As promised here is the third chapter and finally we learn a little more about the Bond of Brotherhood - although there is still a lot to be revealed. The family also begin to grieve and the simmering hostility between Bella and Jasper comes to a head. Enjoy!
Chapter 3.
Jasper approached the house tensely; he reached out to test the atmosphere for the emotions of his family. He could feel Emmett and Rosalie in their room; their emotions were in their usual state and he quickly shifted his focus elsewhere. That was the last emotion he needed to feel at the moment.
The next person he located was Esme; she was in the garden, tending some of the flowers scattered in the various flowerbeds. This was her usual habit, especially in times of stress as it was her own personal sanctum. He could feel the grief pouring from her but it was so much more than that; she also felt sorrow for the rest of the family as well and he knew she would be the person to help glue this family back together; to glue him back together. At some time in the future he knew he was going to need to talk to her; she was the only one who could help him.
He shifted his contemplation slightly and quickly found Carlisle; up in his study. Extreme concentration was emanating from him and he knew he was still studying the many books he possessed; looking for whatever it was Edward had found. He wasn't even ready to think about what it could be at the moment; he needed more time before he even went there; despite his earlier request to help.
There was only one person left to locate and part of him didn't want to look for her. He felt a little guilty about what he'd said to her earlier; actually he felt extremely guilty; he'd taken his anger out on her; he was the monster everyone already believed he was. It wasn't that he didn't believe she was responsible because as far as he was concerned she was; she'd put herself in the position where they had to go and rescue her and if she hadn't done that then maybe they'd still be here now. He knew he could've handled it a little better than he did though. And if he was being completely honest with himself; he was just as much to blame as she was; he should've been watching her more closely when they were in Phoenix; he should've been there for Edward and Alice; maybe then they would be here and not… He shook his head; unable to complete that thought. He found Bella easily; he could feel the confusion and pain and hunger that spiked in the lounge.
He wanted to avoid speaking to her for a while and he saw an open window on the first floor he quickly used it as an entrance to the building. Of course it wasn't until he was about to go through the opening that he realized who's room he was going into. He stopped as he stood on the window ledge, gazing around the room. It was Edward's and as he looked around he could see his brother's possessions lying exactly where their owner had left them; each one igniting a memory in his brain. He couldn't make himself step onto the carpet and walk towards the door; feeling as if he was intruding. He blocked his gift from propagating through the house and let himself feel his grief for the loss of his best friend; his brother who had understood him so completely. He'd really helped him control his thirst ever since he'd arrived and Edward had loved him without any reservation. Jasper wasn't sure he was ready to stop hoping they'd come home; his legs almost gave way as he realized he was being ridiculous; the letter had said they were dead; they'd seen it but part of him hoped it had been wrong. Something could've changed.
His cell rang in his pocket and he pulled it out; looking at the screen before answering the call. It was his father. "Carlisle." He said as he opened the phone.
"I've found it, Jasper. I've found the passage he was talking about." Even with the seriousness of what they were discussing, Jasper could hear the excitement in his dad's voice.
"What does it say?" He was as eager to hear what it said as his dad was.
His excitement turned to worry as he spoke again. "How far away are you?"
Jasper looked at where he stood and knew he would have to take the next step; to enter the room. The only alternative would be to go through the front door and that meant seeing Bella; and he wasn't sure he could face that either. He really was the weak one. "I'm close. I can be there is a couple of minutes." He eventually sighed.
"I think you should come to my study and we can discuss this. I'm not sure what Edward was thinking when he invoked this law."
Jasper ended the call without another word and stepped down from the window; walking quickly across the room. Whatever this law was, it didn't sound good and Jasper was suddenly pretty sure he wasn't going to like this. He knocked on the door to his father's study and opened it when he heard him beckon him in. "I'm not going to like this, am I?" he said, echoing his previous thoughts as he took a seat.
"Possibly not but I don't think it's unworkable. I'm still getting to grips with some of it; the text is written in Latin and the phrasing of some of it is in an ancient form of the language which is making it more complicated to translate. I'm going to tell you what it said first, I need to discuss it with Bella as well as it involves her too and then later I'll go through it again with the whole family. I think it will give rise to many questions. Not all of them I'll have answers to until I look into this further."
