((More fluff, with some angst at the end. This probably should've been combined with last chapter, but meh.))-I WROTE THIS TWO DAYS AGO YA'LL, BEFORE I FINISHED IT. YAAAAAA'LLLL IT IS NOT FLUFF. IT IS VERY, VERY MUCH NOT FLUFF. HOLY SHIT ,THIS IS NOT FLUFF. THERE BE DRAGONS HERE PEOPLE!
Things pick up again next chapter, so don't go anywhere!
TRIGGERS for infertility, violent imagery involving a child
Dedicated to Ninja and Aziza. Stay strong, make good choices.
In honor of my angel, Reason.
Um, ya'll, I love kids' movies. So, this is like 100% soundtracks, and I totally stole Bella's story from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
I basically want to show the importance of stories in Fae culture, and show the far-reaching impact of Bella's war with the Master. We'll see how it turns out, I guess.
READ AND REVIEW! Enjoy!
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Spotify:
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Fanfiction:
Lesson number One (Mulan 2)
Bella looked around at her family and friends, taking in their worn faces. Her mistakes had cost them, loving her had cost them. She needed to give something back to them.
The rumors about the Cullens were growing, had been before she submitted them for candidacy to join the Fae; had been since she brought them to Havana. A sudden flash of brilliance hit her, an epiphany of how to address two problems at once. She could kill the hateful rumors that stemmed from the Cullens' vampiric nature and provide her worn family with a fun break.
"Let's go to the training grounds!"
Marcos looked at her oddly, and she knew he was wondering what she was up to now.
"Come on. It'll be fun! The children will be there, and I've been meaning to check on their progress anyway. Rosalie, I know they miss you. They adore playing with your hair."
Bella had seen Rosalie at play with the kids of Camp when she had been hiding from the Cullens' proclamation of love for her. The image of Rosalie with weeds and flowers braided messily into her blonde locks was not one Bella would soon forget. She remembered wishing she had a camera.
"Oh no." Kaedra moaned, "I don't do kids."
"All the more reason." Marcos snarked, still a bit on edge with her regent. Bella might be quick to forgive Shanarra's role in her destruction, but Marcos was not so zen.
Bella rolled her eyes at her. "Come on. I'll do my own paperwork for a week."
"Make it a month. And don't think I don't know you're up to something. Those snot-nosed brats better not trample my skirt."
Kaedra, Marcos, and the Cullens stood, and Bella couldn't help it. Her regent had set her up too perfectly.
She focused on Kaedra, and her eyes flashed golden. Kaedra's skirt flew in a sudden wind, Marylin Monroe style, flying up to show her underwear to the room and smacking her in the face.
"I-sa! Get back here! Oh, I'll get you for that, you brat!"
Bella laughed as she ran out the Attic and to the staircase. Kaedra couldn't do anything. The Cullens had her back.
It felt good.
When the group reached the training grounds, the kids were just lining up for tai-chi, the balancing of their chakras. Bella nodded to the Fae left to teach them for the day, indicating that she would take over. The children's watcher, Nikki, looked relieved and left quickly. Huh. The kids must be a handful today.
Bella clapped twice, and the kids fell into lines excitedly. Bella always tried to make her lessons fun, and she knew the kids adored her stories. No other Fae could cast echoes as powerfully as she did, and it made for a very useful reward. Instead of a lecture on chakras, which Bella knew would make the children's eyes glaze with boredom, she surprised everyone by beginning a song, walking between the two lines the children had formed and correcting their poses as she went.
Earth, sky
Day, night
Sound and silence
Dark and light
She manipulated the air around her as she sang, showing the children the contrasting nature found in each Fae's aura, and all of nature besides.
One, alone is not enough
You need both together
Winter, summer
Moon and sun
Lesson number one
She encouraged the children to form a circle around her, spinning with a young boy in the mush pot of the spinning circle the kids cast around her. One of the first things Fae children learned was the art of the protective circle. Suddenly, she struck out at the boy, feinting a punch at his unprotected face before she brought his fists up in front of him like Fiore had shown her, so long ago.
