XXXIX. Fangs for the Memories

In the distance, across the wide expanse of lush grass, stood a tall and elegant white tent pitched near the bank of the river. Edward and I leisurely made our approach, and as we grew nearer, the faint sound of rushing water swelled into a thunderous roar.

I stumbled, but was caught, Edward's grip on my arm firm but gentle.

"Are you alright?" he checked, once I was upright on my feet, appearing slightly bewildered by my lack of grace.

I inhaled a sharp breath and was briefly reassured by the absence of salt in the air. "Uh, yeah. You know, clumsy old me."

It was a little difficult to gauge Edward's expression with rays of light shattering across his face, but I got the sense he was eyeing me with skepticism. "In all the time since I've met you, I have never once known you to be clumsy."

"There's a first time for everything," I deflected, and continued our stroll, but came to a sudden halt when Edward refused to budge from his position, my hand still trapped in his.

"No," he disagreed. "What's wrong?"

I exhaled a gusty sigh and twisted back around. If I knew him, I knew he would refuse to let this go. "Just…the sound of the river. It caught me off guard."

"I see," he realized quietly, voice pained. "I'm sorry, Isabella. I should have realized. But we can―"

"No," I cut him short. "It's okay, Edward. It'll be good for me."

Below the glimmering jewels of light, his expression remained pensive. "You truly believe that?"

I nodded. "Yes. I guess I haven't told you about it, but going to First Beach yesterday wasn't so bad. While it wasn't easy, I think it'll really help me in the long run. You know that." We'd already had this conversation, but I wasn't too surprised Edward remained unconvinced. If it were up to him, I'd likely never go near the water again.

For a moment, he didn't reply. But then, "If this is what you want."

"I do." I attempted to squeeze his stone hand. "Besides, I know you won't let anything happen."

"I won't," he agreed decisively, and at my tug, fell back into step beside me.

Closer now, I swept my gaze across the small, round tables set up near the edges of the tent, draped in white table cloths and crowned with centerpieces of cascading flowers in red and gold. The red cedar chairs from the ceremony had been relocated to accompany the tables, where some of the others already lounged, their chatter barely resounding above the roaring river like tinkling bells.

The wide space of verdant grass below the center of the canopy remained open, and in one corner, a larger, similarly outfitted table was adorned with an arrangement of small gifts. Beside it, Kate and Garrett were perched on the long bench Emmett had built and carved for them.

"Isabella! Finally," Alice called, turning around and peeking over the top of her professional camera. "Come on. I need you in some of these pictures!"

"Please hurry! The power of holding the camera is getting to her head!" Garrett added unhelpfully.

I laughed.

"Duty calls," I said, pressing a quick kiss to the back of Edward's incandescent hand, before letting go and jogging forward, ducking underneath the shade of the tent. "Alright, where to, Alice?"

I joined Tanya and Irina, exchanging exasperated smiles with them as Alice began to direct us to and fro.

The rush of water was easier to ignore, when surrounded by everyone's contagious cheer.

As a bridesmaid, my job had been to arrange a couple of games for the reception. Admittedly, I'd had a little too much fun with it, and planned everything from trivia games to athletics―which was a whole different ball game when dealing with supernaturally enhanced vampires. Sadly, I was also unable to participate in these.

But while those were entertaining, I had to admit that the shoe game was my favorite so far. Watching Kate and Garrett bicker after every question like they'd already been married for a couple of centuries was a delight.

I lifted my next notecard. "Who do you think is the most likely to get arrested?"

The purpose of the game was to hold up the shoe of the person you thought fit the answer to the question best. But even sitting back-to-back, their heightened peripheral vision and acute hearing made it easy for Kate and Garrett to detect which boot was shot up.

In this case, Garrett had, in one swift blur, lifted up Kate's dainty white boot.

"Excuse you?" Kate sniffed. "You actually have been arrested, Garrett!"

"Exactly," Garrett said with an easy grin, briefly meeting my eyes and shooting me a wink. "I do believe it's your turn, dear."

I hid a smile behind my small stack of notecards.

