A/N: Happy February! I hope everyone had a great week, and thank you soo much for the kind reviews and alerts. I'll admit, your feedback is pretty addictive, and I find myself clicking into my inbox multiple times just to see who might have dropped a review. As always, SunflowerFran has worked her magic into this chapter and made it readable. Now, without further ado, here is one of the moments I think a lot of you have been waiting for.
Enjoy!
PART II: PIGEON
Chapter 14
Despite her combat finesse, it turns out that Bella is a bit directionally challenged –at least, where flight is concerned. Somehow she lands on the wrong side of the castle, opposite to the servants' quarters, and only discovers this as she stumbles out of the cover of the forest. This wouldn't be such an issue if the castle didn't have restricted areas during night hours. All proudness she'd felt earlier disappears as she realizes her colossal mistake. She doesn't even have time to run back into the forest before she is spotted by a guard.
"Bella?" the figure clad in armor calls.
Relief floods through Bella's body, "Makenna? Thank God, it's you.
"
"Yes, you are exceptionally blessed that it is me who is on patrol," Makenna hisses, "What are you doing out here?"
"I was a bit stressed, so I went for a walk in the forest and got completely turned around," Bella admits the partial truth, "This has never happened before, I promise."
"And it must never happen again, Essa," Makenna says, her voice filled with more sympathy, "You will have to pass through the center corridors of the castle, and cut through both the north and Charlotte's Garden. I'm the only lunella guard on staff tonight, so you mustn't use the outer halls. Move hastily and quietly."
Bella curtseys in gratitude before hurrying into the castle. Her heart beats wildly in her chest as she agilely navigates her way through the center hallways. She holds her breath as she passes through the narrow passageway between the throne and ballroom, right until she approaches the north garden. It takes a few minutes, but with a few lengthy sprints and skillful hiding when the moment required it, Bella successfully makes it through the large expanse of greenery. With equal stealth, she traverses the stretch of rooms between the north and Charlotte's garden. Finally, she has to pass through Charlotte's Garden to reach the servant grounds, and her nervousness reaches at an all time high. Every sensation is amplified; the brush of her dress against the floor sounds like the sweep of a broom, and the gleam of the moonlight feels like a spotlight. She's about to pass the bench where she and Edward meet when she stops in her tracks.
No, no, no, Bella cries internally, he couldn't possibly be here!
There's no other way to pass. The only detour is to go from whence she came, and then use the corridor that Makenna explicitly told her not to use. An urge to knock her head against the stonewall fills Bella as she drowns in her own stupidity. Either she alerts the guard who is not a lunella, and who may report her to the royal family, or she faces a member of the royal family directly –Edward, more specifically.
Just as Bella is about to steel herself to face him, a movement catches her eye. Leaning against the stone pillar of the archway, Edward looks the epitome of relaxed as he rests on the bench. He holds his hand in front of his face, and for a moment Bella thinks he is inspecting his cuticles. Then, a most glorious thing happens. Edward turns his hand to face upward, and a burst of fire appears in his palm. Unlike the green fire that Bella had seen from the sunchild attacker earlier in the night, the fire that Edward generates is a mixture of red, orange, and gold. Its burning intensity is reminiscent of the sun, but Edward is unaffected by its heat. He stares at the element as if he were merely holding a drop of water.
A loud chirp causes him to falter in his actions. At the second chirp, he stops entirely, and stands up from his position. While Edward is confused at the noise, Bella isn't. She presses a hand to her mouth to stop her giggling when she sees Lua sitting in the grass nearby the bench. Like the clever companion she is, she begins to fly around Edward's body, weaving in and out of his arms and legs to draw him into a fluster. Lua pecks him periodically, and then flies a few meters away, leading Edward away from the bench. He is so distracted by the erratically behaving animal that Bella has a chance to scamper behind him undetected. She reaches her room just as Lua flies through the window. Overwhelmed with appreciation for her avian friend, Bella showers her pet with kisses. She knows she can always count on Lua to have her back.
