The Twilight Saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer, Summit Entertainment and anyone else who may legally claim ownership. No copyright infringement is intended.


Chapter 17: Preparations

Carlisle needed more time to think over what Alice had told him. Time he didn't have. He fingered the engagement ring he'd had custom made for Bella. He had described Bella's personality and preferences to the master jeweler and this ring was the result. Set in platinum, with eighteen karat yellow gold touches, it's central stone was a flawless European cut six carat diamond. This stone was highlighted by two three carat Ceylon sapphires, one on each side, the diamond being set higher than the sapphires. The setting was interspersed with smaller mine cut diamonds, and many intricate details. It's overall look was one of outward simplicity, but on closer inspection, one could see its true complexity of form and artistry. It suited Bella's personality perfectly.

Carlisle slipped the ring back into his pocket and surreptitiously returned his gaze to Bella. His love for her was complete and unconditional. He would love her above all else to the end of time and beyond; of that he had no doubt. He felt connected to her in ways that, in all of his years, he'd never known. Things he had believed to merely be the fiction of songs, poetry and stories, he now knew existed in reality. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her. He was positive his feelings for her would never change. He did have a soul, and a heart though it didn't beat; and they, along with all that he was and all that he would ever be, belonged entirely to Isabella Marie Swan.

He didn't tend to be an insecure person. However, these feelings that were so new to him, made him wonder how he could ever be sure that they were truly reciprocated? Of course, he could ask her. He had been planning to ask her to marry him and her answer to that question would resolve his doubts. The ring in his pocket was proof of his intentions. He had not, however, been planning to ask her to marry him on the actual day he proposed marriage.

Alice. She was the cause of his vexation. She and her visions often were. If vampires were a cryptic race, as Bella insisted they were, surely Alice was the most cryptic of all. He couldn't fault her for it. She had to keep certain visions to herself or risk influencing events in negative or dangerous ways. He fleetingly wondered if she ever chose what to reveal to ensure that things played out as she wanted. He mentally shook himself. He was being unfair. Alice's visions weren't machinations. He had known Alice for a long time; her love and concern for those around her was her driving force. He knew Alice meant well. He knew he could trust her. She only used her visions to help those she loved.

He wondered if he should just blindly do as Alice asked this time. This was something exceedingly personal between Isabella and himself. He didn't want her to feel rushed or pressured because of Alice's vision. He decided to ask her before he told her about all that Alice had said.

He glanced at Bella again. There sat love personified, engrossed in The Book of Common Prayer. He knew his old friend, Jim, had suggested she read something in it; although, which passage held her attention so completely, he didn't know. He closed his eyes.

Bella glanced up to see Carlisle standing alone. She wondered where his friend had gone off to; the last time she had looked up Carlisle and Jim had been involved in an intense conversation. She hoped it was nothing too troubling. As she looked at Carlisle now, it was clear to her that he was nervous. Nervousness was not something the calm, confident Carlisle Cullen usually suffered. She wondered what had him so flustered. She didn't have too long to wonder. His head turned to her, and their eyes met. She smiled. Seeing his face always made her smile. Her smile brightened when his agitation seemed to vanish as his gaze met hers. Maybe she wasn't the only one soothed by the other's presence.

Carlisle held Bella's gaze as he approached the back pew, where she sat by the aisle. As he neared her, he saw the light of her love for him in her eyes. It was a quiet content look, somewhat out of place in one as young as she. He smiled, he knew the age of her inner self was much more advanced than her appearance would indicate. Her mother had been correct about that. Bella had been born middle aged. When he focused on that fact it had helped alleviate some of his worries during the months of their courtship. It wasn't doing much good now. Nothing could assuage his current trepidation. He was the vampire who defied convention and fed from animals despite the acrimonious scorn of his fellow vampires. He had spent years with the Volturi and had been allowed to live and move on from them. He went to medical school, several times. He practiced trauma surgery on humans. He led a large coven, serving as not only their leader and patriarch but as their friend, confidant and advisor. A coven that, against nature and custom, lived and loved as a family. He had lived for centuries. He was the calm amidst the storm. He was quintessentially cool and collected in every situation. None of this, nothing in all his centuries of experience prepared him for what he was about to do. The fear he felt was staggering. He didn't know how he could go on if she said no.

