A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this, the sun is messing with me and frying my brain a little. I'm Scottish, we're not meant to be fried alive lol xx Alexis
Peter
In all my years as his right-hand man, I've never seen the Major so determined. In his fifty-odd years with that fucked up family he has had many regrets, but this is the only one he wants to fix, no he needs to fix. To him, it's important that she doesn't see him as the villain, just an idiot of a man. Quite the distinction, he knows he got himself in this mess by doin' absolutely nothin' to help her back then and this is his biggest regret. She saw him as an older brother and he behaved like a fool, a randy fool at that and in doin' so threw away the precious gift she gave him. The gift of friendship and familial love, somethin' he only ever received from Char and me. It just shows how screwed up he was livin' with those Muppets, to not have seen it for what it was, but worse to throw it back in her face was just plain cruel.
When an empath can no longer tell what emotions you are givin' off, somethin' has to be really wrong with either you or them! Unfortunately, it was not just him at that time; they all had a hand in it and Bell did nothin' wrong at all, but love them with all her heart. I ain't lettin' Carlisle and Esme off either; they should have seen all was not okay. Especially when she mentioned things to them and they never followed up or made sure she was bein' protected! Yes, protected from their own coven, they failed her as much as the others by turnin' a blind eye to their behaviour. This is why we are semi-nomadic; the thought of living on top of other vampires constantly gives us the heebie-jeebies! The same goes for Garrett; mind you knowin' the Cullens has put a lot of vampires off covens.
Jasper
I know Peter is havin' a hard time understandin' my obsession about sortin' this out with Bella. Many of my mistakes while at the Cullens were just that mistakes. But this, this was no mistake I did it on purpose and that's the problem. I hurt a then mere child, with my own jealousy and inaction to help her! I am mortified, horrified and ashamed I could stoop so low. I know I should have left years ago, but I stayed to avoid havin'; any responsibility for my own life. The Cullens don't need apologies from me, but they should all be beggin' Bella for her forgiveness. That includes Carlisle and Esme because a lot of that shit could have been sorted long ago if they had even tried to take control of their coven. Alice of course, has already had her comeuppance from Bella; I saw her face that day.
Although I couldn't read her emotions, I could her body language and it was obvious. I know it was her who did that to Alice and not the Volturi guard, that's one hell of a power and we should all be grateful Bella isn't the vengeful type! The others are too stupid to realise it was her and kickin' Eddie-boy's ass must have given her some satisfaction twenty years ago. Bella's total indifference to Rose must be so gallin' for the vain bitch, but it's the perfect punishment for someone like her. To find you aren't really enough of a dilemma for someone. That they would rather forget you exist than deal with you has to be a slap in the face. So that leaves me and it has finally dawned on me that I did way more damage than I first assumed. Not because I actually did somethin', but because she doesn't know if I did, and why would she trust me not to?
Oh, thank God, we've found them at last, now to beg for his help, yes I'll beg if I have to!
Bella
I have made a decision; I will hear Jasper out on my terms. But I don't want to be looking to Charles constantly, so I will ask Garrett to stay with him. That way Jasper and I can talk and Charles can confirm to Garrett if it's the truth and I will rely on my own skills of observation too. I remember very well all their little quirks. Like Alice always without fail said I had forgotten something she wanted me to do, exact words were, 'Silly human, you agreed and have forgotten again!' Edward would stare hard at you not blinking, when he lied. Obviously thinking eye contact was his secret weapon! Emmett couldn't look at me when he rarely lied and it was a real giveaway. Rose never lied per se; she just never spoke to me at all if it wasn't necessary. This was fine by me since I didn't talk cars or make-up!
But Jasper always, without exception quietly sighed, and then looked over my left shoulder and not at my face. It was like he was going against his own code by doing it, but as if he had become used to it in a way he disliked. So that's something I will be watching for and with the backup of Charles, this might go better than I can hope for. I really have to do this because it is wearing me down. Twenty-four years isn't a long time in a vampire's life, but it's far too long for me. I want this weight off my shoulders and to get passed the past so to speak. Will we ever be friends again, maybe not, but I won't dislike him as I had before and it will be a very long time before I let him feel my emotions again. But if he's telling the truth then we will at least have a truce and I will be more at ease with him around.
