The Inauspicious Beginnings Of A Prince
by Laura Spudzmom
Chapter 26
Jasper laid there thinking about all that his father had shared with him about what had happened, his heart heavy with sorrow over the loss of his uncle.
Caius had returned to the room after it was obvious that Bella had fallen into a deep sleep and they had spoken quietly about everything.
His father had told him how he had gone back and captured one of the wolves, after bringing him here to Bella.
He had extracted information on how Alice and Carlisle had gone to them and told them of Jasper's feeding preferences.
Apparently, they had already known, from the "pack mind", that he had been the one to fight and kill Jacob Black. They had been more than willing to kill him for that reason alone, but with the knowledge of his diet, they now had the further justification they needed.
Jacob had, after all, been the aggressor in their confrontation, while also trespassing against the terms of the treaty, and so they hadn't moved against Jasper because of that. But with the knowledge that he fed on humans, they felt more than justified in their attack.
Alice had told them where they would be able to find him on his way back from feeding in Seattle. They had told the pack that they wanted him destroyed completely.
He sighed and tried to run a hand through his hair, his face scrunching in disgust when he encountered a blood encrusted mess instead of clean silky hair.
He knew that Carlisle hated him. He had hated him even before he had destroyed the mind reader, but after the mind reader's demise, the hatred radiating from Carlisle had been breath-taking in depth and scope. He hadn't really cared. After all, he hated Carlisle too, but he had been unaware that Carlisle would resort to such measures to get rid of him.
He sighed again, balling his fists in anger as his eyes misted with tears, thoughts of his uncle filling his mind. He would miss Marcus' quiet strength and steady presence.
Carefully, he sat up and eased himself to the edge of the bed.
He needed a shower desperately, but he didn't want to wake Bella. She needed the sleep since she hadn't been sleeping all that well since that asshole had attacked her.
He took a few moments to steady himself before rising since he was still very weak. Even now, just sitting here, the room spun a bit and he took deep breaths to try to stave off the nausea the dizziness brought.
He wouldn't have risked rising so soon if not for the fact that his mother would be here very soon and he certainly didn't want her seeing him as he was. He knew that Bella had done all she could to clean him up while he was abed, but blood is something that's very hard to wash away and he had been soaked, he knew.
Finally gaining his feet, he moved slowly into the washroom, turning on the shower to warm the water while he stripped the sleep pants Bella had managed to put on him.
His brother had returned with another meal for him while he and his father had been talking and he had made short work of it, but it would seem that he would require one or two more in order to recover fully.
When he thought about it, if he had not just come from such a voluminous feed in Seattle, he would have probably died from his injuries.
He had literally gorged himself on criminals while he'd been in Seattle just to try to settle himself. He now was very thankful that he had.
Stepping under the steaming spray, he watched as the water making its way down his body turned red and his mind turned to his human mate. He was amazed by her.
His father had told him how she hadn't faltered in her care of him, even looking as horrifying as he had. She had even helped feed him from the humans that had been brought in. He was pleased to hear of her inner strength, for she would need it if she was to be his queen.
He hung his head, closing his eyes as the pain of losing his uncle struck once again, this time accompanied by anger.
He vowed that once his strength returned, he would see each and every one of those mutts dead along with Carlisle and Alice.
Those last two though would not see an easy death. No. He, along with his father, would see them beg for the mercy of death first, and even then they would not find it for a very long time.
With that thought, he set about scrubbing the blood and grime from his hair and body. He had his mother to facevery soon and he would need to be looking the best he could. He knew that once she heard all that had taken place, she would be inconsolable for a time and so he prepared to have her cling to him for a bit.
His father and his Uncle Aro had delayed their departure back to Italy now until he was recovered enough to travel with them, and so they had called their wives back from where they had been staying in Seattle.
He knew that once back in Italy, he would ascend the throne in his Uncle's place. He would do so with a heavy heart but also with his head held high; his Uncle, he knew, would expect no less from him.
He would strive to be the leader that his father and uncles had raised him to be.
With these thoughts in mind, he dressed himself carefully in his Volturi finery, paying attention to every tuck and crease as he donned the layers of royalty.
He felt his eyes mist with tears as he donned the last piece; his Volturi pendant. He'd never been so proud to wear it. Conversely, he'd never felt the profound weight of it as he did at this moment.
"I will not fail you Uncle. I shall avenge you, and I shall strive to be the King that you would expect me to be. This is my vow to you."
So saying, he raised the pendant and kissed it before making his way out of his room and down the stairs to be with his family.
Caius watched his weakened son descend the stairs slowly, his brow furrowed in concern.
