New Horizons

Chapter 1: Today

                Married.

                I can't believe that today is the day we leave for my Bachelorette weekend. In just four days' time I would be marrying the man of my dreams.  I didn't know what Alice had planned for this weekend either- though I was certain the rest of my family knew.

                Apart from Jacob of course. He was as much in the dark about these things as I was.

                I pulled away from my Aunt's cool grip and turned to face the bathroom mirror, I sighed and smiled happily to myself when I caught sight of my reflection. It wasn't a case of being vain- but ever since the incident with Tanya almost two years ago I couldn't help but smile each and every time I saw the familiar and welcoming brown colour of my eyes. After a few weeks of fasting from blood altogether the red had eventually faded and returned to their original colour. In fact- the only physical reminders I had of the experience was the few tufts of short hair that had never grown back to its full length and a faded scratch mark on my right thigh. I shuddered to myself. I still had nightmares regularly about it all.

                I couldn't worry about it today though. Today was the start of my new life; the life I had been wanting for so long. I turned from the mirror, looking back at Alice.

                "Are you OK?" she asked, her head tilting slightly to the side to look at me.

                I nodded; "I'm fine"

                "Good" she chimed, "because I have a new outfit for you" She disappeared from the doorway in the blink of an eye and back into my bedroom. I sighed happily before eagerly following her; wondering what delights Alice had in store for me. She was already holding the dress up to show me when I rounded the corner. It was beautiful. In fact beautiful didn't do it justice. It was red, in fact, almost Maroon in colour and collected around the bust area with a sweetheart neckline. The material then fell from there towards the floor, swaying lightly in the soft breeze and each pleat in the delicate material becoming rippled.

                "Alice..." I gushed rushing to her side "Thank-you. It's stunning!"

                She giggled and handed the elegant gown to me; "Just wait until it's on" she winked.

                I ran the material through my fingers, the fabric feeling almost like silk as it danced and weaved its way through my fingertips. It was elegant- and perfect. Though I still wasn't entirely sure what it was perfect for. I was dying to know where we were going.

                "Alice..." I sighed happily, not once looking up from the garment that was still giving me goose bumps.

                "No" she answered plainly- as if she knew what I was about to ask. She didn't of course- though Alice was able to see the rest of my family through her visions she was still unable to see me clearly- or Jacob for that matter. I couldn't help but feel grateful for that- I liked having some privacy as far as my family were concerned. It was bad enough I had a mind reader as a father without my aunt knowing every little detail about me as well. It was healthy to keep some things secret right?

                "But you did-" I began protesting. I would have finished if it were not for the fact she had interrupted me.

                "I'm not telling you where we are going" she enthused, answering my unspoken question- a wide grin spreading across her face.

                I rolled my eyes. After a lifetime of living with Alice I should have learnt my lesson by now- she thrived on surprises. Practically lived off of them.

                "Knock, Knock" chimed my mother's voice behind me. I turned quickly on the balls of my feet to face her. She was stood in the doorway as elegant and defined as always. Though people had told me countless times- I still found it hard to believe my mom was ever as clumsy as they made out she was. She had always been so... perfect to me. Her posture and stride was nothing if not flawless and she looked- well- astounding. It was quite embarrassing knowing at my own wedding I would be outshone by my own mother.

                "Hey Mom" I replied, unable to help the grin that now seemed permanently etched on my face. She smiled at me in return and walked gracefully into the room, her hair flailing against her back with every step she took.

                "How are you feeling sweetheart?" she asked as she reached my side. Her hand outstretched and gently stroking my cheek.

                "Great" I grinned before holding up the dress for her to see "Look what Alice brought me!"

                "Well now- isn't that... grown up" she grimaced, shooting a glare in my Aunt's direction. Alice smiled sheepishly and giggled under her breathe. I couldn't help but smile slightly. I knew that Mom was still having trouble with accepting that I had grown up- though she wasn't as obvious about it as my Dad was. Mom was more reserved when it came to the subject of me growing up; whereas dad was more likely to become agitated and frustrated- Especially on the odd occasion when me and Jake would show the odd display of affection in public.

                "I love it" I retorted simply; looking down to admire my dress again. I looked across to Alice; "Did you buy Mom anything?" I asked, knowing my answer instantly. Alice loved shopping- and she loved the thrill of trying to dress my Mom up from time to time.

                "Of course" Alice trilled "It's in my bedroom though. Along with the..." I let her trail off describing all the different outfits she had bought for us girls this weekend. Part of me knew I should listen- maybe I would be able to decipher some clue from her description and figure out where we were going.

                But instead my mind was wondering again- just as it had been for a number of weeks now, if not months. The lead up to this weekend had been so action-packed and exciting that my mind had barely found time to register the fact that in just a few days I would be getting married. I fought the urge to scream and start jumping around the room like a toddler. I couldn't have asked for anything more than Jacob. He was perfect.

                "OW!" the disgruntled voice groaned from the other end of the hallway, not even a second after the loud thudding sound had reached my ears. My head snapped up and I looked over at Alice as she giggled slightly- Mom joined in too. "What the hell was that for?" Jacob continued- his voice still muffled by the solid brick walls between us. Emmett's booming laughter floated down the hallway and I heard another bang- only this time it was louder, the sound of wood being dropped onto the wooden floor from a reasonable height.  Instantly, and without thinking I turned on the balls of my feet- heading towards my bedroom door.

                Mom was quicker though.

                "Where do you think you're going?" She smirked- still trying to hide her laughter as she stepped in front of me, both arms outstretched and blocking the door way I was about to exit through.

                "To check on Jake!" I protested, not once stopping as I ducked and weaved in a lame attempt to get past my mother.

                " Ness!" Alice giggled, coming up from behind and placing her hands on my shoulders "He's fine. Emmett just woke him up that's all" She steered me away from the door way and toward my dresser "Now sit down. It's time to get ready to party"

                I looked warily back over my shoulder at Mom- her face still twisted up slightly into a slight smirk. No more noises had come from Jake's room since the banging. So all I could do was hope Emmett wasn't torturing him in some way.

                "Relax" Alice soothed as she started to run the brush through my hair. I tried to smile, but in the back of my mind I was still worrying, exactly what had Emmett done to my Jacob?