Rose' POV
"Rose, how was your night?" Catherine exclaimed, gushing with excitement as I threw the double doors leading into my room open. She gasped as she took in my shaken form.
"Oh, have you been crying?" She asked, concern coating her delicate facial features.
No. I shook my head. I didn't cry. I would never cry.
But here I was, crying. I, Rosalind Ravenswood, was crying.
"I never cry. Lady Rosalind Beatrice does not cry." I stated. Catherine giggled quietly.
"Dear Rosie, everyone cries."
"But not me!" I exclaimed, breaking down into more tears.
We continued our conversation, her questioning me as to what was wrong and me refusing to answer. She undressed me and I washed my face. The intricate hairstyle was undone and my nightgown put on. I crawled up to a chair by the fire and Catherine left at my insistence. She came back moments later with two hot chocolates in hand.
"I'm not going to tell you what's wrong, you know that." I said.
"Yes, of course I know that, you've told me already. I'm just here to support you because I can tell you are sad..." She hesitated before continuing her sentence. "...and that's just what friends do." I stood up at that moment and embraced her in a large hug. She regarded me as a friend? She smiled and sat down in the opposite armchair. We sat silently, sipping our hot chocolates. My body was in that armchair but my mind was elsewhere.
My thoughts were consumed with Theo. Or should I say Prince Adrian? I didn't know what was real anymore. He lied to me. This whole time he was the prince.
"How ironic." I thought to myself. I did just the same. Except I wasn't a prince, or a princess. I was a noble lady.
But the thing that destroyed me the most was how different Theo was. I thought I knew him. Sure, he was a tad arrogant and needed to get off his high horse, but he was kind, sweet, compassionate and caring. I thought back to our night spent in the secret passageways. How we laughed and danced. Tonight's dance was slightly different.
I pondered these thoughts for a while longer. Wondering how Theo could be so nice when he was then the Stableboy, yet so mean when he was Prince Adrian. And all the stories I'd heard about the prince, I know now that they were real. He was an arrogant monster. A spoilt prince. I was wrong about Theo.
After hours of thought, I decided something. Theo was dead to me. As far as I was concerned, he didn't exist. I wasn't friends with spoilt, nasty, little brats. I would simply ignore him for the rest of the season, and then leave this damned castle and return home to my revoltingly nasty governess and absent father. I sighed, my thoughts making me grow tiresome.
And then, I fell asleep.
Theo's POV
How could I? How could I make Rose upset? How could I have done that? Stupid Theo. stupid Theo. and she was a noble? She wasn't a maid? What? I did not understand. I could not possibly come to admit that we could have both been lying to each other about the same thing. I was so distraught at her leaving. And she hasn't left. That could have been perfect. Everything could have been perfect.
But it's not. I messed up. I shouted at her. I called her pathetic. I cared for her. And she probably hates me now. No, she definitely hates me. I'm such a screw-up. I can't believe myself.
I needed to make it up to her. I wanted to win her heart over again. But then again, why should I? She insulted me. She said crude things about me, not knowing I was he prince. She was arrogant and spoilt and stupid and ugh.
I hated her.
That was a lie.
But shouldn't she be the one to come crawling to me, her voice filled with apology? Shouldn't she be feeling sorry?
I realised suddenly that I was turning this onto her. I really liked Rose and I treated her poorly. I almost made her cry, she probably was crying now. That's what women do, isn't it? Such confusing specimen. So overrun by emotion. Unlike men. We were tough and strong.
I then sat down, I sighed and pondered the idea that I made Rose upset. I felt a tear stream down my face. I had upset Rose, and I would do anything in my power to win her heart over again.
I wanted her to be mine.
Obviously just as a friend, of course. Lies. I'm lying to myself. I have to stop lying to myself.
But as for now, I need her as my friend again.
It was these thoughts that consumed my mind as I drifted into a temporary slumber.
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Rose' POV
I woke up surrounded by the warmth and comfort of my bed sheets, blankets and pillows.
"How did I get here?" I thought to myself. I looked over to my bedside table and saw a note. I opened it.
"Next time go easier on the pastries, you're getting too heavy to pick up. xx James."
