Soul Colored Crimson

C15: Picture Day

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters

Bella's POV

A couple of months later, with just a few weeks before Halloween, Victoria had invited the entire family to her studio with the request to wear our best clothes so we could take some family pictures.

Esme of course was ecstatic about the prospect of finally having family pictures in the house and had all but demanded that we would behave ourselves for however long it would take for Victoria to take the pictures.

Every couple would also pose separately, and of course all of my siblings wanted to have at least one picture with me, as well as my mother, which I honestly didn't mind at all. To me it was just another adorable family moment to add to my memories.

I also really wanted to see how far Victoria had come with her new hobby, since she had adamantly refused to show me until she was ready, which admittedly was a bit frustrating since we had shared everything since the day we met.

What also didn't help was the fact that she promised me something special too, and me being the curious woman that I am couldn't help but wonder what her surprise for me was.

It would also be the first time since Esme showed us the house that anyone had been allowed into her so called sanctuary, and I was kind of curious how she had ended up decorating it in the end, although I figured that it was amazing, given how she had decorated our room and my office, even though I hadn't spent much time in the latter yet.

Inspiration had been a bit lacking over the last couple of months, but I was pretty sure once I was turned and the newborn hormones everyone had warned me about had settled a bit, I would find all the inspiration I would ever need.

Alice had of course been bouncing around, almost literally too, for most of the morning and had almost resorted to actually begging me to let her pick out an outfit for me.

Eventually I had relented, and that is what led me to sitting on my bed in nothing but my underwear, since she had seen several outfits for me today that would look amazing with what Vicky was planning on wearing. "Alice, you said you saw exactly what I was going to wear half an hour ago, and I really don't want Mom to barge in here seeing me sitting here in my panties."

I heard her giggle from the closet. "Patience Bella. We have a bit of time before we need to present ourselves to Esme's scrutiny. I want to make sure that I pick out the perfect outfit for you, and perfection takes time." She said in her usual sing-song voice.

I grumbled a little as I wrapped my arms around myself to keep a bit of warmth in my body. "Could you still hurry up. It's rather cold and I have no intention of being the only one in that picture with her nipples standing to attention."

She actually had the audacity to laugh at that. "You're being dramatic, sister. I'm sure Victoria has taken into account you being human in the temperature of her studio, and besides. It will not be the first time your mate sees you with erect nipples."

I had enough and marched into the closet. "Don't tease me Ali. I'm nervous enough as it is for these pictures. I've always had issues with pictures in general, so I really don't want to screw up the ones we'll have to look at for at least a few decades."

She turned to smile at me before she wrapped her arms around me. "Calm down Bella. I promise everything will be absolutely fine, which is why I want to take care of selecting your outfit. It will help with the level of comfort. I promise."

I sighed softly as I took a seat on the stool we had placed in the closet, mostly for me to not fall over when I put on my shoes. "I suppose you have a point. I doubt Mom would appreciate me going in a jeans and hoodie."

"Indeed she would not, and I think I just found the perfect outfit for you. No more need to be grumpy with your favorite future seeing sister." She said with a bright smile.

I laughed lightly and hugged her. "You're my only future seeing sister. You also mean way more to me than just a sister. We could easily be twins at times. Much like Rose and Jasper often pretend to be."

She smiled at that. "I can see that, although you're way taller than me, we are more alike than different in a lot of ways."

I smiled at her as I got dressed, groaning only a little when I saw that she had chosen the only pair of heels I owned. "Would you be very upset if I put these on downstairs, I really don't want to break my ankles walking down the stairs in these."

"I think everyone would prefer that, and since I am in no mood to get scolded by Esme by forcing you to walk down the stairs in those heels." Alice said with a soft smile.

I smiled and hugged her as we made our way downstairs. "Then I will still need you to stabilize me a little bit when I get them on, otherwise this family day will still end in a trip to the hospital."

She nodded and smiled at me as she helped me into my shoes. "I'm just glad you are so willing to wear them that I will make sure you are comfortable in them."

"I doubt I will be comfortable in heels while I'm still human. My delicate equilibrium as you all like to call it will probably not be okay with that." I said with a soft smile.

Alice giggled at that as she helped me stand up before sliding her arm around my waist as we walked to the studio where I could already see a few flashes coming through the window in the door.

Victoria's POV

The moment Bella and Alice stepped inside, I had to resist the urge to growl at our sister, mostly because how close my mate was pressed into the Pixie's side. That was until I saw which shoes she was wearing and the realization dawned. "Really Alice? We talked about this."

