279Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight franchise.
Warning: Bit of kinky lemon in this chappie. Just a bit. Feel free to skip if it's not your cup of tea.
((#0x0#)){Lemon start indicator)
((#=x=#)){Lemon over)
3. THE END
It honestly felt like I had walked into total pandemonium - and there were only really two people arguing; Rosalie and Edward, obviously. Both Carlisle and Esme were trying to calm them down but they weren't very effective and now that Emmett had returned to champion Rosalie it was even louder. From the bits and pieces I could gather between their alternatively too-fast/human-speed shouting, they were fighting over Edward's sudden, firm decision to pack up and leave Forks for good. Without Bella or I tagging along or staying in touch.
Seemed to me that preventing Jasper from nearly killing Bella did nothing to change his dumbass course of action, just the knowledge that it could have happened being enough for him to chicken out. Edward sent me a dark glare at my thoughts, getting one from Jasper in return, but did not stop his heated argument with the others. Curiously, Jasper remained quietly at my side, taking no sides though he glowered sharply at Edward for every scowl the boy sent my way when he read a stray thought of mine he didn't like.
From the snippets I caught between their varying talking speeds, Carlisle respected his star childe's decision to leave with said star childe's stupid ass reason that he no longer wants to endanger Bella with their proximity and Esme was torn between understanding Edturd's reason to leave and believing they and Jasper and I belong together. I was touched when I pieced together that Rosalie was arguing to stay because of me. Sure, there was a lot of derision towards Bella and insults of Edward's intelligence in her arguments, but the point was that she'd rather stay and be close to me than away in some misguided attempt to keep us safe. Emmett was obviously on Rosalie's side though he did mention how he thought I was too cool to ditch which was touching in its own way.
Well, while listening to them was fascinating and all, I did kind of wonder why they bothered to call me back to listen to this.
"And why did you bring her here as if she has any say in this?" Edward neatly brought me into their little discussion with a hiss, obviously responding to my thoughts. I blinked, a bit unprepared to be brought into the fold but also amazed that he could ask that question with such conviction.
"Right, Maddy has abso-fucking-lutely nothing to do with your decision to rip Japer and the rest of us out of her life and pretend as if we never knew her," Rosalie echoed my thoughts in a more vicious, disbelieving tone. "Are you fucking serious?!"
"Rosalie, there is no need for such vulgarity," Carlisle sighed heavily, "and Edward, she is correct in that Madeleine should have her own say in this, especially taking her gift into account, never mind her attachment to Jasper seeing as you've taken Bella's attachment to you out of the equation as well."
I gaped at that last part of Carlisle's statement(sick buuuurn!), watching in awe as Edward honest to fuck jerked as if someone had stabbed him, but still remained stubbornly resolute in his dumbass decision. I was taken aback mostly because I'd never heard Carlisle say something so sharp, especially with his usual calm, rational delivery.
"Madeleine?" Carlisle's address brought me back to the current issue. "Do you believe we should stay or go?"
And then the coven's intense focus was on me, Edward's gaze notably more *ehem* hostile than the rest. So I opened my mouth and said honestly -
"I think you should go -" ah, return of the pandemonium.
They didn't even let me finish and they were already all trying to shout over each other.
"Enough!" Carlisle barked, calling them all to silence again. "Please continue what you were saying, you won't be interrupted again," he said, casting a warning look over his coven.
"Look, it's obvious that once an idea gets into Edward's head he absolutely will not let it go and I completely respect that his desires take precedence over what I or my sister want, especially when you can understand his reasoning. And for as much as you've accepted either of us into your circle, we aren't truly one of you and I respect that as well. Honestly, I know that you and Esme were especially pleased when you believed Edward had found his 'one', so to speak, but I've always had my doubts on whether the two staying together was really good for either of them in the long run. Maybe after you've all...left Bella will finally open her eyes and see that her relationship with Edward wasn't, uh, or isn't something she'll never get over," I finished as delicately and politely as I could without outright saying that I honestly thought they had a horribly unhealthy relationship with each other.
The reaction among them that surprised me the most wasn't their shock at my taking Edward's side(that was to be expected), but that Edward himself seemed more sincerely hurt and preoccupied with my personal beliefs about his relationship with my sister than he was with the matter at hand and whose 'side' I chose.
"Then it's decided," Edward rasped out a bit hoarsely, visibly pulling himself together, face morphing to an indecipherable mask, "we leave as soon as we are able." And between one breath and the next, he was gone in the whisper of a breeze.
"Did you seriously just agree with Edturd's asinine reasoning?" Rosalie demanded hotly.
"Is Edward out of hearing range?" I returned instead.
"Why else would I be questioning you?" was the impatient response.
"I never said I agreed with his reasoning. I understand where he's coming from, but that doesn't change that he's using it as a flimsy cover for his personal insecurities," I explained patiently. "I have my own reasons for believing this course of action is for the best."
"You're telling me that you're totally okay with us completely disappearing from your life forever, with Jasper just up and disappearing from your life forever, as if we never existed?" Emmett voiced his own disbelief.
"I don't recall saying you would be gone forever," I retorted lazily, raising a brow at him. I watched intently as their looks of shock and dismay slowly morphed to realization and elation.
"So we're leaving and coming back?" Emmett grinned excitedly.
"Have you seen this?" Carlisle asked me. "And if you're agreeing to let us leave at all, is this something you believe needs to happen?" The good doctor being as smart as he was really made me question how he could be so dense in other areas, but I shoved the thought aside as I always did.
"In part," I answered haltingly. "Like I said, I have my own reasons but it really boils down to Edward deciding this on his own. Now that the idea's in his head, he won't let it go until everyone goes through with it so it's best to just humor him."
"Forgive me if pandering to Edward's whims doesn't seem appealing in the slightest," Rose drawled sarcastically. "You expect us to just obey quietly?!" she finished in a hiss.
