The next day Jasper took her over to his place as promised. Esme stood outside the door waiting for them. She gave Izzy a hug as soon as she was within range.
"I heard there were baby pictures shown the other day." Esme positively gushed. "They've been talking about it all night. I must see how precious of a child you really were."
Izzy blushed at her words. She didn't think her pictures would be so impactful that they'd talk about it at home, or ever for that matter. Still she promised to invite Esme over soon and meet her mother in the process. Esme graciously agreed.
When she went inside, hand in hand with Jasper, everyone except Carlisle was in the room. They all greeted Izzy cheerfully, Alice giving her the usual hug. Edward was the last, ruffling Izzy's hair until they were just as bad as they were in the morning when she woke up.
"How's my favourite single and lonely vampire doing today." Izzy grinned ruthlessly, squishing his rather hard cheek.
Edward rolled an eye in her direction as most of the inhabitants in the room snickered.
"But I thought I was your favourite single vampire." Alice pouted.
"Oh no!" Izzy quickly comforted the tiny pixie. "You're my favourite vampire period."
Jasper cleared his throat loudly, staring pointedly at Izzy until she gave him a guilty smile. "Kidding."
Jasper lead her upstairs to Carlisle's study while Izzy quickly turned her head and winked at Alice. The small vampire let out a giggle, winking back.
"I saw that." Jasper caught her, when they stood infront of Carlisle's study.
"Oops" Izzy grinned, completely at ease.
Jasper just shook his head before lightly tapping on the door one.
"Come in." Carlisle's soft voice came from the other end.
Jasper opened the door for Izzy, and they stepped inside. The walls were wooden with large bookshelves taking up the entirety of them. The room had more books then their poorly stocked public library in Forks.
Carlisle sat behind a large desk in a leather chair. Straight of the bat Izzy got principal vibes that she tried to quell. Principals were definitely not her favourite people.
"What can I do for you?" He asked politely, again sounding too much like a principal or perhaps a consoler. The latter sounded more tolerable.
"I was hoping you could tell Izzy about your past." Jasper said.
"If that's okay." Izzy quickly added in, not wanting him to be uncomfortable.
"Not at all." He smiled. "I'll start from the very beginning."
Jasper grasped Izzy's shoulder and spun her around to face the the wall behind them. This one was without books, instead almost taking up the entire, there were pictures and paintings. Some bright and colourful while some dull and monochromic. Jasper directed her gaze to a particular painting, it was small and did not stand out much in comparison to the rest. It was a depiction of a city, definitely old with tiny slanted houses and horse carts.
"London." Jasper answered her unspoken question. "In the sixteen fifties."
"The London where I grew up." Carlisle spoke. Izzy eyes grew wide at his words. sixteen fifties!! Carlisle had quite literally seen the world change.
"My father was a priest, in an age where folklore was a fundamental aspect of the human culture. All my life I had been taught to hate vampires, to consider them vile and capable of only evil." His expression and tone stood in sync, somber.
"What happened when you turned?" Izzy asked.
He turned his eyes towards an other painting, it was landscape with fading colours but Izzy could still make out the form of a meadow, empty and barren with only a cliff in place.
"When I found out what had happened to me—I tried to end myself, something I soon found out, was not an easy task."
"How?" Izzy blurted out before she could stop herself. Luckily for her, Carlisle didn't seem to mind.
"I jumped off great heights in attempts to destroy myself." Carlisle's voice was impassive, similar to Esmes when she had told Izzy about her own past. "I tried drowning myself in the Thames and later the ocean."
"He was very strong since he was a newborn." Jasper added, his own knowledge of the newborns compelling him. " it's almost a marvel, how he was able to resist himself from...feeding,at that time, that too without guidance, our thirst is stronger in the initial years of the change."
"How is that even possible?" Her voice taking a fainter note.
"I was so repulsed by what I'd become that it gave me the will necessary to go as far as to kill myself by starvation. Not that, it's possible anyways.
"I grew very hungry and thus, with time, very weak. I kept away from civilisation when I realised that with the growing hunger my will power was depleting. For months, I wandered, seeking solitude to dwell in self loathing." He smiled at her in reassurance, patting Izzy's head in fatherly gesture that caught her off guard. He had sensed her sadness at his own even without Jaspers gift.
"One night a herd of deer were unfortunate enough to cross my path, by this time I was so blinded by my thirst that I attacked without a second thought. My strength returned and I found out that there was an alternative to this vile form of existence. Had I not eaten such meat in my human life? That night saved me in a way.
