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PENGUINS, GREENLAND: I have been made aware that there are no penguins in Greenland, but I have written the chapter and I won't edit for a while. So please, ignore this point and let's pretend that there are totally penguins in Greenland.
Chapter 25 - Travelling
Travelling with Edward was amazing. He knew exactly where to go and what to see. Most of the places he had already been to, but he made it known I made it a different experience for him.
If there was something he didn't know, he had prepared and planned it from home, so he ensured we didn't miss a thing.
I loved seeing this side of him, because he was beyond eager, which made me beyond happy. He seemed so relaxed now, and he seemed to want to share all the experiences with me – it seemed as if he truly reveled in experiencing these things with me! It made my knees soft to feel that much love from him.
Our large backpacks were stuffed with essentials we might need, of course. One of the things was a small, homemade computer. Homemade, because I needed to save space and because Jasper apparently insisted that small computers were the worst, so he tuned, or did his magic, on a small one to make it more powerful.
My computer was used devotedly to write with Charlie and Renee. Sadly, I couldn't tell them the truth of what I was really doing, so I made up vague stories, and instead talked about Edward and myself, and memories of the past. I loved asking and hearing about both of my parents' lives, and I learned a lot more from them through e-mail.
It was strange, but over the e-mails I got a completely different relationship with both of them. Topics were mentioned that weren't normally accessible, such as sex. Renee had hinted about wanting to discuss sex, and I ended up straight out asking her for guidance. There were several reasons for this, but the two most prominent reasons were that I wanted Renee to feel useful in my life. She hadn't had that chance often, and so this was an area where she could guide me. The other prominent reason was that I needed to know. Edward and I would eventually have sex, and I had absolutely no idea how to go about it. In fact, the aspect made me so excited, that I felt scared.
We travelled quickly through Canada, taking a beautiful scenic route by train. We were there for almost two weeks, after which we travelled with airplane to Nuuk, Greenland. I was excited to experience Greenland, and it fitted perfectly into our program that it was summer, since Edward took me to the deserted plains of Greenland. There was ice everywhere, but the sun made it bearable for me, as it warmed me up.
"Today you're going sledding," Edward informed me, amused by my excited expression.
"You can't come." My face fell a bit.
"Well, they can sort of sense that I'm…"
"- More likely to eat them?" I supplied, laughing. He smiled at me and shook his head in amusement.
While I would've loved to have Edward with me, I knew that it wouldn't work with him and the dogs. I enjoyed the trip alone; I enjoyed the view, but knew that the next time I came here, I would be riding on Edward's back.
True to my assumption, a few days later our stay in Nuuk concluded. There wasn't much to see, and Edward wanted to show me the vastness of the Greenland desert of ice. He held me securely on his back, and then we travelled over the ice, to places where humans rarely ventured.
"Perhaps we should consider investing in a saddle?" I laughed as we ran.
Edward turned his head slightly and winked at me. "Perhaps," he agreed. He barked out a laugh, sending me into a fit of giggles.
It was a truly fascinating experience, and Edward had prepared himself beforehand and knew where to camp. He made igloos and set up the camp within minutes. While I might've thought it would get cold, we were packed so well that I stayed warm through it all. When we stayed put it was actually quite warm in the summer sun. We saw seals and polar bears, and loads of penguins. I tried to get the penguins attention, and they would come quite close - until they spotted Edward, who ended up hiding in the igloo so that I could take pictures. After a while, though, some were okay with Edward nearby. Edward said that penguins weren't that edible, since they were so small. They were like critters of the ice.
"See, even the penguins think you're lovable," I commented. Edward seemed amused, but also very fascinated. I gathered he very rarely got the opportunity to be near animals he didn't plan on eating, or which didn't try to run from him.
"Lovable," Edward shook his head. "There's not much in them, so it would be a waste."
"How come we've never recycled?" I wondered, thoughtfully. "I mean, you drink the animals try, and I eat the meat…" Edward snorted, amused by the idea.
"We can do that when we get home," Edward suggested.
