Your Princess is in Another Castle

Chapter 13: A Pox Upon Them All

A/N: Y'all are gonna hate me for this chapter, but trust me on this and where the development for Victoria and Bella is going.

The sounds of lips coming apart and together filled the early morning of Bella's room. The princess was under the covers with Victoria next to her, the two of them holding each other lightly as they kissed so softly and sweetly. Eyes closed they let their mouths explore, lips opening and closing, heads slanting, and soft sounds of pleasure erupting from time to time from kiss plump lips.

It had been about a week since Bella had confessed her love to Victoria and she had not looked back once. It was freeing in a way, to finally admit it. To put it out in the air and not have to hide it inside her any longer. Happiness thrummed in her chest like a near constant and Victoria exhumed the same feelings as Bella. They were happy. In bliss. And taking things slowly so as not to disturb the balance they had fought so hard for.

Victoria would come in and wake Bella with soft kisses upon her cheek in the morning, and a mug of warm tea. Today, Bella had boldly tugged Victoria into bed with her and started kissing her with an ardent need for closeness. Victoria had been unable to resist her and had given in easily. And now, they had spent nearly half an hour in each others easy embrace.

"Mm, we shall never be getting anything done today if you keep kissing me like this," Victoria said, though she was not truly complaining.

"And what do we have to do today?" Bella asked.

"James told me we have a special guest arriving."

Immediately Bella stopped in her warm kisses. She had a feeling about who it could be. It was a feeling she found she did not much like.

"Oh," she said softly. "He is only coming now?"

"I am not certain if it is Edward. That is why we must go to breakfast and hear what James has to say." Victoria could feel Bella's demeanor drop through their connection even if she could not tell by Bella's face.

"Very well," Bella sighed and sat up. It was time to face James and the real reason she was here in this castle for so long. Victoria would have loved to stay put and help Bella undress if only to kiss upon her lightly freckled shoulders, but she knew it would be pushing it, and she did not want to move too quickly and risk Bella falling back, afraid.

Victoria left the room with a sound of the door closing so Bella would know she had left. Victoria could move seamlessly and soundlessly if she wanted to; this noise was for Bella's benefit. Alone now, the princess got ready into a pastel blue dress today before she would meet Victoria outside the room and go to the dining hall with her.

Victoria was waiting motionlessly outside for her, offering her arm and a smile to Bella. Bella took the arm and smiled in return. Who knew that in a span of ten months, Bella would have fallen in love with a vampryess. With one who was destined to be with her for all eternity. To love her beyond comparison.

When she had first arrived here, she had been angry. And for good reason. She had been taken against her will to be used as a pawn against her betrothed, Edward, in a war between vampyres and the humans who hunted them down. She and Victoria had fought countless times. Had driven each other to the edge. But then, understanding had blossomed between them. When anger gave way to accommodation. And it had opened so many windows for them, for which love could sail through.

Still, despite Bella accepting all this that had changed in her life, she did feel a bit of apprehension. She knew not what would happen after their love came out in the open. All Bella knew was that she had a sinking suspicion it would not go well. Not after she wronged the holy vows of her and Edward's union.

She entered the dining hall, with Victoria by her side. James was already there, enjoying a glass of red blood.

"Princess, I have word," he announced, rising up from his seat. "Edward Cullen is finally upon his way here and shall arrive at dusk tomorrow."

Those words made a ball of solid ice form in Bella's gut. Her Edward was arriving. After all this time...after all she had been through. How would she react to him. How would he react to her?

Victoria sensed Bella's fear because she lead her to a chair to sit down so she would not fall to the ground from shock.

"Oh," Bella stammered, unsure as to what to say. "I..."

"I know it was much later than you would have liked, princess. But let us hope all will work out well. If it does, you shall have your prince and your golden wedding."

Bella gave him a narrow mouthed smile. She did not know how to react to this news as of now. She just swallowed and turned to her plate. Victoria stood off to the side, melting into the shadows until James would need her again.

"That is not the reaction I was expecting," James commented, noticing Bella's dour state.

"I apologize. I just thought it best not to count my chickens before they hatched," Bella responded with, saving face with this response.

"That is fair, I suppose." James leaned more towards her. "I would like you to come with me to the meeting. It has been far too long since you have seen your lover and I think the least I can offer you is his visage and a spoken word with him."

Bella did not know if that was such a good idea. She would not be sure how to react to Edward. Was not sure if she even wanted to talk to him. Not after all she had done with Victoria.

She resisted the urge to look at Victoria for some support, because if she did it would give away too much on her and Victoria's position.

"Are you certain it would be smart for me to be there? Would I not get in the way of the discussion?"

"No, it would be quite alright. In fact, it might motivate Edward to make the discussion easier," James assured.

Bella nodded her head solemnly. It seemed she had no choice but to see Edward.

"Victoria," James indicated for the red haired vampryess to come closer. She did, standing by his side and not looking at Bella to keep up their masquerade of disinterest towards each other. "I want you help me get the meeting ready."

"Do you want me to be there and aid in the discussion?"

"No, I do not think your help will be needed with that. I want you to keep an eye on his entourage."

