Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Two chapters in one day! This is because it is unlikely I will be able to update tomorrow, as it is my sister's 18th and we are having loads of family over at the house.

Thanks to everyone who added this story to their alerts and favourties. Thanks especially to Flora73, ConfusionPixieand SycaTressa for your reviews.

Enjoy and please review.


Forever Bound

Chapter Three – Something Inside

As soon as Bella raised her head, all of the air in her lungs was knocked out of her. The man standing at the head of the aisle opposite the priest could be described as nothing other than perfect. He was absolutely beautiful.

He had messy bronze hair that was sticking out all over the place, as it hands had been running through it. Thinking about it, they almost certainly had, if he was anywhere near as nervous as she was herself. Gazing at his face, she noticed he had amazing emerald eyes, which were staring right at her.

Remembering that she was actually meant to be walking down the aisle, Bella quickly moved forward, stumbling a little but catching herself before she fell. As she drew closer and closer to him, she noticed that Edward was extremely tall; he must have been at least six foot two, meaning that he would tower over her own frame of five foot four inches.

At last, Bella reached the end of the aisle and took her place opposite Edward. Noticing that he was staring at her, Bella blushed and lowered her head towards the floor. Luckily the priest began to speak, and the soon to be husband and wife both transferred their attention to him instead of each other.

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered together here in the sign of God , and in the face of this company , to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is commended to be honourable among all men; and therefore, is not by any, to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly and solemnly. Into this holy estate these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

No one spoke. The church was so silent it would have been possible to hear a feather drop, though all Bella could hear was the pounding of her heart in her ears.

"Edward, please take Isabella's left hand. Now repeat after me. I, Edward Antony Masen Cullen, take the, Isabella Marie Swan, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish ,until death do us part."

"I, Edward Antony Masen Cullen, take the, Isabella Marie Swan, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish ,until death do us part." Edward's voice sounded like running silk, Bella was hypnotised by it. His hand was warm as he slipped the most beautiful ring Bella had ever seen onto her finger. It was silver, with a small diamond in the middle, and the rest of the ring was encrusted with even smaller diamonds.

"Isabella, repeat after me. I, Isabella Marie Swan take the, Edward Antony Masen Cullen, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish ,until death do us part."

Nervously, Bella repeated the vows, "I, I-Isabella Marie Swan, t-take the, Edward Antony M-Masen Cullen, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish ,until death do us part." Her hands shook a little as she placed her grandfather's simple silver ring on his finger.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." Oh no. Bella had not thought that far ahead! She had been so worried about making it through the service she had forgotten what came right at the end; the kiss.

Edward did not seem to be having the same internal battle she was, as he quickly leaned forward and placed an innocent kiss on Bella's lips. Although it only lingered for a few seconds, Bella got lost in the kiss, her first, and was sure she felt something resembling sparks flying between them.

Once Edward pulled away, Bella gazed at him, still in a daze. Had he felt what she had? He did not seem effected by the kiss in the slightest, causing Bella to believe she had imagined the sparks. Unexpectedly, Edward grabbed Bella's hand, placed it through his arm, and briskly started to walk towards the door of the church, with Bella struggling to keep up and prevent herself from tripping at the same time.

Waiting for the newlyweds outside the church was the same horse and carriage that had carried Bella here previously, though this time it was decorated with white ribbons around the edges. Like the gentleman Bella knew he must be, Edward assisted Bella into the carriage before entering himself, closing the door and instructing the driver to set off.

To describe the drive as awkward would have been an understatement. They sat opposite each other in an uncomfortable silence. Whenever Bella tried to start a conversation with her new husband, he would reply in one word answers or just bow and shake his head. She learnt absolutely nothing about him so gave up trying, allowing the remaining duration of their journey to continue in silence.

The minutes felt like hours, but at long last they arrived at their destination; the Cullen's mansion. Once again, Edward assisted Bella out of the carriage, took hold of her hand and led her into the house. Since Bella had only arrived late last night, she had not had a chance to observe the majority of the mansion, and the place Edward was leading her to was a complete unknown. Eventually, Edward stopped at the last door along the corridor. Opening the double doors, Edward introduced Bella to the most exquisite room; the ballroom.

The ceiling had to be at least sixteen feet high, with numerous chandeliers hanging down, all of which held ribbons that were streaming off them. There was a long table at the head of the room, covered in a white cloth and candles. Small tables were situated across the room, laden with plates and Champagne flutes. Even with the many tables, there was still plenty of room for people to dance, with music provided by the full sized orchestra that were sitting in the corner, waiting for their guests to arrive before they started to play. On the left wall were four doors that let out onto the veranda, with the balcony covered in rose petals and candles, situated in large glasses to protect them from the wind. Each and every glass was a different colour, causing the flames from the candles to become every colour of the rainbow. It was breath taking. Bella's dream wedding was coming together; aside from the groom it was utterly perfect.

"We must stand by the door to greet our guests," Bella jumped in shock at the sound of Edward's voice; it was the first time he had spoken to her without herself or the priest initiating it.

"Of course," she mumbled in response and made a move to situate herself by the large doors.

Forty minutes later and the majority of guests had arrived. Bella was busy greeting Edward's great aunt when she heard a squeal. "Bella!" Alice cried, rushing into the room and pulling Bella into a large hug, "You looked absolutely breathtaking at the altar! I have never seen anyone look as beautiful as you did!"

