Chapter Two
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.
Ps. All poems and mini-poems at the beginning of chapters are written by me, unless another author is mentioned (which will be unlikely).
It feels like you wont recover, or ever, ever forget,
Because time can't heal all wounds,
Or put out the fiery past—
And douse the flame that sears and smarts,
Because pain was built to last.
JPOV:
Even before I reached the house, I could feel the smugness of my leader at our recent victory in the climate of her emotion. At once I knew she was sitting at her chair in the attic, looking out through the window over the lands we had captured. I heard her giggles of joy reach my ears and couldn't help the smile that appeared in return on my face.
And then, not even as strong as Maria, were the feelings of the newborns— and they ranged from angered, to thirsty, to lustful. They were in the basement of the large house we had stolen as our lodging in the newly captured city, lying around doing very little. I could tell they felt frustrated by this, and they were eager once more for blood after the violent battle of a couple of days ago. They would have to feed soon. I resolved to make Maria aware of this fact.
As I reached the porch of the almost run-down mansion, I looked down again at the mangled marble body I was carrying, and remembered how it had got there...
I had found the place Maria had mentioned— and was now dropping quickly down the manhole into the sewers in pursuit of her goal, which happened to be an aging male vampire, who was the leader of the coven that had owned the city as their territory. Maria had wanted it for herself, and so I had been chosen by her to eliminate the leader of our enemy coven so we could take the city. Our conquest was almost over, and I had the leader in my sights. I dreamt of the reward I would get when I returned home as I shot off in chase of the male vampire, who had smelt me and was running.
He wasn't as fast as me, because by the time we had reached where the sewers broke off into two passages, I almost had him. His half seconds pause as he decided which fork to follow further aided my cause. By the time he had chosen, I was upon him— my teeth at his neck, my arms locked around him— and before another second was gone, so was he.
I shifted the pieces of marble in my arms as I prepared to present this torn apart vampire to my leader. She knew I was here now, I could feel her excitement. This in turn, affected me, and a wide grin shot across my face. I held his head under my arm as I opened the door, gathering the pieces of the rest of him under my other arm.
She never answered the door, but I knew where to find her. She was waiting for me up the stairs. I could feel a twitch under my arm as the head convulsed slightly. I looked down to see the eyes rolling— it had been doing that for a while now. We would need to burn it soon.
The newborns in the cellar now also knew I was here, but as usual from our coven, I received no greeting from them. I hadn't expected one. I was their superior, I thought with joy to myself. And it was Maria who had made it so. I felt another wave of gratitude to her wash through me as I bounded up the stairs.
"Ahh, Jasper Whitlock," Maria purred as I entered the room, "What have you brought me this time?"
I regarded her moon-white skin and wide, blood red eyes as I bent to the floor in front of her petite form. Her dark hair was blowing in the wind, even more lovely today than it had ever been before.
"I brought you what you requested, lady," I murmured, holding before her the body she had wanted so much to see.
Her cry of happiness and satisfaction affected me too; I couldn't help but feel the same feeling coursing through my body. I held my arms higher, willing as ever for her praise.
"My dear Jasper," Maria sang, "Stand before me."
I rose to my feet, and locked my eyes with hers. They were shining.
"In what grace, to what absolute perfection have you carried out my task! Jasper, I am proud to call you my commander. You have proved beyond anything how competent you are. Just finish the job and then we shall celebrate!"
She clapped her small hands as she gestured towards the body I had set on the ground. I still held the head. I pulled a box of matches from my pocket and struck a flame. I reached down to touch it to the marble pieces on the wood floor, but Maria stopped me.
"But Jasper, that would destroy our floor. You must do it in your arms."
I looked into her eyes again, and without protest, I lay the match against the head in my arms. It immediately caught fire, and a pungent cloud of deep purple smoke began to rise. I held it at arms length and tried to ignore the sharp sting of the flames where they touched my skin. Maria didn't want her floor destroyed by the fire, so I had to do it in my arms. Who would I be to complain when she had shown me so much kindness?
After the destruction of the head, I did the body piece by piece. And when it was completed, I looked back to Maria. To my joy she was smiling again. To see that smile I would do anything.
And then the smile faded.
"Oh, Jasper, you are hurt!"
I began to shake my head, but she jumped down from her chair and came to stand in front of me. With a long, pale finger she traced the new scar that had appeared on my neck. I felt a shiver of shock run down my spine— Maria had never touched me before. It didn't know how to react to the feeling. I had never been touched by a woman before.
"No, Maria, that was from the last fight," I told her, "I did not gain any more today." My voice was strange, laced with shock.
"But you must bathe, Jasper, I have heard that makes it better. Does it still sting?"
Her finger paused on its path, where it had traced the line of the scar down to my collarbone. Her touch was feather-light. My body felt suddenly weary under her touch, like my energy had been sapped. I knew that was impossible.
"A very little, ma'am," I told her, though it was a lie. This scar had cut deeper than the last, and I could still feel burn of the venom of the vampire I had killed after he had placed it on me.
"Then you must bathe! I have something—" she turned to her desk, dropping her finger from my skin, "—here. You must take this." She passed me a small bottle made of dark brown glass. It was filled with liquid.
"What is this, lady?" I turned the bottle over in my hands, my touch light. Careful not to break this, Maria's possession.
"I have heard it helps," she just repeated. "Take a bath, Jasper, and come to me again when you have finished."
I bowed my head and backed out of the room. I would head to the river, and do as she asked. Her voice stopped me at the door.