When Bella finally crawls under the blankets on her pallet, she fights to keep herself awake. There are so many things that happened in the day that she can't help but think of them. She'd held hands with Edward, fought a sunchild nationalist, snuck through the castle, and witnessed Edward's gift. Every event seems distinct from one another, but they all tie into the reality that she is here, and she has a prophecy to fulfill. As her eyes drift close, the weight of her responsibility finally settles into her.
~pigeon~
The next morning, Bella slips out of her bed earlier than the waking bell so that she can get a few healing salves from the Ateara twins. Her mirror had revealed a sizeable bruise on the back of her neck from when the sunchild had tackled her. Since she had burned through the makeup Claire had bought for her, she would soon need to take a trip to town to replenish her supply, but for now, she needs a quick healing fix. She's able to escape her room undetected by Claire or Bree but runs into company in the servants' hall. The voices of Carmen and Demetri drift to her from a few feet away.
"I can't stand her any longer," Carmen huffs, "She's wheedling her way into all of their affairs and now I have to be tortured by babysitting her tomorrow?"
"Ce par si calme peo brucio," Demetri responds to her. While she can't understand all of his words, his sharp tone tells Bella it's a reprimand.
"I'm done, Demetri," Carmen replies, "I'm can't take it anymore."
Not wanting to hear Carmen whine about her job and having limited time, Bella hurries down the hall. She repeats Demetri's words in her head to commit them to memory, but also can't get Carmen's tone out of her mind. Carmen holds such anger for the Princess that it actually raises the hairs on Bella's arms. She's reciting Demetri's words to herself when she bumps into the castle's mail boy.
"Pardon me, ma'am, I'm just delivering some mail, don't be minding me now," the boy rattles off before he finally looks up. "Oh, what are the chances; you're just the ma'am I'm looking for this morning. Miss Bella, just Bella, isn't it?"
It takes Bella a few moments to register all of the Forxian-flavored words that spill out of his young mouth, but somehow, by the grace of a higher power, she manages, "You have mail for me?"
"Very much I do, Miss Bella, sent to you from my homeland it is, from a Ms. Alice Brandon. Not that I'm reading your mail, just thought I'd tell you in case you thought I made a mistake, Miss Bella."
Bella can't help the giggle that leaves her, "Thank you very much. Your name?"
"Seth, Miss Bella, right here at your service," Seth smiles, reaching out to pump Bella's hand in a friendly handshake, "Sorry if I startled you there, I'm an energetic one and I love making myself some friends. Momma says it'll get me in big trouble one day but it has yet to happen. Do you mind if I tell you something, Miss Bella?"
"Go ahead, Seth," Bella prompts him.
"You've got yourself a mighty big bruise on the back of your neck, Miss Bella, and it looks like it hurts. But I thought that if it didn't hurt and you didn't feel it, I should tell you about it so you can go see the doctor," Seth rushes. Bella doesn't know how he gets all of the words out in one breath, but she's starting to realize that anything verbal is possible with Seth.
"I was actually right on my way there," Bella mentions, "I thank you kindly for telling me."
"Oh you'll be wanting to see another doctor," Seth mentions, "The Ateara twins haven't arrived as yet, but you could probably catch them on your lunch break since the work day's about to start in a bit."
Bella holds in the curse that rises in her throat, "Thank you very much, Seth."
"Not a problem in the least Miss Bella, I'd better be getting to moving now, but it's been a pleasure speaking to you."
As quickly as Seth came, he sneaks away, hustling down the hall with his bag laden with letters. Now, Bella's mind is crowded with thoughts of Demetri's words, Seth's Cullenian tinged with a Forxian accent, and the twins' absence. Bella sighs as she snags her cleaning supplies and tucks her letter into her cubbyhole before the waking bell. She's thinking of whether she can sneak away to the twins during lunch when a sight at her first cleaning station catches her eyes.
Does this man have nothing to attend to at this time? Bella cries internally as she approaches the Crown Prince. Worse yet, her ghastly bruise is clearly visible and the last time Edward had seen her injuries he'd ignored her for a week. Not wanting to create more drama between them, Bella thinks of the only way to temporarily hide her mark. She tugs the cord that binds her hair atop her head and allows the curtain of her brown tresses to flow down her back. Working with her hair undone is highly impractical, and slightly improper (in Volturian culture at least), but she has no choice. The difference in her appearance does not go unnoticed by Edward. His gaze seems unable to stop flickering between her eyes and the brush of her hair right beneath her chest.