"I like veal…"
The ice cap was a wonderful place to be, and it was breathtaking to go places that I knew very few had ventured. We got close to polar bears, that tried to chase us until they, on some animalistic level, recognized Edward as much higher on the food chain. It was exhilarating to experience being chased, until they got too close and quickly scurried off. The seals were impossible to get close to, since their senses were sharpened to notice polar bears, so seeing Edward sent them into a frenzy. In such cases, Edward let me walk a bit closer alone, and then he kept an eye on me to keep me safe. Without him, I got some amazing pictures of the seals. It was also very humbling to realize how non-dangerous such beasts found me, and also very frightening.
We followed the Sirius Expedition's track, and Edward told me the history of it. We neared the end-point Daneborg, but ventured no further, since Edward said that there were always humans guarding the place, and ensuring that the sovereignty was enforced by the Danish government. I could see tiny dots ahead, and I knew it was best that we moved onwards.
"You know, I love being here with you alone. If I wanted to avoid the people's mental voices, I would usually have to hide away – alone…" Edward told me one evening as I readied for bed.
"I hadn't considered how this is for you," I admitted, thoughtfully. "I'm glad." I moved to him and straddled him, kissing his throat gently. He made a purring sound, making my heart speed up and my loins tighten. I continued kissing his ears and throat, and I nibbled gently; gently, because it was still hard as rock.
I sighed, contentedly, knowing we had reached our limits of how far we could push things. I wanted to do more, and I could feel that he wanted to do more, but it wasn't safe.
"You're testing my strength." Edward's eyes seemed much darker and he breathed in deeply, calming himself.
"Your strength…" I replied, chuckling. I pulled him down with me, hugging him as I let myself fall asleep.
From Greenland, we ventured to Iceland. That, too, was a breathtakingly beautiful island to visit, though much smaller. We spent the majority away from humans, and only ventured into Reykjavik in the evenings to sleep at a hotel. We rented a car with toned windows, and drove from sightseeing to sightseeing. When the car couldn't get close enough, we parked it and Edward would carry me the rest of the way. This was how we got close to the few volcanoes, which, unfortunately, weren't active enough for me to see lava or magma, which I came to realize that I really wanted to see. Of course, Edward had a healthy dislike for the volcanoes, and was very careful when we went close. I think he wasn't interested in finding out if lava could break through his skin and destroy him. I wasn't either.
Every evening in Reykjavik, we went to the local community pools, which consisted of lots of hot springs. Edward enjoyed this a lot, and our skin temperature was the same for quite a while after. We usually ended up with some steamy make-out sessions, which tested our endurance.
"I can't wait for you to be a vampire," Edward groaned. I tried to keep my eyes away from his almost naked body and the obvious bulge in his pants.
"I- I agree," I whispered, feeling somewhat dazed. I wanted him so much that it almost hurt. It felt enormously frustrating for both of us. I wished there was something we could do, but I knew that it likely wasn't safe, even if I did all the work. Not only that, but Edward still had his beliefs about marriage, which, by now, seemed to have weakened just a bit, as he had touched my breasts a few times now, and had only retracted his delightful fingers because he feared he wouldn't be able to focus, and as such end up hurting me. I felt very conflicted regarding this. On one side, I wanted to support him and help him keep his belief safe, but on the other hand, I wanted him so much, that it was difficult to think.
We both breathed out, pained by the need to fulfil our needs, and the we laughed, dissipating the sexual atmosphere.
Despite how much I wanted Edward, I did enjoy being with him without sex. I loved our endless discussions, and how he made me laugh. In the deserted plains on our trip, talks we hadn't had before seemed to lie before us, and we spoke at lengths about sex and what our assumptions were. Slowly, the talks became more about what our fantasies involved, and what we wanted to do to each other. This, of course, always left us in a horrid sexually frustrated state, as our conversations were just conversations, but we were so sexually charged that it was difficult to think straight.
It helped to talk about it, though. If we couldn't have sex and touch each other, at least we could talk about it. We left Iceland in late August. Our first stop when, we reached the Europa mainland, was Norway, which was becoming quite cold. There were many desolate places in Norway, which were astoundingly beautiful.
