All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Furthermore, I am not a historical expert. I've taken the Pompeian culture, and mashed it together with the Athenian culture to make things more exciting. But please understand, this is fiction, and I've taken a fuckload of liberties with the past...

A/N: Chapter 2 already, I hear you cry ;) But I'm super-excited about this story and I've got enough free time at the moment to get away with writing constantly, but hey, I'm sure y'all aren't complaining!

Chapter 2: 364 days- BPOV (Never fear, Edward will get his say in the end)

After Charlie informed me that we would be having Carlisle over for dinner, I hurried back to the room to tell Alice the news. I was really excited to meet Carlisle's daughter, or at least I assumed she must be his daughter- after all, Charlie would never encourage a friendship between myself and a boy!

Alice, of course, had discovered all of this in the time it took for Charlie to tell me, and was busy rummaging through my wardrobe, claiming to be 'trying to find the perfect toga for tonight.' Eventually, she decided on a beautiful blue toga that reminded me of one of my mother's togas, but it was cut to fit my more modest form. It was a lovely rich colour, and I adored it.

After a quick trip to the baths, to make sure I was clean for tonight, I gossiped with Alice as she removed my hair from the pins she put had put it in in the morning, to redo it in a much fancier up do.

"What do you think she's going to be like?" I asked Alice, excitedly.

Alice looked puzzled, "who?"

"Carlisle's daughter of course!" I was pleased to know something that Alice didn't for once, as normally she seemed much more informed of everything that went on around the villa than I was.

Alice's puzzled expression changed into a frown. "Carlisle has a daughter? Are you sure?"

"Positive," I replied. "Why else would Charlie encourage me to be friends with her?"

"It could just as easily be a boy, Bella. I mean would a... friendship with someone of the opposite sex really be so out of the question?"

I sighed, Alice and I had debated this topic many times. "Alice, you know that men only want two things- sex, and heirs. I could deal with the heirs bit if it wasn't so intrinsically linked with the whole sex debacle- I mean I don't mind small children! But sex? The idea of it just seems so foreign and strange to me, to let someone do that to you. I just can't imagine it!"

Alice huffed and smiled. "When you meet your perfect man, everything will make sense Bella. You just remembered that."

I just smiled, not wanting to argue with Alice- after all, how would she know? She had just as much experience when it came to relationships as I did- and that was a big fat nothing.

-B-

I was finally ready for Carlisle's arrival, seated sedately in the atrium. Alice was standing almost unnoticed behind me, for which I was very grateful for, as I admired the beautiful impluvium that was the central focus of this room. The impluvium was a way for our family to store the water we needed for everyday tasks, such as cooking and cleaning, as we were not one of the lucky few who had running water in their house- an expensive and rare commodity. The impluvium was a small indent in the ground, where rainwater fell through a hole in the roof and was stored in the little pool.

I think what I like about the impluvium however, especially later on in the day, was that it gave you a perfect view to the night sky- something that I often simply didn't take notice of. Somehow having a room lit by starlight seemed to me to bring attention to the sky in a way that very little else did.

I wasn't complaining though, the stars were burning brightly tonight. Alice loved the stars, and I was sure that she was as entranced by them as I was.

Startling me out of my thoughts, Jacob lead Carlisle into the room, and Charlie immediately jumped to his feet to greet his new friend. I was more sedate in my greeting of Carlisle, more wary around new people than Charlie. I looked around for the rest of his family, but saw no one, not even his wife and never mind his daughter.

As if sensing my silent inquiry into the absence of his family, Carlisle immediately began to explain that his wife was a little under the weather, however his 'insolent child' was insisting on riding over. Charlie simply laughed, rolling his eyes.

"Children nowadays, they will always seem to defy you!" Charlie joked, winking at me as he invited Carlisle to take a seat.

"Ahh, hopefully mine won't keep this up, for it really is exhausting work- hopefully he should be here soon."

