Royal Duty - Chapter 17 TEASER

Hello one and all!

It's been nearly 6 months since I last gave you a chapter. I will be the first to admit that six months is far too long, but I swear I have good reasons!

A lot of you are far more understanding than I deserve when it comes to real life, but I will try to speed up updates from now on. We're on the homestretch with this fic, so it should definitely be finished quicker than it took me to get this chapter out to you ;)

I spent some time in China at university there - and absolutely loved it. I then came back to the UK to finish my degree - as if I'm in my final year of Uni already!? Throw in a full time job over the holidays when I'm off and you can understand life is slightly busier than normal :)

Anyways, here's a little teaser of the new chapter, which should be with you by the beginning of next week! Enjoy!

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Chapter 17 - Statements

“Sources close to the family say that the Princess has shown her gratitude and patience towards staff here at the royal hospital, and that her unwavering love for her future husband is clear. Whilst many critics claim the impending wedding at the palace was both a publicity stunt and came from nowhere, this unfortunate situation has shown the rest of us, that life tests us all and only the strongest can come through. Many wellwishers who have come to stand outside the hospital believe that the love of a princess is enough to make any man strong enough to fight anything. This is Marcus Hunt, reporting from…”

I tuned the rest out. It was all the same. The world had been camped outside the hospital for days, and the curse of rolling news had descended.  Speculation, pointless interviews and hours of no news was making the journalists antsy.

I needed to make another statement, but it was the last thing I wanted to do. They kept talking about how strong Edward was, which was true, but they’d be expecting the same as me, and I felt anything but.

Knowing that I’d blocked out most of my childhood – and treated Edward appallingly in accordance – had left me reeling. It had been three days since Edward had woken up, since I’d spilled my inner thoughts to him, since I’d come to the stark realisation that I actually wanted to marry him. Sure, I’d have loved more time – to get to know him, to maybe even fall for him – but as far as arranged marriages went, I knew I’d lucked out. Edward was sweet, strong, caring and I’d have to be blind to not see how attractive he was. I wanted to know him better, I wanted to know what he looked like angry, or how easily he became frustrated. I wanted to know all the bad things, maybe just so I could pretend that he wasn’t a million times better than me. 

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Story link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8247002/1/Royal-Duty

Banner link: http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy130/LiveInDakota/RDBanner.jpg

Royal Duty Ch.16 TEASER :)

Hey all!

So it wasn't as quick as any of us would have liked, but with working a new fulltime job, I didn't find much time!

However, in saying that, I loved writing this chapter and I know the majority of you were waiting on what finally happens in this one!

Here's a little teaser to tide you over until  I manage to respond to all your lovely reviews!!

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Chapter 16 - Reawakening

I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with myself.

It really wasn’t any different from all the other times I’d been with Edward while Ben was in the room, but the knowledge that he’d be awake soon made everything change somehow. Everything within me was fluttering and taking flight, simultaneously making me feel terrified and nauseous all at once.

I leaned my lower back on the window ledge and watched quietly as Ben checked over Edward’s ever-changing notes before placing them back in the holder at the end of his bed. I concentrated on levelling my breathing as he then did his routine check of all the machines Edward was hooked up to, even going as far as to feel his pulse himself, his fingers pushing gently into the pallid skin of Edward’s wrist.

It wasn’t until anytime either me, Ben or one of the nurses was within touching distance of him that I realised just how much his skin had changed colour since his admittance. The disease that had been raging through his system had made him sickly and pale, his skin cold fiery-hot and then cold to the touch, a stark contrast in itself.

“His pulse is stronger than it was even twenty minutes ago. He should be waking up on his own very soon.”

“Wi-” my voice caught in the back of my throat, and I cleared it to start again. “Will you need to be here for it?”

“No, but I will come and check on him again when he does. He has no breathing apparatus or feeding tubes that need to be removed so he shouldn’t be uncomfortable or in pain when he wakes.”

Somehow that thought terrified me more, as if Ben being in the room meant I had some sort of buffer, someone to take charge of the conversation, someone else to focus my attention on instead of the great big pink and green spotted elephant sitting patiently in the corner.

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Story Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8247002/1/Royal-Duty
Banner Link: http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy130/LiveInDakota/RDBanner.jpg

Royal Duty Ch.15 TEASER :)

Hey all!!

I know I told you all this chapter wouldn't be long, and I didn't lie, it truly has been written all this time, but I started a new full-time job and other such excuses that I won't bore you with!

The chapter is currently with my beta who is working her magic on it, so I thought I'd leave you with a lil sneak peak!

Hopefully I should have it up on Monday - my day off!

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Chapter 15 - Coming Around

Twenty minutes later I was about as ready as I would ever be.

Alice, fidgeting, kept touching my hair and re-fixing the grips she’d placed at the front to keep it out of my face and I had to bat her hands away as she tried to redo it for the millionth time.

“You’re making me nervous, Ali, please.”

“Sorry.” Her lip disappeared between her teeth before she finally spit out what I assumed had really been on her mind all that time. “Do you know what you’re going to say?”

Her eyes flicked to the cards in my hand and I knew she’d seen the small amount of words on each one.

