"Is that everything?" Edward asks, carrying another box to the door. We had been packing over the last week to prepare for our move to our new home. Most of our subjects had already taken the trek, while some decided to move elsewhere now that this land would not be the heart of the kingdom. Thankfully, my father's old subjects had welcomed us with (mostly) open arms. I think they were mostly grateful we had exposed my father's misdeeds and that they would no longer be stolen from. We had promised to do our best to rebuild what he had broken and I hoped it wouldn't take long to fulfill that.
"I think so," I say, looking around the bare room. It was sad to see it so empty. This is where I felt safe, loved, and was able to heal from the actions of my father. But I suppose that was all it was, a place. The people who had helped me throughout all of this would still be with me.
"Bella! Are you ready?" Rosalie impatiently asks from the other side of the door.
"Just about!" I call out.
Edward already starts pouting. "I don't know why you have to go."
"It's just one night with your sisters," I say, rolling my eyes. "Rose wants to have a slumber party. She said she's never had one before." I hadn't either. In fact, I had no idea what she was talking about when she suggested it for our last night here.
"Why can't you just have a slumber party with me?" Edward asks, and I almost can't hold back my snort at how put off he looks.
"I have slumber parties with you every night," I laugh.
Edward smirks, wiggling his brows. "Is that what we're calling them?"
I can feel myself blushing. "You're terrible!"
"That's not what you said last night."
"Edward!"
"Yes, Bella?" He says, tilting his head, the epitome of innocence.
"I'm going to go see Rosalie," I say, reaching for the door just as Rosalie throws it open, a hand over her face.
"You better both be dressed!" She scolds, peeking through her fingers. "Oh, good. Let's go, Bella! Al's already in the room."
She goes to grab my wrist but Edward is faster. He scoops me up, backing away further into the room.
"I wasn't done talking to her," he pouts.
"You can talk to her later!" Rosalie says, following us, but every time Rose would get close, Edward would duck away.
"Edward! Put me down," I laugh as Rosalie chases us around the room. It's completely undignified and my father would have been furious to see us act so improperly but it didn't seem like either of them cared.
"No." He states, climbing over the sofa as a shortcut. If I didn't find all of this so amusing, I might be more worried about him dropping me.
"I'll make it up to you," I promise.
That makes Edward stop in his tracks, jostling me in his arms, and I squeeze his shoulders to keep myself upright. "How?" He asks, his voice laced with suspicion.
Huh. How would I make it up to him? "Pillow fort?" I weakly suggest. "As soon as we move to the castle."
Edward's eyes light up for just a second before he narrows his eyes. "Just you and me." He glares at Rosalie over his shoulder who was doing a terrible job at trying not to laugh. "No girls allowed."
I roll my eyes. "I'm a girl."
"Only Edwards and Bellas allowed," he amends, looking quite pleased with his problem solving skills.
"Only Edwards and Bellas allowed," I promise. "Now will you please put me down?"
Edward finally relents, setting me on the ground.
"Finally!" Rosalie says, heading for the door. "Let's go!" She waves me towards her.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning," I say, turning to Edward. I think this is the first night we're spending apart since I've been released from the hospital.
He presses his lips to my forehead. "Bright and early."
"But not too early!" Rosalie says with a scowl.
Edward's face falls, hesitant to see me go and I want to wrap him up in a hug to let him know I'll be fine, but Rosalie beats me to the sentiment.
"She'll be perfectly fine," she says, her voice softer than earlier. "She's right down the hall. Go enjoy boys night with Emmet. He has the poker table set up with Dad. I think Seth is there too."
That helps lift his mood and he seems almost eager to leave now. "Bye Princess!" He says, all but running for the door.
"Ditched for a poker table," I grumble.
Edward runs back, placing a loud kiss on my lips he releases with a 'smack!' "Love you!" And then he's gone out the door.
I shake my head, following Rose to her room. Alice was waiting for us, cross-legged on the edge of the bed, a faraway look in her eyes as she gazes out the window. When she hears us come in, she jumps a little, forcing a smile on her face.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Nothing!" She quickly says. "I'm just a little tired, I guess."
"Well, none of that tonight! Drink some coffee or whatever because we have so much girl talk to catch up on," Rosalie says, jumping onto the bed, almost completely knocking Alice off of it. She pats an empty spot on the bed for me to join her, and I eagerly do, never having a group of friend to have this kind of night with before.
