Part 10

The next few months passed by rather quickly and quietly. The school year ended nicely and Bella was one of the first of her class, mainly because she was able to study with thousand years old vampires who had seen it all and were more than willing to help her with her education. She spent a lot of time listening to Lagertha and Ragnar telling her about History, Rollo was surprisingly good at explaining Maths to her and in the end, she ended up knowing more than the average high school student.

During the summer, Alice took Jasper to investigate her human past with the informations Edward had gotten from James' head while Bella went to see her mother for a few weeks before Rollo took her to Washington, Boston and other big cities to show her things he knew she'd love.

Things were moving at a rather slow pace between Bella and Rollo but she was okay with it. When summer started, they were only just holding hands, and hugging, only kissing cheeks or foreheads but when they reunited after Bella's stay at her mother, it was like something had snapped between them and they reunited with a hot kiss on the lips as she jumped in his arms. Of course Rollo had to hold back and to be careful not to hurt her but he needed it as much as she did and it made them happy.

Rollo hadn't held a woman in his arms in a very long time and being able to not only hold but also kiss Bella made him extremely happy, almost like being human again and it gave him time to adjust before they'd cross the next stage. He learned how to hold her without bruising her, kiss her without hurting her and, with time, he was sure that he'd be able to make love to her without hurting her at all. He was looking forward to that time but knew that they had to progress slowly, they couldn't rush things.

They had tried to locate James and Victoria a few times but of course they couldn't, the woman's gift was strong and kept them away every time they tried. They got word that they were looking for allies though, vampires willing to help them take down the Viking coven. The number of people disappearing around the areas they had located James and Victoria also informed them that they were indeed in the process of making a newborn army.

Apparently, they weren't having a lot of luck with their recruiting of enemies because most of the people who'd be tempted were too afraid of the Vikings to risk doing anything against them. Knowing that the Volturi could be tempted to join just to be the strongest once more, Ragnar, Lagertha, Bjorn and Torvi went to Italy that summer, to remind them who was truly the strongest and that it was in their best interest to stay on their side.

During the summer, Bella and Rollo had taken the habit of sleeping together, hugging. The heat of the summer was unbearable otherwise for her and he didn't complain either, because he got to have the woman he loved in his arms all night. It was just as peaceful as sleeping had been when he was human, just as restful as well.

"Are you sure that this doesn't bother you at all? Because of the smell of my blood, I mean?" Bella asked him one night.

"Of course not, your blood smells good of course, but not in a way that makes me want to drink it. Having you in my arms is far from being a problem for me." He had replied, truthful as always.

"Good, because I've come to like this a lot, I don't think I could sleep without being in your arms now, even without the heat." Bella replied with a blush.

"I'll get you nice and warm fur blankets for the winter. It should allow you to stay in my arms without getting too cold or getting sick." He smiled, thinking of a few pieces of fur he had in his room that he could put together to make her a nice, warm and handmade blanket.

"Can't wait." She nodded before placing her head on his chest and closing her eyes, falling asleep.

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At one point, as they visited a museum and saw a painting of Charlemagne, it hit Bella that, since he was Gisla's great grandfather, it meant that he was her ancestor as well.

"Of course he is." Rollo assured her.

"Is that why you call me princess all the time?" She asked him.

"Part of it, yes. But I'm also calling you princess because you are and always will be my princess. But technically, you are a princess, yes. You're one of the last descendants of the great emperor and explorer Charlemagne." Rollo replied.

"It's weird to see this painting and think that he's actually family." She whispered.

"You have Gisla's eyes. And she had Charlemagne's eyes. Which means that you have his eyes. This painting really doesn't do him any justice at all. I'll show you later a more accurate painting that I have in my castle in France. You'll see that his eyes are your eyes." He told her.

"I can't wait to see it." She smiled.

"I'll take you there next summer, after your graduation." he promised her.

"If next summer you take me to every places you want to take me, we'll need more than just a couple of months." Bella chuckled.

"Well, we could do it all in one big trip, take a year maybe, or we could do a little next summer and each summer after that, I guess it depends on your desire to go to college." he replied.

"Well, I've actually thought about it. I'm going to have forever to go to College if I want to, so I don't need to go right away. I think I'd like to travel with you after graduation." Bella told him with a smile.

"I'll start planning." He agreed happily.

After that, they had gone back to their tour of the museum.

.