"That was not the question, and you know it," she harrumphed.

"I call bullshit," Emmett said from where he was slumped against his chair, an arm thrown haphazardly across the back of Rosalie's seat. "You've been around, what? A thousand years, give or take a few decades? There's no way you haven't ever entangled with the local authorities."

Kate smirked. "Define 'entangle.'"

"Well―"

I cleared my throat. "I do think we've moved beyond the scope of my original question."

"No, no. Allow her to proceed. I would like to hear this," Tanya cut in, leaning forward in her seat.

"Classy," I deadpanned.

Kate laughed. "Perhaps Isabella is right."

Garrett rolled his eyes, though he hardly appeared bothered by the sudden turn in conversation.

"Thank you, Kate," I said, and flipped to my next notecard. "Okay…who do you think would be better at getting away with murder?"

Kate's boots instantly shot up on both their ends.

I quirked an eyebrow. "I hope murder wasn't the reason for your arrest."

"Garrett, you haven't told her the story?" Jasper laughed.

Carlisle's sigh was audible from where he sat.

"No," Garrett said to Jasper, before turning back to me. "I was arrested for breaking and entering, aggravated assault, and destruction of public property."

Edward grinned. "He means, he got caught breaking into a state prison."

I gaped. "That is so backwards."

"I do not think it is too late to back out, sister," Tanya piped up.

Kate threw Garrett's boot at her, though it was deftly caught. "I love the man. I never said he was intelligent."

"You should've seen Carlisle's face when he got the call," Emmett said, voice shaking with laughter.

I took one look at Carlisle's expression of long-suffering and had to suppress a laugh. "I can imagine…" I said, before glancing back towards my notecards. "And the final question…who is always right?"

Fortunately, Kate had kept her own boot, which she quickly lifted in concert with Garrett.

"See?" Irina said with a teasing grin, elbowing Tanya. "He is not a total lost cause."

Tanya heaved a sigh. "No, I suppose you are right."

"I appreciate the love, Tanya," Garrett called.

Tanya scowled, although even I could tell she was trying hard not to smile.

"Isabella, what game is next?" Irina asked, jumping to her feet.

I flipped to the next card and grinned. "Vampire foosball!"

"Oh, perfect!" she said. "Everything is already set up. I will referee this one, so you can take a break if you like. Everyone, follow me!"

"What is vampire foosball?" I heard Emmett ask, as they all began to walk after Irina.

"What do you think?" Rosalie scoffed, a competitive gleam already shining in her eyes.

Unlike the rest, Esme paused at my side and hooked her arm with mine. "I baked a cake, if you would like some."

I gasped. "Truly? I would love a slice of cake!"

"Oh, perfect," Esme smiled sweetly and lead me over to the larger table swathed in wedding gifts. In one corner there was a small white cake decorated in red flowers, which I had previously failed to notice.

Esme grabbed a knife and cut me a slice.

"Thanks, Esme," I said as I took the plate and fork from her hands. "You are the best!"

"It was my pleasure, sweet girl," Esme smiled.

I took a bite of buttercream frosting and lemon cake and nearly cried tears of joy. Once I chewed and swallowed my first bite, I asked, "I can take the whole thing home, right? Charlie and Jessica would kill me if I didn't share!"

Esme laughed. "Of course. We certainly have no need for it."

"Great!" I cheered as we began a leisure walk in the direction of the field where the others had spread out. Fortunately, some cloud cover had returned and I wasn't forced to squint at their dazzling faces.

In preparation for the game, stark white lines had been painted across the lush grass, denoting where the players couldn't cross, while bright orange cones represented the goals, and massive, metal pipes were held between players.

Already, an argument had broken out.

"It doesn't count! He wasn't touching the pipe when he kicked the ball!" Rosalie was saying.

"It was only for like a tenth of a second!" Peter defended himself, standing beside Eleazar as the offense for their team.

"Exactly! Rule is, you can't let go of the pipe! Otherwise it's not foosball, it's just soccer!"

"I think it counts," Irina shrugged with a grin, where she stood as goalie for Tanya's team, the pipe ridiculously huge in her tiny arms.

