Rosangela: The Runaway Princess (Book #2)

Wearing the necklace from Xavier apparently gave me an advantage. Because he could know wherever I went, now, I had a freedom to look around the palace while he was attending the boring meetings.

Like this time, I was walking around the palace, admiring the medieval architecture of this castle. Unawares, I came upon the door led to the backyard.

“I think I’ll go outside for some fresh air,” I said to myself.

I opened the door and icy blast of wind immediately hit me as I stepped out into the moonlit night. My eyes roamed the backyard. I just noticed there was a garden with beautifully kept flower beds here. Two huge fountains were playing in the centre of the garden. On either side of the garden path that was illuminated by coloured lights, there was a long line of trees and evergreen shrubs.

I decided to have a stroll in the garden. I bent down to smell the colourful flowers. These flowers had delicate fragrance. I finally picked some flowers because I thought these fresh flowers would brighten up Xavier’s bedroom.

With the flowers still clutched in my hand, I walked further through this garden. At the end of the garden, I discovered a small field with a natural stream ran through it. There were a hay barn, a farmhouse, and a stable here. Well, I didn’t know that they had a paddock in their backyard and I thought this was very cool.

Overcome by curiosity, I began plodding my way across the field towards the stable. The door happened to be unlocked, so I could enter the stable easily. Different kinds of horses were kept in this building, and all those horses looked very cute.

All of a sudden, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned round to see who had just touched me. Standing in front of me was a tall, lean, muscular, and handsome young man with dark brown hair and vivid blue eyes.

“Excuse me, what are you doing here?” he asked me.

“I’m just looking around this place,” I replied.

“You’re new here, aren’t you? Because I think we have never met before,” said the man courteously.

I nodded. “Yes, I’m new here.”

“Let me introduce myself! My name is Jose. I’m a stableman here. As you can see, my duties consist of grooming the royal family’s horses and cleaning out the stable,” Jose blabbered.

I chuckled. “Hi Jose, I am Angela.”

“So you’re Prince Xavier’s pet?” he gasped, “I’m glad to meet you. You know, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Excuse me, but I bitterly resent being called as a pet because I’m not an animal,” I protested.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to offend you,” he said apologetically.

“That’s all right,” I said, with a tight smile.

“To be frank with you, I myself disagree with the idea of having a human as pet,” Jose gave his opinion. “But I’m just a lowly stableman. It is not within my power to change anything.”

“You’re right. The rich and powerful always make the decisions--that’s the way of the world,” I said with contempt.

“You can say that again!” he agreed with me.

“By the way, may I look at the horses?” I asked for his permission.

“Sure,” he smiled.

I walked up to one of the stalls, where a large black horse was being kept in, with Jose in tow.

“What a nice horse!” I commented.

“You’re telling me!“Jose completely agreed with me.

“Can I touch it?” I asked hopefully.

“Course, you can,” he answered with a smile.

Carefully, I petted the horse on the head and it seemed to enjoy it.

“Is it a he or a she?” I queried curiously.

“It’s a he,” replied Jose, “Its name is Blake. This horse belongs to Prince Xavier.”

“Oh I see!” I nodded in understanding and continued petting the horse’s head.

“You know, I have never ridden a horse before,” I told him.

“Would you like to ride a horse then?” Jose offered.

“Is it OK if I ride the horse?” I inquired.

He nodded his head. “Yes, it’s okay.”

“But I am afraid it will get you into trouble with Prince Xavier,” I said with some apprehension.

“Don’t worry! I assure you that it won’t give me any trouble at all,” he convinced me.

“OK then, I’d like to ride the horse,” I said enthusiastically.

Jose led the large black horse out of its stable, and I followed behind him. He then swung himself into the saddle and held out his hand to me. I took his hand and he finally helped me to mount the horse.

“Ready?” he asked.

I nodded at him and we finally rode off.

While Jose and I were riding along the palace courtyard, all of a sudden, Prince Xavier appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the yard, blocking our path.

Jose bought his horse to an abrupt halt to avoid hitting the vampire prince.

“Come down from my horse this minute!” Xavier barked out an order. His eyes flared angrily.

Reluctantly, we dismounted the horse.

“Please don’t be angry with Angela, Your Highness! It’s not her fault that we’re riding your favourite horse. That is my own idea,” Jose was quick to leap to my defence.

“No, Prince Xavier! If anyone’s to blame, it’s me. I was the one who kept pestering him to allow me ride your horse,” I stood up for Jose.

“Shut your gobs!” Xavier thundered, successfully silencing the two of us.

“You!” Xavier pointed his finger at Jose. “Take my horse back to its stable! Now!”

“All right, Your Majesty,” said Jose. He flicked an apologetic smile at me before he pulled gently on the reins and started to lead the horse back to its stable.

