Let's just get on with the story, yes? More at the end….

~HOH~

Chapter 17: Where do we go from here?

"Amazing the difference in Maggie," Bella commented as she and Edward wandered down the hall before arriving at the staircase.

"What do you mean?"

"She seems so much more vibrant now. Full of life. A little quirky, but much more approachable."

Edward nodded before motioning for Bella to lead the way down the stairs. Part of his motivation was being a gentleman while the other part was he was growing quite used to how Bella's skirts swayed gently with each step. He wondered if they ever made it back to 2012 if he could convince her to purchase a few more skirts for work.

Suddenly Bella spun around and cocked her head at Edward.

"Are you checking out my ass?" she asked with a small smile.

"Which answer will not get me in trouble?"

She laughed and shook her head before turning to head the rest of the way down the stairs.

"How do you women do that?" Edward muttered half to himself.

"I'd love to take credit, but…" Bella pointed to a window which with the darkness outside and the brightly lighted hall had become more like a mirror than a window.

He shrugged and grinned, earning a laugh in reply.

"In response to your question about Maggie, when we know her, it's been 200 years of trying to solve what happened to her brother and her sister-in-law. 200 years of emotionally and probably physically exhausting work. That has to wear a bit on your personality," Edward offered, reaching past Bella to open the door to the dining room.

Maggie stood by a simply carved buffet with her back to the door. She appeared to be studying a particularly tasty looking meat pie when the two entered the room.

"Oh, you're here!" Maggie clapped her hands happily before motioning toward the food available. "Grab a plate and load up. Lots to tell you, lots to tell you!"

Without waiting for Bella and Edward to respond, Maggie shoved dinner plates at them and then grabbed one herself and began placing a bite or two of everything on her plate. With a swirl of her skirts, she buzzed across the room and flopped into a chair.

"I haven't eaten a thing since this morning. Too much went on while you were gone!" she exclaimed between bites. "Oh, this is good. So good. Come on. Fill your bellies and come over here. Oh, so much to tell you! We've been on a wild goose chase. Yes we have. Wild, wild, wild goose chase."

Bella glanced up at Edward with wide eyes, silently inquiring just what was going on. He shrugged minutely before motioning for her to go ahead of him.

"Are you alright, Maggie?" Bella inquired gently as she took a seat across from her, noticing that Maggie's full plate was already empty.

"Why wouldn't I be? Nothing wrong, nope nothing at all."

Maggie giggled and then burped and then giggled again, covering her mouth and muttering under her breath at her rudeness.

"Are you certain?" Bella insisted softly, as if talking to a child throwing a tantrum.

"Of course, I'm certain. Why wouldn't I be? Preposterous! Never felt better. Never, ever, ever."

Edward stood across the room, quietly watching the conversation, studying everything.

Maggie's eyes suddenly snapped up and met his. She stared, unblinking, for a few seconds before turning back to Bella with a little shake of her head.

"Now, then…let me tell you about today. Alaric showed up. Such a gentleman. So sweet," Maggie began, smiling broadly. "And I never noticed just how handsome he was. I think he may have begun courting me. Yes, I absolutely think he was. He tried to hold my hand when the servants left the room. But he'd have to ask Father, that is for certain. I can't have him taking undue liberties without Father's permission."

Bella and Edward silently stared as Maggie continued her very one sided conversation, both asking and answering questions.

"Pardon me, Maggie, but, can I speak to you, Bella?" Edward asked softly, taking Bella's arm and gently pulling her to her feet. "We'll only be a minute."

Maggie paused for a second before her face broke out into a larger grin.

"Of course!" she chirped, picking up her plate. "I'll just get more to eat!"

Edward guided Bella over to the other side of the room.

"I don't think Maggie's okay," Bella muttered once they arrived across the room.

"I'm pretty certain she's not," Edward agreed, following Maggie's movements from one thing to another. "There's happy and there's just plain manic. I think she's gone beyond that." He paused and studied Maggie as she bounced back and forth from one foot to another before looking over at him with a huge grin on her face.

Edward's jaw tightened ever so slightly as Maggie stared at him yet again. Something was amiss and he had a sinking feeling about it.

"What color are Maggie's eyes?" he whispered.

"Gray, I think." Bella thought for a second before nodding. "Yes. She has the most unusual, gray eyes."

"And what color are they now?"

