Then There Was Jasper
By Interest Me
May 2010
Fanfiction based on Twilight
By Stephanie Meyer
*All copyright belongs to Stephanie Meyer
Family
After Gene passed, I stayed in Europe for a few more years. I never made another friend like Gene, but I still loved the fashion. Years and stylish hemlines passed. I still had not found the cream jacket with the large navy buttons.
Temptation leaked from every warm, moist human mouth. Their heartbeats pulsated in my silent chest from yards away. And when Europe and the United States engaged in the war, killing each other, I wondered why I couldn't grab a few for myself. The reason was always the same. Hunting humans erased Jasper and the Cullens from my visions.
I was a predator. I was like the sharks I had read about. The sharks that swam the other way when I cut through the ocean. And yet, I was to be held to a higher standard than even the humans. They could waste each other's lives, but I couldn't have a decent meal.
If I arrived at the Cullens' with blood-red eyes, I wouldn't fit in. I wouldn't be able to help Jasper, because I needed to show him there was a different way. He needed to be taught that he could survive without hunting humans. I couldn't prove that to him if my eyes glowed crimson.
I now understood that all those years ago, when I killed the human predator, his blood had stained my eyes red. The Cullens' eyes, and now mine also, shined golden and clear, because we hunted only animals. We were "vegetarians", as the Cullens privately joked about the human free diet.
I ran into a few vampires since my meeting with Robert. They always questioned my eyes, but I would feign ignorance. They weren't likely to understand my choice not to kill humans. So, while they admired the color, they never drew very close to me. They seemed to sense I was different.
Jasper's eyes brooded black and thirsty in most of my visions. Sometimes though, they reddened. Not much. He existed near starvation, if a vampire could starve. I reexamined my vision of our first meeting:
After meeting in the diner, Jasper and I found a deserted park in which to talk. We sat under my umbrella, not that the rain bothered us, but it was more human Jasper's black eyes peered out, beneath his honey hair. He stood several heads taller than me, but then, many people did. Still, he was quite tall. Scars patterned his skin. Bite marks. Somehow though, they didn't steal any of his beauty.
"You're sad Jasper," I said.
"I suppose you're right."
"Would you like to tell me about it?"
"You already know from your mysterious visions."
"True, I do. I just think it will help you to talk about it." He was so reserved. I could see I would have to coax quite a bit to get his story.
"I reckon life just makes me sad. If life is what we are living. You can see the future, but I can feel the emotions of others. Vampires and humans. I can even influence those feelings." He drawled, and ease washed over me.
"Stop that," I commanded. I knew the unnatural tranquility I felt, stemmed from him.
"I'm sorry ma'am. Habit. For a century, I led an army of newborn vampires, and that gift helped keep them calm and in line."
I remembered when I was new. The confusion. The anger I felt toward Robert for no reason. I was just one, and I wasn't a soldier in an army. I imagine presiding over a troop of newborns was quite dangerous. Jasper's scars testified to the truth in that thought.
"Tell me about the army Jasper."
"Well, Maria, my creator, was greedy. She wanted a lot of territory for hunting. She claimed and kept her territory by driving out other vampires with her army. She changed humans to create her soldiers, and turned them over to me to train and control. The strength they possessed from having bodies full of human blood, their own, along with my training made us nearly invincible.
"Still, they outlived their newborn-strength in around a year's time. That's about when their bodies would have absorbed the last of the blood they possessed while human. My job then was to destroy them." He touched a scar above an eyebrow.
I thought about how wasteful the humans were with each other's lives, and recognized that it wasn't just a human trait.
"I regret the role I played, but I knew no other way. I didn't understand that vampires could live peacefully until a friend visited me and told me what life in The North was like. Vampires in the south constantly warred. I wanted a change. I was good at my job, but I felt every emotion experienced by the young vampires, and I felt what they felt as I killed them."
He smiled, and I relaxed again.
"You're doing it again. Stop that." I said when I realized where the extra serenity was coming from.
"Sorry."
"Killing made you sad, because you felt the emotions your victims felt. You're still sad though."
"Yes ma'am. I don't kill vampires anymore, but I feel the emotions of my human prey. They think I'm beautiful. They feel drawn to me, and of course, I help that along."
Again, relaxation draped over me like a silk, Venetian shawl.
"Stop."
"Sorry. That attraction turns to anxiety, then fear, and finally terror. Those true emotions are too strong, my talent can't overcome them. I die every time I kill."
