Previously on Avenging Angels.
Rosaline saves Regina from falling which makes Regina despise her for no reason. William seems to recognize Rosaline but he doesn't question her to which she is thankful for. As Rosaline stares at the roses trying to unravel the mystery behind its familiarity, she bumps into someone she long awaited for.
THREE
Avalor.
I had waited for this moment for ten years.
Yeah, it was a sickly long period but it was worth it.
I prepared for this moment numerous times but nothing compared to standing with her face to face.
She stood looking at me with narrowed eyes as she tried to figure out who I was.
Her devilish green eyes scrutinizing me as she looked at me, an indescribable look on her face.
I quickly masked my face and put on a smile.
"Your phone, ma'am" I handed her the phone and she took it from me.
"Watch where you are going," she said and walked past me.
"Wait!" she turned around, walked back to me, and raised my head with her bony finger to look up at her, her fingernails digging into my skin.
"What's your name, girl?" She asked as she studied me even closer.
"Rose," I said without a hint of hesitation and she raised her eyebrows.
"Rosaline Thorne" I gave her my full name, not once leaving her eyes because I knew that means fear.
And I was definitely not afraid of her.
"Really?" she stepped back, her face in deep thought before she walked down the hall.
I stared at her retreating figure, her slim silhouette displayed from the white body tight dress disappearing at the end of the hall.
I heard some noise coming from my ear and I realized that I forgot to turn off the earpiece.
"You met her" her once cheerful voice was gone and replaced with a more mature and serious tone.
"Yeah" I simply stated and turned the earpiece off.
I kept walking around the castle to get familiar with the cameras which will definitely come in handy later.
As I got to the kitchen, I bumped into another figure, this one much harder than the former.
What's the bumping today?
I looked up to see a smiling William.
"Sorry," he said but I just waved it off.
"I am William and you must be Rosaline" he brought his hand out to shake.
"Yeah" I took it but he dragged my hand towards him and crushed me against his chest softly, pulling me in for a hug.
"Welcome to my home" he hummed softly as his breath filled my ear.
I never felt welcome in this place nor do I think I ever will but somehow I found myself leaning into his arms and relaxing my body against his.
He pulled back, leaving me just at arm's length.
"Don't take it the wrong way. This is how I welcome the new family" he said after he saw my confused face.
"Family?" I raised my brow in question.
"Yes, family. What else do I call the ones that live under the same roof with me?" He smiled.
Well, someone likes to feel some boobs.
Unable to hold my laughter at my thought, I let out a slight chuckle.
"What's funny?" He stared at me, amused.
"Nothing" I shook my head.
"You don't mind me calling you Rose, right? I mean Rosaline is a bit too long. In times of emergency, it will be much quicker to just call ROSE than ROSALINE, don't you think?" He was about to say more before I cut him off.
"Sure" I smiled.
"You don't mind me calling you Will, do you?" I asked in return.
"Of course not," he smiled.
"Later," he said and left.
I went over what just occurred in my head and grimaced.
Weird!
I entered the kitchen and Sarah grabbed my hand and pushed me to a corner.
"Judging from the look on your face, I can see you have met William" she smiled slyly and removed a stray blonde lock from her eyes.
"Yeah" I deadpan.
"Well, he came into the kitchen and hugged every one of us. Calling us family and welcoming us to his home." She smiled.
"I have never felt so welcome" she jumped, her brown chocolate eyes filled with excitement.
"Good for you" I simply said and gently removed her grip from my wrist.
"Come and eat, Rose" Chloe called me over.
I quickly ran over to dig in.
I was starving.
*****
After we were done eating, we all were cleaning the huge living room.
As there was nobody at home but the maids, we got a little cozy and began conversing.
"I don't think I am going to last long here. I mean look at all those hot guys" Georgia giggled.
"I am sure you heard what Master said. No relationship with any of the Bladderworts" Francesca warned.
"I know, I was just joking," Georgia said but I knew she wasn't.
She is the typical girl that runs after multiple Ken at once.
