And then Edward was there.  His arms filled the empty space around me that Jacob had just left.  His sweet breath entranced me as he whispered into my ear.

“He’ll be alright.  Come back into the light with me, please.”

I wiped away the tears a little more shrewdly than I had intended—certain that Alice would not approve of the massacre I was making of her beautiful construction—and I looked up into Edward’s piercing eyes.  He was smiling uncertainly down at me, tracing the line of my jaw, wiping away a renegade tear.

“Do you want me to go after him?” he asked. 

I knew that he would have if I had truly wanted him to, but I shook my head.  This was the way it was supposed to be.  I had found the other half of my soul.  Jacob was entitled to the lone quest for his.  My tears suddenly felt horribly greedy.

“No,” I replied, sniffling back the last of them.  I gazed up at the beautiful seventeen year old who was now my husband.  “Shouldn’t we be shoving cake into each other’s faces right about now?”

He gauged my expression for a few moments more before the crooked smile made a reappearance on his face, demolishing the last traces of my melancholy.

“I believe everyone has been waiting for our first dance.”  He held his hand out confidently. My heart sunk into my stomach.

“Oh no,” I muttered. 

I supposed I had known that it was coming—the first dance being tradition and all, but that didn’t stop the blood from rushing to my face.  It wasn’t the dance, exactly, that bothered me—Edward and I had danced before.  I had vague memories of being swirled around the room perched on his toes.  It was actually quite fun.  The problem was that, once again, I was going to be the center of attention.

Edward touched his hand to my cheek again.  “You have no idea how much I’m going to miss that,” he said, placing an arm around my waste and pulling me out on to the dance floor.  I blushed brighter when the music stopped and Alice announced our arrival to everyone. Then Edward put his hands on both my shoulders and picked me up discretely, setting me on his feet.  I felt like a princess.  A princess bride.

It wasn’t bad at all.  Edward did all the work, of course, and I held on and let him take me around the dance floor, feeding off his grace.  His eyes never left mine, and after a while, I forgot that there was anyone else in the room with us. 

“You look positively radiant, Mrs. Cullen,” he whispered, turning me particularly sharply into a move that I was absolutely positive I would never have accomplished without his impossible strength.  His voice was triumphant.  I frowned.  The term Mrs. made me feel like my mother…even my grandmother, and that was delving into a rather sore subject.

He caught the darkening of my expression and misinterpreted it.  “Jacob will be fine, Bella.  He is strong.  He has very good instincts.  He knows what he’s doing.”

My brow furrowed even more.  “That’s not what I was…”

But the subject of Jacob brought back the image of Edward wincing and trying to keep Tanya from lunging.  “Edward, what did Jacob show you before he left?”  I asked.  Edward’s jaw tightened.

“Just random images…” he whispered sourly.  “He is very good at finding just the right memories.”  He pulled me closer and we began to turn again—faster this time.

“What else?”

He looked gravely down at me.  “Jacob told me that if I ever left you alone and hurt again…” he flinched as if the possibility gave him more pain.  “He would hunt me to the ends of the Earth and kill me himself.”

“Oh,” was all I could think of in response.

I hadn’t even realized that the music had stopped until Charlie cleared his throat behind me.

“Excuse me, Edward, but can the father dance with his little girl?”

“Of course, Charlie,” Edward responded, polite as usual with only the slightest glance into my eyes to make sure his last comment had not upset me more than usual.  He glided off the dance floor, and with him went any semblance of grace and any hope that I had of not injuring myself in Alice’s heels.  Charlie grinned uneasily as I took his hand.  He was nearly as clumsy as me.  I was sure that Emmett would get a kick out of watching us stumble around.

“You really do look perfect today, Bells,” he said, not meeting my eyes.  We were both watching our feet and trying very hard not to step on anyone else’s.  “Everything is real nice.  Alice did a great job.”

“Thanks dad,” I said and stumbled slightly.  Charlie smiled.

“You know, Edward…he’s not that bad of a guy.”  His lips wrinkled into an expression of awkwardness.  I gawked.  “He just keeps earning points I don’t even want to give him.  I can’t for the life of me figure out how he convinced you to try for Dartmouth…or the scholarships, but…” He looked up at me for a minute.  My toes screamed as they gave under his weight.  “Oops!  I think he’s good for you, Bells.”