Bella looked across the room where Maggie danced to her own internal music as she plopped more and more food onto her plate. Maggie suddenly looked over at the couple, waved happily and then turned back to the buffet.

"Are they … red?" Bella whispered incredulously. "But how?"

"I'm not sure."

"Are you two going to talk all night or are you going to eat and let me tell you how wrong we were even thinking Alaric had anything to do with Marie and Anthony's disappearance?" Maggie demanded, falling into her chair again and beginning to shovel food into her mouth.

"Stay close," Edward whispered, taking Bella's hand and leading her back to the table. He pulled out Bella's chair for her and scooted her in before taking his own seat between Bella and Maggie. "So, what can you tell us?"

"Well…" Maggie began, waving a hand holding a heavily laden fork in the air.

Edward's eyes zeroed in on a bracelet wrapped around her wrist. The knots in the cord looked an awful lot like the piece of rope slid under their door just a few minutes ago but for some reason, a sense of foreboding fell over him.

"What a lovely piece of jewelry," he commented, pointing toward her wrist. "May I see it?"

"This old thing? Certainly!" Maggie pulled it off and held it out but before he could take it, Edward knocked over a glass of water, spilling it on the table.

"Oh, I am so sorry. I am such a klutz," he apologized. "Do you have a towel, Maggie?"

Maggie placed the bracelet on the table and stood to retrieve a towel. She took two steps before stopping and a frown creased her brow. Nausea and a pounding headache overwhelmed her entire body, causing her to shake violently.

"What?" she muttered, rubbing her temples. "God, my head hurts all of a sudden."

"Maggie?" Bella asked, concerned for her friend's well-being. She stood and cautiously placed one hand on Maggie's back. She could feel the muscles flex and twitch under her hand.

"I'll…I'll be okay in just a moment. I just…what?" Maggie blinked furiously, looking around the room anxiously. "What am I doing in here? I was just in the library waiting to speak to Alaric."

Maggie wavered on her feet before catching herself. She threw a wan smile at Bella who had taken hold of one elbow. Maggie gently waved Bella off.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Just…a little woozy. And sick to my stomach. My God, how much did I eat?"

Maggie glanced out the window and saw that the sun had set.

"What time is it?" she demanded, steadying herself on the buffet.

"Don't really know," Bella replied. "We got here just as it was about dark. You cast a spell that opened a door in the tunnel. Remember?"

Maggie squinted her eyes as if trying to recall what Bella had told her and slowly shook her head.

"I'm not remembering much of anything from after Alaric took my hand."

Maggie cocked her head to the side, deep in thought.

"He came to visit just a short while after you two left. He met me in the library and asked about the two of you. I didn't think anything of it."

Maggie sank into a chair as if the weight of the world was pulling her down.

"Then what?" Bella urged, taking a seat across from her.

"He started spouting off how he couldn't believe you two were married. That he should have been given a chance to be here for it. He would have…I don't remember exactly what he said he would have done. He muttered a bunch. I know he said something about forever joined, forever apart, but that doesn't mean anything to me."

Maggie glanced back and forth between Edward and Bella.

"I don't think he was very happy. No, I know he wasn't."

"Do you think he threatened you?" Edward asked, moving to stand protectively behind Bella's chair. "Or Bella?"

"I wouldn't put it past him, to be honest."

"Is he a witch?" Bella asked.

"Of course, he's a witch." Maggie straightened her back, incredulous that Bella would ask such a thing.

"Why do you say 'of course'?"

"Look around you, my dear. I don't know what this area is like when you live here, but it's pretty isolated. Not too many people here in this area aren't somehow magical. It's private. It's quiet, it's secure. We can be who we are happily. Without outside involvement."

"But Anthony and Marie…"

"Exceptions. Not the rule. They have other talents, just no magic."

"So you didn't put the lock under our door?" Bella's shoulders sagged at the idea that she was not going to get an evening of uninterrupted bliss.

"Lock? What lock?"

"Does this mean anything to you?" Edward asked, taking out the envelope that had been slid under their door.

"That's my handwriting but I don't remember…" Maggie took the envelope and shook out the twist of rope. "What's this?"

"It's supposed to be our ticket to an evening uninterrupted, but I'm pretty sure that based on your expression, you didn't slide it under our door," Bella said with a resigned sigh, standing and petulantly stomping across the room.

"No." Maggie drew out her answer as she quickly read over the note and turned the thin cord over in her hands. She studied it intently, her eyebrows drawn together as she pondered.

