All recognisable characters belong to SM. I just own the plot.

Thank you to A Jasper For Me. She's awesome and I flove her.

To all of you reading, smooches from lil old me.

After two weeks of no updates, I'm sure you're all waiting for this. Enjoy!

"We're late, Edward," Emmett warned me, and I glowered at him. He had been repeating that statement over ten minutes now, and the constant reminder grated on my nerves.

It wasn't even my fault. My father had a meeting with Aro, his Chief of Staff, to discuss some important things regarding the new proposed amendments in the fiscal policy, and he had required my presence. My gut feeling told me he wanted me to see how he handled things, and in turn, prepare me for my future role as monarch. My responsibilities seemed so huge now that I was involved in most of them. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed and just wanted to escape it all, but the urgency I could feel in my father prevented me from doing just that.

Aside from listening and observing silently in the sideline, I didn't do much in this meeting, but I had to admit I learned a few things. The cool demeanor my father exhibited as he listened and weighed in each proposal was something he had learned from years of experience, and there was no question I need a lot of those in order to achieve what he had.

The meeting went a little late, so here I was, rushing to go to my next appointment.

"I already called Margaret to tell her you're on your way," Emmett informed me.

I nodded, pinching the bridge of my nose in the hopes of quelling the beginnings of a headache. Margaret was my mother's assistant and knew all to well how my mother reacted to any kind of lateness.

There was a small crowd gathered outside The Palace. Felix, the head of my security for almost five years, walked ahead of me to insure no untoward incident would happen.

Once we were inside the car, I slumped back on my seat, hoping to get a little rest before we arrived at the museum. This week had been one meeting after the other, and the early mornings and late nights had started to take its toll on me, making me grouchy and irritable most of the time. Thankfully, I was allowed to have this coming weekend for myself for a little fun and excitement. I needed those, and even Emmett's required presence couldn't dampen my spirit. He was one cool guy, if you could get past his stiff and serious demeanor.

There was a very important painting in the National Museum that would be auctioned for cancer research, and that was where we were going, or were supposed to be ten minutes ago. Not only was this auction significant because of its purpose, but because the highlight of this event was the announcement of a foundation in honor of my brother. My mother had even called me herself this morning to remind me, just in case I had forgotten she said.

The program should have started, but I hoped I wasn't too late for everything. It was my task to announce the foundation, which was the reason why Emmett looked like he would punch my driver, Oliver, for not heeding his instructions to floor it. I sighed. Emmett was very efficient in his work, a little strict for my taste, but still a knowledgeable advisor to me. His desire to get to the museum definitely had a connection to his need to see the Prince Alec Carlisle Cullen Foundation whipped into shape. His devotion to my late brother was something I could totally understand.

It had taken us almost half an hour to reach the museum, and by that time, Margaret had incessantly called Emmett every damn minute for updates on our location.

It was hardly a surprise to see my mother irritated when I arrived. She gave me a disapproving look, which I ignored and just leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.

"Edward, you're here … finally," she said.

"I'm sorry for the delay, Mother. Father had me sit beside him during the whole discussion about policies and taxation, so it was hard for me to slip out," I reasoned.

She gave me a tight smile and proceeded to arrange my tie.

"I was hoping for you to do better than this, son. Did you inform your father about your role in this event before you started?"

She wasn't angry, but her voice reeked of authority.

"It slipped my mind entirely," was my lame excuse. "Besides, isn't that what Emmett is for?"

She shook her head, like she couldn't believe I just said that. "Next time Edward, tell your father about previous engagements so he could make arrangements."

"Yes, I'll remember that."

"Your Majesty, they're waiting," Margaret interrupted, holding a pad of paper in her arm. She looked at me and nodded her head in greeting. "Prince Edward."

"Good afternoon, Margie," I greeted back, winking at her. She was in her mid-forties, and the way she giggled when I did that made her look younger.

My mother wrapped her hand around my offered arm, and we made our way toward the function room, followed by a still giggling Margaret.

"Don't flirt with her, Edward. She's already married," my mother said, trying to hide a smile.

"Well, that's too bad. She's a lovely woman, Mother, and it's a shame she's already taken," I teased back and received a nudge from her.

"You, shush! No talking about my assistant that way," she lectured. "She might think you're serious and leave that adorable Frank of hers."

I turned to see Margaret amused and trying to rein in her giggles. She too was enjoying this banter between my mother and me.

"Is that too bad?" I goaded my mother. She gave me a mischievous wink, and I laughed.

I knew I inherited her sense of humor.

OOOOOOOOOO

The reception to an Alec Foundation was, as expected, astounding. There were already several major donations made in the span of thirty minutes after the announcement was made, and some very important people had already vouched their time. It was amazing to see the devotion and love the people had for my brother and his memory. I only wish I could touch lives the same way he did.

