hey hey everybody! hows it going? Alright ive been off for a looooooooooooong time so ive got a deal for you. During my...er...absence i have been working very very hard on this chapter. But in turn for giving you this super long chapter i want everyone that reads it to review. Even if it's only "Great story" or "Keep writing" though i will very much appreciate it if you guys are more creative. Trust me i'll know. I know many things. Anyway, i've kept you guys from reading this chapter long enough. Enjoy!!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Honestly people if i did i would be watching a copy of the movie right now.

Chapter 9

(EPOV)

The days went by and life seemed to be peaceful. The Hale twins were having a good time. Jasper and Alice were nearly inseparable, but Rosalie stayed close so that it wouldn't seem too suspicious. But even when Rose wasn't anywhere in sight we knew where she was.

She and Emmett spent every minute of his free time with together. I could only smile at the bond forming between those two. Her eyes never left his and he did everything to make her smile, keep her happy. She seemed to love his childish antics. He loved her laugh. When they were apart he talked of nothing else. It broke my heart to know that, unlike Bella and my relationship, there's wouldn't last once she left. Also, she had an eye for anything and everything expensive. Sometimes I wondered how he would buy her gifts. But then I thought that maybe Rose didn't need all the expensive stuff, maybe, just maybe, all she really needed was him. I thought that their relationship was moving a little fast, but it didn't seem to matter to them.

Bella and I were doing okay. We tried to be together as often as possible, but it was difficult. My schedule kept me very busy. My favorite time of the day was stable duty. I always saved it for last. I did it alone so Bella and I could talk however long we wanted. I began learning more and more about her. Her favorite gemstone was topaz. Her favorite color changed daily. She preferred her simple satin dresses over the ones in trend now. She missed her mother and thought about her daily. At this tears came into her eyes. It happened when ever Renee was mentioned. I always pulled her as close to me as physically possible and waited until she was fine. After that we went on with our conversation.

She asked me many questions. What was my father like? What was my mother like? If I could choose would I get a sister or a brother? Younger or older? Did I miss my home in London? Did I wish for a different life? I answered them all immediately without much thought, all but that last one. Did I wish for a different life? I thought carefully. I weighed each scenario. Then finally I spoke my answer.

"I would have left things the way they are."

"Why?" she questioned. "Don't you wish you could change the fate of your parents? Don't you wish you weren't a slave?"

"Of course I do. I wish I could change a lot of things. That doesn't mean I would change it. Everything that's happened to me made me stronger. It shaped me into what I am. The whippings were painful, but the skin is mostly healed now and it's stronger now. Just like me. Besides," I put my hand to her cheek and she leaned into it. "I wouldn't have met you."

Then she flung herself into my arms. I just wanted to stand there holding her, never letting her go, so I did. After all, I had finished all my work. We just stood there, holding onto each other, with only the horses as witnesses.

Or so we thought.

Finally, when it was time for dinner I let her go. I wanted to kiss her there and then, but I wanted our first kiss to be special, not because I was acting like some animal, unable to help myself. Instead, I limited myself to kissing her cheek. When I turned to walk away I thought I heard rustling, but after looking around I decided that it was nothing, a field mouse, perhaps.

I walked away, happier then when I came. Meeting with her was always the highlight of my day. As the sun faded I sighed happily. I headed back to the cabin to quickly wash up and change for dinner. I still had some time. I could live like this, I thought. This seemed like a happy life, one that I was content with living.

Too bad it wouldn't last.

I entered to house in a daze and floated to dinner. I sat down and ate without looking at what I was eating. This was becoming routine. I was always like this after talking with Bella. This time, however, I glanced over at Mike Newton and thought about how he tried to win Bella's heart and was brutally beaten. I shuddered at the thought of Bella and me getting caught. What I did notice when I looked at him, besides him wincing when he straightened his back, was that he looked smug. I had no idea what made him so happy. Suddenly, I felt sick, like something bad was going to happen. I felt worse when he looked at me and his smile got wider. That's when it happened. A few guards suddenly materialized by our table.

