Hello, my lovely readers! So I am posting this chapter tonight, and am very happy about it. But here's the thing, I know what's going to happen…in a couple more chapters. But I'm not sure what's going to happen before then. So hopefully this chapter is good, but I'll let you judge that for yourself.
Edward
"What's your name?" I asked. I needed a name for this lovely girl.
"Bella," she breathed, seemingly dazed for an unknown reason. I half-wished that this reason was me. I half-wished that she was dazed because I was here.
"You may go," I informed her, releasing my hold on her wrist – an action that had been, while active, shooting pleasant shocks up my arm.
I watched as she walked back down the path and out the gate, hypnotized by the way her hair shimmered in the light, swishing slightly as she walked, her hips swaying the smallest bit. It made her look beautiful.
Just like her name. A beautiful girl, a beautiful name.
I walked to my study after she left, my mind wandering to a place that was so different than the hallway that my footsteps were echoing off of in the current moment; my mind was wandering to her.
I passed various people while I put one foot in front of the other many times in my walk to the study – the cook, a very nice woman that was like a mother to me, Spoden, who looked shocked at my expression but kept walking passed me anyway, my older brother Emmett, and a few of the servants. Some of them, Emmett included, had been worried or curious about my current state. I remembered Emmett's words well.
"What's up with you, my little brother? Been hit by Cupid's arrow?" He teased, giving me a wink before continuing down the hallway.
He didn't hear me as I whispered back from thirty feet away, "I think so."
I sank down into the armchair that I had been sitting in before I put my book down, before I had been interrupted by Spoden, and before Bella showed up. In other words, before my life had been slightly altered.
My only question was how. How had my life been altered? I was pretty sure that it had been changed for the better. After all, meeting a girl that captured your interest, though I had no idea how much interest, must be a good thing. Wasn't it a good thing to be feeling the emotions that were so vitally important to the heart?
I rang the bell on my desk, and a servant appeared not five seconds later.
"Yes, sir?" she asked, a playful twinkle in her eye. I suppressed the urge to shudder. Many of the female servants flirted with me, never getting the hint that I wasn't interested in the slightest.
"Send up Prince Emmett," I commanded her, turning my head away and leaving her disappointed as she walked away to meet my demands.
A few minutes later, Emmett burst through the doors, his giant frame immediately making me feel more comfortable; having my brother with me brought back memories of the old days at home.
"Bonjour, little Eddie." I winced at the childhood nickname that Emmett had once made up to annoy me. "What services of mine do you require?"
He then proceeded to give me and over-the-top bow. I chuckled lightly and gestured for him to sit. He did so, and then I began.
"I need…help," I informed him, not knowing the exact word to tack on at the end.
"With what?" Emmett's face had turned serious at my expression. He must've thought that something was wrong.
"Well…I…saw a girl…and I'm not sure what to do," I told him, carefully selecting my words.
"Finally falling for Tanya?" he teased, but he also seemed genuinely curious underneath. I scowled at him.
"Of course not."
"Then who is it?" Emmett prodded. I decided to skip that question altogether. It would not do to tell Emmett that I might have been momentarily entranced by a servant. I wasn't sure that I was even really interested in her, but Emmett would find something to tease me about nonetheless.
"It doesn't matter who it is, I just need some information."
"Like…" Emmett trailed off, his tone turning questioning at the end.
"Well, it might be hard for me to form rhetorical questions, so…what was the feeling when you and Rosalie first met?" I was longing for the answer, wanting to know if his feelings toward Rosalie at first sight were the same as mine. I almost wished they were, but I then realized that that would mean that I was falling for a servant. Not totally unforgivable, but almost wrong. I wasn't sure what I wanted to hear come from Emmett's mouth.
"My first thought," he began, "was 'what a beauty'. And she was. But I'd have to say that the first thing that I felt when I really got to know her was a kind of entrancement. I was caught up in her. I didn't hear what she said half the time, I only listened to the sound of her voice and paid attention to what she did. I don't think my mind was ever really there when she was first around, but I'm now more aware of everything that she says and does. And then, when she's gone, even for the smallest amount of time, I don't feel whole. I just need her there. I can't exactly describe the feeling. Why do you ask?"
Instead of answering him, I put up my index finger to indicate that I needed a moment. He nodded and leaned back in his chair, leaving me to my thoughts.
I remembered the instant that I had seen Bella. I had been struck by her beauty, longing for her to stay. I had a craving to hear her voice. I savored the sound, committing it to memory. And then, once I heard it, I didn't want the delicious sound to stop. I remembered the feeling of being off, lost in my thoughts with her around. They had always been of her.
But the most powerful feeling was the tingle that went through me every time I felt her touch. When I grabbed her wrist to ask her name, they were sent through me, and I felt as if they were the most wonderful feeling in the world. And then, as I let her go, they stopped. They flowed to the end of my fingertips and almost out to her. I had felt like she had taken something – a part of me, or an emotion – away with her, but I had shaken it off.
I had been feeling exactly what Emmett had described, except maybe a little more different. I had fallen for this servant.
"Oh," I whispered, my thoughts catching up with me. "Thank you Emmett. You may leave now."
My big brute of a brother looked at me with confusion etched on his face because of the sudden pardon, shrugged, and then walked out of the room muttering something that sounded like, "Well, it just means that I can spend more time with Rosalie."
I sighed and returned to my thoughts.
As I looked around, my gaze fell upon the book I had been reading. It had had something to do with music, pain, love…
I had a sudden urge to play the piano, and my feet guided me to the bench of their own accord.
I sat down slowly, feeling all of my emotions run through my body, through my core, out of my fingertips.
A face floated beneath my eyelids as I closed them to take a breath. Not just any face, but her face. Bella's face.
As my eyes opened one again, a sudden emotion so strong came through me, and the piano bursted with song.
Softly, they played, my fingertips just barely touching the tops of the keys. A light melody played, the sound so sweet to hear.
And as I thought of her, the notes came more easily, sticking to my memory.
Most people could not hear it, but I could detect the soft undertone of longing hidden beneath the light chords. And the main notes played soft and sweet, the exact same way that she was.
I closed my eyes once again, letting her face, her beauty, and her voice wash over me. The melody rang in my ears, and then I felt it drifting to a close, the notes hinting at an end.
I pulled my hands away from the keys, astonished at what had happened.
I hadn't been able to play my beloved instrument for weeks, and all of a sudden, a random girl comes to my gate, delivers a message, and I can create a tune in an instant.
The girl must've been magic, for she was the only inspiration that I had found.
And then I knew that my previous assumption was correct.
I was falling for this girl. Hard.
Eh, that chapter was kind of iffy. Although I'm not sure that I can work with Edward's character too well. And some things will definitely start happening soon.
By the way, my poll – to those of you that haven't voted and would like this story to be my main priority – will be closed by the second of January. Happy voting!