Pure joy could be seen on my mother's face and that delighted me. Hopefully, the establishment of this foundation could somehow alleviate, even a little, the pain of her loss. And maybe it would.

There was a happy buzz surrounding the gallery of the museum, where the people had converged after the auction. I was conversing with my mother when my father approached us. He had stood at the far corner of the function room, his face impassive, while I delivered my speech. A moment of doubt passed through me as he came closer, but the look of pride as he congratulated me quelled my uncertainty.

He clapped me on the back, a sign of recognition for a job well done, and I felt relief … satisfaction. It was rare for him to even acknowledge I did something right, and this – his approval – gave me confidence to strive hard to become the king he wanted me to be.

I blew out a long hard breath as I tried to search for something to say, but my father had turned away from me to my mother. He leaned down to whisper something in her ear, and her eyes started to water. He took her hands and raised them to his mouth, kissing each one. It was as if they had forgotten about me and were in their own bubble. The affectionate way he held her made me envious. They shared something special, and that something made me feel excluded.

OOOOOOOOOO

Riley grinned at me while he toasted, ribbing Jake in the process.

"So are you ready for all this?" He waved his hand around.

"I'm not, but I need to," I answered. "Don't worry, if I don't do a good job, you can have a take at it."

He choked on his wine. His face was all flushed, and he had to cough a few times to settle himself. Jake was laughing his ass off.

"Damn, cousin. You can call first dibs on the crown, I wouldn't mind," Riley said, wiping the tears from his eyes that had pooled in them.

"No one of the two of you really wants it. Perhaps I can take care of that," Jake said loudly.

"How will you do that?" Riley asked, all serious and interested.

"Why don't you give it to me? I would accept gladly … with both damn hands," Jake answered, amusement danced in his eyes.

A few people nearby had turned their heads, clearly having heard Jake's teasing. I didn't think anybody had taken Jake's joke as anything but.

I was mistaken.

Victoria, Riley's girlfriend, had made her way into our group and made it known she didn't like what she heard.

"Jake, I don't think it's nice to make declarations when the current prince is most capable to become king," she commented with an air of superiority.

"Victoria, nice to see you," Jake said. The sarcasm wasn't lost to anyone.

Victoria was clearly only after the prestige of being the girlfriend of a successor to the throne. She was so obvious in her motives, everyone knew about it. The only one who was blind to her plans was my cousin himself. Sometimes I pitied the guy, but most times, I wanted to smack him for being so stupidly in love with the gold digger.

It didn't help that he was as much as uninterested to be the next monarch as I was. That infuriated Victoria next to the fact I was still alive and in the way of her dreams. She was a pretty girl and had a nice body, and she for certain knew how to carry herself. And that was what made Riley fall for her. Poor guy. He didn't even know she had tried to put her moves on me first; I was just not interested.

"We were just making conversation, Vicky. Jake didn't mean anything by it," Riley explained, trying to diffuse the tension between her and Jake.

"Don't worry, I was also just making conversation," she said, smiling sweetly at him.

"If you'll excuse us, I need to talk to Edward," Jake said and signaled for me to follow him.

I gave Riley a nod and hardly gave a glance to his girl before I went to Jake.

"That girl is crazy," he muttered, clearly irritated. "I really don't understand why your aunt hasn't kicked that girl away from her son. She's so protective of him, but when it comes to that Victoria …"

"I know," I answered. "Aunt Helga seems to have gotten under her spell as well. Maybe she's a freaking witch."

"I'd be the first to put her to the stakes if she is," Jake said, and we laughed. Victoria wasn't good for Riley, but he didn't listen to the advice of other people about her.

"Oh well, let him learn his lesson the hard way," I said and earned a toast of cheer from Jake.

We had moved on to the conversation of cars when I saw Heidi. She was surrounded by a bunch of journalists who were obviously looking for something to write about, and it was clear from the expression on her face she was uncomfortable.

"It looks like I need to go save Heidi from the vultures," I said.

He turned his head towards where my gaze was – to where Heidi looked as if she was ready to slap someone, but was too polite to do so. "It looks like it."

"I'll talk to you later, Jake."

"Yeah, see you Friday night. Don't be late!" he reiterated.

Ever since my responsibilities increased, I had little time to do anything but rest. He insisted he would come with me this weekend to ski, and somehow I was grateful for the company. It seemed he and Emmett had one thing in common – stubbornness. Maybe that was why I was comfortable with their company.

I was within a foot away when the reporters spotted me. The sudden interest could be seen in their eyes, but I wasn't in the mood to indulge them.

