Foreword : I'm sorry for the very significant delay (what was supposed to be a week's delay turned into a whole month... caught up in a bustling IRL life), but don't worry, I still have chapters ahead in the French version (even if it takes me some time to translate them), and I fully intend to see this story through to the end. Here's the continuation and consequences of the altercation between Emmett and Jasper. Enjoy ;)
While observing Edward's pained expression, Emmett had the impression that the marks covering Jasper's skin were just the tip of the iceberg, and that there were many more 'unimaginable' and unspeakable things that had occurred in the South. Invisible scars and fractures.
«Our world doesn't need lukewarm souls. It needs burning hearts.» - Albert Camus, Combat
Emmett closed his eyes, attempting to quell the wave of anger and disgust threatening to consume him. It was really not the time. He had caused Jasper enough trouble today without letting his own emotional state affect him further. He tried to push away his guilt, his disgust towards Jasper's creator, and the throbbing pain coming from his arm. He focused on trivial but pleasant things, like the delicate sound of raindrops falling rhythmically on the forest floor, the distant chirping of a family of woodpeckers, the proud smile Rosalie would have when she returned from her errands, eager to show off her latest finds. Calm. Stay calm. Life was beautiful, and he really needed to remain calm. He had to think of beautiful things.
"Do the same, Edward. Think of pleasant things."[1]
Apparently, it worked a bit. Jasper looked at him strangely, then finally exhaled in a very low tone, his accent cutting through.
"Thank ya. Sorry 'bout the bite. Try to suck out as much venom from the wound as ya can now. It will help alleviate the pain a bit and leave a less visible scar."
He didn't take his eyes off them, still on alert, arms crossed against his bare and scarred chest. He slouched, and at that moment, something in his posture made him seem more exhausted than dangerous, despite his perpetually darkened eyes and the myriad of scars contributing to his menacing appearance.
Emmett cursed himself inwardly once again for all the mess and hurried to follow the advice, sucking out as much venom as possible and spitting it onto the ground. The taste of the venom on his tongue was revolting, but he instantly felt his arm numb and the pain diminish.
"Thanks, man, it works!"
Jasper gave him an unreadable look and shrugged nonchalantly, still looking burdened. They all continued to stare at each other for a good three minutes. None of them knowing what to say or do to break the heavy silence and move past this distressing situation.
"I think the competition is over for today," Edward concluded sharply. "We should head back and wait for the girls and Carlisle to return."
Jasper made no move to show any sign of agreement. He didn't budge an inch, remaining frozen like a statue, eyes fixed on an invisible point and seeming lost in his thoughts.
Edward looked at him with a suddenly alarmed expression, seeming to have understood or heard something in the man's mind, and shook his head vigorously.
"It wasn't your fault. You don't have to leave!"
Jasper shrugged again and lifted an expressionless face to them. His tone was terribly detached as he spoke. Of course it was Emmett's fault - that impulsive idiot who had not an ounce of hostility in his massive body and who was so unafraid of him that he had wanted to push him around for fun - but how did that change anything?
"Regardless of the initial responsibility, I should never have bitten Emmett. Don't y'all worry, we'll be fine. We'll leave as soon as Alice returns."
"That's stupid. Why would you leave when you wouldn't have done anything to him in the first place if he hadn't jumped on you?"
"I don't understand ya. You can barely stand me, so why do you insist that we stay?If it's 'bout Alice, let me tell ya she ain't no your concern, this is my mate and I... ""
"The question isn't whether I like you or not, but what's right," Edward interrupted stubbornly, frowning.
Irritation was increasingly evident in Jasper's tone as he raised his voice to respond to the telepath.
"Well, ain't no question about justice here, and it ain't up for debate: I done broke your clan's rules. We're fixin' to leave."
Less than a month after his arrival, Jasper had violated one of the few rules Carlisle had insisted on. The first rule even: do not harm a member of the family. And he had used his gift offensively. Either Carlisle was as gentle and pacifistic as he claimed and would simply demand their departure following the "incident," which Jasper would consider a small price to pay - they would pack up before the man even had to ask; or he wasn't, and in that case, it was better to flee before any hint of retaliation could be exercised...
