A/N: As promised, here's chapter one of the story. Leave me a review and tell me what you think of it. I promise to try to update pretty frequently and regularly, but reviews make me update a lot faster! :)

Chapter One- Change of Plans

Bella POV

"Bella, need I remind you how dangerous it could be if you don't stand still?" Alice asked me as she rolled her eyes. "If I poke you with this pin…" she started

I rolled my eyes back at her as I looked down at her. I was standing on an elevated platform, wearing my wedding dress as she meticulously altered it. She was adjusting for my height and making sure it was long enough but still wouldn't cause me any additional reason to fall over my own feet.

"I know Alice, its best not to bleed in a house full of vampires" I told her as I finished her sentence for her.

"I suppose that's true" Alice admitted, "but the danger I was referring to involved what would happen if you got blood on the white lace."

I couldn't help but smile down at her as I tried to remain still. She had actually managed to get me excited about all of this wedding stuff. Edward had been concerned that I was doing this just to make everyone else happy, and while this was true, it was making me happy as well. For once, everything seemed to be falling into place. I let Alice drag me into all of her planning and I let her get me excited about details.

I twirled my engagement ring on my finger. It was a new habit of mine. Edward would always give me that crooked half grin I loved when he saw me do it. I would explain to him that I still wasn't used to the added weight, but I knew he could see right through me. The truth was I liked to remind myself that it was there. I liked to remind myself that I belonged to Edward, and him to me.

I reached my hand up to brush my hair from my eyes and the diamond charm on my bracelet reflected the sparse light that was contained in the room. Yet another marking of Edward's. Of course, the other charm hung on it as well. The wolf. I hadn't heard from Jacob and I didn't think I ever would. I brushed him from my mind, determined to forget. I didn't want to hurt Edward anymore than I already had with all of this Jacob business.

"Isabella, if you move one more time…" Alice threatened.

I sighed and pulled on a tight smile for her sake.

"If I was a vampire, I could stay as still as a statue" I reminded her.

"And while that is true, you're a human. So you are going to need to use a little will power" she snapped at me, good-naturedly of course.

"No more moving" I promised her as I sucked in a deep breath and stood still, letting her finish making the necessary markings on the dress.

It took another 15 minutes for Alice to be satisfied that she had the right measurements down. Finally, I was free from all of the white lace and I was allowed to slip back into my jeans and t-shirt. I hurried down the stairs, but stopped short when I saw Edward glaring menacingly at Emmett who glared back with the same ferocity. Neither seemed to move, and I could almost feel the animosity in the air. Jasper was standing there, watching them with his brow furrowed. I started to walk over to them but Jasper put out an arm to restrain me.

"What's going…?" I started, but Jasper 'shushed' me, effectively quieting me down.

"Stay very quiet" he whispered, and I couldn't stop the concern that was flowing through my veins.

"What's going on?" I tried again but this time as a whisper.

"Staring contest" Jasper answered solemnly as he looked back and forth between his brothers.

"Oh, good god" snapped Rosalie as she walked into the room.

She was standing in front of her brother and her lover before I even had time to register her arrival. She snapped their heads together, effectively breaking the contest off and causing them both to scowl at her. Of course, both of their heads were made of stone, so it didn't hurt them.

"I had that one Rose!" Emmett whined to her, taking her in his big arms.

"You did not. You both would have stood there for all of eternity. Emmett, you don't need to stare at Edward all day. You have me. And I'm much prettier" she purred.

If I had said that line, it would have sounded vein and whiney. But when the words came from Rosalie's full lips they sounded alluring and sultry. I definitely couldn't pull of sultry.

"Can't argue with that" Emmett told her as he playfully rolled his eyes.

"I'd rather stare at my fiancé anyway" Edward assured them, the crooked smile on his face as he took me into his arms.

I blushed, as I always did when Edward would stare at me with his smoldering topaz eyes. He kissed me lightly on the forehead as his siblings cleared out of the room, apparently sick of seeing our obvious signs of affection for one another.

"Was the wedding dress fitting unbearable?" he asked me.

"It wasn't so bad" I assured him.

He lifted up a finger and traced my cheeks, obviously following the rosiness that came from the rush of blood.

"I will miss your blush" he told me with a light sigh.

I bit my lip and cringed unwillingly. He realized his mistake immediately and I instantly saw pain and remorse in his eyes.

"Oh Bella, I didn't mean it like that" he assured me, gently capturing my lips with his own.

