Disclaimer: In Piglatin!!!! To spice things up: Iay oday otnay ownay wilighttay. Tepheniesay Eyersmay oesday. Alladinay isay theay ooliestcay!!!!!!!!! Ustjay ecausebay!!!!!
To All My Wonderful/ Semi Homicidal Reviewers...ur never pleased are you??? Anyways, THANKS a bunch. Keep the reviews coming, and I highly recommend therapy.
Nobodyparticular: Trouble does smell like roses in the springtime. Ahhhhhh... This chapter has a bouquet. And pitchforks are an excellent idea. BEAT HIM DOWN NP!!!
Kersicca: Sorry if I made you late...and all in good time, my friend, all in good time...about the "J" word. SAVE THE CLIFFIES...(holds up picket sign, with same neon green color used on kersicca's box spelling that out in all caps) So, how are you enjoying the Czech Republic? Obviously not too well since you can't afford alcohol. AND LOL bella-the-happy-environmentally-friendly-murderer...WHY IN THE WORLD HAS NO ONE DONE A STORY ABOUT THAT? Madness...sheer madness. Have fun with Pjotter. Age 19 and lives in Wales???
Euphoria falls: Well, after I came out of my bomb shelter to read the rest of your comment, after that terrifying first sentence (see underlined text), I decided that I liked you a lot. Jake is AWESOME as a opossum. Genius?...I think you mean EVIL genius. Thanks a bunch.
Thefuturemrs.EdwardCullen: "Ahem...Edward, is this your wife?" Edward: "No my sweet honey muffin turtlecakes, YOU are the love of my life. Let's get hitched." Lily Turtle: "Drive thru wedding?" Edward: "Don't you know it." Mwuh mwuh mwuh. LOL thanks.
Albnal33: (goes back to hide in bomb shelter, with a TV and a kickboxing video) Mental anguish is fun. Sick her Bella. Sick her!
Melody Cullen: Your comment was one of the ones to not contain a threat on my life. YAY...ONE PERSON IN THE WORLD WHO DOESNT WANT TO KILL ME!!! Melody Cullen, no relation to Edward I presume, is my hero. And about the 'grring', are you sure you're not part lion?
INVX: o man...the moment you started talking about the "talk", I got nervous. Oooooo...bad memories. Edward was coming back. Never fear. Why don't UUUU kill Josius? O wait, that's right, he mind controlled you off a cliff. Well shucks. I'll miss your humorous reviews...SUPER BELLA, fly down and save INVX. Bella: "er. MMMMkay" O wait, Bella don't...she missed Duckie's funeral... BADDD INVX, BAD.
Mattybabe: so sorry about last time. Didn't see you there. We reeaaalllyyy need an inside joke...how about "brussel sprouts"? THANKS for reviewing.
Twilightfan9748: OMCarlisle? Why haven't I heard of this glorious phrase before? Thanks.
Ten past midnight: Lucky for everyone, the Volturi took a long vacation to the Swiss Alps...skiing dont you know, till Jane fell off the ski lift and people started complaining of sudden, unusual pain. The doctor said they were fine though.
Edwards#1 fan: Thank u very much.
Ms. Veronica cullen: Wow, with you and all the other cullen reviewers, this must be like sort of a family reunion, huh? Lol thnx. It was harder than I though.
Abovetherim: Brilliant you say? Why, thank you.
Now without further ado and poppycock, I present to you...
Chapter 10
"Murder?" I repeated slowly.
Edward gave my hand a squeeze.
"It was one of you, wasn't it?" Jake asked, "not one of those leech friends of yours."
Edward hung his head.
"Jacob, you have to understand," he began.
"Understand?" Jake asked incredulously, "I think I understand just fine. You finally got sick of your little vegetarian deal," then he turned his dark eyes on me, "Bella, you're marrying a murderer!"
"Be quite," I snapped, my eyes scalding. If looks could kill, Jake would have been diced, sliced, and thrown into the nearest available blender.
The vampire sitting next to me leaned to whisper in my ear, "He's right, you know?"
I turned my deadly gaze on him. "Well, yeah, I've known that from the get-go," I said, thwapping him on the back of his neck, "We've been through this."
Rubbing my sore hand, I checked to see his expression. His face spelled out a contradictory emotion: angry, yet surprised, happiness.
"Let me see that," he told me, eyes softening, pointing to my hurt appendage.
"It's fine," I said, but he grabbed it anyway.