“Esme told me to tell the truth. And to follow my heart.”

A small smile lit up Alice’s face and she threw her arms around my shoulders. “Good luck,” she whispered before pulling back.

I nodded, squared my shoulders and let my security team lead me down the corridor to the elevator. They were never further than a metre from any side of me, and I watched as visitors and patients became curious by the large men in black suits, before their eyes widened on seeing me.

I was heir to their throne, there were very few people I would imagine didn’t know my face.

A lot of them stumbled through a curtsey or a bow, but most stood back against the wall and gaped as I made my way past. The ground floor, just inside the doors, was the worst. For such an early time of the morning, there were dozens of people milling around, all of whom came to a complete standstill as I made my way to the little podium that had been set up outside the doors.

What felt like thousands of light bulbs started flashing incessantly whenever the guys separated to present me to the waiting crowd of journalists and photographers. Some tried to shout out questions, most on top of one another and rendering it hopeless for me to make them out anyway.

I held a slightly trembling hand up, asking for quiet, and cleared my throat as I stepped closer to the microphone.

“Good morning everyone. Thank you for coming.

“My mother released a press statement on Sunday on behalf of our family, but we felt it better to personally address the stories surrounding my family and the palace within the media, with the truth.”

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Story URL: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8247002/1/Royal-Duty
Banner URL: http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy130/LiveInDakota/RDBanner.jpg

Forget Me Not Ch.51 TEASER :)

Wow, it's been quite some time since I updated this fic, and for that I apologise.

Royal Duty - my other fic - has much shorter chapters, and a lot less depth, hence why it updates more often, so don't be thinking it's a favouritism thing, cause it's not :)

However, I've finished chapter 51 and it won't be long before you can read it! In the meantime, here's a little teaser to help you along :)

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Chapter 51 - Shake It Out

The days were bleeding into one another, but I was no longer watching them pass me by from the darkness of my room, or my spot on the sofa.

I was back at school, and while my headaches had me scowling my way through every class, and my workload making my heartbeat race, it was better than being at home.

I wasn’t alone; I had the option to talk to someone other than Kate if the desire should take me. I should add that it very rarely did, but it was sort of nice to have the choice.

Kate was still living with us, and she’d sort of become one of the family without even really trying. 

She made us breakfast, helped Alice with the designs she did in her spare time, and more than once I’d found her and dad sat out on the patio with a glass of wine in hand and hushed voices as they talked about whatever it was they actually did talk about.

I felt slightly jealous the first time. She was supposed to be there to help me, not joke with Emmett, sing along to the radio with Alice, and console my father over alcohol, but when I opened my eyes – after Bella had told me I needed to – I could see that she was helping my entire family.

She was bringing us together, talking to us all, getting us all to see the cracks and the problems, and helping us all deal with them. After that, I saw her as a sort of angel in disguise. She was pretty, kind, compassionate, intelligent and even funny, if she could help my dad get back everything he’d lost in himself, then I’d willingly give up my time with her to make it happen.

I hadn’t spoken to Bella since our conversation on the phone, but not through lack of trying on her part. She’d watch me during lunch and her eyes almost begged me to speak up again like I had that one day, but something always caught in the back of my throat and I’d just look back down at the table-top in silence.

It was stupid, but it was like I couldn’t make my tongue move. I’d asked Kate about it, why it was so easy to talk to her, but almost impossible in front of my friends. She’d said it was because I was too worried about what they thought of me and what they would think of me following whatever lame thing I said. Kate didn’t call it lame, I just knew that if I ever did speak up, it would be completely pointless to their conversation because I barely knew what was going on around me most of the time.

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Chapter should be up by the weekend!! 

Sarah x

Royal Duty, Ch.14 TEASER :)

Hey all!

So it's been a while, but thank you to everyone who's kept in touch and continued to review!

I've moved the 2 hundred odd miles home for a six month summer holiday, quit my job and been offered a new one as of yesterday! Exciting stuff!

Andddddddddddddddd...through all that I've written you two new chapters :)

Ch.14 is with the beta at the moment, so should be with you all soon! In the meantime here's a little teaser to whet your appetite :)

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Chapter 14 - Begin Again

...

Lord and Lady Masen had collaborated all those years ago to make sure the two of us ended up together, and when I first met Edward’s father, I couldn’t help the tiny twinge of suspicion as to why he’d help manufacture my promised husband all these years.

“Your  Highness,” he greeted me, shocking me even more than the hug his wife had just bestowed.

I guess I expected respect, but not the formality, not when he was friends with my parents and father to the man I was going to marry.

He bent and pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek before stepping back and securing his arm around his wife’s shoulder.

“Lord Masen,” I replied quietly, my eyes watching two nurses as they scurried past with sidelong looks in our direction.

“Please, call us Carlisle and Esme,” Lady Masen interjected, and I couldn’t help but notice that Lord Masen himself hadn’t volunteered that pleasantry.

“I’m honoured to finally meet you, I’m only sorry it’s under these circumstances.”

“Nonsense, my dear, the honour is ours. Why, we haven’t seen you since you were a little girl running around the palace causing havoc, not in person anyway.”