I missed almost the entirety of this interchange between my father and his friend, so focussed on the fact that my 'new friend' would be riding over, alone. This would never be allowed of a girl, however surely Alice could not be right? Charlie couldn't be encouraging a friendship between me and a... boy? I tuned in to the last of the conversation, only to hear 'he should be here soon', and all my suspicions were confirmed.

Carlisle's child was indeed male, and Charlie was encouraging me to interact with him. I would try, because after all, it would be extraordinarily rude not to, but I simply could not comprehend the idea of friendship between the two of us- we were practically two different species in my mind, and the idea that we could have enough similarities to be friends was an utterly ludicrous idea to me.

Immediately my mind jumped back to the handsome, green-eyed stranger, who's presence had had such an affect on me yesterday. I briefly wondered if I could be friends with him, before shaking this thought from my head and rejoining the conversation as best I could. As I listened in, I heard Charlie mention something about his servant, Jasper.

"Charlie, would you mind terribly if Jasper joined your servants for tonight? He drove me over here, and the only other alternative would be to leave him outside. It just doesn't seem fair, you know?"

Charlie was a huge advocate of servants' rights, following in Renee's footsteps- even if he would not go so far as to give Alice her freedom- and therefore he easily acquiesced to Carlisle's simple request.

"Jacob, kindly go fetch Jasper from outside please. Take him through to the kitchen and give him a good meal," said Charlie.

When Jacob brought Jasper through, Jasper kindly thanking his master and my father for their generosity, I heard a soft, almost inaudible gasp from behind me- it took me a few seconds to realise that it must have emanated from Alice, and I realised in a flash that this had everything to do with Jasper's presence.

I beckoned Alice close to me with one hand, and promptly told her that her services would not be necessary tonight, and she should feel free to go join the other servants in the kitchen. Alice's eyes widened infinitesimally, and she thanked me wholeheartedly, knowing exactly what I was doing for her.

Alice knew how uncomfortable I would be without her by my side, even if she was relegated to standing in the corner, so she understood how much of a sacrifice it was for me to relinquish this comfort to give her a chance to be with this Jasper. I just hoped he was worth it.

I settled back on to the couch, perched elegantly on the edge of it- forbidden to recline as the two men did, for this was not seemly for a woman. I would be glad of my rigid posture however, when another voice announced its presence to the room.

"Hello?"

"Edward, my boy! You made it!" Carlisle beamed at his son, greeting him with a hug, however I was less concerned with Carlisle greeting his son, and more concerted with this man's identity.

Calling him a man was perhaps a stretch of the imagination, for on closer inspection I could see he was but 19 or 20; and as for his identity- well this was my green-eyed stranger, the man who's face had haunted my thoughts for days now.

I must have expressed something of my shock vocally, for every eye in the room turned to me.

"I, I ap... I appologise, s...sss...sorry," I could feel my cheeks burn with embarrassment, and the blush I knew so well was sure to be spreading over my chest too, which was fortunately mostly covered by the lovely toga Alice had picked out for me.

Everyone was still looking at me curiously, and I tried to gather the breath to somehow explain my gasp when my stranger... no, my Edward, as I now knew his name to be, interrupted gently.

"Please, allow me to explain. Father, Charles;" he said, turning to each man respectively, "I had the pleasure of making the lady's acquaintance yesterday, when I managed to knock her over with Snowfire, my new horse. She dashed off before I could offer to accompany her to a physician, and the matter of having injured such a beautiful lady has rested heavily on my mind ever since."

There was no other way to describe Edward Cullen's voice other than melted sin.

Turning to me, now, his voice deepened, growing... huskier, for want of a better word. It was like he was speaking directly into my soul. "My lady, I trust I find you as perfect as ever, and your tumble has not injured you."

"N...No, I'm, I'm fine, Edward. Truly," I somehow managed to mumble back, my voice falling flat when compared to the bells with which he spoke.

"Ahh, and here lies the crux of the matter, I have nothing by which to address you, apart from my lady, or," and here he lowered his voice even more, "or beautiful..."