One put their hand on my shoulder. "The master wants to see you immediately."

Adam stood up. "Why? What did Edward do wrong?"

"We do not know why the most noble master wishes to see a worthless slave, we just follow orders," he smiled. "Follow please."

I had no choice. I stood up and followed. I took a last look at my friends. Adam looked very angry. Riley and Mora looked worried. Emmett looked scared, no terrified. I saw in his eyes that he thought this was about Bella. Now that I thought about it… I quickly looked over at Mike Newton. He looked like he was about to burst with glee. Then it hit me. Mike had been hiding in the stables. It was him that I heard. He saw everything and then he reported back to Charlie. Uh oh, I thought, this is not going to be good.

The guards led me into what I assumed was the basement. Well, it looked more like a dungeon. What is with the rich nobles having dungeons in their basements? I wondered. I couldn't really ponder that question because one of the guards pushed me into the center of the room. Charlie melted from the shadows and he was fuming. I could almost see the steam rising off of him.

"I gave you a home," he snarled, "food, clothes, a job, and how do you repay me? By trying to steal my daughter's heart! It's an outrage! My daughter will not marry a mere slave. She will not be allowed near you. And you will not be allowed near her! There is only one punishment painful enough for this offense!" His eyes blazed with fury.

One of the guards brought forward a whip. Yeah, I was right this was going to be bad, very, very bad. The guards were smug.

"You know," Charlie said, "They say fifty lashes will kill a man. So I'll spare you that last one." He turned to the guards. "Hold him up and deliver forty-nine lashes unto him." The guards smiled evilly.

They tore off my shirt and two of them grabbed my by arms. The third lifted the whip.

Crack. The pain was unbelievable. It had been a long time since I'd been whipped and my almost healed scars and wounds burst open. I cried out in agony. Again and again the whip cracked against my back making me bleed; deepening the wounds. My blood was all over the floor and more was flowing by the second. Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two. I cried each time. The pain was unbearable. I couldn't breathe, my vision was hazy. I heard the guards counting. Thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two. It was almost over and I was almost unconscious. Finally, after what seemed like forever the guard stopped and put down the whip. I was gasping for breath. If the other two guards weren't supporting me I would have collapsed.

"Get him out of here. I hope he's learned his lesson," came Charlie's growl.

Then I was picked up and carried out a back way so I wouldn't get blood all over the house. What happened next was kind of hazy and unclear. I remember them carrying me up the steps then throwing me outside in the dirt and leaving me there. A while later Adam and Riley appeared and carried me back to the cabin. I had no idea how they found me, but I was grateful. They plopped me on Adam's bed and I was reminded of the time we found Ben in the same condition.

Emmett was beside himself with fury and Mora was hectic because the cuts were too deep for her to heal and she didn't have the right salves. After that the door opened and suddenly Bella, Alice, and Rosalie were there. Adam was yelling at Bella, who burst out crying. She rushed past him and came straight to me. She stood there in shock and the tears kept coming.

"Edward oh Edward I'm so sorry. I'm such an idiot." I couldn't fathom why she was crying; angels shouldn't cry. I wanted to tell her that I was alright, but I had no strength.

"You should be sorry," Adam screamed, "Because of you Edward could have been killed. It's all your fault."

Bella kept sobbing. She grabbed my hand. I wanted so badly to get up and wipe away her tears. I wanted to tell Adam that it wasn't Bella's fault. I'm the idiot. He warned me to stay away from her, not the other way around. And yet, I couldn't bring myself to regret being with Bella, not as long as she wasn't the one getting hit. But of course I was in no condition to be moving, much less sitting up. So instead I squeezed her hand. After that my eyes were losing focus. The last thing I heard before I passed out was Bella's crying and I felt terrible about leaving her like this. The last thought that crossed my mind was how beautiful Bella looked in that blue silk dress. Then I let the darkness consume me and slowly the pain faded.