Esme laughed lightly and I couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m afraid I don’t remember,” I answered politely, noting the way Lord Masen’s eyebrows rose as he watched me closely. Feeling uncomfortable under his scrutiny, I changed the subject.

“My mother has set up an office if there is anything you would like to discuss with her. Unfortunately, my father is unwell and on bed rest at the palace.”

“We heard, we’ll look in on him when we go back for dinner,” Lord Masen answered, and I had my answer, they were staying at the palace for the foreseeable future.

“How is my boy?” Esme asked, her worried eyes glancing longingly at the door leading into Edward’s private suite.

“He’s stable according to the doctors. The medication is helping his body fight the attack, so he’s weak and unconscious, but he’s doing well supposedly. He’s under strict quarantine until the Doctor’s pronounce him safe from the TB, and then all visitors will be allowed.”

“Has anyone been in?” she asked, sadness for her son tinting her tone.

“I haven’t left his side,” I answered, clarifying when I saw her confused expression. “I didn’t want him to be alone, so I sort of forced Dr Reynolds allowed me in.”

“Thank you, sweetie, I’m glad he has you,” she answered softly, stepping out from under her husband’s arm to touch her hand to my cheek.

“Come, Carlisle, let us speak with Renee.”

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See you in a few days!

xx

FMN Ch.51 Title Track - Shake It Out

So, if you've been with me from the start, you'll know that I always used to do this.

However, with technical issues I gave up, but I'm really excited to be back to writing again, and I wanted to give you guys a little taster. I know it's not much yet, considering most of you will have heard this song a million times anyway.

Chapter 51 is in E's POV and things are moving on & loose ends are being tackled that haven't been yet. I hope most of you will get the glimpse of the future that you're looking for.  This fic is wrapping up, and while it may take me a while to write, I hope you'll all see the HEA you've been looking for all this time!

Royal Duty Ch.13 TEASER :)

Hey all!

It's been a while, but it hasn't been as long as previous times!

Here's a little snippet of chapter 13, hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 13 - Isolation

“I hope I’m not overstepping my mark, but he’s lucky to have someone like you to care for him, Bella. You’re facing this with more decorum than I could ever hope to manage," Ben declared.

I only smiled faintly in return.

I’d been wondering how I was managing to hold it together myself.

What had given me the sudden push to hold my head up high and deal with things rather than act out and complain that life wasn’t being fair to me?

I’d come to the conclusion that it was all Edward’s fault. There was something about him being around that made me – finally – want to be somewhat better.  Once I realised who he was, to me and in general, I didn’t want to be the immature little spoiled princess I’d been acting out so well in the previous weeks.

It made me queasy, thinking about the way he’d seen me behave; the things he’d heard me say; the ‘decorum’ I certainly hadn’t shown then. How could he possibly want anything to do with me after returning and finding out just who I had become, or who he thought I had become? I’d been brought up better than that, never mind being in line for the throne.  I’d always been taught to act civilly and always give thought to others. That had completely flown out the window when I’d been faced with Edward and the “situation.”

Now it all just seemed like an epic waste of time. Edward was lying in a hospital bed, severely ill, and completely unaware of the things that were changing in me.

I finally decided it was the fear of him changing his mind – of deciding he didn’t want me anymore – that was driving my need to step up and prove myself, both to him and for him.

“Let’s get scrubbed up shall we, and I’ll take you in.” I snapped out of my thoughts as Ben spoke up, finally putting Edward’s chart down.

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Should be up by Thursday! xx

VOTE FOR ROYAL DUTY

Hey all!!

So someone - no idea who - has nominated Royal Duty for fic of the week over at The Lemonade Stand!

Got the e-mail when I woke up this morning, got to say it made my day :D:D

I'd really appreciate it if y'all took a wee moment to go on over to The Lemonade Stand and vote! If you go to the right hand side of the page, you'll find all the fics up for it this week :D

I'm quite a bit behind at the moment, so if you could spread the word, that'd be great!!

Thank you to everyone who's reading and recc'ing, I freaking love you all :D:D

Sarah xx

Royal Duty, Ch.12 TEASER :)

Hey all!!

So it hasn't been too long at all!! :D:D

I hope you all had wonderful Christmas' and New Years! Welcome to 2013!!!

My first chapter of the new year...I do hope you enjoy it :)

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Chapter 12 - How Do We Know?

“Bella! I can’t believe it took me so long to get here. I’m so sorry! I thought after the ball last night that a lie-in was expected of everyone! I didn’t hear what happened until I ran into Sue in the kitchens! Jasper got me here as soon as he could.”

As she sat beside me, I raised my eyebrows in curiosity, wondering just how close her and Jasper had become overnight.

“Did he ride you here on a horse?” Rosalie snorted from my other side.

Alice looked bashful as she smiled at my little sister, remembering too late the crush I’d informed her Rosalie had been harbouring for years.

“I got here as quickly as I could,” Alice answered instead. “How is he? What’s happening?”

I shook my head, tired and thankful for my friend’s arrival as she looped her arm through mine and squeezed.

“They took him away when we arrived. I haven’t seen him or Ben since.”

“But that was hours ago!”

