I was as fast as the wind. No. I was faster. It was amazing! Everything around me was enmeshed, but my goal was clear. I could sense Jasper somewhere close behind me, but I ignored him, focusing all my newfound energy into that mountain top. I was surprised that the road we were on was so empty, until a faded "do not enter" sign came to my attention through my speed.
I could see every single tree, every crack in the pavement, every bit of litter left from lazy drivers. I was able to avoid it. I couldn't believe the grace I had acquired. I half expected to trip on something. Most likely my own feet.
I never did.
As the road leaned upwards, I sensed the change in air pressure. It was becoming colder. I never noticed this before. Without realizing it, I laugh while I ran. I was happy. I finally understood why the Cullens were so obsessed with speed. It was exhilarating. Freeing. In some small way, I felt like I was letting go of any worries I had in that moment. They were in the wind now. The wind I was passing by with ease.
The abandoned road started to swirl as I got higher. I made sharp turns, pretending I was like my motorcycle. The thrill I was getting from this would never compare to that bike ride with Jacob. Only minutes had passed, but I was already nearing the top! Eat that, Jasper!
The cold intensified, and I began to see snow. This mountain really was high. The pavement was long gone now, replaced with a snow-covered dirt trail. The snow crunched beneath my feet, but the ice cold of it didn't bother me much. The lingering sensations reminded me of how Edward used to feel. I found myself smiling then. The best part of this race was that I wasn't tiring out at all. It was strange not feeling even the least bit weak. The trail was winding down, and I saw a pile of snow in front of me, deciding to stop there. I pretended to look annoyed as I stood in the snow, waiting for Jasper to catch up to me. As I waited, I wondered if he was putting in his all, or if he was letting me win on purpose.
I didn't have to wait long. He showed up maybe a minute or two after me, looking a little defeated in his face. "Guess I won, huh?" I smirked, looking proud.
"Ha, looks like it!" Jasper patted his pants, getting the snow off of them. "I forgot how fast newborns could be. I think you should race Edward next time. He needs his ego deflated a bit."
"So…since I won…you better talk!" I pointed out to Jasper playfully. He took a deep breath and walked past me. He gazed out into the scenery, which I failed to notice when I arrived. The view was breathtaking (ironic for me). We could see all of Forks below us. I could see the roof of my old high school, the community college out in the far distance, and I could also see Charlie's house. Charlie… I wondered how he was doing, partly tuning out Jasper as he began to speak.
"I was thinking back to when I was a newborn."
Oh…no wonder he was distant. I joined him at his side, watching as his face wince while he looked out into the grey sky.
"Alice told me once that you were changed during the Civil War, right?"
"Yes. That I was."
"Who did it? Changed you?"
"A woman named Maria." His voice was laced with sadness, and some anger maybe. Whoever this Maria was, she hurt him pretty bad. "I had met her while stationed in Georgia. I was a major then. Revered and praised highly by my comrades. Said I was pretty smart for my young age. Heh, they had no idea that I had faked my age to join in the first place. It was ironic at the time, I thought. But I desperately wanted to fight. I always thought I would be great in the battlefield. I was very motivational then, also. It's probably where my ability stems from. I could make my men so rowdy and ready to fight that we would have very few casualties in battle. I gained the nickname "Witty" from them. 'Major Witty', they used to call me." He smiled slowly. "Those were good times, even if they were bloody."
You fought for the wrong side though! I teased in my head. His smile began to fade.
"I met Maria late one night while returning to my site after evacuating a nearby town. I remember how cool it was that evening. Calm. A bit unsettling, actually. I saw her standing by a lake, staring out into the night. She looked so young. Innocent. I thought that maybe she had run from the town, and I approached her with the good intention of helping her find her family. When she turned and looked at me, and I was immediately captivated. This was no girl. She was a woman. A beautiful one at that. She had porcelain skin, but her red eyes were something I had never seen before. She greeted me with impeccable flirtation. I was naive then. A man of war. Deprived of any feminine contact. And she took advantage of that. She told me that she was lost, asking me to help her find her way. 'Mister soldier, someone as wise and as strong as you surely can protect little old me?' I remember her saying.