Jasper looked up sharply at the mention of Bella's name and he now knew he definitely wasn't going to like this. "Talk to me, Carlisle." he growled.
"Okay, the law states that when a vampire is going into battle, he can pre-determine certain things in regards to what he leaves behind in case he doesn't come back."
He was hedging around the subject; being vague enough to not actually say anything. "Get to the point, dad." Jasper said as his frustration built.
He fell to silence, "I'm not sure I've got it completely right but basically Edward has decided that you're to be mated with Bella; to be bonded with her." He looked a little unsure as he looked at his son.
"He what?" He'd been imagining many things but that was not what he'd expected at all.
"He wants you to be with Bella." His father said again softly; staring at his son and wondering why he was so upset by this.
"How could he think this was a good idea?" Jasper's voice was indignant and he knew he was sending his emotions to his father as well.
"He loved Bella and he loved you. He wanted you to be there for each other." His father tried to explain.
"Why me?"
"It says in the text that the vampire must choose the person he's closest to; the one he trusts the most because there's no way it will work otherwise. You should take this as a compliment."
"Where do we stand legally on this?"
"It's still a binding law. We have to follow it or face punishment."
"I can't believe they'd do this to me." He muttered as he stood and began pacing round the room.
"I'm not sure I understand why this is such an issue for you, Jasper. It's Bella we're talking about here."
"I need some time to think…" he muttered.
Carlisle sighed; he obviously wasn't going to get anywhere with his son but he offered him an olive branch; hoping he'd grasp it. "You can talk to me, you know."
"I know. I will. I just need some time." He left the room in a flash and made his way down the stairs. He was aware of Bella watching him as he walked across the room and out into the garden. She was the last person he wanted to see at the moment. As he was going through the door that led outside he heard Carlisle asking Bella to come up to his study and he felt his heart clench as he realized what she was about to be told. He doubted she would want to hear it either; especially not after the way he'd treated her before. He leant against the wall of the house as he took some deep breaths; trying to steady how he was feeling after the shock of what he'd just been told. He almost laughed as he wondered if the situation could get any worse; knowing Edward as he did, this was far from over. There was so much his father still didn't know about this ancient law so it was bound to get more complicated.
The family congregated once more in the lounge, several hours later from when they were last there; the atmosphere was a little strained this time as both Jasper and Bella knew what Carlisle was about to tell the rest of them. As they sat down, Jasper reached out mentally towards Bella to try and judge how she felt about what she'd been told; her overwhelming emotion was still grief and he could understand that feeling because he felt much the same way. She was also feeling doubt, confusion, anger and there was definitely some hostility towards him; also understandable after what he'd said earlier. His guilt about that was even more present now; his conscience had finally kicked in big time but he still held her responsible for what had happened; however much guilt was stabbing at his heart.
Carlisle cleared his throat and the other three members of the family looked at him, neither Bella nor Jasper turned towards him and this was noticed by everyone. "I've had some success locating the text Edward mentioned in his letter to us and I felt it pertinent to tell you all what I've discovered. Now firstly; this law still stands and if it isn't followed there will be punishment; for Jasper as he's the one Edward stated when he invoked the law."
"Punishment?" Esme said, obviously worried for her son.
"He would be summoned by the Volturi and sentenced to death." He said quietly. Jasper looked at him sharply; this was new and added an element of fear to the room; that was affecting him. Was it enough to convince Jasper to do it; he wasn't sure. "There's more," Carlisle added, meeting Jasper's gaze with an equally intense look. "There's also a time limit involved which I'm still trying to clarify."
"A time limit?" Bella said quietly.
"I'm not sure whether it says within one year or in the space of half a year."
"That's a pretty significant difference, Carlisle." Her tone was tense and Jasper was sure she was about as happy with this as he was.
"I know, Bella. The language is pretty ancient and some of the words used are difficult to translate because they have more than one meaning. I'm not even sure Edward realized this when he invoked it." Jasper's frustration increased and he growled lowly.