I held her back when I felt her pulling away from me.

“We’ve all tried Alice, there’s no use. We might be royalty, but they aren’t telling us anything. We’re just another family when we’re in here. They don’t need to treat us differently.”

“I suppose if they’re too busy looking after Edward to come and tell us anything, it’s a good thing. At least we know he’s in the best hands.” Rosalie’s voice floated softly from where she’d moved to the other side of the waiting room.

I looked up and found her staring longingly at the door, as if wishing it to open.

“They won’t let anything happen to him,” she said next, conviction lacing her tone as she nodded to herself and looked back at me. In that moment I came to realise that, somehow, his coming back to us was as important to her as it was to me.

Alice was next to speak, her eyes boring into the side of my head as if willing me to believe their words. “This is Edward, Bella. He’s a fighter.”

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Should be up tomorrow at the latest!! :D:D xx

Royal Duty Ch.11 TEASER :)

Oh Em Gee, there's going to be two different fic updates in less than three days!!!

How exciting...well, it is for me anyways :D

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Royal Duty, Chapter 11 - A Royal Illness

The morning light pouring through the giant windows of Edward’s room pierced my eyelids, and I rolled over with a groan.

It was too bright, and it felt like I’d barely fallen asleep when it awakened me.

Even with my eyes closed, it felt like it was burning my retinas, causing way too much pain. It wasn’t until I opened them that I realised it wasn’t just the light; my head was pounding, and my mouth was dry.

Then I remembered that I hadn’t fallen asleep all that long ago, and I remembered the reason why: Edward’s confessions.

I turned my head on the pillow, my eyes drinking in the sight of a pale, very still Edward. The sheets around him were soaked with sweat; his hair was plastered to his head, and his skin was clammy. In the short hours I’d been afforded some sleep, whatever was wrong with him seemed to have only gotten worse.

The clock on his bedside table told me it was a little after six, and while it seemed obscenely early to me, I knew the palace would be stirring and that I wouldn’t sleep a wink more.

My head was wild with thoughts and emotions, concern for my fiancé overriding anything and everything that I had soaked in the night before. I should have been clued in that worrying for his wellbeing trumped everything else I should have been feeling.

I’d been lied to, for years. I’d been foolish, naïve and stupid. My life had been turned upside down by something I hadn’t had a say in and turned again when my parents made a decision without informing me of its consequences.

I couldn’t lock myself in the room and hate the world. I couldn’t blame everyone for ruining my life the way I wanted to. No, some of it was on me.

I shook my head, thoughts of children’s laughter and secret hideaways morphing into all those stolen looks I’d caught Edward sending my way when he thought I wouldn’t notice. All the times he’d stuck up for me with wedding details when it seemed no one else was listening. All the times he made me feel special in just one night at the party, despite having the onset of some illness.

I hadn’t been blind to any of it; I’d just told myself not to notice, that Edward was the bad guy in the whole situation. I’d been stupid. I’d treated him like he didn’t matter, to the point where he believed that maybe he didn’t.

Dismissing the fact that I still had the previous night’s makeup on, my hair still pinned, and my pyjamas on, I left Edward’s suite and made my way to Sue to enquire about a doctor.

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Should be up tomorrow all being well! :D

See you soon xx

FMN Ch.50 Teaser :):)

Oh Dear Lord!

It is the season for miracles after all, so that must be what this is! Can you believe your eyes?? It's a Forget Me Not chapter!!!!!!!

Little teaser to whet your appetites, the chapter should be up no later than Wednesday!!!

Happy reading! If there's any of you left out there!!

xx

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Chapter 50 - Just A Phone Call Away

Would it be okay if I called you? E

And then again, signalling the arrival of another one.

Friends call each other, right? I don’t know anymore… E

Even in his simple texts I could feel his confusion and heartache, and it made the pain in my chest intensify. Instead of thinking about the consequences or texting him an answer, I let my thumb hover over his name before pressing the call button.

It only rang two times before he picked it up.

“Hey,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

My throat completely closed over at the sound of his broken voice and the silence amplified the beating of my heart in my chest.

“Bella?” he asked, concern taking over in his tone, giving me the push I needed to actually answer him.

“Hi…” I sounded pathetic, but I had no idea how unprepared I was for so simple a thing as a phone call until it was happening.

His answering sigh let me know that even my pathetic greeting was enough. It helped ease the pain slightly, knowing that even the sound of my voice seemed to make whatever he was going through even a little more bearable.

“You’re not busy are you?”

I held back the laugh that wanted to bubble out of me. Since I’d cut him out of my life, I’d barely been able to fill up the hours in my day.

“Oh, you know. Lying in the dark contemplating life…” I wanted to face-palm so badly, but held it back and bit my tongue. I wasn’t quite sure how Edward would take such a strange answer.

When there was no answer, I whispered his name into the darkness, relishing the way my skin tingled and my mouth dried up at the mere mention of his name after so long.

“Tell me,” I whispered, no longer afraid to hear just exactly what he was going through. If either of us was going to make it out the other side, we’d need to be strong enough to face things head on.

