Rosangela: The Runaway Princess (Book #2)

All this running left me feeling breathless and utterly exhausted. I bent over and put my hands on the tops of my knees, trying to catch my breath.

Once I was able to breathe normally again, I straightened myself up and tore off the collar. The blinking collar was far too tight and chafed my neck, thus, I was so glad to be rid of it.

“Phew, I’m finally safe, at least for the moment. Since the whole palace is heavily guarded and they certainly won’t make it easy for me to escape, therefore, I’d better find somewhere to hide until the ball is over. I can’t chance running across Prince Maximilian,” I said to myself.

I was just about to walk, but I stopped dead in my tracks when all of a sudden, I heard a voice behind me. “Well, well, well. What have we here? A human girl?”

I swung back and found a vampire in swanky suit standing only a couple of meters away from me.

I took a few steps backwards as the vampire came up close, breathing alcohol fumes all over me.

“What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this? This is no place for a human girl to be out alone at night, you know,” the vampire said huskily.

“Mind your own business!” I retorted rudely.

Quick as a flash, the vampire was exactly in front of me. “How dare you talk to me like that?!” he stormed.

I pushed him away until he stumbled back an inch or two. “Shove off and leave me alone!” I yelled.

“You!” he hollered contemptuously.

He was ready to strike at me, but I shoved him over with all my might before making a dart for the back door of the palace.

“You there! Come back!” the vampire called after me furiously.

I looked back over my shoulder and saw the vampire leaping to his feet before starting after me.

'Oh I’m shot! That vampire will certainly be able to overtake me,' I thought.

Sure enough, the vampire could outrun me in no time.

“Gotcha!” he yelled as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

“Let go of me!” I shrieked, struggling to break myself free. Nevertheless, the vampire only tightened his grip on me.

“Get off me!” I jabbed him in the ribs with my elbow, but it apparently did not affect him at all.

At last, I kicked the vampire in the groin. He yelped in pain and spontaneously loosened his grip on my waist, and at last, I managed to wriggle free.

Without wasting time, I took off running. Shortly after that, I heard footsteps behind me. So I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the vampire had recovered himself and was now gaining on me.

“Help!” I screamed at the top of my voice, yet nobody came to my rescue.

'Darn it! Where are those flipping guards when I need them the most?' I thought angrily.

I kept running down the corridor while shouting for help. Unexpectedly, I tripped over the hem of my dress and fell, giving my ankle a painful wrench.

I tried to pick my self up, but immediately fell back to the floor with a groan as a sharp pain shot through my left foot.

'Oh no! It seems that I’ve sprained my ankle,' I thought.

The vampire who chased me let out an evil laugh. “You can’t go anywhere now, little girl!”

The vampire closed in on me.

“Don’t come near me!” I screamed.

I expected the vampire to fall for my compulsion and obey me, but on the contrary, he took a step nearer to me.

I backed against the wall, terrified. “Stay away from me!” I yelled.

The vampire kept advancing on me.

'Damn my compulsion! Why won’t it work on that vampire?' I cursed in my mind.

“You’ll pay for your rude attitude to me, little girl!” The vampire crouched ready to pounce on me. Looking at that, I shrieked in fright.

Third Person’s Point of View:

A few minutes earlier in the ballroom...

Prince Xavier felt a tap on his shoulder and turned round only to find one of his friends who had stocky build with short fair hair standing before him.

“Hey Bro, what are you doing here alone? Where is your beautiful pet?” his friend asked.

“Oh hi Peter, I am ...” There Xavier stopped. The last thing he remembered was he intended to accompany Angela to the bathroom, and suddenly his mind went blank. He could not recall exactly what happened next.

“Hey, Xavier, are you okay?” Peter asked, waving a hand in front of Xavier’s face.

“Oh, I’m fine,” replied Xavier, “I was just thinking about my pet.”

Peter frowned in puzzlement. “What’s with her?”

“She was here just a minute ago. But now, she is suddenly gone,” Xavier elaborated.