He was mere feet from her now, his eyes widening infinitesimally as they scanned the page she had been reading. He wondered if it was his old friend's idea that she read The Solemnization of Matrimony or if she had found her way to that herself. He chuckled and she looked at him questioningly.

He shook his head. This was Isabella. He had nothing to fear. As she closed the book and placed it on the red cushion beside her, Carlisle gracefully lowered himself to one knee before her. He smiled as he gazed into her eyes. She had no idea what he was about to ask her. He took both of her hands in his. She tilted her head and smiled at him. He knew so much poetry, so many songs, such meaningful words woven together by master wordsmiths; all words that would perfectly and poetically describe his feelings. He used none of them. He, being one of the most well read creatures on the planet, could himself compose a moving and sincere proposal on the spot. He could bare his soul to her, but he hadn't the patience. He couldn't take the suspense any longer. It was all he could do to keep his voice steady and at a solemn human speed. He was a vampire, immortal for all intents and purposes, but he thought he would surely die if he had to give a long speech before he was able to hear her answer.

He looked up into her eyes as his thumbs caressed her wrists. "Isabella, will you marry me?"

She seemed surprised by his non sequitur. It only took a few seconds for her confusion to pass, yet to Carlisle the wait was excruciating.

She blushed, but she did not hesitate. Her eyes and her voice were sure. "Yes." Her smile was incandescent. "Yes, Carlisle, I'll marry you."

His smile was just a bright, his golden eyes glowed as if the sun were shining out through them.

They leant towards each other, their lips barely touching when he spoke again. She felt his words on her lips. "Today? Isabella, will you marry me today?"

"Carlisle." Her breath was warm as it washed over his lips. "I'd marry you this very second if I could."

Then, their lips did meet. Carlisle stretched up a bit, from his position at Bella's feet, so that he could take her in his arms. There was an underlying passion to their kiss, but it wasn't a kiss of lust. It was a kiss of love and understanding, of acceptance and giving, of sharing and commitment. At the sensation of Carlisle's soft masculine lips caressing hers with such depth of feeling Bella almost wept.

He made to pull back to allow her to breathe, but his lips clung to hers as if they had a will of their own. She could breathe through the kiss now, even though they remained connected.

Suddenly Carlisle spoke with urgency. "Oh no." He dropped his head into the crook of her neck. A gesture that spoke of his embarrassment. She found it endearing and it never failed to make her smile. He pulled away, and sank back down to his knees before her. He smiled sheepishly as he looked into her shining eyes. "Your ring."

She watched as Carlisle reached into his trousers' pocket and withdrew a ring. The early morning sun refracted through the central diamond and cast little lights all around as he held it up to her. She moved the Cullen crest ring from her left ring finger to her right. As she raised her left hand and held it out to Carlisle, it shook. Carlisle smiled and steadied it with one of his own. He slipped the ring on her finger.

She had never seen any piece of jewelry as perfect. "Carlisle," she breathed. "It's beautiful."

"You are beautiful, Isabella."

She tore her eyes away from the ring to look at Carlisle.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you."

"Well, I think the ring is prettier than the both of you!" Neither Carlisle nor Bella had noticed Jim return, they were so wrapped up in each other. He leant over the back of the pew. "Where did you find that exceptional rock, Carlisle?"

Carlisle continued to look at Bella as he answered. The diamond first belonged to George Wickes, a human friend of mine from a long time ago. It was in his personal collection in seventeen thirty-five when he founded a jewelry store called Garrards. I was an initial investor in his business. I remained a silent partner, I still am. We became very good friends. We kept in touch even when I had to move, we wrote for the rest of his natural life. This stone was one of his favorites. He never set it because he felt he couldn't do it justice. He bequeathed it to me. I have had it ever since his death. Garrards' current master jeweler created this ring with you in mind, sweetheart. I told him about you. I described you as well as anyone could put your inner beauty into words." With the hand that wasn't holding hers, Carlisle caressed Bella's cheek lovingly. "And this ring is the result."

