I tried to get this out early since Halloween was the 1 year anniversary of this story & the 3 year anniversary of my intro into the fandom. Truly, I did. Oh, well…
I own nothing Twilight…not even tickets since the showing I was going to see with my friends is already sold out. Blargle.
Chapter 16: Secret passages to where
Deep in the shadows of the forest a dark figure stood glaring at the spring house. He had been too far away to see clearly inside the building and didn't know who those two people were or why they were poking around but until he had time to address the issue, the incantation he cast was more than enough to keep them in one place. Fortunately, he had been riding by on his way to Masen Manor and had discovered the encroachment.
He pulled a small watch from his pocket and quickly glanced at it. Time was not on his side. A message had been delivered early that morning requesting an audience and he had to appear. To ignore the summons would create more attention than he was willing to deal with just now. With a sigh, he replaced his watch, tucking it into his coat.
A few choice words whispered under his breath caused the door of the spring house to glow ever so slightly.
"You two stay put. I'll be back soon enough after my conference with the fair Miss Green."
~HOH~
"Are you sure about this?" Bella inquired, holding the lantern up as she peered down the dark tunnel. Creepy, poorly illuminated passageways had spooked her ever since she'd read her first Nancy Drew mystery. She much preferred her mysteries to be of the historical variety where the modern comforts of good lighting, a cozy chair and perhaps a cup of something freshly brewed would help her puzzle out the past.
"Would you rather stay here?" Edward asked seriously, hoisting the crate that housed the mirror onto his back. He tugged on the rope harness he had created, tightening it so it remained securely in place.
"That would be a no," she replied, glaring at him for even suggesting such a thing.
"Well, then, my love, let us find out where this tunnel goes."
Bella held the lantern high with one hand in front of her as she cautiously stepped forward.
"What are you doing?" Edward asked a few minutes into the passageway.
"What?"
"This hand thing." He held one arm out to mimic hers, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. "What are you trying to do?"
"If you must know, Dr. Cullen, I don't like spider webs in my face and who knows how old this thing is."
Edward nodded in understanding as his eyes took in their surroundings.
"I don't think you're going to find any here, though." He touched the walls and found them to be cool but completely solid, smooth as plaster and rock hard. "This looks too new."
"So was the spring house but you saw all the decay there."
"True. Well, we won't get any further stopping here. Lead the way."
Together they made good progress. The floor was surprisingly level and the tunnel exceptionally straight, as if it had been plotted out by laser levels.
"Where do you think this goes?" Edward asked as he adjusted one of the ropes. For such a small mirror, it was remarkably heavy.
"I'm hoping it lets us out somewhere close to the manor house. I don't know the lay of the land well enough to get us back there and the last thing I want is to be lost in the woods," Bella replied, shifting the lantern from one hand to the next. She had given up holding one arm before her and shot a look at Edward when he had started to comment. He wisely remained mute on the issue.
"Did Anthony say anything to you? Give you any clues?"
"Nothing you didn't hear. I have a theory but it's not very scientifically sound."
"Nothing about this is scientifically sound, Bella." Edward took her hand and stopped her gently. "We've been sent back in time to figure out the disappearance of two people that there is very little information on. Before this week if you had told me witches like Maggie exist, I would have said, 'only around Halloween' or 'only in fiction' and been on my merry way."
He looked down at their joined hands and lightly ran his thumb over her knuckles.
"I am pretty open to any theories."
"The mirrors," Bella stated firmly, nodding her head.
"What?"
"Remember Maggie said her mother didn't like mirrors because they capture your soul?"
"Well, yes. It's was a common line of thought at the time."
"Well, what if they can. What if something, somehow, someone captured Marie and Anthony into these two mirrors. Marie's in one and Anthony's in the other. If Madame Masen or whatever her name is didn't like mirrors, it would explain why there are two identical ones on the estate. Who would waste money on such a luxury item if they didn't like them?"
Edward silently thought about what Bella had said. It made sense. Two mirrors, exactly the same, in two different locations. Questions filled his head and he began to mull them over. Bella mistook his silence for dissention.
"You don't agree?" Bella asked timidly.