(BPOV)

I rushed back to my room and shut the door to prepare for dinner. I looked through my wardrobe without really looking until my hand touched smooth silk. I smiled; it was my mother's favorite blue, silk dress. She wore it the night she met Phil. A knock sounded at my door and then Rosalie walked in.

"Bella can I talk to you?" she asked quietly. Immediately she had my full attention. Rose was never quiet.

"Yeah. What's on your mind?"

"It's about Emmett…" she trailed off. I smiled at her knowingly.

"He's a nice guy isn't he?" I said.

"I think I might love him, but I don't know. I mean I've dated a lot of guys, but I've never felt this way about any of them before. I don't ever want to leave him and yet, we're leaving in a week or two." She sat down on my bed and put her head in her hands.

I sat down next to her. "Well," I started, "I guess it's hard to tell. I mean when I first met Edward I felt like I had a connection with him. When I fell off the stairs and he caught me I felt a jolt of electricity run through me. The more I talked to him the more I grew to like him. Then one day I realized that I loved him."

Suddenly she grabbed my arm in a motion so quick I almost didn't see it. "You mean whenever you touch Edward you feel an electric shock?"

I nodded my head.

"I feel that, too. Whenever Emmett hugs me I feel the same electric current. It must be love. I do love him."

She sounded so happy. I was very happy for her. We celebrated briefly then returned to our rooms to finish getting ready for dinner.

When we met downstairs Rose looked different, happier. Her eyes were brighter, there was a smile on her face, and she just seemed to glow with joy. I was so glad she found her true love. I knew Emmett felt the same way from what I've heard from Edward. I looked over at Jasper, who had found his love a while ago. Alice was in the middle of them both, but closer to Jasper I noticed. His head was turned to me, but his eyes never left her. I sighed. There was so much love in the air. Together we walked to dinner. Alice was chatting animatedly with Rose about fashion. She would talk to me sometimes though not as much. That was fine with me, after all I barely knew her.

We took our seats once we got to the dinning room. I sat on Charlie's right. Jasper sat across from me on Charlie's left. Rose was next to Jasper and Alice next to Rose. I almost laughed when I saw Jasper frown a little at the seating. He did it every night and morning when we sat down to eat. He always had to be as close to Alice as possible. I saw Charlie look at Alice and frown as well. The first time he did this I was scared and understood why Jasper was always glued to Alice's side. That is, until after dinner when I learned what had been bothering him.

"Why does that slave sit at our table?" he demanded when the others had left.

"She's Rosalie's personal assistant and goes everywhere Rose goes. Besides you wouldn't to insult the Hales by telling them that Alice can't eat with us. Am I right?" I replied sweetly.

"So she has a name." he grumbled and I knew I had won this argument.

Dinner was quick and delicious. It was a nice, peaceful dinner. That is until Mike Newton appeared half way into the meal. He whispered something in Charlie's ear. I turned my head childishly. He was too close to me and I felt very uncomfortable. I looked and saw that the Hale twins and Alice had stopped eating and were watching Mike intensely. They all knew the story. Charlie's eyes widened at something Mike had said. He looked at him as if to confirm what he had heard. Mike nodded his head and Charlie said, "Alright I'll go deal with it." Then he rose and walked off to deal with whatever was wrong.

Mike muttered a thank you and "accidentally" brushed by the back of my neck as he walked away. I froze and saw Alice's eyes narrow in anger. Mike just smiled and winked at her which caused Jasper to growl and clench his fork. If Mike noticed he didn't let on. He just returned to dinner.

As soon as the room was empty, except for us Jasper jumped out of his chair and sped to Alice's. She clenched his hand and muttered "I'm fine." I heard Jasper muttering death threats under his breath. It sounded something like "That stupid, disgusting pig. I'll rip his throat out and feed it to the dogs."

As we cleared out of the dining room my mind started working and I wondered what Mike had had to say. We went to one of the sitting rooms. Since we were alone Jasper pulled Alice into his lap and hugged her. She kissed his cheek as a reward. Jasper glowed with happiness. Then Rosalie voiced my unasked question.

