Chapter 5: London

After I was able to recompose myself I turned to Alice and asked her what we were going to do in London; thinking, while I asked, that hopefully more shopping was not involved.

"Well," Alice started, "first thing after we get there we are going to check into the hotel and then you are going to sleep. After that there will probably be sightseeing, plays, movies, nightlife, expensive dinners and those kinds of things."

"Alice, are we done with the shopping?" I asked hoping for her to say we were.

"Maybe it will depend on a few things when we get there."

"What kind of things?"

"Time mostly. That and schedules it is nothing for you to worry about that is my job to figure out," Alice said as she ruffled my hair.

I nodded and went to look at a magazine. I must have fallen asleep though because next thing I knew we were landing in London and I was being shook and told it was time to get off the plane. I got up ran my fingers through my hair straightened my clothes as best I could and got ready to get off the plane. If there was anything I learned from watching tv it was to look as good as you can when getting off of a private jet, you never know who is watching.

We got off the plane and got right into a limo that was waiting on the tarmac. The voice asked us where to and I could swear I knew that voice but it couldn't be so I put it out of my head. Edward couldn't be here.

Alice answered and said, "Plaza on the River."

It must be the name of the hotel we were staying at and knowing them it would be a five star swanky hotel. Alice then said something to the driver I didn't catch I only know she did because I could see her mouth move. It was a quiet drive and as I was about to fall asleep the car stopped and in front of me was what looked like an office building. So much for curb appeal or were they trying to blend in being as it looked like they were surrounded by office buildings. Esme went to check in and then we were in our suite. Yeah it was a lot better looking on the inside I thought to myself. How did our bags get here before we did? I guess I just didn't notice the bellhop. Alice told me to go rest and showed me where my room was. I went in to lie down and instead I screamed.

There right in front of me sprawled on the bed was Edward my Edward. I was so happy to see him. Esme and Rosalie ran in to see what was wrong I guess Alice hadn't let them in on the surprise. Alice can in then beaming and asked if I liked my surprise. Of course I did I loved it. I climbed into bed as the other three left the room. I just looked into Edwards eyes for a minute or two.

"I thought I heard your voice in the car," I said quietly.

"Yeah, I know Alice told me I wasn't allowed to say anything else until you came into the room. I thought I would die. I wanted so much to talk to you and tell you that everything was going to be ok."

"I just wanted to go home so that I could be with you. I feel safe and strong with you near me. I missed you."

"I missed you too," he said as he started to hum my lullaby and stroke my hair.

I curled up into him and let him sing me to sleep. Now that I had him by my side I could do anything and all I wanted was for him to hold me and do exactly what he was doing. I drifted off to sleep.

Edward must have put me under my blankets while I was out because when I woke up I was warm and comfortable and then I opened my eyes and sure enough I was tucked into my bed. Edward was lying on top of the blankets like he did at home and had my cradled to him. There was also a sheepish grin on his face. Oh no what had I said in my sleep this time?

As soon as I was awake enough I sat up and asked him what I said.

"You must have had one heck of a dream," he told me. "You kept saying I do over and over again and then right when I thought you were done talking you asked me what I wanted to do. Only you called me Mr. Cullen and not Edward like you usually do."

No wonder he was smiling. I had given away the one thing I was trying to hide from the world. I had let him see that I was excited for our wedding. I hadn't wanted anyone to find out how truly excited I was getting about my wedding.

I hadn't looked at Edward since he started telling me what I had said in my sleep. Now I didn't want to, I didn't want to blush anymore than I already was. That's when Edward lifted my face with his finger so that I had to look at him. Sure enough I felt the rush of blood to my face and knew that I was blushing redder than I was before. He only sighed and took my face in both of his hands. He kissed my forehead, both of my eyes, the tip of my nose and then finally my mouth. It was a short sweet kiss and when he lifted his lips from mine he let them linger for a moment. Then he looked into my eyes.

"Bella, love don't worry I won't say a word about this to anyone."

