Disclaimer:

Stephenie Meyer made up Twilight and all its characters.

Morgan Locklear made up a cool dance called The Sugar Shuffle.


Chapter Twelve:

A Farewell to Arms

Central Park sat in the middle of Manhattan Island like the green treasure in an urban truffle. Michael's house looked over the massive expanse like it was his own front yard and his guests were treated to a view of both rivers that wrapped around it like the blue arms of a Hindu goddess.

To the south, the Theatre of the Heart could be seen sharing the skyline with several churches, some banks further downtown and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel being constructed on 5th Avenue and 33rd Street. That particular block would later be famous for other sky scraping feats, but even half completed, the current building was almost level with the spire of Jacob's tower.

Bella gladly decoded the rest of the verse on the page that she had started. She tapped each bell and made a scribble on the slip of parchment Michael had anticipated and provided for her.

The men chatted pleasantly enough but Edward was still concerned about Michael's lack of interest in using pig blood. As a food source it would spare the good people of New York the indignity of falling prey to rich monsters.

Bella completed the verse and recited it to the group. "Sunshine returned from its long retreat."

Michael closed his eyes and nodded his head.

"Does that mean anything to you?" Emmett asked.

"It means that the story is finally moving forward again."

"Don't you think that Riley would want to know what it says?" Edward was very curious about their relationship, he was never able to read Riley well so he had to resort to asking questions.

Michael smiled thinly and spoke only to Bella. "I'm sure you can understand that this is a very personal and private affair for me." He eyed Edward and Emmett. "I hope we can make arrangements in the future that will require only one un-intrusive chaperone?"

"You invited us," Edward tersely reminded him. He was not convinced that Michael knew about his mind reading abilities but he did seem like he was onto something.

"And I am delighted that you came," Michael countered. "But you'll notice that I also excused my only companion when he was no longer useful."

"You're suggesting that we are not useful." Emmett was insulted.

"I merely observed that you are as useful as Riley," Michael sneered.

"And how useful are you?" Edward shot back. He was beginning to get very angry. He feared his anger could take over quickly if he allowed it to.

"Stop it!" Bella's voice was shrill. Out on the balcony, a pigeon looked sharply at the glass panes in the closed door to the house before taking flight. "I will bring Emmett with me, is that acceptable?"

Edward looked hurt. Bella considered responding mentally but she suspected that Michael would pick up on it. "You have a play to direct, Edward." She touched his arm. "Besides, Emmett and I need to talk production and make stops along the way."

Edward begrudgingly agreed but mostly because Michael's frustrations seemed to be focused on him. He had to admit that he disliked the man's company as well. Since he trusted Emmett's loyalty to Bella as well as his ability to protect her, Edward felt like it might actually be helpful for him to remain focused on his daunting debut.

Bella arranged to drop by Michael's house the next evening and they left with a fairly good feeling about how things were going to progress.

Riley was standing in the front courtyard looking apprehensively up at the ivy, waiting for them. There was a medium sized trunk sitting on the ground next to him. It was completely lined on the outside with hard leather.

"Lawrence is a fine fellow," Riley stated casually before walking away. "He didn't deserve the way he was treated."

"Neither did you." Bella barely spoke the words but Riley heard her. Edward heard him agree. It was a moment of real clarity from Riley that Edward could never seem to achieve before. He could hear that Riley hated Michael for what he did.

He could also hear that Riley hated Bella for making Michael do it.

The cab driver that trotted them home was happy to take the counterpart to East Drive and they found themselves skirting the west side of the reservoir, Manhattan's drinking water supply. It had the characteristics of a giant pond and the bright moon hanging over it was reflected perfectly on its smooth surface.

Further along was the fairly new American Museum of Natural History. Bella wished that they had extended hours but the building was dark.

The conversation was light due to the proximity of the cab driver but once they returned to the theatre, Emmett was ripe with questions.

"How many times have you hypnotized me?" They were walking up the flight of stone steps to the four wooden theatre doors. Lawrence had seen them arrive from his perch in the tower's second floor lounge and stood at the threshold with one door open.

Edward did not have time to warn Bella that Emmett had already pieced together a nearly accurate picture of how she had persuaded or dissuaded him over the course of the last seven months but, fortunately, he did not have to. Bella told Emmett the truth as she touched Lawrence on the shoulder, an invitation to accompany them upstairs.

"Since the moment you woke up." Bella looked at Edward, as he was handing Lawrence his trunk and sighed heavily. She felt horrible but, somehow, better.

She went to the elevator and Edward got in with her. Lawrence left his trunk where it was and got in as well. Emmett did not move.

