Sleep Walking

"Who can forget…. The long cool shadows floating on the campus."

-Dartmouth Undying

Prologue

Isabella Cullen. Isabella Swan Cullen. Bella Cullen. I twisted my new driver's license around in my hand. It was just like my old one, shiny and laminated hard, but the old one did not give me large butterflies in my stomach when I looked at it. It was still odd to see my new name, to hear it, Isabella Cullen. The new picture didn't even look familiar. I still couldn't believe that was me. Of course, eventually, inevitably, the name would change. In about ten years or so, my vampire family and I would have to move on and change our surnames at least, so we didn't draw attention to ourselves, because we did not age as humans do. But for now I was blissful in that I shared the only last name I've ever known my true love to have, Cullen. I was proud to be part of this close coven, family, of mismatched wonderful personalities, vampires, like me. Those that have given up so much of what their nature begs them to do and have fought so hard for what they believe in. They, we, have won the right to live as we choose and with each setting of the sun I tried to revel in that we were together and safe.

I most of all enjoyed watching my half human daughter as she played and absorbed knowledge from every aspect of her limited surroundings in Forks, Washington. She was growing at lightning speed compared to a human child, but we now knew that she would mature and then her aging would slow. It was comforting to be able to relax and enjoy this wonderous new life I had become a part of. I was also still getting to know my incredible new vampire body and mind, but the process was made much easier by the gracious patience of Edward and my new family.

The first winter of my vampire birth was a time of great turmoil for the Cullens, our allies, and extended family. Things were settling down, but all through the rest of the winter and even into the spring, we were still reeling from the events of that New Year's. How we had almost been erased from existence in a meadow not far from our tranquil home. How the Voltare, the enforcers of vampire 'law' or so they say, had tried to split up our family and destroy our coven and supporters. How they had failed and we stood strong. We knew they would eventually come back, but I was not going to worry myself with them any longer. I wanted to enjoy my new daughter, my new husband, my new family, and, or course, my new name. Bella Cullen. It sounded like music to my ears. The summer would be a fresh start and the fall would bring a new adventure for me… College.

Chapter One

Upper Valley, New Hampshire

The rain was light and cool on our faces as we strolled down the dark sidewalk. Renesmee had my hand on one side and her father's on the other, occasionally skipping as we walked, humming a light tune to herself that I did not recognize. It was just after dusk in the quaint New England college town of Upper Valley where my husband, Edward, our daughter Renesmee, Edward's adopted sister Alice, her husband Jasper, and I had settled down in a large loft style apartment near Dartmouth University. Edward and I were taking night courses and in the eight weeks we'd been here everyone was adjusting well. We had recently enrolled Renesmee in a kiddie play center that had evening hours called "Fun Town". The weather was just starting to turn cool and it was easy to tell it was near Halloween. Many of the homes we passed on our way to the "Fun" center had Halloween decorations newly strung up to scare and delight. Dartmouth and "Fun Town" were both located a short walk from our loft. Renesmee was put in with the five to seven year olds, since the birth certificate we'd had forged for her put her age at six and a half, which she easily passed for. I can't imagine what the staff's reaction would be if they knew she was only fourteen months old! Renesmee was every bit the part though, reading at a first grade level and articulating her speech so perfectly that Edward and I were constantly receiving compliments about our home schooling techniques.

"Momma, my friend Billy is having a birthday party at his house next Saturday, can I go?" Renesmee's cute high pitched little voice asked then she looked at me with her large beautiful chocolate brown eyes. Edward and I glanced at each other. We'd known complications like this would arise many times over the next few hundred years, but this was the first and we wanted to handle it properly. My response was cautious.

"Renesmee, you know that your happiness is extremely important to us, and we will do whatever we can to make your interaction with other children as normal as possible. But, there are limits to where we can go during the daytime, and I'm afraid if it's too sunny that day we would not be able to go. We don't want to scare the other parents or children, do we?" Renesmee knew that Edward's and my skin, pale ivory and hard as marble, would become effervescent in the direct sun, throwing off rainbows and glittering brightly. Any human that saw us would know immediately that something was amiss and we would be forced to pick up and leave this town, something I did not want to think about, especially since we just got here. My university studies were very important to Edward and I didn't want to let him down.

