Love is Power

Jasper

From the moment Estella stepped into Jasper's life, things took a better turn. She was a much-needed source of light that brightened his and Horace's day. With Estella, he felt like he had a real family.

One late night, unable to sleep, Jasper found her sitting at the table, completely absorbed in sketching out clothing designs. "Hey," he said quietly. Estella shot up like a firework, completely unaware of him standing behind her. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked.

"Actually... I'm quite exhausted- but I just couldn't bring myself to stop working on this. Do you like it?"

Jasper chuckles, leaning over to look at her sketches. All of them were passionately drawn out with intricate details. One of them had a dark pencil streak right across the dress, from her jumping in surprise. "This one's got a bit of a mark," he says, pointing to the pencil streak.

Estella stares at the dark streak for a while, then covers her mouth and turns away, shoulders shaking. For a moment Jasper thought she was crying. He was about to place a hand on her shoulder for comfort when he caught a glimpse of her face. She was laughing.

Jasper had never seen Estella laugh like that in his life "I need to go to bed" she says in between giggles. "I can't function, everything's so funny." She stands, pushing her chair in. "Goodnight Jasper," she says, placing a hand on his shoulder before walking off to her bed. That was when Jasper first realized that he loved her.

                                      •     •     •

Jasper stood in front of the tombstone that bore Estella's name. Long gone was the clumsy Estella he loved. Her sweet demeanor was replaced with the wicked persona of Cruella. Jasper initially thought his love died with Estella, then he remembered the evening on the balcony with Cruella.

She said that his loyalty was one of the things she loved about him. At the time, Jasper thanked her sarcastically, too flustered to show any true emotions. Did Cruella love him? Or was he just overthinking it?

Jasper didn't want to admit it, but he still loved her, regardless of her villainous nature. Later that night, Jasper and Horace sat at dinner, waiting for Cruella to join them. When Cruella finally came in to sit with them, she stumbled, loudly slamming her hand on the table to catch herself.

"Stupid heels" she muttered. Jasper had to bite his hand to hide his laughter. As much as she denied it, there was still a little bit of Estella left inside Cruella. Jasper could tell something was on her mind while they ate, as she only pushed her food around absentmindedly with her fork.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm not really hungry right now"

Jasper didn't believe her. Soon after, she got up, leaving an uneaten plate of food behind. "That's my cue," Horace said, reaching for her plate. Jasper finished eating and went to search for Cruella.

He finally found her, sitting by the edge of the cliff that she had been pushed off of, a couple of months ago. Whenever something was troubling Cruella, she would sit outside alone, staring out into the horizon. "You want to tell me what's bothering you?" He asks.

Cruella says nothing and keeps staring at the waves crashing against the cliffside. "This is where I watched my mother get killed. Today's the day she died." Jasper was at a loss for words. "It happened so long ago, and yet... I still hear her scream loud and clear, and it just keeps replaying over and over in my head, and it won't stop!!"

She was shaking now. "Come here" Jasper whispers. He pulls her close and wraps an arm around her. Cruella just sits there, not making any attempt to hug him back. "No matter how much you hurt... surrounding yourself with people who care about you will at least ease your pain a little. Let us in Cruella" Let me in. He thought.

Cruella sniffed quietly. "The Baroness told me once that caring about people is an obstacle... and she's right- look at her, she had power, respect, money, and a strong reputation. When I cared... someone died."

"Cruella... do you hear yourself?" Jasper asks, standing up with Cruella. "The Cruella I know wouldn't even think twice about listening to the Baroness! Look where not caring got her: she's locked up behind bars for murder, and her reputation is destroyed. You have more than she ever had because you have a heart"

Cruella's mouth twitches with a small smile. "I guess you're right" she replies. Jasper wraps his arms around her, staring deep into her eyes. Her eyes kept darting anxiously back and forth between Jasper's.

"Besides..." Jasper murmurs, " I like it better when you do care" Jasper's face was so close to Cruella's, he could feel her breath on his cheek. Her heart thumped rapidly against his chest, and her nose brushed against his. Jasper closed his eyes, his lips reaching for hers. Just as they were about to meet, Cruella cleared her throat.

"Mhhm," she says, pushing away. "It's getting late"

"Oh. Right." Jasper chuckles awkwardly, deeply disappointed. Cruella hugs her arms close, and quickly walks away. He watches her go, feeling his heart shattering in his chest.