FF: Agony (1/1)
Title: Agony
Author: Aerial312
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Alice/Jasper
Table/Prompt: Epsilon/Agony
Word Count: 1,870
Summary: The aftermath of Maria's visit to the Cullens in Calgary.
Timeline: Pre-Twlight, after they join the Cullens.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
I leaned against a tree on the edge of the forest. They were out of earshot, even of my keen hearing. I could certainly find them if I tried, but Jasper had specifically asked to be able to take care of the situation by himself. I was respecting that, for the time being.
My mind wandered as I stood motionless by my tree. Maria. It had always been a fear of mine that she'd track him down. Jasper had always been loathe to talk of his time with her. Even thinking about it caused him a great deal of pain.
I'd cobbled together a mental picture of her from what little he'd mentioned. She was not quite what I'd expected. Sure, she was beautiful, as all of our kind were. As I'd pictured, she had long, dark, wavy hair. I'd expected her to be tall and voluptuous, but in reality, she was only a few inches taller than me. She had curves, but she couldn't have been older than 15 or 16 when she was turned. Maria's eyes were a vivid red when she'd showed up on our doorstep an hour ago. The scent of fresh human blood had begun to waft down the street. She had massacred all of our nearest neighbors before knocking on our door.
Behind me, the house was aflutter with activity: the dance of moving on. There was no question that we had to leave quickly. I would give Jasper a little longer to deal with her in his own way before I joined him.
Jasper stood stiffly, his arms in a defensive posture across his chest. He looked at the brush at his feet. "What do you want, Maria?" His voice was icy.
"What do you think I want?" she purred, stepping in close and looking up at him.
He stepped back with a sharp movement. "You know that's not going to happen."
Without realizing it, I had advanced several hundred feet into the forest. As I stopped and refocused, I was mere inches from running into a large pine tree. Good to see that my vampire gracefulness was in effect even when I was not fully cognizant of it. I concentrated on my surroundings for a moment. I could barely hear the house anymore. The predominant sounds were the wind rustling through the trees, and the distant thunder of a coming storm. I still could not hear Jasper and Maria.
I bit my lip, resting my forehead on the coarse bark.
Maria stared at him, her bright red eyes unblinking. "Think about it-"
"There is nothing to think about."
Jasper retreated further, till he backed into a tree. In a split second, Maria was perched on a low branch, high enough to be just taller than him. She took his chin in her hand forcefully, and stared into his golden eyes. He held her gaze, jaw set hard.
"Look at what you've become," she laughed softly. "You used to be my most powerful soldier. Now look at you!"
She got no visible reaction out of him.
"There is more to life than war and power," he answered, his voice steady.
"But what fun is that?" she smiled, sliding her hand along his cheek.
He snapped his head away from her. "I was never happy in that life."
She ran her hands into his hair. "Are you happy now?"
I slammed my fist into the pine tree, as the vision cut out abruptly. The sap that now covered my hands barely registered. His happiness was always something I worried about. I knew he loved me, there was no doubt there. But whether he was truly happy in this lifestyle, it was hard to tell sometimes because he struggled so.
I tore quickly down the narrow path. After a few seconds, I paused and listened. I did not want to come barreling into their conversation. Jasper wanted to handle this, and unless I saw a sure sign that he wasn't going to be able to, I was going to let him.
"But what fun is that?" her voice was sickeningly sweet, something I hadn't noted in my vision.
I was glad to be within earshot now. There was a sudden movement of air, which I knew to be his head snapping away from her.
"I was never happy in that life." His voice was quiet, and at my distance, I could barely hear him.
I cringed, knowing that she was about to run her hands into his hair.
"Are you happy now?"
There was a rustling of foliage I guessed to be him moving away.
"Alice has taught me what happiness is."
I bit my lip, continuing to listen closely.
"I find it hard to believe that the Jasper I knew could be content to feed on animals." She emphasized the last word with contempt.
"I'm not the Jasper you knew then," he countered.
There was a pause. I heard her land softly on the ground below the tree. "No…no," she sighed. "Perhaps you're not." Her voice turned sharper. "But some things never change. Cannot change."
There was a tearing of fabric. I gasped softly, realizing immediately that she had torn his shirt to reveal the myriad of scars that he had received while in her service. I advanced along the path.
Maria continued. "You will always have the marks that show what you truly are."
I wished I was seeing this in my head instead of just hearing it. There was silence again as he took this in.
Maria pressed on. "What does your tiny little thing think of those horrible, vile marks? Your scars are evidence of a life that is so far from this quaint lifestyle that she has drawn you to."