In Norway, we had our first orgasms together. Our talks about sex had long since turned into full-blown sex-talk, where we tried to turn each other on. I had felt so unable to keep my hands to myself, that I had accidentally cupped myself. Seeing the spark of desire in Edward's eyes, this had led us to explore a safer path – a path where we sought enjoyment individually, but together.
Our orgasms were reached in as close proximity as possible, while we touched ourselves and whispered to each other. I had finally seen Edward naked, as he had seen me, and I yearned to feel him, which only served to make my body ache even more.
"I love you so much," Edward whispered as we came down from our climax. "I've never wanted anyone as much as I want you… It's so painful…" He shook his head in quiet amazement.
"I know exactly how you feel," I told him, seriously. We chuckled together and snuggled together, naked.
From Norway we traveled into Sweden, following the desolate paths and enjoying to ravishing nature. Edward revealed that his idea about sex before marriage was almost out of the window, since we had done the things we had done anyway.
"Well, technically we haven't had sex," I argued.
"I'm not petty enough to find excuses," Edward admitted, making me frown in confusion. He elaborated. "Some people can't handle the limits set by their religion or upbringing, and so they find loopholes. What we've done has technically been a loophole, but if I ever stood in front of God, I doubt he would clap me on the back and congratulate me from circumventing his laws…"
"You know, I heard about some religious young people doing blowjobs and such things, which they said was fine, since it wasn't sex, and they wouldn't be going to Hell…" I cast my mind back to the daily paper we had received at my old work, where I had read an article about sexual abstinence within religious groups, and how they ended up doing other sexually related things – called it loopholes.
"I see what you mean," I told Edward.
"If you're looking for loopholes, you don't fear your God enough…" Edward shrugged.
"How are you, then?" I worried he was beating himself up over this, but he seemed happy.
"To be honest, I feel a little guilty." Edward grinned at me. "Mostly, though, I feel great. I know you're it, and to wait until marriage seems redundant… Sure, we can't make love because of how easy it is to hurt you, but what we've done until now works perfectly. I think, as long as you can own up to what you've done, you should be fine…"
"Well, your God might not see it that way," I reminded him.
"Then he's not worthy of being my God," Edward revealed and I laughed, delightedly. Was this finally the path for Edward to become whole? To truly accept his fate? I knew a part of him, deep down, still had so many issues to work out, but most of it was borne from his religious upbringing. Would this set him free?
Just before we left Sweden for Denmark, Edward decided he wanted to hunt properly, as the game in Denmark was apparently non-existent. While Edward hunted, I took my forged papers to a hospital.
True to his word, Carlisle had forged documents that allowed me to get my blood tapped and shipped off to him immediately. The nurse was curious about me, and I stuck the simple story Carlisle had told me - I had a blood-disorder, and everything had to be sent to specialists.
Denmark was a small country, and not that impressive as I had just passed through Norway and Sweden. It was much flatter and smaller, and there really wasn't that much to see in the "wild". I spent the majority of the time alone, as most sightseeing was in the city, but we had 1 day where Alice assured us that Edward would be able to join me. We took tour-busses around Copenhagen, and we even rented bikes to try to drive around ourselves. With Edward's formidable mind, this was great since he knew exactly where to go.
I would've loved to move southward, to France, Italy, and Spain, but the weather became better southward, so we decided to wait with those countries until it was winter. Instead, we moved eastward, to Poland and the Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, followed by Russia in late September.
Russia was an impressive country. It was huge, and the weather varied immensely, so Edward and I had loads of opportunity to mingle amongst the humans.
Once more, I travelled on Edward's back as he ran through the Russian nature. It was absolutely magnificent, and Edward took me along the mountains as we travelled towards Mongolia and China.
"Can we climb Mount Everest?" I wondered, curious. That would be kind of cool.
