This Time Of Year
Written by: wizardtho
Story dedicated to: Bella MacLeod
Chapter 15:
“Damnit to Hell!” I had just ripped my fifth t-shirt for the morning trying to dress by myself. I yanked it back over my head with a growl, then heard the tell-tale chuckle of my sire at my bedroom door.
The growl still evident in my tone, I said seriously, “Just… don’t. I’ve about had it this morning already. For fuck’s sake! I’m almost a month old, Dem, and I still can’t grasp getting a simple t-shirt over my head.”
He grabbed another plain white v-neck tee from my drawer, then held it open for me to put my arms through as he promised, “It’ll get better, Sweetheart. You’ve just got to stop concentrating so hard. Every single time you’ve dressed yourself successfully, it’s been when you’ve not been paying attention, or thinking about something completely unrelated.”
I plopped down on my bed, then grabbed my stretchy capris. We were supposed to be starting my defense training, since I was able to help Aro in the throne room for short periods of time, and Marcus had taken on my gift training. Demetri didn’t like that I was starting to move around the castle more without having at least basic self-defense techniques.
The last straw was him stepping away from me to talk to Jasper on one of the training fields. He couldn’t have been more than 20 feet away, but one of the lower guards decided to sneak up behind me and grab me around the waist. The instant my shocked outcry left my lips, I heard a terrible metal screeching sound and a menacing growl. The arm around my waist was gone, and I quickly turned to see Demetri with obsidian eyes and venom dripping from his mouth. In one hand he held the head, in the other, he fisted the shirt on the matching body.
My sire dropped both head and body in front of the gathered group Jasper was supposed to be training, then he warned as he lit both on fire, “The next mother fucker to touch my newborn will end up just like this piece of shit. Don’t touch her, don’t speak to her, don’t even fucking look at her unless you have my permission. There are rules about the treatment of newborns in the castle, and I have no problems killing any one of you fuckers for not respecting them. That is your only warning. AM I CLEAR?!”
I didn’t tell him, of course, but I actually thought it was kind of sexy that his beast came out to protect me.
“Now, see? I bet you weren’t even thinking about what you were doing just now.” Demetri smiled at me.
I looked at him confused, then realized I had put my capris on without busting my leg through the material. I also had my socks and sneakers on already. I checked in the mirror to make sure there were no rips in my capris, but Demetri chuckled, “What were you thinking about, anyway?”
I shook my head, “Yesterday. The guard. You.”
He looked at me cautiously, but I stepped up and hugged him as I rested my cheek against his chest, “Don’t look at me like that. I wasn’t afraid of you, Dem. You protected me. Even the brothers said his death was warranted. You did what was needed to keep me safe; I’m grateful that I have a sire that cares.”
His arms wove around me, then I felt him let out a breath against my hair, “It’ll happen again, Isabella. I hate to say it, but this is just the beginning, and it’s why I want you to start training now. I need to know that if nothing else, you can protect yourself, Sweetheart.”
I looked up into his eyes and took a single step back, my hands clinging to his shirt at his sides, “That’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to make sure I can even kick Jasper’s ass, if need be.”
He chuckled, shaking his head, then said, “Actually, though I hate to say it, Jasper is the best one to teach you. He sent word through Caius that he’d be willing to be your self-defense teacher… if you’re alright with it.”
My hands dropped from his sides, and I turned to look out the window. I sighed, knowing I was going to have to talk to them at some point, even as my body tensed, “You’ll be with me, right? I won’t have to be alone with him? And the whole thing with me not having to talk to them about the past or make nice… that’s still in place?”
My sire wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, and I instantly calmed. His chin rested against my shoulder as he promised, “I will be there for every second, and yes, the restriction is still in place. You don’t have to make nice, but you also need to respect his position, and listen to what he’s trying to teach you. Think about it, Sweetheart. Jasper is out there teaching the guard how to take newborns down… how to take you down. He’ll need to teach you ways to stop them. It’s important that you learn this.”
With a nod and a deep breath, I answer Demetri, “I know. Let’s go do this.”
Jasper was standing in the center of a small private clearing when we met him. The clearing was longer than it was wide, and there were trees all around it. He nodded to both of us when we stopped near him, “Mornin’.”
Demetri shook his hand as I said, “Jasper.”
He looked down at me, then offered, “Bella. I half thought I’d be gettin’ a call from Demetri tellin’ me you refused.”
