7. Rosalie
Chapter 7
Rosalie
R osalie walked as quickly as she could toward the castle. She didn’t want to admit it to Dimitri, but the events of the day were catching up with her. Her legs trembled from a combination of exhaustion and weakness after the stress of her capture.
She couldn’t slow down, though. Daphne—who hated running—had apparently sprinted all the way to the castle to get help for Rosalie. And she was currently sitting alone, probably terrified for Rosalie—not to mention shaken from her own attempted abduction. With the Legacy running amok at the castle, Rosalie couldn’t just abandon her friend. For the sake of Daphne, Rosalie could manage to get in and out of the castle once without touching a rose.
Dimitri wisely remained silent for the short walk, and the distance passed quickly. But at the edge of the manor grounds, Rosalie stopped. Despite the recent dramatic events, it had only been a short time since she had last stood in the same spot. And yet the garden had already changed. Before, the beautiful, glowing roses had all been a rich scarlet. Now the deep red was interspersed with gold. Not yellow or a light peach, but actual gold.
Rosalie gulped. She had seen every possible natural hue of rose, but she had never seen golden roses before. What had prompted the fresh burst of power from the Legacy?
Dimitri stopped beside her. “Are you really that worried about the roses? You don’t seem the type to be entranced.”
Rosalie glared up at him. “And you are? You nearly picked one the first day yourself, remember! And you’re the last person the Legacy wants to target. So just think how strong it’s going to be for me!” The last words were almost a wail.
Dimitri moved suddenly, sweeping Rosalie into his arms and cradling her against his chest. Rosalie gasped in shock, instinctively throwing her arms around his neck to anchor herself in place.
He grinned down at her. “If you’re so worried, I’ll help you. I’ll carry you into the manor, and you won’t have to set foot in the grounds. I’ll be sure to keep a tight hold and not let you lunge for any of the roses we pass.”
He was laughing at her, but there was kindness behind the expression. She stared up into his eyes—now disconcertingly close. Her heart rate picked up despite her lack of motion, her gaze locked with his. At this distance she could see even more differences between Jace’s eyes and his. Dimitri’s were not only a lighter hazel but contained flecks of gold that amplified the warmth radiating from them.
Her heart picked up further. He was holding her as if she weighed nothing, his grip firm and light. If he bent his head just a little…
She wrenched her eyes away, turning her head slightly to break the moment between them. Her traitorous heart needed to go back to its usual rhythm. She had fallen for a pretty face once before, and she wasn’t going to do it again.
Dimitri stepped off the road, carrying her up the long drive.
Rosalie’s eyes immediately latched onto one of the new golden roses. Seeing it from closer range, it looked as if it were truly made of gold, the last of the sun’s rays bouncing off it and making it shine.
What price would such a perfect golden rose fetch? Glandorians were used to roses, but not ones like these. If she took just one, she could cure her family’s financial woes. They might even be able to move back into town again. All she needed to do was wriggle down and pick one. Just one. It would be?—
She gasped and shut her eyes tight, turning her face into Dimitri’s chest as if he could shield her from the Legacy. His muscles jumped, his arms tightening momentarily, but mercifully he said nothing. As humiliating as it was, she apparently did need him to carry her.
After what felt like several endless minutes, she cracked her eyes open and risked peeking toward the castle. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw they were nearly there.
“Aren’t you getting tired?” she asked, breaking the silence between them. She flushed slightly. “I’m not exactly light.”
He laughed. “You’re extremely light to me.”
She gave him a disapproving look. “I’m not interested in empty flattery.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he reassured her, although the amusement was back in his eyes. “But I didn’t mean it as a comment on your size. Carrying you really is easy, but I think that’s because of the Legacy—or at least the effects of it.”
“Why would the Legacy make me lighter?” Rosalie asked doubtfully.
“I don’t think it made you lighter; I think it made me stronger. Remember how I said that the Legacy weighed me down while I was growing up in the mountains? I’ve been waiting for the sense of lightness to wear off as I adjust to life here, but I’m not sure it’s going to. I didn’t just carry that weight for a year or two—it was for all my growing years. I think my muscles—maybe even my lungs—grew stronger because of it.”