Like a rock, huh huh
You must be hard, huh huh
Like an oak, mah
You must stand firm, huh huh
Bella allowed her royal blade, which marked her as the rightful ruler, to exit the confines of her flesh and feinted a controlled set of jabs at the boy's unprotected side. He jumped, scooting out of the way just in time.
Cut quick, like my blade
Think fast, huh huh
Unafraid
She nodded at him, bidding him join the circle. The boy would be fine, he was brave and strong. Skill would come with time and dedication. She pulled in a fierce looking dark-skinned child who she knew had a very troublesome past. She caressed the girl's face, showing her how to balance bravery with sense as she danced with her, exposing and correcting her balance problems.
Like a cloud
You are soft
Like bamboo
You'll bend in the wind
Creeping slow
You're at peace because you know
It's OK to be afraid
She bid the girl re-join the circle of children still spinning around her, now addressing all of them, leading them in the new motions they would need to learn to perfect their control and find their center. This group was still too young to learn meditation, but in Bella's experience knowledge of one self's capabilities was never a bad thing. The children repeated her words, following her motions with difficulty.
One, alone is not enough (one, alone is not enough)
We need both together (we need both together)
Winter, summer, moon and sun (winter, summer, moon and sun)
Lesson number one
Now the children took over the song, following her motions and singing along as they grasped the concept.
Like a cloud (like a rock, huh huh)
You are soft (I must be hard huh huh)
Like bamboo (like an oak, mmmah)
You'll bend in the wind (I must stand firm, huh huh)
Creeping slow (cut quick, like my blade)
You're at peace because you know (think fast, huh huh)
When she looked up to track the Cullens, Esme was looking at her with a mother's pride. Edward had a similar expression on his face, but he also showed a bit of regret. Carlisle just looked nostalgic. Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper were caught up in the children's excitement; one of the children, Lily, broke from the circle to run to them before Bella flashed in front of her, scolding her for breaking the circle. Overall, she was pleased with their progress, and she let them hear her pride as she ended the exercise and the song.
You have begun
...
Scales and Arpeggios (Aristocats)
"Hmm, we should probably do some scales next." The children groaned at her, and Bella smiled, remembering how much she had hated the dreaded singing exercises. She was always too shy to sing in front of a crowd without magick backing her. "Come on kids, scales are essential. If your pitch is off, you'll never get to cast properly. But we need an instrument to accompany us, and I've sent Nikki away." Time to begin her plan. "Oh! I know. Edward plays the piano; he could keep you all on note. Sarah, you sit with him, show him the notes."
Edward looked surprised to be called upon, but he was willing. Bella blinked a portable keyboard into the open field. The melody was simple, way below Edward's skill-level, but he would enjoy little Sarah- she was an incredibly bouncy child. The children's parents were beginning to gather at the grounds to pick them up, it wouldn't do any harm to show off her lover a bit. She winked at Edward as he sat next to Sarah on the bench before turning her attention back to the beginners she would have to whip into shape. They were terribly out of tune with one another.
Do mi do mi do so mi do
Every truly cultured music student knows
You must learn your scales and your arpeggios
She pinched Nicolae's nose closed as he sang, admonishing him.
Bring the music ringing from your chest
And not your nose
While you sing your scales and your arpeggios
She finally raised her voice with the kids, giving them something to harmonize with besides the choppy piano notes.
If your faithful to your daily practicing
You will find you progress is encouraging
Do mi so mi do me so mi fa la so it goes
When you do your scales and your arpeggios
Perhaps a bit of encouragement was needed. She began to manipulate the sound waves around her, letting the children hear what they could be if they would listen to one another.
Do mi so do
Do mi so do do so mi do
Do mi so do do so mi do
Though it seems at first it doesn't show
Like a tree ability will bloom and grow
If you're smart you'll learn by heart what every artist knows
You must sing your scales
And your arpeggios
When the song ended, Edward struck a sudden flourish of notes on the end, showing off during a brief piano battle with Sarah, who was grinning madly. Bella shot him a mock-glare, but really, she was thrilled. This was perfect. A crowd was gathering now. Perhaps a small lesson, a promised reward. Yes, that would get the ball rolling. "Alright, alright, enough boring stuff. Let's do some magick, whaddya say? If you can each pull off the small spell I am about to show you, and are patient and wait your turn, I'll tell you a story after." The kids nodded excitedly, both for the chance to cast a spell and their reward if they succeeded.