"B-Bella?" Edward stutters as he shoots to his feet, "I didn't know you'd be here so early."
Bella dips into a curtsey briefly as she approaches him. She takes his informal greeting as an assurance that no one is within prying distance, and similarly refers to him in a more casual greeting, "Prince Edward, were you waiting for me?"
It's a silly question, but Bella can't stop herself from asking. Edward has the entire castle grounds at his disposal, but he chooses to sit in the one archway that Bella regularly begins her cleaning. She hopes, more than anything, that she is the reason for his returning here, and not that he merely enjoys the view.
Edward's ears tint pink as he replies, "I'd like to believe that we've started a ritual here, and I am quite the creature of habit."
Bella smiles brightly, "Then, by all means, we mustn't upset the ritual. However, I hope you don't think this meeting excuses from our Cullenian lessons."
"Of course not," Edward replies, switching over to his native tongue as if to prove a point, "When else would I have the pleasure of teasing you about your grammar?"
Bella narrows her eyes at Edward, and is about to blame her grammatical failings on his poor teaching skills when she remembers her thoughts from earlier, "What does peo brucio mean?"
She wants to ask him what the entire phrase, "Ce par si calme peo brucio," means, but is wary to reveal it to him, given she doesn't know the full translation.
Just when Bella thinks she's about to get an answer from Edward, a harsh wind gusts from behind her, sending the waves of her hair into her line of sight. The violent wind continues to blow, causing Bella's hair to remain plastered to her face. All she can think to do is cover the back of her neck with her hand in an attempt to hide her bruise.
However, her actions are unneeded. Apparently, Edward is more concerned with the hair that whips across her forehead and cheeks, as he does something that causes Bella's breath to stop altogether. With a tender, heated hand, Edward brushes back Bella's hair against the surge of wind. His fingers trail from the center of her forehead to her left temple … arching over her ear, and then slowly, almost agonizingly so, they reach her neck. As if he finally realizes what he's done, he quickly withdraws his hand. He's no longer touching her, but Bella's skin still tingles in his wake.
"Forgive me," Edward apologizes softly, "That was horribly improper of me."
To hell with propriety, Bella yells internally. She wants to tell him that she would stand in the midst of a tornado if it meant that he would touch her again in the same way. A revelation comes to her with a feeling of mortification, and interestingly, a bit of excitement: Bella lustsafter Edward. She is not only enchanted with his personality, but she longs for his body as well. Bree's sexual jesting from before doesn't seem so audacious now. She wants him. Of course, she can't say this to him, but she doesn't want him to think his attention is unwanted. Bella is about to dismiss his apology when she feels a hand (much colder and much more wrinkly than Edward's, she might add) latch to the back of her neck. She winces in both surprise and pain.
"Your Highness," Mistress Pope, bobs awkwardly with one hand gripping her cane and the other attached to Bella. To an observer the touch appears friendly, but in reality, her nails dig into Bella's skin. "I see you've found my employee."
"My apologies, Mistress," Edward addresses her, "I did not intend to keep Sola Bella from her work. I'll be going along. Good day to you both."
The two women remain in a curtseyed position until Edward is no longer in sight. As soon as he is no longer on the premises, Mistress Pope's talons dig deeper into Bella's flesh. Bella bites back her whimper and focuses on keeping her anger in check. Distracted by her attempt at self-control, she allows Mistress Pope to drag her to the hall nearby the serving quarters. As soon as Mistress Pope releases Bella, she swings her staff out to meet Bella's ankle in a painful collision.
"Every time I come to check on you, you're busy whoring!" she crows, "The Prince may excuse you from your useless language lessons, but your hours are minein the mornings. Do you understand me?"
