On Cold Desert:
This is a non-canon pairing fic.
This fic is rated T.
The POV alternates between Bella and Jasper.
The antagonists are the Volturi, but also one of the Cullens.
There will be some scenes in Cold Desert that are written in a more artistic form, to better express the rawness of emotions.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, but I did own a copy of the book- until a certain assistant manager of mine "borrowed" the sacred thing and never returned it. What am I, the library?
Chapter 2.
JASPER'S POV
The Cullen house was entirely devoid of clocks.
Creatures like us were not bound by such petty restraints as time. We had an eternity- and unlike Edward, I did not overly appreciate- or curse- each breath I took. What was the need? Time was just another aspect of my long life that I was disinterested in, though it was, essentially, central to the role of vampire.
Yet I could not feign indifference to the caustic ticking of Bella's internal clock: her heart.
The threat was imminent, her pulse rate skyrocketed accordingly, and in moments such as these I truly found myself.
Yet our unknown enemies were drawing closer. And the sound of their approach combined with the human's sweet panic and my family's sour wariness.
I felt a lull in my own strength. Instinctively, I tried to lessen the tension in the wide room, but my efforts proved useless. I swore quietly, frustrated with myself.
I looked to Alice. Her lily-white skin was stretched taut over the thin bones in her small face, and she appeared childlike.
"Alice, what do you see?" I demanded.
"Nothing," came her hushed reply, and I snarled with anxiety.
The reasons we were to be confronted by the Volturi were decidedly large in quantity: our coven was second in size only to the Volturi themselves, we housed a human with considerable knowledge of the dark world of vampire, we had recently humiliated them in Volterra with the little stunt Edward had pulled…
I was surprised our ashes weren't already smoldering on some pyre in the backyard of a pig farmer in Italy.
Edward shot me a black look. I bitterly showed him my teeth.
The Volturi were so close I could taste them. Shocking sureness emanated from their bodies, still unseen. But there were only two of them. We could handle them easily.
"Get ready," Emmett said ferociously, and I wanted to laugh. There was no need to worry.
The door crashed inward, splintering…
Call it warrior's instinct. Call it soldier's intuition. Whatever it was, I knew then that we were in serious trouble.
They smiled, similar in appearance, yet plain by vampire standards, and every muscle in my body tensed.
It was so sudden.
Burning, choking on soot, Jesus is coming, stake in hand, he's the savior, he's the Impaler, musket balls exploding, tattered gray and blue uniforms, I'm starving, I would eat my own fingers if I could pull the trigger without them-
"Alice, Jasper!" my family shouted. But I was far away, I was-
Writhing, suffocating in the damp basement, and it's Christmas, I'm seven, and my father is poor, he has no gifts, my mother sits sobbing, there's the empty liquor bottle and the bruises on her breasts, this won't hurt a bit-
I blinked back my pain, the agony pulling ceaselessly at my being, reminding me cruelly of past human horrors, the first change. Alice was on her knees, twitching, pupils dilated, gritting her teeth to keep from screaming. I reached for her, but the pain-
Twisting, turning away, she reaches into my chest and yanks at the organ which once pumped life into me, scars keeping her at bay, golden eyes searing me, she is my tether, but it's wrong, I want her, I hate her, you will never heal me-
I cradled my head in my hands. I couldn't string two coherent thoughts together. And I knew that if I wasn't a vampire I would have tears streaming down my face.
Vaguely, I almost longed for the ability to cry in that instant, those never ending, torturous seconds-
Teeth, tearing skin from me, there's venom welling in my mouth, I'm angry, I strike out, laughing because they all die, but it's not me, it's Maria, because somewhere I am just a dead soldier, lying haphazardly underneath a meaningless gravestone-
I'm wasn't sure then, in my haze, what caused suffering to change into rage-Alice's faint grimace, the cries of alarm from Esme, Rosalie's long blonde hair flying as she growled…and Bella's fragile ivory face filled with fear and fright, warm brown eyes wide. Her stance was bent, as if she wanted to rush toward us and wipe the pain from our stone brows.
As I watched, her delicate features changed from agonized to agonizing, expression abruptly akin to that of one's bones being broken.
I had only witnessed pain on that level once before in my entire existence.
And that was from a drawing.
What pen and paper could not express in life, I now saw clearly upon the pale face of my brother's soul mate. I also felt it.
