The Inauspicious Beginnings Of A Prince
by Laura Spudzmom
Chapter 08
Jasper sighed as he heard footsteps approaching the common room.
Who would it be this time? He supposed it was his fault for not moving to a more private location, but still.
He watched as Emmett and Rosalie came into the room and sat across from him, both looking at him with something close to sympathy.
This was new to him as there was never anything in his life here in Volterra that warranted anything close to sympathy.
He opened himself to his ability just a bit and sure enough, that's what they were feeling.
He cocked a brow at them in silent question and they got the message.
"How are you? We heard about your little face off with Carlisle and wanted to make sure that you're okay. Things like that are never pleasant."
He smirked. "I'm fine. Not sure how he is and couldn't care less really. He has no right to interfere with anything I do, so what he thinks doesn't matter to me in the least."
They both nodded but he noticed Rosalie looking at him intensely and sensed curiosity coming from her.
He motioned with his hand for her to get on with what she wanted to ask or say.
Leaning forward a bit she spoke. "He's not a bad guy you know."
He rolled his eyes and she held up a hand.
"I'm serious Jasper. He's a very good person and I don't really understand why you feel the way you feel towards him. You've been hostile since the day we found you and took you to our home and you've never let up since then. Feelings like that can hardly be explained by the situation as it was or as it is now. So what gives? There has to be more to it; something we all missed."
He felt his heart speed up just a bit and struggled to control it. He couldn't give away his secret and he knew that the keen hearing of a vampire would detect his speeding heart.
His eyes flashed to Rosalie and he knew he was too late in stemming his reaction.
Her eyes were narrowed on him and the look on her face was calculating.
Rising to his feet, he made to leave the room but her voice stopped him.
"I hit a nerve didn't I Jasper? You have a secret and judging by how many years you've kept it, it's a doozy. But know this; such things have a way of finding their way into the light sooner or later and sometimes it's best to come clean before that happens."
He turned on her, eyes flashing with anger.
"You know nothing of my situation. You may think you do, or think you know something about me but you don't and you never will."
Turning, he left the room, fists clenched in anger.
He would never give up his precious secret.
He had kept it for years now, even in the dead of night when his heart ached so badly he wanted to scream out with the loneliness, the sheer emptiness he felt inside where once, there had been another.
His brother. His twin.
They had ripped them apart and kept them apart and he would never forgive them for that.
He gasped out a sob and had to lean against the wall in the middle of the hallway, so great was the pain that swept through him.
Pain that he had pushed so deep down that he had forgotten how all-encompassing it was.
He fell to a heap, wrenching sobs tearing from him.
He simply couldn't hold it in any longer and he found himself losing all hold on his ability too.
Pain, sorrow and loneliness swept through the level of the castle he was on and all who felt it dropped to their knees under the weight of it, most clutching their chests at the awful feeling.
Rosalie and Emmett stumbled their way from the common room, holding to the wall to make their way.
They didn't have far to go as they saw Jasper crumpled in the hallway, head down and sobbing.
Making her way to him, Rosalie grabbed him in an embrace and rocked him, running her fingers through his beautiful blond hair.
"Let it out Jasper. My god, whatever it is, let it out. If you weren't vampire, this would be killing you. You can't go on like this. So many years you've kept this inside you. Let us help you."
Her words finally penetrated his pain and he fairly exploded in a rage so great it was breathtaking.
His head snapped up and his eyes were blazing with pent-up anger and hate.
"Help me?! You? One of the ones that captured and kept me against my will?! You want to help me?!" He screamed out ending in a bitter laugh followed by a stifled sob.
"You and your family" he spat out bitterly "You were the cause of all this pain. You can do nothing for me!"
He got up and ran then, almost blindly, shoving those who had come to see the cause of such a disturbance, out of his way.
He just wanted to gain the security and solitude of his rooms and try to put himself back together again so he could go on.
All three Kings, their wives, Carlisle and Esme watched on as Jasper screamed and sobbed at Rosalie as she tried desperately to help him.
All were puzzled greatly by his words and shocked speechless at the state he was in, Caius and Athenadora most of all.
None had ever had a clue that he harbored such pain and anguish and were even more clueless as to what the cause could possibly be.
Athenadora made to follow him and Caius stopped her.
"No Dora. Let him be for a time and then we'll go to him. He needs time to himself."
She gave him a doubtful and worried look and he cupped her cheek.
"Please trust me on this. If there's one thing I know, it's that he wants to be alone right now until he gets himself back under control. It's then that you may go to your son. But not yet my Love."
