Disclaimer:I own the plot of the story, not Twilight. However, if I did own Twilight, I'd make sure Edward was sexy in spandex. Heh heh...

Chapter Four:
Dancing with an Unbaked Plot

I turned around in a huff, preparing to march majestically, with head my held high, away from him. Suddenly I felt the material of my skirts stick to my sweaty calves and my legs got tangled in the fabric. With an uncharacteristic squeal, I felt myself tumble to the ground.

Fortunately someone caught me just before my body came in contact with the floor.

Unfortunately, that person was Prince Edward, who was so surprised by my sudden tumble that he failed to support both our weights, which caused us both to fall to the floor.

"Bella," Edward asked in a breathless voice, "are you alright?"

I struggled to right myself up.

"Oh, yes, I am. I am so sorry your-"

The sounds of the sitting room doors opening cut off what I was about to say and instead, a shocked, feminine voice sounded.

"Edward! Whatever are you doing down there?"

Oh dear lord, what had I done wrong?

I lay sprawled ungraciously atop Prince Edward, my eyes glued to the floor in utter embarrassment as the Queen stood just behind both our forms. Maybe if I wished hard enough, I would wake up to find myself in bed, simply having had dreamt all of this. Yes maybe this was all just a really bad dream...

"Bella, I think it would be best if you could just right yourself." Edward whispered to me.

Darn it, why could things never go my way?

I slowly and shakily got up, pushing myself away from his fallen form, to stand upright in front of not just the Queen, but also the King and my own mother. I felt my cheeks burn as I took in the looks of surprise of the royals and the look of amusement from my mother. Perhaps there was a way I could avoid explaining myself, but then again I had done nothing wrong, after all I could never really help being clumsy...

I felt Prince Edward set himself upright as he faced his parents.

"Mother, Father, allow me to explain. You see, Isabella merely lost her balance and was about to fall and so I caught her just before she could, well, crash to the ground." Prince Edward explained. The moment he had said those words, I felt a little sense of gratefulness for him explaining the situation instead of remaining quiet and allowing me to do so. Maybe he wasn't as bad as I thought he was, just maybe.

I nodded dumbly, choosing to remain silent rather than further elaborating the story. The Queen raised her brow in sheer amusement before laughing.

"Ah yes, ever the gallant one, aren't you Edward?" She quipped, her smile never leaving her face. She then turned to face me, her eyes bright with youthful vigour.

"And you must Isabella, the young lady that enchanted my son here. My name is Esme, and I refuse to be called anything else. So remember, no 'Your Majesty', no 'Your Highness', just plain Esme, alright?"

Unconsciously, I felt the ends of my lips tilt upwards, mimicking her radiant smile.

"Alright your high- I mean, Esme."

The King stepped forward, holding his hand out politely.

"And you may call me Carlisle instead of those titles; after all, you will soon join the family yourself, so no formalities needed."

I felt my smile waver just a little as I gently grasped his gloved hand. I hated that stupid fact that I would be married against my will, but what could I do? Unless... I felt the cogwheels in my mind start to spur with glee. I could always object, couldn't I?

"Thank you Carlisle, it is an honour. Now, you were discussing with my mother about the arrangements of the marriage in the sitting room, were you not? Why not Prince Edward and I join you?"

"Oh, of course! An excellent idea Isabella! Edward, do join us too."

Carlisle and Esme then walked hand in hand back to the sitting room, with my mother trailing behind them, shooting a suspicious glance in my direction which I conveniently ignored. Prince Edward turned to look at me with a quirked eyebrow which I merely replied with an innocent smile. He offered his hand, which I promptly ignored as I walked into the sitting room, sitting on the right side of my mother, which was the left of the royal couple. Prince Edward moved to sit next to me, pretending not to notice the twitch of my nose at his action.

