White Rose by Gao Yang (ink book reader .TXT) 📕

Charles raised an eyebrow as if he never about it. "You're just playing with us with your smarts, aren't you?" She shook her head.

"Nope. Even if I was just flattering you with my smarts, I wouldn't brag about it or show off." She said as she stopped by some batch of flowers. She smelled one of the flowers. "These flowers look like," she smelled them one more time. "These flowers look like purple mallows, am I right?"

She looked back at them as they stood there looking at her. Bryce nodded and she smiled and looked back at the beautifully bloomed purple mallows.

"If you want them, I could order one of the servants to bring it to your room chamber where you're staying." She heard Aaron say behind her; she turned her head and looked at him.

"You would do that?" She was surprised.

"If you insist." He said as she looked back at the batch of flowers, she really loved how they had their rich color and their unique pattern in the center.

She turned her head again and smiled at Charles. "I'd appreciate that very much."

Bryce walked up to her and picked off a flower. He put it behind her ear.

"The flower matches you perfectly." Isabella pushed him off playfully as he teased her.

"Stop teasing me." She said as she ran off. She could feel her temperature rising up and her cheeks were really warm. Her heartbeat beating racing faster than normal.

But little did she know, she was gaining even more feelings for Bryce, and perhaps even for Charles and Percy as well.

Isabella, don't you dare forget about Colin.

The Fall Festival was going to take place until midnight, then tomorrow was a huge feast that was hosted by the king and the queen.

Isabella was finished with her bath, grabbed a bath robe and put it around her naked body and her hair was already dried. She looked around to see if anybody was in her room, or broke in. Then she remembered she locked her chamber door.

She walked over to her wardrobe, debating whether she should go back outside to the Fall Festival. She grabbed her old clothes that were already washed and dried and wore them. She then grabbed her robe and walked outside of her chamber.

She looked around the hallway, and she walked down the hallway where she went to the roof with Bryce earlier. She quickly strides through the hallway and go to the roof.

When she got to the roof, she stood in the same place as she was before. She looked down at the festival, she saw all of the villagers and noticed that they were preparing for the fireworks.

She reached into her pocket to grab her handkerchief but when she reached into the pocket, someone else's handkerchief was in her pocket. She pulled out the handkerchief and looked at it, it had a small design on it just like the handkerchief she found this morning. In fact it looked exactly like the one she found this morning.

"I should probably return this." She said to herself. But you don't know who it belongs to! "Right." She sighed as she held the handkerchief in her hands and watched the fireworks by herself.

For the past four years, she's been watching the fireworks by herself. But before those four years, she always watched them together with Colin. She let out a sigh as she fiddles with the handkerchief in her hands.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to watch the fireworks by myself, again." She said sorrowfully. Then she was greeted by another voice from behind her.

"Then may I have the privilege to watch them tonight, with you?" She turned her head to see Colin, her mouth dropped as she saw him again. He smiled as he walked up to her and hugged her.

"I thought I was going to be lonely for the fifth time since we've last watched together." She said as she pulled away; he looked at her and stroked her nose bridge.

"Silly, you know I'll do anything just to watch the fireworks with you." She smiled and wrapped her arms around him and he did the same thing.

"But you're the silly one. You know better than to not come into the palace and come to the roof like this." She giggled as Colin stroked her back with his hand. "You know you'll get caught sooner or later."

"And if I do get caught, I'll still come inside the palace just to see you. Besides the palace guards are too busy guarding the perimeters of the city." She raised her head to look at him and smiled, then he pecked her lips and she rested her head on his shoulders.

"I'm just happy that I won't be spending my time tonight alone." She said as the fireworks were going; she didn't realize that she still had the handkerchief in her hands. She quietly put the handkerchief inside the robe, hoping Colin didn't see it.

* * *

"You can't stay here for too long." She urged Colin to go.

"Like I said, even if I do get caught, I'll still take the risk to see you." He caressed her cheek, and she lowered her head.

"Go. I don't want either of us getting caught." She said as she grabbed his hand from her cheek. "I don't want to live to see a day where there's no more you and I; I don't want to live without you--" He cupped her face, placing his thumb on her lips, stopping her from finishing her sentence.

