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The Necklace	By : belladonnacullen Category: Twilight Series > Het > Alice/Jasper Views: 4635 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
JPOV
“Alice. Alice.”

Alice was in my arms as I murmured words of love and devotion and ran my fingers over every inch of her body, looking for hidden scars or burns, looking to make sure she was whole. Her breath was ragged and heavy, and she let her body fall into my arms, allowing me to hold her up, as she pressed her palms against my face.

“Did he hurt you, Jasper?” she asked. Her black eyes seemed big enough to cast a shadow over me.

“What? Who?”

“The faerie. I should never have left you here.”

“Shh, Alice. I’m fine.” I suppressed a chuckle, touched that Alice would worry about me, of all things. It was a sign that she would be fine.

“Aah,” she moaned, shrinking back from me and bringing her hands to her head.

“Alice?” She curled herself into a fetal position, rocking, moaning. “Alice? God, please…” I pulled her little body into my arms, looking for hidden signs of damage, holding her to me, wrapping my arms around her.

“It’s all coming back in flashes… so much… it’s hard to understand… it’s like that night, Jasper… the first night.” I immediately knew that she was referring to her awakening.

Alice pressed her face against my chest, gripped my arms tightly with her petite little hands, her knees still pressed to her chest. I held her, I rocked, I shushed, and I tried to contain my worry. She didn’t need my emotions adding to her own.

“You’re not alone this time, Alice. I’m here.”

Alice choked and gasped and something warm bled into my mud-caked clothes. Gratitude mixed with disgust in the air. There was so much emotion charging the atmosphere around us, I could hardly make Alice out in its haze.

“You need to feed, Alice.”

She nodded her head against my chest, breathing.

“But, Jasper, the faerie took the jewels.”

“I know, Alice.”

Alice began to struggle in my arms, and I tightened my grip on her.

“Please Jasper… all this for nothing! I did this to us for nothing!” She pushed against me with her arms, trying to get out of my grasp, but I couldn’t let her go. I would never let her go again.

“Alice, I know about the faerie. He’s going to Volterra. I couldn’t let you go, Alice.”

“What? You? Why? Why would you do that to us?”

“Baby, Aro can never know about you. He wouldn’t let you go, at least not for long. I couldn’t chance it. I need you, Alice. Our family needs you. How could you even entertain the possibility of getting taken away from me?”

“But what about Bella and Edward?”

“Aodhfionn will handle it for us.”

“What?” Alice jumped to her feet. I could nearly see her rage crackle in the air. I struggled to fight the emotion, to fill the space between Alice and I with serenity. I reached out to touch her, I needed to help her, but she backed away.

“What have you done? No! Not the faerie. They’re evil, vile…”

“That faerie was many things, Alice, but I can’t believe Aodhfionn was evil. He did things for you, for this family, that I would never have done.”

“He took the jewels --”

“To Aro. To Volterra. So that you wouldn’t have to.”

Alice winced again. I closed the gap between us and held her to me. She pulled away, but I willed a sense of peace, pushing against Alice’s fear and desperation. I felt something warm soaking into the thin cotton of my shirt again, and Alice shook slowly and rhythmically in my arms.

“Goddamned fucking tears,” she sobbed, punching my chest. Lord, the girl could punch when she wanted. But the swearing was unlike her, and I knew that meant her pain went deeper than I wanted to admit.

“Alice, you’re going to be fine. Aod said the faerie things you picked up… they’ll all fade the farther you get from the sidhe.”

“If he said it, it was probably a lie.”

“I don’t believe he can lie, Alice.”

I could finally feel the peace winning out over Alice’s anger. She shuddered and sighed and went from pushing at me, to rubbing my arms, then went on tiptoe so she could wind her arms around my neck. She pulled her head away from my chest, and peered up at me.

Her eyes were moist and her long lashes glistened in tear soaked clumps. Wet tracks made a path from the corners of her eyes, over her dry, dusty cheeks. My chest tightened and my heart hurt seeing her cry like that. And I hungered to protect her even more than I already did, something I hadn’t thought possible.

“I’m… I’m so sorry, Jasper. Before I left I was so angry. I was --” she breathed, her voice cracking.

“Shh… you were more than fair, honey. I can’t imagine what I would have done if the tables were turned.”

Alice smiled a little, and her eyes sparkled. “You would have killed the guy, whoever he was.”

I smiled, somewhat relieved to see some of Alice’s humor return. “Yes, I would have.”

