Hey y'all! I'm back! Real quick before we get started, there are a few things I wanted to say.
First, thank you thank you thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited and followed my story!
Second, some of the reviewers pointed out that the first chapter was similar to the E! show Royals. This is true. I got the idea from the show, however if you have seen the show, I will be changing up some things quite a bit. Mainly that was the only scene that will be really close to the show. (I just really loved that scene!) Also, if you haven't seen the show, it's pretty okay. I thought that it was going to be like a fun scandalous kind of drama and halfway through the season it turned into a modern Hamlet melodrama. I will not be doing that. For the most part, I'm going to be doing fun drama! Yay fun!
Last but not least, I have decided to set myself a posting schedule. I will be posting every Wednesday or Thursday, depending on how real life treats me.
Now, back to Royalward and SouthernBella.
Chapter Two: Royally Familial
I looked up from my hands to see Edward gaping at me. He took a breath as if to say something only to shut his mouth. He opened it again then closed it. He did this several times.
"I'm so royally screwed," Edward muttered finally. I couldn't help the giggles that burst out of my mouth at his statement. He looked at me like I'd grown a third eye.
"I really don't know what you find so funny about this," he said.
"I'm sorry. I just had the same thought when Jake said that Daddy was looking for me. And for God's sake, Edward, you're a damned prince. You shouldn't be afraid of anything. Especially not Daddy."
"You calling the gun-wielding Chief Swan 'Daddy' is really fucking me up right now, Bella," Edward responded. "He could shoot me!"
"What is wrong with you? I can handle my daddy just fine, Edward," I said.
"Bella, I just defiled Chief Swan's daughter. Repeatedly. In very naughty ways. He's going to kill me, regardless of my rank," Edward replied. I was getting kinda hot thinking about all the ways he had defiled me last night. I smiled as I remembered waking to Edward fondling my breast in his sleep. I promptly woke him up and let him have me again. However, Edward's nervous pacing detracted from the sexiness.
"Please, Edward. I'm certainly not going to tell my dad that we had sex, and I sure as hell wasn't complaining all of the defiling that happened last night," I said. I walked over to Edward and stopped him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my naked chest to his. I leaned up and whispered in his ear, "In fact, I wouldn't mind a little more defiling right now."
Edward looked at me with a horror stricken face. In fact, he seemed a little green around the gills now that I was looking at him properly. I think he even murmured what sounded like "devil woman" and walked away from me. He began to dress himself in the wrinkled button down from last night.
"Oh Edward, get over yourself. Daddy's not gonna find out about last night, and he probably won't even care," I said, putting my dress back on. There wasn't any point in trying to coerce him into another round, because I'm fairly certain in his panicked and paranoid state he wouldn't be able to get it up anyway.
"Why would your father not care that you had been defiled like a common whore?" Edward asked. Ouch. I knew this was a one-time thing, and we certainly weren't going to ride off into the sunset, but his words stung. Seeing my reaction, he quickly tried to make amends for his statement. "Bella, I didn't mean it like that."
"No, it's fine," I replied. "My daddy and I barely know each other. I spent two weeks with him a year. He spent most of that time working, while I spent most of my time sneaking around the tunnels with Jake. Save for a few phone calls and letters, we didn't speak. I was his and Renee's mistake." I tried not to go down that road where I started feeling sorry for myself. I had been down that familiar road too many times, and if Nonny found out, she'd have me back in Nashville sitting in my therapist's office before I could say "bloody hell".
"Is that what your mother told you? That Chief Swan thought you were a mistake? Because that is not true. He thinks his little girl hung the moon and stars. I remember in the weeks leading up to your visits every year made him a completely different man. He would walk up and down the corridors whistling. He works so hard so that he could pay for your schooling and plane tickets every year. He wants to give you everything. My father said that he kicks himself for not filing for full custody when your mother left." Edward was a fantastic liar. He was probably raised to give people false compliments his whole life. He could've gone on all day, I'm sure. It didn't matter, and I told him as much.
