Notes: I like this chapter. I hope you do, too.

Disclaimer: I own nothing Twilight. I merely play with the characters for entertainment. No copyright infringement intended.

Bella

The Ice Queen Cometh

"Do you want to build a fort?"

Emmett looked at me as if I had just spoken gibberish.

"Oh, come on! Don't tell me you've never built a fort before." I was lying on his bed reading, as I so often did now, while he was at his desk. I was bored. I didn't realize watching a small child would be so boring. I sat up on his bed. "You have so much fort material in this house. You could build a castle!"

He looked at me unenthusiastically. I jumped off the bed and grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

"I'm not finished with my homework!" he said being dragged along.

"Finish later. Now, fun."

We went downstairs and he reluctantly followed me around as I went from room to room determining which would be the best location to start. We settled on the den area because there were the most fort materials. I told him to take the cushions off the sofas while I went to ask Sue for old sheets.

Emmett started getting into it as our fort started taking shape. We brought in chairs from other rooms and Emmett decided on the structure it was to take.

When Sue came by to check up on us, she rightfully didn't look happy about the mess we were making, though I told her I would put everything back. But I guess she wasn't too mad since she came back with some empty boxes for us, that Emmett made quick use of.

And we made grand use of them. I had to say, it had been quite a many years since I'd embarked on any fort-making duties, but this would probably be in the top three.

We had opened and connected the boxes with packing tape so they made sort of tunnels back and forth from tent-like structures we'd built from sheets held up by chairs, tables, couches, and anything else we could substitute for poles.

At one point, the kid attempted to banish me from the area because I kept bumping and tripping into things and taking down parts of the structure like some well-meaning but clumsy Godzilla. And then he would take me back because he needed me for the logistical parts like the heavy-lifting, and the creative parts like what to do next.

Then we assigned quarters, like Emmett's weapons chamber, Bella's powder room (though I didn't quite know what to do with such a place) and of course, the dungeons.

So we started marking the boxes and identifying the separate sections with signs, some misleading ones like "The Top Secrets Room" which was really a decoy to lure and trap enemies. We then progressed to decorating the boxes with markers and paint, and taping various garlands around, like string lights we had dug up.

Emmett and I were still decorating and painting when we heard someone's awe.

"Wow," Jasper gasped. I saw a look of childish wonder on his face.

I smiled proudly and saw that Emmett was doing the same.

Jasper came closer and stood to attention. "Permission to enter?" he asked the little prince of the castle.

Emmett nodded, and I told him that he should respond, "Permission granted." He repeated after me, and Jasper thanked me. I told him, "Just doing my job as the young prince's counsel, subject, and entire invading force."

"And do soldiers need powder rooms?" Jasper asked pointing his thumb to the sign.

"The good ones do," I answered.

He smiled. "I see. And has your highness need of another loyal subject?" he asked Emmett.

"I think my lord is in need of a court jester," I said in a British accent.

"Ah," he said, taking it in.

Emmett asked what a jester was, and I told him it was like a clown. Emmett found the idea of Jasper the Clown quite agreeable, to which Jasper could not disagree.

Jasper asked Emmett for a tour then, and the little prince escorted a crawling new jester in a three-piece suit to one of the tent areas because he wasn't going to fit into the box tunnels and he would only end up damaging our hard work.

"This is awesome," I heard Jasper tell Emmett from beneath the tent. Jasper, and then Emmett stuck their heads out between the curtain of sheets while on all fours. "This is really great, Bella," he said to me.

"What I need now is a bad guy," Emmett declared.

I saw both their gazes turn to the side and I turned my head to see what had caught their attention. That's when I noticed Edward Cullen standing in the room, along with a woman in red.

I stood up, as I thought that was the polite gesture to new company. I saw in the corner of my eye Jasper and Emmett retreat back and disappear into the makeshift shelter.

I glanced from Cullen, who had his usual non-expression but was surveying the damage to one of his many rooms, and I focused on this woman I had never seen before.

She was nearly invisible, she was so pale. Her skin, her hair, even her eyes were so light, she was on the verge of disappearing. And she was a tiny sliver of a thing, thin and waif-like and barely my height with heels. But against all that, she was the most radiant thing in the room. There was no ignoring her. It was like she had a spotlight trained on her. She stood perfectly still, and yet she glowed and glimmered and commanded attention.

She was beautiful, and yet there was something about her that made me want to dislike her. She had an air of superiority, literally with her chin slightly upturned like she was keeping her head above her surroundings. She reminded me of a rat – a very pretty-looking rat.

