Rosangela: The Half-Blood Princess

Several minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

“Is it Sigmund again?” I thought. “But why did he have to knock? Usually, he just walked in without asking. So could it be someone else?”

The knock came again for the second time. Sitting upright, I asked, “Who is it?”

“It’s Lupita,” answered someone from the other side of the door. “I’m your personal servant, Your Highness.”

Leaping out of the bed, I walked over to the door and tried to open it, but it was still locked.

“The door is locked,” I told her.

“I know, my Lady, I was simply asking for your permission to come in,” she replied innocently.

“If you knew the door was locked, why did you have to knock? You can walk in without having to ask for my permission,” I scolded her.

“I’m—I’m sorry, Your Highness,” she apologized, her voice a bit shaking, “It’s the procedure. Lord Sigmund told me that before I do anything, I have to ask for your permission first.”

"Procedure my arse!" I cursed under my breath.

“May I come in now, Princess?” Lupita asked for my permission.

I sighed. “Okay, come in!”

The door opened and Lupita, the girl with blond hair who looked a few years older than me, walked in, carrying a tray covered with a silver lid.

“I brought your food, Your Highness. Lord Sigmund had requested me to bring you food,” she explained politely.

“Thank you, Lupita. Just put it over there please!” I pointed to the bedside table.

“Alright my lady.” Obidently, she walked across the room and put the tray of food on the bedside table.

“Can you please stop calling me your highness, my lady, princess, or something like that? It’s really annoying,” I told her.

“Then why shall I call you, Your Highness?” she asked nervously.

“My name is Rosangela. But you can call me Rosanne,” I answered with a genuine smile.

“But you’re a princess and I am just a servant. I shouldn’t have called you with your first name,” she said timidly.

“So call me Rosanne when we are alone, okay?” I said.

“Okay, Your—” she tried to say, but quickly corrected herself when I glared at her, “Rosanne.”

“That’s good!” I exclaimed.

“Ma—may I ask you something, Rosanne?” she asked hesitantly.

“Sure. Fire away!” I answered.

“Lord Sigmund told me that your name was Princess Mirabelle. But why did you say that your name was Rosangela?” she inquired curiously.

“Because my real name is Rosangela. Mirabelle is the name that King Bellamy gave me a few minutes ago,” I explained.

She nodded her head. “I see.”

“You had better eat your food now, Rosanne, before it’s getting cold,” she suggested.

“Okay.” I walked towards the bed and perched on the edge of it.

“You’re not leaving?” I asked Lupita since she kept standing on her spot by the table.

“Lord Sigmund ordered me to accompany you as you’re eating,” she explained.

“Oh,” I commented shortly.

Opening the silver lid, I found a plate of spaghetti Bolognese with a pair of fork and spoon, and a glass of water.

I took the fork and intended to eat the spaghetti Bolognese, but suddenly a thought flashed through my mind, 'What if Sigmund poisoned it?'

I eyed the spaghetti on my plate suspiciously. There seemed nothing wrong with the spaghetti. The meat looked fine too. The colour of the tomato sauce was a bit darker, but I thought it was okay. The water on the glass was crystal clear. There was no sign of drug in it. But I had to be careful. Even though I couldn’t find something weird in the food and water, it didn’t mean that it wasn’t poisonous.

“What’s wrong, Rosanne?” Lupita asked confusedly.

“Sigmund didn’t poison my food, did he?” I asked her truthfully.

“I can assure you, Rosanne, that it’s not drugged,” she reassured.

“I don’t trust you. If the food is not poisonous just like you tell me, then prove it!” I challenged her.

“Ho—how can I prove you?” she stammered.

“Taste it!” I ordered.

She frowned. “The food?”

“Of course,” I said.

“I am sorry, but I am not allowed to eat food for royal family,” Lupita said apologetically.

“Since you don’t want to taste it, I am sure you have put something into my food,” I accused.

Lupita huffed. “All right Rosanne, I will taste it for you.”

“Good!” I said.

I handed Lupita the fork. She forked the spaghetti together with the tomato sauce and meat, and then brought it to her mouth. After she swallowed the food, I waited for about five minutes to see if there was a reaction of poison, but nothing happened.

“You see? It is safe, Rosanne,” Lupita said.

“Fine. I’ll eat it now, but only because you insisted me, okay?” I said stubbornly.

Lupita suppressed a giggle.

I took the spoon lying next to the plate and scooped a spoonful of spaghetti with the tomato sauce and meat. As soon as I put the food into my mouth, a metallic taste of blood hit my tongue.

“What the hell did you give me, Lupita?” I reprimanded her.

“It’s spaghetti,” she replied.

“I know it is spaghetti,” I retorted, “But what is the sauce made of?”

“It—it’s made of blood,” Lupita stuttered.

“What?!” my mouth gaped. “You give me blood?”

She nodded.

A wave of nausea suddenly swept over me, and I felt like I was going to be sick. Standing up, I rushed into the bathroom and quickly threw away what I had just eaten into the sink. After that, I turned on the tap and let the water drift all of it down the drain before stopping the tap.

“Are you okay, Rosanne?” Lupita asked me worriedly as soon as I left the bathroom.

“Why did you give me blood, Lupita? You know I’m a human not a vampire, right?” I complained.

Lupita bowed her head regretfully. “I’m sorry, Rosanne. It’s Lord Sigmund’s order.”

“Bring back this food, Lupita! I don’t want to eat such a food,” I ordered.

“Please finish your dinner, Rosanne! Lord Sigmund will punish me if he finds out you don’t want to eat the food I made,” she begged.

“Look! I would willingly eat the food you made if it were edible. But I can’t eat this. You know why? Because it’s not human food; human don’t eat blood,” I explained.

“But I was ordered to make that food for you,” she said.

“Then it’s not your fault. So please bring back this food and leave me alone!” I said.

“But Rosanne—”

I interrupted her, “Leave me alone now! Please!”

“What the hell is going on here?” Sigmund suddenly burst into the bedroom.

“My Lord.” Lupita bowed his head in front of Sigmund.

“Lupita, tell me what happened here!” he demanded.

“Rosanne— I mean, Princess Mirabelle doesn’t want to eat the food I brought her, My Lord.”

“It is not her fault. You ordered her to bring me food that is made from blood. So I can’t eat that,” I stood up for her.

“You can leave us now, Lupita,” he ordered her.

“Yes, My Lord.” Hurriedly, Lupita left me and Sigmund alone.

“Look Princess! Since you’re going to live here, start now on, you have to get used with our food,” he said firmly.

“But I am a human, and human don’t eat blood, especially other human’s blood,” I retorted.

“Technically, you’re a half-human and half-vampire, so you can eat this food.”

“But I am not used to vampire food.”

“Then try this so you’ll slowly get used to it!”

“Never!”

“Eat the food Lupita brought you or you won’t eat anything tonight,” he threatened.

“I prefer to starve then,” I said stubbornly.

“Okay, it’s your choice.” He grabbed the tray of food and walked towards the door. Leaving my room, he closed the door behind him and locked it.

'He can't be serious. Can he?' I thought.