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The Wrath of Rosalie Cullen
Suddenly Edward's head jerked upright, a deep frown marring the smoothness of his marble forehead. He turned to look to his right, his eyes narrowing. "Rosalie." He murmured.
Confused, Bella followed the direction of his gaze. To her surprise and immense relief, she saw Rosalie Cullen standing in the doorway, her breathtaking face twisted into a fierce scowl.
"Don't interfere, Rose." Edward said calmly.
Bella's stomach flipped nervously as the one Cullen she had barely interacted with glided silently toward them. The stunning blonde had rushed to her defense once before. Would she do so again? Bella wasn't entirely certain. Rosalie was a closed book as far as she was concerned. She didn't know that much about her, apart from the brief description Edward had given of why Carlisle had turned her.
Had Rosalie been near death when the coven leader had bitten her? Had she been struck down by some kind of illness? But something to do with the angry fire burning in Rosalie's eyes made Bella think her initial demise had been because of something much more sinister.
"Did you force yourself on her, Edward?" Rosalie demanded, her voice a sibilant hiss.
"No." Edward denied. "It was consensual."
"He's lying." Bella cried out, deciding to take a risk, hoping against hope that the beautiful blonde's loyalties lay far removed from her adopted sibling. "He kissed me against my will. He's been stalking me for months. And now he claims that he owns me."
Edward's expression remained guarded. He pulled Bella behind him, shielding her from Rosalie's view. "How much did you hear?" He asked cautiously.
"Oh, enough." Rosalie answered with a small smile; it was a harsh, bitter-but still stunning expression. She laughed lightly, and it sounded like a chorus of bells.
Edward stepped back, pushing Bella back with him. "Don't even think about it, Rose." He warned his one-time sister, clearly reading her mind. "I'm sorry about what happened to Emmet, but he made his own choices. If he didn't tell you that he was allied with Carlisle, that was on him. What is happening between me and Bella is not the same as your situation. You need to stop comparing what happened to you in your human life to what you think is happening now. I am not Royce King."
Edward had a tight hold on Bella's wrist, his icy fingers digging into her sensitive flesh, making her blood run cold. She was still standing behind him, but found she had enough room to maneuver so she could peek around his body to look at Rosalie's face. What she saw stunned her.
Rosalie's fists were clenched by her sides, her brow was furrowed, her nostrils flared above her tense jaw. Her full lips were pulled back, revealing perfect rows of pearly white teeth. Bella could see the venom glistening in the dull light, and it sickened her. Though still devastatingly beautiful, Rosalie's ravishing outer exterior did little to hide the monster lurking beneath.
"How holier than thou you sound, dear Edward." Rosalie snarled as she lowered herself into a crouch. "You think you are no different to Royce?" She shook out her blonde curls, clenching her teeth together with a loud snapping sound. "I hate to bruise your pathetically large ego, brother, but you are exactly the same!"
Then she pounced.
Bella curled into a ball, closing her eyes and putting her hands over her ears, she pushed her face against her knees, trying to block out the sounds of Edward's screams. And he screamed a lot. Rosalie fought like an angry wildcat. He stood no chance against her righteous fury. The fight was like a choreographed dance of destruction. Whatever tragedy had ended Rosalie's human life fueled her rage as she tore Edward apart.
Then came the smell of burning.
Frightened beyond measure, Bella finally raised her head, staring in horror at Rosalie. The flames that consumed Edward's decapitated body reduced everything to ashes, the heat radiating outward as an anger, and the destruction a terrible joy, which mirrored the expression on Rosalie's white face. It was as if the fire was the reflection of the emotions within, of a broken child who wanted no more than to burn everything that had hurt her.
"Royce King the second was my fiancé." Rosalie explained when she caught Bella looking. Her voice was calm and controlled, though the focus of her gaze remained on Edward's burning remains. "His father owned the bank my father worked at, and nearly every other really profitable business in the town of Rochester."
Bella remained frozen in place, not daring to speak. The flames lapped at Edward's body, releasing a sweet fragrance which was more choking than the smoke that spiraled in the air.
"I didn't notice Royce watching me. Everyone watched me. But that night the first roses came. Every night of our courtship, he sent a bouquet of roses to me. My room was always overflowing with them. It got to the point that I would smell like roses whenever I left the house."
Bella could see that Rosalie's eyes were glazed over as she spoke, almost as if she was locked into the past.
"Royce was handsome, too. He had lighter hair than I did, and pale blue eyes. He said my eyes were like violets, and then those started showing up alongside the roses."
Rosalie shook out her blonde curls, her head cocked to one side.
"My parents approved-that's putting it mildly. This was everything they had dreamed of. The fairy tale prince, come to make me a princess. Everything I wanted, yet it was still no more than I expected. We were engaged before I had known him for two months."