A silence stretches between the two, taut and heavy. Bella studies the old woman before her and tries to find some remorse for the nasty hag. She doesn't know what occurred in Mistress Pope's past to make her such a bitter woman, but it doesn't excuse the way she bullies Bella and other members of the staff –specifically sunchildren. She's seen the same welts on other younger servants and has frequently asked why no one reports the Mistress, but the victims only turn away in silence. Now, in the direct path of Mistress Pope's wrath, Bella can see why they would be frightened of her. However, Bella is not the same girl she was when Jasper first brought her to Cullen Isle three months ago. Whereas her former self flinched at Mistress Pope's mere presence, Bella can now see the woman for what she really is –pathetic. With this thought in mind, Bella addresses Mistress Pope with a confident voice as she says,
"I am not a whore."
Mistress Pope takes a step back, as if slapped. Her incredulous cackle rings in the hall, "Oh? Feeling feisty today are we? I'll take pleasure in knocking it out of you!"
Mistress Pope swings her staff again, aiming for Bella's other leg. However, Bella has already resolved that she will never again be on the receiving end of this woman's abuse. Her fingers twitch as she uses her telekinesis to halt the cane, and then strip it from Mistress Pope's grasp. The later stumbles and is about to fall to the ground when Bella rights her with another wave of her ability. Once Mistress Pope is upright and frozen, Bella stalks up to her and leaves no more than a few inches between their faces.
"I've been called a whore by my step-mother, an impudent sunchild, and twice by you. I will not stand for it anymore," Bella growls, as the tone of her voice begins to change. She can feel her power simmering beneath her skin, wanting so badly to boil over and drain this vile woman. She could do it. She wouldn't need to kill her, per se, but she could leave Mistress Pope so weakened that her existence would be even more meaningless than it already is. Charcoal blackness begins to overtake the orange of Bella's eyes as her anger continues to build. Accompanying this anger is a sick sense of satisfaction as Mistress Pope's eyes widen in fear. Bella almost wants to laugh at the reversal of roles, but her breath is cut short when an image of her father flashes in her mind:
Oh my dear, Isa, you are a monster too.
Bella releases her telekinetic hold on Mistress Pope immediately, allowing the woman and her staff to clatter to the ground. Her hands shake as she turns away from the Mistress, and she flees down the hall.
~pigeon~
The silence in the small examination room is enough to have Bella shifting with discomfort. She has just revealed to Eleazar and James that she'd fought the sunchild on her own, and to say that they are displeased is an understatement. James looks simultaneously confused and shocked, while Eleazar mouth is downturned in a grimace. Finally, Eleazar speaks,
"We can't risk you acting so foolishly."
Bella reels back as if she's been slapped. She can understand Eleazar being worried, or even classifying her actions as dangerous, but she would never consider her saving a moonchild to be foolish.
"So you would have preferred that I left the man to be killed?" Bella asks.
Eleazar sighs, "I'm saying that if it were to come down to your life or his, then you should put yourself first."
Though her anger isn't as intense as it had been when she'd confronted Mistress Pope, Bella is still fuming. While she and Eleazar aren't particularly close, she's seen him as something of a mentor. He's always had a measured and practical way of approaching things, which Bella previously appreciated. But now, she realizes that perhaps she doesn't actually know Eleazar at all.
"Being the guardian is simultaneously a blessing and a dangerous pedestal to be put upon," Bella says as calmly as she can manage, "I'm meant to save you, not be sacrificed for."
"You can't save anyone if you are dead," Eleazar bites.
"I already have saved someone," Bella reminds him.
"Yes, out of sheer …" Eleazar stops himself, but the damage has already been done. Bella knows that he was about to say she'd only saved the moonchild out of sheer luck.
She releases a bitter laugh as she gets up from her seat on the examination table, shaking her head as she reaches the door, "I'd thought Tyler was my biggest disparager, but I stand corrected."
She stalks from the room, head held high but eyes clouded with tears. While Bella has always held some doubt in her ability to be a guardian, at the very least, she'd learned not to underestimate herself. The progress she'd made with Lucy and her training sessions has been extensive, and she's truly begun to hone her skills. Can Bella say with one hundred percent surety that she can save the land? No. But she knows she isn't as helpless as she had been.