"Of course not!" I huffed, suitably offended. "Just think of it as a long honeymoon or something. No one says you have to stay together the whole time you're away and Edward would hardly find it shocking if you were to do so on the basis of being too pissed off at his decision to be in his prolonged presence."
Rosalie took a deep breath as if preparing to say something scathing, but seemed to change her mind at the last second and instead let out a long, drawn out hiss of annoyance as she released it again. "Fine," she nearly spat out, "but I think this whole situation is completely idiotic."
"While I myself have some doubts regarding Edward's decision," Carlisle began slowly, "We will defer to your judgement, Madeleine. It's reassuring to know that you believe this is the best course of action for everyone involved and that our departure is not a permanent thing."
"It's actually pretty terrifying that you have so much faith in my gift and my judgement so could you, like, not?" I pleaded weakly, very much meaning what I said. "Pretty sure you just enacted Murphy's law and something is somehow going to go horrifyingly wrong now."
Carlisle chuckled and, much to my slowly growing terror, did not respond to my plea one way or another. Not ominous at all. "Perhaps it's time for Jasper to escort you home. I apologize that we had to pull you from your much needed rest and the rest of us should likely take advantage of Edward's absence to make the beginnings of our plans to depart and return. If that is alright with you?" He directed the end question to me.
"Solid plans, Doc," I saluted cheekily, getting more chuckles as I took the time to give exaggerated good night kisses and hugs to everyone present, including Jasper even though he was leaving with me.
"Good night, Maddy," they chorused eerily in sync as Jasper closed the door behind me.
"They totally did that on purpose," I muttered to myself, making Jasper himself snicker a bit.
When Jasper turned the opposite direction to my house on the main road, I began to suspect that maybe he wasn't planning on taking me home just yet. Not that I had any objections to spending some quality alone time with him and away from the two I knew were at home. We hardly got much opportunity to do so otherwise. Still, I wouldn't be me if I didn't make a comment as he drove me further away from any civilization and into the woods.
"You know, this is starting to look like the intro scene of a B-rate slasher film," I spoke into the comfortable silence we had fallen into, shattering it completely.
"Wouldn't it be a supernatural horror, what with me bein' a vampire and all?" Jasper replied without missing a beat, far too used to my rabbit trail thoughts to be much surprised anymore.
"I'm trying not to reduce my life to a cringey supernatural/romance teen flick, thank you," I sniffed.
He raised a perfect brow at that. "So you'd rather a bloody, violent movie life than a sappy one?"
"What's wrong with wanting blood and chocolate*?" I asked, deceptively casual.
His eyes narrowed on me a bit, "Steppenwolf**?" He questioned.
"Marginally related, but no," I grinned. "All I'm saying that there's nothing wrong with a soul mate and action in my life."
His expression melted to something tender at my casually stated affection for him. "Adrenaline junkie," he teased fondly, reaching over to stroke my cheek with cool fingers.
I could only grin wider as I circled my own fingers around his wrist and cuddled my warm cheek to his palm, stupidly besotted as I was.
"So where are we going really?"
"Try to contain your curiosity a little longer, darlin'. I promise the suspence'll be well worth it."
"Did you say that to intentionally torture me or were you just being endearingly sincere?" I questioned with pursed lips, though the upward curve I felt in them likely gave away my amusement as much as my actual emotions did.
"It's the latter choice, little dove," he chuckled.
My playful grin quickly shifted to an expression of open awe as the bumpy dirt trail Jasper had sharply turned onto a bit ago evened out onto a perfect looking forest road - rich flat dirt showed clearly where tires regularly drove while a neatly trimmed strip of grass trailed along the center. The trees along the road as we drove were in a suspiciously semi-even pattern that screamed intentional design.
I barely registered Jasper's knowing smile from the corner of my eye as I sat up straighter and focused more on my dark surroundings and what I could see of the path ahead with the help of the headlights and the soft moonlight.
Lips parted in disbelief, I took in a sharp breath as I caught my first sight of what lay at the end of the road.
We stopped momentarily at a large, ornate barbed wrought iron gate framed by white stone pillars topped by sitting griffin chimerae*' of all things! Fences of matching wrought iron and stone stretched out from both pillars, disappearing into the tree lines, and making a formidable barrier of thorns and stakes. Jasper was barely spared a glance when he opened the gates with the press of a button, too busy taking in every detail I could in front of me.
Once the gates opened to reveal the polished and trimmed landscape within, the road once again changed from the forest road to one of clean, compact white dirt framed by thin strips of gravel and led to a sight that kept my mouth gaping open in shock.
"Jasper, it's a castle," I stated the obvious in a flat tone.
"Yes, ma'am," Jasper agreed, very amused as he pulled over beside a neat quarter circle of trimmed grass before a bridge that had two white stone pillars with two dragon chimerae atop them.
"Jasper, it's a fucking castle! With a GODDAMN MOAT-WHAT-THE-FUCK!" I shouted, no longer able to contain my disbelief.
Of course, Jasper's only response was to laugh. Very loudly.
"What's a legit fucking castle and moat doing in Forks, Washington?!" I demanded, knowing I sounded almost upset, but I was fucking shocked, okay?!
"You don't like it?" He tilted his head curiously as my emotions obviously didn't match my tone, something he seemed to often find equal parts endearing and entertaining.
"Of course I like it! It's a fucking fantasy castle of kickass! I'm just a little bit curious as to how long it's fucking been here?!" I yelled, my voice horrifyingly close to hysterical at this point faced with the fucking ridiculous thing existing in front of me.
Jasper merely shrugged in the face of said hysterics, hands casually in his pockets as he took in my every reaction. "About seven months. We finished it up a few days ago. Sped up the deadline a bit to have it ready to present after your birthday."
