✓ | 𝟑 | 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐃'𝐄̂𝐓𝐑𝐄 ━ Jasper Hale

𝖛𝖎𝖎𝖎. Closure

Thalia then stood beside Eloise, arms crossed against her chest, as silence engulfed them, the serene sounds of the trees whooshing, the leaves rustling, the gushing water against the rocks.

Mother nature is truly a masterpiece.

It was the type of comfortable silence that Eloise felt soothed by. She'd only know Thalia from what Alice had told her and what Jasper wrote about Thalia in the letters.

"Why did you ask?" Eloise questions.

Eloise didn't mind Thalia's presence.

Something about Thalia feels welcoming.

Unlike the rest of the family, she was too wary of being in a house filled with vampires.

Yet, unlike the last time, these vampires didn't crave chaos and bloodshed.

Thalia answered with a shiver as her hands rubbed her shoulders. "With the newborn army's motive to attack my family, I couldn't help but feel scared."

Eloise then turns to face Thalia, her back leaning against the railing. Eloise tilts her head and gives Thalia a nod of understanding.

"We all feel fear because we have something to lose. But it always passes. It won't always be as permanent as we thought it would be. "

Thalia smiles and tells her, "I've always wanted to meet you since Jasper told me a portion of his past. His peace amidst the chaos."

Eloise released a small laugh. She could feel herself blushing at Thalia's last sentence, "He's always the romantic one in our relationship."

Thalia then takes Eloise's hand in hers and genuinely tells her, "But the woman Jasper described is no match for the woman standing in front of me. We haven't known each other for long, but I see how far you've come to be who you always wanted to be you."

Eloise then tugs Thalia towards her for a hug. Thalia, too surprised by the sudden reaction, reciprocates the hug nonetheless as she soothes Eloise, combing her fingers through Eloise's golden blonde hair.

Eloise felt like she was eighteen again, in need of a maternal figure that always sought approval and understanding.

"I may not have lived in the century you were born in, but I know how difficult it was to be a woman back then, to be so young and thrust into such circumstances," Thalia gently tells her, "And I'm so proud of you for fighting for yourself."

Eloise then gently pulls away, and now they are standing side by side, their arms around each other's waists, Eloise leaning on Thalia's shoulders, "But you don't have to be strong alone anymore. You have Jasper, and you have us now."

"Some part of me always wanted to be a part of a family, but my past wasn't easily accepted in the vampire community."

Rejection. Even though Eloise accepted herself wholeheartedly with Jasper and Alice's assurance that the family would also accept her, she couldn't help but feel her insecurities resurfacing once again when it came to joining a coven.

It was unusual in the vampire community for the Cullens to have a coven of ten vampires living in such a rare and close bond.

Their kind usually travels alone or in pairs, but then Eloise suddenly remembers that the Cullens are not just a coven of vampires but a family.

"I wanted to thank you." Eloise begins as Thalia furrows her eyebrows, confused. "What for?"

"For not being wary of Jasper's appearance when you joined the family."

The scars.

The bite marks that lingered on their skin are one of the reasons why other vampires see them as a threat.