Yuletide Canticle: Epilogue
EPILOGUE
3 1/2 Years Later
Today Bella Cullen nee Swan was going to die for all intents and purposes, Bella thought. Her beloved husband would bite her in several places, injecting his venom into her bloodstream, which would burn through to all of her organs and bodily systems and change her into a Cullen in every sense of the word. Finally, they would be honoring the unspoken promise they had made to the Volturi when they had allowed her to live four years before when they learned definitively that she knew their secret. This would be the culmination of the vision Alice had seen the day Bella had met Edward, when their lives had collided and been forever changed.
Just a week prior, they had graduated Magna and Summa Cum Laude from Harvard in their chosen fields. Their futures were bright by human standards, but despite the awards and accolades that had been bestowed upon them, they both cherished what was about to happen more. Bella would become immortal, like her husband… strong, unbreakable, agile, and indefatigable. No longer would she be puny, breakable, clumsy, and unable to protect herself. There was still a tinge of fear for her regarding the unknown. Would she be able to ingest blood, given her aversion to blood as a human? Would she like it? Edward had assured her that the thirst would undoubtedly override every previous inclination she had ever had and there would be no problem feeding when the time came.
Bella looked forward most of all to not having her husband frantic with worry about her all the time, given her fragile state as a human. Her kidnapping three and a half years ago had made him even more protective than he had been before. Edward had never let her out of his sight after that, and she'd felt literally claustrophobic. However, she also felt loved and cherished more than any woman in the world.
Renee, Charlie, and surprisingly Jacob and Leilani had flown out to their graduation. Jake and Leilani had been married in June following the daring rescue he and the Cullens had made, and it was on that journey that he'd met Leilani. The Cullens had been allowed on the reservation at LaPush for the first time ever for their wedding. The Blacks were now Bella and Edward's best couple friends whose last names weren't Cullen. Renee and Charlie had been over the moon that their little girl had gotten an Ivy League education. Bella savored the time with them, knowing that it would be, perhaps the final time she would see them for quite some time… if ever again. She and Edward were still quibbling over what they would be told. Her kidnapping had taken so much out of them, she didn't want to cause them any further undue pain.
Bella had been talking to her dad the night before they would be leaving Cambridge, when she got a reassurance of sorts that they would be fine. Renee had gone to bed early, and Edward was assumed to be asleep, but Bella knew that he was out hunting with Jasper and Emmett. Charlie had finished up watching highlights on ESPN, and she had baked some banana nut bread for them to have the next morning before her parents took their flight out. She had been taking the steaming loaf out of the oven when her dad had joined her in the kitchen.
"Gee, Bells. That smells damned good," Charlie said, rubbing his belly, which had become slightly rounded due to his steady diet of Vitamin R and steak.
"Well, if you can wait for it to cool just a little, I think I can let you have a slice tonight," she teased. "I was going to put on some tea for myself. Would you like some?"
"Yeah, if you got regular Pekoe. I can't stand that Chamomile stuff you and your mom rave over."
Bella laughed, as she put on the kettle. "Sure thing." She gestured toward the other side of the breakfast nook, where she was taking a seat. "Take a load off until the water is ready."
Charlie sat his hulking form on the tiny leather bench across from her. Bella smiled at how uncomfortable he looked trying to get settled on the seat. "We can go into the dining room, if you like," she offered.
Charlie shifted the bench out from the table a bit, giving his stomach a little more room. "This is fine now," he said breathing a sigh of relief. Then he cleared his throat and asked her a surprising question.
"So, tell me again why we won't be seeing you kids for a while. Are you going off the planet, or something, because last I heard they still have planes that can get you most anywhere you wanna go, these days?"
"Edward is going to be doing research in Antarctica, and I'm going with him. You know that conditions are such that once you're there-you're there until either your study is done or someone comes in that can give you a ride back," Bella answered by rote.