"A few-seven...we've been together less than eight months!" I cried. "My bir-this is a fucking birthday present?!"
"Maddy," he called quietly, snapping my attention from the giant-ass, gorgeous stained glass windows taking up the majority of the wall left of the gatehouse that served as the entrance back to him, my eyes wide with incredulity.
Wordlessly, he held out his hand and without a thought I took it, letting him blindly lead me over the wooden bridge, under a daunting portcullis and through a long hall leading to a massive, ornate arched wood and wrought iron double door with a tree and thorn design only to stop short of it and go through an only slightly less impressive smaller single door to the left.
With the flick of a switch, Jasper revealed a generously decorated antechamber that seemed to double as a sitting/coat room and looked like it came straight out of the Titanic. He walked slowly through the room, allowing me to absorb as much as I could and touch the vintage looking pieces that we passed before flipping yet more switches and taking me through another ridiculously gorgeous wood door.
It felt like I went from the Titanic to fucking Versailles. The exceedingly long, large room was all stained glass and painstakingly painted vaulted ceilings and massive chandeliers and excess luxury and grandeur that I honestly never thought I'd see in either lifetime.
My breath shuddered with jumbled emotion as Jasper quietly walked me through the long room to the end where I realized it opened into one of the four castle towers and to what couldn't be mistaken as anything but a round throne room. Directly across from the door a ways behind us and directly before us was a raised dais with a chaise throne at its center crafted from what looked like marble and silk cushion, perfectly matching the rest of the crazy fine décor in the colossal room.
Trembling, I let Jasper sit me in the center of that chaise in my black skull print oversized sweater that served as my sleepwear, a hysterical giggle escaping me as he kneeled before me like a knight before their queen and took my left hand in his.
"From the moment I first felt your emotions touch mine, my first sight of you and the way you attempted to hide your nascent feelings for our coven and I, you consumed the heart and soul I thought I had lost in their entirety. Even then when your feelings were only an echo of what you'd glimpsed with your gift, they overwhelmed me, overtook me and altered me in ways I never even dared to dream were possible. My raison d'être'*, I've said before that no words can express what it is you've come to mean to me. I can only offer this in hope you'll have the mercy to spare me a hollow existence without you."
He took an unnecessary breath then as he fished a very small wood rectangle around the size of a matchbox out of his pocket, showing off his one handed dexterity by removing and pocketing the little magnetic lid to reveal what lay nestled within; a painstakingly made, intricate little ring that looked and held the texture of three intertwined branches with little berry red gems and jade green leaves interspersed between the gaps and a black round opal that looked like the night sky as its centerpiece.
"Madeleine Hannah Swan, keeper of my heart, captor of my soul, would you grace my side for the rest of eternity?"
I could feel the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears as I began to realize the enormity of what was happening, light headed and shaking even sitting down as I was. This was happening. This was real. Far, far too real.
Since my rebirth, my life had been like performing the second act of a play; new script and material and characters, but the same basic settings. Even becoming involved with the Cullens as I did was nothing so far out of the ordinary for me with my 'gift' and all the knowledge I had of them and their world. But this...this proposal, while something I knew was coming, suddenly shifted everything in a perspective far too clear for me to handle.
Pain, grief, misery, struggle and hardship, familial love, love for friends, mortality, the flaws inherent in human nature; all of this was what I had plenty of experience with, what I expected from life in general, from the world at large. Joy, happiness, ecstasy, unconditional anything(whether it be acceptance, loyalty, commitment, or love) while familiar in short, small doses were all alien to me with as long as my bliss with Jasper has lasted thus far. The level of unquestionable devotion and utter adulation he often showed terrified as much as it exhilarated me, as much as my own feelings for him did the same. Why? Because this kind of all consuming love couldn't possibly exist. I'd been told all my past life to lower my impossible expectations, that I'd die alone if I held to those fairy tale standards, and I had. I'd held onto them, unable to settle for less, and I had died alone neither happy nor unhappy with my chosen solitude. Even in this life, faceless strangers continued to negate this love I held as an impossible dream, of a love where I didn't have to settle, an unhealthy obsession, an unrealistic outlook, that it would require compromise and sacrifice far beyond what I would be happy to give. Yet I had been living my dream for a little more than half a year and each day I woke, wondering when the other shoe would drop.
When would he realize that I wasn't worthy of him? When would I die in some poorly executed scheme of mine? When would I be abandoned for being the greedy, controlling person I am? When would cruel reality come crashing back? Because I'd been told throughout both lives that what I was living was a fantasy that never had a happy end...yet...yet even still, I couldn't help but take in the ethereal scene before me - in a throne room of undeniable splendor, a divine specimen of a man with a character that matched, and a small ring box held perfectly still in his left hand. Everything I've ever wanted, everything I'd never dreamed I could have myself, was kneeling before me, waiting for me to take it. And like the absolute moron I was, I was making him wait.
"I..." I swallowed loudly to clear the rasp in my voice. "I'm not even wearing shoes. Or socks," I warbled a laugh. "Jasper, I'm barefoot and have bed hair!" I laughed a little louder as Jasper melted from his anxious statue like posture and slowly began to smile. "Yes!" I blurted out, no grace or volume control, or control at all. "Yes! Yesyesyes!"
His own rich, baritone laughter joined my own as he lovingly slid the ring onto my left ring finger, having moved the promise ring I had been wearing to my right sometime earlier without my having even felt it. As soon as the ring was securely on my finger, I tackled him, kissing him with all the meager human strength I could muster, relishing as one arm slid securely around my waist, the other eagerly tangling in my hair.
I laughed breathlessly when we parted with a wet smack, "you built a literal castle in seven months!" I kissed him wetly again. "You filthy rich, ludicrous, magnificent lunatic!"
