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Chapter 6 – Anxious

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BPOV

Edward and I sat at the top of the stairs of one of the aged turrets—known as the Tower—that led up to the royal holding room, listening to the rainfall outside. It was a safe place for us because no one had been held prisoner here for decades. I was recounting my time during the ball.

"You knew her?"

"I know I have never seen her, yet I felt as if we had met before." The girl with short, dark hair was puzzling. I had told Edward of what she spoke, but it was cryptic, at best, to understand.

"Isabella! How wonderful it is to see you, at last!"

"And you as well," I replied, not wanting to be rude in questioning her identity. "Did you just arrive?"

She laughed. "Well, I have been hanging back in the shadows a bit. I know I really should not be speaking with you yet, but it is only a matter of time now, so why wait? Anyhow, it seems that Edward is hiding from me, so I might as well—"

"E-Edward?" I stuttered, attempting not to react to the name. It could have been someone else…right?

"Yes, Edward. Usually, he is sown to your skirt tails, but the first time I am able to meet you both he vanishes. I was hoping to speak with him finally. Where is he?"

I stared, shocked. How did she know of him?

I became very nervous suddenly, wanting to protect Edward. If she knew we had a friendship, there was no way it could be kept from others for long. That would not end well, I was certain. "Forgive me, but I am not aware of any Edwards that I have a close acquaintance with. Perhaps you are mistaken."

She eyed me quizzically before responding. "Oh Bella, you are still amusing. deceit was never your strength." She laughed again and leaned toward me to wrap her arms around my waist. "I cannot wait to see you again." She straightened up, letting go of me, and I noticed she was looking over my shoulder before she returned her gaze to mine and said goodnight.

She fluttered away then, and I felt strange. As if I were truly sad that she had left my side, though there was confusion and fear that held a great presence, too.

"Isabella!" Mother called, and I was introduced to another acquaintance who's name I would no doubt forget instantly…

"I felt that way, too. Why would a perfect stranger know our names and that we were connected in any other way than the obvious one?" Edward was quite distressed. Though, I was not far from feeling the same.

"What troubles me is how she found out. We have always been careful not to let any other know about us. What if…if she speaks to someone else? What if my father discovers us? What if—"

"What if you stop worrying yourself, and be calm?" Edward had seized my face, and was now staring into my eyes. "I do not know what to make of this, but we cannot live in fear. You need to find out who she is and any ties she may have to the palace."

"Me?"

"Well of course, you. Unless you think I should speak to your mother and inquire as to whom you were speaking with?"

I wrinkled my nose. "Oh, all right! You do not have to be so smart about it." Edward smiled then, and I replied by sticking my tongue out at him. He was right though, I did need to find out about this curious girl and Mother made it a priority to know everyone at court. "That answers one intrigue."

"And the other?"

"Surely you noticed that Rosalie Cullen was in attendance?"

"I did. You seemed to handle that situation well."

"I suppose. I mean, of course we invited the family out of courtesy, but it was surprising that she came, or was allowed to come, with our families at odds."

"Odds? You mean it was not just merely their name that was the cause of gossip? There's more?" He asked.

"Did you not hear my father's speech?" Edward raised an eyebrow, and I remembered that he had been otherwise occupied with a silly girl. "Well, there was some kind of argument between my father and the King of Londra over a decade ago, just after I was born. I have never inquired as to what it was about, but I can tell you that my father has loathed their family since that time. It is fortunate that Rosalie was not run out of the palace."

I sighed.

"Father did leave the room, however. I noticed after greeting her. Why he is determined to be rude to her, I do not know. She was born just before I was. She could not possibly have anything to do with their squabbles. I had been invited to attend her party in the spring, but of course could not, lest I consort with her family." I grew tired of the feud. Though it was far and few between that the Cullens were ever mentioned, Father never spoke any kind words toward them. Ever.

Perhaps if we had not been at odds, I could have had a friend in Rosalie. She was courteous and kind when we spoke, despite the cautious air of her character. It was to be expected.

"At least you can see beyond your father's prejudices, hmm? That is the important thing, my dear. Do not let others dictate your thoughts."

I smiled at him. Edward did seem to know what was best. My appreciation for him was without limit. "Speaking of thoughts, why were you staring at me so strangely last night?"

"I did no such thing," he replied, looking my figure over before turning to stare out the narrow window in front of us.

"You did, too! It was like you had some kind of… tremor and froze." I laughed at the memory, trying to continue speaking, "for a moment I thought you had become dumb."

