Thank you a BILLION times again for your messages and reviews. I just want to hug you all! Hope you're enjoying the story. Let me know if you want to see more of their talks, I skip some stuff sometimes not to bore you all with my endless dialogue ideas haha
Very important, I've updated the rating in this story because I did end up writing a scene that's mature content (not in this chapter but it's coming up soon), so be advised.
Back inside the cottage, for no specific reason, Alice and Jasper reclined comfortably on the couch of her living room, side by side. Alice folded her legs under herself and sat sideways to extend her full attention to Jasper as she had done outside.
He fidgeted with his fingers for a moment, reckoning the reasonable way to commence the conversation. Intuitively, Alice clutched one of his fists into hers, molding the big spoon of their hands and solacing him. She hadn't the necessity to explain much at the moment because the tranquility fluttering toward him was glorious. There was no judgment, only loyalty.
"I don't know where to begin," Jasper admitted.
"How did you become a vampire?" She encouraged then, and he deemed that it was a suitable point to begin the tale.
"At seventeen, I joined the Confederate Army. Commonly, a young fellow like myself wouldn't have been permitted to join the frontlines, but I always had a way with people. I could regularly persuade them of my convictions and points of view with ease. Usually just by telling them, bestowing my side of the coin." Alice endeavored, curiously registering how that appeared astonishingly comparable to his abilities now. Jasper carried on, "My siblings were older than me, but the war had taken its toll in our family, and I assumed combat would aid them and everyone else.
"Two years in the army and I was ranked up to Major. I was the youngest Major in the Texas Calvary during the Civil War. People genuinely esteemed me, and there were killings everywhere, so they appreciated I was still alive. I had exceptional fighting and shooting skills and I knew how to handle authority. Something was making it obvious for people to follow me, neither I could comprehend it. They utilized to their leverage, of course. Recruit more, which upheld their front of battle.
"I met Maria and her sisters, Lucy and Nettie, in Galveston. I was helping evacuate women and children of the area as there had been reports of invaders threatening the frontlines. Twilight had sunk, and, of course, I presumed they had gotten lost from their group during the evacuation. I dismounted to help them, of course. They were the most beautiful beings I had seen in my entire life, but something about them felt unfamiliar. I kept my distance, but I got a glow in the red shade of their eyes. That didn't make me run away, although I should have probably wouldn't have changed anything. Maria was fixated in me already, affected by my humanity. She perceived something in me that could assist her in her affairs, something I didn't even know about myself yet.
"Lucy also regarded that I was an officer and that could serve them, as Maria told me later on. My participation in the field could help them qualify the troops they were creating. Newborns." Jasper clarified for a moment as Alice glared.
"It's when we're at our most formidable strength. A newborn army can effortlessly defeat humans, without requiring all that amount of bodies. Nettie and Lucy were interested in my abilities as a soldier, but it became more for Maria. After I was transformed and became clear my manipulation talents, she recognized how that could exceedingly toil well in disputes. Maria was invariably endeavoring to reclaim what once belonged to her.
"She was a much older vampire, whose regions had been invaded when she wasn't even one. Once, she recounted me how it all sprang. Her village was decimated when she was young, and they grew up having to continuously struggle for their home in the world. The vampire who turned her wanted to exploit her people even further, but he obtained his downfall. He had no clue how strong newborns were. Maria herself annihilated him without anybody's assistance. She was fighting for the people she had seen die.
"For the longest time, I embraced that fight. I was shown to reality, that what the Confederate Army was doing just reproduced the wrongs that happened before. She was applying man's strengths against them. It was impressively clever. But then again, she was never foolish."
Alice had been silently taking in the tale, but questioned then, "What drifted you away from her?"
"The endless battles. I was weary of it all. Even before she turned me, when I was in the army, it felt misplaced to be butchering lives like we did. So carelessly of their stories and intentions and emotions. The feelings truly got to me. The reality that I could undergo it all, the slaughter, anger, revenge, and the fear... I was drained and empty living like that. I used to be about helping people, and I thought I was fighting all the right battles for a long time. First with the Confederate Army, then with Maria. I don't discredit her cause, as I do the army. Hers was a more righteous cause than the one I used to be in. Maria herself had gotten me to see things differently, how the side I was on worked for all the immoral intentions. But I began to discern ahead, I was—am... I am so exhausted of fighting." There was a burden when Jasper avowed that, staring away from Alice for a prolonged moment as he appeared to recollect his spirits.
She waited patiently for him to take his time.