Edward had a quick side bar with Lawrence where he told their new friend that Emmett was skeptical of such contraptions. He was glad for the lighthearted distraction. He was still thinking about the exchange at Michael's house.

"Young man, have you considered the possibility that Bella could help you with your problem?" Lawrence asked Emmett.

Bella and Edward froze and exchanged a glance that made Lawrence regret the observation. "Did I say something wrong?"

Emmett turned around as Bella and Edward collected themselves. They had both instantly thought of Emmett's more substantial malady. They had been listening to Emmett argue with himself for the better part of two weeks.

"You mean my completely rational and understandable trepidation concerning elevators?"

Lawrence was uncertain and it showed. "Yes?"

Emmett walked over to Bella. "I am asking you to make me want to ride this... contraption...full of people...up to the top floor."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Alright." She stepped out of the closet sized lift and smiled at him as she looked into his intelligent eyes. "Emmett, you are a vampire. You won't get hurt even if it does fail so get on the elevator already." She was stern but not loud.

Emmett looked at the elevator but did not move. Then he looked happily surprised as he shook his head like a stubborn child. "Did I do it? Did I resist you?"

Bella shook her head. "I haven't done it yet. I just wanted to point out that it was not rational or understandable that you are scared to ride it."

"Now hold on." Emmett scowled. "No one said anything about being scared."

Bella moved to the side, offering Emmett a clear path to the elevator. "Well then, all aboard big boy."

Emmett smiled. "I know what you're trying to do."

Bella was relentless. "I don't see your feet moving."

Emmett walked past her and stepped inside. When the platform responded to the added weight by dipping slightly his eyes became as round as the stained glass windows on the lobby doors.

"We could get off," Edward offered and began moving him to the door.

"No." Emmett did not want to be trapped in there alone. "Let's just go."

"I'll walk up." Bella did not want to add to her brave friend's distress.

"You'll do no such thing." Even in times of high stress, Emmett's chivalry prevailed. "Hurry up though."

Bella hustled in and closed the door while Edward pressed the top button. The ride up was quiet and Emmett looked out the window like a sickly child wishing he could go out and play. When they reached the Corner Room, Bella led the exodus to the right and into her private residence where they spread out around the large and comfortable living area. Edward started building a fire while Lawrence looked at the books and out the windows along the east wall. Bella and Emmett went upstairs and sat with their legs dangling from the landing.

"Which do you think is more harmful? Planting a thought that makes you feel good about riding the elevator or manipulating you by questioning your manhood and giving you no choice but to prove me wrong?"

Emmett was smiling already. "You make a good point."

They sat together for a while and she took his hand.

"I never meant to deceive you but in those first few days..." She trailed off. "I'm sorry, Emmett."

He squeezed her hand. Below them, Edward and Lawrence were talking about King Alonso's costume options. "I know that I can be hard to reason with," Emmett admitted. "I have a lot on my mind."

Edward could hear that he was on the verge of asking Bella if she could hypnotize just part of someone when the phone rang.

Lawrence jumped at the loud double bells on the ringing phone like a frog on a hot road. Edward chuckled and walked out into the common room to answer it.

It was Alice and she had awful news. They were in Corbin, Kentucky using the town's only phone and, as usual, had to make a half dozen connections to get an open line to New York City.

"We were ambushed by the owners of the deeds," she began. "Carlisle suffered a concussion and Jasper says it will be a few days before he can drive the carriage."

Edward was crushed. He told her that he wanted to get his father home but Alice was ready with her response.

"Jasper said that you would say that, but he said to tell you that Carlisle would be healed by the time we got to either New York or New Orleans, so we might as well press on with the second part of the mission."

Bella and Emmett came downstairs and joined Edward. Lawrence excused himself and went to take his trunk to one of the group rooms behind the stage. Before he took the elevator down, he waved to Bella and whispered to Emmett that he would be at auditions the next day.

"How bad is he? Is he awake?" Edward was careful to gather more information before his worry chickens could become hysterical.

"Of course he's awake!" Alice felt bad that Edward had gotten the wrong idea about his father's injury. "He's been acting completely normal, but Jasper is insisting that he rest as much as possible. We are going to remain in Corbin for the next day or so anyway because Jasper says the rough roads down here are going to bounce his head around too much."

Bella touched Edward's arm as she spoke into the stationary mouthpiece. "Can we just wait and see how the next day goes? We don't have to decide anything right now."

"Hello, Bella." Alice missed her dear friend and just hearing her voice made her homesick, not for New York specifically, but for wherever Bella was. "Sure, we'll call again tomorrow night."

