.

Chapter 10

Sunshine Friends

James

I watched her sleeping. She looked so peaceful. But she slept a little restlessly again. At least she hadn't cried. Edward's idea had been good - she had been visibly pleased. She would give him another chance after all, because she had fallen in love too, I just felt it. The way she had looked at his handkerchief. But her mind was stronger than her heart ... and at the moment that was okay. She was right to let him atone first.

Sometime during the night, he slipped in.

"How is she?" he whispered.

"Good, my Master. She sleeps fitfully, but she sleeps. And she was very happy about her personal things. That was a good idea."

"Yes, I think so too. You can go to Olympia tomorrow. I've ordered a car. She needs shoes and she can have anything else she wants, James. Anything! Okay?" he said.

"With pleasure, Your Royal Highness," I said.

"Will she try to run away?" he asked.

"She'll think about it, but she won't do it because she can't be responsible for me getting into trouble," I said, feeling one hundred percent sure of myself.

"She is the most incredible woman I have ever known," he then said.

"I think so too, my Master."

He put a rose by her bed again and then left.

She awoke around seven-thirty.

"Good morning, my beauty," I said.

"Hmm ... sounds kind of wrong," she grumbled sleepily.

"If you get up, we'll take a nice trip, my Princess," I enticed her.

"Where to?" she asked, sitting down.

"After Olympia. We're going shopping," I said.

She let herself fall back.

"Is that necessary?" she asked.

"What, you don't like shopping?", I asked in amazement.

"Not really," she admitted.

That was extraordinary for a woman.

"But I'm going anyway," she said with a smile.

"We have an unlimited credit card with us," I smiled.

She laughed.

"Oh ... James, I so don't care!"

She went to the bathroom, had breakfast, put on a pair of jeans and a blue blouse, took a white cardigan and we were in the car.

"How far is it to Olympia?" she asked.

"Thirty to forty-five minutes, depending on how well we get through," I said. "Have you been there before, Princess?", I asked.

"No. I've only been to Florida once in a while - to stay with my aunt. But other than that, never beyond Seattle," she said, looking out the window.

The chauffeur drove fast.

"James, do the other vampires have a gift too?" she then asked.

"Not all, Your Highness. The King, that is Edward's father, can relieve pain or even take it away. He has helped many people with that, which is probably why he became a doctor. Prince Jasper can affect feelings. He makes you feel good or bad. He took away your fear yesterday down in front of the palace, didn't he?"

She nodded.

"That's quite possible, she was gone all of a sudden," she said.

"He's a good man. He never uses the gift to annoy anyone, only to help. His wife Alice can see the future, but only a few days ahead, not weeks. So she knows if my Princess will get the idea to run away today - but not who she will marry later."

She looked at me.

"I would never do that to you, James. I thought you knew that."

It sounded disappointed.

"Excuse me, of course I know that. I just don't know what I did to deserve such a Princess," I said with a smile.

She eyed me seriously.

Then she put her small warm hand on mine and said, "You deserved much more, especially another life."

"It's okay the way it is," I said. "And right now it's wonderful. I've never had a more adorable Princess."

She blushed, looked out quickly, and withdrew her hand to her lap.

"Aro can read minds," I continued. "But not like your Edward. Edward only reads what the person is thinking at the moment. Aro can read everything the person has ever thought and felt, but to do that he has to touch the person, for example, hold his hand. Edward doesn't need to do that. He can hear thoughts up to a hundred meters away. At least outside. Inside the palace, it doesn't work indefinitely because of the walls."

She didn't object when I said 'your Edward'.

I smirked.

"Aro's son Alec doesn't have a gift, but his daughter Jane does; she can inflict pain on living creatures."

"This is terrible," she whispered.

"Yes, it is," I agreed.

After thirty minutes we arrived in Olympia.

The chauffeur dropped us off at the mall.

I helped her out of the car.