((#0x0#)){Jasper POV)
"Yes! Jasper~ohfuckyes~" Unblinking, I looked reverently at the sight laid beneath me. My Madeleine on her back, glowing with sweat, modest breasts swaying erotically in tune with the fierce pounding I was giving her lush form. I knew, knew, I was going a bit too roughly for humans, and my grip on her wonderfully soft waist and hips would bloom to deep bruises in mere hours, but the possessive beast inside me only found such a thought more provocative and the fresh wave of lust and arousal that spilled from Maddy's form every time my control slipped a bit more and my kisses and grips and thrusts grew more untamed only further enflamed my darker desires.
"Faster!" she was all but begging me to bruise her, bite her, claim her as I so dearly wanted to. I swallowed back a mouthful of venom as I sped my thrusts a fraction more, relishing in her renewed gasps and shouts of ever escalating pleasure, sobbing as I kept her from tipping over the precipice with my gift, but neither allowing her passions to cool, keeping her suspended in delirious, masochistic not-quite pleasure as she begged and ached and cried for her peak.
I couldn't help as I tortured myself as well, flawlessly shifting to an achingly slow rocking and caressing her skin until she was going nearly mad, running one hand up from her generous rear end, up her chest giving her breast a passing squeeze before I wrapped my fingers around her delicate throat in a firm grip.
The sexual adrenaline rush that hit Maddy then was like a shot of ecstasy through my veins that forced a monstrous snarl from my bared teeth as she struggled to let out a gasp of pure need from underneath my palm, her pulse fluttering beneath my cold grasp, her hips twitching with the urge to buck even as I held them still. Even as I returned to pounding into her with as little control as I dared, released fraction by fraction, tested time and again, slowly, meticulously, from the far too few times we'd found to ourselves, I still looked at her in absolute wonder.
Not an ounce of fear or horror or disgust. Only a never ending well of love and trust and excitement and desire and bliss and, "Maddy!" I groaned as she squeezed me with her deliciously tight, scorching hot, inner muscles the moment I thrust against her womb, the wildcat beneath me only smiling wickedly, pupils so heavily dilated and teary that I knew its memory would never fail to arouse me in future remembrance.
"I want to feel my womb drenched in your seed, Jasper," she moaned wantonly, her whole being screaming seduction and allure, a siren's call to all my innermost fantasies, whispering to all the impossible needs in me to fuck her, bite her, breed her. I couldn't have lasted longer if I tried, pressing home for a final few thrusts as I poured all of myself into her, roaring in triumph over my conquest even as she cried out her own mind shattering release, her hips and my own jerking in the aftermath of our delirious lovemaking.
Pulling out, I lay beside her and watched her slowly come down from her high, wincing a bit as she forced boneless limbs around until she was pressed close to me. Kissing her damp brow, I gently lifted her in my arms and moved to take her to the en suite. A bath would help her sore muscles.
(Maddy POV)
"Ah, Maddy, yesss," Jasper hissed as I slowly impaled myself on him again and again. A thrill shot through me as I took in the sight of him, completely bare, honey gold locks sticking to marble skin, and his tied wrists resting on his head even as all the muscles in his arm were more pronounced from the effort it was taking him not to simply snap the flimsy restraint and pound into me with abandon as he did earlier.
Water sloshed over the edge of the tub as I rolled my hips to grind down on him, getting a snarl that shot straight down to my womb for my efforts. Wet hands slid over his deliciously built abdomen, up his perfect chest to cup his sculpted face. As if in a trance, Jasper's lids drooped and he leaned forward to eagerly meet my lips when I leaned in to kiss him, an animalistic whine escaping him as I pulled away, having kept the kiss slow and chaste and short. The amount of control he allowed me to feel over him was an ecstasy beyond description and I bit his marble lip in reward, gasping when he bucked his hips up at my action.
I put a hand on his chest, over where his unbeating heart was, in a restraining motion. He stilled, even his breath ceasing. I felt my insides melting at his every reaction and melded our forms together, biting cold and searing heat, feathering kisses all over his chest, neck and face, ending with a sweet kiss to his lips.
"I love you," I couldn't help but sigh as I rest my head in the crook of his neck.
"And I, you," he replied softly, kissing the crown of my head and nuzzling his cool nose against the curve of my neck, inhaling deeply.
((#=x=#))
When I woke only a few short hours later, I felt suspiciously well rested for having snuck out to bear witness to a coven infighting and subsequently to a fucking castle to be proposed to. That, and having had some wild sexcapades in the master bedroom and en suite of said castle.
"G'mornin', little dove." I turned in my cocoon of blankets to face the cool body spooning me. "Sleep well?" he asked with that knowing, cocky smirk that honestly made my insides quiver and heart rate climb through the roof.
"Better than I ever have," I smiled, replying sincerely as no one else had the empath cheat to give you the most restful sleep possible even if you barely slept at all including, of course, myself in my past life. It was an incredible kind of contentment to sleep deeply and wake up feeling so well rested and ready to face the day, one I'd rarely experienced before in either lifetime.
"I'm glad," the returning warm smile of unquestionable adoration should honestly be illegal. He brushed cool lips against mine before reappearing by my window in a blink. "I'll be back soon to give you a ride to school."
School was...so utterly ordinary that it made last night's events seem all the more surreal, especially as Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmet had already graduated. Sitting with Angela at lunch, it wasn't difficult to note the new tension between Edward and Bella. I tried my best not to think of it though, or look in their direction as his attitude towards my sister was slowly but steadily raising my protective sibling rage and there was nothing I could do to stop the hurt she was going to feel because changing the mind of Assward was impossible.
Being picked up by Jasper at the end of the day was a balm to my temper and easily lifted my spirits back to the same state of elation they'd been in earlier this morning. I continued to ride that high as he passed the way to my house and continued on even past his own, growing more and more excited as he drove the path I recognized even in the entirely different light of day. The difference in light alone was staggering towards everything I'd only caught glimpses of in the moonlight. Seeing the not so miniaturized castle with four towers and moat again, I couldn't help but reiterate what I'd said the first time I'd seen it.