"I could exist without being a demon. In a way I found myself again. It was then that I began using my time for the better. You see- I had always been eager to learn. I studied by night, so much so that I swam to France and—"
"I'm sorry but you swam to France." Izzy stared at him open mouthed.
Behind her Jasper chuckled, wrapping an arm around her.
"People swim across the Channel all the time darlin" Jasper shared an amused smile with Carlisle. "Plus it's easy for us to—"
"Everything is easy for you." Izzy was quick to remind him, a slight pout appearing.
"Because we don't need to breathe at all." He went on as if he wasn't interrupted.
"You can't breathe." Izzy stood stunned for the umpteenth time. "Like at all?"
"Yes I suppose." Jasper mused. "It does get a bit uncomfortable, loosing your sense of smell."
"I would assume." Izzy cocked an eyebrow in clear cut mockery before turning to Carlisle, who was watching the exchange with a fond smile. "I'm sorry for the interruptions, please continue. I'll try not to butt in."
"I swam to France and continued throughout Europe to the learning institutes there. By night I studied music, literature, science and medicine—I found my calling in the process, saving human lives." He told Izzy with serenity that she herself longed for.
Jasper continued for Carlisle, his expression somewhat in awe it was a look that she'd seldom seen Jasper wear. "It took Carlisle almost two centuries to perfect his self control. At this point he is all but immune to the scent of human blood."
"You are too kind Jasper" Carlisle grasped Jaspers shoulder in a friendly gesture. " but all in all, I am now capable of doing what brings me true peace and happiness without the agony that would otherwise go side by side with it."
Carlisle gestured at the painting to Izzy's right. It was the most colourful one of them all. The canvas was painted with men and women dancing around in what looked like a pavilion, wearing intricately designed robes that floated around them. He pointed out four men standing at a balcony overlooking the scene below them in calm control. Izzy realised with a start that one of the blonde men looked unmistakably like Carlisle. Izzy suppressed a rising laugh but Jasper had no such reserve.
"He was in Italy when he discovered others similar to him. They were more civilised and educated then the ones he'd seen in the sewers of London. The vampires I mean." Jasper told her.
He took another glance at the painting a snorted once more. "Solimena was greatly inspired by Carlisle and his friends. He often painted them as gods."
"Aro, Marcus and Caius" he pointed them out, two black haired and the last an almost snowy platinum. "Nighttime patrons of the art."
Izzy tried wrecking through her brain, the names rang a bell. Jasper had mentioned them before. It came to her then.
"The volturi." She looked at Carlisle in disbelief. Jasper nodded at her in affirmation, looking proud at her retention.
"I didn't stay with them long, only afew decades. Although I enjoyed their refinery and civil nature, they were too keen to convert me back to my natural diet whereas I pushed in the other direction. I left them and continued traveling.
"As time passed and our kind faded into nothing more than myth and folklore, I found out that I was able to interact with humans without fear of detection. But I was lonely, I couldn't risk familiarity. I felt a sense of emptiness for a long time until I found Edward." Carlisle stopped there, seemingly done with his story.
Izzy on the other hand saw Carlisle in a new light. He was man ruled by compassion and a strong sense of that was right and what was wrong. There was a strength there that was magnanimous in itself. She didn't ask for more detail, something told her that perhaps the rest of the story was actually Edwards to tell but what she could ask about were the volturi.
"You were part of the volturi once?" Izzy asked Carlisle carefully.
"Yes." He answered honestly. "They are an elite group of vampires who see that our laws are abided. If was to be blunt I would perhaps call them monarchs. They hold great power and as such, they hold great fear. The deadly combination makes them unquestionable."
Goosebumps rose across Izzy's skin as she remembered Jaspers past, a testimony to their power. They had wiped out an entire revolution even if it was only temporary.
"Our kind are not bound by many rules and regulations but the ones we do have are to be followed carefully." He told her. "Or atleast carefully enough as to not draw attention to ourselves as Jasper might have explained."
"The biggest rule the volturi have is to maintain secrecy. It is the first most important rule, conceal our existence from the humans." Carlisle stared at the painting, unblinking.
Izzy reeled back at his words. She was putting the Cullens in danger just by knowing about their existence. Not only that, but she was taking it a step further by actually being a part of their lives. If the volturi found out, they could come after them. The very thought of what had happened in the south, happening to Jasper and his family caused Izzy's heart to start pounding. She couldn't put them in danger like that.