"Should you be up and about so soon my son? I would think that after such a grave injury, you should rest and partake in more blood before rising."
Jasper moved fully into the room, taking a seat next to his father before sighing.
"Father, I need to present myself to Mother when she arrives. Just hearing of the events that have taken place will be enough of a shock to her without seeing me lying abed. It would only serve to upset her further and that is something that I would choose to forego."
He looked around at those assembled around the living room, taking note of the various couples with interest.
"It would seem that I have missed quite a few interesting developments in my short absence."
He noted the way his brother Peter held Paula to his side as they sat speaking quietly with Esme and the vampire that Jasper recognized from having met him years ago in Volterra; Garrett Williams.
The surprising part was that Williams was holding Esme to him just as Pete was holding Paula.
He shrugged mentally. Good for Esme. At least she didn't have to worry with being mated to someone whose fate was untold suffering followed by an eventual second death when the Kings tired of his presence. He was pleased for her.
While he could not claim to have the love of a son for his mother in his heart for her, he still held warm feelings for her and would never wish her to suffer from being chained to the vermin that was Carlisle Cullen.
This Williams fellow seemed to be a good sort from what he could recall of him, which admittedly wasn't much, but as long as the vampire was an honest sort, it was a vast improvement over her previous 'mate'.
According to all that his Uncle Aro was able to glean from Carlisle when he really focused on his deeper memories and thoughts, Esme was just one of many human women that Carlisle had chosen to be the happy wife and homemaker over the years in order to put a so-called respectable face on his true life with Edward.
It would seem that Carlisle's ultimate undoing began with bedding her before turning her which resulted in the conception of he and his brother.
This brought up a question that had been bothering him, which he now posed to his Uncle.
"Uncle, there is something I have been meaning to ask you concerning the mind reader's actions with Bella. Why, if his mate was truly Carlisle, did he wish to take Bella from me? She told me that he wished to impregnate her. Were you able to find anything about that within the cesspool of Carlisle's mind?"
Aro nodded, the attention of every soul in the room now on him. "Yes young one. It is all very interesting in a sick sort of way. You see, as he told Carlisle, he was tired of watching him with all these women over the years, even though he'd been the one to insist upon their presence.
The ultimate blow came when Esme had you and your brother. The mind reader was quite disappointed when you disappeared after your birth. It would seem that Edward had the desire to 'mother' a child of his own, being the more feminine of the pair and so, after the bitter disappointment of your rejection when they had captured you, he set out to obtain a child with your Bella, unfortunately.
He didn't really care about her companionship as the psychic thought he did. He simply wanted a child. As it turns out, he and Carlisle had argued vehemently over the subject until, it would seem, he refused to speak of it with Carlisle and did what he did without his mate's knowledge."
Jasper's hands balled into fists, his jaw clenching at the reminder of his mate's ordeal.
His father reached over, patting his arm and he made a concerted effort to relax and calm himself. There was no benefit in working himself into a rage at this juncture after all.
After several slow, deep breaths, he nodded his thanks to his father and relaxed back in his seat.
"Thank you Uncle. It helps to understand the situation, even if it doesn't change the present circumstances."
Aro inclined his head. "I understand young one."
Jasper shook his head at the thought of being raised by the doctor and his sick lover.
"It makes me thankful that my brother and I wandered off after our birth."
He met Esme's wounded gaze then. "You would not have been allowed to be a mother to us anyway. From the sound of things, they would have kept you around for "cover", but that is all."
Aro nodded his agreement. "Yes that is most likely the case, and had you dared to interfere my dear, they would have destroyed you as they did the many others over the years.
With the changing social climate and the social acceptance of same-sex couples, they probably would not have bothered replacing you as they did the others in previous decades."
Esme nodded, shivering at the prospect and Garrett pulled her closer, kissing the side of her head as she gave him a wan smile.
Jasper gestured at the pair. "So are you mates then?"
Esme smiled a genuine smile, happiness radiating from her. "Yes, we are."
Jasper nodded. "Congratulations are in order then. You have my sincere good wishes. After your many years living a half-life, you deserve the happiness you'll find with your true mate."
Her eyes misted with tears. "Thank you Jasper."
He had just inclined his head when the front door burst open and his mother fairly flew to him, pulling him from his chair and engulfing him in a tight embrace as she muttered the whole time in rapid Italian.
Clenching his eyes closed with a gasp from the discomfort of his still healing injury, he wrapped her in his arms anyway, rocking her from side to side. "Ai Mama, I'm fine now. No need to be so upset."