"Esme, we need a new ref! Irina is cheating!" Emmett said with a scowl.

"Settle down children," Esme said, catching the reinforced soccer ball in her hands. "We'll start the game again."

Irina pouted and Peter rolled his eyes, but neither argued with Esme.

At midfield, Carlisle and Garrett faced off against Tanya and Kate.

Esme launched the ball.

From there, it was a complete blur.

Kate held the pipe up, while Tanya swung on it like an acrobat and kicked the ball with the intensity of a supersonic boom, far above Carlisle and Garrett's heads.

Only for Rosalie and Charlotte to pull a similar move, with Charlotte holding the pipe and Rosalie balancing on it upside down just in time to fire the ball to the other side of the field. Jasper and Carmen jumped in tandem, the pipe still held between them, high enough for Carmen to launch the ball right back with a sharp kick.

I only belatedly remembered to take another bite of my cake.

My eyes swiveled back and forth, just barely able to keep up with the blurred soccer ball being shot back and forth in the most outrageous stunts.

Finally, the game came to a screeching halt when Edward rendered a powerful kick and the ball was immediately launched back by Irina, who used the pipe itself to smash it away from its intended trajectory.

"Whoa! Timeout!" Garrett called and pointed a finger at Irina's smug face. "She can't do that!"

An argument broke out over whether it was appropriate to use the metal pipe itself to combat the ball.

I took another bite.

"I know!" Tanya shouted above the bedlam. "We should ask Isabella. She is the one who made up the game."

I blinked and swallowed the bite of cake when I realized everyone was staring at me.

"…I think we should save the batting for baseball."

"I knew you were my favorite sister for a reason!" Emmett crowed.

"Hey!" Alice pouted, where she stood alone as the other goalie.

"You're already Edward's favorite sibling! Don't be a brat," Emmett childishly stuck out his tongue.

Alice beamed. "True!"

"Get ready," Esme warned them, and then catapulted the ball back to midfield.

Garrett was the first to reach the ball this time, and the chaos only devolved from there.

"How did you come up with such a bizarre game?" Esme asked from beside me, eyes sweeping across the field, following the trajectory of the ball.

I shrugged and swallowed another mouthful. "Summer camp. Although, this is more authentic. We were never able to swing around the pipe like in actual foosball."

Esme smiled. "No, I imagine not."

And then, Alice made the mistake of taking a second to adjust the massive pipe in her grip. The single second was all Eleazar needed to launch the ball right past her.

The cheers and screams that broke out across Tanya's team were deafening, their laughter contagious.

"Point," Esme called needlessly with a grin of her own, disappearing in a blur and then returning, the ball in her grip.

By the time the game came to a close, Carlisle's team had lost, 0 to 1.

Above all the shit talking, Emmett boomed, "Isabella! What game are we playing next?"

I dug a hand into the pocket of my dress and withdrew my notecards. "Next is…Capture the Bride! Like capture the flag, but…not."

"I'll ref this one!" Tanya decided with a smirk.

"What? No way!" Emmett protested. "If you ref, then you can't play!"

Tanya huffed. "You are being unreasonable."

"I had forgotten how competitive your family is," Charlotte said to Jasper.

"It's alright, I can ref," Esme gently cut in.

"But you haven't gotten to play!" Alice protested.

A debate broke out over who would referee the next game, despite Esme's insistence that she wouldn't mind doing it again.

Once it was decided that Eleazar would ref this time around, they began discussing how to split up into three separate teams.

"I'm going to eat more cake," I said to no one in particular, before turning around and walking back in the direction of the tent.

Edward fell into step beside me.

"You're not playing?" I asked, surprised. Edward was just as competitive as the rest of them, and I knew capture the flag (or the bride, as it was in this case) would be a doozy with such a multifaceted terrain and so many available players.

"I'd rather keep you company," he smiled.

"If you say so," I laughed. "Who do you think is going to win?"

Edward hummed in thought. "Hard to say. Tanya, Rosalie, and Jasper are the ones heading the teams, so really, it could go any which way."

