Rosangela: The Runaway Princess (Book #2)

On arriving in his bedroom, Prince Xavier sat me down on the edge of the bed.

“Is your foot still painful?” Xavier asked gently.

“Yes,” I mumbled.

“OK then, let me have a look at your foot!” said Xavier.

I nodded weakly.

He drew a chair up closer to the bed before parking himself on the chair. Afterwards, Xavier carefully lifted my left foot and put it on his lap.

“It doesn’t look bad,” he said after examining my foot.

“Thank God!” I breathed a sigh of relief.

Surprisingly, Prince Xavier began to massage my aching foot, and somehow, the pain gradually subsided.

Putting my foot down, Xavier commanded, “Try and stand up now!”

“Okay,” I whispered.

I clutched on to the bedpost for support and slowly staggered to my feet.

“How is it?” Xavier queried.

“My foot still hurts but the pain has lessened a bit now,” I replied.

“That’s great!” he commented.

I responded him with a smile, and finally, settled back on the edge of the bed.

“Hang on a second!” Xavier suddenly rose from the chair and vanished into the walk-in closet.

A little while later, Xavier emerged from the walk-in closet with a pile of neatly folded clothes on his hands. He came over and shoved the folded clothes into my hand.

“Go and freshen up now! It’ll make you feel better,” he told me.

“All right.” Slowly, I got to my feet.

“Let me carry you again!” Xavier offered.

“No thanks,” I refused politely, “I’d prefer to walk.”

“Are you sure can walk?” he enquired apprehensively.

“Yes, I’m sure,” I said, with absolute certitude.

“Fine. Be my guest!” he said.

Prince Xavier watched intently as I hobbled across the room and entered the bathroom. No sooner had I shut the door than he shouted, “Just call me if you need anything, okay?”

“Gotcha!” I yelled.

I deposited the pile of folded clothes on the sink and looked about the bathroom. My eyes were immediately riveted on the bathtub.

“I think a long soak in a hot bath can help to soothe my aching foot,” I said to myself.

I turned the tap on and ran hot water into the bathtub. Once the bath was full of water, I turned the tap off, and poured liquid soap into tub before stirring the water until it began to bubble. I thereupon tore my clothes off and lastly stepped into the bathtub.

After soaking in the bath for 30 minutes or so, I finally stepped out of the tub, and pulled out the plug, letting the water drain away. Next, I grabbed a clean towel and dried myself off. At long last, I changed into a pair of peach silk pyjamas that Prince Xavier had picked out for me.

Looking at myself in the mirror for a few seconds, I lastly made for the door. It’s amazing that my left foot didn’t hurt anymore. I guessed a soak in the hot bath was very helpful to ease the pain.

“No, silly, the hot bath didn’t help to relieve the pain, it’s all because of your vampire power,” my inner voice told me.

“Oh, right,” I commented.

When I pushed the door open, I found Prince Xavier sitting on the sofa across the bathroom. As he saw me stepping out into his bedroom, he stood up.

Closing the door behind me, I smiled at Xavier, but my smile was not reciprocated. Instead, he was staring at me with cold eyes.

A frown creased my forehead. ‘What’s up with him? One moment he’s nice to me, the next he’s very cold and distant.’

Xavier crooked his finger at me. “Come here!”

I didn’t want Xavier to know that my foot had completely healed this fast, so I pretended to limp closer to him.

“How are you feeling now?” he asked brusquely after I stayed exactly in front of him.

“I’m feeling miles better now, thanks,” I answered casually.

His lips curved in an evil smirk.

“I’m really pleased that you’re feeling better. It means that you can get your punishment soon.”

“What are you talking about, Xavier? I’ve done nothing wrong, so, why do you want to punish me?” I questioned him in bewilderment.

Xavier produced the collar which I had chucked away in the backyard from his pocket.

“I told you to wear this collar as protection against evil vampires. But why did you take it off?” he flared at me.

“OK, so I was wrong. I’m sorry,” I apologized half-heartedly.

“Your apology isn’t enough. You must suffer the consequences of your actions,” he blustered.

“Cool it, Xavier!” I tried to pacify him, “It’s no a big deal, so you shouldn’t make an issue of it.”

“No a big deal you said? You know, you would have died in the hand of that drunk vampire by now if I hadn’t come to your rescue on time,” he bellowed at me.

“Now look here, it wasn’t my fault. You wouldn’t have to rescue me if the vampire hadn’t tried to attack me,” I defended myself.

“Don’t lay the blame on the others! It’s your own fault for not wearing the collar I gave you. That vampire wouldn’t dare to touch you if he knew you’re mine,” he yelled at me furiously.

I was too tired to argue with Prince Xavier, thus, I decided to give in. “OK, you win, I admit it’s my mistake. I’m terribly sorry. So, can we just drop it now?”

“No! You have to accept your punishment now, Angela!” Xavier remarked. His eyes were blazing with fury.

I drew back, terrified.

He moved a step closer to me.

I took two steps backwards. “Don’t come near me!” I yelled, my voice shaking.

Xavier didn’t listen to me; he carried on advancing on me.

“Please don’t hurt me, Xavier!” I begged, taking one more step backwards.

He took a step forward and gave me a wicked grin. “Don’t worry! I don’t intend to hurt you; I just want to teach you a lesson.”

I kept on backing away until my back hit the wall. I was really cornered now. I couldn’t go further back for there was a wall behind me, and I couldn’t step forward either because there was Xavier who moved in on me.

“Oh no, I’m in deep shit now,” I thought, “There is no hope of escaping from Xavier’s wrath. I feel like going out of the frying pan into the fire. Xavier has rescued me from the vampire who attempted to cause me harm, but now, he’s trying to harm me himself.”

Prince Xavier already stood exactly in front of me now. He pressed his muscular body against mine, successfully trapping me between him and the wall.

The close proximity of his body to mine made me feel uncomfortable, so I pushed him away with all my might, but he wouldn’t budge an inch. However, I didn’t give up. I kept trying to get him off me.

It was apparent that Xavier found what I was doing very irritating. That’s why he roughly grabbed my wrists with one hand and pinned them above my head.

“Let go of me!” I screamed while struggling to get out of his vice-like grip.

He tightened his grip on my wrists until I could feel the bruise begin to form.

“Get off me, Xavier!” I kept trying to resist, but he remained unaffected.

Suddenly, Xavier’s free hand moved my hair to one side of my neck.

“What’re you gonna do, Xavier?” I asked tremulously.

Xavier didn’t answer; he merely opened his mouth, revealing a line of white glistening teeth. To my utter horror, two teeth at the front of his mouth started to elongate slowly. A shiver ran down my spine as I realized why Xavier showed his fangs to me. He was planning to bite me.

“No, don’t!” I screeched.

Ignoring my scream, he tilted my head to one side and leaned down.

I let out a high-pitched wail as Xavier sank his teeth into my neck. When he sucked my blood, an intense pain started in my throat and radiated all over my body.

“Stop it, Xavier! You’re hurting me,” I implored as tears poured down my cheeks.

Prince Xavier was deaf to my tearful pleas. He kept drinking my blood greedily.

“Somebody help me!” I screamed with every ounce of strength I had left in me. However, no one came to my rescue.

My body went limp and I suddenly felt faint due to the loss of blood. Just as I felt like I was on the brink of death, Xavier finally removed his fangs from my neck.

He let go of my wrists and I lastly collapsed in a heap on the floor. The room swam before my eyes and I could hardly breathe.

“Am I going to die?” was the last thing I thought before the darkness engulfed me.