“Where is she, anyway?” Alice growled, looking around. Waves of jealousy broke through the peace, and I felt my smile growing. I pulled Alice’s body against mine. I hardly ever gave Alice cause for jealousy, but I didn’t mind the feeling at all.

“She’s gone, Alice. She left.” Alice’s head snapped back in my direction, her black eyes boring into my own.

“She’s not here?”

“She’s not interested in me that way anymore, darling.”

Alice eyed me suspiciously, her jealousy lapping at me like an aphrodisiac.

“Kiss me, Alice.”

Alice’s lips crashed into mine, and the crack of stone on stone could be heard echoing through the dry desert air. Her little hands clutched at me: my arms, my back, my backside. And good lord, how I wanted to throw her to the ground and take her right there. But I could feel the way her body shook, slightly, almost imperceptibly, and I thought about her black eyes, the scar on her leg. I fought my baser instincts and pulled away.

“But you need to feed, Alice,” I managed, trying to disentangle myself from her, feeling guilty for taunting her with the whipsaw of my emotions in her fragile state.

Alice growled under her breath. “Tease.” But as she opened her eyes, I could see the hunger that she usually held so politely in check. “I do…” Her eyes roamed to vacant desert landscape. “But here?”

I snickered at the disgust in her voice. “Welcome to my world, baby. How about some hyena, or mountain goat?” Alice’s eyes dimmed. “It may not sound like it, but it is better than nothing.”

“As long as you’re there, Jasper. I need you. Everything is wrong. I feel so broken. And, everything I did, everything I saw… it all turned out wrong. I can’t believe what I did to Emmett and Rose, and now I’ve messed this up too. God, Jasper, I’m such a fuck up!”

“Stop it, Alice.” I took her hand gently in mine and placed it over my dead heart, over her spot. “Everything you’ve done has been for the good of your family. We couldn’t exist without you, Alice. So don’t ever put yourself down like that again. Not in my presence, anyway.”

Alice smiled and sniffled, and traced her fingertip over her mark.

“What happened to your leg, Alice?”

She jumped a little at my question, bent her leg behind her, and rubbed her hand over the scar on her calf. “The dragon.”

“I can’t believe you fought a dragon. No, scratch that. You’re so fucking fierce, Alice. I should never have any doubt that my woman could kill a dragon.” Alice’s hand was still stroking the broken skin. I went to my knees, and she let me straighten her leg so I could get a good look at the damage.

“Does it hurt?”

“Not anymore. It did.” I ran my hand over the ridged flesh, kissed along the length of it. I wished I’d been around sooner so that my venom would have helped her to heal.

“I’m going to have a scar,” she whined.

“A scar? One scar? Oh dear lord, what will you ever do?” I lightly quipped.

Alice grinned and slapped the backside of my head. “Hey, it’s a bad scar! I’ll never be able to wear a dress without stockings again!”

“In that case, it is a travesty,” I growled, kissing up her leg, to her knee, purring as my lips made my way to Alice’s hip, and I was on my knees before her, my mouth level with her sex. But I held myself in check, and simply hugged her close to me, pressing my nose against her flat belly. “You need to feed, Alice.”

“Which do you suggest? The hyena or the ibex?” she asked breathlessly, her hands running through my hair. I could tell that she didn’t particularly want to feed at all.

“They’re both the equivalent of a kick to the gut. Let’s just get some blood in this sexy little body, and get the hell out of here.”

“I think you skipped a step,” Alice purred, tugging at my hair meaningfully. And I wrapped my arms tightly around her, and stood quickly to my feet, hoisting Alice over my shoulder as I did so.

“In that case, let’s not waste any time.”

*****

AodPOV
Volterra looked much like I remembered it. Of course, my mind could never falter, I do not mean to indicate that my memory might be clouded in any way. I simply mean to say that Volterra had changed little since the fall of the Florentines. This, of course, was not surprising, given the fact that the ruling power in Volterra had not changed since that time, and that their mindset and their strategy had not changed either. The city and their anonymous rulers were stuck in time.

And, although I could no longer see the future beyond tomorrow, that didn’t bode well for them.

You see, one must change and adapt if one would like to continue to exist among humans. That is an essential problem for the vampires. They are no longer human, yet they have no choice but to live in the human world. They are unchanging, yet the world changes. If they are to persist through the long years of their existence, they must change. It is no wonder, that given this unlikely situation, the oldest among them eventually choose to sit like statues and let the world revolve around them, until they weather like old stone. I’d heard tales of the ancient ones flaking away like so much dust in the wind. Of course faeries are biased against the damned, and those tales might only be horror stories told to frighten faerie children.

