Living Royal

Chapter Twenty Nine

Living Royal

Chapter Twenty Nine

Bella stood next to the bed unmoving, waiting for Edward to come out of the humongous closet and talk to her. She took several calming breaths trying to dispel all the evil thoughts swirling in her head. She wanted to kill Tanya, tear her limb from limb.

That evil bitch!

Bella didn't believe a word Tanya said, but still. How dare she make such stupid accusations?

What the hell was she trying to do anyway? Break her and Edward up so she could have him all to herself?

It would take a lot more than that to drive a wedge between her and Edward, Bella decided.

"Hey, babe. Who was it?" Edward asked as he walked out of his closet, immaculately dressed in black trousers, a dark blue shirt ad a pullover. Yes, breakfast at the palace was a semi-formal affair.

"That was Tanya." Bella replied simply watching for Edward's reaction.

He frowned, "Tanya? What the hell did she want?"

"She wanted to thank you for last night."

"What? What the hell does that mean? I haven't seen her since my birthday ball, Bella. I swear to God."

"I believe you." Bella said.

"I know you probably don't believe…what?" Edward stopped short.

"I said, I believe you." Bella repeated patiently.

"Really?" Edward raised his eyebrows holding his breath.

"Yes, Edward, really. The woman sent a girl all the way to Scotland to seduce you and drive a wedge between us, of course, I'm not going to believe a word she says, I'm not an idiot."

Edward heaved a sigh of relief and pulled Bella closer to his chest. "Thank God."

"What were you doing last night anyway? I stayed up waiting for you…"

"I went out to a bar that I know. It's very secluded, celebrities usually go there to avoid the press because it's out of the way. I had a few drinks, but I guess I lost track of time, I'm so sorry that you had to stay up…forgive me?"

Bella narrowed her eyes, "We'll see," she replied.

She wasn't about to let him off the hook yet.

James knocked on their door a second time indicating that they really needed to head down to breakfast. Bella pulled away from Edward despite his protests.

"We should get going before James bursts through the door." She quickly changed into a more appropriate outfit and then headed out the door pulling Edward behind her.

They arrived at the Breakfast room and found the King and Queen already there.

'Damn it!' Bella cursed inwardly. 'Now, they're going to think I kept them waiting on purpose.'

"Um, Good Morning." She greeted them tentatively. "We're really sorry we're late."

"Good Morning, dear." Esme replied warmly. "Never mind that, you must've been tired from all of yesterday's festivities. It's only natural that you'd want to sleep in."

Bella smiled at her thankfully.

"Yes, of course. Bella, not being a royal, is excused. Edward should have known better though." Carlisle, ever the party pooper, commented.

Edward, who had been quiet so far, pulled a chair for Bella to sit down opposite his mother while he took a seat next to her. Carlisle, of course, sat at the head of the table.

The servants who had been standing quietly so far started serving breakfast.

"We were a bit busy, if you must know." Edward replied tersely to his father's accusation.

"Well, if you're going to be King someday, you need to learn how to organize your time more effectively." Carlisle said.

Bella could see the veins in Edward's forehead begin to bulge. That was never a good sign.

Edward was about to blow up.

Esme cleared her throat delicately, "Bella, dear. I realize that you will be swamped with schoolwork one you begin the school year, but I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to one of my charity benefits in a few weeks."

"Yes, of course." Bella replied immediately, grasping for a chance to dispel the tension that had permeated the room after Carlisle's short speech. "I'd be honored to come with you."

"I'm not sure how honored you'll feel after having to go through another boring royal function." Esme joked.

Before Bella could reply, Carlisle cut in, "She's going to have to deal with it sooner or later. She'll be Queen someday. She has to learn to deal with it even if she doesn't feel so inclined."

Yes, Carlisle had a tendency to speak about her as though she wasn't there.

It was irritating as hell.

"I think Bella will make a wonderful Queen no matter how she chooses to do it." Edward smiled warmly at her and squeezed her hand under the table.

She smiled weakly back. She loved that he was trying to encourage her but she didn't really want him getting into another argument with his father.

