Penname: javamomma0921
Derivative Fiction
Rating: M (descriptions of vampire violence)
Disclaimer: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.
Prompt: Elbow
Talk of Years Past
The nights were always my favorite times in the jungle. Sometimes we would hunt the strange animals, but more often we would find an open clearing and lay in the moonlight together. We would make love and then after there would be more for us to discover about each other. Jasper would tell me about his past and I would tell him about our future. Our exchanges were just as intimate as our lovemaking.
One night, as Jas stood in the moonlight, I was again struck by the sheer number and volume of scars on his body. I couldn't find an inch that hadn't been hurt at some time. I got up and went to him, running my fingers over his scars and looking up into his eyes. He had told me about Maria and her quest for domination. He told me he was a soldier, but he never told me what he did in her army and why he was so necessary that he felt he could not leave. As I grazed over his elbow, skimming the rough ridge of a bite mark, he sighed and I had an irrational fear that I had hurt him.
"That was my first," he said softly. "Maria gave it to me when I didn't follow directions closely enough."
Without thinking, I reached over and kissed the scar that was nearly a hundred years old.
"Tell me what you can."
He nodded and pulled me over to some rocks. We sat facing each other and he began his story.
Maria seemed to know that I would be special; that's why she changed me. She knew I was a soldier and somehow I think she sensed my gift even when I was human. When I woke, my gift was hard to control…I would flail out whatever emotion I was feeling which was usually depression and anger. It riled up the three sisters. Maria sought to…calm me. She did it the only way she knew how, with her body. In time, I learned to control the emotions that I instilled in others, making me able to control situations with many vampires at once. Maria immediately saw the potential for her army growing. Instead of five or six newborns at a time, she could raise twenty, thirty or even more and use me to control them.
"It worked, but it took its toll on me," he said, shaking his head and running his hands absentmindedly over his chest. There, the teeth of so many others marked him and spoke of the pain he had endured.
"Did she…do most of that?" I asked tentatively, not sure how much he wanted to talk about.
"No." His voice was hollow and flat, almost clinical. I didn't like it. It was so unlike the Jasper I knew. "That was the newborns who I trained, taught to fight, and then killed."
"Killed?"
"They were only useful for their strength for the first year or so. And there was an endless supply of humans to suit our needs. They were disposable."
I shuddered and he pulled me close immediately, his voice gaining warmth with our closeness.
"That's why I left. I couldn't bear the killing any more. It was so much waste for so little gain. I'm sorry to say that it didn't make much sense to my soldier's brain. We were constantly creating, training and then killing the ones we had trained. We'd never get anywhere."
"Did you…want her to succeed?"
He shrugged. "I didn't care. Alice, I had so little to live for; all I cared for was making it through the days and nights one at a time. Sometimes, there were distractions. They did nothing to quiet the nagging doubts and the disappointment I felt in myself. And always, it would end in torn limbs and black smoke. I knew I would end that way too if I ever disappointed her. She pretended to care about me. She didn't even care about herself! All she cared about was her land and how much more she could get."
"What made you leave?"
"Peter left with Charlotte." He had spoken of his friend Peter and the newborn he had fallen in love with. "With Peter gone, I had no one to talk to and I became despondent. I wouldn't go to Maria's bed anymore. Though she cared nothing for me, she was put out with me. I could tell by the distance she felt toward me that my time was soon. I left to find Peter and Charlotte."
"Were you…happy with them?"
"No," he said and squeezed my hand. "I almost missed you then though I didn't know about you. They were complete in themselves. They welcomed me, of course, but they didn't need me. I left them, searching for…something. And then I found you."
I smiled, ducking my head under his chin and breathing in his scent.
"You saved me, you know," he whispered. "I felt I was going mad most days, especially when I needed to hunt. Feeling the fear rolling off of my prey as I hunted them? It was sickening to me. I hated myself everyday, until I met you."
"You saved me too," I said. "So many days I wondered whether I had a purpose. Maybe I was just some kind of freak in the immortal world. But always I would remember you and that somewhere you were waiting for me. You saved me everyday of my existence."
He pulled me close and we sat holding each other, looking at the stars. I looked into the future, knowing that our time in the jungle would be coming to an end soon. Still, I knew that our time was just beginning. It softened the blow of leaving our little jungle paradise. We would be together, complete in each other, forever.
A/N: I couldn't think of anything to do with "elbow" except talk about Jas's many scars. Maybe that says something about me...LOL. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little exchange. I imagine it took a long time for them to know everything about each other, especially with Jasper's past being so diffcult for him to talk about. I really believe that, unlike Edward and Bella who often lied to each other in order to save each other's feelings, Jas and Alice were always completely open with each other. I think that's part of what made their relationship so perfect and beautiful to watch. They had no secrets. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. :) Thank for reading and reviewing! ~Jen