As if hanging on a hook, the rope floated in the air as Maggie circled her fingers in the air. The lock slowly spun around over and over as she continued murmuring to herself. Suddenly, she snatched it and threw the cord into the fireplace. The flames flared violently as the room filled with an eerie purple light. Edward threw a protective arm around Bella's waist and pulled her further away from the fireplace.

"And that's that," Maggie announced, wiping her hands.

"What was it?" Bella whispered, eyes wide.

"That, my dear, was evil magic. I really don't want to think of what would have happened if you had used it. Probably would have sealed you two in that room forever."

"Similar to what has happened to Anthony and Marie."

"Exactly like what has happened to Anthony and Marie," Edward murmured, tightening his hold around Bella's waist. "Separated forever. Forever apart."

Bella spun around and gazed up at Edward's face, her eyes wide.

"You don't think…"

"It's quite possible that some enchantment sealed them apart."

"But how?"

"I don't know."

Edward paced back and forth, running one hand through his hair, making the locks stand up at odd angles. Bella giggled a little at the sight. He suddenly spun around and snapped his fingers.

"Mirrors."

"Mirrors?" she asked, confusion marking her brow.

"We found one mirror in the house where Marie is confined. Another mirror in the Spring House where Anthony was. Maybe…"

"Marie did say we had found him," Bella offered, remembering her earlier interruption.

Maggie remained deep in thought, ignoring Bella and Edward before her eyes landed on the bracelet on the table.

Maggie's eyes landed on the bracelet on the table.

"What is that?" she demanded, pointing.

"I believe that is why you don't remember anything after Alaric took your hand," Bella responded, staring at the twist of rope curiously.

"Extraordinary."

Maggie cautiously approached the table before waving her fingers ever so slightly. The bracelet silently rose from the table and hung in the air.

"Best get rid of it, no matter what it is," Maggie muttered, motioning toward the fireplace.

Bella and Edward took a step back as a precaution as the strange piece floated toward the fire. It proved to be a good idea because no sooner had the flames begun to lick at the twine, a low rumble arose.

"Maggie?" Bella murmured in a concerned voice as the noise grew louder and louder and black smoke billowed out of the fireplace.

"Out the door! Now!" Maggie yelled, running toward the exit, followed closely by Bella and Edward.

Although the ensuing explosion was less than expected, the trio did not stop until they reached the front door. All three looked at each other in wide eyed silence, panting in an effort to catch their breaths.

"Now what do we do?" Maggie demanded as she watched Fritz and Cook rush up the hallway, buckets of water in hand. She waved off the concerned look from the older man before leaning back against the wall.

"We need to find someplace safe to go over everything," Edward offered, brushing a stray lock of Bella's hair out of her face. "You okay?" he whispered, earning a nod in response. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips, earning a wan smile in response.

"Someplace that hasn't been compromised," Bella added, returning the buss.

Maggie thought for just a moment before snapping her fingers.

"I know just the place."

"We need to get the journal and the mirror. Or mirrors," Edward added.

"Anything else?"

Bella and Edward looked at each other blankly, earning a sigh and an aggravated snap of the fingers from Maggie.

"Focus, my friends. Anything else? Any other clues you've gathered?" she continued. "We don't have much time. I think trouble is coming since we've discovered those enchanted items."

As if on cue, a banging at the front door startled them.

"Nothing I can think of," Bella offered, stepping across the foyer.

"Me either," Edward replied, taking Bella's hand in his.

"This is going to sting," Maggie said quickly, opening a small leather pouch that hung at her waist before beginning to mumble a few words that neither Bella nor Edward could understand.

They looked at each other and then back at Maggie as her eyes slowly closed and then opened just as a pop of white light and smoke engulfed them before the front door splintered and fell open.

"Damnation!"

~HOH~

Thank you for your continued patience as I find myself closer and closer to wrapping this story up. Between DD1 coming down with the flu, BD2, my birthday and Thanksgiving, writing time has been almost nil.

For those of you that read Evermore Experience, I posted the first chapter of the (probably) short sequel, Beyond Evermore. You can read it as the last chapter of EE, or as a new story on my profile. I have been greatly humbled by the number of reviews and notifications I have received since posting it. Thank you so much.

As always, I love reading your thoughts even if I don't have time to respond. I save each and every one!

DeJean