It is easier for the fae. We spend much of our time in another realm. The sidhe does not change, unless you would like it to. We can always find refuge there. It is easier for us to live long lives; we might live forever if we are lucky.

Perhaps ‘lucky’ is the wrong word. Perhaps life is not the only thing that matters.

I stood on a hilltop, just far enough from the walls of the city that the vampires within would not feel the effects of my presence. I hadn’t much time, though. The first rays of dawn would momentarily break over the horizon. (No matter the ease of my existence, or my extensive powers, I could do nothing about the rotation of the earth on its axis.) Vampires would soon be returning to their underground lairs where they hid from the sun and from the city’s inhabitants. They would sense me as they passed.

I sifted through the limited visions of the future that I still possessed. The fact that I could not see past the coming day was a situation both novel and unsettling. However, I could see that day to come with crystalline clarity, almost as if all of my was focused on that small span of time. Or, perhaps, that is always how one sees things at the end. I could not say.

However, my accentuated ability left me with the indelible knowledge that everything that happened before my eyes was just as it should be. The world unfolded like a well-oiled machine, designed to create beauty, wonder and order. The leaves turned on the branches of trees just like they should, the lambs on the distant hillside walked into the wind, their wool coats perfectly buffeting the breeze. And I could see the future actions of each of the vampires of Volterra, broken down into fractions of a second.

I would not fail Mary Alice. Not again.

Mary Alice. I closed my eyes and saw the universe: the pale lavender lights of distant galaxies, the deep red glow of star systems, the innumerable glimmer of yellow suns. She burned brighter than it all. And the only thing I could do for her was to make this right.

I left the sidhe to make it right. I gave myself to the vampire to make it right. And I would give my life. I would do more if it were possible.

And it was so easy to make right, really. Vampires are by definition soulless and dead. Their minds and actions are calculated and unswayed by the whimsy of a soul. For one given to figuring out the vagaries of humanity, piecing together the future actions of a vampire is quite simple. And today, when the motions of celestial bodies resounded in the rose petals, today I could manipulate the actions of the vampires with ease.

I believe that I was made to be here, on this hillside today. This was one of the many realms where the warrior and I saw eye to eye: our resounding belief in fate, and our unyielding faith. I don’t have to enumerate the other way in which we resembled one another. Because, no matter my feelings, Mary Alice was made for the warrior, and my fate lay here, in the Tuscan hills, standing up for her life, like I should have so many years ago.

If I were not here, Jane and Demetri would leave Volterra this evening to track James’ killer and his new wife. Mary Alice had seen how that scenario would turn out. It frightened her enough to send her to the fae. And now I could make it right. But in doing so, I would lose Mary Alice forever. My death would bring no peace.

I had three minutes. I took pause to enjoy the feel of the early morning breeze against my cheeks, how the air vibrated my wings, how the earth felt underneath my feet, and then, before it was too late, I was gone.

*****

APOV
I giggled and squirmed as Jasper ran with me over his shoulder. But as visions of the future flooded my brain, I found it more and more difficult to concentrate on my mate.

Carlisle and Esme on an airplane, his arm around her shoulders, her head leaning against him.
Rosalie, worried, redialing her cell repeatedly.
An enormous house, somewhere far north, on the water.
A dim and distant sun skirting the horizon.

But then… white, only white on white and nothing more. I struggled to see something, anything useful, but nothing more would come.

Jasper’s arms stiffened around me. He could tell my mood had changed. Poor man, I was an unstable mess since I’d returned from the sidhe, and he’d been nothing but steady and kind. And at the same time I thought about how amazing he was, I could feel his love, bleeding into me. It came from my spot, from his heart, and it held me just as much as his arms did.

And as I relaxed, with Jasper’s help, the visions of the future returned.

Edward hovering over Bella on the shore.
Emmett naked, pinned underneath.... I discarded that one immediately.
Then something else… something gray and staticky, like a television with bad reception.

The static made my eyes ache, and I shook my head, trying to put things right, trying to make my brain work the way it should. Then the visions were back. I was in the tower room in Volterra with Aro, Caius, Marcus and Jane…

“They killed Valentino. They would have killed Jane,” Caius was saying emphatically, spitting venom as he did.

“I was there, Caius,” Aro grumbled.

Jane cautiously walked up to the three men. “Let me go, Aro. The girl is still human. I can feel it.”

“We said they had until the end of the year. I have long term plans for the Cullens, Jane. There is no rush.”

“Let me remind them, Aro. Don’t you think Carlisle could use a reminder?” I saw eagerness and malice in Jane’s eyes. But back in my body I felt Jasper’s calming hand wrap tighter around my thigh, and it was suddenly quite difficult sustain my anger.

