Chapter 34: On cloud nine
~Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this - A thousand years, Christina Perri~
Rows of colorful gowns of different sizes stretched before me, beckoning me to come forward. From summer frocks to cocktail dresses, everything hung neatly on the stands and on the mannequins. They gleamed beautifully under the warm yellow lighting.
Every one of them was beautiful and if I had my way, I would buy the whole store. Unfortunately, I had come here to this designer shop in Seattle with a particular dress in mind. Besides, I didn't want my parents to get suspicious.
I was fingering a shimmering green pleated dress when a hand touched my shoulder.
"Bella?" Rosalie smiled at me, her blue eyes shining under the light.
"Rose!" I said surprised. "What are you doing here?"
She continued smiling. "I wanted to distract myself, so I decided to hit a mall in Seattle. And...here you are!"
I folded my arms across my chest. "Edward told you, didn't he?"
"Well..." She bit her delicate pink lips and shrugged.
"So, how did you know to find me in this shop?" I asked, looking around.
"It's not hard to guess, with the special occasion hovering around the corner." Her eyes settled on my ring finger.
I looked down at the engagement ring on my hand and a pride-filled smile sretched across my face. The ring was beautiful, with a huge diamond in the center and surrounded by two ruby stones.
"It's beautiful," she cooed. "Edward has a very good taste."
"Yes," I agreed wholeheartedly.
My mind went back to yesterday, when he proposed to me with the plane stunt.
"Bella, will you marry me?" Edward asked, sitting up. "I promise to cherish and love you as long as I live."
He had a very sweet vulnerable look on his face, his emerald green eyes shining with hope and love. I hesitated just a little. I was still very young, I hadn't finished school yet and my parents would kill me.
But there was nothing in the world that could stop me from being with him.
"Yes," I answered, tearing up. "Yes. Oh God, Edward, yes."
Edward's handsome face split into a wide relieved grin and he pulled me into his warm inviting arms. Hopefully where I would stay for the rest of my life.
"Here..." He pulled out a small Tiffany & Co., box from his jacket pocket and popped it open.
A single tear escaped down my cheek. "When did you get this?"
He took my hand gently and slid the ring down my finger. The diamond and ruby stones glittered under the setting sun. I had never felt so overwhelmed in my entire short span of life.
He grinned happily. "I ordered it online but I wasn't sure if it would look the same as it did in the computer screen. When I told Esme about this, she was more than happy to go to Seattle and check it herself."
"And the entire family went along with her?" I gasped. "Edward!"
"Yes. Don't look at me like that, Esme was the one who offered. Besides, Rosalie wanted to get out of this town for a while. When they came back yesterday, Esme gave the ring to me." He played with my fingers.
I stared up at the sky, where the words were slowly disappearing. The plane was long gone. When I looked down, he was frowning slightly with unfocused eyes.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, touching his cheek.
"My mother would have wanted me to give her ring to you," he said sadly. "Unfortunately, when our family passed away, all our inheritance and jewels were given to my father's cousin."
I was brought back to the present when Rosalie laughed.
"Congrats, day dreamer." She grinned.
I cleared my throat and inspected a pink gown. "Rosalie, can I ask you something?"
"Of course." She nodded, taking the gown from me and touched its soft fabric.
"Do you...do you love Edward?" I cringed a little at the poor choice of my words.
Rosalie froze, her body language very stiff.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have―"
"No, no, it's alright," she sighed. "Bella, I love Emmett now. Yes, there was a time when Edward held a very special part in my heart. But...it is hard to explain. My love for him will never fade, even if he marries someone else. Do you understand?"
She looked desperate, like she need my assuring that she loved Emmett and not Edward. That was when it hit me. She didn't know. Her heart was in two places and she was confused.
"Rose," I said softly as I placed a hand on her arm. "I understand."
She nodded, looking miserable.
"Come on, let's search for a lovely white gown." I forced cheerfulness in my voice.
Since my parents would no way agree to our engagement, Edward and I decided to elope. The Cullens wanted to come with us but that would only make everyone suspicious, so Edward and I would take an early cab to Seattle and then marry in a chapel.
Vegas was an option but we weren't sure.
"Anyway, there was another reason why I came here." Rosalie said.
"Yeah?" I placed a shimmering beige frock in front of me and examined myself in the mirror.
"Edward wanted you to come over to our house tonight," she said ansent-mindedly. "He would have called you himself but he lost his cell phone...charger and his cell doesn't have, um, battery."
I stifled a laugh. Even though it had been atleast four months since she joined the world of the living, she was still having trouble adapting to the modern age talk.
"I have to ask my mom but I'm not sure if she'll―"
"Oh, it's settled." Rosalie grinned suddenly. "I talked to your mom on the way. She was okay with it as long as you slept in the guest room."
"God, can she be more embarrassing?" I shook my head, my cheeks burning.
"She's a good woman. I like her. My mother was too self-absorbed to notice me mooning over Edward." She smiled tiredly. "We should learn to appreciate people. Too bad we usually takes notice only when they are gone."
I rang the doorbell and waited for a second before the door opened.
"Bella, so delighted see you!" Randall grinned widely. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on my cheek. "Congratulations, by the way."
I laughed as I pulled back. "Good to see you too."
"Get your mouth out of my girl's face, Randy!" Edward came down the stairs, his face lit up in a playful smirk.
He took the small backpack ―in which I had packed my night routine necessities― from my hand and pulled me into a tight embrace.
"You might as well do it right here." Randall said disgusted as he backed into the kitchen.
Seconds later, he emerged with a bucket of popcorn and settled in front of the huge plasma screen TV.
"Such a child." Edward rolled his eyes and I followed him to his room.
He switched on the light and the familiar smell of the soap he used hit me. He placed the backpack on the bed and fiddled with the curtains.