It has had to be hard for Garrett, as he's friends with Peter and Jasper and was long before he met me. So for his sake as well as mine, this needs closure. Strange as it may be vampires have very few real friends, acquaintances yes, but friends are thin on the ground. It's one of those situations where we as beings are territorial, so spending time together causes problems, fights and often death. So those that actually have friends tend to hang on to them fiercely. After all large covens are not a thing except for the Volturi, the Cullens and the Denali's off course. Again due to our innate inability to not fight with each other. This is possibly what's really wrong with the Cullens, too many bodies in one place, especially when one was not mated and spent his second life causing tension and discord.
I was just another weapon to bludgeon them over the head with. It took me a few years to work this out, I was there as a slap in the face to Rosalie. That he found me desirable and not her, even though she didn't want him or so she says! Also as a form of fear for Carlisle and Esme, them worrying he'd kill me and damn himself to death. But of course, I wasn't really his mate and he just lied to them all to make himself important. Why? Well, Alice was now taking centre stage away from him. For a true narcissist like Edward, this was unacceptable. Plus she came with her own guard dog in the form of Jasper and well, Edward is also a snivelling coward. So all he needed from me was my presence to keep him relevant and it was he who ruined that for himself.
Because he wasn't man enough to follow through with a real relationship with me. I on the other hand am truly glad about that. Because I was able to give my innocence to my real mate, Garrett instead. Anyway, enough about the past, I've made my decision, now it's time to go looking for furniture.
Heidi
"I will hear him out once they arrive. Now, let's shop ladies!" Bell said as we joined her outside,
I envy her, the ability to compartimentare (compartmentalize) things, I never could. I worry at it, letting it consume me. I know she saw both Char and I watching her and she smiled happily at us. Okay then, now shopping I know and understand. Maybe not furniture, but I was il migliore (the best) at getting a bargain. Do I cheat and use my gift, of course I do! Just because we are vampires doesn't mean we have endless money to waste. I don't know about Garrett and Bell's finances, but he seems to be very sensible and has had time to make a decent living for them both. Peter thankfully has great portfolios for both himself and Jasper, it was something he started many years ago and now the yield is amazing. I too had my own money to add to our joint pot, something I was happy to do.
But for the moment my mind is taken up with helping Bell work out what goes where and what colours each suite should be. I suggested hunter green for Maestro (Master) Caius and La dama (Lady) Dora, with gold accents. Char thought possibly the burgundy or wine with silver for Eleazar and Carmen would be nice. Bell decided the Cullens would get midnight blue and pale grey since they normally have white everything. Char and I agreed we would like the yellow in the shade royal with light green accents. That leaves the sisters with pecan brown which is a lovely warm colour and ecru highlights. So apart from their own suite which she explained was all going to be pastels since their furniture was dark. We played with the idea of reversing the colour in the en-suites.
Bella
For someone who hates shopping, I'm really enjoying this outing. The girls are making it fun and not the drama that Alice forced on me in the past. I've shopped online ever since those days, for everything! Mind you I never wanted to be away from Garrett for long and he's just as happy to avoid big stores too. Mind you most of the enjoyment is watching everyone fawn all over Heidi, it's so amusing and a little scary at the same time. But besides all that we have made a serious dent in the paint choices, linens for all the suites and now we're looking at towels and all that paraphernalia. Who knew vampires needed so much stuff, okay we don't actually need it, but we want it. We will be storing it all in the loft for now, once the boys get the building done then the real work starts.
Garrett hired a couple of storage containers for all the furniture; they are on the edge of the property. We have deliveries dropped off there and that way nobody sees us carrying things no normal person could. We tell them the road is too rough for their big trucks and everyone is happy to drop the load off down there. Sometimes it's best to give humans excuses to cover our need to hide, the simpler the excuse the more they believe it. Hauling everything up to the house at night is beyond easy for us and nobody is any the wiser. Now all we need to do is find a secluded area to hold the bouts during the tournament. Garrett and I are going to walk the grounds to find somewhere suitable. There is much more to this than it first appeared and I see why we were asked, since our place is tucked out of the way in a densely forested area.
I will be beyond happy when this is all over, thank god you're only asked once a century!
