Disclaimer: I do not own Twlight!
Chapter Twenty Two
Isabella Swan
The perks of being attached to a royal name – vampire or not – became very apparent by the time we reached the ferry that would take us out of Washington state and into Canadian territory.
They had their own ferry.
The vampires.
It made sense, in a way; even with name and identification changes, having a ferry operated by vampires to serve vampires took away the temptation of human blood and, I assume, the tedious task of pretending to be human.
The operator of the ferry was incredibly nondescript and, upon hearing that Jasper was the Prince's royal guard, went to great lengths to secure peace for us during the trip. I was a bit in awe of the completely question-free service provided to us.
It didn't seem real.
Of course, this kind of treatment was totally foreign to me. I was acutely accustomed to working hard for everything I had – except in the case of school, as my memory was an asset. It was still odd to me that Jasper and Alice treated me with such unconditional respect and even the ferry operator extended the same courtesy, even though he had almost no way of knowing exactly who I am.
It was becoming more and more clear that vampires, as a society, tended to observe very traditional customs – the bowing and formal language to name a couple. None of them seemed to be able to shake off the prestige of their original times and for those who were born and changed in modern times, they adopted the same behavior.
I felt a lot like an outsider looking in, trying to figure out the correct way to behave in the situations that were coming into my life.
With Edward by my side, I felt a lot more comfortable.
I sigh, looking out the window of the ferryboat, watching the blue-grey choppy water. We are moving against the current and, to add to the ominous imagery, the clouds above are rolling and dark.
My mood sinks and my fingers fiddle with one of the dragonfly charms on my mother's bracelet.
"My Lady?" Alice quietly calls to me, her cool presence brushing up against my elbow.
"Hmm?"
"Would you like a refreshment?"
I know vampires can eat and drink human food, but I hope she doesn't forget that I don't like type O negative.
"Tea?"
"Hot or cold, my Lady?"
I glance at the dark clouds. "Hot."
"Would you like lemon? Sugar? Honey? Milk?"
I turn my eyes from the sky. "Just honey and milk, Alice. Thank you."
Alice drops a quick curtsey and nods to Jasper, who is standing near a corner window, and disappears from view.
It doesn't escape my notice that I've begun to give small orders and requests – I'm not sure what to think about it. In some ways, it comes naturally, presumably from the lost French soul I once had; but in other ways, it feels so wrong, so unnatural.
I sigh again, shaking off my thoughts. I feel on edge and it's starting to mess with me – especially since I have no reason to be feeling like this.
But still…
"Jasper?"
Instantly, he is by my side, alert in a way only vampires can be. "Yes, my Lady?"
"Are we safe here?"
Jasper frowns. "Of course we are, my Lady. This is the safest transit for vampires to cross country boundaries. Do you not feel safe?"
I wave my hand. "I'm sure it's just my imagination."
Jasper nods his head once, blond hair tinted green in the weak lighting. "Regardless, I will be on guard, my Lady. You are precious cargo."
I smile weakly at that and Jasper blends himself into the shadows.
Alice comes back, tea in hand, though she looks at the paper cup with distaste. "Forgive me, my Lady, there was no China."
"It's fine," I tell her. "I like tea better in a paper cup anyway."
Alice blinks.
Come on. There has to be some sense of humor in there somewhere!
I sip on my tea, my eyes trained on the sky outside and the crashing waves. Oddly enough, just as a quick bolt of lightening strikes out, the vampire ferry operator seeks shelter in our little nook on the boat. The hair on the back of my neck stands up – something isn't right.
Jasper, with blinding speed and a relaxed smile, appears in front of him. "Is everything alright?"
The ferry operator's eyes flick away from me but his face remains impassive. "Nothing at all."
Jasper hums in the back of his throat and Alice moves closer to me – a defensive move.
Evidently, my vampires think something's up, too.
If the ferry operator is here…
Then who is driving the ferry? I know I didn't see any staff! It's just him and his boat!
I feel my heart hammering in my chest.
A fierce headache blooms behind my eyes.
Alice's hand clamps down on mine as I stutter in a breath.
Jasper and the other vampire seem to be in a stand off of sorts and it looks serious, even though they are both deadly still.
Another crack of lightening.
They move.
The ferry operator is stout and looks older, but Jasper is quick and lithe.
Not quick enough.
As an observer, I could see what Jasper's downfall was; he was trying to shield Alice and I, leaving his attack movements stunted and his strategies limited. His opponent had nothing holding him back.
And it became abundantly apparent when a hard blow, which sounded like stones being thrown together, knocked Jasper to the side for just long enough.
Long enough for the ferry operator to come at Alice and I.
Long enough to push Alice's tiny frame to the side.
Long enough for him to grab me, holding me against his chest with my back to him, my neck ensnared in a tight chokehold.
Jasper stands, growling lowly, reaching out for Alice and pulling her behind his crouched body. "Release her."
The arm around my neck tightens, cutting off my air supply for a few dizzying seconds. "I have orders."
"From who?"
