Chapter 7 – Thank You.

"She's diabolical"

~Emmett Cullen, New Moon, [Stephenie Meyer]

I woke the next morning to find Edward standing over me.

I was glad I had put on the bed dress, I felt exposed after last night.

I had never talked in my sleep before that I knew of, so as far as I knew he couldn't possibly know exactly what I had dreamed of. What horrible things I had dreamed of and gotten pleasure from.

Those green eyes almost had me convinced otherwise though.

"I brought you breakfast," he said, coldly, "though you took so long to wake up that it will be cold by now."

No mention of last night then. Better that way, I thought, as I wrapped my arms round myself.

Edward turned on his heel and left the room.

I stood up and made my way over to the desk, where a plate of bread, cheese and eggs waited for me. The eggs were not cold and I dug in, polishing off the entire plate. The food was excellent.

I sat in my place once I was done, unsure of what to do. If today was the same as yesterday then Edward would not be back until early evening, before dinner.

"Bella," I jumped, I had not heard him come back into the room, "You may wear the dress I have left on the bed then spend the day with Alice. Jasper, Emmett, my father and I have to go to town. Leave the plate on the desk I will have one of the house slaves remove it."

Just as silently he was gone, before I could say anything.

Not that I really could say anything anyway.

Alice came dancing into the room just as I finished doing up the back of the apple white dress Edward had left on the bed for me. It was pretty. Very plain, but very pretty.

"Much better than that brown," Alice proclaimed, wrinkling her nose at the memory, "Might work better if you had fairer hair, but, still, much better than that sack."

I laughed at her, "Is there any way I could bathe, Alice? I feel disgusting."

"Oh! How silly of me! Of course Edward will not think of these things!"

Half an hour later Alice and I were heading to bathe in the lake that was within their grounds.

It occurred to me that I had no idea which family name Edward, Emmett and Alice came under and I was about to say as much as I pulled my dress over my head when my train of thought was interrupted by a loud gasp from Alice.

"What?" I asked, looking around me.

"Your legs Bella, they're covered in welts. Did Edward beat you? Rosalie told him to but he never beat me so I presumed you didn't get whipped either."

"Oh that was yesterday morning. For a few things on Friday night. When we first met."

"Bella," she shook her head, sighing at me, "I warned you."

"I know, Alice."

She was silent for a rare moment before, "Did it hurt?"

"Yes."

Not as much as the idea of him leaving appeared to hurt me last night though.

She traced her fingers along the lines that criss-crossed the entire way from just above my knees to my thighs and I gasped. They were tender.

"Sorry. At least he didn't beat you for calling Rosalie a witch though, that's something. And speaking of that," she smiled at me as she waded out into the water, "I can't believe that you told Edward that I lied to him! Where's your sense of sisterhood?!" And with that she sent a wave of water at me.

I screamed and ran into the lake, pushing a tsunami of water at her as I did so. The water was cold but clean and it felt wonderful.

I went out slower the deeper I got. Edward seemed to know nothing of underwear and I had only what I had borrowed from Alice so I didn't want to ruin it.

Alice was unconcerned though and dove under the water for long periods of time.

Suddenly I felt a tiny hand close round my ankle and jerk with surprising strength. I was sitting down in the water, thoroughly soaked before I could even attempt to shake her off.

"Alice you little wench!" I screamed as she ran, laughing at me, out of the water. I stood up awkwardly and ran out of the water after her, grabbing a clump of wet earth and plants from the bottom of the lake to lob at her.

"Well what do we have here?" a booming voice laughed at us as Emmett rode up grinning from ear to ear, Jasper behind him also on horseback. Edward and their father were nowhere to be seen.

"What are you doing back from town so early?" I smiled up at them

"Thought we'd come home to check for any nearly naked women running round the lake. We got lucky," Jasper came up beside Emmett, his eyes on Alice.

"If I was Edward I wouldn't have left my room if it had you in it. Don't you agree Jasper, she's diabolical!"

He laughed at me as I stuck my tongue out at him and placed my hands on my hips, trying to look intimidating.

In truth I liked being part of their banter. I liked that I was Bella here, one of them.

"Look at the marks on her," Alice said coming up behind me and spinning me round.

I heard Jasper take a sharp intake of breath and Emmett furrowed his brow in almost brotherly concern.

"What did he use? They look pretty bad," Jasper asked.

"A ridding crop," I answered, turning back round.

"Hmm… Maybe that's why he didn't beat you yesterday despite Rose's threats that she'd claw his eyes out if he didn't," Emmett commented, "Not that you beat Alice either," he added to Jasper.

"If I beat Alice for every thing that people suggest I do it wouldn't have the same impact it does when it's a rarer occurrence," Jasper answered, his eyes never straying from Alice's face.

"Or maybe Edward just thought it was a good thing that someone spoke frankly to your Rose," I said to Emmett, trying not to look at Alice and Jasper whilst they stared at each other. It felt as though it was their private moment.

"Maybe."

Jasper tore his eyes from Alice and shook his head at me.

"From what I can see you and Rose are both as stubborn as each other. You both need someone to wear you down, you have Edward and now she has you. Admittedly she has Emmett but her feminine wiles seem to distract him from putting her in her place. Maybe you were meant to come here Bella," he smiled at me before turning his horse and heading in the direction of the house.

Emmett grinned at me before turning his horse and heading after Jasper, leaving me standing speechless on the bank.

~*~

Edward returned that night after dinner with another plate for me, some sort of bird. Again he sat opposite me, writing, completely ignoring me while I ate.

I sat still once I was done. He continued writing for a bit before laying down his quill.

"I see you have learned your lesson from last night. Good."

I said nothing, my eyes on the floor.

"Very good, Bella. Now, stand."

