Part 9

"Alice, what's going on? What did you see?" Carlisle asked her.

"James and Victoria, they already have a strong plan in mind. They don't know about my gift so I can see most of it. It's already in motion, we can't stop it now. They're going to create a newborn army to distract us while they get to Bella, but she's not the only one they want. James is very interested in Bella, but not only in her. He wants me, too, but I don't know why. I can't see him explaining it, all I can see is him giving orders to get me and Bella alone. Victoria doesn't need explanations, she understands why he wants me." Alice replied.

"Edward, could you see anything in his mind when he was in front of us?" Esme asked him gently while Jasper stood closer to his little mate.

"Anything that you didn't use to get him to notice me and want to attack me, of course." Bella added with a distrustful glare.

"Barely. He definitely recognized Alice, he wanted her when she was human, in an asylum in Biloxi but a vampire was already protecting her and that old and weak vampire bite her to start the change and save her because he had grown to care for her or something like that. James killed him out of revenge and they left because Alice no longer held any interest to him. His game was over, his fun was spoiled because Alice was changing. That's all." Edward replied.

"That's all? That's big!" Jasper growled.

"You knew that I don't remember anything from my human life and you didn't think to tell me this? This is a part that's missing from me, Edward, that I've been looking for ever since I changed!" Alice growled at her brother.

"You're so far up in your own mind that you didn't think she'd like to know that?" Rosalie growled.

"If what he enjoys is hunting, since she was in transition, he couldn't play with her anymore. It fits who he is." Laurent explained before he added "I wasn't with him back then, I only joined them about 30 years ago."

"But if he left her behind back then, why is he interested in her now?" Bella asked, curious.

"With a twisted mind like his, who knows. What's important now is that we're going to need to prepare for an attack. Either we manage to find them before they create their army or we wait until they arrive while preparing ourselves. Either way, the gods didn't warn me about this so we'll probably be able to sort this out without casualties on our part." Floki declared.

"I don't think we'll manage to find them. I got a vibe of strong confidence out of this woman." Jasper shook his head.

"Victoria has a strong gift that allows her to always get away. It's the main reason why James is with her. They've been hunted by enemies before but they always got away, because of Victoria's gift." Laurent told them, willing to stay on the good side of the Vikings.

"How many vampires is she going to make?" Bella asked.

"They've heard of us, and know how many we are, they also know how many the Cullen's are. They'll need a large number, especially since they are the kind of people who like to win. They'll want to play it safe. Between 30 or 40 newborn vampires, eager to follow their orders and still extremely strong." Ragnar told her.

"It will take them a while, maybe a little over a year, before they're ready. We definitely have time to prepare." Floki added after a few seconds of semi-trans, probably telling them what the Gods had told him.

"Maybe the wolves will help. James doesn't know about them, so that will give us an edge, right? I know that more of them are about the make the change, Billy told Charlie yesterday. With your two families around and so many vampires, their number will grow as well." Bella asked.

"You're right, we'll try and ask them tomorrow. Their numbers are growing fast, so that will be a good thing for us." Rollo nodded.

"I hope you're proud of yourself, Edward. Innocents are going to die because of you! You better stay away from me from now on, I don't want to see you again." Bella growled at the red haired vampire.

"I only tried to help you Bella, you need to open your eyes to who these Vikings really are! Savages, uneducated savages who used to steal everything they wanted and rape women! They're monsters and you need to open your eyes on this!" Edward exclaimed.

"You're the only monster I see here tonight!" Bella snapped back, still in Rollo's safe arms.

"Edward, I think it's time you went and spent some time in Denali, with our cousin Tanya and her family." Carlisle declared severely before Edward could reply.

"Cousin? Others like you?" Laurent asked.

"Yes, they drink from animals like we do and live together, as a family." Esme nodded.

"Maybe I'll go and see them when you don't need my help anymore." Laurent decided.

"Why don't you leave with Edward and take him there? We'll know where to call if we need more information on James and Victoria." Ragnar offered while the other males of his coven nodded.

