I DO NOT OWN "TWILIGHT"
AND (SADLY) I DO NOT OWN EDWARD CULLEN, EITHER.
I ONLY WISH I DID.
I
I woke with a start, afraid that if I stayed asleep much longer the monster in my dream would prevent me from waking up ever again.
I had been in a large meadow – one I knew far too well, with its' tall trees and acres of spring daffodils – in this dream. Everything about this place was familiar; the scent, the cool Forks air, the way you heard nothing and everything at the same time. What was not familiar about this place today however, was the fact that my favorite person was not walking next to me. I tried to recall where Edward was, if he had even arrived here with me. I remembered vaguely that he hadn't. That fact put me on edge. We were almost always together, especially when we went to 'our' meadow. I knew that if I ever tried to find the long plain by myself I would wind up hopelessly lost, stumbling injured across the forest. So it seemed strange that I would be alone here in my dream.
I stumbled along the field, hoping to find him along the tree line. As time passed, I saw no signs to prove that I wasn't alone here. I was probably just being silly, though as more minutes flew by, I grew more nervous with each step. I was in our meadow. Unprotected.
This had been the very place where Laurent had found me less than a year ago. I had come across the meadow alone, just like now, and had almost been killed by a very thirsty vampire. I searched with more urgency, checking over my shoulder every so often.
My heart skipped a beat when I caught a dark haired figure crossing the landscape. Edward was here; I was safe.
As I watched the figure more intently, I noticed the size of it's form coming toward me. It was smaller than I was, and approaching too quickly to be any normal small child.
Her size somehow made her more terrifying, and as I saw the impish grin on this strangely girlish face, my muscles cramped and my eyes widened in sheer horror.
"Time is up, Bella," Jane had giggled, her unnaturally high voice sounding sweet as a songbird, and lethal as a jaguar. She lunged at me with catlike grace, her red eyes impossibly empty, impossibly frightening.
Of course when I awoke, he was there. It was an inevitability that he would be at my side if ever I had a bad dream; this was the thought that usually kept my dreams cheerful and upbeat every night, rather than visions of death and destruction.
So when Edward was instantly there, his arms wrapped around me, his hand cupping my head to his chest, I suppose I had known it was coming. It still did not stop my heart from spluttering, my mind from losing control at the scent of him. Those reactions, too, were inevitable whenever I was held by the vampire I so desperately loved.
Strangely funny how, only a split second ago, my thoughts had been obsessing over words like Jane and Volturi, as well as death and run.
The only word I could manage to cram through my instantaneously full brain now, was Edward.
He lay by my side, his fingers stroking through my hair. I stretched my arms around his marble figure, tucking my head under his chin, and nestling my face into his stone chest.
With the way that I had woken up, he would have already known that I had had a bad dream, and so the only word I needed to usher was a whisper into his cold figure.
"Jane," I murmured, half hoping that he hadn't heard me. I knew how much he hated talking about the Volturi, especially when it came to me. They were his equal in species, his enemy in everything else. Hoping it would cheer him up, and knowing it wouldn't, I lifted my head to kiss his neck softly.
His only response to the name was an immediate tension in his already stiff form. He quickly bowed head his kiss my forehead, though he said nothing.
I noticed a few minutes later that there was an orangey haze to around the room. It sparkled golden across Edward's beige sweater, and I saw it glint brilliantly against his bronze hair.
Normally this was an extremely strange sunrise for the small town of Forks. A rainy greeting in the morning was what I usually awoke to, but August had since arrived, and it had left its' mark. For the past week I had been accompanied by the sun in my regular morning routine. I had been feeling unusually chipper recently in my extremely normal morning rounds.
I turned myself to face away from him. Still keeping my head tucked under his chin and his arms wrapped around me, I pivoted my body to position toward the open window so that I could see through it into the sunrise. I gazed pleasantly at the rising orange sun in the distance.
"Stay here a moment," Edward mumbled in my ear. I turned to give him a confused look, but suddenly he was at my closet, to my now open window, and gone. I had enough time to sit up and throw a highly confused look on my face before he was back.
"Edward, what –" He interrupted me by cupping his hand under my chin.
"I want to show you something," he whispered, smiling my favorite crooked smile right before kissing me shortly on the lips. How could I argue with that? Easy. I couldn't.