"Maria has a genuine purpose in striving to reclaim her territories and fight for the people that were viciously murdered. But I didn't see myself being any better when we had to discard our armies. I believe it is all portion of the means that drifted us apart. I was in it for her, and she was in it for the cause. But with me tasting all our newborns felt when I had to dispose of them, I couldn't do it any longer. I fled when she had me find her new soldiers. Concluded my assignment and granted one of them with a message for her." Alice seemed puzzled at that, flickering in wonder. "I informed her I was retiring, wished her well, and wished that she attained what she was looking for."
"What do you think she was looking for?"
"For a while, I thought it was retaliation. But as the years went on, I realized she's fighting to recover what it was stolen from her... A better life, opportunities, to be seen and understood." Throughout the years, took him a great deal of reasoning, witnessing society progress and transform, following how advancement shaped things, for those conclusions to settle in.
"It's not a bad cause," Alice told him intently.
"No, it really isn't. I suppose you could say I wasn't as strong as she is to keep on going." Jasper breathed, and at last, he found Alice's eyes again. "Doesn't reduce the fact I did repulsive things as a human and a great deal of those as a vampire."
"No, it doesn't. But you acknowledge it, Jasper, that's a start." The hope in her timbre served well to soothe his unquietness. "Do you regret entering the army then?"
"I do." He answered honestly. "I lament supporting on the wrong side of history. And it isn't something I can put any culpability on. It was a choice that I made and that I ought to live with."
"But you can determine how you live with it, you can decide not to make the same mistakes again and be different."
Jasper heard those words with a hushed nod. He would do it, he understood that now. Looking into Alice's eyes, he had a lucid revelation of the man he was intended to become. There was so much faith and trust arising from her, her aura loaded with encouragement and support.
"I want that. I want to be different."
"And you will." She had seen it just a second ago, the sight invading her consciousness furiously vivid. He held her as they sat by a large glass window that overlooked a green forest. She was in front of him, tucked in his arms that wrapped around her in a tight shelter. On the vision, she gazed up and saw his eyes looking down at her, so light golden.
Her momentary halt told him she had seen it, and Jasper smiled.
"Will you help me?"
Alice mused, nodding.
"Always."
The rest of the night revolved lazily with Jasper and Alice chatting. He shared with her the knowledge he had on newborns and how the south's armies had been operating all these years. She was astonished by the fact so many vampires were in these regions. Alice concluded it would be more feasible for them to be moving around or taking residence up north where the sun didn't shine as abundantly and radiant.
Jasper told her about the Volturi as well. He was astounded she had no idea who they were and why it was crucial for their kind to maintain a low profile given their unrelenting sentences. Alice hadn't had a creator around or many encounters with other vampires. She never knew what to assume of her kind, even with her visions, so she often avoided them, constantly mingling with humans instead. Which dismayed Jasper.
While he told her of the episodes he'd seen the Volturi intervene, she told him about the jobs she had gotten amidst humans. While he emphasized the battling technics for vampires, she told him why she had resolved to study how to read and sew. They were opposed sides of the same coin, but they completed each other. Jasper taught her what was essential to know as a vampire and Alice directed him on how to be more human.
It was dawn when Alice suggested they go for a stroll. The conversations didn't cease, but it felt more casual wandering around. The forest was quieter and welcoming at this hour, but it was the sunrise that she wanted to see. They halted by a cliff and Alice perched on the highest crag, marveling the first beams of light on the horizon. Jasper slowed his walk and lingered back to contemplate the silhouette of that tiny vampire resting before him. She was so free and still, taking in the sun that shined straight into her skin and shone back an elegant spectacle. If Jasper had a living heart, it would have thumped fast for Alice.
When he finally joined her, leaving the trees' shadows to accept the sun declaring what he really was, he took Alice's hand.
"You do this often?"
"Every day." She confessed, looking over at Jasper. The sight of his skin glistening the sunlight, the blonde waves that befell modestly around his jowls, and even his eyes' red shade were all a striking sight. "I feel alive here."
"It's a delightful sentiment." He had endured it originating from her, but now he understood why it was so pleasant.
"It is."
They were there for long, sharing in each other's presence. After a while, the warmness began settling and the birds flew around. "We should head back. It'll start pouring soon."
Jasper chuckled, "I need to get used to that." He got up first and stretched his hand for her to join.
"You will."
"What do you commonly do during your days?" Jasper asked when they returned to the cabin. Alice had been putting away some of the books she removed from the shelves for Jasper's arrival.