"You built a literal castle in seven months," I whispered in awe as the sunlight reflected beautifully off the stained glass windows I knew looked into the throne/ballroom where he proposed to me. "You lunatic." I shook my head of the awe for a moment as I turned to a very amused Jasper. "Not that I mind, obviously, but why'd you bring me back?"
He only shrugged in reply, the action far, far too casual. "I just thought you might want to look around a little more into what I hope to make our home in the future, at least one of them; the first one at least."
I tried and failed miserably to keep the implications of his statement from hitting me with all those feels right in my soul. Fuck, it's not like I needed it anyway. "Okay," I croaked out unevenly, huffing when he only chuckled at my ever fluctuating moods and wrapped an intimate arm around my waist.
"Truth is I just didn't want ya around those two while Masen is actin' the way he is and Isabella being...Isabella," he confessed, stroking my hair soothingly when I stiffened at the reminder. "Oh, darlin' no," he soothed upon feeling the welling guilt at being so happy when I knew my sister was drowning in fear and soon to be lost to misery. "You ain't got nothin' to feel sorry for. Just because Masen's decision is makin' your sister miserable, doesn't mean you're not allowed to be happy. Don't do that to yourself, little dove, nothing you could have done would have changed his mind, you know that."
"I do," I pressed myself flat against him, rubbing my cheek into his chest. "I'm sorry, Jazz. I really am so stupidly happy despite surrounding circumstances."
"And that's exactly why I brought you here," his chuckle vibrated pleasantly through me as he oh so casually scooped me up into his arms. "Instead of needlessly worrying about circumstances you can't change, we could better spend that time exploring the castle, working on filling up your new scrapbook, taking more candid photos or pictures of the scenery. Or," his voice dropped down to a sensual purr, "if you like, we could begin christening more than just our bedroom and en suite.. Maybe we could start with the chaise in the ballroom?"
"...the one you proposed to me on?" I breathed in rising excitement.
"The very same," he returned with a throaty chuckle that I swear travelled straight to my fucking womb.
"What are we waiting for!" I beamed enthusiastically, securing my arms around his neck and one hand in his addictingly soft hair.
The next school day was just as uneventful as the last and once it was over, Jasper took me straight to our quaint little castle home again, this time between looking over all the scrapbooks I'd kept up since I was four and answering a few curious questions from Jasper about my past life, we 'christened' every inch of the game room and library and the adjoining bathrooms for both. Though the questions did take me a bit by surprise, especially as he didn't seem to ask any very detailed questions.
For example, in the game room: "Did you have any pets before? I know you told me you've owned a rat and beta fish as a child in Phoenix."
It was clear he meant before this life so I answered honestly. "Since I was a toddler in my last life, I have memories of pet dogs. The first I remember was a St. Bernard that died in a car accident when he wandered into the street, then a cairn terrier mix, other terrier mixes, a bichon mix. At some point we even had a couple rabbits, and in my teenage years I bought myself beta fish. After our last dog died in early adulthood, our family swore off any more pets. Too much investment, both monetary and emotional, to deal with anymore."
"Did you want a dog after that, though?"
"Desperately," I admitted quietly. "There wasn't a time I could remember being without that unconditional love and comfort and I wanted it again, but stuck in a job I hated that took up most of my time with minimum wage, I couldn't bring myself to pick some poor puppy that I'd leave alone the majority of everyday and barely be able to provide for. And now...I still love dogs, heck all animals, but I feel like I've lost the ability to form anything more than a shallow attachment with any animal." I paused then to gather my thoughts. "While I still feel an echo of that yearning, the need died along with my past life. After all," I smiled brightly at him, "it's nothing compared to the blessings I have now."
He kissed me passionately then and somehow we migrated to the library, one that almost looked straight out of Beauty and the Beast. After thoroughly *ehem* exploring there and settling in one of the many cozy nooks available, he moved onto more unobtrusive questions.
"Are there any hobbies you had then that you don't now?" After a pause, he added, "and do you miss doing them?"
"I actually have more hobbies now than I ever did then because I just went for so many things I'd always wanted to do after realizing I had a second chance," I mused as I thought of my eclectic collection of pastimes. "But there are a few that didn't carry over, now that you mention it...I had just gotten into embroidery and calligraphy before the accident. And I had only just started looking into making and brewing tea properly and flower arrangement, specifically the philosophy behind ikebana." I felt myself going miles away as I reminisced on all the things I hadn't realized I left behind. "I also liked to keep a lot of potted plants in my room. I'd been growing red anthurium, a gardenia, and some aloe vera and succulents. When I lived somewhere with a bigger yard, I even tried my hand a growing baby tomatoes since I'd always wanted to try growing a big garden."
"Anything else?" he encouraged softly, a fond smile on his face as his fingers stroked mindless patterns on my naked back.
I felt my cheeks heat a little as I confessed to the last few hobbies I hadn't really brought with me, albeit without intending to.
"I really like jigsaw puzzles and...collecting things."
"You already collect things now," he pointed out curiously. "Earrings, feathers, rocks, wood for carving, books, art."
"I liked to collect music boxes," I started slowly, "hand bells..." I trailed off.
"...and?" his lips quirked up, obviously amused at my strange reluctance.
"And stuffed animals," I mumbled into his chest, "especially the big, super soft kind."
He laughed outright at the unwilling confession. "Is that all? Little dove, that ain't nothin' to be embarrassed of. Just imagining you in a pile of stuffed animals bigger than you are is too precious for words!"
"Stop it!" I smacked his arm multiple times and refused to look up after that.
