A lot of you were hoping to see a showdown between Esme and Carmen over her treatment of the princess, but as much as she is upset with her for their behavior, their reign is still new and it wouldn't do to piss off people who already might be aligning against them. A time will come for them, but it will not be without solid proof of more than neglecting their duties to the princess.

For those of you who are reading my Need/Want fics, I'm working on the next chapter of both, but I needed to figure some things out first and it took much longer than anticipated. Plot holes have been filled and I'm hoping to post those soon.

Thank you for the lovely reviews.

Disclaimer:All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 21

Once Edward and I had found our common ground the days were filled with moments spent together. Morning rides, afternoons spent reading or talking, and kissing…lots of kissing.

Edward seemed to be obsessed with my lips, and I wasn't going to lie, of all the pastimes I'd been introduced to since arriving at Masen Castle, being curled up with him was at the top of my list.

"What are you thinking about over there, Sweet Girl?" Edward asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

I looked at where he was lying on the far side of our blanket, a smirk gracing his face. "I was thinking about how wonderful the last two weeks have been."

"It has been a dream, and in a month it will be our life," Edward agreed. "Now, your brother's ship arrived a few days ago, so he should be here in the capital by the end of the week."

"I still cannot believe you arranged for my brother to arrive early. Thank you so much for that," I told him.

Edward smiled at me as he looked around the field we were currently sitting in. "Come with me, I want to show you something."

My betrothed took my by the hand and led me into the woods that bordered the field. We didn't go too far; just enough so we weren't visible if someone saw our horses out there grazing. "What do you have hiding out here?"

"Nothing, I just had to do this," Edward said. He guided me back against a tree and kissed me.

Where my dresses and undergarments were several layers of heavy clothing, the riding outfit which consisted of an undershirt and undershorts, a blouse, my riding coat, and riding pants were much thinner in comparison. His weight was heavy against me and my legs fell open in surrender as his hands traveled along my jacket.

"Edward," I gasped as his fingers found the buttons of my jacket.

"I promise to keep your virtue intact, but I need to feel you. Just let me open your coat, you will still be fully clothed." He was panting against my neck, his lips tracing the column of skin as he waited for my response.

"You swear that this won't compromise me?" I asked.

"I do," he told me and my lips were once again on his.

My mind was so focused on the slight bite of the bark against my bottom and Edward's fingers as they roamed the fabric of my shirt that I was shocked by the jolt I felt when Edward's lower body rocked against me.

"Edward," I whispered. "Edward, stop," I said louder, pushing against his shoulders as I shrunk back into the tree.

"You felt something?" he asked. I nodded and he did it again. "That feeling is natural, Bella. It's your body's way of giving you pleasure."

"Will I, will it feel like this when we…" I couldn't finish the thought as he repeated the motion.

"Yes, when we make love you will feel this again…only better. Now, please let me love you, Sweet Girl."

Those words crumbled any last wavering thoughts I had as I gave into the feelings Edward was bringing out of me. One of his hands massaged my breast as his other reached down and wrapped my left leg around his hip. The change in position allowed him to move more freely as the pressure grew within me.

My fingers wound into Edward's hair as his lips moved from mine for long enough to take in a few panting breaths. It was all too much for me. Edward was everywhere. Each brush of his body against mine lit me on fire; the air I took into my lungs was the breath he exhaled. There was no beginning or end with us, it felt like we were one entity.

And that felt amazing.

Something changed within me and I cried out as my body exploded beneath him. Edward continued to press against me until his body shook and his muscles tensed up. He stood there for a moment, the full length of his body pressing along mine until he finally released my leg and took a step back.

"How do you feel, Sweet Girl?"

"I can't even describe it," I told him.

Pulling me closer, he whispered in my ear. "It was good, was it not?"

"Yes, Edward, it was wondrous." I felt the blush coming on, and Edward laughed at my innocent reaction.

"I need to clean up a little and then we will ride back to the castle. Stay right here and I will be back in a minute." He ran a short distance away and was soon back to me.

"At least the ride will help to explain our color and a desire to relax for the afternoon," I joked and Edward kissed me before leading me back to our horses.

