Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and the characters that make it amazing. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

Chapter 11

White Knights and Black Snow

Fairy tales. Edward tried to remember the ones that had been told to him during his youth. He would sit with his mother for hours as she recited nursery rhymes and tales of white knights and evil queens. Tearing through the woods, alone and in pain, he wondered why it was always a princess who the evil queen despised, never did the queen want the handsome prince to suffer. A sick smile took his face as he reminded himself that he wasn't a prince...he never was...not even when he was married to a true princess. Her father loved to remind him of that and even after his passing, the man was still probably having his laughs up in the heavens.

He had been at this for days, ever since the night he spent putting Isabella's books out and then discussing her protection with Jasper. Tanya Denali was still nowhere to be found. He did not understand it. She was young, beautiful, and she should definitely not be traveling from one place to another with no home. Emmett and Rosalie had expressed the want to move away from the castle, somewhere more private, to raise their growing family. He understood that. His parents had been discussing the possibility of his father becoming a doctor again—the next town over was in desperate need for a man with his father's abilities.

The castle was large, much too large for him, and this is what brought him to scour the damn country for his late wife's sister. He stopped in at nearly every village, describing her, and usually getting some sort of feedback. Oh, yes, we remember her! Yes, it's a shame there is no man in her life...well tis a shame for her. No, she is not here but I saw her with a few of my customers. Those were the typical responses...and so far he had no reason to truly believe any of them considering he had yet to find her even with all of their 'helpful advice'.

It was becoming dark and he was becoming frustrated, ready to give up and go home. He had brought plenty of coins with him and so he found a place available for lodging and let himself relax into the too-soft bed. This was it. Today was his Bella's eighteenth birthday and he had completely missed it. He wondered what was happening at her home right now. He wondered if Charles, possibly still sick, was sitting with his daughter as she read him stories. He wondered if her friend Alice, who he never met but already knew he liked, was visiting and eating treats with her. He wondered if this Miss Charlotte she spoke about with such adoration had made her favorite meal for dinner.

Even more painful than the idea of him not being there with her for it, was the idea that Jacob Black was. It was obvious they cared for each other and as much as she tried to tell him that she loved him more, he knew that Jacob could make her happy. Of course, being the bastard that he was, he did not know that he could leave her alone forever. Was Jacob giving her gifts? Was he reading to her? Was he telling her goodnight with a stolen kiss? He forced himself to shut off all images of his Bella, focusing on Tanya. He had to fix this before it was too late—even though there was always the possibility that he had already lost his chance.

~EA~

"No...didn't see her, though, I wish I had..." a dirty man with bad breath and a ratty beard smirked, shaking his head at the description Edward had given him. He had decided to check around the town that he had already made it to and where he had lodged the night before.

"Do you know someone else I could talk to..."

"You might want to try Earl across the way there. Bastard always has more business than we do..." Edward politely thanked the man and left as he started to talk about the 'loose women' that were always at his competitors establishment. He was just about to go into the place when he heard commotion in an alcove beside the building. Telling himself to forget it, that it was none of his business, he heard the desperate pleads for help from a feminine voice. Edward pulled a dagger from his overcoat and held it tightly as he came down off the porch and rounded the corner.

The girl was a small brunet and that's all it took for every protective instinct he had to kick in. "Leave her alone!" he yelled to the man who was currently pinning the woman to the wall.

"Tis none of your business, foreigner!" the man yelled back, this time pulling the woman's small coin bag from her pocket.

Striding over, Edward ripped the bag from the man and threw it a few feet of way, telling the woman to leave. She hesitated a moment but when the man lunged at him and he managed to put the dagger to the man's throat, she grabbed the bag and ran. He tried to remember back to traveling with his friends, being muscle in a militant movement. He called on his training which took place many, many years ago. Before he knew it, the man was on the ground and he was over top of him. He knew with one more hard, swift blow the man would be dead but the man was currently looking up at him, wide-eyed with fear.

Edward stood then and the man slid himself backwards on his elbows a few feet. "Go! The next time you want to harm a woman, perhaps you should think about the consequences!"

When the man was gone, Edward hit the ground and fell back into a crouch. Adrenaline was coursing through his body and he debated on whether or not to try to find and check on the woman. He reminded himself of Tanya and decided that if he would try to find the harassed woman, she would probably end up even more terrified of him. After his breathing returned to normal, he went back to his original plan. His pants were covered in the yellowish soil that was on the ground, his overcoat was torn, his lips was bleeding, and he was pretty sure there were a few cuts on his face—the man knew how to fight.

Collecting himself, he stood and tried to make himself look a little more presentable before going inside to the keeper of the place. It surprised him to find a woman behind the bar. "Miss?"

Her head snapped up and a man quickly approached them from a room behind her. "We are not open..."

"I am only here to ask for help..."

