A dazzling light could be seen shining brightly above me. I tried to reach it with all my strength, my arms outstretch, but nothing would reach it. I desperately wanted to know who, or what this light was. The silvery glow about it was so familiar. It's identity I could feel, but could not recognize. Something inside of me warmed. Suddenly around my waist, I felt a velvet touch as something wrapped itself around me. As I tried to move my head, I felt a splitting pain everywhere in my body. For a second, I was immobilized. Then, as the things wrapped themselves even tighter around me, I felt a ginger-soft burst of air on my cheek, followed by something a little moister on my lips. Fearing I would not be able to figure out the new mystery, my body suddenly slipped into a tired state. At that second, all I wanted to do was sleep. Ever so gently, something a little harder leaned against my chest, and I felt the bed sink a little lower, as if something heavy had been placed on it. As much as I tried to fight it, the feeling of extreme fatigue would not leave me. Giving in to myself, I leaned back against the new occupant of my bed, and fell fast asleep once more.
In this dream, I saw Edward. This however, was not the Edward I remembered from a few days ago. This Edward was scarier, and darker. Looking down on me, I could see his ghastly red eyes matching a liquidly red flow pouring out of his mouth. His head bent down slightly, and I started screaming.
"Bella, Bella! It's ok, you're only dreaming! Bella Baby, wake up!" Edward's voice was calling me, but I could not escape the riveting pain that my body was now experiencing. I could feel my body thrashing around in the bed; I could feel the covers being thrown, and the pillows being torn. Most importantly, I could feel Edward's grip trying to restrain me. Eventually, I was able to stop myself. Still breathless, I looked helplessly at Edward.
"Bella Baby, you're just having an aftershock of what happened to you earlier. Relax sweetie, I'm here with you now. You're safe, I promise."
Nothing was making sense to being with, and Edward's words just complicated things more.
"Edward, what happened earlier?"
Staring blankly at me, Edward's face grew into a helpless frown, and I was afraid I had said something wrong.
"Bella, haven't you noticed yet? You're not the same on the outside. Or inside, in a physical matter. Bella, you're like me now. Vincent changed you. I was too late to stop the venom this time."
A fuzzy memory was coming back to me now. Slowly, I could feel the truth progressing in my mind. Gently, I moved my hand to the back of my head, and ran my fingers through the length of my hair. Sure enough, my hair was longer now, and thicker. As I began to sit up in the bed, I noticed that my vision was sharper. Right then, I remembered the conclusion I had reached before falling asleep. I, Bella Swan, was now a Vampire.
Edward was looking at me cautiously. I assumed that he didn't know what to make of the situation. I must have been a strange sight at that moment. My body had started shaking roughly, and I felt myself stop breathing. As in most normal cases, you pass out, or die when you stop breathing. But, now, I was fine. A Vampire was definitely what I was now. Realization was the one thing that was becoming difficult. This had been a dream of mine for so long, that I couldn't believe it was actually happening. For as long as I'd been in love with Edward, I'd wanted to spend eternity with him, in his same form. Now, I was one step closer to that being true.
"Edward, please don't blame yourself for this."
"Bella, it's all my fault, don't you see? Vincent found you in the hospital and I couldn't fight him off. He was gone. He just disappeared right in front of me. Before Alice had a clear vision of where you were, it was already too late. I arrived in time to keep him from killing you, but I did not have enough time to stop the venom from completely leaking through your system. Don't you see, Bella? If I had been stronger, you would still be human, and you would still have a whole life ahead of you."
"Edward, don't be upset about this. This is what I wanted. I wanted eternity with you."
Before he could speak again, I jumped into his lap and hung my arms around his neck. For the first time since I had felt it, Edward Cullen's touch was warm on my skin. Curiosity sprang up between the two of us, and I could sense the fire burning in both of our hearts. As we leaned in, Edward's once-cold stone lips now pressed to mine. Except this time, they were warmer, and felt real. Without any hesitation this time, we kissed. All of the passion that was kept secluded over the past year was gone. Edward was not in fear of killing me while kissing me, and nor was I vice versa. If I had ever thought I loved Edward Cullen at all, I was wrong. For what I had felt before was not love. THIS – what was happening right now – this proved to me that I was in love. If I thought love was amazing before, I didn't have a clue. For a few more minutes we kept this up, and then gently, Edward released me and we cuddled up under the covers of the bed, and as I tried to drift into sleep, I couldn't. Edward noticed what I was feeling, and with one look, I immediately remembered that it was because Vampires could not sleep. This must be the hardest part, I thought to myself. You feel so tired, but you cannot sleep. With a little frustration from tiredness, I leaned in against Edward's body, and felt warmth and comfort. Vampires must only feel cold to their prey. Now, Edward felt to me, as Jacob once did. To me, Edward felt human.
It was amazing that our love was now stronger than ever. If anything, I would have expected our love to fail. Part of our relationship before was understanding our limits, and knowing what we could not do. Part of Edward's attraction to me was my scent. Now, considering I had no blood, I feared Edward would not love me. But, as he held me tightly to him and murmured an "I love you" in my ear, I knew our love was still strong. The most comforting aspect of the entire thing was that now Edward and I could fight our battles together – as an equal force.