Thanks for the reviews and alerts last chapter, and thanks to Jayeliwood for pimping on Twitter!
My sleep was deep and dreamless, not that it was surprising. Only when I was that tired did I sleep like that. When I woke up it was hard to move, my entire body feeling very heavy. It was like an elephant was sitting on my chest, holding me down onto the bed. Rubbing my eyes over and over again, I willed myself to wake from the daze that was holding me. When I was finally able to tear myself out of the very soft feather bed, I realized that there was a set of clothing waiting for me on the chair the queen had sat in before.
There was a dark pair of black pants that hung off the arm and what appeared to be a matching black tank top. This surprised me. I didn't imagine this place to be the sort of... world... to have tank tops. Then I realized it was simply the under garment. Over that went a deep red sort of overcoat that reached to the floor with slits all the way up to the hip in two places along the side. It was laced up nicely with a silky back ribbon which matched the flowers that were beautiful sewn into the fabric. There was also a pair of stockings and high black leather boots to finish it off. I smiled of the beauty of the outfit as I twirled in the mirror, checking it out from every single angle. I loved it.
Just as I finished arranging my hair into a neat little braid there was a knock on the door.
"Mi'lady? Breakfast is ready and the queen has asked me escort you to dine," a soft voice questioned lightly.
"Coming," I answered back quickly, running to the door. A soft young woman with mocha colored skin and deep brown eyes greeted me, soft brown freckles dotting along her cheeks and nose. "Thank you."
"Of course," she smiled, her pink lips revealing the bright white teeth underneath. "Right this way."
I hadn't gotten to see much of the castle the night before, not beside this room and the Queen's chamber. The art that hung on the walls was amazing. It was far more beautiful than any museum I had gone to. I wished I had more time to stop and look, I mean really look but the urgency to return home settled in the pit of my stomach. "It must be wonderful to work here," I commented with wondering eyes.
"It is. Her Majesty is a wonderful woman. She loves to paint and she fills each room with them."
"She painted these? Wow!"
The girl giggled, opening a door for me that led to the outside world. "Esme is a woman of many talents. Good luck on your journey."
"Thanks," I gave her a brief smile. As I walked forward I saw the queen just standing on the other side of the doorway. She offered me her hand and I took it slowly, trying to remember not to fall.
"Thank you so much Angela for bringing dear Bella out," Esme smiled warmly. The girl nodded her head before going back inside, leaving us both alone. "I do hope you slept well, dear one."
"I did," I said as I walked beside her. Before us was a table lined with food, enough to feed an entire army. My stomach growled and I grasped it tightly. The queen laughed softly, pulling out a chair for me.
"I can't imagine how hungry you must be! Eat, please!"
I had to keep from throwing myself at the piles of delicious looking food. I sat, quickly shoveling a spoonful of this or that, not being very picky at all, onto the plate. "Thank you," I mumbled through a bite of what appeared to be some sort of hash with potatoes and turkey or chicken.
"Of course," she smiled, setting down and arranging her own plate. "As promised, I will provide all that you need for this journey, and that includes a decent breakfast. There isn't enough I can give you if you can really wake my son."
I sat down my fork, frowning to myself. "But what if I can't?"
"You will," she assured me, touching my hand. "I foresaw it."
"What do you mean, foresaw?"
She blushed, looking down at her lap. "Well, it wasn't really me. It was Alice, one of my closest friends. You will meet her very soon. She will be going with you."
"Oh," I said, picking up my fork again. "And what exactly did this Alice see?"
"She saw you speaking to my son inside the castle in which he lays now. The only way that is possible is if you wake him, or at the very least, assist in his waking," Esme said before taking a long sip from her drink. It appeared to be some sort of very light green tea. "Ah! Speak of the devil!"
A dark haired girl who was beyond petite came striding up the path with a beautiful blond man following behind. She was dressed in a lovely short dress with boots much like my own, her short hair the same deep shining color. The man behind her was tall, his thick blond hair curling around his temples. He wore a slate gray pair of riding pants with a matching vest over his white shirt. He wore the boots as well. I wanted to ask what they were about, but I decided I'd probably find out soon enough. It was just easier to wait and see at this point.
"Oh! Esme! I knew she'd look amazing in that outfit!" She clapped happily before coming at a quick pace to hug me. I almost fell out of the chair with the force of it. "Red is a lovely color on you but with your skin just about any color would be great."
The man behind her cleared his throat, thankfully making Alice release me from her vicious death grip. She smiled contritely, putting her hands behind her back as she backed up slowly. "We have prepared the horses and all is ready, Madam. We can leave at your leisure."
"Wonderful!" The queen smiled. "Bella, this is Jasper- Alice's husband and the commander of my guard. He will be going with you as well."
"Pleasure to meet you," I said, sticking out my hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed it lightly. I pulled back, blushing like a moron. That wasn't what I was expecting.
"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you. I'm going to give some last minute orders to my men. Whenever you ladies are ready," he nodded his head before placing a quick kiss on his wife's cheek.
