Hello everyone,
I know, it's been a long time. And I hate to provide bad news, but I know there are people who still follow this story who would want some kind of closure.
I do not intend to finish this story; from the last time I updated (nearly 14 months ago), my interests have diverted, first to another series entirely. That alone usually takes a few months to wean off of and get back to the correct mindset to continue stories like this. But then, my mind fell into a completely different dynamic of the Life and Death universe. It's so far removed from the original plot that honestly, I often forget the original story the characters are based on. It involves the Cullens, and a human Edythe, but no Beau. It explores another facet of human life (or not so human) that I have been infatuated with for a while. I do not see that going away any time soon. The story is too good; I enjoy it too much.
I don't think that story is designed to be seen by others. It is for me and my comfort first, and I don't think many would read it anyway.
I am truly sorry for failing to finish another story. But, as a small consolidation, I have provided a brief summary of where this story would have gone.
If you do not want to know (and want to leave it to your imagination), that is fine. For you, my note ends here. Thank you for your interest in my stories. It was nice to have others who enjoy it as much as I did.
For those who are interested:
The Volturi had finally been informed of Beau and Edythe's awareness of the vampire race. The two of them and Carine go to Volterra, where Sulpicia demonstrates she is more forgiving than her brother (as S. Meyer says her rule may be in L&D). Carine agrees that Edythe and Beau are her responsibility, just like any other newborn vampire. In between, there is a small side plot where Archies sees a vision of the family, all of them vampires, including Edythe. But Beau and Madelyne are not to be seen. Of course, the psychic brother tries to hide it, but it eventually comes to the surface. Edythe is adamant such a thing would not happen, leading her to make Carine swear to her she would save Madelyne over her, if it came to that.
Edythe goes into labor two weeks after her due date; Madelyne is born without much complication. Many chapters explore the cute side of infant life and such. A lot of fluffy chapters would have ensued.
Edythe and Beau have two more children: Oliver "Levi" Mason Cullen (three years younger than Madelyne), and Elissa "Lissa" Carli Cullen (six years younger than Madelyne). The children are spitting images of their parents, Madelyne a copy of Edythe with Beau's eyes. Oliver was vice versa, and Elissa blend of the two. More fluff and cirumstance. The main second act evolves as Madelyne gets older; in her early teens, she starts to question much of what she was told. Madelyne makes it clear she wants Carine to change her. Edythe (unsurprisingly) forbids it. None of the Cullen children were told Edythe was a vampire, nor that she returned to her human state. It eventually comes out (in a dramatic fashion similar to the dining table scene after Phenomenon in L&D/Midnight Sun), which ensures a lot of tension and serious discussions. Apologies are made, of course, and Edythe makes a deal with Madelyne: she may become a vampire when she was as old as Edythe was when she was turned. But she had to fully understand of the gravity of her decision, knowing she could never take it back. Madelyne understands.
Fast-forward a few years, Madelyne (unsurprisingly) does not change her mind, and Carine changes her. Madelyne is a natural-born vampire, and comes with a similar gift as Renesmee did, the ability to provide images and memories to anyone near her. Her brother Oliver ends up joining her in immortality, but Elissa does not.
Decades pass, and Edythe and Beau die from natural causes, within minutes of each other. Their family was heartbroken, as expected, but moved through their grief knowing the couple had lived their lives exactly as they wanted to. Their last will had only "we" statements; neither had planned to outlive the other for long. Unsurprisingly, they left everything to their family and children. Elissa marries and has children of her own, growing apart from her family to protect everyone; she dies at a ripe old age, happy with her life. Oliver and Madelyne stay with the coven; Oliver got his father's ring, and Madelyne got Edythe's (which she wore constantly around her neck on a silver chain).
Years pass enough that the Cullens return to Forks. Oliver could not return to where his parents first met and goes off on his own, finding his own mate, though staying in touch. But Madelyne stays with the family. They now understand that Archie's vision had come true, only it was Madelyne he was seeing, not Edythe. There, they find their mansion much the same as they did before, sans some important differences. There were things left there for them to find. The original Volvo is there (an antique now), and Edythe and Beau's scents were permeated through the car. The piano was there, and the bench held countless recordings of Edythe's songs, including the lullabies and her parents' wedding song immortalized. And, in Edythe's old room that became Madelyne's, there was the finished copy of Beau's recollection of his meeting Edythe, and many years after until Madelyne's birth.
Madelyne finds what peace she can in losing her parents while she continues on. In doing so, she reflects on the topic of life after this life, one that Carine and Edythe had debated for a long time, and Beau had sided with Carine, and even Edythe admitted to reconsidering multiple times. Before her parents' deaths, she had never really thought that hard about it one way or another. The find words of the story were intended to be: "I have no idea what waits for us beyond our final breath. But, if there's any chance I can get back to you, in some way or another, I have all eternity to do it."
I never fully wrote the ending of this story; it was too sad to imagine, let alone write out. Even writing this synopsis leaves me with a clogged throat. Maybe that's part of the reason I was okay to abandon this story, to avoid having to write the ending that I knew would come.
The way I got through each chapter was by knowing I would write an epilogue, where Edythe awakens from a deep sleep. She was hunting before she was meant to meet Beau at his house, where our story began years prior to its end. A vampire was there, a strange one. She told Edythe that she was able to twist reality, to provide images so detailed that it felt like someone had lived their entire life in its depths. There was no way to change a vampire back, but there was a way to mimick it, to answer Edythe's age-old question of what if she could be human for Beau?
She returns the house, and there's a moment as she realizes it is all as it should be. She hugs Carine in passing, who of course is amicable but confused. Edythe drives to Beau's house as planned. He greets her, kissing her forehead, before saying "I was beginning to worry. What kept you?" Edythe's response?
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
It is your decision how their story ended. I know this wasn't the same as all the chapters it would have been (I estimated hundreds). But I know I can't write them now, so providing you closure is the least I could do. I hope it was enough. Thank you, again, for being apart of it with me.
~MelMinP