After making sure it wasn't damaged, he gently placed it back in my own lap. My eyes rolled, more at my own stupidity than at his overprotectiveness. Kindergarten teachers should teach kids that, along with not touching flames or sticking paperclips in electricity sockets, hitting a marble-like vampire was not a smart idea.
"So, who was it?" asked an obviously annoyed Jake.
Edward turned to face him, and then sighed.
A long, suspenseful moment passed, and I could hear the night-sounds of the forest: owls hooting, wind rustling the trees. The moon was still bathing every uncovered nook and cranny without restraint.
At last, Edward spoke. "Carlisle," he whispered.
My mind simply could not digest this. Carlisle, the kind and caring doctor, a murderer?
Edward looked up at the sky. "It was Josius, really," he continued, smooth voice sounding strained, "He forced him to do it."
My thoughts quickly reverted back to the machete-related Josius death scenes. How I hated this vampire. "Why?" I asked quietly.
Edward shrugged, "Revenge. Carlisle and I were the only ones resisting his control for a while, and yesterday, Carlisle tried to fight him," he let out a humorless laugh, "Homicide was his punishment. The guilt he feels is unimaginable. Jasper can't be inside the house, even though he doesn't really know why."
Jacob stood up suddenly, "So how do we know you're not just here to kill us?"
Edward turned his black orbs on me, "Technically, I am. Those are my orders."
My face paled. In my peripheral vision, I could see shivers running down Jake's arms.
"But I won't," he quickly corrected, "You're to thank for that," Edward told me.
I tilted my head to the side, puzzled.
"When I'm not close to him, and I think of you," he said, brushing a stray lock out of my face, "I can fight it better. I've been keeping a picture of you with me wherever I go."
One corner of my mouth turned up.
"I'll figure this out, Bella," he promised.
"Could we run away?" I asked desperately, even though I already knew the answer.
He sadly shook his head, "He'd hurt my family even more."
I looked back up at him, "Our family."
Jake sat back down with a huff. "What does Josius want with Bella anyway?"
Edward turned his head towards Jake, but let his eyes stay glued to mine until he absolutely had to move them. "You already know that Bella's blood is special, especially to me."
Jake nodded.
"Well, it was a great deal more special than we thought. Carlisle did some research, and he thinks he's figured something out. Bella isn't affected by my gift, or Jane's. It's because of her blood."
I was still confused, even more so when he failed to continue. "Whoever thought that AB negative could mean so much?" I joked.
A well-missed smile returned to Edward's countenance. "Your blood, Bella, is something like a vaccine. Were a vampire to drink it, they would become immune to whatever you were immune to. That vampire would become stronger, faster, virtually invincible. A vampire that could swat the Volturi away like flies. That's what Josius would become, but he won't. I promise," he concluded fiercely, "I won't let that happen."
The news was disturbing, but I put my hand on Edward's cheek, more concerned with his struggles, "I know you won't."
His tortured expression remained.
So I kissed him. I didn't care that Jacob was sitting seven feet away. I didn't care that Edward had come here on a mission to end my life. I wanted him. Now.
He pulled me to him with a growl, never breaking our kiss.
Behind my eyelids, fireworks were exploding. This was an aggressive side of Edward.
His cold hands were everywhere: my back, my neck, my hair.
Mine were gripping his shirt collar with all their might.
Finally, we broke apart, panting.
"I will marry you," he said suddenly. Urgently.
I smiled at him, though we both knew that the wedding had been postponed.
I saw that Jake was back to tracing patterns in the sand. I thought I saw the outline of a fanged stick figure erupting into flames before he scribbled through it.
"Get a room," Jake grunted
Edward smirked, "Know any available?"
I snickered.
Another question entered my head. "So who exactly is Josius?" I asked.
"One of Kate's old flames," Edward replied, "They turned a select few, the ones that they really enjoyed. After he was turned, he went to Italy and tried to join the Volturi, but they saw his plan and were prepared. After he tried to control them, they banished him from the city. Should have killed him then and there," Edward growled, "He tried to start a few armies after that, but Aro was watching for him. He went back to Denali, and that's when he heard about you. He convinced Tanya to come, and he would make me fall in love with her."
"Oh," I said, "You didn't did you?"
"What?" he asked.
I looked down sheepishly, "Fall in love with her..."
He kissed the top of my head, "You have my heart," he told me.
All of a sudden, Edward leapt away from me, backing up and shaking his head.
"Jacob," he croaked, squinting his eyes together, "Now!"
Tears started rolling down my face. Angry tears...for what Josius had done.
Never taking my gaze from my agonized fiancee, I let Jacob hoist me up on his back again and run into the night.
A/N: Well, well, well, look how the cards played out...