"Now, I'm not a scientist by any means, but I've seen enough of them National Geographic Explorer shows to know that they rotate you out of there every so often for sanity's sake, or something," Charlie said matter-of-factly. Busted!
Bella realized, it was time to tell him what she had planned the night before she was kidnapped. It was ironic that Edward wasn’t there when their tentative cover story had been obliterated by her Dad’s simple layman’s logic. "Dad," she said resignedly, "you know I love you and Mom very much, and I would never purposely deceive you, but there are some things about my husband and his family that I can't ever share with you, and in a few days, there will be something about me that I won't be able to share with you."
"If it's something illegal, I don't want to know, anyway," he said. "I turned my head once when Edward and his father convinced me that I shouldn't go to the FBI about your kidnapping, and I still think somebody should have gone to jail on that deal besides that lesser charge that Stewart was convicted on."
They might not have gone to a human jail, but the Denali coven was doing a sentence of a half a century of servitude to the Volturi in Italy. Kate and Irina would get time served for good behavior since they were not as complicit in the commission of the act as their sister, but Tanya would have to serve all of her time. Joaquin Stewart had been taken back to the reservation at La Push, and the Shaman had removed his ability to phase into a werewolf from him. With that went his strength and longevity. However, he was arrested three months after Jake and Leilani were married on an armed robbery charge. He was currently serving a 20-year mandatory sentence courtesy of the Washington State Department of Corrections.
"I promise it's not anything illegal, Dad. We'll just need some time for me to become acclimated to my new life as a Cullen in every sense of the word," Bella said, using the catchphrase that had become their mantra over the last several weeks. "When that happens, Dad, there will come a time when we probably won't be able to visit you and Mom anymore." She had wanted to say it and not have an emotional reaction, but traitorous tears began to spill down her cheeks before she could get the words out good.
Charlie's face screwed up the moment he saw her tears falling, and he was working hard to keep his eyes dry. He reached across the narrow table and dried her tears with the pads of his thumbs. "I always knew there was something weird about the Cullens. But my guess is that it's weird in a good way if you're willing to give up everything to be like them. I know that Edward loves you more than anything. That boy moved heaven and earth to get you well, and you should have seen him when you went missing. I thought I cried when your mom threatened to leave me, but he was like a wounded animal. That tiny little sister of his was the only one who could console him. Then he searched day and night for you, bringing in all kinds of private investigators. Whoever took you covered their tracks so well, the Forks PD couldn't get any firm leads. But Edward and his team didn’t give up. When you were found, I wasn’t surprised. It was like he had some otherworldly powers or something working in his favor."
Bella shed a few more tears when she heard how broken Edward had been when Tanya had taken her. They had avoided that subject as much as possible when she returned, but now she knew what it had done to him and finally she understood why he had become even more obsessed with protecting her.
"Dad, when you and Mom get home, go talk to Billy and Jacob. The Quileutes can explain everything and answer all your questions. We are bound in a way that they are not," she said simply.
Charlie caressed her cheek and smiled as if to say, that was enough for him, for now. The teapot whistled, and Bella got up to make their tea and cut the banana bread.
Her eyes grew moist just remembering that exchange between her and her father. Now, they were all convened in the Cullen home outside Cambridge, preparing for her passage from human to vampire like it was a religious ritual. All the Cullens were gathered, and as they had conceded to Aro when they'd met to negotiate her change, Felix and Demetri were also present and would take the news first hand back to their master.
Bella was dressed in what Alice had selected as her "change outfit," lying prone on a leather examination table. The dress was a simple white Victorian-style gown that reminded Bella of baptismal gowns that were worn in Catholic baptism services. Leave it to Alice to make this as festive as she could through her penchant for planning.