Jasper must have read her mood because he suddenly hugged her from the back, leading her out of the room after a quick thank you to Carlisle. Izzy only managed to get a line in, trying to convey her gratitude when jasper closed the door behind them and bought her to his room.
He picked her up in his arms and caged her to himself as he sat down on a large leather sofa that sat in the corner of his room. Izzy could only rest her head on his chest, breathing in the husky scent she had begun accustom to him and him alone. It was heavenly and definitely one of her favourite scents of all times.
"I know what you're thinking." He announced.
"Please don't tell me you've turned into Edward." Izzy grinned, trying to conceal her growing worry. "That would be a massive turn off."
"You know he can probably hear you right." Jasper reminded her with a grin.
"Oh I'm counting on that." She smirked.
"You don't have to worry about me and my family darlin." He had correctly guessed the source of her anxiety once again. "We're able to take care of ourselves."
Izzy let out a sigh. "I don't any one of you to go through trouble because of me."
"You are worth every bit of it" he whispered in her ear, smirking when she flushed a pretty pink. "And you're taking it too out of proportion, the volturi rarely leave their castle. The chances of them finding out are minimal at most."
Izzy nodded, slightly more at ease then before but wether it was due to Jaspers power or not, she wasn't entirely sure.
"Now." Jasper leaned in, closer then what would be considered innocent. "Would you like to get out of here ma'am?"
"Hmm?" Izzy pretended to think. "What do you have in mind major?"
"I was thinking about going for a run." Jasper commented lightly, watching her as he did.
Just as he'd predicted, her face lit up and she jumped to her feet. She walked up to Jasper, waiting for him to turn around and lean down so she could jump onto his back. Instead he continued to smirk at her before suddenly scooping her up in his arms. She threw her own arms around his neck as he carried her bridal style, towards his bedroom window.
"Are you ready?" He asked, excitement making itself known.
"As ready as I'll ever be babe." Izzy batted her lashes at him.
"I wouldn't entice me like that unless you want to suffer the consequences." He warned her, though the glint in his eyes was anything but dangerous.
"I'll take my chances." Izzy sassed back. "Babe."
"Don't day I didn't warn you."
With that he jumped down, making Izzy squeal in delight. And they were off, going at high speeds. Jasper leaped in the air afew times, each one marring him an exalted reaction. Izzy loved when jasper ran, he could reach speeds that were unknown to her. All she could do was laugh and enjoy the riveting sensation she felt, being carried in his arms. To her it was like they created their own pace, a alternate tine space for the two of them. The only real concern Izzy had was that she wouldn't be able to enjoy roller coasters the same way again. That would truly be a shame.
After a good while of running, Jasper slowed down to a relatively normal pace. Normal enough that the trees around her had started forming a shape instead of the usual green blur that she was used to seeing when Jasper carried her.
"So anything new?" He made small talk.
Izzy laughed. "I spend nearly ninety percent of my time with you. Anything new I experience tends to be with you."
"The other ten percent being cliff diving right?" Jasper looked down at her. He'd clearly not forgotten her little expedition.
"How long are you going to keep bringing that up?" Izzy rolled her eyes at him.
"A very long time." He assured her. "So I take it that you have nothing new to tell me."
"Actually I do" Izzy spoke, after pondering for a moment. Jasper's eyes widened a fraction expectantly. "I've just entered this competition that's basically all about performance."
Jasper was surprised to say the least. He had no clue on when she'd actually had the time to enter.
"Well that's certainly new" he said finally. "Where and when is it."
"It's in Seattle in about three weeks actually. If you're lucky, you might actually see me dance." Izzy edged him on.
"So I get to go?" A hint of surprise and excite in his tone.
Izzy laughed at how adorable he sounded. "Ofcoarse you do baby. Why wouldn't I want my boyfriend to come?"
"Ok then!" He suddenly sounded a lot more motivated then he was moments ago. "Let's get you practicing."
"You aren't watching me practice." Izzy quickly stumped his plans.
"Wait" Jasper's expression fell. "But why?"
He dragged the last word, sounding uncharacteristically whiny.
"Stop being an actual baby." Izzy patted his cheeks. "You'll distract me, Plus I'd like to save the surprise for the actual performance."
"That's not entirely fair Liz!"
"Life's not fair." Izzy managed to throw her hair back despite the position she was in. "Deal with it."