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

"Okay, ask me then." Bryce said as Percy turned around to look at his best friend. They were alone in the hallway still; he walked up to him and sighed.

"Bryce, did you and Isabella--?" Bryce stopped Percy before he could finish his question, indicating he already knew what he was about say.

"Whoa! No! Nothing like that, Percy. And you already know what would happen to me if I did that to her...?" Bryce said as he heard something or someone. "Shhh..." He heard a pair of footsteps shuffling around the corner.

Percy looked around, puzzled. Bryce followed the sound of the noise, he walked towards the corner of the hallway as the footsteps were shuffling quickly. He looked down the hallway, he saw a servant at the end of the hallway.

Percy followed him to the hallway as he walked down the hallway. "I'm going to get her." Bryce said as he walked back the other direction.

Percy furrowed his eyebrows as Bryce walked passed by him; he pivoted around and ran up next to him. "Wait!" Bryce stopped as Percy walked passed him.

"Stay here." He shook his head as Bryce stopped him at his tracks. "No Percy, you gotta stay here and make sure no one comes down here."

Bryce walked off, leaving Percy standing there alone in the hallway. He looked at the other hallway as he grabbed a cup of scotch that was on the table in the hallway; he downed the whole cup as he was waiting for Bryce to come back.

"What an idiot." He mumbled as he walked down the direction where he went and followed him. He turned his head to look back to see if anyone was behind him, and yet there was no one. "My goodness, why Mia?" He walked back to the spot where he was standing before.

"I believe she's the only one who knows where exactly Isabella is, Percy." He quickly turned around as Bryce walked in with Mia behind him. "Plus, she's the one who got Nate to come back." He turned his body, revealing Mia standing behind him. "She's probably going to be useful later on."

Percy rolled his eyes as he turned around to go pour another cup of the scotch. Mia, she was still standing behind Bryce; she wanted to ask what was going on but she wouldn't dare to do so.

"Mia, where exactly is Isabella?" Percy turned around as he finished pouring his whisky. Bryce, however, was asking Mia all the questions he could possibly ask her. "Where is she? Just simply tell me and I won't do anything to you."

Percy noticed that Mia's hands were shaking as she stood there in front of Bryce; he then looked at Bryce and saw both of his hands curled up into fists. Percy zoomed in between them as Mia looked like she was going to pass out.

"What? You wanna get into a fight?" Bryce said as he looked at Percy. He scoffed.

"You almost got yourself killed earlier." Bryce laughed as he thought of what Nate said to him earlier.

"That sick bastard started it." Bryce said as he laughed at Percy. "Is it too much ask where she is?"

Percy stopped and looked at how his best friend was out of his mind right now. He feared that Isabella would have to go through so much for just being with him. Despite the fact that Bryce has completely probably lost his mind.

Percy didn't want to mess with him, despite the fact that he wasn't himself at the moment, but to know that his best friend was losing his mind over a girl was outrageous.

"That bastard is Nate who you're talking about." He turned around to look at Mia, who was clueless on what was going on. "See? She has completely no idea what we're talking about." Bryce looked dissatisfied and unconvinced by the look on Mia's face.

"That's what you call 'acting'." Bryce snatched Percy's cup of whisky from his hand and drank it. "I highly doubt she wouldn't know without acting like it."

Percy turned his head back at Bryce as he snatched his cup of whisky. "And that's mine." He grabbed Bryce's wrist and grabbed the cup and finished it and placed back in his hand.

He walked away as he stopped after he took his third step and pivoted back around to Bryce. "You think Mia's acting?" Bryce nodded. He smirked sinisterly. "Well, then! We have tonight to find out, so why not get started?"

Ballroom

It's been a couple of hours since the ball has started. Everyone that the King knew was there, with a few exceptions.

Nate walked back into the ballroom after his little talk with Bryce; he was hoping that he got under Bryce's skin and his mind.

Stephen, however, was a little busy. He had a lady in his hands to take care. Since he finally first encountered Isabella, he hasn't been paying attention to where Nate went off to or any other maiden who was there that night.

Nate walked up to Stephen and decided to converse with him during their spare time. Stephen turned his head to see Nate next to him. He scoffed in amusement as he drank his cup of scotch.

"So what happened between you and Bryce?" He said as he played his finished cup. Nate didn't bother to respond, he was looking around the room looking for Isabella.

"Nate?" Stephen nudged his arm, trying to get his attention. He looked at Stephen and drank his cup.

"What?" He said as he lowered his cup away from his mouth. Stephen exhaled as Nate walked over to the food stand and grabbed a small snack.

He rolled his eyes as he followed Nate to the food stand; he wasn't hungry as Nate was. He walked back with a small bowl of meat and fruits. Nate, who was still ignoring Stephen, walked passed him towards the outback of the ballroom.

