Waxing Crescent (Alice Cullen x Bella Swan)

Prologue

I let the mismatch of fabrics fall through my fingers; a cascade of chaotic, billowing, colour.

An airy sigh slipped past my lips before I began the arduous task of neatly nestling them away.

As I folded a sweater absentmindedly, my gaze drifted and lingered on my bedroom window.

Soft rays of golden light filtered through my room; little particles of dust dancing in the splintered rays as they made their slow, eddying, journey towards the floor.

I was going to miss Phoenix.

I would miss the heat. The warmth. The blazing sun that covered every inch of this place in burnt orange. Most of all, I'd miss the life that Mom and I had built for ourselves here. It had taken so much work. Letting go was more than bittersweet.

However, I wasn't naïve.

In the end it would be worth it. It had to be. We both needed to branch out. Forge our own paths. Her with her new boyfriend, and me with... well, whatever.

Huh. But then again. It was Forks. If I thought that I'd find more than a few evergreen trees and muddy sidewalks I was kidding myself.

Life wasn't a fairy-tale.

At least there would be Charlie. No fairytale, but the promise of something more important.

Ferreting away more of my clothes into the suitcase, a soft smile gently pulled at my lips.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Unearthly pale legs swayed gently with the breeze, barely hidden up above in the treetops.

Leaf and moss-covered forest floor peeked out from between my muddied toes. The feel of rough bark underneath my probing fingers bending and folding beneath my touch. I slackened my grip, afraid I'd break the boughs.

I loved coming here.

I loved tasting the fresh air on my tongue - the musky scent of wild fauna and untamed florals. I adored the grassiness, too.

The Olympic peninsula was something else.

Every place we settled had its own unique scent. A note or two that just hung in the air, conveying its very essence to all that dared take a breath. Stamping its identity firmly and indomitably.

I think Washington smelled the best. Something about the rain... It coated everyone and everything, always leaving a comforting sweetness behind that somehow balmed all wounds.

My ears prickled, my brief rapture now ripped from me, and instinctively angled myself towards the oncoming sound.

I could hear him approaching but I didn't bother to look.

There were much more important things to pay attention to than my incorrigible brother.

Although I had witnessed the forest's beauty countless times before - shimmering green leaves dangling above, haloed by soft cool light splintering through heavy grey clouds - I forced myself to remain its captive.

A small smile picked at the corners of my ruby lips.

The beauty of life still called to the dead, it seemed.

"I am surprised, Alice. I thought you would be sketching some more designs. What, fashion no longer holds your fancy?"

His gold scrutinizing eyes attempted to pry, probing at my expressionless features as they had so often done before. I was more than certain that he was attempting to force a revealing thought or two from my iron-clad mind.