A/N: My Chapter.

Around 1 o'clock in the morning, Rosalie's monstrosity of a party was finally at an end. It took nearly an hour after that for all of the guests to find their way outside, many of them still wandering around the mansion in a drunken stupor. Rosalie and Emmett stood at the gate seeing off the last of their friends while Alice, Jasper, Edward and I sat inside at one of the many now-vacated party tables. Edward and Jasper carried on a quiet game of solitaire while I lay with my head on my arms, face down on the table. Alice sat with one elbow propped up on the table, her head balanced upon her hand. With her other hand she gently twisted an escaped wisp of my hair lazily around her tiny finger.

Rosalie's shrill laughter echoed from the outside steps. Her voice sounded louder than usual – quite an accomplishment, that - undoubtedly the result of a few too many glasses of champagne. She let loose another piercing shriek and I heard a loud crashing noise behind us. Startled, I lifted my head from the table and turned to find Angela with a very guilty expression on her face. There was a pile of broken glass at her feet from the empty champagne bottle she had dropped. Edward shot her an annoyed glance. "I'm sorry," Angela mumbled, blushing and bending over to pick up the broken shards with her bare hands. My heart suddenly ached for her. I knew exactly what that felt like.

"I should help her," I realized, rising from my chair. I turned to head toward Angela when I strong hand clamped itself like a manacle around my wrist. I turned to find Edward with a disapproving expression on his face.

"Absolutely not," he snapped.

"Why not?" I tugged my arm away from him to free myself, but he only tightened his grip.

"Because, you are not a servant. The last thing I need is for you to ruin that dress by crawling around on your hands and knees in a pile of broken glass. And anyway, you should be going to bed soon. You have a busy day tomorrow."

Before I could ask what this busy day would entail, he was already dragging me across the foyer and up the grand staircase. I tugged against him with all my strength, but he hardly seemed to notice. How pitiful.

"Goodnight, Bella!" Alice called from downstairs. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning!"

I turned to glare at her. We walked past Angela on our way up the staircase and I stopped to give her an apologetic look. She nodded, understanding, and gave me a small reassuring smile.

Edward towed me upstairs to the large blue room where Alice and I had gotten ready earlier. "This is my room," he told me, taking a lit candle from the hallway and using it to illuminate the dark space. I inhaled a sharp breath, abruptly overcome by terror. I wondered suddenly if he expected me to sleep in here as well. In that bed. With him. Were my worst fears about my new master about to be confirmed?

"And where will I sleep?" I asked, barely concealing the tremor in my voice.

Edward smirked as if he found something humorous in my terrified expression. "In here, of course." He strode across the room and opened the door to the small red room adjoining his.

Relief washed through me. "Oh," I breathed. Edward stood aside as I brushed past him and entered my new room. I was immediately struck by its rich, opulent décor. Thick, heavy maroon curtains surrounded a positively enormous bed set in the center of the room. The bed was several feet off the ground; I could imagine myself having to make a running jump just to get on top of it.

"I hope these… accommodations will be satisfactory for you," Edward said, leaning against the doorframe. "I assume it's been a while since you've slept in an actual bed." His face contorted in disgust at the thought.

I stiffened, offended by his assumption. I couldn't deny that he was right, however. I turned to him, putting on my best attempt at politeness. "Thank You," I said coolly, "This will be more than sufficient."

"You did well today," he said. His voice had less of an edge to it than usual, yet it was still detached and seemingly devoid of emotion. "But you'll have to improve significantly if you expect to survive in our world."

"Thank you." It came out sounding far less appreciative than I meant it to.

Edward nodded curtly. He exited my room and shut the door quietly. I heard a soft click as he locked it behind him. He was obviously concerned that I would try to run away in the night. He need not worry about that – not tonight, anyway. I was far too exhausted to go anywhere.

With a little jump I managed to sit on top of the bed. I kicked off my shoes first – high heeled torture devices Alice had forced me into – and threw them to the side of the room. I bent my leg at the knee and brought my foot up into my lap, trying to rub feeling back into my toes. The numbness was soon replaced by a throbbing, excruciating pain. I groaned, deciding to focus on something else.

I realized it was impossible to untie my bodice by myself, but I was able to reach behind myself and loosen the ties enough so I could slip the dress off my shoulders and shimmy it down to my waist and onto the floor. I inhaled sharply as a dull pain started to spread through my abdomen. It was a relief to be freed from the dress' constricting bodice, but I could already feel shallow, tender bruises beginning to form across my back and ribs. I sighed, stepped out of the dress, folded it in half, and placed it gently over the back of a rocking chair in the corner of the room.

