bella was wary, territorial and defensive along on top of the other two feelings. Edward was anxious but curious. Esme was overly worried, Alice was excited, Emmett was expectant and eager, and Rose was pretty much indifferent as we all waited in the lounge room for the Denali Coven to arrive. Carlisle was the only relaxed one as he lounged against the couch with Esme in his arms, eyes on the plasma no one else seemed to be paying attention to.
"They'll be here soon!" Alice trilled. "They're only six minutes away."
The anxiousness escalated.
For the next six minutes I tried to keep control of it and turn into calm and reassurance to channel back into the room. It worked – to a degree. As soon as we heard the car's engine rumbling in the distance, drawing closer, the emotions spiralled out of control and I became no more than a conduct for the feelings rather than changing them. I tried to keep my own helplessness and frustration from adding to the mix but I'm not sure if I succeeded or not with the way everyone started fidgeting and shooting each other pleading looks.
The car stopped outside, doors opening and closing as five footsteps started heading towards the house with purpose. Carlisle rose to his feet and headed to the door, opening it before they could knock.
"Kate," he greeted, smiling. I watched –never missing a single detail– as he reached over and pulled her into a hug. "Welcome." Carlisle ushered them all inside, making idle talk as he did so. We all rose and greeted the girls and Eleazar when they entered the lounge room.
"I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Bella," Edward said once the initial greetings were over. I didn't miss the flare of jealousy that reared its head in Tanya but I did ignore it. "Bella, this is Irina, Tanya, Kate, Eleazar and Carmen," Edward continued, although his eyes did tighten as he read of my assessment in my mind.
Irina stepped forward first. "Hello, Bella. Welcome to the family." She gave Bella a quick hug, causing Bella's emotions to spike with surprise and shock. I sent her a small nudging of calm – more of a reminder than anything else. Kate, Carmen and Eleazar then introduced themselves in a similar manner that Irina did. When Tanya approached Bella, both Bella and Edward drew wary.
"Bella." Tanya reached over and placed a quick kiss on Bella's cheek. She drew back and appraised Bella once more at arm's length, speculation and envy saturating every inch of her. Tanya's eyes flickered to Edward briefly before returning to his wife. "Congratulations. Welcome to the family."
"Err, thanks, Tanya." Bella smiled timidly, confusion and hope washing over me from her. She stepped back into Edward's arms, a bit shaken.
Alice wove her way through the small crowd towards me, drawing my attention from the couple to her. I smiled down at her, her infectious excitement and happiness taking control of my own emotional climate. She took my hand and pushed me down onto the couch before curling up so close to me she was nearly on top of me. I chuckled down at her, knowing she had something up her sleeve. "Take a seat," she told our family and guests, waving a hand at the empty lounges all around us. "Get comfy and they then you can ask all your questions."
Everyone sat down obediently and I heard Emmett mutter, "Damn future seeing pixie." Alice beamed proudly beside me. I hid my own smile.
Alice clapped her hands together twice and sat up straighter, using my chest as a prop up for her elbow to support the rest of her petite body. Although I wasn't really given a choice, I didn't mind at all. "Right," she commanded. "Shoot. Bella's used to all the questions now. Don't be shy, she's cool with it, just go for your life!"
"Gee, thanks, Alice," Bella muttered to herself, rolling her eyes. Rosalie snickered.
Silence hung in the air for a moment. Beside me, I felt Eleazar deep in concentration, weighing his words before he spoke. "I hear you have amazing control to human blood, Bella. Phenomenal control, really."
Bella nodded. "Yeah," she mumbled self-consciously. "I started to hunt humans once before and managed to stop." She swallowed. "I've been around them a few times since then and have been okay, thankfully, although I am far from immune."
Carmen lent forward, eyes bright and intrigued. "That's amazing. You're very lucky. Most vampires can't even dream of having that amount of control.
Didn't I know it. I felt a thrill of bitterness run through me at the thought, quickly followed by shame. I was happy for Bella, exceptionally so –no one should have to go through the tedious strain of resisting human blood, thinking day after day it would never get easier, that it was a futile attempt– but was just that, if I was honest with myself, I envied the girl. To be immune so easily – it was the greatest of gifts. In a month Bella had progressed more then I had in half a century. I hung my head, ashamed of my jealousy, gripped Alice tighter, and avoided Edward's searching gaze.