"As I was saying, your highness, I think it would be an excellent idea to hold the wedding next week! I mean, the sooner, the better. Isn't that right Isabella?" Mother looked at me, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face, her eyes however flashed with warning, telling me not to interfere which was something I had every intent not to do. Instead of heeding the warning look in her eyes, I simply did the opposite of what she had wanted me to do.

"Well, actually, I feel that a week is too soon. I mean, I barely know the Prince. How about at a later date? After all, it will clash with the Summer Ball, won't it? And it simply won't do if that happens, right? I was so looking forward to it..." I added a pout to make me seem somewhat more convincing. Esme smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

"My dear, you are absolutely right! It must be quite uncomfortable marrying somebody you've just known not too long ago! I absolutely understand! And how silly of me to forget the Summer Ball, what with the excitement of Edward finally picking a bride. Well, perhaps if we had it scheduled in the beginning of the winter? That would give you and Edward the time to get to know each other better!"

I nodded eagerly in agreement. She had said exactly what I had hoped! A postponement which gave me ample time to find a way out of this sticky situation! Sweet heavens! I loved Esme! I flashed my mother a triumphant smile as she looked at me with great disdain at the situation at hand. Oh, she definitely knew that I would get out of this, one way or another. It would probably take no more than a month at the very most.

"Mother, father, is it alright if I made a simple request?" Prince Edward interrupted my thoughts. Carlisle looked at Edward, before nodding.

"Of course, son, after all, it is your marriage and future."

Prince Edward smiled before carrying on.

"Perhaps it would be best if Isabella moved in with us till the wedding, that way she can accustom herself with the castle as well as the rest of the family, I'm sure Alice would be utterly delighted to have her around for some good company."

I froze in shock at what he had just suggested. This was something I had definitely not foreseen nor prepared for. This would definitely hinder with my scheming. I was about to protest when my dear old mother butted in quite gleefully.

"What a wonderful idea! Simply marvellous! That way, Isabella will definitely be more comfortable, isn't that right sweetheart?"

I smiled weakly at my mother.

"Sure, why not? But ultimately, it is the King and Queen's decision. I don't it's alright though, imposing on them like that."

"Nonsense! I think it's fabulous idea! Isabella, do not worry about a thing, you will definitely not be a burden at all! Isn't that right darling?" Esme smiled at Carlisle as he replied.

"Of course! In fact, we insist that you move in tomorrow, the sooner the better!"

I grinned at Esme and Carlisle, nodding weakly, all the while sending hostile waves at both Prince Edward and my mother.

I flopped myself onto my bed as I thought about my predicament, ignoring the hums of delight from my mother as she packed my bags together with the help of the maids.

"Oh Isabella, stop sulking, I'm sure you'll love it there. It's absurd that you're actually not looking forward to this. From what I have heard, Prince Edward is quite a catch. He's a very artistically inclined gentleman that will make you the envy of every girl in the kingdom!"

I glared at her as she turned to smile at me. Then the smile on her face dropped.

"I hope that you aren't planning anything Isabella, because if you are, you know that I won't like it at all. So why don't you just go along with it? It will benefit you in the long run anyhow."

I rolled my eyes and sauntered out of the room, heading to the library to pick out my favourite books to bring along. I'd definitely need something intellectual if I wanted to keep sane in that Castle...

Author's Note

Okay, after having had abandoned this story for so long, I finally got the inspiration to begin again. I am deeply sorry to my sweet readers as I had a lapse of interest for the Twilight series and I hope that you have not given up on this story as I have decided to no longer leave it neglected! So please sit tight I'll try my utmost best to churn out the next chapter as soon as possible!

To my wonderful reviewers, thank you for the reviews as that certainly was a motivation to carry on with the story. As promised, here are your virtual seashells! Hahaha...

To end off this note, here's a brand new question! Try imagining Emmett as a bimbo, and tell me what your thoughts are! Definitely a laugh, right? Painted nails on Emmett, blond hair on Emmett. Heh heh...

Toodles!

WinterSparks

P.S. Please forgive me if there are any errors!