"So Bella," Rosalie starts. I'm not sure I like the look on her face. She grabs my hand, shaking it. "You and Edward are married."
"Sort of…" I cautiously reply, feeling like that's not the end.
"Which, by the way, Al and I are pissed you didn't say anything. We were supposed to be bridesmaids!"
"We're still going to have a wedding. You'll be my bridesmaid, right?" I ask Alice.
She nods, some of the energy back in her face. "Of course."
"Anyway, how was it?" Rosalie questions. "You know, the wedding night?"
I could feel my face turn bright red. Is this what "girl talk" was? Sharing the most intimate details of Edward and my relationship? But as I looked at Rose and Alice's faces, there was no judgement.
"It was good," I mumble, trying to keep myself from blushing even more. Could a person die from embarrassment?
"Just good?" Rosalie probed.
"Really good," I squeak, feeling like I've just said the most inappropriate thing.
But Rose doesn't seem to think so. She shrieks, tackling me on the bed. "That's our girl!" I glance to Alice for help but she's fallen over onto the bed herself from laughter.
Rose isn't done with her questioning though. "Have you gone down on him?"
"Rosalie!" Alice abruptly sits up, her jaw hanging open.
"What is that?" I ask. I feel like I'm constantly out of the loop when it come to more…sexual things.
"I mean…" Rosalie widens her eyes like she expects me to understand from her look alone. "Have you licked his lollipop?"
"Rose! That's our brother!" Alice gags.
"Licked his…" I audibly gasp as what she's asking clicks. "Oh! D-do, I mean, does…do guys like that?"
"Emmet does," Rosalie shrugs. "It's pretty much how I get him to do whatever I want."
"I think I'm going to be sick," Alice groans.
"Oh, calm down, Ally Cat. You've heard all about me and Emmet."
"Not by choice!" Alice gawks.
"So is that a no?" Rosalie asks me. When I shake my head, she asks, "Has he gone down on you?"
"That's a thing?" I blink. I try to imagine it. Well, if his fingers felt that good…
"Yes! And I think you'll enjoy it," Rosalie says, her voice all sing-songy. "So then what have the two of you done?"
"We haven't really had time to explore much," I point out, still not completely comfortable being so explicit in my language. "But we did it in the parlor room," I offer as some kind of condolence to my lack of experience. "And a guard walked in while he was…touching me, not that he could see anything" I spit out, hiding my face in my hands. "I can't believe I just said that!"
"Hot!" Rosalie laughs. "Relax, Bella. Alice and I talk about this stuff all the time. And now that you're our sister, that includes you."
"Well, she talks, I mostly listen," Alice interjects, but I'm still hung up on the word "sister."
They considered me their sister? I suppose now that I was married to Edward, I technically was, but I never thought of Maria being mine. And yet, Rosalie and Alice make that concept feel so natural.
"Your turn, Al," Rose says, finally taking the attention off of me. "Any new contenders? Oh, how about that one guard? The one with the beard. Ooh, or that new doctor. He's smart and cute."
"If you don't stop lusting over other men, I'm telling Emmet," Alice lightheartedly threatens.
"Oh come one, none of them compare to Emmet. But you'll have to settle," Rosalie says. "Spill, Alice! I can see it in your face."
"Well…" Alice says, her cheeks darkening.
"I knew it!"
"There is a guy, but I don't think it's going to work out," she says, looking down.
"Why not?" I find myself asking.
Alice shrugs. "It's just not meant to be, I guess," she says cryptically.
"That's what I thought about Edward and I, and look at us now," I say, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. "I mean, I was literally engaged to someone else."
"I think my situation is a little more complicated than that," Alice admits.
"Is he from Ruthenia?" Rosalie asks. Alice shakes her head with a sigh. "Oh, long distance is rough."
I hate the sadness in Alice's face and I wish there was a way to make it better. "Do you see any sliver of possibility of it working out?"
"He has a lot of…issues. And he's a bit emotionally unavailable," she says.
"Is he worth it?" I press, thinking about Edward again. I know he would be for me.
"I think so." Alice's voice is small.
"Then I think it can work out," I tell her with all the confidence I can muster.
"Thank you, Bella," Alice smiles, not completely convinced.
