Rosangela: The Runaway Princess (Book #2)

‘I’m still alive?’ was the first thing that sprang to mind when I woke up. I looked around my surroundings and found myself lying in a comfy bed. If I looked carefully, I realized it wasn’t just any bed—it’s Xavier’s bed.

How did I end up here? The last thing I recalled was I tumbled down the hill. After that, I couldn’t remember any more. I must have lost consciousness by then.

‘Who had saved me and brought me here? Was it Xavier? Or could it be the guards who were patrolling the area?’ I wondered.

Slowly, I hauled myself into a sitting position. I winced as I felt my head throb painfully. It felt like someone had struck me on the head with a hammer. I passed my hand to my head and massaged it slowly, hoping it would help ease the pain a little. And amazingly, it worked.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Prince Xavier burst in with a man who had a lean, muscular body with fair skin, blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes following closely behind. I recognized him as one of Xavier’s friends whom I met at the ball. Unless I was very much mistaken, his name is Benny something.

“Hey, Benny, look! Angela is awake!” Xavier exclaimed, pointing his finger in my direction.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Benny again, Xavier? My name is Benedict, for goodness’ sake,” his friend complained.

“Never mind your name— go and examine her now!” said Xavier.

Benny sighed deeply. “Fine.”

The two of them finally marched over to me and perched themselves on the edge of the bed.

“Hello, Angela,” Xavier’s friend greeted me.

“You’re Benny, Xavier’s friend whom I met at the ball, right?” I said.

“Actually, my name is Benedict,” he corrected.

“Oh I’m sorry, Benedict,” I apologized.

He gave me a warm glowing smile. “That’s all right, Sweetheart. You may call me Benny if you want.”

“Oh OK, Benny,” I said with a smile.

“Hey, why did you forbid me to call you Benny but you allow her to call you that?” Xavier protested.

“It’s up to me who can call me with my nickname and who can’t,” said Benny with a smug expression on his face.

Xavier’s lips were set in a pout of annoyance and Benny soon laughed at him.

I waited until Benny’s laughter had subsided before asking him, “By the way, what are you doing here, Benny?”

He replied, “I’m here to examine you.”

My eyebrows lifted. “Examine me?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I’m a doctor, you know.”

I gasped. “Oh I can’t believe that you are really a doctor!”

“Judging by his appearance, he’s not fitted to be a doctor, right?” Xavier commented.

“It’s not what I meant, Benny,” I refuted.

Benny gave me a friendly smile.

“That’s okay, Angela. I understand what you meant. Just ignore what Xavier said! He surely likes to provoke people.”

Part of me was glad that Benny wasn’t angry with me, while the other part of me was annoyed with Xavier because he had tried to drive a wedge between me and Benny.

“How are you feeling, Angela?” Benny queried.

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

“I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better,” Benny beamed.

“You know, Angela,” said Xavier, “I am extremely grateful that you’re finally awake and are all right now. When you didn’t regain consciousnes for two days, I began to fear the worst.”

“Yeah, you’re very lucky to survive after falling off the hill, Angela. If you weren’t a half-blood vampire, I am sure you would be dead by now,” Benny blabbed.

My eyes widened in surprise. ‘Oh my God, how in the world did he figure out that I am a half-blood vampire? And why is he saying it in front of Prince Xavier?’

“What did you say?” Prince Xavier asked. Shock was written all over his face.

“What did I say?” Benny asked him back instead.

“About Angela. You just said that she’s…” he trailed off.

“A half-blood vampire,” Benny filled in.

“Yes. Why did you call Angela a half-blood vampire, whereas we all know that she’s a human?” Xavier inquired in mystification.

“So you haven’t known yet?” Benny gasped in surprise.

“Know what?” Xavier had a puzzled look on his face.

“I thought you have known from the start that your pet is a half-blood vampire,” Benny replied.

“What?!” Xavier squawked.

‘Oh no I am going to die,’ I thought, panicked.

Xavier turned to look me. His eyes were blazing with fury. “Is that true, Angela? Are you really a half-blood vampire?” he demanded wrathfully.