I winced. "Yeah, I'm happy I get to skip out on all that. You're all very intense."

"That's what makes it so fun," Edward smirked as we ducked beneath the canopy of the tent.

I made a beeline for the cake. "Just watching you play foosball stressed me out. I can't imagine actually having to play with the lot of you," I laughed, taking my plate and sitting at one of the tables.

"I get the sense you're just as competitive," Edward countered, taking the seat beside me. "Or am I wrong?"

I pursed my lips. "I do like winning," I admitted. "But doesn't everyone?"

"Sure, but not everyone will tear off your arm over a game. Literally."

"Oh now this is a story I have to hear."

By the time Edward had finished his retelling of the time Alice tore off Emmett's arm in the middle of a cutthroat game of football, the gloom had fully set in.

But with it, the twinkling fairy lights hanging from the edges of the canopy and wrapped around the legs of the tent, lit up brilliantly. And it wasn't until that moment, that I noticed the centerpieces were intricate vases concealing artificial candles within the flower arrangements.

The additional light was helpful for my human eyes.

And then, music began to play.

I looked up, surprised to see Edward now standing by my seat, his hand held towards me.

"May I have this dance?"

I smiled. "You may."

Charlie had, at the request of Esme, given me permission to stay late, with the condition that I would return home to attend school in the morning. Regardless of the impending lack of sleep, I had decided to stay awake until Kate and Garrett's departure.

It was at midnight that the second and final tradition čepčenie was performed. A ceremony that would transition Kate to that of a married woman.

In the black of night, the array of candles lit across Kate and Garrett's table was the only light source, casting long shadows across the expanse of grass. Kate was seated at the center, Tanya and Irina standing on either side of her, each holding a lit candle in their palms.

They sang.

I could not understand the words they were singing, for the lyrics were crooned in their mother tongue. But their soprano voices drew me in, bewitching me as they sang in perfect harmony.

The song was long and it was sad. Tanya and Irina's voices stretched on with deep emotion, hovering on the line of sorrow. It rang of farewell.

When at last, their voices faded into silence, Garrett stepped forward. My eyes nearly bugged out when I noticed the massive axe resting against his shoulder, steel glinting in the candlelight.

"I walked along the mountains," he began, voice soft and eerie, "Along the valleys, in the nooks and crannies of the seashores; in the pastures of the Slovak farms I swept; I walked along to Trenčín, and here suddenly, on the bank near Váh, I see a beautiful girl, dressed all in white." He paused, eyes taken by her. "And I ask you, for the first time: Do you want to take off your wreath, or…do you want me to cut off your head?"

My jaw dropped. I swiveled my gaze over to Kate.

Kate smiled and said, "Cut off my head."

With matching grins, Tanya and Irina briefly broke out into a new song, only pausing long enough for Garrett to say, "Weigh your words. Consider them well, for I ask you a second time: Do you want to take off the vine, or do you want me to cut off your head?"

"Cut off my head," Kate repeated.

Tanya and Irina sang again, a longer stanza this time, a little more cheerful than the first one. And then, Garrett spoke once more. "I am asking you for the last time, for the third. Therefore, weigh your words well and be careful of how you answer. Do you want to take off the wreath, or do you want me to cut off your head?"

Kate laughed. "Take off the wreath."

Remembering my queue, I stood and walked to stand behind Kate, and in between Tanya and Irina as they sang once more. Their high, bell-like voices filled my ears as I began to pull out the pins holding Kate's flower crown in place. Once I caught every single one, I cautiously lifted the delicate wreath from her head and took a step back.

In tandem with me, Garrett took a step forward and kneeled before Kate, withdrawing something small and delicate from the pocket of his trousers.

The song reached a new pitch and Kate's head remained bowed down as Garrett crowned her with the new piece of fabric, colorful and beaded with red roses. It was a Slovak-styled bonnet, which resembled a wide headband that encompassed her crown.

As soon as Garrett had tied it off, the song ended and Tanya and Irina simultaneously blew out their candles.

Instantly, the fairy lights flared back to life and the music shattered the brief silence.