"Do you think we can talk to him then?" Edward wanted to hear his father's voice. All the emotion churned up earlier in the evening fed his anxious fire.

"Jasper said that you would ask about that too," Alice said. "And yes, we will all three be on the telephone tomorrow."

Alice explained everything, and nobody liked the fact that there was another fiendish vampire running around loose. "But then again, aren't we all?" Alice observed. It was not necessary to pursue him especially since they got the better of the outcomes, and all the prize money to go with it.

"Please tell my father that I love him," Edward said in place of a goodbye. He was gritting his teeth in grief, anger, confusion, isolation…everything.

"I will," Alice promised, moved by the sentiment. "Bella, take care of Edward."

"I will."

When Bella hung up the receiver, Emmett asked them both one last question.

"Are you hiding anything else from me?" He looked right at Bella but it was Edward who answered. He was at his limit's end concerning confrontation and just wanted a few moments of peace.

"No," he answered harshly and walked away.


Emmett ventured down the stairs to visit with Lawrence while Bella took Edward into the bathroom. She began issuing steaming water from the tap into the red and gold marbled tub.

"This is amazing!" Bella found having a hot daily bath that did not take an hour or more to prepare miraculous. She was hoping that her joy would soothe Edward. His day had been one falling rock after another.

When she turned around, he was completely undressed and partially engorged with need. Part of him wanted to be alone, but another part of him knew that it was Bella who could stop the world from spinning just long enough for him to regain his footing.

He wanted to let her hair dress his stomach and he wanted to feel her arching back under his supportive hands. He wanted it all and from the thoughts he was receiving from Bella since she closed the door to their wing, she was more than willing to oblige.

She drank him in as her hands worked the buttons of her own fashionable trappings.

Edward watched as she slid out of one lacy thing after another and, by the time her milk smooth skin was bare, his appreciation had grown by measurable amounts. Bella flashed a mischievous smile and when he approached she grabbed him with both hands and squeezed.

She looked appreciatively at her catch as she put one hand on top of the other and began slowly moving both fists up and down. Edward noticed that her breasts were being pushed together seductively.

Bella saw his interest and sat on the edge of the tub, lowering herself enough to welcome his hard warmth between her plump silky curves.

Edward gasped, then sighed and steadied himself by placing a hand on her shoulder.

She trapped him against her chest and used the friction of her skin to bring soft perfect moans from her lover's lips. Bella glanced at the wall of his muscled stomach and moved her gaze upward to his sculpted chest while she pressed on either side of her breasts with her hands. It was already a snug fit but the increased pressure made Edward's eyes widen in a luxuriant pleasure.

The tub had filled while they kept themselves busy and Bella slipped into the warm water with a feminine twist. She glided over to turn the tap off.

Silence was all that was left, at least for Bella.

She could tell that Edward was still listening to a thousand threads. He had told her that most of the time he could pretend that it was non-coherent gibberish, like a flock of birds, or like his father once suggested, the ocean; but sometimes he got sucked in and he confessed that it drained him deeply on those days.

"Why don't you tune out the rest of the world for a while, Edward?" Bella stood up and the water hugged her body for as long as it could before slinking down her hips and legs in reluctant rivulets. "Let me help you block out the noise." Her voice was soothing. She could have talked him into anything as he stepped into the hot water and they collapsed into each other. Bella slid back and down with Edward between her open legs.

He closed his eyes while his wet cheek rested against her soft hair. He imagined that he had discovered a way to get from the barnyard, where his emotions and memories were kept, to the factory building where he could flip a switch to keep outside thoughts from invading his mind.

In his mind's eye he looked down affectionately at his worry chickens as they scurried out of his way and also noticed a few cats he had never seen before. They sat like spies on a fence in the outlying fields and observed him with cool superiority as he went into what he called the switch house. He emerged a moment later with a look of exquisite relief on his face.

Edward opened his eyes and took in the silence along with Bella's succulent body.

"I think you're right," he whispered into her shoulder, letting his lips brush her skin. "I will turn it off every time we make love and during other sacred moments."

She appreciated how he really listened to her advice. It made her feel as important as when he first told her he loved her. She guided his lips to hers and leaned her head back into the water as he covered her with his body. He held the back of her delicate neck in one strong but gentle hand as he moved his tongue around the tip of hers.

Bella arched her back and let the world become muffled as the hot water filled her ears. Edward eventually lifted her up to him as he sat back on his knees and kissed her neck ferociously.

She would remember to tell him that he did not need to read her mind to do what she wanted him to.