"Oh, ha, ha." His face tinged red despite his attempt to brush my comment away. "I just could not believe that it was you in all that fluff. Nothing more." He stood from the stairs we sat upon.

"If you say so." I was not entirely convinced.

"Come, we must return, before Mrs. Stanley—or any one else for that matter—is suspicious."

"Noooo…" I whined in protest. "Not yet. We've only just sat down."

"We have been here nearly two hours. Should we not be more cautious now?" I could hear the reluctance in his voice despite his attempt to draw me back toward the main palace.

"No. Not while I can have time with you. And it is only Saturday. We almost never have extra time. I refuse to squander it." My arms wrapped around his right arm then. He would not leave me.

Edward stared at me indignantly for a moment before sighing. "Why do I even bother to argue?" He murmured under his breath, clearly speaking to himself and not me.

Of course, I answered anyway. "I haven't the slightest idea," I whispered in his ear, before pulling him upwards toward the holding room.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Tell me your secrets, thief!" Edward bellowed. He had always been good at trying to intimidate me.

"Never. You shall never make me speak."

He shook his head in false concern. "Then I am afraid I will have to torture you."

"Do your worst!"

A wicked glint filled his eyes as he approached me with outstretched fingers. He hovered over me, leaning in to whisper, "As you wish." Then the torture began as his fingers moved to the sides of my torso, tickling me with vigor. He smiled as I began to struggle, twistedly enjoying my 'anguished' cries!

"Speak!"

My eyes began to water as my laughs became overwhelming. "n-no…. hahahahaha!" But Alas! I did not last much longer. "All right—haha—all right! I'll tell you!" More laughing. "No more, please!" I inwardly cursed myself for not being stronger, but my captor was too sinister to be trifled with. I looked up at him. He was waiting for my answer.

"I do not have all day, thief. Where did you hide my treasures?"

"I cannot possibly remember with these shackles around my arms." I replied innocently. Here in the holding room there were restraints attached to the wall that 'held' me (though my arms were much too small to actually be held prisoner).

He looked at me skeptically. "But if I release you, how can I trust you not to try and escape?"

"I surely would never defy you, my Lord." He smiled then, shaking his head and rolling his eyes as he 'unlocked' my restraints.

"All right, now—HEY! Get back…" I did not hear the rest, as I ran for the stairs. I made it to the bottom without falling, but Edward was directly behind me. And he was fast! I managed to reach the main hall outside the turret before he caught me. Down here, we had to be quiet, lest others heard our diversion.

I moved across the hall and just as Edward was about to come near me, we heard voices.

Both of us moved to the opposite wall and each ducked behind one of the vast curtains that framed the tall windows of the hallway.

"…was no harm done, Your Majesty. Both of our princess' seemed to fair quite well together. Do you not agree?"

I peeked out and saw that it was Father and one of Princess Rosalie's escorts, the Ambassador, actually… What was his name, again? "My daughter has been instructed to be courteous, noting more. We do not wish to maintain any sort of standing amity."

"Your Majesty, please be reasonable. We mean you no harm, only to reestablish good faith…" His words faded as they proceeded down the hall.

I peeked out of my hiding place, and could see Edward doing the same. He turned toward me then, and smiled wickedly.

Run! My mind shouted.

And I did. I was moving quickly away, looking for any place I could escape him. I came to the door of the greenhouse, and immediately moved inside, trying to keep quiet. Of course Edward had seen me and followed.

I managed to reach the other side of the room, and before he could realize where I was, I made a dash for the door leading outside, into the rainfall. It was pouring down, and the muddiness of the ground slowed me.

Edward reached me easily then. Capturing me with such force that we both fell into the mud, his body covering mine.

We were both laughing, breathless as we smiled at each other. "Why must you always try and escape?" He asked, still breathing heavily.

"I suppose I like the chase."

"You mean you like to make me chase. You never run after me," he said with feigned annoyance.

"Perhaps I would, if you did not run like a lion!" I argued.

"And what, dear Princess, does that make you? A lamb? I am quite famished." He roared then, causing me to laugh—a difficult task considering he was still on top of me.

"Do not call me princess!" I laughed again. He laughed, too, but stopped suddenly and stared into my eyes.

All teasing banter dissipated. It was so intense, I could not look away.

"You are staring at me again."

He blinked once. Then twice. He swiftly moved away from me then, taking hold of my arms to help me up. "It's cold. We should get inside."

I nodded, not knowing what to make of his strange behavior, and followed him back into the greenhouse.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Oh Isabella. You should know that this displeases me greatly. Do you not understand that you have responsibilities now? How can you possibly be covered in mud and soaking wet? Did you not see the storm outside?"