Her eyelids were smoky making her icy blue eyes almost threatening looking. Her nose was small and sharp, her lips thin and red, matching the color of her dress. There was not a hair out of place, a wrinkle in her garment.

Just as I was probably doing, but less conspicuously this woman judged me with one down and up sweep of her eyes.

I felt unreasonably inadequate and found myself straightening my back and fixing my posture making myself taller, the only thing I could see that I had over this stranger.

Edward Cullen had finished his visual assessment of the room and returned his stare back to me. For one crazy moment, I thought I saw his eyes soften. Whatever it was I thought I saw, it disappeared when the woman cleared her throat daintily.

Oomph. Emmett had come out of nowhere and rammed into me, and surprise, surprise I lost my balance and fell over.

I looked up at him from my now sitting position and whispered, "What are you doing, kid?"

He whispered even softer, "I'm saving you from the evil queen."

"That's not how you save people!" I hoarsely whispered back. I picked myself up and dusted myself off. It wasn't like I wasn't used to making poor first impressions. I put my hands on Emmett's shoulders and guided him to his brother and his friend.

"Hello, Emmett," the woman in red greeted him. Her voice didn't match at all what I thought it would sound like. She spoke loudly and clearly in a strong, smooth voice. I imagined her having a soft, whispery voice to go along with her pale, small figure.

The kid addressed her with a sly roll of the eyes.

"Emmett." Brother dearest had only to say his name.

"Hi, Tanya," Emmett said grudgingly without looking at her.

I bit my lip. It was an inopportune time to find something funny.

Tanya's eyes found me like a laser. I gulped.

She turned to Cullen with a wicked half-smile and whispered not so softly, "It's so hard to find good help." She was shorter than me, yet somehow her eyes casually glanced down at me for a second. "Especially one that teaches manners."

Then Cullen's eyes found mine. His gaze was intense, but I couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking by his expressionless look, but if I was forced to guess I would've said annoyance.

It wasn't my fault the kid was a rude brat. He came that way before I got to him.

When Cullen didn't respond to her, Tanya turned and acted like she was seeing me for the first time. "You must be the new nanny." I forced a smile. She didn't offer her hand, nor did she introduce herself. She looked me up and down, and looked positively displeased.

And before I could properly respond to her, she gave Cullen her full attention again and whispered something to him, this time more discreetly.

His eyes turned down away from my direction, and he led Tanya away with his hand gently on her lower back.

I saw Emmett had made his way back to the fort. Since he was in good hands with Jasper enthusiastically play-fighting on fort castle grounds, I casually made my way in the direction Cullen and his guest had left. I admit, my curiosity got the better of me. The possibility that perhaps Cullen had some semblance of a personal life outside of Emmett was intriguing.

I heard the front door closing just as I was turning the corner to the foyer. I slowly made my way to the windows and peered out. I viewed Tanya sliding into the passenger seat of a black BMW while Cullen held the door for her. He shut the door when she was safely in, and he made his way to the driver's seat. Cullen was about to step into the seat when for a second he looked up toward the house, and I ducked out of view. I heard the faint sound of a car door shutting and tires on the driveway, and I deemed it safe to look back out. I saw the red taillights glowing in the distance.

I had never seen Cullen drive before. Come to think of it, I wasn't even sure before he knew how. I had always seen him being driven by Demetri or Seth, and now he was the one escorting this woman who knew where. She must be special to him.

"Need to go somewhere?" I heard behind me, and it startled me enough that I banged my forehead onto the glass of the window. I spun around to see Seth with raised brows and a bemused look.

"You startled me," I said, rubbing my head.

"Sorry," he said lightly, "I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"Right," I said a little embarrassed. It was obvious he knew he had caught me.

"So…" he trailed off.

"So…?" I said questioningly. He wasn't expecting me to actually admit to anything, was he?

"Do you need to go somewhere? I can take you."

"Oh, right," I said realizing. "I mean, no. No, thank you. I was just…" I smiled defeated. "I thought I heard someone leave." I resorted to bad lying.

"That was Edward. He's escorting Ms. Denali home himself."

"Ms. Denali?"

"Tanya Denali."

"Oh yes, I just met her." Sort of. If I could call that a meeting. "Delightful," I added with an insincere smile. "They seem made for each other." I had never before heard Cullen, or anyone else related to him in any way, mention this woman who acted so familiar with him. But that didn't surprise me. I imagined the two of them in the coldest, most repressed and passive-aggressive relationship. "Is she his girlfriend?"

"No," he answered.

"Oh."

"She's his fiancée."