Author's note: I am aware that a lot of people are not comfortable with a Bella/Carlisle pairing and I'm sorry if this does not suite you. I have plans for multiple other pairings once this story is completed and I hope those who give this one a try will appreciate my attempts enough to come back and read more of my work later on. I am working without a Beta, so any grammatical errors are that of my own doing. There will be slight character history changes. I won't beg for reviews, I'm simply doing this for my own enjoyment. I love to write, I adore these characters and I hope I can bring someone some sort of enjoyment out of this. Thanks for taking the time to read!
DISCLAIMER: I am not Stephenie Meyer, nor do I have any rights to these characters and/or their canon characteristics.
After a brawl pitting nearly everyone I loved against what I was sure was the most brutal and terrifying army to ever grace the Earth, I assumed things would quiet down. I hoped that our lives would be smooth once Victoria was no longer searching for me. My best friend had made it through the battle severely wounded, but he was strong-willed and made it through. The fact that I had broken his heart all over again mere moments before he was hurt made our sweet victory leave a bitter taste in my mouth. I wanted to stay with him as he healed and assure him that he still meant so much - everything - to me and that I would always be there for him. However, after listening to him scream at the tremendous pain he was in while Carlisle reset the broken bones in his body, he told me he needed me to leave him alone. He needed space to get over the fact that I had agreed to marry his mortal enemy. I didn't have talents, I was skilled in very little, but it seemed as if I had a degree in breaking the heart of my werewolf best friend. Once he was fully healed and back with pack, Jacob confronted Edward and I, confirming my suspicions that the pack would not support my being changed into a Vampire. Jacob disappeared after that without so much as a, "Hey, I'll see you in a couple of years."
As for the vampire activity, everything got quiet. There were no more that were hunting me, Victoria's army and her coven having been destroyed. I never saw the pack and when I would try to talk to Billy about his missing son, he blew me off. Every time I would call, he would answer me the same way. No, he hadn't heard anything. Jake would come home when he was ready. The pack hasn't heard anything while they were phased. Then he would hang up without so much as a goodbye. Spending all this time with the Cullens was wonderful, but I missed the pack. The time I could spend with them before my new family and I had to leave was quickly vanishing. None of them would speak to me. My weekly visits to the reservation soon stopped completely.
There was nearly nothing to occupy my time between the battle, graduation and my wedding. All I could do is spend time with my soon-to-be family while Alice gushed over wedding arrangements. She'd taken complete control over everything, asking me simply if the things she decided were okay. When I told her it was all looking great, she clapped, bounced up and down and said, "I know!" Esme encouraged me to go through my belongings and find things that I would want to keep with me after my change to remind me of my human life. I made a point to slowly start bringing things with me to the Cullen house so Charlie didn't continue to give me the sad looks he'd taken to giving me often after finding out I was marrying Edward so soon. Which is why I found myself sitting in the very dusty attic at my father's house, searching through the memories of my childhood, trying to find things I was sure Charlie had forgotten all about to help my vampire mind remember.
I had found a few handmade baby items of mine that were given to Charlie and Renée by family members. Having put them in a box on their own, I moved on to the next thing I could see. There was an old chest sitting off to the side. I rummaged through it, loving seeing pieces of art Charlie had made when he was just a kid. There were a lot of drawings of First Beach that made my heart clench. Finishing going through my dad's childhood memories, I noticed an old, thick folder that had become yellowed with age. Upon careful inspection of the contents, I found a family tree dating back to the late 19th century. The top of the paper had, "Swan Family" written in an elegant old English script.
I was the last descendent of the Swan family after my dad and his twin brother, Eric. My eyes ran over the names, remembering stories of my grandfather and grandmother. The rest of the names weren't recognizable to me as Charlie didn't talk much about our family. My eyes landed on one of the names toward the bottom of the tree and my heart stopped. On one of the branches was I name I knew, though didn't hear often. Brandon. I looked closer, trying to read the faded letters. "Mary Alice Brandon 1901-unknown" it read. One line below that were the names of her mother and father.
I was having a hard time processing what I was staring at. Mary Alice Brandon was now known as Alice Cullen. Reading through the tree further, I discovered the girl I considered a best friend and, in three short weeks, would be known as my sister-in-law was actually my distant aunt. Alice had told me the small bits of memory she had of her human life and we knew, after my encounter with James in the ballet studio, she had been in an asylum around the time of her change. Jasper took her to Mississippi and found a tombstone with her name and no death date. When they returned from the trip, Alice told me that she felt relieved to know just a bit more about her human life, no matter how sad it may have been.
The papers I was holding could answer so many questions for my best friend, but I wasn't sure I should share this with anyone. I knew Charlie wasn't aware, because he had never mentioned this part of our family. The papers were old and fragile, so I tucked them into my purse to keep safe.