Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters. But maybe I'll buy it one day. I wanna be a billionaire...so freaking bad...*cough cough* I hope you like this story :)
Present Day
For some, time passes slowly. An hour can seem an eternity. For others, there's never enough. For the Cullens, time didn't exist.
Edward Anthony Cullen navigated the woods of Forks, Washington with precise expertise. With one hand on the steering wheel of his 2006 Volvo S60, and the other in his hair, Edward continued to drive the path to the Swan residence. It had been over one hundred years since he'd last been there. But the memory of the beautiful, young girl he left behind was forever engraved into his mind. All he could see was his beautiful Bella, waiting for him. Hopefully, waiting for him.
Edward made a sharp left and drove for two more minutes. He stopped abruptly when he pulled up in front of a medium sized white house. He violently yanked the keys out of the ignition and was out of the car in a flash. Edward stared at the white house for a moment and let out a breath. She was there. He knew she was.
June 20th, 1907
Esme Cullen fumbled with her needle and thread nervously. She was sitting in an old rocking chair at the front of Newton's Furnishings, trying in vain to finish the stitching on her gift for her youngest son, Edward. Today her three boys and daugher in law would be returning from their latest travels. Europe. Esme smiled at the idea of those four traveling the world. They were brave, much braver than her.
"Mom?" a voice as smooth as velvet called from across the road. Esme looked up from her latest sewing project and saw Edward standing next to his siblings.
"Edward," she said. She quickly fumbled to stuff her gift in the front pockets of her dress and ran to her children. She threw her arms around her youngest and he laughed his soft laugh in her ears. "My dear boy, happy birthday," she whispered.
"Hey, give the rest of us some love, Mom," Emmett, her middle child said. She pulled away from Edward and looked Emmett up and down. He can't still be growing, she thought. Next to him stood his beautiful wife, Rosalie.
"Rosalie, lovely as always to see you," Esme said politely. Rosalie smiled and curtsied. "You too, Esme," she said. Esme directed her attention to Emmett and smiled wider.
"Mom, I missed you," Emmett said picking her up and hugging her tightly.
"Put me down, boy! You're going to injure your only mother," she said laughing.
"I don't think that's possible," her eldest son said rather solemly. Jasper. Emmett put her down and she walked over to where Jasper stood, in the shadows away from everyone else.
"Jasper, my boy. It's always good to see you home," she said smiling nervously. Jasper was always a tricky one. Surprisingly, he cracked a small smile and hugged her tightly.
"It's good to be home, finally," he said. Esme caught the alternative meaning in his words but decided to address it at a later date. Her childern were home and they were happy. That was the most important thing.
July 1st, 1907
Isabella Marie Swan was in her Sunday dress. It was white, long, and beautiful. At the moment, it was covered in grass stains all along the back. Isabella was lying in the front yard of her home. Her mahogany hair smelled of freesias and freshly cut grass. She heard a small purring sound come from her side. She turned abruptly and came face to face with a black cat. Renee, her mother, would have screamed. She hated all animals and was terribly superstitious. Imagine her horror at seeing her daughter lying beside a common street cat! A black one, no less!
"You're lucky," Isabella said to the cat. "You can do whatever you please."
"Isabella!" her mother called. She sighed heavily and reached out to pet the black cat. The cat came to her instantly and purred at her touch. "Isabella!" her mother called again.
"I need a new name. One that isn't all worn out. Or one that doesn't sound so foreign or interesting. I'm neither of those," Isabella said to the cat. "I think you need a name, too," she paused, thoughtful. "How about I name you after these woods here. Forks. Do you like Forks?" The cat meowed softly and Isabella smiled. "Forks it is."
"Isabella Marie Swan! Get in this house now! You're getting filfthy!" Renee Swan screamed.
