Circulating among the guests I smiled, happy as the end of the reception neared. I thanked Mr. and Mrs. Newton, who had stopped to say goodbye and wish us luck. Behind them, Jess tried to catch my eye, making furtive motions towards Mr. Darcy, who looked dashing in his top hat and frock coat, probably hoping I would introduce them. I purposefully pretended not to see.
Thirty more minutes and we could make our escape. Looking around, I tried to locate someone I hadn’t yet spoken to. Ms. Cope stood talking and laughing with her date, Barney. I idly wondered how they had met; she was very fond of purple. Suppressing a sigh, I shifted my weight. The heels that Alice had insisted I wear made it painful to walk. The situation was made worse by the fact that I had to exert every care not to trip over the hem of my dress.
Nodding to Kermit as he argued earnestly with Tyler a few feet away, I drew a deep breath to calm my nerves; this “human experience” was almost over. Before I could release it, strong, cold hands seized my arms and began to drag me forward. Looking from one side to the other, I saw Jasper and Emmett, dressed to the nines, elegant in their black formal wear, all but frog marching me out of the pavilion. Shocked, I glanced around; no one seemed to notice that they were abducting me.
“What’re you doing?” I asked, futilely trying to free myself.
“It’s time,” Jasper informed me. “Everyone is waiting.”
“Time for what?” I asked, dreading the answer.
“You know,” Emmett said.
The color drained from my face. “No, I don’t want to…you can’t make me.”
“Want to bet? You chose this; you wanted to be one of us. Now it’s time to face the music. We’ve all done it; now it’s your turn.” Emmett’s tone rung with finality.
I dropped my head in surrender, but refused to give up hope of finding some way out of this. I found it difficult to believe in the necessity of this whole thing. We stood outside now. In the dark, I could just barely make out the indistinct shapes of people milling around something, but what, I couldn’t see. Behind me, I heard the murmur of the guests who had followed us out.
We glided over the lawn, with me floating between them. They came to a graceful stop, in the center of the wide circle of guests, and gently set me down. The bottoms of my shoes clicked against something. Looking down, I felt shocked to see a parquet floor, brilliantly glossed and shinned. My escorts melted into the darkness. Around me, I heard the excited whispers of the crowd.
A spotlight came on, focusing its attention on me, causing the gaudy muddy brown and traffic cone orange sequins of my dress to sparkle. I squinted, the bright, penetrating glare of the spot light blinding me. As my eyes adjusted, another vibrant spotlight came on, illuminating someone across the floor from me. He stood within its glow, clad in a pair of tight black pants and black silk shirt, unbuttoned halfway down. Tied around his waist was a vivid scarlet sash that brilliantly accentuated the black. His bronze hair shone in the gleam, a scintillating contrast with the sparkle of his translucent skin. The eyes that I loved so much smoldered onyx; the glimmering light threw his face into sharp relief, exposing his hunger for all to see.
My breath caught and adrenaline coursed through my veins, urging me to flee, but I could not move; his eyes held me immobile. From somewhere behind me the music began, low and plaintive at first, before smoothing out into the upbeat, measured, two-quarter syncopated rhythm. He started towards me, his movements sinuous, stalking. I feinted, averting my face, searching the crowd, looking for someone to help me, someone to save me from this hellish ordeal. We circled each other, my steps cautious as I attempted to evade him, praying that I wouldn’t trip.
Our rotations continued until he plunged forward in one lithe movement and caught my arm, his sure grasp drawing me towards him. I brushed against his chest before he whirled me away. Faces swam before me as I ineptly spun, my father, Mike, Lauren, Mozart, Esme, Carlisle, Mr. Birdie, my third grade teacher, Mrs. Meyer, who had always made me get up in front of the class to read aloud. I heard their laughter at my bumbling attempt at agility. He caught my hand before I completed the last revolution, pulling me towards him.
My head whirled dizzily as I gasped for breath. I looked into his eyes as he lured me close, mine entreating him to stop. He only grinned evilly, posturing around me, making the motions of another complicated step, his movements graceful but predatory. Maneuvering nimbly, he thrust me away, his superhuman strength sending me soaring forward. I panicked, planting my foot solidly on the floor, and tripped over my hem, which sent me headlong into the crowd. Throwing out my hands to break my fall, I disrupted the flight. Hitting the ground hard, I rolled over and over before coming to rest on my back.
I heard feet shuffling across the floor and saw people standing over me. Most laughed hysterically at my clumsiness.