"It doesn't matter, Edward. We're never going to see each other again, and I don't plan on telling my dad that we fucked!" With that, I got up to gather my belongings and made my way to the door.
Edward grabbed my elbow to stop me. "Wait just a second, Bella. What do you mean we won't see each other again? You live at the palace."
"Yes, but not the parts that the royal family occupies. One of the conditions of my living at the palace was to stay out of the parts used daily, either by the royal family or the tours. I'm pretty much relegated to the servant's areas or my father's apartment," I replied, gnawing on my lip. It was kinda embarrassing, but I had been so desperate to get out of Tennessee that I would've said yes to anything.
"Then, I'll come to you," Edward replied.
"Edward, stop. We both knew this was a one-time thing. You don't have to pretend to date me because you have some delusion that my dad is going to shoot you." He was still holding me close, and it startled me, how intense his expression had gotten.
"Bella, I'm not going to pretend to date you, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see you again. I want to take you on real dates. Even if your father can end me with a pull of a trigger." He audibly gulped at the last part.
"We're from completely different worlds. There's no way that we would work," I said, waving my hand in the air between us.
He didn't respond. I was about to push him away when he pulled me into a kiss. All the clichés came to mind as my lips melded with his. I thought the night before had all been a drunken, horny fluke, but I was dead wrong. My hands wove into the hair at the nape of his neck. They gripped the curled locks and never wanted to let go. Unfortunately luck wasn't on my side. Jacob called through the door that Edward needed to leave. We broke the kiss, and Edward threaded his fingers through mine as he grabbed his things. He led me out the door to the idling town car.
"I'll see you later," I said with a kiss. I was still floating from the one we shared inside. I knew this feeling couldn't last, but I'd surely enjoy it while I could.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"To get a cab?"
"Right, where are you going? I'll drop you," he said.
"Home. I have to deal with Daddy before he sends the whole blessed English Army after me," I replied.
"I thought so. In you go," he said, gesturing to the car.
"Edward. You have some issues with your own family. I'll let you go, and we can talk later," I said, pulling away. Once again, he didn't say anything. He pulled me into another deep and passionate kiss. Once he released my lips, Edward guided my dazed body into the back of the car. He followed, and Jacob closed the door. As he pulled away from the curb, I said to Edward, "You can't just kiss me silly every time we have a disagreement."
"I can, and I will. It's a very effective tactic in getting my own way," he responded, planting another one on my lips. I replied with equal fervor until Jacob cleared his throat from the driver's seat.
"Oh don't even give me that look, you ass," I said at Jacob's eyes teasing me in the mirror. "How'd you even know it was me?" I gave him a warning look as I said it. It was waaaay to early in this…. whatever it was with Edward to be having the "exes" talk.
"Please, Bella, I'm hurt. You're my best friend. Of course I recognized you," he replied with a fake pout. I shot him a look that said "I'm calling bullshit." And he said, "Alright, but it's not everyday you meet a woman with your initial carved in her back." He laughed. Ass.
"You know damn well that I didn't carve a J into my shoulder," I responded. I then muttered, "Stupid tree branch."
Jacob let out a big belly laugh at my expense. "If you hadn't tried to dig the bloody thing out yourself, it wouldn't have turned into a right mess!"
Edward squeezed my fingers, which were still intertwined with his own. I looked up at his confused face and sighed. This was not my most glorious moment and once again, I found myself wanting to strangle Jake this morning. "I told you earlier every time I came to visit dad, I spent the time with Jake?" He nodded, and I continued, "I wasn't the most graceful Swan in the world, and this horse's ass wanted to go ride bikes. I agreed and he decided it would be great fun to take me to the middle of the woods to 'mountain bike'. The long-short of it is that I went flying down a hill and landed flat on y back. I got up and started cursing him a blue streak. He had this panicked look on his face. I felt smug thinking that he was actually afraid of me. He wasn't."
I was interrupted by Jake's chortling from the front. "She had a facking tree branch sticking out of her shoulder!"