Jasper took an audible deep breath. "Alice thinks they're beautiful," he answered simply.
A dull ache formed behind my eyes as he answered her. I had told him so for over a decade, but I never thought the message had gotten through. I had tiptoed close enough that I could just make them out in the distance.
Maria laughed scornfully. "Beautiful?"
"Beautiful," Jasper affirmed.
"Your mutilated skin could never be beautiful," she told him, venomously.
I focused my energy on sending him all the love I could. Jasper's eyes flicked briefly down the path to where I stood crouching beside a large rock.
He took a deep breath. "I would like for you to leave, Maria."
She put her hand on her hip, and looked unhappily up at him.
"Please leave my family alone," he continued.
"Family?" She couldn't help but scoff again.
"Family," he repeated, more forcefully this time.
She glared up at him. "You were always my favorite."
"You had a funny way of showing that," Jasper countered, staring straight at her as her ran his fingers over a distinct half-moon scar beside his bellybutton that he had once grudgingly told me she had inflicted.
She stared back at him, silent for a change. Her fists were clenched at her sides. Every muscle in her body was tense. She shuddered. "Stop that!"
"I asked politely the first time. That obviously did not get through. Please leave. And don't bother my family ever again," his voice was firm.
She glared at him for a moment longer, relaxing as he broke his gaze. With one final look back at him, she sprinted south into the forest. He stared after her, sinking to the ground at the base of the tree. He curled his knees to his chest, and laid his head upon them. It was a familiar position.
"Alice?" he called softly without raising his head.
I emerged from behind the large rock, and landed at his side. I knelt behind him.
"I'm sorry I didn't respect your request," I murmured quickly. "I was trying to be stealthy, though."
"She didn't note your presence," he told me. "I would have felt that."
"But you knew I was there."
"I always know when you're near me."
I smiled, wrapping my arms as far around his curled up form as I could. "You did a great job." My chin rested in the nook between his shoulder and his neck.
He sighed. "I wish you hadn't seen that at the end."
"She wasn't listening. You asked nicely."
"Still…"
"What did you make her feel?" I asked, curious.
He hesitated before he answered me. When he finally spoke, his voice was very quiet. "I made her feel some of the agony she's caused me over the years."
I squeezed him tightly. From what I knew, he'd seldom stood up to Maria, and even more infrequently would she back down.
"I'm so proud of you."
Jasper's eyes closed as he leaned back into my embrace. I slid the heel of my hand down the bare expanse of his chest.
He let his head fall against mine. "For what?"
"For getting her to leave without anymore of a scene. For standing up for yourself. For seeming to believe what I've told you for years…"
"I still think you're the only one who thinks my scars are beautiful."
"You believed it while you said it to her."
"I believe that you think so…"
"That’s a step," I smiled, kissing the side of his neck.
Jasper fell into silence. I kept my lips pressed to his cool skin.
"We have to get going soon," I told him.
"Once again, its my fault we have to move on," he sighed, bowing his head.
"It's not," I insisted.
"Alice…"
"Certainly not directly."
He remained silent, tucking his head between his knees.
"Jasper, you cut her out of your life over fifty years ago."
"I am her only connection to this family. It is my fault."
I sighed, pulling him firmly back into my arms. He unfurled, though remained tense.
"Don't dwell on it. Jasper, you stood up to her. You got her to leave fairly quickly."
He closed his eyes. "I played dirty."
"She played dirty," I insisted. "She'd massacred the Ewell's and the O'Brien's before she even knocked on our door. She was forcing a confrontation."
"She was pretty confident she'd win, at first," he told me softly.
"You proved her wrong. Over and over."
"I'd never really stood up to her before. Things were so different. Before." He turned and kissed my cheek. "Thank you."
"For what?" I captured his lips with mine.
"For following me, even though I'd asked you not to. Without all the love you were sending me…"
"You were doing pretty well before I was within range," I told him.
"Don't downplay it, Al," he insisted, standing up and pulling me with him. I wrapped my legs around his waist. "I needed you for that."
I kissed the nape of his neck. He sighed peacefully. It wasn't important to insist that his strength had come from himself. He had stood up to Maria, and wasn't nearly as distraught from the experience as he could have been.
"Ready to head back?" I asked.
He nodded, tensing a bit.
I squeezed him tightly. "We move on."
"Together."
"Of course," I grinned, kissing his jaw as he ran through the forest back to the house.
