BPOV
The front doorbell rang, sending chimes throughout the house.
"Sounds like guests are beginning to arrive for your birthday party. Shall we?" Alice asked.
I nodded my head.
"Before you can make your grand entrance, though, I have something for you."
She ran to a table in the room and pointed to a large, rectangle gift box with a matching square gift box on top of it. I approached the scene cautiously, wondering if what was inside would be too over the top.
"Alice," I chided, "I don't want to be the only one dressed up for this party."
"Oh, you won't be. Surprise! I asked everyone to dress up!"
I had imagined just standing around nibbling on cookies and listening to music while wearing jeans, t-shirts and sneakers. Yet, I probably should have known that nothing that simple would fly with Alice assuming the role of the 'official' party planner.
"You go ahead and slip into this little number, and we'll all be waiting for you downstairs."
She left the room and I smiled to myself. Alice was so excited to have this. Not just the party, but peace between the clan and the pack. The us and them had finally merged into one big us and this party was just further evidence for that. I ran my fingers over the cool, smooth boxes and slid the lid off of the square box first. I laughed out loud when I saw what was inside.
There was a pair of eighteenth century women's saloon boots, a garter and a headband with an arrangement of peacock feathers on one side!
I cringed a little before opening the second, larger box…
It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. At this point, I was expecting something wild, so it wasn't as shocking as it might have been otherwise. There was a turquoise, purple, and gold dress fit for the cow towns of Wichita back when there were cattle trails running from Kansas City to Dodge. I was about to ask myself if Alice was serious about this, but I shrugged my shoulders and started dressing in the getup. I scanned myself over in the mirror twice before heading downstairs. All in all, I looked like a saloon peacock, literally.
I headed down the hall and toward the stairs. I heard music that sounded like it was coming from the tinkering keys of an old fashioned player piano.
"Them's some mighty fine fabrics, ma'am," came a Southern drawl from behind me.
When I turned around, I discovered that it wasn't Jasper's voice, but Edward's.
"Edward?"
He was dressed in late eighteenth century gentlemen's' attire. He was wearing a white shirt under his black vest which had slightly poufy sleeves and a black garter around one arm.
"Happy birthday, Bella," he whispered before planting a kiss on my lips.
"I like your hair. It looks pretty and it smells divine."
"Oh, why, thank you, mister," I said in the best cowgirl accent I could muster.
He pulled out a gold watch on a chain from his vest pocket. "Looks like it's time for your party to start, love."
I gave him a curtsy and took his arm so he could escort me down the stairs. It was true that I was no longer subject to tripping and tumbling all over myself… but with these high-heeled boots, one could never be absolutely certain what might happen.
As we entered the living room, I saw Alice dressed in a bright red saloon dress just like mine. Her lips were bright red and the feather on her head band matched. Jasper ran up to her side. He was dressed as a cowboy, with the fitted, dark jeans, brown boots, a dusty cowboy-cut shirt, a large hat and a bandana around his face. He even had two antique-looking six-shooters slung around his waist in holsters.
"Why, don't you look just fit to be robbin' a bank?" Alice teased.
Angela, Jen and Kathy were all dressed up in costume as well. Between the lot of us, we looked like a bunch of saloon tarts. Angela was wearing a wild purple print, Jen was turquoise and Kathy was all shades of gold. They looked like my own personal entourage, the way they matched my peacock number.
Emmett ran in, dressed as the sheriff, with a shiny silver star on his cowboy costume. Rose was decked out in 'librarian-from-the-eighteen-hundreds' wear. She was even sporting the soft, feminine bonnet.
"Yee-haw," Emmett shouted as he ran toward Jasper, pretending to shoot his revolver up in the air.
"Don't be getting too rowdy, now," warned Rose.
"Don't worry, baby, they're not even loaded," Emmett smiled at her the way a toddler does when he knows he's in trouble.
"Oh, I know that, Emmy-bear. I just have to say that. It's what my cowgirl character would say. I'm playing Quaker today. I'm afraid I'm going to have to be strict," she teased.
Carlisle and Esme were standing next to the player piano, smiling. Esme was dressed like a character from "Sarah, Plain and Tall," just like Rose was. The pattern on her dress was made up of tiny little paisleys and she was wearing a white apron over it. Carlisle was dressed like "Pa" in "Little House on the Prairie," and was wearing a pair of old-fashioned spectacles.
As Edward and I made our way down the stairs, I continued to survey the view before me. We really did look like we just popped out of an old western scene.
Alice waved me over to her and as I was crossing the room, I heard the stereo-typed war cry of Indians. The front door burst open and in danced Jake, Embry, and Quil, followed by Seth and Leah Clearwater. Seth and Leah were the newest pack members. They changed over the summer, on the exact same day. Seth was excited about the development, but Leah was a little less than thrilled. She wasn't prepared for something like this to happen to her, and honestly, neither was anyone else. In all of the histories and traditions of the Quileutes, there was never a single recorded case of a female joining the wolf pack. Leah was the first. She was still bitter about her and Sam's break-up, since they were engaged. She was finally let in on why he decided to no longer be with her. Until her change, she didn't understand the finer points of imprinting. Now that she understood the reason behind Sam's sudden choice, if you can really call it that, she was finally beginning to try to move on and get past it.
The five members of the tribe were dressed like the Native Americans from the Hollywood movies. They had feathered headdresses, moccasins, tomahawks, war paint on their faces and the guys had it on their bare chests, and they danced around as if they were doing a Powwow. Jasper and Emmett were banging on a pair of cowhide drums as the pack performed.
"Ah-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya!" Jake bellowed, waving his hand over and away from his mouth as he danced toward Jen.