Alice sighed heavily with a stupid smile on her face, plopping down in a seat beside me. "Lovely day, isn't it?"
"Every day is a lovely day when you're that in love," Esme snickered, picking up a shining red apple and taking a bite.
I felt awkward in the middle of this conversation so I simply decided to stay out, filling my mouth with more food. Taking a large of muffin, I hummed in pleasure at the taste. It seemed to be a blueberry one.
"Good, isn't it?" Alice said in a sugar sweet voice. "Esme grows it all herself in her garden. I'm so jealous. I wish I had a green thumb."
"We all have our talents. I have gardening, you have fashion, Jasper is a soldier and Carlisle is a healer," the queen said before taking another sip of her tea.
"Who's Carlisle?" I blurted out before I could realize how rude that way. I seem to be having issued with word vomit lately.
"Carlisle is my husband. Currently he's away helping a village to the east. I wish you could meet him. He'd love you," she said with a soft sigh.
"So, um, he's a doctor and the King?" I asked in confusion. "I didn't realize you could have two jobs."
"No, no," Esme laughed softly. "He's not the King. My first husband, rest his soul, was the King. He died in the war. Carlisle is my second husband. He's a Prince now, because of our marriage, but he'll never be the King."
"He'd never want to be. He enjoys healing too much," Alice chimed in before pointing at my plate. "Are you all done?"
"Yea," I mumbled, pushing my plate away. "I suppose..." I trailed off, stealing my resolve. "I suppose I'm ready."
"Bella, I can not promise that this trip will be a safe one," Esme began, "there are many dangers in this world. Jasper and Alice will do their best to protect you but I think you need more help than that. I want to give you this," she said, handing me a beautiful jeweled dagger in a silver holder. "Use it only if you have to."
"Thank you," I breathed.
"Edward is in a small castle to the east called Zamok. It was Edward's grandparent's home. It was heavily fortified in many ways and I could think of no better place to keep him safe. Alice will be able to open the gate but only you will be able to go any further because of his curse. He is in a room at the top of the stairs to the left. I know... I know it may be frightening at points, but remember that he will help you Bella."
"Okay," I nodded, bitting my bottom lip worriedly. "I'll try my best."
"That is all I can ask of you," she said, bringing me to my feet. "Good fortune and good luck."
Alice took my hand and said a soft goodbye before leading me around the castle. "You're a brave girl to be doing this. I'm thankful to you. Edward has been asleep a very long time now."
"How long?"
"One hundred and ten years, almost," she said with a soft sigh. "To be so young and waste it asleep. It's a shame."
"Is it-" I stopped, trying to figure out how exactly to ask this next question. "How old are you?"
"I'm just over a hundred and sixty years old. I'm a bit younger than Edward. Jasper is the oldest of us- we all grew up together. Jasper will be two hundred and fifty two next winter."
"Wow," I breathed.
"How old are you?" She asked curiously as we neared Jasper who was standing beside two very beautiful brown horses. Their dark shining black hair was braided along their tail, each horse having their mane done in a different style. It took me a moment to tear my eyes away from them.
"I turned eighteen about two months ago," I answered.
Jasper smiled at me warmly. "Still a baby. Can you get up on your own or do you need help?"
"Um..." I trailed off, looking at the horse then back at Jasper.
He laughed quietly, "help it is. Come on," he said, joining his hands together and kneeling down. I took a hold of the saddle and placed my foot on his joined hands. Swiftly he lifted me up and I carefully swung my leg around until I settled into place. The horse stayed perfectly still the entire time.
"Good boy," I cooed at the horse, patting it's neck affectionately.
"Thank you," he chuckled, "I do try."
In a very gracefully manner I squealed and nearly fell off the speaking creature. I'm not sure why I was so surprised. Billy spoke as well and he was a wolf. There was no reason not to assume other animals didn't speak as well.
"Oh, why do I have to carry two of you? Seth only gets one," the other horse spoke in a very feminine voice.
"I'm carrying the gear as well, you have none," my horse said back sarcastically. "Don't complain so much, Leah."
Jasper climbed onto Leah first before offering his hand to Alice who hoped up gracefully to sit in front of her husband. "Leah, Seth... This is Bella," Alice said with amusement. "And Leah, I barely weigh anything. Really, is it as bad as Emmett?"
"Nothing is as bad as Emmett," the horse huffed as they began to walk forward.
"Who's Emmett?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Emmett is Esme's other son. He's a giant of a man, literally!" Jasper said as he wrapped an arm around Alice's waist. "He's twice as big as the three of us combined. He normally has to walk because the horses refuse to let him ride for fear he'll break their backs."
"Is he at the castle as well? I mean, with the queen? I didn't get to meet him. "
"No," Alice shook her head. "He's with Carlisle further east. You see Bella, there is a war going on between the the West and East. The west wishes us to be one central government while the east wishes to be separate."
"Sounds like the civil war," I spoke to myself.
"Excuse me?" Jasper asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Nothing," I answered back quickly. "Just thinking out loud. How far to Zamok?" I asked, the name sounding strange on my tongue.