The ride back was uneventful, and as soon as I was back in my rooms I had Angela order me a bath. I stripped off my riding clothes and sunk into the hot water, feeling my muscles relax as I cleaned up. The quiet moments gave my mind a chance to revisit our time in the woods, and it made me think about our future.

Would we still sneak off like that when we're married, or would we be confined to our rooms since he would be under greater scrutiny as the next King? It made me happy that Carlisle was still young and healthy, because we would have years before having to take on the responsibility of ruling with Edward.

"My Lady," Angela called. "Prince Edward is looking for you. He said it's important."

"Tell him I will be ready in thirty minutes and then we can talk before I need to get ready for dinner."

"I cannot wait," Edward said as he walked in the room.

Angela scrambled to get a towel and cover the tub so that my modesty wasn't compromised but Edward simply moved to the side of the tub and reached up to brush away a piece of wet hair that was stuck to my forehead.

"Edward, if someone saw you in here like this-" I tried, but his finger moved to my lips in an attempt to silence me.

"No one will know what is happening in here, there are guards outside who won't let anyone inside without my approval. I've ordered us an early dinner and I thought that we could continue where we let off on our ride." Edward smiled down at me.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Edward," I told him, but he simply kissed me on the forehead.

"All will be well. I will be back with dinner," Edward said before leaving.

Standing, Angela helped me change for Edward's return and then I took one of my new books to pass the time. It was nearly an hour later when my prince returned with our food.

"I know we didn't have much in the way of lunch, so I brought us a larger than normal dinner," Edward explained as he set the plates on the fireside table.

"Thank you, I'm famished," I told him. I took a bite of the deliciously cooked veal, a moan escaping my lips.

"If you continue on like that, we won't get to finish what we started earlier," Edward commented, earning a confused look from me.

"Edward, as wonderful as this morning was, I don't think we should make a habit of that before we're married," I whispered, even though I knew that Angela had gone back to her room.

"Bella, I wanted to talk to you about the wedding, not…that. Though I'm definitely not opposed to it." He smirked and I was done for.

"Oh, right. Well, what did you want to tell me?" I asked, because we hadn't gotten too far into the conversation before the kissing began.

"I just wanted to explain how the day would go, since you've never been to a wedding," Edward said. "It will start the morning with your ladies attending you. You will wear the royal jewels and crown of Genoa during the service, where you will promise to love, honor, cherish me, as I will to you. Once we're done, we will ride down the hill so the people of the capital can see their new princess.

"Arriving at Masen Castle, we will retire briefly so you may change into the crown jewels that are being created for you. I believe only the set that matches your crown are the property of the Genoa, is that correct?"

"Yes, any other pieces were returned before I left Genoa. Everything that traveled with me were my personal jewels, which reside in the drawers in the store room next to all the beautiful pieces that have already been bestowed on me by you and your family," I answered.

"I could give you jewels everyday for the rest of your life and it wouldn't be enough. Of the dozen sets in there, some belong to the crown and others were ordered personally for you. There are a total of seven sets of crown jewels for the princess of Masen, the last being the ones you will wear at the reception. This brings me to the next part of the ceremony.

"Upon our arrival, Queen Cynthia will step forward with one of her lady's maids holding the case for your crown jewels. Everything but your crown will already be in there as you will have put on the jewels of Masen. My father will remove your crown and hand it to me, crowning you as the princess of Masen. From there I will approach your mother and return the Genoan crown to her. From there we will enjoy our wedding feast, suffer through the consummation and then in the morning we will leave on our honeymoon."

"Where is our honeymoon going to be?" I asked.

"That is a secret; the only people who know are my parents, and the servants that were sworn to secrecy about their preparations. I hope you will like it," he told me and I smiled at the boyish look in his eyes.

"Have you finished eating?" I said looking at his mostly clean plate.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Your mother told me of a tradition here in Masen and I want to see how I've done," I explained. I moved to my dresser and removed the two items that I'd made with full embroidery so I could see first if they would fit, and also if he liked the embellishments. "The first is a night shirt and the second is a dress shirt."

"You sewed these yourself?" he asked as his fingers caressed the fabric.