Edward began laugh along with Jacob. I shot him a glare and continued, "And this dumbass just stares at me like I'd grown a second head! By the time the adrenaline had worn off and I realized I was in pain, his pansy ass had fainted. He fainted like a little girl at the tiny bit of blood seeping out of my shoulder."
"Tiny bit of blood?!" Jacob interrupted again. "Bella, you had to get a blood transfusion!"
"Whatever!" I grumbled. "Anywaaay, while he was laying on the ground doing shit-all to help me, I was trying to get the damned thing out of my shoulder. Needless to say, it didn't work out quite like I had planned."
"When I got up, I sprung into hero action. Pedaled her ungrateful arse all the way back to yer uncle, so she could get stitched up," Jake finished, through chuckles as he continued to laugh at my childhood misfortune.
"Carlisle?" Edward asked. I nodded in response. "Why haven't we ever met? I spent most of my summer holidays following him around."
"I'm sure you had princely duties to perform," I said, waving my hand like a princess.
"Not likely. I'm the spare. They wouldn't waste their time grooming me unless something happened to Emmett," Edward responded. "I'm planning on going into medicine like my Uncle Carlisle."
"Right," I said, pensively. Before anything else could be said on the subject, we pulled up to the back gates of Buckingham fucking Palace. If Edward didn't need to find the perfect bride to one day become Queen, was there any hope for us? I didn't want to get too excited. I was still getting used to living in the damn palace, any more hope, and the dam would surely burst. We didn't say anything else as we pulled up the long drive and Jacob opened the door for us. He gave an over exaggerated bow as I stepped out of the car and tried to trip me at the same time. I stuck my tongue out at him as I gracefully stepped over him.
"I see the graceless Swan is no more," he said. It stung to be reminded that since I had become older, I stopped coming to visit my dad. Nonny had me enrolled in so many activities that I hadn't been able to find two weeks in my summer to come see my best friend and my daddy.
"Nonny enrolled me in dance and etiquette classes as soon as she found out what had happened. It wouldn't be very fashionable for me to face plant at the Brentwood Deb, now would it?" I replied as I walked away from him.
I tried to leave Edward once more, but he grabbed my hand tightly. "Edward, please. We both have family things to take care of. I promise, I'll see you later."
He leaned in closer, and I immediately put my hand over his mouth. There was no way I was letting him get away with that again. Instead he stood up straight. It looked as though he was mentally preparing himself for battle. I looked at him skeptically.
"Okay, we'll face off with Chief Swan first." Edward looked positively ill as he said the words.
"You're not going to leave the fucking King and Queen of England waiting while I argue with Daddy about his ridiculous curfew," I replied, trying once again to regain control of my hand.
"Very well, this way to the Royal Sitting Room," Edward said stuffily. I rolled my eyes and followed him down the hallways I'd only seen when Jake and I had taken the tour of the palace for fun. This walk was much more nerve-wracking than the one filled with laughs and snide comments from my best friend. Edward squeezed my hand reassuringly, noticing the tension coursing through me, but I knew he was in pain. My nails were digging into the back of his hand, no doubt leaving behind little half moon indents similar to the ones I noticed on his back this morning. I startled myself with the reminder of last night, because it jolted the memory of the hickey Edward left on my neck. I quickly covered the love bite with my hair, smoothing it two more times unnecessarily. My hands were shaking and sweating. I needed to clear my mind of last night in order to meet the King and Queen of England.
As we approached the biggest parlor room I had ever seen, I took in the opulence of it. There were giant oil paintings on every wall and gold thread—probably real gold thread—in almost every stitch of furniture. The room overall was warm and inviting, with yellow curtains and furnishings, but the grandness of it made me nervous.