“I told you she’d mess up,” I heard Emmett crow.
“You were right,” Jasper agreed, chuckling. “How much did we bet again?”
Rosalie and Alice appeared above me.
“What was she thinking wearing those shades together?” Rosalie asked, sounding revolted.
“I have no idea,” Alice replied. “I’ve tried so hard to endow her with some fashion sense, but you know how she is about warm colors.”
“Well it didn’t work, and you know what that means, don’t you?”
“Felix and Heidi will take her back to Italy so Caius can turn her into a pink heffalump. Then they’ll parade her around with the rest of the woozles. We should go and see; I hear that they have this really cool bubble maker that runs during the show.”
“We’d better get her off the floor; it looks like Heidi’s on her way over.”
I struggled against their grasping hands, trying to escape them. I didn’t want to be a heffalump, a maladroit creature who lumbered about, forgetting things and craving prune juice. This wasn’t supposed happen; I wanted to be one of them, graceful, elegant, strong. I fought their attempts to restrain me, refusing to accept my fate. From somewhere next to me, I heard a muffled thud. Something held me immobile, keeping me from escaping. The cage imprisoning me shook and I heard someone speaking.
“Bella, Bella, sweetheart…wake up, love.”
For a moment, I couldn’t dispel the fog that clouded my brain. Something wasn’t right. I wrenched opened my eyes and found myself staring at Edward as he loomed over me, a worried expression gracing his features.
For a moment, I couldn’t speak as I tried to reconcile what had happened to me. Disoriented, I turned my head from side to side, frantically searching for Felix and Heidi. Reality slowly set in, allowing my brain to catch up. I took in my surroundings. Curled up in my bed with Edward by my side, the last vestiges of the dream abruptly vanished. The red numbers on my clock gleamed 3:33, casting the nightstand in a warm glow.
“Edward …” My throat burned, dry from panic. I swallowed and threw my arms around his neck, burying my face in his chest as I tried futilely to keep him from noticing the blush that crept over my cheeks. He began to stroke my hair.
“What’s wrong? Are you all right? Did you have a nightmare?”
Nodding against his chest, I hid my face, too ashamed to show him my embarrassment. He was probably aware of the pooling of my blood, but it made me feel better to hide from his knowing eyes. I knew I shouldn’t have let Alice talk me into taste testing all the different kinds of wedding cake after dinner. She had brought them when she came to address invitations. All that sugar clearly hadn’t been good for me.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked gently.
I shook my head. “I’m okay now,” I whispered. “It was just a stupid dream.”
He settled us back down, continuing to caress my hair and back, trying to soothe me and calm my racing heart and lungs. Under his hand, I stilled, my breathing evened out. Turning onto my side, I cuddled close to him, drifting as I felt him shift and readjust to me.
“Bella,” I heard him whisper just before I sank back into oblivion. “What is a pink heffalump?”
My eyes flew open to look at him. I could just make him out in the dim glow from my alarm clock. Silence descended, while I wondered if I should answer and how to articulate the jumbled thoughts in my head. My eyes drifted to his book, lying forgotten on the nightstand, its title barely visible in the dim red light. From Tejano to Tango: Essays on Latin American Popular Music. Horrified, my eyes flew from the book to him and back again.
“Well?” he questioned.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
I say this is an unofficial sequel because it was originally written as a joke. When I first wrote Music and Lyrics, Alcyone told me I wasn't allowed to use Edward and a certain word together in the same sentence, said it was unfair teasing. To tease her more, I made her wish come true and this story was the result. This story was never suppose to be posted for general consumption but someone begged/encouraged me to put it up, so here it is! To all those who wonder, yes there is a connection between my story and the popular song by Shakira of a similar name.
Many thanks to Alcyone for inspiring the story and her beta work and to Silly Bella who also served as a beta. (My past participles now cringe whenever I mention your name SB!)
I say this is an unofficial sequel because it was originally written as a joke. When I first wrote Music and Lyrics, Alcyone told me I wasn't allowed to use Edward and a certain word together in the same sentence, said it was unfair teasing. To tease her more, I made her wish come true and this story was the result. This story was never suppose to be posted for general consumption but someone begged/encouraged me to put it up, so here it is! To all those who wonder, yes there is a connection between my story and the popular song by Shakira of a similar name.
Many thanks to Alcyone for inspiring the story and her beta work and to Silly Bella who also served as a beta. (My past participles now cringe whenever I mention your name SB!)