“Hmm.” Aro began methodically pacing back and forth across the chamber.

“I won’t kill her, Aro.” Jane’s face was contorted with poorly masked loathing.

“When we come for them, Jane, it won’t be in a small contingent of two or three. But, perhaps it is time to check in on the Cullens, to see if they have taken our words to heart. Emmett and Rosalie Cullen are not the prizes I seek.

“Jane, I will send you with a message. Isabella Cullen must visit Volterra as soon as she is changed, as proof. There are many ways to sway a newborn. And afterwards, I have no doubt that Edward Cullen will follow. Wouldn’t he, Marcus?”

Marcus nodded, barely moving, his eyes unchanging.

“Fine, Jane. You may leave this evening, after nightfall.”

Jane’s smile was malicious, her eyes blazed like the setting sun. “Thank you, Aro. I knew you would see it my way.”

*****

“No, no, no, no, no…”

“Baby, shh.” I was being rocked; strong arms wound themselves around me. Compassion, love, concern…

“Jane is leaving tonight, Jasper. She’s going to find Edward and Bella! She’ll try to kill her, Jasper. I know it.”

I saw doubt floating for a second in Jasper’s eyes, but then it was as if something snapped shut over them, and his eyes were suddenly golden and sure. “The faerie is fixing it, Alice.”

“God, Jasper, what did he do to you?”

“Jane leaves tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Then give it an hour… Jane can’t leave in an hour. It would still be daylight.”

“Jasper…”

“Can’t you see the outcome yet?”

My anger immediately flared. I felt defective, I hadn’t completely recovered my powers, and I was desperate to be the person I had been before all of this. Useful and whole, and no part faerie. I balled my hands into fists, fighting the urge to hit something.

“Don’t hit me, baby. You’ve got one hell of a punch.”

I wasn’t amused, and Jasper sensed it immediately. “Alice, baby, it will come back… The faerie said…”

“For god’s sake, Jasper, I couldn’t care less what that goddamned faerie told you! I want my vision, I want my family, and I want…”

“An antelope?”

“This isn’t funny, Jasper!”

“Listen, sweetheart, I can’t take you on an airplane in the condition you’re in. Let’s get some food, and then we can leave, take it from there. And I believe there’s something else you were looking for as well?”

“Jasper,” I snarled. How could he have sex on the mind when I just told him about Edward and Bella?

“You may be the one that brought it up, Alice. But, don’t expect me to let it go. I thought of nothing but you, the entire time you were gone... My fierce little dragon slayer. Please, let’s eat.”

*****

AodPOV
I waited until I knew they would be carting out the drained human bodies. The attention of those left in the tower room was on the small amount of blood dribbling into the drain. But Aro, Caius and Marcus were too old and important to show interest in licking blood from a gutter, so instead, they settled into their thrones. The lesser guards had cleared the last of the dead bodies, and Jane, Alec, Felix and Demetri had taken up the rear, and were moving toward the chamber door.

In another second they would reach the door and Jane would turn around to face the three enthroned vampires. In two seconds, preparations would be made for the journey to track Edward and Bella in the new world.

It was time. I appeared in the air, hovering near the vaulted ceiling.

The vampires didn’t scream or jump like most humans would. But heads snapped upwards and their bodies went immediately still. Caius snarled and snapped his teeth. I knew he would.

“I come in peace.” It was a silly thing to say, but who said faeries weren’t supposed to have a sense of humor?

Aro’s menacing laughter echoed in the stone chamber, so much like a tomb. I was certain that he entertained no illusion that was still alive or had a soul.

“Call in the rest of the guard!” Caius commanded. Felix dashed toward the door.

“Stay still,” Aro ordered, and Felix spun back around, casting a wary eye in my direction. I couldn’t help but snicker.

“He cannot harm us. The guards are not necessary, Caius,” Aro said in a low and soothing voice. I wondered if he hoped to coax me closer with his tone. It would not work.

Marcus cast a weary eye my way, and I could see a look of mild interest on his face as he turned to examine those in the room. I guessed he’d never been in the presence of one of the fae before. I wondered vaguely about his future, if it would remain the same as I had foreseen, so many years ago. But that was hardly what I was here for.

“How is Aine?” Aro asked, a politely menacing look on his face, his hands tented in front of him. “I hope that after all these years she’s left our petty squabbles in the past.”

“She is the same as always, vampire. But I am not here under orders from Aine.”