I noticed on one of the love seats surrounding the large mahogany coffee table sat the King and Queen of England. I had, of course, read up on my palacemates before I came to England. I blame my drunkenness as the reason behind my not recognizing Edward at the bar. Both of the reigning monarchs had scowls on their faces—which was a stark contrast to the glorious faces they wore in all the photos I had found on Google. The Queen's glare was far icier than the sad look her husband wore. To the King's left sat Princess Mary. She wore an inappropriate black dress and a smirk as she took in my and Edward's appearance. Her neck was draped with chunky diamond necklaces, and she had a crown on her head. I assumed it was an ironic statement, because it was made of plastic. To her left, on the love seat opposite the Queen and King, Prince Emmett sat with a blonde woman I had never seen during my research. Emmett was the eldest of the Royal Family's children and, as such, was first in line to the throne. The woman sitting next to him also had a scowl on her face. However, hers was sad and watery like the look in her eyes. She wasn't in any of the articles or pictures I had ever seen before, but it didn't take me long before I realized who she was. Her right hand was twined with Emmett's while her left rested on a pooching stomach with a giant ass rock on her third finger. Judging by the fat content on the rest of her body, I guessed that she didn't get a pooch from eating too many French fries.
"Edward's here!" Princess Mary sing-songed. My nervousness increased as she drew attention to us. However, my worries were unfounded. The couples sitting across from each other didn't spare us even a glance. They're eyes stayed locked on each other. It was a test of wills, a show of power from the older couple, and a demonstration of fearlessness from the younger. Mary merely looked amused by the whole thing. Like she was watching a fabulous circus. I only wondered who would survive the show. The lions or the lion tamers?
"Edward, how nice of you to finally join us," the Queen started without looking away from her eldest son and his pregnant wife. "Emmett here has made a right mess of everything around here. The bloody prat went off on a boys' weekend to Vegas with his mates and decided it would be a good time to bring home a pregnant American slut. The future King of bloody England married an American in Las Vegas! And he couldn't just marry her. That would be too easy. That cock-up we could fix. Oh no, he got the twat pregnant!"
I flinched at her words. I had never expected the Queen of England to have such foul language. During her rant, she had gotten up and started pacing around the room. I positioned myself slightly behind Edward to make myself as unnoticeable as possible. She poured herself a glass of amber colored liquid and downed the whole thing in one swift swallow. Finally she turned to Edward. She opened her mouth—no doubt to continue her diatribe on Emmett's situation—when she stopped, noticing my head peeking out behind Edward's shoulder. "Oh, fantastic, Edward. You brought one of your sluts to listen in on family business!" I took a step out to give the bitch a piece of good ole Tennessee hospitality when Edward squeezed my hand. He gave me a look to say A) that's not true and B) let me take care of it, please. I nodded unnoticeably and looked back to the Queen, who narrowed her eyes at me.
"You! You're Charlie Swan's little mutt!" I gasped as if she had slapped me in the face. I saw Edward's face cloud, but before he could say a word in my defense, his mother continued, "Part of the conditions of our allowing you to stay here is that you were to be kept out of sight in the palace. I'll be having a little chat with dear Charlie about his future employment and your new living arrangements. I suggest you find some."
"You will be doing no such thing, Esmeralda!" the King boomed, seeming to be jolted out of his thoughts. "You must remember, dear, that you are not Queen by your own right. You are simply married to the King."
"How could I forget, with you always reminding me, darling?" the Queen snapped back. She gave a childish pout so contradicting to the harsh words she had been spewing. The Queen poured herself another glass of liquor and returned to the love seat, glaring at the blonde woman once again.
"Please forgive my wife's outburst. She's had quite the shock this morning," the King began. "I'm delighted to make your acquaintance once again, Isabella. Over the years your father has become one of my dearest friends and confidantes. I see now why he believes you to be the most pure and radiant being in all the world. I'm so glad to see you again."
I was a little put off by his formal words and their meanings. Surely quiet and surly Charlie Swan was not who the King was talking about. "Thank you, Your Majesty," I stuttered.
"Please, darling, call me Ed. I met you when you were a very small girl, and I must say you've grown into a beautiful young woman," King Edward replied.
"She will do no such thing, Edward!" the Queen snapped. "You will refer to the King with proper respect, girl!"
The King rolled his eyes and gave me a wink. I could see the resemblance to my Edward. No, it was much too early to be calling him mine.