"No, no! It makes perfect sense. But how could I see myself as Anthony in the mirror in our bedroom and if Marie and Anthony don't disappear until the end of the week, how can they be in the mirrors now?"
Bella's shoulders slumped at the questions and she murmured a weak, "I don't know."
"Bella," Edward sighed, pulling her close and wrapping his arms around her. "Just because we don't have all the answers right now doesn't mean we're not on the right track. We may never know all the answers."
He ran his hands soothingly up and down her back, enjoying just how right she felt in his arms. Bella sighed contently and slid her arms around his waist before nuzzling her cheek against his chest.
"Well that'll just suck."
Edward barked a laugh and shook his head before kissing her on top of the head.
"You don't give up easily, do you Miss Swan?"
"Nope. I'm rather hard-headed."
"That would explain why you keep challenging Emmett to arm wrestling matches."
Bella quite maturely stuck her tongue out at Edward before breaking into a grin.
"Come on. Let's see where this goes and see if Maggie had any luck with Alaric," he smiled, motioning for her to lead the way.
"I hope so." Bella's stomach took the opportunity to rumble at that moment. She blushed sweetly, rubbing her abdomen to soothe it. "It has been a while since breakfast. We never got to the picnic you arranged."
"No. We didn't."
"And I was looking forward to it. That was very sweet, Edward."
Bella continued down the tunnel, not noticing Edward was trying not to stare at how her skirts swished ever so slightly with every sway of her hips.
"I did have an ulterior motive," he admitted after a momentary pause.
"You did? What was it?" she called over her shoulder.
"I wanted to soothe your fears."
Bella stopped, her head hung down. Even without seeing her face, Edward knew she was blushing furiously.
"Bella, I'm not saying this to upset you. You talk in your sleep and I was concerned and Marie said…" His voice trailed off. Edward hoped he hadn't made things worse by telling her but he was an honest person and nine times out of ten, if someone asked him a question, regardless of the answer, he would give it to them.
"Marie said what?"
"That you had lost your confidence. I thought … maybe … that if I went back to wooing you that you'd realize what a wonderful, intelligent, beautiful woman you are and no matter what, I'm not going anywhere."
He reached out and took her hand, turning her to face him while he spoke. She looked into his eyes and even in the dim light of the lantern Bella could see the sincerity there. She took to heart just what Edward said and smiled sadly up at him. He could tell she was struggling with her emotions and quickly moved to lighten the mood.
"Well, yes, that and I want to figure all this out so I can get you alone so we can have our wicked ways with each other."
Bella laughed and slapped him playfully in the center of his chest. He caught her hand before she could do it again and lightly nipped at her fingertips.
"I love you, Miss Swan. And I'll do anything I can to make this right."
Bella stared at him silently for a few minutes before reaching up on tiptoe and lightly kissing him.
"Just when I think I can't love you any more, you do something so unbelievable, Dr. Cullen."
Their moment quickly shattered when a deep groaning noise erupted from behind Bella. The walls shook as if the ground was shifting beneath their feet.
"What was that?" she whispered as Edward quickly moved between her and the wall where the sound appeared to be coming.
"I'm not sure." He took the lantern from her hand and held it up to see the flat surface better.
Suddenly, the wall began to shake and shudder, dirt and rock showering down upon Bella.
"Do you think it's going to collapse?" Bella demanded, her voice getting louder and louder as she covered her head with her arms.
"Stay back!" Edward ordered, looking down the tunnel they had come from and then the way they were going, trying to decide which was a better option.
Suddenly, the noises stopped and a block of the wall slid away, revealing a door.
Edward and Bella stared at the door and then looked at each other and then back at the door.
The door quickly popped open and a dark, shadowy figure stood in the middle of the opening.
"Well, now! It worked!"
Bella and Edward relaxed immediately as they recognized Maggie's voice.
"I can't believe that actually worked!" she grinned, pulling Bella by the arm through the doorway. "I'm getting quite good at this! I've never done a wrinkle spell, but it worked on my first try!"
"Where are we?" Bella demanded, shaking dirt and debris from her hair.
"Mason Manor, of course!" Maggie beamed, motioning for Edward to follow. "When you two didn't return at sundown, I sent Fritz out to the spring house to check it out and he couldn't find you. So I looked up quick travel spells and found this one. Wrinkle in time, it was called. Oh, and you two appeared immediately! I'll have to do that one again. Would be such a timesaver."
