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Chapter 12: Vows

With one fluid movement, Alice had pinned me down on a chair and began to apply the eyeliner.
“Don’t struggle” she warned. “I might poke your eye out.”  I stopped wiggling immediately, and my body went limp. Her face was triumphant as she glided the black stick along my bottom lashes. She was not yet dressed, but I assumed it would not take her long. Both Rosalie and Alice were my bridesmaids, and they had chosen-against my wishes- the red dress. I had wanted the turquoise. But Alice and Rosalie had ganged up on me and the vote was unanimous.

“When are-” I began.
“Don’t talk” She ordered, interrupting me.
Her face was inches from mine, making sure I didn’t mess her up. When she was done applying the lipstick called “A Night on The Town”, I decided it was safe to talk.
“When are the others coming up?” I attempted again.
“In a bit” She held up a tissue to my lips, “Blot.” Alice commanded. I didn’t dare disobey; I pressed my lips firmly to the tissue then released. She swept a neutral eye shadow across my top lid. Then she pulled something small and metal from her bag. “I need you to hold very still.”
My eyes widened in horror, wondering what that contraption was for. I began weighing the probability of my chances to be able to reach the door; they didn’t look good.
“Don’t even think about it.” She laughed.
“What is that for?” I motioned with my eyes to the metal item in her hand.
“It’s for your eyelashes.”  She sighed, obviously annoyed with my lack of knowledge when it came to the “girly” stuff.
“You’re going to tear them out?” My hands instinctively shot to my eyes, shielding them from Alice.
“No.” Her tone was flat. “I’m going to curl them. Now would you please lower your hands, you’re messing up your eyes shadow.” She complained.
I let my hands drop gracelessly into my lap as she clamped down on my eyelashes. I could feel my eyes beginning to tear because of the shortage of blinking. It was like a torture chamber. If a foreign country ever needed the enemy to talk, all they had to do was call Alice and have her do their makeup.

“See? That wasn’t so bad was it?” It was like she was talking to a child who had just received their fist shot. I mumbled something unpleasant under my breath and she shot me a dirty look.
“Just for that” she smiled an evil grin. “I’m going to curl your hair.” I rolled my eyes dramatically, but didn’t argue. I knew there was no point; and if I tried to make a run for it one more time, Alice would tie me to the chair. It surprised me that she hadn’t done it already.

The steam jetting from hot round iron burned my scalp as she twisted strands of hair around the barrel. She was humming an unfamiliar tune as she worked.
“So have you written your vows?” She prodded.
“No” I gasped. I hadn’t written them yet. I had forgotten to. Alice must have known that, or she wouldn’t have asked.
“Having trouble with what to write?”
“Yes.” And it wasn’t a lie. I knew that I loved Edward more than anything. But it seemed impossible to fit everything I felt for him into one vow. I could feel Alice’s eyes on my face.
“Just write what he means to you, Bella. Whatever you end up saying, it will be perfect.” She reassured me. It was times like these that I really loved Alice. She was the big sister that I never had.

“All right, I’m finished.” She took a step back to admire her work. Her eyes shined with delight, and I didn’t quite know if that was a good thing. It felt like my eyelids weighed one thousand pounds due to the vast amount of mascara they had viciously been exposed to. I lifted myself carefully from the little stool, afraid that any moment Alice would decide that she wasn’t quite finished and force me back down. But when I was sure it was safe, I staggered over to examine the damage. It was worse than I thought; Alice had actually done a good job. Her face turned smug when she noticed my grin of approval in the mirror.
“Thanks” I murmured. She cupped her palm to her ear as if she couldn’t hear what I said; though we both new that she could.
“Thank you.” I repeated a little louder.
“You’re very welcome. Now I suppose I should let you get started on your vows, but you haven’t got much time. I’ll be back with Esme, Rosalie, and Renée in about thirty minutes.” My face turned white at this sudden news, but she ignored it. “By the way, Charlie brought you some of your clothes; I told him that wasn’t necessary but nevertheless I’ve placed them on the bed for you.” Then she left without further explanation.

My heart thudded anxiously in my chest. At any moment now, I was sure that it would explode. What was I going to write? I scrambled around the room in search of pen and paper. When I finally found some, I plopped down on the couch and began to write. Anything and everything that reminded me of Edward, I wrote. In the end, I came out with the final piece. It only skimmed the surface of how Edward made me feel, but it was the best explanation I had. Folding up the piece of paper, I ambled over to the bed to put away the clothes Charlie had brought. He didn’t know how to pack, that was for sure. I ended up with three shirts, one pair of jeans and two pairs of socks that didn’t match. I rolled my eyes, at least he had tried. When I picked up the jeans something small had fallen from one of the pockets. I leaned over to pick it up but stopped when I noticed what it was: a bracelet.
Fastened securely to the silver chain was a crystal heart and sitting out of place on the opposite side was a tiny wooden wolf. I could feel my eyes welling up with tears, but immediately fought them back. Alice would literally kill me if I were to mess up my makeup. My fingers toyed with the intricately carved wolf, tracing the tiny lines. After a long moment, I wrapped it around my right wrist and clasped it in place. The act of wearing the bracelet brought with it a sense of peace. It reminded me how things used to be. And even though I knew it was silly and juvenile; I felt that if I wore it, everything would return to the way they should be. It wasn’t a solution but it was the best I had.