"A day and a half's journey. We'll ride until nightfall and then make camp. There is a village not far from the castle and after you wake Edward we will seek shelter there and plan out the next move."
We rode most of the day in silence after that. Alice spoke every now and again, telling me about the clothing she packed me or the food she brought. A little after noon we stopped and had a small lunch of a trail mix of some sort. It had sweet grains and berries along with nuts that were drizzled in honey. It actually tasted really good. I was pretty sure my mother would love it. For about six weeks she was a vegetarian and she would have been all over this.
After the short break we continued on until the blazing sun began to settle along the horizon, making the sky a deep and beautiful orange.
"Alice, you start the fire and I'll go get us something to eat," Jasper said as he hopped down from the horse they were sharing. Alice did so as well, pulling what appeared to be an apple out of her saddle bag.
"Here, sweetheart," she said as she gave Leah the fruit. Seth huffed loudly, pawing at the dirt under his feet or rather, hoofs.
"Hey! No fair!" He complained. "All I've had today was hay."
Leah actually stuck her tongue out at him.
"Don't worry," Alice rolled her eyes. "Bella, why don't you hop down and give Seth the carrot from the saddle bag on the right? I need to start the fire. Jasper will be catching himself a lovely pair of quail any moment now."
I slid down ungracefully, holding onto the saddle to steady myself. It was something easier said than done. Then I went to grab the yellowish looking carrots from the saddle bag. I could tell it was a carrot by the shape by the shade was odd. I simply shrugged as I brought one to his mouth, letting him eat it from my palm.
"Thank you," he muttered through a bite, chewing slowly.
"Thank you for carrying my heavy ass all day," I said lightly and he snorted, stomping his foot.
"You're not heavy at all," he said in return as he finished the food. I rubbed him gently behind the ears, loving how soft his fur was.
"I know this is none of my business but why would you work for the Queen? I would think you'd rather be free to do whatever you want."
"A horse has got to make a living and this isn't a bad way to. It's an honor to and it's a very good life. We're well fed, have comfortable homes, and we don't have to work that hard," he explained as he sat down on the ground.
"Our mother is the queen's personal horse," Leah said as she sat as well, the pair looking very comfortable.
"And our Father is Master Carlisle's," Seth added. "Our family as worked for the royal family for generations."
"Fire's ready!" Alice said from across the clearing. Sitting in the middle of a circle of gray stones was a roaring fire, glowing a deep red orange as the horizon began to turn a hazy purple. "Jasper's cleaning the birds now to cook. Why don't you come sit with me?"
"Okay," I said, rubbing the horse's head once more. "Get some rest."
"Will do, Ma'am," the dark russet colored horse said, nudging my hand gently. "Enjoy your dinner."
Soon Jasper came back and began to roast the birds over the fire. They were small, one for each of us. It would be enough though and they smelt amazing. After we ate the delicious meal Alice made us a dessert of hot chocolate over the fire and we sat and talked a while, watching the full moon rise in the deep velvet black sky.
"Tell me more about Edward," I blurted out randomly. Jasper gave a small smile, an uncomfortable one, while Alice shifted in her seat.
"I remember when Edward came to the castle the first time. You see, he's adopted as his brother. The Queen is... barren," he said the word carefully. "She was gracious enough to take them both in when their parents died."
"How did they die?" I asked quietly, sitting down my drink. I had lost interest in enjoying it.
"Emmett's died when an animal attack them in the woods while they were traveling. Emmett was brought to the castle so they could heal him. Edward's family was a powerful family and they angered a lot of people. They were put under a horrible spell. Edward was the only one to survive. Esme was Edward's Godmother."
"How sad," I breathed, biting my bottom lip.
"Edward is... is sometimes cross because of what happened to him. But he is a good man and a good friend. Extremely loyal," Alice said softly, touching Jasper's knee. "Oh, don't you have something for her?"
"Oh, I do!" Jasper said, hopping up and walking over to Leah. He patted her neck before bringing something out of his pack. "Bella, I figured you might need this."
He sat down on my lap a belt with a leather purse attacked to it. The bag was filled and was extremely heavy. "What is this?"
"Well, Esme said you had no magic. These are things I figured might come in handy. Candles, matches, gold, needle and thread along with some other assorted things. You can tie your knife to it as well. I think it would be wise to keep it on you at all times," Jasper said, helping Alice to her feet. He brought his hand up, waving it in front of him. Two tents instantly appeared, ready and waiting for us. "We should rest for now. We still have half a day's ride until we reach Zamok."
That night my bed was on the ground on a soft blanket with the wood's song as my lullaby as I drifted off to sleep while thinking about my possible hero- Edward, the man who seemed to have as bad a luck as myself.
I think that answered some more questions and probably created some more.
By the way, I didn't come up with the name Zamok at random. Look it up and see what it means, if you're correct I'll give you a preview of the next chapter.
We meet Edward the next chapter and we get the kiss, I hope to finish that chapter tonight but I think some encouragement might help. Want to see it?