Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Twilight :(
Living Royal
Chapter Eighteen
"Are you alright, Bella?" Alice asked.
"Yes, yes. I'm totally fine. I may be a bit nervous but I'm not scared and I'm definitely not running away this time. Let's just do this." Bella replied.
"Just relax, Bella. You're giving off some pretty tense vibes. Everything's going to be fine." Jasper advised.
"Umm-hmm. Yeah, I know." Bella muttered. "Can we go now?"
Bella and Edward along with Jasper and Alice had arrived at the Palace early that day and were led to their rooms right away. They had rested and gotten comfortable before they started getting ready for the ball. Edward had invited Jasper and Alice along because he didn't want Bella to feel as left out as she had the time before.
He had gone down to the ballroom early because he was supposed to greet the guests with his parents.
Bella hadn't seen hide nor tail of the King and Queen yet. That only served to make her more nervous.
"Alright, let's go in. Edward must be wondering where we've run off to." Jasper led both girls through the double doors that led to the ballroom.
Everyone stopped and stared, since it was their usual routine. The masks must have not worked after all. She is still very much recognizable, it seems. Bella lifted her shoulders and stood tall, ignoring some of the malicious looks that were sent her way.
She spotted Edward standing across the room speaking with an old couple. He lifted his head for a moment and then noticed her. He excused himself from the couple and walked purposely towards where they were standing.
Bella's heart beat sped up with every step he took. She looked around the room to gauge everyone's reaction. They seemed to be waiting with bated breath, anticipating what will happen next.
Edward reached her side quickly and kissed her hand chastely.
"You look gorgeous." He leaned in to whisper.
Bella smiled radiantly back at him. He looked so yummy in his tuxedo that Bella wanted to jump him right then and there. She didn't think that everyone present would appreciate that though.
"Alice picked the dress." She shrugged.
"Though I think Alice's taste is remarkable, it's not the dress I was referring too, love."
Bella blushed. That man would be the death of her.
"Aw, you guys are so adorable together!" Alice remarked.
Bella had completely forgotten that Alice and Jasper were standing next to them. She blushed even deeper. Edward must have forgotten too since he looked a bit embarrassed.
He greeted Jasper and Alice and then led them all to where the King and Queen sat at the head table. Bella wished the earth would open up swallow her. She really didn't want to do this, to see them again so soon, but she knew she had to.
If she wanted to be a part of Edward's life, which she really did, she would have to learn to deal with situations like this. A lot.
As they approached, Bella noticed that the King wore the same sour expression he always did in her presence, while the Queen smiled radiantly at her and Edward.
"Bella, it is so good to see you again." The Queen greeted her.
"It's great to see you too, Your Highness."
"Oh, I thought I told you to call me Esme, dear." Queen Esme reproached her.
"Sorry, Esme." Bella smiled.
"Father," Edward turned to the King, "You remember Bella."
Edward seemed to be challenging his father. As if he wanted him to say something that would give Edward an excuse to get angry him.
The king only nodded indifferently and muttered, "Yes, I do."
Bella would be lying if she said that it didn't hurt to be snubbed like that.
Edward gritted his teeth but otherwise ignored the whole debacle. He introduced Alice and Jasper to his parents and then they all sat down at the same table, much to the King's chagrin.
Things were definitely different from last time, Bella reflected, remembering when she had to sit with a bunch of strangers who didn't even think it necessary to speak to her.
Edward was seated next to her with his hand holding hers under the table.
Yes, this was definitely different.
"Bella, Edward tells me that you have moved in together." Esme spoke up excitedly.
"Um, yes. We thought it would be easier to avoid the paparazzi if they didn't know where we lived."
"That's actually a wonderful idea." Esme smiled.
"We'd love it if you could come sometime," Bella rushed to say, and then blushed crimson.
Inviting the Queen over, Bella? Really?
Well, it is her son's home.
"I would love to." Esme replied.
Bella was relieved to say the least.
King Carlisle and Edward had to leave a few minutes later to speak to a few important people. Edward kissed Bella's cheek quickly before getting up and following his father out of the room. He was very tense. It was radiating off of him in waves.
Bella glanced after him worriedly.