"I know, but I promise that they serve a purpose. Since Bella is between both Rose and Esme in height, but not as short as I am, these heels will bring her to somewhat the same height as Rosalie and Esme, which would look better aesthetically." Alice explained animatedly.

I smiled at her as Bella wobbly made her way over to her mother, a look of intense concentration on her face as she tried not to fall over and potentially break an ankle.

Esme of course stepped forward immediately to pull Bella against her front, so she would be safe from any accidents. "You look amazing sweetheart."

"Thanks Mom. You look amazing too. I also am very excited about today. I've never really had family picture day, at least not as an adult." Bella said with a soft smile.

Esme smiled sweetly at her as I gathered everyone's attention. "Alright, now that we're all here, let's get ourselves situated. Esme, could you and Bella stand in the middle with Jasper and Alice on your left and Emmett and Rosalie on your right, and if you all could leave a spot for me behind Bella, that would be appreciated."

Everyone shuffled into position and took up a pose, everyone looking far too regal for my tastes. "Come on guys it's the twenty first century, not the fifteenth. Can we all just loosen up here?"

"Sorry Victoria, this is the first time in fifty years that we've taken family pictures." Esme said with her usual kind smile.

I just smiled at her as they took a bit more natural poses, and once I was sure that everything was set up exactly how I wanted to, I made my way over to the family with the remote I needed take the pictures. "We'll do a couple in different poses and compositions so we have a bit of variety, since I can add backgrounds later."

"We're all in your capable hands Victoria. I'm sure that your creative vision will make some beautiful pictures today." Alice said with a smile.

I smiled at her as I wrapped an arm around Bella, keeping the other one a bit of frame so the remote wasn't visible. I also couldn't resist giving Bella's side a squeeze to get a genuine smile as I took the picture.

After the first picture I made my way over to my camera, wanting to make sure that it looked okay before we did the rest, and thankfully this was one thing our venom did not completely ruin. "Well this is a relief. Our venom doesn't screw with the picture quality, which I was seriously afraid of."

Everyone smiled at me. "That's good to hear Victoria. Did you want to do other positions too?" Rosalie asked with a soft smile.

I nodded at them as they took another position and pose, Jasper and Emmett now standing directly behind their mates with arms wrapped around their waists while Bella was on one side of Esme, and the other spot next to our mother was clearly intended for me.

This went on as we took all the family pictures we could ever need before we moved on to couple pictures, and of course the long awaited mother-daughter pictures for Bella and Esme, which was honestly something I was also looking forward to.

I knew that these were special for the both of them and that I had some liberty to do something truly special for them, and for that I had enlisted Alice's help, to bring a few change of clothes for both of them so they could have their pick of pictures once they were done.

Esme was currently fixing Bella's lunch while I did the last set of pictures for Rosalie and Emmett, which honestly were as loving as I expected them to be, because despite her general demeanor and his overall playfulness, they really were a perfect couple, much like every other couple in the house.

"Alright, I think we've got them. Want a preview?" I asked with a smile.

Rosalie nodded at me and walked up to my laptop where I had the entire set already loaded up. "Wow, I never expected them to look so amazing. I don't know why but I expected a lot more shimmer."

I smiled at that. "That is one of the reasons I spent so long experimenting with different set-ups, because there were a lot of failed attempts in experimenting with filters, flashes and even different cameras. Only a couple of days ago I found the perfect combination to make sure that our venom is invisible on the actual picture, and I only just found out the actual backdrop helps too, which is why it is green. It also makes it easier for me to add a proper background."

Rosalie smiled at that. "You have really gone into this full force haven't you?"

"Of course I have. This is the first thing in over five centuries that I have decided to do for myself, besides the whole killing James so he wouldn't go after my mate. I want to learn everything I can while Bella is still human so when she is turned I have some permanent memories of her as a human, which I think will help her too once she is turned." I said softly.

The blonde smiled at me. "I'm pretty sure that for a couple of months you two won't have time to look at pictures."

I laughed lightly and nodded at that. "True, but after those few months life will return to normal and I'm sure Bella will look at those pictures and then remember exactly why she feels the way she does."

Rosalie smiled at that. "I think so too, but I think your mate and her mother are on their way here, and while I love you all very much, I would rather not get a sugar overdose this early in the day."

