Author's Note: Hello, my lovely fans! I hope you're all enjoying a three-day weekend in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Good man, he was. Anyway, I probably wasn't going to update this week at all, or probably the next week, or the week after that, if a fan hadn't sent me a PM and begged me to update by Wednesday. I told her that I couldn't do that in the middle of a week, but I promised her this weekend. So you can thank her for this update. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 10

Edward was surprised when his usually punctual bodyguards did not appear on time to greet him the next morning. He quickly became concerned for the both of them, although a little more so for Bella. Had something happened?

"Cynthia," he called.

The middle-aged woman appeared through the doorway, clutching the dress of her uniform so that she could walk easily. "Your Highness."

He scowled. "Has Bella and Seth not arrived yet?"

She bowed. "I believe they are preparing for your departure, my Prince."

He strode across the room to put on his travel robes. "What's there to prepare for?" he asked. "You and the servants have prepared for my journey, haven't you?"

She bowed again. "Everything has been loaded into the back of your carriage."

Edward snorted, making Cynthia's head snap up and scowl disapprovingly at the ungentlemanly behavior. "The carriage? I'll be taking the horse, Thea."

Cynthia looked even more appalled at that. "No, my lord! I cannot allow it! You should know how dangerous that will be-"

"It's even more dangerous inside a carriage," Edward interrupted. "I would have no place to escape. On a horse, I could simply run away."

"They could surround you," Cynthia said in a haunted voice. "Do you not realize the potential danger that lurks behind every corner, wherever you go? No doubt they have prepared another launch toward you-"

"-in which case, I shall be happy to punish them," Edward finished, giving her a small, affectionate smile. "I sincerely appreciate your worrying about me, Thea, but you seem to have forgotten a minor detail. Two, actually."

Cynthia drew herself to full height. She looked cross. "And what is that, may I ask?"

Edward looked past her, and smiled at something over the shoulder. He nodded once.

Cynthia whirled around, and upon spotting Seth, she quickly moved to the side, bowing. Seth bowed back slightly.

"Where have you been?" Edward asked. "I was getting worried."

Seth smiled minutely at the thought. "We're ready for you now, Your Highness. Are you ready to leave?"

Edward nodded before grabbing his short knife and slipping it inside his robes for emergencies. Seth waited until he had passed him before following. Cynthia and several ladies-in-waiting followed them.

Upon seeing the carriage, Edward frowned. "Seth, I want-" he began.

"A horse, no doubt," said an amused voice.

He looked up to see Bella striding toward him, wearing her uniform and her ponytail high. Her long, mahogany hair swung from its height. She stopped and bowed slightly.

His heart thudded lightly. How was it possible that she got more beautiful each day? It should be declared a crime, it was so impossible.

Edward smiled. "Good morning."

She looked amused. "Good morning, sir. I've prepared your horse for you." She looked to the side and nodded at the large group of horses. Riders in similar robes were on them already, each carrying a sheathed sword and some of them carrying a bow and arrows.

There must have been about fifty of them.

Edward looked uncomfortable at that. "Don't you think we're taking too many?"

"It is necessary, Your Highness," Bella replied. "Your safety is more important than completing an annual trip to your ancestors. I would've added more, if I hadn't taken your discomfort to consideration."

"But-"

"The King and queen have already agreed to this," she interrupted. "They were the ones who have strictly insisted upon more protection than usual." She flashed a mysterious smile. "So I would not complain."

He took a deep breath. "But I have you two."

"Your personal guard have as much experience as we do."

He opened his mouth to retort when a loud whooping came from his left. Startled, he glanced to the side to see his elder brother bouncing as he and his train entered the arena. He rolled his eyes at Emmett's maturity.

Bella and Seth bowed at the older prince's arrival.

"Hey, guys," Emmett said easily in his deep, husky tone. He, too, was dressed in travel robes. "Ready to protect us princes?"

"Emmett," Edward greeted him darkly.

