Rosangela: The Runaway Princess (Book #2)

I looked cautiously around. When I was sure that there was no one in sight, I ripped the cap of the blood bag off, and then pinched my nostrils together between my thumb and finger before I drank the blood out of the bag.

I gagged on the blood that filled my mouth. But I forced myself to swallow it whole.

“Remember, Rosanne! It’s for the sake of your and Randolph’s freedom,” I reminded myself.

I tossed the now empty bag into the trash bin and waited for the blood to react.

Within minutes, I felt a power surge through me. I looked at my reflection in the mirror that was hung on the wall beside me. I saw my brown eyes turned into red for a brief moment before they changed back into the original colour.

A smirk played at the corners of my mouth. “Perfect! Now, it’s time to rescue Randolph.”

King Joaquin ordered his soldiers to throw Randolph into the dungeon. But the problem was I didn’t know where the dungeon was.

“Maybe I should compel a guard to show me the way to the dungeon,” I thought.

I strolled down the maze of corridors, looking for the guards who were patrolling the palace. When I ran into one of them, I came over him soon.

“You’re Prince Xavier’s new pet, right? What are you doing here?” The guard asked.

“Look at me in the eyes!” I demanded.

He looked confused but did what I said.

“I order you to show me the way to the dungeon,” I commanded.

As soon as my compulsion was completed, the guard nodded, and finally, he led the way to the dungeon.

A guard was posted at the either side of the heavy duty door leading to the dungeon.

“What are you two doing here?” one of the guards inquired.

Instead of answering his question, I turned to the guard who escorted me to the dungeon and said, “You can leave now! After that, you’ll forget what happened.”

Without saying anything, the guard walked away.

I turned around to face the dungeon guards and said, “I order you to give me the keys to dungeon, and then you must go away from here and you will eventually forget everything that happened here.”

One of the guards handed me a bunch of keys before both of them strode off.

“I can’t believe it’s so easy!” I punched the air in triumph.

I inserted the key in the lock, turned it, and lastly pushed the heavy door open. Entering the dimly lit dungeon, I immediately wrinkled my nose in distaste when the stink of sweat and urine bombarded my nostrils.

My gaze drifted around the room. There was a long corridor with separate prison cells on each side. Every cell had one or two prisoners inside it. All the prisoners were very bruised and suffering from whiplash. Most of them were chained to the wall by their arms and legs.

I padded past countless cells while looking inside the cells to search for Randolph, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Randolph?” I shouted repeatedly, but there was no response.

I walked further into the dungeon. So far, I couldn’t see Randolph’s familiar face anywhere.

“Oh My God, where is Randolph? Why can’t I find him here? Did I come to the wrong place?” I asked myself anxiously.

Just when I wanted to give up the search, I heard Randolph’s faint voice calling my name, “Rosanne?”

I looked round at the sound of his voice and found Randolph hanging from the ceiling by his wrists in a small dark cell. There was a huge bruise over his left eye, and his torso and back were covered in weals.

I hurriedly marched over to his cell. “Oh Randolph, I am so happy I finally find you,” I chirped.

“Rosanne, what are you doing here?” Randolph croaked a question.

“What do you think I am doing? I am here to rescue you. You moron!” I replied.

“Are you out of your tiny mind? You shouldn’t have come here alone! Don’t you know that it’s very dangerous down here?” he scolded me.

“You can scold me all you want, but now I have to get you out of this place first,” I said.

“But Rosanne you—”

Before he could finish his sentence, I interrupted him, “Oh so you prefer to rot here rather than to be free. Okay then, be my guest.”

I turned around and was in the point of walking, but Randolph held me back. “No, wait! Please don’t leave me! I want to get out of this dungeon as soon as possible.”

I spun around to face him and chuckled. “It’s very funny to see you begging like that.”

“Stop messing around! Help me now!” he demanded.

“Okay, okay. You’re so impatient,” I said.

I placed a key in the lock and turned it. The sound of a click was heard when the cell door opened.

I stepped into the cell. I had to stand on tiptoe to unchain Randolph. Once he was free, he dropped to the ground with a thud.

“Are you okay?” I asked worriedly as I helped him to his feet.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered.

“But why aren’t your wounds healing?” I queried.

“It’s because the chains are made of silver, so it prevents me from healing myself. But don’t worry! The wounds are going to heal pretty soon,” he elaborated.

“Oh thank God,” I mumbled.

“By the way, thank you for saving me, Rosanne,” Randolph said with a smile.

“Never mind,” I responded. I took the tote bag from under my hoodie and pulled the jacket and sweatpants out before giving it to Randolph. “Here, put these on!”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll only wear this jacket. You should keep the sweatpants in case my trousers torn to shreds when I have to shift,” he said.

“Oh okay.” I put the sweatpants back into the tote bag.