Conversation swerved from the topic of bloodlust to magic around me. The Denali's, much like we Cullen's, had never heard of wizards and witches and all the rest of the magical world before. It was as much of a learning experience for them that it was for us – one Bella was thrust into teaching. I felt sort of sorry for her having to explain everything twice but I could tell she wasn't bothered by it. She was happy, understanding and eager to share her world with our extended family.
"Truly fascinating," Irina murmured, leaning back in her chair. "I'm having a hard time grasping all these new intriguing concepts."
"You get used to it," Rose snorted. "Trust me."
"So you are having potion brewing lessons, Edward?" Tanya asked. At his brisk nod, she added, "That sounds wonderful. How's it been going?" Her eyes never drifted from Edward's and it was clear who she directed her question to, even though Bella, the expert on all things magical, was wrapped in Edward's arms right next to him. She was being rude and just plain petty.
Anger flashed through Edward before he calmed himself. I watched him, worried, ready to step in if I needed to. Things could easily go downhill from here, especially if Edward thought he had to defend his Bella. "It really is amazing." He smiled. "I love it. And I have a brilliant teacher." He leant down and placed a lingering kiss on Bella's forehead – a subtle message for the strawberry blonde.
Jealousy and resentment rose from Tanya like putrid fumes. Growing worried, I sent calmness her way.
The rest of the afternoon passed with a tumble of emotions. Throughout it all I held onto Alice. She was my anchor in times like these. Although her emotions changed like everyone's did, they were not as easily affected. They were hardly ever angry, sad, depressed, envious or anything else slightly unpleasant. It was rare when they were. I enjoyed living in Alice's tropical emotional climate. It was always sunny and warm – pleasant. Wonderfully blissful, actually. Alice was a woman who was happy with her lot in life, didn't brood on what she didn't have –she took action and went and got it if she wanted something– and always saw the glass half full rather than half empty – an optimist through and through. Being around her was always like receiving a huge breath of refreshing air.
I loved it. I loved her.
As in tune with her emotions like I always was, I immediately knew when they spiked and something disturbed the tropical summer. Something heavier and darker rolled in, like a monsoons rain. I flashed to her side and took her hands in mine, trying to hold my concern from infecting the rest of the room. I had been with her long enough, been through this scenario enough times, to know she was having a vision – one that troubled her and sent fear coursing through her tiny body.
Behind me Edward growled, low and dangerous. I didn't pay him any attention; too busy focusing of my distressed wife. "Alice?" I asked. Her escalating fear and panic was affecting me and making my voice sharp. I worked to calm myself before continuing to speak; enhancing her dark emotions would not help anyone in this case. "What do you see, Alice?"
She said one word, "Volturri," and it was enough to send fear spiralling around the room and defensiveness become one of the strongest emotions.
"Aro is writing a letter. It is short. It . . . the letter is a summons to Volterra to meet with the brothers. Aro is alone writing the letter in a rooftop garden. He isn't angry or mad from what I can see. He seems – thoughtful and keeps pausing to look at the sun and the flora around him before continuing on with writing. He is going to send the letter through the muggle post. We will get it in . . . in about a week and a half, there abouts."
The tension in the room was so tangible I could literally taste it on my tongue, bitter and rough. I reigned in my own fear sharply before it could race out of control like a wild brumby. I was strong. I was a fighter. I would make sure Alice and I, and all the rest of my family, got through this. I found the only shimmer of any resemblance of calm present in the current situation and sent it out into the screaming, shouting, rioting, panicked room.
"You are all overreacting again!" Alice fumed. The calm washed against the anger her fear had fuelled, sapping its strength until she wound down and was no longer a small cyclone on a path of destruction. "You lot must always assume the worst. It is only a summons. They're just inviting us over. It is not a death sentence, contrary to what you all believe!"
Edward bristled. "You haven't seen that, Alice, damnit! It could very bloody well be a death warrant."
Alice flinched at the accusation and I growled reflexively.