I shook my head, then answered, “This is strictly about me learning how to protect myself, and Demetri wants you to teach me. When these sessions are done, I should easily be able to go up against any one of the guards you’re currently teaching. Anything outside of that is not up for discussion, and will not be brought into training by either of us.”
Jasper gave me a serious nod, “Understood. Shall we get started?”
At my nod, Demetri backed off to sit in the grass, and Jasper asked me, “Think back to yesterday, right before the guard grabbed you. Think back to your immediate surroundings. Do you remember feeling anything?”
I shook my head, “I wasn’t looking through my gift. My session with Marcus had drained me, and I was letting my mind rest, I guess you could say.”
He hummed, then said, “Okay, but what about your natural vampire instincts?”
I thought back, then remembered, “A split second before I was grabbed, the air around me was disturbed, and it felt like I was being watched. I passed it off as just the guards that were in front of me; literally, every single one of them was staring at me.”
Jasper nodded, “Though it wasn’t polite, you are an unmated female in a castle full of males. I’m sure ya already knew to expect that, and ya handled yourself well in that respect. We need to hone that instinct ya had. Make it stronger. Instead of passin’ it off, we need to make your instinct loud enough that you’ll turn and look before passin’ it off.”
I nodded seriously, “Don’t try to excuse my gut reactions anymore. Check all possible places before making a determination.”
Jasper smiled, “Good. Lesson number 1… listen to your instincts. Now we’re gonna test out your natural ability to use all your senses except your sight. I want ya to close your eyes, and hone in on your other senses. I’m gonna try to come close enough to touch you from different angles. I wanna see how close I come before ya sense me. Demetri? I need you for this, too.”
Demetri nodded and stood, then was beside me in a split second. Jasper continued, “You heard what I want her to do?”
At Demetri’s agreement, Jasper offered, “When she calls out that she senses me, I want ya to ask her where and how she senses me, so I don’t give away my position. If she’s right, we’ll start again. If she isn’t, I’ll continue from my current location. For this test, Bella, I want ya not usin’ your gift. We’re tryin’ to make sure yesterday doesn’t happen again. Understand?”
I said seriously, “Got it. Don’t use my gift; we’re recreating yesterday’s conditions. When I sense you, either through instinct or my senses, I call out. Don’t open my eyes.”
Jasper smirked, “Good. Let’s see what ya got.”
“Damnit to Hell!” I had just ripped my fifth t-shirt for the morning trying to dress by myself. I yanked it back over my head with a growl, then heard the tell-tale chuckle of my sire at my bedroom door.
The growl still evident in my tone, I said seriously, “Just… don’t. I’ve about had it this morning already. For fuck’s sake! I’m almost a month old, Dem, and I still can’t grasp getting a simple t-shirt over my head.”
He grabbed another plain white v-neck tee from my drawer, then held it open for me to put my arms through as he promised, “It’ll get better, Sweetheart. You’ve just got to stop concentrating so hard. Every single time you’ve dressed yourself successfully, it’s been when you’ve not been paying attention, or thinking about something completely unrelated.”
I plopped down on my bed, then grabbed my stretchy capris. We were supposed to be starting my defense training, since I was able to help Aro in the throne room for short periods of time, and Marcus had taken on my gift training. Demetri didn’t like that I was starting to move around the castle more without having at least basic self-defense techniques.
The last straw was him stepping away from me to talk to Jasper on one of the training fields. He couldn’t have been more than 20 feet away, but one of the lower guards decided to sneak up behind me and grab me around the waist. The instant my shocked outcry left my lips, I heard a terrible metal screeching sound and a menacing growl. The arm around my waist was gone, and I quickly turned to see Demetri with obsidian eyes and venom dripping from his mouth. In one hand he held the head, in the other, he fisted the shirt on the matching body.
My sire dropped both head and body in front of the gathered group Jasper was supposed to be training, then he warned as he lit both on fire, “The next mother fucker to touch my newborn will end up just like this piece of shit. Don’t touch her, don’t speak to her, don’t even fucking look at her unless you have my permission. There are rules about the treatment of newborns in the castle, and I have no problems killing any one of you fuckers for not respecting them. That is your only warning. AM I CLEAR?!”
I didn’t tell him, of course, but I actually thought it was kind of sexy that his beast came out to protect me.
“Now, see? I bet you weren’t even thinking about what you were doing just now.” Demetri smiled at me.
I looked at him confused, then realized I had put my capris on without busting my leg through the material. I also had my socks and sneakers on already. I checked in the mirror to make sure there were no rips in my capris, but Demetri chuckled, “What were you thinking about, anyway?”