"I think we should wait until you're a vampire. First of all, it's really cold up there for you. Second of all, the air gets thinner the further you go up, so we would need to have a lot of extra equipment with us. There's a lot less oxygen in the air, so you would need additional oxygen to ensure your safety… And thirdly, the mount is treacherous, I would feel better knowing you can take care of yourself if something did happen…"
"So when I'm a vampire, we'll totally climb it!" I agreed, and Edward nodded, smiling.
While we couldn't climb Mount Everest, we could climb several other smaller mountains. We camped often enough, since riding on Edward's back felt like riding a horse, so I felt pretty stiff. A lot of the time, I insisted we walk, and so we trekked our way into Mongolia along the mountain.
By mid-October, we reached China, where we toured the countryside, where the human inhabitants were less concentrated, and where the nature was still untouched. By the time we got to the larger cities, the weather was perfect for Edward to stay outside with me. Of course, that might've been due to the pollution.
China was vastly different from what I expected, and as a human with human needs, I found the hygiene to be less than stellar, so we went onwards pretty quickly.
We spent only a few days in South Korea, and, for some strange reason, Edward secured us access to North Korea, which was a terrifying experience.
Everyone we met in North Korea smiled, but I knew it was lies. Edward was in pain constantly, and we ended leaving before our time, as he was utterly overwhelmed by the painful thoughts of the people. While he didn't speak Korean, the gist of the thoughts gave the distinct impression that people were in pain. I tried to distract him by saying we could come back and assassinate the government, something he agreed with. I wasn't sure if he was joking or not.
We reached Japan in the beginning November. Japan quickly became my favorite country. Not only was the hygiene beyond what I was used to, but the food was utterly delicious, which I gushed to Esme about when I spoke with her on the phone. Japan also had a spectacular nature. To me, Japan seemed like the ideal country.
For the first time in my life, I tried sushi, which I found was to die for. It was absolutely exquisite! I wanted to stay longer in Japan, and we spent almost the entire month there before we decided to head home to Alaska, as Thanksgiving was drawing closer. Edward carried me back through Russia and northward, where we sailed across the narrow sea to Alaska, and picked up Carlisle's car, which he had generously left for us.
"Welcome back!" The entire family was gathered to greet us upon our arrival. I was filled with so much emotion that I nearly felt like crying.
"Bella, please…" Jasper murmured, making me chuckle and then cry out in happiness.
"I am just so happy!" I laughed, and cried just a bit.
Jasper hugged me tightly in both greeting and support, and chuckled as I tried to rein my emotions.
"Bella, Bella, Bella!" Alice bounced. "I have so much to show you, and so many questions to ask! But first, tell me all about your trip!" She managed to keep herself from exploding with all her questions until I had hugged everyone. After that, she hauled me to her room to show me the bridal gown she had chosen for me.
"Alice, where is your dress?" I looked around, not finding it.
"My dress?" Alice's voice was hesitant, and I realized I had never officially asked if she wanted to be my maid of honor.
"Alice! Please say you'll be my maid of honor!" I insisted, and Alice squealed in delight and hugged me. "I didn't think that I would need to ask, I'm so sorry! And Rosalie has to be my bridesmaid, too!" I insisted. Rosalie was with us in an instant, hugging me eagerly.
"I would love to, Bella!" Rosalie told me, happy. We spent the rest of the day talking dresses with Esme, while the boys and Carlisle went hunting. Edward needed a good hunt, so they were gone for two days.
"So, what was it like to travel with Edward?" Rosalie winked at me, making me blush.
"It was great," I admitted.
"Uh huh," Alice grinned.
"I thought you couldn't see me!" I blushed furiously, and Esme, Alice, and Rosalie giggled at my expression.
"Jasper said that both of your emotions were different – the dynamics has changed…" Alice revealed.
"Ooooh," Rosalie giggled.
"You don't have to talk about it," Esme assured me, ever the mother. She winked at me, making me roll my eyes.
"We haven't had sex," I finally admitted. Alice raised an eyebrow. "But we found other ways to…" I trailed off, embarrassed.
"Don't be embarrassed. We're so happy for you, dear," Esme assured me, making me look up into their faces. True, they did look happy for me.
