-Chapter Four: Retribution -

There was nothing else to be done about it. No other distraction would suffice and at this point - what did I care by what method I ripped out my soul?

I closed my eyes, trying to remember when I had ever felt this belittled by my own emotions. I came to the conclusion that it had never happened and it was only more incentive to do what I need to for this insanity to end.

Royce King had to die, and it had be fittingly horrific.

It was, after all, because of Royce King that all this was happening. This strange mess with Edward, this confusion, this pain and anguish - it was all his fault and he was out there somewhere, drinking and laughing with his friends….laughing about what he did to me.

CRACK! The rings on my cold, dead fingers snapped at the base of the metal, unable to take the pressure my hands were applying. It was unsatisfying, I wanted something louder to snap, something like bone.

I had never been a violent person, violence was so messy and boorish it never held any appeal to me. It was frightening, intimidating - something only ever associated with men. I knew that much, even from a very young age. But now it held a dangerous appeal, a wonderfully dark lure. I wanted to be violent and terrible, I wanted my revenge and I wanted it to be as grisly as I could make it. I wanted God to look away while I did it.

Purely out of habit, I looked around to see if Edward was anywhere near me, but of course he hadn't been around the house for weeks. Carlisle and Esme knew something was wrong, but they accepted my loving, well articulated assurances that Edward and I were getting along fine. It was a lie of course, no-one could ever say we were getting alone well. 'Getting along' implies friendship, jollity, amity. No - we would never have that, I knew.

But this strange, extremely confusing….thing….that had almost happened the other night, well I wasn't about to let that happen again.

Everyone has limits, not least of Rosalie Hale.

The gentle sunshine through the glass windows, reflecting softly off the pure white chiffon material did absolutely nothing to lighten my dark mood. I stayed out of the sunlight, hidden by a somewhat outdated parasol, full length gloves, dress and netted hat. The other women in the shop were glancing at me resentfully, envious of my beauty no doubt. I shook my head a fraction, bitterly. If they only knew at what price it had come. I watched one woman look away from me, invidiously, and lift her tiny baby from it's pram as it began to whine gently. She patted the baby's soft back, stroking the angelic hair.

I turned completely away, unable to look at the divine child for another moment. I had to be strong, had to keep myself in control…I just needed to buy a dress, that was all. Then it would be perfect.

The woman was eager to attend me, sensing I had money and taste. "How may I assist you today, Madam?" she asked me. The dresses I was surrounded by in the Bridal Shop were absolutely beautiful, each and every one of them individual and stunningly ornate.

"I…" but I couldn't go on, the baby was making painfully adorable gurgle sounds.

Without uttering even another word, I left the shop, sticking to the shadows as much as possible while my heart wrenched itself into self inflicted agony. It was worse to me than even the scent of the blood in all their veins, so delicious and demanding. The baby that I could never, ever have. It made me sick right down to my stomach, the maternal part of me screaming at the unfairness of it all.

My plans for Royce King took a turn for the worst, from his perspective anyway. I would come back later, steal a dress and go to where it had all happened. Back to Rochester where I would rip him apart until I felt whole again.

Luck, as well as warmth, control and my own heartbeat - had forsaken me. I could already taste his scent upon the cool air before I even reached the grounds of the home we all lived in. Why did he have to chose now of all times to come back?

Edward was waiting for me at the door, and I knew that in my current state of ferocious excitement that I would not be able to hide my thoughts from him. He already knew anyway, it was written all over his beautiful face.

"Enjoy your shopping?" he asked, coolly. He saw that my hands were empty of bags and must have known that I had not yet purchased the dress in which I intended to wreak my gruesome revenge.

So he knew, but that did not mean I had to fall to my feet and beg him to stay silent.

"This," I said, disregarding all pretences. "Is more important than you and I, even Carlisle and Esme. I cannot exist in this world knowing that he is alive any longer."

I expected a tirade of reprimands, chiding me for my stupidity in risking being around the humans in town, for being so selfish and so injudicious. But they never came. He leaned against the frame of the lovely white wooden door, looking like the very personification of splendour. His hair fell across his eyes, deep and framed by thick eyelashes. His mouth was closed, not pulled in a grimace or even a thin line of disapproval. I waited, knowing that he was listening to my thoughts. The sun was almost set now, our home surrounded and shrouded by trees anyway.

"I know," he said finally, and his voice was resigned. It seemed he had given up trying to convince me otherwise. "You deserve your vengeance. They deserve to die. I have no qualms with that."

