Chapter One

Vision

Bella

I had been holding still for the last half hour. You would think being a vampire would shorten the time to paint a portrait, but, oh, no; Alice was taking her time. She wanted her masterpiece to be perfect. Alice roped me in to be her alive model, so she could have a go at her new found hobby - painting.

Being a vampire entails you to learn skills quickly and therefore you are able to perfect things quicker than any human could with months practice. It was a fact my new family was perfect in everything they did. That was one of the things I was looking forward to when I became a vampire - being able to do things that I hadn't being able to achieve in my last eighteen years of existence as a mere human girl.

I still had my worries of becoming a vampire, but I pushed them aside every time I imagined myself all grey and old. While my perfect husband- to- be stayed frozen in his perfect seventeen forever self. Not a tiny flaw on his Greek god-like face. Perfect, like I said.

I couldn't be with him if I got old— how weird would that be? He claimed he would love me no matter what, but how could I be comfortable when I become an old lady?

No, my mind was set and I was going to join his family and live with them forever as planned. But as always, Edward still tried to make excuses and come up with more ideas in order to delay what he thinks is the worst possible fate for me. You won't have children, he tried to tell me, thinking it would pause my thoughts just for a moment.

We can adopt, I told him. Like Esme and Carlisle.

He seemed to think that he was taking away my life, but I told him over and over that he was my life. He slowly started to warm up to my persistence. He drove a hard bargain, though. We had to get married first! Yuk! But if he was giving me what I want, then I had to compromise and allow the one thing he wanted of me.

So things were looking up for my immortal life.

My nose started to itch, but I was scared to move in case Alice attacked me with the paint brush or something. Alice liked perfection and me moving, even an inch, might have set her off. Of course, Alice never got mad and when she did it didn't last long. It was in her nature to be happy, but you have to learn to get used to her ways.

The family have accepted that Alice sometimes went over the top with things and I was learning to do the same.

The itch in my nose got more annoying, so I decided to take the risk and itch it while she had disappeared behind the easel in concentration.

My right arm was on top of my left hand, both sitting on my lap. It shouldn't have been too hard to put back exactly as Alice had arranged them. Slowly, I brought my hand up to my face, testing to see if she would notice my slight movement.

I got to my nose, and with some relief her eyes stayed trained on her artwork. Holding my breath, I quickly itched my nose and before rearrange my hands back on my lap.

In the corner of my eye I saw Jasper, who was building a pyramid with a at least eight different decks, look in my direction. He must have felt the sudden relief coming from me. He was grinning at my braveness at risking Alice's wrath for moving. I suppressed my own grin and shifted my eye line back to straight ahead as instructed by Alice at the beginning.

When Alice finally looked up from her work, I didn't look at her. I kept my face blank and breathed slowly through my itchy free nose.

"You've moved," Alice said, frowning. I kept my pose, but I turned my eyes towards her.

"No I haven't," I said trying not to move my lips, which made me sound like a bad ventriloquist.

"Your right hand was on top of your left and now it's the other way round," she reminded me.

Crap.

Damn vampires! They noticed everything! "Well, my nose was itchy. And I am getting stiff sitting here not moving! You know, I am still human and I need to move. Plus it's tiring!" I tried to look exhausted from sitting still all afternoon. I was never any good at the puppy dog eyes thing with my mother, but I was getting better.

Alice ran a hand though her short, but neat spiky black hair and stood up taking a step back to look at the canvas that sits on the easel. She stared intently at her work of art before smiling up at me.

"Come see!" she said excitement in her voice.

Before I could even slid off the chair, Jasper was by her side admiring the portrait. "Wow, Alice! Or should a say Picasso? That is a piece of art work!" Jasper praised the delighted Alice who gave a small laugh and nudged him playfully in the side.

I was curious now, so shimmered off the chair and stood at the other side of the artist. My eyes widened in amazement! I had never seen myself in art form, but it was truly a master piece - well worth being a statue for all that time.

Taking in the every little detail, I tried to believe that the pretty girl in the painting really was me.

For over an hour Alice played dress up with me before she forced me into the chair so she could paint me. With a lot of skill from Alice and a lot of fidgeting and heavy sighs from me, she managed to style my hair in an old fashioned style with four braids at the front and then pulling them back gently to tie in with the rest of my hair which she crowned on top of my head with several bobby pins.

She swept my face with pink blusher that gives my pale ivory completion color. Almost poking my eyes out, her makeup skills darkened my lashes, before she smeared my lips with a pale pink.

I never wear makeup, so I was shocked to see the difference between the before and after. I didn't guess her theme until she came out of her massive over the top walk in closet holding a garment bag that contained a long white dress.

At first I was stunned, thinking it was my wedding dress that I got a peek at a few weeks ago, but at closer inspection I realized this was a really old dress; or at least it looked old. Alice gently peeled the dress out of the bag and held it up for me to see.

"I bought this years ago in an auction. It's beautiful isn't it?"

It was soft white silk with a wrap around the middle, its sleeves are short and with see through material. "I love the book and movie Pride and Prejudice and I had to have this! This is almost the same one as the 2005 film, but this one is apparently from the late 1700's." Alice tells me beaming and her gold eyes shone with excitement.