He bowed down on one knee and took her hand to give it a kiss.
She lifted her right arm off her left, just like in Peter Pan, and said, "How."
"How!" he greeted her back in a stereotypical way.
They both giggled at one another.
"Bella!" Alice giggled, "What do you think?"
"It's not at all what I expected, to be honest," I laughed.
"No. I didn't think it would be. But it's all fitting. It's for your birthday gift from all of us. Would you like to 'open' it now?" As she spoke, the room got very quiet.
I looked around to see everyone eyeing me, as if they were waiting for something.
"Okay," I said weakly, not sure what to expect.
"Carlisle and Edward?" Alice motioned them over. "Jake?" she asked, motioning for him to come as well.
"Bella, for your birthday, we have decided to make a truce and to agree on a Plan of Peace," Edward smiled at me.
"A Plan of Peace?" I asked.
My draw nearly dropped. I understood what was happening now.
"Yes," Jake answered. "You see, for too long we have been playing cowboys and Indians, only seeing the differences between us, but always ignoring the things we have in common. Since you have become one of the wolves in a way, as well as one of the vampires, we thought for your birthday, it would be perfect to announce and sign off on a New Treaty. One that will benefit both our sides and unite us, as well as protect us all."
"Then we'll have some punch, cake and a hayride," Alice chirped.
Edward laughed and nodded, "Yes, then we'll get to the refreshments and festivities."
"Are you all ready for this?" asked Jake.
"We are," Carlisle answered. "I remember the day that your great-grandfather, Ephraim, Edward and I made a treaty such as this. He would be very proud to see you now."
"Thanks, Carlisle," Jake chuckled, trying to hide the tears that were welling up in his eyes. "I'm sorry that my dad and Sam couldn't be here."
"It is alright," Edward told Jake, patting him on the shoulder. "They do not approve of the new treaty," he explained to me. "They see it as near-treason, in a way. However, Jacob here is the rightful heir of authority in his tribe. If he truly does wish to make this treaty then it is, in fact, binding for all of the members. Not just the wolves who are among us today in this space and time, but for all the generations to come."
"Jake," I said, hugging him, "Thank you so much for this."
"I'm happy to do it. Do you want to hear what the New Plan of Peace entails?"
I nodded my head.
Carlisle motioned for everyone to sit down. Everyone's eyes were wide as we all listened to the points of the new treaty.
"First off," Jake announced, "The members of the Cullen family will be able to visit our lands whenever they like, or whenever it is necessary to ward away dangers from other clans or from roaming wanderers."
Carlisle and Edward each took a turn shaking Jake's hand over the first point.
"Secondly," Jake announced again, "If the members of the Cullen tribe wish to add a new member to their clan, and as long as they have the willing consent of the member they wish to initiate, and as long as that new member understands fully what they will be getting into as a vampire before they become one, there will be no war made between the Pack and the Clan." He gave me a wink as he announced this point.
Again, Carlisle and Edward each took a turn shaking Jake's hand.
"Third and lastly, the Quileutes and the Cullens, from this day forward, are partners in defending one another's property and liberties from any outside force that would threaten the way of life between one or the other. That will be true from this point on, for all generations to come and for all new members to come. We swear to protect their members and they swear to protect ours."
For the third and last time, Carlisle and Edward each took a turn shaking Jake's hand.
"It is done then. Let's get to that cake, now, shall we?" he asked.
Everyone applauded and stood. Alice and Rose brought out a cake and set it on the dining table. Edward placed his palm on the small of my back and guided me over to the table. As I stood behind the cake for everyone to see, they all started singing Happy Birthday to me. The girls sang it normally, but the boys added cheers and hollers and began to intentionally sing off-key and off-beat. They howled at the end and everyone began to laugh and clap again.
"A toast!" Rose cried out.
"Yes, a toast!" Alice said.
Everyone gathered a glass of punch, whether they were going to be able to drink it or not, and raised them high.
"To our guests," Edward started, "And to the New Plan of Peace. And to my beautiful fiancé, Isabella Marie Swan, who after this weekend, you may refer to as Isabella Marie Cullen," he smiled. "Bella, it is because of you that we have been able to look past one another's boundaries and discover similarities that were there all along. Those similarities are what will make us strong and free. No matter what we have become as we have made our journeys, we all started out human. And human nature is the same in all. To you, Bella, our friend, our sister, our loved one, and my bride-to-be. Happy birthday!"
"To Bella! Happy birthday!" everyone shouted happily.
Everyone raised their glasses and clinked them against as many other glasses as they could reach. Everyone who could take a sip, which included me, did.
"Now for that hay ride!" Jasper announced.
He and Emmett ushered us all out of the front door. Waiting outside was a covered wagon and a team of horses to pull it. There was straw in the wagon, covered by soft blankets. The sun was beginning to set as we all piled in. Carlisle and Esme guided the team of horses across the grounds as the rest of us laughed, giggled and sang folk songs.
"She'll be comin' around the mountain when she comes!" Jasper sang, strumming his guitar.
"Yee-haw," the rest of us rounded in.
...
A/N: Okay, you caught me: I'm definitely from Kansas, and I love my home state *heart*. Wichita, Dodge, and Kansas City really were the three largest cow towns, and there's a lot of rich, diverse history in each one (not that I'm a historian or anything). After writing this chapter, I definitely have the itch to visit Cowtown and go on a hayride! Plus, I simply adore those pictures they take when you dress up in the saloon gear or as Native Americans, and they print them out in old-fashioned sepia tones and it looks like a "WANTED" poster for bandits, tee hee… I have a ton of those!