Turns out, that was the wrong thing to say.
Jasper laid there thinking about all that his father had shared with him about what had happened, his heart heavy with sorrow over the loss of his uncle.
Caius had returned to the room after it was obvious that Bella had fallen into a deep sleep and they had spoken quietly about everything.
His father had told him how he had gone back and captured one of the wolves, after bringing him here to Bella.
He had extracted information on how Alice and Carlisle had gone to them and told them of Jasper's feeding preferences.
Apparently, they had already known, from the "pack mind", that he had been the one to fight and kill Jacob Black. They had been more than willing to kill him for that reason alone, but with the knowledge of his diet, they now had the further justification they needed.
Jacob had, after all, been the aggressor in their confrontation, while also trespassing against the terms of the treaty, and so they hadn't moved against Jasper because of that. But with the knowledge that he fed on humans, they felt more than justified in their attack.
Alice had told them where they would be able to find him on his way back from feeding in Seattle. They had told the pack that they wanted him destroyed completely.
He sighed and tried to run a hand through his hair, his face scrunching in disgust when he encountered a blood encrusted mess instead of clean silky hair.
He knew that Carlisle hated him. He had hated him even before he had destroyed the mind reader, but after the mind reader's demise, the hatred radiating from Carlisle had been breath-taking in depth and scope. He hadn't really cared. After all, he hated Carlisle too, but he had been unaware that Carlisle would resort to such measures to get rid of him.
He sighed again, balling his fists in anger as his eyes misted with tears, thoughts of his uncle filling his mind. He would miss Marcus' quiet strength and steady presence.
Carefully, he sat up and eased himself to the edge of the bed.
He needed a shower desperately, but he didn't want to wake Bella. She needed the sleep since she hadn't been sleeping all that well since that asshole had attacked her.
He took a few moments to steady himself before rising since he was still very weak. Even now, just sitting here, the room spun a bit and he took deep breaths to try to stave off the nausea the dizziness brought.
He wouldn't have risked rising so soon if not for the fact that his mother would be here very soon and he certainly didn't want her seeing him as he was. He knew that Bella had done all she could to clean him up while he was abed, but blood is something that's very hard to wash away and he had been soaked, he knew.
Finally gaining his feet, he moved slowly into the washroom, turning on the shower to warm the water while he stripped the sleep pants Bella had managed to put on him.
His brother had returned with another meal for him while he and his father had been talking and he had made short work of it, but it would seem that he would require one or two more in order to recover fully.
When he thought about it, if he had not just come from such a voluminous feed in Seattle, he would have probably died from his injuries.
He had literally gorged himself on criminals while he'd been in Seattle just to try to settle himself. He now was very thankful that he had.
Stepping under the steaming spray, he watched as the water making its way down his body turned red and his mind turned to his human mate. He was amazed by her.
His father had told him how she hadn't faltered in her care of him, even looking as horrifying as he had. She had even helped feed him from the humans that had been brought in. He was pleased to hear of her inner strength, for she would need it if she was to be his queen.
He hung his head, closing his eyes as the pain of losing his uncle struck once again, this time accompanied by anger.
He vowed that once his strength returned, he would see each and every one of those mutts dead along with Carlisle and Alice.
Those last two though would not see an easy death. No. He, along with his father, would see them beg for the mercy of death first, and even then they would not find it for a very long time.
With that thought, he set about scrubbing the blood and grime from his hair and body. He had his mother to facevery soon and he would need to be looking the best he could. He knew that once she heard all that had taken place, she would be inconsolable for a time and so he prepared to have her cling to him for a bit.
His father and his Uncle Aro had delayed their departure back to Italy now until he was recovered enough to travel with them, and so they had called their wives back from where they had been staying in Seattle.
He knew that once back in Italy, he would ascend the throne in his Uncle's place. He would do so with a heavy heart but also with his head held high; his Uncle, he knew, would expect no less from him.
He would strive to be the leader that his father and uncles had raised him to be.
With these thoughts in mind, he dressed himself carefully in his Volturi finery, paying attention to every tuck and crease as he donned the layers of royalty.
He felt his eyes mist with tears as he donned the last piece; his Volturi pendant. He'd never been so proud to wear it. Conversely, he'd never felt the profound weight of it as he did at this moment.
"I will not fail you Uncle. I shall avenge you, and I shall strive to be the King that you would expect me to be. This is my vow to you."
So saying, he raised the pendant and kissed it before making his way out of his room and down the stairs to be with his family.
Caius watched his weakened son descend the stairs slowly, his brow furrowed in concern.