Little Bird, Little Bird
Edward didn't know what Bella was up to, but as she began her lesson with the children, he couldn't help but notice how natural she was with them. She would make an amazing mother. His mind unwillingly cast him back to the image of a bloodstained Bella holding the infant girl in the echoes. He couldn't make Bella a mother, was that something she wanted? He broke off from his self-doubt at the whisper of magick in the air that arose as Bella sang a simple spell for the kids to try.
Little bird, little bird
Fly through my window
Little bird, little bird
Fly through my window
Little bird, little bird
Fly through my window
Find molasses candy
Through my window
My sugar lump
Fly through my window
My sugar lump
Find molasses candy
The parents scattered around the field smiled nostalgically at the song; and Edward was startled when a small sparrow landed on Bella's outstretched finger, tweeting with her music and obviously called by the spell. She turned to the kids. "Who knows a bird?"
The little girl who had run for Rosalie waved her hand in the air excitedly. "Me! Chickadee!"
Bella smiled at the young girl, who was maybe five or six. "What's a chickadee say?"
"Chchchchchch"
Bella held out a hand to the girl, who approached her, and helped the little girl form a perch with her small hand gently, singing with her.
Chickadee, chickadee
Fly through my window
Chickadee, chickadee
Fly through my window
Chickadee, chickadee
Fly through my window
Find molasses candy
Through my window
My sugar lump
Fly through my window
My sugar lump
And find molasses candy
Sure enough, a small chickadee landed on the young girl's hand, preening and chittering at her. The awestruck child petted the bird with her fingertip softly. The children grew excited.
"Who knows another bird?"
"Me! Jaybird!" Nicolae shouted.
"And what does a jaybird say?"
"Jayjayjayjayjayjay"
Jaybird, jaybird
Fly through my window
Jaybird, jaybird
Fly through my window
Jaybird, jaybird
Fly through my window
Find molasses candy
Bella supported Nicolae's vocals slightly less than she had the little girl's, but after an expectant moment, a jaybird landed on Nicolae's outstretched hand. Little Sarah was next.
"Who knows one more bird?"
"I do! A whip-poor-will" Sarah struggled to pronounce the long word, and Bella smiled gently at the exuberant child.
"Oh a hard one! What does a whippoorwill say?
Sarah whistled. Bella sang the whole spell with her, helping her with the hand motions required to call the bird.
Whippoorwill, whippoorwill
Fly through my window
Whippoorwill, whippoorwill
Fly through my window
Whippoorwill, whippoorwill
Fly through my window
Find molasses candy
Through my window
My sugar lump
Fly through my window
My sugar lump
Find molasses candy
When the whippoorwill landed on Sarah's hand, her eyes lit up. She whistled softly at the bird, which responded with a trilling cry of its own. "Now everyone try. If you have trouble, just call for me, I'll help."
Bella sat on the bench near the piano with Edward, taking his hand casually. He raised a playful eyebrow at her. "Not going according to plan, oh mischevious one?"
"Just wait Edward. I always win." She winked at him, and the sparrow from before landed on her shoulder, burying itself in her hair. "Willow! Get out of there! I am not going to be a part of your nest, little bird." Bella exclaimed.
"So Fae can call animals to them?" Carlisle enquired from where he sat on the ground a few feet away. "I didn't know that."
"You guys haven't hung out with a lot of Earth-affinities, and it's not a complicated skill, or particularly useful in battle. It is however, one of the first things we teach the kids. It helps them get a feel for the balance of the world and gives them an option to send for help if ever they should need it. Actually, a lot of the earth affinity has to do with animals. Heck, the earth's blessing is the mark of transformation, the ability to change into whatever form you choose."
One by one, the children called birds to them, leaning on each other for help and delighting in the simple magick, rushing over to show Rosalie and Esme their new pets. What a remarkable world Edward found himself in.