"Hm, we'll see about that." Carlisle muttered.

"God, you can't just let it go, can you?" Edward yelled, finally having enough.

"Edward! You need to lower your voice right now!" Carlisle slammed his fist down on the table causing both Bella and Esme to flinch.

"And you need to stay the hell out of this. Haven't you caused enough problems already? It's none of your damn business how Bella chooses to handle being a princess; she's got more than enough pressure to deal with as it is without you adding to it." He stood up as he continued screaming at his father.

"Edward, please." Bella tried pulling him back down, but he wouldn't budge.

"No, Bella. He needs to hear this, and then maybe he will realize what he's doing." He turned back to his father. "Do you know that Bella and I had a fight last night after the ball? We almost broke up because of you and that ridiculous speech you felt the need to give."

Bella heard Esme gasp. Carlisle was just sitting there staring at Edward as though he was seeing a ghost.

"Edward," Carlisle began to say but Edward cut him off.

"No, I've had enough of this. If you're going to keep interfering in my life and trying to mess with my relationship with Bella then I'm going to have to takes some extreme measures." Edward announced confidently.

What the hell was he up to?

Bella had no clue what he was talking about. And from the looks of it, neither did his parents.

"What is that supposed to mean, Edward? What exactly are you threatening to do?" Carlisle asked slowly.

Edward took a deep breath as though preparing for an important announcement.

"If you don't back off and let me and Bella make our own decisions, I'm going to abdicate the throne." He finally said.

The other three occupants of the room sat in stunned silence for a few seconds. Then all hell broke loose.

"What?" Carlisle yelled.

"Edward, you can't be serious!" Esme exclaimed.

"I'm very serious, mother." He replied stoically.

"Edward, you cannot even contemplate something like this. You're the heir!" Carlisle said.

"I'm not the only heir. You have Emmett too."

"Emmett wasn't the one who was trained to take over since he was an infant."

"It's never too late to teach him the ropes." Edward shrugged casually.

Bella sat through all that dumfounded. Was Edward really so ready and willing to give up his birth right for her? Just like that?

He loved her that much?

Bella felt her heart swell with emotion. Tears pricked her eyes but she held them back. No use becoming a blubbering mess and looking like an idiot right now.

"Edward, I will hear no more of this. There will be no abdicating the throne or any such nonsense, do you hear me?" Carlisle was now standing up and he and Edward were on some weird Royal stand-off.

"I'll do whatever it is I see fit in order to keep my relationship intact." Edward responded.

"Edward, if you don't stop this nonsense at once, I will…"

"Carlisle, enough!" Esme cut in loudly.

Bella looked at her in shock. She'd never seen Esme so angry before. The Queen had always had a calm air about her, this was something totally different.

"There'll be no more threatening in this house! We've had enough arguing to last us a lifetime." She stressed. Bella was surprised to see the King looking abashed at his wife's words.

Well, what do you know? There's someone who can actually tell the King what to do…and he actually listens.

Bella started seeing Queen Esme in a whole new light at the moment. She had a newfound respect for her. Anyone who could make King Carlisle look like a scared little boy deserved the freaking Nobel Prize.

"Esme," He started but was interrupted again by the fearsome Queen.

"No, I have had it with this topic. Edward is not a child anymore. He's a grown-up and the sooner you realize that, the better it is for everyone involved. Now, we should get going, we have to be at the new Museum for the Opening Ceremony." With that she waltzed out of the room. Bella glanced covertly at Carlisle wondering what he'd do next. To her infinite surprise he sighed and then followed his wife silently.

"Wow, that was…" Bella began.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Edward finished her sentence for her.

They both started at each other for a second then burst out laughing.

When the eventually calmed down Edward who had sat back down kissed her temple, "We should eat and then get out of here before world war three breaks out."

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"I'll show you the club I went to last night, what do you think?"

"Now? It's barely noon."

"This is a 24 hour club. It's a café in the morning and a bar at night."

"Alright then." She shrugged.