"Oh my! Carlisle for all your restraint in every other area, you are a hopeless romantic. Bella, you are one lucky lady."

"I know." Bella's cheeks were feeling the strain as her smile widened even more.

"Now you two, off to get your license, and whatever else you need to do, before I marry you this evening."

Bella looked at Jim. "What?"

"Didn't Carlisle ask you to marry him today?"

"Yes, but-"

"No buts. Today, I will marry you. How does two-thirty sound to you, Bella? Good? Yes."

Bella looked at Carlisle in confusion.

"Do you want to marry me today?" His voice was quiet and concerned.

"Of course I do!" Bella laughed. "I just didn't know it was really possible."

Jim's joyful voice interrupted. "That my dear girl, is because you have never seen the psychic and I work as a team."

"Alice?"

"I never thought I'd see the day we made a good team. But, yes, I mean Alice. Who else?" Jim laughed. "I know she has a dress for you. Flowers are being arranged, cakes are being baked and so forth, all as we speak. Something that never could have been accomplished for today without prescience."


By ten Carlisle and Bella's wedding license was tucked in Carlisle's inner jacket pocket and they each had chosen the other's wedding band. Their wedding rings were two of only four crafted from the same coveted piece of Welsh gold. Their rings were two of the jeweler's most prized pieces.

The last quiet moments they'd had together were on the drive back from the jeweler's where they bought their wedding rings. The rings were both simple and elegant. Bella's enhanced her platinum engagement ring perfectly. The ring Bella chose for Carlisle was quite large. Bella had joked that she wanted all the nurses to know that he was taken. It had only been a partial joke. She had wanted to mark him as hers in some permanent way for quite a while. Today, she was going to be able to fulfill that relentless desire.

Alice called Bella just as they were turning into their hotel. Carlisle waved away the valet and turned out again. He drove to the town pier and parked while Alice and Bella had their talk. When the call was done, they spent a long time in discussion themselves.

Bella needed assurance it was Carlisle's desire to marry her. That he hadn't asked her because of pressure from Alice and her vision.

Carlisle needed to make sure her agreement to marry him was of her own choosing as well. In the Cullen family it was sometimes difficult to live with all the varied vampiric gifts. This was one of those times.

Bella and Carlisle did finally agree that because he had ordered her engagement ring long before Alice's vision, with the hope of proposing to her on this trip, his proposal was not influenced by Alice in any way. It had also been Carlisle's assertion that because they ran into his priest friend Jim, he would probably have asked Bella to allow Jim to marry them while they were here, even if Alice hadn't had a vision.

Carlisle moved his car seat back and drew Bella onto his lap, her legs rested across the middle console. She wrapped one arm around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder as he wound an arm around her waist and held her to him. The fingers of their free hands entwined.

Their moment was, not unexpectedly, interrupted by another call from Alice. She demanded that they return to their hotel immediately. She had people there waiting to help them get ready for their wedding. She reminded them of the time, repeatedly. She also insisted they separate until the ceremony. They refused. Alice had been forced to compromise.

Thanks to Alice's compromise, they were currently in a room on the first floor of their Marina hotel. They were not allowed into their penthouse suite until after they wed. Much to Carlisle's amusement and Bella's trepidation, Alice was having it "prepared" for them. She had the things they would need to get ready brought to them in this interim room. Bella was being attended to by the owner of an exclusive area spa, a hair stylist and a make-up artist. She would gladly have traded places with a harassed Carlisle who was handling a multitude of deliveries. At least he wasn't being primped to within an inch of his life.

Bella was relieved she had been able to fall asleep for a few minutes, during some of her expert and speedily performed treatments. The massage she had been given was so relaxing she really couldn't help dozing off. She woke when Carlisle sat beside her. She smiled sleepily up at him.

Carlisle leant in and gave her a lingering kiss. She sighed in bliss as he pulled back. "You need to eat something, it's lunch time and you'll need your strength."

