"I'll be back in a few days Darlin, I promise" Jasper assured Renia, as Carlisle and Edward finished loading his bags in the car. It had been weeks since Seth's proposal to Maalon, and although the intermixed family of werewolves and vampires were assured everything was back to normal, it sadly was not. Jasper albeit he had Renia back after so many centuries, still could not wrap his head around what exactly happened the afternoon of her disappearance. He spent countless hours cooped up in the four, secluded walls of Carlisle's study reading and re-reading the files and paperbacks, dating all things Volturi. However in the space between 1971 to 1974 and 1974 to 1975 there was a gap, interlinking the 70's, one which seemed very suspicious to Jasper.
"At least let me come with you" Renia coaxed, her butterscotch eyes pleading with the Southern Vampire, "I can have my bags packed within minutes, and then we can both confront the Volturi together." Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence, and Jasper gripped her tightly, burying his face in her dark tresses. "I'll only be gone for a few days" he murmured, stroking the few curls away from her face, "I'll call you as soon as I can, but Renia this is too dangerous for you. It's only been a year and half since your transformation, I can't risk what the Volturi would even think of doing to you, so you have to stay here with your sisters, and help Maalon plan her wedding. Won't that be fun?" the female vampire grimaced, her lower lip jutting out into a pout, "And how can you be so sure, you'll be safe Jas? I don't want to risk it either, but at least if were together, we have a better chance, if we were attacked…."
It broke his heart to see Renia in so much distress over his departure. Looking over his shoulder at his father and his brother, he held a hand up lazily, notifying them that he would be there in a second. Leading Renia by the hand, he sat quietly on the bottom step leading out of the house, giving her enough room to stand between his legs. "Nia" he muttered, lifting her chin up, tears shone in her butterscotch eyes, and Jasper felt his heartache. "I just found you darlin'…. I don't want to risk losing you ever again. I just…. I just love you so much. Just let me go this one time, and when I come back…. We'll go somewhere special. Just you and me" he assured, stroking her delicate wrists, held in between his masculine grip. The young vampire nodded hesitantly, and Jasper smiled kissing her sweetly, before he made his way to the airport stationed in Seattle, settling in a few hours later on a one-way trip to Volterra, Italy, thoughts of what was to come and Renia, swimming around through his head…..
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The old Rustic buildings of Volterra were tan and dark brown standing tall and luminous, a secretive ambiance covering the ancient town. Market carts were pushed nosily around, their old wooden wheels creaking and clanking on the stone ground, venders shouting in heavily Italian accents, to passerby's and anyone who would listen. The city seemed to stretch on forever and ever, as Jasper walked the heavily crowded, streets, his butterscotch eyes, trained intently on the tall building stationed in the center of the city; Volturi Headquarters.
The Volturi Headquarters on the outside seemed dark and depressing, put smartly into the shadowy depths of the streets, the inside however, seeming calm, tasteful and inviting with its rich amber and brown colors, plush leather upholstery, and dark polished oak floors. A young woman looking herself of Italian descent was sitting behind the large oak desk, put in the center of the room, dressed smartly in a grey and black pinstripe skirt suit, her dark black locks, pinned back into a bun.
"Ciao! Benvenuto alla sede Volturi, spero che tu sia gradita la vostra visita qui!" she said pleasantly, her dark browns eyes sparkling…. Jasper almost blanched at the recognition that she was still human…. "For now…." Something growled inside him, as he passed the young woman, on his way to the elevator. She was clueless as to what was going to happen to her…. When he finally reached the top floor of the building it opened up to a wide open, ballroom, three chairs perched quaintly in the middle of the room. The leader Aro sat in the middle chair, his dark red eyes sparkling, as he chatted with his companions, his pale, cold fingers running over the velvet that covered the armrest of the chair. Finally his eyes turned to the Southern Vampire, standing in the doorway quietly, his hand beckoning him to come forth. Taking slow, but assertive steps, Jasper stood in front of Aro his eyes flashing from gold to black at the things, Renia had told him of Aro.
He had met the older Vampire once, at an annual banquet thrown by the Volturi in honor of all the vampires. He had unsuccessfully tried to get Jasper, Edward, and Alice to join the Volturi.
