Rosangela: The Half-Blood Princess

After the guards took me to my bedroom, I had a shower and changed into a pair of red pyjamas.

Sitting on the bed, I leant my head against the headboard and thought, 'I don’t think King Bellamy was telling me the whole truth about what happened to my mother and father. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was lying to me. There are some reasons to doubt his story. First, he said that my mother was killed in an accident. But when I asked what sort of accident that could kill a vampire like my mother, he refused to give me the details of it. Second, the king told me that my father was also killed in the same accident as my mother. But Sigmund said that he thought that he had seen my father at the café earlier tonight. So there’s a possibility that my father is still alive. And it means that my grandfather has lied to me.'

'I think I should ask someone else about it. Someone who wants to tell me everything honestly. But who can give me the answers I’m looking for?' I said in my mind.

'Shall I ask Sigmund?' I pondered.

'No, no, no.' I shook my head internally. 'It’s a bad idea. Sigmund is very loyal to King Bellamy. If his king refused to tell me the whole truth, I’m sure Sigmund would do the same as well.'

'I think I’d better ask Prince Maximilian. His father is a good friend of my grandfather’s. So there is no doubt that King Ignatius and Maximilian know what happened to my parents. Besides, Maximilian is always easily persuaded. I’m sure I’ll get the truth out of him with ease.' I smirked at the last thought.

'But wait! By the way, where is Maximilian right now? I haven’t clapped eyes on him since I asked him to leave me alone the previous night. Is he angry with me?' I wondered.

“Rosanne, are you okay?” A question pulled me out of my trance.

I snapped my head towards the direction of that voice. When I saw Lupita standing at the doorway with a tray of food in her hands, an idea suddenly popped into my head.

'Why don’t I ask Lupita? It seems that Lupita has been working here for a long time. So maybe she knew what happened to my mom and dad. Let’s see if I can pump her for more details!' I thought.

“What’s the matter with you, Rosanne? You seemed lost in thought,” Lupita asked as she was making her way towards me.

“Nothing. I was just thinking about what happened today. I regret that I sneaked out of the palace and made everyone worried about me,” I lied smoothly.

“You don’t have to feel guilty, Rosanne. The most important is you’re safe and sound now,” Lupita said reassuringly.

“Thanks, Lupita,” I said with a smile. “By the way, what are you doing here, Lupita?”

“I bring your dinner, Rosanne.” She put the tray of food that she brought on the bedside table.

“Thank you,” I beamed.

She returned my smile. “It’s a pleasure.”

“Lupita, can we talk for a moment?” I requested.

“Sure,” she responded.

“Sit down please!” I said.

Lupita finally perched on the edge of the bed across from me.

“Lupita, how long have you been working here?” I queried.

“I am not sure, Rosanne. I think it’s been a very long time,” she answered.

I nodded my head in understanding.

“But why do you suddenly ask about it?” she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Nothing. I am just curious,” I replied with a grin.

“Oh,” she commented.

“If you’ve been working here for years, you must have known my mother, right?” I inquired.

“Of course!” she exclaimed. “Everyone knew Princess Claribelle. She was a very famous vampire princess.”

“So, have you ever met my mother before?” I questioned.

“I’ve heard a lot about her, but I have never met her personally,” she responded.

I asked, “Why?”

“Because your mother passed away when I was a child, so I have never had a chance to meet her personally,” she reasoned.

“I’m not that stupid, Lupita. I know vampires don’t age like human beings. Maybe you look just a few years older than me, but I know you’re older than your appearance. You’re probably more than a hundred year old now. Who knows? So you must have met my mother before, right?” I scoffed.

Lupita raised her hands in surrender. “Okay, you win, Rosanne. I admit that I had ever met your mother in some occasions a long time ago. But I don’t know your mother personally because I wasn’t her servant at that time.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Is that all?”

She nodded her head. “Yes, that’s all.”

“Okay. So how did she look like?” I enquired again.

“You’ve seen her picture, right? So you must have known how she looked like,” she replied.

“I know,” I sighed, “But that’s not what I meant. I—”

“Just get to the point, Rosanne!” she cut me off, “What do you want to know about your mother?”