"Did you get the dress you wanted?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
I sat down on his bed. "Maybe..."
He glanced at me, interest evident in his face. "Is it white or some other color?"
"You shall see on the wedding day." I said with a poker face.
"Yes, we shall...that is, if you had on any." He pounced on me, pinning me to the bed.
"Edward!" I squealed as he started tickling my sides.
We stayed on his bed for sometime, touching and whispering sweet words to each other. Esme knocked on the door around dinner time and we went downstairs. Instead of going to the dining room, she sat on the couch in the hall next to Carlisle.
Rosalie, Emmett and Randall were nowhere to be found.
"We have something important to say." Carlisle said, worry lines forming on his usually smooth forehead.
Edward frowned and squeezed me to his side. "That doesn't sound good."
Esme was staring at her hands, her golden eyes swirling with secrets. Finally she looked up at me.
"You don't have to rush the wedding." She remarked unexpectedly.
"Uh, what?" I stared at her like she had grown two heads.
Since we hadn't found any spell to keep the Cullens in the land of the living, I was pretty sure Edward would be gone by the end of this week. The calendar on the wall blared it was Ferbruary 23rd today.
We didn't have any time left. Edward also had to constantly watch his back, since James and his group of dark soldiers were aiming to sacrifce him to prolong their time here.
Esme smiled a little. "I don't think Edward is going anywhere, anytime, dear."
"What do you mean?" Edward asked cautiously.
She took a deep breath. "Carlisle, I think you should tell them."
He nodded and squeezed her hand, his golden eyes determined.
"Bella, did you know why Esme and I took Edward and the others in? Why I easily gave them shelter and believed their story?" he asked.
"I didn't know, so I didn't tell her anything." Edward interrupted, shooting me a quick glance.
"Edward just told me that you found them near the Eternal Cemetery on that Halloween night and questioned them. And that you believed what they said and volunteered to take them in." I said slowly, confused.
"Well yes, that's quite true. This might be hard to believe but since your fiancé is a living proof of something unbelievable, I would like to tell you about my past." Carlisle looked at me.
Edward and I nodded. They were staring to scare me.
"I was a doctor. I...I was stationed at the war camp to take care of the injured soldiers during the World War I." Carlisle sighed. "Edward was brought in a little too late, there was too much internal bleeding in his chest and his fate was out of my hands. He was a fighter and that gave me hope. I knew I would never forget him."
I stared at him with my mouth hanging open. Edward had never told me how he died in the war and Carlisle telling me this...well, it was too much for me. Edward stiffened next to me.
"That was how I knew him and on that Halloween night, I recognized him. I recognized the others too, with the exception of Rosalie." He finished.
"But...what...how long have you been alive?" I stuttered.
"I was in love with Esme at that time. I had planned to ask her hand in marriage after the war was over but when I came back...she had died from the flu that had attacked the city. I was mad, desperate." He straightened in his seat. "To put it correctly, I went a little nuts. I poured myself in myths about death. At that time, I came across a young girl. She was admitted in the psychiatric ward and when I heard that she was talking about death and witchcraft, I immediately asked her help. I wasn't sure but I was just a love struck fool, willing to do anything to bring back my love."
Edward sat down shakily on the loveseat and pulled me with him. Esme smiled at Carlisle through tears in her golden eyes. How was Esme alive now? I suspected the answer just as Carlisle continued.
"That girl, um, witch gave me a spell and told me to recite it on Halloween night, the time when the line between the living and the dead is very thin. I did it and I got Esme back, just like how Edward came alive when Heidi did the spell. But...it came with a price. I found out her days were numbered and the research started again." He paused.
"You were so agitated back then, darling." Esme said lovingly.
Carlisle let out a short laugh. "Well, yes. It was hard to find that witch again and when I did, she told me that I didn't need to worry about anything. She said these words 'Love conquers death'. And that was when I understood. Even the laws of nature can't do anything when there is pure love working against it."
"So..." Edward's voice broke. "You have known the answer all along and you didn't tell us?"
"Yes," Esme hurried on. "We wanted to tell you but we first had to make sure whether you both were truly in love or whether it was just infatuation. We didn't want to give you false hope. But after that proposal...I know love when I see one. And what you both have is love in its purest form."
"Oh, oh, oh." Edward looked too relieved to be annoyed and hurt.
I clutched his arm and hugged him. That was it. After days and days of being worried, I felt so happy. Edward was going to stay. He wasn't going to leave me. But there was still something they had yet to answer.
"But...how are you both alive now? Why aren't you guys growing older? And why aren't you telling this to the others?" I asked confused.
"Because." Esme said meaningfully. "This said love should be mutually shared between a living human and the Undead. It doesn't work if two Undeads are in love and want to stay. Only a human has the living force to make something this strong work."
"So Rosalie, Randall, Emmett can't...?" Edward froze, his happiness short-lived.
Oh, no! Why was there a problem after problem stacked in front of us? Suddenly, loud chatter rose from the staircase.
"Guys, anybody here?" Emmett poked his head in.
"What are you all up to? Is there a funeral I don't know about?" Randall grinned, noticing our grave faces.
I still wanted answers to the others questions I had asked Esme but I knew now wasn't the time to satisfy my curiosity. Something else distracted me. Rosalie was clutching Emmett's arms, her face lit up in a beautiful smile. She sure as hell wasn't confused anymore.
"I'm hungry, mom." Randall continued, rubbing his flat stomach. While he was walking past us, he playfully pinched my hip and grinned.
Oh, hell. The problem wasn't over yet.
Hey guys,
Whadduya think about this chapter? Are you guys happy for Edward? But what about Rosalie, Emmett and Randall? Will something save them? Do you still think Edward and Bella should elope?
Review and tell me.
-BEJL