"When you have a more precise idea of the time of their attack, let me know and I'll come back to help. For once, I want to be on the right side of things." Laurent said with a smile before he and Edward left.

"Wait! We're letting him go like that? This red haired idiot hurt my sister, he needs to pay!" Bjorn glared, interrupted Edward and Laurent's departure.

"She's fine!" Edward glared back at him.

"She'll have bruises on her arms, I can tell from here!" Bjorn snapped angrily.

"It'll be fine, Bjorn, honestly. I just want him as far away as possible. As for the bruises, well, I've had worst doing more normal things." Bella told the young man who looked in her eyes to be sure that she was honest.

"He knows what will happen to him if he ever tried to come near her again." Rollo reassured his young mate and his nephew.

"Yes, the next time Edward touches Bella will be the last time he has hands." Ragnar promised and, for the first time, the boy looked afraid and concerned for his own safety.

"Let's go. Esme, I'll call once I've arrived." Edward declared before he and Laurent ran away.

"I think I should take Bella home. Billy and Charlie will need to be reassured as well, we didn't give them much information when we left except that Bella was in danger." Rollo decided.

"I'll go and tell them. I'll also go see Sam and tell him about what's coming. We'll be able to start planning patrols and training them to fight newborns. Who knows how long we have before they come." Bjorn volunteered.

"At least a year, that much I can see. The gods said that Bella will be able to graduate without worrying about this fight." Floki replied confidently.

"Good, then we have time." Ragnar nodded.

"At least I know I'll graduate." Bella chuckled as Rollo guided her away, making every smile in amusement.

"Good night everyone!" She called out before letting Rollo sweep her in his arms.

.

To get Bella back to her home, Rollo carried her in his arms, keeping her close to his chest as he did and ran at a slow pace back to her home, wanting to make this moment last as long as possible.

"Thank you for coming so fast for me." She told him.

"Of course, Bella. Anytime. I'll always come when you call." he replied.

"I knew you would." She smiled softly.

"You weren't afraid?" he asked her.

"A little bit, yeah, before you arrived. But all in all, I was more worried than afraid." She replied honestly.

"How is your arm?" he asked her, speaking about the arm Edward used to hold her and that had been hurting earlier.

Rollo had done his best to massage it with his cold hand while they talked with everyone, trying to make her feel better.

"It doesn't hurt much now, probably because of your hand on it. I'll put something on it when I get home. It's alright, I've had much worst." She brushed it off.

"I know." He chuckled softly.

"Do... Do you have to go or can you stay for a while?" She asked him once they arrived in front of her house.

"I'm not going anywhere unless you ask me to. Especially with this kind of danger around." Rollo shook his head.

"Good." She smiled.

When they entered the house, Charlie was waiting for them in the kitchen, not especially afraid, but a bit nervous nonetheless. Bella went to make herself some hot cocoa to calm down and warm herself up while Rollo updated Charlie on what had happened and what would happen next.

"I don't think it's going to be a problem for the boys. They're getting restless. They'll be happy to help. And if you really have a year, they'll have doubled their numbers." Charlie informed them.

"I hope you don't mind, Charlie, but I'll be sticking around a lot until this is over." Rollo declared.

"Of course, I figured as much. Don't worry, I'm fine with it. I knew that once you entered her life you wouldn't be able to stay away for long." Charlie nodded.

"Thanks, Charlie. I'm glad you accept and understand the situation." Rollo nodded.

"Of course. Every father wants to know that his child will be happy. Thanks to you, I know that she will be happy and safe forever. I'd be crazy not to accept it."

"Anyone wants anything?" Bella asked them.

"We're fine, Bells." Charlie smiled.

Bella drank her warm cup and Rollo followed her upstairs once she was done. She grabbed her pyjamas, went in the bathroom and put them on. When she came back she had the tube of cream in one hand. The short sleeves of her top allowed Rollo to see the forming bruise and it angered him to see that he hadn't been able to protect her against this. That he had been too late to prevent Edward from hurting her.

"Allow me." he told her, taking the tube of cream in his hands and motioning for her to sit down.