The third morning after my sister and I's birthday, I woke with the unpleasant surprise of a vision. What kind of vision you might ask? Why one of Edward Shitmouth Dickbrain Masen going through my room to leave no traces of Jasper's existence when he and I weren't there. My birthday presents, the pressed flowers I made from every wild bouquet he brought me after a hunt, all the dreamcatchers I made from feathers he'd painstakingly cleaned and gathered for me, the leather sketchbooks and journals and albums he'd made for me, all the books he'd bought me, my fucking promise rings that I'd left in a small wood box on my dresser, one he'd carved for me with a dove on the top, after I'd taken to hiding my engagement ring on a long necklace under my clothes.
Something resembling a cross between a feral snarl and a shriek of frustration left my clenched teeth as I angrily called the pathetic virgin fuckboy. The plastic of my flip phone gave ominous sounds at my grip when the call went straight to voicemail. A cold hand over mine had me unwillingly loosening my grip as I waited for the end of the damn beep.
"Edward Anthony Masen Jr.," I started with an enraged hiss. "Don't you fucking dare take even one glance in the direction of my room you craven halfwit little milksop!"
I slammed down on the end button with a growl that changed to a strangled gasp as another vision temporarily blinded me, this time Bella being the one to raid my room - much less discreetly and considerately, I might add - in search of evidence that the Cullens were a part of our lives beyond the words Bella herself wrote in her album.
"What'd ya see, precious?" he murmured soothingly into my neck, making me aware that he'd shifted us into a sitting position, though he was still spooning me, rubbing soothing circles over my middle with his thumbs as I eased back to the present reality.
"How soon can you move everything connected to you out of my room?" I firmly asked instead.
"I could do that today long before I need to pick ya back up from school again," he answered readily. "Do ya need me to?"
"Please," I whispered, hating how it came out half pleading. "Unfortunately, it seems the circumstances call for such dramatic measures."
"Speaking of," he began slowly. " 'Craven halfwit little milksop'?" was repeated with a little upward twitch of his lips.
"I might get a...bit Shakespearean with my insults when I'm...especially peeved.
"A bit," he repeated incredulously. "Peeved?" The second repetition is what had him laughing. "Guess I should be thankful I've never seen ya really angry if that was only a taste!"
"Yeah, hysterical," I groused in good nature, mood lifting just from seeing my Jasper so open and carefree.
Assured that my things would soon be safe thanks to Jasper, I didn't bother seeking Edward out at school, the two of us ignoring each other as we have been since 'the incident'. Admittedly, it was irritating that he was ignoring me today in particular considering he had to have heard my voicemail, but what could I expect from a little bitch? The glare that thought earned me from across the cafeteria was truly beautiful and the highlight of my school day.
It was with this slowly growing sense of dread that Jasper drove me one more time to the excessively large home he made for us before he had to leave. Thankfully he did a good job distracting me from the scene I knew was going on with Bella and Edward by creatively confining me in our master bedroom with his mind-blowing skills in the sheets that had me knocked out until I got a frantic call from Dad about my missing sister.
"You'll have to go alone. The whole town 'knows' that we all left shortly after I picked you up from school," Jasper whispered his explanation into my neck, arms firm around my waist as I hesitated to get in the car.
"But you'll be with me tonight?" I stated more than asked, knowing our plan, but I needed the reassurance.
"I'm not gonna miss the chance to have you wake up in my arms one last time," he promised, brushing his lips against mine as he released his hold on me.
"I'll miss you," I teased softly as I started the car.
"Not more than I will, precious," Jasper returned with a grin.
Honestly, I needed that last smile to fortify me as I'd returned to what looked like quite the fiasco as I pulled into the driveway next to Dad's cruiser.
"Maddy! I'm so glad you're okay!" I sighed indulgently as I returned Dad's fierce hug.
"I'm not the one that's missing, Dad," I smiled weakly as he pulled back to properly check if I was really okay. "You said she left a note?"
"Yeah, said she was going to take a walk in the woods with Edward, the trail behind the house," he scowled as he said Masen's name. "Do you think he had anything to do with this? Your Jasper seems like a solid guy, from the talks I've had with him, but I never saw much of the Cullen's youngest or talked to him much even after he and Bella started dating."
"No, Dad, as much as I hate to admit it since I never really liked them together either, Edward would probably kill himself before he'd hurt Bella," I managed to get out with only a grimace at having to defend the little milksop to my Dad.
"Are you so confident in him, Maddy?" I groaned quietly at the new, unfortunately familiar voice that popped up behind me.
"Uncle Billy," I turned with a put upon sigh at spotting him with, surprise surprise, Sam Uley beside him. "Ah, and you brought the temporary alpha of course," I nodded to him in greeting, ignoring how the two tensed at the label I gave him, boring holes into me with their gaze.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you, Billy, but is there a reason you're here?" My head jerked to Dad at hearing the almost hostile greeting he gave his friend.
"We may have had a few recent disagreements, Charlie, but that doesn't mean I've stopped caring for you or your family," He looked pointedly at me when saying the last, only getting him a scowl that he shook his head at before turning his attention back to Dad. "I came to offer help. Sam and his friends know the forests around here better than anyone. I'm sure they can find Isabella."
"After you constantly crucifying the Cullens, Jasper and Edward especially after they started dating my girls you want to offer to help? And from what I've heard of those boys you're talking about from Maddy and Jacob! You think I want them out there and finding her alone and who knows in what condition?!" Charlie shouted.
"Dad, no!" I latched onto his arm when he took a step towards Uley, who looked all too ready to 'defend' himself. "Yeah, they have tempers and have excessively skewed opinions, but they wouldn't do anything to Bella, and...Billy is right about Uley and his pack of jerks knowing the forests better than anyone...at least since the Cullens left."
Both Charlie and Billy scowled when Sam sneered in response to the dig, only Billy nudging him bringing a more neutral expression to the pseudo alpha's face.
