It's not personal, darling.

Just breathe in and out.

All those worries-

They shall be forgot.

A kind of routine went into place.

Edward woke Bella up, and then they proceeded to eat. Usually, this meant sitting and staring at the food that the Vampyres had prepared and trying very hard not to retch. Afterwards, Bella walked to the Plabulum and served the same hundred thousand people everyday. The days were spent in this fashion.

Bella wasn't allowed back into the blood bank after the first time. This was a relief to her, but suspicions arose as to why.

As long as she didn't need to have needles stuck into her, she was content.

The bed was still there.

After three nights of sleeping on the ground, Bella started to feel very stiff and grouchy. She reminded herself of Oscar from Sesame Street. She came home every night and regarded the bed while preparing herself for a night of stiff coldness.

She didn't let Edward see the bed. It was a miracle, but one request from her not to come into the room and he obeyed.

Three sharp raps on the door woke her up.

"BELLA! Time for breakfast, darling."

She rubbed bleary eyes, standing up.

Appearance didn't matter down here, so no more morning rituals that everyone had cherished so much before.

No one needed to brush hair anymore, or brush teeth, or even put up makeup.

"Edward! I'm up!"

She opened the door only large enough to let herself through, making sure the damned bed wouldn't catch the light in Edward's eyes.

Edward smiled at the sight of her. He always did.

Yet, Bella knew that it wasn't that type of smile. He just liked her, so he smiled.

"The Sultan's Ball is coming very soon. You should start the preparations."

He meant eating.

Oh-kay.

"Sure."

"I mean it, B. They kill everyone not suited."

Bella rolled her eyes.

Death was always eminent. It was like her stalker, quietly learning everything he could about her before boom. Killing her.

At least she was still alive.

"I'm sure I am going to be fine, Edward. My only concern is that I might go to hell instead of heaven."

Bella had only just started breaking her cursing habit. She was sure that God would frown upon her last word starting with an f.

"Seriously. Think about me. I am going to be devastated if you die like that."

Bella chuckled. Edward was a strange character. It was always about her, but only when he was involved.

"Well, I'll try my best."

Bella always had stomach-aches after ingesting the food that they gave her. She had a small suspicion that there might be traces of peanut in the muck that they give them.

That would be bad.

Bella had an allergy to peanuts.

She ate as much as she could that day.

For the first time, she really thought that she would throw up.

She did.

"You have a peanut intolerance."

Bella rubbed her head, the feeling of nausea still there. The Vampyre doctors immediately examined her and told her what she already knew.

"Are there any other health complications that you have that we should know about?"

Bella shook her head.

They knew about the asthma. They knew about the peanuts. That was all. She had the urge to say that she had an Vampyre allergy.

That would only earn her pain and she was tired of that.

"You will have a special diet prepared. Thank you for your cooperation."

Bella jumped off of the exam table. Thank you, shmank you.

Edward was waiting for her.

"How are you not at your job yet," Bella asked.

"I was pardoned for fifteen minutes, because I smelled bad."

Bella laughed. It was a hoarse laugh because they failed to give her anything liquid to drink.

"Well. Special diet for me."

Edward nodded, and that was all they said.

When Bella arrived at Plabulum 107, Rose wrinkled her nose. Although they had given her a change of clothes, the showering times weren't until the end of the day. Not that Bella cared anymore that she smelled bad. Frankly, neither did anyone else.

It was thirty minutes into her shift when she first saw the Sultan.

The whole hall was silenced.

Her bracelet shut off.

Rebeka, who also worked on the shift with her, also looked at her bracelet in wonder. The waiters stopped moving.

He was alone when he walked in.

Bella could barely see him, since her head barely went above the men who were seated in front of her.

He was silent, not just his steps, but by the way he carried himself.

A deadly silence.

A silence she knew.

The man walked through the hall, giving everyone their own glance of their own. Bella felt faintly tired. She didn't care. All she wanted was a comfortable sleep and a bowl of pasta. Traditional pasta with marinara sauce.

His gaze finally settled on her.

She knew him.

He had this feeling of familiarity.

She remembered.

Blueberry kisses.

Strawberry cheeks.

John Lennon singing in the background.

Quiet love.

Then, she forgot.

So, Bella did the stupidest thing she could think of. She flipped him off. With two hands.

A collective gasp came from everyone who knew who he was.

Bella only knew that he was a Vampyre, and he was drinking blood in his free time.

The guards came barreling towards her, but the man held a hand up, a small half-smile reaching his marble face.

He then continued walking, as though nothing had happened.

And nothing did.

"Who was that weirdo?" Bella asked Rose when they were finally done with their shift. Rose's one eye swiveled towards her.

"The Sultan."

Bella smiled. Goal achieved.

"Awesome."

Edward was not so calm about this.

"You are an idiot!" was the first thing he said when he saw her again.

"And?"

"You are dead, Isabella, dead. They might crucify you. Or behead you. Or kill you. Shit. You might as well go kill yourself right now. Are you suicidal? You didn't seem like a suicidal person. Now what am I going to do? I am going die too."

Bella turned to face him.

"Now, calm down there, Edward. Why is anyone going to die? I just flipped him off. It probably doesn't hold any meaning down here anyways."

"You flipped offThe Sultan," Edward whispered, eyes as wide as saucers.

"Who cares. It's not like he does," Bella tried to dispel his fear.

"Do I really have to spell this out for you?" Edward threw his hands up into the air.

Bella nodded.

"You have the most delectable blood in centuries. Every single Vampyre is out for a reason to have a drop of you. If you act like you do, then the Sultan will reject you. You will be thrown out to the wolves."

Bella felt a wave of tiredness wash over her as they had reached her door.

"Goodnight, Edward."

She slammed the door behind her, liking the loud sound.

That's it. She couldn't take it anymore.

Her overtaxed body fell onto the red sheets. It was ironic how much hell felt like heaven.

Curling up, she let sleep overtake her.

Hopefully, it wouldn't give her back.

Thank you to 4MeJasper to beta'ing this.

Anything publicly recognizable is not mine.

The poem at the top is mine though.

Review!

Cvaboda