“And you!” Xavier pointed in my direction. “Come with me!”

Before I was able to protest, he grabbed me by the arm and dragged me along with him into the palace.

Prince Xavier flung me onto the bed directly we arrived at his bedroom.

“How dare you ride my horse without permission?!” Xavier bellowed at me.

I scrambled to my feet and came back at him with sharp questions, “What’s got into you, Xavier? Why get berserk just because I rode your horse? This isn’t very important, is it? So, you should not have made an issue of it.”

“I am not angry because you have ridden my horse; I am furious with you for seeing another man!” Xavier growled at me.

I burst out laughing. “So you’re jealous because I have been going out with Jose?”

Xavier’s face reddening with embarrassment. “Yes, I am jealous of him,” he admitted reluctantly, “I don’t like him staying near you.”

“And what is this?” Xavier suddenly snatched the fresh flowers which I had just picked from the garden from my hand. “How dare that stableman give you these flipping flowers?!”

Unexpectedly, he threw the flowers on to the floor and stamped his foot on it in anger.

I angrily cracked him on the head with a pillow. “You flaming idiot! What have you done to my flowers? You know, those flowers are not from Jose. I picked the flowers myself to decorate your room, Xavier.”

“H--how should I know that you plucked the flowers yourself?” Xavier said awkwardly.

I rolled my eyes upwards.

“But not to worry--I will pick you a bunch of flowers later,” he added.

“Never mind the flowers! Now, listen up, Xavier! You don’t have a right to tell me whom I can and I can’t meet. I am free to see whomever I want, okay?” I said firmly.

“Of course I have a right to forbid you from meeting him because you are mine, Angela,” Xavier snarled at me.

“No, Xavier! You don’t own me!” I hissed.

“Yes, I possess you,” Xavier insisted, “You’re my pet and I am your master. So you must ask my permission first before doing anything or seeing anyone. Is that clear?”

“That’s enough, Xavier!” I bellowed at him, “I’m sick and tired of being treated like a property by you! I am a person, not a thing, you know.”

There was a long pause before Xavier said, “I’m sorry, Angela. I honestly never consider you as a thing. I am being possessive of you like this because I am mad about you.”

My jaw sagged. “You what?”

“Honestly, I’ve been crazy about you since the first time I saw you, Angela,” he declared, “To tell you the truth, the idea of having a human as pet was hateful to me. But after I met you, I felt an overwhelming desire to keep you as my pet even though it’s against my principles. You know why? Because I hate to be away from you.”

His confession stunned me. I had no idea he felt that way about me.

‘This isn’t right,’ I thought, ‘However, I am still Maximilian’s fiancée because I haven’t yet officially broken off my engagement to him. If Xavier finds out that I am actually his friend’s fiancée, it will be a source of disagreement between the two princes. I don’t want to drive a wedge between Prince Maximilian and Prince Xavier. So, what am I going to do now?’

I contemplated it for a moment, then said to myself, ‘I think it’s the right time to tell Xavier the truth. If Xavier knows who I am exactly, he’ll soon get over me. And there won’t be a dispute between him and Maximilian.’

‘Are you thick, or what? Why do you want to expose your identity to Xavier, Rosanne? If anyone finds out who you are actually, you’re dead meat,’ my conscience chastised me.

‘Just shut up, will you? I’m tired of living a lie. I want to reveal the truth to Xavier so that I can get it off my chest,’ I hit back at her.

‘If you don’t listen to me, you’ll regret it, I promise you,’ she warned me.

‘Yeah, whatever,’ I said carelessly.

“Xavier,” I called.

“Yes?” he responded.

“Listen, there’s something I have to tell you,” I said in a serious tone.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Actually, I--” My words were interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Hang on a sec!” Xavier spoke to me before he leapt across the room to answer the door.

“Good evening, Your Highness,” a maid standing in front of his bedroom greeted him.

“What brings you here?” Xavier asked brusquely.

“Your Highness, Lady Estefanía is waiting to see you,” the maid told him.

I caught a look of surprise on Xavier’s face at the mention of the lady’s name. “Oh damn! Why did she come here without telling me in advance?” he muttered under his breath, but I still could hear it.

“What shall I tell Lady Estefanía, Your Highness?” the maid enquired.

“Tell her I’ll be there directly!” Xavier commanded.

“All right, Your Highness.” The maid nodded in understanding.

Prince Xavier waved the maid away impatiently.

The maid excused herself whereupon she walked away.

Afterwards, Xavier shut the door and marched over to me.

“Wait for me here, Angela! I’ll be back in a little while,” he told me.

“But I have an important thing to tell you, Xavier,” I said plaintively.

“I’d love to hear what you want to tell me, but there’s someone I have to meet now,” he said crisply.

“Oh OK, I can tell you about it later,” I said, trying not to show how disappointed I was.

