"There are two types of pain: pain that hurts you, and pain that changes you." -Both
Isabella's POV:
A lot of time has passed since I first woke up, and I can honestly say it's been a very strange road to recovery. Most of what has happened in my recovery time has been Harry explaining to me what was going on with the men we fought, who they were and what they were doing. Also how there was someone inside the castle giving them inside information.
Even after a full month, I still can't think it's Wesly. I trust him. There's no way he'd betray us all like that because of selfish ambition or anything of the sort. He didn't have anything against Harry's family, as far as I knew.
But he was still our only suspect, as everyone else has done nothing suspicious or had a false alibi.
Layla and her two cousins were not informed of any of this, naturally, because they are too young to be involved in war. But I could tell by Layla's inquisitive stares that she knew something was wrong.
Coming out of my thoughts, I stretch my arms high above my head, feeling relieved I could actually move again. Of course, I wasn't fully healed, but it was good enough. Dr. Gregory gave me the all clear, so I was actually able to move around freely and not restricted. Naturally I still have to be careful about what I do, but since I didn't foresee anything happening in the next month or so, I feel like it won't be bad.
Getting up from the chair, I grab the parchment in front of me, turning and leaving the room I was in, off to find Queen Phillipa. I resumed my job after two weeks of being awake, and Harry has graciously helped me with some of my usual duties I was unable to perform.
He has hardly left my side since I woke up. It's almost strange to see the complete turnaround in him, but I'm extremely happy to see it. Something still felt off about this whole situation, but I knew I'd figure out why it felt so wrong soon enough. There's no reason for me to worry about it right now though, because that would only distract me from the good in my life, and I want to enjoy it while I'm here.
Glancing side to side I try to look for Queen Phillipa, delicately holding the reports in my hand. But with her nowhere in sight, I let out a heavy sigh. It could take me hours to find where she was in this huge castle, granted she stayed still.
There was so much I needed to do, and we were leaving this afternoon. A few days ago my mother agreed to go back to her house, and today we were going to head out after lunch to go home. Layla was excited to go back to the beach, but Harry was a little skeptical. He and my mother were finally on good terms with one another again, although they still didn't talk on a normal basis.
Shayla seemed to be the only one really excited to get back to the shore. Of course, this was because she would see Louis again. Him and Niall had to stay by the ship for the past month to keep the crew in line as well as make sure nothing happened to Harry's ship.
Shayla joined us the day after I woke up. She was so relieved to see me awake she nearly collapsed, but gave me a huge hug after she regained her senses. Ever since then, she's been by my side constantly as well.
Tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear, I let out a sigh. So much has happened in such a short time, I get confused on the order of what's all happened. Ever since I got dragged on Harry's ship as a bargaining item, everything has seemed to happen in a blur.
Shaking my head, I enter into Queen Phillipa's main office, looking towards her desk to see if she was sitting behind it. To my dismay, she was not, and I let out a sigh before an idea came to mind. I could probably just leave these here and tell her where they are. I muse to myself, walking towards the desk before setting the papers down.
She may be in the throne room...but instead of continuing my search for her, I walked out of the office, heading over to a door that led to the courtyard. Opening the door and walking outside, I took in a deep breath, letting fresh air into my lungs as the warm sun hit my skin, making me smile.
I lift the dress I was wearing a little bit so it doesn't get too dirty before walking across the stone path, admiring the sunny view as well as the flowers that were blossoming. Since it was summer, these walks outside was something I could truly enjoy without worrying about getting sick or anything like that.
Sitting down on a bench by the fountain, I stare at the water blissfully filling the small pool below it, a soft smile on my face.
During my six years of working with Phillipa, coming to this fountain has always been a secret treasure of mine. Being away from the stress inside the castle as well as being able to watch my problems melt away as I stare at the peaceful water is something that relaxes me.
Reaching both hands up, I fix the long ponytail I had in my hair, knowing it had fallen slightly when I began working this morning. It was nice having my hair long again, but sometimes it could be a pain to keep controlled. Once I finished redoing the ponytail, I folded my hands on my lap, leaning my back up on the back of the bench, letting out a sigh of comfort.
