Soulmate From The Past
Chapter Two: The Unexpected
Edward's POV
Life goes on. That's what I told myself last summer when we left the Denali coven and I said goodbye to Nika for the last time. She sends postcards from her travels. I can't respond of course as there is never a return address. I do not even know how long she stays in one place. I've asked Rosalie sometimes if she has heard from her, she always smirks at me and says she has but gives no further details. It's been a year. I spend a lot of time thinking about Nika. All the things I want to ask her, all the things I do not yet know about her. I write her letters, sharing my own experiences with her, for a while I wrote one every day. Then I seal them and put them in this wooden box on my bookshelf. Addressed only "To Nikolina". I can never send them. I realize one day I do not even know her last name. I stop writing after that. Though I still cannot let the thought of her go. It feels as if something is missing.
As September of 1948 comes around, I am still trying to figure out what to do next with my life. Rosalie, Emmett and I graduated high school a few years ago, not for the first time, we are currently working but it seems the town is starting to talk. People stare longer and whisper when we come around, noticing how we have barely aged since our arrival in the town 12 years ago. It seems it is becoming time to once again uproot and leave. Autumn is spreading around us, placing a colourful theme of fallen leaves and colder winds. Carlisle and Esme have been discussing where we should settle next, we are all quite fond of Forks and will be sad to leave. Rosalie hates the uprooting, she wants to be settled permanently. Emmett is an easygoing guy, he just tries to keep his wife happy.
One cold, rainy September night we go hunting, Emmett and I. We hunt far away from home, as per our treaty with the werewolves. As we are running through the forests, a familiar scent catches my attention. It's a sweet and enticing scent, followed by a melodic humming seemingly coming from the waters nearby. I call out for Emmett to stop, he hasn't noticed anything. He jokes about watching out for sirens in the waters, laughs at my frowned expression and goes to keep moving. That's when I hear her voice inside my head. Hello boys. Emmett jumps midsprint and stumbles to the ground. I realize he is used to me being able to read his mind but he has never met someone who can respond inside of it. "Nika", I call out. Emmett looks at me confused, "What?", he looks around still startled. I hear a lighthearted chuckle from above us. Nika jumps gracefully from a treebranch to our side. Fancy meeting you here, her smile is wide as her words ring through my mind. "You must be Emmett!" she exclaims, "Rose has told me All. About. You." She emphazises the last part amusingly. Emmett, still slightly confused about the whole situation, only says one word, "Ah,". One can hear in his voice as the situation dawns on him and he fully processes who we have encountered. He recovers quickly and remarks back "All good things I hope, he smirks, she's spoken none stop of you, Nikolina, for the past year. Nika laughs. I see my reputation percedes me. Her voice echoes in our minds again. Emmett flinches slightly. Nika notices, "Sorry, I forget sometimes not everyone appreciates a quiet conversation". I budge in, "Oh, don't worry about Emmett here, he'll get used to it. Just haven't been around that many gifted ones before." I snicker and duck as Emmett retaliates back at me. Nika chuckles again. "What brings you here?" I ask. She sighes lightly and sits down on a nearby rock. "My travels have seemed less purposeful lately, as if something was missing. I am here to find it." She said. I've felt something missing too. Her eyes study me as my words reach her mind. Emmett clears his throat. "Well, not to interupt this.. conversation.. but it is getting late and we are on a hunting mission here. You are welcome to join us Nika, unless you'd prefer to wait here until we are ready to go back?". Emmett is considerate in his offer. Nika decides to go with us, though I have a feeling it's not because she would have to wait for us otherwise. She seems perfectly capable of finding her way on her own.
A few hours later we arrive back at the house, Nika in tow and before we even enter Rosalie comes barging through the doors and embraces her in the biggest hug. The two young women dissapear into the house and it occurs to me that around Nika, a lot of conversations go unnoticed at the same time. She can reach out to anyone of us at any time. It dawns on me that though her and I can communicate silently in our minds, I do not have free access to her thoughts as I do with others. Around my family I have a strict rule of intentionally blocking them out when I can, with Nika I do not have to actively do so. It is as if she is already blocking me out herself. Carlisle notices my mind seems occupied and asks about it but I dismiss his concern. I do not want to seem childish and pouty about not being able to read her mind, and I do not want him to have any doubts in my gift.
Nika stays with us for a long time after that night. Our friendship grows into something more over time and we both feel as if that missing piece has been found. When we leave Forks a few months later, we travel around for a while before finding a new town to settle in. By 1950 we settle in a small town in Minnesota. Shortly after moving in we are visited by a young couple, only Carlisle and I are home at the time of their arrival. The girl, Alice, says they have been looking for us for a long time and that they are happy to finally find us. We invite them to stay with us for a while, intrigued to learn more about what she meant. Alice has a gift of subjective precognition. She saw a vision where they found us and joined our family. Jasper has a gift as well, that of pathokinesis. He can feel and influence others emotions. Suddenly our family grows rapidly and I am no longer the only one with special gifted abilities. Nika was travelling on her own when Alice and Jasper joined us. When she arrived home things unfolded unexpectedly.