'Why yes ma'm, I do believe I can.' She gave me a charming smile, before approaching me and hugging me. Something about her spellbound me, and before I knew it, she bit me. Changed me. After that, I became a new major. Of her army. Of newborns."
"An army of newborns? Why would she want that?" I asked with curiosity. The thought of hundreds of newborn vampires with no control frightened me.
"What I didn't know at the time was that she was fighting for territory in that area. Fighting against two of her sisters. They had been battling for years, and when she spotted me, she saw an advantage. She knew who I was in life. I was her pawn in her little game of cat and mouse. But at the time, I didn't care. I was under her spell, and did everything she asked me to. I trained the newborns, taught them how to fight and defend. The thing about newborns is that they are only at their strongest for a year. When a year passed, Maria made me dispose of them. They weren't useful after their strength wore off."
"That's terrible…" I muttered. Jasper nodded, looking pained. This was a dark time in his life, and remembering it had to be hard on him.
"I can't tell you how many I killed. Hundreds. Perhaps thousands over the years I was with her. I tried to block it out, but after so long, their faces began to haunt me. We fought over and over again, and Maria beat her sisters after a lot of bloodshed took place. She would tell me how I would be the king to her queen once her sisters were gone. She promised me that after they were defeated, we wouldn't change anyone else. It would be just her and me forever. But again, I was naïve. It didn't end up that way. Maria was power-hungry. She wanted all the land she could get. All the fresh human blood she wanted. It was never enough. I was never enough. Eventually, I became distant and cold to her, losing all hope of ever getting what she promised.
"One day, a newborn I had trained that got out while he could returned in secret. His name was Peter and he told me that he and his mate had found a better life in the north. I helped him escape some time before Maria could have him killed. He reminded me of a friend I had while alive, and I didn't have the heart to dispose of him. He met his mate while escaping, and the two of them traveled through New York and Maine, discovering peaceful ways of living. Peter tried to convince me that I needed to get out. At first I was reluctant, but after an argument I had with Maria about not creating any more newborns, I decided to leave. I just didn't want that life anymore.
"I spent some time with Peter and Charlotte, and their life was pretty good. But my depression didn't go away. I couldn't put my finger on it at the time, but I hated my existence. I blamed it on the years of fighting and killing. I decided after a while that I needed to be on my own, so I left them and traveled across the country, searching for whatever I thought I was missing. I ended up in Philadelphia at one point, and I had gone into a diner to avoid the blistering rainfall one night. That's when I saw Alice for the first time. She was beaming as she watched me walk in, surprising me. I asked for a cup of coffee to keep up appearances, and she walked right up to me at the bar. I remember how brightly she smiled when she said 'You finally found me. What took you so long?' I was so confused at first. After speaking to her and hearing her story, her visions, and how she had waited for me for the last few years, I believed her. She was what I was missing."
"That's really sweet. How you two met." He chuckled.
"Alice was a spitfire back then, too. She taught me that I didn't need to feed on humans, sensing that it was one of the reasons why I was so depressed. After finding the Cullens, I realized that I had blocked out so many emotions of my own, that I forgot how to feel. With their help, and Alice's especially, I became able to handle living in a better way."
"Wow…thanks for sharing that with me, Jasper," I said after a while. To lighten the mood, I started to snicker. Jasper turned to me with a raised eyebrow.
"What's so funny?"
"Your nickname. I like it. Can I call you Witty from now on?" He scowled immediately, making me laugh harder.
"Why?"
"Because it makes you look like that!" I held my sides as Jasper grumbled. "It's nice getting a rise out of you for once, mister calm and collected!"
"Bah! You're as bad as Alice!" He growled, walking past me and standing at the snow bank nearby. I pictured the pixie teasing him profusely with his nickname and I grinned. "Come on, time to train."
"Train for what?"
"Controlling yourself. Feeling thirsty yet?"
"Hmm?" I stood, gawking at Jasper as my thirst began to burn. I had been so lost in his story that I didn't realize that my thirst was indeed growing stronger. "Yeah. I am feeling pretty thirsty."