"Hey, hey, none of that," Emmett said, wagging his finger and grinning widely. "You know how I love traveling. I was stuck in here for a whole year; now, it's time to have some fun."

"Your horse is ready also, my lord," Bella told him, smiling.

"Whoo!" Emmett whooped again before bouncing toward his horse. "Hurry up, bro! Let's get this show on the road!"

As they entered deep in the forest, Bella tensed. The brothers were speaking animatedly to each other, enjoying each other's company. They hardly had time to be together in the Palace because of each prince's duties, and if they were rudely interrupted by a possible ambush...

Edward glanced back at Bella and Seth, who were right behind the two princes. His brow furrowed when he saw that they were both tense, hardly taking the time to enjoy the view. They were looking around, but he knew it wasn't because they were amazed by the fresh air and tall trees surrounding them.

Bella glanced behind them, making sure the rest of the guard were following efficiently. The men on the horses, too, were glancing around warily, wondering if someone was watching them from the top of the hills on either sides of the road.

She turned back to the front, feeling uncomfortable as the aura of dread crept closer. She felt the presence of danger approaching and braced herself. She glanced at Seth, who nodded once, interpreting her resolve correctly.

"My lady," the general of the guard said quietly as he urged his horse to join her side. He looked up to make sure the princes weren't listening. "Do you feel that?"

Bella raised her eyebrow as she peered at the general's side of the hills. "Feel what?"

"The silence."

She paused in her actions before looking at the general with an impressed, wry smile. "Indeed, General. I feel the stillness."

"There isn't a shelter for miles," the general said worriedly. "Do you think we should turn back?"

"We've come this far," Bella disagreed, though she wished she could convince the Crown Prince to retreat. "It'll be fine." She glanced behind her. "Prepare the men, just in case."

The general ducked his head slightly before falling back in the ranks. Bella continued to peer through the tall trees and hills.

"...and then, I told her, 'You're going to get fat before you turn twenty-five!'" Emmett was saying, laughing hysterically. "Alice went nuts at that! Ah, that twin sister of mine..."

"You can't keep saying that to her," Edward chided. "She's already stressed out over her duties and..." He glanced behind him before lowering his voice. "Jasper. She thinks he doesn't notice her."

"He doesn't," Emmett said mildly.

Edward shot him a look. "I'm not so sure. Jasper is a very cryptic young man."

Emmett shrugged. "Look, bro. Jasper is a taken man. He's already married to his job; why should he even look at our sister?"

"I don't see why not," Edward said. "I can't think of a better man for Alice."

Emmett laughed silently. "Then you'd be family with you-know-who." He jerked his head slightly behind him. "What's the matter with you, giving up on your little crush before you can even start?"

"Shut up," Edward mumbled. "Mind your own love life."

"I would, except there is no maiden in this kingdom that catches my eye."

Bella finally found what she was looking for. She urged her horse forward quickly before launching herself at Emmett, who was right in front of her. "Down!"

Seth did the same before she had cried out, and the four of them toppled to the ground just as three arrows zipped past Edward. The guards behind them, too, had fallen from their horses and were now crying out in alarm.

Emmett groaned underneath Bella. "Push me harder next time, okay?"

"This is not the time to be funny!" she growled. She ushered Emmett against the hill wall roughly, out of range. She motioned for Edward and Seth to do the same.

Edward grabbed her arm when she moved away. "Where are you going? It's dangerous!"

"My job is to protect you, Edward!" She ripped away from his desperate grasp and darted toward the guards. "Archers! Position!"

About a dozen archers aimed at the source of the invading arrows. Bella sensed that there were about a dozen up there too, with advantageous weapons of a bow and arrows.

"Fire!"

The archers of the guard let their arrows fly just in time to intercept the incoming arrows. The arrows fell to the ground.

"Bella!" Edward snapped, looking angry. "Come back here!"

"Shut up, bro!" Emmett shot back. "She's busy, in case you haven't noticed, trying to save your ass!"

