A/N: Rosette's Chapter.
Sorry about the delayed update. Both Rosette and I have been really busy with school lately. For that reason, we've decided to decrease posting from twice a week to only once a week, probably Sundays.
Hopefully the next few chapters will make up for it ; )
My head screamed at me and my temples pounded out a disjointed rhythm. I tried to grit my teeth, but the simple action of ordering my nerves brought a throbbing through my body.
A stale taste washed over my tongue as I exhaled out. The scent on my breath was even more disgusting. I whimpered a little at the sudden weight beside me.
"Isabella, time to get up." A voice whispered. I wanted to cry and scream… if I had the energy.
"No," I moaned, trying to turn on my side, but my back gave a loud snap and I shrieked.
"That's from the corset." The voice said again, this time it sounded like it was hiding a laugh.
I looked up from under my pillow and tried to glare at Alice, but my eyes became remorseful quickly. She was my governess, a far too nice governess; I shouldn't test the waters with her. I was grateful it was her instead of Rosalie, though. I was sure my spine would have been ripped by her perfectly kept hands.
I took in a deep breath before I sat up, trying not to let the room spin, but spin it did. I closed my eyes tightly, willing the dizziness and pain to go away. Of course, it did not.
"That doesn't make it better." Alice murmured while rubbing my back. "Well, at least you're in a better state than Rosalie. She threw a bottle at one of the maids this morning." She broke off into a bought of delicate laughter. Her soprano voice chimed like bells.
I pushed myself from the bed, immediately feeling a draft. I looked down to see myself in nothing but a thin white chemise. A fiery heat radiated throughout my body. Oh lord, oh lord almighty.
"Don't be embarrassed, Bella. I'm a woman, too." Alice stated, looking at my shaken form.
It wasn't Alice that bothered me, but the fact that someone else had seen me before hand. Last night's memories flooded back, nightmares, screaming, Edward, no shirt, and then back to black as I fell asleep.
My fists balled up, that swine! What had he been doing in my room anyway? I shook my head from the thought as Alice began to pull me up. She put her delicate hands on my shoulders, shaking me lightly.
"I'm fine," I cleared my throat. "May I get dressed?"
"Of course, I brought your clothing." She pointed a small pile near the foot of my bed. I smiled appreciatively before stepping closer to them.
These clothes were different, not the same that I wore the previous afternoon. Instead of the black and white maid outfit, it was a long white dress. There were gold and silver buttons placed elegantly on the front and back. The material was smooth and weightless in my hands.
Could this have been silk or cotton? I'd been so used to itchy wool or tight nylon torturous corsets that I had barely ever felt such a lovely material. I'd farmed cotton and spun cotton occasionally, but I'd never had the privilege to wear it.
I looked to Alice who smiled and unfolded the dress before me. Her eyes were thoughtful while she looked at the dress in front of me, probably imaging my awkward frame in such a dress.
"Edward doesn't want you confused as just another maid. I picked this one out, the white matches your skin and your eyes seem brighter." She paused. "It's a little long, but you have the torso and legs to fill it out." She smiled and sat on my bed, taking a needle from behind her ear and a spool of thread from a fold in her dress.
"You don't have to do that! I know how sew, I can fix it."
"Nonsense! The hem has to be raised only a few centimeters. Go put the petticoat on; it's a bit chilly today."
I didn't fight Alice as I picked up the petticoat and turned my back to her. I let the chemise drop and felt the material slide onto the bruises. My back was throbbing at the simple movements of slipping the dress on.
Alice moved to me then, handing me the pristine dress and stood by to fix the ties. Her hands were gentle as she helped me slide the dress upwards and even more so while she tended to the drawstrings on my back. The added padding of the petticoat beneath me helped to soften the sting on my bruises.
Almost immediately after she had the last tie fixed, she pushed me through the door, setting me on a vanity. I saw glimpses of her hands grabbing things on the table before me.
A silver brush was in her right hand, I could see her reflection in the mirror, and her face looked deep in consternation. She scrutinized for only a moment before she started to pull my hair to and fro.
When she was done, my scalp throbbed, but my hair was neatly placed. She left it down, flowing here and there. I would have thought my hair would be up, like the other maids. I couldn't imagine a tight knot on the top of my head, the hairs on my head screamed at the roots.