I jumped at the sudden appearance of snowy white figure that stood statuesque before me. Alice had crept silently to my side, and standing by the door were the rest of her partners in crime: Rosalie, Esme and Renée. All of them fully dressed.
“What happened to your red dresses?” I questioned skeptically. Both Alice and Rosalie were clothed in the little turquoise number that I had requested they wear.
“What are you talking about Bella?” Rosalie winked, sashaying to join Alice. “This is the dress you wanted, right?”
“Yes but-”
“Then what is the problem?” Alice accused, interrupting my rebuttal.
“Nothing, I just thought that-”
“Time to put your dress on.” She interrupted again, talking over me. On of her slender eyebrows raised as if to dare me to refuse. What were they up to? They couldn’t have possibly changed their mind. But perhaps they had. Either way, they were wearing the dress that I had picked out. I had this funny feeling in my stomach, Alice had actually done something I wanted her to do.

Esme and Renée carried the dress over towards me – Esme supporting the top while Renée protected the bottom from dragging on the ground.
Everyone’s eyes were beaming and that did not exclude my own.
“Alright” -Renée’s voice was smooth- “It’s time.”
They had insisted that I change there, but I vehemently refused. In the end, it was only Renée and Alice who were allowed to assist me in the bathroom with my dress.
“You look absolutely breathtaking.” Renée had exclaimed after the gown was securely in place. I turned to the mirror to observe the final project. She was right, and for the first time since I had known Edward, it felt like we were equal; like I had the right to stand next to him now. The heart hung loosely but majestically from my neck. When I returned to the bedroom, I was immediately swarmed with compliments from both Rosalie and Esme.
“Okay everyone, I think it’s time you go downstairs and take your seats. I still have some last minute primping to do with her.” I stared at her with and expression of mock horror painted on my face. She ignored that.

Once again, I was sitting in the makeup chair of death. If Alice seriously put any more makeup on my face, Edward really would be marrying a clown. But, she didn’t; she sat silently on the bed and looked directly into my eyes.
“Alice?” I asked self-consciously. What was she staring at? Her expression was wary, torn like she didn’t know how to break the news to me. But she eventually spoke.
“I think you should know something?” she said. “No. no. It’s nothing like that.” She added in defense of my widening eyes. I immediately relaxed and nodded my head once to single that it was safe to continue.
“You know just a few months ago, when you and Edward were planning to go to Vegas?”
“Yes...Why?” I mumbled hesitantly, afraid of the words that she was about to speak. And at the time, I was truly considering it.
“And then he jokingly suggested that Emmett could get his clerical license off the internet?”
It was silent for a short moment when I realized she was waiting for an answer.
“Yes.” I repeated a little less cautious this time.
“Well...” She began. And I could hear the clink in my brain as I put the pieces together. I smiled and Alice’s face twisted with confusion from my reaction. Her perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowed together and her eyes narrowed.
“Emmett is going to be the one marring Edward and me isn’t he?” The short laugh that escaped my mouth was more amused than shocked. She nodded silently, scrutinizing my mood, making sure it was genuine.
“You’re not mad? You didn’t want a formal minister?” She hedged. But her eyebrows had relaxed and her forehead had gone back to the smooth marble, all traces of fear wiped away.
“Alice.” I reprimanded her. “You’re way too dramatic when it comes to this sort of thing.”
“Hump.” She retorted. And I could tell that the discussion was over by the defeated look in her eyes. She obviously did not approve of this, no doubt about that.
“It’s time to get you downstairs.” She said after taking a quick glance at the clock. Her tone was surprisingly  playful.