"Boys, boys, stop it!" Esme cried, stepping in between the staring contest Edward and I had suddenly found ourselves in. She clasped her hands together and the worry and fear I felt surrounding her was so strong I immediately became guilty. I should be helping them, calming and reassuring them – not fighting with them. Esme tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before continuing, eyes darting between Edward and I with worry. "I know everyone is worried, but please. This is not the time."
"I'm sorry, Esme," I told her sincerely. Edward echoed me.
Esme sank back into Carlisle after breaking up the fight. There was a moment of tense uncomfortable silence; no one knew what to say after that, after Edward's and I little show. Finally Eleazar broke it, saying, "I truly believe that Aro is only curious. It is . . . unlikely that it would be a death warrant. They would just send someone out here to take care of business if it was that."
Everyone in the room shivered. I myself couldn't help the way the hairs on the back of my neck rose and a shiver passed down my spine at the mention of the Volturri coming after us. I had faced many vampire wars, yes, and knew an awful lot about combat in the vampiric world and was confident in my ability to protect my wife and my family but even the mere mention of the royal vampires sent fear through me, a survivor and victor of battles. That spoke volumes of how powerful, how dangerous, how fear-striking they all were.
"Bella," Carmen spoke softly and I could feel her striving to direct the conversation onto lighter topics. "Would you be very much against showing us some of your magic?"
Bella forced a smile, her feelings still a whirlwind of worry and fear and inwards turned guilt – the silly girl thought it was all her fault. "Not at all, Carmen." She removed herself from Edward's grasp and stood fluidly, looking down at him with questions in her eyes. "Are you going to come watch too, love?"
He nodded and rose to his feet, his eyes flickering to Tanya and back again, evaluating. "Yes," he told her strongly, slipping his hand into her own. Bella and Edward led the way outside, the Denali Coven trailing after them and Emmett, always eager to see magic, bringing up the very rear.
"I am going to go for a hunt," Esme said, getting to her feet. "Does anyone else need to go or want to come?"
"I will," Alice offered. She wriggled out of my arms and dashed upstairs to get changed into more comfortable clothes. I gave her a quick kiss when she and Esme passed me on their way out the door. "Stay safe!" I yelled after her and was answered with a tinkling laugh and a faint, "Love you, Jazz," carried on the wind.
Rose picked up a car magazine and curled up on the couch, leaving Carlisle and I to find something to do since we were the only three in the household. I debated going and watching Bella's magic show before deciding it would probably be the stuff I had already seen before. I follow Carlisle upstairs and into his study, sinking into the black leather couch with a relieved sigh. Now that everyone is gone, the emotional turmoil I'd been sitting in for the last few hours ceased to exist and I was free.
"Game of backgammon, Jasper?" Carlisle offered, sitting down and placing the board on the table between us. I nodded and helped him set out all the pieces. We both rolled our dice, and when he got the larger number, he played first.
For a few minutes we were both absorbed in the game, concentrating, considering what risks to take and where to move our circular pieces. Finally I aired my thoughts, even though they were not exactly relevant to the game we were playing, "How do you think Bella kept her magic, concentrating purely on the vampire side of things?"
Carlisle made his move before replying, smirking to himself as he hit my piece and sent it to the wall. "I have puzzled over this a lot since we found out she kept her powers," he admitted, leaning back in his chair. "But I just seem to be going in circles. I have so many theories . . ."
"What's your most likely one then?" I questioned, scowling as I saw I had rolled a five and a two – I had needed a three to hit him.
Carlisle moved the very piece I had wanted to hit to safety when it was his turn before answering. He looked up at me afterwards, tearing his eyes from the board and regarding me seriously. I enclosed my dice in my hand, not rolling yet since the conversation had turned serious and suddenly needed my undivided attention. He chose his words carefully, wording them specifically. "I think that, somehow, the magnified trait that Bella brought into this life is linked somehow to her magic. I'm not sure what her trait is – there are so many strong, unique aspects to her. I'm not sure if it's even possible, but maybe her strongest trait is her magic – that would explain why her magic is amplified, too – or maybe it's just that her trait is linked so deeply to her magical abilities that they survived the changed and were enhanced, too . . ." He sighed.