I couldn't help but smile as I love the book as well and the dress was beautiful. It took a bit longer than expected to put the dress on as she first squeezed me into a corset- something I objected to fully, but in the end Alice won (as always). After slipping on cream shoes with a small heel, I felt like I had travelled back in time, or like I had been sucked into one of my favorite classic books.

Alice was practically bouncing from the walls when I gave an approving smile to the girl in the mirror.

Now, the whole makeover parade was worth it. Alice had done a beautiful job of making me look like I belonged into the same era as my pretty dress.

Looking at myself sitting elegantly in one of the dining room seats, my hand one on top of the other and my face clear of emotion just like other paintings I have seen with the women back in the earlier centuries was a bizarre feeling. I could see that it was me in the painting, yet Alice had captured it so perfectly that if it had been hanging on a wall among classics, then I would have done a double take.

For once I was lost for words. I felt I needed to say something as Alice was looking at me anxiously. But I can't find the words to tell her how beautiful and perfect the portrait is. On cue, I felt tears sting my eyes. I blinked them back not wanting to stain my face.

"This is incredible, Alice! Such detail and skill, it's absolutely amazing!" I said in a hushed voice.

She took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I am glad you like it. I have never bothered with painting before, but I really enjoyed doing that. I always wondered why Esme loved it so much, but now I see why she paints and draws for fun."

Jasper brushed a hand down her back and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "You can draw me any time you like," he whispered to her in a voice that makes me wonder if he had forgotten I was there.

"Or you could draw me. I could pose the same way as Kate Winslet did in Titanic — that looked like fun."

"Hmm, now that would be something." Jasper chuckled and wandered back over to his pyramid of cards. Hopefully I wouldn't be around to witness that…

After giving Alice some more compliments about the painting I went back up to her room to change out of the dress.

Edward and the rest of his family were away hunting somewhere. Alice and Jasper had only just come back from a long hunting trip, so they stayed behind and they are keeping me company. The wedding plans were almost perfect, according to Alice, and she tells me not to worry about a thing.

This weekend I am following her advice and not worrying about anything. Yesterday we drove all the way to LA to go clothes shopping and I actually had a really good time. I hardly ever have days without Edward and I enjoyed a girly time with Alice (well Jasper was there too) and I even let her dress me up like a doll and buy me things I wouldn't normally buy.

After peeling off the dress carefully, I threw back on my normal clothes. I decided to keep on my make-up, since Alice took so much time priming me to perfection, and headed back down stairs to the living room.

Jasper and Alice were sitting on the loveseat when I came in. The table with all the art things had been tidied away, as well as the dining room chair, but the easel still stands with the portrait still in its place. I gave it another look as I walked by it and I was still smiling to myself when I slid into the arm chair.

I kicked my flip flops off and make myself at home by sitting cross-legged in the chair. Jasper had his feet up on the large foot stool and Alice was cuddled in his side. They look so cute together and were made for each other. Just like Edward and I, I thought to myself.

I missed him when he was hunting, but I didn't begrudge him as it was necessary for him to live.

On the 60 inch plasma (Emmett's pride and joy) was The Simpson's. I rolled my eyes and hid my amusement. I would never have guessed that in a vampires spare time they watch The Simpson's. I supposed that no matter what kind of American you were, you had to love America's favorite yellow people!

"Hey! There was nothing else on! Besides, what's wrong with The Simpson's?" Alice laughed as I shook my head.

But then her amusement died quickly. She bolted straight up from her chair, her face falling into a familiar blank stare.

A vision.

Jasper put his arm around her and waited patiently for her to come back to the present, but I felt panicky inside and my heart rate goes up a notch. I sat up in the chair and leaned forward with my feet on the ground.

"Alice? What do you see? Is it the others? Edward?" I asked quickly trying not to let the panic leak into my voice.

A few more seconds drag by and her face returned to normal. She stared wide eyed in front of her, seeing nothing, and Jasper stiffened beside her.

He must have picked up on her mood and my heart just about crashed out of my chest as I got more anxious. "What did you see, Alice? What's wrong, tell me. Please!" I hated being left in the dark. It's obvious Jasper was bursting to know too, but he was hesitant to ask in case it was something I didn't want to hear.

"What is it?" her husband whispered, leaning closer to her. Coming out of her frozen state she looked over to me, her face uncertain. "Bella? Do you feel… okay?"

Alice's voice was calm and collected, but I heared the edge to her tone.

"Yes," I said, a little hesitant, as if I was suddenly have a heart attack that I wasn't even aware of.

"What was it, darlin'?" Jasper squeezed Alice's hand softly. "What did you see?"

Alice glanced at her husband, uncertainty looking all wrong on her dainty face. Alice was never uncertain about anything.

Finally, she looked at me.

"I saw us three," she tells Jasper and I gently. "Bella, you were laying on Edward's bed…" Alice bit her lip and glanced at Jasper, before staring at the floor.

"Tell me," I demanded, inpatient now.

Alice met my eyes. I filched. Her eyes were inflicted with deep sadness. "Bella, I saw you in laying Edward's bed. Jasper and I were by your side, but you were…" She seemed to fade even whiter. "You were…dead."