I chose to act dumb. “What are you talking about, Xavier? Of course, I am not a half-blood vampire.”

“DON’T LIE TO ME!” he yelled at me.

“Why did I have to lie to you, Xavier? You perfectly know that I am just an ordinary human. If I were indeed a half-blood vampire just like he told you, you definitely would have realized it from the moment we met, right?” I tried to reason with him.

“It’s impossible for an ordinary vampire to know that you’re a half-blood vampire because your scent isn’t like other half-blood vampires. You smell like a human, which is very strange,” Benny explained.

“Don’t talk nonsense! You said that ordinary vampires won’t be able to know if I am a half-blood vampire, right? Then, how could you be so sure that I am a half-blood vampire?” I demanded aggressively.

“Because I am not an ordinary vampire,” Benny replied, smiling mysteriously.

I frowned in puzzlement. “What do you mean?”

His smile broadened. “I am a half-blood vampire just like you, Angela.”

His reply completely floored me. “W—What?! Y—you said y—you a—are a half-blood vampire?” I stammered.

He nodded in the affirmative. “Yes, I am.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “No, it’s impossible! You must be lying to me!”

“What’s the point of lying to you, Angela?” Benny said calmly.

“But, but...how could it be possible?” I spluttered, “I mean, a marriage between vampire and human is illegal, isn’t it?”

I didn’t know why Benny and Prince Xavier burst out laughing after hearing my words.

“What’s so funny?” I demanded indignantly.

“So you think a marriage between a vampire and a human is illegal, huh? Hahaha where did you hear that?” Xavier asked me between his laughter.

“I heard it from a friend of mine. She told me that a vampire is strictly forbidden to marry a human,” I explained.

“I think your friend had fooled you,” said Benny. His voice was faintly mocking.

“So you mean a vampire is allowed to marry a human?” I gasped.

“Of course!” Xavier replied with absolute certitude.

His statement only served to confuse me further. “But my father always told me that pureblood vampires will never accept a half-blood vampire into their society. That’s why my father asked me to keep my real identity secret from everyone. Because he’s afraid I’ll be in trouble if anyone finds out who I am exactly.”

“Yeah, I admit some vampires still treat the half-blood vampires as social outcasts. That’s why a half-blood vampire constantly feels they have to prove themselves to others. I, for instance, became a doctor because I wanted other vampires to respect me. And I did it. Now, other vampires never look down on me anymore,” Benny elaborated.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Xavier broke in, “Hang on a sec! You just said that your father asked you to keep your real identity secret. So you finally admit that you are really a half-blood vampire?”

I clapped a hand over my mouth. ‘Whoops, I wasn’t supposed to say that to them.’

“It’s not what I meant, Xavier,” I tried to deny it, “I—”

“Stop lying, Angela!” Xavier snapped at me, cutting me off, “Now, tell me the truth! Are you really a half-blood vampire or not?”

“Yes, I am indeed a half-blood vampire,” I admitted reluctantly.

Xavier suddenly banged a heavy fist on the bedside table. “How dare you lie to me, Angela!”

“I am sorry, Xavier,” I apologized, “I never intended to lie to you. But I was forced to keep my real identity secret from you because I don’t want to get into trouble.”

Xavier took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. “Tell me, who are you actually?”

I answered haltingly, “My real name is... is... is... is... Rosangela.”

Xavier didn’t say anything for a long time; he seemed to be lost in thought. Until all of a sudden, his fists clenched slowly until his knuckles were white, indicating he was trying to restrain his anger. And at last, he spoke to Benny, “Would you mind leaving us alone for a few minutes, Benny? I need to talk to my pet privately.”

“No, of course not,” Benny said. He then got to his feet and made for the door.

Before he left the room, Benny told Xavier, “I’ll wait outside in case you need anything.”

“OK. Thanks a lot, Ben,” said Xavier.

Benny nodded and finally walked out of the room, shutting the door after him.

‘Oh no, what’s Xavier going to do to me now? Why did he ask Benny to leave us alone?’ I thought in horror.