"Aim!" Bella barked. The archers readied their weapons.

The general somehow got to her side and tugged on her arm. "I think there are about a dozen of them or so up there. We need to stop them!"

Bella nodded, motioning for Seth to come closer. "We'll take care of it. Seth, do you see a way up?"

For an answer, Seth darted to the tree closest to the hill. He climbed it rapidly and out of sight of the assassins. He disappeared through the thickness of the trees.

Bella sighed, her eyes moving up toward the sky in exasperation. "If we must." She snatched away an archer's bow and arrows, and swung the arrow case over her shoulder. She turned to the general. "Keep them distracted, like nothing happened. Pretend like you're losing."

"We are losing!" he yelled, ducking as an arrow came flying toward him.

Bella rolled her eyes. "We'll give you a signal, alright? Be prepared for anything."

"Just go!"

Edward watched helplessly as Bella, too, disappeared upward. He hated it when situations such as these came up, for the woman he loved had to leave him to protect him. He could never know if she was safe or not. If only he had not asked for her to become his bodyguard...

Bella joined Seth on the branch of a tree. They had a good view of the assassins that were taking shelter behind various thick trees. There were about two dozen of them.

"Want to be bait?" Bella asked lightly, despite the stress of the situation. She, of course, detested how political figures were constantly after the Crown Prince's life, but as she was extremely confident of her skills, she knew there were small chances of her getting injured. She enjoyed these real-life challenges, which gave her the opportunity to further enhance her skills.

Seth nodded. "You have a good weapon."

"Good luck," she said, watching as he dropped down lightly from the tree branch and ghosted out of sight.

She docked an arrow on her bow, and waited. Soon, the first of the yelps came. One of the assassins stumbled out of his hiding place, trying to clutch his back, where Seth had slashed at him. He lost his footing and fell backward toward the guard below.

While Seth were fighting several at once, killing some and merely pushing others down from the hill, Bella shot arrow after arrow, trying to hit her targets. They knew to keep moving, and her arrows merely flew past them.

Getting frustrated, she gave up on trying to end their lives with her weak weapon and concentrated on aiming at their foot to give them a disadvantage. She hit three of them, and they stumbled around, howling in pain.

Upon the absence of further arrows, she tossed the arrow case and bow back onto the road below. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw that it wasn't just the guards who were fighting the assassins that Seth had dropped below. The two princes had pitched in, and Edward was in the center, slashing with his knife and performing every move that Bella had ever taught him perfectly.

She groaned. "No, no, this isn't happening. Come on, Bella! This isn't supposed to happen!" Cursing at herself for not giving Edward a lecture before coming up, she prepared to jump off the tree.

A flash of red caught her eye, and she refocused on a particularly thick tree. There was someone there... No, now they were two of them. Three. They were running away. Bella observed that there were two men and a woman. They were dressed differently than the others, so they must be the leaders.

Scowling and vowing to take care of them later, she dropped back down into the road below and snatched up a knife that a fallen assassin had abandoned. She slashed her way through the two princes, who were, she had to admit, doing very well on their own.

She relieved the general of the man he was fighting against and yelled, "Prepare the princes' horses! I'm going to buy you some time!"

"What about you?"

"I'll be following straight after. Don't worry." She raised her voice. "Soldiers! Prepare to flee!"

"Flee?" Emmett balked. "But there's only a couple of them left!"

Bella slashed once at the assassin he had been battling, and gave him a push. "Go! Now!"

"But-" he said, glancing back at Edward.

"I'll get him, now, go!"

Seth had dropped back onto the road. He relieved Edward of his pressure before ushering him to his horse. He slapped the horse, and the horse galloped away with Edward glancing behind him worriedly.

The rest of the guard followed the princes and the general on their horses, leaving Seth and Bella to finish killing the remaining assassins.

Seth glanced at Bella, who looked livid, as though she could kill someone. "Do you think there are more?"