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
"Mirth cannot move a soul in agony.", Love's Labour's Lost
Author: Aerial312
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Alice/Jasper
Table/Prompt: Epsilon/Agony
Word Count: 1,870
Summary: The aftermath of Maria's visit to the Cullens in Calgary.
Timeline: Pre-Twlight, after they join the Cullens.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
I leaned against a tree on the edge of the forest. They were out of earshot, even of my keen hearing. I could certainly find them if I tried, but Jasper had specifically asked to be able to take care of the situation by himself. I was respecting that, for the time being.
My mind wandered as I stood motionless by my tree. Maria. It had always been a fear of mine that she'd track him down. Jasper had always been loathe to talk of his time with her. Even thinking about it caused him a great deal of pain.
I'd cobbled together a mental picture of her from what little he'd mentioned. She was not quite what I'd expected. Sure, she was beautiful, as all of our kind were. As I'd pictured, she had long, dark, wavy hair. I'd expected her to be tall and voluptuous, but in reality, she was only a few inches taller than me. She had curves, but she couldn't have been older than 15 or 16 when she was turned. Maria's eyes were a vivid red when she'd showed up on our doorstep an hour ago. The scent of fresh human blood had begun to waft down the street. She had massacred all of our nearest neighbors before knocking on our door.
Behind me, the house was aflutter with activity: the dance of moving on. There was no question that we had to leave quickly. I would give Jasper a little longer to deal with her in his own way before I joined him.
Jasper stood stiffly, his arms in a defensive posture across his chest. He looked at the brush at his feet. "What do you want, Maria?" His voice was icy.
"What do you think I want?" she purred, stepping in close and looking up at him.
He stepped back with a sharp movement. "You know that's not going to happen."
Without realizing it, I had advanced several hundred feet into the forest. As I stopped and refocused, I was mere inches from running into a large pine tree. Good to see that my vampire gracefulness was in effect even when I was not fully cognizant of it. I concentrated on my surroundings for a moment. I could barely hear the house anymore. The predominant sounds were the wind rustling through the trees, and the distant thunder of a coming storm. I still could not hear Jasper and Maria.
I bit my lip, resting my forehead on the coarse bark.
Maria stared at him, her bright red eyes unblinking. "Think about it-"
"There is nothing to think about."
Jasper retreated further, till he backed into a tree. In a split second, Maria was perched on a low branch, high enough to be just taller than him. She took his chin in her hand forcefully, and stared into his golden eyes. He held her gaze, jaw set hard.
"Look at what you've become," she laughed softly. "You used to be my most powerful soldier. Now look at you!"
She got no visible reaction out of him.
"There is more to life than war and power," he answered, his voice steady.
"But what fun is that?" she smiled, sliding her hand along his cheek.
He snapped his head away from her. "I was never happy in that life."
She ran her hands into his hair. "Are you happy now?"
I slammed my fist into the pine tree, as the vision cut out abruptly. The sap that now covered my hands barely registered. His happiness was always something I worried about. I knew he loved me, there was no doubt there. But whether he was truly happy in this lifestyle, it was hard to tell sometimes because he struggled so.
I tore quickly down the narrow path. After a few seconds, I paused and listened. I did not want to come barreling into their conversation. Jasper wanted to handle this, and unless I saw a sure sign that he wasn't going to be able to, I was going to let him.
"But what fun is that?" her voice was sickeningly sweet, something I hadn't noted in my vision.
I was glad to be within earshot now. There was a sudden movement of air, which I knew to be his head snapping away from her.
"I was never happy in that life." His voice was quiet, and at my distance, I could barely hear him.
I cringed, knowing that she was about to run her hands into his hair.
"Are you happy now?"
There was a rustling of foliage I guessed to be him moving away.
"Alice has taught me what happiness is."
I bit my lip, continuing to listen closely.
"I find it hard to believe that the Jasper I knew could be content to feed on animals." She emphasized the last word with contempt.
"I'm not the Jasper you knew then," he countered.
There was a pause. I heard her land softly on the ground below the tree. "No…no," she sighed. "Perhaps you're not." Her voice turned sharper. "But some things never change. Cannot change."
There was a tearing of fabric. I gasped softly, realizing immediately that she had torn his shirt to reveal the myriad of scars that he had received while in her service. I advanced along the path.
Maria continued. "You will always have the marks that show what you truly are."
I wished I was seeing this in my head instead of just hearing it. There was silence again as he took this in.
Maria pressed on. "What does your tiny little thing think of those horrible, vile marks? Your scars are evidence of a life that is so far from this quaint lifestyle that she has drawn you to."
