Twilight - Bella/Edward

The Key Of Importance

07/23/08

writen by Tsubacci

Summary: Alice drags Edward (who also drags Bella) to come with her to Hokkaido, Japan; "...it was something about having to fetch the 'key of importance'."

Edward's POV

I was reclining in my own rocking chair, listening to DeBussy. I salvaged it all in; the dancing keys of the piano, and the notes. It was a Saturday afternoon, and I wanted to be at home relaxing for once. It was a waste that I could not sleep, otherwise I would've spent the whole entire day "napping". My newlyweded wife was laying across the black couch; ankles crossed; reading what it seems like a novel. I chuckled as I saw earplugs in her ears. Did DeBussy really bother her reading? I didn't think it would; it never really thought to bother me. Maybe because I had the ability to shut everything out to focus on one perspective.

It had been a quiet day, almost as if it was too quiet. Ever since the wedding and our marriage, the Cullen house has never experience a day of peace with Alice running around. I really had no clue what Alice was doing. I didn't know if she was that excited for Bella to move in with me, or if she had no other things to do and rather spend her free time irritating us--well, me. Just recently, Alice had repainted my room without asking my permission. When Bella and I saw it, we both had the same reaction. Alice was grinning like a wildcat, saying that my room needed some color. It looked as someone had clashed a bunch of different colored paintbuckets on the walls, not even thinking to use paintbrushes and rollers. I didn't scream, or shout, or reprimanded her. I was too horrified at the state of what had happened to my room, my place, my personal, personal space. Instead of yelling at her for me as I thought she would, all Bella did was laugh without any control. I glared fury to Alice, and she immediately skipped away. Within a few weeks, I was able to restore my room to it's original colors--white, black, and gold.

I was beginning to worry that something bad will happen. Something that was worse that making my room look like a place of where psychedelic sixties people or whatever it was called smoke joints and do illegal drugs. I began to actually fear for Alice. It looks funny to think that something incredibly tiny can do such stupendous things.

If I was back to my human self right now, I would probably be drifting off to sleep...

Bella's POV

It was a lazy Saturday, and I was laying on Edward's black couch catching up on some novel. I didn't even bother reading the title; in fact, I kind of forgot--that really didn't sound like me. But I layed there thinking what Alice's next plan to annoy the hell out of Edward would be. It was like watching a comedy TV show right in front of me. The things Alice will do to tick off Edward just for the sake of watching his reaction; unbelievable. It's like she wanted to see his reaction on purpose. But really, nobody knew what she was doing. She wouldn't tell why either, and Edward could not even read her mind. So in the end, everyone just ignored her schemes. Hopefully Jasper had intervened and tried stopping her. I doubt it would be of any use anyways.

I wanted to take my earplugs off, but I liked the quietness that it gave me. I missed the days when I still was able to sleep and rest and dream; but ever since the transformation the night after our wedding my eyes have not shut. It was relieving thinking that I would not be physically tired anymore; but it does get mentally tiring when you have to resist the temptations of feeding off other humans. Boy, it was hard. It was like...being on a diet. Literally! But I knew I couldn't betray my husband, or Carlisle, or any of the other Cullens. It'd break their heart for one, and I don't think I could even forgive myself after that.

Feeding off of Charlie gave me the chills. I knew better. Especially, Renee.

Edward's POV

Even after all the years I've gotten to know her, I still could not read Bella's mind. It was as if her thoughts had fallen into a dark abyss; and I that by the time I could read them, they were too far to reach. I had closed my eyes, and pretended that I was resting. I let open an eyelid, and I could see Bella's face. I wanted to ask her what she was thinking, but before I did...

I heard a shrill voice coming towards my room. "Alice," I hissed. I noticed Bella was starting to count, her fingers in front of her face. 'Five...four...three...two...'

"One." I gulped.

"EDWARD!"

The door had suddenly flew open, and under the doorway was the little woman of a monster; coming to terrorize. Yet, after the past centuries and decades I had not known she could be so...wild and adolescent-like. I grimaced, looking at her. "...What is it?"

"Edward, I need you to come with me somewhere," her eyes pleaded hard.

I let out a sigh. No "puppy-dog" eyes or whatever you call them could never break me. "No."

"Please? Please-please-please?"

"No."

"Just go, I'll be fine." Bella had said, in a monotonious voice. I glared at her. If only she was a mind-reader, I could have told her...

Again, Alice had looked at me with her most advocating eyes. I let out another sigh to show my submission. "Where on earth do you need to go that I have to accompany you anyways?"

In an instant she changed from beggar to mischief. "Well," she started. "I need to go to Hokkaido, Japan. To see Nina."

Nina. I ran through any faces that I could remember in my head like a detective's face-identifier machine. Of course, she had lived with Tanya for a year and then suddenly left without notice. Nina Wiesley was her name; she was of Japanese ethnicity that crossed the sea to hunt in Alaska during the World War II. Nobody knew how she transformed to what she was now; saying that it was all vague to her. Tanya had found her laying in the Alaskan wilderness, and had taught her the rules. She listened, and they all thought that she was fully added to their coven.

I arched an eyebrow at Alice. Why would she need to go see Nina, anyways? They were "close" friends, seeing as somehow Alice had knew her from the asylum she was in before. It was very odd. I didn't bother to ask. Didn't really want to. But..."Alright...Why?"

"I need to fetch the key of importance. It's at her house somewhere..." She answered.

What the hell. I was confused. 'Key of importance'? Did she mean a literal key? Or was it all symbolism? Did this have anything to do with the volturi? The questions continued to wander in my head. Too much questions for one small mind.