Luckily, the rest of the night seems to help lift her moods as Rosalie makes us play truth or dare complete with prank calling Emmet, and gorging ourselves on junk food until we feel like we might throw up before passing out on her bed.
The next morning, I feel something stroking my face. I lift my hand to bat it away, only to be met with a deep chuckle.
Wait. I know that sound!
My eyes pop open to meet green, Edward kneeling next to the bed, inches from my face.
"Good morning, Princess," he smiles, a soft, adoring expression on his face.
"Edward?" I blink, my mind still foggy from sleep. "It's still early?" I say, coming out more as a question. I glance to my other side where Alice and Rosalie slept next to me, Rose snoring a bit too loud.
"I know, baby. I'm sorry for waking you, even though I did miss you like hell, but you have a visitor," he says.
That wakes me up a little more. "A visitor?" I mumble. Who could possibly be visiting me?
Edward nods. "Come on, let's get dressed and I'll take you to them."
I follow him back to our room and go straight to the bathroom, brushing my teeth before heading to the closet, Edward doing the same. "Who is it?" I ask, pulling off my nightgown. When I don't get a response, I look over to see Edward staring at my almost naked body. "Focus please," I say, not able to stop the smile on my face.
"Sorry, Princess," he says, shaking his head. "Nope, that didn't work. Maybe you should put a shirt on." I snort, very unladylike, pulling my dress over my head. Edward's eyes are still dark. "That doesn't help much. You look ravishing in everything." He steps closer until I'm pushed up against the mostly empty shelves. "I had a terrible time sleeping lat night without you. And to make it even worse, I didn't get a good morning kiss."
I swear, I fall more in love with this man every day. I push up on my toes, his arm curling around my waist to tug me against him as our lips meet, our tongues swirling in a sweet passionate kiss. When I finally pull away, I can't but let out a content sigh.
"Good morning," I smile, before I'm quickly reminded why I'm up so early. "So who's here?"
Edward chuckles. "I'm curious myself. Dad came to wake me this morning. Said it was urgent."
"Well, let's go then!" I say, tugging his hand out of the closet.
"Forgetting something?" Edward says, that knowing tone in his voice.
I've heard that one before. I look down, making sure my breasts are covered, and all that gets me is a hearty laugh.
"Not this time, my love," he says, trying to suppress his laughter. "Shoes."
"Oh, right," I quickly slip on a pair of slipper, taking his hand again to head to the living room where I assume the guests would be waiting.
When Edward and I enter, Esme and Carlilse are sitting on the sofa next to another older couple. Esme spots us immediately and gives us a worried smile. I grip Edward's hand not knowing what to expect.
"Edward, Bella, good morning," Esme greets.
As soon as she makes our presence known, the older couple whip their heads to look at us. They look to be at least twenty years older than Carlilse and Esme, their hair graying. They don't seem to be any sort of threat, but my entire being is cautious of these strangers.
The woman gasps, bringing a hand to her mouth as she stands, the man following right after her.
She approaches first, slowly, her focus solely on me as tears fill her eyes. She seems to take in every inch of my face and I almost feel uncomfortable by how intense this interaction feels.
"You're so beautiful," she chokes out. She reaches a hand out as if to touch me, but she stops herself, her hand dropping to her side.
"Thank you," I say, still not sure what to make of this situation. I glance over at Edward, who looks equally confused.
The man joins her, studying me carefully. He holds himself with an air of dignity the same way Carlilse does, but there doesn't seem to be any arrogance like my father. "We didn't know…we thought…"
I don't think I can take not knowing anymore. "I'm sorry, excuse my impoliteness but who are you?" I look to Esme and Carlilse for help.
Carlisle steps around the sofa. "Bella, this is King Arthur and Queen Magdalade of Hudor."
I immediately curtsey, the instinct ingrained in me. "Please to meet you, your majesties."
"Oh no, please don't," Queen Magdalade says, wiping her tears. "Oh, Isabella. You look just like her when she was your age."
"Who?" I say, not understanding. The pieces seem to fall into place for Edward though because realization dawns on his face and he looks at the couple in shock.
"Your mother," King Arthur clarifies.
"My mother? You knew my mother?"
Queen Magdalade nods, finally revealing the missing piece to the puzzle. "She was our daughter. You are our granddaughter, my sweet Isabella. Next in line for the Hudor throne."