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WARNING: "Remember this is a slave society. Women who were extracted from the different planets are slaves. However, there are people who come willingly to Twilight from other planets in the Eclipse Galaxy, and they are not slaves. The ceremony will be one-sided; I don't mean to offend anyone. Just proceed with caution when you read it. Also, I bring up breeders during the vows, I have no plan for Edward to get one; these are just typical vows said by all males."
Previously on Planet Twilight: Alice and I then proceeded to walk down the aisle to our futures.
~ooo000ooo~
Bella POV
As we slowly made our way down the aisle, all I saw was Edward. I knew there were other people present, but I only had eyes for him. We stopped as we reached where Edward, Jasper, and Peter were standing. Peter and Carlisle were going to officiate over the binding ceremony*. Peter and Carlisle were elders of Forkington, and thus it made them eligible to officiate.
"Today, we have gathered here to witness the joining of these two individuals with their mates. You will bear witness to this joining, and you will do everything in your power to make sure it thrives. We are a community with a common goal. We live in a peaceful existence with the need and want of loving our mates and children," Carlisle said.
"These binding unions between these two couples are sacred, going back to the beginning of this civilization. This community respects the magnitude of the binding, and no one will try to tear is asunder. There are laws set in place to reprimand and punish those that try to destroy the bond. The males in this community may speak respectably and from a distance to the females, but you may not touch them or closely approach them without their mate's permission. If you are found guilty of breaking this law, punishment will be severe. We have been way too lenient with this law in the past, but I have a feeling that the Cullen men will not stand for any violation to their mates; and retribution will be severe and swift," as Peter said this, he looked at Carlisle.
"The Cullen female mates will not be approached by any male; and if they want to speak to you, they will initiate the conversation. The most common scenario of where they would approach you, would be in a retail establishment. I will also give this warning. Since the Cullen males will be newly mated, and they will have performed the binding ceremony; they are going to be more volatile toward anyone approaching their mates. It will be advisable to keep your distance. Even though we are a civilized family, we will be initiating an old ritual which will draw out our inner animal. That animal will be very protective of their mate, and it will take them a while to be able to get complete control of it. So be wise, and approach them with caution in the near future. Now, it is time to start the ceremony. Edward, you may begin," Carlisle said.
Edward took my hand from Carlisle's and said: "I will forever love, cherish, and provide for you. I will also do the same for any children that you bear me. I would die to protect you, and I place your life and the lives of our future children before my own. In return, you will respect and honor me. You will remain faithful to me and put my needs before your own. You will bear my children, if you are able. I will love you no less, if you are unable to provide them for me. I also want the option, if I want more children or if you are unable to have children, to be able to procure a breeder. You will care for any children that are mine from that breeder, as if you birthed them. If it comes to procuring a breeder, for whatever reason, you will be included in the selection process. She will become part of our lives, and she will be bound to me. I, however, will only ever be bound to you. You will always come first, regardless of the situation. You will obey my every command, and you will oversee the running of our home and the raising of our children. If any rules are broken, you will be punished. You will accept all punishment without question. From now on, other males may not touch you without my permission; male children under the age of 16 and immediate family members are not included in that restriction," he said.
"Do you understand and agree to everything that Edward has said today?" Carlisle asked.
"Yes, I do," I said and smiled up at Edward. It was all pretty much standard vows and I had been prepared for what he had to say.
"Okay, you two stand back a second; and let Jasper say his vows," Carlisle said. We three stepped back a little as Jasper said his vows to Alice. She, of course, agreed to them when Peter requested her decision.
Carlisle asked us to step forward, and we did so and stood even with Jasper and Alice. He handed Edward and Jasper what looked to be necklaces. Edward let me get a closer look at mine, and that is when I realized it looked more like a choker or collar*. It was beautiful; my eyes started to tear up, and I was trying to hold them back.
"Hold your hair up, Angel," Edward said.
He turned me around to where my back was facing him. He brought the collar around my neck and fastened it in the back. "I am locking the collar on and I will wear the key around my neck on a chain*. This collar will remain on you at all times. The swan on the front stands for soul, grace, and beauty. You are definitely my soulmate, and you are exceptionally beautiful. We will also be mated for life, just like swans," he said as he turned me back around to face him.
"We will have to work on the grace part, but that will come in time," he said as he smiled and kissed my nose. He was letting me know that he was playing.
