The chapel was dusty. The rows seemed to be slightly crooked, a sign of being built by primitive means. Bella was avoiding looking at the Sultan, knowing that once she looked up, she would never be able to look down again. Bella watched the dust motes dance a waltz in the twilight sun. She fancied herself being one of them, free yet confined to the chapel. Edward squeezed her hand, and she squeezed it back harder. They were teasing her, she knew. Instead of sunlight, they gave her twilight. Instead of freedom, a red ribbon.
At the end of the rows, as was customary, stood her fiance. Jasper. Sultan. Husband.
Bella decided to stare at his nose. The eyes were the window to soul, and his soul would grab hers and never give it back.
The chapel was filled to the brim with his subjects. Some stared at her, but most stared at him They were ready to pounce if need be. If he gave the signal she would be at their mercy. Bella could feel their readiness to fight, manifesting itself in the absolute stillness in which they held themselves. Vampyres, despite their protestation, did echo their human counterparts. Their bodies didn't need to move, but they were always fidgeting because it felt natural. It was only when they were ready to succumb to instinct that they became still.
There was no music playing. Bella's steps echoed through the church, creating a melody all on their own. She was painfully aware that her idea to disobey the order to wear high heels was obvious. Now that she was nearing Jasper, she realized that he truly was a tall specimen.
The priest looked at her and smiled. Bella's heart sped up in fear. This was a human.
Bella broke and she looked into Jasper's eyes, ready to plead for the man's life. There was no way that the vampyres would let a priest live longer than was necessary.
Her chest constricted suddenly and the pent up anxiety threatened to burst. A surge of adrenaline caused a stumbled. She wanted to run. She wanted to save the priest and run away from this place. She wanted to come home.
The universe has a cruel sense of irony.
The point of no return has come, Bella knew. The hope for a life beyond these constructs dissipated.
Her stumble was caught by Edward, and the predatory atmosphere heightened almost visibly. The old seats creaked as vampyres leaned ever so slightly forward, venom filling their mouths.
Bella suddenly wanted this over with. She tugged Edward's hand and willed him to move faster. Nobility gawking at her got old very fast.
Edward pulled her back. They finally got to her fiance.
Jasper's face was emotionless, where Bella's was a kaleidoscope. In his hands was a ribbon. Edward let go of Bella's hand, and was escorted out like the exhalation of a breath. Bella didn't look to see him go. She wouldn't have seen anything anyways.
Jasper held his hand out, eyes unreadable. Bella knew that he wanted to laugh at this, she knew that if vampyres had a Vegas, this whole thing would have been over by now.
The smoothness of his skin shocked her, as she remembered his hands to always be rough. His fingers closed over hers. It was only because his hand was so still that she realized that hers was shaking.
The priest started to talk. His voice was dry and comforting. Jasper's red eyes bore into hers, and when the priest stumbled over some words, an echo of a grin appeared. He wasn't laughing at the priest, she knew. Yet, she still didn't understand him enough to say quite what was tickling him.
"Now, vampyre, you may claim your wife. May you always remember chastity, and most of all, may you remember the love you must always give to her. The twilight of today will watch over you, as will her ascendants and descendents. "
Jasper grabbed Bella's wrists and tied the ribbon to them, entwining his own hands with hers. The priest laid a hand on top of theirs and started to chant in Latin. The vampyres joined in after about three words. Over and over they said the same thing, and goose-bumps rose onto Bella's skin. The words sounded outwards hostile.
The priest suddenly slumped over and his body turned to ash. The chanting ceased, only to be replaced by cheers. Bella fought not to scream, to keep her stoic countenance. Jasper brought her closer to him, gently pulling at the connection of skin and ribbon.
Then, he kissed her. Mouth to mouth, hand to hand, he kissed her. Bella knew that he wanted so much more, that he wanted to take her away from the prying eyes and keep her from suffering in the world.
He always had, and he was always a moment too late from realizing these wishes.
She kept her lips firmly shut, not allowing anything more to happen. She feared that if she did, then more is exactly what would happen. Yet, she never wanted this moment to end. She was content to stay just like this for the rest of eternity.
Jasper broke contact and looked to his subjects. It occurred to Bella that he had not once yet looked at them. His eyes had only been on her, the whole ceremony. There was lust, and there was protectiveness. It was sweet, in a way. He raised their entwined hands, and the room erupted. Bella could feel her hair sway side to side from the amount of noise that was being made.
"Time to celebrate, my comrades. A new era has dawned, and we will be damned if we are not there to greet it," roared the Sultan.