"Jasper" Aro's gruff voice snapped him out of his thoughts, the leader of the Volturi interlocking his fingers, a sickly-sweet smile crossing his face. It sent chills up Jasper's spine….
"Aro" Jasper muttered, tipping his head respectfully. There was a looming, eerie silence which filled the room, and Jasper instinctively clutched the papers and notes in his hands; copies of Carlisle's files from the study. "What can I do for you today hmm…? Have you finally decided that you want to join the Volturi? After all you have an….excellent gift that really shouldn't be wasted…" his eyes glanced over Jasper, inspecting the vampire from head-to-toe and Jasper felt Goosebumps prickle his skin, at the cold demeanor beneath his friendly façade.
"No not this time Aro" Jasper muttered unpleasantly, "I'm actually here on official business…." Opening the manila colored envelope, a still-shot of Renia was paper-clipped to the front, her bright butterscotch eyes looking into the camera. Aro's eyes widened in recognition, before they dimmed, that sickly-sweet smile crossing his lips again.
"Aro do you recognize her?" Jasper whispered, gauging the vampire's emotions. The leader shook his head, his face contorting into careful thought and consideration. "No I can't say I do….is she of some importance to you Major Whitlock, perhaps I can find her for you…."
A low growl bubbled from Jasper's throat, startling Aro, and he clenched the papers tighter, his careful mask slowly slipping away, at the vampire's deception. "Why do you lie?" the blonde vampire muttered lowly his entire form shaking, "why are you sitting there so smug like, while the entire time you're lying to me!" his voice echoed off the walls of the room, the papers falling in a heap of ink and colored paper, as Jasper stalked forward until he was face-to-face with the vampire. "You know exactly who she is!" he snarled, snatching Aro by the collar of his Jacket. Vampires instantly surrounded him on every side, intent on removing his from their leader. Aro calmly held up a hand, and the burly, masculine men backed off, their eyes watching carefully for any sign that they should attack.
"Yes I know her…"Aro finally stated, "she was a tiny thing…. I found her on one of my trips through the Americas. The poor thing was close to the verge of death, the little infant growing inside her already having "passed" away. So I took her back with me to Volterra and cared for her. What was the name of that young lass…? Oh right! It was… Renia. She was strong and intelligent, that I could tell spot on, a perfect member to join the Volturi. She could have been an elite member. But sadly…. She refused. She was stir crazy, a danger to society, I did what I thought was best for her…" it was quiet for all of two seconds, before Aro was suddenly pinned to the nearest wall, Jasper snarling and growling dangerously, his eyes a deep black in his angered state.
"Do you know what you did!" he roared, slamming the vampire roughly into the marble walls, "You killed my wife and child!" with each word, he punctuated his anger with a slam to the wall, the marble groaning and cracking at the force of his slams. "They meant everything to me, and you took them away! How dare you!" Jasper was pulled away from the leader, his hands restrained behind his back as Aro calmly brushed off his cloak, his red, piercing eyes staring at the Major as he was forced to his knees in front of the leader.
"You will now apologize and kiss the feet of our leader for your rude and hasty behavior!" one of the vampires growled, struggling to hold the Southern Vampire down. "I will never stoop so low as to kiss the vile feet of a murderer! Are you happy Aro!" Jasper bellowed, his dark eyes glaring at the man "are you happy that you have finally taken something of the Cullen's! You took her and you slayed her! She came back with nothing! Are you finally satisfied?"
"Enough" an icy voice called from the other side of the room. Jane and her twin brother Alec stepped from the dark shadows, their faces cold and emotionless. "I can tell you what happened to the girl" she stated coldly. The hollow sound of shoes clumping against the marble floors resonated, as she walked, halting in front of Jasper, her red eyes glaring at the former Major from the South.
"After she bluntly refused the gracious offer of joining the elite ranks of the Volturi, I paid her a little….visit. To say she wasn't happy was an understatement. She wouldn't stop yelling and screaming, and to think…. I barely even touched her…." Her voice was coated in venom, her red eyes scathing, burning through Jasper like molten, hot lava. "She screamed for you Major, but that wasn't a surprise….. After that we….played for a while, but I eventually got bored. Aro instructed that I could do whatever I pleased with the little heathen, so I disposed of her without even having to get blood on my hands…. I hired those two young boys…" she muttered, picking up the discarded manila envelope, flipping through the pages, "Ah here are their names… Elliot and Reese… Little Elliot did a good job with that power of his, wiped her memory clean…. Ensuring that if she ever were to come back which was always unlikely, she would never remember a thing….."