I barely had time to set down Kate's wreath, before I was being swept into Edward's arms. The chair must've been tossed aside, for Kate and Garrett danced at the center, and we around them.

It was a blur of lights, loud music, sharp twirls, and high jumps.

I wasn't sure that I kept up as well as Tanya and Carlisle, and Irina and Eleazar, but I had fun all the same. And Edward had no qualms about tossing me to and fro.

It was over almost as soon as it'd begun, and to my shock, I found that Garrett and Kate had vanished.

"Did they leave?" I asked Edward above the clapping and whistling, as I tried to catch my breath.

"No," he grinned. "They went to go get changed."

"Oh," I laughed. "That makes―"

I cut myself off as I scrambled to catch whatever object had hit my chest. A glance down revealed it to be Kate's flower crown.

I lifted my gaze and met Tanya's smirk. "I do believe that now belongs to you, Isabella."

"Uh, it does?"

"Yes!" Irina giggled. "Now, you will be the next one to marry! Within a year and a day!"

A blush exploded across my face. I carefully did not glance towards Edward.

"That does raise the question," Charlotte said, from where she sat in between Peter and Jasper. "How soon do you plan on turning her?"

The subsequent silence was loud and rang in my ears.

To my eternal gratitude, Emmett butted in with his lousy sense of humor. "Hopefully, not too soon! Girl isn't a vampire yet, and she's already got a kill count under her name. Can you imagine her as a newborn?!"

I scowled at him. "The thing with Mr. Brown was a freak accident! It wasn't my fault!"

"Are you sure about that?" he needled.

Considering there was no mention of it in canon… "…Not entirely."

"Aha!" Emmett crowed. "I knew it!"

Charlotte and Peter appeared only vaguely concerned.

"What did we miss?" Kate laughed.

We turned to the newly wedded couple, who had switched out their traditional regalia for modern hiking attire.

"Isabella's kill count," Emmett said flippantly. "She's at two, if you were wondering."

Kate's eyebrows arched. "…I see."

"The little human has been holding out on us?" Garrett guffawed.

I grimaced. "Let's please not have this conversation, before you're about to say goodbye."

The reminder was sobering for everyone.

"We will miss you," Tanya said, as she, Irina, Carmen, and Eleazar began to crowd around them.

"Please return home soon!" Irina said.

"Yes," Carmen agreed. "But do enjoy yourselves and cherish your time alone."

"By all means, do not hurry on our account," Eleazar chuckled. "And take care of her Garrett."

Garrett laughed. "I don't know about that, Eleazar. I think she'll be taking care of me!"

Kate smirked. "Right he is!"

For a brief moment, they all exchanged hugs, and then Kate said to everyone, "Thank you, all, for such an incredible day! I can think of no better way to be sent off. It was lovely to have you with us, Peter and Charlotte. And Isabella, though you are not like us yet, you are already a part of our family. We will see you all soon!"

"What she said!" Garrett grinned.

And just like that, they were gone.

When I met Edward's soft gaze, I recalled the wreath I still held in my hands. I turned red once more.

Fortunately, Alice called for my attention.

"Isabella!" she said, skipping to my side and hooking her arm with mine. "I know you have to leave soon, but is there anything you want to keep?"

"Oh, you're throwing all this out?" I said, visibly disappointed.

"No, no," she assured me, tugging me over to Kate and Garrett's table. "Obviously the chairs and bench Emmett made were a gift, and anything reusable will be stored in the attic."

"That's good," I smiled. "I wouldn't mind taking home some flowers. Oh, and the cake of course!"

"Of course," Alice giggled. "Don't forget Kate's―I mean, your wreath."

I held it up. "I don't think I will," I said. "Let me help clean up, though!"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Silly!" she said, pecking me on the cheek. "I'll put together some flowers for you!"

In a blur of white and gold, she was gone.

I shook my head with a fond smile, and began to sort everything out on Kate and Garrett's table.

That was when it happened.

I only meant to gather a couple of the flower arrangements for Esme to take back to the house, when one of the burning candles exploded.

