MsKathy is living a Boundless existence

Title: "Boundless"
Author: Emibella
Chapters: one-shot
Words: 7,199
Reviews: 4
Summary: Rosalie/Vera; later Emmett, AU, Comfort/Love, After Rosalie tells her story to Bella in Edward’s Room as written in Eclipse, she wonders if she should have told Bella the whole truth knowing that Edward is aware that she has been lying about her past.

I should start this segment by being honest – there is very little smut in this one-shot. In fact, the entirety of the smut is contained within a few kisses and caresses; no one even has a big O. I don't mean Oprah, either. Put the lemon pies down, if you want really hot smut written by Emibella, check out If It's the Beaches. Oh, it's not exactly canon for lots of parts (EmxB), so be forewarned... but you simply MUST read Chapter 7. I'll never look at fireplaces or chocolate the same.

Back to Boundless – oh, wait, a smidge of background on me might be helpful first. I self-identify as bisexual (fwiw, I'm married to a dude). When my parents found out (by accident, long story, no they didn't walk in on me), I was at the receiving end of hours of lectures about how I would never find a man to accept or love me, as long as I was upfront about this part of me. Okay, so, moving right along.

Boundless is a story of Rose, written for the LGBT Fest on LiveJournal. Most of this story is internal reflection from Rose, and I am the first person to admit that Rose is a fascinating character to me. I feel like we know the least about her, so there is the most opportunity to play and have fun with her. Nnot like that, you pervs. Okay, maybe like that, too...

In Boundless, Rose is, and has been, in love with Vera.

This story is so well written that I was weeping by the end. I know, big shock there since I cry at everything, right? But trust me; this story will hit you where it counts, and that's what a good story does, it provokes emotion. They won't be tears of sadness or heartfail, either.

Through most of the story, you learn about Rose and Vera's mostly chaste relationship; there are kisses and touches here and there, but they never consummate things. It simply wasn't an option for them, even though they acknowledge and confess their deep love for one another. They are satisfied with this level of relationship until Vera gets pregnant and decides that she cannot continue with Rose anymore.

Things progress, Royce is introduced and we all know what happens then. Emibella weaves a fucking fabulous tale of how things end with Royce, by the way, and then Rose's change happens. We see Carlisle trying to push Rose and Edward together. One of the best lines of the story is, in reference to Edward, “He kept my secret about my true love hearing my silent pleas.” Okay, I can't help it, I like it when Edward is a good guy.

Instead of the easy route, which would simply be altering Rose's path as a vampire, Emibella smacks Emmett and Rose right into each other, just like canon (not sure if this was a requirement of the prompt or not – it's just sheer genius, either way). The richness of moments like this, in Rose's head, “Yes, I thought about my old love, thoughts of her were always with me somewhere, like a necklace you wear so often you forget that it's on. But I loved Emmett just the same.” are staggeringly beautiful. It's the realization for Rose that she can love Emmett the way she wants to, while still respecting the love she had for Vera, that is extremely profound in the first two-thirds.

Rose struggles with whether or not to confess her past love for Vera to Emmett; she feels it isn't pertinent to who she is anymore, so why? She fears Emmett will reject her for her “shameful” past. Only struggling with watching Edward and Bella in key moments/decisions does Rose realize that she needs to trust in her love for Emmett, and have faith in that love.

Even re-reading the story to write this review, the last one-third of this story, specifically Emmett's response to what Rose tells him, and the very last paragraph and line, still just get me bawling. The power and realization behind Rose's actions and Emmett's reactions are just... huge. I very much identify with Rose's character here, and I hope that even if you're a completely straight guy or girl, you will, too. After all, the ultimate message is about love – the love of a mother for a child, a woman for a man, and the love between friends. Give it a try, I don't think you'll regret it.

Emibella is the author of four stories at FanFiction. She also maintains the Music Sundays Blog, and is an Administrator at The Lazy Yet Discerning Ficster.