"I'll need my strength just to change my clothes as many times as Alice wants me to today. She'd promised no more than two changes a day. She hasn't kept her promise today. Not counting the spa robe I've already changed into, I have more sets of clothes for this evening."

"Perhaps we could ignore her and you could wear that robe. You make it look lovely."

Bella's voice was serious. "And face Alice's wrath? No, thank you."

Carlisle chuckled. As a manicurist held Bella's hands hostage, he held a fork with a piece of fresh fruit to Bella's lips. She opened her mouth and wrapped her lips around the fork. She closed her eyes. A rapturous look came over her face as the flavor of the sweet fruit erupted on her tongue. She moaned in appreciation as she slowly released the fork from between her lips, giving it a final lingering lick.

"Dear God, Isabella, do I need to leave you to feed yourself?" Carlisle shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

The spa tech who had been working on Bella's fingernails giggled.

Carlisle's eyes flashed. He picked a strawberry up from a delicate china bowl. He moved the silver tray holding the dishes he had been balancing on his knees to a side table. He stood and leaned over Bella. Extending the strawberry to her from between his teeth.

She laughed. "Oh my God, Carlisle, you aren't serious?"

"Perfectly," he replied, smiling around the strawberry.

Bella giggled at the cliché, but accepted the strawberry between her lips. By the time Carlisle was done feeding her from his lips she was ready to call the wedding off, throw everyone out and begin the wedding night. Carlisle laughed when she told him and merely extended a tea sandwich to her lips, with his fingers this time. She took a bite making sure to nip his fingers. His response was a playful growl.

Carlisle closed the door as the last of their attendants left. Finally alone, Carlisle led Bella to the sofa. She sat, her spa robe parting to expose her legs. Carlisle's hand caressed her soft skin as he caught her eye. She smiled.

"I have something for you." Carlisle was a blur as he moved across the room. He was back beside Bella before she had a chance to process his words.

He pressed a white leather jewelry box into Bella's hands. She looked at him questioningly. Her brows furrowed as she looked down at the box.

"Isabella, please. It will mean so much to me if you will accept-"

She put her fingers on his lips. "Of course, Carlisle." She smiled softly. He put his hand on hers, holding her fingers to his lips and kissing them softly. He smiled and released her hand.

She tried not to let her hands shake as she untied the gold and silver ribbons adorning the jewelry box. She was not perfectly comfortable with gifts, even though she really wanted to be when Carlisle was the giver. Everything he gave her brought him joy, and she didn't want to ruin that for him. Truthfully, she appreciated the love and sentiment behind every gift. From everything he did to care for her after her skating accident to a simple book he saw that he thought she would enjoy, it all spoke of his love. She couldn't return all of his gestures. However, since she had been with Carlisle, she had come to understand love wasn't about keeping score.

Her semi steady hands opened the box and she gasped. She withdrew a delicate diamond necklace. It flashed and glowed as Bella reverently turned it this way and that. "Carlisle, it's beautiful."

"It was my mother's. My father gave it to her. She wore it on their wedding day. My mother's sister, my aunt Thomasin... you remember me telling you about her?"

"Of course. I'm so glad you had her in your life to temper the harsh ways of your father."

Carlisle smiled and caressed Bella's cheek. "My mother gave this, her wedding necklace, to Thomasin as she lay dying after my birth. Thomasin never married, she never had any children. She lived to a ripe old age. When death finally came for her, I went to see her one last time. I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't stay away. I was certain that I could withstand the call of her blood. I couldn't let her die alone, I just couldn't."

Bella took Carlisle's hands in hers.

He glanced at their intertwined hands and continued. "She wasn't surprised by my visit or the fact that I still appeared to be twenty-three, when I should have been much older." He gazed earnestly into Bella's eyes. "She knew things. Things she couldn't know. She told me that she missed the blue of my eyes, but that the color of my eyes didn't change who I was inside. She told me that I was a good soul, and she knew that hadn't changed. She said she knew the struggles that I had faced, and would continue to face, and that she had faith in me."

"Her faith was well placed."