“Every time I close my eyes I have a nightmare. It’s usually the same one…my crash, only you’re in the car, too, and no matter what I do, I can’t get you out in time. I can’t close my eyes without hearing you screaming, I can’t sleep without waking up screaming myself. Kate says I need to feel it, but there’s only so many times I can handle the thought of you dying only to wake up and realize it didn’t happen, Bella.”

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Ahhhhh, thank you all individually from the bottom of my heart if you're still with me on this! Your patience has been tried and tested many times! xxxxxx

Royal Duty Ch.10 Teaser :D

Hey all!!

So, here's the teaser I promised you! Hope you all enjoy it and look forward to what it suggests is coming!

I'm excited for y'all to read the chapter :):):)

Onwards...

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Chapter 10 - Incoherent Truths

I felt a tug on my train and turned, puzzled. Rosalie and Alice were at the side of the altar in their places, and everyone else should have been sitting. There was nothing in my line of sight, but when I looked down, there was a gorgeous little boy sitting on the train of my dress, grinning a gap-toothed smile up at me.

The congregation was chuckling at the sweet little boy in his mini tux and bowtie, and I couldn’t help but join them. I was confused though, there were no children of that age at the ceremony, and I wasn’t sure what he was doing there.

Edward surprised me by letting go of my hand and stooping down to pick up the boy.

“Kiddo, what are you doing? You’re going to ruin Mama’s dress!”

I felt faint as I listened to his sugared tones speak those particular words. Mama? I had a son? We had a son?

“Edward?” I whispered, uncertainty clouding my tone.

“Don’t worry; I’ll give him to my mother.” He winked at me before turning back to the boy. “You’ll behave for Mummy and Daddy won’t you?” The little person nodded enthusiastically and giggled when the mass of people behind him chuckled again.

I followed my eyes to Edward’s parent’s in the front row, sitting alongside my mother with a little baby girl in her arms. My eyes widened as Edward made his way back to me, childless.

“They’ll be just like us one day. Only brother and sister. Not future husband and wife…” I laughed at the adorable frown on my husband’s face as he realised what he’d said.

I awoke, startled, just as my dream Edward pressed his lips to my cheek. A dark room and Edward’s scent and warmth invaded my senses as I slowly remembered where I was.

I froze in place, realising Edward’s arm was around my waist, and the real man had just placed a kiss on my cheek like his dream counterpart.

 

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It should be up soon!! :D

xx

FMN Ch.50 Teaser :)

Yes, you read that correctly!! :D

After months of nothing, I am working on chapter 50! Can't believe there are that many chapters, and that we've been on this journey for so long!

I want to thank you all for sticking with me, I do know it's been a very long time since we started out and that your patience has been tested many times!

I can't give you a date as to when this chapter will be posted, but I'm 3000 words into it so it shouldn't be too long!

In the meantime, enjoy this little tease, and I'll speak to you all soon!

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Chapter 50 - Just a Phone Call Away

My phone buzzed quietly from somewhere beside my ear and I rolled over, searching blindly on top of the covers for the little device. The screen lit up as I flipped it open, and everything around me just seemed to pause. I could no longer hear my dad or even the storm.

Edward had sent me a text.

My hands started to tremble as I remembered the last texts I had received from him. Sure enough, they were still there, three separate little bubbles of text one after the other.

I miss you.

I love you.

I’m sorry.

The newest one sat there underneath them, all innocent and innocuous. Just my name with a question mark, as if he wasn’t sure that was still my number. Granted, I could have changed it, so maybe he really was that unsure, but something told me he had no idea how else to start up a conversation, and giving the way I’d ended things and avoided him for weeks, I couldn’t exactly blame him.

It had been four days since our talk in the quad. I had spent my weekend in Port Angeles with Rose, first on Saturday shopping for a graduation dress, and again on Sunday with Alice too, both of them just spending an obscene amount of money on whatever grabbed their attention.

Alice said she just wanted to get out of the house. I was too chicken to ask her why. Rose never needed a reason to spend money. I was treated to lunch and we even had our nails done in a salon owned by one of Rose’s aunts.

Edward hadn’t come back to school after the weekend, and I knew it was because he was having a bad day. I hardly saw Alice all day, so I didn’t get to act on my new resolution to ask her how he was doing as often as I could.

But he was reaching out. He initiated our “friends” relationship by sending me a seemingly random text, but if he was having a bad day, then it was obvious it meant far more to him than that if he got a reply. My fingers could barely hit the right keys as I replied.

 

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xx

Breaking the Radio Silence...

Hey all!

If there is in fact anyone ledt out there!!

I know we've been through this before, and I can only apologise, but I hope for those of you who have been with me long enough, you know that I don't leave you hanging for no reason, and I will always come back to my writing!

For those of you reading Royal Duty - which is quite a large number - I'd like to let you know that the next chapter is currently with the beta and I hope to have it up in the next 10 days at most...before then there will be a teaser and I hope you don't miss it :D

Thank you to everyone who's sent me little messages to check in and encourage me through, you are all fabulous readers and I cherish you all :D

So keep your eyes peeled for the teaser very soon :D

xxx

Forget Me Not Ch.49 TEASER :D

Hey guys!

