A/N: GUESS WHAT.......................I have a fabulous beta!!! be sure to check out Phantomrose93's profile. YOU are totally awesome.

Btw. if i had not been lazy and found a song for this chapter it would be some angry song from the Killers.

Disclaimer: I know this may come as a shock to most of you, but i am not Walt Disney.

Most Importantly: REVIEW...and read too

A while later, the tale tell clomping of heavy footfalls rouses me to alertness. They stop, curiously. Why would anyone want to stop in this godforsaken forest? I scrabble between my tree and a bushy scrub. I can only hope the overgrown foliage will conceal me. I watch as three men come into the woods. Two carry a jewel-encrusted chest between them. Although small, perhaps only the length of two hand spans, it seems to be burdensome. I crane my neck to get a better look and see the visage of a distinctive jade-eyed wolf.

"This is it; we can discard the chest and leave. There were no witnesses, and therefore no evidence. Does everyone remember the plan?"

The other replies, "I say we get away as fast as possible. The Duke will have already set those infernal hounds on us. He will not be eager to let us go. Besides, there's evil afoot inside those walls, mark my words. "

I gasp. They're bandits. The robbers are silent for a moment, as if waiting for something. Suddenly heavy hands are laid on my shoulders. Before I can react, my building scream is stifled when one moves to cover my mouth.

"What's this pretty thing I've come across? I do believe whatever found may be kept. And I intend to keep you, poppet."

His voice is oily as he addresses me and my skin crawls. The man grasps me in a viselike grip as if I were struggling no more that a dove in a tomcat's paws. A spark of fury ignites in my chest. I belong to no one! I think, focusing my fury as I bite hard on the hand that covers my mouth. It tastes absolutely vile, but it works. The man curses and pushes me away. This causes me to stumble on my hurt ankle and I crumple in pain, stifling a small cry of pain. The slimy voiced man advances on me. I can see a gleam of cruelty in his eyes and I know I have no chance against his brute force. I glance up in fear, waiting for the blows that are sure to come…

EPOV

I wondered at how I Arianne became my bride. I had contemplated finding suitable companionship, but it seemed an impossible feat. No one could be close to me without being in constant danger. It was inevitable I would live out my life alone; the only one to share my fortress would be my detestable brother, and his wife. The opportunity had materialized in the form of Howe Fording. Master Fording owed me a small fortune from his gambling habits. He offered me his daughter in exchange for canceling his debt, which I gladly accepted.

I had convinced myself that it was a good idea. I don't know why my good judgment abandoned me. I had taken advantage of the poor man's ignorance of my true nature; how was he to know he was marrying his daughter to a beast. I hadn't realized at the time that she could discover my secret in an instant, merely with a glimpse of me at the wrong time. Perhaps I should have.

It is a shame Arianne is so difficult. I thought, I hold her fate in my hands and she dares to insult me! I am prepared to grant her every wish… I am impeccably polite, and yet she gives every indication that she finds me insufferable! I cannot fathom her. In a way, the situation had… improved. The more she hates me, the less time she spends in my company. It's for the better.

That doesn't stop the disappointment from rippling through me like skipping stones on a pond.

What did you think was going to happen? We would live happily ever after in a magical land of unicorns and twittering birds? I pushed away masochistic thoughts and moved into a more practical frame of mind.

As tempting as teaching that ungrateful little wretch a lesson may be, I couldn't leave Arianne at the mercy of this storm, it wouldn't do for her to be hurt, especially this early in our acquaintance. I order the driver to turn the carriage back. Maybe it would show my goodwill towards her. Or better yet scare a little respect into her, but I doubt that. Arianne's rather… spunky. I'll give her that.

We arrive where I left her, but no one is to be seen. Thinking she must have sought refuge from the storm, I head into the forest. Before long I find her on the ground surrounded by brutes. I grab two daggers from their sheaths on my belt and throw them with lethal aim. Both men retreat with wounds. I doubt they lived. My cold-blooded assault was necessary; I didn't need anyone attacking me from behind. I looked at Arianne straight into her wide eyes. Their golden brown depths are filled with horror and revulsion.

I should've known. She'll never see anything but the monster in me now. I try to push aside the fingers of shame, the remorse of having bloody hands before her.

"Get any closer and I'm killing the girl." The third worm has noticed me and holds Arianne as a shield.

I force all my guilt into a chillingly hard voice. A razor sharp tone that hides all emotion. "Go ahead. She is nothing more than a pretty face to me."

APOV

The moment I see Edward's face, all is clear. He didn't come for me because he cares, not in the least. I can see a possessive glint in his sea green eyes. I muster all the hate that resonates through my body and send it to him in a fierce stare. He doesn't react. Damn. Nothing seems to faze him.

His agile frame moves with lightning speed. In the time it takes me to blink, his weapons have murdered two men. I feel a knife at my throat and the oily man holds me to himself. A droplet of blood trickles in a crimson trail down my neck and all thoughts cease. Before either of us can react, Edward has incapacitated my would-be captor with a kick and blow to the head. He quickly and efficiently disarms the unconscious man before walking to me.

