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Disclaimer: Bella, Edward, Jacob and Nessie belong to Stephenie Meyer. *jealous face* So do the rest of the vampires/wolves/various mythical creatures mentioned in this book. Oh, and the humans.

©HomeschoolGirl 2012, or at least this actual post is. The characters, not so much. But anyway, please don't use this as your own. Thanks!


BOOK TWO

bella

"I am Switzerland. I refuse to be affected by territorial disputes between mythical creatures."
-Stephenie Meyer, Eclipse


Chapter One: Jealousy

I knew it was ridiculous. Truly, I did. But I couldn't help the rise of heart-wrenching worry I felt when Edward hugged Tanya. It had pretty much been sealed that he was mine. She smiled at him, though, with hopeful eyes. That bugged me.

We made light conversation, not really talking about anything extremely important. I was quite able to catch snatches of conversation from around the room, most of which was uninteresting to me.

"Hi Jacob," Edward suddenly said. I turned and grinned at my best friend. His black hair was slicked back, and he had dressed up a bit for the occasion. He looked cute, in a brotherly way. I waved.

I didn't have time to say anything, though, because Alice was suddenly tugging Nessie down the stairs. They descended gracefully. I heard Edward's sharp intake of breath as he took in our daughter's attire, but I didn't really mind. She looked fabulous.

"Hello, everyone!" Alice trilled, grinning at everyone in the crowd. That seemed to set everything in motion. I wanted with a sad smile as our friends hurried to envelop in their stone arms, saying how grown up she was. It was true. My little nudger: a woman at last. This event seemed to signify that transition, and I wondered if Alice hadn't done this just to introduce the new, grown Renesmee to us all.

It wasn't long before she was in Jacob's arms. I turned away then, wanting to give them privacy. Edward followed me over the staircase, where I sat down heavily.

"She's not a child anymore, Edward."

"I know," he said, leaning over to pat my back. "Seven years hardly seems long enough to claim her. But now, she belongs to somebody else."

"What if they get married?" I suddenly gasped, horror-stricken. "Edward, I can't! I can't let her go yet…"

"Bella, love," he said, bending over to gather me in his arms. He moved his lips to my ear, speaking so low, the words were just for me. "How do you think Charlie felt when we got married? Renee? We've had seven years to get used to the idea of love between our daughter and Jacob…your parents only had a few months before they realized the significance of our relationship. Before they realized that I truly loved you, and would die a thousand times for you, and that I would, essentially, be with you forever. No divorce, no foul play, no rude names or abuse. Just love. Well, that's what Jacob has for Nessie. I'm reluctant to admit it's just as strong as my devotion to you, for I never thought there would be a bond equal to ours, but it is. Maybe even more, but all his feelings for her are not purely romantic, and that's why. Of course, my feelings for you…they're essentially unbreakable."

I laughed as he began to sway to the sudden change in song. With a mischievous, boyish, crooked grin, he dipped me back so the tips of my hair brushed the floor.

"By the way, I love you," he said, kissing the hollow of my throat.

I laughed breathlessly, clinging to the back of his shirt with frantic fingers, lest he drop me. I knew it wouldn't hurt if I fell, but it might crack the floor.

"I love you too," I said when he stood me back up. I wrapped my arms around his neck, settling my head against his chest. "More than you can ever know."

We danced for a while, probably two or three songs, before Benjamin sauntered over to us. The Egyptian vampire held tightly to Tia, his lovely mate.

"Hello," he said, leaning forward to shake Edward's hand, then give me a one-armed hug. "I'm glad to see you are all doing so well."

"Thank you," Edward replied formally. "How are Amun and Kebi?"

Benjamin's scarlet eyes seemed to darken the tiniest bit. "They are…fine. I hope you are not afraid they have ill will toward you, for they do not, they just…are anxious, I guess, should they encounter a member of the Volturi. For the past several years, they have been staying solely to themselves, only venturing out into the city when hunger calls. I'm worried for them."

"That's unfortunate," Edward mused. "Never the less, give them our best if you see them. And please, let them know we ourselves have yet to hear from the Volturi. Not a letter, not a call-nothing. I think, for now, they've let it go."

I stiffened beside Edward. He failed to mention the flickers Alice was still getting-plans for them to come here, as a group, or maybe just send a couple of guards. They were afraid of us. That was good. But we were afraid of them, too.