The summer passed quickly and before Bella knew it, they were driving back to Forks a couple of days before she had to go back to school for her senior year.

"Rollo, I was wondering..." Bella started nervously in the car.

They were still a few hours away from home.

"Yes, Princess?" he asked her.

"I... I know you're planning on changing me around my 25th birthday but... If something happens to me before that, you'll bite me, right?"

"Of course I will, Bella. You have nothing to worry about. Though I'd rather not think about this possibility too hard. My family and I will do anything in our power to keep you safe, I hope you know that."

"I do, thank you." She smiled at him.

"Was there something else you wanted to ask?"

"You know me well... Will you still sleep with me when we get back to Forks?"

"Of course I will. I don't think even the Gods would be strong enough to keep me away from you, sweet princess." He reassured her.

"And... Will... Will you still kiss me? Even when my father's around? We won't have to go back to just holding hands?" She was blushing now.

Frowning, Rollo parked his car to the side of the road and got out, motioning for Bella to get out as well. He took her in his arms and hugged her close to him before he looked down into her eyes and said, in a voice full of passion and love:

"Bella, the only reason I could have to stop kissing you and to take a step back from our relationship would be if you asked me to. I love you and I always will. Nothing will change that, nothing will be able to separate us, unless you want it."

After he spoke, Rollo took Bella's face in his large hands and he kissed her. Happy with his answer, Bella kissed him back happily.

They waited a while, spending it hugging and kissing, before they went back in the car and started driving again.

"Do you miss it sometimes?" She asked him.

"Miss what?" He asked her, confused.

"Your human life, you know, going raiding in the summer, fighting the enemy."

"Sometimes, yes, but not often. With the great memory I have, when I really start to miss it, all I have to do is close my eyes and go into meditation, then I can see my past battles again, I can almost relieve them." he explained.

"That's cool. But I bet that, deep down, you're kind of getting excited about James and Victoria coming with their newborn army in the spring." She smiled.

"If they weren't coming to get to you, to hurt you, I'd be happier, but you're right, a part of me, deep down, is looking forward to it." he nodded.

"It should be about the same time as you used to leave to raid, at least according to Floki's predictions." Bella guessed.

"You're right." he smiled.

"Alice is supposed to come back today too. She told me that she found out her history, her human history, but that it was a complicated story, that she'd tell me in person. Apparently she didn't want to get into it over the phone." Bella informed her boyfriend.

"Ragnar only told me that Carlisle said it shook her a lot. It probably wasn't a happy history that she discovered."

"She just told me that she had probably chosen to forget it for a reason, that there wasn't anything good to remember." Bella shook her head, saddened.

"The kind of places Edward described weren't exactly good places back then. Now, if you go, you're treated well, you have medicine and there are rules that forbid torture. At the time, they did experiments on the patients and they used a lot of electroshock therapy." Rollo whispered.

"According to what little I know, it wasn't exactly a therapy like we mean it now." Bella shook her head.

"You're right." he nodded.

.

Bella quickly unpacked her bags in her bedroom while Rollo went to check if everything was going well in his house. He knew that the wolves patrolled often anyway and that Bella's house was part of the perimeter they ran so she was safe? even without him present.

"So, was your summer fun Bells?" Charlie asked Bella.

"Yes, it was great. I loved it. I mean, it was kind of boring at mom's but after that it was great." She admitted.

"You were happy to see Rollo again, then." Charlie smiled.

"Yes, very happy. I... I missed him a lot at mom's, even though we talked on the phone every day." Bella nodded.

"Listen, I know that you're a big girl and all. I also know that you're responsible and more mature than most people your age but... And please note that this conversation makes me just as uncomfortable as you..." Charlie started to say.

"Oh no... Dad, if you're trying to have the safe sex talk, mom beat you to it a few years ago." Bella replied, her face much paler.

"You didn't have a boyfriend back then." Charlie frowned.

"True, but I'm pretty sure it's still the same."

"I... I trust Rollo, I really do, but..." Charlie seemed to be looking for the right words to say.

"Listen dad, I'm still a virgin. Yes, Rollo is with me in the bed when I sleep, but we just hug and kiss. I don't want to have sex until I've graduated. We're taking things slow. You have nothing to worry about." Bella reassured her father, her face bright red.

"I... Good. Just... Be safe, and be happy. That's all I want. Go at your own pace." he advised her.

"Of course." Bella replied before she went in the kitchen to get started on dinner.