"What else does it say?" Rosalie said; Jasper could feel her looking at him intently; her concern for him prevalent in her emotions; he avoided looking at her; at anyone in fact; his eyes having fallen from those of his father's once Bella had spoken. Carlisle sighed and paused slightly before telling them what he'd told both of them earlier. There was a stunned silence for several minutes after he'd finished and Jasper held his breath, waiting for someone to say something. "Does it matter that Bella wasn't actually married to Edward?" Rosalie asked; her question more pertinent than any Jasper had asked.
"No; we'd accepted her as his mate and as part of our family and therefore this law stands."
"I can't believe Edward would do this. And Alice agreed to it as well." It was Rosalie who spoke again; also making Jasper think about what she'd asked. She was right; the letter had said Alice had given her blessing to this. He hadn't thought about that earlier and he wondered why.
Emmett got to his feet and went to sit beside Bella, "Are you okay, little sister?" He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him for a hug. "You don't seem that happy about this." He said; his confusion obvious; even to the non-empaths in the room.
"I'm not." She said bluntly; looking into Emmett's eyes.
"Why not?" He was surprised by her open admission of her dislike for what had been said.
"Why don't you ask your brother?" she said; rising to her feet and walking out of the front door and away from the house.
"What's going on, Jasper?" Emmett said; the expression on his face darkening as he turned to look at him. He was angry that someone would hurt his baby sister; actually he was closer to furious than just angry.
"I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do as Edward wanted."
"But that means you'll die, Jazz?" Emmett said.
"I know." He said; looking at his brother.
"Maybe that's what he wants." Rosalie said; her instincts leading her to make the correct assumption once more.
Esme gasped and then she was sitting beside him and pulling him into her arms. "Please Jasper, won't you reconsider this? I can't lose you as well as Edward and Alice. Please, Jazz?" Her arms tightened around him as she spoke and he was glad he was a vampire or he'd be in a vast amount of pain now; similar to what she was currently feeling and therefore, Jasper too. "Can you try and explain this to us, Jasper? I thought you liked Bella. Why are you finding this so difficult?" she asked him softly.
"It's her fault they died." He murmured into her shoulder. The room fell to silence and he could feel them all staring at him.
"It isn't, Jazz. You heard what they wrote; this was going to happen whatever we did. It isn't Bella's fault." Carlisle said; hoping he could explain it so his son would understand.
"She put herself in a situation where they had to go and rescue her. She shouldn't have done that. She should've known we'd find James and kill him without her having to rush in and put herself in danger."
"I didn't rush in with the intention of putting myself in danger, Jasper." Bella said; her voice echoing around the room as she stood by the doorway. "When James called me he made me believe he had my mother with him. I went because if it was a choice between me or her dying, I'd choose me every time. I did it to save my mother; there was no reason other than that. She didn't deserve to be put into that situation. I chose to become involved with a vampire and his family; she didn't. I didn't know he was tricking me; that he didn't have my mother at all."
"You could've waited and taken us with you, rather than rush in there on your own. What did you think you were going to be able to do?" he hissed at her; wrenching himself from his mother's hug and turning to look at her; ignoring the rest of his family as he tried to understand what she'd done; desperately fighting the conflicting emotions from the entire room.
"He said he'd kill my mum if I didn't go there on my own. I couldn't risk it."
Jasper stared at her and he could see the emotions clearly written on her face. "Is there anything else you remember from being there?" he asked quietly; sensing there was something she wasn't saying.
She nodded reluctantly, "I saw them die." She whispered; her eyes focused on his face; knowing what she was saying would be hurting him a lot; more than any other. A very small part of her glad she could hurt him like he'd done to her earlier.
"Why didn't you say this before?" Carlisle asked.
She shrugged. "The letter told you they were dead; I didn't want to increase your pain." Rosalie got to her feet and walked over to Bella; pulling her into a hug.
The emotion in the room was overwhelming and Jasper found he was trying to protect himself from the increasing intensity as the other four were all rocked by what she'd admitted. He hoped no one could see how unstable he was on his feet as he walked over to the far side of the room; his vague hope that some distance would minimize the impact of their feelings on him failing miserably.
