Author's note: This chapter will include discussion of Jasper's past. As I the author am a European my education on and understanding of American history, politics and society is limited. Therefore I am going to rather gloss over the implications and reality of Jasper having been a confederate soldier. I have read plenty of fics where people write him as a Union soldier, Union spy, or a Confederate soldier who just didn't know better or just wanted to defend his homeland. Or justify that the war was really about states' rights, or that the Union weren't saints either. I lack sufficient knowledge to have an informed take on this, so we are simply going to go with the canon version and then assume that he would by the 21st century have done enough reflection to become in favor of equal rights for all and be sorry.
It is late May now, and on a Thursday we are all assembled at the Cullen house. Even Edward and Alice, though they still do not want anything to do with our experiment, which has been running for a month.
Rosalie has been able to finetune the blood processing machine to crank up production. Her setup is now steadily producing over 25 grams of blood powder per day. Emmett is having a great deal of fun keeping her supplied with jerrycans of fresh blood to work with. Carlisle has filled several notebooks with detailed information on anything from the blood processing to Jasper's moods.
The most fascinating discovery so far has been his sudden ability to digest human food. He does not specifically get hungry for it, but it does satisfy him when he is thirsty. His enjoyment of the taste also increased over time and he can eat it without any trouble. Carlisle debated at length what must happen to it once ingested, until Edward picked up on the toilet situation in Emmett's thoughts and loudly proclaimed his disgust.
Despite these odd humanlike changes Jasper is as strong and fast as ever. His humanoid characteristics have so far not included a need to rest. His mind and memory are also as sharp as ever, if anything they have improved now his focus is no longer distracted by bloodlust.
Outwardly slight changes can be observed in him as well. While he is still extremely white, his skin looks like that of a very pale human now rather than that of a corpse. He no longer gets shadows under his eyes when he is thirsty, and also does not sparkle quite as brightly in the sun. He still noticeably reflects sunlight, but by the looks of how the experiment progresses he might soon be able to go out in the sun with long sleeves and a hat on.
The most striking change are his eyes. We did not notice them changing at first, but thinking back in his vampire perfect memory Carlisle is certain the first brown flecks appeared in his irises one week into the new diet. Gradually they formed into a ring around his pupil and Jasper started recognizing it as his original eye color. Three weeks in they stabilized as the most beautiful, warm light brown eyes, though with a narrow golden border around the edge. Carlisle wonders if that border would still turn red with processed human blood, but won't even entertain the thought of asking Jasper to try.
His new look has even garnered the attention of my father, who can observe Jasper quite closely as he regularly comes around for dinner at my place now that he is able to eat it. I suspect my father intuitively feels there is something supernatural about the Cullens, but simply doesn't want to know any specifics. The eye color change however is so significant that he cannot ignore it, and Jasper's natural eyes are so beautiful that we collectively refused to let him wear colored contacts.
Thankfully Carlisle managed to come up with a reasonably believable cover story. Earlier the Cullens had explained their pale skin, golden eyes and pickiness about human food as a genetic disease that they all suffered from. Jasper has now apparently had a spontaneous genetic mutation that fixes his DNA. Carlisle threw enough convoluted science in the explanation to thoroughly confuse Charlie, so he would just assume the situation is normal but just too complicated for him to understand. Dad had grown fond of Jasper though and was therefore very happy for him. Even happier when Carlisle told him a laboratory in Alaska had been able to identify the correct genome sequence in Jaspers DNA, and soon the rest of the family would be able to undergo gene therapy treatments to experience the same benefits.
That last bit had been good foresight, because Jasper did not long remain the only one to try the processed blood.
All the supportive family members are now convinced that the diet is safe, and are eager to humanize. Rosalie has been the second vampire to start the processed blood diet. Carlisle would have wanted to keep observing Jasper for longer, especially when he started showing his weird human tendencies. However since Rosalie controls the processing part of the supply chain it was not exactly possible to stop her from trying some.