This had been an ongoing thing between us. Although I was desperate to become a vampire, I was also a little frightened. My fear didn't come from the pain of the change, or my potential inability to control my thirst. The fear came from my belief that Edward would no longer want me once I was a vampire. He had assured me a thousand times over that this wasn't true. But I couldn't shake the feeling. No vampire had captured his attention before, even with the striking features and beauty that came with being an immortal being. But here I was a mere human, able to capture the heart of the elusive Edward Cullen. I knew that my human elements were what attracted Edward's attention. I knew that he liked my blush and my warmth among my other human qualities. I knew that this is what made him fall in love with me. And as soon as I was a vampire, I would lose these things. I would no longer be in possession of the things that drew Edward to me. I would no longer be in possession of the things that made me special. Edward of course assured me that I was being ridiculous and that he loved me no matter what. He said that while my human features added to my attractiveness, he would forever love me and forever be captivated by me no matter what. I tried so hard to believe his words and push away my fears. But it was harder than I was willing to admit it. I was terrified of losing him.

"I'm trying not to be so sensitive" I promised him.

"Don't worry about it my sweet Bella" he cooed to me, his cool breath lingering near my ear. "I should never have brought it up."

I allowed myself to wrap my arms tighter around his waist, resting my head against his chest.

Edward POV

I felt horrible as I held her trembling body close to mine. I knew she wasn't even aware that she was shaking, but I knew it. I resisted the urge to sigh deeply. I didn't want her to misinterpret that sigh as something else. I wished for the billionth time that I could just read her thoughts. I knew she didn't want it that way and I wouldn't want to displease her, but I couldn't help but think about how much easier it could all be if I was allowed access to her mind.

I just wish she would realize that I didn't care about the things like her blush or her body temperature. These were all added Bella bonuses in my mind, but they didn't make me love her any more or less. I would always love her with all of my being and all I had to offer, no matter what. It always made my unbeating heart clench when she doubted this. As always, I credited her doubts back to those months I spent away from her. I would never forgive myself for that. I would always hate myself for the pain I had inflicted on my reason for existing.

My angel groaned against my chest, and even though I couldn't read her thoughts, I knew the reason for this sound of annoyance.

"I need to take you back to Charlie's" I said reluctantly.

Telling Charlie that Bella and I were engaged hadn't been an easy task. After much yelling (mostly on Charlie's part) and tears (mostly on Bella's part), Charlie had accepted our engagement, though with a heavy heart. He agreed to walk Bella down the aisle, but with certain conditions. She had to continue living with him right up until the wedding. Bella had reluctantly agreed. She knew that I would spend every night with her anyway. But I could tell she wanted to stay in the house with my family. She wanted to feel like she was a part of them. She already called that house home. She called her old house "Charlie's" and I didn't try to dissuade her. Still, I knew part of her was happy with the situation. She was reluctant to leave Charlie and she was glad for the little time she had with him. It was still difficult to go through the façade of bringing her back there and leaving her though. I wanted to just keep her in my room, in my house, all the time. There would be plenty of time for that though.

Bella stepped out my arms, though I could sense her reluctance. She smiled back at me before turning around to face the door that led to the hallway of the house.

"Bye, see you tomorrow" Bella called in an even voice, not too loud or too soft.

A chorus of six "goodbyes" yelled back to her and I smiled as I helped her into her coat. We had barely made it to the door when the electricity went out. I instinctively grabbed her hand. It wasn't difficult by any means for me to see in the dark, but I knew she was basically blind. I didn't want her tripping over anything and injuring herself, and this was just asking for trouble.

"We probably blew a fuse. I'll get it" Carlisle yelled out, mostly for Bella's sake since the rest of us would have heard him if he merely spoke the words in his normal tone.

"It's not the fuse" Alice cried out, running into the room.

Even in the dark I could tell that her face was even paler than normal but by the time I realized this I had already read her thoughts.

"I'm sorry Edward, I couldn't see it until now" she lamented to me.

I grabbed Bella close to me, pushing her behind me but still wrapping my arms around her awkwardly as she stood behind me, pressed against my back. There was no time to run, no time to get her out. And I didn't know what to do. I just had to stop them; I couldn't let anything happen to her.

"Edward, what's wrong" she whispered in a hoarse voice, her fingernails digging into my shirt, unable to penetrate the stony skin of my arms.

I didn't have time to answer her though. I clutched her closer as a group of cloaked figures entered the house. I could feel Bella's fear, thick in the air as she started to understand what was going on. The cloaked figures stood ominously, staring at us for a moment with a ferocity that seemed to cut through me. I felt a sense of suffocating doom as I stared at the figures. The first one, the shortest, pulled her cloak down, and I made sure my grip on Bella was tight. She smiled a sickly sweet smile before she spoke. Jane couldn't contain her glee as she uttered the words that shook me to my core.

"There's been a change of plans" she started. "Things have been shaken up in Italy. We like to consider it a coup" she said, her smile growing wider, though it wasn't directed at anyone.

A coup. I didn't need to read her mind to get the exact implications of this coup. Aro had lost some power. He was no longer calling the shots. And Bella was no longer safe.

The changing winds were here.

A/N: Chapter 2 is coming soon! Thanks for reading my story. Drop me a review if you have a chance. Like I said, reviews make me update faster (wink wink nudge nudge).