Her legs draped over his hips and they were both suddenly in a hurry to feel the delicious moment of penetration. Bella arched her back and lifted her inviting pink crease up for his attention. Edward nuzzled her matted brown curls and placed kisses in all the right places before he rose up on his knees and did what he knew she wanted most.

His fingers were spread over her curved bottom as he pulled her hips up to meet his. She floated on her back and in the moment he entered her, the stars behind her eyes exploded into white blooms.

Edward proceeded slowly but forcefully and each thrust was punctuated by a cry of pleasure from his prostrate lover. She reached behind her and grabbed the faucet partly to help balance herself and partly to keep Edward from pushing her head into it. He was moving fast enough to make the water choppy but he was merely getting started.

Edward pulled her toward him, allowing her hair to flow out behind her on the water and then wrap around her shoulders like a shawl caught in a tide. He did this over and over again and the elation was combustible even though the sensation of skimming the water was quite relaxing to her.

Edward was lost in the quiet reprieve and devoured the feel of her. He imagined what it would be like to be a tiny man, walking on the flawless landscape of her body. Regular waves lapping occasionally over her stomach would get his legs wet and almost knock him over as he made his way to the delicious valley of silk slopes created by two violet capped buttes.

He stopped, just long enough for her hair to stop moving and start sinking and he waited until she found his eyes.

"I love you Bella, thank you for this." His sincerity was evident but she was compelled to reply in kind even though she knew that it would come out humorously.

"Oh no, thank you."

Bella wanted her mouth on his and sat up to attack him with a ravenous kiss. Edward was not ready for her and yelped as he went backward into the tub and sent a huge wave onto the stone floor and over their clothes.

He wrapped his arms around her and let them sink to the bottom of the wide basin. Bella felt him, immediate and impressive and pressing into her with greedy desire. She made a fluid dancer's adjustment and then completely swallowed him in her sensual velvet vice.

She sat up out of the water but he remained on the bottom and they both watched as their shimmering images made love to one another. Bella could just reach the edges of the tub with outstretched hands and she held onto them as she rose and fell with measured movements designed to squeeze every last drop of contact between them before plunging back down into oblivion.

Bella could not help but smile when Edward cried out in climax because a little collection of bubbles was what came from his mouth and rushed to the surface of the water with urgent pops.

She pulled him to her and caressed his dripping face as he looked at her with wonder. She loved the feeling of caring for her man, knowing that she was everything to him that he could ever want in a partner. He was generous and affectionate to her daily and she wanted to be his saving grace when the shadows grew too small to hide in.

He found that he enjoyed looking at her and not knowing her mind. Her eyes talked to him in a different way. An art he lost along with his heartbeat. He was going to spend the rest of his life loving her and making sure she knew it.

They took turns washing each other, each standing while the other lovingly covered them with soap. Edward thought to save them considerable time by pulling Bella to his lathered body.

As it turned out, his idea did not save them any time.

They stayed in the tub until the water grew cold and then re-warmed each other in bed.


By the time Jacob's letter reached New York, Bella had listened to the chimes cradled in hundreds of knots and deciphered several pages for Michael. Emmett, as previously discussed, was her singular chaperone but spent most of his time making small talk with the former priest.

He was very interested in Michael's theological background.

Bella spent approximately a half an hour at Michael's house each evening and he was constantly complaining that she did not stay long enough to read more. He was discovering clues with every verse and was becoming very possessive of her time. Bella finally put her foot down one evening. Michael backed off but struck a bargain with her. She could come over each night at her own convenience, if she would remain long enough to read completed verses, two pages at once.

She agreed to the terms and Michael even encouraged her to translate both pages entirely before revealing their contents to him so he could hear a verse from beginning to end in one swift breath. Something he had never dreamed of hearing.

While she worked, Emmett and Michael gave Bella some privacy by having their conversations out on the balcony in the Central Park treated evening air.

On Bella's first night back, Michael asked that she only transcribe the rest of the verse she began the night before. She did so and read it completely to him with pride.

Sunshine

returned

from it's

long

retreat

-\-0-/-

And filled

the rivers

and

lakes

with heat

Riley appeared calm when they saw him all that week. He had even seen to it that the theatre's lobby floor replacement was completed before the first rehearsal of Edward's play. The new floor was blue-grey with ribbons of black so dark that they looked like cracks in the earth, complimented with slashes of gold so large that they were literally rivers of wealth.

