Porcelain Heart
By Kristin aka Kiara Alexis Klay
Genre : roswell, twilight, crossover, au, uc
Disclaimer: Niether Roswell, nor the Twilight series, or even the title of the fic is mine claim. The title is taken from a song of the same name written and sung by Barlow Girl off of their album Another Journal Entry.
Rating:Teen to Mature this installment
Pairings:Main pairing so far Alice/Jasper; eventual Liz/Edward -- cc for most of the Twilight cast, cc/uc for Roswell couples
Broken heart, one more time
Pick yourself up, why even cry
Broken pieces in your hands
Wonder how you'll make it whole
~Porcelain Heart, Barlow Girl, Another Journal Entry
She ran.
She ran for what seemed like hours, like a frightened animal desperately seeking sanctuary from the looming shadow threatening to consume the life out of her. She ran as she had never had before, as she never did in gym class, not even that night that Nasedo had kidnapped and stalked her. She ran until the air pierced her throat and lungs with each inhalation, until her ribs screeched their indignation.
She ran until her feet, ankles, and legs threatened to collapse under the strain; she ran until the glass fell from her clenched fists to trail after her in a tinkling, crimson train and slivers of wood dug themselves deeper.
She ran with no destination only the knowledge that she had to. She ran because she knew there was no going back, that there was nothing but death, isolation, and bitter disappointment awaiting her if she stayed.
She slowed down to a light jog to give her winded self a few moments rest, hardly noticing as the ground beneath her feet shifted from asphalted tarmac to compacted desert until a misplaced step caused her tired legs to finally give in, and she plopped inelegantly face first into the dirt.
Spluttering dust out of her mouth, and sneezing out whatever remained; Liz forced herself to move forward. She hadn't come this far, for what it was worth, only to have her body fail. Crawling on hands and knees, she pushed forward and then immediately wished she hadn't. The dips and wide expanse of desert had masked a depression and once she pitched forward she couldn't stop.
While not too awfully deep, the incline was staggered and pitted with sharp rocks and bramble that cut and tore into her already bruised skin. When she finally came to a stop at the bottom of the miniature gully, she just lay there in the tepid water that had gathered there, exhausted.
Liz groaned and gave a hiss as something gave a sickeningly squishy-sounding pop and then there was nothing but a bloom of fiery pain from the general direction of her ribs on her left side. Panting through the worst of it, it seemed like every ache and wound decided to cash in on their fair share of the agony, and Liz blacked out for a few moments until the shock of liquid cold from the water woke her up.
Liz used only enough energy to rest her head on a small ledge to keep it above water, and shivering, she felt herself start to drift off as the pain simply became too much.
"Jasper, hurry, hurry! This way!"
Jasper had no real need for Alice's directions to find the girl; the scent of her blood was more than enough for his well honed predator's instinct to track easily. Oddly enough, the girl's blood spoor did not bring about the usual bloodlust reaction. There was something…Other…about the girl's blood, and while it was interesting the madness of The Hunger didn't grip him. Jasper knew he would be talking to Alice about his strange non-reaction but it would have to wait until later.
With the speed of their kind, Alice and Jasper found the girl very quickly, and Jasper wasn't the only one to hiss in displeasure. Even though she knew that this was the best route for her family, Alice hated seeing the pain and the result of so much hardship in this one's few years.
Looking grim and serious for almost the first time since he met her, Jasper was just as worried over Alice as the condition they found the girl in. As if she possessed Edward's gift of telepathy, Alice swung her gaze up to meet his own, and a small smile flickered across her face momentarily.
"I will be fine, Jasper. Let's get her ready to go home."
"Are they here yet?"
Impatience stamping her features, Rosalie ignored the mildly scolding glance of reproof Esme shot her way as she paced across the open confine of the Cullen living room.
"Be patient, Rose," Esme soothed by habit, but her shaking hands fluttering about to smooth an imaginary wrinkle off of her immaculate dress slacks gave belied her own nervousness.
Emmett merely watched, uncharacteristically still and silent, as his lifemate did her best to wear a track in the smoothly polished hardwood. He, too, was just as interested in the answers to Rosalie's questions, so he didn't feel a need to speak up just yet.
He was curious, as they all were, since Jasper's phone call almost a day ago had wrought the most life in the Cullen house that had been lacking since….the Incident. Jasper hadn't talked long, never one for words, only requested that Carlisle prepare the guest room for a 'mortal' guest to be treated and be recuperating for an indefinite period of time. He also relayed that Alice wanted Carlisle to meet them at the private airstrip the family had used in times past when discretion was of higher safety than a simple cover story would suffice.
So here it was, nearly 24 hours since that phone call and Carlisle had been gone a little less than two hours ago to meet the prodigal Cullens who had taken off on another of Alice's little jaunts. Even Edward had been roused from his brooding sulking long enough to be informed of the new tenant, not that he had ventured out of his room yet.
As one, the three stopped all activity, no trace of humanity left as even the very un-needed breath stilled unused in their lungs, focus and senses entirely stretched outward, seeking.
"It's them," Emmett stated, rattling out on a stale breath.
"They're a few miles out!" Rosalie tutted about, for once at a loss and Emmett could relate. Who was this mysterious 'mortal' of Alice and Jasper's, and why was she needed here, amongst their kind?
They heard Alice's clear, almost child-like voice first and as one the watchful three breathed a sigh of relief. If Alice was okay, then Jasper was sure to be as well, and the Cullen family was as whole as it could be. Next was Jasper's low, drawling tones and Esme perked up as she clearly heard Carlisle replying back.
The next instant they were tense all over as they recognized Carlisle's 'doctor' voice, snapping out directions to the other two, and Emmett prepared himself the same instant Rosalie and Esme shared wide, panicked glances.
Alice burst into the house first, looked at the other three with a smile but was soon distracted holding open the door as Jasper bounded in, a smallish looking bundle in his arms, Carlisle hovering anxiously over that small something, heading without fail toward the staircase.
"Hello everybody, I know we weren't gone long enough to really be missed, but I missed you all! And so did Jasper even if he never will admit to it, and I'm really sorry we worried you all, what with Edward and…the Incident, wow we like really need to come up with a better name, discrete my vampire pale derriere," Alice babbled as Jasper and Carlisle disappeared up the stairs with nary a n acknowledging nod to the others still gathered in the foyer.
"Alice, what was that?" Rosalie gestured to the now empty stairs, even as the four made their way by some invisible pull.
"Oh, that's our newest houseguest, she's going to be staying with us for a while, she's really been through a lot, so Rose, don't be mean I mean it," Alice warned as she pouted prettily at the slightly taller she-vampire and Emmett relaxed just enough to give his pseudo-'sister' a hug and a 'welcome home'.
"Let's not dawdle, children, and see our visitor," Esme advised, effectively breaking into the argument you didn't need Alice's visions of the future to predict was coming. One look at the glower on the younger blonde's face and she held back a sigh.
The four gathered outside the room that they would have known to be their newest guests even if they hadn't smelled the blood…and even the door that had been ominously shut and barred for the last several weeks was cracked open just the barest of slivers.