"Can we please return to the matter at hand? What are we going to do about this problem?" she asked waving her hand in the blonde's general direction without looking at her. Edward rolled his eyes and led me to the armchair opposite his sister. I stood at his side, feeling a little out of place, but shortly, Edward pulled me into his lap. My face turned tomato red as the Queen's head snapped our way. She gave another icy stare before turning back to the King. "Well?"
"I'm not quite sure what you want me to say Esme? The boy has married," he replied shrugging. "I'm going to suppose he needs to get her paperwork in order, but we should be able to fast track that. I know someone." The King gave a quite chuckle and the rest of his family followed with forced smiles. I however, let out a genuine laugh at the King's little joke, which earned me yet another glare from Queen Esmeralda.
"Have you gone mad?" the Queen asked her husband. "Parliament will never allow this marriage!"
"It's quite a great thing that we don't need Parliament's approval, then. Isn't it mother?" Emmett gritted.
"Do you have a suggestion, wife?" the King asked.
"Well, if he insists on having her, she could become his mistress. Still scandalous, but not unprecedented. Of course, he would have to find a suitable wife for legitimate heirs. Lord Corning has a beautiful daughter. She studied Art History at University, which would become very useful in keeping up with the décor here at the palace. I'm sure that Corning would—"
Emmett interrupted the Queen furiously. "Mother!" he boomed. "I will not be keeping Rosalie as a mistress. She is my wife, and we'll remain married until the day I die. Parliament will not dictate my marriage, and neither will you."
"Oh for Christ's sake, Emmett! You cannot remain married to her and become King. You are next in line for the throne, which means that you will be made head of the Church of England. You cannot have a child outside of wedlock."
"It's a good thing that we are married, then," Emmett replied coolly.
"So, you were married when this child was conceived?" the Queen countered.
"Well no, but that—" Emmett started, but Queen Esme cut him off, "There are no buts, Emmett. That is the law."
"Then we change the law!" Prince Emmett said.
There was silence following his statement. Everyone else had seemed to back away from the argument. We just watched as the Queen and her son volleyed arguments back and forth. However, we all seemed shocked by the Crowned Prince's suggestion. The King chewed thoughtfully on the subject.
"It could be possible, but it would be a long road, and once the press gets ahold of it, it will be very messy. Parliament would also be very hesitant because of tradition and popular opinion. Nevertheless, I will take it to the Prime Minister," the King thought out loud.
"We shouldn't take anything to the Prime Minister until we have solidified a course of action," the Queen said. "There is no use in getting everyone worked up if it isn't necessary."
The group nodded. I found it ironic that the Queen was trying to stop people from getting worked up, but I kept my mouth shut. Her suggestion sounded like the most reasonable solution and from what I had seen the kindest thing she had ever said. Everyone in the room was quite, pondering the options laid out on the table, so to speak. Until Princess Mary broke the silence.
"Edward!" she said. Both the King and my Edward looked at her confused. "Don't be thick. I'm not talking about you two. I'm talking about our great-great-great uncle. Edward VIII. Everyone told him he couldn't marry an American divorcee, so he abdicated the throne. Couldn't Emmett do that? Then he could stay married to Rosalie, and we wouldn't have to go through the process of making up a new law!"
"Alice, that's bloody brilliant!" Emmett shouted.
"Again, it's possible. It would be easier than changing the law but not much. We would have to get Parliament to agree to it and change the line of succession to Edward," the King said, looking to Edward and me. My Edward gripped my thigh reassuringly but didn't say anything.
"No one will be abdicating the throne! Are you mad?! We can't afford that kind of humiliation!" the Queen shouted.
"Fortunately, you don't have a say in this dilemma. Emmett, Edward, and I will discuss the options with the Prime Minister, and you will stay out of it," King Edward said to his wife. "Son, I want you both to think about it, and we will discuss this more tomorrow."
"Thank you, father. We definitely have quite a bit to ponder on," Emmett replied squeezing Rosalie's hand. The King nodded made his leave. There were some foreign dignitaries that required his attention.
