Catch Me If You Can (Naughty Cinderella - Vampire)

17 Escape Plan

For the rest of the afternoon I sat in my room planning ways to leave the castle.

I could run away.

But I was pretty sure that I needed vampire-help to get me out of here.

I even thought about asking to be turned into a vampire myself.

Yep... I'm desperate.

I crumpled up another paper of ideas and decided to get some fresh air. I stepped out of my bed and slipped on a heaping pile of crumpled paper, which only frustrated me even more.

I quickly took a shower then got dressed in a long blue skirt with a white tee. Satisfied with my appearance, and also not caring much about my hair and makeup, I silently made my way down the many flights of stairs.

When I got into the main hall, the light that flooded into the room alsmost blinded me. I couldn't wait to actually set foot outside in the gleeming sun.

Smiling to myself, I hurried to the front entrance which was already open. I caught a glimpse of red in the corner of my eye and turned to look. As always, the castle's garden amazed me.

The amount of red roses were outstanding. I wanted to take a walk, so I went through the path of the garden. The scent of the roses and other flowers were heaven to me. It reminded me of my mother, who i'd been forced to leave behind. She loved to garden, and she even named me Scarlet due to her love for the deep red of red roses.

When I get back home, I thought, Ièm going to plant a garden of my own.

Some white roses would be nice.

Tears sprung to my eyes as I thought about Austin confessing to me that he'd planted a white rose in honour of finding the love of his life. He'd said it was me.

Although I was reluctant to let him go, I knew it was the obvious thing to do. He was out of my league. No white roses for me, I guess. I heard footsteps in the garden and quickly hid behind a big bush. Huh, I've been hiding behind a lot of things lately.

It was the footsteps of two people. When they neard, I was able to recognize the voices.

Miss Woods and Austin.

I held my breath and waited for them to pass by. Fortunately, they hadn't seen me and instead decided to sit on a nearby fountain and talk.

I inched closer to them so I coud eavesdrop on their conversation.

"What's going on, son?" Miss Woods asked him.

I heard him sigh and adjust his position on the fountain. "Scarlet's leaving," He responded.

"An why is that a problem?" She asked. My mouth fell open. I thought she liked me!

"I, uh," Austin stuttered. "Don't you like her?"

"I do. I really do. She's a good one. But she's not a vampire and your father doesn't approve," The Queen responded. I let out a breath. At least someone around here appreciated me. "What about you?" She asked after a minute of Austin's silence.

"Do I like her?" Austin asked, incredulously. "No."

The queen sighed. "Then? Your father thinks It would be best to-"

"I love her,"Austin cut her off. The queen was silent. They didn't speak and my legs began to ache. I silently began ripping roses out of the ground and gathering them in my lap. I ripped the roses out of the ground the way Austin ripped my heart out of my chest.

"You're getting married, Austin. You got yourself into this mess. Now we have to deal with a human who knows of our existence!" The Queen exclaimed, her voice rising. "In the past, when there was a human who knew of us, they never lived long enough to expose us. Now? If she's planning on going back, I don't know how we'll keep her from exposing us."

"That's why I want her to stay. She'll be with me and she'll also be safe," Austin replied.

"She will not be with you. You will be with Charlotte, the girl whom you grew up with, share your love with, and will marry!" The Queen said. It was the first time Id ever heard her angry. "If you're going to throw away Charlotte and her feelings for you, then you are not the son I thought you were."

The Queen's voice was cold. Austin didn't respond to her. I couldn't see them but the Queen stood and strode away from him and out of the garden. Minutes later, Austin made his way back into the castle.

Deciding I should leave as well, I stood up. The roses that I'd destroyed lay in a heap on the floor. I quickly gathered them and walked into the castle.

I decided to walk aimlessly through the halls. I thought about what Austin had said. I would never expose them. They didn't do anything to harm me and as far as I was concerned, some of them were my friends.

I hadn't even realized that I stopped at a large window. I looked around. I didn't know where I was.

"Scarlet?" I heard a familiar vice call my name. I turned around and tried to smile though it came out like a wince.

"Hi Austin."

He studied me briefly then waved his arms around, "Why are you here?"

I laughed. "I don't even know where here is," I replied, and I wasn't talking about where I was standing in the castle. Austin seemed to notice the change in topic.

He nodded. I could tell he was holding back from making much conversation.

"What are you holding?" He asked me quietly. It came to my attention that I was still holding the destroyed roses in my arms.

"Oh, these?" I asked him mockingly. I could feel the anger boiling inside of me. "I thought I'd symbolize our relationship with a bouquet of detroyed roses. You know, roses that were ripped out of the ground and shredded. It reminds me of how I'm feeling at this very moment," I finished, indicating my heart and emotions that he's so carelessly thrown around.

Austin searched my face, probably looking for the joke behind my words. Hoping that what I said wasn't true. Too late, because it was true.

He looked beaten but still had a shred of hope left for us. Deciding that Charlotte deserved him and that I was only getting in their way, I grabbed his shirt and pulled him twoards me. "Watch my thoughts," I said to him, and closed my eyes. I showed him, although I don't know how, how I've been feeling lately. About Charlotte, about the marriage, about being here. His precense in my head was overwhelming.

When I was done, I let go of him and smoothed down my hair.

"I'm.. so.. sorry, Scarlet." He whispered.

His eyes were shining as he said it. "Me too, Austin," I said. I dropped the flowers at his feet and hurried past him. I didn't know where I was going, but I know that he didn't follow me.

**

I found myself outside of the castle on the road. I could see a castle in the distance. I had an idea:

1. I had to pack my bags.
2. I needed to find out where Dmitri lived.
3. I needed to find a way into his castle.

I rushed back to my room and began to pack.

****