With that news, Aro raised his eyebrows almost imperceptibly. But I noticed. I’d seen it all before. I expected it. The detailed synchronicity with which I’d already seen the day lent a calm to my already steady demeanor. I was the one in charge of the tower room, now. Aro had no choice but to play into my hand. He tried to act like he wasn’t aware of the swiftly tilting balance of power, but his face gave him away.

“Then a faerie has simply drifted into our mist? I find that hard to believe.”

The other vampires in the room had each wandered closer to me, until Jane, Alec, Felix and Demetri were just about directly below me, staring upwards with their blood-red, unblinking eyes. Aro crossed the room in three swift steps, scattering the other vampires. “Stand back. Have some dignity,” he spat. But it was only because he wanted me for himself. I smiled. Vampires were so easy to read.

Aro worked to keep his face impassive.

“You are quite good at making your face unreadable, vampire. Do you know that?” I asked him. And with those words the ancient vampire had to work even harder at it. I saw the glimmer of a smile at the corner of his mouth. My compliment had pleased him.

The other vampires were having a very difficult time keeping their venom within the confines of their mouths. It was good for them that I’d come just after they’d fed. I’m sure that they might have been embarrassed to be reduced to drooling, predatory puddles on the floor.

Caius, though, could not hide his desire, and I watched him clench and unclench his fists, his wet teeth glimmering in the dim light of the dank tower room. I saw his eyes. He saw mine, and an understanding passed between us. He smiled and I made sure to hold his gaze.

“I am here with a generous proposition.”

Aro could no longer contain his emotions, and a look of wonder swam over his face, quickly replaced with the same quasi-superior impassivity.

“I desire to put things right, for the Volturi, and for the Cullens.”

I did not need the warrior’s gifts to feel the emotions in the room change after I’d uttered the name of Mary Alice’s coven. Caius actually jumped out of his seat, and came to stand next to Aro. He looked like he might jump into the air and try to grab me. But I knew he wouldn’t. So, I stayed steady, my wings spread to their full length, with the reminder that I outshone them all. I carried a piece of the divine within me. They were dead and damned. No matter that I would perish: I would always win.

“Do the Cullens have the protection of the fae?” Aro asked, his voice choked, on venom I supposed.

“They will.”

“Why?”

“The fae will have no choice.”

Aro and Jane exchanged a loaded look.

“She will not be going to look for the young vampire and his new wife. She will stay here, in Volterra,” I informed them all, staring down at the little girl vampire.

Caius growled and Aro spun around to face me again.

“It is not a request, nor is it a command. It is a fact,” I stated.

“You cannot come in here and compel us to make Jane stay,” Caius snapped.

“I do no such thing, vampire. I know that she will not be going anywhere. Not until the end of the year. I also know that this was the agreement Aro reached with the three Cullens last month in the desert. It is not right to go back on your word. But what else might one expect when doing business with the damned?”

“Do you dare come into my home to tell me what is right? Do you know who I am, faerie?” Aro was more enthralled than angry. But it would do me no good to laugh.

“You are Aro of Volterra. You usually read minds, but you cannot at this moment, due to my presence.”

“Leave him to me, Aro. His head will look fetching on the wall of my chamber,” Caius snarled.

“Stand back, Caius. For a faerie to appear here, there is something larger on the line than the possibility of an exotic meal… Who sent you, faerie?”

“I came under my own volition.”

“Was it Aine?”

“I do not have Aine’s blessing.” I turned toward Jane, and her eyes went wide with hunger and desire. “You could have had that once, couldn’t you have, Jane?”

Jane was struggling. I watched her try with all her might to sneer. But her face gave away how much she wanted me. I also saw the faint stir of recognition in her eyes after I jogged her memory about Aine. I wondered if she remembered anything from that time.

“There is nothing left of Jane that Aine might want. So, if you please, would you be so kind as to inform me why you are here. Otherwise, I see no reason why I shouldn’t let Caius use you as an aperitif.”

I’d bated him long enough. “I have the crown jewels, Aro.”

The room went still, Aro’s face was frozen in a look of wonder and disdain. I believe it was only Caius that had the actual power to move his muscles at that point (but only to gnash his teeth), and possibly Marcus, but he hadn’t the will to move.

“I will return the jewels in exchange for your word, written in blood oath, Aro. You know as well as I what the consequences are for breaking a blood oath with the fae.”

Aro stayed still for a beat too long and I knew I had him. Of course, I knew I had him long before this moment, but it was rewarding nonetheless.

“The terms?” he whispered.

“You keep your word to the Cullens. Give the human until the first of the year to loose her soul, before intervening. That means all members of your coven must stay away from the Cullens. Jane included.”