Bella bent down to one of the fallen men. She rummaged through his clothes, finally pausing to bring out a vial of poison. She held it up to examine it more closely.

Seth looked from the vial to Bella. Then, he glanced up at the hills. "My lady?"

"No," she answered finally, standing back up. "There are only three of them left. The ones who led this attack. I saw them running away."

She pocketed the vial, and got onto her horse. "Or rather," she said menacingly, "they were getting a head start. They'll try to harm His Highness again, I'm sure."

"Then we must leave quickly," Seth said, now also on his horse. "The guard doesn't know that."

"We'd better be careful," she added. "They're carrying poison. If we want answers in this political war, we want the criminals alive as evidence."

"Political war?" Seth repeated. He glanced at her sharply. "Are you thinking this was the work of the Black Faction?"

"Common people don't have a good enough reason to kill the future king of this kingdom, Seth," Bella said breezily. "The reward they'd ever get would be to have their head disconnected to their bodies."

She urged her horse forward, and Seth followed.

The two finally caught up to the princes and the rest of the guard at the Royal Villa about five miles away from the Palace. The Crown Prince guard as well as the guards of the Villa were on high alert, having been instructed by the general.

The men bowed jerkily as Bella and Seth passed each doorway. They glanced around uneasily, their wariness on high alert.

Edward stood up abruptly when the two bodyguards entered the main room. He looked relieved. "What took you so long?" he said, sounding angry now that he knew Bella was alright.

Emmett, who had been sitting on his brother's right, smiled wanly. "He's been worried sick. You'd think he was the bodyguard."

"My lord," Bella said, keeping her eyes trained on the ground. "I'm afraid you are still in danger. We must go out and find those who are responsible for the attack."

"No." Edward was adamant. "No. It's too dangerous. I won't risk my men for that."

"We must," Bella insisted. "If you are to continue on this journey, it is our responsibility as your guard to make sure the path we are to take is secure."

"Then let me go with you," he pleaded. "You know I hate it when I have to send you out all by yourself."

"No," Bella said, shaking her head. "That's out of the question. We can't take you, Your Highness. You know that."

"And why?" Edward shot back. "Because it's dangerous! That's also the reason why I can't let you go!"

Bella fixed her eyes on him sternly. "There is a reason for the difference in status, my lord. You stand in your place, and I stand in mine. With your permission or not, I will lead a group to hunt them down."

Edward looked exasperated. "Bella..."

"If you are worried for your men, I won't take them," Bella said swiftly. "I don't need them. Seth and I will-"

"It's not my men I'm worried about!" Edward growled. "It's you!"

She blinked, taken aback. "My lord?"

Why was it that her heart was beginning to beat faster at his simple words?

"I know that you are more than capable, Isabella," Edward said darkly. "But I can't help worrying if a girl I know personally goes out for my own safety, can I? It's out of the question. Either I go with you, or you don't go at all."

Bella recovered almost immediately. "That's not an option," she said sharply. "Authority doesn't matter when it comes to the Crown Prince's safety, my lord, as I might remind you. I'm sure King Carlisle would agree."

They glowered at each other silently while Emmett watched nervously. Seth merely looked bored, simply waiting for the verdict.

Finally, Edward sighed. "I knew it was a lost battle. Go ahead, Bella. But if you return to me harmed, or not at all-"

Bella smiled her mysterious smile. "Of course, my lord." She bowed slightly before gliding out of the room with Seth.

Edward sighed as he sat back down. He had his head in his hands. "What am I going to do with that stubborn woman, Emmett?"

Emmett chuckled. "You have to admit, you feel safer with a woman like her around. I know I do."

"That's the problem," Edward said, staring blankly at a spot on the table. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

AN: What did you think? And Bella is heading out to kill the assassins...and Edward's worried. I know I shouldn't, but I'm squealing at his cuteness. Like, how cute is their love? Okay, I'll stop acting like a fan girl. Review tons and tons and tons! They make me happy! ;)