I leaned back into Edwards familiar embrace, adjusted my sweater and stroked down my stomach as he searched for the appropriate words to begin our story. "What would you say was the beginning? Where should I start?" he asked me.

I thought back on the slightly muddled human memories I had. "For me it would be the first time I saw you. When we danced all night at Theodore Montgomery's soiree."

"Hm, yes." he said and I could hear the smile in his voice as he thought back to the magical evening that started it all. "Although I had heard of you before then, love."

"As I had of you." I smiled.

He pressed a soft kiss against my temple and shifted his focus back to his waiting family. "Even while the Great War raged in Europe there was nothing anyone in Chicago spoke more of than Theodore Montgomery's soirees. I think it was escapism at its finest. The grande mansion seemed to drown out all the worries. That evening there was no war. No rationing. No aiding the wounded soldiers. There was only opulence and lavishness. It was like being brought back to a time before the Great War. There was food and laughter. Good company and dancing.

And that night in 1917 there was one Isabella Marie Swan."

"And one Edward Anthony Masen." I added, grinning.

"Yes, and me." He agreed. "I stood with some of my school mates when our eyes met. She was so very beautiful that evening. The golden light brought out the red in her hair. Each strand seemed to shimmer as if touched by stars. It framed her delicate features. A portrait of innocence and grace. But it was her eyes that truly drew me in. They seemed to show me the depths of her soul, full of warmth and quiet strength.

She felt out of place, like the bright light of planet Venus in a sky of simple stars."

I dropped my eyes at his words but I could not deny the involuntary smile that tugged at my lips. I had missed him so very much. All of him. Even the overly affectionate part that always made me slightly uncomfortable.

"You did look quite handsome yourself." I told him as I thought back to that day. "He had this grace to him. Even as he simply stood there talking to his peers. Every move he made was so naturally elegant and so very precise, as if he was a dancer on stage. His hair was like molten bronze and all I wanted to do was run my fingers through it. And like always his hair would not stay put."

Edward chuckled.

"When he looked up from his conversation and I saw his bright green eyes I was done for. I could not tear my eyes away."

"It was the same for me, love. It was as if the universe itself had conspired to weave our fates together in that moment. And the bond that was forged would be unbreakable."

I shook my head. "No, I think it was more like our already interwoven fates became apparent at that moment." I said. "It was a revelation. I found the missing piece to my soul."

"Okay," Emmett interrupted. "So it was all nice and you experienced the mating bond. What happened next?"

"Emmett!" Esme chastised him. "This is your brother's story. You should not rush him or Isabella."

"But I want to get to the good stuff!" he pouted.

"There will be no talk of what you consider the ´good stuff´." Edward said with a strained voice, balling his hands.

"But- You can't just skip that! This is cruel." he protested. "I have waited since 1935!"

"I can and I will."

"But-"

"Bella, dear, why don't you continue with what happened next?" Esme interrupted him and brought the conversation back to me before Edward and Emmett could come head to head.

"Uhm- Adelaid Montgomery happened next." I hissed. Edward drew me closer in an effort to comfort me. "She was the daughter of Theodore Montgomery and she stepped up to me and kindly informed me that she would one day marry Edward Masen and that I had no chance with him because he was blind to all girls but her."

"Of course that was entirely false. I saw no girls, not even Adelaid Montgomery, until I saw Bella. She changed my whole world. She became my world."

"That evening he asked me to dance. I absolutely detested dancing but I said yes to Edward anyway. And I never regretted it. He was exquisite. He never let me stumble and I felt safe in his arms."

"We danced the entire night and at the end of it I asked to court her." Edward said with a smile.

"Obviously I said yes." I continued. "It was actually quite scandalous because Edward never asked my father if he may court me."

"Never knew you were such a rebel." Alice laughed.

Edward shrugged. "Times were changing. And I think it was a good thing I did not ask him."

"It was." I nodded in agreement. "Both of our parents would have put an end to our courting. They seemed quite set on deterring our marriage."

"Was it different social classes?" Esme asked compassionately.

"No." I shook my head.

"We never understood our parents' opposition." Edward explained. "Both our fathers were lawyers. Not at the same firm, but still. And Isabella's mother was from a wealthy French family while my mother was of the same standing as my father. It would be considered the ideal match by all others. Nothing about it was in any way against social norms."

I shrugged. "But even so, they tried to push us into other engagements quite vehemently once they learned of our involvement."

"So, you were the original Romeo and Juliet, huh?" Emmett leaned over and grinned.