"Looking at you, James, I feel completely underdressed," she said.

I was wearing a black suit, a white shirt and black gloves. I left my hat in the car. It was cloudy.

"Princess, you look beautiful even in jeans," I said. "Besides, it doesn't matter what others think. There is no lady in the world I would rather go shopping with than you," I added.

"You are an incorrigible charmer," she said, blushing.

That was really cute.

We set off.

It was quite crowded despite the early hour. I realized how small and petite she was. I had to be careful that someone didn't run into her.

First we visited different shoe stores and bought her all kinds of shoes. I just bought everything she liked - and she protested.

"James, I don't need two pairs of sandals. I can choose one!"

"What for, Your Highness? The blues go with blue clothes, the whites with any, so we'll buy both," I said and she groaned.

I smiled.

After that, we bought clothes everywhere she liked or looked at something.

I was very attentive. She had a style all her own, especially not a flashy one, rather a classically elegant one. Princess, in fact.

She wanted to go to a drugstore, gathered her favorite cosmetics and bought hair bands and barrettes.

"That's enough," she then said.

"Then we'll go to a restaurant first," I said.

"What for, you don't eat, James?" she said.

"It doesn't matter. But you must eat, Your Highness. What are you in the mood for?" I asked her.

She shrugged her shoulders.

"What is your favorite food, my Princess?", I asked.

"Pizza," she said, "with vegetables."

I looked for a slightly better pizzeria and we sit down.

The waiter came and asked for her drink request.

He make mooneyes at her. She didn't even notice.

"A water, please," she said.

"No coffee?", I asked.

"Oh yes, that one too," she agreed.

She smiled at me.

The waiter also hoped for a smile, got none, and left, frustrated.

Isabella studied the menu.

"May I order for you, Your Highness?", I asked.

"Yes, a small pizza with spinach and a small mixed salad please."

I nodded.

The waiter brought the water and coffee and I ordered.

"And for the lady?" he asked Isabella.

"This is for the lady, I'm not taking anything," I said.

He took off and after a while brought the food.

I was relieved. She was really hungry and ate almost everything.

"Are we driving home now?" she asked.

"What, already?", I asked.

"Not?" she asked, astonished.

"I thought we'd do some more pleasant things," I smiled.

She smiled back with excitement.

"Which are?"

"I'll show you then. Trust me, Your Highness!"

She nodded.

"Always. I'm just going to the bathroom," she said.

In the meantime, I called the chauffeur to drop off our purchases at his place. Then I listened for the sounds coming from the direction of the toilets.

She washed her hands. When she returned, the waiter ran into her quite by chance - completely on purpose - and jostled her briefly.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" he asked with affected charm.

"No, but soiled," Isabella replied, annoyed.

Coke had spilled from his tray onto the sleeve of her blouse. He was about to offer to wash it out when I stood next to her.

"Please, come with me. You can put on one of the pieces we just bought, Your Highness," I said.

The guy eyed me in amazement.

"Thank you, James," Isabella said.

We went back to the table, I gave her one of the shopping bags and she disappeared once again into the washrooms.

I threw twenty dollars on the table, took all the purchases and stood in front of the ladies' door.

Our chauffeur entered the pizzeria and looked around.

"Mr. Sears, here you go!", I said.

He came to me, took over the bags and left.

Shortly after, Isabella came out again with a pretty pink blouse. She had put the other one in her bag and we left the restaurant.

"Oh wait a minute, sir," the waiter said. "You're still getting change!"

"It's okay. You can keep it and the lady is not interested in your phone number either," I said.

Isabella looked astonished and the waiter blushed.

I smiled kindly and we finally started walking.

First I stopped in front of a bookstore.

"Oh yes!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

I had thought so. Here she was on fire. In contrast to the fashion stores, she really blossomed here. She browsed the aisles, looked into books and looked happy.

"Can I have this?" she finally asked.

A book of poems, old English poems.