I don't know how long I sat there, but it must've been a long time. The only reason I was startled from my peaceful alone time was someone clearing their throat, making me jump slightly. Looking towards the sound of the noise, I see Harry staring over at me, a confused look on his face.
"Why are you out here alone?" he asks and I clear my throat, regaining my composure. "I wanted to relax for a moment or two." I say and he raises an eyebrow, not completely buying my story.
"You've been out here for fifteen minutes." he says and my eyes widen. "Oh, that's not good. I should go find Phillipa." I say, slowly getting up from the bench, the smallest stab of pain in my side making me wince, but it wasn't too big for me to worry about it. It was like I was bruised now, or very sore. Nothing more.
I look up at Harry, who has his eyes narrowed, and I sigh, knowing he probably saw me wince. "Don't worry, I'm fine. I just-" I pause, blinking a few times before a small frown comes to my face.
"How did you know I was out here this long?" I ask and Harry immediately turns away from my gaze, huffing as he crosses his arms. "I was just guessing." he grumbles and I roll my eyes before looking down at my dress, a small smile on my face.
"Good guess." I say sassily before walking past him, heading inside. He mutters something under his breath that I couldn't hear, but I snicker slightly to myself knowing he was probably trying to come up with some sort of comeback to my remark.
The warm air disappears as I walk inside, and chills go down my arms as I try to readjust to the cooler temperatures of the castle.
"Phillipa is in the front room. She was talking to Dr. Gregory before I left." Harry says and I nod, giving a quick thanks before we both head that way, him trailing behind me cautiously as if he expected me to be fragile. It was slightly annoying having him be so overly protective over me, especially since he hasn't been for the past six years...but I guess he's trying to make up for all the time he lost, so I try not to let it bother me.
Thankfully, Phillipa hadn't moved, and was still happily chatting with Dr. Gregory and my mother. "Was she here earlier?" I ask Harry and he shakes his head 'no'. Walking over to them, I tap Phillipa on the shoulder, making her turn towards me.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to inform you I left the reports from this week on your desk in the office. There was something else I needed to do, but I've forgotten." I say shamefully and Queen Phillipa just smiles at me, shaking her head.
"Thank you Isabella. That helps a great deal. Don't worry about the other thing, I'll have it covered. You can leave." she says and my eyes widen.
"But, I need to get my work done or-" "No, you do not. You need to get home where you belong. Your mother is already informed of my decision to let you go early, as well as Layla. She should be down here any minute. Shayla's already gone ahead. She should already be back at the ship." she says and a frown settles on my mouth, but I say nothing more.
"Don't be sour." Harry comments and I shoot him a look, making him grin at me victoriously; this was probably his way of getting back at me from my comment before. "Fine," I mutter, turning back to Phillipa and giving a small bow.
"Thank you." I say graciously and she waves me off. "Don't worry about it. I know you've wanted to get back to your house as well, it isn't just everyone else. Go on." she says with a smile and I return it.
I give her a hug before looking at my mother, seeing her nod to me. "Layla is actually outside waiting in the carriage. Let's go home." she says and I nod, the three of us leaving the castle, and a weird feeling set in my stomach as we exited the front doors.
Frowning, I walk to the carriage, all four of us able to fit in the same one. Layla cheered as she saw us, a bright smile on her face while she waved her arms. "Mommy! Daddy! We get to go back to the beach!" she cheers and I force a smile, nodding my head.
Once we all get settled into the carriage and start moving, Harry leans over, whispering in my ear, "Why are you frowning like that?"
Turning towards him, I can only shrug and shake my head. "I don't know, I just don't feel right." I whisper and he frowns, looking quite confused at my response. "Maybe it's your wound?" he guesses and I shrug, turning to look out the window.
Whatever this feeling was...I hoped it would go away. Is it still just Harry? The fact he's back to stay? Maybe...I hope it's just that, honestly. Because other than that, I don't know what it would be.
***
The trip back home took longer than usual. Or so it felt.
My spirits were lifted on the way back at least, but that's mainly due to Layla. She is such a bundle of happiness that you can't help but feel happy when you're around her.