I let my hair down next, pulling out the pins and untwisting the braids and allowing it to cascade in loose waves down my back. I walked to the mirror in the far side of the room and glanced at my reflection. My face looked flushed, lively, but there were dark shadows beginning to form beneath my eyes. I suddenly began to feel very tired, realizing what an incredibly long day it had been. I used the porcelain basin in front of the mirror to splash water on my face before finally crawling into bed.

I blew out the candle on my bedside table. The room was immediately shrouded in absolute darkness, but I could see a thin stripe of pale yellow light peeking through the crack beneath my door. Despite the ungodly hour, Edward was still awake. I lay back against the fluffy down pillows, and immediately felt myself lulling off to sleep. I usually had trouble falling asleep my first night in a new place, but I was simply too exhausted to protest against my own needs. I felt myself sink comfortably into the soft, buoyant fabric of the mattress as my body relaxed from head to toe. My eyes fluttered shut, and I allowed myself to drift willingly into unconsciousness.

--

I was running alone through the dark, misty forest. A full moon shone subtly through the tall trees, casting their long shadows across the ground. Loud footsteps sounded behind me, and I knew that I was being followed. My own heartbeat thundered in my ears as I pumped my legs faster, desperate to escape. In my haste I tripped over a large stump in the ground and fell forward into the dirt and leaves. I scrambled onto my backside, frantically scooting backward until I was pressed up against a tree.

A large, ominous shape moved toward me in the darkness. I realized automatically that I was trapped. Even as the figure moved closer I could not get a clear glimpse at its face. I could not see its expression, but I got the distinct feeling that it wanted to harm me. Strong arms gripped my shoulders and shook my body violently. A bloodcurdling scream escaped my lips.

"Isabella, it hissed, low and deadly.

"No," I whimpered, screwing my eyes shut in terror. "No, please no…"

The figure spoke my name again, but this time his voice sounded shockingly more human. "BELLA! For God's sake, Bella, wake up!"

My eyes snapped open, and I found that I was back in the red room. Edward sat on the edge of my bed, gripping the sides of my arms so tightly he was cutting off my circulation. Still disoriented and afraid, I instinctually recoiled from his touch. Edward tried to hold me still as I thrashed wildly against his grasp. "Stop it, Bella," he ordered, shaking me again. "Relax. It was just a nightmare."

"Nightmare…?" My breathing was still not back to normal.

"I heard you screaming."

Had I really been screaming? I looked around the room now, my senses beginning to clear. It must have been the middle of the night, because it was still pitch black outside my window. The only light in the room was provided by the tiny flame on Edward's candle. It was so dim that it made oddly shaped shadows dance eerily across my walls. I sat up a little straighter and realized that the sheets were in a pile at my feet, twisted from my violent tossing and turning.

I suddenly remembered Edward's presence and looked up to face him. He was scrutinizing my expression warily, as if he were afraid I'd lost my mind. I felt strangely uncomfortable under his piercing emerald gaze. I averted my eyes downward only to find that he was… shirtless, wearing only his dress pants from earlier. I was momentarily transfixed by the way shadows fell across his perfectly muscled chest, throwing a stark contrast between his pale white skin and the curves of each individual muscle. A strange feeling stirred in the pit of my stomach and I felt my face start to get hot. Anxious for a distraction, I looked up to his face again and literally jumped when I discovered it was mere inches from my own.

Edward raised an eyebrow at me, looking genuinely concerned for my sanity now. "Are you alright?" he murmured. "I can fetch Alice, if you'd like."

"No," I insisted, shaking my head. "Don't wake her. I'm sorry to have woken you."

"You didn't," he sighed, standing up from the bed now. "I was awake."

"But… it's… the middle of the night."

"I can't sleep."

"At all?"

"Never." It was impossible not to detect the weariness in his voice. I was caught off guard by the sudden sympathy I felt for the man I was supposed to loathe for all eternity.

"Why not?" I whispered, unable to contain my curiosity.

"There are lots of reasons," he answered quietly. My curiosity burned, but I didn't push the subject any further. There was that unmistakable note of finality in his tone.

I yawned involuntarily while Edward turned to retrieve his candle from my bedside table. "Go back to sleep," he ordered. "It will be morning soon." I nodded, settling back against my pillows. Edward exited the room and closed the door. He took the light of the candle with him, and then I was alone, shrouded in darkness once again.

A/N: Short, I know. But at least we got a glimpse of Edward with his shirt off ; )