She nodded and moved into his arms, laying her head on his chest.
"He looked so broken Caius. I'm afraid for him and I just want to hold him and make it better like we used to when he was small."
He nodded and kissed the top of her head.
"I know beloved, but he's much older now and we can't fix everything. He must deal with this for a time on his own, when he's most vulnerable and then we may support and console him."
Carlisle and Esme stood to the side, still frozen in their shock at the accusations they had heard from him.
How in the world were they responsible for his pain? They hadn't a clue.
Carlisle knew one thing. He had to talk to Rose and Emmett and find out what happened and exactly what was said to cause such a sudden and almost violent reaction in his son.
It was eerily reminiscent of how he had reacted when they had first captured him and he had to know why.
Taking Esme's hand he tugged her along to catch up to Rose and Emmett.
He found them sitting on the sofa in the common room of their family suite.
Taking a seat opposite them, he leaned forward, elbows on knees and looked at them both.
"What happened?"
Rose, still looking shocked, began.
"After hearing about your little face off with him this morning, we, well really I, wanted to see how he was handling things, so we went to find him.
I asked him how he was and he was very nonchalant about the whole thing, saying that you had no say in his life and that he couldn't care less about your opinion, you know, the standard for him where you're concerned."
Carlisle nodded and she continued.
"Well, then I told him that you aren't a bad guy, that you're a very good person and I just couldn't understand his feelings toward you. I said that there has to be more to it, something that he's not telling us and a curious thing happened."
Carlisle's head snapped up to meet her gaze then, his eyes narrowed in anticipation.
"His heart sped up and I could see him trying to calm down, probably so I wouldn't notice, but his eyes met mine and he knew that I had. He got up then without answering but before he was able to leave, I confronted him on having a secret. A big secret if he's kept it all these years and he got very upset, saying that I didn't know anything about him and never would and then he walked out. The rest, you witnessed yourself."
Carlisle sat back, his mind whirling through what his son could possibly be hiding.
What could a small child possibly have as a secret that would be so painful and devastating to him even to this day, nine years later?
He gave voice to his thoughts.
"What could an eight year old child possibly have as a secret that he would maintain it for all of these years?
What could he find so painful, even now?"
He looked up when Edward entered the room and both he and his wife gasped at the words he uttered.
"A sibling."
Carlisle felt as though there was a lead weight on his chest and Esme's eyes were wide, her hand held over her open mouth.
"Did you see a sibling in his thoughts Edward?" He asked, the tension in his voice apparent, even to him.
"I got the barest of flashes, just bits and pieces really, but it was difficult to distinguish and I thought perhaps he was merely thinking of himself as a child. I'm still not one hundred percent sure. I could very well be mistaken. I didn't get any clear thoughts.
He's very good at keeping his thoughts deeper than surface level and only thinking mundane thoughts on the surface. Probably a habit by now with all the little samples that Aro grabs whenever he has a chance."
Carlisle looked at his wife.
"Es, I know that his birth isn't all that clear to you, but is there anything at all that you may remember that could be relevant? Maybe something that you thought didn't make sense and dismissed but would now make sense in light of this information?"
She was shaking her head while he was speaking.
"Really not Carlisle. I remember so much pain. I remember relief when he finally emerged. I remember pulling him up to my chest and hugging him there and then I remember him biting my breast and the burn beginning. I don't even remember him leaving my arms."
Carlisle ran both hands through his hair. "We must know for sure and there's only one who knows. We must speak to him and get him to talk once and for all."
Caius watched as Carlisle took his wife's hand and hurried after his pseudo daughter.
He knew the man was after information after witnessing his son's breakdown and that it wouldn't be long, knowing Carlisle as he did, until the man came seeking answers from his distressed son.
Caius was determined to protect his son, especially from those he considered to have caused the upset.
Spying Felix, he called the guard to him.
Felix bowed deeply. "Master."
Caius wasted no time on pleasantries.
"I want two guards set at the head of the hall outside the Prince's chambers. Do you understand? Not just at his doors, but at the hall entry way. I don't want anyone to get close enough to be heard by my son. No one is to disturb him unless he or I say otherwise."
Bowing, Felix turned smartly and set about following his orders.
Upon arriving in the royal wing, it was apparent to Carlisle that his visit had been anticipated and thus thwarted by four guards; two stationed at the very beginning of the hall and two in front of his son's doors.
He approached anyway.
"I need to speak to the Prince. I am his biological father."
The guard remained stoic.
"I am under strict orders that no one is to pass except on the orders of King Caius or the Prince himself."
