"Why are we doing this?" It was four in the morning on a Saturday, for the love of God, and while Edward may not have to sleep, Bella very much did. She'd been bustled from place to place and appointment to appointment all week at Alice's behest; the tiny terror gusting through wedding plans at the speed of sound. She was exhausted, and now Edward was pulling her up out of bed to do God knew what at four AM.
"Do you trust me?" He was grinning as he set her onto her feet, before turning to rummage through her closet. He reappeared with jeans and a sweatshirt, holding them up for Bella's inspection.
She took the clothes from him and made a "turn around" gesture with her finger. "I trust you most of the time. Right now, however, the sun isn't even up and the last time we took an early morning hike through the woods I almost died of hypothermia."
Bella had taken to making jokes about the time they'd spent apart in recent months as she grew more comfortable in their security. She was well aware that they stung Edward a bit, but he was taking it like a champ. He wasn't about to step on her coping.
"Would it help if I told you where we're going?" he asked, studiously facing away from Bella as she changed into the clothes he'd given her.
Bella sighed deeply. "I don't want to ruin the surprise. I could probably guess, anyway."
"Predictability and immortality go hand in hand," Edward said, and Bella could tell he was smiling by the tone of his voice. "Lucky for me, you couldn't be predictable if you tried, which will hopefully carry over."
"As long as my brain is a dead zone for you, I'm sure it will," she said. "You can turn back around."
His form shifted a bit, and then he was facing her with her hiking boots in hand. "Off we go," he said, handing her the boots and disappearing from sight.
"Stupid, fast vampire," Bella muttered.
They made it to the baseball clearing just in time to watch the sun crest over the mountains. Huh, her guess had been wrong. There in the middle of the field lay a long, low stone table, with benches to sit at, and the entirety of Edward's family, looks of excitement etched onto their perfect features.
"What is this?" Bella asked. It kind of looked like a ritual sacrifice, but there was no chance that's what they were doing... right?
Edward led Bella by their interlocked hands down to the table. "You are about to be initiated into the greatest secret the Cullen family has."
Oh, sweet baby Jesus, they really were going to sacrifice her.
As they got closer to the table, Bella could see it was covered in papers and small stones, with a large tri-fold cover like the kind Bella used in grade school to hide her test answers set up at one end. The small stones were strangely geometric... wait, they were... dice?
On closer inspection, they were in fact, dice.
"Oh my God!" Bella shouted, reaching over and slapping Edward's arm repeatedly. "You guys are such nerds!"
"Hey, say that to my face, sis!" Emmett shouted from his place at the table, lining up dice and sticking his tongue out at Bella.
"Welcome to the Daybreak Guild," Edward said, gesturing to the table.
"We got up at four AM to play Dungeons and Dragons?" Bella asked, taking the seat indicated to her by Esme.
Edward settled beside her and passed her a sheet of paper covered in boxes and a small bag that clinked when he moved it.
"It is traditional that new initiates to the Daybreak Guild must begin their journey at daybreak," Alice said from her place behind the blind. She sounded so matter of fact.
"Bella, there are no secrets between us, and this game has been going on for right about twenty years now. It's important to us as a family that you're included," Carlisle said, smiling from across the table.
Bella glanced around at their smiling faces, Alice's peeking up over the blind, and she felt herself welling up.
"Are you sure?" she asked quietly. For some reason this felt more personal than being invited into the family. Perhaps it was the action, the direct result of the game. Maybe it was the fact that everyone looked so eager, including the "no" voters. It was probably just the fact that she was only now realizing quite how dorky the family she was marrying into was.
She appreciated them all the same.
"Cone, dear, let's make you a character." Esme's face radiated a warmth that Bella felt deep in her chest.
"If I can't change your mind, I can at least cast Suggestion on you," Rosalie said, smiling more widely than Bella had ever seen.
She looked around at her family, the looks of anticipation, excitement, joy, and she knew why she was so emotional about the invite. Because this was clearly important to them, as weird and funky as it was, and it was something that made them truly happy. And they wanted her to be a part of it.
"Okay," she said. "How do I make a character that can kick Emmett's ass?"
The table erupted in laughter over Emmett's protests, and Bella let the sound wash over her.
She gripped Edward's hand tightly.
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