Edward and Rosalie wore the most solemn faces of the group. Edward was concerned about the pain he would have to inflict on her, and Rosalie was sure that Bella would regret, as she had so long ago, losing the ability to be human and bear children and live a regular normal life. When Bella had returned to Cambridge after the kidnapping, her relationship with Rosalie had deepened almost to the same level as her relationship with Alice. Rosalie had shared with her the horrific gang rape and beating she had suffered prior to her human death. Carlisle had found her in the streets and changed her just before her heart beat its last. Her main issue for all these years had been the fact that she hadn't been offered a choice. Rosalie had eventually come to accept that Bella was making her choice because she loved and wanted to be with Edward forever, not because the Volturi was pushing it.
Carlisle stepped forward and gave his son some last minute instructions in the form of fatherly encouragement. "Son, I believe if you give her several bites, one on her neck and one on each extremity, it will make for a quicker transformation. You can do this, I know you can. You love Bella too much now. Stopping will not be a problem. I'll give her the morphine injection now, as we discussed, so it can work its way into her system and will hopefully ease the pain."
Bella smiled at Carlisle as he quickly gave her the morphine injection.
"I love you all," Bella said before she succumbed to the pain medication. "See you on the other side." The last thing she felt as a human was Edward peppering kisses all over her face.
When Edward's venom overpowered the morphine, Bella awoke to such excruciating pain, she could not move or speak. It was as if she were being burned alive. This felt like the burning that Reverend Weber had described when she'd been in Sunday school at the Forks Presbyterian Church with Angela when she was a little girl. Now she prayed silently that Carlisle was right and she would retain a soul even though her husband was adamant that vampires didn't have one. She never wanted to experience a burn like this ever again. It went on for hours, until finally, she felt it abating. Her heart seemed to sputter and fizzle, and then she opened her eyes to see everything in a new and different light. Lights and colors were more brilliant, and all her senses were heightened to a level that she had heretofore only dreamed about. Edward's beautiful face swam into her line of sight.
"She's awake," Edward said anxiously, smiling beatifically down at her. His velvety voice was even smoother, silkier, if that were possible. She smiled back at him, and like a snake striking, she moved in vampire speed to kiss his gorgeous lips. He tasted so much more like Edward to her, somehow sweeter even, now that she was a vampire, too. She palmed both sides of his face in her hands eagerly, deepening the kiss and loving the feel of his tongue against her own. It seemed that, as a vampire, everything looked, smelled, and tasted better. Bella broke the kiss when she felt her husband squirming and heard her family laughing.
"Bella, love," Edward said, breathing hard. "Remember, you're stronger than me right now."
"Oh, sorry," she apologized. Then she was startled by the sound of her own voice. It sounded like a cross between wind chimes, bells tinkling, and her old voice.
"You'll get better control of your voice over time," Carlisle said, a smile beaming, as he looked into her eyes, ever the doctor examining his patient. "You have set a Cullen record, Bella. Your transformation happened in eight hours."
"Wow," she breathed. Then she tried to swallow, but her throat felt dry. It burned as something thick slid unbidden down her throat. Ah, the venom, she thought. "I'm kind of thirsty and hungry at the same time."
"We have some food out back for you," Emmett said. "Jasper and I hunted for you a few hours ago. Edward thought it might be better to ease you into the blood diet, but I know you're gonna like hunting, Bella…."
Edward gave Emmett a look, and he got quiet, a sheepish look on his face. Bella then looked at all her family who were smiling happily, and Felix and Demetri, who were trying to look unfazed, but were regarding her with a bit of awe, also. Alice, Rose, and Esme descended on Bella then, and they began to whisper among themselves in vampire speed, giggling intermittently.
"Can you read your mate's mind now, Edward?" Demetri asked. "Master Aro will want to know."
Edward concentrated and couldn't hear anything, at first. Then Bella's fiery red eyes locked with his, a faint smile playing on her face. Tell them no, or Aro will never leave us alone.
After the few seconds it took him to get over the shock of hearing her thoughts for the first time, Edward shrugged. "No, it is still closed to me. Please give our regrets to your master. Perhaps Bella is just meant to be a vampire without any special powers. I can't say that I'm unhappy about it, though. I love discovering things about her on my own without any help from my abilities."