Carlisle nodded, knowing that would be the case, but at least he'd tried.
Turning, he decided to wait it out. His son would not remain in his rooms forever, he knew. There would be ample opportunity to speak with him. He just had to be patient.
Inside Jasper's rooms, he paced as he tried to bring his gift back under control, breathing rhythmically and concentrating fiercely.
He found his pace slowing as he felt calm return once again and sighed out in relief; his temporary crisis over.
Now he needed to think on his situation.
The old wounds from years past were now very much on the surface; something he was now old enough to face, he felt.
He still would not give up his secret, but maybe there was now more he could do?
Trepidation filled him as he thought of leaving Volterra and spending any amount of time with the Cullen's.
Could he, in good conscience, wait any longer to seek out his twin?
After all, it was only about a year until the world at large would consider him a legal adult, and then he could go without having Carlisle Cullen on his back.
But he found that, now that this opportunity had presented itself where he could find him sooner, without anyone the wiser, he was compelled to take it.
He had looked on the maps and the town of Forks was relatively close to where he had been captured.
Well, close for a vampire anyway. He could run there every few days to search without arousing suspicion, he was sure.
He remembered where their cave was. He was sure he could find it, and hopefully with it, his brother.
The pain and anger flared anew at his thoughts of his brother and he breathed through it gaining control once again, more quickly this time.
Sitting on his bed, he ran a hand through his shoulder length hair.
Now the difficult part; he had to tell his parents.
He hoped they would understand, for he knew that he wouldn't be able to give much of an explanation without giving up his secret and he couldn't do that without first speaking to his brother.
It was up to his brother, after all, whether he wanted to be known or not. His brother, for all he knew, might be perfectly happy where he was and if that was the case, he didn't want to be responsible for ruining that.
He knew that once the Cullen's knew about him, they wouldn't leave him alone, especially if he was still considered a minor.
He would have to be very careful and make sure he wasn't ever followed during his searches. He also knew to guard his thoughts carefully around Edward Cullen, the mind reader, but he'd mastered his thought processes over his years around his Uncle so he thought he could handle that part.
Now resolved in his decision, he rose from his bed to seek out his parents. It was time to tell them of his decision.
Jasper sighed as he heard footsteps approaching the common room.
Who would it be this time? He supposed it was his fault for not moving to a more private location, but still.
He watched as Emmett and Rosalie came into the room and sat across from him, both looking at him with something close to sympathy.
This was new to him as there was never anything in his life here in Volterra that warranted anything close to sympathy.
He opened himself to his ability just a bit and sure enough, that's what they were feeling.
He cocked a brow at them in silent question and they got the message.
"How are you? We heard about your little face off with Carlisle and wanted to make sure that you're okay. Things like that are never pleasant."
He smirked. "I'm fine. Not sure how he is and couldn't care less really. He has no right to interfere with anything I do, so what he thinks doesn't matter to me in the least."
They both nodded but he noticed Rosalie looking at him intensely and sensed curiosity coming from her.
He motioned with his hand for her to get on with what she wanted to ask or say.
Leaning forward a bit she spoke. "He's not a bad guy you know."
He rolled his eyes and she held up a hand.
"I'm serious Jasper. He's a very good person and I don't really understand why you feel the way you feel towards him. You've been hostile since the day we found you and took you to our home and you've never let up since then. Feelings like that can hardly be explained by the situation as it was or as it is now. So what gives? There has to be more to it; something we all missed."
He felt his heart speed up just a bit and struggled to control it. He couldn't give away his secret and he knew that the keen hearing of a vampire would detect his speeding heart.
His eyes flashed to Rosalie and he knew he was too late in stemming his reaction.
Her eyes were narrowed on him and the look on her face was calculating.
Rising to his feet, he made to leave the room but her voice stopped him.
"I hit a nerve didn't I Jasper? You have a secret and judging by how many years you've kept it, it's a doozy. But know this; such things have a way of finding their way into the light sooner or later and sometimes it's best to come clean before that happens."
He turned on her, eyes flashing with anger.
"You know nothing of my situation. You may think you do, or think you know something about me but you don't and you never will."
Turning, he left the room, fists clenched in anger.
He would never give up his precious secret.
He had kept it for years now, even in the dead of night when his heart ached so badly he wanted to scream out with the loneliness, the sheer emptiness he felt inside where once, there had been another.
His brother. His twin.
They had ripped them apart and kept them apart and he would never forgive them for that.