"We can't have sex, because I'm too squishy, but it was great to experience each other, though." The embarrassment was fading from me. This was my family, and soon enough they would know everything about me, since there were no secrets in the family. Besides, they could plainly hear me go to the bathroom, so was talking about sex really an issue?
"You must've done something to break down those morals of his," Rosalie poked, interestedly. I laughed.
"I think it just boiled down to sexual frustration," I chuckled. "We did talk about sex a lot, though, and what our thoughts were on the subject. That led to more intimate talks, which led to… other things…" They giggled excitedly, making me laugh.
"Edward did seem more relaxed," Esme commented, laughing lightly.
"Actually, I think he's finally accepting himself… He's been so hung up on right and wrong in the eyes of God and his upbringing, but now it seems more like he listens to us, listens to what we want, rather than what we should… He seems to finally listen to himself, his own needs and feelings, rather than anything else…" I explained.
"Thank you so much, Bella." Esme suddenly leaned over and hugged me. I could feel her body shaking with tearless cries. "Look at me, I'm a mess," Esme whispered, pulling away. She looked anything but a mess. "Carlisle and I were so worried about him… You've done so much for him. He was in so much emotional pain, stressed from the ideas he had of himself… To see him letting go, freeing himself from such a self-imposed burden…" She trailed off, obviously affected.
"What she's saying, Bella, is thank you for coming into our lives. You've changed Edward to the better – much better. But you've also changed us – me." Rosalie's voice was hitching and unwillingly I sniffled. I'm not sure who started crying first, but we were all crying and hugging not soon after.
I had so much to thank my vampire family for, and it was almost hard to say it all. Once more, I felt as if there were too many emotions for me to explain.
By the time the boys were home, we were a bit more emotionally stable. Still, Jasper instantly picked up on it, and he slipped out of the house with Alice.
"When are you travelling?" I wondered, curious. The family was gathered in the living room, chilling and just enjoying themselves. Jasper and Carlisle were playing chess, and Edward and Emmett were on the PlayStation.
"Well, we're thinking in February," Rosalie announced. "The weather in Europe will be bad enough for us to join you in Paris."
"Ahh… Paris…" Alice sighed. While Rosalie and Alice adored Paris for the fashion, I wanted to strictly see the sights and the nature. In fact, if I could avoid anything related to fashion I would be really happy. I wondered what Emmett wanted to do in Paris.
"Rosalie, how is it going with desensitizing yourself?" I wondered, curious. Rosalie looked frustrated for just a second.
"It's slow-going." She sounded annoyed at that. "It's hard to ignore your natural instincts…"
"What exactly is happening?" I wondered, curious.
"We test ourselves to see if we can stay sane with blood nearby. Usually, we can stay sane enough to stop breathing, but the task is to continue breathing, to continue smelling the scent, and stay sane enough not to go berserk." Perhaps it was a good thing I hadn't been here to see it. It sounded rough. From what I gathered, Rosalie had yet to manage to stay sane while continue taking in the scent.
"I can't imagine how hard that is," I admitted.
"You will experience it soon enough," Alice assured me, chuckling. "I can't imagine how Carlisle does it. He stands in front of bleeding humans without wanting to eat them…" she shook her head in disbelief, briefly glancing towards Carlisle, who looked up at us and smiled.
"Years of practice…" Carlisle told us.
"Hopefully, I will eventually be able to work with children. It's not enough to just shut down and run away; if a child is hurt, I need to be there to help. I can't risk being near children if my only defense is to run away…" I padded Rosalie's hand in comfort, and she smiled lightly. "Luckily, I've made some progress. Emmett, however, is utterly lost…" She rolled her eyes.
"I've made progress!" Emmett called from the spot near Edward. I admired how capable they were at multitasking. "Somewhat," Emmett amended, making Rosalie chuckle.
"He takes being a vampire very lightly. Do you think that's why it's harder?" I wondered, curious. Rosalie shrugged, uncertain.
