(A/N): I had planned to update earlier, but I was delayed by some of my other pursuits...such as revamping the ebtwisty9 homepage and getting the javascript to work properly in the different browsers and etc. I think it looks cool...but there's still nit-picky stuff I have to tidy up.

I want to put it here that I stink at writing the middle chapters of the story. I tend to put too much stuff or too little, and this isn't an exception. Therefore, I'm very sorry if it rushes too much or seems very dull...I'm still practicing :). --lol that sounds so formal :)

Chapter 4 – Small Beginnings

"Edward?" a soft voice murmured dreamily. Edward's head suddenly snapped up, staring at the bed from his rocking chair. His breathing became quick…maybe she had actually woken up for once…?

But no. Bella slept on as if nothing had happened. Her innocent expression graced with a pure angelic smile made his heart clench with unintelligible emotions. His mind wandered. It had been nearly a week since he had begun slipping into her bedroom at night…a long week of short-lived periods of happiness – of times when his lonely dark sky seemed to suddenly light up with brightness and warmth.

His eyes had changed – he knew it. When he passed the rare shiny surface unveiled by a thick layer of dust, he noticed that his eyes were no longer the bright heady red he had known so well. Rather, it was more golden in color – like a field of ripe wheat with only the slightest hint of red taint. His entire demeanor had changed, according to Emmett.

"You look different," Emmett had said. "Happier…less miserable. Thinking more up here," he pointed to his head, "rather than with your carnivorous instincts."

"I do?" Edward had replied.

"Yes. Would I say otherwise?" Emmett paused. "Need anyone to talk to?"

"No."

"You know who to turn to if you do." Giving Edward a bear hug, Emmett padded away. Half way to the door, he turned back. "If it works, you'd've caught yourself a wonderful girl and me a wonderful sister-in-law!" He winked before running away, laughing; skillfully dodge the hail of pillows Edward had thrown him.

A quiet whimper brought him out of his thoughts. Deep gasping breaths caught his attention to where Bella was thrashing on the bed. Blankets tangled around her, bringing her nearly immobile as she continued to fight against the holds.

Not knowing what he was doing, Edward knelt by the bed, taking one of her hands in his, drawing lazy patterns on her palm in an attempt to calm her. Her knuckles, which were white from clutching the blanket, were now grabbing his hand in a tight hold. He was mildly surprised by the strength in her grip.

"No…Don't…don't leave me…" she was saying, gasping as tears streamed from her tightly shut eyelids.

"Shh," he cooed, hesitantly stroking her tearstained cheeks. She leaned into his touch, murmuring incoherent words. Her breathing slowed as she stopped thrashing. But when Edward moved to untangle her from her covers, she suddenly started gasping and crying again.

"Don't leave me….stay…stay here," she whispered, frantically searching for something – anything to hold on to.

He reached for her hand. She quickly grabbed it and held it to her as is she would never let go – as if her life depended upon it, softly whispering things over and over again. He used his free hand to rearrange the covers that were choking her.

Gently, he caressed her face, tracing a thumb over her closed, yet restless, eyelids and now-peaceful features. The warmth and softness from just touching her were doing massive havoc on his still heart and already muddled emotions. And there he sat for the rest of the night, lost in the light of the innocent girl before him…lost in the warm soft feel of her skin against his cold hard one…lost in the jumble of feeling she had awoken in him…just completely and utterly lost.

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Bella woke up very early in the morning to the songs of the morning birds. Spring had arrived in full. When she sat up, her hands and cheek tingled pleasantly, reminding her of the beautiful shimmering angel in her dream – the angel who had saved her from evil monsters. Although her dreams changed scenes way too often for her to count, the angel had stayed with her, lighting her world in its glow and warding off the bad dreams.

Shaking off the nagging feeling that her angel was actually here with her, she wrapped herself in a thin shawl and made her way to the kitchen for breakfast. Once done cleaning up, though, she slipped outside.

The estate of Kimberley never appeared to be a 'haunted' castle in the bright rays of the sun. The white stony walls of the buildings were crawled over with ivies and climbing roses. Although most of these plants were still alive, all needed a good preening and plenty of care. The neglect cast upon the land made it seem more like an abandoned, yet enchanting, castle.

Behind the castle was a crumbling garden that still sported vestiges of its once-greatness. Scented grass and perennial flowers littered the fertile soil. Trees of roses rose up to ten feet or even taller, its branches drooping with flowers of all colors. Several small jasmine bushes, however, seemed to need some help removing the massive dandelions around them. They were small and shaggy, though their flowers were still beautiful as ever.

Free time was something Bella had in plenty. She only found a few torn and tattered books here and there that she would read by a small glowing fire in a large living room some nights, but never enough for an entire day of reading. Consequently, the piano was not an option because she always attracted Edward to her side. The confusion of feelings she felt for him was not always welcome. That leaves sewing and gardening. Since the castle seemed to be lacking threads and Bella found it too boring to spend an entire day threading needles and stitching, gardening was the most logical choice.

Nearby, she found a small garden shed, filled with well-kept tools. The shed seemed to be water-proof. None of the tools had a single hint of rust. Every single one was bright as new. Puzzling over this discovery, Bella set to work de-weeding the garden, enjoying the songs of the birds around her and the scents of the early flowers that swirled the air.

It was late that afternoon when she had the idea. She had discovered a patch of very fertile soil, now weed-less. She had a sudden urge to plant some pumpkins. It was kind of late, it being in mid-May, but pumpkins grow fast and taking care of them would give her something to do.