"Very well," she agreed to.

"Finish up your dinner on your own leisurely time," James indicated for Bella that she would be now supping alone. He and Victoria got up and left to make arrangements for the meeting.

Victoria came by to visit Bella later. The princess was sitting by her window, looking at the blooming trees swaying in the night winds.

"How are you faring princess?" Victoria asked gently as Bella gave a wistful sigh.

"I am not certain how to answer that. I do not know if I can look Edward right in the face when I see him."

"Is this about us?"

Bella did not turn to look at Victoria, not wanting the vampyress to see the tears of frustration making her eyes pearly. "Yes."

She feared to think how Victoria would take this. Would this hurt her? Would it make her rage?

Victoria let out a soft sigh and understanding trickled into Bella's chest through their bond. It was a surprising emotion but Bella was grateful for it.

Victoria then came to Bella's side, placing a comforting hand on Bella's shoulder. "You fear his reaction to our relationship," she stated, knowingly.

"Yes," Bella said in a whisper. "If he is a vampire hunter...and he finds out what has conspired between the two of us..."

"You have nothing to worry about. He will not find out."

"But if the deal goes well..." Bella swallowed in a thick throat. She twisted the fabric of her dress between her fingers not caring if she besmirched it. "And he takes me back home...then what of us?"

Victoria did not answer for a long time because this was something they both had an inkling of and were terrified of. Bella couldn't stand to be parted from Victoria. Even thinking of the distance between the two of them made her very upset.

"We will think of something," Victoria assured softly but it was with a hint of helplessness. There wasn't much they could do until they actually got to the situation. "For now, get some rest."

"I will try," Bella said, grabbing onto Victoria's hand. "Will you stay with me?"

"I will."

They spent that night, sleepless. Victoria for she was a vampyre and Bella because she was stressed. But at least they felt comforted because they could spend this night together once more.

Bella eventually drifted off somewhere in the early hours of the morning and found the spot in her bed was empty. Victoria had left a note, stating she was out with James getting everything ready.

Reluctantly Bella drew herself out of bed and put on her best dress, making sure her make up and hair was presentable. When Edward saw her, she wanted to look her best. Already, anger was boiling inside her chest. She had some lingering resentments towards him and she was going to spit them out when she saw him.

Victoria came to pick her up. "Are you ready, princess?"

Bella nodded her head even as she knew they both knew she wasn't entirely. Victoria cupped Bella's cheek in her cold hand. "Be brave. I will be close by in case anything happens."

Bella gave a wavering smile and Victoria could not help from leaning in and kissing her on her lips to bolster her. It did help, spreading warmth inside Bella.

Together they walked over to James and the room he would be with Edward in. Each step made the dread in Bella's stomach coalesce even more. She was practically shaking with it and with anger as she arrived at the heavy set door in which her future lay beyond.

Gathering her courage she pushed the door open, leaving Victoria behind.

James and Edward were sitting in armchairs from across each other. Bella's breath froze in her lungs when she saw him there in the flesh. The months had changed him. His hair was longer, deep bags under his eyes, and a slight stubble on his chiseled chin. But whereas she had once found him so handsome, she only found him mildly appealing now. In fact, he seemed almost like a perfect stranger to her. It had been months since she'd last kissed him or heard his voice. So long ago, she could almost think they were but a dream that part of her life with him.

"Bella," he rose to his feet, her name a gasp upon his lips. He made to go to her, extending his hand so she could grasp it and come into his arms.

She did not, instead pausing, her red dress swishing quietly around her and her hands folded nervously in front of her stomach.

"Bella..." disappointment pooled in his eyes. "What did you do to her?" he snarled at James and Bella had never seen him raise his voice against another. It made his features feral; ugly.

"I did nothing. You have my word," James said calmly. "She must merely be overcome with seeing you."

Bella shook her head at that as her anger returned full force. "Edward, you left me."

"Left you?" he mirrored.

"I spent over ten months with these vampryes and you did nothing! I could have been killed for all you knew!" burst out of her in a very unladylike manner.

"Bella, I am sorry," Edward said, frowning at her and holding himself back from touching her when he saw her so agitated. "But...I could not. These villains took you from me and I did not reach word of this until three months ago, in which I was entrenched in another country in deep affairs. I would have left right away had it not been for my father. He told me it would not be wise to rush in because it could be a trap. That I had to be diligent about this and to wait. But it killed me to wait for you. It truly did," he stated.

Bella's lips twisted up. She was not certain how much she could believe. The hurt his long absence caused her was deep. "Bella," he implored, "please see I only wanted the best for you."

"That is yet to be seen," James stated, standing up. "You have seen the princess. She is whole. Now, we conduct business."

Edward threw him a dark and nasty look.

That was Victoria's cue to walk in and to take Bella away as Edward watched with flinty eyes.

"Do men always take this long to talk?" Bella asked as she pulled the petals off of a flower head, watching them fall to the floor. Victoria scowled at the needless destruction of a flower. "And they make fun of women, saying all we do is chatter. But at least we can cease it in a timely manner and not well past the hours of dinner."

