Tenebrous ↠ Volturi Kings {1} ✓

035

"It'll be fine, Alice. We'll just have to be very careful," I said. We returned just as Rose was finishing Bella's hair.

"Let me put the finishing touches on your makeup," Alice said, setting back to work on Bella.

"Did you figure something out with the dress?" Rose asked.

"Yes. But you heard," I said.

"It's polite to ask, Rowan," Rose said. "It's common etiquette; you'll learn once you've been changed."

"I know," I said. Renee, Bella's mother, walked in just as Alice finished the final touches on Bella's makeup. I liked Renee. She was rather scatter-brained, but so delightfully human and such a contrast to the perfection embodied by my vampiric family that I couldn't help but like her.

"Oh my gosh, you're so beautiful!" Renee gasped as she saw Bella, bringing her hands to her mouth, tears beading in her eyes. "Crap, my mascara!"

"Mom," Bella said with a smile. Alice passed Renee a handkerchief.

"Charlie, get in here!" Renee called.

Charlie, who was in earshot, appeared in the hall. "You sure? I don't wanna..." He trailed off as he saw Bella. She rose when he entered, looking shocked at the sight of him in a tux. "I know. I look hot," he said cheekily.

Rose and I glanced at each other, grinning. "We thought you needed something blue," Renee said.

Charlie opened a velvet box. "And something old. Besides your mother."

I snorted, and Renee looked unamused. "Ugh, nice."

"It was, uh, Grandma Swan's," Charlie continued.

"We added the sapphires," Renee said.

Bella took it carefully from the box. "It's beautiful, you guys. Wow. Thank you so much."

"It's your first family heirloom," Renee said as Bella had Alice place it carefully in her hair. "You can pass it on to your daughter... and her daughter." Renee was tearing up again.

Bella was quiet, and I knew why. She was going to be turned. She would never be able to have children. The thought of not having children had never bothered me; I wasn't really the nurturing type, and I had little experience with kids.

"Alright, alright! It's almost time. Bella, we need to get in our dresses and then we'll help you into yours," Alice said.

"I can help Rowan, Alice. How about you change and then you and Renee can help Bella," Rose suggested.

"Good thinking," Alice approved.

"Let's grab our dresses," Rose said, retrieving them from the closet. We returned together to the room we had been in before.

"I'll help you get dressed first," Rose said.

"Alright." She helped me get my arm from the sling and pull off the button-up shirt that I had been wearing. With my arm, it was one of the few things that I was able to slip on and off with little pain.

Once my pants were off, Rose helped me step into the dress and get it on. My shoulder ached unpleasantly as I was forced to move it further out than expected, but apart from that getting me in the dress went off without a hitch. Rose dressed once my sling was back on, and I hid a grimace as my shoulder throbbed in time with my heartbeat.

"Are you okay? I can tell that you're in pain," Rose said. I blinked. She had dressed quicker than I expected and now had a cold hand resting gently on my good arm.

"No, I'm fine. I just need a second. It'll fade," I said in a tight voice.

"Sit down, then." Rose steered me towards a chair. "I'll get you some water."