Chapter One

This Enchanting Discourse

Here at what she knew was the end of her days, Bella had very few regrets. She was an old woman who was proud of the life she had lived, the way that she had loved and the man that she had shared all of that with.

Although they had never had any children, Bella and Jacob had led a full and satisfying life together. There had never been a time that she had thought for one second that she'd made the wrong choice when she'd chosen wolf over vampire. She'd not been required to change at all to fit into his world. She hadn't had to give up anything to be with him, well almost anything.

Jacob Black had loved her with intensity, purity of heart and without fail for the fifty-seven years that they had been married. It had been two years since he had passed away peacefully in his sleep and she missed him terribly. Although much of her days were spent with new members of the pack, the children of Jacob's wolf brothers who had adopted her as an honorary and beloved grandmother, she longed for an end to her loneliness. She knew that in death she would be reunited with her love and that they could be young again, free from pain, and together forever.

The dreams she had been having of late, however, were of someone other than her Jacob. She dreamed of another life, a path unchosen with someone that she had once loved equally as intensely as Jacob. His face was the same after all these years, unlined with age and fiercely savage in its beauty and youth. He'd always held her wrinkled hand as if it was the most precious thing in the world to him. It's gnarled and age spotted appearance was stark and obscene in comparison to his white, unmarked skin.

She swore, when she awoke from these dreams that she could smell him on her clothes. His scent was so strong in her memory after all these years. Her minds eye could still recall the exact color of his hair, the shade of butterscotch that his eyes were after he fed, even the crooked set of his smile when she had been able to coax him out of his angst. He had been her world, almost her downfall and the cause of many sleepless nights in her youth. She'd loved him with all of her heart until he'd left her. Jacob had been there to help her pick up the pieces and survive the aftermath. Edward had returned but Jacob had become as essential to her as air by that point. Edward never had her whole heart again after that and little by little, Jacob had gained ground until she could no longer deny it. He was her soul mate, he was the owner of her heart. Although she never stopped loving Edward, she'd always known that Jacob was the only choice.

It was with thoughts like these that Bella lay in bed, tossing restlessly. Sleep would not come to her no matter how weary her body and mind were. She knew he was there before he ever stepped out of the shadows.

"Hello Edward."

"Bella."

"What are you doing here?"

Bella sat up in bed and patted her hair. Even after all this time, she still felt self conscious being in the same room with Edward.

"I came to see you, of course."

"Why? Why now after all this time. Why would you want to see me like this? I'm an old woman now and you're still young."

"I've missed you. I've missed you every single day that we've been apart. I've watched you, watched from a distance every day since you decided you wanted to be with Jacob instead of me. I even saw you on your wedding day, you were breathtaking."

She was at a loss for words. To know that he had been there and watched her walk down the aisle, had seen her marry the man that Edward considered his mortal enemy, was almost unbearable. Knowing Edward, it must have been torture for him not to intervene.

"Bella, I know."

She drew in a deep breath. Surely he wasn't talking about what she thought he was.

"I know you have cancer and that you've refused treatment."

"Edward, if you're here to try and talk me into going through chemo, forget it. There's no way that I'm going to spend the rest of my time sick and feeling worse than I do now."

"I would never dream of trying to change your mind, time hasn't changed your stubbornness, I'm sure."

The look on his face was the epitome of pain. It didn't surprise Bella that he still loved her this much, somehow, even though she had hoped that he wouldn't. She knew that he'd most likely never looked for another love. He was fierce in his devotion to her as he always had been.

"Then why are you here, Edward? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but I know you. I know that you came here for a reason other than to stare at an old woman on her deathbed."

"I came to offer you another option."

Her breath intake was sharp. Surely he wasn't suggesting that she allow him to turn her now. Who would ever want to be an eternally eighty-two year old woman?

"No!"

"You haven't even heard me out," he protested as he ran his hand through his ever unruly hair. He started to pace and predictably pinched the bridge of his nose out of frustration.

"I know what you're going to offer me and the answer is no. I don't want to walk around forever as a sparkly old crone. Forget it!"

His laugh still sounded like the tinkling of bells. His smile was beatific as he looked down at her.

"You don't understand. You don't have to be old, Bella. I've waited for years to offer this to you, my love. I knew that you would never say yes to it as long as Jacob was alive so I waited, gave you time to grieve. I would have waited for a few more years but your illness and your stubbornness is forcing my hand."

She was beyond confused. What was he trying to say to her? She opened her mouth to question him but he raised his hand and silenced her before she could begin.

"Just hear me out. Please."

Bella nodded for him to continue.