Rosalie stoked Edward's funeral pyre with a metal poker that she had got from somewhere.
"We didn't spend a great deal of time alone with each other. Royce told me he had many responsibilities at work, and, when we were together, he liked people to look at us, to see me on his arm. I liked that, too. There were lots of parties, dancing, and pretty dresses. When you were a King, every door was open for you, every red carpet rolled out to greet you."
Rosalie's perfect features twisted into a grimace, making Bella shudder.
"It wasn't a long engagement. Plans went ahead for the most lavish wedding. It was going to be everything I'd ever wanted."
Rosalie broke off suddenly, clenching her teeth together again. Bella realized the horror of her story was not far off. Bella's skin was beginning to feel the heat from the out-of-control flames that were creeping toward her across the room, the choking smoke, once white, now turning a strange shade of purplish black stole her breath. But still, she couldn't find the will to move and make a run for it.
"I left my friend's house one night. It was dark in the streets, the lamps already on. I hadn't realized how late it was. It was cold, too. Very cold for late April. The wedding was only a week away, and I was worrying about the weather as I hurried home-I can remember that clearly. I remember every detail about that night. I clung to it so hard…in the beginning. I thought of nothing else. And so, I remember this, when so many pleasant memories have faded away completely…"
Rosalie's tone turned wistful. She used the metal poker to prod Edward's ashes.
"So, I was worrying about the weather… I didn't want to have move the wedding indoors…"
Pausing again, Rosalie's voice dropped to a whisper. Bella had to strain her ears to hear above the roar of the crackling flames.
"I was a few streets from my house when I heard them. A cluster of men under a broken streetlamp, laughing too loud. Drunk. I wished I'd called my father to escort me home, but the way was so short, it seemed silly. And then he called my name.
"Rose!" He yelled, and the others laughed stupidly.
"I hadn't realized the drunks were so well dressed. It was Royce and some of his friends, sons of other rich men.
"Here's my Rose!" Royce shouted, laughing with them, sounding just as stupid. "You're late. We're cold, you've kept us waiting so long."
"I'd never seen him drunk before. A toast, now and then, at a party. He'd told me he didn't like champagne. I hadn't realized that he preferred something much stronger."
Bella began to whimper as Rosalie's horrific story drew to its inevitable conclusion.
"He had a new friend-the friend of a friend, come up from Atlanta.
"What did I tell you, John." Royce crowed, grabbing my arm, and pulling me closer. "Isn't she lovelier than all your Georgia peaches?"
"The man named John was darkhaired and suntanned. He looked me over like a horse he was buying.
"Its hard to tell." He drawled slowly. "She's all covered up."
"They laughed. Royce like the rest." Rosalie's tone turned bleak. "Suddenly Royce ripped my jacket from my shoulders-it was a gift from him-popping the brass buttons off. They scattered all over the street.
"Show him what you look like, Rose!" He laughed again and then tore my hat off my hair. The pins wrenched my hair from the roots, and I cried out in pain. They seemed to enjoy that-the sound of my pain…"
Rosalie came to and looked at Bella suddenly, as if she had forgotten she was there. Bella's face was as white as hers.
"I won't make you listen to the rest." She said quietly. "Suffice to say they left me in the street, still laughing as they stumbled away. They thought I was dead. They were teasing Royce that he would have to find a new bride. He laughed and said he'd have to learn some patience first."
Rosalie blinked a couple of times, staring at the rising flames, seeming oblivious to the danger it posed to Bella, who was now lying flat on the floor on her belly, holding her breath and trying not to breathe in the cloying smoke.
"I waited in the road to die. It was cold, though there was so much pain that I surprised it bothered me. It started to snow, and I wondered why I wasn't dying. I was impatient for death to come, to end the pain. It was taking so long…Carlisle found me then. He'd smelled the blood, and come to investigate."
Rosalie's speech was suddenly cut off. She jerked her head to the right, looking toward the stairs. "Ah." She said, a strange smile taking over her perfect face. "Here he comes. Your prince charming is here to rescue you at last, Bella."
Jacob! Rosalie had to be talking about Jacob!
Hope flared in Bella's heart. A hope that was immediately answered when she heard his beloved voice frantically calling her name. Bella opened her mouth to answer, but her throat was immediately engulfed with a roll of smoke. She coughed, choking, ducking down again, she began to crawl in the direction of the stairs.
"I got my revenge of course, once I was changed." Rosalie continued with a glimmer of a smile. There was madness in her eyes that Bella hadn't noticed before. "I saved Royce for last after torturing and killing all of his friends. I was overly theatrical. It was kind of childish, really. I wore a wedding dress. I'd stolen it for the occasion. He screamed when he saw me. He screamed a lot that night. Saving him for last was a good idea-it made it easier for me to control myself, to make it slower – "
She broke off suddenly, and she glanced down at her legs. The flames of the fire she had started to burn Edward's remains had reached her. They licked at her feet, crawling up the material of her denim jeans.
