Lady Isabella leaned tiredly against the wall as the last of her strength deserted her.
"There, there, my darling," A soft voice cooed, "Tis all right."
"Rose," She gasped, her shoulders shaking as she cried.
"Pay him no mind. He is not worthy of your tears, dearest!" Gentle hands caressed her curls away from her sweaty forehead, and she leaned into the touch.
"Here drink this. You will feel better." Lady Rosalie handed her a goblet of water.
Isabella rinsed her mouth, before taking a greedy sip of cool water. Yet, the bitter taste on her tongue refused to go.
"Rose, he... F... Father said he would have me wed Lord James," She cradled her swollen stomach protectively, taking deep, shuddering breaths. "I shan't marry him. Please, Rose..."
"I shall tear down that pathetic wastrel if he laid so much as a finger on you!" Rosalie trembled with rage, her fangs elongating. "No one shall force you into anything- not even Lord Charles. I promise."
You have disgraced our family, Bella! Our noble name is tarnished forever due to your folly. I should have killed you the day you were born, you stupid wench! The hurtful words, the vengeful wrath of her father crumbled the defense of numbness she had erected. Stumbling, she made her way to a chaise in a daze.
"Father refuses to believe me," She swallowed, "He... he called me a harlot." Just like them.
Isabella bowed her head, incapable of mustering even a smidgen of righteous indignation she had felt when the rumors first started.
Oh, they were not spoken aloud.
The prominent position of her family in the Court kept tongues from wagging openly.
But it did not mean there was no gossip, or it did not reach her ears.
The newest one she had heard claimed she was unsure about the identity of the father of her babe, seeing as she was free with her favors.
"What if he believes them, Rose?" The maudlin thoughts she had tried to suppress, escaped her as an agonized cry in a moment of vulnerability. "What if he believes the rumors and thinks I betrayed him?"
"Then he does not deserve the boon you are," Rosalie's nostrils flared. "If he thinks you capable of sullying yourself, Bella-"
"I will kill him." The raw hatred in the familiar voice sent a shiver down her spine.
Even though his huge stature and imposing personality showed otherwise, her brother Emmett was the jolliest person one can ever find. Yet, as he marched towards them, there was nary a trace of his usual good humor and cheeriness on his face. She had never heard him sound so cold and furious.
"I shall end his life if he dares to think so poorly of you."
"Emmett!" She stared at him astonished. "What are you doing here?"
"I sent for him as soon as your father," Rosalie sneered at the title, "began nattering about your marriage to that buffoon, James."
"You need not worry about him any longer. He will be dealt with suitably." He reassured, laying a comforting hand on her head.
Isabella closed her eyes; the unwavering support of her brother strengthening her faltering spirit.
But then again, Emmett had always been fierce in protecting her. He might be her brother by birth, but for all intents and purposes, he was the only parent Isabella had ever known. Ever since the death of her mother, Charles Swan was too grief-stricken and pained to give her the attention and love she needed.
"So, the babe has quickened?"
"Yes." Isabella choked, half-afraid her answer would incite his disapproval.
Emmett exhaled loudly, yet the recriminations she had expected never came.
"Why won't you tell us who he is, little dove?" The desperation in his voice pierced her heart.
She longed nothing more than to tell them the identity of her mate. The less charitable, angry part of her wished to see the faces of all those who had made her out to be a shamess doxy, when he claimed her as his.
But, her hands were bound. She had promised her mate Edward that she wouldn't tell anyone they were mated until he decreed it safe.
Due to the ongoing war with the clan Volturi, numerous assassination attempts on Nobles and prominent members of the Court were made. And Edward refused to put her in danger.
"Emmett, I-"
"I know you swore to me that you were not forced in any way, but your reluctance to tell the name of your mate scares me," He admitted, slumping beside her, "I cannot bear to see you hurt, dearest."
Isabella blinked away her tears and rested her head on his shoulder. Being half-vampire, half-human, she did not have much power to begin with and the child growing in her womb weakened her further.
She shuddered to imagine her fate had her brother too believed she had allowed someone other than her mate to touch her. The bond between mates was sacred in their world and it was a sacrilege to defile it so. Had Emmett turned her away, she would have had nowhere to go, for no one would have accepted her.
Edward had gone more than three months back to crush the Volturi's rebellion up south, and he was yet to return.
"The day you were born was the happiest day of my life," Emmett broke her melancholic abstraction. "I was so excited to get a sister of my own to cherish and protect forever. But in all my youthful innocence, I had not known what a right terror the squalling, pink-faced babe would grow up to be," He chuckled when Isabella punched him lightly, "Then father told me you were a Halfling for our mother was a human, and I swear my frozen heart failed that day thinking of many ways harm might befall you. Little dove, you and Rosie are the most important-"
A shrill scream from the hallway beyond interrupted him.
"Was that...?"
"Father, yes," Emmett's confirmed, a deadly fierceness replacing the tenderness he had shown his sister as he listened to the pandemonium in his house.
"Dear Lord, are we under an attack?" The abrupt keen metallic sound of a vampire torn apart had Rosalie clutching Isabella's arm in alarm.
"Rosie, you and Bella take refuge in the-"
The door of the chamber crashed open with a resounding crash.
Orbs the color of fresh blood gazed around wildly before locking with hers, their unbridled fervor rivaling hellfire.
"Your Highness!" Emmett bowed in deference and Rosalie curtsied, recognising the powerful vampire.
"Edward, you are home!" The jubilant cry of Isabella, however, startled them.
They took a defensive position in front of her in a heartbeat, while abasing themselves at the same time.
"Have mercy, Your Highness! My sister did not intend to disrespect you. She has been in a great emotional turmoil and… No!" Emmett's impassioned plea changed into a cry of horror as his sister rushed towards him.
The devil.
The soul-less monster.
The Vampire King.
Edward growled, closing the distance between them with ground-eating strides. He engulfed Isabella in his arms and buried his face in her hair, "Oh, how I craved you, my love. How I ached for you!"
"Edward," Isabella's nails clawed at his back as she nestled closer to him. "You were gone and I… I…"
"Hush, my darling, I am here now. I came as soon as I received the news," He kissed down her neck, feeling the mating bond hum in ecstasy at their closeness.
A sob tore from her throat. "I feared you shan't come back for me... you shan't believe me," She confessed.
Edward's lips curled in snarl and he trained his incendiary eyes on her. "Never think like that, darling. Never doubt me. There's no one in this world I trust more than you. I have waited too long for you to let you go!" He ran a reverant hand on her stomach, sublime wonder lightening his handsome face.
"You know not what a gift you have bestowed on me, beloved. I had lost hope of having a mate of my own, let alone becoming a father." He kissed her forehead. "You are my miracle- my most precious, blessed miracle."
Isabella sagged against him, the relief from weeks of anxiety and heartache making her lightheaded. He purred in pleasure, taking lungful of her sweet scent.
"Rest now, dear heart. I will take care of everything," Edward swung her up in his arms. "Isabella shall be crowned come morn before the entire Court. Start making preparations, Emmett."
"Y... Yes, Your Highness."
"Oh, and your front parlour is in need of repair, Emmett. I fear I was too... enthusiastic in disposing the garbage."
Leaving Isabella's flabbergasted brother and his mate, Edward strode out of the room without a backward glance. Not that they would stop him.
Not that anyone could stop him.
Due to the threat of the war, he had denied himself the company and affection of his mate long enough.
But not anymore.
He had won the war for her, and nothing would keep him from claiming his prize.
Her, for the rest of eternity.