"If Maddy says that you'll help then I won't stop you," he looked sharply at Billy then. "But don't think for a second that even if you find Bella, I'll suddenly forget everything you've said or implied about my girls!"
"I understand, Charlie. I'm not expecting anything in return for this. Just letting me help you now is enough."
It was actually really unnerving to see how much their friendship had deteriorated without my realizing, and to have it be because of who Bella and I are dating? I don't think it was nearly this bad in the books. Was it because there were two humans dating vampires that Billy was apparently more insistent on convincing Charlie to have us break up? Was it the closer relationship I had with both him and Dad when I was younger? Whatever the case, it was obvious Uncle Billy fucked up one too many times for Dad.
"If you're going to join in the search for your sister, I recommend that you go with me or one of the others that are going to volunteer from La Push," Sam addressed me with a no nonsense tone, as if expecting me to recklessly go out searching for her and-with one of his pack?!
His expression was much less certain upon seeing just how quickly my expression morphed to deep anger, my nostrils flaring as I took in a sharp breath, ready to tear him a new one.
"Maddy is staying home," Charlie growled, shocking me by putting me half behind him and glaring angrily at Sam who looked stupidly surprised. "Having one of my daughters out in those woods who knows where is one too many." His expression turned more pleading as he turned to address me. "Please?" he asked quietly.
"I'm staying," I assured, smiling a bit when he sighed in relief.
"I see," Billy gave a long sigh. "I'll call the others so they can begin searching."
Ignoring him, Dad turned fully to me. "Sweetie, I'm going to head out again to look. Hopefully I'll be back with Bella."
"Try not to worry too much, Dad. She'll be home safe soon, I'm sure of it," I assured him, blinking when I thought I saw stark relief cross his features before he hugged me.
"If you're saying so, then I believe it." My breath caught at his statement, the implication behind it, but before I could think too hard on it, he had already let go and went to join the small group of volunteers that had gathered in front of the house. Now all that was left to do was wait for the news that Bella was found.
It was 1:32am when Sam returned with Bella catatonic in his arms, repeating 'he's gone' under her breath like a loon. The dead fish gaze she had was more unsettling than I expected, seeing absolutely nothing.
Soon enough, Dad took her inside and had a doctor look her over, taking in all her weak replies to their questions. Once they were finished, I approached as if nearing a frightened animal.
"Why don't we get you upstairs for a nice hot shower, huh Bella?" I murmured soothingly, deeply unsettled but not letting it show at how she simply didn't respond, simply allowing me to guide her as I gently directed her to taking a quick wash. Going through the motions, I thought. Everything she did looked mechanical and from an outsider's perspective, her actions looked all the more unnatural and unhealthy than they ever seemed in book or movie.
Silently I followed as Bella returned to the living room rather than her own bed and settled on the couch, barely noticing that most of the volunteers and others had left our house empty once more.
"Do you want me to stay with you tonight, Bell-Bell?" I asked quietly as I put another blanket over her. "It'll be like a sleepover. We could even build a pillow fort like we used to, if you're up for it," I tried. Having closer support around her than Dad this time around has to make some kind of difference right? I'm her twin sister. We may not have been as close recently as we had been in Phoenix, but a lifetime of love and support can't be so easily forgotten, can it?
Minutes passed like a small eternity as she failed to respond to me at all, like she hadn't even heard me. Like I wasn't even there. I stiffened when I felt a hand on my shoulder, only to relax when I saw it was Dad.
"Why don't you go up and get a few hours of sleep, Maddy?" he offered as he helped me up. "I can watch over her for the rest of the morning."
"Okay..." My lip quivered when he hugged me at the sound of my weak reply.
"I love you, baby girl," he whispered gruffly into my hair and I had to bite my lip to stop it from shaking, and to keep the tears at bay. Leave it to Dad not to placate me with false platitudes about how Bella didn't mean it and to understand her situation and let it go.
"Love you too, Dad." I kissed him on the cheek when he pulled back, before I headed up to my room. Gratitude and relief and affection washed over me when I opened the door and got swept into Jasper's arms.
"Feels like Masen broke your sister," he muttered into my hair as he picked me up and took me to bed. I huffed, lips twitching involuntarily at the statement.
"That's not funny," I retorted moodily, allowing him to change my clothes and slip me under the covers.
"You still laughed," he pointed out with a kiss to my hair.
"I shouldn't have."
"She's not in a good place right now," he whispered as he pulled me flush against him, "and it feels like she's not going to be for a while. There's nothing you can do or could have done, sister or not."
I didn't answer, burying my face in his chest. My feelings were likely answer enough.
"Don't think about any of that, little dove," he began humming a gentle tune. "Sleep for now."
Blearily, my lids cracked open on hearing quite the racket somewhere in my room. They popped wide open upon realizing Bella was all but trashing my room. Right, I literally saw this coming and it still took me by surprise. Typical.
"Bella, what the hell are you doing?!" I whisper shouted upon realizing it wasn't even four in the morning and Bella had all but chucked yet another of my books to the floor. I jerked back, startled, when she rounded on me faster than I thought she was capable of moving.
"You knew they would leave! You knew he'd abandon me, take everything!" She shouted at me in a volume not at all appropriate for this hour. Distantly, I heard the telltale signs that she'd startled Dad awake. "Where is it?!"
"Where is what?" I didn't realize I was backing away from her until my back hit the headboard of my bed, just wanting to get away from that crazed look in her eyes.
"All of it!" She practically spat in my face. "All of the things he's ever given me! The presents they gave me! Even the stuff Jasper gave you! You have to be hiding it somewhere!"
"Bella, calm down! I'm not hiding any of your stuff! I didn't take anything!" I was equal parts furious and terrified upon seeing the mess she made of my room and how unhinged she looked at the moment, truly tense from the possibility that she could physically attack me in this state.
