(A/N) You guys are awesome! Thanks for all of those reviews! I've decided to continue this as is until this one truly ended instead of continuing in a sequel... So yes...here's the next chapter. One note, however, I didn't realize that butterbeer is also present in Harry Potter and an invention of JKRowling until just a moment ago when I was editing...but I'm not feeling up to thinking up another name for the stuff...yeah. This is another long chapter...yay!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight nor New Moon.

Chapter 17

True to his promise, Edward barely left my side for anything for the next few months. We went through the entire festival of Oktoberfest (A/N: I did not spell Oktoberfest wrong, but I don't exactly know whether Austrians celebrate this German festival…but pretend they do, just for the sake of me, okie? Lol. It's known as the beer/alcohol festival where almost everyone have feasts and get drunk and stuff), and I tasted alcohol for the first time. Butterbeer, it was called – fermented wine with sweet buttermilk and a variety of fruity flavors to choose from. It was already very cold; some of the traditional German traditions, such as sitting in long tables outside drinking the liquids, were altered into the Austrian way of sitting in long tables inside big farmhouses or mansions.

The first time I got drunk was from the butterbeer, which supposedly was not suppose to make anyone drunk, unless they had at least fifty cups. I only had two cups of the very delicious wine, but when Edward told me that it was time to return, I lost my balance so many times, he decided to carry me to the carriage.

The only times that he left me were the biweekly hunting trips he had to have. Even then, it was mostly during the night, and I didn't miss him as much. For the first time in my life, I had not sported a new souvenir from the lovely floor for longer than a few hours – it's been weeks since my last bruise. However, paper-cuts still occur. It seemed that, since the curse couldn't express itself through tripping and falling, it expressed itself through paper-cuts and whatnot.

I remembered the time when Alice asked me to put a pile of new dishes onto the dish rack as well as deliver a pitcher of iced water to Edward. What he planned to do with the iced water, I never found out. I spilled the ice when I was walking with the pitcher and the pile of dishes, slipped on the ice I spilt, and broke the entire set of dishes. Luckily, Emmett was there to save me from cutting myself from the broken dishes, but the damage was done. Now, he won't stop teasing me about it. I had to say, though, the new dishes were an ugly lime green that I didn't really feel sorry for breaking them…but they're new dishes nonetheless.

Oktoberfest passed with me gaining the experience of getting drunk and having a slight hangover. Edward still won't leave me alone on the fact that I got drunk from just having two cups of butterbeer. I whacked him every time he started on the topic, but that only made him tease me harder. After all, what damage could I possibly do to him?

Come November, the royal family began their busy preparations for the Thanksgiving feast and Thanksgiving activities in Vienna. The city was already under a thick blanket of snow, but festivities must go on…or so said the ever-famous Alice von Cullen.

The castle had no permanent guards or maids. Even the cooks did not truly live here. They cooked the meals for me, and then they leave. As far as I knew, Sophie was the only "permanent residential maid." I never seen her much, and there was no one I could ask about her whereabouts. I was very worried for her, and I seemed to show that. One day, Edward asked me, "What's wrong?"

"Sophie," I answered, sighing. "She won't tell me what's wrong, nor was she ever really seen. It's all an empty place, and I'm really scared. She's never acted this way before. She used to have so much chatter about things…but now she's so quiet, it's unbelievable."

"Your palace does have a lot more people inhabiting it than here. She might be lonely." He paused, his eyes going a little distant. "She's sad and homesick. She misses someone very dearly."

"How do you know?"

"Curiosity killed the cat," he grinned.

"Yeah, but satisfaction brought it back," I countered.

His grin widened. "Fine. I can read minds."

My eyes widened, and I felt my jaw drop. "You can?" He chuckled at my expression, but nodded. "Can all vampires read minds?"

"No, not that I know of," he replied. "Every vampire has a different…'gift'…," he struggled to explain. " Carlisle thinks that we each bring our strongest human traits into our…second life. Esme brought her compassion, Carlisle his control, Rosalie her beauty, Emmett his strength, Jasper his ability to know and manipulate other people's feelings, Alice an ability to see the future, and me my mind reading." He seemed to utter the entire sentence out in one single breath.

I let the facts sink in before I realized the extent of what he said. "Can you read my thoughts?" I suddenly asked out. He almost jumped at my outburst. I felt heat creep into my cheeks.

"No. Try as I can, your mind is the only mind I can't read. It's like your mind is on the other side of the mountain. I can't hear it," he replied, almost puzzled. I relaxed.

"Back to Sophie. What's happening with her? She's never this quiet before." Edward laughed at my change of topic. "What?"

"Nothing," he managed between fits of laughter. "It's just…just…" he couldn't get it out.

"Fine, don't tell me," I pouted, crossing my arms in front of me. He stopped laughing. Eyes twinkling, he answered with a nod, as if saying okay. "Not fair…I didn't really mean it!" I half shouted half pleaded. He just burst into laughter again. This time, I joined in. We were acting like newborn calves.