"Hey everyone," I greeted, nodding at each one. "Can I please excuse Heidi for a moment? I need to discuss something important with her."

"Oh, that's a shame, Your Highness. Here we thought you came over to grace us with an interview," Bart, an entertainment journalist, said. He looked hopeful and so were the others.

"Maybe next time. I'll inform Emmett so he could make arrangements for you," I replied politely. "For now, I just need a private moment with my sister-in-law."

The need to emphasize on the sister-in-law was to squash any negative notion they might have formed from what I just did. Reporters often stretch, or worse, twist the truth in order to have an edge in a very competitive business. We were in the category most targeted by the press, and we had to learn how to deflect, deal and handle them.

"Thank you for coming here today. I appreciate all your support for Alec," Heidi said, and smiled before I ushered her away.

"I thought you needed saving," I told her.

She smiled. "Those pesky reporters make my head ache. They're so annoying."

"And damn persistent."

"That's why I want to thank you for taking me away from those sharks."

"I know you'd do the same for me," I said confidently. "So how are you?"

"I'm better," she replied.

"I can see that." She looked healthier than the last time I saw her. The circles around her eyes had subsided.

"Yeah. I'm t-trying my best to … you know … move on. It's still hard, but I know that's what Alec would want me to do."

"I'm glad to hear that, Heidi."

"And I enrolled in baking school-"

"You did?"

I didn't know she liked baking, but if that would make her happy, then I was glad. Alec would want to see her happy.

"I'm not really a good baker, quite the opposite in fact, but I just need the distraction."

"If you need anything, just-"

"I'm fine, Edward," she said, placing her hand on my arm. "I'm not as vulnerable as I seem."

She was right. After what she had gone through these past months, nobody could dispute what she said.

There was a sound in her purse, and she fished out her cell phone to read the message.

"My mom is ready to go," she informed me. "But I just want to say thank you for that wonderful speech you made about Alec."

First it was my parents, then Heidi. I really wasn't sure what I did. As far as I know, I delivered what I thought was an appropriate tribute in honor of his memory.

"You really don't know?" she asked, surprised.

I shook my head, and she beamed.

"Edward, if you could have seen your face while you talked about Alec … it was mesmerizing," she said. "You could have sold anything with the kind of passion we saw in you."

"I just told you guys what I felt."

"And it was amazing," she stated, proud just like my parents earlier. "It was simple, but amazing."

OOOOOOOOO

People milled around the exhibit after the excitement of the night had died down, admiring the different art pieces being showcased.

I had been doing the rounds, chatting with friends and acquaintances, and checking out the art. There was one particular painting I couldn't take my eyes away from. A pool of colors was meshed together to form an angel. I didn't want to admit it, but something about the Angel reminded me of Bella.

And there it was. The reason I had been feeling melancholy these past few days. Even the usual sweetness between my parents I was familiar with elicited a jealousy in me.

It had something to do with her. I was sure of it.

It had started after I left her in that restaurant. I should have realized earlier the uneasiness I felt had been because of her. That visit to her was definitely a mistake. I shouldn't have gone there. I shouldn't have talked to her … touched her. I knew what would happen. And I feared it already happened – this fixation … this craving of her.

That was why I was bothered, and I had a good reason to be. If I didn't rein in this urge … this uneasiness within, I would be back where I was three years ago. She had always been my drug, an addiction so good, yet so bad at the same time.

I sighed loudly.

"I could see the lines on your forehead, Prince Edward."

I glared at him, and he held his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. Edward it is."

I turned to the painting again, trying to ignore him, in the hopes he would go away.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," I answered, hoping that simple answer would satisfy him.

"Really? I highly doubt it's nothing," he said, his voice nonchalant.

I had come to know Emmett a little more over the weeks he had been with me. This little exchange meant more than he wanted it to look like.

"That fierce concentration on your face definitely reads something … something important."

"Do you know you're nosy?"

"That's my job," he declared. "So do you want to discuss her?"

"Her? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Maybe not."

He moved to my other side and leaned forward to examine the painting closer.

"I'll tell you this Edward," he said, his eyes focused on the Angel, my angel. "If you want her back, then win her back."

"I don't want-"

"That's bull and you know it," he accused, turning his head to hold my gaze.

I blew out a loud breath, trying to clear my mind, but his words and the implication behind them unnerved me. My heart started hammering against my chest, and I could feel the blood pounding in my ears.

What he said … that was what I wanted, but it wasn't that easy. Bella and I … we were miles away from each other, and I was not talking about the distance.

"Decisions are important, and you of all people, know that. If you don't have the balls to make proper decisions for yourself, then how the heck would you determine what's good for others? As the future leader, that's very important. Think about that, Edward."

And that was all I did after he left me alone to pester someone else.

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