He grinned, and Bella feared permanent hearing damage.
The ribbon was deftly removed by Jasper and quickly tied around her neck.
"You are mine, Isabella Marie Swan, the moment that you forget the fact will be your deathbed. I will not feel remorse, because your blood will only taste sweeter from fear."
Bella could only roll her eyes. Deathbed, shmeshbed. If only she could have vaccinated at birth from that type of thing.
Back to the underground they went, and Bella could not fight the relief. It was over. She was alive, and her impending death could only be caused by infidelity. Sweet.
The reception was lavish, to say the least; yet another hall, yet another throne, yet another crowd of vampyres. Jasper placed an iron band around her waist, and refused to let go. Bella found that she didn't mind. Despite being the bride, conversation was refused to Bella. She didn't even try to talk, but she knew that once she did, the room would go completely silent and everyone would listen. Bella debated saying something completely unrelated and stupid. For example,
I hope McDonalds is still open, would be very kindly received, as would Buffy the Vampire hunter is way cooler than you guys.
Bella smiled ever so slightly, and Jasper looked down at her. His eyes were unreadable, but his lips. They stretched out to mirror her own.
Around the room they went. Everyone wanted a piece of the Sultan. Some asked about the wedding, because only a select few were chosen to go. Others asked about royal affairs (Jasper had a family?!), but most tried to look smart and asked about politics. Many vampyres tried to talk in low voices so that Bella would not be able to hear. Jasper only had to give them a hard look and the volume would suddenly elevate to human level of normalcy. Bella gathered that Jasper had two parents (King Carlisle and Queen Esme), two sisters and two brothers, one of them being estranged (Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Estranged Edward). Any mention of Edward brought a mix of pain and fear to Bella's heart. She wasn't supposed to feel that way, but she did. Edward was her friend, but her body seemed to know something that her mind didn't. The body knows how to keep a secret from the waking mind. Soon enough, Jasper started to avoid any topic of Edward on the basis that he was estranged, but Bella suspected that he knew what she feeling. The word "empath" had been thrown around a lot in the Sanguine.
The vampyres were carrying around golden goblets, and Bella could smell the metallic fumes. She tried not to pay attention, but lightheadedness was hard to ignore.
She leaned against Jasper as a wave of nausea barraged her senses. Voices floated around her head in a halo of sound.
"Everyone, get rid of your drinks," barked Jasper. The whole room went still and everyone zeroed in on Bella. She was in no state to care.
In a matter of moments, the vampyres had drunk all the liquid, and the smell started to recede. The nausea vanished, as did her other symptoms.
"Allergic to blood, eh?" the nearest vampyre chuckled. Canadians should never ever be turned. "Don't worry, we can help you with that."
Jasper growled, and the vampyre vanished into the crowd.
"He's harmless, my liege," a soft feminine purr from behind them made Jasper spin.
"Tanya, how are you, my dear?" Jasper purred, equally soft. Sensual.
Bella could not stop the jealousy that flared up. How dare she? The sexual tension between the two was overwhelming making Bella want to retch.
"Could have been better. How are you?"
Tanya was definitely a sight; oval face, golden curls, large red eyes and a bitch personality. The green floor length dress was seductive in nature and accented everything that was desired to be accented. Her expression was full of confidence, and Bella wanted to smack her for simply existing.
"The happiest man in the world."
Jasper's hand wrapped even tighter around Bella's waist, bringing her even closer than before. Tanya's gaze lingered on Jasper before they finally focused on Bella. She was testing the waters, trying to figure out how much bullshit Jasper would take, and in turn, Bella as well. That comment that Jasper made obviously brought the redhead on edge.
Bella watched as Tanya made a plan of attack.
"I'm glad to hear that dear. Unfortunately, all that is gold cannot stay."
Jasper looked at Bella knowingly. All Bella wanted to do was slap Tanya out of existence, but Jasper effectively erased this animosity that with his next words.
"Bella has been my gold for a long time. She has come and gone, but this time I am sure she is here to stay."
A shiver ran down Bella's spine. There was something about those words that made her want to break into tears, and laugh at the same time.
Because it wasn't true.
Tanya's face contorted into an expression of a smile masking a frown. There was simply no way that she could win. So she left.
She threw a "How charming" and whirled around, seeking her next victim to mindless conversation.
A long time.
Suddenly, a tiredness swept over Bella. She could feel her posture worsening, and her soft smile disappear.