He leant his forehead against the wall and closed his eyes; trying to shut himself off from everything. He couldn't think and he needed to do so; although he wished he could stop just as much; he wanted everything to just stop. He wasn't even able to cope with his own feelings and adding in everyone else's as well made it an impossible task; it had been ever since this nightmare had started. He jumped as he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder gently and in that second the fragile barrier he'd put in place shattered; opening himself to all they were feeling. It was too much for him to deal with and he gasped; drawing all their attention. His whole body felt like he'd just been injected with the venom of another vampire; it was what he remembered from when he was turned all those years ago and he fell to his knees; his breath coming hard and fast.
Footsteps walked towards him and two pairs of arms wrapped around him. He knew without looking it was his mother and father; trying to offer him some comfort but unintentionally increasing the pain he was feeling. "Please… I need to be on my own." He gasped; his voice barely a whisper. "Please, leave." He begged them all.
"You shouldn't be on your own through this, Jazz." Esme said; distress in her voice.
"We're making it worse for him," Bella said, understanding in her voice. She was standing much closer to him than he'd realized and it threw him slightly. "It's not just his pain he's feeling but ours as well. It's too much."
"She's right." Carlisle said; wishing there was more he could do for his family and especially his son who seemed to be suffering so intently. "Let's give him some time to deal with this."
Jasper heard them walk away from him until he was alone. The tension in the room was still high but not as bad as it'd been when they were there. For several minutes he remained where he was; simply unable to move. In his heart he realized what he needed to do and he knew it'd be easier to do when there wasn't anyone else around. He knew the emotions he'd emit would be intense when he did this and he didn't want to increase their pain any further. He dragged himself to his feet and walked slowly up the stairs; stopping outside the door of the room that was his and Alice's. He couldn't force himself to open the door; his hand had stopped responding to what his brain was telling it to do about the time he'd fallen to his knees downstairs and he banged his head against the door in frustration. He gritted his teeth and concentrated on doing that small task; needing all his strength to focus on doing it.
He managed it and pushed the door open; his eyes falling on the room and feeling his heart shatter as he realized she'd never be back. He stepped into the room and was overwhelmed with a wealth of memories of the times he'd spent in this room with his wife; his love; the woman who'd saved him all those years ago. His surroundings screamed of his wife's personality; it was all about her and there was very little of him in the room. That had never bothered him in the past; his wish always being for her to be happy but now it just made the room too much of a reminder of her; it made it all the more painful for him to be there but he couldn't leave the room either because he needed to be close to her and this was the only way he could do that.
He stood in that room for a long time; staring at its contents sightlessly. He wasn't even aware of the passing of time and barely reacted when the family returned from their enforced hunting trip. He'd basically shut down and didn't respond at all as one by one the family came to check he was okay. He was far from okay and they could clearly see it; he didn't need to tell them anything. They felt his pain as soon as they came anywhere near him; he was emoting it throughout the house but it was intensified in the room he stood in; so much so that eventually they stopped coming to see him.
"Why did it hit you so badly?" her voice said softly. He jumped as he realized she was sitting beside him; he hadn't even noticed she was there; although thinking about it now he couldn't even remember moving to sit on the bed either so he wasn't overly surprised he hadn't noticed.
"What?" he growled; his voice harsh, even to his own ears.
"When I said about seeing them die, I don't understand why it caused you so much pain. You already knew; they told us in that letter."
"I think I was hoping the letter was wrong; I still expected them to walk through the door as if nothing was wrong. I was hoping there'd been a small change and they weren't dead. You made it real."
Silence fell in the room as she took in his words. "I'm sorry, Jazz. I didn't want that; that's why I didn't say anything yesterday."
"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have said what I did. It wasn't your fault." As the time had passed he'd come to the realization and he knew he couldn't blame her any longer. The responsibility for this lay much closer to home.
It seemed Bella had had a change of opinion too. "You were right; it was my fault. It's not a decision I completely regret though. I hate the fact they died and the pain their deaths have caused but knowing their early intervention saved the rest of you from the same fate gives me some comfort." She paused and the calm she was feeling was beginning to have an effect on him. Or was that numbness rather than calm? "I wish I could remove the pain you're feeling, Jazz. I wish I could tell you everything will be okay but I think we both know nothing is going to be okay, ever again."