"I haven't been working here in Philadelphia, so I normally take a stroll in town. Some days I purchase textiles and come back home to sew. The others, I read a novel or draw at the cafe. It really depends." Alice simplified and hurried to join his side. "Is there anything you would like to do?"
"Well, I don't have all that practice amid people like you do." Jasper appeared worried, but Alice heartened him with a simper.
"You have nothing to fear. If there are any menaces we should worry about, I'll see them occurring." She captured his hand encouragingly. "Besides, it'll be drizzling, so not too many people on the roads."
Jasper debated but finally exhaled out, "What do you propose we do?"
Alice nibbled her lip, considering it through. "We'll take a walk downtown."
"Alright, ma'am." Every time his southern accent came out so dense like that, Alice could taste the fervor overhauling her entire body.
Before they departed the house, Alice left Jasper's side to prepare herself ready. He was rapid to change into the clothes she had for him and his old cowboy boots. Afterward, he accommodated in the living room to wait for Alice. He was tuned in the excitement originating from the washroom, amused by how cheery that woman could be.
Alice took her time putting on a light makeup, combing and pinning her hair to place and selecting a beautiful day dress. It was pale pink, fitted her beautifully around the waist. Still befitting for winter but appeared bright and delicate. The cloak was unmistakably irrelevant for a vampire, but it helped her fit the part.
Jasper gawked when she joined him in the sitting.
"What do you think?" She grinned, reaching for the umbrella in case they needed it.
"You look stunning." Jasper was rising immediately, speeding to her side and offering her his arm.
"Thank you, sir." Catching his arm, Alice guided their way out of the house.
Just as Alice had foretold, the streets were almost empty because of the light drizzle. She and Jasper strolled the roads under the umbrella, Alice's hand perfectly enveloped around Jasper's arm. They looked like they were made for each other. Passerbys that traversed them had to glance twice at such a striking couple that exhaled sheer exhilaration. There was not a single human that didn't feel a sense of satisfaction crossing them. It was strange for Jasper to remark them feel this easiness. Naturally, humans would tense up to his predatory nature. But not now, not with her beside him.
It didn't make it any easier on him though, to be so close to humans when he hadn't satisfied on them in so long. Jasper didn't feel hungry, but he couldn't say his larynx didn't ich to the fragrances around him. He tried to sharpen on Alice, how her digits curled intently around his bicep, and how she would gleam at him from time to time. That eased the obstinate appetite.
She was the most magnificent creature Jasper had ever seen in this unending eternity. The peace she brought him and the happiness she continuously illuminated were addictive to Jasper. Especially after he had been profusely stuck in sensations so dissimilar from those.
"Oh, look at that fabric!" Alice beamed, halting by a storefront to examine it from the window. It was a frail lace, in marine blue, one of her personal favorite. She envisioned herself using it to make a dress. Then saw herself donning the piece by Jasper's side, laying on the meadows. Finally, in the last vision, she witnessed Jasper shedding the dress in their chamber, unveiling a matching undergarment with the identical ornament that embellished the dress.
Her eyesight converged back to the fabric lying there anxiously on the store's showcase. If she could fluster, Alice would be lively ruby cheeks. But the most embarrassing part was that if her face didn't give her away, her emotions did. Jasper had clearly perceived the vacillation in her feelings, and she validated that he did when mustering his prying gaze.
"We ought to buy it."
He heaved a brow, and the most extraordinary side grin crossed his lips. "I don't know exactly why, but I strongly agree." He knew why, but declaring aloud was complex.
Alice panted. There were no qualms; he felt the intense desire overtake her in the last vision, but his wonder got her even more fervent.
"Come along." She shouldered the door, overhearing the chime ring, while Jasper dealt with their sunshade. "Hi!"
"Hello, welcome. How may I help you?" The saleswoman came along, seeming remarkably astonished by the duo. Jasper ducked his gaze; knowingly, his eyes were burning red and scary.
"That lace on display? I'd like to take about three or four meters." Alice directed, smiling so delicately at the woman, unafraid and comfortable around her.
"Of course." She went on to get it. "Working on a project?"
"Oh yes, I'll apply it on a dress. It's a sumptuous fabric, it'll look charming on it." Alice conversed excitedly, the paintings from before meddling her brain over.
"It is extremely high quality as well. It'll look beautiful, I'm sure." She marked it for Alice and asked, "Would you like me to convey it to a specific designer in town?"
"I will take it with me, thank you. I tailor it all myself."