The Bells of Notre Dame (Hunchback)
Once the children had all managed to call the birds to themselves without help, Bella congratulated them. A suspicious-looking mother glared at Rosalie as she called to the dark-skinned girl-child. "Ntombi, time to come home."
Ntombi was talking excitedly to Rosalie about the cardinal she had called to her. "But Mo-om, QueenB promised us a story. Please can I stay just a minute longer?"
Bella laughed, placing a hand on the mother's shoulder as she quipped. "I did promise her, Nhamo. You can stick around too, you know. Rosalie would never harm Ntombi, or any other child."
The woman looked cowed, her suspicious expression fading. "My apologies, your majesty. Instinct is difficult to overcome. I do not blame the girl; it is simply in her vampiric nature."
"Don't worry about it, I honor your effort to keep Ntombi safe. You have given much for her, and you love her very much. As I love Rosalie and her family. Stay, let me fulfill my promise."
"As you wish, my queen." The woman inclined her head, calling Ntombi to her as the other children settled on the grass. Lilly sat in Rosalie's lap with a child's defiant glare, as though daring anyone to say anything and endure the tantrum that would surely follow.
Bella smiled at Ntombi and Lilly both, then turned to the group at large with a twinkle in her eye. "What questions do you have for me, young ones? What preys on your thoughts? What story should I tell today?"
"I want to know something!" Sarah shouted from the lap of a blonde woman, her mother. "My daddy says that the Cullens are nice vampires, and Miss Rosalie is my favorite watcher. But Auntie says that they shouldn't be made Fae, that they want to suck my blood. Why are the Cullens different than us?"
Nicolae cut in. "My daddy says that the Cullens are monsters and QueenB should kick them out of Camp."
Lilly cut in. "Miss Rosalie is too nice to be a monster! And Miss Esme always gives me extra ice cream at dinner. Monsters don't give extra ice cream!"
The children muttered in agreement with her, and several of the adult Fae in the crowd started to look ashamed.
Bella simply raised her hands against the uproar, calling for silence. "Hmm. Well, I think your auntie and daddies are very wise, and you should always listen to what they have to say and respect what they think." Bella shrugged. "But identifying monsters is really hard, one of the hardest things adults have to do. If you ever think someone might be a monster, you must tell a grown-up immediately. If you can't find a grown-up to tell, tell me, and I'll look into it."
"Don't monsters look different from other people?" Ntombi asked quietly.
Bella eyed her softly, compassion in her eyes. "Sometimes they do. But sometimes they look just like you and me. Hmm...I know a story that might help. Have you ever been to Paris?"
Carlisle was shocked. Surely Bella wouldn't tell the story of the Master's release to these young kids! But his fears were allayed as Bella continued. "There is a place, in Paris. A big, old church called Notre Dame. Wanna hear a story about monsters and Notre Dame?"
A chorus of "yes" and "please" rose from the kids, and Carlisle saw several of the adult Fae nod as well.
"Okay, but remember the rules. If the story gets too scary, you have to do what?"
"Flare!" the children chorused, already leaning forward expectantly.
Josephat suddenly appeared behind Carlisle. "Oh, Bella's telling a story? Clever girl, our queen. She can't issue an order about the rumors surrounding your family without making them worse, so a story is the perfect way to get her opinion across without stirring up trouble. The adult-Fae probably learn more from Isabella's stories than the kids do." He shook his head. "This should be good. Prejudice is one of Isabella's pet peeves."
Carlisle looked at his clever and sneaky daughter. "I guessed from the gala there was some trouble, but she's never mentioned anything."
"Really? She and Kaedra have done almost nothing but deal with people's assumptions about your nature since she submitted your line for candidacy. Even Marcos had heard some stuff about it, though his reaction was a little more violent and a lot less reasonable, so he's mostly out of it by now. He made the first-years run laps from sun-up to sun-down for some hateful stuff about Emmett the other day."
Carlisle glanced at his soldier-son, watching Emmett's eyes go wide as he overheard Jo's statement. But then, Bella began her story, and Carlisle was swept up in images and echoes that awed him.
