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

Percy shook his head and asked the guard again. "We both heard you say something, who was it?" The guard didn't look at them not answer.

"Come on, Percy!" Bryce screamed in rage as he punched the dungeon halls, sending an echo down the halls. He walked up to the guard who stood silently. "You know what, I'm going to break off an extra large of poison oak branches, wrap it around with rose thorns and stick it with a dagger and shove it up your fucking ass!"

Percy walked up to Bryce and stopped him, pulled him back and tried to calm him down. The guard didn't retaliate, he just let Bryce's words sink into his mind as he's always taught to do.

"Bryce, I think he gets it." Bryce ignored him and walked up to the guard. He crouched down to his level and looked at him and stood back up.

"Percy, look at him. He's as dumb as any other palace guard would be. He should've been taught better." As much as words can kill, the guard wished more than anything right now, he wanted to leave, but he knew he couldn't without having his master getting even more angry.

Bryce stormed out of the dungeons, leaving Percy with the dungeon guard. The guard uttered something as he left; he said it under his breath so quietly, Nash didn't even hear a word from his mouth.

"I'm sorry."

Meanwhile, Isabella and Stephen were on the balcony and having a little side conversation outside of the ball. The moon shone through the pitch black darkness, its reflection flowing against the ocean. The stars were visible but yet to be seen.

"I've had a lovely night. Thank you Stephen." In the back of her mind, she was thinking about Colin, and only Colin. You silly girl, you only had a lovely night because of Colin, not this unknown so-called Stephen Hart.

"I'm thrilled and honored." He said as he offered her a drink. She accepted the drink and took a sip of it. Under his breath, he utterly whispers something. "Step one, complete."

She turned around and walked across the balcony; Stephen kept his distance but was at least 2 steps behind her.

"Isabella, where's your escort tonight? I'd like to speak with him." She looked at him with a bit of confusion; she peeked inside the ballroom, looking for Bryce, but he wasn't there or at least from where she was standing.

"I don't know exactly. He must be somewhere in the ballroom, probably having a wonderful time with the guests tonight." She took another sip out of her cup. Stephen looked at her as lust filled up his mind.

"Why would a gentleman choose someone else over you, an exquisite and beautiful soul heart like yours?" Isabella giggled as he was amusing her with his words.

"You sure are quite the gentleman, Stephen." He smiled as she complimented his kind gesture. She looked inside and she saw a glimpse of what looked like her brother, Jack.

She walked inside into the ballroom and followed her brother, then finally she caught up to him. "Jack." She whispered as she grabbed his arm. He turned around and looked at her, then he realized it was his sister, Isabella.

"Isabella?" He said as he tilted his head. She quickly nodded.

"Yes, it's me, your little sister."

"Where've you been?" He asked as she looked around the room of crowded people.

"Let's talk somewhere quiet." She said as she pulled her brother to a room in the back.

"Seriously, where've you been?" He asked immediately as she closed the door behind them.

"Inside the castle of course, away from home, away from Father." Jack rolled his eyes as soon as he heard her say 'Father'. "Jack, I can't spend the rest of my two years, trapped inside that house." He gave his sister a stern look.

"You know why Father kept you away from the other side of the village, Isabella." She scoffed; she felt that her brother was turning against her and joining her father's side.

"Are you going against me on this? It's Father's fault that we're in this mess, spending his life preaching and selling all of the things that once belonged to our grandfather."

"Isabella, you're making no sense at all."

"No, the one who isn't making sense is Father, Jack." She said as she paced back and forth.

"Isabella, stop rebelling against father!" He grabbed her shoulders and stopping her from pacing back and forth. "It won't help you do a thing."

"Then I suggest Father should reevaluate himself on how to be a real father." Jack's jaw dropped as he heard her say that. "I don't believe Father is the person who should be a parent." She looked at her brother angrily.

"Isabella--" She stopped him before he could finish his statement.

"No, Jack, listen to me first. I may not be coming back home if Father doesn't reevaluate himself on how to be a loving father." Jack scoffed. "What are you scoffing at? Are you on my side or Father's?" He looked at his sister and walked up to her; he didn't dare touch his sister.