"Good, then this will be effective." Jasper crouched down and closed his eyes. "Mirror what I'm doing."
"Um…alright." I felt awkward as I copied his position.
"Now, instead of focusing on your throat, I want you to breathe in the air."
Won't that make it worse? I thought. I listened to Jasper and slowly took in a deep breath. The cold air filtered through my nose and throat, and I could almost taste the moisture. But I could also smell the blood of what felt like bears nearby. My instincts kicked in, and my hunger doubled.
"Bad idea," I said through clenched teeth. I wanted to jump up and follow the scent.
"No. This is a good idea. I'm teaching you an important technique that will help you tone down your thirst. I can tell you are tense. Just listen to me."
"Fine." I spat out some venom. I want to feed and you're keeping me from it! My vampiric mind started to growl at him. My rationale was waning.
"Now, I want you to take in the scent of the animals nearby, but don't focus on them. There a million other scents mixed in. Those are the ones I want you to concentrate on."
Other scents? Is he crazy? I don't care about the other scents!
I took in another deep breath. Yes, Jasper was right. There were dozens of other odors and tastes in the air. The crisp, almost salty taste of the moisture. The sweet smell of the pine trees around us. A floral smell came next, probably from the budding plants down the mountain. A faint smell of grilled pork, a spilled bottle of Guinness, cut grass, fresh laundry, mud, it all floated around my nose, emptying into my body. Soon, I barely noticed the smell of the animal or human blood. My mind quieted down and I felt calmer.
"There's so many," I whispered.
"Yes. Every time you are unable to feed, I want you to concentrate on all the different aromas. They should be appreciated just as much, and will help calm down your thirst for the time being."
"How did you learn to do this? Did Maria teach you?"
"No. I learned this on my own. A long time after leaving her. She wanted me to act on my instincts, feeding on humans whenever I wanted. While I was with Peter, I tried weaning out the smell of blood and learned to control the urges. I wasn't a newborn by then, but the technique is even more helpful for you since your senses are more heightened right now."
I opened my eyes, feeling much calmer. Jasper was looking at me with a proud smirk on his face.
"Thanks," I said as I got up.
"You are very welcome, Ma'am," he said with a half-grin.
"Time to break up this lovefest! I'm hungry!" I heard a familiar booming voice come over the snow. I cracked a smile of my own when I saw Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, and Edward appear from the path.
"How'd she do, Jazz?" Edward asked. Alice seemed happy as she joined Jasper's side.
"Wonderfully. I think she will be just fine." Jasper held onto Alice tightly and she kissed his on his cheek.
"I knew she would."
"So what brings you all up here?" I asked when Edward came around me and placed his arms around my waist.
"Jasper said I could come up for some hunting. You didn't forget about our date, did you?" Emmett was breaming like a kid in a candy store.
"Of course not."
"I was curious to see if your bite is worse than your bark, so I came to watch," Rosalie added with a small smirk on her face.
"I'm betting on Bella," Edward said, leaning down and kissing my temple. The pressure was on now.
"Me too!" Alice piped in.
"I'm staying out of this." Jasper shrugged.
"Are you being Switzerland, Witty?" I teased. He glared at me while Alice and Edward laughed.
"Well I'm on my man's side. Care to place something nice in the mix?" Rosalie asked.
"We win, you two have to let Alice pick out your wardrobe for the rest of the summer," Edward said. Rosalie made a scowl that terrified me, while Emmett winced. Alice was grinning with excitement.
"Awlright, but if Rose and I win, you have to be our slaves for the summer! Ha!" Emmett grinned broadly, worrying me.
"Hey, wait a minute; I didn't want this to be a betting thing!" I flipped my hands in front of me in opposition.
"Don't worry Bella, you got this." Alice winked at me. "Emmett likes to think he's high and mighty. I'm confident you'll cream him!"
I didn't like this at all. Sure, I was a newborn. But I never faced a freaking grizzly bear before! Not even as a human!