When she entered the room, it was clean and the fridge was full of food for her to cook. She went the check the freezer and smiled when she noticed that all the meals she had prepared for him were gone. Curious, she also went to check the trash and saw it full of pizza boxes and take out bags from the local dinner. She could guess that once he had eaten everything she had made, he had eaten out. He probably went grocery shopping that very morning to make sure that Bella would be able to cook for the two of them. What he had gotten was pretty basic but she'd be able to make something good with it.

.

That evening, Rollo came back after Bella and her father were done eating. He had gone hunting. They all watched a movie on TV and Charlie didn't object to Bella sitting next to the Viking Vampire, even though she was so close to him she was almost on his lap. It was the sign that he truly didn't mind, he truly accepted it.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" Rollo asked Bella in a quiet voice once they both laid in her bed.

"Alice and I are going shopping for thing I'll need for school. She insist that I need a new outfit for the first day too." Bella smiled.

"Just the two of you?"

"Well, Rosalie and Emmett are in Africa and won't be back for a few months. She invited Torvi but she's already bought everything she needed. I think Jasper will be around though because she said she'd be able to buy lots and won't have to carry anything." She replied.

"You're going to Seattle though?" He frowned.

"No, the other way. Don't worry. I'll be safe. You need to spend some time with your brother, you haven't seen each other in weeks." She smiled.

"Alright, but you'll call if anything happens, right?"

"Of course I will. I'll even call you to carry my bags if you want." she joked.

"Happily." He replied, kissing her forehead before she closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

.

The next morning, Alice came to pick up Bella and, on the way, Alice told Bella everything she had discovered over the summer about her human life. Of course it shook her a bit but she felt a bit better now that she knew more about her human life.

"So, you forgot everything because you were in the dark during the last few years and because of the electroshock therapy." Bella concluded.

"Yes. I still have a niece though. I saw her, even crossed her once. I didn't speak to her though. What would be the point, they did everything they could to erase me from their lives, she probably never knew I even existed." Alice told her with a frown.

"I'm sorry, it can't have been easy on you."

"No, but thankfully there was Jasper with me. I don't know what I would have done without him." Alice added.

"I'm glad he was there for you." Bella told her before Alice parked her car.

They both got out of the car and spent most of the day buying everything they needed, and more. It seemed that buying things for Bella made Alice happy and the young human didn't have it in her to protest, especially since, when she tried, the vampire would look at her with puppy eyes.

Bella didn't really need much clothes, Rollo had really spoiled her during the summer but since Alice insisted on buying her a few things, she decided to let her do it. She understood that shopping was kind of therapeutic for the little vampire.

"What about your summer, how are things with Rollo?" Alice asked her on the way home.

"Pretty good. I really missed him when I was at my mom's and the rest of the summer with just him was great. I know he missed me too when we were separated."

"Have the two of you... You know, taking things further?"

"Well, we're kissing, and slowly moving towards making out. We're moving slowly. It gives him time to get used to kissing me and since he's my first relationship..."

"So, no sex then?" Alice asked, making Bella blush under her insistance.

"No, not so far. And not anytime soon either. He knows that we won't cross that bridge until after my graduation. Maybe even later. We have time." Bella managed to say through her blush.

"Good. I'm happy for you, you truly look happy."

"Thanks, I really am."

.

While Bella and Alice had their day of shopping, Rollo went hunting a little bit with his brother and his nephew before he spent some time on the reservation, helping Sam train the younger wolves. With both the Cullen and the Viking coven in town, the pack grew large, there was 10 boys already and a few more started showing signs. With a pack so large, they were able to extend their patrol and protect the entire town.

"How are things with Leah? Must be hard to have your ex in the pack." Rollo asked the Alpha.

While the entire Viking coven got along well with the pack, Rollo was the one who had the most affinities with them. According to Sam, it was because he smelled better than the other vampires to them. he didn't smell like a vampire at all, which helped the younger wolves trust him.

"She's very bitter, and the entire pack can hear it since we all share minds. She understands why I left her, even though she hates it. And she's angry because, since she's a wolf, she's stop growing, meaning that she can't have children. We can all hear it in her mind, she thinks that she was never meant to be a mother, or anyone's love and that it's why she became a wolf when it's never happened before. We can all hear how bitter and angry she is. Angry at vampires for existing and making her into this wolf, angry at Emily for coming to visit her, angry at me for imprinting, angry at our ancestors and at the gods and the spirits for making this happen... Angry at the world." Sam replied.

