Chapter 7 - Promises

Edward's senses tingled as he felt immediately that Alice had seen the kiss he and Mari had shared. He guessed their budding relationship wasn't going to be as closely guarded as it had been with Bella. Considering that Mari's gift wasn't a shield. Nobody was even sure what hers was yet, not even Mari herself.

Mari and Edward chatted for a while before they returned home.

"This is strange, huh?" Mari smiled, hugging her knees as they both sat on a huge rock looking out over the dense forest. Mountain peaks disappeared up into the thick white clouds, piercing them like fangs through skin.

"Yeah, it's like it's out of our control, like fate is leading us ... Gees that sounds corny!" The corner of Edward's mouth raised briefly before he pulled his lips back over his teeth smiling, baring his pearly white teeth.

"It does, but I understand exactly what you mean." Mari turned to see him grinning and it stirred feelings within her that made her blush.

Leaning back on his elbows, he drew up one knee as the sun peaked through a small break in the cloud. Stunned by his shimmer, Mari couldn't stop herself from staring as it was brighter than she'd ever seen before. Every inch of his visible skin shone like diamonds - diamonds wrapped in a charcoal shirt and black figure hugging jeans. Edward grew a little embarrassed by her gaze.

"Um, you're staring again!" That shy grin re-appeared, breaking Mari's gaze from his crotch.

"Oh!" Mortified, she whisked her head the opposite way. "It's your shimmer, sorry. I can't help it!"

"I'm glad my appearance amuses you," he chuckled.

Turning back, she replied, "It doesn't amuse me, it astounds me! You're just … amazing." She flashed her eyes over him again, spellbound by his sparkle.

"It's not just me, you glitter as well you know. You're doing it now." Edward's voice was soft as he nodded at her own glimmer that reflected off of his dark shirt.

Looking down at her own bare arms, her shine disappeared in front of her eyes as the sun hid behind another cloud.

"Well you were!" Edward chuckled.

"It's still not as lovely as yours."

"Ok, that's my quota of compliments for today. I'm amazing, I know!" Edward threw his hands up dramatically, as if he were exhausted by all of Mari's flattering words. They both tittered with smiles stretched across their face.

"Well, what do we talk about then?" She turned over on to her stomach and bent up her knees crossing them at the ankle.

"What do you want to know? I'm Edward Cullen. I'm 116 years old and I scrub boats for a living."

"Tell me about Bella – if you want to that is." She wanted to know all about her, how they met, and their life together. She was curious as to what made Edward who he was.

His eyes glazed over as he started to relive some of his memories. "I don't mind; talking about it is healthy, right?"

Mari nodded, happy he was finally able to share memories of Bella without being upset.

"Well, we met in high school, back in Forks. Bella moved there to live with her father mid-term, so she stuck out like a sore thumb. That and she drove this God-awful battered red truck." Edward laughed, remembering how much she'd loved that piece of junk.

"Did you two meet in class, or through friends?" Mari craved to know details and she loved how he beamed with pride when he thought of her.

Edward pushed himself back up to sit, dropping his raised knee to the side and played with a blade of grass he'd picked.

"She joined my biology class. God, I remember when she came through the door, the cooling fan blew her scent right at me. It drove me insane! It brought out the monster in me, I just wanted to kill her so bad!" Edward shivered at the memory and continued. "Anyway, I had the worst, or best you could say, stroke of luck. The only seat left available was the one next to me. Humans had always kept their distance from me, so that seat was never occupied. I guess they had their own instincts."

"How did you resist?" Mari's curiosity grew with every tidbit of information he shared.

He chuckled again. "I don't know. I fought it with all my might till the end of class and I went straight to the office and tried to switch classes. They told me I couldn't, that they were all full. I had to suck it up and deal. I coped by staying away for a few days and spoke to Dad about it."

"And what did he say?"

"He just said I had to get used to it." Edward's eyes now lifted to look out over the horizon. "That I had to tolerate it like I tolerated everybody else. So that's what I did. I started chatting to her to be polite and somehow, I just knew she was different." Lifting his knee again, he drew in close to his body and leaned his arm on it.

"So how did she find out you were a vampire?"

"She figured it out." Edward's lips lifted into a half-grin, thinking about the day Bella and he talked in the woods.

"Wow! And she never ran for the hills?" Mari pushed herself up to sit next to him again.

"Nope!" He insinuated the 'P' "She said she trusted me."

"My God!" Mari was astonished that a human was so capable of not being frightened. No wonder Edward held her in such a high regard. Bella was indeed different.