I honestly have no idea if this is posting on time or not?? But it's not a three month wait so I guess I'm doing well anyways :D

We left Edward in a very dark place in the last chapter, and I decided to leave Bella alone for now to concentrate on E. This whole chapter is EPOV and I'd like to point out that while "not much" is happening, we are skipping forward through a few weeks in each chapter. Keep that in mind while reading :D

Onwards!

Chapter 49 - The Heart Never Lies

I’d begged Kate to take me off the pills, and it took her days to even slightly agree. She told me again and again that I couldn’t just stop taking them, that she was afraid of what I might do if I no longer had them.

She tried to tell me just how bad I was, but I couldn’t remember a time before them, so I had no idea if she was lying or not. She promised me eventually – after a week of begging – that she’d severely drop my dosage and only ever give me stronger pills when it was clear I needed them.

I didn’t ask how she would know. I didn’t want to know what was going through her head as she jotted down a new dosage for my dad to pick up at the hospital. There was something in her eyes when she looked at me, like she was scared, unsure of her decision.

If she was scared, then surely that meant I should be too. I didn’t want to be scared; I was a fucking coward and decided that I didn’t want to know in advance what I might go through in the future. I didn’t want to be constantly waiting around for my world to crash around my ears.

I didn’t know just how much she’d lowered my dosage by, but as the week passed, it was obvious it was miniscule if anything. I didn’t feel any better than I had, I still spaced out on way more occasions than I should have, and I slept all the fucking time.

The pain in my chest didn’t go away, I kept thinking maybe it would lessen with time, with pills, with seeing Bella every day at school, but it was always there, and always intensified tenfold when I lay on my bed at night.

Kate took to telling me that people who often go through breakups experience the same grief similar to when someone dies. She told me the same thing every time we had a new “session,” as if continually rubbing in that Bella was gone was best for me.

Maybe it was.

I’d given up fighting her on most things. I hadn’t given up fighting for me, or for Bella, but I had to trust that Carlisle and Kate knew what they were doing. If she thought keeping me on my medication was best, then it was.

I fucking hated the grogginess that settled over me – usually around mid-afternoon – but my body was beginning to finally rebuild its strength, and when night came, I was actually functional.

I continued to go to school, I continued to watch Bella like a hawk, but things had changed irrevocably. She was hurting too, and while it was wrong, I took comfort in that. Breaking up had been her idea, and no matter how hard I tried, there were still times when I wondered if she’d actually wanted to go separate ways and had just used me as an excuse.

Of course, in times of lucidity I knew that was ridiculous. I knew she loved me, maybe even more than I’d loved her at the time, and seeing the change in her at school led me to believe that us being apart was as hard on her as it was on me.

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This chapter should be up on Sunday :D

xx

Royal Duty Ch.8 TEASER :D

Hey everybody!

If you haven't already heard, my poor little laptop has a serious virus at the moment!! Unfortunately, this means that while it's been down for the last week, I've dropped behind on my pre-written chapters.

I do have three pre-written chapters of Royal Duty left, but I'd like to let you know that I'm going to space out my updates by a few more days - so ten days instead of a week - that kind of thing, just so I can get back on top of things.

As I said at the start, this fic isn't particularly long. I'm trying to get it finished in 20 chapters, but if you  know me, then you'll know that probably won't happen. I'm hoping anyways!!

So, I'm managing to get this out to you in the mean time, and I'd like you all to cross your fingers that I can continue to use my laptop for the next few days because between my four in progress fics, I have a lot of shit to do!!

I hope to have this chapter up by the weekend, and I hope you enjoy the teaser in the meantime :D:D

Onwards...

Chapter 8 - Show Time

“He should be in bed,” she remarked kindly.

“I asked him if he was up to it, but he was insistent.”

“Of course he was. This is your engagement party. And in that dress? You can’t blame him for wanting every man in this room to see you with him.” My jaw dropped as Alison giggled lightly. I was unsure as to whether Alec had filled her in on “the situation,” but her next comment told me he hadn’t.

“That boy is mad about you. He probably didn’t want to let you down. Maybe you could play it off as him being lovesick?” She giggled again, and I tried to join in but it died in my throat, making her look at me in concern.

“I didn’t mean to speak out of turn, Princess. Forgive me.” She bowed her head slightly, and I told myself to get a grip.

“Not at all, Alison. There is nothing to forgive. I’m a little nervous tonight, is all.”

“He won’t let you down, Princess, he’s been waiting for tonight for a very long time after all. I guess you both have.” She smiled as Alec and Edward re-joined us, taking her husband’s arm and both of them bidding us goodbye.

I played her words down. She’d clearly just read the article and, like was supposed to happen, believed every word. It did surprise me that Alec hadn’t told her the truth about us, however. Before she was diagnosed with cancer, she used to work in the palace gardens and, like her husband, knew everything that went on behind its doors.

My hand was back in Edward’s, and I didn’t know how it got there. Had I reached out and weaved my fingers through his without realising? Or was I so caught up in the riddles I’d been living with for weeks that I hadn’t noticed Edward’s gentle touch. I turned to find him with his eyes shut and breathing deeply and decided I must have done it because he was in no state to do anything

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See you all soon!! xx

Royal Duty Ch.7 TEASER :D

Hey all!