"Sundown? We just left the spring house about 10 minutes ago," Edward said, carefully removing the crate from his back and placing it on the floor. He, too, began shaking dirt and rock from his clothing.
"You've been gone over eight hours, my friend," Maggie insisted, pointing toward the window where sure enough, the sun had set and darkness encroached.
"But…" Bella began before shaking her head. She knew better than to argue. Nothing was as it seemed here and the sooner she accepted that, the less likely she would be to get an ulcer.
"Come, come," Maggie said with a grin, clapping her hands with excitement. "You two must be starving and from the looks of it, you've seen better days. I'll have hot water sent up to your room and you can clean up. Change clothes and I'll meet you in the music room and we can go over what we found out today. Oh, I had a most interesting talk with Mr. Alaric. Yes, indeed, it was most interesting!"
Before either could react, Maggie flittered out the door.
"Well, now what do we do?" Bella sighed, throwing her hands up in frustration.
"Go to our room, I guess," Edward said with a shrug. "Think we should bring the mirror?"
"It's probably okay here."
Edward hummed noncommittally. "Why don't I take it to the music room. That'll give you enough time to clean up and change."
"That would be wonderful." Bella shook her dress out, grimacing at the shower of rocks and dirt that hit the carpet. "I feel like I'm covered in creepy crawlies."
He laughed before picking up the crate that held the mirror and heading down the hall.
Bella climbed the stairs to the bedroom she and Edward shared and found a hot, steaming tub waiting for her in the middle of the room. She groaned with pleasure at the idea of a nice, relaxing soak. Having a witch in the family was certainly helpful because there was no way on earth so much hot water could have been gathered in so short of a time in 1820 otherwise. Moments later, Bella lowered herself into the tub and sighed contently as the lightly perfumed water soothed her body.
You found him!
Bella jumped in alarm, sending a wave of water over the edge of the tub.
"Shit, shoot, shite!" she spat, frantically looking around for something to mop up the spill. In the dim light of a single oil lamp, it was difficult to do but she finally found a washcloth.
Bella would have sworn she heard a giggle and glared around the room.
"Marie, I've had a hell of a day and I'm not in the mood for this," she grumbled.
You found my Anthony!
Bella felt a little bad for her attitude toward Marie. Had the tables been turned and she found herself separated from the father of her child for almost 200 years, she would have been overjoyed and would have shouted to anyone who would listened.
"I suppose we did. Are you two together now?"
Bella eased back into the tub, pulling a small cloth over her breasts. It didn't provide the most coverage but it did give her a modicum of modesty.
No. But I can feel he is closer.
Bella nodded. This was good. They were making progress. She waited for several minutes but was rewarded with silence so she tossed the cloths aside and slid down into the water, letting it soak into her hair. She gave her locks a good scrub with her fingertips to loosen any dirt gathered there before grabbing a bar of soap and washing away the fallout from the tunnel.
Humming a merry little tune, Bella stood and reached for a towel that lay on a chair next to the tub. She never heard the door to the bedroom open and close behind her.
"Sorry I was gone…" Edward began before realizing what was before him. He stopped mid-sentence, unable to speak as his mind registered softly curving shoulders with dark, wet locks running down a creamy skinned back. His eyes dropped lower, catching a glimpse of rounded hips and buttocks that quickly disappeared from view as Bella gasped and clutched a towel around herself.
"Edward!" she hissed, spinning around and nearly losing her balance in the process.
He quickly closed the distance between them and steadied her.
"I met Fritz in the hall and he offered to take the crate to the music room. How'd…" He trailed off, his eyes darting to the side and toward the cooling water.
"I assumed Maggie charmed it here. I was so happy to see it, I didn't ask." Bella clutched the towel around her tighter realizing just how close Edward stood and just how naked she was.
"I should have known."
Edward made no move to release Bella even though she had more than regained her balance but she made no move to get away.
"Edward, I…"
He gently reached up and traced his fingers down her temple, over her cheek and jaw. He smiled contently before twisting one damp lock around his fingers.
"It's brown again."
"Hmmm?"
"Your hair is brown again."