Just then Alice burst into the room looking furious. "What is it you aren't telling?"

Edward glanced over at me and I just shook my head. If there was one person I didn't want knowing it was Alice. She saw the exchange that took place and was satisfied. She turned on her heels and walked to the door.

Without turning around Alice said, "If you are talking about what Bella said in her sleep, the three of us already know." Then she looked at me. "You weren't exactly quiet Bella." With that she left.

I laid back down and pulled the blankets over my head. I wanted to disappear. Edward didn't let me stay like that for long, he pulled the blankets down from my face. There was a grin on his face. He must have known what I was thinking.

"Bella, don't worry nothing is going to change. Rosalie and Esme won't say a word about it and Alice will go on being Alice."

"That's what I was afraid of Alice will try and make this wedding even bigger than it already is. I am happy with the way it is now and I think that is why I was so excited. It is going to be just the way I always wanted it to be."

"That is why Alice will be upset. She was hoping that she would be able to convince you to change a few things to make it bigger."

After I was calm enough to move I got out of my bed and got my shower things. I told Edward I was going to take my human moment now. He gave me a peck on my cheek and let me go. I took my time in the bathroom though it pained me to do so. I knew as long as I was in here I wouldn't have Alice tackling me, but on the flip side Edward was out there and I wanted to be with him. Who knew when Alice would take him away again. I turned on the shower and let it warm up. I then got in and let the water run over me; get rid of the knots I had from traveling. I thought while I was in the shower about the three back home and what was about to come. I was worried for them. I hoped that Charlie not being there wouldn't bring danger to my soon to be family. After a while of thinking of worst possible outcomes I decided I had been in here long enough, I was starting to prune so I turned the water off and got out. I combed through my hair and brushed my teeth.

When I came out of the bathroom I could smell one of the most wonderful smells I had since I left Edward to go on this crazy trip. It meant only one thing. Edward made breakfast. I almost ran to the front room to see but tripped half way down the hallway. Before I hit the floor Edward was there to catch me. He carried me out and sat me at the table. There in front of me was a meal fit more for royalty than for me. It was pancakes with fruit and whip cream on top, eggs scrambled just the way I liked and topped with cheese, ham, fresh cut fruit, and hot chocolate. I thanked Edward and started to eat. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I was putting the last bite into my mouth. Alice must have known that I had finished because just then she appeared.

She pulled me out of my seat and carried me to her room. When she put me down she had that all too familiar look on her face. She wanted to play Bella Barbie again. I knew there was no way out of it so I braced myself for the torture that was about to begin. Next thing I knew there were two sets of hands in my hair blow drying it. After they finished they started to put gel and curlers in my hair. Rosalie left after that to go get ready for the day herself. Alice was doing my makeup. This was a normal routine to me now. I swear I could have done it myself but it wouldn't look near as good as it did when she did it. I liked the first part of it anyways. She seemed to massage my face as she rubbed moisturizer into my face. Today, though, she didn't follow the routine. She did my makeup different from the way she usually did. When she finished she handed me a tube of lipstick and one of lip gloss, she then handed me mascara and told me that I would need them later and to put them into my purse.

"What purse?" I asked confused.

"The one that is on your bed with the outfit you are to wear today of course. You really think I am going to let you dress yourself. You wouldn't know where to start.'

I just nodded. She was right of course. At that she sent me to get dressed. I protested going out into the main room with the curlers in my hair. Alice didn't care she just pushed me out of her room. I looked up to see Edward standing not ten feet away and looking right at me.

"What has Alice done to you?" He asked trying not to laugh.

"She and Rosalie put curlers in my hair." I said between clenched teeth.

I then ducked my head and went to my room. There on my bed was an outfit that I didn't know if I could pull off. It was a sleeveless white flowered dress with a denim jumper that went over it. There was a pink ribbon next to it with a note saying to put it through the belt loops and tie it in a bow. There was a pair of shoes on the floor by the bed, I thought they looked like death. They were four inch wedges that had a peep toe and a strap at the ankle. They were the same shade of pink as the ribbon. I got dressed and grabbed the shoes and the black bag she had left for me and went back to her room.