"Then, if it's all the same to you, we'll be leaving," Demetri said.
"Yes, by all means, don't let us keep you," Edward said, looking at both Demetri and Felix. "You will forgive me if I don't see you off." He moved back to Bella and took her hand. Alice now had a mirror and was on the other side of the table, allowing Bella to see how she had changed. Bella held the mirror down and found his eyes again. I love you, Mr. Cullen.
"Brother, you have your hands full with a beautiful newborn wife," Felix said with a smirk. "We think you'll be busy for quite a while."
Edward didn't look at Felix as he answered, "I know." His reply was primarily in response to his wife.
"I'll do the honors of showing you out," Carlisle said, gesturing toward the door. "I have a gift to send to Aro, anyway. This way, gentlemen." And within a split second, they were gone.
~888~
7 Years Later
After Bella's first year of struggling with her thirst, it had become immensely easier for her and they had decided to move back to where it all began. The house in the Laval-sur-le-lac neighborhood was large and accommodating. There were no neighbors close enough to be endangered should Bella's thirst become unbearable, and they were close enough to plentiful hunting grounds so she could stay sated with animal blood. Their return to Quebec was almost like a second honeymoon. Away from the watchful eye and the heightened hearing of the six other members of their family, they were able to make love all day if they wanted to and didn't have to worry that their intimate moments would be heard. Also, if they broke furniture, it was theirs, and they didn't have to feel bad that they might be destroying some priceless antique that Esme had added to her eclectic collection.
Bella's ability had been described by Carlisle as a shield. She could block other's abilities using her shield, hence the reason why Edward was never able to read her mind and other vampires' abilities had been unsuccessful on her. The only way he was currently able to read her mind was when she allowed him to, and he requested that she only do it sparingly, because he stilled loved discovering things about her as a husband would normally. They also decided together it was a good idea for Bella not to use her ability often, because they were hoping to continue to keep it a secret from the Volturi.
They had lived in Montreal three years now and were currently languishing in the copper claw-foot tub in the master bath, spent from a lively pre-dawn romp in bed. Edward slid his slippery wife back flush against his chest, both his arms wrapped around her torso, as he nuzzled the place behind her ear that drove her mad.
"Mmm… Mr. Cullen," she moaned. "Keep that up and we'll be busy again for a couple of hours and need another bath."
"The water is getting cold," he said softly.
"And there are no more bubbles," she countered.
"Shall we get out now?" He kissed the top of her head.
"Probably," she said reluctantly. "Or we could run some more hot water and stay in a while."
Bella was like a child who had discovered a new toy. Ever since she had found that if they got into a hot tub of water, their skin would warm to an almost pre-vampire state, she absolutely loved taking baths.
He humored her. Still unable to refuse her anything after almost seven years of marriage, he pulled the stopper and let some of the water run out, then started the hot water again. He ran his hands over her skin, which was almost as hard as his, but resilient none-the-less. They frolicked in the water until it got almost as cold as it had before, but this time, they climbed out, dried themselves with large, thirsty bath towels, and dressed in warm winter clothing for show, since it was three days until Thanksgiving, to take a drive to Williamsburg, Ontario. On that trip, they bought a set of Diane Sullivan Arabesque Pottery that matched the pitcher Bella had given to Renee the year they met in Montreal.
~888~
22 Years Later
It was a typical Saturday afternoon in Forks. Charlie was at the dining table cleaning his guns and drinking Rainier, as he did on most Saturday afternoons after a morning of fishing with Billy. Edward had given him a fantastic fishing boat for Christmas the year after Bella had been kidnapped, and Charlie and Billy had enjoyed it tremendously over the years. Renee was in the kitchen baking for the holidays and hiding Charlie's favorites away so he wouldn't consume them all before Christmas. Their hair was mostly gray now, but they were both very active and refused to acknowledge that they were way past middle age. In fact, when they had last seen Bella, Charlie was fifty three and had already been retired for a year, and Renee had retired the following year. That had been ten years ago.
