The Cullen Wedding – Part 2

The wedding ceremony had finished as Bella and Edward made their way around to greet all the guests.

Billy, Sue, Seth and I decided it would be best to move out from our seats and stand in the courtyard with everyone else. "That was a really cute ceremony." I told our small group with a smile.

"It really was." Sue agreed as she gave a soft, faraway look. It looked like she was reminiscing, probably about her own wedding with Harry. I felt my heart ache for her loss.

The four of us fell silent until Seth spoke up. "Hey, looks like Bella and Edward are free." He turned to face us. "Let's go and talk to them."

Seth instantly began to lead the way as I followed after him. I glanced behind me to see Sue pushing Billy's wheelchair after us.

Seth was the first to reach the two as he extended his hand to Edward who accepted it. "Hey, man, nice to see you. I'm so happy for you." Seth told him in earnest.

"Thanks." Edward replied with a small smile.

I reached the newly married couple next. "Congratulations. I wish you two all the best." I told them truthfully as I gave Bella a hug.

"Thanks. It good to see you again." Edward stated as he watched me hug his wife. I threw a smile at him.

"Thank you." Bella said gratefully as she released me. "I'm so glad you could make it."

I placed my arms behind me in slight awkwardness. "Honestly, I was surprised by the invitation but I'm happy I got one."

"Well, what you told me back then was what I needed to hear." Bella explained. I knew she was referring to our conversation at Jacob's house. "I thought it was important we invite you."

I grinned at the girl. "I'm glad you did." This earnt me a smile in return.

Billy and Sue finally reached us along with another man. It was Bella's father, Charlie. He must have caught them as we were making our way to Bella and Edward. Billy turned to Bella. "I hope you'll be happy, Bella."

Bella gave a small smile. "Thank you, Billy." She seemed to hesitate before asking. "Have you heard from him?"

I felt my heart drop. We all knew she was referring to Jacob after he ran away after getting an invitation. No one has heard from him since. "I'm sure Jake wishes you the best." Billy told the girl. The sadness on her face was evident.

"Well, I plan on getting drunk." Charlie interrupted to change the mood. "They're serving up some pretty fancy champagne. Sue, can I get you a glass?" He asked as he turned to the woman.

I eyed the interaction. Don't tell me Charlie is interested in Sue as well. Billy didn't like the situation as he spun his wheelchair around, hitting Charlie on the way. "Sparkling fire water. Sounds great." He wheeled himself away as Seth slapped his back playfully with a grin.

I followed after the two. I snuck a glance at Sue to see she had a surprised expressed from what just happened. I couldn't stop the smile spreading onto my face. Never a dull moment.

The fives of us moved to the side as Charlie and Sue grabbed some champagne for themselves and Billy. I glanced around the surroundings. A lot of work really went into planning and decorating. It looked stunning.

"How are you holding up?" Seth asked me as he also surveyed the area.

I felt myself relax. "Pretty well, actually." I admitted. "The thought of vampires still puts me on edge but I reckon I'm fine here."

I saw Seth grin and nod at my words. "Told you the Cullens were alright."

"Guess you were right this time." I teased the boy.

Seth let out a chuckle. "I'm always right." He concluded just as Sue and Charlie returned.

Sue gave a glass to Billy who graciously accepted. "I haven't met you before. I'm Charlie." Charlie started the conversation, directing his comment at me.

Even though I already knew his name, I went along with the introductions. "I'm Maddi. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Charlie said as he took a sip of his drink. "So, how do you know Bella?"

It was hard to answer without mentioning the whole supernatural aspect. "I met her through Jacob." I explained carefully.

"She's dating one of Jake's friends." Billy added to provide a bit more explanation for the connections.

"Ah." Charlie's eyes lit up in realisation. "Which one is it?" He questioned. His eyes glanced to Seth. "Is it Seth here?"

I felt myself freeze from the mix up but luckily Seth came to the rescue. "No, no." He said with a chuckle. "She's with Embry."

"Embry…" Charlie repeated as he thought to match a name with a face. "Oh, yeah. I think I've seen the kid before. So, that's how you met Bella."

"Yeah." I smiled at the man. "We got to know each other from then on."

The conversation strayed away from me as Charlie got talking with Sue and Billy. I began to look around until my eyes fell on Bella and Edward. They were talking to five people.

What really stood out was that they were glancing our way. Were they talking about us? One of the girls with blonde hair in a bun looked angry.

It was then I noticed they all had yellow eyes. Vampires.

Then the reason they were looking our way was because… I glanced at Seth to see him staring at them too. His expression was hard to read. He obviously knew what they were so he seemed on guard but also sad. He could probably hear what they were talking about.

I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked with concern.

He seemed to snap out of it. "Yeah. I'm fine." Seth stated but I didn't really believe him.

I went to question Seth further but before could open my mouth, the sound of glass clinking stopped me. "Can I have everyone's attention, please." I turned to see it was Alice tapping a spoon against her glass. "As much as I love everyone enjoying themselves, can we please move and take our seats for some speeches. Thank you."

The crowd of guests began to walk further around the house to a sheltered area with round tables and a small stage. I couldn't believe there was another courtyard. Must be nice being rich.

Charlie left our little group to go sit next to his ex-wife. The four of us sat at a table with a couple of other randoms. It was two couples but they were too occupied by the wedding itself to talk to us. Which I was kind of thankful for.

It was pure bliss to sit down. My heels were starting to rub against my feet and they desperately needed a break.

I glanced around the area. We were situated on one side of the venue. I didn't miss the fact that we were placed as far away from the vampires from before as possible.

