บท 41: Chapter 41- Weddings
My last week of school was uneventful, which was in many ways a relief after the fighting the newborns and all of the anticipation leading up to that. With my wedding coming up soon I managed to convince Alice not to throw a graduation party, telling her that we could concentrate more on our wedding plans.
Finally Friday arrived and our graduation ceremony took place. Dad drove Edward and me there in my car, since I refused to go in the cruiser and have Edward sit behind the screen in the back. The rest of the Cullens came with Alice. As soon as we got there Alice came to me to complain. "Bella, can you believe they have yellow graduation gowns! Do the people who run Forks High have no fashion sense at all? How could they do this to us!" I let her rant, and commiserated with her because, to be honest, I was wondering whether the people on the committee that decided on such a gaudy colour for graduation gowns had been high when they decided on yellow. What was wrong with a nice standard black?
Eventually though I had to separate from Alice and Edward as we lined up in alphabetical order with the others in our year. Jessica Stanley was in front of me and bursting with excitement. "Oh Bella! Can you believe it! We're finally graduating!" I smiled at her enthusiasm and attempted to interject some one word answers in response to her continuous excited monologue as we waited in line.
Finally the ceremony started, and I listened to the speeches made by the Principal, and Angela, who had just managed to beat out Ben to become Valediction. It was then our turn to make our way onto the stage. I watched as Alice and Edward walked onto the stage amidst polite clapping from the audience, amongst which were the rest of the Cullens. I clapped loudly for them, even though I knew they had done this many times before.
As my turn came and I shook the principal's hand I heard cheers and Emmett let out a loud whistle. I smiled as I saw my father and the Cullens- all part of my family, cheering for me. I had never felt so loved. I turned towards the end of the stage and my eyes locked with Edwards as he stood waiting for me. I walked towards him and took his hand, fully aware that in a matter of weeks we would be legally bound together for eternity. I couldn't wait.
With graduation finally over and Edward and I accepted into Dartmouth, my human life was nearing an end. A small part of me was sad to see it go, but the larger part was excited to finally fully enter the vampire world and spend eternity with Edward.
With our wedding date only two weeks after graduation, the finishing touches were now being put in place. While Alice had originally wanted to invite the whole town, Edward and I convinced her that our idea of a perfect wedding was one that included only family and close friends. Although we did put an announcement in the local paper- Edward wanted everyone to know we were getting married. Apart from our families, only Angela and Ben from school had been invited. I will admit to the passing thought of having all the girls in our high school attend the wedding so that they would see once and for all that Edward was mine, but I wasn't that petty.
My Volturi family could not come without making Renee suspicious, so we had arranged for small, high definition cameras at various vantage points to be recording the whole wedding to send to them via a live feed. Edward and I also wanted to have the recordings, so that we could look back on our happy day. I also knew that when I changed into a vampire my memories might become fuzzy, and I wanted to remember my wedding day in clear detail.
Edward and I recorded our piano and harp duet love song for the first dance, and went through a list of other songs for the reception. Alice took care of the catering aspect and the procurement of furniture. Neither Edward nor I were particularly worried over whether the table cloths were lace or white satin. We did however wish for freesia and white roses for the centrepieces. Rosalie had offered to play the piano for my march down the aisle, and Edward and I couldn't be happier to take her up on her offer.
Renee and Phil flew down a week before the wedding, and as I had expected, Renee got along really well with Esme and Alice, and loved looking at bridal catalogues with them. The most embarrassing part of the last week leading up to the wedding was the afternoon when Renee walked into Edward's room unannounced to talk to me about my wedding hairstyle and found us both on the bed and shirtless. We had been intending to get in some last minute practise for the wedding night and to make up for the days that Felix and Demetri had curbed out late night explorations.
The whole family was supposed to be out- Alice and Esme had taken Renee to see the cake we had ordered, and to confirm with the caterers. Carlisle was at work, and the rest of the family was hunting. Edward and I were happy to be spending some alone time, away from the wedding plans and oversensitive ears of the family.