Edward's POV

It was Alice first who stepped out of the limo, then came out Bella and then I. The house that was before them was huge, probably the most larger-scale than the rest of its neighbors. 'Not like they had any neighbors,' I thought. 'Probably too scared that she'd eat them anyways.' I silently laughed at the thought. Alice soon gave me a glare. Apparently the person who lived in this grand house was her old friend back when they met at the asylum.

I saw Alice waiting at the front gate, pushing the doorbell God knows how many times. "Ni-i-i-i-i-na-a-a-a-a!" the girl wailed. I could see by my shoulder that Bella decided to cover her ears. She looked at me with an awkward and questioning glare. I told her loud enough for her to hear, and soft enough for Alice to not hear, that I was practically used to the harpy wailing around like an ambulance. Bella let out a laugh, but continued to plug her ears.

"Yes! Yes, hold on! What is it!?" I looked up ahead of me to see that Nina had opened the door, and was walking to unlock the gate. "Well, look who it is," the woman's eyebrow arched, and her face became mischievous. "Alice Cullen."

"Well, of course it was me," Alice piped. "Who else could it be?"

Nina let out a laugh. I took my arm and rested it on Bella's waist as Nina led us into her home. The clouds have shuffled and a light snow had begun to drop, it was about time Nina heard Alice.

Bella's POV

Nina finally opened the front gates, and led us all in her humongous heck of a house. It had started to snow outside, and well, I still hated snow even after my transformation. Luckily I was not cold. I only had a tan fur-hooded coat, a blouse, a pair of skinny jeans that were tucked into boots. If I was still a human being, I'd definately would've died as soon as I stepped out of the airport if I had walked around in these kind of clothes.

Edward and I were sitting on her soft dark-tan suede couch, while Nina and Alice were searching the house for Alice's "key of importance". I decided to walk over to the counter that was near us, and look at the pictures. They were all black-and-white, and just a few that were in color. I noticed that the at least half of the black-and-whites were so old, that you couldn't distinguish the entire picture. Edward had slipped his hands into mine, and I looked up.

He pointed to a black-and-white picture, which was standing next to a color one. "This one was took a few months after she had transformed."

"You mean," my eyes begun to widen. "She's also one of us?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"No wonder I couldn't recognize her scent as a human being...And it was pretty familiar anyways." I laughed. "How long have you known this Nina?"

"Well, maybe for a few years. Alice had gone over here once about 10 years back, and I had to come pick her up since literally she wouldn't go home."

"Wouldn't go home?" I interrupted.

"Er...she did say that the hunting was a million times better here than in Washington and anywhere else. Don't know why, but I got Jasper to persuade her over the phone to get her bottom back to Forks. So I flew over here, and then while at it I met Nina.

"She was still human, and her features did not look like it was today. She had near-black hair, and very dark-brown eyes; she was still the same height, and her skin was tanned from the farming when she helped her parents."

The Nina I saw, she had a milk-chocolate shade of brown on her hair, and her eyes was green and surprisingly not golden like the rest of the Cullens were. She was about my height, and very pale; white as the fresh-fallen snow outside. The only difference from me was that she was awfully thin, almost like a stick. I thought that anytime soon she would fall down from her stairs and break into a million pieces.

"And that," he continued. "Was after she had transformed. It was during the World War II when that happened. Nobody knew who bit her. Her parents had already died from what it seems was pnemonia, and she was living all alone. She crossed the Bering Sea and headed to Alaska to hunt. That's where Tanya and her family found her."

"I FOUND IT!"

We both heard the noise coming from the second story, glancing at the direction. Alice and Nina flew down the stairs.

Edward's POV

I had heard Alice screaming yet once again, and I looked at the direction where the noise came from. Before Bella and I could see what had happened, Alice and Nina were already in front of us. Alice was laughing and rejoicingly jumping up and down crying out "I've found it, I've found it!" I could see Bella and I were looking at our sister with the same expression.

"May I ask," I cleared my throat, hoping it would get her attention. "What on earth have you found that it would cost us this much to actually fly over here to get?"

She jingled a key that was in her fingers. "This!"

I was irritated that it was ACTUALLY a key. "Alice, when you mean "key of importance-"

She had cut me off, and smiled. "This is the key of importance." she eyed the gold and silver-plated key. "The key to my NEW ASTON MARTIN DBS V12!" the woman squealed again.

"What? WHAT?" She had dragged me and Bella all the way across the earth to pick up her CAR KEY? God, you have must be kidding me. Please tell me this was all a dream. Oh, but I forgot. It's not. Because I can't dream. I can't sleep. I laughed in my head; a cold, sarcastic laugh. The key of importance, was actually the key of unimportance. How could she. How dare she. How dare that little (insert a profanity) of a vampire could trick me into tagging along with her to pick up her damn car key. What a waste of a Saturday!

We were back in the airport, waiting for the next flight over to Washington. Alice had gone to buy the tickets, which left me and Bella alone. I looked over at the woman sitting by me, and seeing that her eyes were changing from a faded golden to cloudy gold-gray. I knew she was getting hungry. I held her hands, and gave her a tight squeeze. She exchanged glances and softly smiled. I was about to kiss her, until-

"Alright, I have the tickets!"

...Until Alice was already in front of us. Bella grinned at me, and I scowled at Alice.

"What?" She snapped. "I know, I'm sorry!" Alice rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms. "I know, I should've just came by myself...But hey! Nina wanted to see you! And your new wife! I couldn't help it..."

As if Nina still remembered us in the first place anyways, let alone you. It took her a damn long time remembering who was howling her name at her front gate.

FIN-