The

Earth man

Set about

helping

plants grow

-\-0-/-

But there

were places

he still

would

not go

Carlisle himself told Edward he was feeling "as right as rain," and was ready to go deeper into the south, but the group was now forced to question the need to rise up against Michael at all. Bella argued that he had settled down and even had begun switching his diet to pig blood. Jasper argued that this was their best chance to test his old alliances in Louisiana, even if for no specific purpose while Edward argued that having his father safe was his priority. He also felt that having Alice back in New York in time to help with the costumes would be most helpful. Jasper won the debate and the three of them were in Birmingham a week later.

The Sun

greeted

him

early

each day

-\-0-/-

And kept

him

company

all

the way

Rehearsals for The Tempest were going smoothly. Emmett and Lawrence were even helping with the set construction during the day. Edward's plan for the ocean water was simple and elegant: he would use huge bolts of blue cloth and have stagehands move them up and down over stage lighting. It was going to take many hands and oceans of fabric but when he described it to Bella, she was certain that it would be a masterpiece.

It took

some time

before

the flowers

bloomed

-\-0-/-

But the

air was

eventually

well

perfumed

Bella spent more and more time using the New Franklin typewriter at the desk in the tower's third floor library. She was still working on her story about Rose White, a cute but clever crime fighter working behind the scenes in a New York City police precinct. Her soon-to-be-sister-in-law was the perfect inspiration for a strong and intelligent character.

She also used the futuristic machine to write Jacob a response wherein she expressed her belief that they could come back home whenever it suited them. She relayed the events in the South but assured them that Carlisle's injury was mending tremendously well and that Esme should not worry. Lastly, she informed them that they would likely beat the other trio home because they were traveling through Mississippi and into Louisiana before returning to New York.

Michael did not discuss the book with Bella like he had done with Riley. He seemed solely focused on just getting through it. Bella was secretly interested in the man described within its pages. She had seen the name Johnny Appleseed since moving to America and thought of him as she listened to the uneven melodies that the tiny capsulated sleigh bells made for her each night.

One evening, Michael asked Emmett if they had heard from their friends in Paris and Emmett confirmed that they had.

"Have they met with good fortune concerning their assets?" They could hear Bella ringing and singing through the cracked balcony door.

"Extraordinary luck!" Emmett shared enthusiastically.

Michael smiled deeply and looked out over the colossal park. "I had a feeling that they might. Are they returning soon?"

"I think so," Emmett replied.

Michael did not ask any more questions of Emmett that night. He had found out what he needed to know.

As a director, Edward liked to work a scene over and over rather than run a whole act. This gave the actors a chance to implement suggestions and changes immediately and cement them in the moment at hand. Acting was about being natural and it was the little things that sold that aspect of the craft. Some of the experienced actors marveled at Edward's techniques and they all felt lucky to have his guidance.

They built a huge ship right onstage, knowing that they could not have possibly gotten it into the auditorium in one piece. It was to be used at the beginning and the end of the play and Edward wanted it to be complete with functional rigging and a crow's nest that would safely hold an actor forty feet above the stage floor.

He was not banking on Alice returning in time to render the costume design so Bella took charge of the issue and found a few nearby seamstresses who gladly took measurements and began basic patterns that would be enhanced as the show progressed.

Emmett and Bella made many side trips on their way to and from Michael's house on Tempest business. They found that a simple phone call was all it took to get anyone to agree to extended hours on any particular evening. Their prop list was shortening by the day, they interviewed and hired stage technicians and they continued cultivating the good relationships Emmett had with the various newspapers and publication houses in the city.

When they saw any police officers who happened to live with Michael above the park, they were pleasant and, more than once, assisted with an errand by clarifying directions or offering the duo a ride home.

Things seemed to be very good.

And that was why Edward became convinced that it was all about to go very bad.


Carlisle was back on the whip's bench and feeling good.

Jasper and Alice drove the carriage at night while he slept, then they settled into its protective clutches while Carlisle rested the horses and explored the ancient looking Mississippi towns on foot during the day. He kept seeing bicycles and was tempted to buy one but Jasper sternly reminded him that peddling around on a bike in the hot southern sun while healing from a head injury was out of the question.

He was feeling fully recovered, however, and had not even had so much as a headache since the second night. The new mission to visit with Jasper's old friends with no real objective was far less stressful and they were all enjoying the rich land they rolled through.

When they did switch back to their original traveling arrangement, they were crossing into Louisiana and Carlisle was glad that he was not seeing the beautiful jungle-like state through the thick smoky glass of the carriage.

The air was a curtain of moisture both day and night and Carlisle was especially mindful of the horses. They were completely black and during the hottest part of the day they were positively steaming. They were therefore sheltered during the hottest part of the day and well rested at night.