We were shocked when Renee burst through the door to Edward's room. "Bella," She stopped a foot into the room, a hand still on the doorknob. She was speechless with her eyes wide, and my name still on her lips. I sat up quickly from under Edward and pulled my shirt back on. My face was bright red. I shot a reproving look at a shocked looking Edward, before glancing back at my mum.
In those few seconds she had managed to gain control of her shock, and her appreciative gaze was now wandering over Edward's muscled chest. I sighed and handed Edward his shirt before hopping off the bed. "Was there something you wanted mum?"
She looked momentarily startled and her eyes unwillingly tore away from the chest Edward was covering to meet my inquiring eyes. "Um. Yes. That's right. I wanted to ask how you were planning to do your hair for the wedding dear." She recovered.
"Come with me and I'll show you the drawings Alice and I came up with from a few different styles we liked," I was resigned to the fact that I would not be spending my afternoon solely with Edward as planned. Apparently Renee had been so excited to talk to me that she had pressured Alice and Esme into driving home after looking at the cake, saying that they could simply ring the caterers for confirmation. Nothing they had said to dissuade her and allow Edward and I more time had worked. In some ways I was thankful that she had walked in when she did, and not a little later when there would have been significantly less clothing involved.
Of course my mother could not help commenting as we walked back downstairs. "My goodness Bella, that boy is gorgeous! If I was a bit younger I'd give you a run for your money! No wonder you can't seem to keep your hands off him." She whispered all of this to me, but everyone in the house heard, and when we reached the living room I could see the subdued laughter shining in Alice and Esme's eyes.
Later that night Edward had apologised and admitted that he had been so focussed on us that he had not heard them arrive home, or Renee walking up the stairs. I forgave him after some very persuasive kisses were offered.
Charlie, while reluctant to part with me, was happy that I had chosen Edward, who he believed to be trustworthy and truly adored me. Having said that, he still liked to stay as far from wedding plans as possible, and spent much of his time in La Push, or commiserating with Emmett and Jasper, who were often roped into helping out with the preparations. All in all though, the wedding was coming together wonderfully, and Edward and I couldn't be more excited.
A few days before the wedding I was kidnapped by Alice and Rosalie for a bridal shower. They had kicked everyone out of the Cullen mansion, and invited Angela. Renee and Esme were there as well. Once we were all together we headed off to a spa day where we were primped and preened and massaged to our hearts content. Rosalie, Alice and Esme spent much of their time in the hot mud pool and then the spa in favour of the massage, since their rock hard skin would be far too noticeable, but we all had a great time, and by the time us humans joined them in the spa we were all happy and relaxed. We had a great time splashing about in the hot water, and I was glad Angela had joined us, because she deserved some pampering.
We all reluctantly headed back to the mansion a few hours later, where I warily unwrapped my presents. Alice and Rosalie had given me hoards of sexy French lingerie. A lot of it was in varying shades of blue. There were corsets, teddys, nightgowns, lace, satin, silk etc. "Given how Edward likes to rip things off you, we figured you'd need a lot." Rosalie and Alice snickered and Esme and Renee smiled knowingly at me. I turned bright red, and noticed that Angela had a slight blush.
"Thanks guys," In truth I did love the lingerie, and especially the idea of Edward ripping it off me.
Angela gave me a pair of black silk robes- a larger one for Edward and a smaller one for me. She had had 'Isabella Cullen' embroidered onto mine, and 'Edward Cullen' onto his. Tears came to my eyes as I ran my fingers over what was to be my new name. "Thank you so much Angela, these are wonderful." I hugged her tight and beamed happily at her as the others also commented on her wonderful gift.