While slipping the jacket on, Randolph said, “I wonder how you get into the dungeon. I am sure it is impossible for you to overpower the guards watching this dungeon.” A look of confusion crossed his face.

“How do you think, Randolph? You know, I am not stupid enough to fight with someone who can overpower me easily. So I did what I am capable of.” I grinned.

His eyes widened in surprise. “So you used your power?”

“Of course. I am gifted with a super power, why didn’t I use it?” I said proudly.

“Are you crazy? Why did you use your power here? What if someone sense your power and start looking for the source of it?” he chided.

“So a vampire can do that? I mean, sense another vampire’s power?” I asked out of curiosity.

“Technically, yes. But only certain vampires can do that. And they not only can sense vampires’ power but also can sense werewolves’ power,” he explained.

“Wow cool!” I exclaimed.

My comment made Randolph’s hackles rise. “You’ve just done something that can endanger yourself, and you said it was cool? Oh you—”

“Enough!” I cut him off, “Save your complaint for later! Now let’s get out of this place before my compulsion wear off and the guards come back here!”

“But I am not done speaking with you yet, Rosanne,” he complained.

“Hurry, Randolph! We don’t have much time. All the vampires are going to wake up soon,” I said as I stormed out of the prison cell.

He sighed. “Fine. Let’s go! But remember! I’m not finished with you yet, Rosanne.”

“Yeah, whatever. Come on, let’s go! There’s no time to lose!” I said.

While I and Randolph were walking past the cells, the prisoners, who were not chained, stood up, pressed against the bars, and pleaded us to release them too.

At first, we didn’t heed them. But out of the blue, one of the prisoners reached out his arm through the bars, grabbed the sleeve of my hoodie, and pulled me closer to his cell.

“Hey what are you doing?” Randolph growled.

Ignoring Randolph, the prisoner begged, “Please you have to get us out of here!”

I shook him off. “Excuse me. Why should I let criminals like you all out of the dungeon?”

“Not all of us are criminals. Some of us are innocent. We just happened to trespass on this kingdom’s territory, and then the king caught us and threw us to the dungeon,” he explained. His fellow inmates nodded their heads in agreement.

I pondered over the prisoner’s words. I didn’t know if he was lying or not. If he was telling me the truth, I thought I should help them. But if I let them out, our escape plan might be thwarted. In the contrary, if I didn’t help them, they all would certainly die here.

“What shall I do now?” I asked myself in bewilderment.

Because I remained silent, another prisoner pleaded, “Please help us! You’re a vampire, right? If you can rescue that werewolf, your enemy, you surely can save us too, your kin.”

I was thinking of helping them, but after that prisoner insulted Randolph like that, I changed my mind.

“First, I am not a vampire. I’m just a half-blood vampire. And second, the werewolf over here isn’t my enemy; he is my best friend,” I scoffed.

That prisoner opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him in, “Come on, Randolph!” I held Randolph’s hand and pulled him along with me.

“Wait! I know who you are, Princess,” a prisoner suddenly shouted.

His words made me and Randolph stop in our tracks. We turned to face the prisoner. I looked at him from head to toe, but I didn’t recognize him.

“I’m sorry, but how do you know me? I think we have never met before,” I enquired.

He replied, “I have ever seen you in a ball a year ago. You’re the granddaughter of—”

Before he could mention my grandfather’s name, I barged in, “Look! I don’t have time to help all of you. But if you want to get out of this dungeon, you can help yourselves. Here!” I gave the man the keys.

“Thank you, Princess. Thank you very much. We owe you one,” he said with gratitude.

“You’re very welcome,” I responded. “We must be going now. Good luck.”

I and Randolph finally rushed out of the dungeon.

“Why did you help them? You shouldn’t have done that, Rosanne,” Randolph protested.

“If I didn’t help them, that prisoner would blow my cover, and it could endanger us. Besides, I think those prisoners will make a perfect diversion for us,” I elaborated.

“You’re right,” Randolph admitted. “Let’s get out of this place now before they realize we’ve escape!”

Randolph was about to walk, but I held him back. “Wait!”

“What else?” he asked.

“I think you should wear my locket.” I unclasped my locket and handed it to Randolph.

“Are you stupid? Why did you take off your locket?” he chided.

“You’re the one who’s stupid. We are in a kingdom full of vampires now, so it’s okay if they know I’m a half-blood vampire. But it would be a problem if they knew you’re a werewolf. That’s why you need to wear my locket in order to conceal your werewolf’s scent,” I explained.

“Oh I see!” he nodded his head in understanding.

“Hurry, put it on!” I ordered.

Randolph finally clasped my locket around his neck.

“Okay, let’s go!” I said.

Randolph and I crept up the stairs leading to the ground floor. We then sneaked out of the palace. After that, we slipped past the guards on the palace gates, and finally made a break for the forest.