"Have you been harmed?" the woman asked with sympathy.

"I am just looking for a friend. Her name is Tanya Denali..."

As soon as the name was spoken, the woman turned to the man behind her. "Irina?"

For the first time, Edward actually felt like he was getting answers. "Yes! Yes! Irina Denali is my friend's sister. Please, you must tell me where I can find at least find her!"

The man frowned. "What business do you have with her?"

"I was married to her sister who passed away..."

"You said you were looking for her sister!"

"There are three of them. Her other sister has passed away," Edward teared up, feeling like a coward as he tried to put up a brave front for them.

"I know where they live!" the woman said quickly, as if unable to watch his sadness.

"Jessie, that is not your..." the man began.

"Oh, hush, look at the poor man. He has lost his wife and is seeking her family!" Then, she turned back to Edward. "Irina lives with her husband just outside of town..."

Edward listened carefully to each word out of her mouth before making his way out of the establishment and back the way he came. From the woman's directions, he must have rode right past it the first time, though he tried to remind himself that he was looking for her sister, not Irina herself, this was not over.

~EA~

The house was modest but Edward could tell the person who owned it must have had more money than their neighbors. No one was out front but as he approached the door and knocked, a man demanded to know what he wanted, unwilling to open the door. "My name is Edward Cullen. I believe I was once married to your wife's sister, Katherine. Please, I must speak with her!"

The man opened the door slowly. He was tall and Edward could tell that he was foreign, and not just like him, this man was many miles from his original home. He had a strange accent and frowned when he opened the door to reveal himself. He looked like he wanted Edward as far from his home as possible. It took a lot for Edward to not reach for his dagger—just to be cautious.

The man assessed him for a good minute before asking, "What happened to your face?"

"A man was trying to harm a woman in town...he tried to fight me when I went to stop it."

"Did you stop it?"

"Yes," Edward answered, confused as to why he was asked this.

Finally, the man stood up straighter. "Love! You have a visitor!"

Irina Denali, with her curly blond hair pulled back with strands falling around her face, approached him from deep inside the house. "Edward?" she asked, remembering him immediately, her hand going to her swollen belly.

Removing his hat, Edward held it to his chest and nodded, "Irina. I trust you are doing well?"

"Verily. What brings your here?" She looked at the man who opened the door, "Vlad, let the poor man in. Come, come, Edward. I will get you some tea...and a wash rag. What the devil happened to you?"

After relaying the story to her, he sunk down on the couch beside her and let the tea cup warm his hands. "That is not why I am here..."

"I did not suspect that it was," she smirked, raising an eyebrow. "I am very sorry for being unable to return for the funeral...we were traveling far from here to visit Vladimir's childhood home. We would never had made it back in time. I trust that everything was taken care of?"

"Of course," Edward confirmed, giving her a sympathetic smile as she began to let tears fall. "She is resting peacefully now..."

"Tanya has told me of the passing of the child. I wanted to tell you that we are honored to have him named after our father, we know you and he did not always see things the same."

"He was still a good man and he loved Katherine."

"That could be said for both of you," she replied, wiping away her tears. "You still have not answered my question."

"I apologize. I am actually hear to seek out Tanya. I must speak with her..."

"Edward," sighed Irina, "do you really believe this is a good idea? She has written to me, explaining that you have been remarried to some girl..."

"Her name is Bella."

"Then why are you seeking my sister?" Irina asked, as if it was an accusation.

"It is important that I speak with her..."

"Do you not realize what that will do? We are no longer young children, Edward. She carries much hostility towards you..."

"I know things did not work out as she may have hoped...I do know that things did not work out for us but it was never about us. Irina, there never was an 'us'. There was a Katherine and I but there was never a Tanya and I..."

"Surely you remember that you met Tanya long before you met our dear Katherine."

"Of course I remember."

Edward kicked a rock and laughed at a joke one of his friends had just made. It was hollow, though, as if he was just going through the motions. He had many mixed emotions running through him, knowing what was to come. While his brother had found a wealthy family who needed help with their fields—and he suspected Emmett had eyes on their daughter, Edward decided that tilling the ground for the rest of his life was not his calling. In less than two days he would be leaving to join the ranks of the militia. Thankfully, there was no war to be fought but still a need for foot soldiers to protect citizens.

"So, Edward, how are things with you and Angela?" sneered his oldest friend, Jack.

"Miss Webber and I have barely spoken. She is a friend. That is all..."

"Are you planning to ask her to the ball?"

"Verily not. I believe she is going with Thomas."

"Are you planning to ask anyone to the ball?"

"What is the point, Jack? I am leaving the village before then."

"You could always return..."

They were almost to his father's practice when a carriage pulled up and a girl stepped out after an older woman. Edward told his friends goodbye and headed into the building after them, not giving much thought to who they may be. Seconds later, they were seated outside of the examination room and his father's friend greeted him with a hello. They were just talking about Edward's leaving when he heard shuffling and turned to see that the girl had lost her footing and had fallen, brushing her arm hard against a wooden chair.