"You aren't able to walk."

"I can." This is a blatant lie. I can feel the pain even as I stand with my weight on one foot and lean heavily on a tree trunk. And in the back of my mind I don't want to admit that I'm scared of the man who flings daggers with deadly accuracy. Edward holds his arms out, and I can't stop the nearly unconscious action to shrink away.

"You will not carry me."

Before I can protest any further, he sweeps me into his muscled arms bridal style. All my fear is erased in this bold move. I beat my fists against his chest and shout through the trees. The only thing Edward does in response is hoist me over his shoulder and pin my arms to my sides. This merely causes me to shriek louder and flail my good leg. He drops me unceremoniously on the ground.

"Fine. If you want to stay, I'm sure they will enjoy your company."

"I don't mind at all thank you very much." I even manage to scoot to a stump and sit, as if to prove my point.

But he can hear my bluff. "Oh really." Edward begins to walk away. He has all the cards damn him. I can't afford to be stubborn. All the horror stories I've ever heard flash before my eyes.

"Wait…" I allow the fear to show in my voice and swallow my pride. He turns, agonizingly smug.

"Yes?"

"I really don't want to be left alone in these woods. The robbers are bound to wake up sometime."

He seems to be expecting more; it's time for a more humble tactic. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Needless to say, I loathe begging. Appealing to Edward's mercy in particular is something I don't plan to do again. Ever.

"Please… Edward, You can't leave me." He has a smug grin I long to wipe off his face.

"It seems my fair lady has changed her mind."

I snarl with vehemence. "I am not yours!"

His grin stays in place. "Are you going to be good?" He asks in a patronizing tone.

I give an unwilling nod. He smiles and comes to pick me up. I surrender and am stubbornly sullen in a last stand. Edward helps me to get in the carriage without a word. Now that I am out of harm's way, I realize how hungry I am. And hung over.

Before we leave this dreadful patch of forest, Edward seems to have one more task in mind.

"Wait," he commands.

I sigh and bite back a scornful retort. He did come back, that has to count for something…but not much. Edward returns carrying the chest. He sets it on the seat next to him. I refuse to even look at him. Instead, I study the chest in earnest; it was delicately embossed with silver vines over the whole dark mahogany surface. The only colors besides silver and black were the disconcerting eyes of the wolf, staring through everything in its view.

"It's rightfully mine, a family heirloom. That's the Devonshire House crest." He indicates the wolf.

My only response is stony silence.

Time seems to go slowly solely for the purpose of vexing me. It is past noon when a hulking Neolithic structure begins to rise in the distance. It is all of dark chocolate stone. As we get closer, it becomes clear what a labyrinth this castle is; there are a myriad of bronze turrets and the jagged roofline has neither rhyme nor reason.

I gasp escapes my lips when the garden comes into view. I forget about my resentment as the excitement gets the better of me. "It's so… beautiful."

I had grown flowers in our own garden, but most of it had been used for fruit and vegetable bearing plants, not roses or lilies. The garden is in full bloom, and even the rain cannot ruin it. This only makes the garden wilder. It has every flower imaginable: tulips, peonies, bluebonnets, Gerber daisies, pansies, forget-me-nots, impatiens, and sunflowers. Not only does it have flowers, but also vines and flowering trees.

It takes my breath away. I gaze, mesmerized in its vastness and sigh in wonder, forgetting, if only for a moment, the circumstances that have brought me here. But it cannot be my home, not even if it were the finest garden in the world. This revelation fills me with dismay, because despite my hoping I can somehow sense I will never see my family again. All I see in my future is the man who has claimed me, the man who not four hours hence made me beg to be rescued. It was his fault I was stranded there in the first place. This isn't a man I can love, I can barely stand his company.

So I think of the gardens. It is lovely enough for me to pretend that it can make me happy, to pretend this prison could be bearable. Perhaps I can escape from this cage disguised as a palace, perhaps I can retreat into the sanctuary of sweet-smelling buds. I fantasized only of the garden, of walking through moonlit paths and the trickling fountains. I dreamed of how the earth would smell when it rained. As we entered the foreboding gate, I forced all other thoughts and images out of my mind. I nurtured the dream, because oftentimes, reality is too much to bear.

A/N: I have found someone to compare Edward in my fanfic. Heath Ledger and his hair like in the movie 10 things I hate about you. Maybe a little taller, like he's 6'1". He has blue-green eyes. So that's kind of what I imagine him to be like. He's also pretty cocky. ;D

It's thanks to Akatsuki-Lover007, Pimpernel Princess, draco-rex, SubjectiveReality, and crazy as hell that I was motivated enough to write this chapter.

I would like some reviews because it took a lot of work and to get some kind of sign that i should continue.

Love Ya Lots,

mangos