Origins
Chapter 14
by missrebecca
"Tell me something," Jasper says, running his fingers gently along Isabella's back. They are lying before the fire in his room, upon a bear-skin rug post make-up coitus, it is the seventh day in a row that they have felt the need to 'make-up'. Swallowing her pride was not the easiest of things to do, but she managed when the need to mate became an almost physical ache within her. Now, she wonders why she held out so long.
She pulls her long tresses over her shoulder and turns so they are face to face, mouths inches from each other. "Tell you what?"
"Anything."
Isabella ponders the question, running a finger against the grain in the bear's fur. "I enjoy modern music."
"How modern?"
"Very. I listen to the radio in my room every night, if I can, and dance to the latest top ten singles."
His laugh is low and husky, and he looks at her as though seeing her for the first time – it sends shivers through her long dead nerves. "Bizarre," he states. "Tell me something else."
"Sometimes I hate this place," she whispers it quietly. It is a secret and one she does not share lightly.
"Volterra, you mean?"
"Not Volterra – this castle, and those who reside within." He says nothing to her statement, only continues to run his fingers down her back. But she sees his eyes, sees the contemplation within; she wishes she knew what he was thinking.
"Tell me about your change?" he asks instead, changing the subject, and she lets him.
"Boring," she teases, "I was born here, grew up here, and after my twenty-third winter, Maria found me. She bit me, buried me in the ground where I died, and then left me to slaughter my village. See? Boring."
"You were born here?"
Isabella nods in reply to his question, before retorting with one of her own, spinning to lie on her back and allowing him to run his fingers along her breasts instead. "Tell me about you. I feel all I've done this week is talk about me. Tell me about your human life, and your change."
He shrugs yet does not stop his wandering finger tips. "I was born in 1844, just outside of Houston."
"That's Texas, right?"
"Right, I lived on a farm with my family, and my biggest aspiration was to take over when my Pa died. 'Course then the war came, and my older brother Wyatt and I went straight to enlist. As it turns out, I was made for it, ended up the youngest Major in the confederate army, at least until I died. You won't find me in any history books. Then, one night, I was out on patrol 'round Beaumont and came across these three women, one of whom was Maria."
"I think I can guess from there." Isabella sighs. The madness of her sire was renowned; Isabella was only glad she never saw her towards the end.
"She was crazy; surely you know what she was like: manipulative, controlling, and destructive too. Nothing was ever pushed far enough with her. Glad to be rid of her," he concludes.
Isabella only shakes her head, smiling sadly at her mate's naiveté. "You're so young, Jasper, and while I don't deny that you've suffered at her hand, there was so much more to Maria that made her that way."
"How can you defend her?" he asks, incredulous at the very idea of what Isabella is saying.
"She wasn't always so ruthless, and towards the end she was...mad."
"Vampires can't lose their minds," he states, sure of himself. Isabella, however, can see him wondering, and so she continues.
"Maria was an incredibly powerful vampire, but she was also half human. She bathed in blood, and eventually it worked to spin her mind. She had always been hungry for power, though in a way different to Aro, and in the later years, when the screams of her victims worked to torment her, she broke." She sighs, thinking of her own demons and the voices within her head. However, Isabella is all vampire; the part of her that was human is long gone, and she no longer feels any regret or sadness for her victims, no matter how much they try to convince her otherwise.
Jasper is sceptical, but she allows him his thoughts. He is young, but he will learn, eventually.
Gently, she runs her fingertips along his face, through the thin coating of pale hair to the scars which litter his throat. How many mated pairs has she met in her life? Thousands? And yet she never truly wished for that herself. The idea of someone she would spend eternity with was simply abstract. It was a ghost, a shadow of an idea. She never once believed there would be someone like Jasper for her. But here he is, looking at her with such lust-filled eyes that it takes her breath away.
A crash and gabble of voices from outside break through the silence of their room, and Isabella is shocked for she doesn't remember lowering her shield. The footsteps grow louder, and Isabella is on her feet, dressed and running from the room towards the source of the uproar. She sees Demetri and Felix struggling with someone in their arms. There are growls and profanities, yet the situation is still unclear. Then the struggling vampire's face becomes clear, and Isabella is only more confused.
"Afton," she gasps, causing his feral eyes to jump to hers.
Suddenly Jasper pulls her back, gripping her arms tight in his panic as Afton lunges for her. Demetri and Felix finally manage to pull him away and into the main hall. Isabella breaks free from Jasper's grasp, grabs onto his hand, and follows the crowd flowing behind the trio. Once in the hall, she chooses to stand beside Jasper, instead of her usual place at Aro's right-hand side.
The brothers are frantic as they come through the door; Isabella has never seen Caius so manic, and her worry only sky-rockets. The hall is full of mumbled conversation, causing it to thrum – the constant noise broken only by Afton's hostile growls. All falls silent, however, as Aro speaks.
"Corin is dead. Afton, you stand accused, how do you plead?" There is a tremor in Aro's voice, one Isabella has not heard in such a long time it sends a shiver of fright through her.
Afton is beyond rational thought and only writhes harder against his captors' grasp. Isabella's mind is spinning. Corin protected the wives, kept them content after the loss of Didyme. The side effects of her death will be far reaching and devastating, she knows.
"Edward," Marcus speaks, gesturing to the latest member of the Volturi guard.
After a beat of silence, the psychic speaks, "I'm not sure why, but he did it, and in full view of Sulpicia and Athenodora."
"Show me," Aro growls, grabbing tight to Edward's hand as he reaches the edge of the dais, before Aro releases him with a curled lip. Suddenly Aro is fluid, rapid in his movement as he races at Afton and rips his head from his shoulders. There is black blood spattered everywhere, and Isabella's eyes are wide as she stands frozen at her mate's side.
So lost is she as Afton's corpse is dragged to the furnace that she does not see the tense exchange between Edward and Jasper, and so does not realise that her shield is still down, protecting only her own mind.
Lots of intrigue from the last chapter, some guesses as to who it was. But I'm not telling lol.
My exam's over, thank you so much for the good luck wishes, reckon it went quite well tbh :D.
Back to normal for the future updates, next one shall be Friday, and teasers go out with review replies. Of course, just let me know if you'd like to not be teased :).