"What on earth is going on?!" Dad burst through the door, only to freeze upon taking in the scene of Bella still tearing apart my room like a savage and me all but cowering in my bed. "Isabella Marie Swan, you stop destroying your sister's room this instant?! What is wrong with you?!"
"But Ch-Dad! She's hiding it all! I know she is!"
"Enough! Maddy doesn't take one step into your room unless you're there!" He hoisted her up by her arm, firm but gentle, pulling her away from my things and closer to the door. "Now I won't pretend that I know what you're going through right now, but nothing justifies your actions and behavior towards your sister, especially not at 3:54 in the morning."
Bella stilled and seemed to slowly, very slowly, absorb what Dad said, only to collapse to the floor like a puppet whose strings were cut. I didn't even know that was a thing people did in reality, all the more unsettling for it to happen right in front of me. It was like all the fight and life had drained out of her, her expression going back to that vacant, dead fish look.
"W-we should get her to bed," I managed to whisper into the shocked silence that followed Bella's sudden collapse.
"Right." Seeing the utterly lost and heartbroken expression on Dad's face, I couldn't help the tiny prick of resentment towards Bella that nestled deep in my chest for putting him through this and all the pain she had yet to cause him in the next few months.
The next time I woke up was infinitely more comfortable, perfect as it always was when I woke up in Jasper's arms. I sighed softly as I felt his fingers brushing over my face, my brows, my cheeks, my lips.
"Stay, O sweet, and do not rise; The light that shines comes from thine eyes*'*," my breath caught as I realized what it was he was reciting.
"The day breaks not, it is my heart because that you and I must part." I swallowed with difficulty around the lump that rose to my throat. "Stay, or else my joys will die and perish in their infancy."
" 'Tis true, 'tis day; what though it be? O, wilt thou therefore rise from me?" My arms tightened around him at the thought of getting up, his own responding in kind.
"Why should we rise because 'tis light? Did we lie down, because 'twas night? Love, which in spite of darkness brought us hither, should in despite of light keep us together." His lips brushed over my brown, my eyes, my nose, my cheeks, my lips.
"Light hath no tongue, but is all eye; If it could speak as well as spy, this were the worst that it could say, that being well I fain would stay, and that I loved my heart and honor so, that I would not from you, that had them, go." The tears that I had struggled to stop since I woke escaped and ran down my face.
"I don't want you to go," I confessed hoarsely, not willing to open my eyes to the traitorous light of day.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised, burying his face in my neck and breathing deeply. "But until then, every second away from you will be a fresh form of torture." I giggled wetly at that.
"I'll be counting the minutes until you return," I teased lightly, finally daring to open my eyes and meeting his warm ochre gaze.
"See you soon, little dove," a whisper of a kiss to my lips, a heartbeat later, and I was alone, so very alone, in my room.
AN: Happy Valentine's Day! Even if it's a day late, sorry I spent it working and doing some final tweaks before I posted. I figured this chapter deserved the release date what with the proposal and all. As you can tell, it's a very long chapter and there's a few hidden details here and there, so if anyone wants clarification or has questions you know I'd be happy to receive them. A few things I need to note; I've posted the pictures that inspired the castle, along with a playlist I made inspired by Maddy and Jasper, on my tumblr 'madsper' for anyone interested in that, though the playlist is only available to those with a spotify account. I mentioned in the post that if I get enough requests to anyone curious enough I'd post a list of the songs and their artists so there's that. Another thing, I honestly feel like the castle bit is, like, super excessive and passes my own willing suspension of disbelief, but my editor friend was okay with it and speaking in-story, it's not that far-fetched as the wealth Jasper has alone is probably just unimaginable to me; I literally cannot fathom. I'd like to think this castle shit he pulled is just a very in your face display of that wealth and his enamor with Maddy so I chose not to scrap the idea. I will say that Jasper had help in building the castle, and it wasn't anyone in the Cullen family as none of them are aware of its existence. The next chapter is where the story will really deviate from canon and I'm sure a lot of you might not be happy with it, but as this was started mostly for my editor friend, I won't take offense or mind if you choose to stop reading. As always, thank you for reading and reviews are always welcome. No promises for when the next chapter will be out, but hopefully it won't take more than a year like this one did. Until next time!
*Some of you might have caught the reference to a supernatural/romance teen book by the same title. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause which, ironically enough is about werewolves. A bit cringey for my tastes even when I first read it in high school but I still bought my own copy and recommend it. Funnily enough, the same author does have a vampire story called The Silver Kiss, but after reading an excerpt of it I lost interest in it entirely because I'm stupidly picky about everything, but I'm sure some of you would enjoy it if you haven't read them already! Just a warning, do not watch the film. It's only laughably, loosely based on the book. It just used the character's names and the werewolf idea and maybe some info from the book, but it was honestly twisted almost beyond recognition. Terrible movie - 0/10.
**I'm assuming the title of Blood and Chocolate came from the novel Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse as the quote containing the title is included in said book before the story starts. No recommendations here unless you're just that curious as it's a bit, uh, deep and dark with heavy concepts and such, but this is just a short explanation as to why Jasper thought this novel was what she meant. Makes sense he'd know an old German novel rather than a new-ish teen romance novel.
*' Straight from wiki - "In architecture, a chimera or grotesque is a fantastic or mythical figure used for decorative purposes. Chimerae are often described as gargoyles, although the term gargoyle technically refers to figures carved specifically as terminations to spouts which convey water away from the sides of buildings." Thought this was an interesting fact when I was looking for necessary decoration for Jasper's ridiculous castle.
'* Raison d'être - the most important reason or purpose for someone or something's existence. Because I'm trash who can't help but lay the cheese on extra thick.
*'* Break of Day by John Donne(1572-1631). I'll post it all together on madsper, but it's in its entirety above, just broken into a dialogue.