Jasper stared out at the rain. His wide shoulder jutted out from under the umbrella, and I watched as water rolled down his arm. Purple shadows formed crescents under his eyes. He was pale, even for a vampire. Those things along with his black eyes told me how thirsty he was. I remained quiet as he considered.
"I guess that's what I mean when I say life makes me sad."
He smiled. I felt myself begin to relax, but the feeling was yanked away from me. Jasper must have caught himself this time.
"Thank you," I said, acknowledging his effort not to manipulate my emotions.
"Yes ma'am."
I laid my hand on his dry hand. I saw minute changes in his eyes and muscles, and knew he was in defensive mode now.
"Jasper, I've found another way. I've seen our future, and there is peace there. I haven't killed a human in over 30 years."
"You don't look thirsty," he noted, "I was able to abstain for 3 months once."
"I'm not thirsty. Jasper, have you ever tried hunting animals instead of humans?"
"No. It never occurred to me. I don't reckon I can feel the emotions of animals. Not that I've been close to one since I was changed from a human." He mused.
"I know of a family that hunts only animals. I've seen them in my visions of the future. Carlisle, is their creator and father."
"A family? Do you mean a coven?"
"No, family is the right word. They are more tightly bound than a coven. Carlisle is a doctor. He created Edward first, to save him from dying. Edward can read minds, and when we meet, he'll be able to read my visions.
"Then he created his wife Esmee. She nearly died when she jumped from a cliff. Carlisle found her in the morgue, because he heard her heart still beating. She became a mother to Edward."
"A mother and a father," Jasper laughed, "how very human."
"But that's not all. There are a brother and a sister too. Carlisle found Rosalie dying in the street, and he changed her. A couple years later, Rose found Emmet after he'd been mauled by a bear. She carried Emmet to Carlisle and Carlisle changed him. Rosalie and Emmet have been together ever since."
The rain eased, though the day remained dark and cloudy. Jasper stood and offered me the crook of his elbow. I took it, and we walked together as I told him about the Cullens and answered his questions. A dog was digging a hole in our path. Its nose shot into the air when it caught our scent. It seemed to sense the presence of more powerful predators, us, and it bolted.
"So, they actually live in a house? In the same spot?" he asked.
"Yes, they have many houses. They move on before it becomes evident to the humans that they aren't aging or changing in any way. Sometimes they settle for seven years."
"And Carlisle works as a doctor? But what about the blood?"
"I think it's pretty amazing myself. He seems to have developed a tolerance to the smell. He actually patches the humans back together and makes them STOP bleeding."
"Incredible." Jasper stated.
"Jasper, would you like to hunt with me?"
"Animals?"
"Yes, deer."
"Deer?"
"Well, I suppose they aren't the best tasting. There are other animals though."
I emerged from my vision with an aching heart. Metaphorically anyway. In my vision, I still wore the cream jacket with the navy buttons, so that had not changed. I wondered if anything would have changed if Gene had lived to design that jacket. I wasn't sure if it would have worked, and of course, he became someone's dinner before I could ask. My longing for Jasper and my new family was nearly unbearable. I ran through another vision to ease the discomfort of longing and loneliness:
Edward and Esmee sat together at the grand piano. Edward played a piece he had composed for her, and Esmee glowed with pride. The thick affection between the two was nearly visible in the air. Carlisle sat in a chair reading a fat medical book.
I lounged on the couch with Jasper's head in my lap. I stroked his blond waves. His hair was course, and my fingers counted the molecules of his stiff locks. Emmet and Rosalie argued good-naturedly as they built a domino labyrinth on the kitchen tiles. Everyone was refreshed from hunting that evening.
Rosalie flicked a domino with her finger and set off the chain reaction before Emmet was finished building. He threw her over his shoulder and flashed up the stairs. I did my best not to see their future. Those two were difficult to live with sometimes. I could see Edward's eyes harden with concentration, as I'm sure he was trying hard not to hear their thoughts.
Life was nearly perfect this evening. Except for poor Edward. It was bad enough that he was surrounded by three happy couples, but he also had to experience their thoughts. I thought that ability escalated his loneliness. He never complained. Sometimes saying nothing spoke louder than shouting though.
Edward finished his song. Esmee laid a hand on his shoulder smiling. He smiled back. Next to Jasper, I thought Edward was the most beautiful person in the house. I suppose Rosalie would generally be thought of that way, but I knew Edward well, and his personality intensified his beauty. I saw no one in his future, and it seemed wasteful to me. I brushed my lips against Jasper's. I had searched a long time for him. Perhaps Edward would meet her some day.
After the vision finished, I decided to return to America. I wanted to be close to Philadelphia.