My pain was still intense- but I found that I was helpless to resist sinking into Bella's beautiful agony, instead of focusing on my own.
Her skinny body crumpled like a paper cup in God's hand, and she curled into a ball on the plush carpet and wrapped her arms around her midsection.
My eyes seemed to roll back into my brain as the new pain washed through me.
On the other end of the room, I could sense Edward struggling with his own demons and memories, debilitating him physically as well as mentally. I heard him foolishly attempt to crawl across the floor to where Bella lay moaning, even as he suppressed his groans.
It overriding, it was everything.
And then- the hurricane of anguish vanished, leaving only small waves in its place.
I settled flat on my back and lay there panting. At this point, I did not care if I lived or died.
Alice and Edward returned to themselves, but Bella remained quietly screeching.
He pulled her into his arms and rocked her back and forth.
"What have you done to her?" Edward asked harshly, glaring at the intruders with fierce onyx eyes.
The strangers began to speak, and I found myself listening despite the tremors rattling my form.
"We have cursed you. It should have worn off…for now. As to why she is still consumed by it, I suppose it's because she's feeble. Worse- she's human," the male snickered.
"Edward," Carlisle inquired of his first son, "What are their names?"
"Chelsea," Edward murmured, "and her mate, Afton. I know nothing else."
"Yes, those are our names," the woman, Chelsea, crowed. "And I trust you will not forget them." Her proud voice evoked the same feeling one gets from pricking their finger on a thorn.
Preoccupied with Bella's uneven heartbeat, and the stillness of Alice's small self, I almost did not catch her next poisonous words.
"You Cullens and your love…it's what we use against you like a weapon."
What did they mean? They were toying with our emotions? Is this what they meant by payback is a-
Edward growled a low warning. I snorted. Was this the time to be concerned with keeping my thoughts clean?
He shook his head and wiped the sweat from Bella's cheeks.
"Please explain," Carlisle requested, the fury barely concealed in his voice.
The pair leaned arrogantly against the doorframe, as if they owned the place. Afton said, "Our powers are not strong separately, but together- we can destroy you."
His mate laughed, and the urge to throttle her seized me. She stage-whispered, "We already have, Afton."
Rosalie made as if to attack her, but Emmett restrained her.
Chelsea straightened, lifting her chin. "Listen closely. You are at the mercy of the Volturi. We have begun the process of breaking the bonds of those couples," she pointed her finger imperiously at Alice and I, and then Edward and Bella, though speaking directly to Carlisle. "Once we finish with them, they will not be able to stand within a certain distance of each other. If they attempt to resist, they will be struck with the sort of pain they just endured." She altered her direction. "You may not think of your loved one; a similar pain will take hold of you. There is no escape. You have two choices: obey or be broken forevermore."
The silence following her words was deafening.
I desired nothing then but the calm abyss of emotionlessness. It seemed that I was right all along: it was far better to feel nothing at all than to feel too much.
Alice, mere inches from me, yet seeming so far away, murmured, "What do you want?"
As they made their impossible demands, I tasted the change in Alice. She was calm, yet strained from the aftermath of the curse. I grasped her tiny hand in my own, trying to reassure her. She avoided my eyes.
While the Volturi finished their ultimatum, I gathered an emotion drifting off of her that I had not discovered during the chaos. I could sense her scrambling to catch it and clamp down upon it before I did.
Too late.
My thin, sparkling partner was relieved.
A/N:
Whew, this chapter was difficult. I worked very hard on it, though. Capturing Jasper's voice was the worst- he's such a great character, and I stress so much because I try to do him justice.
I put little crude comical things in there, just to differentiate between Bella and Jasper- and even Edward and Jasper. That's a big sticking point with me.
In this fic, that's what I hope you readers can recognize: the differences, however small, between Edward and Jasper.
Already, I'm trying to slip them in there…
Sorry it took me so long to update. I went to Kings Dominion with some family. With school starting up again soon, I can't promise updates are going to be regular, but I'll do what I can.
A huge hug goes out to all who reviewed the first chapter. I begged most of you to read it, and I appreciate the honesty you've expressed about your…ah...distaste for the Jasper/Bella pairing.
Please review! I feel very discouraged when I don't get many reviews. And to all those who have added me to their various Alert/Fav lists, PLEASE take the time to review, too. It's important.
Send me songs appropriate for the theme of Cold Desert.
And, as always, PM or rev with any questions or comments.
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