Jasper took an audible deep breath. "Alice thinks they're beautiful," he answered simply.
A dull ache formed behind my eyes as he answered her. I had told him so for over a decade, but I never thought the message had gotten through. I had tiptoed close enough that I could just make them out in the distance.
Maria laughed scornfully. "Beautiful?"
"Beautiful," Jasper affirmed.
"Your mutilated skin could never be beautiful," she told him, venomously.
I focused my energy on sending him all the love I could. Jasper's eyes flicked briefly down the path to where I stood crouching beside a large rock.
He took a deep breath. "I would like for you to leave, Maria."
She put her hand on her hip, and looked unhappily up at him.
"Please leave my family alone," he continued.
"Family?" She couldn't help but scoff again.
"Family," he repeated, more forcefully this time.
She glared up at him. "You were always my favorite."
"You had a funny way of showing that," Jasper countered, staring straight at her as her ran his fingers over a distinct half-moon scar beside his bellybutton that he had once grudgingly told me she had inflicted.
She stared back at him, silent for a change. Her fists were clenched at her sides. Every muscle in her body was tense. She shuddered. "Stop that!"
"I asked politely the first time. That obviously did not get through. Please leave. And don't bother my family ever again," his voice was firm.
She glared at him for a moment longer, relaxing as he broke his gaze. With one final look back at him, she sprinted south into the forest. He stared after her, sinking to the ground at the base of the tree. He curled his knees to his chest, and laid his head upon them. It was a familiar position.
"Alice?" he called softly without raising his head.
I emerged from behind the large rock, and landed at his side. I knelt behind him.
"I'm sorry I didn't respect your request," I murmured quickly. "I was trying to be stealthy, though."
"She didn't note your presence," he told me. "I would have felt that."
"But you knew I was there."
"I always know when you're near me."
I smiled, wrapping my arms as far around his curled up form as I could. "You did a great job." My chin rested in the nook between his shoulder and his neck.
He sighed. "I wish you hadn't seen that at the end."
"She wasn't listening. You asked nicely."
"Still…"
"What did you make her feel?" I asked, curious.
He hesitated before he answered me. When he finally spoke, his voice was very quiet. "I made her feel some of the agony she's caused me over the years."
I squeezed him tightly. From what I knew, he'd seldom stood up to Maria, and even more infrequently would she back down.
"I'm so proud of you."
Jasper's eyes closed as he leaned back into my embrace. I slid the heel of my hand down the bare expanse of his chest.
He let his head fall against mine. "For what?"
"For getting her to leave without anymore of a scene. For standing up for yourself. For seeming to believe what I've told you for years…"
"I still think you're the only one who thinks my scars are beautiful."
"You believed it while you said it to her."
"I believe that you think so…"
"That’s a step," I smiled, kissing the side of his neck.
Jasper fell into silence. I kept my lips pressed to his cool skin.
"We have to get going soon," I told him.
"Once again, its my fault we have to move on," he sighed, bowing his head.
"It's not," I insisted.
"Alice…"
"Certainly not directly."
He remained silent, tucking his head between his knees.
"Jasper, you cut her out of your life over fifty years ago."
"I am her only connection to this family. It is my fault."
I sighed, pulling him firmly back into my arms. He unfurled, though remained tense.
"Don't dwell on it. Jasper, you stood up to her. You got her to leave fairly quickly."
He closed his eyes. "I played dirty."
"She played dirty," I insisted. "She'd massacred the Ewell's and the O'Brien's before she even knocked on our door. She was forcing a confrontation."
"She was pretty confident she'd win, at first," he told me softly.
"You proved her wrong. Over and over."
"I'd never really stood up to her before. Things were so different. Before." He turned and kissed my cheek. "Thank you."
"For what?" I captured his lips with mine.
"For following me, even though I'd asked you not to. Without all the love you were sending me…"
"You were doing pretty well before I was within range," I told him.
"Don't downplay it, Al," he insisted, standing up and pulling me with him. I wrapped my legs around his waist. "I needed you for that."
I kissed the nape of his neck. He sighed peacefully. It wasn't important to insist that his strength had come from himself. He had stood up to Maria, and wasn't nearly as distraught from the experience as he could have been.
"Ready to head back?" I asked.
He nodded, tensing a bit.
I squeezed him tightly. "We move on."
"Together."
"Of course," I grinned, kissing his jaw as he ran through the forest back to the house.
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
"Mirth cannot move a soul in agony.", Love's Labour's Lost