"Besides," Edward said, remembering the date, "you will be with me and Uncle Jasper visiting your grandparents in Forks. Remember sweetheart? We leave this weekend." Edward smiled his gorgeous crooked smile down at her and although my stomach flipped whenever I saw that grin, it also saddened me because I knew I would have to say goodbye to them while they visited home. Edward, Jasper, and Renesmee were going home early for Thanksgiving. Since I couldn't miss that much of my studies, Alice and I would join them closer to the holiday. It turns out Edward handled much of the financial dealings the Cullens had and he wanted to organize everything for his father, Carlisle, before the holidays. Renesmee was also missing Jacob, our shapeshifting/ wolf/ Quilliote Indian best friend and I knew from the constant phone calls that Jacob was missing her terribly too. They had a great bond that could not be shaken and although in the future I was not sure how Edward and I would feel about the match up, since Jacob was holding fast at the age of sixteen and Renesmee would soon be a lovely teenager herself, for now we were glad that Jake could bring his 'Nessie' happiness and be a part of our lives. I guess we were all 'bonded' to each other in more ways then one.

We reached the large storefront style windows of "Fun Town" and Renesmee let out a hefty 'Woo-hoo!' and ran inside. Edward looked at me and rolled his eyes.

"And you were worried about her conforming to human society." He chuckled low enough for only me to hear. That made me smile.

"Renesmee, please come say goodbye to your poor mother and father before you start having so much fun without us!" I yelled into the large gym area layed out in front of us.

Just as I opened my arms wide enough for a big hug Renesmee hopped over to me on one leg and grabbed my jacket, pulling me down to whisper in my ear.

"Momma, please please call me Nessie!! Please! I love my full name too, but all the other kids can't say it right, so I'd just like to be called Nessie in front of them." After some thought she also added, "In fact, just call me Nessie in front of everyone, we'll make it easy for you." Then she turned around to a little boy that was tugging on the back of her hair, "Billy, I told you I wouldn't put it down, I'm still hopping. We will hop. All night, we will hop, just like bunnies!" With that she turned to hop away and quickly threw a "Goodbye, Love You Guys" over her shoulder back at us.

The room mother for the night, Carol, was walking over to us sighing with a smile on her face. "She is like a little mother hen with those younger kids, and that Billy Foster can't get enough of her. They both wear me out." She sighed again and then looked worried, "But in a good way, I mean they keep the kids occupied, they're always coming up with something new to do. I wonder what tonight will bring." Carol narrowed her eyes when she said this then smiled. "You guys have a great night at class and I'll see you later. Don't worry a bit, she's in good hands."

"Thank-you Carol. See you later sweetie!" I called into the play room and 'Nessie' glanced up mid-hop and waved with a bright smile. Edward grabbed my hand and swung me back toward the door mumbling about being late for class.

I was taking a small course load of business classes, mostly just first year stuff, definitely remedial for someone like Edward. I was thinking about opening a floral shop when we finally moved back to Forks. I always had a love for flowers and I was pretty good at picking out different floral scents and mixing them together. Being in the city as much as we were now I missed the different scents of the meadows and forrests of our home. Edward and Alice had been surprised when I mentioned opening a business, but my argument could not be beat. I reasoned that we had forever to live, forever to do whatever we wanted, so why not try it all? I wanted to be productive, did they expect me to sit around and eat plasma bon-bons all day? I knew it would not be forever, but all the better to get my feet wet in the business world. I figured if you wanted to work for a living what better way to work then to be your own boss? Edward had finally agreed with my plan and was actually taking courses in botany to help me once I started my little shop. This pleased me and once he signed up for his course load Alice said she could see the shop and insisted on being our first customer. With her penchant for shopping and fresh flowers I predicted she would be our best customer also, but I kept that to myself.

My sister in law was having fun in New Hampshire these last weeks also. She and Jasper had gotten work at a nightclub near our loft. Jasper was a bouncer, although his special 'ability' to ease tense situations kept the fighting to a minumum. At least, until they got outside and away from Jasper's line of sight. Alice was a paid "Club Girl", she would flitter around and talk up guys who looked lonely or bored and get them talk to other girls or to buy drinks. Basically, she made sure everyone had fun and she was very good at her job. Edward said she was getting paid for nothing and he thought it was the perfect job for her. She didn't like that comment but always had some kind of comeback about how at least she had a job. Every once in a while Alice would have one of her 'visions', she could flash to the future if the occasion called for it. She mostly saw happy things now, like her mother Esme's decision to remodel their garage or Jasper picking out a new piece of jewelry to surprise her with (even though he knew it would never be a surprise, Alice was very in tune with jewelry gifts).

They had used Alice's unique mind to trick me when we first moved to the Upper Valley area. It was September 13th, my human birthday, which I strictly forbade anyone to acknowledge. It was bad enough I had to deal with gifts from my dad, Charlie, and my mom, Renee (who was glad I was healthy again, but still hadn't seen me in the flesh), I certainly didn't want my forever 17 husband to remember that I would've been nineteen had I stayed mortal. Of course, that was too much to ask, and Alice had called me while I was trying to unpack.