“And the jewels?”

“I will produce them immediately, as soon as the oath is signed.”

“Augustin?” he choked. To his credit, he had attempted to snarl.

“Dead, Aro. Some sixty years.”

“How?”

“Just because I cannot lie, it does not mean that I will tell you everything. You know all you need to know, vampire. Do we have a deal?”

Aro’s smile left no room for pleasure on his face. It left no doubt about the state of his soul. “Don’t you already know my answer?” he sneered.

I smiled right back at him, confident and quite pleased with myself. “I do. And I would like to thank you for your cooperation.”

“Aro, is this wise?” Caius asked. “You are not proposing we trust this thing, are you?”

“It would be a fair exchange, Caius. You will not be left in the debt of the fae.” My words were mere babble, filling up space. Aro had made up his mind already. He wanted the jewels, he heard that Augustin was dead, and he wanted me. He wanted to please me. He wanted to touch me. I settled lower in the air, and let the edges of my wings catch the dim light of the room. Aro startled. I had him.

“Do you have the paper, faerie?”

“Of course, vampire.”

I produced the scroll from my back pocket (What? You didn’t think faeries had pockets?), and unfurled it for Aro to read. “It is straightforward, vampire. You leave the Cullen clan alone until after the New Year in exchange for the lost crown jewels of England.”

I dangled the scroll lower and I saw a something glistening at the corner of Aro’s mouth. You could have heard a pin drop in that chamber. Instead, I heard the subtle splash of venom over seven sets of vampire teeth.

“Be straight, faerie. Are the jewels are intact? Is there anything missing?”

“I deal fairly. We have everything Augustin brought us. No more, no less.”

I knew he wanted to ask if he might see the jewels in question beforehand. But, he knew I would deny him. He didn’t want to appear weak, because he knew he would deal with me anyway. I edged closer and I watched his eyebrows rise on his face. He couldn’t stop the movement and I suppressed a delighted grin. Nothing had changed from my vision.

I was about to get my way.

And then I was going to die.

I watched Aro rearrange his facial features to exude a look of confidence and dominance. “You will have to steel yourself and bring your feet to the ground, faerie. Contrary to pop fiction novels, I cannot levitate. A blood oath must be given together to have any merit.”

“The rest of your coven must leave, vampire. I am not here to throw my life away. I am here to make this pact, and it will be done.”

“Out! All of you. Out!” Aro commanded the other vampires in the chamber, before turning back to me, a simpering smile on his lips. “You will come closer once they leave. Come, stand beside me.”

“Don’t be foolish, Aro. The fae have never given us aid in the past. Why is he here now? Why would he seek something that has already been promised,” Caius countered.

“Caius is right, Aro. What is in this for him? Why does he want to keep me from the Cullens?” Jane asked, taking a step closer to Caius.

“Aro, a faerie is not something that can be collected. The only way to contain him is to eat him. I would let you keep his bones,” Caius continued, a deadly smile on his lips as he edged closer to me.

“Enough, Caius!” Aro spun around and grabbed him by the neck, pushing him up against the wall. “You will leave me with the faerie, now! This is not a debate; this is not a suggestion. It is a command! Have you forgotten who saved you? Have you forgotten who was a father to you? You will do as I say, Caius. Now go!”

Aro relaxed his hand, and Caius’ feet hit the floor with a resounding thump. The sound reverberated within my head. I’d heard it before; it was a sign. Things were proceeding exactly as planned. I rolled up the scroll and crossed my arms behind my back, hiding it from view.

“Go.” Aro’s voice was a mere hiss: low, vibrating, hushed. The rest of the vampires turned and left, one by one. Caius brought up the rear, his hand on Jane’s arm, watching me over his shoulder as he left.

*****

JPOV
I prayed that after a good meal, my Alice would come back to me. She wasn’t the same, and I was bottling my concern within, doing my best not to add to her pain. It hurt to see the way that the sidhe had changed her. Her indecision, her insecurity about herself, her anger and her shame all made me want to go to my knees. And I felt guilty that while Alice seemed a pale shadow of her former self, I felt like I’d gained something. I had a deep-seated belief that everything would be fine in the end, and ironically, it was all because of Alice: because she’d made me come here and spend time with the fae.

No, I didn’t trust Donnchadh, or Aine, or Onagh, or even little Riodh. But I’d come to know Aodhfionn, and I believed he would do what he said he would. Furthermore, I believed he was always meant to do so. Perhaps it was foolish. But in this moment, my faith in the universe, or a higher power, or whatever it might be that reined over vampires and the like, had ignited like it never had since I’d been changed.

