A Rose and A Phantom (Descendants of Classics Book 1)

Chapter 1: Roses are Red

Chapter 1:
Roses are Red

Rosabella-Luna sat in her room in the theatre and thought about everything and nothing all at once. She could never understand how people didn't notice the amazing things that were as simple as a flower just bursting into bloom in the spring; how beautiful new fallen snow was in winter; how the leaves changed from a beautiful shade of green to beautiful reds and oranges in autumn; and how the sun kissed your skin in the middle of summer. These were her favorite things about each season. She couldn't find it in herself to choose just one favorite so she chose them all for those reasons alone. She felt at peace when her thoughts wandered like that. She found that she could just drift off into blissful peace and could fall asleep easily. Dreams were her favourite places to go; they never let you down and helped you cope with things. They also were a way to receive messages from your subconscious.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her friend, Madeline Pamplin, came into her room. Madeline was a close friend from when she was small. They spent most of their days together. She and her mother both lived in the theatre as well. Mrs. Pamplin was like a mother to Rosabella-Luna and had been close to her since before she could remember.
"Rosabella, your father wishes to speak with you," Madeline said in a soft voice. Most people called her Rosabella seeing how Rosabella-Luna was a mouthful to say at times.
"Okay, did he say what he wished to speak with me about," Rosabella asked as she got up from where she had been sitting only seconds ago.
"He said he wanted to speak with you about some new patron or sponsor or something. You know I am bad at remembering things word for word," Madeline said smiling. She giggled at her own words and skipped out of the room. Even at the age of seventeen, that girl refused to grow up completely.
Rosabella headed to the orchestra pit where she knew she would find her father. She skipped through the hallways to the auditorium. She found her father exactly where she thought she would find him. She ran up to him and embraced him tightly.
"Hi Papa," she said as he returned the embrace. Rory Deiner was all too happy to return his loving daughter's affection. Ever since Rosalind, his wife and Rosabella's mother, had died he had taken up the role of father and mother to his precious little girl. She was his world and he would do anything to protect her from any harm.
"Hello, Bella, are you going to go out tonight," he asked his daughter. Rosabella smiled and nodded her head.
"I'm going to explore the abandoned mansion next door," she said smiling. Rory looked at her skeptically as he pulled back enough to see her face. He saw that she was serious and sighed.
"You know the rumors about that place, right Bella?"
"Of course Papa; I only wish to see if they are true. I will go after the performance tonight and promise to return before morning. I do have school after all," Rosabella said before pecking his cheek and running off to get ready for the performance that evening.
The theatre was putting on a production of "Romeo and Juliet". Madeline would be playing Juliet and some chorus boy as Romeo. Rory had forgotten to tell Rosabella that the theatre had a new sponsor and that he would be attending that evening's performance. He had wanted to warn his daughter of the man's scandalous behaviour. The baron, the new sponsor, was known for corrupting innocent girls. Even though he had no power to his title, he still had the fortune to back it up. Just the name Clinton von Lockhart sent chills of fear down any father's spine. Rory felt this fear and only hoped his daughter would reach the mansion she desired to explore before the baron arrived.
Rosabella walked through the hallways after getting into her costume for her part as Rosalind in the play. She loved that she would be playing a character that had the same name as her mother. Rosalind Deiner had been a kind and caring woman. She would also make sure that Rosabella was well educated and mannered. She had wanted to raise a proper young lady. She knew proper etiquette and taught it to her daughter. She cultured her daughter up until the moment she was told that she had leukemia. During the months of chemotherapy she had tried as hard as she could to be there for Rosabella, her little Rose as she had called her. Rosabella's mother was the only one to call her that and she wished to keep it that way. The nickname would only bring back memories of her mother during those painful months. She could not bear to think of her poor mother, who had meant the world to her, in pain. The thought alone brought tears to her eyes.
All of this went through her mind and a tear slid down her cheek as she smiled to herself. She whispered a quick prayer to her mother as she reached backstage. She watched as the actors, including Madeline, got into their starting positions. She smiled at the thought of one day being in a main role like her best friend. She had always wanted to audition for larger roles but was too shy to try. Rosabella knew she had it in her to play the role she wanted to the best of her abilities, if only she had the confidence in addition to a lack of shyness.
The play continued through the various acts and she played her part, no matter how brief it was. She was happy when it was time for curtain call. She bowed when she was required to bow and left to her room to change into more suitable clothing. Once she was changed, she left the confines of the theatre and walked over to the seemingly abandoned mansion across the street. It was a large building that had large columns holding up the covering to the front entrance. The exterior walls were a dark grey that made one feel warm yet cold at the same time. The building's architecture looked like something out of the nineteenth century. Rosabella liked the architecture style and smiled to herself as she approached the front steps.
She ascended the stairs and made to knock on the door but remembered that it was in fact abandoned. She knocked anyways just to be sure of that fact. Her knock was met by the doors creaking open from the pressure that had been placed on them. They opened revealing a grand entrance parlor that seemed to be covered in dust. From the ceiling there hung a chandelier. In the center of the far wall stood a grand staircase that seemed to widen as it neared the ground level. On either side wall were entryways to other rooms. The walls were decorated in a similar style to the exterior of the building. On each side of the entryways, there were wall sconces in the form of arms holding a candelabra.
