The Raven and the Rose (Part 1)

Chapter Fifteen ~ The Rose

When I woke up I jumped upright on the bed, both startled and surprised to see two maids standing by the side of the bed with their hands clasped behind their backs. I pressed on the mattress beneath me with my sweaty palms, and swallowed hard, staring them both in the eyes. The maid on the left was a blonde while the one on the right was a brunette, and they both looked to be younger than I was. "Who are you?" I asked them, and was surprised when they grabbed me by the arms and pulled me to my feet. "What's going on? What are you doing?" I asked, and caught by reflex some clothes that the brunette tossed at me. I flipped the clothes over in my hands, and gawked open mouthed at her. "I can't wear this! These shorts are too short. This shirt is too small." I protested. The brunette narrowed her eyes and nodded her chin at the blonde maid, who held a hairbrush in her hand. I eyed her carefully, noticing how ready she looked with the object in her left hand while in her right she held handcuffs. "Are you serious?" I asked her, and she nodded in reply. I rolled my eyes, looking up to the ceiling and silently praying for someone to please get me out of here before these two girls kill me with totally girly stuff such as fixing my hair and clothes. And just when I was starting to think of throwing the clothes back at them, they started for me.

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"I look ridiculous. As always." I said, and twirled a strand of hair with my finger as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. The two maids had done a sort of good job with fixing me up. They literally forced me into the too short shorts and too small t-shirt, but it worked... I think. I looked a little bit like someone on the street who was selling something, and my hair was, well, alright. I pouted and slouched in my seat in front of the mirror, and when I saw the color of my eyes in my reflection, I screamed. The brunette shushed me by patting me on the shoulder while the blonde played with my hair. "Why are my eyes red?! Why are they red?!" I cried, and started to burst into tears. I look like a vampire now. Nevermind the fairness of my skin had faded to become pale as a sheet and the darkness of my hair didn't help the fact that now my eyes were a glowing blood red. What was a beautiful brown before was now replaced by red, the primary color of roses and the rose toxin. The brunette placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me in the reflection. "Don't worry, miss. You look perfect. I'm sure he won't even notice. Now come. He's waiting for you." she said, and headed for the door. I wiped away the tears that had fallen on my cheeks and frowned at her back as I turned around in my seat to look at her. "Who's waiting for me?" I asked her and sniffed as I watched the blonde maid hold the door open for the both of them as they started to leave the room. "Mr. Ravino, of course." she replied, and they both left the room, leaving me to stare dumbfoundedly at the closed door. Shaking my head, I glanced at myself in the mirror one last time. My eyes... I looked like a monster now. After letting out a heavy sigh, I got up from my seat and walked over to the door, where I placed my hand on the doorknob and looked around before opening the door and leaving the room, following after the two maids.

Once I was in the hallway, I closed the door behind me and was surprised to see Vince standing in front of me. He smiled down at me and held out his hand. "You look lovely." he said matter-of-factly. I narrowed my eyes at him then glanced down at his hand and eyed it cautiously. He let out a laugh and grabbed my arm instead as he led me down the hallway. "Come on, I won't hurt you. I just want to go for a walk with you. That's all." he said without having me to ask him. I continued to narrow my eyes at him as we walked down the long hallway, and once we reached the exit at the end of the hall, he opened the door for me and stepped aside, letting me go through the door first. "After you." he said, and smiled kindly. I narrowed my eyes even further and stepped outside. At first I was totally blinded by the amount of light that reached my eyes, and I nearly stumbled backwards until he stood behind me and kept me from falling by holding onto my arm. "Don't worry. I got you. It's only the sun; it won't hurt you." he whispered in my ear and tugged my arm to make me follow him down the driveway.