Twisted Rose
Full Summary: ALL HUMAN. Set in the nineteenth century in England. Rosemarie Hathaway is part of a royal family ruling over a small region. She's posh, she's cossetted, and she's vain…but is it just a farce. Inside of her is a young girl just waiting to burst out and live her own life away from the politics and the routine of being royal. When a servant from Russian background works his way into her life, she begins to fight through the royal wall that has protected her for her whole life.
Chapter One
Yellow, purple and red filled my eyes as I surveyed the grounds of the manor that I lived in with my family and servants. The gardener had done a very good job in the gardens this morning. A light wind ruffled my hair and my dress as I stood at the head of the balcony that extended from my bedroom. My hands pressed against the old mahogany that was used as a railing, I leaned over further to look at the entrance to the home that I had grown up in. Men bustled around down there with crates full of food and drink that was to be used for the gathering tonight. Oh, why did my mother go all out for these occasions?
My eyes continued to survey the grounds when they fell on a young man with lustrous brown hair. He piqued my interest. I had never seen him here before and he looked so…foreign. My mother almost never hired new staff for this 'fine establishment.' She only ever really allowed family of the original bloodlines who were staffed here when the house was built in the sixteenth century. A lot of history was woven into the tapestries that hung on the wall, built into the stone, and lost in the floorboards. My mother would never hire a new man to work here…not without a good reason.
With less than a moment of hesitation, I swept from the balcony and back into my own bedroom with the intent of asking my mother what she was up to with this. She must have an ulterior motive with his placement here. My feet pattered off the creaky stairs as I hurried to where my mother would be in the drawing room.
"Rosemarie, don't run in the house" She scolded. "It's not ladylike" She peered out of the window to assure herself that no one saw my un-ladylike behaviour.
"My apologies" I said, giving her a curt nod that I had been brought up to apply whenever I had committed some wrong-doing. "Mother, may I ask why you have hired the foreign man to work for us?" She looked down for a brief moment as her eyes darted around the room. She obviously hadn't been prepared for my outburst.
"Well, I needed another pair of hands to set up for tonight" She answered as she finally brought her eyes up to meet mine again. "If all goes well, I may keep him on"
"Mother, you can no longer gull me" I reminded as I straightened my back to look like a proper lady. "I know all of your tricks. Why don't you set and tell me what this is really about."
"Alma was in the village earlier on in the week and she heard some of the workers talking about me" My mother began to explain. She didn't even need to say any more. I knew that she couldn't handle anyone tattling about her. "They believe I'm too set in my ways. I'm not moving with the times. It's utter rubbish, I assure you."
"Mother, you don't have to tell me" I chuckled. "I understand" She gave me a bright smile as she stood up from the wicker chair that sat in the corner of the room by the roaring fireplace.
"Where is young Vasilisa?" My mother asked as she peered, yet again, out of the window that was tarnished by filthy marks from the storm we got last night. "She promised me that she would be here to help me set up for tonight. I have some of your father's friends coming over as well. I want to make a good impression on everyone who comes."
"She will be here shortly" I assured. "Lissa knows when she is due."
"How many times have I told you that her name is Vasilisa?" She snapped. "Learn some basic manners, girl."
"Sorry, mother" I sighed, already tired of being told that I had no manners and I wasn't fit enough to take over after she had died.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry I'm so late" Lissa apologised as she hurried into the drawing room. "I hadn't intended to be. I got caught up in the gardens. I could admire those flowers for days."
"Vasilisa, it's not like you to be dilatory" She commented. "No matter, will you accompany me to the scullery? I need to dictate the cooking staff before we begin the real preparations." Oh yes, always the dictator, always breathing down people's necks…that was my mother.
"Of course, Lady Hathaway" She answered before she turned to me. "Rosemarie, I will be sure to see you at the event" I gave her a curt nod and a smile before they swept away from the drawing room. Well, what was I supposed to do now? This was what being royal was really like. It's like I just sit around this dastardly house and wait for my next order from my mother or whoever else thinks it's appropriate to tell me what to do every second of my pitiful life.
"Oh, I'm so sorry" A voice apologised, snapping me out of my thoughts. My neck snapped over to his direction to see the servant that had recently been brought here from some foreign place that I would only ever dream of seeing. "I didn't know anyone was in here" He carried a crate of what I could only assume was the finest wine my mother could import.
"So you think it's okay for you to be in here when there is no one else around?" I questioned with a stony look marring my face. "I know that you are new here, but that does not give you the excuse to go wandering in rooms that you have no place in."
"Lady Hathaway, I apologise profusely" He said, still clutching the crate close to his chest. "I promise it will no longer happen again. Please, let me introduce myself. I am Dimitri Belikov."