They both looked at each other as she started to break down; he looked at her and it was obvious to see her pain right through. He has seen her through so much pain, and it made him want to kill himself that he couldn't protect her from all harm. He felt like an idiot person who just fell in love with an angel who needed to be protected at all times.

"I'm sorry for troubling you." She said, moving his thumbs from her lips. "I'm sorry-" He cut her off.

"Stop, I don't ever want to hear you apologizing for something you didn't do. I don't ever want to hear you say you're sorry." She lowered her head, with his hands hanging. "Okay. I'll go before someone sees or catches us." She nodded. He pulls her in for a kiss.

"Promise me you'll take care of yourself." She nodded her head.

"You too?" He nodded as well, then left.

She watched him as he left her on the rooftop, by herself again. He turns his head, looking at her, and curved a smile from he corners of his mouth. She smiled at him as he walked away into the darkness of the night.

She turned her head back and watched the festival coming to its end for the night. It was getting windy and cold, she decided to go back before Bryce came looking for her.

She walked down the hallway to her room chamber, she quickly made her way to her chamber and opened the door. She took off her robe and pulled her hair back from the messiness that the wind caused.

She walked over to the mirror and looked at her reflection. Isabella, what have you done? You've only caused troubled between the four of them. Bryce has to worry about you constantly, same thing goes for Colin. You're gonna suck in Charles and Percy into your dwell of complications.

Her subconscious said to her as she fixed her hair. Then she was interrupted by a knock on her door.

"Come in." She said without looking. Mia came in and greeted her.

"Good evening mistress." Hannah looked over and saw Mia in the doorway.

"Mia. What are you doing here?" She looked at Isabella with a nervous expression. "Is there something wrong?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No. It's just I came by to see if you wanted anything." She gave Isabella another look as she brushed her hair.

There was a long quiet pause as Mia still stood in the doorway. "Can I tell you something?" Mia hesitantly asked her mistress. She looked at Mia and nodded.

"Of course. What do you want to tell me?" Isabella said as she turned around to Mia's attention.

Mia walked over and sat down on the chair by the small table. "I don't know if you've noticed because of our total different personalities, but Bryce is my half brother."

Isabella's mouth dropped as she looked at Mia and started noticing similar features between the them. Yes, they were totally different people, despite the fact that she was a servant and Bryce was a Lord. But it didn't make sense.

"My father, well also his father, met my mother and she was a servant. She started having a sexual relation with his and my, our father." Isabella could tell that she was uncomfortable of calling Bryce's father her own father because she kept stuttering and sounded nervous.

"Back then, the palace was just as peaceful like now, but soon after a rumor broke out saying that our father was having an affair with one of the servants who was my birth mother." Mia kept pausing in between her words, but she listened closely.

"Mia, you don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable telling me." Isabella said politely as she stood up and walked over to Mia, caressing her shoulder.

"No. I need to tell you because I don't want the same thing to happen to you too." Mia looked up to meet with Hannah's eyes.

"Same thing happening to me?" Mia stood up to Isabella's height.

"Please listen. What I'm trying to say and about to explain to you is very important and very personal. And because I trust you, I'm telling one of the biggest secrets in my life." Mia desperately responded. She nodded.

"Like I said, rumors were going around saying that my mother was sleeping with father, but what made it worse was when someone made a rumor saying that my mother slept with another man as well. That made him angry and more than furious, he was rather pissed that she did that." Mia looked out the window, shrugging her shoulders.

"What did he do when he found out? You know, about that.." Isabella reluctantly asked.

"When the King found out about the affair, he was no doubt furious about the gossiping and rumors spreading rapidly." Mia slowly sat back down on the chair and Isabella turned around and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"But when he found out about that, he wanted to kill her right off the bat. But she was already pregnant." Mia looked at her mistress and watched as her emotions and expressions change as she explains the story to her.

"She was having you?" Mia nodded. "What happened to the other man?" Mia stopped for a second.

"He was killed right away by him, with the authority from the king." Isabella gasped, almost losing her breath. Then Mia continued.

"Of course, even though my mother was already pregnant by the time he found out, but it's a sin for a man to murder a pregnant woman. So he kept her alive for the nine months she