"We started courting and she met the family. She fit into my life perfectly, but I will say she tried to get herself killed many times!" he smirked again.

"The Volturi?"

"Among others, yeah."

"And Renesmee came before you changed her?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Edward tilted his head to one side, intrigued at her inquisitiveness.

"I'm sorry, you're right. It's none of my bus-" Mari shook her head slowly, apologetic for nosiness.

"No, I don't mind talking about it. It's nice to speak of her, actually. It's like everyone's afraid to mention her name. In case I crack, you know?"

"No pressure." Mari placed a hand on his arm, lending him her support.

"She begged me to turn her really early in the relationship; she was petrified of growing old. She was scared I wouldn't love her when she aged. From the moment I fell for her, I knew it wasn't going to be easy. So the last thing I ever wanted was to steal her soul and damn her to Hell. She was far too precious for that. But, being as stubborn as she was, she just wouldn't drop it. So to keep her quiet I said the only condition of me turning her would be if she married me. Hopefully she would then give up for a few years. I figured I could always get Jasper to change her state of mind, but we never got that far. Children, on the other hand, wasn't on our agenda at all! We assumed it wasn't possible."

"So Jasper can change minds?"

"He can control mindset so you'd agree to anything without even realizing it."

She nodded, piecing it all together. "So, then what? You married Bella in human form?"

This information astounded her. It was a risk, and a dangerous one at that. "Did her family know?"

"Yes, she was still human and No, her family didn't know. How could they!? But we married and then little Renesmee appeared extremely shortly after." He sighed loudly. "We didn't know it was even possible and we definitely learned the hard way. I wasn't for it at all at first. I mean, the pregnancy was literally killing her. I couldn't even consider it to be a child. I thought it was a monster, like I was. I wanted it out! I couldn't love something that had killed her to just stay alive ... But one day, I heard Renesmee's thoughts while she was still inside the womb. I knew our baby was good, like Bella. She didn't mean to hurt Bella, she just needed nutrition to grow. And Boy did she grow, at an astounding rate. She was born just a month after conception." Edward smiled again as he remembered Renesmee's first cry as he'd cradled her in his arms.

"How the heck did Bella survive the birth?"

"She didn't." He winced as a rush of pain flashed over him and turned his head to face her. "She kept bleeding and bleeding…"

"So you bit her," Mari guessed quietly, putting all of the pieces together. Their story was truly unbelievable. It all slotted into place now. A sorrowful tear trickled down Mari's cheek.

"Yes. I knew I had to get the baby out, before I could turn her. I also knew she only had a very slim chance of turning. Carlisle explained it all to us. Death is the only condition that venom cannot work on. I injected my venom straight to her heart before it stopped beating. She took three long days to be reborn."

"And Jacob? When did he get involved?" Jacob's connection to the Cullen's confused her greatly.

Edward laughed without humor, dropping his knee down to lay on his side. "Ah, Jacob!"

"How does a wolf get involved with a vampire clan? I thought that was forbidden?"

Edward sighed and continued. "Jacob was a childhood friend of Bella's. He didn't phase till much later on. He fought for Bella tooth and claw. He tried his best to win her heart. But..."

"He didn't win."

"No. It turned out his pull towards Bella was in fact for Renesmee all along. He imprinted on her shortly after her birth."

"Woah! Bet that pleased you!"

"It was weird, at first. But I knew the wolves couldn't touch her if a wolf imprints. I, strangely enough, took it better than Bella did." Edward laughed, remembering Bella kicking Jacob's ass outside of their old house.

"So how does it work? Will Renesmee continue to age?"

"No, we found a family in Brazil who have identical circumstances. They informed us the son matured at 17 years."

"So she will stop aging at 17?"

"Yes. It's still unknown of wolves can be turned," he smirked.

"I get the impression you don't really care."

"Well, he's good for her at the moment. What will be will be…"

"You are a wonderful person, Edward Cullen, and an even amazing father!" Her voice was soft.

"She's all I have left of Bella. I'm so lucky to have her..." Edward looked into Mari's eyes. "...and now I have you too."

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Inevitably, Edward and Mari took things very slowly. Edward remained a true gentleman and controlled his urges, just as he had done while courting Bella. Being born in an era where sex before marriage was forbidden, it could not be forgotten. Not even for the immortals of that time.

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Daylight by daylight, they grew closer and it wasn't long before the tension in the household was forgotten and the laughter returned. One dusk, they lay out on the veranda loungers overlooking the forest, drinking their favourite tipple of lamb's blood while the family were out on a hunt.