"Coming mother," Isabella sighed. "See you later, Forks," she said as she pet the cat gently on the head. Isabella rose to her feet and brushed the dirt and grass from her white dress. She walked slowly towards the medium white house in which she lived. She looked over her shoulder at the woods she was forbidden to enter. They always looked so peaceful and inviting to her. With a sigh, she bunched her dress up around her ankles and walked up the stairs to her lovely home.
Renee Swan was furious. She stood with her hands on her hips and her lips in a tight line. "Isabella Marie, how could you have gotten so dirty in such a short amount of time!"
Isabella cast her eyes towards the floor and Renee sighed. "And you aren't even wearing your corset," she said wearily. Isabella's head snapped up immediately and she took a step toward her mother.
"I refuse to wear that demonic thing, mother! I can hardly breathe when it is on me!" she said. Renee rolled her eyes and called for one of the house maids to bring it.
"Dear, you must look presentable at all times if we are ever to find you a husband. You don't want to be the only woman in all of Washington to not be wed, do you?" Renee asked.
"But mother, I am only sixteen. I do not want to be wed, I want to have fun," Isabella said. "While I still can," she added sadly.
"There's plenty of fun in marriage, Isabella," Renee said. The house maid arrived with a white corset. Isabella gulped as her mother took it from the maid.
"Mother, the only things a woman can do when she is married is dress up, attend parties, and paint. I want to do other things," the young girl pleaded.
"You do enough as it is! Your father and I allow you to waste your time out on the front lawn. I allow you to read those monstrous things you call books," the woman said pointedly.
Isabella gasped and her cheeks reddened with anger. "They're classics. People in other places have read Dracula and Frankenstein. Their subjects are monstrous, yes. But their stories are wonderful."
"I wish you'd read the Austen novels I gave you. Or perhaps you'd enjoy Chopin's The Awakening? All the girls just loved that book," Renee said in a daze.
Isabella rolled her eyes. "I read those books, mother. I enjoyed them too, but I'd like to read other classics as well. The Scarlett Letter, Shakespeare's Othello, novels written by men."
"Enough with this talk. Come here, child. I'll help you put on your corset and re-dress. We're going into town."
"Why are we going into town?" Isabella asked.
"I have business there," her mother replied easily.
"Business of what sort?" Isabella asked almost immediately. She pondered what on earth her mother of all people could have business of.
"You'll see when we go into town. Now, come, quickly!" Renee said. She motioned for her daughter to join her upstairs.
"Fine," Isabella sighed. She began to untie the bows at the back of her dress. Renee began to glide gracefully up the stairs and Isabella trudged behind her. I'll never be an upstanding woman of this society. I refuse, she thought.
The ride into town was always quick. Isabella sat quietly in the back of the stagecoach with her mother. She tried in vain to take a deep breath and frowned, remembering the corset. She took a look at her mother and frowned even more, if at all possible.
"Mother, I can hardly breathe from my anxiousness," she fibbed. "What business are we tending to?" she asked. Renee Swan smiled at her daugher.
"You'll see," she said simply. The stagecoach entered the town and Isabella bit her lip nervously. The one thing she hated about going into town was that everyone knew who she was. Her father was the Sheriff of the small town, which as a result made her a celebrity. Eyes peered through the windows of their black carriage to see who or what was inside.
Isabella caught sight of Michael Newton, a young bachelor her mother spent most of her days rambling about. Apparently, their parents desperately wanted to set the two of them up. Isabella absoluely hated the idea. If she were to marry, it should be to someone she loved and found all on her own.
The stagecoach came to a stop and Renee made a move to get out. "Stay here, Isabella. I'll be back with the news of my business here."
"What? No, I wish to come too, mother," Isabella said.
"Hush child, just wait here for me," her mother said. And with that, she climbed out of the carriage and made her way inside Newton's Furnishings. Isabella counted to ten and then climbed out.
"I won't follow her in, I'll just wait outside," she said.
"Talking to yourself, eh?" a male voice said from behind her. Isabella turned around and came face to face with Michael Newton. She blushed lightly and laughed.