Half an hour passed and Edward had not returned yet. The rational part of Bella's brain told her that he probably was discussing important things with his father, but the irrational part worried that those 'important things' were related to her. Maybe his father was listing reasons why he should break up with her.
Bella tried not to worry but failed miserably. She continued to fidget for a few more minutes until she gave up and excused herself to go to the bathroom.
A few steps away from the bathroom door she heard faint voices coming from a room close by. She stopped instinctively and started listening.
"You can't be serious, Edward. This insanity has got to stop right now."
Bella stilled. That was Carlisle and he was obviously speaking to Edward about her. She should walk away from there but she couldn't get her legs to move.
"Stop what? I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm in love!"
"No, you are not. This is a fleeting infatuation. I'll just let it run its course and then you'll be back to your senses."
"I've had enough of this father. You may be able to bully your advisors or your staff, but I'm your son and I love that girl out there and nothing you will say or do can make me break up with her."
Bella's heart warmed at Edward's words. But she could sense the rift between him and his father becoming wider, and it was all her fault.
She felt her eyes tearing up and she ran to the bathroom before anyone could see her standing there spying on the king.
Thankfully the bathroom was deserted. She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed.
He is never going to let them be, is he?
King Carlisle will never stop until he convinces Edward to leave me.
Bella's heart constricted at the thought. Edward would never do that. He loved her. He even said so to the King himself.
Bella fixed her make-up quickly and headed back outside. She couldn't be caught hiding in the Ladies' room. She went back to the head table where she found Edward sitting back in his seat next to hers. The King wasn't there.
She sat down and Edward immediately took her hand in his, as if seeking comfort. She gave his hand a silent squeeze trying to convey that she was there for him.
"Now, you four should not be sitting here all night. You should be dancing." Queen Esme said.
"Oh, really, it's fine." Bella began.
"Oh, go on. Don't worry about me; I have to go mingle anyway." The Queen cut her off.
"Well, the Queen has given us a royal command." Edward joked. "Let's go." He got up and pulled Bella to the dance floor dance floor while Alice and Jasper followed. An upbeat song was playing.
"Are you alright?" Edward asked Bella worriedly when he noticed that she was barely moving.
"Uh, yeah. I'm fine."
He regarded her for a second, trying to determine if she was telling the truth. Apparently he bought it since he stopped asking and they danced for a while before Edward excused himself suddenly.
"Where are you going?" Bella asked.
"I just remembered something important." He kissed her on the top of the head. "I'll be right back." He moved off and was quickly lost in the crowd.
"Ooh! I love that song!" Alice squealed as the band started playing a slow song.
Bella looked awkwardly around not sure where she should do with herself.
"Wait, I thought it was a woman who sang that song." Jasper said.
"Umm, why is everyone looking at us?" Alice asked.
Bella realized that everyone had indeed stopped dancing and were looking at them.
They looked towards the stage.
Oh God.
Edward was standing on stage, holding the microphone.
He was singing.
He was singing to her.
If you were falling, then I would catch you
You need a light, I'd find a match
Cause I love the way you say good morning
And you take me the way I am
If you are chilly, here take my sweater
Your head is aching, I'll make it better
Cause I love the way you call me baby
And you take me the way I am
Bella could not believe what he was doing. Edward was standing on the small stage looking right at her and he was singing. And to top it off, his voice was perfect; So deep and beautiful.
He slowly got down from the stage and made his way over to her.
Cause I love you more than I could ever promise
And you take me the way I am
You take me the way I am
You take me the way I am
Bella forgot that there were people there, watching their every move. As soon as the song was over she threw herself at Edward and kissed him hard. Edward chuckled quietly but pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.
"I love you." Bella panted as they pulled apart.
"I love you too." He whispered back, caressing her cheek.
"Now that is what I call a performance!" A loud voice boomed.
Bella and Edward's heads snapped in the direction that the voice was coming from. Bella saw muscles, lots of them, with a head attached to the top.
Emmett Cullen had arrived.
"Em! What the hell are you doing here?" Edward laughed and hugged his brother with one arm since his other one was still wrapped around Bella.