"I don't think I've officially thanked you all for taking me in," Mari sighed.

"I don't think you need to." Edward turned his head towards her with smiling eyes.

"Well, I am grateful." She say appreciatively, turning to face him.

"We know. I'm grateful too, despite the first misgivings." His face lit up as the late sun broke through the trees.

"I tried to tell you. I would never harm her." She looked back out at the view.

"I know you did. What can I say? I'm just a stubborn vampire." This made them both titter.

"Don't I know it!" Mari quipped, picking up her glass to sip the sweet nectar.

Edward swung round his legs and dropped to his knees and crawled over to her lounger. "I'm nothing if not traditional." He smirked and his beautiful eyes sparkled. Now that he was only a foot away, she could see him sparkle.

"You are positively stunning." She was lost in his aura again.

"I know, it's my favourite trait!" He shrugged and chortled aloud.

"Along with self-adoration it seems?" Mari placed her glass back down on the decked floor.

Pushing himself up, Edward perched on the side of her lounger. As he moved close, the pull inside her heightened. His mouth fell open, inviting her inside. Lifting her right hand, she ran it through his tousled hair, letting it rest on his left cheek.

"Edward..." she began, but he silenced her.

"Shh, don't speak." His eyes took in every micro-pore of her face. He moved a ringlet of her hair from its place to expose her neck.

"You are so beautiful Mari," he said slowly in a low soft voice only he knew how. "So ...beautiful"

His face inches from her own, the hunger between them grew. The pull inside them both was at breaking point.

The kiss came. And as a tear trickled down her pale face, he wiped it away without even opening his eyes. He knew it was a tear of happiness and as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss, she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him as close to her as possible. She'd found her Edward.

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"Edward! Edward!" Esme called to him from downstairs.

Edward was still smiling to himself remembering those moments the dusk before as he sat listening to music in his room. Mari and the rest of the family were out at work. Esme had just come home.

"Edward!" She called again snapping Edward out of his trance. He raised from his armchair and went to face Esme.

"Sorry!" He owned up, he had no choice, he knew why she was mad. He held up both hands.

"Edward, I don't care what you get up to or where, but that decking furniture was expensive! You will do some extra hours work to pay for a replacement!"

Still smiling, he backed out the doorway. Esme yelled after him again. "I mean it, Edward!"

"Sorry Mom!" he called back as he closed the front door behind him.

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"Yeah but, was she really mad?" Mari grimaced as Edward sat on the edge of the desk at the boatyard office.

"Nah! She just wants me to buy a new one. I have to do more shifts to pay for it." Edward smirked.

"You really have to control that urge of yours Edward Cullen! Or I may have to steal your virtue?" Mari smiled back and chewed on a pen.

"Well..." He glanced down and studied his hands. "...I may have to steal yours if you keep smelling so good."

"Mr. Cullen! Are you hitting on me?" Mari swung flirtatiously in her leather-bound easy chair.

"You bet I am!" he said confidently and paused. "You done here?"

Glancing at her watch, she threw back her chair to stand. "I am now!"

After leaving a note for the others and locking up the office, they jumped in Edward's Volvo she had borrowed for work and drove up to Summit Point, where they had sat not a week before and bonded.

The views were stunning from here and they sat huddled on their rock till the sun went down and disappeared into the sea. Edward's arms wrapped around Mari from behind as she played with a strand of her hair, curling it around her finger. He planted a kiss on the back of her long brown mane, which made her smile.

"You should arrange to meet her soon," Mari said seeing his thoughts had strayed to Renesmee. He hadn't seen her for a few days and she could tell he missed her.

"I think I will. Missing her a bit lately," he admitted.

"Why don't you invite them over for dinner? No pun intended," she grinned.

Placing her hands on his, it was only then she realized his ring ... he'd taken it off.

"Yeah. Maybe we'll stop by there on the way home, and ... yes. It was time," he said into her hair with a smile, referring to his wedding ring.

"Edward, you didn't need to." She rubbed her thumb lightly over the indent where the band once lay.

"Yes, I did...I wanted to."

She craned her head to look into his sparkling eyes and he silently pledged his love, with a soft kiss to her lips.

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A/N: Hope you all had a wonderful holiday break? I'm back and a few pounds heavier. Don't stare it's rude!

Big squishy Cupcakes to my beautiful Beta ThisIsReallyHappening. Loves you long time xx

Chapter 8? after you... *holds the door open*

DeathToBeReborn.