Roses Always Have Thorns [Completed]

5. Farewell

That night was anything but restful for Rose. Thoughts would continuously fill her head, making her all doubtful and scared of what was to come. She was raised in the high class, and the high class was all she knew. How could she adapt to something she wasn't born to? She could almost hear ex-governess commenting on her choice. Be serious, Rosemary, Miss Black would say, how could you go -all on your own, even!- living among those people? Aren't you doing just fine here?

Besides that, she couldn't help but wonder, who was that man? Why didn't Miss Black tell her anything about having an uncle? Why didn't Miss Black try to contact him? Questions And doubt started to make its way into Rose's mind.

Rose only shook her head; she made her choice and she won't change it. The first sunrays started to appear, making Rose approximate that it must've been around four in the morning. Taking the fact that the servants wake up at six and the fact that she wasn't very fast or athletic, it all pointed that Rose couldn't wait any longer; two hours were the bare enough to get her to a distance from the Burgh mansion.

Rose rose from her bed and started to anxiously look around her room, not sure where to start. As she opened her wardrobe, her gaze stopped on something. It was a small, grey-blue purse that Mrs Black gave her last year, for her ninth birthday. It was, perhaps, the only thing that truly reminded her of her governess. She grabbed her purse and, luckily enough, although small, her hairbrush and her pocket mirror fitted in well, still leaving a little free space. Remembering what Mrs Black once told her, Rose opened her desk drawer and took the savings she had - five pounds, ten shillings, and about thirty pieces- and stuffed them into her bag.

She let her bag down on her desk chair and, as she looked for a second outside, Rose realised that the sky was filled generously, fluffy grey clouds coming West, that almost screamed We're here, getting ready to ruin your day! leading Rose into the decision that she should take a coat.

In a few minutes, Rose was ready. Unlike most people, Rose decided that, since she was going into the mid- and even low-class people's world, she didn't want to look any special, so she chose the simplest dress she had; a white dress that Miss Black would usually let her use on Saturdays and Sundays, when she'd play in the garden. For a moment's time, she even considered leaving her corset behind, but, in the end, she didn't. She was so used wearing her corset that it almost was a part of her.

Rose took her shoes on, grabbed her purse, and took a deep breath; the feeling of anxiety was crippling inside of her. She reached the door and grabbed the doorknob into a tight grip. Was she really ready for this? Her heart was pounding so hard she feared that it could be heard all across England. She took a deep breath once more and, accepting the odds of failing, she opened the door.

Nobody. For a moment, Rose bathed in the feeling of relief, but the thought that she didn't even begin yet brought her back to normal. She checked the hall once more before starting to rapidly walk down to the closest exit. As her bedroom was on the first floor, it meant that she had to struggle a little more than she would if she'd have if her bedroom would have been on the ground floor. Although that, she knew she had to be thankful for the fact that her room was close to the stairs, rather than on the other side of the corridor.

Rose tiptoed down the stairs and the ground floor until she reached the main door. She put her hand on the doorknob and, as she opened the door, something stopped her.

'What are you doing?' a rather authoritative voice asked.

Rose's heart skipped a beat. She felt her face going cold and her knees numb as her gaze slowly turned around. There sat Romeo in his pyjamas, with his usual authoritative and interrogative look on his face.

'What are you doing?' Rose retired, failing to fully hide the shock in her voice.

'I asked first, therefore you must, before questioning me, answer my question.' he cut her off.

Rose only stared at him. She couldn't tell him the truth, but the clock was ticking and it couldn't be that long until the house residents would wake up. Suddenly, a smile rose on Romeo's face.

'You're not planning to leave, are you?'

Rose said nothing. In return, Romeo only sighed.

'Well, I can't stop you.' he shrugged.

'You won't?' Rose said with a mixture of shock and suspicion, as the distance between her eyebrows closened.

'Well, even if I tried, it's not like you'd listen, right?' Romeo stated, simply. 'All I can do is let you be and hope that mother won't find out about my implication in this.'

Rose stared at him unsure for a second, but she didn't say anything more. She couldn't take her chances and wait for him to change his mind. She only nodded before opening the door and fleeing. It was only when she found herself at the main road that she allowed herself to stop. She took a last look at the Van Burgh mansion, before jerking her head away and taking the path on the right that let to a village in the valley.

A/N

Hey, guys!

How's it going? What do you guys do this summer? Went anywhere on vacation? My summer was quite busy. I've been on and off visiting some relatives and then went to my grandparents for a while.

Anyway. About my books, you might've noticed how slow this update was. Well, as I've said, I've been pretty busy, so I haven't got that much time to write as I normally would, but here it is! Tell me about this chapter; what did you like about it? What could I improve? Should I add something?

See you in the next chapter! :)

-Avery