November came, and before I knew it, it was the Thanksgiving feast. The castle was bustling with activity. Lords and counts from all over the country were invited to the feast, even the ever-annoying Count Newton and his son, Mike. Since they lived the closest, they were often invited over to help out the decorations and plans. I became something along the lines of Mike's new toy.

Whenever the Count came, Mike came, and I was the first person he sought after bowing greetings to the royal family. I swear his head was thicker than a block of stone. Once in a while, Jessica also went along, but that did not spare me from the terror that was Mike one bit. He'd point out this to me and explain that to me even though I had to correct him many times about the facts he shared. Once he told me that cows loved to stay by the sheep because their temperaments were so similar. "Check the books, Mike," I replied, hopefully not sounding bored. "Sheep like their grass short; cows like their food long. They avoid each other on feeding lands like the end of the world."

He stopped trying to show off his…ahem…wonderful…knowledge about animals after that. Jessica still despised me because when I was around, Mike acted as if she was never there. He only acknowledged her once in a long while. I could wish that it was the other way around.

Edward despised Mike almost as much as I did, but for my sake, tried to stay by my side to keep me sane. He once said that he only stayed by my side to make sure that Mike never did anything to drive me up a wall or made me crazy enough to require a room with padded walls. The trouble was, no matter how much I wanted to climb a wall to escape, I couldn't…but his company did help me behave rationally instead of wanting to escape the first chance I get.

Finally, Thanksgiving came. I wore my best informal dress under the peasant clothing everyone was supposed to wear. The plans were to wear peasant clothing for the feast, as if everyone were living like peasants, and then take it off to show how thankful we were that we had all these luxuries that some people didn't have.

The feast itself was very luxurious, however. Ten giant-sized roasted turkeys were placed upon the long table for the guests. Vegetables, stews, and various other goods were laid about, courtesy of the various Counts, Lords, and Dukes. Everyone who attended was supposed to bring a specialty. The food came from all places in the country. I had an excellent meal.

To my pleasure, there was no ball after the feast. Cold weather had settled in snugly, and many had to return to their inns or homes before the night became too cold for the horses.

Later that night, I could not go to sleep, no matter how hard I tried. I tossed and turned until my sheets were a tangled mess, yet I still couldn't sleep. Sighing, I slipped my feet into my warm slippers, pulled on a thick cloak, and made my way in the semi-darkness to Edward's room. I knew he couldn't sleep; I knew he was there.

His room was just a few doors from mine. The hinges of the door creaked when I pushed it open. I winced at the sound. It seemed to be the only sound in the entire castle.

"Who's there?" Edward's voice floated out. I made my entrance, hugging my cloak closer around me. "Bella?" I nodded, not speaking.

I looked around his room. In the few months I had been here, I had never seen his room. The room was not dark – lit by the same weird device that lit up all the halls and corridors. On one side was a giant window looking out into a forest. On another wall were books – books upon books of music. There were old ones and new ones. Some were in books while others were in loose sheets of disarrayed paper, the little tadpoles they call 'notes' were so close together that it made my head dizzy, even from so far away.

The fireplace lined the other wall, burning brightly, the fire slightly crackling. In front of it was a very large pile of pillows and whatnot, and in front of the pillows was a large sofa, on top of which more pillows lay. Edward was sitting on the pile of pillows, holding a sheet of paper on which many notes were scribbled.

I walked to where he was and sat down beside him. "I can't sleep," I whispered.

He smiled, his arm snaked around me to pull me closer. I snuggled closer to him and the fireplace under my cloak. "I can't either," he joked.

I nudged him playfully on the chest. "No one asked you."

"Doesn't matter…I still can't sleep," he said, looking hurt.

I kissed him on the nose, breathing in his sweet scent, feeling my body calm down and relax. He hummed my lullaby – the lullaby he played for me once on the piano and hummed all those other times when I complained that I couldn't sleep. I closed my eyes as I felt him pull up a blanket seemingly out of nowhere and wrapped it around me. He kissed my eyelids. I could feel the vibration of my lullaby through his lips. I shifted a little, catching him by surprise on the lips.

He chuckled when we broke apart. "All right, little princess, it's late. You should go to sleep now."

"I'm not a little princess. I'm a full-grown princess now," I whispered, my voice sounding sluggish with sleep. I closed my eyes and fell asleep on his chest to the sound of my lullaby.

I'm sorry this chapter kinda hurried through...but I really didn't want to do something like a day-by-day account of what they did...so...yes. Please be kind and drop a review. They make me feel happy, and sometimes also give me inspiration to finish all of my other homework so I can have time to work on this. --Cathy

p.s. due to the amount of reviews asking about Thanksgiving in Austria, I'm adding this note: As far as I know, Thanksgiving became an almost-international holiday by the 1700's...and because this story is set in a time midway between mideval and modern...I took the liberty of setting the holidays in 'present-day' form. Germans and Austrians do celebrate Thanksgiving - German: Erntedankfest - and it's quite an important holiday, too.