"Thank you, Alice." I smiled.
"No problem at all, you have such pretty hair." She sighed wistfully, her fingers running through my long hair.
A bell rang from downstairs, three loud chimes echoed throughout the large mansion. Below the room I was in I could hear the stampeding of footsteps. I briefly wondered how many maids were hired here before Alice tugged on my hand.
"Breakfast!" She sang. Her small hand held a death grip on my fingers, dragging me downstairs and into the grand hall that had been filled with visitors last night.
The flowers were stacked on one side of the room; maids moved them through the double doors and outside. The tabled were slowly being removed and the sheets on top were in a large stack in the corner of the room. The table in the center was a long wooden placement in the room. I gaped at the length and walked slowly behind Alice.
Rosalie and her fiancé Emmett sat on one end, her head rested on her hand. Her elbow was on the table, but I doubted anyone would say a word against her. Emmett had a hand lightly on her back. The moment was a bit too tender for me, and I looked away quickly.
Jasper sat a chair away from Edward, who both had matching expressions. Dark circles were under their eyes, Edward's infinitesimally worse. His hair wasn't combed out; it was a mess on his head, sweeping into his eyes and across his forehead.
Alice sat next to Jasper, smiling at him, while I took my supposed place in-between Edward and Alice. Despite his out-looked expression, Edward reach an arm out and pulled my chair back before I slipped in, nodding my head in thanks.
I cinched my teeth together when I felt the hard wood of the chair hit my back. My fists balled and I tried not to let the stinging tears escape. A whimper settled in my throat and I blushed, not looking up to see who had heard.
Thankfully, Angela rounded the corner with a tray in her hand. She set each platter in front the six of us who headed the table. All of the maids were at the other end of the table, chattering with the food they brought for themselves.
A few of the girls kept sneaking glances further down to where I was seated. Their eyes would look past me, to either of the people who flanked my sides. Ah, but I flanked theirs.
A curly haired brunette whispered something to the girl beside her, and then looked pointedly at me. Our eyes locked and before she could smile, her eyes held a hint of disdain. I blushed looking away and down at the platter in front of me.
"Don't associate with them." Edward muttered beside me, removing the lid from his platter. A large baked potato with every kind of sauce and cream topped it off. My mouth watered at the sight.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Those girls are beneath you." He stated.
"They are not beneath me, I am beneath them." I shot back.
"No, you are my personal servant. You hold more ground than they do. I won't have you associate yourself with stuck up 'royal' maids."
"I'm a maid, too." I paused. "No, I'm worse, I'm a servant."
Edward speared his fork into the side of potato and looked down at me through the corner of his eye. I gulped, and tried to hold my ground.
"Would you prefer to do what servants do, then? I can have you shipped to a factory by evening." He turned his whole body toward me and glared. "You belong to me, I paid a heavy price for you, and if I choose to call you a maid or a servant or a hostage, you will do as I say, Isabella Swan."
My chest constricted and I felt like a child being reprimanded, only on a much larger scale. Alice coughed under breath and I lost eye contact with the tyrant before me to look at her.
They were all looking at us, not the maids, but the four that had been sitting right beside us. Alice lifted the cover to my platter and handed me a fork.
"Eat." She commanded. I took one look at the sausage and hash browns mixed with eggs and I couldn't resist. I tried to remember my etiquette lesson from last night, but I was more focused on consuming the food.
Edward didn't acknowledge me through the rest of breakfast; he ate like a pig, taking another serving from a passing maid. I could barely finish off the rest of my hash browns, and I felt – for once in my life – petite when compared to someone else.
Maids came by to pick up our plates. The brunette who had smiled before took my plate and smiled at me again. Her grin was unsettling, a little too practiced.
As soon as the table was cleared Edward stood and started to walk out of the room. Alice pushed my shoulder towards him and I followed her orders without a word. I watched Edward's back as he walked; he seemed tense all over.
He went straight to his room, not looking at me. Once we were inside, he dropped straight onto his bed. How improper, to lie like that in front of a woman. I didn't care really, but I was willing to hold anything against him.
"What would you like me to do?" I tried not to hiss.
He raised his head a little from the pillow and looked at me with one eye. "Do something to relieve my stress." He spat.