"Let's do this!" Emmett exclaimed, coming up to me and grabbing my hand hard. If I was still alive, it would've hurt. Instead, it tickled a little. I cringed as I followed him into the wooded area. My thirst became strong as we neared the animals, and my instincts were slowly going back into overdrive.
There was a sleuth of them. Five to be exact. They were all brown, large, and full of blood that I craved. Venom pooled in my mouth again, and I saw Emmett smirk.
"Good luck, little sis!" He yelled before charging at our prey like it was a game. I respected him for that. And I let him have a slight head start, to keep up his ego before I demolished him. My body was weightless as I took off towards what looked like a mother bear. I dove at her side, ignoring the baby bear that huddled near her. The other bears roared something fierce into the air, but it only made me thirstier. There were cheers behind us. I didn't care.
Yes, struggle. Give me a challenge. Your blood will taste better that way. My mind reeled as my hands dug into the massive body of the grizzly. I saw Emmett wrestling another at my side, looking like he was avenging something. He was practically killed by one. It made sense. The mother bear started to get the upper hand, ripping from my chokehold and gaining footing. Oh no you don't! I growled deeply from my throat, pounced on the bear, and dug my fingers into her neck. Blood spewed from her shredding skin, and I lapped at it like a dehydrated dog at a hose. The bear emitted a horrendous scream, which would have shaken me if I wasn't so thirsty. The smell was so sweet to my nose that I inhaled it with enjoyment. I buried my face into the animal's neck, falling along with it to the ground. As I drank from her, I could hear her heart beating slower and slower, just like I had with the buck. Her muscles loosened and her body became limp. It wasn't long before the bear was dead in my hands, and I took in the last drops of blood it had to offer me.
By the time I was finished, everyone stared at me in surprise. Even Edward. Suddenly, I felt ashamed of myself, looking at Emmett with a sad expression. Did I do something wrong? I mean, I knew the frenzy took me over again…and I let the thirst take over my senses…but…
"I think Bella won," Jasper said. Emmett frowned, wiping away dripping blood from his chin and sighed.
"Lucky shot," Emmett snarled as he walked over to me, patting me on the shoulder. Alice clapped and smiled at me. "Good job, Bella. But next time, you will be decimated!" He sounded amused, but the hiss from Rosalie didn't sound nearly as uplifting.
"Great! When we get back to the house, I'm packing away all your clothes!" Alice was way too happy about this. Rosalie looked horrified. Emmett cringed as he helped me up, and even I could feel her eyes boring into us.
"Sorry, Emmett…" I whispered. He shrugged his massive shoulders as we joined the others. When I got to Edward, he placed a hand at my cheek, wiping off the excess blood from my skin. His eyes were sad. Seeing my hunt really bothered him.
"We should be heading back. I need to clean out your closets and we are ALL going to do some shopping!"
"Wouldn't that a bad idea, Alice? Bella has only been awake for a few hours…" Edward sighed.
"But…she won't do anything!" Alice pouted. Jasper pulled her towards him.
"I think Bella should rest now. She's had a rough day as it is. The rest of us can go," Jasper tried to appeal to her. She grumbled and reluctantly agreed with his suggestion.
"Once you're ready, we are definitely getting you a new wardrobe. There's no way you will be walking around town in those sweats!" My new sister stuck out her tongue at me and I smiled. Actually, the sound of some free time alone with my husband sounded wonderful.
"Besides," Edward pressed his mouth to my ear. "I have yet to show you our new home."
Our new home.
Our home.
As we left the mountainside, I began to realize just how much my life had changed. Running side by side with my new family, I thought about my old one. Everyone still assumed Edward and I were on our honeymoon. The "news" about my death had not been mentioned yet. How were we going to go about that? I felt guilty about lying. I really wanted to show Charlie especially that I was going to be alright. That I was happy in the life I chose. And dealing with the Volturi was an entirely different matter. Could I prepare myself for a battle like that? What if someone got hurt? I couldn't handle losing any more family. What if Edward or I…
I felt Edward squeeze my hand as we reconnected by the Cullen home. In that moment, I knew that whatever I had to face next, I wouldn't be alone.