It was october, an unusually cold night, when Nika returned home. The rest of us were gathered in the living area of our house sharing stories. Alice and Jasper had only been with us for a few weeks. As soon as Nika enters both her and Jasper react as if they have both been frozen in time. An expression of immense guilt appears on her face. Her mind is blocked from me, I cannot read it. Jasper has an equally shocked expression himself, in pure disbelief he utters: "Kish". His words are a mere whisper, his eyes frozen on her. She does not respond. Atleast not where we can hear it.
Nika's POV
Jasper. My words are silent. Only for him to hear. His thoughts reach mine, I thought you were dead. I tried to compose myself, knowing he felt everything I felt. Judging by the look on his face, I did not do a good job of it. We stare silently at eachother for what seems like half an eternity. Carlisle is the one to break the silence, "It seems you two have some catching up to do.. why don't we all give them some space." He nudges Esme towards the door and gives the rest a meaningful look to follow. Rosalie squeezes my arm as she leaves. Carlisle pauses in the doorway, "Edward." His voice is stern. Edward hesitates only a moment before he follows him out. Only Jasper and I remain in the room. It's been a long time, Kish. His eyes stay on me as I slowly move to lean on a nearby table. "Yes...I say hesitantly, It has..". He stays quiet for a few minutes as I avoid eye contact. I sense his eyes studying me, and the moment I feel him break away I look up. I can feel his confusion, and the pain behind it. I don't allow myself to block it out, rather force myself to feel how he feels. I stand up as he sits down, and I walk slowly towards him. He doesn't look up as I stop infront of him. We both feel tired. Unsure of which feelings are mine and which are his. I kneel before him and reach my hand out to his, he does not jerk it away as I half expected him to. I'm glad to see you're okay. My silent words were solid even if I felt my voice faltering inside my head. I'm silent for a long while before continuing. "I'm sorry, Jasper", I whispered. I'm so, so sorry! A silent cry. He does not respond, only reaches his hand out towards my chin. He holds my face up to look at him, Where did you go?. I shook my head lightly, Anywhere and everywhere. I respond shamefully.
Jasper and I met in 1862 when he was a Major in the confederate army. He was still human then. We had an instant connection, as if we had been destined to meet. I fell for him instantly. He reciprocated those same feelings, but he had responsibilities as a soldier. I was still struggling with my own bloodthirst, being around him was too difficult, so I left. He did not know what I was until after he himself had been turned. Maria, the woman who turned him, and I had history. The hatred that spewed in her was born through me. I wasn't there when Jasper was turned. I often pondered whether Maria had turned him out of spite for me, or if it was simply a coincidence. I found him again years later, in 1904. He was still in charge of Maria's newborn army and I ended up in the crossfire of an ongoing war. He realized what I was, and I naively thought this could be our chance. He had been through hell and so had I. In another life we might have been soulmates. In this life however, we were destined to part ways. It happened brutally. I had only recently adopted my new lifestyle and was on a path of healing. I tried to convince him to leave with me, but he was still loyal to Maria and wasn't ready to leave. Maria found out I was there and sent her newborns after me, both Jasper and I got injured in the fight. The last time we had seen eachother was during this battle. Barely alive I searched for him on that field, but I could not find him. I left, saved myself and assumed his betrayal of protecting me in this fight would cause his death. I convinced myself he had made his own choice by staying, but I could never let go of the guilt of seeing the pain of what he had been through and knowing that it was because of me that he had been turned in the first place. His hand, still on my chin, covered in scars from old battles. I watched you die on that field, Kish, as they dragged me away I saw your body burn. His voice echoed in my head. "I did burn, and I did almost die." I hesitated, searching for my next words. "I am very old, Jasper.. I am no match for a newborn army, but I did not survive centuries without learning a thing or two of combat." My hand traced the scars on his arms, scars similar to my own. I looked for you before I ran, I couldn't find you. My eyes searched his, looking for both understanding and forgiveness. "I assumed you would be killed for trying to protect me against her." My voice quivered slightly. "I assumed as much myself", his southern accent still sounded like music in my ears. He stood up, pulled me with him and embraced me. His hug felt as safe as I remembered it always had. Safer than any other place I had found myself in. We stood like that for a while, until we could both feel a sense of peace.
Neither of us said anything else. I suppose we couldn't find the words. It was through Jasper, all those years ago, that I had learned pathokinesis. To sense and manipulate others emotions. It was because of him that I had found the strength to change my blooddriven lifestyle almost a century ago. This one human young man, had given me faith that I could change. That I could be deserving of the admiration he had shown me. Of course I never told him that. Nor would I ever tell him. Whatever we had shared in the past, we had both moved on. He had found his match in Alice, a beautiful companionship that I would come to greatly admire. In turn, he never told me that it was my death in 1904 that had made him question Maria, but also solidified his loyalty to her. Watching me die, was the moment he realized he had no other future. It wasn't until 34 years later that a friend of his managed to convince him to leave the coven. After he had left he tried to find out more about me, where I'd come from, who I'd been. The leads soon fizzled out though, all he had to go on was a name, Kish. Short for Kavonish, my last name.Most who knew me never find out my last name, they always call me Nika. So any stories or leads he may have been able to find had he used the right name, could never be associated with me. He gave up not long after. Ten years after that he found Alice, and two years later they found us.