"What do you think Newton wanted?" she asked.

I shrugged. We spent a while just staring off into space. Jasper was whispering in Alice's ear, making her giggle. Finally, I heard Charlie coming up the stairs. I excused myself and told them that I wanted to see what Mike had talked to him about. I walked out the door and down the hall to the stairs. Charlie climbs the stairs like an elephant so I was able to hear him before he had reached the second floor.

"What did you have to sort out dad?" I asked sweetly.

His eyes narrowed at me. "I was told that a certain slave was getting to comfortable talking to us rich folk."

I froze, my blood turned cold. He had either found out about Emmett or he was talking about Edward. I prayed it wasn't the latter of the two. "What slave? What are you talking about?"

"Bella, you've been tricked and deluded. He just wants you for your money. It's not love. Don't worry I took care of him. He won't bother you anymore and I don't want you anywhere near him. He has nothing to give you"

If my blood had been frozen before it was colder than Arctic ice now. "No," I whispered. "What did you do to Edward?" I screeched.

""I just gave him a taste of what happens when slaves try to win over a noble's heart," was his reply. "Good night Bella." And with that he continued up the next flight of stairs to his bedroom.

I couldn't speak. I ran back to the sitting room.

"He whipped Edward!" I cried, tears streaming down my face. "He made it hurt, I know he did. Edwards probably badly injured. Charlie wouldn't be gentle." And then I just collapsed and broke down sobbing. If Jasper hadn't grabbed me I would've hit the floor. He passed me to Alice and Rose who held onto me as I bawled. Then Alice looked up.

"I can help him," she said.

I clutched her arm like it was a lifeline. "Please do whatever you can to help save him."

She jumped up and ran out of the room returning only a few seconds later with her arms full of medical supplies. "Let's go."

I stood up and was surprised when Rose and Jasper rose also.

"I have some training with medicine. Alice taught me," Rose said. I nodded signaling that she could come.

"Jasper please stay here. No one's going to hurt me," Alice told Jasper.

"But…" he protested.

"No buts. Stay here. We're wasting time," Alice snapped.

Jasper sat back down, eyebrows raised, but otherwise said nothing. I guessed that Alice didn't give him orders a lot.

We snuck through the dark, silent as mice. We became one with the earth, slipping along like shadows. Finally, we arrived at Edward's cabin. I realized that tears were still streaming down my face. Then I opened the door.

The sight of Edward lying there on the bed, bloodied and hurt, sent another wave of agony over me, crushing me.

Adam turned on me. "How dare you show your face here? After what you did!" he roared.

I burst out crying again. Adam continued to yell. I ran right past him; straight to Edward. What I saw shocked me to my core. I couldn't believe it. He was a mess.

"Edward oh Edward I'm so sorry. I'm such an idiot," I apologized. I grabbed his hand and looked him in the eyes. Edward squeezed my hand back. Then he passed out. Alice pushed me out of the way. Rose and Mora stood by her side, helping her. The rest of the cabin was glaring at me, all except for Emmett. So I went and sat by him.

"It's okay Bella. He'll be fine. Edward is tough," he comforted me.

After about an hour they were finished. Rose sat herself in Emmett's lap, exhausted. Mora sat by Riley and Alice came over to me. Alice whispered to me that the medicine would knock him out for a few days while the wounds healed up. I nodded then stood and walked over to Edward. I knelt by his side and moved his hair out of his eyes. He looked peaceful asleep. I just knelt there and waited; waited for him to wake up, waited for him to be alright.

Phew that was a long chapter. See i wasn't lying around during my absence. So wat'd yall think? Oh i'm soooo sorry i had to do that to Edward. Please forgive me. I feel so bad but it mad sense. I have to say that this is the turning point of the story. It's only going to get better from here. Please as i said before i would absolutely love you forever if you people just review. Please it takes about two seconds. Anyway i love feedback and i need to know what people think it helps me to know whether or not i need to bring up the action and watnot. As always constructive criticism is always welcomed with open arms. Love all of u BYE FOR NOW