The finished their breakfast and headed out. They weren't alone this time; Felix was following not too far behind. He was making himself visible for the very first time in order to discourage anyone from coming too close. After news of their engagement went public, the people of England couldn't wait to witness the Royal love in action, hence, why Felix was needed. Edward wasn't one to turn people away whenever someone wanted to say hello or shake his hand or even take a picture with him, but crowds grew quickly and they tended to get a little aggressive. Edward also wanted to be more careful whenever Bella was with him. He'd had to deal with this his whole life so he knew what to do, but it could get a little too overwhelming for her, so he made sure to have someone there in case they needed help or a quick escape.

They arrived at the club/café and as soon as the hostess saw Edward she quickly ushered them to a table which seemed to be his regular one. The hostess didn't pass up the opportunity to bat her eyelashes at him of course, but Edward didn't seem to notice so Bella didn't bother growling at the woman, something she really wanted to do.

Everyone at the club looked their way as soon as they had entered and started whispering among themselves. Bella found it a bit unnerving at first, but she did as Edward had told her when they'd first started going out. She drowned everything out, pretended they were there all alone and it worked.

After they sat down, Bella looked around and found the place to be really cozy. She loved it. She was afraid that it would be one of those high-life joints where only the rich and famous came to party. Edward wouldn't go to a place like that though, she realized.

They ordered a couple of hot drinks since it was too early to have anything else.

"Did you really mean it?" Bella asked after taking a few sips of her drink. She couldn't wait to ask him any longer. She needed some answers and she needed them now.

"Mean what?" He put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

"What you said to your father, about abdicating the throne. You'd really do that?"

"Of course I would. If it was the only way that we could be together and have some peace, then I'd do it in a heartbeat." He admitted.

"But, it's your birthright. You don't care that you'd be losing it?"

"Bella, let's get one thing straight. There's not one thing in this entire world that I care about or love more than I love you, especially not becoming King." He kissed her forehead.

"I love you too." Bella grinned. "But you're not giving up the crown for me."

"If that's what I have to do, then I'll do it Bella."

"No, Edward. We'll find another way. I'm sure your mother has it all in hand now anyway. You don't need to give up anything."

"We'll see," He replied vaguely.

Bella frowned. She wouldn't let him do it, no matter what the cost; she wouldn't let him give up the throne for her.

"Let's talk about something else, enough with all the drama." Edward said. "We haven't set a date for the wedding yet, when do you think we should do it?" He grinned happily.

"I don't know, do you think we should wait till we finish University?" Bella wondered.

"No, no way. I'm not waiting another three years until I make you my wife." Edward replied quickly. "We need it to be soon."

"How soon? How long does it take to put together a Royal wedding anyhow?"

"Do you really want all the fanfare? I thought you'd want something small with only friends and family." Edward wondered.

"That is what I want but what about your mother? She'll want to have a big wedding and so will your father of course."

"Forget about them, this is our wedding, not theirs." Edward stressed.

"Yes, but…"

"No buts," He cut her off. "We'll do this our way."

Bella decided she'd talk to him about it later.

"So how does August 13th sound?" He asked.

"What? But, Edward, that's one month away."

"You're right. That's way too long." He frowned. Bella giggled. She was so happy that he was in such a rush to marry her. But, still there were so many things to consider.

"Don't frown, baby." He whispered. "We'll make it in time. You don't know my mother the way I do. When she's determined to do something, she turns into a freaking drill sergeant. She'll help us put the wedding together in time, and so will Alice and Rosalie."

Bella was still hesitant.

"Come on, Bells." Edward urged, using the nickname her father used. He kissed the corner of her mouth. "Please? Will you marry me on August 13th?" he whispered while looking deeply into her eyes.

Now, how was she supposed to resist that?

"Yes, I'll marry you on August 13th." She smiled widely.

Only one more month until she became Isabella Cullen, future Queen of England.


(A/N): The Truth Shall Set You Free! :D Yup, the truth's out! Our Bella's too smart to fall for Tanya's tricks ;)

Aaaaand we have a wedding date! Now remember that to them it's still summer, they're in July, so August is a month away.

I hope you all liked this chapter :) Thanks so much for all your wonderful comments!