A Slip of the Tongue
A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.
Benjamin Franklin
BELLA'S POV
What was supposed to be one night with the Cullens soon became me staying for an indefinite time. After speaking with Carlisle and Esme, Charlie asked to speak with me.
"Bells, I'm sorry, but it looks like you will be staying here longer than we thought," he said as he and I walked through the woods toward the river that ran through the property.
I looked out over the distance and nodded. "I won't feel safe until answers are found," I said.
Charlie sighed. "I know, kiddo." He was in his uniform, still on duty but on his meal break.
I glanced up at him. His eyes were hard, staring ahead. I had never seen him this way, but I knew he was worried.
"Do you feel safe here, Isabella?" he asked, glancing over at me.
Shrugging, I said, "I suppose. Since coming here, I haven't had any nightmares."
My nightmares were horrible. I would wake up screaming and in a cold sweat. I lost count of how many time Charlie came running and had soothed me the best he could until I fell back to sleep.
"I'm glad," he responded. "Oh, until we figure things out, your tutoring sessions are on hold."
"So, what am I supposed to do?" I asked.
He sighed. "We can enroll you at the high school."
That was not an option in my book. "No," I whispered.
"Not ready, huh?" he asked.
I hadn't told Charlie about Mike and my reaction to him, but I knew if he I told him, he would understand. "Yea," I answered. "There's something you need to know, Charlie."
He stopped walking and stooped, selecting a few rocks from the ground. "I'm listening," he said, bringing his arm and wrist back before releasing a rock. It skipped over the water four or five and then disappearing into the depths of the river.
Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I began. "After the second movie, one of the guys cornered me. I was closed to losing it when Edward found me and asked if I was ready to go."
He looked over his shoulder at me, his forehead furrowed in a deep V. "What's the kids name?"
"I don't want you checking him out. The guy backed off once I nodded to Edward," I said.
Charlie looked back over the water and threw the rest of rocks at the river. Each ghosted over the water several times before vanishing in the depths. "If he does it again, Bells, I'm going to demand you give me a name."
Biting my lip I thought about whether I could give Charlie Mike's name if it happened again. I think I could. "I can live with that, but I don't think he will if I stick with Edward."
Charlie was facing me again, and his eyebrows rose in question. "Edward? Do you have feelings for him?"
"No!" I answered a little too fast. "It's just that I feel safe when I'm near him. It might be because he's saved me twice."
Charlie's cell rang, saving me from whatever he was going to ask. "I'm needed back at the base, Bells."
"Figures," I mumbled, walking away with him following.
Charlie drew into his arms once we got back to the house. "I'll call you later tonight. And, about your schooling… use the time for some independent study."
Smiling, I stepped out of his embrace. "I like that idea."
Watching as Charlie got into his car, I felt frustration well up in me. Why hadn't Star Command found out who had sent the message and left that messages? The sound of a door opening drew me out of the despair that was starting to claim me.
"Bella," Edward called.
Turning, I give him a small smile.
"Ready to work on your voice?"
"No time like the present," I answered.
Edward was an amazing pianist and brought new life to the songs I had written. It was late in the evening, and he and I were still in the music room. I had just finished singing a song from my notebook, and as the last notes faded, he turned to look at me.
"I have never heard that song before," he said, flipping through the songbook. "Who's the artist?"
I hesitated a moment, biting my lip. "I wrote them," I answered, blushing as I took a seat next to him on the piano bench.
"Maybe we could talk Ms. Brandt into putting one of these in the show." He placed his hand over mine where it sat on my thigh.
Warmth radiated up my hand from where his fingers caressed my palm. It was strange the way he made me feel.
"No… no," I said, shaking my head. "I really don't think we should do that." The thought of singing my songs for someone other than for those I trusted was unthinkable to me. Wait. Did I just admit to myself that I trusted Edward?
"Not only once but twice, my dear. The first time, when you asked him to help you rehearse; and the second, just now when you admitted you wrote the songs. And it's time to stop daydreaming," Grandmother answered.
EDWARD'S POV
"Why not? The songs are wonderful. I'm sure she'd allow at least one," I said, gently squeezing Bella's hand.
She had a dazed look about her, much like Alice does when she was seeing something that might happen. I had seen other human teenagers zone out like this, so I wasn't worried and did what I have observed others doing.
"Bella… Bella," I said, waving my hand in front of her face.
She slowly blinked.