Regardless of the physician's supposed tolerance, the consequences for an act of aggression like this had to be exemplary. And even though Jasper knew he deserved punishment, he was incapable of accepting it. They had no choice but to leave quickly. He didn't know how he was going to break it to Alice, who had so eagerly desired to join this family; she would be so sad... She must already be, having undoubtedly seen his resolution to distance himself from the Cullen clan as soon as possible. He would have done almost anything for her, but he couldn't do this. He wouldn't wait for the axe to fall when every fiber of his being urged him to flee: regardless of the consequences of his actions, all he knew was that he couldn't bear them. Not anymore.
Certainly, it was quite incongruous to imagine Carlisle being cruel, but Jasper couldn't see what the man could envision as a punishment for such a breach that wasn't radical. [2] Carlisle, being at the helm of a clan comprising both a telepath and a vampire with herculean strength, couldn't be lenient to the point of showing weakness: the doctor was an old friend of Aro's; perhaps he would call upon the Volturi to pronounce the sentence and take care of its execution? That seemed like a plausible option. Jasper's train of thought was running wild at this point, and he couldn't do anything about it: he respected the Volturi as much as he feared them, but the rumors he had heard about them didn't suggest any gentleness in their way of delivering justice. They would probably choose to execute him - and he would be lucky if they didn't torture him before the execution - or would want to forcibly recruit him into their ranks as retribution for the offense against Carlisle and all the decades spent training an illicit army of newborns in the South... He couldn't afford to die, and he had no intention of fighting again.
Moreover, Jasper couldn't risk the guard meeting Alice: his power was far too rare and precious for the monarchs not to covet it if they heard about it. He couldn't risk putting her in their crosshairs and having her condemned because of her association with him.
They had made a grave mistake in coming to the Cullens: Alice and he had to leave. And that he reflected on it, Jasper realized how careless they had been in visiting this clan they only knew through fragmented visions and in exposing the nature of their powers so quickly... how negligent he had been in wanting to please his mate: how would they hide and escape the Volturi if Carlisle didn't settle for their departure and decided to expose them? Should he try to plead their case with the doctor before their departure? Convince him not to call upon the Volturi to search for Alice in exchange for accepting any punishment the old vampire deemed appropriate? As long as he didn't demand his head… Jasper clenched his fists mechanically, lost in somber projections; he could endure a lot if it guaranteed Alice's safety.
Edward shook his head forcefully again, he seemed really annoyed, tense, and… sad. It surprised Emmett; his younger brother was often sullen or moody, but it was rare for him to be so disturbed and show real emotions to anyone other than Carlisle or Esme.
"You don't understand! Carlisle won't do anything to you. He won't punish you when you're not even responsible for this mess. And Carlisle's punishments have nothing to do with all the absurdities you can think of. I've known him for over thirty years; he's a good person. I don't even know how you can believe that he…"
Jasper seemed increasingly annoyed now, his panic visibly preventing him from fully controlling his thoughts, and he was not pleased with what Edward could read in his mind. He raised an eyebrow challengingly and interrupted the telepath in a very cold tone.
"Well. Edward, if what I'm reckonin' is plumb foolish, then you better tell me what kinda punishment your creator would hand down to someone who's gone and broke his most important rule ? "
"Do you really imagine Carlisle being physically violent with someone? Even you, who barely know him, can guess that's ridiculous. Besides protecting Esme, I can't even imagine him getting into a fight! And your idea that he would call upon the Volturi and ask them to torture you or judge you like a criminal, that's completely absurd! You didn't even intentionally break his rule; you were just defending yourself."
"A matter of perspective and severity, I suppose. What's the worst thin' you've ever done, and what punishment did you receive for it, my boy?"
Jasper's voice was icy, and he had a slight mocking smirk, as if he expected Edward to confess to something trivial. He had uncrossed his arms and was standing tall again, his head held high, staring at Edward with furrowed brows and a clenched jaw. Emmett noted the sudden condescension in his words. He found him remarkably similar to Rosalie at that moment: between his vaguely wavy golden hair, his disdainful expression, and his frosty demeanor.
"Well, old man, I think the worst thing I've done was definitely the three years I spent living alone so I could feed on humans. I broke my father's second rule and tried to play God: I killed men I deemed unworthy of living after reading their thoughts. During that period, I killed 352 people. When I returned, Carlisle welcomed me with open arms. When I wanted to apologize and explained what I had done to him, he wanted to shoulder some of my guilt by telling me he was as responsible for those deaths as I was. That anyone creating a vampire risked causing human deaths. Never have I felt so guilty and humiliated as when I realized I had pushed Carlisle to consider himself as having blood on his hands.