"Of course. Prince Edward has specifically instructed me to buy you ANYTHING you want, Your Highness."

"Really?" she asked.

"Of course. And he has also NEVER done that before," I added.

We bought the book and she beamed.

After that, I took her to a music store.

"Oh ... 'Clair de Lune' notes for harp," she breathed.

"Then we'll take those with us," I said.

"But I don't have a harp?" she said.

"How I estimate Edward but soon, my Princess," I said with a smile.

She looked at me with wide eyes.

"There are harps here, too," I said.

We strolled through a huge hall of instruments. There were harps of all sizes.

"Do you mind if I try one?" she asked.

"Of course, Princess," I said.

She picked the biggest one, adjusted the stool and began.

I was impressed.

She closed her eyes and played by feel … Only Time by Enya.

It sounded beautiful.

The salesman joined us and listened with fascination, as did some of the customers.

When she ended and opened her eyes, she blushed because she had not noticed the spectators.

I reached out my hand to her.

We still strolled through the store and then walked through the shopping mile again.

I stopped in front of a jeweler.

She looked at me in irritation.

"I thought you might like some earrings, Your Highness?"

"Will you hold my hand?"

"Okay," I smiled and we went inside.

Immediately a saleswoman came to us, eyed me and then Isabella appraisingly.

"The lady would like earrings, or rather pierced ears for a start," I said.

"Ah yes, please come with me."

She wanted to pull Isabella backwards.

"Stop, that's not possible, I have to go with you," I said.

The woman looked at me.

"What for?"

"I'm her bodyguard and I can't leave her alone," I said.

The dollar signs flashed in her eyes.

"Then please come with me, sir. Are you famous?" she asked my Princess, examining her from top to bottom.

"She is," I replied.

She asked Isabella to take a seat and picked up various stud earrings.

"You have to choose one of those. For the first few weeks, you'll have to wear medical earrings like these to make sure nothing gets infected."

They were all little golden balls, a little bigger than pins.

"Are they made of real gold?" I asked.

"No, of course not. If you prefer, I'll shoot these simple ones through here and then she'll get real gold ones straight away, but they should stay in for now."

"That sounds better, doesn't it Princess?"

The latter nodded and the saleswoman looked stupid.

My Princess smiled at me in amusement.

The saleswoman picked up real gold earrings.

"To shoot through it with the device, we have to use the fake ones, gold is too soft," she explained. "But afterwards we could insert some of these ones into the ears."

She held out palettes of earrings to her.

The Princess looked at them in turn.

Then she smiled.

"If they're not mine," she said. "This one."

I looked more closely.

Small golden harps with small diamonds. Beautiful and filigree.

"They cost a fortune, though," the saleswoman said.

"Money is not an issue for us. We'll take it," I said firmly.

No sooner said than done.

I knelt down and held my Princess' hands while the lady shot the ear piercings. Afterwards she frickled the small harps into the ear holes, gave us another disinfectant and we paid.

Outside, my Princess said, "That was a lovely idea!", and smiled happily.

It did my soul good. I loved seeing her smile so carefree.

"An ice cream?", I asked.

"Hmm ... then you can roll me home. I ate so much at lunch today ..."

"I'd carry you to the ends of the earth, Princess, so let's go!"

We visited an ice cream parlor and again I had to keep the waiters away from her and she didn't even notice all the flirting attempts.

"Do men leave you completely cold, Your Highness?", I asked, amused.

"Why?" she asked, ordering another coffee to go with it.

"Because all the men adore you and you don't even realize it yet, Princess."

"I see. Yes, I definitely notice that. I just ignore it, it bugs me. Look at that waiter there. What am I supposed to do with someone like that? Maybe he's good in bed, he's Italian, but can he do anything other than grin stupidly? Absolutely not. He has never read a book in his life, doesn't know who Einstein is or how to spell the word harp. I beg you James, something like that is completely below my intellectual level."