He didn't bother to follow him this time; he scoffed grumpily as he watched Nate walk out the back door.

"Fine, ignore me then. Thanks for the invite." Stephen said sarcastically as he turned around and grabbed another cup of whine as male servant walked passed by with a tray of whine.

He looked around the room and saw Isabella walking in through the doors into the ballroom. He watched as she walked in her long, beautiful gold dress. She examined the room as he made his way up to her.

Now's my chance.

He walked up to her and went up to her side as he placed the cup on a table. She didn't noticed that he was standing next to her until she looked to his direction.

"Care for a dance with me?" He said as he held out his hand to her. She skeptically looked at him and smiled as she politely accepted his request.

"I'd be more than happy to do so." She placed her hand on top of his hand and escorted her into the crowded people.

Matt turned to face her and she looked at him and smiled. They both stood across from each other, then the music played as they both waltzed up to each other. They raised their arms up as their finger tips touched each other and their palms rested against each other. They slowly walked in a circle as the waltz music played.

The room was filled everyone's chatter; everyone was chattering about the young and the strikingly handsome Stephen Hart and the who he was dancing with, who most people didn't know was Isabella. They just saw a young, fair maiden dancing with the young, dashing Stephen Hart.

"We never really got the chance to talk earlier." She smiled as they danced.

"Well then, what would you like to know?"

* * *

"Bryce, you're drunk." Percy dragged Bryce into him down the hallway, but he pushed him away.

"Nah, I not drunk." His words came out like a person who was high and full on drugged. "I a-m just ti-ared." He kept swaying from side to side and laughing. "I just need to find Isa-" He fell to his knees as he laughed on his knees.

Percy followed him down the hallway, shook his head as he helped Bryce back up on his feet. "Bryce, seriously. You're drunk. You don't need to find her right now." Again, he pushed him away and pointed at him.

"You. You wanna take her away from me. You're a bastard for trying that!" He stood back up on his feet. Nash shook his head and sighed in disbelief. "You wanna take her away from me! You're taking my woman!"

Percy looked at him as he pushed him off his balance. "Bryce, you're drunk. Stop, please."

"No. I'm not drunk. I'm perfectly and totally fine with who I am. It's you. You're the one who's planning on taking her away from me. You may not be planning it right now, but I know you will." Percy scoffed as Bryce foolishly accused him of trying something he wouldn't do.

"Bryce, you really do think I would try and steal her away from you?" Although in his heart, he knew that Isabella was Bryce's, but he also loved her as well.

He wanted to protect her, but he knew couldn't do much without having Bryce catching him in the act, or else it would be a death round for him to fight through.

Bryce then laughed hysterically and fell off him balance but caught himself. He waved his pointer finger at Percy as he continued to laugh.

"Wow Percy, you're very funny." Percy didn't move but he watched as his best friend was only getting more crazier and crazier. "You're so funny. You don't think I don't know what you're thinking?" He rolled his eyes. "I'm a vampire."

"A drunk vampire." Bryce's eyes darkened; a soft growl came from his mouth.

"I'm going to find that little bastard from yesterday and I'm gonna rip his throat out." Bryce zoomed off into the dark hallway.

Percy didn't have any powers of any kind. He was no vampire, nor was he a werewolf. If he was one, Bryce wouldn't dare go near him, or befriend him.

He ran after Bryce. "What do you mean he got away?!" He heard him yelling from the end of the hallway of the dungeon. When Percy got there, Bryce had the guard who was supposed to be guarding Sebastian while they were gone, at the grasp of his hand. "I ask you to do one simple task and you fail to do it!"

Percy rushed up to Bryce and grabbed onto his forearm and looked at him as he quickly shook his head at him. Bryce looked at the guard and then Percy; he took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled through his mouth.

"Alright." He letted go of the guard and looked at Percy and back at the guard. "But only because Percy asked, otherwise your head wouldn't be on your body by now." Percy stopped him by holding him back.

"We asked you to guard him and what happened to him? How on earth did he escape?" The guard looked clueless but he stated his reason.

"Someone came down here earlier." Percy and Bryce both looked at the guard. "He said he needed to talk to the person who was held captive, and he asked me to step out." Bryce, who couldn't hold in his anger, picked the guard up by his neck.

"You let someone come inside and you go outside?!" Percy stopped him; he relaxed a bit and dropped the guard and backed away.

"Before your master gets angry again, tell me. Who came down here without any permission? Because if anybody was to come down here, they wouldn't have any authorization from the King or any of us." The guard didn't dare to look up but he uttered a name under his breath.

"What did you say?" Bryce tilted his head as he asked the guard. The guard mumbled the name again,