Everyone was happily chatting until the large vampire took to the stage. I think Seth said his name was Emmett. Seemed the speeches were about to begin.

Emmett let out a small cough to grab everyone's attention as the room quietened. "I'd like to propose a toast, to my new sister." He held his glass up. "Bella, I hope you've got enough sleep these last eighteen years, because you won't be getting anymore for a while."

Emmett laughed as his own joke while everyone looked at him awkwardly. I felt my mouth open slightly. He did not just say that in front of everyone. But it also got me thinking.

Emmett continued speaking but I turned to Seth. I tapped him on the shoulder. When he saw I wanted to say something, he moved his ear closer. "Do vampires not sleep?" I whispered to the boy.

After receiving my question, Seth turned to face me. "No, they don't. They don't need to." He explained.

"Oh." I said with surprise. My eyes glanced at the vampires on the other side of the room. There was still so much I didn't know about them.

Before I realised it, Emmett left the stage and now a girl was up there giving her wedding toast. She introduced herself as Jessica, a classmate of Bella's. "Well Bella was just like everybody else, totally mesmerized my Edward, or the hair, as I call him." She said with a happy voice but you could hear the pain under it.

I bit my lip. It was painful to watch her. I felt second-hand embarrassment. "Um…and then suddenly, Edward is all about Bella." She said through a strained smile. "Even though she's not the captain of the volleyball team." She let out an awkward laugh. "I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding." She reassured before adding. "Or the president of the Student Council."

I couldn't even look at the girl or listen to the rest of her speech. I saw that a lot of other guests felt the same as they averted their gaze.

I let out a sigh of relief as she left the stage to be replaced by Alice. The short girl had the biggest smile as she spoke. "Now that you're my sister, you'll have to get over your aversion to fashion." She told Bella.

Thank goodness I'm not marrying into their family. Skylar's bad enough with that kind of stuff. I would hate to picture Alice. "Skirts, heels, handbags." The vampire listed.

At her words I looked down at my feet under the table. It didn't hurt as much when I was standing or walking. Stupid heels. "You okay?" A voice asked me.

I looked to see Seth watching me with concern. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He gave me a look like he didn't believe me. "Listening to her speech about fashion makes me thankful I don't have to continuously wear heels."

I saw Seth chuckle at that. "Not a fan of them?" He playfully asked.

"Definitely not." I confirmed with a grin.

I looked back at the stage to see Alice exit and Charlie enter. I was kind of excited to hear what Charlie had to say. "Edward will be a good husband." He started. "I know this because…because I'm a cop, I know things." This made me grin with amusement as he continued with a straight face. "Like how to hunt somebody to the ends of the earth."

I couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped my lips. I held a hand to cover my mouth as I looked at Seth. He glanced at me also as we both chuckled at Charlie's words. The crowd was filled with giggles.

Besides Charlie being a protective father, the fact that Edward was a vampire really topped the humour. Charlie didn't stop there. He tilted his head slightly and nodded as if agreeing with himself. "And I know how to use a gun."

That was my tipping point as I laughed aloud. My laughing set Seth off as he joined in. I could see Billy and Sue let out a small chuckle as well. Charlie did not disappoint. Everyone was laughing.

"So, that's how I know Edward will be a good husband." Charlie turned the speech more serious. He looked directly at the married couple. "I leave it to you to look after her. I know you make her happy."

After my laughing ceased, I smiled at his words. It was a short but sweet speech.

Charlie sat back down as his ex-wife, Renee, stood up. She decided that rather than giving a speech, she would sing. "Go to sleep, my love. Go to sleep. When you wake you'll see me." She sung.

Personally, the song and lyrics didn't mean much to me, but it was obvious they held special meaning to Bella. Bella had a sad smile on her face as she watched her mother. Even Charlie's expression held some sort of meaning to the song.

Once Renee had finished her performance, Esme took over. "I'd like to thank, Renee and Charlie for bringing such a wonderful person into the world and into our lives." Esme seemed like such a sweet and gentle mother. "We will cherish and protect her forever."

I glanced down slightly. I know the Cullens would protect her like one of their own. She was going to become one of them. A vampire.

I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't realise Edward was giving a speech now. "It's an extraordinary thing to meet someone who you can bare your soul to and accept you for what you are." I smiled at his words.

"I've been waiting, for what seems like a very long time, to get beyond what I am. With Bella I feel like I can finally begin." He must have been referencing the fact that he's a vampire who has lived many years. Alone without someone in his life. I feel happy he finally found someone he can love forever.

Edward smiled knowingly at Bella. "So I'd like to propose a toast to my beautiful bride. No measure of time with you will be long enough. But let's start with forever."

I raised my glass with everyone else as we clanked them together. Edward gave the cutest speech. Spending forever with the one you love. I felt a small smile spread on my face. I want that with Embry.

"You thinking of Embry?" Seth suddenly asked.

I snapped my eyes to him with shock. I know I must look like a deer in headlights. "W-What?" I stuttered out.

Seth smirked as he sipped his drink. "Yep, you are definitely thinking of him."

I went to defend myself but I couldn't deny that I was. I glanced away as I felt my cheeks warm up. "And what's wrong with that?"

Seth grinned as he sat his drink down. "Absolutely nothing." He turned to face me. "I'm happy that you two found each other."

"Thank you." I smiled softly at the boy. "And Seth, I'm sure you'll find your imprint soon."

Seth looked down as he gave a sad smile. "I honestly don't mind having to wait." He looked me in my eyes. "But thank you, I hope I do too."

A smiled at the boy. I just want him to be happy with the person he loves. I guess weddings bring out the desire to be with the one you love.