“Hey, Man, take it easy! Don’t panic! She can’t just have vanished into thin air. She must be somewhere about,” Peter reassured him.

Xavier sighed deeply. “Yeah, you’re right. Well, I’d better start looking for her now.”

“Do you need any help?” Peter offered.

“No, thank you,” Xavier refused.

“OK then, good luck, Xavier!” Peter gave him a hearty slap on the back, whereupon he walked away.

Xavier’s eyes darted around the room, looking for Angela. But he didn’t see her anywhere.

“Where is Angela going? Why hasn’t she returned yet? Did she really go to the bathroom? Or is she still in this ballroom now?” he was wondering.

The vampire prince walked around the huge ballroom in search of Angela. Some guests whom he passed by greeted him, but he brushed all of them off because he wanted to focus on looking for his little pet. But so far, she was nowhere to be seen.

Prince Xavier ran his hand through his hair with frustration. “I cannot conceive that I let her go by herself. Knowing Angela, there is a high possibility that she’s going to wander off alone, and I am afraid she’ll end up getting lost in this huge castle. But, heaven forbid! I hope she can find her way back to the ballroom safely. And if she couldn’t, I wished she would retire to my bedroom straight away.”

Xavier was getting frantic because there was no sign of Angela anywhere. He didn’t understand why that pet of his always made him feel obscurely worried. While she stayed out of his sight even for a few minutes, he would miss her dreadfully. But when she’s around, he always ended up having an argument with her, he didn’t know why, he just couldn’t help it.

'Is he feeling this way because he has fallen for Angela?' A question suddenly popped into his head.

Deep down, Xavier knew the answer to that question was yes. Yet, he was too arrogant to admit it. He thought that a pet like Angela didn’t deserve to be loved by a prince like him.

The search of Angela went on. Instead of finding his little pet, he spotted an old friend of his among the guests who were attending this ball.

Forgetting about Angela for a while, Prince Xavier rushed to greet his old friend.

“Maximilian? Is that you?” he wanted to make sure.

Xavier’s voice jolted Prince Maximilian out of his trance. “Oh hi, Xavier. Yes, it’s me,” he responded.

The two princes then exchanged a brief hug.

“Well, blow me down! I never thought I’d see you again, Max!” Xavier exclaimed.

“How long is it since we last met, Xav? 17 years?” Maximilian enquired.

“No, actually, it’s been 18 years since we have seen each other,” Xavier corrected.

“Really?” Maximilian gasped in surprise, “Oh I must have lost all track of time.”

“How are you doing, Buddy?” asked Xavier.

“Fine,” replied Maximilian, “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine too,” answered Xavier, “By the way, with whom do you come here?”

“I come here with my bodyguard, Jasper,” Maximilian responded.

Xavier nodded in understanding. “Oh I see!”

“Why are you alone, Xavier? Where’s your date?” Maximilian queried out of curiosity.

“Actually, I come here with my pet. She just went to the bathroom a few minutes ago,” Xavier explained.

“Oh I can’t believe it! So you have a pet now?” Maximilian said in disbelief.

Xavier’s head nodded in affirmative. “Yes.”

“But, didn’t you always say that the idea of having a human as pet always appals you? So, what makes you suddenly change your mind this time?” Maximilian plied his friend with questions.

“My new pet is very different from all of the human girls I’ve ever met before. I’ve taken a liking to her on our first meeting. That’s why I decided to keep her as my pet,” Xavier elaborated.

“I’m wondering what your pet is like. I bet she must be really dreamy,” said Maximilian.

“Indeed she is,” Xavier agreed, “Even I think that she’s the most beautiful woman at this party.”

“Oh really?” Maximilian said in disbelief.

“Yes,” said Xavier with absolute certitude, “I’m going to introduce you to her later, OK?”

Maximilian nodded his head. “Okay.”

“By the way, until when will you stay here?” Xavier inquired.

Maximilian answered, “I don’t know how long I will stay here--it all depends. You know, I still have to look for my fiancée.”