Rosalie’s eyes widened as he carried her up the front steps of the manor and used his shoulder to push the unlatched door wide. What he was saying actually made sense, and it made her feel a little better about using him like a beast of burden.
He put her gently down on her feet, and she pretended she didn’t feel cold and a little bereft when he stepped away from her, taking his strength and warmth with him. She looked briskly around the large entryway, turning her focus back where it belonged.
“Where’s Daphne? Shouldn’t she have heard us arrive? How far into the castle did you send her?”
Dimitri frowned. “Only into the sitting room. It’s that door there.” He pointed at a door on their left.
Fresh fear gripped Rosalie. Had something happened to her friend, alone in this enchanted castle?
She hurried toward the indicated door, bursting through into the room beyond. It was a long room, lined with windows on one side and a large fireplace on the other. A banked fire smoldered in the middle of the grate, giving the room a warmth that the entryway had lacked.
Along with the fire, the sitting room contained a range of furniture, including at least two writing desks, several clusters of chairs, and a number of small tables. One of the sofas and several armchairs had been pulled into a close semi-circle in front of the fireplace, creating a cozier circle in the large room. Rosalie’s eyes jumped straight to that space, but there was no sign of Daphne.
Rushing closer, Rosalie rounded the end of the sofa to find her friend laid out on its length. Dimitri gasped from behind her as Rosalie dropped to her knees beside Daphne.
“Is she all right?” Dimitri asked. “Is she under some kind of enchantment? I didn’t think leaving her here would?—”
“Relax.” Rosalie rocked back on her heels. “She’s just asleep.”
“A…sleep?” Dimitri looked so astonished, Rosalie couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
“Even…Even for Daphne this is a bit much,” she got out between giggles. Her eyes were watering with a combination of mirth and the release of tension, and she struggled to suppress the laughter.
Daphne responded to the noise, yawning and opening her eyes. As soon as she saw Rosalie kneeling beside her, she sat bolt upright.
“You’re back!” she cried. “Are you all right?” She leaned to the side, running her eyes over Rosalie from all angles, clearly looking for injuries.
“I was abducted, and you were napping !” Rosalie tried to glare at her friend, but she hadn’t mastered the giggles that kept slipping out.
Daphne stretched, sitting upright again. “I paced for a good twenty minutes, you know!” She sounded indignant. “But then I realized that tiring myself out wasn’t doing you any good, so I thought I’d sit down.” She cast an affectionate look at the sofa. “It was very comfortable.”
“Considering you can fall asleep on a fence post, I’m not in the least surprised you were unable to resist a sofa.” Rosalie stood, holding out a hand to pull her friend up as well.
She didn’t really feel any resentment toward Daphne for falling asleep. She was just relieved nothing untoward had happened to her.
“But are you really all right?” Daphne asked once she was standing. “Dimitri was able to rescue you?”
Rosalie’s happy mood instantly vanished. “As to that…I’ll explain everything to you on the way home. We need to get away from here.”
Daphne looked disappointed. “I was hoping the castle would produce something delicious to eat.” She looked toward the nearest table hopefully. “It didn’t happen for me on my own, but now that Dimitri is back…”
“Sorry,” he said apologetically. “Nothing like that has happened for me either.”
“So far,” Rosalie said ominously. “But we’ll be extremely fortunate if it remains that way.”
Daphne frowned at her. “What do you mean?”
“Come on.” Rosalie tugged on her arm. “Let’s talk about it on the road. And don’t think I’ve forgotten those moves you pulled on your attackers, either. Where did you learn those?”
“Oh that?” Daphne allowed herself to be reluctantly led out of the room and toward the castle’s main door. “Our old neighbor in Oakden said I would be an outsider in Glandore and I would need to defend myself. So he taught me how.”
“And you’ve been practicing all these years? You!?” Rosalie reached the front door and turned back to stare at her. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“Who knows what you would have wanted me to do?” Daphne yawned.
“I can guess,” Dimitri said from behind them. “She would have wanted you to teach her, and then she would have tried to turn the two of you into a town defense patrol or something.”
“Oh, I see you already know Rosalie well,” Daphne said placidly. “Even the idea of having to say no was exhausting, let alone the prospect of actually teaching her.” She shuddered.