Tis that time, Edward is back and things are moving forward! Yay, let's get on with it shall we?

Enjoy x

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Chapter 7 - The Engagement Party

Our engagement interview was aired that night on the six o’clock news. The reporters remarked on how happy and relaxed we looked together, how naturally we seemed to handle the questions, the sadness surrounding our story, and the fairytale ending we seemed to have secured.

The engagement was everywhere. Only one official photo had been released, a shot of the two of us standing arm in arm, my engagement ring in full view and smiles on both of our faces.

My dress and hair were critiqued in every magazine, and it didn’t take long for copies to hit the shelves for the “everyday” woman to purchase.

I tried to ignore everything as much as I could. Instead, I found myself in a constant bubble of thought. Thoughts that only centred on one thing: Edward. I couldn’t get him out of my head. Every time I turned a corner in the palace I thought saw him. Every time I heard someone speaking with a similar tone of voice, my heart went into overdrive.

When he told me he was leaving, I knew I’d miss him, but I wasn’t aware of just how much.

My mother had knocked on the door to my suite the night he left to tell me his car had just pulled out of the garage. She seemed surprised that he had packed a few bags into the boot, but I reassured her he was coming back. Or at least, I thought I was reassuring her. It turned out I was trying to assure myself.

“Honey, that boy is mad about you. Nothing would be able to keep him away.” She held me close, and for the first time in weeks, I let someone else comfort me.

“But why? I don’t get it, I’ve been so mean to him…” I shuddered at the thought, and my mother’s arms tightened around me as she rocked me back and forth on the sofa.

“Have you spoken to him? Really spoken to him?” she prodded.

I nodded my head and pulled back, letting her take my hands in hers and gazing upon her soft features.

“He told me he’d wait for as long as it took for me to trust him before we got married, but it seemed like he wanted to say something else.” I knew in my heart what it was; he wanted me to love him before we got married, but saying it aloud was a terrifying thought.

“He said he wrote the story we told the press and that it wasn’t a lie…I don’t understand what he was talking about. I was too busy trying to think up ways to make him stay…but he left, mother. He’s gone…”

“But he is coming back…Isabella, these last few weeks have been hard on him, too. He has no family here, no friends. I know he hoped you two would become close, but you haven’t given him the chance to get to know you…he just needs a couple of weeks to find his bearings and probably say goodbye to his old life.”

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Should be up in the next few days!

Sarah x

Forget Me Not Ch.48 TEASER :D

Hey guys!

I know this one is overdue! I was doing so well with the schedule, but work has been kicking my ass the last two weeks so I had no time whatsoever to write!

I sat down today and managed to hammer out the chapter though. I have to warn you that it's dark...much darker than I thought it was going to be. Maybe I should be worried at how easily I can write darkness and angst?

Anyways, the chapter will be up as soon as I get replies out to your wonderful reviews on ffn :D

Enjoy x

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Chapter 48 - Darkness

Every night before sleep took me, I felt the same raw pain in my chest.

It was like it waited in the darkness for me, and pounced the second I was at my most vulnerable.

I was trying to deal with it.

I was adamant that it wasn’t going to break me, but fighting it, quelling it, was the hardest thing I think I’ve ever had to do.

Tears fell silently onto my pillow as I recalled the pain in Edward’s voice when I told him it was over. My heart would replay the pain it felt at the time, over and over, intensifying it in my loneliness. I knew it was for the best, but it was ripping me to shreds and I had no idea how to stop it from destroying me.

Jasper could tell. Hell, I think everyone could tell. They all watched me carefully at school, deliberately avoiding the topic of Edward altogether. Alice pulled me away from my locker and into a tight hug one afternoon before I went to biology – alone, as Edward had yet to come back to school – but that been the extent of it. Other than that, it was one massive elephant in the room that no one wanted to address.

It wasn’t until the following Monday that my strength was truly put to the test. Edward was back at school. I watched with mounting anxiety as his silver Volvo pulled into the school parking lot. I noticed him slow down as he entered, turning his wheels in the direction of my truck, but at the last minute he zoomed over to the opposite side and parked by the trees.

I knew it was inevitable, that he had to come back. I overheard Alice telling Jasper in the lunch queue on Friday that he was still recovering from the aftereffects of his panic attack. She said he was weak, suffering from migraines and irritable. She also said that he was becoming restless, staring at his phone when he thought no one was looking and spending equal amounts staring at his car keys.

The end of her sentence hung in the air. I wasn’t sure if they knew I’d heard, but we all knew what the latter of all of that stemmed from. He wanted me to call, or at least reply to the three texts he’d sent me. He was staring at his car keys because he was fighting the overwhelming urge to run away again. Whether he wanted to come and see me was another thing, I was genuinely unsure whether he wanted that or not.

I knew my breaking up with him was somewhat of a final straw for him, but with the positive things Alice whispered, I found solace in the fact that it had been the right thing to do. She’d returned home from school to find him talking heatedly with his therapist. I found out she was now staying with the Cullens, and Edward was getting around the clock care. She said, loud enough this time for me to hear, the he had refused antidepressants and drugs, saying he wanted to know if he was strong enough to get through it on his own.