So I practically pulled Alice to the highlands in search of disgusting desert food. We happened upon a pack of ibex, and I nearly had to turn my head as Alice ripped them all to shreds. It wasn’t like her; she’d always been so calm and clean with her kill. But I could see her shoulders relax afterwards, I watched her feet plant themselves more firmly on the ground, and those huge amber eyes of hers warmed my heart with love.

“Feel better, baby?” I was at her side in a human heartbeat.

“Mm hmm,” she smiled, wiping her bloody hands on her tattered clothing. Her shirt was torn through the middle, showing quite a bit of sparkling midriff, down to the seams of her low-slung jeans.

Alice rubbed her hands harder, trying, with increasing urgency, to get the dried blood off of her. Her jaw clenched, her muscles went rigid, and I was desperate to keep her calm. I took her hand in mine and brought it to my lips. “Let me help you, baby, please.” I made sure to press peace into her hand as I brought her fingers to my mouth. And one by one, very slowly, and very deliberately, I licked the rest of the blood from Alice’s fingers and palm.

I pressed her clean hand against my hip, and repeated my actions with the other, focusing all the while on her beautiful golden eyes. The ibex blood was as vile as ever, but bit-by-bit, I unearthed the salty sweetness that was my Alice.

“Did I miss anything?” I asked in a low and breathless voice.

“My knee,” Alice whispered back. Sure enough, there was a dusky splatter on the flesh showing through her torn pant leg.

And in the space of a breath I had Alice on the scratchy dry grass, and I tore at the rent in her jeans, just to make sure I could get at all of the blood, of course. Alice threw her arm over her eyes, half-sighing, half-sobbing, I think. I grasped her thighs with my hands and worked harder… worked to make my mate feel love and trust and security. When her knee was clean, I tore at the leg of her jeans with my teeth; there could have been blood on her thigh. I moved my hands to grasp Alice’s hips, and I couldn’t help but add my lust to the mix, as my tongue made a pathway up Alice’s silky inner thigh.

“Jasper,” she sighed, thrashing her head.

I took hold of the ragged leg of her jeans with my hands, and tore the garment up to the waistband.

“Jasper, please.”

“What, Alice? What do you want?” I rasped, my breath against her fragrant skin, my hand tracing a path upward, finding the edge of her white cotton panties.

Love.

Trust.

Security.

“I… I don’t know,” she managed, between deep breaths.

“Fuck, Alice. I’m going to make this all right for you. You want me,” I reminded her, my finger making it’s way beneath the edge of her panties. I dipped my finger inside Alice, sucking in a chest full of air, tinged with her scent.

“Ooh!”

“And you have me, Alice.”

Her body shuddered, and she might have sobbed again, but she also bucked her hips, moving my finger deeper within her, and I knew she was agreeing with me. She wanted me. She always would.

“And you wanted to make everything right,” I reminded her, pulling her panties out of the way.

“So relax. You did make everything right. We did that together, Alice,” I whispered, my mouth barely brushing against her sex.

And as I ran my tongue over her sweet slit over and over, I whispered, “You. Made. That. Happen. You are fearless. And amazing. And we are all going to live long lives. Because of my fucking. Beautiful. Amazing mate.” And as I licked, and nibbled, and worked on Alice with my mouth, my hands made quick work of the rest of her clothes.

“Jasper… god, Jasper… Jasper… I… I, I’m --”

And I pulled myself up, my lips crashed against Alice’s, and the taste of her sex mingled with the honey sweet taste of her venom, and I had my pants undone.

“Please, Jasper… please.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I mumbled, my lips against hers, and I gave her exactly what she was asking for.

*****

AodPOV
Only when the chamber door had closed behind the vampires, did I allow myself to flutter to the floor. Aro moved to my side faster than my eyes could track, and I suppressed the immediate, involuntary urge to take to the air again. My wings twitched, and I knew Aro took notice, because I’d seen it before.

I’ve seen it before. I’ve seen it before. I repeated this to myself to steady my nerves. But it turns out that it is quite difficult to look your own death in the face in the present.

My life did not play itself out before my eyes, as the stories would lead you to believe. But I did see the sidhe, and I saw myself sitting on the hilltop just over a week ago, speaking to Mary Alice. As the first mist rolled in, scattering dewdrops in her glistening blue-black hair, I’d made a decision. I’d decided to do what was best for her, because I was helpless to do anything else. I would not trap her in the sidhe, but I would aid her in her quest.

I won’t do it, Aine.

