A/N: Thanks everyone, this story has passed 10,000 hits & 'Fate' cleared 60,000 xx Sorry it's a little shorter, but I'm just setting it up for a battle and it won't be the Volturi for once xx Alexis
As Jasper cautiously entered the room he could feel the malice and loathing battering him for all sides, which was absurd. He had never had dealings with witches before going to Forks, humans yes and other vampires most definitely. Their fear he would have understood but this blind hatred made no sense. He knew the council of witches had had their headquarters in Maine for years, longer then he'd been a vampire. So it wasn't as if he'd caused them personal harm.
"Gentlemen, Ma'am!" he said nodding, slowly altering the levels of distrust and animosity in the room, to a more manageable setting.
"Romain! You would bring these abominations before us? We are the Witch Council of America!" Gerard spits out loudly,
"You were the Witch Council of America, you mean! I pick the new Council! I choose those fit to lead us and you Gerard are showing yourself up to be a small-minded, petty being not fit to hold office!" Romain stated with equal distaste,
The fool jumped to his feet and before he knew what's happening Charlie had him pinned to the wall. He'd heard the small intake of Bella's breath and the barely spoken word curse, it galvanised him into action.
"You would attempt to curse the Supreme Wicche of America, are you insane?" Charlie spat in the confused man's face,
"He can't understand how you were aware of an unspoken curse?" Jasper said quietly, still drawing all eyes to him
"I didn't, Bella felt it on her shield and I reacted to her shock. Never underestimate the bond between a father and his daughter Gerard!" Charlie said as he bound the fool's power.
"Well Travis, so this is your legacy! The most bigoted, self-gratifying Council since the humans at Salem!" Romain said sadly, knowing to a witch that was the worst insult ever,
"You're being a little harsh don't you think Romain?" the lone female on the council said,
"No Cathleen, I don't! You have not only a zealot among you but a mole. So who is it? I assume Gerard is the one setting witches loose on the vampires now in Seattle. But who, I wonder informed the vampires of our very private meeting?" he asked in a deathly cold tone.
"What?" demanded Travis, his surprise alone showing his innocence, he was a fool, a bad leader. But not a traitor.
"In the next room, we have a witch and a vampire who were about to kill each other last night. They would have succeeded too if the Major hadn't put a stop to it. Seattle is crawling with both sides just waiting to start a war the humans wouldn't be able to miss!" Charlie replied annoyed,
"We spent the whole night warding the city to stop as much trouble as we could. I have their names and the name of their covens. It won't take long to find out unless one of you wants to admit their guilt? The vampires were harder to deal with, but luckily we had three vampires on hand and a witch vampire as well!" Romain said, before shouting for Peter and Charlotte to bring in the prisoners.
"Here we are your supremeness!" Peter said, with his usual lack of respect for the solemnity of the proceedings, and then smirking at Jasper and Bella said,
"Daddy, mommy dearest and mommy's daddy of course!"
"Shut up Captain!" Jasper warned, trying to keep the humour out of his tone,
"Sir, yes Sir! Shuttin' up now" he saluted Jasper and took up his position off his right shoulder.
Romain shook his head and turned to Charlotte,
"You have my deepest sympathy, my dear," he said smiling and Peter huffed but said nothing, wisely enough.
Two or three on the council who had as yet said nothing watched Romain's interaction with the vampire's and the hybrid. Had they been misinformed all these years, were not all bloodthirsty monsters? These two newer ones had red eyes but were not in the least interested in anyone here's blood! They were still feeling the sting of the Salem slur.
"Romain, as archive keeper up until your assent. I told them all repeatedly, not all was black and white in our world! But I was shushed and pushed aside by both Travis and Gerard constantly. I'll admit I gave up trying eventually" one older witch said sadly.
"Yes, I know the feeling Thomas! That's why I retired from the European council. You can only bang your head on a brick wall for so long!" Romain said nodding at the man,
Just about then the vampire prisoner was getting antsy and decided he wasn't going to listen to these old fools talking all day. He really wasn't the brightest tool in the shed and had yet to grasp who these vampires were. Yes, he saw the scars but didn't actually know what they meant, possibly they were just useless fighters, and he neither knew nor cared. Ah, the folly of youth, the vampire wars meant nothing to them!
TCHBTE
Right about now Aro was reaping the benefits of an 'I told you so' moment. He of course once again hadn't listened to Marcus and now their world, his rule was in tatters. Caius had gone completely insane, killing every witch who had attending the meeting and had been chained up in the dungeons by Alec. They themselves had retreated to the lower levels. Hoping that when the witches arrived they could at least avoid the ones who needed line of sight to cast their spells.