Renee gave me a set of old silver hair combs, set with clusters of sapphires. They were beautiful. "These are from Charlie and I," she explained. "They were your Grandma Swan's, and we had the original paste stones replaced with sapphires. We thought you would like to wear them for your wedding." Her explanation touched me, and I realised now why she had been so interested in my wedding hairstyle.
"Mum, these are beautiful. Of course I would love to wear these for the wedding!" I assured her immediately giving her a big hug.
Last, but certainly not least, Esme handed over a large box. I gasped when I looked inside. I pulled it out carefully for everyone to see. "Oh Esme," I breathed. It was a large crystal cube, about 20cm tall. The inside laser image was a 3D of the prom picture we had had taken this year. We were standing next to each other, hands clasped and half-turned to the camera with our focus entirely on looking deep into the other's eyes. The words at the bottom of the image were 'Edward and Isabella Cullen, Married June 27th, 2006.'
Words could not describe how overwhelmed I felt by her gift. I could not wait to show it to Edward, and I felt my hugs and profuse thanks were not enough. "Esme, this truly is one of the best gifts I have ever gotten." She looked like she would be crying if it were possible, and she simply pulled me in for a hug.
"You are more than welcome Bella. We are so happy that you are joining our family."
After such a wonderful day the only thing that made it better was when Edward came back and I showed him our wonderful gifts (Except the lingerie, which I was keeping to surprise him with on the honeymoon). Like me, he was touched by our gifts, and Esme's was his favourite.
One very special gift from the Volturi, which I shared with Edward was a thick leather-bound photo album of my human life. On each page were large photos of me from the time I was four years old, all the way through my childhood in Volterra, to photos of me with the Edward and the rest of the Cullens. At the end was space for our wedding and honeymoon photos. Both of us greatly appreciated this gift. Edward loved looking at my childhood photos, and I loved the fact that when I became a vampire I would still have some great reminders of my human life. "You look so cute and adorable there," he pointed out a picture of me during my first week with the Volturi, "It's hard to believe that even then you could throw vampires into walls." I scowled at him and huffed, crossing my arms in annoyance as he chuckled and moved onto the next photo.
The Volturi females had also send me a multitude of things for the honeymoon, including more lingerie, and Edward spotted some of it before I quickly secreted it away in one of my suitcases. His eyes darkened significantly as he stared at me. I, of course, was not averse to taking advantage of him in this state, and that night was very pleasurable for both of us. (kissing and touching)
The day of the wedding finally arrived and I woke for the last time in my bed at Charlie's. Edward had left at midnight, so that he technically wouldn't see me before the wedding today. Jasper and Emmett had arrived to take him hunting- a type of bachelor party for vampires.
I felt a little stab in my heart and I already missed Edward, but excitement flooded through my veins at the thought of our wedding- and even better, our wedding night! I jumped out of bed and scarfed breakfast before speeding off to the mansion. Alice and Rosalie met me at the door, and my eyes widened to see the changes to the house. They had obviously been hard at work (a major advantage of super speed and no need for sleep). The whole bottom open floor had been cleared. In place were garlands of white roses spaced intermittently with coloured freesias, the cameras were all set up, and a short aisle led from the staircase to the wall of windows overlooking the river. "Perfect," I breathed, stopping to admire it all. I was sure that as soon as I saw Edward during the ceremony I would be completely ignorant to any of our beautiful surroundings, so it was best to admire them now.
They smiled exultantly before ushering me up the stairs. "The guys aren't allowed to come back from hunting until you are safely away upstairs and have us shielded from Edward's mind," Alice informed me. I dutifully did as I was told and headed into Alice's bathroom while shrouding them in a mental shield. Alice pulled out a phone and called Jasper to let him know he could bring Edward back, and we set to work.
Esme and Carlisle were putting the finishing touches on downstairs, including a large bower of flowers and gossamer ribbon at the end of the aisle for Edward and I to stand under, as well as directing the caterer of on where to set up.
