La Vampirica turned out to be a very small boutique nestled in between a bookstore and a coffee shop in the middle of Seattle. It had a faux-vintage look to it with little ornamentations pushed in every right angle of the ground level facade. Bella double checked the address one more time and took a deep breath. Her lungs felt trapped with anxiety and excitement. She had no idea what would happen. But if Angela liked them…
A small bell rang as Bella entered. It was chaos inside, the opposite of what one would expect "wealthy" clientele to frequent. Mannequins, clothes and piles of fabric strewn everywhere. Bella couldn't even see where to step without stepping on some tulle or cotton.
"Ah, Bella! It's so nice to finally meet you!"
What could only be described as a tiny pixie flitted from under a pile of fabric. Hair which jutted out in every direction, a tiny delicate dress, and the most beautiful golden eyes barreled towards Bella at full speed. The hug didn't even register until Alice stepped away. Rigid as a stick Bella awkwardly smiled and held out a hand for shaking. She couldn't figure out if her reaction was delayed or if Alice had moved at the speed of light.
"Oh there is no need for that. We will be great friends," Alice gently swatted at Bella's hand.
"Already? But you don't even know me," Bella felt a little bit of suspicion welling up from the pits of her stomach.
"No, I suppose not. I always want to make things happen before their time, I guess it's something I should work on."
Bella smiled and nodded.
"So, what does my job entail?"
"Right now, you will have to help me sort through all of these fabrics. I want them sorted by color and not by type."
This was going to be a headache. There were so many colors, but some of them looked so alike, but others were so different from each other, yet had many of the same qualities.
"Uhm, forgive me if I am being too blunt. What is the salary for this position?"
Alice put a hand on her chin.
"I actually haven't thought about that yet. Whatever you want?"
"I was looking in the range of 35-"
"200k yearly. I will give you that as a base and if you do good work I will increase it as I like."
Bella felt her eyes almost pop out of her skull. That was a lot more than 15 dollars an hour. She waved her hands dismissively. This was way too generous. Alice looked confused at Bella's reaction.
"No, I cannot accept that for just being an assistant," Bella said. It felt like charity to her. If there was one thing Bella hated, it was feeling like a charity case.
"Yes, you can. And you will. It's just me behind this brand and I can surely use as much of your help I can. I do not want to be…looking anywhere else. I cannot afford to switch assistants every month."
"Have you paid others similarly?"
"No, but I know that you are good for this job," Alice turned away and dove back into a mountain of linen. "I'll give you some upfront to help you become secure and then we can do monthly. Sound good?"
"Yeah," Bella said, a happy flower blooming in her stomach. There was nothing more valuable in the world than the feeling of security, even if the means were through a well-intentioned donor.. "Is there any chance that-"
Bella trailed off feeling ridiculous for even thinking such a thing.
"What?" Alice's voice was slightly muffled.
"Is there any chance that Jasper set you up to do this?" Her knees felt weak just saying his name. She didn't know if it was fear, or something else. A strange concoction of it all.
"Jasper? I don't even know a guy named that way. What a strange name. But so on brand, maybe he'll come model for me?"
"You don't even know what he looks like," Bella laughed. Alice gave a mischievous look.
"With the look on your face I would say he's welcome to model my underwear line if he wants." Bella blushed and looked pointedly at the stack of tulle in front of her.
Time to sort.
"Yeah Alice is kind of a strange character. It was really weird that she said she didn't know me because I worked for her for a good eight or nine months," Angela said. Bella was sitting over a cup of tea. Angela had insisted she come over as soon as work was over so they could properly catch up.
"Why did you leave," Bella asked, munching on some spaghetti and watching Henry, Angela's son, throw his on the ground.
"I was fired, actually." Angela had never been fired from anywhere, she was a very hard working employee. Bella could not say the same about herself when it came to menial jobs.
"Really?"
"Really. She said it was time for me to move on. I met Mike the very next day and we traveled the world together for six months so I cannot help but think she knew something."
"Hmm, weird."
"Yeah."
"If you're comfortable answering, how much did she pay you?"
"Around 45 dollars an hour, with random large bonuses. That really was the only reason I was sad to go. Alice is nice, but fashion and stuff isn't for me."
Henry launched a meatball at Bella's face, giggling. While Henry was cute, Bella suddenly knew that she was not ready to raise a child.
"I think that might be my cue to go home," Bella ruffled Henry's hair. Angela scolded Henry gently.
"You are welcome here any time, Bella, and I mean any time. You still haven't told me where you have been! I know you don't have any family but remember that I will miss you if you disappear forever. You aren't alone."
Angela pressed a thermos of hot tea in Bella's hands. Bella stared at it to stop the tears from falling out.
"Angie, you wouldn't believe where I was even if I told you."
"Try me."
"I can't. I am processing everything myself."
"You don't have to do it by yourself, how many times do I have to tell you?" Angela wrung her hands in frustration
"This, especially, I have to figure out on my own."
"You say that every single time," Angela hugged Bella. There was a loud thud in the background as Henry threw the whole plate on the floor.
"Toddlers," Bella said, pretending to know. Angela laughed.
It was a ten minute walk home. Bella thought about calling a taxi but decided against it. The streets were well lit, and populated by many different people. It was a relatively busy time.
Wasn't it a walk just like this that set her into this mess the first time? No, it was dead quiet on that street. Bella wondered if the forest that held Alice's rabbit hole was also quiet before she fell. She wondered if anyone had heard her scream.
-Xx Jasper xX-
"I cannot keep on giving you concessions, Emmett. You have squandered the budget for your territory and now I have nothing to give you," I rubbed my temples in frustration.