"Where are you going, Jasper Whitlock?"
"To the river," I replied, in confusion.
Her emotions began a tumult of laughter.
"You will use my bath, commander."
Too proud to have been called such a thing, I did as she asked without complaint.
Her bath was in the adjoining room, and I closed the door lightly on her. I could still hear the bell tinkle of her laughter from the other room. The trappings of the room were decidedly feminine. The walls were panelled in rich dark wood, but I couldn't recognise the smell from ones I had smelt before, so I couldn't name it. Maybe Maria had imported it from across the sea.
The bath was the main feature of the room, aside from the large glass window, which was rare because of its expense. The bath was made of copper— I recognised the smell. It was polished until it gleamed. To my confusion I realized it had already been filled with water. I touched the tip of my finger to the surface of the water and found it was hot. The surface didn't stir, no rings reached out from where my finger had touched. It was like a mirror, reflecting my face back at me.
So, Maria had run me a bath? Normally she left me to bathe with the other newborns, in the river. Was this a reward for our triumph in gaining the city as ours?
I pulled the ripped cloth from my skin, and my shirt disintegrated in my fingers. I hadn't gotten a new one for a week or so. I realized now that I needed one. My pants were in much the same condition, though they didn't break when I tried to take them off. I had taken to not wearing shoes, but Maria had shown displeasure when she had seen me without them, and told me to find some. I had taken these ones from the body of a newborn that had to be destroyed, and they were worn and old. Only my overcoat was in good condition. It had been a reward from Maria on one of our raids a year ago.
The water stirred a little as I lowered my body into the bath. It felt good to be free of clothes. They were often restricting, though I would never mention that to anybody. The steamed, boiling water felt good against my skin, much like what I imagined the caress of a lady might feel like. My thoughts returned to Maria and how she had touched me. And then I remembered the small glass bottle she had given me, and reached my hand out of the bath to retrieve it.
When I lifted the cork, I knew immediately what it was. The smell was unmistakeable. The scarlet liquid swirled in the bottle and my throat erupted in flames. Ahhh, blood.
I realized I needed to feed. It took a lot of effort to pour the liquid into the bath, rather than drink it. And then the smell of the blood was diluted in the water, less concentrated, but it was all around me, lapping against my skin... I closed my eyes and leant back against the bath, my throat in agony. A small moan fell from my lips as my forehead creased. I could certainly not drink it now, mixed with water as it was... yet my throat was parched and dry, and only human blood would satisfy...
Maria's emotions became even more amused. She had heard my moan.
I heard her footsteps, and then shot up from the water in shock as I heard her hand on the doorknob. In a sitting position in the bath, I froze as she came into the room.
"Are you thirsty?" she giggled.
I didn't reply. I couldn't open my mouth, for I had smelled something even sweeter than the diluted blood in the bath... Maria was holding a human, its arms and legs bound by rope, its mouth stuffed with cloth... and its eyes were screaming and rolling in fear. It's cloud of emotion and panic spread across the room like thunder clouds across a summer sky. I was immediately tense, ready at once to spring from the bath and sink my teeth into that warm, sweet flesh... to taste that blood, so much sweeter now in my parched state than anything I'd smelt before...
"She is your reward, Jasper Whitlock, do with her as you wish," Maria hummed. Her voice was throaty with some strange mix of contentment, sensuality and pleasure at the way I was reacting to her gift. Yet all I could think of was how that blood was put out the fire, would run down my throat, more sweet than sugar, more fulfilling than anything else...
Maria came to stand beside me, and held the bound girl out for me. I reached for her eagerly, not caring about what had shocked me in the first place— that Maria was in here, and I was naked...
As I took the girl from her, I saw Maria look down into the bathtub pointedly and smile widely so her teeth flashed. If I had been human, and in a state to care, I would have been blushing, and covering myself. Yet I was taking the human into my arms, reaching for her long, blonde hair to sweep it back over her neck so that I could see her endearing white throat...
And though every fibre of my body was enthused with her panic, her horror— and I could feel just as she could the emotion of terror— I sank my greedy teeth into her waiting neck and drank.
Oh, how fast the pain recedes! How quickly the emotions of the prey are replaced by satisfaction and pleasure! And as I drank her sweet blood, I couldn't help the moans that slipped from my lips. Yes, surely, this was better than anything else.
And as her screams faded away, and her heart slowed, I felt another touch. On my shoulders this time, with gentle massaging pressure, yet not gentle enough to be human. And from behind me I heard the croons of a soft, female, vampire voice. My body went still. But I couldn't stop drinking, not until the last drop was gone... and the taste of this blood, coupled with the soft touch of skin on mine, no matter who's it was, was enough to relax me further.
And when the human was dry, my appetite sated, I let her drop to the floor. I leant back against the tub, feeling warm and contented. The fingers behind me moved to my hair, rubbing through the golden blonde waves, and though the touch was alien to me, I couldn't bring myself to make her stop.
JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA JxA
I know some of you maaay be getting a little worried from this chapter, but it will not be a MariaxJasper story. I promise it will be AlicexJasper. But you all gotta know he did say that he 'worshipped the ground she walked on' in Eclipse. Soo... I'm just illustrating that.
Please review, and tell me what you think...? (And what did you think of my little mini-poem at the start of this chapter? I'm always more worried about the reception of my poetry over my writing... I just feel like poetry is harder, and more easily disliked).
CullenLove xx