Edward's tone was tense, and he shook his head as Jasper seemed to study him, staring at him with furrowed brows and a clenched jaw.
"But I suppose that's not the kind of anecdote that interests you since Carlisle didn't punish me and wasn't angry with me. The worst thing I did in Carlisle's eyes, by far, was hurting Rosalie a few months after her transformation. I didn't hit her or bite her, but I said something really awful to her.
Emmett knew that in her first year, his wife had managed to fight all her newborn instincts to "seek justice" without drinking a drop of blood. An achievement. She had killed her five attackers in a particularly gruesome way and had also eliminated two innocents in the process. Collateral damage. She had disappeared for over a week during her vendetta, endlessly worrying Esme and making Carlisle feel guilty to an unimaginable extent. When she had returned in a wedding dress, smiling coldly and covered in blood, without a hint of remorse in her thoughts, Edward had seen red.
They had a terrible argument, and Edward had ended up saying something really horrible to her. Emmett still didn't know the exact words his brother had spoken, but he knew that a major crisis had occurred…
"You're so arrogant and superficial! If you didn't spend your time strutting around and trying to charm everyone around you, maybe none of those men would have touched you in the first place."[3]
"For what it's worth, I probably would have hurt Rosalie less if I had hit or bitten her.
Edward's words dripped with remorse, and he briefly lowered his eyes pitifully, recalling the incident with alarming clarity, as if it had just happened. Their perfect memory was often a burden.
Edward had instantly regretted the cruelty and stupidity of his words, but the damage was already done. He had thought Rosalie would lunge at him, but she just gave him a pained look and walked away, retreating to her room without a word. He could hear her dry sobs echoing for hours as Esme gently tried to comfort her.
"I had never seen Carlisle so furious. He dragged me into his office, and for a moment, I genuinely thought he was going to tear me apart.
Never had Edward seen his father seem so little in control of himself... so human and fallible, his hands trembling with rage. And yet so vampire at the same time... his eyes almost entirely black, and furious growls escaping from his throat. When Carlisle had calmed down enough to speak, never had Edward heard such anger and disappointment in his voice.
"How could you dare say something like that? To Rosalie of all people? In front of Esme? I hope you're just too stupid to think before you speak because if that's truly what you think… It's disgraceful! I'm ashamed for you, of you, and, above all, I feel sorry for Mrs. Masen [4]. I don't want to hear from you. Not a word. I don't care for your explanations; you owe apologies not to me but to your sister and your mother. Never dare to utter such words under this roof again. Just because you can read people's thoughts doesn't mean you understand them and can judge them. Never."
"He banned me from touching my piano for a month, didn't speak to me or acknowledge my presence for almost three weeks. And believe me, he seemed at his maximum level of anger."
Jasper gave a slight nod in Edward's direction and sent him a glimmer of understanding. Not entirely convinced but acknowledging that the telepath had shared his story, especially since he could sense the gravity of the incident by feeling the remorse and shame associated with it.
Emmett still felt heated years later at the thought that Edward had managed to hurt Rose enough to trigger one of Carlisle's rare fits of rage. He wasn't present at the time of the incident, but he had been briefed on it, and although he never knew the exact words his brother had uttered, one didn't have to be a genius to understand the kind of nonsense that could both genuinely hurt his wife and enrage the peaceful Carlisle to the point of nearly losing his composure... speaking of nonsense and punishments.
"I've bitten a family member too! It was during my newborn year; I still struggled to control my bloodlust, and my strength was well above average. I spotted a wounded camper in the distance and fought Carlisle and Edward when they tried to stop me from getting to him. I bit Edward quite badly that day. Carlisle didn't, strictly speaking, punish me; he said it was my instincts taking over and imposed many tedious exercises on me to better control my thirst and strength."
"That makes sense. Given your size and stature, considerin' your current power, you must have been nearly uncontrollable as a newborn," Jasper conceded.
Even now, Emmett's strength was quite staggering; the empath had momentarily thought he couldn't restrain him without tearing his arms off...
Emmett smiled, seeing Jasper seem to relax and calm down a bit as their anecdotes unfolded.