"Existence will be a pain if you end up blaming yourself every time an accident happens. We're made to kill humans, abstaining is what is extraordinary," Emmett said, still deeply engrossed in his game.
"You sound almost smart," Jasper teased Emmett, making us laugh.
Later on, I spoke with Edward. "I just don't get it. I mean, going to school was really dangerous!"
"We can handle blood, to some extent, even a freshly scraped knee, and even for a few seconds," Edward explained. "But this isn't just learning to stop breathing, like we'd do before. This is taking the cloth to her nose, breathing it in, smelling it and tasting it, and forcing herself to stay sane throughout it all," Edward said. It sounded like a painful process, and I admired Carlisle even more.
A few days before Thanksgiving, I picked up Charlie from the airport.
"Dad!" I hugged him tightly, beyond happy to see him.
"Bella!" Charlie greeted. "How are you?"
"Absolutely great!" I assured him. "Though, I kind of miss my dad," I added with a grin. Charlie looked beyond pleased.
"I missed you, too. It's been great mailing with you. Life has been almost quiet," Charlie announced. From his mails, I knew Billy and Harry were talking to Charlie again, which was a relief. I hated the idea that Charlie might be alone. He would soon need friends.
"How is college?" Charlie asked, interested. I lied and told the story Carlisle and Edward and instructed me in. It was elaborate enough to be believable, but vague enough for me to remember. At home, Charlie saw my room, which was now filled with schoolbooks and assignments, courtesy of Alice and Rosalie, instead of the many wonderful artifacts Edward and I had collected throughout our trip. It looked like a college-room, now, and I could almost believe that a student lived in it.
Having Charlie over for a few days meant we needed to do something to pass the time. Charlie suggested fishing, which Edward eagerly joined in on - though I assumed it was to please Charlie than due to a sudden love for fish. Emmett, not one to back down from a challenge, insisted on going along, as he was certain he could catch the most fish. I was amused to see that Charlie had baited Emmett into going, clearly recognizing the nature of Emmett.
It was an established lie that the Cullens were capable in the wild, but I knew that they weren't exactly the fishing types, so I worried that they might come back empty handed, or make utter fools of themselves.
"You're not interested in fishing, Jasper?" Charlie wondered, extending an invitation to Jasper.
"I have too much homework, chief; another time," Jasper replied, apologetic. I tried not to laugh, as I knew that Jasper absolutely loathed the idea of sitting still in a small boat for hours. Rosalie wasn't keen on the idea either, but that was because she worried Emmett would end up smelling.
Carlisle, however, joined them on the fishing trip. He had taken a few days off from work, but would be back to work again on Black Friday, when both of my parents and Phil had left.
One the day of Thanksgiving, in the early morning, I drove to pick up Renee and Phil. Alice joined me for the trip, but I assumed it was mostly because she still had wedding questions.
"I thought this was a simple wedding… Who cares what the invitations look like?" I grumbled to myself.
"Bella," Alice sighed dramatically. "Surely you must realize - Wait, I have an idea…" She fished around in her purse for her phone and typed something in it. "Look at this invitation." I briefly glanced over a saw a horrid pink invitation, which looked like a preschooler could've created it.
"I see your point," I replied.
"Exactly. When you do this, you realize that it's not so much as what you want, but rather what you don't want…" Alice explained.
"But I trust you not to choose something like that…" I replied.
"And what if you don't like it? I can't see you very well, so you're asking me to risk your wedding day…" Alice's voice was anxious, and I realized how much she depended on her ability. Under normal circumstances, she could see what people would think, but I was a hole in her vision.
"Okay," I relented. "Once Thanksgiving is over we can begin. Edward and I don't plan on leaving the country until after New Year's anyway, so we have a month for you to ask me whatever you need to know…"
"Thank you so much!" Alice told me, happily.
"Alice, I should be the one thanking you. Thank you for wanting to plan the wedding for me, and you're right, I should give you some feedback." I sent her small smile before I pulled into the airport parking lot.
"Your parents have arrived. If we hurry, we can greet them just as they enter the arrival area."