"This collar is another outside symbol that you are mine. It is not to be removed unless there is an emergency; and if I am not available to unlock it, it may be cut off. Everyone in this room is a witness to me saying that," he said as he looked around. Everyone nodded their heads. I knew I would never leave Forkington, unless I was accompanied by Edward; so the only people that could be around me, if an accident occurred, were sitting in this room.
He hugged me to him, and we waited for Jasper as he gave Alice her collar.
When they were through, Carlisle said: "Edward and Jasper go inside the enzyme extraction chambers, and you may complete the binding ceremony. Everyone else please go to reception hall where there are not only refreshments, but also a buffet style lunch or dinner; whatever you want to call it. I want to apologize again for the time delay; and if any of you have prior engagements and need to leave, we will understand. Now, everyone please follow me into the reception hall." he said.
He turned to Zafrina and said: "Zafrina*, please bring the video recording device into the reception hall, and you can record the festivities in there."
"Addy, let's me, you, and Esme go see what we can find for you to eat. I know you probably want more cake, but you need to eat something a little bit healthier first, Okay?" he asked as he took her and Esme's hands.
"Is ice cweam healtier, it's got mwilk in it?" she asked as they were walking away.
"Let's try for something that doesn't have sugar in it first, I think we have some fried dreck. You like dreck legs don't you?" he asked her.
"Yes, let's hurry, Papa Arlisle, I hungie," she said as she pulled him through the door.
Now, it was eerily quiet in the room. Only Edward, Jasper, Alice and I were left. Edward and Jasper pulled Alice and I into separate small rooms where candles were lit all around. He sat down in the chair that was present, and he pulled me into his lap. He turned me sideways in his lap and moved my hair up off my shoulder and neck.
"Angel, I want you to relax and look into my eyes. I want you to forget everything around us. Concentrate on my voice and take slow breaths," he whispered softly. I did as he asked, and the world faded away. All I saw and heard was him; I was soon breathing in time with him.
He started placing light kisses on my face, and he whispered: "I will not hurt you; stay relaxed, and it will feel good. You can touch me anywhere you like. Keep slowly breathing in and out."
He was rubbing his big hands up and down my arms, over my neck, and lightly rubbing my face. He had me so relaxed; I thought I was going to pass out.
"Angel, I am going to take in your enzymes now. It is something I have only read about, but of course never experienced. So, I am not sure what exactly is going to happen to us. I love you, and you will be mine forever, my mate," as he said this, fangs,* that were once eye teeth, descended from his mouth. I was so relaxed and turned on that I didn't even care. He tilted my head to the side so that he could have better access to my neck. He placed gentle kisses on my neck, and I felt him open his mouth. There were a couple of tiny stings; but before I could even register pain, a feeling of euphoria hit me. I felt like I was flying; my body heated up, and I was starting to pant. Images started flowing through my head, and it took me a second to realize what was going on with me.
Who was that little boy with copper hair? Oh, there was Esme, he was calling her mommy. Oh my, I must be seeing his past. I wondered if he was seeing mine. I intently watched as he grew up, it was all flying past so quickly, it was hard to keep up. I knew I would be able to remember it all because ever since I have been getting those injections, my memory had improved greatly. I would just have to think on the things I saw at a later time. He was a teenager now; boy, he was starting to get hot. He was filling out with all those nice muscles. I was starting to get warm again. I was concentrating on his memories so intently; I couldn't tell what my hands were doing. I would worry about them later. Okay, he was graduating high school; he must be about 18. I would have been about a year old.
It looked like he was on some sort of space ship; I wondered where he was going. I guess I was going to find out; they were landing. Oh, that was Earth. They had landed near Seattle; there was the space needle. Edward was telling Carlisle that he was feeling a pull west of where they were located. Carlisle told him that they were heading that way anyway to check on some prospect specimens and were going to be only observing. So it looked like only a few of them were heading in the direction of Forks. I recognized it from all my visits during the summers. This was the way my dad and I would travel after he would pick me up at the airport. Oh, I missed him; I wondered how he was doing. Soon, they were passing the "Welcome to Forks" sign. Edward was pointing in the direction in which that strange pull was pulling him. It looked like he was heading to the police station. They pulled up into the parking lot, and Edward got out of the car. He looked around and sniffed the air. He smelled a faint smell. He was wondering about the source of it. All of a sudden, a man walked out of the police station; and out toddled a little girl behind him. She looked familiar to me. The man went and got in his car and drove off, obviously that wasn't his child. She toddled down the steps; she fell down a time or two, before she made it to the parking lot. That was when he got a good whiff of her scent. It was wonderful; she smelt so good. He just wanted to cuddle with her and keep her safe. I could feel Edward was beginning to worry; he was wondering about the location of her parents. He didn't want anything to happen to her.