                                                       ***

Taking my hand gently in her own, she led me down the winding staircase and to the backdoor. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Alice eyeing the bracelet, but she didn’t say anything. Charlie was fidgeting nervously with his tie as we approached.
“Good luck.” She told me in farewell and went to stand next to Rosalie in the backyard.
Peeking out the door, I could see four white chairs draped in turquoise ribbon. Emmett took his place behind the podium while talking to Jasper. Esme, Carlisle and Renée were already sitting down. Edward stood in front of them, he had an aura of calm about him as he smiled politely when spoken to. His stance was confident but subtle underneath his black tuxedo.
“Everyone ready?” Emmett called, motioning for people to take their positions. Alice and Rosalie stood a little ways to the left while Jasper mirrored them. Edward took his rightful place in the middle, waiting for the music to begin.
“This is it Bells.” Charlie whispered in my ear. He wrapped his arm in mine. Like Alice, I saw him observe the bracelet. When he realized I had noticed, he quickly averted his eyes.

The music had started and we began to make the walk down the grassy aisle. Alice had not forced me to wear her version of the perfect wedding shoe. There was no fear of the heel getting lodged into the ground, and it saved me the embarrassing story. Charlie’s breathing was ragged as he fought back the tears. Edward’s face glowed. He never took his eyes from mine. When I had reached the front of the aisle, I turned and kissed Charlie on the cheek. “Thanks” I whispered. “For everything.” He nodded, then turned to Edward. His hand outstretched. Edward met it firmly.
“You take care of my little girl.”  It wasn’t a warning or a threat but more of a request.
“I will, Sir.” He vowed. With one last fleeting glance at me, Charlie turned wistfully around and took his seat next to Renée.

“You look beautiful.” Edward muttered in my ear. He gently took my hand in his as we turned to face Emmett’s wide grin.
He cleared his throat before he began. “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God – and in the face of this company – to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is commended to be honorable among all men; and therefore – is not by any – to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly – but reverently, discreetly, advisedly and solemnly. Into this holy estate these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together – let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”
It was silent for a moment, then he continued. “We will now proceed with the vows. Edward?” he nodded towards his brother.
His hand squeezed my fingers gently. He paused, took a deep breath and began.

“My dearest Bella. You are my life and my song. Until I found you, I knew not love
You are the reason behind my breathing. You are the light that keeps me here.
I will never cease to love you. I want you for today tomorrow and forever. And if you will have me, I will belong to you for eternity.”  He recited it flawlessly and entirely from memory. The words flowed like velvet from his lips. My eyes flooded with tears. And they ran silently down my cheek.

“Bella.” Emmett encouraged smoothly. Oh no! I had forgotten the paper upstairs. I felt a light tap on my bare shoulder and turned around. Alice grinned and held up a small folded piece of paper. “Thanks” I mouthed. My hands were shaky as I unfolded it; my stomach felt as if it were doing back flips. What if I didn’t say something right? I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment to compose myself. When I opened them again, I was ready.

“Edward. My life is not complete without you in it. I give myself to you. You are my Romeo. You are my heart, and I cannot live without my heart. What we have is more than love.
You are my destiny. And for eternity I am yours.”

When I had finished, I looked up to meet his eyes. They were gentle, compassionate.
His crooked smile adding to his beauty.
“The rings?” Emmett beckoned. Both Alice and Jasper handed us the designated wedding bands. Emmett seemed to be taking this quite seriously. Alice had probably threatened him.
He looked at both of us before he began again.

“Do you Edward Anthony Mason Cullen take this ring to be symbol of your love for her.”
He looked intensely into my eyes. “Yes.” He said without breaking my gaze.
“Please place the ring on his finger.” Emmett said to me.
I gently lifted his long elegant left hand and slid the ring onto his third finger. With the same hand he brushed away a lingering tear from cheek.
Emmett turned his head slightly to face me.
“Do you Isabella Marie Swan take this ring to be symbol of your love for him.” This was it. After I uttered these next two words, I was his forever. I took one last glance at my parents. But something caught my eye in the shadow. A tall figure stood looming in the darkness of the trees. I could faintly make out the outline of its muddled silhouette. It was Jacob. He didn’t move, just waited, watching.
“I do.” I confirmed tearing my eyes from the forest and meeting Edward’s still exuberant but newly curious eyes. He carefully slid the ring onto my finger where it joined the other. They complimented each other well.
“Well, kiss her!” Emmett boomed, grinning and throwing his hands enthusiastically in the air. He was no loner the sophisticated minister that we was two minutes ago. He had gone from Emmett the minister to Emmett the brother in a split second.

Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his chest. His eyes met mine for a brief second and then I found myself gasping for air. When he pulled away, his smile reached from ear to ear. We didn’t have much time to ourselves, all the while everyone was congratulating us. Every now and again, I would see Edward peeking over at me from his conversation and I smiled. For the remainder of the afternoon, I only let my mind drift over Jacob once. Wondering why he had come and where he had disappeared to. But for the moment, that was irrelevant. Right now, everything was perfect. Everything had gone as planned and I had no worries or cares in the world. My smile was genuine and lighthearted. And by this time tomorrow, I would have the rest of eternity to worry about that.