"I hope so." Carlisle smiled, his thumbs tenderly caressed Bella's hands as he held them. "Thomasin and I talked for a bit, and then she bid me to go to her keepsake box and get her necklace. I assumed that she wanted to be buried in it. The light of her life was already beginning to leave her eyes. As she took the necklace from my hand, she told me that she would be with my mother soon."

Carlisle paused. He gave Bella's hand a slight squeeze.

Bella smiled and nodded, encouraging Carlisle to continue.

"She told me that she was sure my mother had been watching over me as I had been struggling with my new way of life. She told me that she knew my mother would be very proud of me. She never said the word vampire, but it was obvious that she knew.

"Thomasin said she knew my mother would want me to give the necklace to my love. I told her that I would never be able to have a love. She laughed at me. She pressed the necklace back into my hands and told me that all creatures can find love. She used swans as her example. She reminded me that swans mate for life. She said she knew there would come a day when I would find my own Beautiful Swan. She said that when I finally found her, we would share a love like no other; and by giving her my new way of life, I would have everything I longed for. She said that my Beautiful Swan and I would mate for eternity. Those were her exact words. I had thought your name a coincidence, but now… Now I'm not so sure that my mother's sister, and perhaps even my mother herself, didn't see you coming centuries before Alice ever did."

Bella released Carlisle's hands and drew him to her.

Carlisle spoke into her ear. "That doesn't mean that you are predestined to become a vampire, or my wife. You have freedom of choice in all of this." His voice became strained. "I know that for you marriage isn't something you have looked forward to. I know that you went to great lengths to make sure Edward didn't have the opportunity to propose to you. Something for which I am infinitely grateful."

Bella pulled back and held Carlisle's face in her hands. She looked into his eyes. There was a fiery truth blazing in the depths of hers. "I love you more than anything in the world, Carlisle. I want to marry you. Marrying you is a way of showing you how much I love you, and declaring my love for you to the universe. Marriage to you, it's not the marriage my mother has cautioned me against. Marriage to you won't be a doomed statistic. Marriage to you is not a passing romantic notion. And it's not predestined. It's my choice. Marriage to you, Carlisle, an eternity with you, that is all I could ever want and more."

Carlisle smiled, releasing a breath in acceptance of Bella's sincerity. "Isabella, my bride, will you wear my mother's necklace, Thomasin's necklace, which is now and forevermore your necklace?"

She returned his smile. She lifted her hair, dropped her robe off her shoulders and bent her neck towards him, in silent request.

He clasped the diamond necklace around her throat and kissed her there. She raised her head and turned to him, the necklace coming to rest just below her collarbones. He righted her robe, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace. She sighed and settled into him. They sat, each reveling in the embrace of the other, enjoying a peaceful contentment.

Carlisle frowned. He didn't want to interrupt this moment. They were to be married in a very short while. The reason he didn't want to speak was the same reason that he felt he had to speak, it was essentially his last chance before their wedding. "Isabella, are you absolutely sure?"

She turned in his arms and their eyes met. "Do you doubt me, Carlisle, do you doubt my love for you?"

"No, I do not doubt you. I do not doubt your love for me nor mine for you. It's the timing I doubt. I had planned to propose on this trip. Although, I had thought that our wedding would happen after your change. If we crossed paths with Jim, I would have wished for him to marry us. I may even have asked you to let him marry us while we were here. But, Alice got to Jim and to me first. We will never know how it would have happened if she hadn't.

"When we discussed this earlier we didn't talk about all the complications we will be going home to. There is so much that is unsettled. I know this is your wedding day, and I really shouldn't be bringing all of this up. I simply need to be sure. You're making an extreme amount of sacrifices to be with me. I just need." He caressed her cheek, his hand trailing down her throat, until his it stopped to rest over her heart. "I just need to know that you will not regret this."

"Regret this? Regret marrying you? Regret having to deal with a few complications in exchange for a life with you? Regret giving up some things to be with you forever? How can you ask me that? How can you not know that everything pales in comparison to an eternity spent with you?"