"You zoned out there for a minute. Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yes," she answered, giving me a shy smile. "I was thinking, and I'm not sure if I would be able to stand having someone else sing my songs or sing them myself in front of strangers. Let me think about it for a while."
"You should really consider it. One of them would give the show a personal touch, giving the audience a song they haven't heard before," I said.
"I know… I just don't know," she replied, turning her body some so she faced me. "Haven't you ever felt exposed? Exposed by just the mere thought of doing something like singing?"
Nodding, I said, "It feels almost like you are bearing your whole soul—" I groaned internally at my poor choice of word—"by sharing your hidden talents, your secrets."
BELLA'S POV
I was a little surprised. Edward understood exactly how I felt. "I don't want to share my music with just anyone. I have to know the audience will appreciate what I sing, and you can't get that from a stage with lights shining down on you. How anyone can read an audience in that kind of setting is beyond me? I prefer a more intimate setting, like a family room with only a few close friends and family around. I mean when I was traveling with…" I stopped realizing what I was about to say. I couldn't tell Edward I toured briefly with Angel Blue and Pioneer Sound. What was with me and being around Edward? Why couldn't I act like I did with everyone else? All quiet and shy.
"I think you know, Isabella. There is something magical between you, something pulling you to him," Grandmother said.
"Who did you travel with?" Edward asked.
"My grandfather. He is the head of the McCullough clan, that's my mother's family. He took me with him when he traveled to various Scottish clans two summers ago. I would sing for his friends—nothing too big, just ten or twenty people each stop. It was during that time, I met the young man the clan council wishes for me to marry."
I looked up at him again, taking noted his downcast face.
For some reason I continued, wanting Edward to know. "I hate that the council arranged a match for me, but they refuse to terminate it. Although, I haven't formally accepted yet, not that the guy has asked me to marry him. "
"So, you're informally engaged?" Edward asked.
There was a hint of sadness and something else in his voice when he asked. I might have said a little too much, too soon. No turning back, I thought before I answered his question.
"Yes and no. It's still my choice if I accept the match or not." Why am I telling him this? Oh right, I trust him. "When I met the young man, something didn't feel… right. I felt betrayed."
"Are you saying you can date?" he asked, hope in his voice at that moment.
Why does he want to know? I bit my lip before answering, "Yes. The council agreed that if I dropped the matter of dissolving the arrangement, I could wait until I graduate from college before marrying the guy. Before agreeing that, I insisted on one other stipulation. If the young man gets intimately involved with another and I found out about it, then the contract would be null and void."
"How did the council take that?" he asked.
"Not well, but given the circumstances, they agreed." I shrugged. "It was almost like they knew I was going to make the request," I said as an afterthought before switching the subject again. "So, shall we move on to the next song? Or, do you want to stop for the evening?"
Edward was eerily silent for a moment. He snapped out of it when I touched his shoulder. "No, let's stop." He stood and made his way to the door, I followed after picking up my notebook.
"Hey, what are you going to do tomorrow? Do you have a tutoring sessions?" he inquired.
"No. My tutoring sessions have been postponed for a while. I plan on studying on my own, though. Why?" I countered.
"You can always come to school with us and shadow me."
"That would be nice. Are you sure it would be okay with the school?" I asked.
Edward gave me a crooked smile that made my heart puddle beneath me. "The principal shouldn't have a problem with it. We'll tell him that we are trying to get to know each other and you wanted to see what I was like in school," he said.
"Fine by me," I said, pushing at his shoulder playfully. I wasn't sure I was ready to face more teenagers, but I would be with Edward the entire school day.
ALICE'S POV
I walked into the rumpus room just as Bella pushed Edward. He stumbled backward with a look of surprise on his face. That was interesting—nothing caught him off-guard.
"Edward, can we talk?" I asked silently.
"Hey, Alice," Edward called. "Guess who's coming to school with us tomorrow."
"Of course I know, Edward. I saw Bella coming with us, but I'll play along."
"Who?" I asked, knowing Edward was trying to distract me.
"Bella," Edward announced.
Emmett came rushing down the stairs.
Oh no! This is not going to be good, I thought as a vision quickly came. "Stop him, Edward."
Edward and I shared eye contact for a moment, his eyes telling me we would talk later about what we both saw.
Emmett's POV
"Heads up, Emmett," Edward called, tossing a vase at me.
With ease, I caught it, forgetting about the hug I was about to give Bella. "Bella, are you really coming with us tomorrow?" I asked, placing the baroque vase on the coffee table as I sat on the couch.