She was only about two feet from him and he immediately pulled her up, taking her arm in his hand to check that she was unharmed. "Miss, are you okay?"

It wasn't until she looked up at him that he even noticed her beauty. Her hair was straight and the color of wheat. Her eyes were bright as she looked up at him. "Tanya! Good heavens, are you okay?" the older woman asked, she was beautiful too.

"I am fine, mother," she replied curtly just as Edward realized he should release her.

"I...I will go get my father for you..."

Before she could respond, he turned and walked to the back of the building to find Carlisle. He had no idea who the girl was and as he had pointed out to Jack, it was pointless to want to be with someone now. It wasn't lost on him that the girl watched him carefully as he came out and told them that his father would see to them. Her mother seemed to be eying him with suspicion, it took everything for him not to sigh and explain that he wanted nothing to do with her daughter. The mother seemed to want nothing to do with him just as much.

It was not until almost two years later when he would stumble upon their whole family at the ball, or that he would meet and fall in love with Tanya's sister, Katherine. Not one of the sisters, all of which were very close to each other, let on that there was more than one sister who felt something for him. Had he known, it probably would not have changed anything, though. Kate was ecstatic when she heard that he was requesting her hand in marriage, even though her father would turn him away three times before his passing, never actually seeing his daughter down the aisle.

"So why are looking for her?"

"I have sent my Bella home to her family."

"What do you mean, you have 'sent her home'? What does that have to do with Tanya?"

"Our marriage was annulled," Edward said quietly, feeling ashamed.

Irina gasped, "How? Why? She must be truly horrible..."

"Twas I that pushed her away. Irina, it is very important that I find Tanya. Please."

"You obviously still love 'your Bella' so why, I ask again, do you want my sister?"

"There is something she wants...something only I can give. I want to give it back to her."

~EA~

Edward gave Irina a small hug after finishing his tea. He told her goodbye and promised to write once in awhile before bidding farewell to Vladamir. He finally knew where Tanya was. The sooner he found her, the sooner everything would be okay. According to Irina, Tanya was actually making the trip to visit a friend just about an hour outside of where Irina lived. His poor horse must have been exhausted and he frowned, knowing he would have to find a place to stay again that night.

When he finally found the house, it was actually Tanya who he found first. She was walking along the pathway that lead up to the house and, before she was halfway, he called to her from the front gate. She froze and it took her a few moments to turn around, though he knew she knew who it was. "Edward?"

"Hello," he greeted her quietly as she started to walk towards him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you..."

"Did you get bored with your whore?" she responded, trying to sound bitter but not quite pulling if off.

He looked away, opening his mouth and closing it again, knowing that nothing he could say about his Bella would change her mind anyway. "We need to talk."

"No. We do not," she bit out, turning to walk away.

He reached for her and catching her arm, turned her towards him. "Tanya, please..."

She gave a dry laugh before pulling her arm away and crossing it over her other one. "Well, look at his, I never thought I would see the day that Edward Cullen would actually decide to seek me out."

"Tanya, I apologize if at any point I made you feel that I was having those types of feelings for you. I loved your sister..."

"Loved? Past tense?"

His own jaw dropped open as he realized what he had just said. "No..." he quickly corrected himself, "I love her. Still. Before though, I married her because I loved her and I was unaware that you were interested as well. I never meant to hurt your feelings..."

Shaking her head, she turned to leave, "And you came all the way here to tell me that?"

"No! We have something to discuss. A proposal if you will..."

"A proposal?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at his choice of words. He wondered how everyone of these three sisters could pull this off and still look stunning.

~EA~

Tanya agreed with minor reluctance and as he lay awake on his rented cot that night, in a building full of practically homeless men, he began to think about what his family would really think. He told himself that he probably should have discussed things with them but it was too late now. He had made promises that he could not keep to two women in his life, he would not break his promise to the third.

He wondered what his Bella was doing, just one day after her birthday. Was she happy? Had she and Jacob decided to marry? That thought turned his stomach and he tried to shake his head clear. He could not consider that, not now, not after finding Tanya. Exhausted and feeling sore from the squabble earlier that day, Edward gave in to sleep.

Edward woke the next morning with his heart pounding, his body sweating, and his lungs screaming for air. He had just had the most vivid dream and he jumped out of bed, trying to decide if he wanted to shove the dream away to the back of his mind forever or revel in it. He dreamt of his Bella, not home with her father, but at home in the bed that they shared together. There was nothing more beautiful than her body, naked but covered by pieces of the blanket which exposed just enough of her skin to tease him. Most of the nights with her at the castle, he would stay awake for almost all of the night, running his hands over her skin, watching her sleep, forcing himself not to take her in a way that a husband would take a wife.

