ALE Chapter 1 - Prologue

Tangled & Awakening

"It was our honeymoon. We were insatiable. The first time we made love after that conversation, I wondered if he would take me seriously and decide to change me in the moment, swept up as my lover, not my protector. And after that, I never thought of it again when he was inside me. It was a wonder I could think at all with Edward naked, our limbs tangled, our words feverish.

And then: he was acting strange; now I understand. He had needed me to center him. Making love to me reminded me that he had immense restraint, it was his rally, his pep talk; I understand that now, too, all too well. I had taken him into my mouth hungrily - I knew no other way to take him - conveniently leaving the smell of him on my lips, on my breath. He had covered my neck in the moisture between my legs as we made love. He had put the anchor there, knowing he would need to be able to find where he went in, to be able to pull himself out later...

...I found that the first things I lost were my tears. I could not cry at the realization of his immeasurable restraint, his monumental worship of my fragile body, akin to an egg shell on a bulldozer."

Focus via anntastic23

Now, I lay dying beside him. His cold arms shook around me with the effort it took to not sob against me as he had sobbed against Carlisle. His voice murmured in my ear constantly, stories of love, of lovemaking, of making me eternal. I wanted to reach out to him, soothe him, tell him he had made the right decision, that I felt the strength of us in the moments of release and restraint that he had allowed himself and that that was all I needed to make it through whatever came. But I couldn’t move. Now, my delicate skin was barely containing the fire beneath....

I found, if I could lie still, if I could focus on the sound of Edward's constant voice in my ear, I could manage it. I could keep from screaming. I could keep from writhing in his arms. Because there was one thing I never wanted him to see, and that is how terrifying this was for me...

(Bella's eventual "gift" makes its first appearance)

Edward’s need started as a small twinge in my chest, up near my shoulder. It felt almost as if it had lodged against an organ that had since hardened, leaving the need trapped inside a bubble...

...I pushed a sound through my lips; I was afraid if I said much more I would scream, would lose the tenuous control I had over my body. But I did not want the bubble to explode within me. That I knew would make me scream."   “M’okay.” I mumbled.

My Beacon via anntastic23

"'Any moment, now, she’ll wake. I’ll leave you two alone, Edward. I’ll be right outside.' I heard Carlisle’s soft voice rise above Edward’s imposters constant whispering in my ear.

'Bella?' Edward’s voice: my beacon, my rock. I turned my head, too fast. The world spun, settling on his features, next to me, not leaning against a wall watching a stranger hold me. It was his arms that were around me, it was his soft flesh touching mine.

He gasped next to me as our eyes met, his mouth open in shock. 'Oh my God, Bella...your eyes.'"

Review by DirtyPie:

(SPOILERS to anyone who hasn't finished all chapters)
Okay... I've thought a lot about, what I wanted to write to you, because I feel, you deserve a proper, thorough review for all your hard work.
I truly loved both "Let your light shine" and "A life extraordinary". You write so well. You stay so true to characters, and it felt like reading an alternate ending of the real books. I've read a lot of other fanfics, but some how a lot of them feel so distant, but yours didn't; it felt true. You didn't just work of Stephenie Meyers work, but you added something new. I read both twice, before reviewing, and the second time felt just as great as the first.

There are so many different things I love about your story, and I think it's easier just to make a list:

You attention to detail is extraordinary.

Your chapters aren't rushed nor dragged.

I love that Edward and Bellas marriage aren't automatically perfect, but that they have to work with some issues.

I love your invention of 'love days'.

I love Bella and Jaspers relationship and their playful banter and nicnames.

I love your focus on the Cullens past, and my favorite chapter is without a doubt "Tell me"

I love the plotline with "Capital T, capital B, The Bet"

I love that Edward isn't perfect.

I love the lemons, and their experimentation in the bedroom. It made the story both sweet and exciting. It takes a great writer to both write interesting plot lines and smut.

I love that your Bella is strong an independent, because that is exactly as I pictured her.

I lcve that it is so long, because you can never get enough of a good thing, and there's no way, I'm not reading it a third time soon.

Most of all, I loved your dialogue. A lot of it was just fricken HILARIOUS, like "I can kick the shit out of the ball", "Good for you, Susie Sleuth. Did you use your super secret emotion decoding ring for that?” or “Whatever, Tammy, your Muppet hair is taking up about 50% of my personal space.” and I swear my neighbours are going to complain soon about all my outburst of uncontainable laughter.

Your amazing dialogue really really proved to me, that it takes a lot more than just good ideas for plot lines to create such an extraordinary story.

Thank you.

Great quote via FloridaChickie:

"It would be like protecting a dandelion from the wind, protecting a sugar cube from scalding tea."