"There must be a reason, your ancestors, your spirits, our gods, they never act without reasons. Maybe she needs to be a wolf, and to stop growing, so she can do something more important later. Maybe she will imprint one day, and that day, she'll understand that she'd never have been able to have this happiness if she had never shifted." Rollo suggested.

"That's an interesting way to see things." Sam nodded thoughtfully.

"I'll ask Lagertha to come by and speak with her if you want. She's in a good position to advise her and help her see things in the best way possible."

"That would be nice, thank you." Sam agreed.

"Things will get better for you, don't worry." Rollo clapped him on the back before he joined Seth, Leah's brother, who appeared to be one of the most cheerful wolf on the reservation.

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The days passed, turned into weeks, and into months. For the winter holidays, Bella gave her father a fishing trip he really wanted and, while he went on it, she spent it with the Viking coven. They celebrated the holidays like they used to, with the Yule celebrations. Of course they still decorated the house, got a tree and put lights and Christmas decorations everywhere, because they liked mixing both traditions.

When Bella assured them that she wanted to see how they celebrated and to be a part of it, they followed their usual traditions for the 12 days of Yule, which included the sacrifice of a wild boar to Frey. They stuck to tradition, even though Rollo was afraid of Bella's reaction when they sprinkled blood. He wasn't afraid about their control, he knew they'd be fine, but he didn't want her to faint or to be disgusted by this side of it. Knowing him, Bella assured him that she knew about this, he had given her a book that explained in great details their mid-winter celebrations and she knew and understood them, she just wanted to witness them. When Ragnar sprinkled her and the other with the blood of the wild boar, Bella didn't faint, it was weird that animal blood didn't affect her when human blood would make her faint but she saved this remark for later.

Of course, when they boiled and prepared the meat for the feast, only Bella was able to truly enjoy it but the vampires still ate it, because it was tradition. They simply went to throw it up later. They felt like they had to do it, for the Gods who had granted them such an amazing life.

She watched as they prepared everything and even helped when she could. She loved the moment when they prepared the log and engraved it. Floki took care of this part and Bella spent hours watching him. He had a real talent and she loved to watched the final product.

Of course, on the morning of the 25th, they exchanged gifts and they had all been very generous with Bella, even though she had asked of them not to be spoiled. They all showed her that she truly belonged with them and Bella, who knew that there was nothing concrete she could get Rollo because he already had it all, managed to surprise him and to show him how much she loved him. She got a tattoo. One that fitted her, and him, and who they were. It was small but very detailed, with a few runes on it and, when he saw it, Rollo spun her around, happy and proud. She was his, she'd spend forever with him and she accepted everything about him, even his gods. She was perfect for him. The tattoo was located at the small of her back, where it could be show or hidden, depending of how she decided to dress.

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More time passed, Bella passed her exams and, as the graduation date neared, she was reminded that they'd all have to fight soon because James and Victoria were still around, still trying to recruit fighters to challenge the Vikings, still changing newborns in Seattle and in the surrounding towns. James still wanted her and Alice saw that they'd be coming a week after graduation.

There was talk of the battle, they'd guide them to a clearing in the woods and the fighters would separate into groups to trap the attackers in the middle. Between Jasper, Rollo, Lagertha and Ragnar, they had a lot of fighting experience and were able to discuss countless strategies. Even Bjorn, who had spent a few years leading armies to explore Spain and Africa had some good ideas.

At first Carlisle had mentioned hiding Bella somewhere but the young woman had right out refused it. She wanted to be there, near Rollo, near her family and her friends during the fight. She couldn't bare being away and Rollo agreed. He needed to know that she was safe and the safest place for her was by his side. They eventually convinced the others and so Bella would be with them, protected by her soul mate and their family. She trusted them. Lagertha was even planning on doing Bella's hair the way she did hers when she was a shield maiden. Bella, Lagertha and Torvi's hair and outfits would match those of shield-maidens back then and Bella was happy about it.

Concerning the tattoo that Bella got, use your imagination. I didn't know what to make it so I'm letting you imagine it.

I know that not much happens here, it's a chapter to fill up the time that passes before the fight. I don't think it's going to be much longer, maybe two or three chapters, unless I get inspired for a plot twist in the mean time... We'll see.

Review please?

Lorelei Candice Black