The demon's tail fell limp as he realized that there was no way out of his predicament. A financial system was something I implemented after the mortals devised it, it was such fun to watch Hell go crazy over imaginary pebbles.
I didn't usually preside over such puny matters but I did try to show up when there needed to be a sense of finality given over a matter. He had taken the financial helm of the Third territory, the level of Gluttony, without any experience. Then, he proceeded to give everyone anything they wanted. Emmett was generous for a demon that was born to consume.
"Well, Sir, I thank you for your time and hope our next meeting will be under better circumstances."
I nodded. A thought popped into my head. I snapped my fingers and a contract fell squarely on top of Emmett's head.
"Wait," I said. "I do have one thing that you can do. It requires you to go to the mortal world. If you do it, I will give you the means necessary to help your territory come out of financial ruin."
"I don't know, mortal time passes so quickly compared to here," he said. Demons were generally the most hesitant about signing anything written by my hand, and for good reason.
If only Bella were a demon. She would have been mine a millennium ago. I checked what day it was on the mortal calendar.Three weeks. It had been three weeks since our last encounter. I could have sworn it was naught but one day. She must have already forgotten me!
The dying angel's accusations still stayed with me. She could be Edward's creation! I cannot. I must forget her. I must stop this nonsense right now. On the other hand, I have never trusted the words of an Angel. No. They were stupid, conniving bastards. Everything in the mortal realm was Edward's creation for Lilith's sake! But! She might be a special creation. She might be more akin to the Angels than to the mortals.
"Uhm, Boss? You alright?"
"Ah yes, I want you to keep tabs on a mortal girl. If you speak of this to anyone else, I shall rip out your heart and feed it to the dogs. While you are gone, I will place a financial advisor in your stead and when you come back you will have a working system in place without all the blood, sweat and screaming, eh?"
I hoped I didn't show how affected by the whole thing I was. I was too comfortable around demons, but even they could not know how much this is affecting me. The ambassador for the Angels stationed in the First Territory would know before anyone else.
"Will you, uh, bring me back if I am eaten by the dogs?"
"You shall just have to trust me on this one, Emmett. Sign the contract and I shall send you up." I would not, in fact, bring him back after the dogs have had their way.
"I have just one condition," said the demon. I smiled. I liked conditions. "Give me lots of muscle. I want to be a big and strong kind of mortal."
I appraised the wiry frame of the demon. They were naturally muscular but were never prone to gaining fat because the heat of Hell was a hard place to live.
"Granted. Now sign!"
Now, it was time to jog Bella's memory about me. There was still some Hellish business to attend to before I could devote my attention to my little toy.
Bella
Bella heard a loud bang and a very loud "fuckin' hell, Boss!" from the alleyway by her apartment. She fumbled with her keys and tried to get into the building as quickly as possible. It could be some construction thing, or it could be something else. She would be able to afford a nicer place soon, after she paid off her debts to the landlord.
He had been very kind to her throughout the whole ordeal, and it was more than time to be kind to him. He was an old man who said that she reminded him of his long dead daughter. Bella was sure he was delusional when he showed her pictures.
The stranger the world became, the more appreciative Bella became of the interactions with people who were kind and oblivious to it all. She felt like she had been ripped from the storyline that held humanity and forced into a perspective like no other. Hell! Heaven! Devil! God! Brothers? Interested in me? Both of them? Why?
If she started telling everyone about her experiences, the best outcome would be the formation of some sort of cult or religion around this. The average outcome would be that no one would care and she would be sent to a mental hospital. The worst outcome would be that Jasper would come after her and kill her trying to spread the truth. Or Edward. Or anyone, really. Bella sensed that every character in this little saga had a lot more raw power than she. Not only power in the real world, but literal magic! These beings could manipulate a human's reality like it was nothing.
There was the soft smell of roses in her apartment, one that definitely had not been there before. Jasper. Bella followed the smell into the bedroom, where the bed had been carefully made, and the most gorgeous glistening bouquet of red roses sat in the middle. A note placed carefully on them: Hope you haven't forgotten about me xx. Within the note was a small blank polaroid, Bella turned it on its back to find the words: "I will show you what you most desire."
Bella gasped as she witnessed the swirling of colors and shapes. She thought about their last encounter, and she thought about how many times she had thought about their last encounter. Finally, the shape of a naked couple wrapped in a deep embrace materialized. Bella's back was turned to the camera, and Jasper smiled straight at her with one hand on her neck and the other around her back. There was no question about what the two of them were using that position for. There was a pool of red silk around them, floating ethereally like an afterthought.
She yelped and threw the polaroid on the ground. The audacity of the man! This wasn't even a real picture! She couldn't even have the real memory of it happening! What a shame. If only all of her fantasies could be codified into polaroids, there would never be a need to have anyone in her life. She could just live it without being emotionally dependent on anyone, no one to abandon and betray her.
What a terrible start to the game. This was no way to begin. She had to find ways to fight back. She had been telling herself that she would never give in to him, but this little gift of his was evidence that she had lost before the races began. She just needed to figure out for how long she could fool him into thinking the contract was necessary. Bella laughed to herself. Jasper had found the only girl in the world that could even dare think about falling for the Devil before a second date.
I could not believe my eyes. The embrace was powerful, yet so warm and innocent. She melted right into, molded herself and yielded everything. This was her fantasy, and I could not believe that it was me at the center of it. Fools who play with fire always get burned. Devils control the burn to torture the damned.
I can feel her heat, even from Hell. It feels like sunshine.
If you are interested in Beta-ing this story pls say hi. Otherwise, thank you for coming back, and I will see you soon!
If only our lovebirds could just admit their feelings right away, wouldn't that just be lovely ;)
I spent hours on the cover and the best thing I could come up with is a ketchup and mustard theme
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