Rosangela: The Runaway Princess (Book #2)

Prince Xavier’s Point of View:

Presently I left the room where Rosangela was being incarcerated, I stumped towards the throne room to meet my father. I came charging into throne room for I wanted to demand an explanation from my father why he imprisoned Rosangela, only to find the room empty.

I asked a passing guard where my father was going. He answered that my father was in his study right now. I thanked the guard and lastly steamed towards my father’s study.

I was just about to turn the handle, but stopped short when I overheard a conversation between my father and two other people inside. Overcome by curiosity, I started eavesdropping outside the room.

What they were chatting about made me bristle with rage. Furiously, I yanked open the door and stormed into the room.

“So the both of you are behind all of this, Pablo, Mariana?” I growled.

The three of them were stunned by my sudden arrival. Hurriedly, Mariana and Pablo gave a slight bow of their head in greeting. I didn’t respond; I just glowered at them. They shifted uneasily under my menacing glare.

“You are dismissed now,” my father spoke to the two of them.

Marina curtsied to her king while Pablo made a formal bow before the two of them left the room.

“What are you doing here, Xavier?” my father asked querulously.

“I want you to release Princess Mirabelle straightaway, Dad!” I demanded imperiously.

“No, I am not going to let her go!” my father emphasized.

“No, Dad, you must—”

“Look, Son!” King Joaquin interrupted, “You know that I always have a grudge against King Bellamy, don’t you? For years, I have been expecting an opportunity to take revenge on King Bellamy. Now, the moment I’ve been waiting for eventually come. So I won’t let that chance slip through my fingers.”

Yeah, I knew that King Bellamy was my father’s most hated enemy. It’s said that my father and King Bellamy used to be friends but they’re now sworn enemies.

Everything started when my father was young. One night, he chanced upon a beautiful princess named Amabelle while he was attending a party in his friend’s kingdom. My father felt an immediate attraction for Princess Amabelle. Even he planned on proposing to her soon.

As a prince from a small kingdom, marrying Princess Amabelle would give my father an advantage. Princess Amabelle was the only heir to the throne of Clanbella. Everyone knew that Clanbella was the biggest and most powerful kingdom in the whole supernatural realms. If my father became Princess Amabelle’s husband, he surely would have a right to succeed to Clanbella throne when his wife’s father died. That way his dream of ruling a big kingdom would come true, and his small kingdom would be respected too.

However, before my father pop the question to Princess Amabelle, he wanted to introduce her to his best friend, Prince Bellamy. Unexpectedly, it turned out that Princess Amabelle was Prince Bellamy’s mate. The two of them instantly fell in love with each other. And after a short courtship, they got married. Not long after that, Princess Amabelle’s father decided to abdicate the throne of Clanbella. Automatically, Prince Bellamy became the next king.

My father had borne a grudge against King Bellamy ever since that day. He envied him for King Bellamy seemed to have everything my father could possibly want. Although King Bellamy had done nothing wrong, yet my father swore to take revenge on him. Even after my father found his real mate, my mother, he still couldn’t forget his desire for vengeance.

Now, my father finally found a way of getting back at King Bellamy. Thus, it’s understandable if he wouldn’t miss the opportunity for the world. Nevertheless, what my father doing was wrong, and I had to remind him about it.

“Don’t drag Princess Mirabelle into your vengeance, Dad! She has nothing to do with it,” I flared at my father.

“She’s King Bellamy’s granddaughter of course I should involve her in this problem,” my father said stubbornly.

“This is wrong, Dad. Despite the fact that Princess Mirabelle is King Bellamy’s granddaughter, she is still innocent. You shouldn’t have treated her unfairly like that,” I warned him.

“Everything I do is for the sake of our kingdom, Xavier,” Dad claimed.

A small frown creased my forehead. “What are you talking about?”

“If we have Princess Mirabelle in our clutches, our kingdom is going to be more prosperous, Xavier,” Dad replied.

My frown deepened. “I really don’t understand what you’re on about, Dad.”

“Let me explain!” my father exclaimed, “Princess Mirabelle is the next in line to the Clanbella throne. But the problem is she’s only a half-blood vampire, thus, she has no right to succeed to the throne. And that fact will work to our advantage.”

My eyebrows lifted. “How so?”

“I will use the release of Princess Mirabelle as a bargaining chip. If King Bellamy wants his granddaughter to return home safely, he has to agree to marry her to you, Xavier. After the two of you get married, I am going to assassinate King Bellamy. As the husband of the only heir to the throne, you will automatically become the next king of Clanbella. If the kingdom of Clanbella, the biggest and most powerful kingdom in the whole supernatural realms, become the part of ours, other kingdoms will honour us and no one will dare to look down on our kingdom ever again,” my father elaborated.