As soon as the carriage stopped she jumped out, looking around excitedly at the familiar surroundings of the beach, the docks, and the shoreline. I got out a little slower than her, taking a moment to take it all in, a small smile on my face at the familiarity of it all.
Harry helped my mother out of the carriage before we began to walk towards our house, the three of us chuckling at Layla, who was jumping around and kicking up sand, gushing over how much she's missed being by the ocean.
"She really takes after her parents, huh?" Harry mutters and I laugh. "Yeah, I guess she does." I answer and he chuckles, shaking his head.
"Layla, don't stray too far! We have to go back and drop Gramma off." I say and Layla looks over her shoulder, her green eyes sparkling in the sun. "Okay!" she says cheerfully, her blonde hair bouncing up and down as she runs back towards us, making me shake my head with a smile.
We left my mother back at her house and she thanked us for escorting her, although she scowled at us a little for treating her so fragile. After saying hello to a worried Darla, the three of us left again, setting off towards my little home.
Layla got excited again, running down towards the shoreline, squealing with delight as she picked up different shells before tossing sand in the air with her feet. "She's definitely going to need a bath." I say wearily, letting out a sigh as Harry laughs.
"Have fun getting her into one." he muses and I roll my eyes. "I'll let you do that this time." I say and he shoots me a look. "Don't." he warns and I huff. "Fine." I say and he sighs. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet." he mutters and I pat his shoulder.
"I know." I say understandably and he just smiles at me.
"Mommy, Daddy! Look! I found treasure!" Layla cheers happily and we both look over towards her, seeing her holding something in her hand, waving it in the air proudly and I laugh. "That's great! Come and show me, I'll determine if it is treasure!" I shout back at her and she smiles broadly, beginning to run back towards us.
As Layla runs towards us, the sound of clomping catches my attention, and my eyebrows furrow down. A horse rushes past us, making Harry and I stumble backwards, looking at the horse that past us before looking back at Layla.
My face pales as Layla's happy laughing gets cut off, another horse sprinting by her, the rider sweeping her off her feet and a scream falls from my lips. Layla immediately begins to scream as her captor holds her tightly to him. My eyes widen as I see the familiar blonde hair on the rider, and I gasp in shock as I realize who just grabbed Layla.
"LAYLA!!" I scream, my senses coming to my as I begin running after them, Harry cursing loudly before following me. Another loud curse from Harry makes me turn around, seeing him falling to the ground after being hit with a club, another horseman coming up towards me. Before I can even react the club is swung down, catching me right across the head, and darkness fills my vision, and by the time I hit the ground I was out cold.
......Don't hate me guys. But yes, they got Layla. So that's not good. I really hope you like this chapter and that the wait was worth it!! I really want to hear what you thought about this chapter, because I did make an effort to make this one longer.
AND NOW! Here are all the quotes from the chapters: please give me your guess as to what you're thinking is going to happen, because we are reaching the climax of the arc!! As I did before, all of Harry's will be in one group, all Bella's will be in one as well. Love you guys!
"My past does not define me." "My strength is an illusion." "My mistakes can only make me stronger." "Light shines best against the dark. And the brightest lights case the darkest shadows. So let's face it, I can't exist without you." "The fallen will rise." "There are heartless people who once cared too much." "You can break my soul, take my life away, beat me, hurt me, kill me, but for the love of God...don't. Touch. Her." "The woman he almost destroyed was the one he died protecting." -HARRY
"My kindness is not my weakness." "My life is not a game." "I'm not ready to say goodbye." "No one ever said it would be this hard. Oh take me back to the start." "You could be the King, but watch the Queen conquer." "You can break my soul, take my life away, beat me, hurt me, kill me, but for the love of God...don't. Touch. Him." -BELLA
"Do you know how painful it is, to see you fight for me, to cry for me, when we both know, I don't have much left to live?" "A certain darkness is needed to see the stars." "Your very existence...made someone important to you suffer." "When something bad happens you have three choices. You can either let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you." "There are two types of pain: pain that hurts you and pain that changes you." -BOTH