"Oops!" She said, and laughed, as she watched in delight as the fire continued to consume her. She felt no pain. Emmet was dead. There was nothing left to tie her to this plane of existence anymore.
Closing her eyes, Rosalie waited for her end.
"Breathe!" A voice wild with anxiety, ordered, and Bella felt a stab of relief as she recognized the voice as Jacob's.
But Bella could not obey. The burning pain in her throat was too intense, it felt tender and raw, the delicate tissues inflamed from the smoke she had accidentally inhaled. It felt like battery acid had been poured into her lungs. It was too painful to draw a breath.
"Breathe, Bella! C'mon!" Jacob begged over and over.
Black spots bloomed across Bella's vision, getting wider and wider, blocking out everything.
Warmth spread through Bella as she felt Jacob's mouth covering hers as he gave her the kiss of life, trying to breathe life back into her cold, chilled body. Her head whirled; the black spots covered everything….
Was she dying then? Bella didn't like it-it wasn't fair. Not when she had so much to live for. It was only dark now, nothing worth looking at here. Everything around her faded, became quiet, dull, only the occasional whooshing that sounded like it was coming from somewhere deep within her chest….
"Bella?" Jacob asked, his voice still tense, but not as wild as before. "Bells, honey, can you hear me?"
The contents of her head swished and rolled sickeningly, like she was trying to breathe underwater…
"How long has she been unconscious?" Someone else asked.
The voice that was not Jacob's shocked Bella, jarred her into a more focused awareness. She realized she was still. There was no choking smoke, no red and orange flames chasing her as she crawled on her hands and knees down the Cullens grand staircase. The surface underneath her was flat and hard. It felt smooth against her bare arms.
"I don't know." Jacob reported, still frantic. His voice was very close. Hands- so warm they had to be his-brushed Bella's sweat-soaked hair from her cheeks. "A few minutes? It only took a few seconds to pull her out. I found her out cold at the bottom of the stairs. It was hellish in there. Everything was burning. The fire must have started at the top of the house."
The quiet whooshing in Bella's chest was the sound of air moving in and out of her lungs again. They stung with every indrawn breath-the passageways were as raw as if she'd scrubbed them with steel wool. But she was breathing. She was alive.
And freezing. A thousand sharp, icy beads were striking her face and arms, making the cold worse.
Bella realized she was outside in the open air. It was raining.
"She's breathing. She'll come around. We should get her out of the cold, though. I don't like the color she's turning."
Bella finally recognized the other voice as Sam's.
"You think it's okay to move her?" Jacob didn't sound as confident as he usually did. He sounded anxious, exhausted. He was acceding to Sam's better judgment, not trusting his own as he was quietly falling apart because of the state Bella was in.
"She didn't hurt herself coming down the stairs?" Sam asked.
"I don't know. I didn't see."
They hesitated.
Bella tried to open her eyes. To explain. It took her a minute, but then she could see the dark, purple clouds, flinging the freezing rain down on her. "Jake?" She croaked.
Jacob's face blocked out the sky. "Oh!" He gasped, relief washing all over his handsome features. His eyes were wet from the rain. "Oh, Bella, honey, are you okay? Can you hear me? Do you hurt anywhere?"
"Just w-when I t-try to breathe." Bella stuttered, her lips quivering from the cold.
"Let's get you out of here, then." Jacob said. He slid his arms under Bella and lifted her without effort-like picking up an empty box. His chest was bare and warm, he hunched his shoulders to keep the rain off her. Bella's head lolled over his arm, blessed relief washing over her that he was here.
"You got her?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I'll take it from here. Get back to the others. Tell my dad I've found Bella and I'm taking her to the hospital." Jacob ordered. "Thanks, Sam. For having my back."
Bella's head was still rolling. None of his words sunk in at first. Sam didn't answer. There was no sound, and she wondered if he had already gone. Then she noticed the strange orange glow in the sky.
"Jacob." She rasped. "What's that?"
Jacob glanced down at her; his expression filled with worry. "It's the Cullens house. Its still burning."
Bella's eyes widened, she wheezed with every breath. "Then Rosalie…she must be dead."
"Rosalie?" Jacob frowned. "I didn't see anyone but you in there, Bella." His mouth drew down, his eyes turning bleak. "I have never been so scared in my life. If anything had happened to you, I would never have survived it."
"Sssh." Bella hushed him. "I'm right here."
"I love you, Bella." Jacob said quietly, leaning to press a soft kiss on her lips.
"I love you, too." Bella replied faintly, using up the last of her energy reserves she managed to smile, before she closed her eyes again and sagged against him.
A/N-thanks for reading!