Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters!
The moon was high in the night sky, there were no clouds and the stars glistened. "A perfect evening." thought Bella.
"Simply beautiful." Edward was suddenly beside her, echoing her thoughts.
Without even thinking, Bella wrapped her arms around him and kissed him softly on the lips. She loved Edward more than anything; he was her everything. Any time apart from him made her anxious for the need to be with him was that strong.
"Welcome back. How was your hunting trip?" Bella asked.
"It would've been better if Emmett hadn't tried to eat a whole pack of grizzlies on his own. Indigestion, you know." Edward grinned, "So what did you ladies do to keep yourselves occupied while we were away?
Bella fought the urge to roll her eyes. In the three days Edward, Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper were gone, Alice saw the need to go shopping, have makeovers and go to parties. Esme had happily obliged and Rosalie although very beautiful and always in good taste when clothes were involved was never nearly as excited about it as Alice. As for Bella, her newfound vampire strength hadn't really changed her views on the subject. It also hadn't been able to allow her to say no to Alice. So she went along with it as best as she could, hoping it would suffice for Alice.
"Alice had a little fun?" Edward guessed when Bella remained silent.
"She had more than a little fun!" Bella then laughed and pulled Edward into another kiss.
When Bella finally broke away she slowly sank to the ground and stared at the sky. Her mood seemed to have changed greatly.
"What are you thinking about?" asked Edward who remained standing.
Bella glanced up at Edward. Even after all this time she was still mesmerized by his beauty. His physical appearance was unmatched by any other, human and vampire alike. She almost forgot they were even having a conversation.
"I don't know how to explain it." Bella said finally, "I guess I don't understand it myself."
"Just try." Edward prompted gently.
"My family and my friends, they've all died but I don't feel sad about that. Maybe because it's been so long since their deaths but for you and me; others like us it's hardly any time at all. When I was a human the prospect of time passing overwhelmed me. Now that I'm a vampire I seem to take it for granted. We're frozen in time but everything around us is not. It keeps going without us." said Bella.
"A hundred years doesn't mean a whole lot when you're immortal. When you aren't going to age physically." Edward agreed.
"And it isn't even that time goes on without us or that the people in my human life have died. It's that my memories of them are fading into nothingness. I forget what they looked like or how well they did in school. I forget what their laughter sounds like. The most trivial things about them up to the most important. It's like they didn't even exist." said Bella.
"But we know they did." replied Edward
"What will happen when I can't remember that they were my friends and family? Or even their names?" asked Bella, "Who will know they existed then?"
"I'm sorry, Bella but I just don't know. I'm sure you won't forget that much. You have to realize this Bella, vampires are not perfect beings despite what you used to think. Despite what you may still think. There is a price that is paid for being what we are and it is very high." answered Edward.
"And all sales are final." Bella grinned in spite of herself. She had chosen this and it had been made very clear to her that there was no going back. Not that she wanted to at this point anyway. Like she said before all her friends and family from her human days were gone now. Edward and the Cullens were all she had now. They were all she wanted. Now and forever.
"All sales are final." Edward repeated thoughtfully, "Yes I suppose that is the best way to put it." He pulled Bella up to her feet and held her hand. She rested her head on his shoulder. Edward hummed her lullaby to comfort her and they stared at the stars and allowed the night to pass carrying their worries away with it.