Y'all are rocking my world today! I can't say enough how happy and loved your comments and alerts make me feel! Who's ready see Edward again?

This isn't beta'd, pre-read, or had anyone look at it but me. Sorry for the mistakes. Lots of fluff that came from a dream I had and turned into this. Sort of-kind of based on Ancient Rome, but mostly made up for my own purposes. Completed in 8 chaplets.

As soon as she could, Isabella slipped out of the palace and out onto the grounds. She inhaled the mild night air, trying to calm her nerves. There had been a few stares tonight from men of the court, but none appealed to her in the slightest. "What am I to do?" she sighed softly and followed the sounds of neighing to the barns. Seeking comfort from the animals, Isabella turned to enter and ran into a hard body instead.

Strong hands caught her before she could fall and Isabella stumbled back a step to gain her footing. "Forgive me, sir. I did not see you."

Sparks tingled on her skin where the man's hands touched her. It was faintly familiar, but Isabella could not place it. "Do not worry, my Lady. Twas as much my fault."

The low, velvet voice made Isabella gasp, and she instinctively pushed the man back a few steps into the light from a torch on the wall. The man let out a surprised laugh at her forcefulness, but the sound died as they looked at one another.

"Edward!" she exclaimed and ran her eyes over him. Sparkling green eyes, strong jaw, and lips that haunted her dreams. Her soldier was here and Isabella nearly wept with joy. He was sweaty and disheveled, dressed in a worn tunic and leather chest plate as if he had been running drills with other soldiers. Time had filled out his width, all angles and hardness. Gone was the hint of boyish youth in his face, but Edward was still the handsomest man Isabella had ever met.

"Isabella?" Edward asked with a smile. "You are just as alluring as you were five years ago." He traced the line of her jaw. "I've never forgotten you, beauty. How are you here?"

This time her tears could not be stopped. They burst from her as Isabella forced words from her mouth. "I've been presented at court. Here for the marriage market so the prince may chose a bride. I'm to be sold to the highest bidder."

She hiccupped and sobbed as Edward pulled her into his arms. "Shh, beauty. Don't cry, please. My heart cannot stand it." Closing her eyes, Isabella attempted to clamp down on her emotions. She breathed deeply, inhaling his spicy scent.

Isabella stepped back, even as she wished she could stay forever in Edward's arms, and swiped at the tears on her cheeks. "I am sorry, twas not something you should have witnessed. It is not your concern when or who I am married to."

Edward cradled her face in his hands, "It matters a great deal to me, beauty. If you would have me, I will find a way for us to wed."

Isabella stared in disbelief. How could the soldier she'd dreamed of for years want her for his wife? She was nothing special, a fact that was painfully obvious after seeing the other ladies presented this evening. She only had her title and dowry to endear her to suitors. "You … would want me? Why?"

His expression softened at her words. "Your generous heart, sweet disposition, and bright beauty stole my heart five years past. Not a single sun has set without thoughts of you in my head. It was always my wish to return to North Swan and seek your hand, but I did not believe you would still be unmarried."

Isabella laughed bitterly. "As long as the prince is unmarried, my mother would not allow my father to agree to another suitor."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "You do not wish to be a princess?"

"I do not wish for a marriage to a man I have never met, prince or no. I am not a pawn to be used for political gain."

A grin broke across his face. "Such fire. It appears the fates have decided to bring us together again and I shall bend to their bidding. Will you have me as your husband, Isabella?"

Isabella slid her hands up to rest on Edward's muscular chest. "Aye, Edward. I would happily have you if that is your wish." Wetness flowed across her cheeks once more, elation and sorrow mixing together. She could not see a way for her to be united with Edward. Especially as Alice saw Isabella ending in an unhappy match.

"How though, Edward? How would this work? Tomorrow, the prince will select from the ladies at court and then bidding begins on those of us left. Betrothal contacts will be signed by midnight. Some may even marry by then." She bit her lip, contemplating the severity of her next words. Scandalous at best, treasonous at worst. "We could run. Elope tonight and cross the border of the empire by first light."

"You would take such a risk to be with me? A solider you aided once, many years ago?"

"Aye, and I would do so with joy in my heart, for not a day has gone by without thinking of you. Yearning for you." Isabella lifted up on her toes and pressed her mouth to his, kissing him with abandon. Edward responded instantly, gathering her soft body in his arms, tongue begging entrance. Their lips danced together as tongues caressed and bodies strained closer to one another. Fused together from chest to thigh, desire ignited and burned consuming them both.

Edward shifted them so Isabella's back was against a wall. One hardened thigh slipped between Isabella's legs, rubbing against her most intimate place. She broke their kiss, crying out as pleasure she'd never known rocked through her. Edward's mouth trailed along he neck and over the exposed skin of her cleavage. "Edward," she moaned and twisted her fingers in his hair.

She lifted the leg exposed by the slit in her dress, hitching it at his hip and writhing beneath Edward's firm body. His hand drifted down, caressing the silken skin up to the top of her thigh just shy of where Isabella ached most. "Please," she whimpered without knowing what it was she pleaded for. His fingers crept closer to her heated center making Isabella pant with need.

Thumping footsteps sounded, moving closer to where the couple stood entwined with each other. Hastily, they broke apart. Isabella looked at Edward with wide eyes. He quickly shuffled her behind a pillar, hidden from view. She held her breath as the steps paused.

"Soldier," a rumbling voice spoke.

"Colonel," Edward's voice sounded.

"Rather late to still be here. Tomorrow will come sooner than you expect, tis a momentous day," the Colonel replied.

Edward cleared his throat, "Aye, momentous for the entire Empire. We will have a new princess named. I was simply checking the hooves of Twilight. The stallion's gait was off today."

"You are a soldier more should emulate in practice."

"Thank you, Colonel. Have a pleasant night."

Footfalls rang out again and Isabella relaxed, trembling with nerves. Edward appeared and drew her close. "Beauty, you're shaking." He brushed his lips to her temple. "All will be well, Isabella. That I swear to you."

"I … I don't see how. Edward, one of the ladies presented today, Alice, she is a Prophetess. My match does not end in happiness, and having you as my husband would give me a lifetime of joy. Please, we must run tonight. If we don't … fate has another plan for me."

Edward dipped his head to kiss her again. "Trust that all will be well, beauty. You will be no other man's save mine."

Inhaling deeply, Isabella laid one palm on his cheek. "None save yours," she echoed, vowing in her heart to make this true. "You have my vow, my faith, and my love." The urge to look away pressed hard on Isabella, but she held firm in her honest declaration of love to man she had met only twice.

"You have my love as well, beauty. You alone hold my heart." His words brought a beaming smile to her face. "Tomorrow, I will come for you, before another attempts to fill my place." Isabella nodded, but doubt continued to plague her. "I swear it, Isabella."

Edward stole one last kiss, kept chaste lest they become too tempted again, and then led Isabella back into the palace, pausing at the end of the hall to the bedchamber she was assigned.

Thoughts?