Marcus had fled with Renata and Heidi, leaving Aro feeling exposed. He had even brought the wives down to the lower castle to hopefully keep them safe. He'd sent Afton, Santiago, Demetri and Felix out to find them help! But from all accounts, almost everyone was in hiding or just outright refusing to aid them. It was all unravelling right before his eyes. Why had he not listened to the many times Marcus warned him about Caius? Because he was arrogant and thought he knew better, that's why!
For the first time, Aro realised money and power meant absolutely nothing. He did not hold the hearts and minds of his people, they feared the twins not him. His whole lifestyle was due to three people and they were here with him for now. How long before they too abandoned him to his fate? This was all new to him, this feeling of fear, he hated it! But not as much as he now hated Caius.
TCHBTE
Everyone in Forks was worried but went about their lives as best they could until they heard from Romain and the others. They didn't care that three of the six were vampires or that one was a hybrid. No, they worried about them all equally and that was what separated Forks from the rest of the supernatural world. They had the ability to transcend boundaries, erase perceived differences. Occasionally they lost sight of the specialness that was Forks, but on the whole, they were one very large, very strange family.
Cah'mel had taken over from Bella temporarily and it was she who received the call from Denali. The three sisters and Eleazar wished to discuss this new species that they apparently belonged to. She spoke with Alina and Old Quill and they agreed they should be allowed to come and asked Carlisle and Esme to house them for now. So with Carmen and Garrett in tow, the Denali's set off for Forks and hopefully some answers. The woman of Forks braced themselves and the single men were delighted.
They were ready to embrace the two single succubus females with open arms. Alina was working with all the other leaders, just in case, they had to make Forks disappear temporarily. It had been done before, not here but in Europe many times. Small villages had hidden themself away in a time of great strife and upheaval. The humans had somehow found out about one in particular and not truly believing, said it was folklore and they had made a romantic musical about it many years ago.
But these things were real and doable, hard to bring about, but with the right spells yes, it could happen. Romain hoped that this would be a last resort, but Forks was too precious to allow the larger supernatural world to destroy them. It worked along the same lines as the hiding of the trading post, but with the added spells to make everyone, even witches forget it ever existed! It would just disappear into the ether and all who once knew of it would quickly forget it was ever there.
TCHBTE
"I demand you let me go! You have no right to hold me! I'm a vampire for God sake, how dare you treat me this way!" the puffed-up arrogant fool spouted off at his captors,
"What's your name child? Who is your sire?" Jasper asked with deadly calm and everyone could almost feel the change in the atmosphere in the room,
"I don't need to tell you anything, I answer to no one!" he said with complete conviction, sure in his rights as a higher species,
"I asked you what your name was!" Jasper said applying mental pressure on the young untrained fool,
It took seconds to bring the idiot to his knees, now shaking with fear. He was beginning to see that he wasn't that strong or that important. Juan had lied; his sire wasn't the strongest vampire out there, not by a long shot.
"Mark, its Mark!" he whimpered,
"Your sire now?" Jasper said and his eyes were turning black,
"Juan Ricardo, his name it Juan Ricardo" the idiot blubbed,
The witches all watched with mounting fear. Jasper wasn't even touching the young vampire, yet he had him almost in a foetal position on the floor.
"Where is your coven and why are you here in Seattle?" he now asked and the other two vampires straightened up, the Major had arrived.
"New York! He sent us to cause trouble" the cringing fool, panted now,
"Last question boy, who told him the Witch Council, would be here?" Jasper asked, loading the vampire with the need to unburned himself to them all,
"Him! He told Juan! He's related to Juan's mate!" he replied, pointing to a witch right at the back of the room,
"Why Leon?" Travis yelled, hardly believing that his own protégé would do this,
"She's my great grandmother!" was all he said, his head down and shoulders dropped in relief that everyone now knew.
Everyone understood the pull of family loyalties, respecting you elders and doing their bidding. The young man had been caught between a rock and a hard place. Maybe if his mentor had been more approachable or understanding, he could have sought his help. He had been asked to only spy and inform them of important decisions. But life was full of what-ifs! Romain nodded and Charlie bound his power as well.
Jasper was standing stock still, struggling slightly to return to his peaceful self once again. Bella stepped closer and laid her hand gently on his back. The witches watched with fascination as his eyes once more became golden, as the black leeched away. This was a phenomenon they had never seen before. Vampires who had control of themselves were totally alien to the witches or at least to what they had been taught about them.
Peter had a flash of inspiration and whispered his idea in Jasper's ear. Basically, he wondered if the witches could use their magic he broadcast Jasper's voice at vampire levels across Seattle. He would tell them all to return to New York. Tell them to inform Juan Ricardo that Seattle was under the jurisdiction of Major Jasper Whitlock. And finally, if any were still here after nightfall he would burn them where they stood, no questions asked or answered.