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"Pumpkins, eh?" asked Emmett. Rosalie scoffed. "Do you think they can grow to be one of them giant ones that's as big as me?"

"Depends on the kind, I guess," offered Jasper, curled up by the fire.

Esme burst into the room, holding a small package between her teeth. Dropping it in Bella's outstretched hand, she said, "Here you go. These are the quick-growing pumpkin seeds. Apparently, the package says that these can grow to be quite big…though they never specified how big…" She grinned. "But, we'll leave you to your pumpkins."

With a wink, everyone except Jasper and Alice left. They looked at each other, wanting to say something, their eyes filled with unasked questions. Their mouths opened and shut. They decided against telling, and left without another word, leaving Bella confused and alone.

Little did she know that she was not alone. She was rarely ever alone ever since she formally introduced herself to Edward that night. He followed her and watched over her until she became his obsession…something he seemed to need more than anything in the world. He needed to know that she was safe, needed to know if she was faring okay; needed to see her, touch her, and even kiss her though he could only satisfy the first readily. Most of all, he needed to know everything about her, but he was alone too long to remember how to truly hold a conversation. The few times he had stepped out of his hiding place, the moment was always too awkward and the air too tension-filled to do or say anything.

His family was really supportive of him throughout the entire ordeal, giving him space and advice when he needed them. Even the normally self-obsessed Rosalie helped him, and that fact surprised him to no end.

Starting that day, Edward secretly helped Bella whenever he could. Weeding the garden in the early mornings just before she woke up; mixing the batter for pancakes and muffins under Esme's instructions to make breakfast; slipping various books away from the enormous library and leaving them where she could easily find them. He never knew exactly what he wanted from her. Oh, yes, he knew he wanted to touch her, to see her and kiss her without a moment of awkwardness, but there was something more he desired as well. Something more than just wishing she could return the feelings of his obsession. He wanted to be loved by this wonderful yet unusual woman he was beginning to love. Heck…he was in love already, but he just didn't know (or didn't want to acknowledge) that he was.

It was wishful thinking on his part, he thought to himself, to even consider the fact that he could be loved. He had done numerous wrongs, one of which was the cause of Bella's nearly daily nightmares. It seemed as if she missed her father very much and always dreamed that something terrible was going to happen because she was not there to take care of him. From what he had learned, the sheriff's wife had died when Bella was very young, and he never quite recovered from the shock. Yet, Edward had separated him from the only person in the world he now lived for. It was no wonder Bella dreamed such terrible nightmares…

Bella had given up practically all hope of ever seeing her father again, though her dreams were haunted with brutal images of her father nowadays. Her guardian angel was always there to calm her and make everything seem okay, but deep inside, she knew, her father would not survive much longer if she did not go home. The fact tore her heart apart, leaving her battered and helpless.

However, this did not stop her from being enchanted by all the small favors Edward had done. Yes, she knew that the extra unknown helper was Edward ever since she caught him outside weeding the garden one early morning and then quietly followed him to the kitchen where he followed Esme's instructions on how to add icing to a muffin.

It showed a different side of him. His eyes were now the color of melted gold – shining bright as the sun when he stared at her. She shuddered when she recalled her last meeting with him…

She was running down the hall, chasing after the pale blue hair ribbon that the naughty Charles had stolen right from her hair! Corridor after corridor, she followed until she ran headfirst into Edward, knocking the both of them down.

"I'm so sorry…Charles stole my ribbon and…" Bella gestured wildly, words failing her as she stared into the two pools of smoldering melted gold. Her thoughts left her unwillingly as she drowned.

"Would it happen to be this one?" he held out her hair ribbon for her to examine. She gasped.

"How did you…how did he…what…" she tried to find words, but he placed a finger over her lips, stopping her incoherent flow. His touch made her lips tingle pleasantly.

"Does it matter?" he asked, his voice low and musical, flowing with beautiful cadence, softer than velvet.

She shook her head, still staring into his bright topaz eyes, feeling her heart beat speed up.

"Would you have dinner with me tonight?" he blurted out unthinkingly. His eyes suddenly widened. Whether it was in shock at what he had said or why he had done that, only heaven knows. "I mean…um…I don't…" This time, Bella stopped his words, her touch sending uncontrolled shivers and thrills down his spine.

"Okay," she said simply. Edward nodded, his eyes glazing over. As if in a trance, he took her hand and placed a fluttering kiss on her knuckles before sprinting down the hallway out of sight, taking her ribbon with him. Bella smiled and blushed bright red.

That was this morning, and she had agreed to his request as if in a dream. She truly was not afraid of him unless he decided to throw a temper tantrum, but it made no sense to her. When he stared her like that, it was as if he was begging her – as if she was the most wanted person in the world. He had this way of making her feel so special even though she was just as plain as any other girl.

Bella grunted softly with the effort of carrying two full buckets of water from the kitchens to her pumpkin patch. It had been nearly a month since Esme found the seeds, and the vines of the plants were already thicker than her thumb and growing to be over two feet long. Work always took her mind away from confusing thoughts and feelings, she thought. She must work on her garden – bringing it back to its original glory. Work, work, work…

And that was exactly what she did, not realizing the busy castle inhabitants preparing, very clumsily, a dinner feast; decorating the sad castle back into its original happiness and selecting the best clothing for the two very special people.

I think this chapter is of the rushed sort. I didn't plan for it all to come out this fast. At the rate I'm going now...I think I have at most 10 more chapters left. Review!

--Cathy