"Carlisle and I have been working on many things throughout these years, most of them being cures for chronic diseases. We've found, through experimentation, that while our venom is toxic by itself in it's purest form, when it's combined with various substances and diluted, it has healing properties. Can you believe that we have actually created a cure for diabetes?"

Bella shook her head no, although she did not doubt it for a second. Carlisle and Edward were both brilliant and she wasn't shocked to find that they would combine their talents to look for human cures.

"The thing is, no one who could help us get the cure out there wants it! Chronic illness is a big industry, a huge money maker and if we cured diabetes, who would they sell their meters and test strips to? Who would buy the overpriced insulin and syringes?"

He was pacing quickly, waving his hands angrily. His frustration was clear and it scared Bella a little. He seemed to take notice as she shrank down into her pillow.

"Sorry, Bella. It makes me angry but I guess thats neither here nor there. It's not the reason I came here. Bella, Carlisle and I have found a way to turn reverse aging! I can make you young again. I can give you back your youth and then I can turn you. I can grant your wish after all these years and then we'll never have to be apart again."

"You can make me young again? How?"

"After a lot of experimentation, we discovered that our venom, combined with stem cells and other natural compounds reverses the effects of time on tissue when injected into the heart. But the effects are only temporary. They last for about twenty-four hours only. Though we've tried everything to find a way to extend the results, one day is the maximum the effect lasts. One day would be enough time to start the process of making you a vampire."

His face was wistful and far away. Bella wondered if he was remembering her as she was back them because it was too painful to see her as she was now. He shook his head and continued with his plea.

"We've never tested on a human but I know it would work, Bella. I know it would," he sat on the bed beside her and took her hand in his. It was just like the dream and the contrast between the two of them was even more depressing to Bella.

"This is our chance. We can be together again, we can have the life that you gave up when you chose to be with Jacob. He had his time with you, you shared a lifetime with him. Now it's my turn. Please, Bella. I love you as much as I ever did, even more."

"You've given me a lot to think about, Edward. I... I need to rest now."

"May I come and see you again tomorrow? Will you please think about this? I know it's a lot to have thrown at you all at once, but Bella you have to know how I never stopped loving you. I've ached for you every single second, every single minute and with every beat of your heart."

"Yes, you may come back tomorrow. I'll think about everything you've said. It's just so incredible to think about."

It was all that she could offer him. Her confusion was great and her mind weary. She knew that even though she couldn't see him, he was still in the room, watching over her while she slept, just like he used to. She took comfort in that as she closed her eyes and finally succumbed to sleep.

She was running through the woods and gasping for air.

"JACOB! I can't see you! Where are you?"

Bella knew it was a dream but she couldn't wake herself up. She knew that Jacob was just out of reach, hidden somewhere in the trees, in the darkness.

"Bella, I'm waiting for you, I love you..."

Bella sat straight up in bed, grasping at the neck of her nightgown and crying. She'd almost expected to find Edward still there in her room but he was long gone, his missing scent being proof.

She stood from bed on unsteady legs and walked to her bathroom. The reflection in the mirror was tired as it gazed back at her. Pain from the spreading cancer was etched on her face next to the laugh lines and worry wrinkles.

"I came to offer you another option." he had said to her as casually as if he was offering to carry her bags for her.

She smiled in spite of her pain. The irony that she still, at her age, did not have any sort of a normal life was funny to her.

A long forgotten smell wafted up from downstairs. Edward was here and he was making her favorite breakfast, a bacon and tomato omelet with dry wheat toast. She'd never had another one of those since the last time he'd made one for her.

She dressed as quickly as she could and made the trek downstairs. A trip that used to take her mere seconds now took minutes. Clumsiness had always been a problem for her and age had only amplified it. She was much more brittle and breakable now so she took her time on the steep stairway.

He spoke without turning.

"Good morning, Bella. I hope you're hungry."

His smile was heart stopping as he turned from the stove and placed the plate on the small kitchen table.

"It smells wonderful, Edward. Thank you."

"Eat up, my dear. We have a big day ahead of us. Carlisle is preparing everything for us and..."

"Whoa there! I never said I was actually agreeing to this! Slow your horses there, Dr. Frankenstein!"

"Well of course you're agreeing to it, I mean, why wouldn't you?"

"Because I am an old woman! I'm tired, I've lived my life already."

"Bella, don't you see that with this process, you won't be old and you won't feel tired. You'll be in your twenties again, perfect and healthy."

"Edward, I just don't know. It seems like playing God and I'm just not comfortable with that."

"I can remember a time when you begged me to turn you so that you would never age."

"Yes, and I can remember a time when you said that turning me into a vampire would be a tragedy."

His smirk brought a smile to her face.

"Yes, Bella, that's true. But that was also before you had a chance to have all your human experiences. The situation is a little different now."