I know one when I see one.
I have deduced every maid's character from just a single glance.
Francesca was the more mature one as she was the eldest in the group while her cousin, Sarah was the immature one, and her jokes suck but her cousin couldn't seem to tell her that.
Georgia was the s**t, I have seen her eying up all the men in this house, including the guards, the boys, and even Mr. Bladderwort while Chloe my roommate was just the calm, delicate ones, she rarely talks to anyone and when she wasn't working, she was reading novels.
"Girls" Violet, one of the other maids called and we gave her attention.
"Tonight at 10 pm we are going to be having a welcome party for you guys. It's a PJ party, I don't want to see any lingerie" she joked and we all laughed.
After we were done cleaning, we had free time so I went down to the garden.
I walked around the flowers and took in the heavenly scent.
These roses were clearly different from the ones inside the glass room.
Something passed through my mind.
"What do you girls want me to get when I return from my trip?" He asked, his red hair shining under the sunshine.
"I want another book, daddy," the eldest girl said, her blue eyes excited just from the thought of expanding her library.
"I want a rainbow dress with a matching bow," the second eldest said and twirled her flashy blue dress that matched her sea-blue eyes, her curly long red hair bouncing as she jumped.
"What about you, love?" He asked the youngest one in his arms.
"I want a rose. The last one you got wilted" she frowned, her innocent blue eyes sad from the loss of her favorite flower.
"Don't you want something else? You always ask for roses. How about a new doll?" he smiled and kissed her tiny nose which made her giggle.
"No, I just want a rose," she said in confirmation, her black hair, a contrast to her father's and sisters' red hair, flying gently from the autumn wind.
I opened my eyes when I felt a sting from the thorn of the roses.
I sucked the blood with my lips and quickly composed myself from the sudden memory flash.
I grabbed the glass cutter and began to trim the leaves of the flowers while humming a gentle lullaby.
The one he always sang for us.
*****
I turned the gas cooker off and poured the soup into the huge bowl which was on the counter.
"Thanks for helping" Mrs. Hatchman smiled at me after cleaning her hand in her apron.
She is one of the older maids that have served the Bladderwort for over a decade.
They were three older maids in this castle. Miss Helda, the old hag, Mrs. Hatchman, the motherly and kind one, and Mrs. Scott, the grumpy one.
They have served this castle for more than a decade earning them a dark blue uniform that was different from our black and white uniform.
"Anytime" I smiled politely and left for the dining room.
"Be quick, they would be here in any minute" I heard Miss Helda's voice rushing the maids from the hallway.
I entered the dining room and her sharp eyes landed on me.
"Young lady, where have you been when all your fellow maids were in duty?" she asked me harshly.
"I was in the kitchen checking the soup. Mrs. Hatchman had to quickly go to the bathroom and asked me to take over, Ma'am" I said and quickly went to the table to arrange the dishes with the girls before she could say something else.
"Set another dish, Janet would be coming over," she said and I smirked in response.
Finally.
We heard a car drive into the driveway.
"Rosaline, Violet, and Sarah come with me to take their coats and bags" Miss Helda rushed out of the dining room with us behind her.
We stood, shoulders straight and hands stiff as we waited for them to come through the door.
As soon as we hear the knob turn, we bowed our heads.
"Welcome," I lift one eye to see Miss Helda greeting Mr. and Mrs. Bladderwort.
Avalor glanced briefly at me before entering.
Then William and his fiancee entered behind them and I was quick to take his coat.
His fiancee stood next to him putting on a light blue office dress that matched her sparkling blue eyes under a black coat.
Her brown hair was tied in a tight bun and she wore black-rimmed glasses, giving out a strict professional look.
Her eyes wandered to me and she nodded sheepishly while I smirked.
"Welcome, sir" I greeted with a hint of smile on my lips.
"Thanks, Rose" he smiled in response.
I moved to collect his fiancee's coat.
"Welcome, Ma'am" I greeted with an exaggerated smile.