I crossed my arms. "What do you have qualms with?"

He looked down, carefully avoiding my gaze - it annoyed me. "I do not like the idea of you killing them."

"What?"

"Of you killing them. I wish….I would prefer if you…"

I waited, wishing that I could read minds. "If you what?"

"I wish you would let me kill them for you." He said is fast, still perfectly calm, his timbre unwavering and strong - but I could tell he did not wish to look into my eyes, let alone my mind, as he said it. I felt a very small shiver go down my spine, perhaps it was guilt.

I tried not to sound sarcastic. "That's very generous of you, Edward. I cannot allow it of course. I must do it. I cannot….it has to be me."

He looked up, locking his eyes with mine. "You have never taken a life, Rosalie. It is not something you can come back from, not a nightmare you can wake from."

"I know. I have thought about nothing else."

He leaned away from the door now, closer to me. I wanted to step back, to remind him that we ought to maintain minimal proximity, but I couldn't.

"My hands are already bloodied, let me do this for you."

Something in the way he said it made my breath catch, even though it was a superfluous reflex. Very suddenly, I wanted to touch his face and reassure him that I was not denying his chivalry for spiteful reasons. I helplessly imagined what it would be like to touch his face, how it would feel.

He blinked, a little shocked suddenly and I cursed myself for allowing my mind to wander. "No," I said firmly. "I'm sorry Edward. I must do this myself."

His angelic face turned fierce. "I would not disappoint you, Rosalie." I wondered why he was now using my name as if it would soon be forbidden. "I would kill them befittingly, I swear it to you." The promise was filled with barely suppressed venom, I knew he meant what he was saying.

My voice softened. "I know you would. But I…have to do this."

He nodded, defeated, and looked away from me. "Carlisle understands. Esme too. They will forgive you, if they have not already."

"You told them?"

"Of course I told them. We will need to leave, go further away - immediately."

I wanted him to look at me, to sate the building hunger in my soul that came from being denied his beautiful face. I hated myself then for being so weak and so suddenly led by my own emotions. I told myself that it was the excitement of the upcoming event, nothing more.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

He smiled, still not looking at me. "You are going to wear a wedding dress?" he asked, almost teasingly. How blasé he spoke of it now, the terrible deed I was planning. "I only wish I could be there to see it."

When I realised that I wanted him to be there, to see it - I coughed, completely unnecessarily. "Excuse me," I said hurriedly and began to sing my favourite French lullaby in my head so he could not hear my treacherous thoughts.

I knew with the most absolute certainty that this was all his fault.

I, Rosalie Hale, was not prone to fits of complete stupidity and gracelessness - and that it had to happen only around Edward damned Cullen was the very pinnacle of unfairness. I was a composed person, cool and steady - this was all Royce's doing, he had made me unhinged and he would pay for it now with his life.

The dress fit perfectly, I shuddered as I looked at myself in the mirror - the shudder in place of tears I would have cried, I was born to wear this dress and to think of what I would now do while wearing it…yes, I wanted God to look away.

And for some strange, undeniably macabre reason I wanted Edward to be there while it happened.

I shook myself, arranging my hair perfectly a few times in different styles before deciding to let it down; an unusual look for the time, only lower class women wore their hair down, but I didn't want to look…respectable or aristocratic. It didn't matter, I was beautiful either way. Yes, let my hair be down - he would appreciate the irony, or at the very least, the symbolism of that.

The night had fallen early, perhaps as eager in anticipation as I was for the grisly pièce de résistance to occur. The short journey back to Rochester had seemed brutally long, every inch crawled by even though I was running at top speed. I was ready for it, desperate to become the very embodiment of wrath and vengeance; to viciously kill them and watch them die.

And yet, there was a very small part of me that was against it. It didn't want to kill them, scare them yes - but not kill them. It was throwing Edward's words at me, trying to convince me otherwise.

"You have never taken a life, Rosalie. It is not something you can come back from, not a nightmare you can wake from."

His icy promise to me would undoubtedly come fully to fruition, but I would not make myself care - I was doing this, I wanted to do this, I had to do this; for the other women who could fall prey to his cruelty and sadism.

That steeled my resolve and I put Edward very firmly out of my head.

If only Royce King knew what was coming.

A/N - this was a bit on the short side, but it's mainly owing to the fact that it's just filler really before the big act, involving more than just killing and revenge. Hope you all enjoyed, review oh please review!! Thanks for reading, more soon! x x x