A couple of passing nomads heard the announcement when it arrived and basically high tailed it out of there as fast as they could. Others asked why their hurry, who was this Major Whitlock?
"Damn you newbie's know nothing! He's the vampire that gives other vampires nightmares! He can take you down without touching you and if you have the misfortune to have to fight him, you will lose. He's never lost a fight and has the scars to prove it. Tell your leaders, he is the bogeyman, his other title is 'The God of War'!" one of the nomads said as they packed up their stuff quickly and headed out.
That's when everyone found out Seattle was under the protection of the God of War. Many had only believed he was a story, invented to frighten newborns. The exodus was swift and within thirty minutes no vampires were within the cities limits, except for Jasper Peter, Charlotte, Bella and the prisoner Mark. He would be taking a personal message to his coven leader.
"Tell Juan, Aro's fight is his own. America should not be gettin' involved. That fool kept his killer on too loose a leash and that has nothin' to do with us. We will not be allowin' a war between the witches and vampires to come here and he better recognise Witch Vampires since he's mated to one. Tell him if he doesn't agree with any of this, well then, he can take it up with me personally!" Jasper said, accepting that he was now about to become de facto leader of the vampire race in America.
The news spread like wildfire, it swept across the United States and beyond. Not only had the God of War told everyone to stand down in the Volturi's fight. But he had put a ban on attacking witches or hybrids too. The once most deadly of fighters was advocating for a peaceful coexistence in the future. Nobody was stupid enough to believe he'd gone soft over the years. But that it was a logical, tactical stance, one that would keep them all alive and at home.
TCHBTE
Marcus Volturi was laying low in Britain. With Heidi's help, he was keeping an ear to the ground. She being a siren had an uncanny way of getting information from anyone she wanted. Marcus always thought Aro wasted her talents; she was so much more than a fisherman. He had left word, well a codeword for Alistair. He knew the wily old fox would get it and hopefully be in touch soon.
The Americans were right he did know all about Gifts and Powers. It was his own that made it obvious to him. Unlike others, he could show Aro only what he wanted to show him. Aro, the fool had assumed it had evolved with familiarity, so as not to show him everything every time they touched. But Marcus had to consciously send him information.
Renata as a shield didn't need to worry and as Aro never tried to read Heidi, thinking she had nothing important to tell him, she too was safe. That made her Marcus' ultimate spy, she was everywhere all the time and nobody paid her any attention. She had played the part of a dumb blonde to the hilt. Marcus would have liked to get Afton on his side too, but being as he was Chelsea's mate made it impossible.
Alistair, unlike Demetri, had a power, he needed objects to find people and this made him a diviner. Marcus had spent aeons keeping track of who had a latent witch power and who only had gifts. It was there in London, where they heard about the American Witch Council recognising the new breed of people called Witch Vampires. He knew also they all belonged under that banner and he intended to grasp that option very soon.
If Bella Whitlock was the American leader then he could be the European one and separate himself from Aro and the debacle he had allowed to occur. Over many years he had painstakingly copied many of the books in the Archives. He held the originals here in London in a bank vault, waiting for the time he'd need them to arrive. He, unlike Aro, didn't want to rule the world, just a small part of it.
He knew there would be other more powerful than him, but not as many who commanded respect from the greater community. Renata had long ago placed small bubbles of her shield in their three minds. Keeping Chelsea out and all they did was pretend to be loyal and brain-washed. Easy enough to do and no one as any the wiser, why would they be?
TCHBTE
Back in Seattle Romain informed the old Council he would be spreading his net wide looking for new blood for the now-empty positions. Except for Thomas and Cathleen who were reinstated, he as an archivist and she as potions expert. A couple of the others were happy to leave, neither Travis nor Gerard had let them do their jobs properly and they were disenfranchised with the Council because of them.
So it was with a promise to reconvene soon, they all left to go their own ways. Gerard and his lackey, as well as Leon, were not happy when their power was not unbound.
"You must earn it back; you abused your positions and your power. Until I see fit you will do without!" Romain informed the disgruntled trio,
Everyone knew as soon as they left all that had happened here, would be leaked within the witch community and they were okay with that. They had started the ball rolling and now they would have to see what it brought up and from whom! New regimes were never easy and much needed to happen before they could ensure peace for the supernatural community. Many would fight it they knew, but just as many would embrace it with equal fervour.
Jasper and Bella were hoping for a few peaceful days, just for themselves and she was prepared to use magic to make sure it happened.
Movie reference - Brig O' Doon