He gasped out a sob and had to lean against the wall in the middle of the hallway, so great was the pain that swept through him.
Pain that he had pushed so deep down that he had forgotten how all-encompassing it was.
He fell to a heap, wrenching sobs tearing from him.
He simply couldn't hold it in any longer and he found himself losing all hold on his ability too.
Pain, sorrow and loneliness swept through the level of the castle he was on and all who felt it dropped to their knees under the weight of it, most clutching their chests at the awful feeling.
Rosalie and Emmett stumbled their way from the common room, holding to the wall to make their way.
They didn't have far to go as they saw Jasper crumpled in the hallway, head down and sobbing.
Making her way to him, Rosalie grabbed him in an embrace and rocked him, running her fingers through his beautiful blond hair.
"Let it out Jasper. My god, whatever it is, let it out. If you weren't vampire, this would be killing you. You can't go on like this. So many years you've kept this inside you. Let us help you."
Her words finally penetrated his pain and he fairly exploded in a rage so great it was breathtaking.
His head snapped up and his eyes were blazing with pent-up anger and hate.
"Help me?! You? One of the ones that captured and kept me against my will?! You want to help me?!" He screamed out ending in a bitter laugh followed by a stifled sob.
"You and your family" he spat out bitterly "You were the cause of all this pain. You can do nothing for me!"
He got up and ran then, almost blindly, shoving those who had come to see the cause of such a disturbance, out of his way.
He just wanted to gain the security and solitude of his rooms and try to put himself back together again so he could go on.
All three Kings, their wives, Carlisle and Esme watched on as Jasper screamed and sobbed at Rosalie as she tried desperately to help him.
All were puzzled greatly by his words and shocked speechless at the state he was in, Caius and Athenadora most of all.
None had ever had a clue that he harbored such pain and anguish and were even more clueless as to what the cause could possibly be.
Athenadora made to follow him and Caius stopped her.
"No Dora. Let him be for a time and then we'll go to him. He needs time to himself."
She gave him a doubtful and worried look and he cupped her cheek.
"Please trust me on this. If there's one thing I know, it's that he wants to be alone right now until he gets himself back under control. It's then that you may go to your son. But not yet my Love."
She nodded and moved into his arms, laying her head on his chest.
"He looked so broken Caius. I'm afraid for him and I just want to hold him and make it better like we used to when he was small."
He nodded and kissed the top of her head.
"I know beloved, but he's much older now and we can't fix everything. He must deal with this for a time on his own, when he's most vulnerable and then we may support and console him."
Carlisle and Esme stood to the side, still frozen in their shock at the accusations they had heard from him.
How in the world were they responsible for his pain? They hadn't a clue.
Carlisle knew one thing. He had to talk to Rose and Emmett and find out what happened and exactly what was said to cause such a sudden and almost violent reaction in his son.
It was eerily reminiscent of how he had reacted when they had first captured him and he had to know why.
Taking Esme's hand he tugged her along to catch up to Rose and Emmett.
He found them sitting on the sofa in the common room of their family suite.
Taking a seat opposite them, he leaned forward, elbows on knees and looked at them both.
"What happened?"
Rose, still looking shocked, began.
"After hearing about your little face off with him this morning, we, well really I, wanted to see how he was handling things, so we went to find him.
I asked him how he was and he was very nonchalant about the whole thing, saying that you had no say in his life and that he couldn't care less about your opinion, you know, the standard for him where you're concerned."
Carlisle nodded and she continued.
"Well, then I told him that you aren't a bad guy, that you're a very good person and I just couldn't understand his feelings toward you. I said that there has to be more to it, something that he's not telling us and a curious thing happened."
Carlisle's head snapped up to meet her gaze then, his eyes narrowed in anticipation.
"His heart sped up and I could see him trying to calm down, probably so I wouldn't notice, but his eyes met mine and he knew that I had. He got up then without answering but before he was able to leave, I confronted him on having a secret. A big secret if he's kept it all these years and he got very upset, saying that I didn't know anything about him and never would and then he walked out. The rest, you witnessed yourself."
Carlisle sat back, his mind whirling through what his son could possibly be hiding.
What could a small child possibly have as a secret that would be so painful and devastating to him even to this day, nine years later?
He gave voice to his thoughts.
"What could an eight year old child possibly have as a secret that he would maintain it for all of these years?
What could he find so painful, even now?"
He looked up when Edward entered the room and both he and his wife gasped at the words he uttered.
"A sibling."
Carlisle felt as though there was a lead weight on his chest and Esme's eyes were wide, her hand held over her open mouth.