I shook my head, “Yesterday. The guard. You.”
He looked at me cautiously, but I stepped up and hugged him as I rested my cheek against his chest, “Don’t look at me like that. I wasn’t afraid of you, Dem. You protected me. Even the brothers said his death was warranted. You did what was needed to keep me safe; I’m grateful that I have a sire that cares.”
His arms wove around me, then I felt him let out a breath against my hair, “It’ll happen again, Isabella. I hate to say it, but this is just the beginning, and it’s why I want you to start training now. I need to know that if nothing else, you can protect yourself, Sweetheart.”
I looked up into his eyes and took a single step back, my hands clinging to his shirt at his sides, “That’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to make sure I can even kick Jasper’s ass, if need be.”
He chuckled, shaking his head, then said, “Actually, though I hate to say it, Jasper is the best one to teach you. He sent word through Caius that he’d be willing to be your self-defense teacher… if you’re alright with it.”
My hands dropped from his sides, and I turned to look out the window. I sighed, knowing I was going to have to talk to them at some point, even as my body tensed, “You’ll be with me, right? I won’t have to be alone with him? And the whole thing with me not having to talk to them about the past or make nice… that’s still in place?”
My sire wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, and I instantly calmed. His chin rested against my shoulder as he promised, “I will be there for every second, and yes, the restriction is still in place. You don’t have to make nice, but you also need to respect his position, and listen to what he’s trying to teach you. Think about it, Sweetheart. Jasper is out there teaching the guard how to take newborns down… how to take you down. He’ll need to teach you ways to stop them. It’s important that you learn this.”
With a nod and a deep breath, I answer Demetri, “I know. Let’s go do this.”
Jasper was standing in the center of a small private clearing when we met him. The clearing was longer than it was wide, and there were trees all around it. He nodded to both of us when we stopped near him, “Mornin’.”
Demetri shook his hand as I said, “Jasper.”
He looked down at me, then offered, “Bella. I half thought I’d be gettin’ a call from Demetri tellin’ me you refused.”
I shook my head, then answered, “This is strictly about me learning how to protect myself, and Demetri wants you to teach me. When these sessions are done, I should easily be able to go up against any one of the guards you’re currently teaching. Anything outside of that is not up for discussion, and will not be brought into training by either of us.”
Jasper gave me a serious nod, “Understood. Shall we get started?”
At my nod, Demetri backed off to sit in the grass, and Jasper asked me, “Think back to yesterday, right before the guard grabbed you. Think back to your immediate surroundings. Do you remember feeling anything?”
I shook my head, “I wasn’t looking through my gift. My session with Marcus had drained me, and I was letting my mind rest, I guess you could say.”
He hummed, then said, “Okay, but what about your natural vampire instincts?”
I thought back, then remembered, “A split second before I was grabbed, the air around me was disturbed, and it felt like I was being watched. I passed it off as just the guards that were in front of me; literally, every single one of them was staring at me.”
Jasper nodded, “Though it wasn’t polite, you are an unmated female in a castle full of males. I’m sure ya already knew to expect that, and ya handled yourself well in that respect. We need to hone that instinct ya had. Make it stronger. Instead of passin’ it off, we need to make your instinct loud enough that you’ll turn and look before passin’ it off.”
I nodded seriously, “Don’t try to excuse my gut reactions anymore. Check all possible places before making a determination.”
Jasper smiled, “Good. Lesson number 1… listen to your instincts. Now we’re gonna test out your natural ability to use all your senses except your sight. I want ya to close your eyes, and hone in on your other senses. I’m gonna try to come close enough to touch you from different angles. I wanna see how close I come before ya sense me. Demetri? I need you for this, too.”
Demetri nodded and stood, then was beside me in a split second. Jasper continued, “You heard what I want her to do?”
At Demetri’s agreement, Jasper offered, “When she calls out that she senses me, I want ya to ask her where and how she senses me, so I don’t give away my position. If she’s right, we’ll start again. If she isn’t, I’ll continue from my current location. For this test, Bella, I want ya not usin’ your gift. We’re tryin’ to make sure yesterday doesn’t happen again. Understand?”
I said seriously, “Got it. Don’t use my gift; we’re recreating yesterday’s conditions. When I sense you, either through instinct or my senses, I call out. Don’t open my eyes.”
Jasper smirked, “Good. Let’s see what ya got.”