Twisted Rose

Thanks for the reviews guys! After going on hiatus because I had a heavy workload, I'm ready to be back, so I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Lyrics: Outside the rain's falling down. There's not a drop that hits me.

Chapter Seven

The thought of running away to Russia was enough to make my heart race at the speed of an Olympian. My whole life had been spent roaming the grounds and the manor. I couldn't remember ever stepping out of the main gates that led into the village. I may have made it to the front garden once or twice before getting called back by my mother. It was almost as though she believed that there was something waiting for me outside of these walls. It was like she didn't believe that I could look after myself.

As soon as Dimitri told me that we were going to be running away to Russia, my mind seemed to switch off to the point where I barely heard him telling me to go up to my room to pack essentials and then meet him at the very back room of the servant quarter. He told me that we would start off by going through the woods and then making our way to the dock and onto a ship. As soon as we got out of the village, it would be a lot harder for people to track us down. He made it sound so easy.

With those final words, he gave me a light push back to where Lillia was. She immediately linked arms with me and led me straight back up to my room, talking once again about the dress I was wearing as she attempted to act as though everything was just as normal as usual.

As soon as we were in the cover of my bedroom, she launched an attack of questions on me as I cowered away from her in the corner of the mahogany bedroom walls. In her eyes, I could see sheer happiness at the fact that I seemed to be a lot happier after my little talk with Dimitri, but I could also see a glint of jealousy. Perhaps she had wanted Dimitri for herself or she was jealous that there was an opening for me to get out of this horrific place.

Oh goodness, I didn't even think of that. If I choose to run away with Dimitri, I would have to leave everything behind. That would include Lillia and Lissa. There would be no way for me to even hear about Lissa and Christian. Was that really worth my freedom?

Yes.

If they knew how I was feeling whenever I was stuck here, they would understand why I had to choose over them. They would understand that if I stayed here, I would end up going insane.

"So, what did he say?" She asked, a wide smile on her face with jealousy still flickering maliciously in her sharp eyes. "Have you two found a way to be together with no one else knowing?"

"We're going to run away to Russia together" I answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. The jealous look in her eyes died away almost immediately along with the excitement. It seemed as though I had finally managed to stun Lillia into silence. I guess there really was a first time for everything.

"What did you just say, Miss Hathaway?" Lillia asked, going straight back to formalities as her arms dropped to her sides. "I'm not entirely sure if I heard you correctly. It seemed to me that you said that you were going to run away to Russia with Dimitri."

"Oh no" I sighed. "You heard me right, Lillia. I'm not going to stay here for a moment longer. Dimitri has presented me with a chance to finally break free from here and I intend to seize this chance with both hands. After all, whenever I'm around him, I feel safe. That's more than I can say for this place."

"Miss Hathaway, I implore you to think thoroughly about what you are committing yourself to" Lillia pleaded. "Don't you understand what the security is like in this village? Miss Hathaway, you wouldn't even make it one mile."

Bitterness took over any confusion or pity I may have had over this woman. How dare she? She's no different to my mother. For all of this time, I had believed that she was a girl that I could trust with my life, but really she had the exact same doubts about me as my mother had.

"Excuse me, Lillia Zeklos" I snapped as I crossed my arms defensively over my chest in the most un-lady like manner. "It is not your place to tell me what I can and cannot do…and you will do well to remember that. Please leave, so I can pack my essentials. I don't need you cluttering up the place." Perhaps I shouldn't have gone as far as to say something as harsh as that, but I was finding it rather hard to keep my temper under control when all she was doing was making me feel terrible about wanting to get out of here and actually doing something about it.

"You won't manage this, Miss Hathaway" She said as she retreated. "They'll be hunting you down like dogs when they find out that you're missing. Do you really think they're going to let Dimitri get away with taking a royal away from the court?"

With that said, she turned and walked briskly out of the room as though she owned the place. What did she mean, though? If we were caught trying to get to Russia, what would happen to Dimitri? With the mother that I have, I couldn't imagine that it would be something good.

Perhaps this was the desperation of a royal or maybe it was just the fact that I was selfish that made me brush that under the carpet as though it was nothing and proceed to pack any clothes and food we may need for the time that it takes us to get Russia. I also took the money I had been saving ever since I could remember.