“Well, since you’ve understood my intention, so I am going to ask you this question now. But promise me that you’ll answer it honestly, okay?” I demanded.

“Okay, I promise,” she said, “So what’s your question?”

“My mother, how did she die?” I inquired curiously.

All the colours drained from her face after she heard my question. She seemed to be afraid of something.

“I am sorry, Rosanne. But I am not in the position to answer that question. Why don’t you ask His Majesty?” she suggested nervously.

“I’ve asked him several times. But Grandpa always told me that she died in an accident. But he has never explained to me what sort of accident it is. So Lupita, would you mind telling me what kind of accident that killed my mother?” I implored.

Lupita thought for a moment before replying, “I don’t have idea, Rosanne. But I heard some rumors that said that Princess Claribelle died in a car accident or something like that.”

I knitted my eyebrows. “Car accident?”

She nodded. “Yes, that’s what the rumors said.”

“You know what, Lupita? You’re not a very good liar. I know you’re not telling me the truth now. So what are you trying to hide from me?” I snapped at her.

“I am not trying to hide anything, Rosanne. I told you all that I know,” she rebutted.

“Okay, it doesn’t matter if you don’t want to tell me about it. But I hope you will answer this question,” I said.

She dropped her eyes, evading my gaze.

“How about my father? Is that true that he was killed in the same accident as my mother? Or is he probably still alive? If he’s still alive, where is he right now? Why has my grandfather never talked about him nor shown me his picture?” I bombarded her with a lot of questions at one time.

“I…” she trailed off.

“Please be honest this time, Lupita!” I pleaded. “I am dying to know what happened to my father.”

Lupita let out a long sigh. “Honestly, I don’t know anything about your father, Rosanne. Your father is a human, so he wasn’t allowed to step into this palace.”

My eyes widened. “Wait! What do you mean with he wasn’t allowed to enter this palace? Do you mean that my grandfather objected their marriage?”

A look of panic crossed her face. It seemed that Lupita had just said something that she wasn’t supposed to say.

“That’s not what I meant,” she quickly refuted.

“Lupita!” I glared at her furiously.

“It’s not like that, Rosanne. His Majesty was very happy with your parents’ marriage. But marriage between vampire and human was…” she hesitated for a moment before she continued, “very rare at that time. That’s why King Bellamy didn’t allow your father to set foot in this palace. His Majesty was afraid that there would be some vampires who try to attack your father if he stayed here. He thought it would be safer for your parents to live in the human world.”

“But the king was apparently wrong,” Lupita added, “Some vampires who didn’t like your parents’ marriage tracked them down in the human world and attacked them at their house. Your mother was murdered in that attack. It is said that your father was also killed while trying to protect you and your mother. But his body was never found. You also disappeared from the place where we found your mother’s body. Since that day, King Bellamy kept searching for his only granddaughter all over the world. After 17 years went by, at last, he found you. That’s all I know. I swear.”

Lupita said that my grandfather was happy with my parents’ marriage and cared about their safety. But King Bellamy’s reaction couldn’t lie that he didn’t like every time I mentioned my father in front of him. Therefore, I could conclude that my grandfather objected my parents’ wedding.

This conclusion put me in mind of something Alpha Adolph Wolfgang said a few hours ago. He told me that King Bellamy murdered his own daughter because she had broken the law not to marry a human.

If King Bellamy really objected my parents’ marriage, there was a possibility that what Alpha Adolph Wolfgang told me was right. My mother had been executed as a punishment for marrying a human. And my grandfather probably had killed my father too.

I suddenly felt confusion sweeping over me. 'If King Bellamy disapproved the marriage of my parents’, why did he bother searching for me for 17 years? Is he trying to atone for his sins to his daughter and son-in-law by bringing up their child? Or does he have an evil intention behind it? For instance, he’s planning to sacrifice me for his mortality just like the werewolves told me.'

'I must not voice my suspicions to Lupita. I have to dig up more information about my parents from her before deciding what to do next,' I thought.

I was about to pose another question to Lupita, but suddenly someone chimed in, “What are you doing here, Lupita?”