"But if you want to know the worst punishment Carlisle has inflicted on me: it was in 1939. I met Rose in '35, but as you must perfectly know, newborns are too preoccupied with blood thirst to focus on much else during their first year. Even though I found Rosalie absolutely wonderful, I couldn't really court her properly until 1936. And after our marriage, let's just say we had a lot of catching up to do, and it was a very long honeymoon... with Rose, we quickly became a bit too enthusiastic and physical. After the fifth house practically destroyed in three years, Carlisle had had enough: he exiled us for at least a year so we could spend time alone and 'learn to control ourselves.' We ended up staying outside the family for two years to travel. When we returned, they welcomed us back warmly."
He winked and flashed a big unrepentant smile at Jasper, who seemed to relax even more, undoubtedly inadvertently infected by the joking and risqué mood; a slight smile tugged at his lips.
"As you can see, I'm whole despite all my escapades, and house destructions aren't the only foolishness I've committed in fourteen years. Carlisle barely raised his voice over the various issues I've caused, and I've never seen him be aggressive toward anyone."
His tone was more serious now, and he had Jasper's full attention.
"I know it must be very different from the workings of the vampire clans in the South and perhaps even most of those existing in the North, but deep down, I believe you know it's true: Carlisle isn't pretending to be kind and peaceful. He really is. He genuinely accepted you into the family; he won't send you away for the slightest mistake. Let alone starve you, throw you to the Volturi, or... whatever you have in mind, he will never harm you or Alice. Scout's honor."
It was different, however: they weren't Carlisle's creations, and Jasper couldn't hope that the old vampire would give him as much leeway as he did to those he considered his children... He pursed his lips, still not convinced that a quick departure wasn't the best option, but calm enough not to take off before he and Alice were in agreement on the matter and had a plan in place if the leader of the Cullen clan decided — despite all of Edward and Emmett's assurances on the matter — to talk about them to the Volturi. He was at least calm enough to hide his thoughts from the telepath again; he finally nodded, gravely.
"Anyway, you shouldn't even worry about punishment; I'm the one who messed up in this story. If Carlisle is to be angry at anyone, it will be me."
And Emmett had no doubt that Carlisle would be furious. He had no illusions that his adoptive father would react much worse to all this mess with Jasper than to the various property destructions he had been guilty of over the years. And he didn't even want to imagine what Rosalie's reaction would be... He hoped Alice would have enough of her curious manipulation talent in reserve to prevent things from escalating upon their return; it would take all the diplomacy in the world to convince Rosalie to forgive "the incident." Edward nodded darkly at this last thought. But there was no point in dwelling on it now; for the time being, they needed to relax and try to have a pleasant late afternoon among brothers. Life was good.
"Come on, my brothers, let's go home. The first one to get there wins?"
Come what may!
Ending notes :
*The title "The froth of the years" refers to "The froth of rhe days" by Boris Vian.
[1] I think Emmett might be one of the first Cullens to have an "intuitive method" to soothe Jasper's mood using his empathy. This hypothesis comes from similarities in character between him and Peter.
[2] So... Jasper is freaking out - even though he tries to stay calm - and has all sorts of dark speculations about Carlisle's possible reaction. For those surprised by this, it doesn't seem to come out of nowhere. Jasper has known the Cullens for less than a month, and regardless of experiencing "their kindness" through his gift, he can't fully trust them so soon with nearly a century of negative experiences in mind. For decades, he lived in a militarized/hostile environment where any mistake could lead to cruel sanctions - even death - so it seems entirely plausible that he would immediately think the worst about the clan leader he just joined - and whom he attacked one of the members of.
[3] Edward's regrettable remark to Rosalie doesn't seem inconsistent with what we know of his character in Twilight (protective of Carlisle and Esme, hot-tempered, and speaking without thinking). I hope you don't find this out of character, and that it doesn't paint too negative an image of him (I don't intend to bash any of the Cullens; in fact, I plan to highlight Edward more positively in an upcoming chapter). Everyone can say awful things - far beyond what they actually think - in an argument, and it's important to consider the context of the time: Edward is a teenager (the youngest of the Cullens), raised in the early 20th century in a puritanical and bourgeois environment, so it's not surprising that he could have completely misogynistic outbursts in the 1930s (despite his gift and Carlisle's positive influence); education takes time to form and deconstruct.
[4] Masen was Edward's "real" surname in the saga, so Mrs. Masen Carlisle refers to is Edward's biological mother.
The next part will come shortly; we won't directly see Carlisle's reaction to the chaos (which will be much more "circumspect" towards Jasper than Emmett presumed...); in the next chapter, we'll delve into the "shopping saga" and particularly focus on Rosalie ;) See you soon!