The music began with a monk's chant, before with the ringing of a bell, images flashe to consume the field. An aerial view of Paris grew closer and closer, zooming in on the docks as it panned from the grand Church across the city.
Morning in Paris, the city awakes
To the bells of Notre Dame
The fisherman fishes, the bakerman bakes
To the bells of Notre Dame
To the big bells as loud as the thunder
To the little bells soft as a psalm
And some say the soul of the city is
The toll of the bells
The bells of Notre Dame
Bella addressed the children, "You know, in the mortal world, bells don't ring all by themselves."
"They don't?" a small boy cut in.
"No, silly boy. The mysterious bell ringer rings them. Hush now, and I'll tell you a tale of a man, and a monster."
In the echoes, night fell over Paris, and the echoes focused on a group of Fae living under the docks, one with a small child and a bundle of blankets.
Dark was the night when our tale was begun
On the docks near Notre Dame
Four frightened gypsies lived silently under
The docks near Notre Dame
But a trap had been laid for the gypsies
And they gazed up in fear and alarm
At a figure whose clutches
Were iron as much as the bells
The bells of Notre Dame
As the villain appeared, the children looked suitably shocked at his thin, normal appearance.
Judge Claude Frollo longed
To purge the world
Of vice and sin
And he saw corruption
Everywhere
Except within
Bella met Carlisle's eyes, her own flooded with gold, before turning back to the tale. The Fae-mother with the infant bundled in her arms ran from the judge, and he pursued her, claiming her bundle was stolen goods. When they reached the church steps, and the woman began to call for sanctuary, Carlisle felt a shudder go through him. Human history was cruel, no-one knew better than he.
Dies irae, dies illa
(Dies irae, dies illa)
Dies irae, dies illa
(Dies irae, dies illa)
Solvet saeclum in favilla
Teste David cum sibylla
Quantus tremor est futurus
Quando Judex est venturus
Gasps ran through the children as the woman was trampled on the church steps by the judges' horse, but no aura flares went up. The children were too used to death, marked by the war that raged around them. Carlisle was suddenly very grateful for Bella's storytelling; it took something so big as evil and brought it down to a child's understanding.
As the judge raised the child into the air, intending to dash it upon the steps, an abbot appeared suddenly, stopping him and singing his part of the story.
See there the innocent blood you have spilt
On the steps of Notre Dame
Now you would add this child's blood to your guilt
On the steps of Notre Dame
You can lie to yourself and your minions
You can claim that you haven't a qualm
But you never can run from
Nor hide what you've done from the eyes
The very eyes of Notre Dame
Bella took over, narrating the story and gazing at the infant with sorrow in her face.
And for one time in his life
Of power and control
Frollo felt a twinge of fear
For his immortal soul
Bella revealed the child's deformity to the children, who gasped at the infant's disfigurement, looking puzzled and afraid. "But he's a monster, isn't he?" Nicolae shouted over the music. "He's all mean looking!" Several children nodded behind him. "Are monsters born that way, do you think?" Bella asked. "This child, his name is Quasimodo." Lilly gasped. "But that's the mortal who saved Esmerelda and the gypsies from the pyre! He's a hero!" Bella winked at the child, "Not all heroes are handsome, Lilly. Heroes are people, just like everyone." she continued, telling the story in song, panning back to show the city of Paris once more as the child was taken into the church.
Now here is a riddle to guess if you can
Sing the bells of Notre Dame
Who is the monster and who is the man?
The Fae in the crowd were unsettled, but the children seemed to understand Bella's meaning, caught up in the story and the echoes.
Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells
Bells, bells, bells, bells
Bells of Notre Dame
Bella's high soprano stretched the last note as the echoes raced above the clouds and faded. She dismissed the crowd and sent the children to their parents, stopping to chat with several of the adults on the way. Carlisle was distracted from her when Ntombi pulled on his pant-leg. "I don't think you're a monster, Mr. Carlisle." A shadow passed over the young girl's face. "Monsters are just people who make bad choices. You make good choices; you don't hurt anybody even though you could. I hope you get to be Fae, so QueenB can be happy, Mr. Cullen." Carlisle knelt, and embraced Ntombi gently in thanks. "Me too, child. Run along now." As the dark-skinned girl turned away from him, Carlisle noticed a long scar across the child's shoulder blades that extended all the way to the opposite hip under her shirt. Yes. The mark of war, indeed.