I blinked back more tears.  “Thanks dad,” I managed, and threw my arms around him.  I looked over his shoulder at Edward.  He appeared to be in conversation with Carmen and Eleazar, but I thought I saw the slightest victory smirk disappear quickly from his lips.

“Yeah,” Charlie huffed, hugging me back nervously.  “Just don’t tell him I said that.  I’d like to keep him on his toes for a while.”

Too late.

After that, it was time to cut the cake.  Edward swallowed his piece with only the slightest of sour looks, and then gently gave me mine.  Jasper and Emmet looked on with dual frowns, obviously hoping for an all out food fight…either that or imagining what would have happened if there had been a cake at any of their weddings.

Edward took me out on the dance floor after that, and when the music ended, Mike cut in.  He was surprisingly agile, but nowhere near as attentive as Edward.  I tripped four times trying to follow him around the dance floor.  He laughed.

“The first one in the class to get married, and the first one to fall and kill herself at her own reception.  That would be a great announcement at the ten year reunion!”

I scowled.  After that, dancing with Mike wasn’t that fun.  I was relieved when Emmett took over, mostly because my feet were beginning to ache and I could use another set of indestructible feet to ride on for a bit.  Emmett was chuckling under his breath. I looked suspiciously up at him.

“I was just thinking of the real announcements at the ten year.  Bella Swan married Edward Cullen.  He bit her.  She died, and they’re now living happily ever after as vampires.”  He smiled an enormous smile.  Even I heard Edward’s hiss from beyond the dance floor. Emmett swirled me to the opposite side, passing a joking smirk to Edward along the way.

Phil cut in after Emmett, looking only a bit frightened to interrupt.  After Phil came Eric, and after Eric came Tyler.  I rather enjoyed Lauren’s heated glare that followed us around the dance floor as we reminisced about prom invitations and near death experiences.  I realized that I’d had so many since that first accident that being nearly squished by a car hardly seemed worth remembering now.

My feet were in agony, and I had just made up my mind to refuse my next dance invitation and go find Edward when his lips were suddenly on my neck.  My knees buckled.  He caught me, and I felt him chuckle against my skin.

“I thought you might need a rest,” he said taking my hand and leading me slowly off the floor.  “If the blush in your cheeks becomes any greater, it may be too much for some of our…guests.”  He smiled when I looked up at him, alarmed.

“Kidding,” he assured me, and then kissed me gently.  “Are you ready to go speak to your in-laws?”

I gulped.  Edward chuckled and took my hand. 

“They’ll love you,” he reassured.  “They already do, actually.  I’ve been talking to them about you while you were dancing.”  He pulled me over to the darkest table where Carlisle and Esme sat smiling and speaking to two perfectly still figures who were seated in the shadows.  They both smiled warmly as Edward pulled out a chair for me and I sat down gratefully.

The tall, dark haired man that had been introduced as Eleazar stood and offered me his hand.  “We finally get to speak to the famous Bella,” he said genuinely.  He had the same accent as Carmen, and his expression was scrutinizing from across the table.  I balked under his gaze and any response I would have thought of left me.  Carmen seemed to notice this. She whispered something low and quick to Eleazar.  He smiled.

“I apologize, Bella, I really should explain myself,” he said.  “Edward has told us of your…talent, shall we say?  My own ability is to recognize the talents of others.  I was trying to understand your potential, but I must admit, it is a somewhat inexact science when dealing with humans.” 

“You…see talents?”  I asked tentatively. 

“Most,” he replied.

“In humans, too?”

“To a weaker extent,” he explained, and then turned to Edward.  “You’re right.  She presents an interesting conundrum.  I can see absolutely nothing, but I feel that there’s some sort of potential.”  He turned back to me, puzzling.  “You certainly are a mystery.  I can see why Edward chose you.”

I blushed.

“She is the only child I have ever seen who is more comfortable surrounded by werewolves and vampires than others of her kind… the only human to ever leave Volterra alive with full knowledge of its occupants, and the only person in existence to resist Aro, Jane, and Edward…I’d say “mystery” is a bit of an understatement.”  Carmen laughed, and her laugh brought images of warm summer nights, and the slow trilling rifts of a Spanish guitar in the distance.  It was comforting.

She wasn’t entirely correct.  I was never able to resist Edward, but I remained silent and my blush grew deeper as I searched for a subject that would take the focus off of me. Edward—ever eager to avoid any conversation on the reasons behind my strange escape from under the streets of Volterra—beat me to the punch.

“Where did Kate go?  I was hoping that Bella would be able to talk to her as well,” he asked. 