"Um, okay then. . ." I stuttered, as he lifted me to his back. Edward rarely did things this crazy, this random. . .
If I had been tired before, I was not aware of it at all now.
Edward took us through my window in a second. I had never really noticed how wide that thing was. . . He scaled my house rapidly and smoothly, so all I had to do was close my eyes, and wait for it to be over, which wasn't a long time at all. At most five seconds.
"Keep your eyes closed," he breathed, a smile leaking into his voice. I obeyed, though my heart was racing, and my mind was imagining some extreme heights I knew were not possible from Charlie's small suburban house.
He set me down gently into a sitting position. The ground below me felt more padded then should be possible. My mind jumped to a picture of thick moss.
Edward jumped in to sit behind me, pulling my back to his chest and wrapping one arm around my shoulders, and one hand at my waist.
"Open your eyes, my darling Bella," he cooed into my ear.
I shivered at his breath on my neck, and opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw was that the padded feeling of the groud had been a blanket Edward had layed out for us to sit on.
But when I looked up, my mouth popped open, and I gasped quietly.
I had never seen Forks as anything besides a dreary, wet town; the sudden beauty of the sight surprised me.
The sun was glowing a magnificent gold across every sleeping house, every tree, every inch of Forks. To my right was the rest of my street, and streets beyond it. What were once regular homes were now castles, each and every one. To my left, the forest trees were just beginning to be touched by the glittering lightshow the sun cast over it all. The forest itself, which normally stood gloomy and shadowed, now stood impossibly illuminated in the brilliant morning. I imagined King Midas, and his turning everything to gold. I felt as though I was visiting his royal city, viewing his masterpieces, glowing with him in the reflections of his own creations. I was impossibly breath taken.
"Breathe, Bella," Edward whispered. He ran his nose up my the side of my neck, and paused to kiss the hollow behind my ear.
"Edward. . . Oh, Edward, it's so. . . so beautiful. . ." I felt stupid for saying something so blatantly obvious, but I couldn't manage much else at the moment.
"All of this is nothing compared to you," he murmured. I was too spaced out to even say anything. He was wonderful. This moment was wonderful. I never wanted to leave this moment.
I realized with a shocking urgency that I would have to leave. We would both have to.
The date hit me so hard I nearly fell off the rooftop despite Edward's tight grasp.
It was August 13th.
I would be walking down the isle with Edward at my side in a little under 24 hours.
My heart stopped for more than a split second. Fear filled my system.
I had been dreading this day for weeks. It wasn't the idea that I was getting married to Edward. No, that was. . . well, more than perfect. And it wasn't the idea of what came after the wedding. 'Eternal damnation' as Edward called it, was definitely not what I feared. Even the idea of marriage in general was simply not scary anymore. Alice had crammed everything regarding the ceremony down my throat over the last few weeks, and I was now, nothing more, but "okay" with it. My mother had been cramming a different idea of marriage down my throat since I was four years old; it was still stuck with me, but thanks to Alice it was only an echo in my head at idea of the ritual.
None of those things really mattered. I knew the real reason was silly. No, not just silly, down right ridiculous!
Who cared what anyone else thought? I felt extremely shallow. If that was the only reason I was scared, I was seriously a moron.
Edward felt me freeze, and he spoke to me in a calming tone. Every word made me shudder, in a good way.
"Bella, I know you haven't exactly been looking forward to this day," I almost giggled at the understatement, "But I vow to you, right here, right now. Now, as we sit on this very rooftop, that I will never, ever leave you. The very thought of it sickens me. And I know I've said this a thousand times at least, but Isabella Swan," He wrapped both of his arms around my waist and breathed the words so delicately against the side of my neck that I thought I might faint; "I love you more than you could possibly know. More than anyone could possibly know. I want you as my wife. As long as you will take me, as long as you will put up with me," he chuckled lightly, a beautiful, almost instrumental sound, "I promise to love you for all of eternity. Forever." My heart stopped again.
"I love you too, Edward Cullen, so much. And I always will. Always and Forever,"
As we sat on the rooftop of Charlie's house, just Edward and I, for once I felt at ease about everything. About our wedding, and about my future. I felt no fear, no hatred, no selfishness. For as I sat with Edward watching the breaking dawn, I felt full. Full of love. Love that I knew would always be enough.
Enough Forever.