http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5027882/1/Boundless
Word Count: 7,199

Official Description: 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.

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SweetDulcinea says: Love or hate Breaking Dawn, there is one thing the book gave us that I think most readers appreciated: more Rosalie.

Granted, Eclipse and the bits of Midnight Sun that were available did expand upon her characterization, but BD allowed us to see her in action. As everything else, there was still a lot to be desired in the books. One of the major faults I think a lot of people have with the series is that SM created so many diverse, complex characters, but we didn’t have the opportunity to dig into that complexity as much as we’ve wanted to. As a result, there have been far too many fanfics with stomach-turning interpretations and representations of characters we otherwise enjoyed. On the other hand, there have been those few rare gems, brought to life by insightful writers, that have taken the canon characters and expanded upon them in ways that not only feel genuine, but also make us feel like we finally get to know a character in a manner that becomes the “new canon” to us.

One story I adore for that reason is Boundless by Emibella. This one-shot was originally written for the LGBT fest on LiveJournal, based on a prompt provided by Smellyia, but it is something any canon fan could appreciate.

Rosalie begins shortly after leaving Bella in Edward’s room in that memorable scene from Eclipse. We’ve learned about Rosalie’s human life and change, but she immediately admits to leaving out a very important part of her story. You see, Rosalie and Vera were more than friends. As it continues, Rosalie describes the affection she felt toward her best friend growing up and how that transformed into a very special love between the two of them. You won’t find explicit femme slash lemons in this story, but Rosalie’s feelings toward Vera, her husband, and Royce are all laid out clearly. It is sweet and really quite innocent, but at the same time, readers will see how naive and inexperienced Rosalie’s perception of love is compared to Vera once she is married and has a child. In fact, you’ll find that Vera is quite intriguing and wise, adding depth to a character we only glimpsed in the Eclipse.

“Rosalie, I know,” She finally whispered, “I know that we have a special friendship. One that no one can really understand. That’s okay. We can still have that. Forever.”

When I looked up at her and saw her own eyes wet with tears I knew that she understood me.

Vera pulled me into a warm hug. We were sitting on my bed and the window was open, the late spring breeze smelled like cherry blossoms and I knew then that I could watch her get married to a man of whom I was jealous. Her heart still belonged to me.

On the night of Rosalie’s human death, Emibella takes us into Rose’s world to see the actual events that preceded her run-in with Royce and his rowdy, drunk friends. With Vera’s encouragement and example, she makes the decision to find herself a good man she can really love and start a family with, even if she has to wait. High on her resolve, she walks home alone, and in a rash decision, breaks off her engagement to Royce in front of his drinking buddies. We all know the sad story from there, though it is portrayed in a very touching manner in this fanfic.

With this new insight into Rosalie’s history and character, a whole new world is opened to her personality and relationships with the other Cullens. We find that there was more to the reason she and Edward did not attempt a romance, as well as an interesting take on the bond between her and Esme. In an ironic, heavy conversation with Edward, we learn that her words may have greatly impacted his perspective of bringing Bella into their eternal life:

Edward looked confused. What I had failed to understand about him was that it wasn’t that he didn’t understand how I could love another woman, but his complete lack of understanding of love of any kind. He was changed when he was young and must have never been close to a girl before. Love to him seemed easy, clean. Like the love his mother had had for him.

“Rosalie, I am sorry, I just thought that that was what you wanted, to be with the one you loved forever.” He was honestly bewildered.

I leaned on my knees in front of him and hated that I was stuck explaining this to him.

“Condemning someone is not love, Edward, it’s selfish,” I said slowly, “I would rather live an eternity alone than take what Vera has away from her.”

But as we all know, Emmett comes into the picture eventually, and he truly does change her heart for the better. Though she does not fully understand her feelings and reactions at the time, she desires him – to love, care for, and be with. While Edward has doubts about her true motivation, Rosalie is fierce in her reassurance that what she feels for Emmett is true. After years of encouragement from Edward, it is that conversation with Bella that serves at a catalyst for her to finally come clean to her husband about her past. As Edward had always known – having once stated that Emmett’s love for Rose was greater than hers for him or even that of Carlisle and Esme – Emmett loves Rosalie no less after learning the truth about Vera.

It was just over a year ago that I first read Boundless, and I’ll share part of my original review with you here because I feel just same about it as I did back then: “I find that where Esme is often neglected in FF, Rosalie is misconstrued horribly. You gave her an honest, vulnerable, and touching voice. Wrapping it all around the concept of the many loves that exist in life was perfect. It seems that people often overlook how much love she holds in her fierce loyalty to her family, but this pulled that together…I also really like that this gave a greater explanation of her acceptance of Bella. It wasn’t explaining her cover story that opened Rosalie’s heart, it was the door opening to her own self-discovery that led her to understand Bella & Edward’s need to be together.”

At the heart of it, this beautifully written one-shot is a story of love and its many forms. Through Rosalie’s tumultuous journey, her experience, perception, and perspective on love grow and morph into the understanding that (as Rose states at one point) one love is not cast aside for another, but that it grows exponentially. I won’t spoil it for you here, but the last line of this story will undoubtedly touch your heart and make you remember why we were all so endeared to the Cullens in the first place.

I promise that reading this story will change the way you look at Rosalie and give you a new appreciation of not only her and Vera, but also her relationships with Edward and Emmett. Don’t forget to leave Emibella some love while you’re there, too! Happy reading!