"And how do you find men of your level then, Your Highness?", I asked, amused.

"That's more difficult. Because the problem is that the ones who read books and are educated usually aren't as good-looking as this Italian guy or are so sexually uptight that I wouldn't get my money's worth there."

She winked at me.

"I think your Edward has and can do both, my Princess," I said.

She eyed me.

"Are you trying to get me to forgive him?" she asked.

"No, it was an observation," I said.

She pondered.

"And you're right, James. He's good-looking, educated and certainly good in bed," she noted.

"He just lacks a bit of subtlety, doesn't he?", I asked.

She nodded.

"What time is it anyway?" she asked.

"5:00 p.m.," I said.

"There we were on the road for a long time. I'm tired. Actually, I would need another handbag," she said.

"Then we'll get those on the way to the car, okay?", I asked.

She nodded.

I offered her my arm to hook and the bag was quickly bought. I also bought her a wristwatch.

Then we were surprised by a downpour and were soaking wet within seconds.

I cursed and quickly led the princess to the car.

The car arrived at the appointed place and my princess sank exhausted into the seat.

We drove off.

"You're soaking wet, Princess. Would you like to put on my jacket?"

"No, it's okay like this. I'll change at home."

But she shivered.

"It was a very nice day, James. Thank you for everything," she said and suddenly gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh ... thank you," I said. "But your Prince has paid, Your Highness."

"I know," she sighed, "I feel all spoiled. I've never gotten so much at once," she noted.

"I think he likes to spoil you ... and with pleasure even more," I said.

She yawned.

"Would you like to lean against me and close your eyes?" I asked gently.

"Yes," she said.

I put my arm around her shoulders and she snuggled up to me and actually fell asleep.

So I was able to wrap my jacket around it and asked the driver to turn up the heat.

When we arrived at the palace, I gently woke her up.

"Princess, we're home again, wake up!"

I stroked her cheek.

She was startled for a moment and was immediately wide awake.

The chauffeur opened the door and she got out.

It was raining cats and dogs here, too.

"Run into the house, Your Highness, I'll get the purchases!"

She ran ahead and waited for me in the hall. I heard her sneeze.

Great, hopefully she didn't catch a cold.

"Hello, beautiful woman. So alone here and so wet?", I heard Alec say.

Oh no, this guy.

I quickly packed all the bags to rush to her aid.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!", I heard my Princess say angrily.

I ran and saw that Alec had pushed her against a wall and put a hand on her cheek.

"ALEC, let her go immediately!" I shouted while I was still running.

He turned around and grinned.

"Oh, the dear James. Then this must be the little sweetie from Edward ... hmm ...?" he said with a smug grin and turned back to her.

I dropped the bags in the entrance.

"Please, let go of me," my Princess whimpered, because Alec was now holding her chin with one hand and pressing his body against her.

I had almost reached them when a black shadow came running from the other side, tore Alec away and slammed him to the ground.

Edward.

He sat on top of Alec and choked him.

"If you dare once more to touch or harass or threaten my Princess - I will kill you single-handedly, Alec, I swear it!" he said in an ice-cold, hate-filled voice and intonation.

My Princess stood trembling against the wall.

I ran to her, pulled my jacket over her and her into my arms.

"Did he hurt you anywhere, Your Highness?", I asked.

"No," she whispered, shivering.

I didn't know whether from fear or from cold.

"It's all right," Alec said, panting, "let go of me. I didn't know it was your woman."

"Who else would it be. You can save your stupid excuses!" my Master said angrily.

Then he stood up and said: "Now take a hike and generally get out of my way!"

He waited until Alec had disappeared and then joined us.

"Is she hurt?" he asked, concerned.

"No, we came in time, my Master," I said.

"Why was she here alone, James," he then drove at me.

"We had already gotten wet in Olympia and I asked her to run into the house right away. I just had to get the purchases out of the trunk. She was barely in here when Alec was already glued to her. I'm sorry, Your Royal Highness," I said.