You'll be in my Heart (Tarzan)
Edward walked back to the Castle with Bella, alone for once as his family went ahead of them with Marcos, Kaedra, and Josephat. Marcos was deep in conversation with Emmett, and Kaedra and Jo were chatting amicably with Carlisle listening in. Esme and Rosalie were chatting with Ntombi's mother and Alice and Jasper were nowhere to be seen, having snuck off for some alone time while Bella told her story.
Edward wanted to ask Bella about the kids, about the infant in the echoes, but he didn't quite know how.
"Edward. Whatever you want to talk to me about, it's okay you know. I'm unbound, and the shadow on your face is worrying me. Just ask."
Edward took the jump. "Bella, do you want children?"
His love actually stopped walking in her shock, and Edward turned to face her. "Oh. Oh, Edward, I thought you would have realized." Her face was defeated, devastated. "I like kids, really I do. But there is a reason there are so few Fae children in Camp. It is incredibly difficult for any Fae woman to conceive, and I will never have children."
Edward was almost relieved, but he had a feeling there was more to the story here. He asked curiously, "Why?"
"Well, I guess that depends on who you ask. Normally, as Queen, it would be my duty to at least attempt to produce an heir. But remember, the Fae gene is recessive in the Swan line. Charlie never expressed his magic, and there is no guarantee any heir of mine would express. The Smith line ended with Adeline, so I suppose the recessives will be wiped out with me."
"Wouldn't that increase the pressure on you to conceive?" Edward was confused now.
"Oh darling. I can't conceive. It's not possible, Edward. Not everyone is aware of it, but Josephat broke the news to the ruling council after I ran off."
"Why? If you found a nice man, a human or a Fae.."
His love looked at him sadly, caressing his face from brow to jaw. "Edward, you're a vampire. I don't want anyone else, not even for a purpose. But even if you weren't, it wouldn't matter. There's too much damage." Bella looked away from him, dark memories playing on her face. "I told you. Demetri was very good at his job."
Edward was shocked into utter stillness at his own idiocy. Of course. Bella had not been healed from her wounds with magick; that's why she was covered in scars. There would've been extensive damage from the torture she had received, some of which had remained untreated. "Bella, my Bella. Oh love, I'm so sorry."
"It is just one theft among many, Edward. Don't feel guilty. Besides, I get all the joy I need from the children in Camp. It's very "a village to raise a child" around here. There are plenty of Fae women who cannot conceive, and parenthood is a burden meant to be shared. I experienced parenthood, Edward, as twisted and short-lived as it was. Children break your heart, it's what they do."
Edward was silent, unsure of what to say, whether asking about the baby would help or hurt, and Bella continued.
"We called her Rockabye, after the lullaby her mother sang to her as she died. She was amazing, Edward, a ray of light in a dark place. I've never searched for her, never tried to See. I'm not sure I even had enough of a connection to her to try, and it would break my heart all over again if I learned she was gone. Me and Addy, we'd sing to her, hold her close. She was so weak. It was hard to get her enough food. Addy was closer to her than me, absolutely desperate to save her. I was more guarded by that point, cautious of any connections that could be used as weapons. I do wonder, sometimes, if it was worth it in the end. I love to imagine a golden childhood for Josephat's daughter. I know it kills him, not knowing where she is. Sometimes it kills me too."
Bella grew quiet, reflective. "I couldn't bear to look before, but maybe...with you, with your family, everything has changed. Maybe I could look, now. I'll think on it." She shook herself and took his hand. "Come on, lets catch up. Your brooding thing is hot on you, but it's a bad look for me."
She dragged Edward up to rejoin their family, and Edward caught Rosalie's eyes as she dragged him to the front of the group. His mother and his first sister had heard every word of their conversation and looked wrecked. Rosalie's mind was spinning with empathy for Bella, and questions about her own life: about whether her vampiric nature was the only cause for her own barrenness; about Bella's heartbreak over the infant. Jasper sent her a wave of calm, and Edward nodded at her.