"I don't care who you are" I snapped. "All I care about is that you do your job and you do it well. Now get out of my sight and do some work…if you want paid for your day of work." His mouth dropped slightly at my words, but once he retrieved his composure, he scurried off.
As soon as the room was empty, I took a seat on the wicker chair that my mother had previously occupied. It seemed as though with every passing day, I grew more and more similar to that woman. I wanted with all my heart to be different from her. I wanted to be the nice one of this place. God knows that there aren't many nice royals.
An hour later, the party arrangements were really starting to take place now. Almost every single room in the manor was bustling and jostling with people. I managed to stay away from the Dimitri person by keeping myself busy with greeting guests. It hadn't been my idea. My mother said that it would be a good idea for the townspeople to meet her daughter…to see how her offspring turned out was what she really meant. If I did badly tonight, she would be furious with me…I would have ruined her reputation.
"Good evening, Miss Rinaldi" I beamed as the girl shrugged off her coat and placed it in my hands gently.
"Good evening, Miss Hathaway" She greeted back as she took a few steps into the house. "You all did a fine job with this place tonight."
"Thank you, Miss Rinaldi" I said, plastering a fake smile on my face as I took her coat into the cupboard. The heels that my mother had forced me into were almost breaking my feet and I was sure that they were making them bleed. I tried my hardest to hide the wince as I took another guests coat.
"Here let me do that" A voice suddenly cut in. Strong, masculine, tanned hands took the coat from my own and placed it into the cupboard with a grace that I could not manage. When I looked up to see who it was, I found myself growing increasingly annoyed. It was that Dimitri servant.
"Thank you for your help, but know that I do not need it anymore" I muttered. I was perfectly fine with him working here, but that did not mean that I wanted him messing around with my work. If my mother found out, she would hit the roof and Dimitri would end up without a job here. Even I wasn't that cruel as to wish that on someone. "And it is rude to snatch."
"I am sorry, Miss" He apologised. I could see the conflict flashing in his eyes. It didn't take a genius to work out that he was confused by the way I was acting. He had truly believed that he was doing an action that would put right his wrong doing from before. My anger and annoyance had made him puzzled. "I thought you would appreciate a break."
"I am fine, Mr Belikov" I snapped. "Shouldn't you be serving drinks or something like that? This shouldn't take much longer. Thank you for your help, anyway" I didn't see a problem in at least trying to be nice to him from now on. I had obviously hurt his feelings with what I said. Perhaps it was my tone. Perhaps I was growing more like my mother every day and I didn't even realise it. I sincerely hope that that wasn't the case.
Once most of the guests had arrived, my mother took me off door duty and assigned me a new job. I was now expected to mingle with all the groups…find out what people thought of the party and make myself out to be a proper royal young lady. Some of the things my mother said made me want to physically throw up. I couldn't understand why she cared so much about what others thought about her or why she wanted to be considered as one of the best people in the town, yet I still just went along with it and did what I was told because I was expected to.
"Did you hear about Miranda?" One group was discussing. "She's only gone and got herself pregnant. She not even married yet! If I was her mother, I would be throwing her out of the house right away. There is no way that a bastard would be born under my roof."
The conversations bored me. So many trivial things about people down in the village and wrong doings that they had apparently committed. I couldn't see the problem with having a child before you were married, however I knew that if I ever did that, I would be thrown out at the blink of an eye and stripped of my title. It was just the way things went in this town.
"What have they said about me?" My mother soon asked once I met up with her in the drawing room. "Everything's good, I hope."
"Oh yes, everyone is loving your party" I sighed. "Everyone just loves the fact that you've hired Dimitri. They all think he's very handsome."
"Ah yes, well he is a dashing young…" She began before she trailed off and looked at me in disgust. "Did you just call him Dimitri?" She asked. I closed my eyes in frustration with myself. How had I managed to slip up already? "Since when did you get on first name basis with a servant? Since when did you start calling a servant handsome? Has he tried something with you?" Oh, she was so paranoid.
"No! Of course he hasn't" I defended. "He would never do something like that!"
"Oh, and how would you know?" She questioned. "You have known him all but five minutes and you expect to know everything about him. I have had enough of your acting out. You get up those stairs and you go to bed before you create another episode and have people thinking you're a whore"
Her words stung. I hurried from the room with tears brimming in my eyes. I wouldn't let them fall when people were around. I wouldn't want to embarrass my mother even further. It was just my luck that Dimitri was standing at the stairs with drinks in his hands. His eyes fell on me and a look of concern flashed in his eyes. I simply let my hair fall over my eyes and rushed to my bedroom. Why did this always happen to me!?
Well, first chapter! What did you think? Please review and tell me, so I know to continue it or not XD