We chatted casually for a few more minutes before Alice called everyone up for speeches. She placed a microphone on the stairs, tapping it lightly, sending an echo to get everyone's attention. The foyer that seemed so big before was now packed, making me uncomfortable. I looked across the room at Nessie. She was seated in Jacob's lap, head against his chest, as his arms wound around her. I noticed that several other couples in the room seemed to be doing similar things.

"I want to thank you all for coming," Alice chirped. "This is a very important party-not only for Renesmee, but all of us Cullens. This marks our tenth year in Forks, the longest we have ever stayed in one place. I'm the first to admit things haven't always been easy, but thanks to the help of our friends and the ever-amazing Bella, we've managed to make it work."

Everyone clapped enthusiastically. I found myself cheering right along.

"Now, would anyone like to come up and say a few words?"

When there was no reply, Alice's eyes darkened. "I said would anyone like to come up and say a few words?"

There was a brief grumbling and then Jacob of all people trotted up onto the stage. I suspected Nessie had something to do with this. That was confirmed when in my peripheral vision I saw her waving her arm to direct him along. I laughed.

"Um…hi," He said into the mic. The sound reverberated, filling the room. We all stood silent and still, waiting to see what he would say.

"This isn't really my forte," He mumbled gruffly. "And s'not ideal. But I just wanted to say thank you to the bloodsu-er-Cullens, for letting me stay with them. And for letting me connect with Nessie and be with her. These past seven years have been some of the best of my life, and I owe that to them, and the beautiful girl standing in front of me."

Renesmee blushed deeply. I smiled over at her. She smiled back.

Jacob ran a hand nervously through his dark hair. "So…thanks."

There was a polite spattering of hands throughout the room. I wished the vampires my family called "friends" would just get over their aversion to werewolves and treat Jacob kindly, but of course I knew that wasn't realistic.

Edward surprised me by suddenly leaping forward, tugging me behind him. My eyes widened but I didn't protest. I found myself in front of the microphone a second later, before Jacob even had the chance to exit the stage.

"Thank you, my friend," Edward said, placing a warm hand on Jacob's shoulder. He kept it there, turning back to the crowd.

"I want to make a request to you all in honor of this special day, one that isn't mandatory but would be generous for you to follow. Tonight, instead of dieting as you normally would, please consider the lush wildlife of Forks as an alternative. We have delicious elk, mountain lion, and deer among other varieties. I'd be so appreciative if you all would just give it a go. If that doesn't appeal to you, that's fine, but please hunt away from Forks, Seattle, and Port Washington. Just…consider it. For us."

He was met with shocked silence. I too, could not seem to find my voice. Had Edward just…what! He'd asked our friends to go vegan for a day! I forced a smile, trying to play along as if I had known my husband was going to go off the deep end all this time, oh yes I certainly did.

"Sounds…challenging," Siobhan, from the Irish coven, said from beside Carlisle. "Good thing I like challenges. Tonight, Maggie, Liam and I will hunt as you do."

Edward beamed. "Thank you, Siobhan…Liam…Maggie."

The redheaded Maggie grinned. "Ooo…this will be fun."

Liam scowled, keeping his eyes trained on the floor. Okay, well, maybe everyone wasn't going to be happy…but Siobhan was technically leader of the threesome's coven, and because of that her wishes would be followed. Three less people would die tonight. That made me feel good.

Suddenly other people found their voices, declaring the same. My smile grew wider as more and more vampires vouched that they would try animals. When the chatter at last settled back into silence, over half the people had vouched to go vegan.

"Thank you all so very much," Edward said, grinning gorgeously. "This means so much not only to me, but to the rest of us…" He swooped his arm around in a friendly gesture. "To my sweet wife, Bella, to Carlisle and Esme, to Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice. And to Renesmee."

We made our way off the "stage" as other people took our place. But I wasn't even paying attention. I marveled at my husband's bravery at making such a request. My heart swelled with pride and I turned, boldly catching his face in my hands and kissing his lips feverishly.

Edward responded to my kiss at once, placing one hand on the small of my back. I pressed myself closer to him, winding my fingers through his. He was so good, and kind, and smart, and beautiful, and generous…I did not deserve him.

"I do not deserve you," Edward murmured a moment later, pulling away. I giggled then looked around, noticing that several people were staring. If I could blush, I would have. Oh, well.

"No," I argued solemnly. "It's you I do not deserve. You're…" I stopped, at a loss for words. "Amazing." Okay, maybe that word-choice was a bit first-grade, but I didn't care. There was no other way to express myself. "So amazing."

He grinned my favorite crooked grin of his. "I could say the same for you, Mrs. Cullen. You're stunning."

I laid my head against his chest, sighing. "No, Edward…you are."