Did he think I was incapable? My blood set to a boil and I made my way across the room and sat on the side of his bed. He looked up with a confused expression before I pressed the heels of my palms to his shoulder blades. The way his eyes rolled back into his head made a smug grin come onto my face.
Edward's head fell back into the pillow and his back started to unknot. Though fieldworkers had bad reputations of being scum among the upper class, it was easy to perfect muscle massaging with sore backs all over the plantations.
I let my fingers rake down his spine and he shivered. I pushed up to his shoulders and worked hard circles on the muscle. It was so tensed together! The muscles shifted slowly apart, with each stroke of my hands.
I sat up on my knees and leaned across, digging my palms in harder. His body vibrated beneath me before I heard a loud groan, muffled by the pillow. I saw his hand clench into the sheet of the mattress and he groaned again, this time louder.
His back raised under my hands as his breathing sped up. Was I hurting him? I let my hands slow a bit, putting less force on his shoulder blades. He looked up, his cheeks lightly red and his eyes hooded.
"No, do it harder." I pushed my knuckles into where I had been kneading before and another groan came out.
My fingers ran downward, working the muscles on his side, his whole body shifted this time, his hips moving into the mattress. A different sound came from his body, this time it wasn't as deep, but it was longer. My name left his lips, not in a groan, but a long, drawn out moan. I blushed, and moved my finger into the skin harder.
His shirt had lifted from his pants and revealed a sliver of his lower back. My fingertips brushed over the skin and the hand that was tangled in the sheets gripped harder. Moving tentatively, I rotated my fingers and stroked his skin.
It was soft, not like I'd expect a man's skin to feel. The rough feeling was barely there; his skin was smooth and sweet smelling. I bit my lip, moving my hands upward, until I was directly touching my shoulder blades. The fabric of his shirt pooled at my wrists while I massaged the skin.
A deep vibration slipped through his body, making my body tingle. My back arched a bit as I moved further along, scratching a bit with my short nails. His fist clenched harder and his hips shifted roughly again.
I took a sharp inhale of breath before I bit my lip harder. What was wrong with me? His waist moved again, this time much harder. The bed shifted beneath my knees and I wobbled.
The sheet slipped against the material of my dress and sent me backward. I tried to grasp onto what little I could but could feel the air rush by me as I dropped from the bed. My bottom hit the floor before my back and I hissed out a whimper.
Edward was up in an instant, his face was a light shade of red and his breathing was heavy. His shirt was lifted and his hair in even more disarray. I blushed a hot shade before I looked down his torso. Line after line of muscle came out from his shirt; I swallowed, trying not to lick my lips.
The black slacks he was wearing didn't hide a tightened straining. I stuttered a little before completely loosing any coherency. Edward's face turned red and he just looked at me, not moving an inch. Could he have been as mortified as I was?
I opened my mouth, closed it, and then opened it back up. I pulled my eyes away and back up to his. His green eyes were dark, piercing, and I didn't want to look away. The smoldering emerald was intense, frustration evident.
"I think I have to go." I squeaked before standing up. I wobbled, almost falling before I caught myself on a dresser.
Edward didn't move, his body completely still as he watched me go. Once in the hall way, I started to nearly pant at my embarrassment. My face felt just about enflamed. My fingers felt cold against them while I covered my mouth.
I swallowed hard before moving down the stairs, trying to calm my hyperventilating state. A hysterical giggle burst up in my throat and I stopped to control myself. What the hell was going on with me?
I walked into the grand hall and spotted Alice, immediately going to her side as she told the maids where to bring certain flower pots.
"You're back so soon?" she asked. I only nodded and took a seat next to her, my cheeks still hot.
She looked at me, her eyes questioning, but she let it go, no finality in her eyes. I could pretend to ignore that for the moment. I watched with a hot face as others moved around the room, organizing and cleaning.
Minutes later Edward walked down, his clothes were tucked in, he looked proper. His eyes met mine and his cheeks became pink before he spun on his heel and walked towards Emmett.
I was going to hell in a hand basket.
A/N: Oh, and also, a lot of people have been asking if Edward is a vampire in this story. The answer is no, he's not. Everyone is human.
The comment about not sleeping was meant to hint that he has some sort of dark secret from his past, but not that he's a vampire. I apologize if that was confusing.