Don't Hold This War Inside

3 Weeks Later.....

"Caroline, you must come out of your room sometime." Mary Anne said to her daughter as she stood in the doorway of her bedroom.

Caroline was lying in her bed with the blankets pulled up to her ears. The curtains were drawn, giving off a heavy darkness in the room. She hadn't said a word or even come out of the room since Jasper left.

Mary Anne gave up on trying to coax her daughter from the room and walked downstairs to speak with her husband.

Shots rang out left and right. Jasper hit the ground as dust blew up all around him. He readied his rifle, aimed, and shot before reloading.

He heard the loud thud of a cannon being blasted from the other side, distinctly heard the whistle of the ball coming his way, and quickly rolled away mere seconds before the cannonball obliterated the spot he'd just occupied.

Sighing a sigh of relief, he readied his rifle again, aimed, and shot again before reloading.

'What the hell are you doing? Get your ass out there and fight!" a loud gravelly voice yelled from next to him.

Jasper turned his head and saw Colonel James B. Archer crouched down next to him. He took a deep breath before aiming and shooting again.

"Didn't you hear me, boy? Get out there and fight!" Archer yelled.

Jasper shook his head. "I don't believe in anything the South stands for. I promised my wife I'd come home and goddammit, if I have to hide behind this damn fort, then that is what I am going to do."

A look of anger crossed Archer's face and the whistle of an incoming cannonball soared through the air. Jasper got up and ran farther down the fort, not caring whether or not Colonel Archer was hit or not.

His mind had focuses only for Caroline.

The night sky was visible through the large window in Caroline's room. She could see the stars littered across the sky now that Anna had drawn back the curtains.

She slowly rose from the bed and walked downstairs to the kitchen area. Normally, Anna would leave food out for her but tonight was her night off.

Caroline picked up an apple and took a large bite out of it before going outside to the courtyard where she and Jasper had been married only weeks ago. She strolled throughout, her hand lingering on the magnolia and lilac trees. When Caroline had finally got to the gazebo overlooking the lake that was a few miles from the Farrow estate, she sat down.

It was hard to believe that she and Jasper had spent so much time together near that lake, in the courtyard, everywhere. It was pure heartache. Everything reminded her of him. The sky, the moon, the stars, the trees.

Tears burned in her eyes as she remembered all the memories they shared. She didn't expect to get a letter from him anytime soon. She could only hope that he'd be alive through the rest of this.

3 Months Later.....

"Ms. Caroline, I have a letter for you." Anna said, peeking her head into Caroline's room. She stood and walked over to Anna.

"Thank you. You may leave now."

Once Anna was gone, Caroline looked down at the envelope to see a name she didn't recognize on it.

From: Charles Perry Newman
To: Caroline Victoria Farrow

She had never heard of a Charles Perry Newman before. The name didn't even sound familiar to her. With piqued curiosity, Caroline opened the letter and read it.

Dear Caroline,

I am currently writing this letter to inform you that your husband, Jasper Whitlock, has gone missing and we have rightful reason to believe he may be dead. He was escorting prisoners of war to Galveston Bay and went missing on his way back.

I knew Jasper because we fought alongside each other. He was a very brave, intelligent, and strong man who talked about you like you were the moon and stars, the air he breathed. He loved you so much and told me once that if I lived and he died, I was to write this letter to you.

Please, know that I am terribly sorry for your loss and I wish with all my heart that the pain you may be feeling as you read this was nonexistent. Jasper had only just been promoted to Major shortly before he went missing.

All My Condolences,

Charles Perry Newman

The letter fell from Caroline's clammy hands. She felt the tears before she could even tell herself to cry. She fell to her knees and a pained, agonized sob erupted from her chest.

A loud and horrifying scream echoed throughout the Farrow estate and that was when all inside knew that Jasper Whitlock, the love of Caroline's life, was truly gone.

Her head pressed against the window as she sat on the Ambry Steamboat that would be bringing her to London, England.

Caroline's mother had decided that perhaps it would've been best if Caroline went somewhere else.

It didn't help as much as Mary Anne thought it would, in fact, it made Caroline even more depressed.

Her once illustrious dark brown hair was dull and the shining fire in her blue green eyes vanished. Anyone who saw her could tell that she had nothing worth living for.

And how many times had she fantasized about jumping overboard the ship, just to make all the pain go away?

Sighing, she readjusted her posture. She had been on the boat for at least a month now and they were about to be arriving in the International Port of London.

Her eyes lingered on the infamous London Bridge as they passed under it. yet somehow, she could not find joy in it. The only thought running through her mind was , He should have seen this.

A half hour went by before the boat finally stopped and began to let off its passengers. Caroline dragged her two large trunks containing the majority of her belongings from next to her seat and moved out with the rest of the crowd.

Her mother had told her that a man by the name of Carlisle Cullen would be waiting for her at the port on the day of her arrival.

Mary Anne had stated that he would have blonde hair and extraordinarily gold eyes. Caroline sighed and looked around the port, in search of the man, but could not find him

Her eyes traveled up to the darkening sky. It was only noon and it looked as if it were midnight. Caroline's father had told her that it rained immensely in London.

"Looking for something?" a voice asked from behind Caroline.

She spun around and saw a man with beautifully gold hair and eyes the color of topaz. She smiled as best she could at the man. "I am to believe you are Carlisle Cullen, correct?"

"Yes. And am I to believe that you are Caroline Farrow?" he asked with a smile that immediately made Caroline feel just a little happier.

Caroline nodded just as Carlisle held out his arm. Caroline laced her arm through his and the two began walking away from the port just as a loud crack of thunder was heard overhead.

A carriage was waiting for them on the street outside the port. Carlisle helped her inside before climbing in and closing the door behind him.

"Where to, sir?" asked the carriage driver with a very strong London accent.

"To Holborn, please." Carlisle replied.

Caroline looked at him, really looked at him, and noticed he was probably the most beautiful man she'd ever seen, next to Jasper, of course.

"Not that I mind you being here, Caroline, but might I ask exactly what brought you to London?" he asked, his velvet smooth voice sounding like bells in her ears.

She sighed and stared out the window of the carriage. The rain had only just began to fall. "My husband went missing in the American Civil War."

"I am terribly sorry for your loss. What was his name?"

"Jasper Lucas Whitlock."