I don't own Twilight. all Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter Fourteen

Learning something New

After I finished breakfast with Alice needed a break. Just an hour or so to myself so I went into the mall sized closet and hid under a rack of clothes with the new copy of Pride and Prejudice that Edward had gotten me. I brought a pillow to rest on and curled up on the floor.

My eyes were starting to droop as I neared the end of the third chapter. I wanted to keep going though so I sat up to try and keep myself awake.

"Your highness?" A nervous female voice called.

Was she talking to me? It was still awkward to be referred to that way.

"Your highness?" She called again. "Princess, are you in here?"

I tried to pull myself up quickly and fell forward, nearly taking down a rack of clothes with me. I saw that the voice calling me was Amber. "I'm right here."

She seemed relieved, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw me. "King Carlisle and Prince Edward would like for you to join them in their meeting with Jessica." She curtseyed.

"Thank you, Amber." I placed the book gently on the pillow I had been using and stepped out of the closet. I followed closely as Amber led me to one of the meeting rooms that they were in.

Once we got there she knocked on the door and announced me.

I always hated that, but smiled to her all the same.

Edward was sitting on a couch across from Carlisle, and Jessica was in a chair placed in between the two.

As soon as I slipped in next to him, Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed my hair. "Hello love. I missed you," he whispered in my ear.

I moved into his touch, my cheeks already flaming from his attention and my heart rate speeding up. "I missed you, too." I whispered.

He chuckled and kissed my hair again, tightening his hold around my waist.

Carlisle cleared his throat, effectively gaining our attention. The amusement at our display was evident on his face.

Jessica glared angrily at me for a second and then looked down at her notes. "Okay, let's go through this one more time." She nodded her head at Carlisle. "The two reporters you'll be interviewing with are emailing me the list of questions they are thinking of asking so that you can approve them, later this afternoon you will have a press conference announcing the interviews and appearances you will be making.

"As per your request I will be speaking with the press and camera operators about how long they can follow you at each appearance." She continued. "The majority of the time will be spent without them there."

I chewed on my lip as she talked about the press and camera crews and interviews, even though I knew it was part of the territory it still made me incredibly uncomfortable. I was so sure that I was going to do something stupid to embarrass myself or Edward.

Edward gave me a reassuring squeeze. "I'll be by your side the entire time." He assured me. "As soon as the questions come in I them to be checked, Carlisle."

"Of course, son." Carlisle nodded.

"Can we get someone to call the orphanage, hospital, and where ever else we'll be visiting and ask them what they need. Not just in preparation for our visits, but in general please." Edward asked. He had such a kind soul and wanted so much to help.

Jessica made a note for herself. "I'll get right on that, your highness."

"We will need to be extra thorough with everyone's background checks, Jessica. I don't want to have any incidents during this." Carlisle told her firmly, but in a very calming voice.

She nodded her head. "I will make sure that this is all taken care of, your majesty. The extra security will go through a thorough screening process and will each be interviewed by the Romanians."

He smiled at that, running a hand through his hair for a moment. He checked his watch and moved to sit up. "It looks like everything is under control. If you'll excuse me I have some matters to attend to." He stood to his feet.

Edward got up as well, bringing me with him. "Will you come with me to my room?" He asked me, his low enough so only I could hear him.

I smiled. "Yes."

And with that he took my hand in his and we left the meeting room. He asked me what part of the house we were facing when we reached the end of the hall and made a left when I told him.

I'd squeeze his hand when we'd reach the top of a section of stairs until we finally reached the landing we wanted and then Edward took a right. I had only really been in his room a couple of times and then it was in the sitting room.

When we reached his room he opened the door and we stepped in the sitting room. He didn't even stop, leading me straight on through to his bedroom. "Take a look around, love. I have to do a few things."

I kissed his cheek. "I'll be alright." I assured him.

Taking the time to look around the room now, I tried to hold back a gasp that threatened to escape my lips. He had a beautiful CD collection along one wall with a sound system that I could probably break, so I just looked at it. Along the spines of the CD cases there was a strip of brail which was probably the title of the band and name of the album.

