Part Two: A Tea Party and A Fit of Anger

After some time, we head back to our house. I am determined to tell Father about this awful girl.

"Isabella! Is that you and Freddie, my dear?" Magnus's voice says as I open the back door.

"Yes, Papa." To prevent gossip and more talk of scandal in town, Magnus told the community that I was his adopted daughter from Ireland and Ragnor & Catarina were my uncle and aunt. To further convince the community, I was to address Ragnor and Catarina as 'Aunt' and 'Uncle'. I was supposed to call Magnus 'Father' or 'Papa'.

"Go see Mary. We have guests." I hug Freddie once more and I hurry off to my room.

"Bella! You're all wet!" Miss Mary scolds and I laugh.

"Freddie and I were playing pirates again."

"Come, let's get you in the bath before the water cools too much." As I washing, I tell Miss Mary all about the evil Evangeline Goldstein and she looks visibly upset.

"Freddie is okay now but can we do a sleepover in the library to make him feel better?"

"Yes, of course love. I will speak to your father. Now come on, you need to get dressed." Twenty minutes later, I was dressed in a lovely dark purple tea dress that had small white ruffles at the bottom with white stockings. My hair was tied back with a dark purple bow and arranged in soft curls that fell down my back.

"Do I look okay, Miss Mary?"

"You look beautiful, darling. Now let us go to the drawing room. We've kept the guests waiting long enough."

"My darling Isabella!" Magnus says as he takes my hands and put them in his. "You look like a dream. I want you to meet the Goldsteins." At the name, my face reddened in anger and I narrowed my eyes. Yet I said not a word. I would not embarrass Magnus. I turn and I see them. Mr. Goldstein, a handsome man in his early thirties and his beautiful wife, Mrs. Goldstein. Sitting between them is the very girl who hurt my dear Freddie's feelings. I sit delicately on a sofa opposite of the Goldsteins and I glare avidly at Eva. She flinches under my glare and then she smiles.

"Isabella this is Evangeline Goldstein, the daughter of Anthony and Melanie Goldstein."

"We've met." I say in a cold voice but Evangeline takes no notice.

"Please, call me Eva. All of my friends do."

"I'm not your friend." I could feel the gazes of Catarina, Magnus, and Ragnor burning into the sides of my face but I could care less.

"Maybe we can be friends one day. Me, you, and that boy you were playing with earlier." She says and I try not to lunge at her.

I manage to keep my face blank and I say nothing.

"Bella is quite shy around others." Magnus says, "She has not made many friends since coming from boarding school in Ireland."

"That's perfectly understandable." Mrs. Goldstein says. "I'm glad we were the first to introduce ourselves."

"My deepest regards but I do not want to be friends with you. I would rather die. " I say, looking at Eva coldly and that is the very last thing I say. I just sit prettily in my tea dress, my hands delicately placed in my lap like a proper young lady. After some time, they leave. Then it's just me and three angry warlocks in the drawing room.

"Isabella how dare you be so rude to our guests?" Magnus says finally. "Eva Goldstein is a wonderful-"

"No she isn't and I refuse to eat out the palm of her hand like the rest of you. She is a horrible, self entitled little wagon who thinks it's okay to treat people like dirt!" I snarl.

"How dare you?" Catarina says disappointedly, her eyes widened with shock. "How dare you insult that sweet girl? You were not brought up to act this way! Why can't you be more like her?"

"Hell no!" I swore angrily, "I'll be like her when Hell freezes over and all the demons be allowed back into Heaven's Gates!" I look at Ragnor and back to Magnus for support but they just look at me disappointedly.

"Go to your room now!" Magnus says tiredly, waving an exasperated hand towards the stairs. I storm off and I purposely kick the end table by Magnus hard enough for the leg to snap into two. When I get to my room, I slam the door shut. I yank the pretty bow out of my hair and take off the dress. I put on one of Freddie's old night shirts. As I'm buttoning up the shirt, my hands are shaking with anger. I feel my heart pumping hard in my chest and anger coursing in my veins. Why? Why does such awful people exist and why can't good people see how horrible, how incorrigible they are? Why must they see only the roses but not the thorns?* Why must they believe the pretty things disguised as lies? Why can't they ever see? Why don't they believe? I see red. I scream and the wings come out for the first time in a while without my wanting them to. One of my wings clip a lamp and knocks it over. I'm dimly aware of the sound of heavy boots striking the floors and then I hear-

"Bella, open the door!" Magnus bangs on the door.

"Leave me alone!"

"Open the goddamn door!"

"No!" I yell and the door locks. The doorknob twists and turns with no avail but the door still does not turn. "Leave me alone."

"I will not tell you again!" The door shudders but it does not open.

"Go away Magnus!"

A/N: What Bella means by 'Why must they see only the roses but not the thorns?' she means that people only look at the physical aspects but they never see the dangers/red flags AKA the 'thorns' until its too late.