In this dream, she was unclothed, the blanket loosely around her. She was alone when he entered the room, her dark hair thrown across her pillow as her little fists clutched the blanket she was wrapped in. Her breathing was steady and she shifted a little, the blanket falling away, exposing her breasts. Edward felt like the air was knocked out of him and he could no longer resist. Stalking over to the bed, like a predator would prey on it's victim, he slid into bed beside her, still fully clothed. In her sleepy state, she reached for him, snuggling into his body as he held her.

Bringing his lips to hers, he kissed her gently and she breathed against him, still asleep. He was holding his breath, reveling in the kiss and he heard a tiny, barely there moan come from her. Her nipples were hard and her breathing was changing. He knew she would be awake in a moment but he could not stop. Not even a second later, her eyes fluttered open and looked up into his. "Edward?" It came out in wonder, in awe, and warmth flooded his entire body. He wanted her. He had to have her. Then, he woke up. The good Lord was cruel.

~EA~

Tanya was afraid to go to his family on her own but he had to check on his Bella. There was no way he could live with himself if he were to travel all this way and not make the time to at least know that she was cared for. He had been concerned and had sent Jasper and other guards. Now, before returning home, he only had to ride an extra hour in order to stop by the area that she lived in. He would see that she was safe and happy and go from there. Tanya promised to stay only one more night with her friends before beginning the journey back to the castle. He would travel for about two days, come to the village where his Bella was, sleep there one night, and then meet Tanya for their trip the rest of the way to the home.

Both nights of sleeping on his path were pretty uneventful, thoughts of his Bella and the anticipation of knowing he would be seeing her soon kept him warm from the cold, Washington weather. It was beginning to snow and he wished he would have had the means to carry all of her new clothes, that he would have been able to leave them for her, that they would keep her warm when he could not.

When he finally reached her village, he took everything in. From the small town center—which was much smaller than Seattle—to the houses and fields that branched out everywhere he looked. Smoke rose from the houses as villagers warmed their homes and ash fell along the fresh now, making it appear almost black in some spots. He had stopped to ask a shopkeeper where exactly the Swan residence was and the man frowned, looking at him strangely. Edward simply explained that he was a friend of the family, not wanting to draw attention to himself, and the man nodded. "Sad to hear what happened..."

Edward felt sick to his stomach. He knew that there was the chance her reputation could have been blemished over his mistakes but he had not thought people would verbalize it in this manner. Feeling anger, not only at the man in front of him but at himself, he said a curt thank you and climbed back onto his horse. There were two small houses that fit the description, one was before a bridge and one was after. He chose the one that was after considering it had a stable area. No one seemed to be around and as he approached the house a sick feeling began to set in again.

He watched the house closely for probably close to a half hour, waiting to see movement. He tried telling himself that he was just there to check on her before returning home to begin preparations in order to finish what he started. He tried to tell himself that he would be able to leave her now. After standing beside his horse for a long enough time that he decided no one was around, he approached the front door, looking around for any movement besides that of the horses in the field.

The door, to his surprise, was unlocked and he called out to anyone who might be home. The only word to describe the small cottage was—barren. There was nothing in it. Sure, there were tables and chairs, shelves and cupboards, desks and dressers. The issues was there were no people in those chairs, very little food in the cupboards, and as he peeked into one of the dressers to see if anyone even lived there he noticed the clothes were ragged and definitely a few years passed being worn out. About to leave and try the first house, he left the bedroom and walked past another. His heart stopped at the yellow scraps of material on the night stand.

Striding over, he picked them up and held the two mittens, one in each hand. This was her home. His Bella had been here. When he became defeated, knowing that no one was there, he hung his head and stuffed the mittens in his pockets. Isabella Swan was not here anymore. He had gotten his answer and with a heavy heart, he made his way back outside to his horse. After one last look around, he began the journey home but just as he was to the main path, a portly woman came trotting past on a horse, followed by another horse carrying a man.

"Who are you?" the woman asked him, immediately afraid—he could see it all over her face.

"We barely have enough for food for ourselves let alone our animals! Please, we beg of you to leave us in peace!" the man called.

Edward knew who they must be. He remembered being told of Miss Charlotte and the stable man, Peter. Surely they knew where his Bella was. He was just unsure of what to say to them, they must truly hate him for what he did. "My name is Edward Cullen." He watched as the woman brought her hand to her mouth, stifling a gasp.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this one...and remember, things are never how they seem! I am excited to reveal the next chapter as I think you will all truly feel a little relief :) Send me a review and I'll send you a preview! Christag_banner created a wonderful banner for this story and it can be found on my blog, http:/ letzigprincess-disenchanted. blogspot. com/ (remove spaces) The blog itself is a work in progress, as I don't really know what I'm doing lol but enjoy the banner :)

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