Upstairs as they braided and curled my hair, and we all got ready I could feel the excitement building. I couldn't stop smiling. Esme and Renee came in as we were near finishing and snapped photos of us. I gave an appreciative sigh as Rosalie pulled my dress out of its protective bag and into the light. It was the product of weeks of designing, using my ideas and Alice's knowledge of fabrics and styles. In the end I had a strapless white taffeta gown with a delicate vintage lace covered corset style bodice. The skirt gathered a little on the left at the waist, resulting in soft pleats down the left side. The pleats had been embroidered with tiny delicate flowers by Esme. The end result was a mixture of old and modern, much like Edward and I.
I eagerly donned the dress and waited as Alice and Rosalie did the same with their dresses. Grandma Swan's sapphire hair combs were then placed in my hair, Edward's diamond heart sparkled at my throat and my diamond and platinum cuff was in its usual place.
I hugged both Alice and Rosalie before Rosalie headed downstairs to take her place at the piano. Esme and Renee also gave me quick hugs before following Rosalie. Charlie then entered. He looked slightly uncomfortable in his charcoal suit, but far more handsome then I had ever seen him. His eyes misted slightly as he looked at me. "Oh honey, you look so beautiful." I made a valiant effort and held back my tears as I hugged him tight.
"Thanks Dad."
We were finally ready. We exited Alice's room and stood just to the side of the stairs that would lead me down to Edward. While I hadn't seen Edward today, it didn't mean that I wasn't keeping tabs on him. Ever since he had entered the house I had had a shield around him so that I could feel him and knew where he was. I could not feel him standing at the head of the aisle in from of Angela's father; Pastor Weber. As Rosalie started playing and Alice moved to the top of the staircase and started her descent I opened my mind shield to Edward, and shielded the minds of everyone else, leaving him only in my own thoughts. So that you can hear how much I love you as we join for eternity, I thought to him.
All too soon it was our turn to head downstairs. I clasped Charlie's arm tightly as he helped me navigate down in my high white shoes. He led me down the aisle to my lullaby, but once my eyes met Edward's I couldn't focus on anything else. His light butterscotch eyes stared back intensely as Charlie led me towards him. Though the aisle was short it felt like forever until we finally reached Edward and Charlie gave him my hand. Our familiar electricity hummed through my body as we touched. Neither of us broke eye contact for the entire ceremony as we said our vowels to each other and became bound for eternity. There was deep joy, pride and love in his eyes, and I couldn't look away. I love you, I thought at him before our lips sealed our wedding vows and we were finally married. I indulged myself in his kiss, completely forgetting that we had an audience until Edward pulled away with a smug smile, and I heard Emmett's boisterous laugh. I blushed a little, especially when I realised that my parents had been watching us.
We signed the marriage certificate and walked down the aisle amidst the cheers of our family and friends. I could not keep my eyes off Edward, and the smile on my face was unshakable. Alice had delivered on the reception atop a wooden dance floor that had been placed on the grass out on the back lawn, surrounded by Esme's beautiful gardens. As we moved outside to our reception, we saw our wedding cake. It looked very impressive, and as I had negotiated with Alice, it was only one foot tall instead of five feet tall. The two swans had their necks arched and beaks joined to form a heart, and one of them even had a princess tiara as a subtle symbol of my status among the vampire world. I almost didn't want to cut into the cake as the time came, for it was so beautiful, but Edward understood my reluctance and reassured me in a whisper that Alice had taken many photos and video footage of it.
Edward slowly fed me a piece of the cake as everyone watched on. It was delicious, and with my eyes locked on his I slowly licked every crumb off Edward's fingers, watching smugly as his eyes darkened. I pulled away with a blush when I realised that our parents had been watching. I quickly picked up Edward's piece of cake and distracted everyone by smashing it into his face. He pretended to swallow some as I rubbed it in, and everyone was soon laughing.
