~Epilogue~

Everyone fluttered around in a flurry of activity as they worked to get the last of the wedding preparations together. Personally, I didn't understand all the hoo-ha just over a small, quiet wedding. The only people attending were my new family and a couple of their friends, the Denali Coven. Over my many years as a vampire, U had never met anyone who I had formed a lasting relationship with. The only other person…

"Bella?" Edward called, his voice ringing through the rooms of the large house. My answering giggle came from the living room where I was sitting atop his grand piano. In an instant, his god-like form was beside me, seated on the bench, his hands hovering over the keys. "I wanted to ask you something," he said quietly but instead of voicing his question, he launched into the lullaby he had been working on for decades. Since being with me again, he had been able to add more to the composition, although it was nowhere near finished. I suspected it would be used to tell the story of our lives and he would continue adding to it as our lives went on.

"What did you want to ask me?" I asked softly, laying back on the piano top, letting the soft chords wash over me.

"I was wondering…for the wedding…" –he was distracted, concentrating on his music—"if you wanted your father…to walk you down the aisle." His golden eyes snapped up to meet mine as I shot upright, entirely on edge.

I hadn't seen my father since he had first changed me into what I was now, when I had woken up after my three days and he was gone. I hadn't tried to find him either, although I knew he was probably out there somewhere. Truthfully, I hadn't really thought about him all that much. He was just a piece of my past that I didn't care to hold on to.

"Why?" I managed to choke out, my throat constricting as memories I had long since buried flew through my mind.

"To walk you down the aisle. Your father is meant to do that." He said it as if I was simple, that I didn't know that.

"Carlisle's walking me down the aisle." My voice was weak and not the strong, assuring sound I had meant it to be but it still held the meaning. Carlisle was my father. To me, Charles was dead, even though some part of my former father was still wandering around somewhere.

"Ok." His hand reached out to grasp mine, our matching set of eyes locking as he held my gaze, nodding softly. His hand squeezed mine quickly as I nodded my assent and then went back to his playing.

. . .

Despite that small ing-bing over my ex-father, the wedding preparations had gone without a hitch. I had been given one task and one task only: get the dress.

While going through Edward's closet one day I had found an old dress of mine. Seeing the dress again had reawaken memories I had long since forgotten. It was a deep midnight blue colour, made almost entirely of silk that flowed around me when I used to wear it. The dress had been Edward's favourite on me, which was probably why he kept it. He said it looked heavenly on me. When I'd told Alice and Rose about it, they had been insistent: I was wearing the dress for my wedding. Alice had been a little disappointed that she didn't get to design my dress herself but I for one was glad. It meant I got to wear a dress that both me and my soon-to-be husband both loved, but also didn't have to endure wearing some horrible white puffy thing in front of my family.

But, I had to work out a way to get the dress out of Edward's room and into Alice's without him noticing, because the girls both insisted that it had to be a surprise. It wasn't very hard hiding Alice and Rosalie's thoughts; I just threw a shield over them – something I had slowly developed with Carlisle – and Edward couldn't get a read on them. He knew something was up but not what, and it didn't really matter that he was suspicious. But it was harder to disguise the scent of the dress because it might alert Edward if he realized it was missing. With that done, I had nothing else to do and just had to sit tight until the wedding. And now it was finally here. The day I officially gave myself to Edward – the day I officially became a Masen, a Cullen.

Alice bustled into the room, looking anxious. She frowned over at where I lay on the couch, reading a book.

"Shower," she ordered, pointing at the ensuite door. I dropped my book and started the shower water. When I emerged, Alice grabbed a hair dryer while Rose helped me into my dress. Then they pushed me down in front of the vanity and started fixing my hair and makeup. It was tedious and annoying and I just ignored them for the most part. Finally, they were finished and, glancing at the clock by the door, I saw we only had ten minutes to go.

Like magic, Carlisle appeared in the doorway, looking devastatingly in a black suit, his blond hair slicked down.

"Is everyone in position?" Alice queried him. He nodded and she replied with. "Okay good. Five minutes, Bella, then we gotta get down there." It was then that the nerves should have kicked in – but they didn't. I had waited so long to marry the man of my dreams that I just couldn't get nervous about finally doing so.

At Alice's instruction, Carlisle offered his arm to me. I took it and we started down the stairs, Alice and Rose close behind, heading for the garden where the ceremony was taking place. At the door, Alice stopped us. As she made a quick fix to my hair with one hand, she waved Rose off with the other. Alice was my only bridesmaid and Rose was going to play the piano, seeing as Edward couldn't.

I gripped Carlisle's arm as the music started playing. He patted my hand comfortingly, smiling lovingly down at me. And then we stepped out into the sunlight.

xXEdwardXx

My eyes fixed on the spot as she stepped out from the doorway and into the sunlight. Diamond like light shone from her pale skin in tiny facets and I watched, entranced, as she linked her arm with Carlisle's and let him lead her down the aisle, the music coming from the piano barely registering in my mind.

It wasn't until she got a lot closer that I realized exactly what she was wearing, and it made me smile, even more than I was already. The blue silk dress flowed around her and I instantly recognized it as the one I had kept for so many years. I briefly wondered how she had known it was there, but it didn't matter. The fact that she was in it and looking heavenly was all that mattered.