"I am certain they have a lot to discuss. James and Edward are both stubborn and the differences are too great between them to truly make it an easy talk. The fact that Edward even came into the castle himself is a great show of trust. Though his men are stationed not too far away." Victoria looked out the window where she had sniffed out and placed the location of half a dozen skilled men. Who no doubt would rush in if James so much as looked at Edward wrong.

Victoria had wished that they could have their own people stationed in the castle. They only had their servants which would not be much opposition for professionally trained hunters.

She huffed in annoyance and walked to the other side of the room, hands behind her back as she waited impatiently for the meeting to be over too.

She was antsy with negative energy. And she knew it was spilling over to Bella, so she tried to avoid thinking of it to spare Bella from feeling this way. She was certain the princess had enough to worry about without Victoria adding to the mix.

Victoria's ears perked up and she knew James was coming before Bella did. She could hear the heels of his booted shoes before he opened the door.

Bella rushed to her feet, hands nervously rubbing the other.

"How did the meeting go?" Bella asked to which James shook his head.

"Edward did not accept any of my offers," he said and Bella felt her stomach sink to the floor as the breath in her chest wilted.

She sank to her knees onto the floor over whelmed as James strode to met her. Across the room, Victoria was seized up with the swell of Bella's emotions.

"My apologies, my dear sweet princess," James said, his voice soft but his sudden grip on Bella's jaw hard and unyielding. He yanked it up towards him as she knelt on the floor before him. Victoria's heart would have stopped beating at the sight if it could still beat. "Since Edward has not held up his end of the deal, I am forced to hold up mine."

"James!" tore out of Victoria's throat. She was shaking. In anger. In fright. In hurt. He did not look at her. If he did, he would have seen a woman's face crumpling on itself from the weight of the emotions on it.

"I am deeply sorry. But I must kill her," he said, gazing right into Bella's terrified eyes. The princess was so stricken with fear she did not know what to do. She could not even move. All she could do was draw in shallow breaths. Her life hung at the mercy of James. She had thought he would forget about this threat. That he would not go through with it. That the months would have made him softer towards her; taken the edge off his promise and threat. But he was cold at heart.

Bella was at the mercy of a true predator. It was paralyzing fear.

She could not even hate Edward right now for his choices, for throwing her life away like it was nothing for she was so stuck on the notion of what was about to occur.

"You do not have to," Victoria pleaded. She edged around him, too afraid to get closer lest he snap Bella's neck. All it would take would be a second, the same second it took Victoria to get to him. His fingers were digging into the princess's skin.

He gave Victoria a pained look. "I always keep my promises. I have to kill her. Or I will look weak. Like not a man of my word."

Victoria could fell the walls begin to collapse around her. Panic made her vision go dark. She did not want to hurt him. He was her best friend. Her old friend. Her only friend. He had to see reason. "You cannot do that. Please, I love her."

Said so softly she was not sure he could even hear her. For he went so still. She wondered what he was thinking. Surely he was shocked. Shocked because she had fallen for a human. Maybe he was even disappointed in her.

At last he sighed out, shaking his head slightly. "I am sorry to hear that. And the pain it will cause you, but you shall find another human to love. You have all of eternity, Victoria." He stroked one hand down Bella's soft cheek.

Victoria panicked increasingly at the sight of where his other hand was. All that would be needed was him to reach over and the back of Bella's neck was mere inches away.

"Not like her," Victoria begged, her eyes burning with tears she could not shed. "James, she is my soul mate. To kill her would be to kill me."

This time her words struck something deep inside him. His eye lids lowered, unreadable emotion within their red depths. "A soul mate. Your soul mate?"

"Yes," Victoria nodded her head ardently.

"How is this possible?" he whispered, running his thumb over Bella's bottom lip. He searched the human, searched for what made her so special as for Victoria to have a irreversible bond with her.

"I thought it foolish and untrue at first," Victoria confessed, hoping her words would dissuade him from his one track goal. "But as time went by I could not help it. It was an attraction out of my control. And it only grew stronger with time. I studied up on this, for I was skeptical a human and a vampyre could have such relations. I even journeyed to wise resources. And it all pointed to be true. Bella and I are irrevocably bond together. Our souls must have each other to live. If you kill her, I might as well be killed too."

She was panting hard, passion writ into every word she uttered. Here he began to look truly conflicted. A snarl took place over his lips. "Victoria, you have put me in a most unfavorable position." He closed his eyes. "What am I to do?"

"You could spare her," she sucked in a hopeful breath.

Dead silence reigned in the room, but to Victoria, Bella's heart was louder than anything else she had ever heard. It galloped like a run away horse in the silence of the chamber. She wanted to soothe Bella. Wanted to make her little princess at ease.

At last James exhaled, his shoulder relaxing and he cupped Bella's chin with his hands now. She was so small and soft under his touch. So delicate and breakable. Victoria's eyes watched his for the most minute detail. She dared to hope. She did not wish to fight him, but she did not want Bella hurt. James turned his eyes to Victoria's. They were red and steely. "I have come to a conclusion, Victoria."

And then his strong hands blurred as they worked, snapping Bella's neck.