Carmen looked mildly entertained.  “Of course,” she mused.  “Bella would no doubt take an interest in Kate’s obsession.”  She looked around casually.  “She must have left for a moment with Tanya, but don’t worry, Edward.  They’ll have time to speak, the two of them…quite a bit of time, in fact.” 

She smiled slyly.  Edward’s lips became a thin line, and I recognized my cue to interrupt. 

“What is Kate’s obsession?” I asked.

“Kate was a mother when she was transformed,” explained Edward, tracing his finger casually up and down my arm and sending random chills through my entire body.  “She has followed her own familiar line for centuries.  She is in contact with many of them.”

The idea was fascinating.  I was about to ask more when Alice’s voice rang out from behind us, jovial, but insistent.

“I didn’t put up all these decorations so that you could all just sit in a corner and talk,” she scolded and then stared down at me.  She reminded me of a teacher disciplining her student, and I realized that that is exactly what she would be in a few more weeks.  “There are still at least eight people out there who haven’t danced with the bride yet…Jasper included.”

Jasper gave a resigned smile behind her and extended his hand to me.  “You know there’s no point in arguing,” he sighed.  “Will you allow me the privilege to dance with my newest sister?”

And spoken so elegantly—and accompanied by Jasper’s traditional dose of calm confidence that spread over everyone at the table, dancing suddenly seemed like a wonderful idea.  I leaned over to kiss Edward quickly on the cheek and let Jasper lead me out onto the floor.  It had been nearly empty only a minute before, but it seemed to fill up rapidly as we advanced.  Jasper grinned modestly.

“Sorry,” he muttered as we began to twirl.  “My talent isn’t exactly exclusive to one table.” 

I laughed, thankful that I was able to stand on his toes too as the song became faster and we danced easily through the crowd, appearing as if we both knew what we were doing.  I had just about convinced myself to cheat and ask Jasper what elusive place his brother had planned for our honeymoon when Edward appeared at our side with Alice right behind him.  They were both extremely pale and both wore identical expressions of stony panic.  Both Jasper and I recognized what had happened at once.

“What did you see?”  Jasper asked.  Alice flashed to his side and was whispering to him in a tone not meant for human ears.  The confidence that had been floating over the room was transformed instantly into a fresh barrage of anxiety.  Many guests stopped dancing for a moment.  Smiles disappeared from nearly everyone’s face.

“Jasper,” Edward warned quietly, his jaw clenched and his eyes fixed on me. The anxiety disappeared. I turned, frustrated to Edward.

“What happened?”  I demanded.   He stared at me, debating. 

“No secrets, remember!”

A resigned sigh escaped his lips.  “We have to go for a while.  It seems that Tanya was more offended by Jacob’s actions than thought.  There is the possibility of a confrontation.”

A cold chill flew up my spine, causing goose bumps to form on my exposed arms and neck.  I turned to Alice, determined.  “What did you see?” 

“Nothing,” she hissed.  “You know I can’t see anything when the dogs are involved.  I saw her looking for them, and then…well, nothing!”  She seemed extremely frustrated by this fact.

“Where?”  I demanded again.

“Not far from here,” Edward answered.  “We won’t be gone long.”

“I’m going with you!”  I insisted.  If my best friend was about to be mutilated by my vampire husband’s bitter prospect ex-girlfriend, then I was going to be there to do everything I could to stop it!  There wasn’t time for it to occur to me that my life was beginning to resemble a very strange soap opera.

Predictably, Edward protested, but not-so-predictably, Alice put a hand on his shoulder and stopped the argument before it began. 

“You know I saw her with us, Edward, and she’s the only one the wolf boy will listen to,” she argued.  I had been preparing to make my argument and my mouth was now frozen in the act of pronouncing the first words of it.

“I will not put her in the middle of this.  I will not lose the love of my life on our wedding day because of a petty feud between two intolerant…”

The knowingly smug look on my face caused him to stop in mid-sentence.  It had not been very long ago at all that the feud had not seemed so petty to him.

“Oh!”  Alice exclaimed, her eyes going blank for a moment, and then filling with fresh terror.  “We need to go now!”

I looked stubbornly from Edward to Alice.  There was a moment of tense silence, and then Edward snarled resentfully.

“I’ll have to carry you when we’re out of sight of the party,” he instructed. 

The triumph from my win was overcome by fear for my friend.

“Let’s go,” I said grimly.