But she will be safe here, Aodhfionn. That is your duty; it is what we have been charged to do. Aro will never leave her or her family alone.

But what if I leave? The future will change.

It will not change forever, faerie. Your actions would be futile. It is short sighted. I won’t allow it.

I am sorry, Aine. I will go anyway.

Is it true? Has she stolen your heart? DinSheenK’ha, you know what she is. Do not lose yourself this way… Do not think so little of your soul.

I’m sorry, Aine. But I do this because, for the first time ever, my soul is singing.

*****

Aro tilted his face towards mine, leering, his lips wet and glistening. “The scroll?”

“Of course.”

I pulled the parchment out, and unrolled it in front of both of our faces. I watched Aro’s eyes skirt over the agreement, hardly focusing, and definitely not tracking from right to left, top to bottom.

“Can you read, vampire?” It was wrong. I suppose I was goading him, but I had little to lose. I watched Aro redouble his effort to concentrate and read as he stood by my side. He smelled of dirty metal and dust, his ancient skin had gone gray and papery, like the dried covering on an old onion. He made me want to flee for the light.

“Is the wording to your liking, vampire? Do you agree to the terms? The jewels in exchange for the Cullens’ safety until after the New Year?”

“Yes, yes… of course.” His foul breath washed over me. His red eyes locked on mine, a thin trickle of venom snuck out of the corner of his mouth.

“You know what to do, vampire.”

I kept my eyes on him as I pulled at my wingtip, and used it to slice a shallow cut through my palm. Sparkling red blood pooled in my cupped hand. Aro took a deep breath and shuddered. He couldn’t control the flow of venom anymore, and it washed freely over his chin and down his neck.

“Now,” I whispered.

Aro’s eyes never left my bloodied hand as he took his own hand to his mouth and bit swiftly down on it with a loud growl. Clear venom swirled out of the gash. His desperate eyes sought out my own, and he panted, unable to talk.

I placed the parchment scroll carefully on the floor between the two of us, and took to me knees. Aro, very slowly and gracefully, did the same. We stared evenly into one another’s eyes, as I poured faerie blood and he poured venom onto the contract, binding it forever.

“The jewels?” he murmured.

“In the corridor.”

I let my chin sink to my chest, and whispered the words of faerie passing under my breath, waiting for the bite. It would be my neck, just behind my ear. I made sure to stay still; I wouldn’t tremble or show weakness at the end. I was the bravest DinSheenK’ha that had ever served Aine. I had saved every girl that was put in my charge. Including Mary Alice. Finally.

But instead of teeth breaking through skin, I heard footsteps speeding toward the door. My head snapped up. Aro didn’t bite me. He was going for the jewels first. Something had changed.

His hand was at the door. I could leave. I could live. I could go back to Ma –

Impossibly fast footfalls raced in my direction, searing, burning pain, fire, and a rush of air…

I heard Aro’s voice. “Where di-- ”

*****

JPOV
“Oh my god! Yes, yes… yes! Jasper!”

Alice pulled herself to sitting, and held my face in her hands, her nose pressed against mine. She was smiling wide and bright, but her eyes weren’t focused on mine. I knew that look. God, I loved that look.

“What is it?” I asked, taking advantage of our new position, pulling her little body against mine and trailing kisses down her neck.

“Jane’s staying, Jasper. She’s staying! You were right. The faerie did it! We did it.”

“You did it, baby. None of it would have happened without you.”

At that moment something sandwiched between Alice and I started buzzing violently and I jumped backwards. “What the --”

“My phone, silly,” she giggled.

I went to grab it away from her, but Alice knew what was coming and pulled it out of my reach. “Why didn’t you tell me how worried Rose and Emmett were? You just dropped the phone back there by the quicksand?” Alice accused sarcastically.

“I had someone much more important on my mind,” I said, kissing her nose and pushing the hair out of her eyes.

“Uh uh uh,” she joked, tossing the phone to her other hand. She knew I was trying to distract her, and which hand I was planning to go for. It was good to have her back.

“Just let me text Rose, and then Edward to let him know it’s going to be okay. Then you can take the phone, and give it back whenever you’re ready.”

“You may never get it back,” I joked, pushing her back into the long dry grass.

Rose, I’m okay. We’re ALL okay!

Edward, Emmett called Jasper. Don’t worry. All is good with A & V. Bella is safe. Plan intact.

“There, that should do it,” Alice smiled, tossing me the phone. “Now where were we?”

“Right where we’re supposed to be, baby. Everything is right where it’s supposed to be.”
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The Necklace