Beauty And The Vampire: It All Started With A Rose #1

2

The time after Izabelle got her cloak passed in a blur. The winds were cold and the strange man had thrust her into an even colder and eerier carriage. Although the curtains of the carriage seemed to be the finest silk and the space inside enough to house more people and sleep, it was just too silent and freezing. The night made it hard for it to look outside and the loneliness made her lose the track of time. For all she knows, it could have only been a few minutes till they stopped but however long it was, it felt like hours. The occasional hooting of the owls in the distance and barking of the dogs did not help her feel comfortable at all. The only thing constant was the fading moon and the voice of the hooves slamming full force against the solid ground  as the carriage pushed forward without a stop.

"Miss Izabelle, welcome to the Willington Mansion." The strange man said coldly opening the door of the carriage when they finally reached a stop. There was nothing  remotely welcoming about the way he said it or the place around them. From the little she could see under the moon light, there was no one around and the house was just as in the dark as a night without the moon. Not a single light was lit and not a single voice could be heard. If Belle hadn't known from the stranger that this place housed whoever this Lord was and her father, she would have thought it abandoned for years. If the cobwebs that shined in the dim moonlight didn't give away the fact that the house was not kept well, she didn't know what would. The cold wind and the rustling of the leaves did not help her nerves either. In a distance she could have sworn she saw a huge animal move.

Stepping down the young girl followed the man inside the mansion. The door creaked open reminding her of the female protagonists from the horror books she so hated. The door always creaks.

Inside of the house, not much of a surprise, was equally dark. Having adjusted her eyes to this darkness, she could figure out a couple of placements but that was it. She couldn't imagine her father being held captive in one of the prison blocks around this mansion. But she could guess why someone would charge him for plucking a Rose. A Rose would be the only beauty around here. Especially if it was as rare as her escort had told her. Imprisoned for a rose, Izabelle scoffed internally. The world had come to not.

"Sir, where is your Lord? Would you call him for the talk? I can not think my father held captive for more than a second now. " Izabelle spoke trying not to let the fact show that this place was unnerving her to no ends. Had she not have had her father to think of, she would have sprinted out of the house. The place was downright scary. She wondered if she took a wrong step the floor would collapse or a spider would fell on her. She didn't even want to think but her imagination was going wild.

The strange man didn't reply and moved to some corridor leaving her alone a few steps from the front entrance of the mansion. Suddenly she felt like she had done wrong asking him to call upon his master. She was now left alone in the ill lit, creepy place. Normally darkness didn't scare her and neither did unilluminated places but the mansion sent strange chills down her spine as if the darkness housed evil. She could feel all the hair in her body were on the edge. There was a strange pressure in the house, maybe it was just her feeling a little claustrophobic and out of place but she felt hard to breathe. There was some force in the manor that wanted her out.

Barely audible footsteps broke her train of thoughts. She sensed a presence and her breath hitched in anticipation. What could the person want from her? Who was he? What was to happen? Would she make it out with her father unscathed?

 Isabelle made out two outlines of tall males as they came through the corridor the strange man that brought her here had gone through.

"Miss Izabelle, presenting His highness, Lord Willington. " The inhuman raspy voice called out and seemed to echo around the mansion. Aye, she was definitely scared now. Her heart raced at the sudden disturbance in the atmosphere she was mildly getting used to. Hurriedly, she bowed even though she guessed that he wouldn't be able to see her in such darkness like she couldn't see him.

"Lord Willington, if I may dare so, I would like to know why I have been asked to have a conference with you. " Isabella said not wasting any time. She could not wait to be out of the creepy, dark, execrable mansion where equally spine chilling men lived. The aura surrounding them had her heart jumping out of her chest. Only she controlled her heart with her deep breathing otherwise she was sure that the whole mansion could have heard her pounding heart.

"Direct to the point." The Lord said in a cross between a low husky voice that was definitely not like how some girls her age found it. It made her toe curl all right; but in a dreadful and fearful anticipation. There was nothing sexy or alluring about it.

"I wouldn't know how much Elber here told you Miss but your father did something unforgettable. The flower he plucked was only to be plucked and bloomed to give to a betrothed. In my case, the flower was to bloom till I found one. It's a tradition in my family Miss Edwards. It has been so since centuries, never once broken. At the age of twenty, we Willington men often plant the Rosa for hopes to give it to our beloved. The Rose is supposedly magical and can only be grown by someone once. It does not wither. Not until it's plucked. One bush only blooms one Rosa. So, imagine my anger when you father plucked the only Rosa I would ever be able to grow for a child's demand. I don't have a betrothed and for traditional purposes the person who plants the Rosa has to marry by the time it withers. It is supposed to bring good luck and long life. "

Izabella stood in shock. She has always had a love for roses and the tradition would have been extremely romantic if it were not for the fact that her father was being accused and kept a prisoner. It would have been extremely sweet and thrilling if it were not for the fact that everything around her seemed like things she would read about in one of her horror books. She did not like horror. She loved adventure and romance but never the horror.  

"Your point my Lord? I am not a child. I turn one and eight this summer and I never asked for a rose. I asked that if he were to come across one at the port, where if you did not know they are in quite an abundance, he may bring them as a gift for I wanted none. I am terribly sorry for whatever this mistake has cost you but the fact remains. It was a mistake. My family needs our father. He has been gone almost two weeks now and it has been taxing for everyone. The family needs an income and their father."

A silence followed her speech. The cold sent a shiver down her body and she wrapped her cloak tighter around her body. Good lord, there was not even a fire around here.

"My point Miss is that the Rosa was only to be plucked for the one who one is to marry. I would let your father go. I may even feel good and let him have some gifts as presents but you will have to stay here in the Willington mansion. "

Izabella stopped any body function she could control. She was frozen, rooted at her spot. Was he implying what she though he was implying?

"You mean. . Me, I, stay as-" Izabelle stammered but didn't need to for long. He clarified her doubts and with his tone, it seemed there was no arguing the fact.

"Yes Izabelle Edwards, I mean that because the Rosa was plucked for you, you are now my betrothed. You shall marry me the day the final rose petal falls."

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