He had risen and was standing at the edge of the desk. I stood, unsure of what to do or say.

I still refused to be humiliated into thanking him for food or for allowing me to stand, but I was determined not to ruin everything.

The funny thing was that, like in my dream, Edward was not taunting me for my obedience.

He wasn't making fun of me for the fact that I was doing what he wanted of me.

"Come to the edge of the desk and bend over."

I looked at him blankly, my fingers grabbing on to the desk to steady myself. I didn't comprehend what he was telling me.

There was something insanely arousing about the way he ordered me about. I had never had anyone tell me what to do before, everyone was careful not to tread on my toes.

I had a nursemaid, Cleo, a female centaur, who taught me how to behave at parties and when meeting lords and how to eat properly at a banquet at court, but she never told me anything about how to act normally, never commented on my behaviour day to day and never ordered me around.

Edward was the only person so far in my life that ordered me about. And some strange part of me that I had never known existed liked it. I didn't understand it. Didn't understand it at all.

"Bella, I will not tell you again."

The stern tone of voice, the way his eyes ordered me to behave myself. Warned me what would happen if I didn't. It sent shivers through me, in the best possible of ways.

I wouldn't let him know though.

I walked to the edge of the desk, wondering why I was to get into this position. It offered up my rear and the backs of my legs to him and I wondered if this meant that he was going to whip me now for my comments to his evil sister yesterday.

"Bend over the desk, Bella."

A fresh wave of moisture exploded inside of me as I bent over the desk.

He did not pick up anything and at the thought of the possibility that his bare hand was going to strike me the wave inside me swelled.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, I felt a breeze on the backs of my legs.

Edward was lifting my skirts!

I flared, how dare he?!

And the undergarments Alice had leant me were by the fire in her room to dry, after being soaked.

No, this was not proper, not proper at all. By Aslan I'd have this barbarian whipped!

But I did not stand up or protest for the small part of me that I had never known about previously seemed to keep me there against my will.

I watched in the mirror as Edward gathered up the apple white skirts around my waist and stood back to look at me, half naked, bent over his desk.

He gave no sign that the sight pleased him but it pleased some strange part of me when I watched it in the mirror.

"Part your legs, Bella, shoulder width," he commanded, reaching into his pocket.

Oh Aslan save me, he has some horrid thing in there he is going to beat me with, I thought, as I buried my head in my arms.

I held my breath waiting for the strikes to land, I would not cry through this.

Edward's hand met with the back of my thigh but not slapping as I was anticipating, but rubbing some kind of lotion on, gently.

In surprise I jerked my head up to watch what he was doing in the mirror. He knelt behind me, a bottle I recognised as Extract of Dryad Kiss, a lotion that soothed skin as soon as it made contact with it, at his side.

There was a look that was almost tender on his face as he massaged it into the welts the riding crop had left on me, even making sure he got inside my legs where the crop had caught at the ends.

He saw me looking as he reached down for the bottle and his eyes met mine in the mirror.

As soon as he realised I was looking he changed his expression back to being neutral, wiping the caring look from his eyes.

"I would have done this last night, but you threw a tantrum," he answered the questions that he could clearly read in my face, despite the fact that I had always been known to keep my face impassive to the point that even my father could not tell what I was feeling.

I lowered my eyes at his voice as he started to work on my other leg. My legs felt better already.

"Right, you're done," he proclaimed, putting the bottle back in his pocket, "Bed dress is on the sofa. The small room next door has a basin of hot and a basin of cold water along with some soap if you would like to go wash up and get ready for bed."

He wasn't really offering it to me so much as ordering me to go make use of it but my hatred of him grew slightly less.

It was nice, having someone else be in charge, having someone to take care of me.

Knowing that if I didn't do as he told me there would be consequences.

When I returned from the small washroom I almost keeled over in shock. In my corner there was a well stuffed pallet, two huge pillows and a thick blanket.

"Go to bed," Edward ordered me, not looking up from the desk at which he had sat down again and was now reading something thick.

"Edward… Thank you," I said awkwardly. I had never actually thanked anybody before and meant it. Never really felt gratitude for anything. It was embarrassing now, like admitting weakness, to say thank you and I expected him to jump up and laugh at me and dance and sing and tell everyone that he had gotten me to give in.

"Firstly, I have not given you my permission to use my name. Secondly, I need your welts to clear up before I can whip you again without drawing blood. However," he paused and raised his eyes which held the smallest of smiles, "you're welcome."

His head snapped straight back down to the book on his desk.

The conversation between us was over for the night. He had not laughed at me, not tormented me for my weakness in giving in and saying thank you and doing as he told me.

I was slightly surprised but I smiled as I lay down in the exceptionally comfortable bed he had made up for me.

Despite my exhaustion I could not sleep when all the candles were still lit.

I lay for about an hour, pretending to sleep, before I heard him get up form the desk. He started to blow out the candles one by one.

I was startled when he did not go straight to bed before blowing out the last one but instead settled on the edge of my pallet for a moment.

"My Bella," he whispered, whilst I feigned sleep, and he reached out and stroked back my hair.

It was such an unexpected gesture that I had to fight to keep myself from opening my eyes. Nobody had stroked my hair since I was younger, since before my mother had died.

"See where good behaviour gets you, Bella. Oh I shall spank you. Hard and often for your attitude. That coltish attitude, that keeps you standing straight and tall and keeps your head tossed and held high, that I adore in a way you could never understand. But I do not wish to whip you or beat you, Bella. Behave for me, Bella."

He pulled the covers up around me, tucking me in, and stroked my hair one last time, his hand lingering slightly on my head before he got up and went to his own bed, blowing out the last remaining candle.

I turned over and drifted to a peaceful sleep, smiling.