"Sure am. Don't you want me to go?" she asked with an Alice-worthy pout, sitting down next to me.
I let out a laugh. "Here a day and a half and you have Alice's pout down. And, of course I want you to come. It will give you a chance to see what Edward's like or not like in school."
"Let's not tell Bella any horror stories," Rosalie said as she and Jasper joined the rest of us. "We don't want her to get the wrong idea. Let her make her own decision about our dear brother."
Rosalie gave Edward the evil eye. I shuddered. My wife didn't like that Edward had a crush on Bella, not that she had a problem with Bella. Rosalie was afraid of how Bella would react if she ever found out what we were.
"I like that idea, Rosalie. No stories," Bella said. "Anyway, if I'm going to be going to school with you guys tomorrow I need to get some sleep."
BELLA'S POV
The lie slipped easily from my lips and I regretted telling it, but something was bothering me about the conversation I had with Edward. It was so natural even when I started rambling about the clan's plans for my future. Once in the guest room, I recited a quick spell to make it appear I was in bed in case Esme checked on me, which I really hated doing. With a snap of my fingers, I disappeared and appeared in the hall outside the hidden library in McCullough Castle.
I opened the door and quickly disarmed the alarm. Picking up the phone, I was surprised to find my grandfather on the other end. "Isabella, I was excepting you," he said.
"You were?"
"Yes, once Charlie called told me what happened, I knew you would eventually come here," he answered.
"I wanted to check on something out, and then I need to talk to you. Meet me in your study in an hour." I said, hanging up and going straight to open the grimoire, to the prophecy about me. I didn't start reading at the beginning, but skimmed until I found it had added to itself again.
I wasn't surprised. I'd been excepting it.
Isabella, you have the right to question the council. They know you are a very special person and fear you. To them, you are an enigma. Up to now, you have always done what is asked of you and never questioned why. That is your nature. But if you don't continue to question your arranged marriage, I fear all will be lost. I wish I could reveal more to you at this time of what is to come, but I don't want to influence your decisions. I can, however, tell you more about your powers.
You are just beginning to learn that you not only have the ability to transport yourself by the snap of your fingers but that you can tell who you can trust—this ability can also be used to discern who is lying to you. These are very special gifts that come from three different worlds.
One world—the magical—is fractured. It is fractured because there are two factions: witches and wand-waving wizards. Your greatest grandmother came from the world of witches. She was prosecuted by her family and people when she fell madly in love with a wand-waving wizard, your greatest grandfather. Together they were accepted by the McCullough clan and became the Laird and Lady of the clan, titles they did not want. Despite their feelings over the titles, they loved the clan and accepted what their adopted clan wanted of them. You are very much like them in that respect, and you know this history, my dear child, but what you didn't know was they each possessed magic. That is where you get your abilities from. And what abilities they are.
Do not think that you will never die, for you one day very well may, unless this prophecy is heeded. Again, I wish I could reveal more, but the choice is yours to make. So, if you choose to stand up to the council once more, you will have the support and the proof you need. If you chose to stay the course with the council's wishes, then the prophecy ends here. Take time to consider what you want. Consider only yourself and no one else in this decision as it will affect you and only you.
Could that be any more cryptic? I sat and thought about that for a while, about the dream I had in this very room, and what it all could possibly mean. What was it that I really wanted? I didn't know. All I knew was that the council had no right to do what they did, and they were forcing me to comply.
I needed to talk to Grandfather. Maybe he could give me some advice. Once the library was rearmed, I headed toward his study still thinking about what I had read.
EDWARD'S POV
My gaze didn't leave Bella as she walked up the stairs. What she had told me played again in my mind—she was contingently engaged. I didn't know how I felt about it.
"Alice, care to join me for a run?" I asked, knowing she wanted to talk to me.
Once she and I were out of hearing distance of our family, I stopped. "Okay, Alice, what was that?"
"I'm not sure exactly," she replied. "I still can't see Bella's future completely. It comes in bits and pieces, and it's not very clear. I'll I know is that you play a role in it." She replayed in her mind what she had seen.
Bella and I were standing on the stage. I could clearly see several tartans from where I stood. I turned my attention to Bella and looked lovingly into her eyes. Tears glistened in them.
"What does it mean?" I asked.
"I wish I knew, Edward. I have been seeing that off and on ever since Friday. Never seeing anything more than what you saw today. I'm sorry for keeping it from you."
I glared at her a long moment before I turned and ran off. If Alice knew what was good for her, she would keep her distance.