“Succeeding at saying no would have been impressive on its own,” Dimitri said on a chuckle.
“Exactly.” Daphne smiled at him while Rosalie narrowed her eyes.
Dimitri stepped toward her undaunted, however, arms extended. “Are you ready to go back to the road?”
Rosalie stepped backward. As much as she’d disliked needing his help, she’d been grateful for it on the way into the castle. But now she had Daphne, and she wasn’t sure she could handle being held by Dimitri for a second time. Not so soon. She was already having enough trouble with her pesky emotions getting the wrong idea.
“That’s all right,” she said quickly. “Daphne will keep me in check, won’t you, Daph?”
“Uh oh.” Daphne’s eyebrows rose. “That sounds alarming.”
“I just need you to make sure I don’t pick any roses on the way back up the drive.”
Daphne’s expression cleared. “Oh, that’s all right then.” She slipped her arm through Rosalie’s and clamped down tight. “I won’t let you go anywhere.”
Dimitri gave them a skeptical look, disappointment lurking underneath. Rosalie’s heart gave an odd lurch at seeing his reaction, only confirming she had made the right choice. Her heart was absolutely not allowed to jump at the idea that Dimitri had enjoyed holding her close.
“Don’t worry,” she told him. “You didn’t see what Daphne did to those men. She’ll probably put me in a headlock if I try to escape.”
Daphne laughed. “You’ve given me permission now. That means you can’t be mad if I actually do it.”
“If I try to make a break for the roses, you can do anything you need.” Rosalie gave her friend a narrow look. “But only in that one case.” Daphne was looking a bit too smug. She was still a better option than being carried by Dimitri, though.
The girls walked down the stairs in lockstep and had made it several yards up the drive before Rosalie looked suspiciously behind her. Dimitri was following them.
She pulled Daphne to a stop. “What are you doing?” she asked him over her shoulder, unwilling to turn around.
“I’m making sure you don’t get abducted again on your way home,” he said calmly.
“You’re going to follow us all the way home?” Rosalie wanted to protest, but she couldn’t stop her eyes dropping to the sword strapped to his waist.
“Yes, I am,” he said gently, noting the direction of her gaze.
She flushed and looked forward again. She wanted to spurn his offer, but she was more shaken by her abduction than she cared to admit.
After a moment’s hesitation, she stayed silent, pulling Daphne into motion.
“Thank you!” Daphne called back to Dimitri, apparently having no qualms about accepting his help. Which of course, she didn’t. She was the one who had gone to him for help in the first place.
“What were you thinking running here?” Rosalie whispered, trying to keep her voice low enough that Dimitri wouldn’t overhear. “You should have gone to Thebarton!”
“It was further away,” Daphne said matter-of-factly. “And I had a feeling Dimitri would be able to handle it.”
“Well, he didn’t,” Rosalie snapped, struggling to keep her voice lowered. “He made everything worse.”
“Worse?” Daphne looked pointedly at Rosalie. “You’re here, aren’t you?”
Rosalie groaned. “It was Jace.”
“Jace!?!” Daphne shrieked the name, and Rosalie looked hurriedly over her shoulder.
“Keep your voice down!”
“Jace!?!” Daphne repeated in a shocked whisper.
“Yes.” Rosalie sighed and related the whole situation to Daphne, who was a suitably awe-filled audience.
“He really did that? And said that? Eww?” Daphne scrunched up her nose.
Rosalie nodded her hearty agreement, suddenly realizing they had reached the road without her even noticing. Relating the shocking story to Daphne had worked as an effective barrier to the Legacy’s pull. She hadn’t even noticed the roses.
She just appreciated that her friend wasn’t saying “I told you so” at this fresh revelation of Jace’s true nature. But Daphne had never said that, even though she had been the only one to doubt Jace from the beginning. Before Jace’s betrayal, Rosalie had brushed her friend’s dislike aside. Daphne had never warmed to anyone particularly, other than Rosalie, as if making friends was another thing she didn’t have the energy for.
Daphne made an exception of friendship only for Rosalie which she claimed was because spurning Rosalie would have cost the same unwelcome level of effort as befriending anyone else. But Rosalie should have recognized there was more to Daphne’s dislike of Jace. There was a difference between indifference and mistrust.
