Chapter One:

Fittings and Visions

"Mrs. Isabella Cullen, Mrs. Isabella Cullen, Mrs. Isabella Cullen," I repeated the name again and again as I faced myself in the mirror. I was dressed all in my wedding gown, Alice was fussing at my feet with a loose string that no one but she could see. I looked around at Alice's room; it was just as edgy as she was. There was plenty of red, white, and black, endless black which fit Alice's edgy personality perfectly. A pedestal and three way mirror had been set up in honor of this fitting. We were alone for the first time in a while; Edward was out with his brothers "hiking".

"If you say it one more time…" she threatened, pulling at different parts of the delicate lace. "What's so bad about being a Cullen anyway? Don't you want to be my sister?" Alice stopped her tailoring for a moment to glance up at me. Her gorgeous pixie-like face was heart wrenching with its wide, sad eyes; the perfect spikes in her jet black hair were the same as always, flawless.

"You know you're already my sister," I said, trying to not give into that absurdly depressed yet angelic face. She smirked and went back to her mending, "Yes, but don't you want to actually be my sister, don't you want to make my brother happy?"

I sighed and looked down at my left hand. There it was, the beautiful ring that once belonged to Elizabeth Masen, Edward's mother. Both blessing and curse; blessing for the eternity of happiness it would grant me, curse for the path I had to take to get there. Alice finished whatever minute detail she'd been working on and stood up, beaming.

"Not bad, if I do say so myself." She smiled in such a way that I could never achieve, and I grimaced in return.

"One more day," Alice said, reaching out to stroke the part of my arm that was not covered in lace or satin. Her fingers were icy cool to the touch and left pleasant warmth in its aftermath. I shivered despite myself, unsure whether her touch or the wedding had brought it on. I looked in the mirror and saw that Alice was looking at me through its reflection.

"I suppose it's not all bad," I said, looking down at the mass of cream weighing me down. "This is my happily ever after." I turned away from the mirror to look at her, she was smiling, I smiled back as fully as I could manage.

"I'll have you know, that if I could cry, you could expect me to cry at your wedding." She said grinning, her perfect spikes glistened in the light.

"At least there is one thing to be thankful for," I said returning the smile as warmly as I could. Alice suddenly skipped over to the door, and locked the handle.

"Go away, Edward!" She yelled through the door. Of course, only Alice, who had the gift of foresight, would know who was at the door before they knocked. "You aren't allowed to see the dress!"

"Alice, this is absurd, open the door," his soft voice got my heart to start pumping harder than it had been all day. "You do realize that this door is no match for me, right?"

"Yes, but the fury waiting behind it might give you a run for your money," She challenged, leaning even closer to the wood panel of the door.

"Very well, hurry with your fitting so that I may take my turn with Bella," Edward said, sighing heavily. I giggled at the image of him out in the hallway, and could see the way he would be rubbing his 

forehead. We could hear muttering from the hallway that sounded like, "can't even get a moment with my own wife..."

"You'll get her soon enough! She's not your wife yet!" Alice shouted back before walking back over to where I stood. She reached down to where a shoebox sat in the thick black carpet, and putting the shoes on my feet before I had time to object. The shoes were simple, with a low, sturdy heel, which was smart considering my constant battle with gravity. Alice continued to fuss with me as if I were a giant Barbie doll, which allowed me time to think.

Tomorrow, at twilight, my wedding ceremony to Edward would begin. I was beginning to grow excited despite my feeling of dread. How could I not, especially since I'd be walking down the aisle to the love of my life, towards a life that I'd dreamed about since the day I learned Edward's secret. A life which bizarrely enough resulted in the end of mine. The feeling of dread was partly because of the wedding, but mostly because of the guests I knew wouldn't attend. My heart broke when my mind moved to him. I was only in touch with one of Jacob's friends, Seth, and he only said that Jacob was in Canada with no plan to return. I only realized now, in hindsight, how stupid I'd been, how twisted I'd allowed our relationship to get. I'd hurt him, badly. While I did love him, it was not in the same way that I loved Edward. More of a brother, as Edward loves Alice like a sister. Something that wasn't good enough for Jacob.

"All set!" Alice suddenly exclaimed, standing back to view her creation fully. I turned to look at the mirrors. The dress was beautiful; it was the kind of dress that made me look prettier just by wearing it. I studied my face; pale and heart shaped as it ever was. This made me realize that this was one of the last times my cheeks would ever turn the rosy shade that Edward loved so much. I felt the tears roll down my face but didn't acknowledge them. I stared lastly at my eyes, rich, chocolately brown, soon to be black or golden. And Jacob…once I was a Vampire…there was no going back. I saw Alice go rigid behind me in the mirrors reflection, after thirty seconds or so, she came to. Her face full of concern, Alice approached me from behind and gripped my arm softly.

"Don't do it," she said simply. "Don't run, it would destroy Edward." I whipped around to face her, "I would never do that."

She shrugged her little shoulders, "I just saw it happening." I returned my gaze to the mirror, and said, "I would never do that," once more, not for Alice's benefit, but for my own.

After Alice gave me one more squeeze and a slightly panicked look, she released me from the straight jacket of a gown. I was free. Before leaving her room, I turned and looked at Alice as she hung the dress back up.

"I wouldn't do that to him," I said, my voice filled with the confidence I felt. Her reply was a nervous look, and she went back to hanging the gown.

I opened the door and peaked out into the hallway, but Edward was nowhere in sight. Walking down the end of the hallway where I knew his room was, I realized that I'd never walked through the Cullen's house without Edward's accompaniment. This thought made me nervous for some reason, and caused me to speed up. Bad idea, as the next hurried step I took tripped me and sent me falling to the floor below.

But I never hit the ground; strong, icy hands gripped me and set me right on my feet. I looked up at my savior and saw Carlisle's grinning face staring back at me.

"Thanks," I said, blushing fiercely. His grin grew more pronounced as he said, "Not a problem, I know how those floors can be tricky!"

Edward's bedroom door opened from the end of the hall and he stepped out. I half expected a halo to erupt above his head and the hallelujah choir to begin singing, as he looks so angelic.



"I see Bella is keeping you on your toes, Carlisle," Edward said, snickering at me from behind his father's back.

"Indeed she is, and for the best too. No need for an old man like me to lose my nimble ways." He replied, and gave a slight bow as he excused himself and continued down the hallway.

"Don't say a word," I whispered through gritted teeth. Edward let out a booming laugh, and followed me as I stomped my way to his room.