As the rest of our guests got a piece of cake I wiped the cake off most of Edward's face before sucking some icing off his lips. Once the icing was all gone I pulled back with a satisfied grin, and he purred at me, his eyes promising retribution. My heart beat faster at that very enticing thought.
All of our human guests enjoyed the cake, which was an absolutely delicious chocolate mud cake, but it had definitely tasted even better when Edward was my plate. We received our congratulations and speeches from most of our family, who all had something to say, and it was then time for our dance.
The familiar chords of our piano and harp harmony washed over me as Edward led me gracefully around the dance floor. My skirts twirls around me, and in Edward's arms I let my happiness wash over me. I was finally married to the love of my life and my mate; Edward.
I then danced with my Dad, while Edward led Esme around the dance floor. We swayed slowly to the music, and I looked into Charlie's eyes to see that they were misted. "I'm so happy for you Bella, although I will miss you so much."
I was touched. We had gotten to know each other a lot better during my stay, and had grown much closer. "I'll miss you too dad," I promised, knowing it was the truth. Charlie was like me in many ways and we had gotten along great during my year and a half in Forks, which had turned out to be the best time in my life so far.
Charlie knew that Edward loved me, and that he would take care of me. "He's a good man," he admitted, "You couldn't have picked better for yourself Bells."
I hugged him, "I know," I assured him, before turning my adoring eyes to my husband.
After my dance with Charlie I danced with some of the others, before I was returned to Edward for another dance. It was heaven being in his arms
As our reception neared its end I threw my bouquet, which Alice and Rosalie allowed Angela to catch while feigning eagerness to catch it. As they were already married, they thought it would be nice for Angela to have the bouquet. Angela's beaming smile as she caught it was evidence enough of the rightness of their thoughts, and we were all pleased for her.
Edward then led me to a chair, where I sat down, and tried not to let my desire show as he ducked under my dress and dragged his nose up my leg to my inner thigh. I held back a shiver that would give me away. I kept my body frozen as Edward kissed my thigh and then grabbed the garter in his teeth, slowly dragging it back down my leg. My breathing and heart rate picked up, and I could feel Edward smile against my thigh as he itched the garter down slowly. It was my sheer force of will that I managed not to jump him then right in front of everyone. As the garter reached my knee I opened my mind so that he could see just how close I was to having my self control undermined, and he relented and quickly dragged it down the rest of the way and off. He winked at me and shot the garter at Ben. It landed in his surprised hands, and he turned to look at a blushing Angela.
We restated the dancing after that, and soon enough I found myself in Edward's arms for the last dance. We swayed slowly to my lullaby, eyes locked, and our feelings for each other evident in our eyes. The rest of the room faded away as I tipped my head back and Edward's lips slowly descended to meet mine. We continued to kiss for the remainder of the song, and when Alice finally succeeded in catching our attention it had already finished. I gave up on being embarrassed, and simply enjoyed the tender look Edward sent me.
Alice quickly dragged me away to put me in a going away outfit she had picked out, which turned out to be a pretty blue dress that was quite comfortable. "Thank you so much for all your help planning the wedding Alice," I told her as I changed. "It was absolutely perfect." There were tears in my eyes as I hugged her.
"It was no problem Bella, and it's wonderful to officially have you for a sister," she beamed at me, and we made our way downstairs to where Edward was waiting for me.
He held out his hand and when I took it he led us to the front door. "Ready?" he asked. I took a deep breath and nodded. Outside we were showered with handfuls of rice, and I couldn't help but laugh at Emmett's enthusiasm for it, and the disappointed look he wore when he realised that I had shielded us- I couldn't have Alice mad by getting rice stuck on my outfit or, even worse, in my hair. We hugged everyone goodbye before Edward helped me into his Vanquish and we sped away.
As we left Emmett shouted out "Go forth and multiply!" I blushed as Charlie looked at him and glared, before shooting Edward a warning look. I was lucky he had no idea that Edward and I were planning reproducing during our honeymoon. We drove away while I looked happily at my wonderful husband, exulting in the fact that I now held the title of Edward's wife.