Carlisle has started himself on a diet that is part processed blood and part regular hunting, because he was curious if this would impact the progression of the symptoms. So far there seems to be a linear correlation between what percentage of the blood intake is processed, and how fast the vampire 'humanizes'.
Emmett followed quickly after Rosalie, and seems to have made it his personal mission to try as much human food as vampirely possible. So far he has eaten every item on the McDonald's menu, and won a hot dog eating contest in Port Angeles. Rosalie watches in fond exasperation. I cheer him on. Jasper occasionally joins. Interestingly, his 'humanization' has gone the quickest of us so far. Carlisle theorizes that the human food must be the accelerating component in this.
Esme finally joined the diet earlier this week. Carlisle tried to hold her off as long as possible, wanting to test every possible option before risking his mate's health. However, she finally put her foot down when Rosalie and Bella invited her on a girl's weekend to Port Angeles for mother's day. She simply refused to be the only one struggling with thirst and unable to enjoy human food on the trip.
Speaking of Esme, she was currently engaged in a ferocious chess match against Edward. He and Alice were still sulking about our experiment, and at this point even Carlisle's patience was wearing thin. That left Esme as the only one truly making an effort with them. This attempt seemed counterproductive at present, as Edward looked about ready to explode.
Next to me Jasper quietly gets up off the couch and walks over to observe the chess match. His stance is seemingly relaxed, but clearly ready to jump. Something in the emotions radiating off Edward must have alarmed him.
"Stay out of it.", Edward hisses at him. Jaspers just studies the board curiously.
"Not like you to lose to that play.", he remarks. "I know I tried it on you a few times, and you always clocked it when you read in my mind that I plan to take your rook with my horse."
I don't need to be an empath to feel that this is what pushes Edward over the edge.
"It's all your damn fault! Because you can't keep your teeth to yourself and don't have the strength of character to resist blood the proper way you all started chugging that unnatural trash and I have not been able to read any of you the moment you start! I was perfectly able to hear Esme until Tuesday morning, and now I can't even read her thoughts about a game she is completely focused on. You broke my gift! Alice's too. Outcomes of any of your decisions are not visible to her anymore."
Edward speaks so fast I can barely understand him, but he must still be slowing down from talking vampire speed purely to make me hear his accusations. He looks about ready to tear Jasper's head off, but I am not worried for him. Something about Jasper's stance tells me that there is no way Edward can take him in a fight, especially without the advantage of hearing his thoughts which he is used to relying on.
A delighted grin of pure joy slowly spreads across Jasper's face. I can only imagine how horrible it must have been to put up with Edward rummaging around in his thoughts for decades. Rosalie confided in me once that Edward had a habit of, when he was feeling bad about himself, baiting Jasper to think of dark memories from his past and then loudly condemning him for them.
Apparently he had once also tried to slutshame Rosalie for the assault she endured as a human, but she had burnt his piano to ashes and threatened to tear of his arms and throw them into the flames as well, Emmett cheering her on all the while. With the support of her mate and feeling secure of her place in the family she felt no scruples about showing him not to mess with her. Jasper on the other hand had somehow been convinced by Alice that he deserved this as atonement for his past.
Not anymore. This Jasper is strong. This Jasper is still basking in the afterglow of feeling the bone deep gratitude of Mr. and Mrs. Mallory when they were introduced to the young man that saved their only daughter's life. This Jasper knows he made the right choice to be the man he is supposed to be and has no time to put up with whiny little boys.
He does not dignify Edward's rant with a reply, he just stands there smirking happily. Man, he should do that more often. While of course he has the typical otherworldly handsomeness of a vampire, his former habit of lurking on the outskirts had kept me from properly noticing him before. Now, I don't think I have ever seen a more handsome man.
Edward strides out of the house to sulk, and Alice follows after to console him.
To distract myself from my growing lust for a very much married man I start a discussion about the implications of what Edward revealed about his and Alice's gifts.
"Jasper, if I may ask... Well, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to but I know Edward would dig around in your head for bad memories sometimes, and he was always so insistent that I shouldn't know anything about your history. I just wonder what it is about your past that is so horrible."