"You have opened a web browser." A female voice spoke.

I turned my head toward the voice and found Edward on his bed with a lap top. I smiled; obviously he had software installed that talked so he could use the computer. In the time I had spent getting to know him, Edward had proven to me just how independent and self sufficient he could be.

Of course he needed help with directions and stair steps, but for the most part he liked do as much as he could on his own.

He didn't just wallow in his impairment and that was something I admired very much about him. The people in this country probably would to once they got to know him better.

I looked down at my left hand again, twirling the ring around once.

This week was going to prove to be very stressful and we had a lot to deal with, so I figured holding off on the wedding conversation could wait a bit. Once we made it through this week and were on slightly better footing with the members of Parliament we would have to find time to talk.

A couple of picture frames were set up around the room. He probably kept them around for sentimental reasons as well as comfort with the familiar. There was one of Edward, Emmett, and Alice as children. He was no more than eight or nine years old and he was so carefree, that same crooked grin that I loved was on his face and his hair was in its perfect disarray. Edward was in the middle with one arm around each sibling.

The next picture was of Esme and Carlisle. It looked like they were in their twenties, Carlisle was hugging Esme tightly to him, their heads touching, and he held one of her hands in his close to his chest. The smiles are their faces said it all and the looks in their eyes was of complete adoration.

My eyes got a little misty and I took a second to wipe the tears away before they could fall.

"What are you thinking about, Bella?" Edward asked me.

I grinned and turned so that I was facing him. "I was thinking about how amazing you are."

A light blush colored his cheeks for once.

"You really are an amazing man, Edward. And I know that once you let others see it, the people of this country will love you, too." I told him.

"Thank you." He said quietly, giving a quick nod of his head.

I continued to explore his room a little while longer as he typed on his lap top, working some research. I tried not to listen in so that he could have his privacy.

When he finished up Lauren had lunch set up for us in the sitting room and we sat down to eat. Edward intertwined his fingers with mine as we ate, wanting to maintain contact with me.

As we were finishing our food Carlisle came in followed by Esme, Alice, Jasper, and Jessica.

"Sorry, Edward. Would you like us to come back later?" Carlisle made for the door.

"That's not necessary. We were finished anyways." He turned his head slightly in my direction. "You were finished right?"

I gave his hand a quick squeeze of reassurance. "Yes, this is fine."

Esme was practically beaming at us. "I just wanted to tell you that I am so thrilled that you two are getting along so well. I have never seen Edward so happy and it's all thanks to you dear." She brought her hand to my cheek and smiled brightly at me.

Traitor tears formed in my eyes at her words. She was thanking me for making Edward happy? Didn't she know that it was all Edward? That he was the amazing one that had completely turned my world upside down. I would never be the same because of him and that was just fine with me.

Edward was beaming. "Thank you, Esme."

Carlisle waited a few minutes before speaking, allowing Esme and I to have our moment. "Jessica brought me the list of questions that Angela and Mike will be asking during their interviews. I went over them and took off a few that I felt were inappropriate and what not. Would you like me to read the questions to you?" He asked patiently.

Edward shook his head. "That won't be necessary, Carlisle. I trust your judgment. Where are Emmett and Rosalie?"

"He took Rose on a little get away." Alice made quotes with her fingers and rolled her eyes. "She's been in a foul mood lately and Em thought taking her away for a bit would be the right thing."

I leaned in so that I could whisper into his ear. "How did you know that Emmett was here?" I asked him.

Chuckling, he ran his finger along my cheek in a loving gesture. "It's too quiet in here for him to have been in the room." He explained to me.

"Your highness," Jessica interrupted our conversation, trying to hide her irritation, "the press conference is ready to begin. Whenever you and the princess are ready to go, they are waiting."

"Thank you, Jessica." Edward never turned his head in her direction. "You have done a brilliant job today. Thank you so much for your hard work and dedication."

Her eyes lit up at his compliment and that seemed to turn her entire mood around.

"Are you ready, love?" Edward asked me.

My stomach churned at the thought of facing the press again. I groaned inwardly, but kissed Edward on the cheek and let out the breath I had been holding. "Let's get this over with."