"Please, call me Bella," I replied; eager to hear my name fall from his mouth.

"Well it seems I will be calling you beautiful after all then, my Bella."

Someone cleared their throat loudly, and both Edward and I jumped, turning towards the noise. Both Charlie and Carlisle stood their, their faces painted with highly amused expressions, and I blushed vigorously once again.

Charlie, breaking the awkward moment, brought my attention to my surroundings, by gesturing to Edward to take a seat next to him. I realised that somehow my body had somehow dragged me to my feet and walked me over to Edward without my knowledge or permission. The two of us, like magnets, had been drawn together from opposite sides of the room.

"So, Edward, you're the cause of my frantic dash home yesterday after receiving news that my Bella had hurt herself in a nasty fall?" My father had to chose this moment to bring that up again, didn't he. I should have known that once he discovered Edward had played a part in my accident, no matter how small that part may have been, Edward was in for an interrogation.

I noticed the stress on the 'my Bella' that Charlie had uttered, and I was pretty sure that Edward had noticed this too, his face paling and turning towards my own.

"Bella, I hurt you?" His voice was pained, and his face ashen. The idea seemed so repulsive and abhorrent to him, that I swore that for a second his eyes glistened.

"Edward, it was but a small bruise, I'm never without a bruise or two- a strained wrist is nothing special to me, and most definitely not a big deal whatsoever," I hastened to reassure him of my health. "It barely even hurts today!" I said, waving my wrist around casually, and ignoring the slight twinge of pain that occurred when I did.

Carlisle, speaking up for the first time, said "let me be the judge of that Bella," and proceeded to examine my wrist once more. He proclaimed it much better already, but warned me to take it easy. He then went on the reprimand his son, warning him to be more careful with that new horse of his.

"Carlisle, the accident was my fault, not Edward's. I was not looking where I was going, I was lost in my thoughts, please do not reprimand Edward for my incompetence!" My tone was pleading, I would not let Edward take the blame for what was simply yet another of my clumsier moments.

Both Charlie and Carlisle chucked, at what I assumed must have been at my immediate defence of Edward. For the third time tonight, I blushed scarlet in embarrassment.

"Please, Bella, forgive me. I'm truly sorry that you have come to harm on my account. You cannot know how much this pains me." Edward's voice still sounded pained, and I vowed to do whatever I could to return it to its previous timbre.

"Edward, I am naturally clumsy, we both know full well that my injury is entirely my fault, so please feel no guilt over something that you played very little part in. You might have been a brick wall for all the difference it would have made," here everyone chuckled, "because the outcome would have been very much the same." I lowered my voice, trying to let Edward know that these words were for him alone. "And furthermore, anything that brought me to you cannot be a bad thing, surely..."

I had really put myself out there with that final sentence, and I was utterly shocked at my audacity. As it seemed, was Edward, whom I had rendered completely speechless. Instead of words, he crossed the room and knelt by my feet, which hung off the sofa, just touching the ground. He silently reached for my wrist, and pressed it to his lips, placing a feather-light kiss on the tender skin.

"Bella, you are truly a goddess among woman," he breathed. This was meant entirely for me, and was said so lightly that I barely heard myself, never mind Charlie and Carlisle being able to catch what he had said.

Charlie finally decided to intervene in our moment, saying that perhaps it was time for the men to go through to the tablinum, and I should retire for the night.

Carlisle and Edward both nodded their assent, and I was in no way offended at my dismissal. After all, this was very much the way of life- women would be sent away while the men discussed business and the like. I would have liked to sit in on these conversations and prove to everyone that I was not the doltish and simple-minded woman that most men saw me as. However in our society, women were inferior, and this would never even be considered appropriate.

In our civilisation, no matter how many modern amenities we had, there would always be the simple fact that women and slaves were on what was very much an unequal footing. We were bound to our masters- be it whomever bought us, in the case of slaves; or whomever married us, in the case of wives. We were not even considered citizens- in the eyes of the law we were simply property.