"Really?" Bella jumped out of the tub and ran for the mirror, tightly holding the towel around her. She peered up into it, finger combing her hair as she stared at her reflection. "Oh, thank God."
"Bella?"
"Yes?" She remained staring at her own reflection.
"Look in the mirror."
"That's what I'm doing, silly."
"No, no. Look. You don't see Marie's reflection, do you?"
Bella's eyes shot up to look at Edward standing directly behind her.
"And you don't see Anthony's reflection, either," he continued, wrapping his arms around her waist.
Bella nodded mutely as he pulled her closer.
"So maybe we're closer to solving this."
"Maybe." Edward dropped a soft kiss on her shoulder, earning a light shiver in response.
"What are you doing?"
"What? This?" He placed another kiss on the other shoulder.
"Yes," she whispered.
"What does it feel like I'm doing?"
Bella felt a single fingertip trace down her throat and over her shoulder blade, down her spine before catching on the towel. He tugged lightly, chuckling under his breath at the wide eyed stare he saw reflected in the mirror.
"Edward," she whispered.
"You can tell me to stop."
"Not very likely, Dr. Cullen."
"Well, then…"
The bedroom door flew open as Maggie blustered into the room.
"What is it with the lack of light in here?" she demanded, waving one hand.
Bella and Edward blinked wildly as the room filled with bright illumination.
"I mean, really," Maggie continued, her back to the couple. "Supper is waiting downstairs and you two are fumbling around in the…"
She turned at that moment and saw Bella and Edward. Her eyes flitted from one to the other, taking in the scene before her.
"Oh, dear." Maggie blushed and spun on her heel as she nearly ran toward the door. "I'll keep it warm downstairs. You two…just continue whatever it was you were doing. I'll just…be downstairs."
The sound of a lock clicking securely in place echoed in the room. The lighting suddenly dimmed to its prior level.
"Well that certainly was a mood killer," Bella muttered, her shoulders slumping in defeat. She pulled away and fumbled her way across the room toward the armoire.
"Not entirely," Edward gritted under his breath as he ran one hand through his hair in frustration.
"Edward, I…"
"I understand, Bella. I really do. I don't like the idea of an audience any more than you do. Doesn't mean I have to like interruptions."
The honesty in Edward's reply brought an overwhelming sense of sadness to Bella.
"I just can't," she whispered, looking down.
"I know. It'll work out in time." He smiled wanly at her before motioning for her to gather her clothes and get dressed. "Let's go find out what Maggie discovered and feed the humans."
"Okay," she whispered, quickly turning away but not before hearing a low groan of frustration rise from across the room. Not that it made the situation any better but she did find some comfort in knowing they shared the same level of frustration.
Bella finished dressing while Edward washed is face and hands in the washbasin. She handed him a fresh towel that he received with a smile.
"Sooner we find out what Maggie learned the sooner we can move on," he muttered after thanking her.
"Okay."
Edward smiled apologetically and laced Bella's arm through his. As he escorted her to the door, an envelope on the floor caught his attention. He picked it up and glanced at the blank paper.
"Any ideas?" he inquired.
Bella shook her head.
Edward opened the envelope to find a thin piece of cord and a note.
One Maggie-proof lock. Place this on the knob before retiring and you will enjoy an evening of blissful interruption free slumber. Or whatever you two want to do.
"Best wedding present ever," Bella grinned, twining the cord around her fingers. She could feel a low hum go through her hand which she attributed to the charm.
"She could sell those to harried moms and make a killing," Edward smiled, tucking the note inside his jacket.
Bella shook her head with a laugh and tugged on his arm.
"Let's get this meeting over with. I have some blissful interruption free slumber to get to, Dr. Cullen."
"Absolutely, Miss Swan."
~HOH~
*peeks thru fingers* Dang it, Maggie!
But if she did sell that interruption-proof lock, I would buy it. I haven't gone to the bathroom alone since 2000.
On a more serious note, my thoughts and prayers are with those in Sandy's path. Having lived through more hurricanes than I care to enumerate, I know they are powerful, terrible things. I hope you and yours are safe and warm.
See you in 2 weeks! And maybe Edward and Bella will put that lock to good use!
Let me know what you think. =)