"Fantastic! So glad I could be of assistance," Princess Mary said, clapping her hands together. "Are we done here? I have things to do."
"Not quite, Mary Alice, but rest assured, I'll get you back to your drugs momentarily," the Queen said frostily. She threw a magazine on the table towards the Princess. I didn't get a glimpse of the cover before Princess Mary picked it up.
"Aw, they edited it. The unedited picture is much better. You can see my tattoo!" the Princess said, holding up the cover for the rest of us to see. Gracing the cover of the tabloid was a picture of the Princess getting out of a limo rather ungracefully. Her dress was pulled up around her hips, and based upon the star over her crotch, I assumed she wasn't wearing any underwear. The bold words read "Princess Fanny". Underneath the bright violet letters, there was smaller writing with highlights of the story and other slanderous remarks about the Princess. I could feel the shaking of Edward's torso underneath me. I turned and smacked him on the chest for laughing at his sister, when his mother looked ready to kill. I bit my lower lip to hide the smile breaking on my face. I had to admit; whoever had titled the article did a fantastic job and had a brilliant sense of humor.
The Queen turned her sharp eyes on the pair of us. "Would you like to join your siblings on the chopping block today, Edward?" she asked, picking up an iPad off the table in front of her. She turned it on and pulled up the web browser.
As Edward said, "No thank you, mother," she slid the tablet towards us. On the screen was a grainy picture of me and Edward from the alley last night.
I knew it was Edward because of his wild hair, and I knew it was me because my hand was threaded in his hair and the tattoo of a compass was plainly displayed on the outside of my wrist. Shit! That was really the only discerning feature of me. So, only those close to me would know. After I examined the picture, I noticed the headline read "Royal Groping" and was stationed above another picture of Edward grapping my boob under my shirt.. I heard Edward snigger as he picked up the tablet. I elbowed him discreetly. This was absurdly embarrassing for me, just thinking about all the people who were going to see it. Edward scrolled down through the article, no doubt skimming to see if they had figured out who I was. I saw another picture near the bottom. It was a much better quality picture. The photo was taken this morning, as we were leaving Edward's apartment. I was grateful that you couldn't see any details as my body was pressed against the car, and Edward was covering me. My cheeks flushed as Edward continued to chuckle.
The Queen noticed. She said, "Honestly Edward, at least your little whore has the decency to be embarrassed by her behavior. What happened to you, Edward? What happened to my serious little boy who always followed the rules?"
"He realized that he was the spare, and it was easier to stay drunk than deal with this family," Edward replied, standing me up and following suit. "And mother, do not ever speak to my girlfriend in such a manner again, or when I'm King, I'll strip you of everything you have left." With that, he led me out of the room without a sparing glance.
"Edward, that's a little presumptuous," I said as he pulled me away from his family. I could hear his mother yelling obscenities as we walked down the hall away from the scene he had just created.
"Not really, Bella. Emmett has always taken his responsibilities very seriously. Now, Rose and that baby are his first priority. He met her quite some time ago on a bachelor party and has gone frequently to visit her under the guise of boys' weekends. If it comes down to it, I'd bet my stake on the throne that he will choose Rosalie," Edward said. I had guessed based on the size of her belly, that Emmett hadn't just met the mother of his child.
"That's not what I was talking about, Edward," I said. "I meant the part about my being your girlfriend was presumptuous. We just met last night after all." I said it all very dryly, like my heart wasn't doing somersaults and my head wasn't yelling at me to stop turning to mush. At my words, Edward's face flushed. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe he ever felt embarrassed.
"I suppose we could start at friends," he offered.
"Friends don't do what we did last night," I said, trying to hide the hurt and chastising myself for acting like a crazy person. "How about we meet in the middle at dating?"
"Sounds fair," Edward responded in a pondering manner.
"Good. Now, are you ready to meet Daddy?" I asked as we approached the hallway that lead to my and my father's apartment. Edward looked ill once again at the thought of facing my father and his gun.
Hi, me again! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you have seen Royals, you now know I plan to make some changes ;)
Please please please let me know what you think! See you next week lovelies!