"Bella, wait!" James calls as he races after her.
She doesn't want to, but she stops her speedy escape. Still, she keeps her back to him so he isn't privy to her tears.
"He didn't mean that," James sighs.
Bella wipes her hand under her eye hastily before turning to him, "We both know that he did. Ever since the full practice, he's completely lost faith in me."
"We all know that practice wasn't fair," James cringes as he recalls it, "No one thinks lesser of you for it. If anything, we're inspired by your progress. Even Tyler has said it."
"You believe I'm improving, but do you think I'll succeed?" Bella presses.
"I do, I truly do," James insists, and Bella can actually hear the genuineness in his voice. "I believe Eleazar does too, or, at least, he wants to. He became upset because he doesn't want to lose you."
Bella shakes her head, "Eleazar doesn't mind my death if it's martyrdom."
James is silent at this, and Bella knows it's because he realizes the truth in her words. Bella doesn't resent Eleazar for his beliefs –he wants what's best for the greatest amount of people. But it does make Bella wary towards him. At times, she wonders just what he'll sacrifice to reach the end goal. Is it really peace if everything is lost to obtain it?
A sob begins to build in Bella's chest but is tampered down quickly. Almost as if she has an emotional breaker, she slips into a state of numbness. It was often like this during her time in her cage; in order to protect herself from feeling too strongly, Bella would extinguish any rising emotions. As she stalks away from James, she feels a slight detachedness from herself, unable to pinpoint any distinct feeling within her. Hurt, doubt, anger, and fear; they all pulse together in the pit of her stomach as one functioning organ.
Without her boss to give her work, and not wanting to wallow in her room, Bella decides to go early to her meeting place with Edward in Charlotte's Garden. She settles herself onto the bench and leans against the pillar, turning so that she can face the seaside. In an effort to keep her mind clear, she searches the stretch of sand for something to tinker with telekinetically. Things like water, fire, sand and the bare ground lack concrete boundaries, which means she is unable to get a mental grasp of them. She can only move defined objects like the pebbles that are nestled in the sand, so she sends the small, lightly weighted stones into the water, forcing them to skip over the waves.
"I'll admit, I've been curious as to what you can do," Edward says, startling Bella. The stones she'd been levitating drop to the sand, as her concentration is broken. Consciously, she touches her hair to ensure that it's lying against her neck. James had given her an ointment to heal her bruises, but the marks wouldn't fade for another five hours. Thankfully, Edward doesn't seem to notice. He's too intrigued by her telekinetic abilities.
"Your Highness," Bella smiles as she gives him a respectful nod.
"I don't even warrant a curtsey anymore?" Edward chuckles as he takes the seat in front of her.
"I've learned it gives you more amusement than honor," Bella informs him, "Will you have my head then?"
"I'm convinced that even your ghost would defy me," Edward smirks, "But I might pardon you if you show me a trick?"
Bella hesitates, unsure of whether she should be so open with her levitation. However, as she tries to come up with reasons against sharing with Edward, her mind draws a blank. All her mind is filled with is the playfulness, warm smiles, lingering stares, and laughter that she's had with him; truly, the last three weeks have been more than Bella could have imagined. When she'd learned of her mission from Alice, she'd pictured that her experience would be tense and isolating. In actuality, coming to Cullen Castle has been a blessing in disguise. Because for the first time in her life, Bella is surrounded by people she trusts and cares for deeply.
Life in her cage and only interacting with Jane meant that Bella had practically no connections to other people. She didn't know what it was like to put her trust in more than one person, or to be shown kindness at nearly every turn. Of course, she has also seen evil, but she doesn't view it as refuting the goodness that surrounds her. Instead, she uses it as motivation to seek justice. With this in mind, Bella directs Edward's attention to the shore, where she's lifted two rocks from the sand.
"Is that it?" Edward teases.
Bella's mouth pops open as she huffs, "And I suppose what you can do is more impressive?" She says this as a rouse, but also to make him formally share his gift of fire with her.
