Drowning

24

History

Renesmee grew alarmingly quick, right before our very eyes. This silently worried everyone that saw her, and the worry grew larger after the Volturi sent Bella a gift welcoming her to the immortal world. However, we tried to bury our concern and spent as much time as we could with Renesmee.

Today, Jasper and I were going to hang out with Renesmee. She had been so excited, rushing into our room the second she woke up, jumping onto our daybed with a broad smile.

"Good morning!" Her voice sounded like little bells, making me smile wide.

"Good morning, Ness." I greeted, wrapping my arms around her. "What would you like to do today?"

"Can you and Uncle Jasper tell me about your lives before and after you were turned?" Renesmee asked, laying her head on my shoulder. "I already asked Auntie Rose and Uncle Emmett."

"Sure honey." I cooed, sitting up with her on my lap. "Who would you like to hear from first?"

"Uncle Jasper?" Renesmee asked, looking over at my mate.

"Well, it's not a very nice story, Ness." Jasper looked uncomfortable. "Maybe we should just learn about your Aunt Josephine today."

"Daddy already told me that you were in the war." Renesmee pressed. "I read about it in one of Uncle Emmett's books."

"The war isn't even the worst part of my story." Jasper muttered, his eyes unfocusing and his posture stiffening. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"I'm sure." Renesmee nodded. "If I don't like it, we can always stop, right?"

"Of course, Ness." I nodded, kissing her temple softly. I reached over and grabbed Jasper's hand, encouraging him to tell his story whenever he was ready.

"I was born in 1844, down in Houston, Texas." Jasper started, running his thumb over my knuckles. "I was never interested in the women in town, even though they were more than interested in me; no, I wanted to join the military. So, I forged some papers and managed to join the Confederate Army at 17. I was promoted to Major by the time I was 19... That's when I met Maria. She's the one that turned me."

"She's the one that tricked you into thinking she was your mate, too, right?" Renesmee asked. Jasper's hold on my hand tightened slightly as he nodded.

"Right. And she used that against me." Jasper continued. "She wanted to build an army to take over other territories run by other vampires. She used me to train her newborns, and to pick out those who opposed her; I couldn't read minds, but I could read their emotions just fine. She even made me... dispose of the newborns after their first year, and I felt all of their emotions. It drove me crazy."

"It still drives him crazy." I whispered to Renesmee.

"I spared the life of one newborn, Peter." Jasper spoke again. "I convinced Maria to keep him alive, and she agreed. He was a great fighter, and Maria thought he could help me dispose of the others easily. Peter found his mate after Maria turned another round of newborns, and they ran away together. Maria found out about it, and started treating me differently; so, when Peter and Charlotte returned and told me of other ways to live, I ran away with them. I decided to go off on my own, thinking it was better for me to deal with the emotions of my victims alone. But, I wasn't alone for very long."

A ghost of a smile danced across his lips, and he turned to look into my eyes. His pupils dilated, and his smile grew wider.

"I met your Aunt Josephine in a diner in the 1940s." Jasper chuckled lowly. "She'd seen me coming, and was waiting ever so patiently for me. She was beautiful, and I was so overwhelmed by emotions I'd never felt before that I couldn't even speak to her."