My heart welled with pride the same time my eyes pricked with tears. He must have been so scared, so alone and so hurt, but he was fighting it by himself, adamant that he do it on his own. He was so much stronger than he realized, and I hoped he’d come to the same realization as me – that he could do it on his own.

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Chapter should be up by the weekend!! :D

Royal Duty Ch.6 TEASER :D

Hey all!!

This week's teaser is a few days early - see how much I appreciate you all? :P

Chapter 6 (this one) has been completely rewritten to mould into a plotline I didn't set out with in mind, but you guys were not enjoying the wait in the original, so the conversation in this chapter is at least 4 chapters earlier than planned...However, I'm sticking with some of my original ideas, so you won't get it all your way :P

I hope you enjoy this chapter, and think better of Bella, Edward and me, at the end of it :D

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Chapter 6 - Fears and Fittings

I stared at him, not sure what, or even if, I was supposed to say something.

He raised his eyes, but they wouldn’t meet mine, and I found myself desperate to look into the deep green depths. I didn’t know him very well, but I already knew that any time I looked into his eyes, I’d see the truth and know where I stood – he didn’t even need to say anything.

Suddenly, insecurities I didn’t even know I’d been harbouring surfaced in me, making it harder to breathe.

“You’re leaving…” I whispered. The pain those simple words caused me nearly knocked the wind out of me as I sat up straighter and brought myself closer to him. I knew, right then, that despite everything I’d put him through, and the fact that it would be my fault if he did, I didn’t want him to go.

His head snapped up, shock and confusion written across his face, but a tiny bit of acceptance lingering in his eyes. It was like I had just made up his mind for him. I felt foolish, he hadn’t been thinking of that at all, but I’d just put the idea in his head.

“I’ve been trying so hard, Bella. You don’t even seem to care that we’re in this together…” He shook his head in frustration. Standing up, the hand that I’d been about to lay on his fell back to my lap and he stared down at it in silence.

“I-I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel. I still don’t know how I’m supposed to feel. It’s like everyone around me is expecting something and I don’t know if I’m feeling it because they want me to or because I actually, truly do. I feel so angry that I was lied to, misled, when you weren’t.

“Five years is a long time, Edward. It might not seem like it, and I get that this was forced on you, too, I do, but you’ve had five years. I haven’t even had five weeks…”

Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes and I brushed them away angrily.

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The chapter should be up by the weekend :D I'll be replying to all your reviews between now and then so look out for that too :D

See you soon xx

Beyond the Glass Ch.22 TEASER :D

Wow, no you didn't read that wrong, there really is a new chapter of BtG!!


I can't apologise enough for the wait you've all patiently endured, I know most of you already know that it just wasn't coming to me.


Thankfully most of you read more than one of my fics and haven't been compeletely starved, FMN is doing well! :P


Anyways, a little teaser for the next chapter to get you in the mood :D Oh, and a recap of what happened last might help :P


Previously - Jasper found out what Edward tried to do and walked out, stating that they were over and that Edward "ruins everything." Edward got his moment with Bella, told her the truth about his fear of her, kissed the girl numb and then got his heart broken when Bella told him Jasper had got there before him. He walked out, a broken man, and Bella realised the epic mistake she'd made. Since then, her music has been picking up on YouTube and James has turned into the star we all love. Bella confronted her mother about her savings and found herself her own place. She's moved out, moved on and moving up with her life, free of Edward, heartache and her mother.

Chapter 22 - A House is not a Home

I’d spent the better part of a month trying to forget about Edward and his departure, but no matter how hard I tried, it was still there. The feel of his hands on my skin, the taste of his mouth on mine. I heard the sound of his voice – quiet and reserved – as he told me the truth for the first time. I remembered the look in his eyes as he tried to make me understand.

Then I remembered the pain in my chest when I had to shatter his ideas, the tugging I felt deep inside as he walked away from me. The fissure I felt cracking open when Heidi told me he was gone, the shame I felt when I realized it was my fault. The disgust at myself when I realized I’d used two guys at the same time – two best friends – and pitted them against one another unknowingly. The hurt I felt when I lost both of them.

My fingers were flying over the keys angrily until the same melody sounded again and again. It smoothed out when I thought over all the headlines I’d read in that same month – the ones about me, the ones about Jasper, but mostly the ones about Edward.

He was back in New York, back to his old ways: the drinking, the girls, the parties. There was barely a day that went passed without a picture of him falling out of some club with two girls on his arm from the night before.

I fell silent. New York had never appealed to me, even when I’d stayed there, but I remembered Jamie saying it was by far the best city in the world. The soul, the music, the sounds, the feel, everything was alive he’d said. I wondered if Edward liked being there, if he felt alive while he was there.

For the first time since he’d left, I wished with every part of my being that he’d walk back through my door. Maybe he’d smile, or maybe he’d just smirk cockily as I lost my nerve with whatever I’d been playing. He’d sit on the couch behind Jamie, cross his legs at his ankles and stretch out like he owned the place, revelling in the way I completely fell apart in his presence.

God, I missed him.

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See you soon!