Jasper looked down onto her from time to time but did not dare speak to her directly. Everyone was listening, everyone was watching, everyone had hostile intentions.
Music started to play, an echo of the classical music Bella had once known. They would never use human composers in a ceremony like this.
"Will my wife be so kind as to give me this dance?"
Bella was so far away that coming back into conscious thought took a moment. They were standing in the middle of an oasis in the crowd, and Jasper had taken a couple of steps away from her, but still held her hand. He leaned down to kiss it as Bella murmured her consent. His cool contact made butterflies erupt like bombs in her chest. Jasper whirled her towards him, and together they embarked into a Viennese waltz. Bella wanted to cry in relief that she had done ballroom almost professionally before the war started. Those memories seemed to be so far away, but as she dug them up, it felt as though everything had happened in order to prepare her for living with the vampyres.
"You took lessons?"
"The one good decision I made," Bella whispered, knowing it would be heard like a yell through the crowd. They were tuned to her voice.
Jasper chuckled. He was testing her. He led her into moves without warning, like it was choreography. Bella's specialty had been waltz. Faster and faster they went, momentum sticking them together yet tearing them apart. It was a rude reminder of all the muscle she lost from that nurse's stunt with the poison, as her chest constricted painfully from her lack of exercise.
The waltz slowed into a foxtrot. Bella was breathing very hard, yet smiling like a lunatic. That was fun. Jasper smiled back at her.
"We have half an hour left under this mindless scrutiny, my charl," Jasper murmured into her ear, resting his head onto her shoulder. Bella had a feeling that this gesture had been done many times before. She let it happen.
"Aren't you two the cutest thing the world has created."
Jasper growled every so slightly, but lifted his head.
"You're very kind, sister."
Bella looked curiously over to the speaker. She had a slightly southern twang.
"Shoo Jasper, I deserve a dance with my sister in law."
Jasper refused.
"Hello, Bella, my name is Alice and I will be your favorite sister-in-law."
The speaker was shorter than Bella, with pixie-like features and large red eyes. She was wearing a short green dress and outrageously yellow shoes.
"Pleased to meet you," Bella said.
"Now, you and I have some bonding to do. In three days time I will steal you away so that you can get acquainted with the feminine side of the marriage."
Bella's cheeks flared red.
"Oh. I meant all the girls in Jaz's family."
Jasper gave Alice a disapproving look. Bella smiled encouragingly. Alice was right. Bella took an immediate liking to this faerie.
"Ta ta, Rose and I have plans to make."
An intake of breath, and the pixie was gone.
Jasper frowned in her direction and turned back to Bella. They were back to waltzing.
"Alice, " he said simply, and that was the end of that.
The half an hour came to an end, and everyone shuffled off to an "after party". Bella shuddered to think what that entailed. She had heard that vampyres liked to drink the blood of intoxicated victims. She heard that there were rooms for that.
Jasper neatly took Bella out of the situation by picking her up bridal style and bolting. Bella's hair (she had a lot of it) must have whipped back into his face because she heard a slight cough come him. Within a minute or two, they were where he wanted them to be.
A luxurious room painted a soft white. Everything was white. The room screamed purity, fidelity, and consummation of marriage.
Jasper's arms snaked around Bella's waist and held her to him.
"You have no idea, my dear, how long I have waited for you this time."
Bella leaned back into him, relishing his closeness, his simple existence.
"I believe," Bella said, " I have waited for you longer than you could ever imagine."
Jasper spread kisses up and down her neck, taking moments on each one. Bella's skin was fire despite his cool skin. There was a desire inside her that surpassed anything her nineteen-year-old self could ever hold or even imagine.
But Bella froze as she remembered the markings on her legs. There was no way that he would let her keep her miracle tights on, now would there? Bella blushed. Probably not.
Jasper was perceptive.
"You are afraid. Why?"
Bella turned around and placed her arms around his neck.
"This is my first time, after all."
She kissed him, happy to be the first to start giving the room exactly what it called for. He chuckled gently in between kisses.
"Eager, are we?"
"We always were," Bella replied.
Jasper was the answer to all of Bella's questions. She was happy to say that no stones were left unturned that night.
Jasper was happy to disregard the effects of the poison, as that was a topic for later. As long as there was no pain, Jasper was happy to disregard anything and everything.
Do not be kind to a vampyre,
Unless he is kind to you.
Do not give him your love,
Unless he gives his to you.
Do not follow him into the abyss
Unless he follows you.
And never ever forget yourself,
Unless he forgets himself in you.
M.E.P
Cvaboda