Before I could really understand what was happening, Bella and Carlisle had reached us. The both smiled up at me, Bella positively beaming, as Carlisle handed her arm over to me. I took it without hesitation and Bella stepped lightly to my side. We turned together to Emmett, all decked out in his priest's outfit and I saw Bella had to catch herself to keep from laughing out loud at the sight of him.

He cleared his throat, looking a bit annoyed at Bella's obvious amusement but carrying on nonetheless.

"Marriage is a supreme sharing of experience, and an adventure in the most intimate of human relationships," he began, raising his hands upwards in true Emmett fashion. "It is the joyous union of two people whose comradeship and mutual understanding have flowered in romance. Today Edward and Bella proclaim their love and commitment to the world, and we gather here to rejoice, with and for them, in the new life they now undertake together.

"The joy we feel now is a solemn joy, because the act of marriage has many consequences, both social and personal. Marriage requires "love," a word we often use with vagueness and sentimentality. We may assume that love is some rare and mystical event, when in fact it is our natural state of being.

"So what do we mean by love? When we love, we see things other people do not see. We see beneath the surface, to the qualities which make our beloved special and unique. To see with loving eyes, is to know inner beauty . And to be loved is to be seen, and known, as we are known to no other. One who loves us, gives us a unique gift: a piece of ourselves, but a piece that only they could give us.

"We who love, can look at each other's life and say, "I touched his life," or, "I touched her life," just as an artist might say, "I touched this canvas." "Those brushstrokes in the comer of this magnificent mural, those are mine. I was a part of this life, and it is a part of me." Marriage is to belong to each other through a unique and diverse collaboration, like two threads crossing in different directions, yet weaving one tapestry together."

I think I speak for my entire family as well as the Denali's when I say we were shocked speechless. It's not that we don't know Emmett is smart, we all do, but sometimes his fun-loving personality and idiotic actions made us forget. So, it shocked us all, especially Bella, who had underestimated him the most, when Emmett was able to deliver such an eloquent speech, that he had written himself. He was still going though—

"The secret of love and marriage is similar to that of religion itself. It is the emergence of the larger self. It is the finding of one's life by losing it. Such is the privilege of husband and wife - to be each himself, herself and yet another; to face the world strong, with the courage of two."

I looked down at Bella and my clasped hands, smiling softly as I thought through the truth of his words. She met my eyes half way and they were swimming with un-shed tears as she smiled up at me, so full of love. As Emmett began the last little bit of his speech, my eyes held my love's as we stared deep into each other's, showing our undying love.

"To make this relationship work, therefore, takes more than love. It takes trust, to know in your hearts that you want only the best for each other. It takes dedication, to stay open to one another, to learn and grow, even when it is difficult to do so. And it takes faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds for you both. While love is our natural state of being, these other qualities are not as easy to come by. They are not a destination, but a journey.

"The true art of married life is in this an inner spiritual journey. It is a mutual enrichment, a give and take between two personalities, a mingling of two endowments which diminishes neither, but enhances both." His hands clasped together and bowed his head. When he looked up again, a smug smirk played across his face as he took in our surprised expressions. Before any of us could say anything though, he launched into the next part of the ceremony.

"Do you, Bella, take Edward to be your partner in all things, to love and trust, care for and cherish?"

"Yes, with all my heart," Bella said, smiling up at me. Emmett then turned to me.

"Do you, Edward, take Bella to be your partner in all things, to love and trust, care for and cherish?"

"Yes, with all my soul," I said feverishly, squeezing Bella's hand in mine. Emmett beckoned over to Jasper and he approached with two golden wedding rings on a pillow. I took both Bella's hands, turning towards her. "Two flames, one light. Bella, I offer you this ring as a sign of life, and myself as your husband and your forever. Let us walk together always, and let us always walk towards the light." I held her hand and slipped the ring onto her ring finger. She stared at it amazement, entranced by eight glittering topaz's cut into the gold. "Each topaz represents a member of our family, joined together in love," I told her, tracing the gems.

Jasper handed Bella the other ring and she turned back to me. "Where there has been cold, you have brought warmth; where my life was dark, you have brought light. Edward, I pledge before this assembled company to be your wife from this day forward. Let us make of our two lives one life, and let us always honor and respect each other." She slid the ring onto my finger, smiling so brightly it almost hurt. Hand in hand, we turned back to Emmett.

"Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be sanctuary to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no isolation for you. Now there is no more loneliness. Now you are two, but there is only one life in front of you. I pronounce you husband and wife, o now and enter into the days of your togetherness. You may kiss the bride."

I pulled Bella to me and, under the cheers of my family and friends, sealed our fate with the fire of a kiss.

X-x-o-x-X

Huh, bet you didn't see that coming; an update!? Impossible! I want to apologize for that. I said I would update just after Christmas. It is now the end of March. That is…three months. I am so sorry! Just…life happened. Some…really bad stuff that I don't even want to think about (so I don't, cause it's still going) and I haven't been in the mood to write anything. I'm sorry. Slowly, I'm getting back into writing and not just reading. And to help start it off, I have a new story:

Volturi School For Gifted Youths: Bella Swan, newest pupil at Volturi School, is having the time of her life at her new school with her roommate Alice and her friend Emmett, mentor Esme, ice-bitch Rosalie and her mysterious father Jasper and the annoyingly arrogant boy, Edward. But things are about to get interesting when she discovers a power unheard of for thousands of years and unravels a plot that could destroy the school and vampire life as we know it.

And that is it! Thanks for reading, sorry for waiting, please review.