I felt a little bad for leaving you all with no action or suspense on the last update so here's another.

Remember: Gillen is the steward that tried to get the King to reconsider Edward's exile.

XXV

(Gillen POV)

"Are you sure?" I asked.

The scout nodded, "The French have destroyed five villages. The survivors are on their way here."

I sighed. We were running out of the means to shelter the homeless families. The city was already bursting at the seams.

"There's something else."

I looked at him, wary, "Is it good news?"

"Depends on who you are. It concerns Sir Edward. He was in one of the villages that had been attacked. He survived along with a few others. He took them to the abandoned port city."

I grimaced, "The King won't like that."

"I know. I'm sorry I've mad you the bearer of bad news."

"That's okay." I sighed, "I'm used to it." I walked into the castle.

(BPOV) Late evening . . .

Things weren't as eventful as I thought. Edward's family was actually quite nice. Well, except for Rosalie. She seemed a little wary of me and she seemed to stay glued to Emmett's side. I vaguely wondered why.

"Hey Bella."

I turned around from my spot in front of the castle, "Hi Emmett. Where's Rosalie?"

"Esme convinced her to help in the kitchens."

I smiled and continued to look over the city from the front gate of the castle.

"The city looks like it'll recover."

"Hopefully. The men who survived the attack on the village have been working hard and we could use the fishing grounds and smithy to get some wealth."

"Who's working in the smithy?" He asked the question quickly and it took me a moment to remember that Emmett's uncle wasn't there when Edward gave the tour.

"Your uncle Emmett . . . Did you want to go see him?"

I saw a spark of longing in his eyes and I lead him to the heart of the city. The walk was in silence and it was long. I've never liked long, uncomfortable silences. We came to the smithy and I saw a faint light in there. I pushed open the door and motioned for Emmett to enter. He did, nervously, and we came to the forge.

It was hot but I could tell the sweat on Emmett's brow was from more than that. I pushed him forward, whispering, "He's your uncle. Not mine."

Still, he didn't speak. I could understand the hesitation feeling but this was taking too long. Plus, with the smith working, he hadn't even noticed us.

"Emmett, say hello already!" I almost yelled.

The smith turned and Emmett twitched. I smiled and stepped to the side as a look of shock came over the smith's face, "Emmett . . . ?"

He nodded.

"God Emmett . . ." His voice was barely above a whisper as he cleaned his soot-covered hands mindlessly with a rag, "You look so much like your father."

I smiled a little and watched as a less then manly display of hugging ensued. This would be great teasing material for later. Emmett hated it when his sensitive side came out in public. I decided to leave quietly and let them have a reunion in peace.

(EPOV)

A large balcony had a view overlooking the city. I found it through an open door in the hallway adjacent to my family's. It was nice, despite the lack of good-looking vegetation or overgrowth of vines.

Mother and Esme would love to clean this place up, I smiled.

I walked to the edge and placed my hands on the railing. The sight was breathtaking; clouds, darkened by the late sun, rolled in parted fragments across the sky; the deep red sunlight flirted with shadows around the buildings and twinkled in the snow; some children ran through the streets, playing, as their parents continued with reconstruction; the creaking of the docks was faint against the splashing of water; and a chilled wind blew in from the ocean.

I looked to the east; in the direction of the old village . . . and Leo's city. I wondered if he knew I was here. Did he care? Or was he seething?

"Deep in thought?"

I turned to see my parents. I smiled, "Yeah. Ruling a city takes a surprising amount of thought."

Father chuckled and they came to stand beside me. We looked over the city together.

"It's going to take a while to build," mother said.

I nodded, "But the men are committed. They actually start and stop building without my orders. I think they're just trying to stay busy. We can't use the docks until we have some wood to build boats and we have to wait until winter has passed for that."

"True," father agreed, "but how do we get the wood?"

"Trade caravans. They often come closer to the ocean areas during the warmer seasons. By then, we should be settled in pretty well. We'll just have to send out a couple riders to let them know of our presence."

"Won't that alert Leo too?"

"Yes but there's no other choice. If we don't, we risk the city falling into ruin and poverty. The people will grow sick and die. Plus, we could provide housing for the homeless. The French have destroyed five villages."

They nodded and we looked over the city again, watching as people continued their activities.

Then, a question came to me. It was a question I've been wanting to ask and thought about for a while. I was hesitant to ask it but I had to know, "What happened? The last time we were together."

Mother shrank a bit and I jumped to apologize. However, father cut me off, "I've been wondering when you would ask that question and you have a right to know. Maybe if we tell you, we can put the matter completely behind us." He drew a breath, "I tried to hold the raiders off but more came and overpowered me. They held me to the ground as some went off after you and your mother."

Mother pulled his arms around her and closed her eyes, "I told you to run and, after I watched you run away, they grabbed me. One spoke English and asked me where you were. They're always recruiting young boys into their ranks. I feigned not knowing what he was talking about but he saw your footprints in the snow."

I flinched. I should have destroyed those . . .

"He ordered his men after you and then punished me for lying." She swallowed, "He and five of his men began-"

I grabbed her hand, closing my eyes and putting my head down. I knew what she was about to say. Her past screams echoed in my mind and a surge of emotion hit me, "Y-You don't have to relive that part."

She gripped my hand, "Y-You heard?"

I nodded, feeling as helpless as a child.

She forced herself out of my father's arms and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back, a few traitorous tears escaping my eyes. Father hugged both of us again while rubbing mother's back. She would be feeling guilty that I heard the whole thing. I could feel the evidence of her guilt soaking into my shoulder.

After a while though, we managed to calm down. Mother pulled back a bit and wiped her eyes, "Forgive me. I shouldn't have lost myself like that."

"It's okay, mother," I soothed, "I understand and I apologize for asking about it."

"No! No, you're father is right. You deserve to know." She wiped another tear away, "After . . . that, they dragged me to your father."

"I knew instantly what they had done," father sighed, "and I hated myself for not preventing it."

"Edward," mother said to him, "There was nothing you could do and I came out okay." Her reasoning was weak but no one commented on it.

"Anyway, the leader of the raiders wanted to wait until the men he sent found you. When they returned with the blood on their swords, we thought they had. They even said that you put up too much of a fight and they had to kill you."

Empathy and rage tore me apart. I hated the idea that they thought I was dead. I growled under my breath, "The men didn't find me. Instead of facing the wrath of their leader for failing, they must have found something else to kill and invented the story."

It was a good explaination and probably the right one. Mother looked at me, "I'm so sorry I gave up hope. I shouldn't have."

"Mother, it's okay. I'm as much at fault. I assumed you were dead without looking for evidence." I tried to give her an encouraging smile, "The only thing that matters is that we're together again now."

She smiled back, "You're right. You survived and managed to find a loving family for yourself."

"Not just myself. You're just as much a part of it as I am. As much as I consider Carlisle a father and Esme a mother, you two are still my birth parents and nothing will ever change that."

They both smiled and I relaxed a little. There was still much work to be done but, at least, my life was starting to find peace.

Well, there's my explanation of what happened to Edward's parents . . . but I'm pretty sure we all saw something similar to that coming.

Review please!