Edward wasn't out in the main room anymore he must have gone for a walk or something. When I got into Alice's room she took one look at me and came to fix me. I hadn't known that she didn't want me to button the jumper all the way down so she unbuttoned it to my waist and then fixed the skirt of the dress. She put me in front of a mirror and had me look. Wow, I actually looked nice. She took the curlers out and piled some of them on top of my head and let the others fall softly down my back. She then strapped the shoes on my feet. After she was done she called Esme and Rosalie in and showed them. While they were telling me how nice I looked Alice's phone rang. It was Edward he wanted to know if he could come back yet. Alice told him he could and then took me out to the front room. There waiting for me was Edward and he had a single pink rose which he handed me. Alice took it and put it in my hair. Edward thanked her and took me by the hand and led me out of the hotel.

Once we were outside Edward took me in his arms and kissed me. He then led me to a car and asked me where I wanted to go. He told me to pick anywhere in the city and we could go there. There were so many places I wanted to go which one first. I decided to go with Buckingham Palace. As we drove there, Edward told me all about the history of the castle. It was great; Edward was my own personal tour guide. When we got there we were just in time to go on a tour of the stables and the gardens.

It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. The carriages were very ornate but the gardens were even better. The flowers were in bloom and the hedges surrounding it looked wonderful. It was like being in a carefully looked after version of Edward's and my meadow.

It was about noon and Edward insisted that I eat. I wanted to skip lunch and go see more stuff. We decided on the London Tower. Edward had seen that there was now a place to eat at the tower so we would both get our way. Once we got there I ate quickly and then we went to look at the towers.

There were only a couple of things I wanted to see here. The first being Traitor's Gate and the other was Tower hill. These were places I felt I deserved to be. I was betraying everything I 

knew. I was betraying Jacob. I was ok with all of it because I will be getting Edward for eternity.

I did however feel a tinge of guilt for the betraying Jacob part. I know how much this is hurting him and I am doing it anyways. There was no good solution with him. But here I am betraying him none the less. I am going to become the very thing he protected me from. It was for this reason alone I wanted to see where almost four centuries earlier I would have walked for this crime.

"Are you ready to go?" Edward's soft voice asked from behind me. "There is somewhere I want to take you before it gets too late."

I shook my head in consent and let him direct me to the car. He put me in and went around getting in the car himself. We drove in silence for a little while and then Edward looked at me. He looked confused.

"Why of everything there is to see at London Tower did you want to see those?"

I knew he would ask and I also knew the truth would be best. "I wanted to see the place that if I had lived in the time Carlise was changed I would have gone for the crimes I am committing against Jacob."

Edward's face said everything that needed to be said. He was worried about me. He would be crying if he could because he knew that eventually I would figure out just how hard this was going to be. Why did it have to be now? This was supposed to be a fun wonderful trip.

"Bella," he said quietly full of thought, "are you changing your mind? Do you want to call the whole thing off?"

"No!" I almost yelled. "No, I want this you know I do."

At that he pulled me close to him and kissed my forehead. We drove the rest of the way in silence with him holding me close. When we stopped I noticed we were on a street lined with shops. I looked at him like he was crazy.

"Trust me," was all he said.

I gave him a questioning look and he got out and opened my door. I got out and took his hand wishing I had a different pair of shoes to wear. I had been tripping over these all day.

I let Edward start guiding me down the street. I noticed as we passed the first couple of stores that they were all book stores. I started to smile.

"All the stores on this street are book stores or music stores. Some even have both. I thought this would be a perfect street for us," Edward told me and I could tell he had put a lot of thought into this. "If you see a store you want to go in just tell me."