"Don't say that. I don't want to hear that." He whispered as his pain once more ebbed around the room.
"They both said something to me before they died. I didn't remember until I thought about it more this morning. My memories before my change are still a bit hazy but I remembered this and I want you to know it. Alice told me to tell you she loved you and she'd never regret making this decision because she couldn't bear the thought of you dying."
"What did Edward say?"
"He said he loved me and you would look after me and make sure I was okay."
He could feel her looking at him but he still couldn't bring himself to look her way. "Me?"
"He mentioned you by name; he said Jazz and the family."
"If we'd been there, the odds would've been in our favor and we might've been able to change things so none of us died."
"But they saw her visions. It was going to happen."
"I don't think that's right. Her visions were subjective. It would only take a small thing being different for the outcome to change wildly. I can't believe the seven of us, with all our experience would fail against the three of them."
"There's no point thinking this way, Jasper, it isn't going to change what's happened. You should be thinking about the future now."
"What future?" he said softly.
"Won't you give this bond of brotherhood thing some thought? Am I that awful you won't even consider it?"
"It's not you, Bella. Alice was everything to me and it feels like a part of me is missing. I was with her for nearly sixty years and I can't let go of the feelings I have for her that quickly."
"Couldn't we just do as it says and hope that in time it will be as the law requires?"
"I don't think that will work. The Volturi would know. Did Edward ever tell you about the Volturi?" He finally looked at her as he spoke and noticed the wince as he said his brother's name. He wasn't the only one suffering through this and he needed to remember that. Bella shook her head; staring right back at him. "The Volturi are basically the equivalent of royalty in the vampire world. All of the vampires that sit at the head of the coven are extremely old which is how they've come to be in this position and they police our kind and ensure we don't expose our existence. Carlisle stayed with them for a couple of decades after he was turned but he didn't stay long because he wanted to avoid harming humans. The coven has three main leaders; Aro is especially powerful because he can read every thought of a person once he makes physical contact with them; there's also Caius and then there's Marcus. Marcus senses relationships so you see, if we try to fake it, he'd know we were lying and that would just lead to more harm for us."
"But they won't know about the fact Edward invoked the stupid law in the first place."
"Knowing Edward, he told them. For some reason; and I've no idea why they did, but him and Alice think this is a good thing."
"And you don't?"
"No." Such a small word but it held so much of their future within it.
"Can I ask why?"
"I've just lost the woman I've loved for the last sixty years and I'm not sure I want to rush into another relationship. Anyway, I hardly know you. This, now, is the longest time we've spent together, properly talking since you first came to Forks. Does that sound like a good basis for a relationship?"
"You're right; it's hardly ideal but I'd be willing to give it a try. I know we don't really know each other but we're family now and we've got plenty of time to work this out. I do know that I like you Jasper, and you're good for this family. I wouldn't want to risk them losing you so if you're willing to give this a try as well…?"
"I don't know if I can." He said softly.
"I thought it was a written Cullen rule not to bet against Alice?" His face whipped round to look at hers; despite the painful subject there was a sparkle in her eyes. "She's obviously seen this happening; she must've known it would work or she wouldn't agree to the idea when Edward proposed it to her. Didn't they tell you not to fight against this?" She looked away from his face; the intensity of his eyes getting to her. It was a few minutes before she said anything else. "Carlisle gave me this letter to give to you. It's the one for you from Alice and Edward." She handed it to him and his eyes dropped to the paper in his hands. "I'll leave you alone." She whispered.
"Don't go." He murmured. "Please, stay? Whatever they say affects you as much as it does me."
"I will, if that's what you want."
"I don't know if I can read this. When I do, it means I have to accept this is real. I won't be able to deny it any longer."
Even to Bella's ears she could hear the pain in his voice and she offered him the only comfort she was able to. She moved to sit next to him and put her arm around his shoulders; resting her head on the one nearest to her. "We're all here for you, Jasper." She said softly.
TBC
A/N: So... there you go - longest chapter so far and so the story really begins. Next chapter - Jasper's letter and the reaction of Bella and Jasper to it. Will it change his mind? Chapter 4 will be posted on tomorrow. Please review.