"That's remarkable!"
"She's very gifted indeed," Jasper said at last, though he avoided eyeing the saleswoman. Eyes striving to busy mindlessly on the fabrics that covered the walls.
The woman was startled, having neglected he was there. Jasper felt her agitation, and that was a feeling he was used to, but he still coated tranquility toward her. "Let me get this cut and packed for you."
As the woman swung around to travel to the back, Alice tensed up with the revelation. She envisioned the woman fumbling an inch further with the shears and blood aroma striking the place ultimately. All that arose was exceedingly rapid and intense. It triggered Jasper to instantly pursue and trap the woman on the back until her life was finished. He tasted sorrow and remorse after while Alice held the guilt for quartering him to it, for not preventing him.
It all unfolded fast in her mind. When she surfaced back to reality, Jasper was beside her, staring, disquieted for her tremors. He experienced the terror, hunger, satisfaction, and at last, the pain and blame. All of what her visions brought her. It all made him extremely concerned.
"Actually!" Alice shouted out the lady midway through it befalling. "I changed my mind."
"Oh." The woman stared suddenly disappointed. Deep down, so did Alice.
"You should take it, Alice." He encouraged then, distracted by her displeasure.
"Jazz, I—" She couldn't find a suitable manner of describing it, but he somehow appeared to follow.
"What if we purchase the intact lot?"
Alice ran that option in her mind, and the images showed way more promising. "That would be grand." She eyed the saleslady, who observed them thoroughly disconcerted. "We'll take the entire piece, no need to cut it."
"Very well, let me gather it for you."
When she was out of sight, the two vampires exchanged a gaze.
"I'm sorry." Jasper muted.
"You didn't do anything, Jasper." She stroked his jaw encouragingly, but he glanced away with a rustle.
"But I was going to."
"Don't do this to yourself. There is always a different possibility." Gently, her thumb smoothed his cheek. "I shouldn't have put you through it so soon."
"Perhaps I do require a longer practice to be around humans." He confessed, and Alice nodded promptly.
"Nothing wrong with that. We'll make do." Alice craved they were at that moment already, as the utter urge to kiss him overhauled her. But she held herself back, particularly in public. "I'll help."
"I might oblige to hunting again."
"I'll accompany you this time." Her orbs had a darker shade. She had experienced the ich in her throat throughout the vision, examining him so anxious for the blood.
They were off the shop not long after. Alice paid for the textile, and Jasper was carrying the pack for her. He hadn't realized until then how he never carried mundane items like money. He would have cherished acquiring the piece for her, but the feasibility was never something he had to do as a vampire.
Back in Maria's clan, they had their own methods of acquiring such resources. Sometimes from their victims, as it was customary amid most nomad vampires. That was another very human aspect of Alice. But it was something Jasper made record that he might desire to readjust.
After dropping off their shopping at the cabin, they both went hunting. Jasper captured a mountain lion and Alice went for the doe. It was hushed for a long time, but he examined her closely all along. She hunted and her spirit changed from this cauldron of emotions to a predator, ready to attack. Alice was agile, skillful, and clever. She would have done great in battle, and Jasper conjectured it was because Alice could foretell every move in her victim. It was unquestionably a unique talent.
"You are extremely quiet." He elucidated back in the residence when she handed him a towel to clean his face. Alice was idling for him to pick it up but withdrew with the remark. "Did I do something?"
She swung her head, nearing him. "I hadn't felt such desire for human blood in years, but I saw it so sharply in the vision that it frustrated me, I suppose."
"So, I did do something." He taunted.
"You didn't." Alice chortled. She was standing an inch away from him now. Her hand reached over with the rag to wipe the blood off his lips and cheeks, cleaning it smoothly. "I sometimes disregard what I truly am."
"An unbelievably extraordinary woman?" The observation made her smile, but Alice shook her head.
"A vampire."
"I know." He smoothed his fingers against her elbows, and it facilitated when he hauled her against his figure, closing any gap separating them. "You are nothing but exceptional. You escorted me among humans, shunned turmoil, and had me feasting on animals twice now."
"Well, when you put it that way." Her knuckles dropped along with her concentration when Jasper drew her so intimately. She could feel his thorax pressed against hers and his eyes investigating every nuance of her soul. "Jasper, I—"
The images were formulated so fast in her head. Alice profaned herself for demolishing the surprise. Jasper kenned she'd seen it by the way her lips crooked up in a smile.
There was no uncertainty from any of them when their mouths ultimately collided.