With a smile, Bella sat down and let him rub the cream on her arm, soothing her. She loved that he felt confortable enough to do this for her.

"You know that you can't be with me 24/7, you shouldn't feel guilty. I'll be fine." She reassured him but he didn't reply, he just hummed he kept on applying the cream on her soft skin.

Once Rollo was done putting the cream on the injured part of her arm, Bella went to put it back and felt a bit out of place for a while, not really knowing what she should do.

"Don't be so nervous, Princess. Do what you always do when I'm not here." he reassured her, immediately knowing what was wrong with her.

"Are you sure? It feels a bit rude to just start reading while you're here." She told him.

"Don't worry about me." he smiled at her.

"How about you tell me a story?" She asked him.

"Sure, what kind of story do you want? Are we talking story as in fiction or as in history?" he asked her as he sat on the rocking chair that was in a corner of her room.

"History would be cool. Why don't you tell me more about Gisla?" She asked him.

While Bella settled comfortably in her bed, Rollo started telling her about Gisla, the first time he saw her and how she surprised him so much that he fell from the wall during their attack of Paris. Then he told her about how they got married and her very vocal reaction to his presence, which had amused him. He told her how he became her friend by telling her that he'd leave her alone and pretend he was dead once they could go back on their land and that he wouldn't touch her. Rollo told Bella about everything they did together to help protect Paris, to protect Gisla's father the Emperor from Count Odon and his second Roland. He told her little facts about this time period and he was about to describe the castle that he still owned in France when he realized that she was falling asleep.

"Good night, my beautiful princess. May your dreams be sweet and peaceful." Rollo whispered as he stood up to place a kiss on her forehead.

"Don't leave, please. Stay the night." Bella replied, half asleep.

"Of course, anything you want." Rollo promised before he went back to sit on the rocking chair, enjoying being able to watch her sleep, and talk in her sleep.

He was especially happy when he heard his name coming up several times. She dreamt of him.

.

While Rollo watched over a sleeping Bella, the rest of his family was updating Helga, Lagertha and Torvi on the evening's actions. They were still in New York and knew that they wouldn't need to come back in a hurry but still liked to know what was going on. They promised to ask some of their friends, on the way back, if they'd be willing to help them when the time came, confident that they'd agree.

They had time to prepare, at least one year, of that, they were sure. However, they knew that they needed to stay on their guards, a last minute change of plan was always a possibility.

.

The next morning, Bella woke up to see that Rollo was still in her bedroom, sitting in the rocking chair and she couldn't help the wave of happiness that went over her. He had stayed for her, he was still here and it made her very happy.

"You stayed!" She exclaimed happily before she rushed to hug him, sitting on his lap as she did.

She didn't think about what she did, she just acted on instinct.

"Of course I did. I promised, didn't I?" he replied, chuckling a bit, holding her closer to him.

"I figured you'd leave once I was asleep, that you'd get bored." She replied.

"I don't think I could ever get bored watching you sleep, or of hearing you talk in your sleep for that matter." He told her.

"Did I talk much?" She asked him.

"Don't worry, you didn't say anything embarrassing." He reassured her.

"What did I say?" She asked him, though she could guess.

She had dreamt of him protecting her from Edward that night but it wasn't surprising, Rollo was a constant feature in her dreams. He protected her, took care of her, showed her the world. Her dreams weren't extremely romantic but she could guess that its content would grow hotter with time, as their relationship would grow.

"You asked me to keep Edward away, you said that you liked when I carried you." He revealed, apparently pleased with this.

Bella suddenly realized where she was, still snuggled on his lap, and started blushing. She made a move to get up from his lap but he held her a bit tighter, assuring her that he didn't mind having her there.

"You don't have to move, I like you here." He whispered to her, making her smile.

"Did you stay here all night?" She asked him after a couple of minutes of comfortable silence.

"Of course. I was afraid I'd miss some talking if I left. Your father left for work a few minutes ago, he told me that he wouldn't be back until 7 pm because he needs to drop by one of his friends after work. Why don't you get ready and we'll go back to my place. I'll make you breakfast there and we'll see what happened after we left everyone." Rollo suggested.