I just smiled at her and gave her a hug as Esme and Bella indeed walked into my studio, Bella already having changed into her first of three outfits of this shoot, with another one waiting for when we would do our own sets of pictures.

Esme's POV

When Bella and I walked back into the studio after lunch Victoria was busy rearranging the lights a little, to make sure that these pictures would be as amazing as I was sure the rest of them were as well.

"Ah, right on time. Everything is ready for what is sure to be the most tender photoshoot in the history of the world. I can't imagine this being anything else." Victoria said with a smile.

I smiled at that as I wrapped an arm around Bella's waist as we took a seat, with Bella purposely in my lap. "That was exactly what we were thinking, and as before, we will do exactly what you ask of us."

The redhead smiled at us as she gave us a once over. "I think with your current outfits this will work fine. It'll make for very cute pictures."

"We hope so, otherwise we might need to put even more effort in delivering the proper amount of sugar-shock in people when they see them." Bella said with a soft smile.

Victoria laughed lightly at that as she took up her spot behind the camera. "The chance of that not happening are slim to none, love. Everyone we could ever invite knows exactly how close you and mother are."

Bella just shrugged as she sat herself properly on my lap while I wrapped an arm around her waist, the two of us probably looking like the perfect mother and daughter.

Victoria merely smiled at us as she started snapping photo's, each one just a little bit different from the last, and after every set of ten we would change outfits while Victoria made some changes to the setting.

For the last set we wanted to do some pictures for Didyme, who had a secret scrap-booking hobby that only a few people knew about, and she had asked me to send her a few pictures of the family and of me and Bella to add to her book.

We were both in comfortable dresses and Bella was once again seated in my lap, holding hands while we waited for Victoria to finish her set up. "I'm so happy that we got to do these pictures Mom."

"So am I sweetie. It's been long overdue that we made some permanent reminders of our newfound happiness, and while we have to wait to see the end result, I have full confidence in your mate's abilities." I said with a kind smile.

Bella smiled at that. "I think we both do Mom, if Vicky has proven anything over the last couple of months it's that once she gets fixated on something, she is going to go all in, and this has been no different."

I smiled at her. "You are most definitely right sweetie, and I think the results so far have been exquisite."

"Indeed they have been, in fact they have turned out better than I could ever have imagined. I think that this last set will be very well received by Queen Didyme." Victoria said with a soft smile.

Both Bella and I smiled at her as we took our positions again, Victoria merely smiling at us as she started snapping photo's once again, and it warmed my heart to see the warm and genuine smile on Bella's face.

I couldn't help but smile brightly at that particular fact. It had been a while since I had seen her give that beautiful smile to anyone other than Victoria or myself, and I just couldn't help but press a soft kiss to Bella's cheek right as Victoria captured that moment for eternity.

Bella's resulting blush was absolutely adorable. "Sorry sweetie, I just couldn't resist."

"It's okay Mom, if I had a problem with anyone showing me affection in the last couple of months, I would have said something way sooner. I just hope this will not be the one you were planning to send to the Queen." Bella said with a sweet smile.

I smiled and shook my head. "No sweetie. This last one is for me alone. I was planning on putting this on my nightstand, so that no matter where you are, I will always be able to look at you."

Her blush only darkened at that, and I just couldn't help but nuzzle her neck a little. "Why does everyone in this family enjoy making me blush so much?" She asked only slightly disgruntled.

Victoria grinned at that. "Because you're downright adorable when you blush, baby."

"While I am usually very much against the teasing of my baby girl, you make an excellent point Victoria." I said with a soft smile as I nuzzled my nose against Bella's neck.

Victoria smiled at us as she put down her camera and made her way over to take a seat next to us, Bella almost immediately wrapping an arm around the redhead's waist. "We don't mean to embarrass you love. It's just extremely adorable to be witness to, given how much of your sense of shame you've already shed in the last couple of months."

Bella smiled and pressed a kiss to her mate's cheek before repeating the action on me. "I know you both mean well, and I'm not embarrassed, it's just that I'm still not used to the praise you all shower me with on a daily basis."

We both smiled at her. "But you are so very deserving of praise, Bella. You are such a strong and incredible young woman that has captured the hearts of not just one, but two Covens in our world, which is something no one has ever been able to do in the way you have."

Bella smiled at that as she cuddled closer to me while pulling Victoria close as well. "I love you all so much. I really don't know what I would've done if it hadn't been for everyone's love and acceptance."