A fiery sensation sliced through my forearm, the hot pain of sharp glass severing skin.

For a fraction of a second, I locked eyes with a pair of brilliant red irises.

And then, I was being launched back.

I slammed into the ground, bones jarring forcibly, forearm slick with blood and screaming in pain. The deafening boom of crashing boulders exploded in my ears.

I scrambled back, stumbling to my feet with a pained hiss, as I took in the calamity that had broken out in mere seconds.

Small fires dotted the black grassland, shattered glass gleaming under the flickering flames, chairs and tables scattered and overturned.

A line of fire blazed down my arm, blood dripping from my fingertips. There was nowhere to run. On all sides, vampires snarled and blurred in between assaults, stone striking stone like cracks of thunder as they fought to subdue one another, all the while struggling to remain in control of their own ravenous bloodthirst.

The river rushed at my back as I balanced precariously on the slick stones.

I took a step back.

Glowing red eyes were the last thing I saw, before the black waters swallowed me whole.

A/N: Oops. My finger slipped again.

And sorry for the wait. I had general writer's block, but I also got sick again…and then I got sick again for the third time. Health-wise, I have not been doing the best.

P.S. Once again, a huge thank you to my guest reviewers! :3 To the reviewer who compared Isabella to Leia, thank youuuu! I'm honored you think Isabella is anything like our beloved princess! ^_^ Also, I can't respond to any of you, so here's a Q&A:

Did Jasper have to keep both sides calm in the last chapter?
Yes, he did some damage control behind the scenes. Edward was at least prepared for their arrival, but Peter and Charlotte were more blindsided by Isabella's presence.

Will we see the Denali's again before the ending of this story?
As of now, I have no plans for that.

Is Garrett becoming a vegetarian?
Yes. You'll notice in chapter 29 that he's started hunting with Eleazar.

Will you cover Isabella's newborn stage?
Partially. Currently, I have four chapters set aside for that. I'd have to write a sequel to cover more, because this story is getting too long for my tastes lol

How is Isabella supposed to change into a vampire?
Spoilers!

Why does Isabella still feel guilty about lying to the Cullens about the Twilight books?
She doesn't feel guilty about the books specifically. She feels guilty because she's pretending she has this great gift, when that's not the case at all. But now she's in so deep, she's not sure how to admit that it was all a farce.

Will Fred be making another appearance in either the spinoffs or the main story?
As of now, no. And in the main, I'm already juggling so many characters, I don't have enough room for him. I'd have to write a sequel in order to bring him into the fold.

What other subplots will be resolved, with Kate and Garrett's departure?
A few! The main one, would be Isabella's impending transformation, for sure. But also keep in mind that this is heavily slice-of-life!

Has Peter pointed out the threat that Isabella having knowledge of their world poses to them?
Yes, but you have to remember that the Cullens are part of a human community. Even if the plan was to turn Isabella themselves, they still have to wait, seeing as they would need to relocate without suspicion. In the case of the Volturi, it's not urgent. Vampires view time differently, so it would be a few years before it became an issue. In New Moon, Aro was fine with letting them go as long as the plan was to turn Bella. Seeing as Alice's vision appears to be definite, there's no real problem here.

Will Isabella and Edward be getting married?
Not in this story!

Will Garrett be the reason Isabella is turned?
Absolutely not!

If Fred comes back, will he be a love interest?
No, not for Isabella.

Will Isabella's memories fade?
Yes, this will be addressed post-transformation.

Will Isabella gain her own, unique second gift after the transformation?
Originally, no. But I've gotten this request over a dozen times now, so I'm thinking yes lol

What did Peter and Charlotte think of Isabella?
They thought she was strange lol

Will you be writing outtakes from other perspectives, such as Garrett?
As of now, no.

How long will this story be?
Right now, it's estimated at 62-65 chapters.

Banestre, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for every kind word you left (I nearly cried a couple of times.) But I felt like most of your questions were the introspective kind. If there's anything specific you wanted me to answer in your re-read, let me know! And this goes for everyone! :)

I promise to update again soon! Remember, reviews are my love language! ;)