𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍 ➻ 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧

𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲

THE INVITATION CAME IN THE EARLY MORNING. Anastasia had sat in the new cottage Carlisle had bought for her nearby to the main Cullen residence, knowing that she would never want to return to the place she used to call home.

ISABELLA MARIE SWAN

AND

EDWARD ANTHONY MASEN CULLEN

together with their families request the honour of your presence at the celebration of their marriage

saturday the thirteenth of august two thousand and eleven

five o'clock in the evening

420 woodcroft ave

FORKS, WA

Anastasia's breath held for a moment in her chest as she double glanced over the card she grasped in her hands. Bella was getting married? Why didn't she tell her? Anastasia knew they had grown apart over the time in their lives when they both fell into dark parts of their minds, but you'd at least think somebody would tell her? She frowned at the thought.

She shrugged on her jacket and fastened her well-worn boots as she dragged her new bicycle out of the porch, mounting herself upon it as she made her way towards the Swan home, enjoying the method of transport that gave herself independence with a bit of speed that her walks couldn't exactly match up to.

The sight of the Swan house was much the same as any other year, the same tired, peeling paint, the old creaking door hinges and half-dead garden. She had to be careful when she knocked on the front door so that she would've give herself a splinter.

She was met with the tired face of Charlie Swan, his facial hair had clearly grown more than he normally kept it at, his eyes just seemed fed up and ready to close for his morning nap. "Hi there, Chief Swan, I was wondering if Bella was home? I'd like to speak to her if you don't mind." She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

The Chief moved his hand to scratch the back of his neck as he frowned. "Eh, no, I don't think so, I think she went to go shopping with that Alice girl... For the wedding." Charlie grumbled the last part. "I mean, Alice seems a nice girl, probably the nicest one of them kids, but I don't really enjoy how she seems to be pushing Bells into this wedding."

Anastasia knew he probably needed to speak to someone about how he felt and his frustration, so she stood nodding and occasionally giving a sympathetic smile as he talked.

"I'm glad you're alright now though, Ana, you gave everyone quite the scare, I think you even brought the damn Cullens back, even if they were a few hours too late to catch you before you left for Seattle." He suddenly barked a laugh. "That Doctor Cullen was frantic trying to find out what happened to you and where the hell you were after you left town, said he needed to speak with you urgently and everything."

"Oh." Anastasia spoke softly, her pupils dilating for a moment as her mind thought back to her Carlisle, she hadn't been able to spend a lot of time with him lately for apparently he had to pick up several longer shifts than his usual long shifts at the hospital, and every time he'd have an hour or three at home, it would be from 2am-5am mostly, meaning Anastasia was fast asleep.

She didn't mind too much though, although she missed him dearly she knew he was an important figure in the small town.

It was then that she remembered they were just stood in the doorframe so she quickly bid Charlie goodbye as she took herself back to the main Cullen house.

There she was met by an empty building, no cars sat in the garage and no vampires crept about the large home. She sighed in bliss, happy to get moments like these to herself and just relax now that she didn't have to worry about the same responsibilities as she had had before.

However, unfortunately for her, it didn't last long for Bella and Alice soon came home, possibly hundreds of shopping bags could be the rough estimate as the small vampire made several trips to the car and back.

"Oh, Bella, I'm sure you'll find the perfect dress soon enough, we'll go visit some more stores next weekend, okay? Trust me. I'll get you your dream wedding gown and you'll love it!" Alice reassured the stressed girl, her careless smile seemed to ease Bella's woes as she returned a weak one, clearly not entirely impressed with her words.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you want, Alice." Bella agreed as the pixie-like vampire began to speak about something else whilst Bella made her way to the bathroom, eager to clean up.

An idea popped into Anastasia's head as she quickly rushed back to her small cottage and found her purse, the money that lined it being from the sale of her Seattle apartment, although not enough to be called a rich woman, it was certainly a pretty amount, especially for the apartment she had lived in.

She placed several bags into her basket on her bike as she took herself down into town, eager to find the store that would facilitate in making their dreams a reality. Naturally, she had soon purchased everything she needed, her purse now practically empty save for a few cents.

"Perfect." She grinned in satisfaction as she admired all the materials she had gathered, with a extra special piece she knew Bella would adore.

The work was long, and she hardly slept most nights, and when Carlisle came for his few hours at home, his concern only grew as the amount of nights where the lights in the cottage were still on at the times he was home increased.

Anastasia had been tirelessly pushing herself every stitch of the way until she had deep eyebags set beneath her eyes and she could barely keep them open for much longer, but it was all worth it when she looked up to see her finished masterpiece that held a memory in every thread, a piece of Bella Swan in every embroidery.