"We'll be right behind you guys." Alice told me as we rose to our feet.

That made me feel slightly better knowing that my new family would be with us.

Ben and five other royal guards were outside Edward's room when we stepped out. "Are you ready, Prince Edward?" He touched his shoulder after bowing to each of us.

Edward wrapped his arm a little more securely around me and gave a quick nod of his head. "Lead the way my good man." Edward grinned.

Seeing him in such high spirits made me feel less apprehensive about facing the pit waiting for us on the other side of the doors leading out front. He stopped just before the doors and turned me to face him; everyone else went out ahead of us.

"Trust me. It will be just fine." Edward's velvety voice eased the tension in my body. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips, holding my face carefully in his hands.

My hands rested on his chest and I felt my heart rate pick up as he played his soft lips over mine. All too soon he pulled a way, placing one more kiss on my lips before straightening up.

He took my hand in his and we turned to face the doors. We both let out a deep breath and walked out the doors that Ben held open for us. There was a podium set up where Edward and I were going to stand.

Camera flashes started going off almost immediately as we made our way across the walk and didn't stop until we were in front of the podium. My body automatically tensed when I saw how many people were out there.

Sensing my nervousness, Edward let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around my waist. "Breathe Bella." He whispered.

The buzz of voices quieted down as Edward took his place in front of the microphone and he gave me one more quick squeeze of assurance before beginning to speak. "Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of my family and my fiancée, Isabella, I would like to thank you for being here today. I'm sure you are wondering why this conference has been called, so let's get started.

"For the rest of the week, Isabella and I are going to welcome you into our lives in a manner of speaking." He never once faltered, or got flustered. "We want to get to know the people of this fine nation and we want the people to get to know us. So, we will be visiting different locations around this country and conducting interviews with a couple of local stations.

"My family and I enjoy our privacy as I'm sure you can imagine," a chuckle could be heard from the crowd, "but, it is my belief that a country's leader can't be a proper one hidden away, one who makes no attempt to get to know those whom he will be serving, protecting, leading. So, if you will allow us, let's take this time to learn about each other. Thank you." Edward gave his signature crooked grin, a beautiful genuine smile.

Applause erupted from the crowd. When that quieted down a voice could be heard. "Princess Isabella? Princess Isabella, one question?" A young woman, not too much older than me, called out.

I bit my lip nervously and nodded for her to continue.

"Being engaged to the future king of England, living in the palace, it's every girls dream. Is this a true fairy tale come to life, Princess?" She smiled.

Looking at Edward for a moment, I shook my head. "No." There was an audible gasp from the crowd, but I continued to speak shakily. "It's so much better than a fairy tale. I never dreamed I could end up so lucky." My cheeks were flaming red by this point.

Jessica came up to the microphone and took over for us. She was going to explain in more detail what we would be doing throughout the week.

Edward waited until we were inside before pulling me into a tight hug, his arms holding me safely to his body. "I am so proud of you, Bella." He kissed my hair. "And thank you for what you said."

I pulled back a little so that I could see his face. "It was the truth, Edward. Sometimes I'm afraid this is all a dream and I'm going to wake up any minute back in Forks."

He brought one of his hands up to cup my cheek gently. "You are not going anywhere and neither am I." He pressed a kiss delicately to my forehead and just held me close to him.

Such a perfect moment. I felt a single tear fall down my cheek at his words.

After a few minutes Edward pulled back a little. "I hate to move, but I'm sure the others want to speak with us."

I found myself pouting, not wanting to move. "Can't they wait just a little bit longer?" I asked hopefully.

"You know Alice. She will hunt us down if she thinks that we're taking too long." He pointed out.

I couldn't help the groan that escaped my lips.

Edward chuckled and kissed my hair. "Believe me I know just how you feel. We can continue this tonight, and we have plenty of time for much more." He kissed my hair one more time before releasing his hold around my waist and taking my hand in his.

My heart fluttered at his words as we walked down the hall to where his family was waiting for us. We did have plenty of time and I couldn't wait.

I've been having problems with my computer all week. Sorry guys. Hope you like the chapter, show me some love.