CHAPTER TWENTY

"Why did you do it?" she had whispered sometime after his disappearance. The army still cheering beneath their feet, unaware what had happened to their beloved prince.

"The spell was beyond even my abilities. I could not heal him. He was too gone," Alice tried to explain.

"Will he be back?" Bella asked, confused and hurt. She remembered Alice having to use the same exact spell with Jasper.

"I have not a clue. When were taught the spell we are warned to only use it in dire emergencies. To do everything else possible before using it and it could only be used on those close to death. The fact that it worked showed how extreme his injuries were," Alice said. Bella felt the tears well in her eyes.

"He needs to come back. He needs to," she begged and Alice held her once again, trying to soothe her.

Bella prayed, she wished, she hoped, he would come back to her. He had promised after all.

Day after day passed and Bella grew accustomed to her life. Her pain did not heal, but she learned to live with it.

Time did not help.

She was what she needed to be in the light of day, but at night, when she wrapped herself in her covers and tried to warm herself in the empty bed she was herself. She was not the Queen of Fuego. She was a girl. She was a lonely girl who cried herself to sleep.

Time did not help.

She missed him. She missed him so much that it caused a physical pain in her chest.

She missed his smile. She missed the way his hair flopped perfectly onto his forehead. She missed the way his eyes would light when he looked at her. She missed the way his arms would encircle her and make her feel safe.

She was not the only one.

She knew the kingdom wanted their prince back as well. They grieved with her.

But she could not let the grief bring her down. She had to be brave, because though she needed her Edward, her people needed her.

A smaller someone needed her to be brave.

She sat in her room a warm summer day, the first of the season. She rocked back in forth in her chair and hummed softly. Her arms around a small bundle of cloth. She smiled down and continued her song.

On days like this, the grief was not as strong. She could place it aside in order to be happy for a while.

Her door was thrown open and Alice sauntered into the room. Bella looked up, startled.

"Bella…" she said slowly. Bella sat up, slowly, wrapping the bundle in her arms and staring at her friend.

"It's time," she whispered a warm smile overcoming her features. Bella felt a bubble of excited laughter come from her. She walked toward Alice.

"Truly?" she asked almost afraid to hope for it.

"Yes. Hurry! Go and meet him! He's sure to be confused," Alice said, a bright smile over taking her features and making her glow.

"Where do I go?" she asked.

"The very place he left," Alice answered and Bella handed the bundle to Alice. Lifting her skirts so she would not trip, Bella ran. Her steps echoed throughout the cardio and the guards sent her curious glances as she breezed past them. She could not escape the castle fast enough.

She ran out the doors and toward the cliffs edge. The sun light lit her skin and warmed her. The breeze blew her hair around face as she stared around the cliffs edge.

Something strange happened to the air. It cackled with intensity and the wind sped up, blowing her hair every which way and spinning around the very spot she had lost him a year ago.

She watched in amazement as the world seemed to shift, expand, and shrink all in that very spot, until a figure began to appear.

She watched, tears forming, as his copper hair came into view, then his strong jaw, wide soldiers, until he was there, laying on the grass. He groaned, sitting slowly and standing on wobbly legs. He did not spot her right away. Instead his eyes focused on the villages and town instead, and then scanning the castle before they finally landed on her. She smiled, giving him a moment to adjust.

He smiled too. His features glowing as he looked down on himself in wonder.

"Where are we?" he asked. He recognized her. Her breath caught.

"Tiemp, of course," she said, laughing in breathless wonder. Her arms ached to hold him in her arms. He was here. He was really here and she wanted to touch him and memorize the feel of him.

"And you're here? You're alive and well?" he said, stepping forward and stumbling a bit in his haste. She rushed forward grabbed his arms to support him. He cradled her face with his warm hands. She couldn't stop staring at him.

Had it been so long? She embraced him then, her face burying into his neck. She could finally breathe again and the air had never seemed so heavenly. He smelled of summer and wind. His hands wrapped around her waist and she wanted to be closer, to melt into him.

"Of course. And you are as well?" she whispered, her eyes watering as she placed a hand on his chest, feeling the steady pounding of his heart. It was wonderful. She felt the tears slide down her cheek. He was here.

The thought replayed in her mind, stealing anything else she should have worried about.

"Of course. I do not remember where I went," he said into her hair.

She shook her head. It did not matter. He was here.

"I do not care. So long as you are with me now," she said, smiling.

"I think I was without you, for a very long time. I was…it was… " he could not find words to explain. Instead his grip on her tightened and his face scurried deeper into her hair, taking a breath of his own. The pain escaping both their chests as they were reunited.

"Ssh. We are together now and I love you and that is all that matters," she breathed, holding his face within her hands.

"I love you, too," he said, leaning down to kiss her, wrapping her lips in a kiss so filled with love and joy, Bella could barely stand on her feet.

A cough alerted them of another presence. Edward pulled away and stared at Alice.

"Well, as much as your love fills me with glee," she said, a smile over coming her features in a teasing manner, "We have a visitor."

Bella's eyes landed on the baby in Alice's arms. She walked to meet her and take the baby. The little girl gurgled, happy to be returned to her mother. She turned back to Edward with a smile. His eyes widened as he stared at the child that look remarkably like him.

"Her name is Ren. She's wanted to meet her father," Bella whispered and Edward smile grew. He stared at the baby girl with warm brown eyes and copper colored hair. She also looked amazingly familiar, but he could not place it. His arms ached to hold her.

"How long have I been gone?" he asked, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around both his wife and daughter.

"Long enough. So long as you are here and you never leave again," Bella whispered, stealing a quick kiss.

"Forever."

"Come, your kingdom awaits," she said, taking his hand and pulling him toward the castle, for it was time to live their life and raise their family. It was time to be in love and to be happy.

And that was all that truly mattered.

For now and forever.

The End