Charles
To say we were shocked to be stopped by the Major and his Captain would be an understatement. But to have him almost beg me for my help was something I never expected in a million years. I understood his dilemma, having a gift can be more of a pain than most realise. Like for instance vampires avoid me, thinking I will call them out for every lie they tell. But really I'm not that interested in them or their half-truths. Trying to explain that has become such a pain that I no longer try. Anyway, what the Major is asking is not a bad thing; in fact, it could be a very good thing. Plus it will be so nice for Makenna to spend time with other female vampires. We really do tend to spend a lot of time alone with each other. So we happily agreed to join them at Garrett and Isabella's place.
We both offered our help in the building of their new house and anything else they needed. I could sense this wouldn't be hard as the Major was being open and truthful in all he said. That's the thing about my gift, even if someone uses their gift on me I can still tell if they are telling the truth. Like his empathy, it could make me feel anything he wanted, but I would still be able to sense if it was a lie or not. Anyway, I'm just going to listen to everything and tell them the truth. Not just his truth, but hers too that's only fair. That's the thing about the truth, two people can actually believe what they are saying is the truth and it is to them. But it's usually somewhere in the middle of the mess where the real truth is! They also mentioned the possibility of making Edward Cullen and Rosalie McCarty tell the truth and I know that will be harder.
Basically, because neither of them has told the truth in years. They lie to themselves as much as they do to everyone else.
Jasper
Well, this will be a good thing, Bella will know the truth and I will have to put up with the fact they will also all know what a douche I had let myself become. It's a small price to pay to hopefully one day regain her trust. I really can't believe how fat I fell whilst livin' with the Cullens. I can blame anyone but myself for it, much as I'd like to. I knew Alice wasn't my mate but stayed with her, I knew I was unhappy but didn't leave. None of that is anyone else's fault, just mine and mine alone. It's a hard thing to look closely at yourself and not like what you see, but it was Bella who started me on the path to redeemin' my sadly missin' self-respect. Her bid to be seen as an adult and not a child set me on the path to once more act my age and in a way more acceptable to myself.
Am I nervous, yes, it's not the best feelin' to have all your sins on display? I have to do this though, if only to prove to Bella that I have changed and that I never intentionally meant to hurt her. Charles and Makenna are very happy to help me out and looking forward to helpin' both Bella and Garrett out as well. We head towards New York State at a leisurely pace, they were thankful to ride in a car for once and not hide from the sun. Peter was givin' them financial advice too, he's been doin' this for years for many of our friends. With every mile closer we got the more nervous I was gettin', not somethin' I'm used to. Not that I thought I would be caught out in a lie, but more I would just show myself up to be an idiot. Oh well, I brought this all on myself after all!
Garrett
I just got a call to say they were on their way and let Liberty know. Now, she's getting nervous and worried that Charles will sense it was she who lied!
"Liberty, stop it! You're second-guessing years of your life, just talk to Jasper. Air all your grievances and listen to what he has to say. But remember none of this was your fault, you did nothing but love that goddamn family!" I tell her trying to calm her down,
I have slowly over the last twenty-four years begun to dislike the Cullens more and more and am so disenfranchised with Carlisle Cullen. I had spent years avoiding them because of Edward and wouldn't you know it they are the cause of my mate being unhappy. It just goes on and on endlessly, because nobody put a stop to their utter BS. I really want to cut ties with them, but Liberty cares for Emmett and Esme, and to a degree Carlisle too but she sees his faults as well. Yes, her problem at the moment was the Major, because he too was sucked into their distorted family. I'm guessing he has more emotional baggage from those days than Liberty does. She was only involved for a few short years, but he spent half a century embroiled in their chaos.
"Let's take off to look for a decent place to stage the bout, what do you say?" I suggest and she nods,
Several hours and a very nice rendezvous in the woods later, my Liberty was back to her old optimistic self, thank goodness. That woman can turn me on just walking past me, especially in a pair of sexy boots. Now, I hope everything will go smoothly when the others arrive. Am I worried no; all I want is for Liberty to get some closure from this. He's many things, but being a compulsive liar isn't one of the things he's ever been accused of. We have all at times lied for many reasons, to save face, to make ourselves look better and to avoid an argument. Then there is the lie by omission, sometimes it's safer to pick a side and not sit on the fence. This I think is what he did, said nothing holding his own thoughts to himself. He probably didn't say anything to them either and now it's come back to bite him.
Not that I believe for a single moment that any of the Cullens would listen to a single thing anyone said to them at all!
