I followed him outside and through the small village. I spotted a large fire surrounded by a group of people big enough to be the entire village. They were dancing and singing and I couldn't help but smile.
Edward grabbed me some food and we sat on a stray log a little away from the group.
"Thank you for the food. I do not wish to take much away from the people here," I said, taking a bite.
"Then you aren't like most of them back at the settlement." He played with the dirt and watched the others dancing around the fire.
"Father must be so worried about me. And poor Mr. Newton." I shook my head. Edward laughed.
"He deserves to sweat a little, Isabella. He lost you." He glanced my way and smiled.
"He did not lose me. I lost myself." I set my food down. "You do not like him much, do you?"
"Not particularly. They don't understand the people and they don't care to." He stared straight ahead and cocked his eyebrow. "They only see themselves."
"But we are helping them?" I nodded to the villagers. "Father says that they are grateful."
"Grateful?" Edward scoffed. "They didn't ask us to come here and disturb their life, Isabella. They don't see anything wrong with their lifestyle and neither do I."
"But it's not civilized," I argued.
"What's civilized?" He turned towards me and narrowed his eyes. "The settlers have stolen from, beat, raped, killed too many to count. They step in like they are the savior, here to rid the people of their barbaric ways. They cannot see their own sins in doing so."
I looked down, embarrassed and confused. "I…am s-s-sorry, I…" I stuttered.
"You do not know," he interrupted. "It is not your fault. You don't know anything other than what they tell you." He stood up and brushed his pants off. "I'll take you back to the settlement tomorrow morning before the rains come." His voice was not confident and I had a feeling he was more worried about water than he let on.
I felt like a child. I felt like everything I knew was wrong, thrown into a world that I could not possibly understand because I was never given the opportunity to do so. It was just all wrong.
The tears were warm and wet, threatening to fall at any moment. I watched Edward join the group, smiling as he danced with one of the young women. She looked about twelve and completely enamored with him. Not because he was like us. Because he was like them.
He made the rounds, alternating between dancing, singing and sitting with the people of the village. It seemed so natural to him, so easy. Father had always told me we were so different from each other. In the firelight, now that I could truly see things for myself, I did not see a difference at all. We were all the same.
I grew tired and ambled back through the village towards the place I'd come from. It was dark and I became a little disoriented. All of the huts looked the same to me.
"Are you alright?" A small voice asked. I turned around to find the boy Edward was talking to earlier leaning against a tree.
"I just cannot remember where…" I looked around.
"It's that one there," he said, nodding to the one to my left.
"Thank you." I smiled. "You found me?"
"I did."
"Thank you for bringing me here. I am alive because of you." I nodded and headed inside. I laid down on the small cot and quickly fell asleep.
When I woke in the morning, I could hear Edward speaking outside. I ran my fingers through my hair and moseyed out. He was standing beside his horse, loading it up to take me back to the settlement. I cowered back towards the hut and looked around. Most of the village had gathered to watch and I suddenly felt like I owed them something more than this. Running away. Escaping back to the people that didn't understand them. I didn't know these people. But I wanted to.
"Miss Isabella," Edward said. "Are you about ready to head back to the settlement?"
I swallowed hard and stepped close to him. "No," I said. "I don't want to be like them."
"What are you saying?" He cocked his eyebrow.
"I am saying I would like to stay."
"But your father…" He started.
"My father always taught me to embrace the differences in people. To celebrate them and help them. I do not know where he lost that along the way, but I did not, sir." I stood my ground. "I would like to stay."
"Very well." He turned around. "Jakoby! Please take the horse back and tie him up. Miss Isabella will be staying with us and I'd like to get her settled." Jakoby ran up and gladly took the horse from him. Edward thanked him and turned back towards me. "He loves working with animals."
The crowd dispersed and Edward followed me back into the hut. I did not know what to say.
"So no changing your mind then?" He asked.
"No."
"We shall have to build you your own shelter. There is a space beside mine that should suffice." He looked me up and down. "You will also need some different clothes. Those will not survive the work."
"Work?"
"Everyone in the village works. It's how we survive, Isabella."
"I don't know…how." I shook my head. "That is not what I mean. What if I do not know the ways…" Everything was coming out wrong.
Edward stepped forward and smiled. "We'll show you."
Everything was so different. Not just from what I thought it was, but so different from what I could have ever imagined it to be. I had so much to learn. So much to take in.