"From my Master," the ferry operator says. One of his hands clamp down on my hip, rough cold fingers bruising the skin. "She smells divine," he comments. "Untouched, really, except for the scent of your Prince smeared across her and in her blood. But she's still a virgin, ripe for the picking. I don't think my Master would begrudge me if I indulged in such a rare find."
Jasper snarls.
Alice actually looks scared – and that's what makes my stomach sink.
I'm too frightened to process much of anything; only that I've been in this position before with Paul and that I'm really getting sick of these worthless men treating me like an object.
Fury courses through my veins, traces of Edward's blood feeding the emotion, tripling it and making the anger into a swarm of rage – and the headache behind my eyes explodes.
My world shifts.
Literally.
I see distinct points of light in the center of Jasper and Alice's foreheads – his is deep red and hers is a swirling, muddy blue. Instinctively, I know what those colors mean.
Jasper is fighting for survival – his, mine and Alice's.
Alice is simply overwhelmed by fear.
I blink.
Have I seen this before?
No.
I haven't.
Isobell has.
Isobell, the French soul inside me.
She knows exactly what this is, knows exactly how to interpret the colors, knows exactly what to do.
It's not that she's talking to me – she can't. But her soul, my soul, is waking up, guiding me, enlightening me. When she died, our soul took the knowledge with it, ready to pass on the wisdom when the reincarnation cycle allowed it to pass through the astral planes.
All of this flashes through my mind in a blinding second – Jasper is still snarling, the air is still being forced out of my body, a hand is still groping my hip.
A separate part of my mind opens up.
I stare at my reflection found in the clear glass behind Jasper.
My pupils glow white, iridescent, a sign of pure mind energy ready to be transferred; the white pupil expands until only a thin ring of violet iris is visible between the white of my eyes and my glowing pupils.
I focus on the glass – specifically, the reflection of the ferry operator behind me and the muddied red pulse of light on his third eye, the dark red color right on the entrance to his mind.
Staring at his reflection, I don't blink, don't draw my gaze away from that dark point of light.
Let me go. Now, I order him.
My heart hammers.
For a moment, I don't think it will work.
But slowly, the dirty red color fades and brightens into metallic silver – he's receptive.
He releases me slowly.
Step away, into the corner.
He moves, my eyes follow him. His face is lax, his eyes glazed.
Stay.
The vampire freezes in his corner, ashen with a single point of silver light over the center of his mind.
Jasper moves, his mind energy now bright red with confidence, toward the ferry operator. His movements are cautious and his face is almost bewildered. "My Lady?"
"Yes, Jasper?" I ask, almost unable to recognize my voice – it's too serene.
"How long will he stay like this?"
"Until I release him," I answer confidently.
Jasper swallows. "And how long will that be?"
I frown, pressing my fingers to my temples, where the exploding headache behind my eyes has moved with startling speed. I feel dizzy again – my adrenaline spike is fading. "Not much longer."
Jasper's face wipes clean, an air of serious duty overtaking him. "Understood, my Lady."
I turn away from Jasper and his task of physically subduing the vampire ferry operator. Alice is standing at my side, the fading soft blue light on her third eye assuring me that she intuitively knows about what just happened.
"My Lady?" she smiles gently, eyeing me with eagerness – and questions in her eyes, though she's too polite to ask them.
Another wave of dizziness crests over me. I feel my influence over the vampire fading, along with the glowing white of my pupils. "I'm about to faint," I tell her.
As I speak, my knees go weak and my vision blurs on the edges.
A startled growl from the ferry operator fills the small glass cabin.
Alice moves to catch me, slowly bringing my body to rest on the ground as we listen to Jasper quickly destroy the other vampire.
Black light dances over my vision.
"It's alright, my Lady," Alice tells me, brushing my hair away from my face. "You're safe now."
Light fades and I feel weightless.
A/N: Whoooa. What just happened? I mean, I know what happened. But do you…? Hmm.
Shout out to the first ten reviews of the last chapter (plus guests):
Edwardlover752 – All in one day?! Whaaat? Lol That's awesome!
Isabella – Hi! Nope, I always always always finish my stories – sometimes too abruptly, but they do have endings! Lol
Guest (who isn't Kathy) – I think I love you!
Edward's spouse – I give you more, my dear!
Headinthecloudsss – How were your holidays? I think I caught up on sleep!
morena davidson 3 – I won't stop! Thanks for the patience!
Katiekrm – I'm so happy that my story is that special! To read with out stopping? Highest compliment!
Pumpkinmykitty – I, for one, am glad that you got out of your sick bed for that chapter!
Twilight Rocker 12 – HAHA! My awesomeness has blown up your words! Lol
vampyregirl86 – LOL It was kind of a 180! But a good one!
Lilypad10 – They do need each other to function!
TwiSagaLover – Perhaps I should make chapters longer….nahhhh… :-p
Superspecial shout out to the first review of the last chapter…. boo1414 – The reunion is coming up! We hope!
Alright, I'm off to take a nap!
As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.
~cupcakeriot