"You caught me," she said.
"I'll bet you a buck they're talking about our marriage," Michael said. He shook his shaggy blonde hair out of his eyes and smiled at Isabella. He looked rather handsome, though he could use a haircut.
"Our marriage?" Isabella scoffed. "How can they be talking about our marriage when I haven't even agreed to being courted by you?" Michael smiled nervously and took a step closer to her.
"I don't think that really matters anymore seeing as my father gave me a ring to present to you at the Mid-Summer Tea next week," he said. Isabella gasped and stared at Michael in shock.
"W-what?" she stuttered.
"I know. I don't even want to marry you, Isabella," he said. Then he cursed and shook his head. "Sorry, I mean, you're beautiful but I fancy another young lady in Forks," he amended. Isabella smiled as best she could and shifted nervously from foot to foot.
"So what will we do?" she asked.
"Well, I'll propose seeing as my father threatened to strangle me if I didn't and I guess you'll accept seeing as...well, you're mother can be quite scary when she wants to be," he said. Isabella didn't even want to know when Michael had the chance to witness her mother's frightening side. But then she realized there must have been more meetings between the Newtons and the Swans. How much had their two families planned? How much had she missed laying on the front lawn, gazing at the woods? Suddenly Isabella felt dizzy.
"I feel faint," she declared. She tried to take deep breaths but that damn corset was cutting off her lungs. "Michael, I need to lie down, now."
"Okay, hang on a second, Isabella," he said. But Isabella didn't even have a second to hang on to. The world around her faded to black and she heard a faint thud as her body hit the ground.
"Isabella!" a shrill voice called. Isabella wanted to ignore it.
"Isabella Marie!" it called again. Only one person called her Isabella Marie. Renee Swan. Isabella fought the heavy wave of fatigue that was washing over her and opened her eyes.
"I told you to stay in the stagecoach," her mother said. Thanks for asking me how I feel, mother. By the way, I think I may have cracked my skull open, she thought.
"I'm sorry," Isabella said weakly.
"What happened?" her mother asked. Another voice answered.
"Isabella and I were just making conversation and she told me she felt faint. I was going to find her a place to lie down but she just hit the ground," the voice said. Isabella thought hard. The voice belonged to Michael.
"You just let her fall! She could have cracked her skull open!" Renee said angrily.
"He's definitely the one for me, isn't he mother?" Isabella accidentally asked aloud. She immediatly realized her mistake and cursed under her breath. Hopefully no one heard that.
"We'll talk about this at home," Renee said. "Michael, help me get her up." Two small hands gripped Isabella's left arm and two strong ones grip her right.
"Thank you, Michael," Isabella said. "For everything," she whispered to her right.
"You're welcome, Isabella. I suspect I'll be seeing you at the Tea?" he asked. Isabella turned to face him and he raised a brow nervously.
"Yes, you will," she answered. "Mother," she said, turning to face Renee Swan. "Allow me to properly thank Michael." Renee Swan smiled delightedly.
"Of course, dear. Just remember, we are in town," she said. Isabella nodded and stood in front of Michael. She raised to her toes and leaned in towards him.
"I'll think of something," she whispered. She pulled away quickly and Michael smiled at her.
"Until we meet again, dearest Isabella," Michael said happily.
"Until then, my dearest Michael," Isabella said playfully. Michael helped Renee into the coach and then Isabella. He winked at her and turned to go into his family's store. The coach pulled away at once and Isabella smiled to herself.
"Well, I suppose things have an odd way of working out," Renee Swan said to her daughter. Isabella did not hear her. She was too busy staring out of the coach and into the passing woods. She would run away, soon. She would not become an upstanding woman of society. She would not attend any more Teas. She would not marry Michael Newton. No, she would run away.
AN:
Well, this is the story I've been working on.
It's kind of an adaption of the novel Tuck Everlasting :)
I hope you all like it.
Review and let me know if I should continue...I'm feeling a little nervous about this story.