After Bella had recovered from the change she had gone through to become a true Cullen, they had resumed visiting Forks a couple of times a year until they began to hear comments that they didn't seem to be aging at all from a couple of locals. Bella and Edward had stayed with them a week, and the morning they left Forks for the last time, they gave Renee a piece of Diane Sullivan Arabesque Pottery. It was a plate to match the "Wild Rose Ewer" Bella had given her the Christmas she and Edward met. In an envelope, there was a proof of an article dated two months later that described the deaths of one Edward Anthony Cullen and Isabella Marie Swan Cullen in a boating accident near Martha's Vineyard. Charlie and Renee had a memorial service for Bella and Edward at Forks High School, explaining that Carlisle and Esme were not well and too grief-stricken to attend.
Charlie heard the panel truck rumble to a stop in front of the house. A few seconds later, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," Charlie yelled to Renee. He raised himself from the chair, his aging bones creaking and ambled over to the door. It was the UPS delivery man, Phil.
"Hey, Charlie," Phil said. "Got a package for Renee."
"Thanks, Phil," Charlie said taking the digital signature capture device from his hand, signing his name and returning it. Phil handed him the package and acknowledged Charlie with his customary two-fingered salute.
"Have a Merry Christmas," Phil said as he holstered the signature capture device and turned back to his truck.
"Likewise," Charlie said. He closed the door and carried the package into the kitchen.
Renee was icing a cake. She swirled the icing expertly one last time and laid the spatula in the sink. Turning to Charlie, she beamed at him.
"I wondered what day it would come this time," Renee said giddily, like a schoolgirl.
"You know it always comes before Christmas," Charlie said, depositing the package on the kitchen table. He got a knife and cut the tape so it would be easier for his wife to open. Her hands bore a bit of arthritis in them now, and opening packages was one of the things she found difficult these days.
Renee opened the package to find a beautiful Diane Sullivan Arabesque Pottery bowl. She and Charlie grinned like fiends, knowing this meant that their baby girl was still alive and well. Renee took the bowl and placed it in the china cabinet in the dining room with all the other pieces they had received over the years. Charlie put his arm around Renee's waist and they admired the collection that had accumulated thus far, both entertaining vivid memories of their daughter and son-in-law whom they knew would most likely live happily together many decades after they were gone.
THE END
A/N:
1.) Yule or Yule-tide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic peoples as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January on a date determined by the lunar Germanic calendar. The festival was placed on December 25 when the Christian (Julian) calendar was adopted. Some historians claim that the celebration is connected to the Wild Hunt or was influenced by Saturnalia, the Roman winter festival. (From Wickipedia - Yuletide )
2.) A Canticle (from the Latin canticulum, a diminutive of canticum, song) is a hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms) taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as the Te Deum and certain psalms used liturgically. Canticum canticorum (Song of Songs). (From Wickipedia - Canticle)
3.) (Mammals to be hunted in Quebec’s forests)
4.) Les Salons Des Metiers D’ Art Dec 4-22, 2009.
5.) Diane Sullivan (only at Les Salons from Dec 4-13). Bella's pitcher (Wild Rose Ewer) for Renee costs $375 Canadian dollars which is $357 USD.
6.) Université McGill
Département de langue et littérature françaises
853, rue Sherbrooke ouest
Bureau 265
Montréal, Québec Canada H3A 2T6 Télécopieur : 514-398-8557
7.) McGill Conservatory presents WYO instrumental ensemble Dolce Musica
Dec. 13, 2009 - 2:30 PM
Redpath Hall, 861 Sherbrooke Street West
Jean MacRae, director. Redpath Hall. Free
8.) Raison d'être - reason for being
9.) The Nutcracker - Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
Music by Tchaikovsky, with the Orchestra of the Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
Place Des Arts Quebec
175, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest
Montréal, QC H2X 1Z8
Québec Canada
Tel: 514-285-4200
10.) Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier (Wilfred-Furrier Room) Wilfred-Furrier Room) Never see this name. (Joseph Louis) Wilfrid (sometimes spelled Wilfred) Pelletier. Conductor, pianist, administrator
Seated in Corbeille (Basket Level) Loge 2 (Place 2) - Boxes - (Alice reserved all eight seats $94X8)
11.) Nutcracker Ballet Story
12.) Pacific Northwest Ballet
13.) The Nutcracker - Les Grands Canadiens de Montreal
14.) A stenosis (plural: stenoses; from Ancient Greek στένωσις, "narrowing") is an abnormal narrowing in a blood vessel or other tubular organ or structure.
