Blood, Fire and Vampire Slayers: Jasper Hale love story Book #2

17: Games in the Hinterland

Jasper sat at the kitchen table turning the postcard over and over in his hands. It had a picture of a German castle on the front. Jasper read the message on the back again.

"I promised that you would have tickets for my debut.

Email me for flight and itinerary.

Love Astrid."

The tickets were for Romeo and Juliette at the Berlin state opera house. There was a pamphlet in the envelope for Spiel im Hinterland as well, a magical festival in the German countryside.

"We have to go!" Bella insisted. "All of us. Jasper, you can't not come."

"I want to see the festival!" Renesmee exclaimed, waving the pamphlet, which had images of medieval games and magical creatures on it.

"I checked online," said Edward. "These ballet tickets aren't cheap and she can't resell if we decline. That's not even accounting for the other travel plans she made."

"Please say yes, Jasper," Alice begged. "It could be really fun. When was the last time we did anything like this?" Jasper sighed, his resistance slipping just a little. He was curious. He couldn't deny that. What was her life like now? What was she like as a married woman?

"She's going to be Juliette," said Bella. "In my favourite Shakespeare story!"

"And she clearly wants you there," Edward murmured. Jasper heaved another sigh.

"I'm going to go to work and think about it," he said, picking up his car keys and walking past them.

If someone had told him five years ago that he'd be working at Elizabeth's stable some day he would have laughed. It wasn't something he deliberately got into. He visited the stable one day after Bella's wedding, wondering if he might run into Astrid there. He didn't, but Elizabeth asked him to help her fill water buckets. He came back the next day to help her again, and the day after that, and now he got a pay check from her each month.

The horses gradually stopped snorting and spooking in fear when they sensed him. They came to their stall doors, nickering when he walked in. He knew what each horse ate, all their supplements, their farrier schedules, vet checks, their next physio and chiro appointments. The owners all liked him because he could tell when any horse was scared, tired or excited and he had a mysterious calming effect on them.

"You seem very preoccupied today," said Elizabeth. Jasper turned around. He'd been standing in an empty horse stall holding a rake, deep in thought.

"Your granddaughter invited me to see Romeo and Juliette," said Jasper, as he continued to rake up old sawdust and scoop it into a wheelbarrow.

"Oh," said Elizabeth.

"Did she send you a ticket?" he asked.

"She told me when she got the role, but I'm not keen on travelling at the moment," said Elizabeth.

"You're never keen on travelling," said Jasper.

"True," she said. "But I have even less incentive now that I can stream a German ballet online. So, would you like me to schedule a few days off? Maybe a week?"

"I don't know if I should go. I don't know why she even invited me," said Jasper.

"I would encourage you not to overthink it," said Elizabeth. "Astrid has told me before that she hopes to reconnect with the whole coven, including you. You are going to have a very long existence ahead of you, but Astrid's lifespan is murky. She's only a half elf. There is time to rebuild friendships and make new memories, but why delay that process?" Jasper had never thought about how long Astrid may or may not live. The thought of witnessing the life he wished he could have had with her with a smile was unappealing, but the thought of never seeing her again was worse. With how quickly the last few years had gone by, Astrid could be aging and then gone before he even realised, there was no way of knowing if she'd inherited longevity or immortality.