"You've given me no incentive to show you," he tells her, waving his hand to the lackluster display of floating rocks. "Can you lift more?"
Bella adds one more to the rock to prove a point, but not to give him the satisfaction, "Prince, I surely hope you are more persuasive in court."
Edward laughs, "All right, I suppose you've earned a presentation of my own, even if you are holding your cards close to your chest. Hopefully, the winds won't cause a problem."
Bella watches as Edward rolls the sleeves of his tunic up to his elbows, and is momentarily transfixed by the stretch of skin revealed to her. It's a few hints darker than her pale tone, due to his mother's olive complexion, but looks as if he regularly spends a few hours in the sun. A few freckles are scattered across his forearms, adding character to the surface, and tempting Bella to reach out and trace them with her fingertips. Her attention is refocused when Edward's hand alights with fire.
Whereas the first time Bella had witnessed his ability and he'd held fire in the palm of his hand, this time, his skin is coated in flames. They travel up his arm, right to the hem of his shirt, demonstrating how much control Edward has over their path. Bella can admit, his gift is more than impressive –it's entrancing.
Is it the gift or the man you find entrancing?
The shaky sigh that Bella releases is covered by the gust of wind that passes through the garden. She watches as Edward's flames flicker from the intensity of the airstream, but stand strong despite the interference. Could his fire withstand rain too? How long could he keep alight before the flames would die? Suddenly, the fire disappears. Bella is about to tease Edward for his inability to beat the wind when she catches his expression. Instead of the playful smirk he'd been wearing earlier, he is now livid. The abrupt change in emotions leaves Bella thoroughly confused, and she only finds out the reason for his expression when he says, "Bella, I'm going to ask you something, and I expect you to answer truthfully." His tone is low and severe, not a hint of jesting present, "Who is hurting you?"
At his words, Bella's blood runs cold. She reaches up to cover her newly exposed neck, but Edward's glare holds her in place. Brusquely, he reaches forward and gathers her hair in a fist before lifting it from her skin, baring her green-blue marks to his view. If anything, his expression darkens.
"Tell me," he prompts.
"Are you asking me as a friend, or ordering me as Crown Prince?" Bella asks, her voice shaking with uneasiness, and her body filled with dread.
A flicker of regret seems to pass Edward's features, but is soon replaced by hardened resolve, "I'm commanding you."
"I-," Bella begins.
"Before you answer," Edward stops her, "I need to tell you that if I believe you to be lying, I will have to terminate your employment here."
Bella feels as if her heart has dropped into her stomach, "You would do that?"
"I cannot allow you to stay here knowing that you are being harmed," Edward answers, "It would sadden me greatly, but on my honor, I cannot keep you in harm's way. So the choice is yours –tell me the truth or I will be forced to end your time here."
The emotions that Bella had tampered down swell back with a vengeance. In her life she has experienced great physical pain, and she has suffered immense betrayal, but for some reason, none of these have prepared her for the hurt she feels at the thought of leaving Cullen Isle.
Nothing has prepared her for the hurt of leaving Edward.
She's bombarded with sensations. Dread and panic sit in the pit of her stomach; her nose and throat prickle with the threat of tears; the traitorous wind that had caused this mess blows against her face; and Edward's hand is still wound in her hair. They enter a moment of complete silence and stillness, the two of them being the only persons in the immediate vicinity. Knowing they are alone, Bella takes the risk of raising her hand to where Edward's is gripping her strands tightly, and gently tucks her hand around his in an effort to ease his hold. When she finally makes contact with Edward's hand, his body relaxes, almost imperceptibly. Her hand on his, Bella is filled with an intense, foreign emotion. She can't identify it, but she's sure of one thing –she never wants to part from Edward, and she will do everything she can to ensure she stays.
"Bella," Edward urges, "Tell me."
She knows what she has to do.
"Mistress Pope hurt me," Bella answers unwaveringly, "It was Mistress Pope."
Terminology
Ce par si calme peo brucio –Those who speak hotly burn themselves. Cullenian proverb warning against speaking rashly. [Cullenian]
"On wrongs swift vengeance awaits." -Alexander Pope
~CH
