"Bella! Mi bella principessa, Isabella!"
Bella blushed and hid her flaming cheeks beneath her hand. "Alice, can you stop calling me that?"
Alice tilted her head to the side with a small smile, "Why? Edward calls you that. Plus I'm practicing my already stellar Italian. You can't deny me that."
Bella turned to her right and looked imploringly at Rosalie for help. Rose was looking suave and relaxed in the store they were currently looking through. Rosalie smirked and shook her head clearly saying 'defend yourself against the pixie.' Bella carefully rotated her body so that she was angled towards the mirror and didn't fall off the three-by-three pedestal.
Despite their new home, Bella's skin still repelled the sun and her complexion was as pale as ever. The dress Bella had on at the moment didn't help said complexion. The dress was very old-fashioned. The corset at the back was classic and though there were straps on both sides of the dress, they hung against Bella's upper arms fashionably. The dress was simple enough but Bella loved it. After all, Alice had made it just for her. It was an inspired replica of what Taylor Swift had worn in her music video for Love Story and Alice had been convinced that it was the dress for Bella's big day.
In the past few months a lot had gone down.
Bella's case had gone to trial and Tanya had been accused of aiding in Bella's attempted murder. Unfortunately, Tanya pleaded innocent and there wasn't enough to hold her there so she had been let go after a restraining order was placed on her. Tanya could not travel within 500 yards of any of the Cullens, Bella or Bella's mother or their places of residence.
Bella and the Cullens had moved to Europe of all places. Since all of the kids decided to be home-schooled for their last year of schooling, they were able to travel around Europe for a bit, visiting different countries before settling down just outside of Volterra, Italy. The walled-in city was peaceful and not too far from Florence and other cities and living just outside of Volterra meant that Jake could have an open yard to run around in.
When the Cullens had decided to settle in Italy, Edward had brought Bella into Volterra for a candle-lit dinner and walk through the cobble-stone streets. They came up to the water fountain in the town square when Edward had pulled them to a stop. "Bella, I love you."
The sunset had cast pink and orange hues that played across Bella's pale face as she smiled. "I love you too Edward."
"I have a question for you."
Bella's brown brow rose in intrigue. "Okay. Ask me then."
Edward took a slight step back and reached into the pocket of his light jacket before going down on bended knee, still holding one of Bella's hands in his own. "Bella, I can't imagine an hour without you, let alone the rest of my life. Would you give me the honour of being your husband?"
"You mean...?" Bella trailed off in astonishment.
Edward nodded and opened the ring box. "Will you marry me?"
"Yes," she agreed with all her heart. Edward removed the ring from the box and slid it onto Bella's ring finger. She wrapped her arms around Edward in a heartfelt embrace and they kissed like no one was watching.
The two were blissfully in love and set their wedding for September 14th. Edward was seemingly more excited about being married than Bella, which surprised everyone. They went house hunting in July and found a small cottage a few minutes from the Cullen house. The ultimate test, however, was that of Edward's love of Jake after the couple had bought the house and moved in. There was a small forest that opened up into the empty lot next to the house. One night Jake had run off into the forest and hadn't returned until the next night, worrying Bella beyond anything else at the time.
Edward though wasn't upset with Jake for gallivanting off. He had been upset that Jake had brought back a few more wolves with him when he returned. That has been a mess in itself. Gradually more wolves started to frequent the lot beside their house and get used to the young couple and Jake. Surprisingly, the canines actually liked Edward more than Bella.
When September came, the Cullens were all hectic with wedding plans and Bella had her final dress fitting with Alice. Nothing needed to be altered – everything was a perfect fit (though it hadn't been during the last ten fitting sessions that the pixie-like Alice had tortured her through.
Finally, it was sunset on September 14th. Bella and Edward's wedding took place on a nearby beach because it was still warm at that time of year. Bella had been walked forward through the small procession of guests by her mother and she stood face to face with Edward about to make the biggest commitment of her life. The minister spoke English with a heavy Italian accent that seemed to add to the atmosphere of the wedding ceremony.
The vows came up and Edward said "I do," without any hesitation. Then the minister turned to Bella and repeated the vow. She found herself staring into the eyes of the man she had found beaten and cold in the gutter; the eyes of the first man to appreciate her for who she was; the eyes of the first man since her father to be concerned about her well-being; the eyes of her once-broken paramour; the green, soulful eyes of Edward Cullen.
"...Until death do you part?" she heard the minister ask.
"I do."