I laughed at the note the so called "charming" footman left and jumped out of the bed and over to the service door... he was so going to get it. I ran down the staircase, following the winding corridors until I reached the kitchens. I walked down to where I saw Ilene working hard away at her bench, as per usual. I also saw James standing behind Ilene, leaning over and trying to steal some of the food. She slapped his hand away and he tried again. She instantly spun around and whacked him with a wooden spoon.
She saw me from the corner of her eye but I held a finger to my lips to signal for her to keep quiet and pretend I wasn't there. I picked up two eggs from the basket on the table and snuck up behind James, holding the raw eggs overtop his head, before smashing them down. The raw goo oozed over his hair as he spun around in horror.
"Go easier on the pastries? I'll show you pastries!" I screamed, the room filled with my uncontrollable giggles as I ran away from a now livid James. He sprinted after me, grabbing hold of my waist as I shrieked with horror mixed with amusement. It was then that I felt a bag of flour being poured all over me.
"You two stop this instant!" Ilene screamed, her words angry but her eyes filled with laughter and joy. "I have a kitchen to upkeep an' breakfasts to make an' 'ere you's are making a right ol' mess." She lectured.
"I'm sorry madam, I promise I will clean it up immediately and pay for the wasted ingredients." I replied demurely, bobbing her a curtesy before shooting around and poking my tongue out at James. Ilene just laughed and told me to not worry about it, as she thoroughly enjoyed seeing James coated in raw egg.
"As for you, young man. You best be cleanin' this all up!" Ilene chided at James, whacking James with her wooden spoon between each word. He opened his mouth wide in protest.
"But what about her! She made just as much mess as I did... And she started it!" He whined and I giggled, pitching into the conversation.
"Ilene, may I ask if I could have my breakfast now please, to save a maid from bringing it up?" I asked politely.
"Of course you can, sweety." The old lady smiled and I smiled maliciously at James, throwing him a wink and picking up the tray of freshly prepared food.
"That'll teach you for teasing my pastry intake!" I called as I walked out the door.
Nobody gets between me and my pastries.
I walked up the stairs and into the hallway, my hair coated in flour and my face coated with a smile. The voice I heard when I opened the service door and entered the hallway wiped the smile right off my face.
"What on Earth are you doing?" The voice called out. I turned around slowly, an unamused expression on my face.
"May I help you, Theo? Or should I perhaps say prince Adrian?" I asked, my voice clearly laced with malice.
"Rose?" He asked, confused. "Why on earth are you covered in flour?"
"Mishaps in the kitchen, Prince Adrian." I replied coldly.
"Please, call me Theo, you may call me Theo. But you do realise maids can bring the food to your room for you? And if they haven't been, I can have that arranged immediately." He hurriedly spoke as he snapped his fingers at the footman standing by.
The footman immediately walked over.
"I know that, Prince Adrian." I replied, my feet shuffling awkwardly as I did not wish to speak to this cruel, spoilt, devilishly handsome man. He waved his hand again and the footman hurried back to where he previously was situated.
"You may call me Theo as I have stated before, all my friends call me Theo, it's my middle name but I prefer it over Adrian."
"You are no friend of mine." This was followed by silence.
"So what were you doing?" Theo asked eventually.
"I was down in the kitchens, visiting James."
Theo suddenly got extremely angered, his face turning red.
"Who in the world is this James person? Are you in love with him? Are you having an affair? Why is he talking to you? What?" He questioned, seemingly outraged.
"He's just my friend. He's the one who told me about the secret passageway." I replied, slipping back into casual, friendly conversation with the prince, as I remembered the night of exploration. "He left me a note telling me that I was eating too much pastries and getting fat, so I came down to pelt him with eggs. He retaliated by throwing a bag of flour onto me, and that explains this." I said, pointing to my hair and laughing.
"How dare he? Throwing flour at you, calling you fat? Who is this man? I will have him in the dungeons immediately." He stated protectively.
It was so cute when he became protective of me.
"No, don't think that. He. Is. Not. Cute." I chanted to myself.
"It's fine, he's a friend of mine, he's like a brother. An annoying brother, but a brother nonetheless."I explained. Theo laughed and I immediately remembered that I was meant to hate him because of his crude words last night. I glared at him.
"I must be leaving, your highness." I mocked, bowing into a deep curtesy. "I don't want to talk to you and I shall not forgive you, even if you could be bothered to apologise." I stated, arrogance streaming through my voice.
Before he had the chance to reply, I stormed off.