She had freely apologized to her friend after Jace’s betrayal, and even then, Daphne had never said anything like “I told you so.” And now she was being just as supportive in the wake of Jace’s new perfidy as she had been after the initial disaster.
Daphne also immediately grasped the implications of Jace letting them go. Her previous approval of Dimitri seemed to dim, and she cast an uncertain look back at him, as if she was no longer sure about him trailing them home.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have run to him,” she murmured. “But I did, and he was genuinely worried for you. He went straight after you, and his arrival did lead to Jace letting you go. Maybe we should let him walk with us? I feel bad leaving him back there.”
“Better he feels bad than the Legacy turns him into a Beast,” Rosalie said firmly. She bit her lip. “I would have told him to stay behind but…”
“Yes, I agree.” Daphne shivered, not needing Rosalie to put her reason into words. She peeped back at him again. “Even so…” She hesitated. “Don’t you think you’re being too harsh on him?”
“Don’t you think you’re being too easy on him?” Rosalie asked back. “You’re just assuming he rushed off to help me out of pure motives. But just look at his face. Men who look like Dimitri—especially ones with royal blood and their own castle—love to fill the role of noble hero. He was acting in service of his own ego, not me. Just wait until we find him at the inn regaling everyone with the story of his heroic rescue. Then you’ll see.”
“Maybe.” Daphne drew the word out. “I still think you might be judging him harshly because he looks like Jace.”
“Jace pretended to love me so he could embezzle my father’s money—knowing full well that the Legacy would aid him in the task but that doing so would trigger it to ruin us completely. Even our house burned down!” Rosalie’s voice rose at the end of her declaration, and she forced it back down. “I thought we were rid of him, at least, but here he is, back again and trying to trap me with the Legacy for a second time! I have good reason to be wary of anyone even remotely like him. I’m not saying Dimitri is working with Jace, I’m sure he’s not. I’m not even saying Dimitri is the same as Jace. I’m just saying I have no room in my life for arrogant young men who are too focused on their own lives and apparent suffering to care about how much they’re hurting the people around them.”
Daphne sighed, but she didn’t try to argue further, which was a relief to Rosalie. The afternoon had already dragged on far too long. She was exhausted, and if she didn’t get home soon, her mother and brothers would have awkward questions.
As it was, it was getting dark by the time they arrived at her family’s cottage, and all three of her brothers were in the small front yard.
“There you are!” Vernon exclaimed. He might be the middle brother, but he was usually the ringleader. “We were about to go looking for you.”
“Here I am.” Rosalie mustered as much cheerfulness as she was able. “And Daphne too. She’s staying the night again.”
All three boys exclaimed in approval, and this time Daphne didn’t protest. Her parents were still out of town, so her other option was to spend the night in an empty house.
“But who are you?” Oscar asked, his gaze fixing on Dimitri who was lingering back, away from the gate. Oscar, as the youngest, rarely put himself forward. But he tended to notice things others didn’t.
Rosalie bit back a groan. Didn’t Dimitri have the courtesy to turn back as soon as they came in sight of her home?
“See!” she hissed at Daphne. “He’s still lingering here to make sure he gets praised for saving me. But I have no intention of telling my brothers about that particular adventure!”
“Or maybe he just wants to see us safely inside,” Daphne whispered back. “It’s not like he knows what your brothers look like. They could have been Jace’s men lurking in wait for you.”
“Don’t even say such a thing!” Rosalie whispered back furiously. “My brothers will never have anything to do with Jace again. And I know they all shot up last summer, but no one looking at them could think they were full-grown men!”
“I’m just saying, he might have had innocent motives,” Daphne said, unruffled as always by her friend’s fiery pronouncements.
Dimitri glanced uncertainly at Rosalie, reminding her that she had an audience. Her brothers already looked too curious at her whispered exchange with Daphne. She sighed.
“This is Dimitri,” she said, resigned to the inevitable. “He was just escorting us home as there’s been trouble on the roads recently.” She added the last bit on the spur of the moment, hoping to give them a hint to be careful.
None of the boys appeared to notice the warning, however, latching onto the beginning of her words instead.