My lips twitched as I tried to suppress a giggle.

"You do know that the play is from the 16th century?" Jasper asked innocently.

"Yeah, and?"

"That was way before Edward was even born." he said, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh." Emmett laughed. "Well, it seems Eddie is quite the copycat then."

I smiled up at Edward who rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," I said. "It was only once Edward had asked me for my hand in marriage that we told my parents of our intent. After they obviously informed Edwards parents both of them tried to keep us apart. It was quite a difficult time. I was no longer allowed to leave the house and Edward was brought to every social function imaginable. Always with the intent to push us into other arms. But every night Edward would sneak out of his parents' house and climb through my window into my bedroom."

"It took them a few weeks to realize what I had been doing." he chuckled.

"And when they did, all hell broke loose." I grinned with him.

"Well,love , I remember your mother told me that my methods of courting are certainly unconventional." He said amused. "And your father tried to advise me on other means to court a lady."

"And then all hell broke loose."

He nodded, sobering. "There was a lot of screaming and your parents told me that I had broken their trust in me. They said that my morality was obviously not in line with Bella's breeding and that I was corrupting her."

"And all the while Edward was shaking like a leaf in the wind." I supplied.

"They were so very disappointed in the both of us. All because I could not get enough of my Bella." The guilt and regret seemed to plagued him even decades later.

I squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. "I convinced you. If anyone was to blame it would have been me." I reminded him.

He pressed another tender kiss to my temple but did not say more.

"We married only a little while before the first wave of the Spanish flu came to Chicago. And Edwards' father lost his life. Elizabeth's grief was deep. It coloured her every action. Her eyes lost their vibrant spark. She had been irreparably shattered. It was horrible to see her like that. Before Edward Senior died you could almost taste her joy at being alive. And after his body was taken away she was a living corpse."

"I think she wanted to die when she got ill when the second wave raged." Edward said, his eyes focused on a time long gone.

"I think so too." I almost whispered. "It seemed like she was in a stupor and only woke when Edward took ill as well. That was when she fought."

"Elizabeth Masen was already weakened by grief when she and Edward came to the hospital." Dr. Cullen explained. "The fever overtook her and she was confined to her bed for long stretches of time. Yet, even in the midst of her own suffering, Elizabeth's focus remained fixed on her son. She clung to her consciousness with a desperate determination. She pushed herself beyond her limits. The hospital was too crowded and staff was short. Isabella's help in nursing both Edward and his mother at that time was invaluable."

"And yet, the Spanish flu proved to be an adversary far too formidable for both of them." I said gravely.

"Yes." his gaze was distante, his brows furrowed. "Elizabeth died first. And I send you away, Isabella. Do you remember what you asked of me?"

"I begged you to save him. I asked you to do all you could."

"Yes, you did." he said. "And I did what you asked me to. I saved him."

"And took him from me in the process." I accused, trying to hold back the sobs that built in my chest. "You took my life from me. My soul. And you did the same to him."

"Yes, I did." he nodded, his expression solemn. "It was a choice I made out of desperation. His condition was deteriorating rapidly."

"I am not saying that you should not have changed him. In fact, I am grateful for it." I said, my voice trembling. "I am saying you should never have separated us. There was nothing left for me in Chicago without Edward."

"You would have wanted to join Edward in vampirism?"

"Yes."

Dr. Cullens gaze dropped, his fingers intertwining in his lap. "I have never changed a person who was not dying."

"I was dead as soon as you told me that Edward was gone."

Esme stepped closer to her mate, her hand squeezing his shoulder. "You did what you thought was right, Carlisle. You saved his life."

"But at what cost?" his voice held a mix of regret and sorrow.

"Pain." I answered him. "A hundred years of agonizing pain."

Heavy silence hung over the house like a thick layer of snow. Drawing out every sound. It was deep and wide. Heavy as the world on Atlas´ shoulders. It was the sound of my inability to cry.

"How were you after?" Esme asked hesitantly amidst the silence.

"Dead on my feet." I said, gripping Edwards hand tighter as if to ensure myself that he was truly there with me. "Just as Elizabeth had lost all joy and will to life, so did I. I took care of my parents' funeral. I took care of Elizabeth's funeral. And I could not take care of Edwards. In the end my friend had to do it for me.