Jakoby's mother took me under her wing and showed me what she did around the village for work. I watched her intently, focusing on her hands as she did her work. We went out looking for water that first day and only found a small pond. We dipped our vases in and hauled them back to the village. She carried it with ease, with beauty even. I struggled so much so that I was embarrassed.
Edward requested that I assist in building my shelter, although I cannot imagine that I was much help. Before long, I had my own space only steps away from Edward's. It was more comfortable than I would have assumed. In fact, I felt more comfortable there than I did back with the others. There was a genuine innocence to living outside, embracing nature. I enjoyed it immensely.
I sat on my cot, working on some stitching for some new clothing several days after my arrival. Edward did his best to knock before poking his head inside.
"Miss Isabella." He nodded.
"Edward." I smiled.
"I just wanted to check in. See how you are doing. I hope you are well."
"I am well." I looked down. "I think." I sighed and set down my work. "I do not know how I am doing actually. Sometimes I feel as though I am stumbling around like an idiot and I just do not know...Do I fit in here, Edward?"
"Everyone with an open mind and an open heart fits in here. And I believe you have both." He sat down beside me.
"Do you really think so?"
"Yes." He brushed a tear away from my cheek and I jumped back, unaware that I'd let one slip. He tentatively reached out again and brushed his finger down my cheek. I shuddered. Not from the surprise of his touch, but from the surprise of what his touch did to me. I felt...something. Stirring, fluttering in my chest, in my stomach.
He cleared his throat, blinking as he pulled his hand away. "We are heading out to look for more water. Will you be alright?"
"I shall. Thank you," I whispered, never leaving his eyes. "Be careful."
"I shall." He nodded and stepped out.
I spent the rest of the day gathering food with a few of the young women in the village. They spoke in a language I did not understand, although I was beginning to pick up on a few words and phrases. I noticed their voices changed when they spoke of Edward. Perked up. Lightened up. Like this drought didn't even exist. Like he brought his own rain, drenching and hydrating anything and everything that he touched. It was not hard to believe.
When the rains did not come, the people of the village grew anxious and weary. Panic began to set in. They tried to hide it at first, claiming that it would come. One could only say that so many times before it turned into a false fairytale.
Late one night, I found myself sitting around the fire watching Edward and the men talk. I was silent, fascinated as I studied them. Edward's face was aglow in the firelight, highlighting his beautiful features. His strong jaw. Stubborn, hard set lips that softened into a smile the moment something amused him. And his eyes. They flickered in brilliant shades of green as the flame sparked and waned.
"You like him, no?" One of the women I worked with leaned over and nudged my shoulder, breaking my concentration.
"I beg your pardon?" I stuttered.
"Edward. He is very handsome." She smiled and pulled her knees up to her chest.
I turned back to look at him. "Yes," I sighed. "Yes he is."
"Maybe fate brought you here, Miss Isabella. Sometimes she knows us better than we do, what we need, when we need it. Eh?"
"Then why must she hold onto this drought?" I kinked my eyebrow.
"I do not question her, Miss. I only believe." She smiled and stood up before disappearing into the night.
I looked around and noticed that the group had left, retreating back to their homes for the night. Edward stomped out the fire and glanced at me.
"Staying out here in the dark?" He asked.
"No, Sir." I shook my head.
"Not such bad company, huh?"
"You?" I asked. He laughed.
"The dark. Although I hope I am not such bad company as well." He finished with the fire and approached. "Allow me to escort you back." He offered me his arm, one of the only things he'd done that reminded me of back home. We ambled back to my place, my arm laced through his and the moon hanging above us like a giant globe.
He stopped as we reached my door, but did not let go of my arm. He slid it around my waist as he leaned down to brush his lips over my cheek. "Sleep well, Miss Isabella."
My eyes fluttered shut and my breath ceased, a momentary reaction to his kiss.
"You as well, Mr. Cullen," I mumbled, slipping inside.
I thought that my heart would stop beating without him around. But I could not turn my thoughts off and they seemed to drift to him every time I closed my eyes. Did I care for him? Did I have...feelings for him? Was it nothing more than the lust the schoolgirls back in London felt for the gentlemen scholars down the street? No. It was more than the dreary giggles of bored girls in the candlelit corners of their rooms. It was hot. Sand and wind. Sweat. Mud. The complete opposite. Edward Cullen was all of that and more. And I fancied him. A lot.
A/N: Thank you again for reading! I hope you're liking it so far and I'm thinking on an estimate there will be about 4ish more chapters. Definitely an under 10 chapter story. See you soon! : )