“I’ll be back in a jiffy,” Xavier stated before he rushed out of the room.

‘Who is the lady that Xavier and the maid have been talking about earlier? Why was Xavier acting very strangely after the maid mentioned her name?’ I was wondering.

Overcome by curiosity, at last, I decided to follow Xavier secretly. I slipped out of Xavier’s bedroom and slunk down the corridor. At the end of the hallway, I found Prince Xavier stepping into a waiting lift.

‘Where is he going?’ I asked myself.

I spotted a maid sweeping the floor near the lift and thought that I’d better ask her.

I came up to the maid and inquired, “Excuse me, do you know where Prince Xavier is headed?”

“I think His Highness is heading to his study,” she replied.

“Oh thank you,” I said.

“Not at all,” the maid responded and she got on with her work right away.

‘Xavier’s study is on the floor below. So I think I can catch up with him if I take the stairs. OK, I’d better scoot there if I want to know what he’s going to do,’ I said to myself.

I sprinted for the staircase and charged down the stairs. Just as I reached at the bottom of the stairs, the elevator doors parted and out stepped Prince Xavier. I quickly ducked down behind the wall so Xavier wouldn’t see me.

Xavier began to make his way towards his study. I crept stealthily along the corridor after him.

Xavier pushed open the door to his study and entered the room. I padded across the corridor to the prince’s study. Fortunately, he left the door ajar, so I could take a peek inside.

I saw a woman dressed in a floral silk shirt with a fringe and a denim miniskirt sitting on one of the couches in the study.

When she saw Xavier coming, the woman rose to her feet and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. I expected Xavier to push her away. However, to my great disappointment, he returned her hug instead.

“I missed you, Xavier,” the woman said softly.

“I missed you too,” Xavier responded.

I didn’t understand why I was suddenly devoured by envy when I saw Xavier and that woman were locked in a passionate embrace like that.

‘Who is that woman? Why is she cuddling with Xavier like that?’ I was wondering.

“Excuse me, do you know who the woman that’s with Prince Xavier is?” I finally asked a passing maid.

“She is Lady Estefanía, Prince Xavier’s mate,” the maid answered.

My jaw dropped. “What?! His mate?!”

“Yes.” She nodded.

I clenched my fists in anger after knowing the fact. ‘Why have you never told me that you already have a mate, Xavier?’ I asked myself.

“Is anything wrong? You look upset,” the maid’s question snapped me out of my trance.

I shook my head. “Oh, nothing. Thank you for your information. I must be going now.”

Before the maid was able to respond, I hurried away from her and then went sobbing up the stairs.

Storming into Xavier’s bedroom, I banged the door shut behind me. I sat down on the sofa and cried in vexation.

“Why are you doing this to me, Xavier? How could you say that you love me when in fact you already have a mate? You shouldn’t have declared that you love me if you didn’t really mean it! Do you only regard me as your plaything until you think you can toy with my feelings as you please?” I sobbed.

‘Why are you crying over Xavier, Rosanne?’ my conscience demanded, ‘Don’t tell me you like him too!’

‘Maybe I like him, maybe I don’t. I don’t know. I honestly can’t fathom out what I’m feeling for him,’ I answered.

‘How can you do not understand your own feeling?’ my conscience chided.

‘Fine. I admit I like him, kind of,’ I reluctantly admitted.

‘Tsk, tsk, tsk, Rosanne, didn’t you say that it was wrong for Xavier to fall for you because you’re still engaged to Maximilian? But now, why do you concede that you have taken a shine to Xavier?’ my conscience sneered.

‘Look! I honesty can’t fathom out what I truly feel for Xavier. I hate myself for feeling jealous of him like this, you know. But I can’t control of my own emotions,’ I retorted.

‘Stop crying and pull yourself together, Rosanne!’ my conscience told me, ‘The Rosangela I know is not going to mope, eating her heart out for some man.’

‘I just can’t stop crying even if I want to, I don’t know why. I am extremely hurt for I have been deceived by Xavier,’ I sobbed.

‘You should demand an immediate explanation from Xavier, Rosanne,’ my conscience advised.

‘Yes, you’re right. Xavier has to explain himself to me,’ I agreed with her.

I waited a long time for Xavier to return, but until it’s almost dawn, he hadn’t turned up yet.

“He said he’d be back in a little while, but why hasn’t he come back until now?” I grumbled.

‘Xavier has been lying to you all the time. So you should have known that he wouldn’t kept his promises, Rosanne,' said my conscience.

‘Yeah, I regret that I didn’t listen to you,’ I said inwardly, ‘That brute must be enjoying himself with his beloved mate now until he forgot about me.’

The thought of the two of them together reduced me to tears again.

“Ugh! Why am I being such a crybaby?” I said to myself, annoyed.