"You may not care much about Father, but there's still Mother who's worried sick about you." She looked up at her brother with sadness in her eyes. As a daughter, Isabella didn't take fully responsibility for her actions, she only took half. "You still love Mother?" She looked away and nodded. "Then come back home."

"Jack, you know I can't stand in the same floor as Father. You know I can't stand in the same house as him. I don't stand a chance of ever meeting my lover without having any sort of punishment from Father." She inhaled deeply and exhaled. She was ready to burst into tears, in guilt, regretful. "I don't want to be trapped, and it doesn't matter to me whether Father cares about that or not, but I do not want to be held captive and locked up forever."

Jack saw how his sister was about to cry, he walked up to her and rested her on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things to you." He rubbed her shoulder in comfort as she laid her head on her brother's broad shoulder.

* * *

"Where are you going now?" Bryce was pacing down the halls as Percy quickly followed him.

"Where do you think I'm going? I'm going to find Isabella and tell her the truth." Percy sighed in disbelief and stopped Bryce before he could go any further.

"Bryce, wait. If you tell her the truth now, she'll leave you out of fear. If she knows that you're not human and you're a vampire, who knows what she'll do. She might even tell King Henry, who knows?" Bryce looked at Percy bewilderedly. But Bryce didn't think Isabella was the kind of person to spread rumors and gossip.

"I will not lie to you, you are right on how she'll leave me out of fear, but I don't think she's the kind of person who will report to the King." Bryce continued on walking and before he walked inside the ballroom. He put on his mask and walked inside.

"I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say." Percy looked at Bryce as he put on his mask and walked into the ballroom.

Percy looked around the room for Bryce or even better, Isabella. But they weren't in the room, even Bryce walked into the ballroom. Where did he go this time? He thought to himself before going off to find him.

Meanwhile Isabella and Jack were still locked inside the room where they were in; they spoke to each other about how they were going to find a way out of the village before anyone knew. She had already told her brother about Colin's escape plan.

"What do you mean he's going to leave?" She looked at her brother with worried eyes and paced around the room.

"That day when he came to our house, he told me this, and believe me I was shocked too when I heard he was planning to leave." She played with her hands and the seaming of the dress she was wearing. "But he didn't tell me how he was going to do it."

"Then that's useless." Jack crossed his arms across his chest and shrugged. "So is he still planning to do so?"

Isabella looked at her brother. She pressed her lips together, trying to figure out whether he was actually going to try to escape or was it going to backfire.

"I don't know." She lied. She already knew Colin was going to stick to his plan of leaving.

"Then how do you know he's still going to do it?" Jack walked up to Isabella. She sighed as he continued asking her all these questions.

"I don't, okay!" He looked at Isabella as she stopped, then he noticed a stain on her dress. It was a bit red since her dress was a light peach color.

"Isabella." She looked at her brother and shouted at him.

"What?!" He shut his mouth as he was about to tell his sister.

"Did you notice that you have a red stain on your dress?" She scrunched her eyebrows as her expression changed from frustrated to shocked.

She opened the door where they were in and ran back to her room, but as she was running back to her room, she bumped into Stephen.

"Oh dear Stephen, I'm terribly sorry for running into you. Are you hurt?" In fact, Stephen didn't feel a thing at all, even when she ran into him. She had to leave but he reached out and grabbed her hand, making her fall into his arms. Their lips were so close to touching each other; she looked at him as he looked back at her. It had seem like the whole world had stopped when they looked into each other's eyes.

Then out of the blue, Bryce's loud voice was heard from the background. "Let her go!" She sharply turned her head to see Bryce charging towards them both. Bryce pulled Isabella from Stephen's arms, then he walked up to Stephen. "Now, I wonder what the King would have to say if he saw you right now."

He smirked at Bryce as he was boiling with anger. Isabella, however was standing right behind Bryce and saw what was happening, including everyone who was present in the room. Everyone had their eyes on Bryce and Stephen who were having a bit of a stare-showdown with each other.

Then all of a sudden, all the lights went out, everyone in the room let out a scream and gasp. Isabella was trying to find her way to the door and get out, but before she could do anything, a wind of rush passed her, grabbing her by the waist of her petite body.

Then the lights of the room turned back on; Bryce then looked around, Stephen was gone, along with Isabella.

When he realized that Isabella was with Stephen, he quietly cursed to himself. "That insane, psychotic son of bitch."