Mother was now reprimanding me as I sat in the bath; Mrs. Stanley was attempting to wash the dirt from my hair.

"I have already told you what happened, Mother. I merely stepped out to enjoy the drizzle for but a moment, and I slipped. Surely you cannot fault me for my moment of clumsiness."

I winced as my maid worked on a bigger knot at the crown of my head.

"I have put up with your childish games for far too long, Isabella. I know it seems you are still young, but there comes a time when we must put away childish fancies and become an adult."

"Yes, Mother."

"I want to hear no more of you playing in the forest, or climbing trees, or playing silly pranks on the servants. Is that understood?"

I did not answer.

If I could not invent excuses to escape the palace, how could Edward and I have any time together?

I could not answer that either.

"Isabella? Are you even listening to what I am saying?"

"Yes, Mother."

"Very well, then. From now on I expect to see you properly dressed, groomed at all times, and having nothing to do with superfluous, nonsensical games. Do I make myself clear?"

"As crystal," I said with reluctance.

"Good girl. Now, once you have finished dressing, attend to your studies. I shall see you at supper." Mother smiled then and turned to leave.

She was almost to the door when I remembered, "Mother? May I inquire of someone?"

Turning to face me she replied, "Of whom, dearest?"

"I—I am not sure. There was a young lady that I spoke to at the ball last night. She had a petite frame, with short, dark hair?"

"Indeed!" She lifted her chin in a pompous manner. "I cannot believe that any sort of lady would go about looking as such."

"Do you know of her? I cannot seem to remember her name," I asked, hoping to put an end to the troubling mystery.

Mother's nose wrinkled in distaste, as if I had offended her somehow. "No. I am not aware of that girl, or to whom she belongs." Drat. "Perhaps you should check the registry, my dear. All of the guests are written there."

Somehow, I had a great doubt that she had written her name. I suppose it was still worthy of a look. "Yes. Of course. Thank you, Mother."

She placed her hand upon my cheek, smiling with rare affection. "Until supper, then." With that, she left the room.

After I had dressed and was considered presentable, I sat on the floor, near the fire in my room, attempting to focus on my studies. But all I could think about was the future. Or, to be more precise, our future. It was simply too painful to think that Edward and I would not be able to have time together.

No.

No, it is not that we could not spend time with one another, only that I had to be more prudent in choosing our activities. Yes! That was all. We would simply be more careful in our play. Then there would be no evidence to give us away.

I heard the secret wall open slightly then. "Are you decent?" Edward asked.

I laughed. "Yes, though I do wish I had more comfortable clothing to wear."

He emerged from the other side of my bed and came to sit beside me. "Hmm. I see that you are all dressed up again. Is there an occasion I was not aware of?"

I sighed deeply, telling him of the new decree on my appearance. "I suppose we shall have to stay inside most days."

"We?" He looked confused.

"Well, of course we. Do you know of another person that I spend time with?"

"I just thought…" He hesitated.

When he did not speak again, I prompted, "thought what?"

"Thought that… that you would be engaged elsewhere. With others more like—like those at the ball." His timidity was adorable.

"Oh, my silly Edward! How could I ever choose to waste perfectly good time with them, when I have someone like you?"

"But I am not like them, Bella. I cannot even be seen with you—"

"Hush. Let's not speak of this now." I did not want to think of it.

"If not now, then when? You cannot put this off, Bella. We cannot continue this way forever."

My eyes snapped to his then. "What are you saying? That you are bored of me? Have I done something—"

"No!" He said, covering my lips with his hand to stifle my questions. "How could you think that? I am simply telling you that we cannot stay the way we are now. Things change. After hearing what your mother has demanded, I thought you would have realized that by now. I do not wish it to be so, but we cannot stop time."

I removed his hand, angry now. "I am aware of that, but I refuse to believe that we have to separate because I have these silly responsibilities. I refuse to let you abandon me, Edward. You are the only friend I have! The only one who accepts me. Who knows me." Tears were spilling over my cheeks now, but I paid them no mind. My anger ebbed to sorrow. I looked up.

Edward was watching me with sadness in his eyes.

I moved toward him, placing myself in the circle of his arms. I suddenly needed to ask him something, but I was terrified of the answer. "Edward, do…do you…?"

"What?"

"Do you love me?"

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A/N: FYI, I have made a Live Journal for CG that will include pictures, and possibly status reports in between chapters. The link is on my profile if you would like to check it out. Until next time! Thanks!

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