A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. I have no other excuse other than the fact that I just got very lazy and I haven't been feeling like writing, but I'm back now and you have nothing to worry about. I'm going to stop babbling and let you read, so READ! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 21: ESCAPING AGAIN

(Edward's POV)

The next day…

I heard footsteps coming down the passageway. The sound echoed off the walls of the dungeon, causing Bella to stir in my arms. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at me blurrily. Her deep chocolate eyes had some of the familiar happy gleam to them, but most of it was masked by the blankness that her fear was causing. I kissed her forehead and pulled her closer to me. "I won't let anyone hurt you," I whispered into her hair.

"I know," she whispered back, clinging to me.

Three guards stopped in front of our cell and one started to unlocked it. "Get up, you two. His Majesty requests your presence," one of the guards said, a sickly sweet tone in his voice.

I glared up at him, but got up anyway, pulling Bella with me. I didn't want anything to happen to Bella and I had a very strong feeling that they would try to hurt her if I didn't follow orders.

One of the guards came and pulled Bella away from me and started to tied her wrists behind her back while one of the other guards did the same to mine. I glared at the guard that was ogling Bella. I had the urge to rip off the ropes and strangle him, but I didn't have to. Bella stomped down on his foot and he hissed in pain.

"Why you little brat, I'll---" the guard was cut off by one of the others.

"Enough," the guard said. "We don't have time for this." The other guards nodded and escorted us out of the cell and up the stairs and into the Great Hall where I saw the king of Flamma sitting on the throne that he shouldn't have been sitting on in the first place.

Once the guards had placed us in front of the king, they backed up, but didn't move far enough back for us to even think about running.

"Ah, Prince Edward, how nice of you to drop by," the king said as he rose from his throne and walked down towards Bella and me. "And I do hope you got to visit with your princess, because she won't be with you for very long."

My eyes flickered over to Bella and saw that she had a slightly panicked look on her face. I focused my attention back on the king. "And why is that?" I asked, my voice sounded strained.

"Well, we wouldn't want her to be left down in he dungeons all by herself now. She needs a warm bed to sleep in, wouldn't you agree?" he asked, a sly smile on his face.

"I'm fine where I am, thank you," Bella said, jumping into the conversation.

"I'm sure you are, dear, but you would much more comfortable in a bed. Trust me," he said, leering at Bella. She had a confused look in her eyes as she cringed away from his gaze.

"Anyway, let's get down to business. We'll worry about sleeping arrangements later. Well, Edward, I have a feeling you know what I want," he said, looking me in the eye, challenging me.

"I hope you can live with disappointment because you're not getting," I said, matching his gaze.

His face started to turn a light red with anger, but then he got himself back under control. "We'll just see about that and besides, I'm sure your parents would want to see their only heir and his love return home safe and sound."

"Yes, I'm sure they would," I said. "And they would never place their people under the rule of someone as cruel and simple-minded as you."

That made his face turn bright red and then he came down the steps and whispered harshly straight at my face, "Your parents were never fit to rule a kingdom. They've don't have the strength keep the commoners under control and they never will. And you won't be any better. You're just like your father. And I will get what I want, no matter what it takes."

Now it was my turn for my temper to flare. "My parents are much better rulers than you will ever be. And they have plenty of strength to control the people. The reason that they've never had to use force to control them is because there's never been a reason to. They're kind to their people. And another thing, the people are just that, people, not commoners, as you so stupidly call them. They have minds of their own and they shouldn't be put down because they happen to have a little less money than some of the others around them."

The king said nothing. He just motioned for the guards to take Bella and I back down to our cell in the dungeon.

Once we were in our cell and the guards had left, I pulled my wrists out of the ropes that the guards just happened to forget. Once I was out of my bindings, I untied Bella's wrists and brought her back to my chest and sat down on the cot, holding her and massaging her wrists that already had multiple burns on them.

I looked down at her face and saw that she had tears in her eyes. "What is it, love?" I asked quietly, wiping away her tears.

"Nothing's wrong. What you said up there in the throne room was amazing. The way you defended your parents and your people was just amazing," she said, looking at her hands. Then she looked me in the eye. "You'll make a great king one day," she whispered, brushing her fingertips over my cheek. "No matter what anyone says."

"As long as you're with me the entire time," I whispered back.

"Always," she said and sealed her promise with a kiss.