"You have to come down to the park around the corner," She had taken Renesmee just after sunset to play on the swings. "I've seen quite a bad dilemma, you'd better get down here!" Her voice sounded high and stressed so I hurried out the door and bolted up the small block and turned the corner in a flash. They were all there, Edward, Alice, Nessie, and Jasper. They had a large banner hung up on the swing set with "Happy Birthday" written on it in black paint. The playground was decorated with large bows and fresh flowers all around. When Renesmee saw me she ran up and hugged my legs tightly.

"Don't be mad Momma, it was my idea." She looked up at me and smiled a beautiful crooked smile, she was so much like her daddy, perfect in every way. "I made this for you," she said as she handed me a piece of construction paper, "I hope you like it."

I turned the paper over and saw a picture of me, Edward, and Nessie holding hands all made of elbow macaroni. It was the best artwork I'd ever seen.

"I love it my dear, you will be a great artist someday!" I shouted as I grabbed her up and twirled her in the air.

"And if I get too hungry I can eat it!" Everyone laughed at that and we cleaned up and headed home. As I put Nessie to bed that night I thanked her again for the macaroni picture, now properly placed on the fridge for everyone to see. "I'm sorry our party wasn't like mine Momma." Renesmee had my face in her hands as she said this, a grave look in her eyes.

Right before we had left Forks for Dartmouth, Renesmee had her first birthday party at the Cullens huge house and we went all out. Clowns, Moon Bounce, candy bar (an actual bar made of candy), pony rides, and so much more. Every child in Forks and La Push came and they had a blast. Many thought they were there to celebrate the sixth birthday of our adopted daughter. Many also wondered why we started the party at five p.m. But that didn't dampen the spirit once they saw the Cullen estate and the elaborate party we created. We were the talk of the town for days afterward and every child wanted to be Nessie's best friend.

"Well, Nes-sie," I enunciated her nickname as she asked me to do as I tickled her lightly, "I think I had enough fun at your birthday party to last through mine too. Besides, your art is the best present I could get." Her giggles turned to a sigh as I stopped tickling her. "Now get some sleep, sweet dreams my love." I kissed her forehead and shut her bedroom door as I crept out.

Privately that night, Edward gave me a wrapped box and I was mad at first but he gufawed at my oppostion saying, "It's just a little something, no big deal, really, just open it." I reluctantly did. It was a large Dartmouth sweatshirt, very worn in and very comfy looking. The scent caught my attention and I took a long whiff of it, mothballs and -what was that- Edward?? He caught on right away. "This was my sweatshirt when I went here before." He smiled at my puzzled expression, "In 1935. I graduated Suma Cum Laude."

I knew that my husband had a long educational background but this took me by surprise, I didn't know for sure that he had attended Dartmouth before. After a second to catch my composure I smiled and since Renesmee was already in bed I properly thanked him for a very long time.

I smiled to myself remembering that night during my Intro to Business class. The professor was writing his own text book and decided to teach from that, even though it was unpublished and unobtainable. This made it extremely difficult to stay on track so mostly I just half listened, which actually seemed to be enough because my vampire senses were so alert that I had instant recall of whatever was said in class. I took minimal notes and on the test just willed myself to remember the lecture pertaining to the question. I was acing with an easy A- so far, I think the best in the class.

I was glad when classes ended for the night an it was time to get Renesmee and go home. She was happy to see us and looked hungry and tired. Edward carried her home and she lay on his shoulder with her eyes closed. At home she gobbled down a 16 ounce sport drink bottle we had filled up with fresh buck blood from our last hunting trip locally. She preferred fresh, but if frozen then thawed properly it was quite tasty. Due to her rapid growth, Renesmee fed more often then we did, mostly sticking to human food unless we were hunting together. Occasionally, like tonight, we gave her a treat of the frozen animal blood. She preferred donated human blood, but that was hard for us to get here and we wanted to ween her off human blood as much as possible. We tucked her into bed together and she looked sweet as an angel holding her favorite stuffed bear and almost sucking her thumb.

"Get some sleep tonight my love." Edward purred to her as we put her into her bed. "Tomorrow Auntie Alice is taking you shopping for your costume, tomorrow night is All Hallows Eve! May I Trick or Treat with you?"

She grinned widely at this, pulling her thumb out of her mouth with a pop, "Yes, you certainly may daddy, but you have to dress up too and so does momma and Aunt Alice!" She had a glint in her eye at some surely wicked thought. Edward rumpled his brow and looked interested.

"We'll see about that. But you never know." Edward looked over to me and he and Renesmee burst out into laughter at whatever thought he had seen her picture in her head. "Darling," Edward looked at me, "how do you feel about bunny costumes?" Oh no.

Chapter Two to come!