"I'm on leave for a couple of weeks. I couldn't miss your official come out for the world, bro." Bella suddenly found herself engulfed in Emmett's hugs arms as he hugged her. "Hey, Bella! Thank you for turning my knuckle-head brother into a human being."
"Emmett, put the poor girl down before she passes out." Rosalie said as she stepped forward and stood next to her boyfriend.
"Aw, come on, Rosie. I'm just welcoming Bella to the family." Emmett put Bella down slowly and Edward immediately took her back in his arms.
"Bella, I'd like you to meet my idiot younger brother, Emmett. Emmett, this is my Bella."
"Hey, Bella. How you doin'?" Emmett wiggled his eyebrows.
Rosalie gave him a well deserved smack on the back of the head.
"Ow, Rosie. I thought we talked about doing that in public."
Bella was laughing so hard at that point that she was in tears.
"Your American accent is as horrendous, as ever I see." Edward teased him.
"Hey, what is this, 'gang up on Emmett' day? I'm the life of the party and you all know it."
Edward laughed, "Welcome back, bro."
"Yeah, that's more like it, Ed-man!"
Bella glanced back and forth between the two brothers as they joked around. You could tell that they cared about each other very much. It was so different from the way Edward acted around his father. While he was affectionate with his brother, he acted with nothing but cool reserve towards the King.
She loved this side of Edward. The fun loving side that rarely made an appearance nowadays.
She really hoped that now, with his brother back in the scene for a while, things would change for all of them.
A while later, Alice and Jasper joined them and the whole group had the time of their lives on the dance floor. Bella momentarily forgot about all of her worries.
Emmett was right. He was the life of the party. He joked around and made them all laugh so hard most of the night. Bella couldn't remember when she'd had so much fun before. None of them noticed the king glaring at them from the sidelines.
Up until the King asked to have a word with her. In private.
Truth be told, Bella was terrified, but when Edward objected and said that he was coming with them, for some reason, Bella assured him that she'd be fine. Edward reluctantly let them go but not before giving his father a hard look.
King Carlisle led Bella out of the ballroom to a room that looked like a study. He gestured for her to take a seat. She did slowly.
"Isabella, I believe you know what I wish to speak to you about." He began.
"Yes," Bella nodded, "I think I have a very good idea." She replied bravely. She refused to cower.
"Well, then you've made it quite easy for me. How much will it be?" He asked cryptically.
Bella frowned in confusion, "Excuse me?"
"I've tried to reason with my son, but it seems as though he is adamant on staying with you, so how much do you want to leave my son alone?"
Oh, no he didn't...
"You're offering me money to break –up with Edward?" Bella yelled. She was beyond furious at this point.
"If that's what it takes to keep you away from him, yes." Carlisle replied indifferently.
"Do you even care about what he wants at all?"
"Of course I do, but I also care about what the country needs. Whoever is with Edward is going to be the future Queen. This country needs a leader and a woman who can support him."
"Aside from the fact that you're just assuming that Edward and I are getting married, you don't think that a commoner can do that?"
"No, I don't."
"Do you have any idea how many royals have married commoners around the world? Prince Naruhito of Japan married a commoner, so has the royal Princess of Sweden, the Prince of Denmark, the King of Morocco as well as the King of Jordon, just to name a few, and they're all happily married with flourishing kingdoms."
Yup, she had done her research.
"That is different…"
"No, it is not. Only you think that. In short your highness, your argument is crap."
And with that Bella got up and stormed out of the room leaving King Carlisle slack jawed and staring after her in shock.
She found Edward standing right outside the door.
''Hey, what happened? What did he say? I heard yelling, are you alright?" He asked frantically.
"It's okay, I'm fine." She tried to calm him down. "He didn't say anything new. Let's just go out and have some fun, they must be wondering where we are."
"We'll talk later, then." He persisted.
Bella sighed then nodded, "Later."
Now, how on earth is she going to tell him what happened?
(A/N): HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed or added me to their alerts/favourites!
This chapter was beta's by the awesome RandomatGedz :)
Alice, Rosalie and Bella's dresses are on my profile!
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Soooo, what did ya all think? We still hate Carlisle don't we? Do you think he'll ever change his mind?