“Oh yes, I’m sorry to hear that your fiancée has been kidnapped by the werewolves in your wedding day,” Xavier said sympathetically.

Maximilian smiled wryly when he heard Xavier’s words. In fact, Rosangela had never been kidnapped; she ran away on their wedding day, but Maximilian’s father, King Ignatius saved face by telling everyone his future daughter-in-law got abducted by the werewolves. And everyone, including Prince Xavier, believed in his father’s lies.

“Thanks,” Maximilian finally said.

“So you’re not able to find your fiancée yet?” asked Xavier.

“Yes, I and Jasper have been searching far and wide for her, but but I still can’t find her anywhere,” Maximilian explained sadly.

“Would you like some help with finding your fiancée?” Xavier offered.

“Oh, thank you. I’d really appreciate some help from you,” Maximilian said gratefully.

“Not at all, it’s a pleasure. If I do chance to find out where your fiancée is, I’ll inform you immediately,” Xavier promised.

“Thank you very much, Xavier,” Maximilian smiled.

Xavier smiled back. “Never mind!”

“By the way, this fiancee of yours-what’s she like?” Xavier enquired curiously.

“Rosanne looks very like her mother,” replied Maximilian.

Xavier frowned in puzzlement. “Rosanne? Who is she?”

“My fiancée,” answered Maximilian.

Xavier’s frown deepened. “But I thought your fiancée is Princess Mirabelle.”

Maximilian laughed. “Oh sorry, I always call Princess Mirabelle Rosanne because she asked me to call her with that name.”

Xavier had a confused look on his face. “Why?”

“Because Rosanne is her name in the human world. Even though my fiancée has known that her real name is Mirabelle, she preferred to be called Rosanne. That’s why I called her like that,” Maximilian explained.

Xavier nodded his head in understanding. “Oh I see! So Princess Mirabelle’s name in the human world is Rosanne?”

“Yes,” responded Maximilian, “To be exact, Rosangela. Rosangela Grandville.”

“Describe how your fiancée looks like!” Xavier told him.

“Rosangela bears a striking resemblance to her mother. She even has inherited Claribelle’s stubborn streak,” Maximilian gave him a description of his fiancée.

“Well, it’s been a zillion years since I’ve seen Claribelle, so I sort of have forgotton her face. Therefore, can you show me the picture of your fiancée so that I can recognize her if I happen to see her somewhere?” Xavier requested.

“Sure. Wait a second!” Maximilian fumbled in his pocket for his mobile phone so that he could show his friend a photo of his fiancee, but he couldn’t find it.

“Snap! I think I’ve left my phone at the hotel,” Maximilian said, annoyed.

“Oh it’s a pity that I can’t see the famous Princess Mirabelle’s picture,” Xavier said with disappointment.

“I am staying in a hotel a few minutes from here. Why don’t you look in on me tomorrow? I’ll show you my fiancée’s photograph that you want to see,” Maximilian suggested.

“All right, I’ll pop over and see you at the hotel tomorrow,” Xavier promised him.

“By the way, why hasn’t your pet returned from the bathroom yet?” queried Maximilian, “I’m dying to see her, you know.”

“I don’t know, Max. I’m also wondering why she’s taking so long,” Xavier replied.

“Can you show me a photo of her so that I can see her beautiful face while we’re waiting for her to come back?” Maximilian requested.

Xavier sighed. “Too bad I don’t have any photographs of my pet.”

“Just my luck!” Maximilian gave an ironic comment.

Xavier chuckled. “Be patient, Max! I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

“By the way, where did you find such a beautiful pet?” Maximilian questioned.

Xavier opened his mouth to answer Maximilian’s question, but he was interrupted by a piercing scream for help.

Xavier’s eyes widened in surprise. “Angela?” he mumbled and with that he weaved his way through the crowd, raced up the stairs, and lastly disappeared behind the door.

Prince Maximilian intended to run after Xavier, but he stopped in his tracks when he heard someone calling my name. “Maximilian?”