He goes very still, seemingly nervous. When he answers he resolutely looks me in the eye. "I fought in a war. Well, two wars really. First a human one, then a vampire one. Guess which one was worse."
My breath hitches as I imagine the destruction a vampire army could cause and Jasper nods, clearly seeing where my thoughts went.
"A vampire army doesn't need to thousands like a human army, but no human army could stand against them. Battle was constant, and always for the same thing : blood. To this day the south is full of warlords who fight each other for territory to hunt in.
"The drug wars in Mexico...?", I ask.
"My darling creator Maria.", he answers with a humorless chuckle. "The bitch."
As even Esme doesn't admonish him for his language, this Maria must really be a piece of work.
Jasper continues to describe how he had been a Confederate soldier, youngest major in the Texas Cavalry, when Maria turned him to fight in the army that protected and expanded the lands her coven ruled. He explains the horrors of having to feel the emotions of his victims and the chaos of the newborn camp. I always wondered how an empath could be able to stand a high school full of hormonal teenagers, but I suppose that would be a walk in the park compared to his past. He tells me of the betrayal of Maria's sisters, and how they did away with them. Of killing the countless newborns once their first year was up. Then, more positively, of befriending Peter and later Charlotte. Of feeling their love, letting them escape, and later being saved by them.
"I would like to meet these Peter and Charlotte someday.", I tell him with a smile, and he smiles back.
"I'm sure you will. In fact their property in Montana is likely the best place to take you for your newborn year. I have a ranch in Texas that is remote enough as well, but that is a bit too close for comfort to the war zones."
"Really, you have a ranch in Texas?", I ask, wondering if it had belonged to his family and what that implied.
"Yes, I grew up there, or at least I found a deed that proved my parents owned it at that time. I'm afraid my only remaining human memories are of my military career. Before you ask, I do not remember either if my family owned slaves. On a farm that size they might have had a few, or might have gotten by with seasonal hired hands. Either way the archive with the census records to prove it burned down while I was still in Maria's army."
He sighs. "It took a lot of research and reflection to gain a better understanding of the cause that I fought for, and then more to see how the effects still linger in current society even with a changed political climate. At least I can assure you that at present I am a firm supporter of equal rights, and for all groups not just the one that I most wronged in particular."
"I suppose that does make a difference.", I remark.
Rosalie snorts. "Well if you ever wonder if he is repentant enough, look into the Whitlock foundation. He amassed an absolute fortune of prize money during the vampire wars, but refuses to use any of it for himself. Instead he finances a whole bunch of charities that help fight poverty among and improve the education and career development of primarily people of color."
"Whitlock?", I ask.
"My original surname.", he says. "Major Jasper Whitlock at your service, ma'am."
Oh deary, my panties are flooding. I am suddenly glad that he usually hides the accent, the world is not ready for Jasper with a Texan drawl. I struggle to focus when he speaks again.
"A strong reason I was happy to take Rosalie's name as her supposed sibling is that my human self still shows up in the occasional history book. I don't want anyone to connect me to the confederacy, but I kept my family name for the foundation. I do rather like the name, and if I create a sufficiently positive legacy for it I might someday feel comfortable using it again."
"I hope so.", I tell him. "It suits you."
Jasper looks embarrassed and quickly changes the subject. "Anyway, the story is not done yet."
He goes on to explain how he met Alice and they joined the Cullens. At this part the pain in his eyes is evident. Peter and Charlotte had saved him, but Alice had been his salvation. As a human killing nomad, traveling with fellow damaged war veterans, he had existed but not lived. Alice had taught him how to hunt prey that he could not feel the emotions of, brought him to his new, warm, understanding family, and most of all she had promised him the everlasting love of a mate. The first two she couldn't take from him, but the third hurt the most.
We all stare at the door that Edward and Alice had disappeared through.
"Jasper, you said that when you were infatuated with Maria you hadn't learned what true love is yet. Are you sure you have learned it now?"
He doesn't answer my question.