Disclaimer: Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended. No money is being made from this endeavor.
"Hello?" I called as I opened the door to the Cullen house. Of course they all knew I was there. Even those of us without enhanced hearing could hear my truck coming from a mile away. However, I didn't see any of the family members waiting for me, which was a little odd since it was Alice who had demanded that I come over today. I hadn't expected to go anywhere today since Edward was away hunting for the weekend, but Alice claimed to have urgent wedding business to discuss with me. Wedding business was always urgent for Alice.
"I'm upstairs, Bella!" came Alice's voice. I walked over to the staircase only to have her appear in front of me. "Come on, Bella! We have a lot to do!" She grabbed me by the hand and pulled me up the stairs after her. It was all I could do not to trip, but somehow I managed to make it up the stairs in one piece. When Alice finally came to a stop it was in her bedroom.
My mouth fell open in horror. Every surface was covered with paper, fabric, flowers, or diagrams. I still didn't care about this wedding, and I really hoped that Alice didn't expect me to go through all of this with her today. I took a step back, but Alice had already zoomed behind me and gave me a push further into the room.
"Alice, what is all of this? And you don't expect me to discuss it all with you today, do you?" I really just wanted to get back in my truck and escape. I was not equipped to deal with all of this without Edward to keep me from going crazy.
"Bella, it is only two weeks until your wedding. And besides, most of this is already dealt with. There are only a few things to do today, and none of them are particularly painful." Alice looked at me with a smile on her face. "The first thing is we have to finalize all of the dresses!" It was then that I noticed that Rosalie was sitting in a chair across the room.
"Rosalie, I didn't even notice you!" I said. I hope she didn't think that I was trying to be rude. Our relationship was still a little awkward because she still didn't completely understand my reasoning behind wanting Edward to change me. However, she was at least making an effort not to hate me quite as much, which I appreciated.
"Hello, Bella, " she said quietly, smiling at me. "I believe I am here to make sure that my dress looks all right." I smiled at her, knowing as well as she did that she would be lovely wearing a sack. "Well, Alice," she said, turning to look at her sister who was bouncing up and down beside me, "who goes first?"
"Why don't you and I go together, Rose?" Alice said, grabbing Rosalie's hand and pulling her into the bathroom. I looked around for a place to sit, and realized that the chair Rosalie had just vacated was in face the only clear surface in the entire room. I had no sooner sat down then my two bridesmaids reentered the room.
"Well, Bella?" Alice asked as she struck a pose.
"You both look absolutely beautiful," I said, meaning every word. The dresses were very simple spaghetti-strap numbers. The thing that made them stand out was the color. They were a very dark red, nearly black. It made the both of them look mysterious and otherworldly. While almost none of the guests would get the symbolism that the color red held for me and Edward, I was happy that my new family understood and was willing to display that for me. I heaved a mental sigh, wondering how anyone would manage to look at me when two of the most beautiful women in the world were walking before me.
"Your turn, Bella!" Alice said enthusiastically, motioning me into her gigantic bathroom. I sighed, realizing that Alice was going to take every opportunity she got in the next two weeks to give me a makeover. However, I didn't really see a way around it, and figured that I might as well just get today's session over with. I took the garment bag that Alice handed me, and unzipped it to put on my wedding dress.
I really loved my dress. It fit me perfectly, and made me look like someone out of another time period. I knew that Edward would love it as well, and seeing myself in it did make me a little anxious for my wedding. I was not looking forward to the ceremony, but I was very much looking forward to what would happen afterwards.
"Oh, Bella, you look beautiful!" Alice gushed as I stood in front of the mirror. Rosalie nodded her agreement with a smile. "Edward won't be able to take his eyes off you!" Alice continued. I knew that she was speaking with certainly, considering that she had been seeing visions of this wedding for months.
"He won't be able to keep his hands off you either." Rosalie smirked as my face immediately flushed red. Alice giggled as she skipped out of the room for a second then returned holding something in her hands.
I took one look at what she was holding and immediately said "Alice! I won't even be able to stand still in those, let alone walk down the aisle!" She was holding the most impractical pair of white stiletto heels.
"But Bella! They go so well with the dress, and they are such beautiful shoes!" Alice pleaded. "Please?"
"Alice, have you forgotten that Charlie is going to be walking me down the aisle? He is where I get my balance issues! Look for my future right not, what do you see happening if I wear those shoes?" Alice closed her eyes and her face went blank for a minute. She sighed, looking disappointed.
"I suppose it wouldn't be a good idea to have to go to the hospital in the middle of the wedding ceremony. I guess we will have to just go with the flats instead." I smiled at her, grateful that she had changed her mind so quickly. She skipped out of the room and returned with a pair of white slippers that looked perfectly manageable.
"Those are perfect, Alice. Now, I should get out of this dress before I do something awful and ruin it." Alice giggled and skipped over to help undo the millions of buttons that lined the back of the dress. I put my jeans and t-shirt back on as she and Rosalie hung their dresses back up. Alice said that she was going to clean up a bit, so I said that I was going to go find some food. Rosalie said that she would accompany me, and so we made our way downstairs.
"So, tell me Bella," Rosalie said when we were seated in the kitchen, "are you looking forward to getting married a little?" I swallowed my bite of the sandwich I was eating and gave it a second of thought.
"I am not really looking forward to the ceremony. You all know how much I hate being in the spotlight. I don't really feel like I need such a ceremony to commit myself to Edward." I took another bite of my sandwich as Rosalie considered my words.
"Are you looking forward to being Edward's wife, even if you are not looking forward to the wedding ceremony?" she asked after a moment. I nodded.
"I am very much looking forward to being with Edward forever, and if I have to marry him to get that, I am willing to do that." I hoped that she would understand and not get upset with my mentioning forever. Her forehead wrinkled slightly, but she apparently decided to let it go in favor of continuing the conversation.
"You are looking forward to your wedding night, aren't you?" she asked, causing me to choke on the bite I had just taken. She patiently waited for my coughing to subside. I nodded, feeling myself blush.
"Very much so," I said, trying to control my embarrassment. Rosalie smiled at me, pushing a glass of water towards me. I took a sip, hoping that she wasn't waiting for me to elaborate on the subject. She smiled again, trying to set me at ease.
"I just wanted to tell you that if you have any questions, you can ask me," Rosalie said quietly. "I know that I have not been very nice to you, but I am very happy for how happy you make Edward. If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know." She looked a little uncomfortable at showing her emotions so freely, so this time it was me who smiled at her.
"Rosalie, I just want to let you know that one of the best things about marrying Edward is that I will gain an amazing family at the same time. I am really looking forward to you being my sister. I know you don't agree with my decision to be changed, but I hope that you will be happy to have me as a member of your family no matter what." I was pleased to see Rosalie smile at my words.
"Bella, I am slowly coming to grips with the fact that you really want to be changed. You are not me, and you have different priorities than I. I will be pleased to have you as a sister. It may take me a little more time to get to the same place where Alice is, but I will get there eventually. I am very sorry that I ever made you uncomfortable. I hope that you will forgive me for that." She looked a little ashamed as she spoke, and I quickly spoke up to relieve the tension."
"There is nothing to forgive. I understand how you felt, and we will have all of eternity to become friends. That is, if Alice doesn't kill me with all of the wedding planning." Rosalie laughed, and I laughed as well, relieved that we seemed to have reached the next step in our relationship.
"Speaking of wedding planning," Rosalie said, "we had better get back upstairs before Alice starts to go overboard." I quickly washed my plate and glass, and together we made our way back upstairs.