“I already have a mate, Dad. How come you expect me to marry another woman?” I scoffed.

“Mate?” my father sneered, “Don’t make me laugh, Xavier! I know you never love Estefanía in spite of a fact that she’s your mate. So you should be glad to be rid of her. Besides, I know that you’re completely smitten by Princess Mirabelle from the moment you laid your eyes on her, right? So my plan will make it easier for you to get the woman whom you love.”

“You’re right, Dad. I admit that I don’t love Estefanía, though I pretend to. And it’s true that I’m completely infatuated with Princess Mirabelle from the moment we met,” I conceded.

“However,” I added, “there’s still another problem. Princess Mirabelle is my best friend’s fiancée. I’ll feel rotten about betraying Maximilian.”

“You don’t have to feel guilty about it. Princess Mirabelle doesn’t love your friend. If she did love him, surely she wouldn’t run away from their wedding a year ago, right?” my father said nonchalantly.

“But Maximilian has fallen head over heels in love with Princess Mirabelle. That’s why he keeps looking for her everywhere,” I said.

“Nonsense! I’m certain that Prince Maximilian doesn’t love Princess Mirabelle. He’s only interested in her because she’s the crown princess of Clanbella,” my father accused.

“No matter what happens, I don’t want to stab Maximilian in the back. So you’d better forget your plan, Dad!” I said firmly.

“If you don’t want to marry Princess Mirabelle, I will demand a ransom of the throne of Clanbella from King Bellamy. And if he refuses to pay ransom for his granddaughter’s release, I will kill the half-blood vampire princess and then declare war on the kingdom of Clanbella,” my father threatened.

“Have you no heart, Dad? If we go to war with the kingdom of Clanbella, thousands of innocent lives will be killed,” I chastised him. “It is a high price to pay for the power, Xavier,” Dad reasoned.

“You’re crazy, Dad!” I spat.

My father wore a smug expression on his face. “It’s up to you to decide, Xavier. If you agree with my plan to marry you to Princess Mirabelle, we will only sacrifice one soul. But if you refuse, thousands of innocent lives will fall victim.”

“I can’t believe it! You’re so greedy for power that you are willing to sacrifice your people for your own ends, Dad,” I hissed.

Before my father could give me a retort, I left the room with a flounce.

Since I was at a loss what to do next, I decided to seek advice from my mother.

“What shall I do, Mom?” I enquired my mother who was sitting on one of couches in her bedroom, “Dad urged me to chuck Estefanía and then marry Princess Mirabelle in order that we can take over the kingdom of Clanbella. Even though I am not in love with Estefanía, but I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”

“Besides,” I continued, “Princess Mirabelle is Maximilian’s fiancée. You know perfectly well that Prince Maximilian and I have been best friends since we were children, right Mom? I recoile from the idea of betraying my own best friend.”

I paused to gather my breath, then went on, “But if I didn’t do what Dad told me, he would declare war on the kingdom of Clanbella. If the war broke out, thousands of innocent lives would be killed.”

“Look, calm down, Xavier! I don’t think your father will declare war on the kingdom of Clanbella; I think he’s just bluffing,” my mother said soothingly.

“But Dad also threatened to kill Princess Mirabelle. And I know he meant what he said. I don’t want Princess Mirabelle to die, but I don’t want to force her to marry me against her will either. What should I do now, Mom?” Xavier asked for his mother’s opinion.

“The final decision is yours, my son. Just follow your heart, but remember to take your brain with you! I’m sure you know the difference between right and wrong. Just do as you think best to you and our kingdom!” Mom advised me.

My mother’s words left me speechless. I deliberately met her in the hope that she could give me some suggestions about how best to tackle my problem. However, my mother’s advice baffled me even more instead. At the end of the day, I’d still have to make my own decision. Now, I was really in a quandary—should I give in to my father’s demands or shouldn’t I? I was damned if I’d allow my father spill innocent blood. But I couldn’t let him to slay King Bellamy either. King Bellamy’s loyal supporters certainly would not just sit by after hearing about their king’s death. I was sure that they were going to seek revenge for the murder of their king. And it really happened, my father could forget about his idea of making me become the next king of Clanbelle. On the contrary, our kingdom would be plunged into chaos.

‘I’d better discuss this problem with Rosangela. I hope she knows what we are supposed to do,’ I thought.

Lastly, I took leave of my mother and hurried to the room where Rosangela was penned up.