I nodded into his chest so that he knew I got it. As we walked I saw a lot of stores that looked interesting but not any I wanted to go into until we got to Foyles. It was big, and I needed new books or Edward would get on my case again because I was going to have to start Wuthering 

Heights again. I looked around and finally came across a set of books that looked promising. I decided to buy them and give them a read. At least it would make it so that I wasn't reading Wuthering Heights again.

After Edward paid for my books, without my permission, we left in look of another interesting store. It didn't take long before we came upon a second hand book shop and I wanted to go in. I found another book there and now felt like I was set on my reading for a while. I told Edward to pick the next place. He chose his favorite store, Argents. IT is a music store that also has a few books, most of them about music. Edward went through the CD's and picked out a few he didn't already own and then went to look at sheet music. He confessed that this was how he would get inspiration when the writer's block set in. When we walked out of the store we noticed that the sun was starting to set and Edward said that we had better get going.

Not, two seconds after we got to the car my bag was ringing. I opened it to find a phone just like the ones Edward's family carried. I answered and of course it was Alice. She walked me through everything I needed to do to finish my look she wanted me to have for this evening.

When I hung up I noticed we weren't moving anymore and so I looked to see where we were. We were back at the hotel. What was going on? Edward helped me out of the car and we went to dinner in the nicest restaurant here. After dinner we got back in the car and there on the seat were a dozen roses with a note. The note said simply to open the glove box. Edward was in the car by then and watching me. I opened the glove box and in it was a velvet box. Edward pulled it out and opened it for me. It was a gold necklace with an hourglass hanging from it. There were also other charms in the box with it.

"Those are for your bracelet," Edward said.

There were only three different ones in the box but there were two of each so that I could change the charm on my necklace if I wanted to. There was a clam that opened and had a pearl inside, a gold heart with a single diamond on it, an apple, and another hourglass for my bracelet. They were all beautiful. Edward put them on my bracelet careful not to let either of my other charms get covered. He always thought about things like that. He then fastened my necklace around my neck.

I had no idea where we were going but when we stopped it was in front of a theater. He paid a valet to park the car, blindfolded me and took me inside. Once we were seated he took the blindfold off. We were seated in one of the balconies that lined the side of the theater. The ones where all the rich people in the movies sat. I tried asking what we were going to see but he only smiled and told me to be patient.

It wasn't long before the play started and I recognized the music. We were here to see Les Miserables. I was in shock. Why would Edward take me to see this? It didn't take long before I was captivated. When Fantine died I started to cry. It was sad all she wanted was to take care of her little girl and it had ended up killing her. It made me think of Edward's mother and how with her last breath she asked Carlise to take care of Edward and save him. By intermission I was so engulfed in the show that it took me a minute to realize that the house lights had come back up.

Edward was watching me now. I wondered how long he had been. I looked at him and blushed. I then looked down feeling self conscious. He lifted my face until my eyes met his. He ran his finger along me cheek and then let go.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"It is wonderful. Though there are things in this that remind me of you," I confessed.

"Things that remind you of me, what?"

"Well, just little things like your mother dying and asking Carlise to take care of you and save you just like Fantine asked Valijean to do."

"Well, I guess I can see that but Bella that happened to a lot of people back then."

As he said that the lights started to dim and the show started again. It opened with a love song in the second act. I spent the rest of the show thinking about how it seemed to be a story about Edward. I had a hard time getting it out of my mind. There was one line that Marius said in a song in act one that was stuck in my mind. "… A ghost you say a ghost maybe, she seemed just like a ghost to me one minute there then she was gone." That was a good way to describe what it was like when Edward disappeared. The song went on and said "… Red I feel my soul on fire, Black my world if she's not there, Red the color of desire. Black the color of despair…" It was so true. That was just how it felt.

It was then that I came back to reality and it was Eponine singing about having Marius at her side but only in her dreams. I couldn't help but think of Jacob. It made watching the rest of the show very difficult. Now that I had renamed the characters it seemed so much more real to me.