She simply nodded and handed her coat before entering the house with her arm looped around her fiance.
After we hanged their coat, we entered the dining room and stood with the other maids.
"William has a girlfriend?" Sarah whispered but I didn't miss the hint of sadness laced with her tone.
"FYI, fiancee," I chipped in.
I followed her eyes and spotted the aforementioned.
She cracked a somewhat forced smile at something Brad said.
I smirked.
You could do a lot better, Miss Janet.
After they were done with dinner, we quickly made tea and served it on the veranda.
I entered the veranda and served William.
"Janet, this is Rose, our new maid" he introduced causality but I knew it was more than that.
She glanced at me through her glasses and smiled.
"She's beautiful. I am Janet, William's fiancee" She brought her hand for a shake.
I took her hand eagerly and bowed my head.
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," I said and from the corner of my eyes, I could see Will staring at us intently.
Desperately trying to confirm something.
*****
After tea time, I was instructed by Miss Helda to change a blinking bulb in the hallway close to the maids' quarters.
I was the tallest but also the youngest of them all, so the work was a lot easier.
As I removed the old bulb, I cleaned my hand on my apron and took out the band that held my black, thick hair in a bun.
I sighed in relief as I felt the familiar long locks thread down my waist.
I wasn't used to putting my hair in buns for long hours.
Except for messy buns, though.
I put the new bulb and made sure it was secure and working perfectly twice before I dusted my hands in the air.
I felt the ladder shake which made me lose my footing and pushed me off the ladder.
I landed on the floor on my feet skillfully but I couldn't keep the balance of my right foot, causing me to fall backward.
Before I could hit the hard floor, a pair of arms caught me and I looked up to see a guy.
Not just an ordinary guy, he had blue eyes that were filled with amusement, his blonde hair messed up but that only enhances the beauty God blessed him with.
We stayed in that position for a couple of seconds, his arms around my waist with his pink lips smirking and my hands on his shoulders before he broke the silence.
"Well, an angel just fell from the sky" his deep, husky voice adorned with a British accent, echoed through the empty hall and I hated how I shivered from his voice.
That made me snapped out of my daze and I pushed myself out of his dangerously comforting arms.
"That line was like from the early 80's" I rolled my eyes and straightened my uniform.
"But it still gats you blushing like a tomato" he poked my cheeks.
"I don't blush" I slapped his hand from my cheek.
"Then what's that tinge of red in your cheeks? I bet your cheeks ain't rosy like that" he smirked believing he won but little did he know it took more than that to defeat a Thorne.
"Or maybe it's just your desperate imagination that gave you the illusion to make you believe you have succeeded in making me blush with that outdated line of yours" I smirked as I saw his smirk disappear.
"Nice one, angel" he narrowed his eyes as he studied me carefully.
I hate his eyes. It's too inquisitive.
"What's the name, pretty one?" He asked.
"And what makes you think I would tell you, blabbermouth?" I push past him to take the old bulb that lay on the table next to the ladder.
"Blabbermouth? You couldn't find a better nickname? come on!" I heard his annoyed but amused voice from behind.
"I should say it suits you perfectly because you seem to talk too much and I don't like it at all" I turned around and stared dead at him.
He took a step forward leaving a thin distance between us, keeping the eye contact intact.
"Too bad, I seem to like you" he whispered and I felt his sweet breath on my face.
"Too bad, the ones that liked me at first never seem that interested later on after I showed them my true colors" I turned around to avoid his disturbing eyes.
"You never back down, do you?" he asked, amusingly.
"You never shut up, do you?" I retorted and smirked.
I heard his chuckles from behind which made goosebumps crawl up my skin.
"Angel, you are something else" he whispered close to my ear, his lips extremely close.
When I turned around to retaliate, I was met with an empty hall.
I looked down at the end of the hallway, I saw a flash of blonde hair before it disappeared like it was never there in the first place.
I calmed my racing heart as I picked up the bulb and walked down the hall to the maid quarters.
He is a blue-eyed dork,
And I don't like him one bit.