I mulled it over. Sure, it was plausible, but something told me it just didn't add up. I studied every inch of what he had said. If it was because her magic was her strongest trait, wouldn't all witches and wizards turned vampire have their powers too? Their magic would be an amazingly strong trait in them as well. That didn't explain why Bella was the only one; besides, that would have been more an ability then a personal trait.
I explained my reasoning to Carlisle, adding on the end, ". . . I think the last theory to be the most likely. If her trait is entwined with her magic so deeply, then it's possible that the magic was dragged across too." I hesitated, absentmindedly jiggling the dice around in my palm as I thought it through. "But a personal trait isn't really linked to an ability, not really. It could be formed because of an ability – like being conscious of other people's feelings after being an empath, even if only for a short period of time like if you took a potion or something. The ability can disappear but the trait will still be there afterwards. It just shapes us. So that doesn't explain why her magic is still present . . ." I sighed. "They are both still a plausible theories though."
Carlisle nodded thoughtfully, going over what I'd given him to think about and gestured down at the board. I released my dice across the tabletop, smug when I realised I was close to beating Carlisle.
"Have you shared any of your theories with Bella or Edward?" I asked.
He sighed. "Not yet. I've been trying to gather my wits first. It's still all a jumble – although I'm sure Edward has heard them forming in my mind."
Taking a page out of Alice's optimism book, I pointed out, "It's a start."
Carlisle chuckled. Conversation died down as we focused on finishing the game, with me finally winning, although not by much. After a quick congratulations, Carlisle started reading a book our resident witch had given him on Hogwarts and I wandered down stairs again, deep in thought. I finally came to the conclusion that I didn't think that his theories were really possible without outside work, without something from the wizarding side of Bella playing a major part. I wasn't sure what that was, so I kept an open mind to Carlisle's theories. Maybe Bella would shed more insight into the situation when she found out.
Bored, I finally decided to go and watch Bella's magic show. The Denali coven was watching her, awed and fascination flowing off them in waves as magic poured from the tip of her wand. Edward looked on proudly from where he sat in one of the sidelines with Emmett.
Tanya raised an eyebrow as she watched Bella transfigure a leaf into a mouse. "That sure is . . . unique." The way she posed the word made it sound like an insult. I frowned at her, annoyed and tried to focus on keeping Edward's rising anger restrained.
Bella eyed her, something brewing behind her golden eyes. "What do you mean by that, Tanya?"
The other vampire shrugged delicately. I watched the exchanged warily, my eyes darting between the two like I was watching the tennis on television, evaluating the rising emotional climate with a little worry. "I just thought that from the way everyone spoke of it so highly, magic would be a little more, how could you say this, productive?" Tanya said, eyes never leaving Bella's as she insulted her and the world she came from.
"Productive?" Bella echoed. Her crimson eyebrows rose. "You should have said earlier that you wanted to see productive, Tanya." Her eyes flashed and her wand spun in through her fingers like a bottle top, finally coming to point at the blonde vampire like a compass.
"Yes!" Emmett gave a fist pump from where he was sitting next to Edward. "Told you all this was going to happen!" Smug pride and anticipation rose from him.
Edward had flashed between the two female vampires before Emmett could finish speaking and gently lowered Bella's wand. Once I realised what he was doing, I sent tranquillity and calm their way, dissolving the harsh rivalry of emotions into something gentler, successfully unwinding the situation. "We don't want anyone getting hurt, love," Edward murmured to Bella. Once he was sure Bella was calm, he straightened and turned to Tanya, barely masked fury evident on his face. "Excuse me, but I think you should be careful with what you say. I have seen, through their minds, the memories these wizards and witches carry from their wars. It would be very wise not to antagonise my wife if you value your safety at all and don't want to be made a bumbling fool of."
Tanya took a while to answer. When she finally did, she spoke to Edward and Edward alone – a horrible habit she had picked up since she had arrived this morning. "I did not intend to antagonise, Edward dear. I was merely stating a fact from what I had seen; it's all been party tricks so far."