This left Carlisle alone once again in the middle of the day. He took up fishing, horseshoes, fishing, whittling, fishing and bicycling. His favorite activity was bicycling but it was not as easy to manage. At first, he had to remain out of Jasper's sight so he would find a kid who would rent their ride for a nickel. He paid ten cents if the kid could point him toward a big hill and push the bike back up it when he was done.

Somehow, Alice always knew when Carlisle had gone for a ride and it ended up being a shared secret between them. Once, when they were sitting along the banks of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Carlisle asked her how she could tell he had been riding, but she had just smiled and shaken her head, preferring not to inform him that it mussed his hair up in a unique way.

Jasper had been off that night checking places he had once known but came back to tell them that he found nothing and that New Orleans still seemed like the best place to find anyone from his past.

"I am finding plenty of vampires but they're all young," he said in frustration. He had been a part of a vampire war that was fought between the skirmishes of the Civil War. Some patriotic vampires had the bright idea of turning a whole regiment of Northern army soldiers. The southern, or so-called Grey vampires, did the same but much too late. The North won on both fronts.

That war harshly informed hundreds of immortals that their title was in name only.

Jasper told Alice and Carlisle about the war he participated in nearly a century before as they came in from the west, witnessing the French influence on the Louisiana landscape. They followed the Mississippi River past the Lac des Allemande only to end up between Lake Cataouatche and the immense Lake Pontchartrain, which marked the northern border of New Orleans.

The first time Carlisle laid his eyes on the soggy city the sun was behind him. It looked like a kingdom floating on a toadstool in a sea of fire.

They all immediately liked the spicy smell of New Orleans and, after only one night out, Jasper and Alice reported that it was positively lousy with vampires.

The hotel they stayed in had thick plum curtains that denied the sun's intrusion while Alice and Jasper slept and made love. When the sky darkened, they threw the curtains aside and left the window open to help the room collect as much of the cooling bayou air as it could before they closed it back up at dawn.

The vampire couple swept through the city like a gust of dust and could not get enough of the nightlife. If there was ever a city to rival the late night energy of New York, it was New Orleans.

With Jasper's blessing and Alice's grin, Carlisle bought a blue and white bicycle on his first day and rode it around with a big bug catching smile on his face.

Jasper said it was permitted as long as he was allowed to ride the bike too.

They called the theatre in New York three times while they enjoyed a week in a city that was filled with more music than a player piano. They told Edward that he was most certainly missing a fireworks display of sound along Bourbon Street. He and Bella were both interested in the description of the music that drifted through the open doors of well-patronized businesses along the river downtown.

Jasper and Alice talked to dozens of vampires and not one of them knew anything about Jasper or his friends. Like always, they were too young, post-revolutionary vampires who were, at their most senior, just crossing the half-century mark.

"I think this whole trip is a bust," Jasper mumbled into a French Quarter phone very late one night.

On the other end of the line, Bella and Edward sat on tall bistro stools borrowed from the Eighth Avenue lounge in the tower below them. The Corner Room was turned into an atrium of sorts as July wore on. It now had several stools and a table and the potted plants that Lawrence brought in from the garden filled the walls nicely.

"I'm sorry you can't find your friends, Jasper." Bella looked at Edward, who looked a little too pleased with the news.

"Do you think you could be back in two weeks?" Edward asked hopefully.

He and Bella could hear all three of their laughs erupt from the ear piece that sat crookedly on top of the bell box. His unabashed insensitivity in his attempts to get Alice back to New York increased with each day that Carlisle's strong voice calmed one more worry chicken from Edward's already be-fowled barnyard.

It was Carlisle who answered him. "There is no way to get there any faster than four weeks without taxing the horses beyond maximum performance."

"You sound just like Jacob," Bella told him.

"Where do you think I got it from?" Carlisle spoke seriously. Jacob had spent two hours educating the doctor about his beloved animals. He had an exceptional student in Carlisle, who fully comprehended and complied with each of Jacob's instructions.

"A month!" Edward was kidding about the two weeks and they all knew it, but he was legitimately horrified about the reality of twice that. And they knew that, too.

New laughter sped past each other in the phone lines as everyone, except Edward, struggled to compose themselves.

Jasper was glad that everyone was lighthearted about the subject. He knew that they failed both objectives of the trip but, as long as the circumstances no longer warranted their absence, he was keen to let it go.

"I think I might have some better luck in Arizona," he offered, waving off the surprised looks from Alice and Carlisle.

"ARIZONA!" Edward's panicked exclamation bubbled out of the heavy black earpiece that Alice held in a giggle loosened hand. They all laughed and, this time, Edward joined them.