"Sure, I'd like that." She nodded with a small smile.

.

An hour later, Bella was in Rollo's arms, being carried to his house. Of course he could have gone to get his car and driven her but he enjoyed having her in his arms much better. He'd go and get his car to drive her once it starts raining, or snowing.

Once they arrived, he guided her to the kitchen and started looking around to make her breakfast.

"This is nice." She told him as she watched him moving around.

"I like doing things for you." He smiled at her.

"Well, that's cool because, for once, I like it when you do things for me. Which is weird because I'm usually a very independent person." She replied.

"I know, you're usually the one who takes care of others, like your mother and your father, which is why I believe you deserve to be taken care of for once." Rollo replied with a smile that made her blush.

Still smiling, Rollo went back to make her some pancakes when Ragnar entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Bella. How was your night?" Ragnar asked her.

"Good, thanks. Did everything go all right once we left?" Bella asked him back.

"Yes, but Alice fears that something bigger will come our way because of James and Victoria. She said it's like there's a vision that she can't quite reach and see. Floki is communing with the gods as we speak to try and get an answer from them. We might need to make a sacrifice later." He replied.

"Something worst?" Rollo asked his brother.

"Yes, but don't worry. If it was something to get worried about, the god would have warned us. They didn't, which means that, even if it won't be easy, we'll all be fine." He replied.

"I hope so, I hate the idea of people being in danger because of me." Bella sighted sadly.

"Hey, none of that, princess. Whoever gets hurt in this, it's not because of you, it's because of Edward." Rollo contradicting her with gentle force.

"Doesn't stop me from feeling bad about it." She smiled weakly, accepting the full plate of pancake he was handing her.

"Cheer up, princess, you won't have to put up with Edward at school anymore. That's a good point, right?" Rollo asked her, making her smile.

"True." She nodded.

"Well, I came by to tell you that Bjorn warned the wolves. They'll be more than happy to help and promised to stay vigilent during their patrols around town. Bjorn is with them right now, giving them pointers in case they have to face a newborn before we're warned. James and Victoria might end up sending a few of them before the year is up, just to test our defenses." Ragnar told them.

"That's cool. Did you warn Lagertha, Helga and Torvi?" Rollo asked his brother.

"Yes, they'll ask their friends there if he wants to help, but they're not worried either." Ragnar replied.

"I guess I shouldn't be, then" Bella smiled.

"Exactly. Well, I'm going to hunt a bit. You two have fun." The northern king told them before he left the house.

"Don't you need to hunt, too?" Bella turned around to ask Rollo.

"I'm fine for now, don't worry. I'll go Monday when you're at school. Anyway, you make yourself at home, I'm going to go up, shower and change." Rollo told her.

He kissed her forehead as he walked past her and went up the stairs in normal human speed. Bella took her time finishing her breakfast before she went to the library and chose a book to read until Rollo came back downstairs. Then, they'd decide on an activity.

She didn't know what they were yet. She couldn't say that he was her boyfriend, because they weren't actually kissing or making out but they were going to spend a lot of time together from now on and they knew where this was heading. Could she tell people at school that she had a boyfriend or was it more complicated than that?

She sure liked being in his arms, she felt safe, happy, complete and protected there. She also felt stronger whenever he held her in his arms. Would she have to wait until she was changed for them to do more than hug or would he kiss her before that? When would be the right moment? She was aware that he looked older than her, he appeared to be about 25 so of course they couldn't go around town on any normal dates but she wasn't into that sort of things anyway. Would he kiss her before she was turned? That question plagued her mind and she wasn't sure she'd find it in her to ask it to him.

What did you think of this one? I don't think I'll make Edward come back again, or maybe at the last minute to help and repent himself, we'll see. But he won't be the big evil in this story. Please tell me what you think of this, if you think Edward should just never be seen again or if you'd like him to come and make peace by fighting with them against James and Victoria.

Review please?

Lorelei Candice Black