"It's okay, James," he said. "Is everything really all right with you, Isabella?" he asked gently.

She nodded shakily.

"You're completely soaked!" he observed. "Should James or I carry you upstairs so you can get out of your clothes quickly?" he asked.

She nodded.

"James or me?" he asked with a smile.

"Never mind," she breathed.

"Then you take her, please, James. I'll get the purchases. I think she likes you more than me," he said and left.

It had sounded terribly sad. I felt really sorry for him.

Gently, I lifted my Princess into my arms and brought her up in a flash.

"I'll run a bath, my Princess," I said after I sat her down in a chair and she nodded.

My Prince brought the purchases and put them on the side of the room.

"I'll order you some soup and tea, hmm ...?" he asked her gently.

"Yes, thank you," she whispered, "and Edward, I like James no more than I like you."

I just came out of the bathroom.

Edward paused, walked back to her, knelt on the floor in front of her and kissed her hand.

"Thank you, with those words you made me very happy," he said softly, looking at her in such love that even my heart would have melted if I had had one.

He ordered the food.

"I'll carry you to the bathroom, Your Highness," I said, quickly carrying her into the warm room.

The water was still running.

"He will come back, my Princess. I have to stay here, but I'll turn around, okay?" I whispered in her ear.

She nodded.

I hoped it wasn't too uncomfortable for her.

She undressed, went to the toilet, then got into the water and whispered, "James."

The tub was quite full. I turned off the water and helped her bathe. Afterwards I helped her into a towel. She dried herself and I went out to get her nightclothes.

My Prince was sitting at her table.

I went back to her and turned around while she was getting dressed. She put on her bathrobe and we went back into the room.

While I combed and blow-dried her hair, he watched us in silence. The food was brought and my Princess sneezed.

Crap, she did catch a cold, I thought in despair.

My Prince also looked worried.

The Princess went to the table and ate while I unpacked the purchases. I put the sheet music and the book on the table for her, took the clothes to the closet, and brought the slippers directly to her.

"Was it a nice day?" my Prince asked her.

"Very much. Thank you for everything, Edward," she said, giving him a small smile.

"You have earrings," he noted.

She nodded.

"May I look at them up close?" he asked.

She nodded.

He rose, knelt beside her and looked at the earrings.

"Oh ... harps," he stated. "Very pretty."

"She also plays beautifully, Your Highness. We were in a music store and she attracted all the visitors with her playing," I said.

"James!" she said reprovingly, and I fell silent.

She did not like to be praised.

"Would you like a harp?" asked my Prince.

"No," she said immediately, "you've bought me enough now."

"Isabella, money doesn't matter to you from now on. You get everything you want," he said.

"I have everything now," she said softly.

He smiled.

"You're too undemanding. Get used to the fact that I'm going to spoil you," he said.

"You're already doing that," she said quietly. "If you get all your wishes fulfilled immediately, there's nothing left to look forward to," she explained with a smile.

He also smiled.

"Don't worry about that ... I'm resourceful!" he said.

She finished her meal. She shivered.

"Are you cold?" my Master asked anxiously.

"Yeah ... very much," she said.

I checked the heaters, but they were on the highest setting. I also felt it was very warm. She must have caught something if she was so sensitive.

"Would you like to go to bed?" my Master asked her lovingly.

She pondered.

"Don't worry, I'll go to my room then," he said.

She nodded.

"Good night, Isabella ... and please ... don't be afraid of me. I will never touch you again without asking," he said softly, bowed to her and went over to his chambers.

"Good night ... and that's fine, Edward, thank you," she said softly.

She went to the bathroom once more and then to bed.

I covered her up and got an extra wool blanket because she was shivering.

"Good night, my Princess!"

"Good night, James - and thank you for a lovely day," she breathed and fell asleep.

Nose to nose with Mr. Darcy.