We managed to arrive just before Renee and Phil came out into the arrival area. Alice held up a sign with their names on it, decorated wildly with hearts and flowers.
"Bella!" Renee hugged me eagerly. "What a wonderful sign!" Renee hugged Alice as well. I gave Phil a brief hug, and Alice merely greeted him by hand. We spoke loosely about how things went with Phil and Renee and what they did with their lives.
"I've started painting again," Renee admitted, sheepishly, while admiring Alice's sign.
"I thought you hated it." I distinctly recalled Renee throwing her painting supplies into the trash, ranting about her inability to draw, and that it was a ridiculous thing to waste time on.
"We saw an exhibition…" Phil smiled a goofy smile as he glanced at Renee. I warmed my heart to see how lively their love was, and I knew Renee would be god good hands once I was gone.
Esme greeted Renee happily, and the two women chatted like old friends. Charlie took an interest in Phil's baseball career, and along with Jasper and Emmett, they had a lengthy conversation. As I looked at my family, both vampires and humans, I felt beyond content; I felt whole. I only wished Charlie would have someone special to keep him company when I left, but that was not up to me.
Esme and Renee went to the kitchen to prepare the food, and I ended up joining them to ensure that it ended up edible. I trusted Esme without a doubt, but Renee could ruin everything. I had experienced her try to sneak spices into my dishes when I lived with her, solely because the spice had a nice name or a pretty color.
"How's college? Is it great? Made some good friends?" Renee asked as we prepared the first part of dinner. Esme sent me a brief glance and a small smile, clearly giving me silent support.
"Yeah, it's great," I lied, skillfully. "People seem nice enough, but you know me, I prefer a book…" I said.
"Esme, you should've seen Bella when she was younger," Renee said, bringing forth anecdotes from my childhood. This brought Edward to our side almost instantly, as he was curious to ask questions. He found my childhood exciting, apparently, and he loved to know every piece of information about me. I tried to distract him by making him do the dishes and such things, but Renee was eager to share.
When we had a brief pause in the food-preparation, I spoke with Renee, who confided her thoughts about Edward.
"You just seem … perfect for each other," Renee confessed. We were talking a short walk in large garden, but I knew the family could easily hear us – the vampires anyway.
"Thanks," I replied, happy that she approved.
"How is living with his family? They're very nice," she commented, interestedly.
"I love it. Carlisle and Esme are the best guardians, and Edward is a perfect gentleman. His siblings are insane, as you've no doubt noticed." We both laughed lightly. The others soon joined us, eager for a walk, and as it had snowed heavily Jasper and Emmett were having a brutal snow fight, while Rosalie and Alice were making fashionable snowmen.
I decided to make a snowman as well, but he was far less perfect. Charlie helped me, and it did end up looking somewhat like a snowman.
As the snow began to fall again we headed back for warm drinks.
This had been the best Thanksgiving I had ever had, and I reveled at the idea of celebrating Christmas together as well.
In the early morning on Black Friday, Edward and I drove Charlie, Renee and Phil to the airport hastily, as Alice said a storm would be hitting, so instead of staying the weekend they ended up having to leave before the chaos started – both the weather and the shopping.
As we drove back, I reveled in the wonder of the past few days. It felt like everything was perfect. I could see my entire life ahead me, spreading out perfectly.
The Cullens were great, Edward was great, my family were great, both families together were great, and travelling was great.
Everything was great.
As the evening closed in, I prepared to go to bed. The decision had barely registered in my mind when a thump sound, sounded. I looked over at Alice, who had fallen to the ground, horror written in her expression.
"No-" Alice choked on the word.
"No!" Edward whispered, hoarsely.
"Alice?" Jasper blurred to her side instantly.
"Edward." Carlisle kneeled by Edward. I wanted to move to Edward side, but his expression was terrifying.
"They're coming… They're coming," Alice whispered, painfully
"Who?" Carlisle whispered, sounding almost frightened. Goosebumps traveled down my spine as fear cursed through my body.
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Remember: we're pretending that there are penguins in Greenland ;)