"We have discussed it and we think its better that we just come home," Jasper announced, wanting to make sure he actually said the words if only to make it real to himself. He never expected to come up completely empty. He had even considered losing the deeds a lucky break because it meant that he could skip the sightseeing and go straight to Louisiana.

"We just received a letter from Jacob that said they were planning to leave Paris on the second of August." Edward declared. "You could be in Georgia by then."

"It's settled then," Carlisle said, excited to hear that his wife was due in New York in about two weeks time. "We'll leave tomorrow."

When Alice hung up the phone, she hugged Carlisle and said something he was hoping she would.

"Let's get a few miles in before dawn."

Jasper was nodding his head like a puppy following a bouncing olive.


Bella enjoyed watching play rehearsals. She and Emmett usually stuck around to make announcements before hailing a cab to Michael's estate each evening. Edward was an actor's director and was very successful at getting the most from his characters.

Emmett was still not needed but, when Edward put the show together for a full run-through, he would need his stage manager. Bella would be going to Michael's house along during rehearsals soon.

At night

when

the moon

turned

things blue

-\-0-/-

The man

went out

in a

little

canoe

It took Bella about forty-five minutes to sort out two full pages, and although it was not hard work, she still felt drained after the transcription and recital of the verses. She had gotten in the habit of singing the melodies even if they were inconsistent and garish because occasionally she would find a verse that had a haunting and deeply complex tune.

But he

was

witnessed

by the

sick

-\-0-/-

And they

envied

how he

recovered

so quick

Bella pitied the people in the book already. She learned even as a human that people feared what they did not understand, but in the last week of July 1892, she learned that if fear could plague multiple races, then perhaps those races shared other traits that could reveal their fundamental similarities.

He held

the key

to their

very

existence

-\-0-/-

And they

hated him

fiercely

but from a

safe distance

Edward went with her occasionally when her trips were pushed to after rehearsal, but Emmett was taking his chaperone role seriously, so seriously that he did not relinquish it easily. Michael was agreeable but it was clear that he preferred Emmett's company and retreated into a book whenever Edward was around.

They

resented

that he was

healthy

and free

-\-0-/-

While they

suffered

through

no such

guarantee

Edward was anxious to get a call from his returning friends and family in the South. They anticipated not making contact until they reached Atlanta, so that meant that the sooner they called the closer they were. Lawrence and Emmett decided to become roommates and Emmett reported that he had been regaled with stories of considerable dissension among Michael's disciples.

The two

races

worked

together

at long last

-\-0-/-

But only

to revisit

crimes

of the

past

Bella was caught up in the book and furious at the ignorant actions of the people within. She tried discussing it with Michael but he was still unwilling to enter into a dialogue about it. He simply thanked her and allowed Emmett (or Edward) to escort her home.

There was tension in the house, they could all feel it.

They

captured

this man

and cut off

his fur

-\-0-/-

He begged

them to stop

but they

would not

deter

Bella immediately thought of Jacob when she read the verse, and to her horror, Michael immediately asked about him.

"Tell me…is your friend, Jacob, as old as you are?"

"Yes, nearly so."

"Hmm." Michael dropped the issue, but Bella still cancelled the following day's meeting with a regret-filled phone call citing a hectic production day for The Tempest. He was immediately suspicious and she knew it, but she had to stall.

She desperately wished that she could tell Jacob to stay in France but he was scheduled to have boarded a ship that morning. She knew that he would consider the events fortuitous but Bella cursed their good fortune in Paris.

She went back to Michael's the next day feeling like she had no choice. She attempted to reassure herself by remembering that Michael did not really know anything, after all. And he certainly did not know that Jacob was due back into town the following week.

He was

the cure

they

treated

like mud

-\-0-/-

They should

have

studied,

not spilled

his blood

The revelation was worse than she anticipated and Bella knew she could not give Michael any more information. It was hopeless and when she asked Edward for help, he cleverly wrote a filler verse for her. He told Bella to use it in the event she uncovered any more clues that would point to the existence of someone like Jacob.

The blood, she should not have read the part about the blood. It haunted her all that day.

Bella recited the false verse over and over in her head but was relieved to find that the book offered a bit of assistance for once. She decided to save her facsimile for another time and allowed Michael to hear the true words because they acted as both a moral and a mystery.

In time

not a soul

would

remember

his name

-\-0-/-

And

they

only had

themselves

to...

Bella was just beginning to recite the word 'Blame' when Riley stormed the room with five other vampires.

She recognized most of them, soldiers all, and among the biggest of Michael's stock.

Riley went straight for the book. He was making ready to grasp it with both hands and was prepared to pull with all his might while all five of his accomplices slammed the balcony door, creating a barrier between Bella and her companions.