And after the caskets had been lowered into the ground there was nothing more to do. And I ceased to exist. I could not tell you what happened in the following months. I know the war ended and I caught myself thinking that I was glad that Edward had died with me in Chicago and not alone over in Europe. But then I remembered that I had not even been there when he had died because Dr. Cullen had sent me away and that he might have been awake one last time and when he searched for me I was not there for him. That I had forsaken him in his final seconds."

Edward tightened his hold on me and stroked my hair. All the while humming to me. He reminded me that he was here. With me. And he told me he could not remember waking after I had last left him. That he only woke when the pain of the change made it impossible to be unconscious.

"I am sure Carlisle never intended to hurt you, Isabella." Esme said softly.

Dr. Cullen shook his head.

"And yet he did. He hurt me in the worst way imaginable." I said. "There is nothing else he could have done that would have hurt this much."

She nodded in understanding and smiled sadly.

"I remember a couple of times where I was about to end my life. But when it actually came to it I could not do it. There was always this voice in the back of my head, Edwards voice, screaming at me to stop. That I should not dare to take something that was so precious to him. And then the new year grew closer and closer. And I could not bear to see a year that Edward never would. So I went out on the lake. And when I was there Edwards voice in my head screamed at me again. He begged me to keep swimming and when I did not he ordered me to not to give up. To fight. But I did not want to fight. And this time I was determined to end my life. And when even Edwards' voice in my head started to give up, when he instead told me that he loved me and that he would wait for me on the other side, I felt something that must have been happiness."

"So how are you here today? Who rescued you?" Jasper asked.

"A cold hand grabbed me and pulled me to the surface. I remember wanting to protest because she was not Edward but I was too exhausted to form any words. I remember her eyes. They were strange to me at the time. Like molten gold. Her skin was so very pale and her hair bright. Almost silver." I furrowed my brows trying to remember. "She was beautiful until she bit me."

"Are you certain that she had golden eyes?" Dr. Cullen asked, raising one eyebrow.

"That is the detail I remember most clearly." I told him.

"There must be other animal blood drinking vampires. Bella decided to change her diet as well." Edward reminded him. "Why should any of the Denalis change Bella? They had no reason."

"Who are the Denalis?" I asked Dr. Cullen.

"They are a different coven of animal blood drinkers, or as Emmett dubbed us, Vegetarians. We see them as our cousins."

I nodded, accepting his explanation.

"And this vampire just left you after?" Edward asked stiffly. "They bit you and abandoned you?"

"I think so." I nodded. "When I woke up she was gone. But there was another. His name was Laurent and he had red eyes. He tried to tell me that I should stay with him, hunt humans and act as his mate."

Edwards' loud growl interrupted me. I turned to look him in the eyes and stroked his cheek. "What he asked of you..." Edward's voice was tight, his jaw clenched as he struggled to contain his emotions. "It's beyond unacceptable. It's vile."

"I know, Edward. I knew I couldn't stay near him, I couldn't even entertain the notion he had put forth. It felt so very wrong."

"He had no right to approach you like that, to insinuate such things." Edward's hands were clenched into fists and I took them in mine. Massaging them until the muscles loosened.

"Yes, Edward." I said. "And as soon as I understood what he meant I turned on my heel and fled. He tried to follow me. But I had woken only a few minutes prior and he was no match for me."

Edward's features softened. "I just- I can't stand the thought of anyone trying to exploit you at your weakest. He tried to seduce you with the promises of blood."

I nodded in understanding. I could not stand the thought of him being in the same situation, where some female vampire would try to trick him into doing something he would not want.

Our eyes were still connected and slowly I could see the storm in his eyes subside. It was replaced by the deep look of love, awe and gratitude.

"I love you." Edward's voice was earnest.

"As I love you."

"So… moving on." Emmett said, impatiently bouncing his leg. "You learned from your classic stranger danger situation and then?"

Edward shot him a pointed look. "Emmett this is serious."

"What?" Emmett waved a dismissive hand. "She learned her lesson, run next time someone asks you to be their immortal partner in crime. She obviously got that. What more do you want?"

Edward sighed heavily and buried his face in my neck.

"So what happened next?" Emmett asked again.

"Uhm- I was mourning again. And I was angry. I was angry with myself for failing. I was angry with that woman that changed me. I was angry with Laurent. And I was angry with God for taking my death from me and for keeping me from Edward for eternity."

"Boring!" Emmett moaned. "Didn't you do anything that was mildly interesting in ninety years?"

"Well, I killed three humans until I met a nomad that was friends with one Carlisle Cullen. His name is Garrett."