Once the show was over and I was crying Edward just held me until I was ready to go. When we got home he took me to my room and let me get ready for bed. When I came out of the bathroom he was waiting for me and held me close and sang my lullaby to me. I fell asleep and had strange dreams of wolves fighting vampires and Jacob disappearing from in front of me. I woke up suddenly calling Jacob not knowing where he went. I told Edward about it and he said there was nothing to worry about. I was just dreaming. That I must have connected with characters from the show and personalized it. That seemed to make sense so I went back to sleep. When I woke up in the morning Edward was holding me in his lap. I must not have been sleeping very well. I asked him what had happened. He told me that if he hadn't been holding me I would have broken something because I was fighting in my sleep. I was kicking and throwing punches until he took me in his arms then I slept peacefully the rest of the night.

I got out of bed and took a shower. I just needed to clear my head. I knew that today we were going to The Globe Theater and to Carnaby Street. I was excited for the first part of our day. This was the day that Alice got to plan herself. When I got out once again breakfast was ready, and after breakfast Alice got me ready again. Today's primping was easier than yesterday. She dried my hair and curled it with an iron today so that I had soft curls. She pulled a few into a pony and left the rest. My makeup was minimal today. She sent me to get dressed when she was done and I looked at her praying that my shoes today were a little more realistic. I wasn't in the mood to try my luck again today. The only reason I didn't kill myself on my shoes yesterday was Edward.

When I got to my room I was happy to see that they were pink canvas tennis shoes. The same shade as the ones I wore yesterday. My outfit for today was easier too. It was a polo that had the same floral as the under dress I wore yesterday but with a solid pink collar. She had it pair with a pair of overalls and the same pink ribbon that she had me put through the belt loops yesterday. I got dressed and was a lot more comfy today. I didn't feel like all eyes would be on me. I put on the necklace that Edward got me but with the heart charm on it today. I then grabbed my bag and went out in the front room ready to go. Everyone looked at me when I came out and everyone turned to look at me. I blushed as I closed my door and walked over to them.

Alice piped up then and said ok lets go. We all went out to the car and Alice Rosalie and Esme climbed in the back so that Edward and I could sit up front together. It was a quiet drive to the theater too quiet it seemed. Once we got there though everyone seemed happy so I let it go. We spent the whole morning and part of the afternoon there looking at different things. We would have been there longer but Alice insisted that we leave to go do some shopping. So once again we climbed into the car. A short drive later we were shopping. Alice and Rosalie took me to shop with them while Esme took Edward. After Edward and Esme left us Alice said that all of today's shopping was dedicated to me and Edward so that we could find a gifts for each other. I knew what I wanted to get but finding it would be a little harder. Getting it home in one piece would be even harder. I wanted to get a glass piano for him.

"Bella, that is perfect," Alice said obviously having just seen what I decided to get for Edward.

She then took my hand and started to drag me towards the trinket shops. It took looking in seven or eight shops before I found what I was looking for. The sales person came over and was very helpful, they must work on commission. She showed us all the options for setting the piano. As soon as I saw the music box setting I started to look and see what you could do for the music part of it. I noticed that you could put your own song on it if you had a CD copy of it. Immediately I wished that I had the CD I had gotten for my last birthday with me. That's when Alice pulled it out. She handed it to me and I thought I was going to burst I was so excited. I told the Lady that I wanted the music box with the mirrored glass. She asked what song I wanted and I told her I wanted the create your own and then handed her the CD. She said it would be about an hour before it was ready so we left and I let Alice go wherever she wanted. I was so happy that I had found exactly what I wanted that I didn't care what we did. An hour later we picked up the music box which we had gift wrapped and then went to meet Edward and Esme for dinner.

When we got back to the hotel Alice told me not to get out. I looked at her confused. Edward said that they were just going to get our bags we were going to fly home tonight. We were needed at home. I realized then that that was the reason that it was so quiet in the car today. Ten minutes later we were joined by the rest of the group.

We were on the plane headed home and Edward was humming my lullaby.

Please Please Please let me know what you think.

Oh and I don't own any of these characters. I wasn't the creative genius behind Les Mis or Twilight.