She was starting to toddle toward the road. By now, Edward was heading for her; and before he could reach her, a van came careening into the parking lot. Edward then made a mad dash to get her, and he swept her up and carried her back to the steps of the station. In the meantime, the driver of the van had crashed into the parked cars in the parking lot because he had tried to avoid the little girl. Everyone was rushing out of the police station because of all the noise outside. Then, I couldn't believe whom I saw, it was mom and dad. My dad saw the little girl in Edward's arms and rushed to grab her out of them. That must mean the baby was me. Edward felt sad, like he had lost something. He was looking at his empty arms. Dad was taking in the scene now and had put two and two together. He handed 'baby me' to mom and yelled at her about not watching 'baby me' closer. Then, he headed over to the van yelling at the man for driving so recklessly in the parking lot of the police station, no less. Carlisle walked over to my mom and told her he was a doctor, and that he wanted to check 'baby me' out for injuries. I could tell Carlisle was looking between 'baby me' and Edward. Then, I noticed that Carlisle pulled a few hairs out of my head and put them in his pocket. Edward was so distraught about 'baby me' being removed from his arms; I didn't think he noticed that Carlisle removed my hair.
My dad came back over; he was making sure that 'baby me' was alright and started profusely thanking Edward for saving his daughter. Edward seemed stunned, like he was in shock. Charlie looked worriedly at Edward and said that he might need to get checked out as well. Carlisle said he would look him over when they got back to the hotel, and that they were just out sightseeing and would be leaving town soon. Carlisle confirmed 'baby me' was fine and didn't have a scratch. Carlisle led Edward back to their car. When Carlisle started to drive away, he told Edward that he just had a reaction to a human. The only one that he had ever been around was his mother. So Edward believed that was all it was and let it go. But he would always remember that little girl and wonder if she was all right. They visited several locations and then headed back to Planet Twilight.
Then, the memories started heading through college, girls chased after him, medical school, girls chased after him, especially Tanya when the family visited. Then, he moved on to medical intermediate training, and girls chased after him and more Tanya. Then, he started working; and Tanya started working with him. Then, I just let my mind wander; I knew the information was getting stored, and I knew I could recall it later if it was needed. I just didn't want his memories of what Tanya did to him to be in the forefront of my mind. So I shoved them back away from my conscience thinking, so I could shield myself from them. Then, I slowly started to come out of my trance.
~ooo000ooo~
*binding ceremony – A public ceremony performed to bind a couple together; they will be permanently bound until one dies. This practice was thought by many Twilighters to be an archaic ritual and it had almost become extinct, until the new world communities became established. The ritual had been mostly stopped because most Twilighter women found the practice barbaric, and it became outdated. They did not want to be bound to one man; they wanted freedom to have sexual relations with whomever they pleased. Now that the practice has been resumed, the elders in a community oversee the ceremony. Vows are only given by the male intended. The female has to agree with everything that the male proposes, or the ceremony will not move forward.
*Bella's collar – One inch wide necklace made out a rare precious white metal that will not tarnish and can be used for long time wear. It has several rows of diamonds and trialicytes. The trialicytes on the collar enable the necklace to match whatever color clothing she is wearing. It has a trialicyte swan in the center of it. Swans stand for soul, grace, and beauty. They mate for life. Edward was also giving her a small reminder of her old life. It is part of whom she is, and he wants her to keep a part of her childhood with her.
*Edward's chain and key – It is made out of the same metal as Bella's necklace. The bow of the key is shaped like a swan. The bow is the flat section of the key that does not have teeth.
*Zafrina – un-mated Twilighter that lives in Forkington, because she likes the lifestyle. She is a longtime friend of Carlisle. She is the local photographer, video specialist, and runs a small theater where films are shown every Friday and Saturday night.
*Twilighter fangs – Fangs that male Twilighters have that only drop down in the presence of their mate, so that the enzymes can be extracted. They will only ever drink from their mates. There is very little worry about draining their mate. Their fangs filter out most of the blood, and they mainly receive the enzymes that their body is seeking. After the binding ceremony, his fangs will descend whenever he wants to feel that strong connection with his mate or his body is just craving her enzymes.
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