I just smiled and pressed a long kiss to her cheek, all of us more than content to stay here for a little while longer before we would rejoin the rest of the family.

Bella's POV

Later that evening after dinner Victoria once again took me to her studio, and I could see from the look on her face that she had a very specific plan in mind. "What are you planning love? I know that look a bit too well at this point." I asked softly as we walked into her studio.

She smiled at me as she locked the door behind us. "I promised you a special set just for us love, and I intend to keep that promise. There is a reason everyone but your mother has gone out for a hunt tonight. We're going to have complete privacy for this, and I promise you here and now that no one, and I do mean no one will ever see these pictures besides us."

"And we can go as far as I am comfortable with?" I asked with a soft smile.

She nodded and kissed me. "Of course my love. I wouldn't dream of ever making you uncomfortable in anything, and that goes doubly for this."

I smiled at her. "Then I think I'm okay with this being a bit more than the lingerie shoot you promised me. I'd be okay in going topless as long as you join me."

Victoria smiled sweetly at me. "Of course I will join you, these pictures are for us to enjoy together. We can be as sultry as we please." She said with a wink.

I smiled at her as I took off my top. "And am I also right in assuming that you've selected our lingerie for tonight?"

She nodded as she mirrored me in taking off her own top, revealing that she hadn't been wearing a bra all day, since she hadn't changed since the first set of pictures. "Surprised love?"

"No, not really. I know you don't really believe in bras unless strictly enforced to wear them, something I completely plan to copy once I am turned might I add." I said with a similar grin to hers.

Victoria smiled as she pulled me against her body and let her hands roam over my breasts. "I had a feeling you would bring that up at some point, and of course I'm not going to say anything against that. In fact, I think it will save us both a lot of time in the mornings."

I smiled and kissed her. "That's for sure, but far from the only reason I want chose this option in the end. I have come to loathe them more and more with each passing day. My boobs hurt every day by how they're being squished by those things, even though I know for a fact Alice has gotten me the right size."

She smiled a me as she picked up my bra, checking the size. "I think the Pixie for the first time in her life has been a bit wrong when it comes to clothes. This is only a D-cup, while I am very confident that you're at the very least a double D. We're going shopping tomorrow and get you new bras."

"I would love to, but we're going to not say to Alice that she was wrong. She'll feel terrible about having caused me any sort of discomfort." I said softly.

Victoria nodded and smiled at me. "Of course we won't, but shall we shelve the bra issue for now and get ready for some sexy couple pictures?"

"Like you would have to ask. I think I've proven in the last months that there are few things I enjoy more than doing sexy things with you." I said with a soft smile.

She grinned and led me to the side where our lingerie was, and since I figured she was going for the red thong, if it could be called that, I quickly changed into the dark blue one she had selected.

I felt a slight gust to my side and before I had time to turn around she was already in her thong and setting the mood for our photo shoot, which was mostly lowering the intensity of the lights to set a more romantic mood. "Sometimes I hate it when you do that, although I can understand why you moved so quickly now. You're probably just as excited as I am."

"Of course I am. You're gorgeous baby, and I can't wait to immortalize this moment in our relationship." She said with a soft smile.

I just smiled and sat myself down on the couch she had now placed in the studio for us to use. "I have to say that I do love this couch babe. Will this be a permanent feature in your haven of inspiration?"

"It probably will, I have a ton of ideas and requests from our sisters that I can't wait to try out in the future, and if those go well I will do a similar one for you too. I have a feeling you will love it." She said with a loving smile as she took a seat next to me, pulling me into her lap at the same time.

I smiled and kissed her softly as we positioned ourselves for the first picture. "I can't wait to see them love. I am sure they will be very… inspirational on my desk."

She just winked at me as she wrapped an arm low around my waist and pressed her lips to my neck, just inches below the scar she had left on me months ago, to which I just couldn't help but moan softly.

The rest of the set was done in pretty much the same way, either with my lips on some part of her body or hers on mine, and of course our hands were also close to, or on each other's breasts the entire time.

All of them led to the grand finale, where she was between my legs on the ground, caressing my thighs softly as she took the last picture. "There, all done. I think I will have to do very little editing on these, because I wouldn't want to dare to mess with the perfection that is you, Isabella Felice."

I smiled and slid off the couch and into her lap. "We both know I'm far from perfect love. But thank you for the compliment anyway."

She smiled and kissed me softly as she drew a blanket over us, since neither of us were inclined to move from our spots for the foreseeable future.