“Dimitri!” Vernon exclaimed. “You mean the new prince who’s taken up residence at the manor? We heard about you in town! I’m Vernon.” He pointed at the boy on his right. “That’s Ralph.” He pointed at the one on his left. “And that’s Oscar.” He directed a wounded look at his sister. “Why didn’t you tell us you’d met him, Rosalie?”
“You weren’t coming from the direction of Thebarton, though,” Oscar said before she could answer. “Have you already been up to tour the manor? Will you take us through it, Dimitri? We’ve tried sneaking inside in the past—just to have a look—but we couldn’t get any of the doors or windows open.”
“You what?!” Rosalie cried, horrified. “Hasn’t this family had enough trouble already? I absolutely forbid you to go anywhere near the castle again.” She swung around to face Dimitri who now lingered right by the gate. “Dimitri! Don’t you dare let them onto the manor grounds, let alone into the castle!”
Dimitri gave the boys an apologetic look. “Sorry. You heard your sister. I can’t help on that one, I’m afraid.”
“Of course you’d take her side,” Vernon muttered resentfully while Oscar looked curiously back and forth between Dimitri and Rosalie.
“Personally, I think she’s right,” Ralph said suddenly. “If there’s a prince in that castle, none of our family should be anywhere near it.” He directed a stern look at Rosalie. “And that includes you.”
“I’ve been doing my best, believe me,” Rosalie muttered, making Dimitri laugh under his breath.
“Do we have to keep standing out here?” Daphne asked plaintively, and all three boys instantly forgot about Dimitri.
But when Vernon had ushered her inside, Ralph close behind, Oscar paused to give a final look at Dimitri.
“Is it true the manor has already been transformed?” he asked. “Just because you arrived?”
Dimitri gave Rosalie an uncomfortable look. “I’m not entirely sure of the reason. But it’s certainly improved since I got there. And the grounds have completely changed.”
“They’re…beautiful,” Rosalie said quietly to her brother. “Far, far too beautiful. Don’t let Vernon goad you into going anywhere near there. It’s dangerous.”
Oscar nodded seriously, seeming to understand the danger better than Vernon, if not as well as Ralph. Rosalie gave a sigh of relief. If Ralph and Oscar were united, they would manage to rein Vernon in.
Oscar still hesitated, however, his face slipping into a smirk as he looked between Rosalie and Dimitri. “It was interesting to meet you,” he said. “I’ll go inside now so you can bid each other farewell in private. Just the two of you, the garden, and three pairs of watchful brotherly eyes. Complete solitude in other words.”
Dimitri laughed until he saw the faces of the other two boys pressed against the cottage’s front window, watching them with grins on their faces and mischief in their eyes. His chuckle died, his expression changing to one of mild unease.
“Watch all you want,” Rosalie said haughtily to Oscar. “If you can keep your eyes off Daphne long enough, that is.”
“Touché, dear sister,” he said with a mocking salute. “I am struck dead.”
With a laughing glance at Dimitri, he finally strolled inside after the other boys, leaving Rosalie seething in his wake. She wanted to storm after him and hammer some sense into his brain. She had no interest in being alone with Dimitri, and if Oscar had any sense, he wouldn’t be encouraging the man.
But common courtesy stopped her from abandoning Dimitri to rush after her brothers. Regardless of his motivations, he had come to her rescue and provided shelter for Daphne. He had even walked them both home.
“Thank you,” she said reluctantly. “For rescuing me. I’m sure you didn’t realize the harm you were doing in coming after me.” She acquitted him of ill intent in that regard, at least.
“You’re welcome.” Dimitri gave such a low bow that Rosalie flushed. Was he mocking her? She supposed it had been a halfhearted apology at best.
She tried again. “I appreciate you walking us home. I’m not usually so weak-hearted, but after…” She trailed off. “Anyway, I really did appreciate it. Daphne did as well.”
For this one service at least, she could thank him with good grace—even if he had lingered around for praise and acknowledgment at the end. At least he’d had the sense not to bring the abduction up to her brothers when she didn’t mention it.
“I’m happy to provide that service any time you need,” he said.
She raised both hands in alarm. “No, no! It would be better if we never saw each other again. Good night, and I hope you have a successful life.”
She rushed inside and closed the door firmly behind her.