Bella sighed and ran her hand gently through Carlisle's hair, then rested a hand on each of his cheeks and looked intensely into his eyes.

"There are no complications that could be too much. I want to marry you. I'm not an outspoken advocate of the institution of marriage and I'm afraid that's still making you worry. Don't. My mother tried her hardest to turn me against marriage. It didn't work, because marriage to you isn't the kind of marriage my mother feared. That kind of marriage is just a piece of paper. That's not what marriage to you will be, marrying you is more than just our names on a license. It's so much more than that. It's not just a piece of paper with the word marriage written on it that is easily nullified by another piece of paper with the word divorce written on it. I don't know how to explain it. Marriage to you is right. I love you, I am committed to you, forever. Marrying you is an affirmation of that. When you asked me to marry you, I told you that I would marry you that very second if I could. I meant it then, I mean it now, and I will mean it forever."

"You've thought about this before today, haven't you?"

Bella blushed. "Yeah, I have."

"Did Alice tell you that I would propose?"

Bella looked into Carlisle's soulful eyes. "No."

"Then how did you know?"

"I didn't know when you would propose, but I knew you would. I just know you. I love everything about you, Carlisle, including your desire to marry me." She looked deeply into Carlisle's eyes and smiled. "My desire to marry you is just as strong."

"I love you, Isabella."

"I honestly don't see why, but I'm so happy that you do."

"Sweetheart, there is so much to love about you." He grinned. "I love how much you sacrifice for your parents. I love your sweet nature that compliments your fiery spirit that I adore. I love your fierce loyalty. I love your intelligent mind." He stroked the side of her face. "I love that you manage to be shy and bold at the same time. I love the way you care about those less fortunate than you. I love your infectious laugh. I love the way you love completely, with your whole self." His eyes were soft an adoring as he gazed into hers. "I could go on for the rest of the day. You are a unique and amazing woman, Isabella. To be able to call you my wife, is the greatest honor I have ever, and will ever receive."

She slowly brought her lips to his and tried to convey all of her feelings with her kiss. She pulled back and gazed into Carlisle's eyes. "Nothing could make me happier than committing myself to you, heart, mind, and soul, for all eternity." She smiled as she looked deeply into Carlisle's eyes. "Someone once told me that they wanted my spirit to soar on my wedding day. It's soaring today, Carlisle, can't you see it?"

"I can, because mine is right there with it." Carlisle pulled her to him in a loving embrace. She leaned back into his chest and tightly held the hands that he had wrapped around her. They both closed their eyes, each savoring the closeness of the other.

Suddenly Bella felt a second pair of arms around her and Carlisle, at the same time cold hands covered her eyes. "Guess who!" A bell like voice asked excitedly.

Carlisle's voice questioned her presence not her identity. "Alice?"

Just as suddenly Alice stood before them, holding several garment bags and grinning. "Carlisle's love for you, Bella, is unsurpassed and abiding. Bella's love for you, Carlisle, is un-coerced and immutable." Alice's smile was indulgent now. "Your love for each other is profound and will remain so for eternity." She paused just smiling at the couple as they sat, still in each others' embrace. Her brows furrowed and her impatience began to make itself known in her tone. "Now let's get this show on the road!"

Bella found her voice first. "Alice, what are you doing here?"

"I'm kicking Carlisle out of this room, dressing you for your wedding…" Her sure, demanding voice faltered. "And being your matron of honor?"

Bella gave Alice a brilliant smile. "Of course, Alice. You're my best friend, my sister, there's no one else I would ever want."

Alice danced over to Bella and embraced her joyfully. Carlisle was caught in Alice's tiny arms, as well. When Alice let go, she pulled Bella up and pushed her toward the dressing table. Bella dutifully sat as Alice turned and kissed Carlisle on the cheek. "And you, my wonderful, dear, sweet, Carlisle, go play with Jasper. We'll see you at the church at two-thirty."


AN:

As always, I truly appreciate all who bother to read my little story.

I will continue for as long as my computer continues to work. Right now I can feel electricity buzzing where I touch it. That can't be good. Nevertheless, I keep my fingers crossed.