Michael shouted with rage as he comprehended the insurrection.

Bella quickly accessed her options.

She could dodge Riley with an elbow to his nose, a treat for herself, but an act more likely to place her in further danger.

She could engage him in hand to hand combat and push him back out onto the balcony, picking him up and flying him up to the clouds before dropping him.

Then, Bella saw the very formidable wall of vampires between her and Michael and had a brilliant idea.

She held the book out to Riley with a great big smile.

"Take it quick," she whispered over Michael's muffled but rage filled screams from outside.


After Michael had cut him out of the loop, Riley needed to buy time while he set up a residence. More importantly, he needed to undermine Michael's authority and take some vampires with him. He spent enormous amounts of money on the new lobby floor for Bella's theatre but it was Michael's money, not his own, that he dipped into.

He siphoned riches from Michael for over two weeks, all the while listening to him rejoicing over his new good fortune.

Riley felt like he had a right to the book and if he was going to be summarily denied access then he would have to adopt a similar stingy policy when it became his.

Getting others to join him was little more than a matter of money and he chose those who had been treated harshly by Michael in the past for infractions that never warranted the punishments they were subjected to.

No one wanted to leave New York but Riley found a place in Brooklyn, off the Island and therefore largely off the grid.

His plan was simple: take the money, take the men and then take the book - in that order. He got the money alright, almost all of it. He got men too, but not as many as he hoped and that miscalculation meant that he met more resistance than he had planned on.

He had to act fast one afternoon when he was certain that a vampire he had approached, Boston, would inform Michael about Riley's mutinous inquiries as soon as his master had concluded his meeting with Bella.

He did not want to hurt Bella even though he blamed her partially for the situation, but then again, he had wanted this for over two centuries and she finally gave him the reason to make his move.

He gathered his five renegades together quickly and rushed into Michael's sitting room before any of them could change their minds.

He saw the book and immediately hungered for it. Just as he suspected, the men were on the balcony again and his crew performed their jobs beautifully. The woman was cut off.

Riley charged for the book and was completely blindsided when she offered it to him like it was a cookie.

"Take it quickly," she had told him under her breath and he did not have to be asked twice. Riley plucked the book from her small white hand, wrapped it up and stowed it in a pocket sewn into the lining under his left arm.

He looked down as he secured his prize and when he looked up he saw a savage smile behind a savage punch to his mouth.

Bella wanted to sell the struggle and knew that the satisfaction of getting a few punches in would only serve to make her day that much better. Riley recovered quickly and swept her legs, knocking her to the ground.

He jumped on top of her but she was already rolling to her feet. When she head-butted his nose, he screamed in fury.

Michael's angry shout split the night and was his only indulgence, everything else was calculated. He disappeared from the balcony and arrived in the room just behind Bella.

"He has the book," she told him.

Michael responded by taking a hold of Bella. On the other side of the row of vampires, Emmett was tearing the door apart to get inside.

"You have the book," Michael spat at Riley, "but you can't finish it without her."

Bella felt a strange sensation, like her blood was made of champagne. Her vision all but left her as she floundered in a speckled torrent of lights.

When she did open her eyes, she was alone with Michael.

It was oppressively dark and her new surroundings smelled like a cave. Michael clamped a very heavy shackle to her ankle before she even knew that she was able to move again.

"Where are we?"

He said nothing and disappeared before her eyes.

She walked a few steps in around the large cylinder of earth and stone, dragging an anchoring chain behind her. It was heavy to move, even for her, and she could see that breaking it was impossible.

Bella was trapped.


NOTES:

Hello Everyone,

Sorry about the goofy posting times these last two weeks. As many of you know, FF has been experiencing technical difficulties lo these many days. Rest assured we have found a way around the problem and will begin regular posting next Saturday (except for a pre-scheduled break between Act One and Act Two, but I will address that in next week's notes). The good news is you are only six days away from the next update so you can look at it like I did you a favor. You're welcome.

I have been made aware of a fandom-wide response to this crisis and hope you will join me in participating in their efforts as a contributor or a donor, or both. Please visit fandomfightstsunami(dot)blogspot(com) for details.

I will also be participating as an author for the upcoming Fandom for Sexual Assault Awareness fundraiser. For more information on this event, please check the link on my author's page.

If you would like to read the poem in Michael's red book uninterrupted, I have published the poem as it's own story, "Michael's Book". I have included today's verses there and, as more are revealed, I will update the document. It is an interesting piece without the trappings of Brutte Parole but, in the end, its commentary is paramount.

See you next week for Chapter Thirteen: East of the Sun

MOG