Edward hadn't told me where our honeymoon would be, but we had discussed places I had been, and what I liked in length, and I trusted Edward to provide me with a wonderful honeymoon. In truth though, it wasn't the location I was eager to enjoy, but Edward himself- although with a face and body like his who could blame me?
We arrived at Houston first and I cocked an eyebrow at Edward. "Just a stop along the way," he assured me.
Our next flight was to Rio de Janeiro, but Edward again assured me that we would not be there long. I gave up speculating and fell asleep in Edward's arms as we flew closer to our final destination and the start of what I was anticipating to be a wonderful honeymoon where we would conceive our children.
We arrived in Rio just after sunset and were taken straight to the docks, where Edward immediately led me to a sailing yacht. I could see the excitement and anticipation in his eyes as he ushered me aboard and we set off out into the ocean. I enjoyed watching him sail; his sleeves were rolled up and his muscles flexed as he worked the sails. I licked my lips and settled back on a cushioned couch to enjoy the view my husband was providing. I inwardly squealed at the reminder that he was finally my husband.
Edward served me dinner on the yacht, which only made my love and desire for him increase, especially when he hand fed me strawberries dipped in chocolate. To be fair, I could see his own eyes darkening with lust as he watched my tongue swirl and the chocolate strawberries. The yacht proved to be a very romantic and intimate setting and I was very happy with the way my honeymoon was going so far.
Before long Edward called me to look ahead, and I began to make out the shape of what appeared to be a small island. His arms encircled me as we neared it. "Welcome to Isle Esme love," he whispered in my ear. I shivered in anticipation as a beautiful island came into view.
"Wow," I breathed.
"It was a gift to Esme from Carlisle a while back, and Esme is allowing us to use it," he explained as he let go of me to start bringing the yacht to the dock. I gazed over it in awe as Edward docked us. It was beautiful. Waves gently slapped at the silvery shoreline, edges with lush palm trees. It was the quintessential private tropical island. The water was clear and I could see fish and corals in the water by the moonlight.
There was a slight bump as the yacht docked and Edward leapt out to tie it up. He then helped me out and was soon back on the dock with both of our cases in one of his hands. With his other arm he scooped me up. I gave a startled laugh, and looked up into his excited eyes as he carried me towards the house I could see between the palm trees.
I snuggled into his chest and proceeded to thoroughly distract him as he walked. I started nibbling along his jaw and up his chin until I reached his lips. I pulled his bottom lip between my teeth and he loosed a growl that vibrated through my whole body. I latched onto his lips and kissed him hard. He kissed back and when he finally pulled back we were standing in front of the house. He dropped our cases on the porch and opened the door, carrying me over the threshold.
He carried me through the house, flipping on the lights, and I caught a pale colour scheme and a vague impression of a beautiful house as he opened the door to a large bedroom. It contained a large white bed, and glass doors leading outside to a beautiful beach. Edward set me down and let but was quickly back with our suit cases. He set them down and wrapped his arms around me.
pressed himself against me.
"do you want to go for a swim?" he asks
"I'll be out In a minute," I reply
when I went to the beach it was dark and warm and the moon stood brightly in the night sky unmistakable against the smooth waves. In the centre I could see my entire being standing amongst the waves bare backed my heat skips a beat and I begin walking towards him. I wrap my arms around,him from behind and he turns around as I let go to wrap his arms around my waist.
"I love you" he whispers. I smile and respond
"As I love you"
The night continued and morning came.
EPOV (just this part though sorry)
This was the best night of my life or existence. This was going down in my history. Bella laid her head on my chest and fell calmly asleep. I watch my beautiful wife with her head on my chest thinking.
"I'm never gonna let you go." I whispered to her and kissed her sleeping form. As I continue to hum her lullabye.
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