"That was my wife" Jasper interrupted brokenly, his heart shredding and tearing to a million pieces at her uncaring tone, blood dripping from his broken heart at the thought of Renia alone and defenseless and at the hands of Jane's power….
"I know" Jane smirked wickedly, her hands skimming the old picture of Renia, "but I must say the little witch deserved it. She was blessed with the prestigious honor of joining the Volturi and she refused. Besides, she screamed a lot, during our little….play time….." the cracks in his heart severed more, and Jasper felt like crying out in his despair. "How the hell did I let this happen?"he cursed himself silently.
"Guards" Jane ushered coldly, "accommodate our guest to one of the rooms in the lower part of the building until Aro is ready to speak or Major Whitlock is ready to apologize. Oh, and burn this picture" she held up the still shot of Renia, her eyes glinting wickedly, "the sight of it makes me sick….."
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Meanwhile Back in Washington….
Two days…. It had been two days since Jasper supposedly landed in Volterra. He should have called by now! Currently Renia and her sisters were sitting in the living room of the Cullen house, browsing through different wedding books, searching high and low for ideas for Maalon's: wedding cake, dress, bachelorette party, wedding party, honeymoon outfit, etc. but Renia's head just wasn't in the right place for festivities. Habitually checking her phone for the eleventh time in twenty minutes, Renia sighed, worry, frustration, anger, and despair washing over her in tidal waves. "Nia what do you think of this one?" Maalon called excitedly, waving a magazine clipping in her sister's face. Snapping out of her thoughts, Renia shrugged, standing up to walk outside to the balcony, not wanting to ruin the happy ambiance that filled the room.
Her heart felt severed. Almost as if it were ripped in two, the bloody remains spattered across the ground, as she bled out…. A sudden melody resonated throughout the recesses of her mind, and Renia closed her eyes, surrendering herself to the harmonious tune, that erupted from her throat as she sang.
"I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side….
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When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?
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When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through
The day and make it okay….
I miss you…."
Unshed tears wanted to silently trek their way down her tan face, as the cold wind brushed past her body. The silence was slowly eating away at her subconscious as pictures and images of Jasper filtered into her clouded brain, causing her to lean against the cool wall, her head pounding restlessly. She sucked in a deep breath, a sudden image of Jasper in a dark cell, alone, battered, and broken, causing her eyes to snap open wide. He was in trouble! Suddenly Alice burst through the patio doors, her eye wide in shock and disbelief.
"Renia!" she cried, ushering over to the girls' side, "its Jasper! He's in trouble! The Volturi want to kill him!" Renia was nodding incoherently, her feet leading her back into the house. She grabbed her coat and her keys, silently making her way to her Red Volkswagon parked outside the Cullen house, ready to drive like a bat out of hell to get to Jasper.
"Renia wait!" a tinkling voice called. Hurriedly running out of the house, Alice leaned against the passenger side door, her eyes pleading. "Please let me go with you. I care for Jasper just as much as you do! I can help." Renia stared unemotionally at the girl who was once married to Jasper. If she let her come, could she trust her? Would she try and win Jasper back….?
Shaking those thoughts from her head, Renia silently unlocked the passanger side door, flooring it from zero to 120, as they quickly made their way down the road, on that quiet summer evening, hoping against all hope that they could make it Jasper in time….
Author's Note: Hey Guys, I'm happy and sad at the same time, because this story is almost over! It took a lot of hard work and dedication, and my friends had to always urge me to keep writing, cause I can get lazy at times! Anyways, I DO NOT own 'When You're Gone' by Avril Lavigne, nor do I own Twilight (wish I did!). And PLEASE guys, I'm urging you to KEEP REVIWEING! I always hope that my readers like the stories I put out for them, I and I really wanna know what you guys think, and if you have any suggestions, give me those too! PLEASE REVIEW GUYS! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! 3
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