"Did you see a sibling in his thoughts Edward?" He asked, the tension in his voice apparent, even to him.
"I got the barest of flashes, just bits and pieces really, but it was difficult to distinguish and I thought perhaps he was merely thinking of himself as a child. I'm still not one hundred percent sure. I could very well be mistaken. I didn't get any clear thoughts.
He's very good at keeping his thoughts deeper than surface level and only thinking mundane thoughts on the surface. Probably a habit by now with all the little samples that Aro grabs whenever he has a chance."
Carlisle looked at his wife.
"Es, I know that his birth isn't all that clear to you, but is there anything at all that you may remember that could be relevant? Maybe something that you thought didn't make sense and dismissed but would now make sense in light of this information?"
She was shaking her head while he was speaking.
"Really not Carlisle. I remember so much pain. I remember relief when he finally emerged. I remember pulling him up to my chest and hugging him there and then I remember him biting my breast and the burn beginning. I don't even remember him leaving my arms."
Carlisle ran both hands through his hair. "We must know for sure and there's only one who knows. We must speak to him and get him to talk once and for all."
Caius watched as Carlisle took his wife's hand and hurried after his pseudo daughter.
He knew the man was after information after witnessing his son's breakdown and that it wouldn't be long, knowing Carlisle as he did, until the man came seeking answers from his distressed son.
Caius was determined to protect his son, especially from those he considered to have caused the upset.
Spying Felix, he called the guard to him.
Felix bowed deeply. "Master."
Caius wasted no time on pleasantries.
"I want two guards set at the head of the hall outside the Prince's chambers. Do you understand? Not just at his doors, but at the hall entry way. I don't want anyone to get close enough to be heard by my son. No one is to disturb him unless he or I say otherwise."
Bowing, Felix turned smartly and set about following his orders.
Upon arriving in the royal wing, it was apparent to Carlisle that his visit had been anticipated and thus thwarted by four guards; two stationed at the very beginning of the hall and two in front of his son's doors.
He approached anyway.
"I need to speak to the Prince. I am his biological father."
The guard remained stoic.
"I am under strict orders that no one is to pass except on the orders of King Caius or the Prince himself."
Carlisle nodded, knowing that would be the case, but at least he'd tried.
Turning, he decided to wait it out. His son would not remain in his rooms forever, he knew. There would be ample opportunity to speak with him. He just had to be patient.
Inside Jasper's rooms, he paced as he tried to bring his gift back under control, breathing rhythmically and concentrating fiercely.
He found his pace slowing as he felt calm return once again and sighed out in relief; his temporary crisis over.
Now he needed to think on his situation.
The old wounds from years past were now very much on the surface; something he was now old enough to face, he felt.
He still would not give up his secret, but maybe there was now more he could do?
Trepidation filled him as he thought of leaving Volterra and spending any amount of time with the Cullen's.
Could he, in good conscience, wait any longer to seek out his twin?
After all, it was only about a year until the world at large would consider him a legal adult, and then he could go without having Carlisle Cullen on his back.
But he found that, now that this opportunity had presented itself where he could find him sooner, without anyone the wiser, he was compelled to take it.
He had looked on the maps and the town of Forks was relatively close to where he had been captured.
Well, close for a vampire anyway. He could run there every few days to search without arousing suspicion, he was sure.
He remembered where their cave was. He was sure he could find it, and hopefully with it, his brother.
The pain and anger flared anew at his thoughts of his brother and he breathed through it gaining control once again, more quickly this time.
Sitting on his bed, he ran a hand through his shoulder length hair.
Now the difficult part; he had to tell his parents.
He hoped they would understand, for he knew that he wouldn't be able to give much of an explanation without giving up his secret and he couldn't do that without first speaking to his brother.
It was up to his brother, after all, whether he wanted to be known or not. His brother, for all he knew, might be perfectly happy where he was and if that was the case, he didn't want to be responsible for ruining that.
He knew that once the Cullen's knew about him, they wouldn't leave him alone, especially if he was still considered a minor.
He would have to be very careful and make sure he wasn't ever followed during his searches. He also knew to guard his thoughts carefully around Edward Cullen, the mind reader, but he'd mastered his thought processes over his years around his Uncle so he thought he could handle that part.
Now resolved in his decision, he rose from his bed to seek out his parents. It was time to tell them of his decision.
DISCLAIMER: Twilight and its inclusive material is copyright to Stephenie Meyer. Original creation, including but not limited to plot and characters, is copyright to the respective authors of each story. No copyright infringement is intended.