Edward exhaled in a harsh gush of air and pinched the bridge of his nose. Finally deciding to intervene before Edward or Bella would say something they'd regret, Kate stepped forward and took hold of Tanta's arm. "We should go hunt," she said, eyeing her sister meaningfully. "It was a long journey up here and we've all been under a bit of stress and need to unwind." In the blink of an eye all three of the single Denali sisters disappeared into the forest, only Carmen and Eleazar remaining behind with Emmett, Edward, Bella and I.
Emmett sulked. "I was all for some ass kicking, Yonnie! What happened?"
Bella, along with everyone else, scowled at him and chose to ignore his childish comment. Instead Bella turned to me, "Thank you," she told me, before letting Edward envelope her in his embrace. "I'm sorry if I put another rift between the two of you. And for thinking of hexing her." She chuckled humourlessly. "And I guess I should thank you for stopping me too, I guess, while I'm at it."
Edward rolled his eyes and leant down to kiss her. Deciding to give the couple some time since I felt the building of their emotions as they became absorbed in their own little world, I ushered Emmett and Eleazar and Carmen inside. We migrated to the lounge room, taking our seats with relieved sighs and stretching our legs out in front of us.
After a few minutes of meaningless chatter, I finally asked what had been on my mind since they had arrived. "Eleazar, what do you personally think the Volturi are going to do when we go to their summons? Carlisle has speculated, we all have, but you were part of them and can probably assume the most accurately."
The other vampire debated. "Aro will want to touch all of your hands, of course. He will ask you a lot of questions and be friendly. I'm not sure if he will be able to read Bella's mind, with her Occlumens shield, and once he touches any of your hands and sees that it can be taken down he will want Bella to take it down and show him. I do not . . . I do not know if it would be wise to refuse him." Eleazar's eyes searched mine for some inkling that I understood. I nodded, mind racing a mile a minute.
"It's inevitable, Aro taking our hands," I said. "But Bella? Bella . . . she would not want him to touch her hand and see everything." I may not be the greatest of friends with our latest addition to the family or know her exceptionally well but I knew this. There was no way Bella could, or would, possibly want that. "She will cling to her shields."
Eleazar pursed his lips. "It all depends, really, on what mood Aro is in – whether he will try for force or go with the friendly angle. He might see all of this information on Bella and her shields in your minds, Bella might refuse him access to her own mind and memories, and he might accept this and play the good guy, trying to gain points in your eyes. Or he will see it as defying him, the prime ruler of the vampire world with all of these powerful Guard members at his disposal, and force her." There was a pause. "Maybe not force Bella, she's too powerful, but threaten someone close to her."
From the look we shared then, I knew Eleazar and I were on the same page: Edward.
"Well," I sighed. "I guess we can only hope for the best." My thoughts drifted to Alice, my beautiful Alice who was going to be put into all of this mess and danger, and I wished desperately that I could do something other than hope. I wanted to take action, to do something. Sitting around and waiting had never been a strong point of mine, and although I was patient, I would rather be out doing something productive in a situation in this, despite the fact there really was nothing I could possibly do.
"If you need us," Carmen spoke softly, reaching over and gently grasping my hand. "My family and I are more than willing to help. You know this."
I nodded reluctantly. I appreciated the gesture, but really, they were as hopeless as we were in this instance. If things went bad with the Volturi, which I sincerely hoped they didn't, they there was nothing we Cullen's or the Denali's could do – and no one in our family would allow the Denali Coven to meaninglessly go down with us . . .
Alice words rang in my mind: you're all overreacting again – it is only a summons – it is not a death sentence, contrary to what you all believe! And I forced myself to take a deep breath, calm down, control my depressing imagination and stop overreacting. I tried furiously to try and view the world, and this whole situation, a little like Alice did: with pure optimism, despite the fear of the unknown upcoming event. But that was another thing, another quirk of Alice that I knew – when things got too hard, too fearful, too depressing, she tried to mask all of the things inside her that spoke of this and liven the world, and herself, with always looking on the brighter side no matter how dire the situation was.
I knew, deep down though, that this was going to change our whole lives. This summons to the Volturi was not a thing to be treated lightly; it was not to be viewed purely with optimism, nor purely with pessimism. You had to be neutral, evaluating the situation without either view factoring your assessment in order for you to get the clearest take on what was happening– or what was going to happen– and use this to your advantage to get yourself and your family out alive and unscathed.