It is also sometimes called a "stricture" (as in urethral stricture).
Stenoses of the vascular type are often associated with unusual blood sounds resulting from turbulent flow over the narrowed blood vessel. This bruit can be made audible by a stethoscope but, diagnosis is generally made or confirmed with some form of medical imaging.
Stenosis
Bruit (pronounced /ˈbruːt/, or as French IPA: [bʁɥi]) is the term for the unusual sound that blood makes when it rushes past an obstruction (called turbulent flow) in an artery when the sound is auscultated with the bell portion of a stethoscope.
The term "bruit" simply refers to the sound.[1] A related term is "vascular murmur",[2] which should not be confused with a heart murmur.
The location of the stethoscope when the sound is observed can affect the diagnosis.
Bruit
15.) In medicine, the precordial exam, also cardiac exam, is performed as part of a physical examination, or when a patient presents with chest pain suggestive of a cardiovascular pathology.
The exam includes several parts:
• position/lighting/draping
• inspection
• palpation
• auscultation
Precordial Exam
16.) Sue Wong Beaded Bodice Dress
$369 - Nordstrom.com Polyvore
Rich beadwork textures the bodice and sheer, layered skirt of a glamorous party dress topped with adjustable spaghetti straps. Rich beadwork textures the bodice and sheer, layered skirt of a glamorous party dress topped with adjustable spaghetti straps. Color(s): sapphire. Brand: Sue Wong. Style Name: Sue Wong Beaded Bodice Dress. Style Number: 249141_2. Manufacturer part number N9425
17.) Kwop kilawtey, which in Quileute, translates to “stay with me forever.”
18.) XXV. “a heavy heart, Belovèd, have I borne…”
By Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
A heavy heart, Belovèd, have I borne
From year to year until I saw thy face,
And sorrow after sorrow took the place
Of all those natural joys as lightly worn
As the stringed pearls, each lifted in its turn
By a beating heart at dance-time. Hopes apace (1.)
Were changed to long despairs, till God's own grace
Could scarcely lift above the world forlorn
My heavy heart. Then thou didst bid me bring
And let it drop adown thy calmly great
Deep being! Fast it sinketh, as a thing
Which its own nature doth precipitate,
Which thine doth close above it, mediating
Betwixt (2.) the stars and the unaccomplished fate.
Analysis
This sonnet again touches upon the sorrow and depression that Elizabeth says she experienced most of her life, due to her illness. She expresses that she has lost her childhood, or natural, joys as her sorrows have added in number. Though the sonnet starts in a very melancholy tone, it takes a drastic turn when she mentions "thou," or Robert Browning, stating that he took away all of her sadness.
(1.) swiftly
(2.) between
19.) The M72 LAW (Light Anti-Tank Weapon, also referred to as the Light Anti-Armor Weapon or LAW as well as LAWS Light Anti-Armor Weapons System) is a portable one-shot 66 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, and Frank A. Spinale et al. while with the Hesse-Eastern Division of Norris Thermadore, currently produced by Nammo Raufoss AS in Norway. (Wickipedia)
20.) "Wisa' - hit'k w otalitali.” - Pronunciation - (wiss-SAH - HATE-cool tah-THAY-tuh-lee) - I am heartsick.
Main Listing
Chapter Fifteen