Charlie and Carlisle bustled on through to the tablinum, and I assumed that Edward followed them through, despite not witnessing him walk away with my own two eyes.

I relaxed on the couch, letting myself sink into its cushions in a completely undignified matter. A woman should always have her back straight and her posture prim when in the company of men, however now that I was alone, I couldn't bring myself to care about having a 'proper posture'- I was more concerned about relaxing and letting the tension that had arisen from seeing my stranger again, and under such unusual circumstances!

"It's nice to see you relax, you've looked so tense all evening."

Edward's voice appeared to come out of nowhere, a disembodied murmur that all at once seemed to come from all around me, and yet had no single source. It sent shivers down my spine and raised goose pimples on the exposed flesh of my arms and neck. I started and let out a little scream, the shock of being so sure I was alone taking me by surprise.

Jumping up, I whirled around to come face to face with Edward himself, standing so close to me we were almost touching. He pressed one finger to my lips, mutely letting me know that silence was necessary if we did not want to be disturbed.

"Bella, we do not have long, I will be missed soon. I just, I could not bare to leave you alone, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you- it is like you've enchanted me. Ever since we bumped into each other on the street, you've been constantly on my mind, and in my heart."

Edward's voice was little above a whisper, but the passion contained within it was strong. I almost gasped again, but Edward's finger against my lips reminded me to be silent.

"Edward, I feel the same way, you have been in my thoughts since I first set eyes upon you, and I have been unable to shake your image from my mind." I returned his sentiments, trying to convey the ardor that I too felt through my words.

Edward was by far the most beautiful man that I had ever seen, and he was here, with me. It was like something from a fairy tale, like something from the fables mother had read to me as a child.

"I wish you could join us, in your father's tablinum. It seems completely unfair to me that you are sent away while we talk. Women are constantly oppressed in our society, and I just wish that we could give them a chance to speak out, for I feel our views on the world would easily be changed just with one simple conversation." Edward took a breath, and then moved his hand from pressed against my lips, to cupping my chin. He tilted my head up towards him, our eyes meeting and our bodies only centimetres away from each other.

Edward was echoing my thoughts from earlier. If I hadn't have known better, I would have said he could read my mind. The way his opinions mirrored mine was simply enchanting.

"Bella, you're so beautiful. I've never felt this attraction, this pull to anyone before. Love and affection are two unknowns to me, but will you let us discover them together?"

Edward's words were spoken from his soul, and as I looked into his eyes, I felt that I could see into the very depths of him, and I was not left wanting. The moment seemed to linger for hours, when it was but a brief fraction of a second; however all too soon, I felt words leave my mouth:

"Together, Edward."

I rose my body up on my tiptoes, however I still wasn't tall enough. Placing both my hands on Edward's shoulders, I pulled his face down towards mine. Our lips brushed together with just the faintest touch, but it felt like so much more. One simple kiss, our very first kiss, left me wanting and needy; however just as I was about to pull Edward's face down to mine once more, the door slammed against the wall, the booming noise reverberating around the room.

Edward and I flew apart, however it was too late- the look in Charlie's eyes told me he had seen enough.

"Bella, go to bed- now. Edward, come with me."

His tone of voice left no room to reason with him, and with one last fleeting glance at each other, Edward and I left the room in separate directions, but my lips already ached to feel his on mine again.

Yet from the look I thought I had glimpsed in Charlie's eyes, I was not sure how feasible that would be for us...

A/N: Okay, I don't normally do this, but this story really hasn't been getting much of a following. I've been pouring my heart and soul into this, and I'd really like some feedback, yet people just don't seem to like this story. I'm not going to waste my time writing something that in reality is shit- so please, will you just leave me a little message to reassure me that I'm not crap, and you're actually enjoying this- because at the moment, I feel like this is all pointless.

Thank you however to Sandy4321 and Gracefish21 who have been absolutely lovely and completely reassuring, which really is much appreciated...