"Oh yes." Dr. Cullen nodded. "I have only met him three times in my existence but he was always nice to have as a companion for a while."

"He told me of your unusual diet and I have not killed a human since then." I shrugged. "Being able to have human contact again helped me. It distracted somewhat from the pain in my chest. And then once World War 2 came around I went to Europe. During the time Nazi Germany occupied parts of France I was working with the French Resistance in Paris."

Emmett's eyebrows shot up, his eyes wide with surprise. "Wait, you were part of the Resistance? Bella, I knew there must have been something about you for Eddie to lose his marbles about you, but that's a whole new level. Even I didn't expect that."

I chuckled. "I did what I could to help. And it helped me feel closer to Edward. I was somewhat accomplishing his dream for him. It was no longer the Great War but it was a World War and I was working against the enemy."

"Isabella, that must have been incredibly difficult and dangerous." Esme's eyes were full of compassion. "But also noble."

"Call it for what it truly was, reckless." Rosalie said flippantly. "You could have been exposed, Isabella. The Volturi would not have liked that, no matter the noble cause."

"But I would not have cared." I tried to explain what I was thinking at the time. "I no longer actively searched for death. I had accepted that I was not yet destined to join Edward in death. After all, God had pulled me away from that opportunity. But I will be the first to admit that my behavior was oftentimes risque. And if the Volturi were to have come for me, I would have finally been allowed where I had wanted to be for all that time."

Edward sighed and squeezed me.

"But I haven't done anything reckless since then. And look where it got me." I added with a smile. "Back into your arms, Edward."

"And I will forever be thankful for that." He said softly.

"So, what happened after your change?" I asked Edward.

"At first I truly struggled with my gift. I could read every mind around me. It was overwhelming, a constant onslaught of thoughts that I couldn't escape."

My brows furrowed in sympathy, my fingers instinctively reaching out to stroke his hand.

"I have never met a person I was not constantly assaulted by. Apart from you, love." He chuckled. "The one person whose thoughts I would want to read and they escape me."

"I am a shield." I explained. "Both my mind and my body are protected. It's like two bubbles surrounding me. And I can move the one against physical attacks."

"What is it like?" Carlisle asked interested.

"Uhm- Just a membrane that can stop anyone from passing."

"Do you think you could remove the mental shield?" Edward asked with hope in his eyes.

"We will have to try." I shrugged.

He looked at me expectantly.

"Some other time, Edward." I chuckled as he pouted his lips. "I want to hear about your life first. And we do have eternity to figure this out."

He sighed but continued. "I begged Carlisle to check on you regularly, to make sure you were safe."

My eyes widened in positive surprise. "You were regularly thinking of me even in your first year as a newborn?"

"Regularly?" Dr. Cullen asked, disbelieve coloring his question. "He would speak of nothing but you. As far as I could tell there was no thought that did not revolve around you."

Edward's lips curved into a sad smile as he nodded. "I was always thinking of you."

He continued with a soft voice. "I was determined to master my thirst, to control the monster within me. I wanted to come back to you, to be with you again."

My heart ached at his words. "Edward..."

"But then, after I had asked him to check on you again, Carlisle told me that you disappeared, that no one knew where you were. And I blamed myself. I thought I had lost you forever. I stayed with Carlisle for a while longer. But his thoughts were so filled with you that it hurt me all the more. Once he had found Esme I left for a while." I could see the guilt swallowing his face as he clenched his teeth. "I tried to live on the traditional diet for a while, hunting on the most vile predators out there. Murderers and rapists were not hard to find. But my conscience soon caught up with me and I returned to Carlisle and Esme. I begged for their forgiveness. And they told me that there was nothing to forgive. They took me back without question."

"Oh Edward!" I turned to run my hand through his hair, scraping against his scalp. Resting it at the base of his neck and softly kissed his cheek. "They were right. There is nothing to forgive and you have nothing to feel guilty about. You did every future victim of those individuals a great service. You saved them."

"That does not make my actions right. I had no right to play god. I had no right to take those lives."

"That does not mean that you need to feel guilty for the lives you saved already."

He gave me a small smile that did not convince me in the slightest. He had not yet forgiven himself. But I would let it go for the moment.

"How did the others join you three?" I asked.

"Rosalie was the first. I found her in Rochester and turned her. Then she found Emmett being mauled by a bear and carried him to me so that I could change him." Dr. Cullen explained. "Alice and Jasper came to us after Alice had visions of our family."

"And now you have found us." Esme added with a warm smile. "I think our family has finally been completed."