"I did," I said with a blush. "As I explained to your mother, when I was young I once tried to order such a large bounty of clothes that my father lessened my annual clothing allowance. So I soon found that creating my own blouses, night clothes, and unmentionables was far less expensive. It's been years since I've been that frivolous with money, but the lesson stuck with me."

"Then let me try them for fit now." Edward quickly unbuttoned his vest and shirt, dropping them to the floor. Taking the night shirt, he pulled it over his head and then began stretching and moving around. "This is nice. It fits well, but is roomy enough for me to be comfortable as I sleep."

Edward removed that article and threw it over the back of his chair at the table as he tried on the shirt. He had just drawn it over his shoulders and was about to button it when the doors opened and King Carlisle was standing before us.

"Edward, what are you doing? We've given you the latitude to get to know your future bride and here I find you disgracing her."

"I've done nothing to disgrace her-" Edward started, standing in front of me as if he could shield me from his father's words.

"You've invited the Crown Prince of Genoa here and he will arrive any day. Do you believe he would stand for this? That he wouldn't take one look at the evidence I see and remove his sister from Masen before declaring war against us in response to your actions?"

"Any man that tries to take Bella from me will pay for it with their life, never question that." Edward spit at his father and having seen what Carlisle had assumed to be evidence of his son's dishonorable actions, I moved to stop this fight before it got worse.

Wrapping my arms around Edward's waist from behind, my right hand holding him against me while my left reached up to cover his heart, I pressed a kiss to the middle of his back before I spoke. "Edward, darling, please calm down. All of this is easily explained away."

Edward reached for the hand on his chest and brought it to his lips, kissing my palm before replacing it over his heart. Ducking under his arm, I took in his bare chest for the briefest of moments before turning to the king.

"Carlisle, I know this looks bad, but it is a misunderstanding. I began working on shirts for Edward as is your country's tradition. I had a night shirt and a dress shirt done and I needed to see that they fit before I worked on finishing the others I have started. That is what the night shirt you see there is, and Edward's shirt is undone because he just put it on when you entered. His clothes are here behind the table." I gestured to where they sat out of his sight and his expression immediately softened.

"Well, Son, finish trying on the shirt so your princess can see how she has done." Carlisle smiled in earnest as he saw Edward relax and finish dressing. "That is very fine work, Isabella; my son will look sharp in shirts like that."

"He's right, Sweet Girl, it is perfect," Edward said, pulling me into his side.

"Well, it seems you two have grown closer and with Isabella at your side, you will make a fine King. She tempers your outbursts and sees what others don't about a situation. I will leave you to your evening, Isabella, and I apologize for my incorrect assumption. Edward, don't forget that if you would like to have your day free tomorrow, then we need to review the goings on of the council meetings so you stay well informed." Carlisle bowed his head slightly, leaving us alone again.

"I'm sorry for putting you in that position, even if it was a misunderstanding," Edward spoke as he redressed in his vest, taking the shirt he had worn earlier and putting it with his night shirt. "I should review my notes before meeting my father."

"That's understandable; after all, you are still the Crown Prince. I will see you tomorrow," I said.

"I will be riding tomorrow after my morning meeting if you'd care to join me," he offered with a smirk.

"I think that can be arranged," I teased as he took his clothes and left.

With Edward gone, I had time to work on the shirts that I'd begun, knowing now that the measurements were correct. The work was easy for a while, with Angela sitting on a stool working on her own sewing. It was as the hours grew later and I could no longer waste the candles to sew that my mind went over the day's events.

Edward was so sweet and loving, in his words and his actions. But as I dressed for bed, I couldn't stop thinking about what he'd said during dinner. In a month I would be vowing to love, honor, and cherish Edward. How could I lie to him and honor him at the same time? It seemed an impossible task.

Needing to do something, I moved to the nursery to sit in the rocking chair and try to ease myself into sleep. At some point in the night it worked, because Angela found me in that chair in the morning.

"Your breakfast has arrived, Princess," Angela said once I'd stood.

"Very good," I told her before thinking about what I now knew I must do. "Find Edward's groom and tell him that I won't be able to ride with Edward today, but I will see him this afternoon."

"Of course, My Lady."

Sighing, I tried to steel myself for what I was about to do.

Today Prince Edward would know the truth.