Night that same day…

No one had come back to our cell for the remainder of the day. Bella had fallen asleep about an hour ago, but I was still wide awake.

I heard the sound of soft footsteps coming down the passageway. I stiffened, holding Bella closer to me.

My eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting of the dungeon, but I still couldn't see the person was approaching the cell.

The footsteps were growing louder as they approached the cell. I saw the silhouette of a man coming towards us. He was tall with long hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. I heard the rattling of some keys and then the door opened.

"Wake her up," the man said, pointing to Bella. I just looked at him and kept a firm grip on Bella. "If you want to get out of here alive, I advise you listen to me right now."

I gave him a skeptical look, but woke Bella anyway. "Bella, you need to wake up now," I said quietly, shaking her.

She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at me in confusion. "We're getting out of here," I explained to her.

She immediately sat up and looked towards the door. "Garrett?" she asked.

The man nodded. "You know him?" I asked.

"Yes, he kept James and the others away from me while I was here by myself," she said in explanation.

I looked up at Garrett and said, "Thank you." He nodded in response and motioned towards the door.

I got up from my seat on the cot and helped Bella up and we followed Garrett down the passageway, but instead of using the exit that we had been using, he led us to a door at the opposite end of the passageway.

He opened the door and motioned us through. When we were all through, he closed the door quietly and pulled the torch out of its holder and headed down the new corridor.

We walked down the corridor for a good fifteen minutes before we made it to another door that looked exactly like the one that we had come in through. Garrett unlocked the door and placed the torch in an empty torch holder and walked through the door after Bella and I. I was amazed to see that the door led to the outside of the palace.

"Come on," Garrett whispered. "We've got to meet your friend Jacob in the city in a few minutes. He's found you a boat back to Glacies."

We nodded and he led us down one of the dark paths and towards the city.

"Going somewhere?" We all stopped and whirled around to see James standing there with his sword drawn. It gleamed wickedly in the moonlight.

"That's none of your business," Bella said, moving closer to me. I pulled her behind me.

"Oh, I do believe it is my business, especially when such a pretty young lady like yourself is involved," he said, leering at Bella. I felt her shuddered behind me.

"Leave them alone, James. They don't need to be here," Garrett said, drawing his sword and pointing it in James's direction.

"Yes, they do, Garrett. The king wants them here for ransom. But if you couldn't figure that out, then you're not a bright as I thought you were," James said coming closer, his sword pointed at Garrett's chest.

James then lunged in and swiped his blade at Garrett, who easily blocked it and took a swing of his own. James blocked the blow, but faltered a bit. Garrett took the advantage and swung again, trying to knock James's blade away from him.

They battled it out, one swing after the other, until Garrett tripped and James used this to knock Garrett's sword out of his hand and sent it flying across the courtyard. James was about to drive his sword into Garrett's chest when a dagger flew out of nowhere and plunged itself into James's chest.

James faltered and dropped his sword. He fell onto his back and laid completely still, his eyes staring unseeing into the night sky. Garrett and I looked at Bella and saw that she was panting slightly. "I had an extra one," she said, looking at us.

"Thank you, Bella," Garrett said as he went to retrieve his sword. He slid it back into the sheath and said, "Let's go."

Garrett led us to the harbor without any further trouble. I spotted Jacob waiting next to one of the docks. When he saw us he let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God, you're alright."

"Well, you three better get on that ship or it'll leave without you," Garrett said, motioning towards the ship that was sitting in the harbor behind us. "And trust me when I say that you definitely don't want to be caught here."

We nodded, agreeing, but before we left, I turned to Garrett. "Would you like to come with us? You would easily fit in in Glacies and you already have plenty of friends to help you if you need it."

"Yes, Garrett, come with us," Bella pleaded. "Don't stay in this wretched place."

He hesitated for a moment, but then a smile crept onto his face. "Alright, I'll come. I've got no family or friends here anyway. Let's get out of this hellhole!"

I smiled and we all snuck into the cargo hold and waited for the ship to start its journey to Glacies. When it started to move, I pulled Bella into my side and kissed the top of her head. We were finally going home, but I knew this was far from over.

A/N: Yay! They're going home and nobody died (except James, but he doesn't count)! And Garrett's going with them. Whoo! Isn't it great? It's great.

Review! Please and thank you!

Laterz,

Kitti