One thought rang clear in Rosalie's mind. If Bella could move on from the loss of her ability to conceive and the loss of Rockabye, maybe she could too.
Edward cast the conversation from his thoughts and focused on Bella's obvious joy when Nhamo and Ntombi joined them at the long table for dinner. His love was happy and bubbly, and even Rosalie was pulled from her thoughts by the engaging conversation. Alice and Jasper were in the attic when they returned home, looking rested and fresh. Edward conversed with his Sighted sister softly as Bella faded to sleep at a proper hour for once.
The night passed peacefully until the witching hour, the moon beginning to set in the sky. Bella suddenly moaned in her sleep, turning on to her stomach and kicking her legs. "Tomas, please" Edward felt his breath stop. Bella's voice was begging, full of despair.
"No. No more. It hurts. Please."
His lover tossed her head wildly in a "no" motion, struggling to get away in her nightmare. Edward put a hand on Bella's shoulder, shaking her softly, but she did not wake.
Her movement grew more violent, mumbles escaping her quickly now. "NonononoAddyplease. Demetri, please. I'll do it, just don't hurt her."
Edward shook her more strongly. Bella's heartbeat was accelerating quickly. "Bella, love. Wake up, you're having a nightmare." Esme had stopped her puttering in the kitchen, frozen with her eyes on them, and Carlisle had looked up from his book with panic on his face. Alice reached for Jasper, seeking comfort; Rosalie and Emmett came in from their bedroom. Bella cringed away from her lover, rolling into a protective ball. "Please. Stop."
Edward couldn't bear it. He grasped Bella by both shoulders, shaking her once, violently.
Then, he was pinned on his back with Bella straddling him, her eyes golden and sword extended. When she registered who he was, she collapsed against his chest, weeping and clutching at him, burying long, bloody fingers in his hair and nuzzling into the junction of his neck. "I'm sorry. It was just a bad one. Are you okay?" She hiccupped the words, gasping for breath.
"Shh, Bella, it's okay, your safe." Edward wrapped his love in a tight embrace, for once barely tempering his strength as he crushed her to him protectively. "You didn't hurt me, I'm fine. Shh. You're awake now."
He felt his lover's beating heart begin to slow in his hold and glanced up desperately at Carlisle. What were they going to do about Bella's nightmares? Carlisle shook his head silently; he knew of no magick or mortal medicine that could stop Bella's dreams.
Edward devoted himself to comforting his lover as her breaths evened out. Rosalie came to sit on the edge of the futon, petting Bella's hair cautiously where she rested on Edward's chest.
Edward almost thought his love was asleep once more, when her voice began to ring whisper-soft through the attic.
Come stop your crying
It will be alright
Just take my hand
And hold it tight
Bella twisted one hand in his, as she sang Rockabye's lullaby to her vampire family.
I will protect you
From all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry
For one so small,
You seem so strong
My arms will hold you,
Keep you safe and warm
This bond between us
Can't be broken
I will be here
Don't you cry
She nuzzled into Edward and looked up at his blonde sister, inviting her to understand.
You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart
Always
An echo of a dark-skinned baby, maybe two or three months old and wrapped in rags, appeared on the edge of the bed next to Rosalie, and his sister's face was heartbroken as she reached for the skeletal child with the exceptional hazel eyes.
Always I'll be with you
I'll be there for you always
Always and always
Bella reached out for the echo too, untangling her hand from where it had been in Edward's and brushing at the tuft on black hair on the little girl's head.
Just look over your shoulder
Just look over your shoulder
Just look over your shoulder
I'll be there
The echo stayed for almost an hour, Bella watching Rosalie pet the child's hair and comfort her. When Bella finally closed her eyes to sleep again, the sun was beginning to turn the sky a lighter blue.
"Always." Bella mumbled, falling gently back into sleep. Edward looked at Rosalie's eyes, which were focused on Emmett, as the echo of Josephat's daughter faded from view. Venom-tears were pooled in her gaze; but a soft, peaceful smile was on her face.