Bella blushed and apologised to Edward's aunt before turning her attention to Alice. "Hush Alice, I did not look beautiful. I admit I looked pretty, which was all your doing, but I cannot be considered beautiful."

Alice looked at her with disappoint in her eyes, "One day you better see yourself clearly Bella, or I promise that I will make you!" Bella was not fazed by Alice's threat. She had accepted a long time ago that she was just a plain girl, like all the rest, and her view was not going to chance any time soon.

Esme was the next to greet the wedded couple, offering "both her children" a hug and a round of congratulatory praise. As she hugged Bella, she whispered softly in her ear, "I knew you would look like an angel up there." Once again, Bella blushed and lightly shook her head, but had no time to verbally protest before the next guest came to be welcomed.

After about an hour, every guest had been greeted by the couple and was seated at a table. Bella and Edward were seated in the middle of the head table; Esme and Carlisle were seated next to Edward and Alice seated next to Bella, and together they were all working through the second of many courses.

Following the removal of the third set of plates, Carlisle stood up and clinked his knife against the flute. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us to help celebrate the union of Edward and Isabella. I have had the privilege of raising Edward from a helpless infant into the wonderful man before us today, and from what I have heard, I am sure Bella is equally as wonderful. I wish you two a long and happy life together. If you would all join me in raising your glasses in a toast: To Edward and Bella."

"To Edward and Bella," echoed the room.

"And now, if you would," Carlisle pointed at the orchestra, who instantly began to play, "allow me to introduce the new Mr and Mrs Cullen for their first dance." Everyone in the room began to applaud, and as Bella took Edward's hand, she felt the sparks once again.

Edward guided Bella to the middle of the dance floor and placed his left hand on her waist while he continued to hold her hand in his right. Hesitantly, Bella placed her own hand on his waist. When the music changed into a slow song, Edward began to move, leading Bella all the way.

He was a phenomenal dancer. He led with grace and poise, holding Bella upright so that she did not stumble on a single step.

"Charles Dickens or William Shakespeare?" Edward whispered in her ear without warning.

"Pardon?" Bella responded, puzzled as to why he had mentioned these two authors and equally as puzzled as to why he was bothering to make conversation with her; it was possible to dance in silence.

"Who do you prefer?"

"Charles Dickens," Bella replied instantly, although she was still a little bemused, "And your own preference?"

"I would have to agree there. I particularly enjoyed reading David Copperfield. Did you know it is almost autobiographical as it was the first piece of work Dickens wrote in first person. Have you ever had the chance to read it?" Edward questioned.

"I have, although I must say I preferred Bleak House."

"Bleak House? You cannot be talking sense. It is so hard to keep up with. It has many different characters and secondary plots occurring throughout the entire length of the novel. And it is highly doubtful that anything would ever happen as it did in the novel in the real world," Edward ranted.

"Never the less, it is an excellent tale. You become utterly involved with the characters and their lives. I was as broken hearted as Ada when Richard died, especially as she was pregnant. I was exceptionally pleased when Ester married Woodcourt; I adored his character from the start, his selflessness, though I never warmed to Ester much, despite the fact she was the main character. Once I had completed the novel, I wanted nothing more than to dive back into their world and read it over and over again."

"A typical woman's response. The love story. I would lay a wager that you love Pride and Prejudice also?" Edward stated.

"A typical man's response, believing that woman only read love stories. Yes I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice, although I have read Wuthering Heights countless times more than I would ever busy myself with Pride and Prejudice."

"A woman who likes a story without a happy ending, I'm impressed," Edward whispered in her ear as he spun the pair of them around the dance floor as they were watched by his family, and their three hundred guests, and yet not one of those guests was a member of Bella's family.

"What do you do with your days?" It was Bella's turn to ask the questions.

"I'm not sure I understand, what do you mean what do I do with my days?"

"Well, Lord Cullen is still alive, so you do not need to do his job yet, however you are not required to work as you have more money than you will ever need. So how do you spend your days?" Bella explained.

"I'm in training." Edward said shortly.

"Training for what?" Bella persisted.

"I'm training as an army medic. If we are to go to war at any time, the country has more soldiers than it could ever need, but not enough medics. I believe it unjust to send away every doctor in each village, leaving the citizens to cope with illness on their own, so I am training so one less village loses their doctor."

Bella never thought the son of a Lord and future Lord could ever be so selfless. Without thinking, she gently placed her lips on his cheek, before pulling away quickly.

"What was that for?"

"For caring", Bella had simply replied.

The couple danced the night away, discussed many things, from politics to favourite composers. Edward danced with his mother while Bella accepted a dance from Carlisle, yet they would always find their way back into one another's arms.

Bella discovered they had several common interests, and she was thrilled to discover that Edward had been playing the piano since he was three years old, though he was unable to reach the pedals until he was six years old.

Twilight passed and the night started to set in, the number of guests began to decline until it was only the Cullen family and Alice left remaining. After thanking Alice and Esme one final time, Bella allowed Edward to lead her to their chamber to claim her as his wife, and as they made their way down the umpteenth corridor, Bella started to believe her ideal marriage may just be about to turn in to reality.

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Is all as well as it seems?

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