"Should you be up and about so soon my son? I would think that after such a grave injury, you should rest and partake in more blood before rising."
Jasper moved fully into the room, taking a seat next to his father before sighing.
"Father, I need to present myself to Mother when she arrives. Just hearing of the events that have taken place will be enough of a shock to her without seeing me lying abed. It would only serve to upset her further and that is something that I would choose to forego."
He looked around at those assembled around the living room, taking note of the various couples with interest.
"It would seem that I have missed quite a few interesting developments in my short absence."
He noted the way his brother Peter held Paula to his side as they sat speaking quietly with Esme and the vampire that Jasper recognized from having met him years ago in Volterra; Garrett Williams.
The surprising part was that Williams was holding Esme to him just as Pete was holding Paula.
He shrugged mentally. Good for Esme. At least she didn't have to worry with being mated to someone whose fate was untold suffering followed by an eventual second death when the Kings tired of his presence. He was pleased for her.
While he could not claim to have the love of a son for his mother in his heart for her, he still held warm feelings for her and would never wish her to suffer from being chained to the vermin that was Carlisle Cullen.
This Williams fellow seemed to be a good sort from what he could recall of him, which admittedly wasn't much, but as long as the vampire was an honest sort, it was a vast improvement over her previous 'mate'.
According to all that his Uncle Aro was able to glean from Carlisle when he really focused on his deeper memories and thoughts, Esme was just one of many human women that Carlisle had chosen to be the happy wife and homemaker over the years in order to put a so-called respectable face on his true life with Edward.
It would seem that Carlisle's ultimate undoing began with bedding her before turning her which resulted in the conception of he and his brother.
This brought up a question that had been bothering him, which he now posed to his Uncle.
"Uncle, there is something I have been meaning to ask you concerning the mind reader's actions with Bella. Why, if his mate was truly Carlisle, did he wish to take Bella from me? She told me that he wished to impregnate her. Were you able to find anything about that within the cesspool of Carlisle's mind?"
Aro nodded, the attention of every soul in the room now on him. "Yes young one. It is all very interesting in a sick sort of way. You see, as he told Carlisle, he was tired of watching him with all these women over the years, even though he'd been the one to insist upon their presence.
The ultimate blow came when Esme had you and your brother. The mind reader was quite disappointed when you disappeared after your birth. It would seem that Edward had the desire to 'mother' a child of his own, being the more feminine of the pair and so, after the bitter disappointment of your rejection when they had captured you, he set out to obtain a child with your Bella, unfortunately.
He didn't really care about her companionship as the psychic thought he did. He simply wanted a child. As it turns out, he and Carlisle had argued vehemently over the subject until, it would seem, he refused to speak of it with Carlisle and did what he did without his mate's knowledge."
Jasper's hands balled into fists, his jaw clenching at the reminder of his mate's ordeal.
His father reached over, patting his arm and he made a concerted effort to relax and calm himself. There was no benefit in working himself into a rage at this juncture after all.
After several slow, deep breaths, he nodded his thanks to his father and relaxed back in his seat.
"Thank you Uncle. It helps to understand the situation, even if it doesn't change the present circumstances."
Aro inclined his head. "I understand young one."
Jasper shook his head at the thought of being raised by the doctor and his sick lover.
"It makes me thankful that my brother and I wandered off after our birth."
He met Esme's wounded gaze then. "You would not have been allowed to be a mother to us anyway. From the sound of things, they would have kept you around for "cover", but that is all."
Aro nodded his agreement. "Yes that is most likely the case, and had you dared to interfere my dear, they would have destroyed you as they did the many others over the years.
With the changing social climate and the social acceptance of same-sex couples, they probably would not have bothered replacing you as they did the others in previous decades."
Esme nodded, shivering at the prospect and Garrett pulled her closer, kissing the side of her head as she gave him a wan smile.
Jasper gestured at the pair. "So are you mates then?"
Esme smiled a genuine smile, happiness radiating from her. "Yes, we are."
Jasper nodded. "Congratulations are in order then. You have my sincere good wishes. After your many years living a half-life, you deserve the happiness you'll find with your true mate."
Her eyes misted with tears. "Thank you Jasper."
He had just inclined his head when the front door burst open and his mother fairly flew to him, pulling him from his chair and engulfing him in a tight embrace as she muttered the whole time in rapid Italian.
Clenching his eyes closed with a gasp from the discomfort of his still healing injury, he wrapped her in his arms anyway, rocking her from side to side. "Ai Mama, I'm fine now. No need to be so upset."
Turns out, that was the wrong thing to say.
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.