By the time I was finished, my hands were shaking in anticipation and fear. Taking one last look around my bedroom, I gave a sad sigh. As much as I had wanted to get out of here, it was still my home and it would be missed.

"Rose, are you ready to go?" A deep, silky voice asked me from behind. I turned quickly to see Dimitri standing in the doorway with an awkward smile on his face. He took hesitant steps inside in order to take the box that I had filled with anything we may need. He took it in his arms and winced at the heaviness of it. "Goodness, Rose! How many things do you need?"

"Apparently a lot" I answered, my face solemn as I followed him back down to the servant quarter. He talked the whole time about how I was going to love Russia and all the things that we were going to be able to do together. Any other woman would have been ecstatic to hear these things coming from the lips of a man so sweet and beautiful as Dimitri, but all I could think about was that I was going to leave Lissa behind and that I had ended my friendship with Lillia badly.

"There's been a change of plans" Dimitri finally said once we were completely alone. "Instead of going through the woods on foot, I decided that we could take one of the Court's cars to make our way to the dock. If you hide under a blanket in the back seat, I'm sure no one would see you. We'd be able to get out of here a lot quicker if we did it this way"

"Yes, I know that" I agreed, my face contorting with thought. "Wouldn't it be a lot riskier to do it that way? Is it really worth it?"

"Yes, it would be a lot riskier" He acknowledged with a nod of his head. "But if we go through the woods on foot, they'll probably catch us before we've even been running ten minutes. Do you trust me, Roza?"

"Yes, of course I trust you" I answered as I allowed him to pull me towards a black car that seemed to look more like a tiny house than anything else. With a grace fit for an angel, he draped a blanket over me and covered my head with it.

"I promise you won't have to lie there for long" He whispered before I felt the car moving. We hadn't been moving for very long before we stopped once more.

"Where are you going?" A voice that I didn't recognise ask.

"I'm delivering food supplies down to the village" Dimitri answered with such ease. I decided then that this couldn't possibly be the first time that he had found himself in a spot of bother. "Lady Hathaway ordered me to. She seemed very angry. If I was you, I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of her today."

"You're right" The man agreed before I heard the loud creak of the main gate opening. "Through you go." Dimitri said nothing, but got straight back into the car and then we were moving again. I heard the gate close once more and then felt us turn a corner.

"You can come out now" Dimitri said. Quicker than a rocket, I launched from the back seat and made my way to the front of the car where Dimitri was sat. He fixed me with one of his rare smiles that made everything seem okay. It made me feel even safer to be around him.

The first few minutes of the getaway was petrifying. I half expected my mother to simply show up out of nowhere and drag me out of the car, but it didn't happen. I even expected Lillia to tell everyone what happened and for them to come racing after us as though there was no tomorrow.

"How are you feeling?" Dimitri asked after long minutes of silence. "Are you sure you want to do this? It's not too late to turn back." The idea of turning back sounded quite appealing. If we turned back now, nobody would be in trouble and we could just go on as normal. Dimitri would be safe. As much as I wanted to keep him safe, I couldn't bring myself to tell him to turn around. It was pure selfishness.

"No, I'm fine" I answered, knowing that I was lying. "We can't turn back. We just can't. I'm worried for you, though." He flashed me another of his bright smiles that made me believe that he was omnipotent.

"Why are you worried for me?" He asked as though the idea of someone having any concern for him was totally absurd.

"I worry that's all" I snapped. "What do you think my mother's going to do to you if she catches us? It won't just be a slap on the wrist."

"That's true" He sighed. "It won't just be a slap on the wrist. She'd probably lynch me or something just as terrible as that. Rose, don't you think you're missing a pretty crucial part of all of this?"

"What do you mean?" I questioned, my eyes probably burning holes into him. "I think my mother lynching you is rather crucial."

"Rose, we're not going to get caught" Dimitri reminded, giving me a small wink. "As long as you're with me, you're not going back there. You'll be safe."

And I well and truly believed him.

Hey, at least I got this chapter up quicker than the last one. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please keep the feedback coming! Thanks for reading!