Rosabella walked further into the room and the doors slammed shut behind her. She paid no attention to that but to the grandeur of the room she was in at that moment. She debated on where she would explore first: the upstairs or the downstairs? She then remembered that she would have another opportunity to explore the estate so she felt relieved at not feeling obligated to explore the entire building in one night. That same question still remained, however. She reasoned that she was already in the downstairs so what harm would come to her by exploring there?
She walked to the entryway on her left and found herself in a magnificent dining room. A chandelier was hung from the ceiling of this room as well but the ceiling wasn't as high as it was in the entrance hall. It was very similar to the other chandelier but was of a smaller scale. The walls contained intricate paint designs that could only have been individually painted by a great artist. They were of small flowers that interwove themselves into the stems of others. At the center of each wall was a single rose encircled by the stems of the other flowers but none touched the great red rose that they surrounded.
In the center of the room beneath the chandelier stood a long dining table with eight or so matching chairs sitting around it. They also appeared to have dust covering them. The chairs and table looked to be made of mahogany wood. The feet of the table and chairs were shaped like the feet of a clawfoot bathtub. The seats of the chairs were covered in a what appeared to be soft cushion that was covered in red material. There was yet again two more entryways in the room like the last. There was one straight across from Rosabella and another to her right. She found that the decor was very simplistic and much to her liking. She also had a fondness of historical items so that contributed to her opinion of the house.
She walked around the table to the entrance across from her and entered. Here she was met with a kitchen that seemed to have been used recently. She found this rather odd but did not question it at that moment. The cabinets and utilities were all updated and modern but with a historic appearance to it. Rosabella liked that a lot and hoped she would be able to use the appliances at some point in time after she could restore the building to its former glory. She would really enjoy living in the historic building and making use of its historical aspects. Just the mere thought alone brought a smile to her face. She would make sure to take care of the estate if it were hers.
This room did not have two other exits like the two prior but only one. Rosabella left through this way and was met with a large study. It was like the rooms previous to the kitchen in the sense that it was covered in dust. However, the furniture in this room was covered in white sheets. She was just about to pull one off of what appeared to be a sofa chair when her phone rang.
"Hello," she questioned the other line after picking up the call.
"Bella, it's almost midnight; where are you," asked the voice of her worried father. Rory had been worrying hopelessly when his precious daughter had not arrived home. He was afraid that the Baron von Lockhart had abducted her for his own disrespectful intentions.
"I am in the mansion across the street. I just found what I believe to be a study. I'm not quite sure yet but I will find out when I uncover the furniture in this room," Rosabella rushed out excitedly. She had been quite thrilled to share her discoveries with someone else.
"Thank God you're alright," Rory sighed.
"Should I come home now, Papa?"
"Yes, my sweet Bella; I have been worried sick over you along with Mrs. Pamplin."
"Okay, Papa, I will be home in a few minutes. I just want to verify the type of room I am currently in right now." She was hopeful her father would allow her enough time to do so.
"I'm sorry but a new man in town lives close by and I don't trust him. Can you please get home as soon as you can?" Rory was completely worried for his one and only daughter. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something were to happen to her and he hadn't been there to protect her.
Rosabella soon returned to the theatre and went straight to her father. She hugged him and bid him goodnight before going to her room. She was exhausted from such a long day. After having gone through a final dress rehearsal, performing, and exploring the mansion across the street, she was ready for sleep to consume her. She undressed herself and then got into her pajamas. Once she was snug in her shirt and pants, she drew back the covers and set the pillows down. She then climbed into the soft and inviting bed and sank into its warmth. It had been cold outside and in the mansion. It was abandoned so one would expect it to not be heated.
What really bothered her was the fact that the kitchen appeared to be the only room that had recently been used. Rosabella had expected it to be a dust covered room as well. However, the room was cleared of any sign of dust or dirt. It was also recently updated in appliances. Who could have done that for the huge mansion? And why wouldn't they update the other rooms or at least maintain them? All of these questions swam through poor Rosabella's head as she tried to clear her mind so that sleep might steal her mind away. Alas, her thoughts won the battle and she remained awake. Frustrated at this, she took out her phone and earbuds and began listening to music. She listened to some of her favorite musicals' soundtracks and some rock bands. She had a very cultured musical taste and it showed in her music playlists.
Soon unconsciousness consumed her mind and she was sent into the world of dreams. In this dreamland, Rosabella was in the mansion again but it had been cleaned. She was sitting in a living room of some sort with servants waiting on her. She was very polite to them and always thanked them more than necessary. Soon a man came into the room and kissed her passionately before she could react. When he pulled away, all she could see was a blurred face with the faintest of facial features being shown. This was a rather peculiar dream for our dear Rosabella. Her dreams weren't normally about places she had been but of places she had seen in books.
What haunted her the most about this dream was the faceless man that gave such affection she had never experienced before. Her innocence showed through even to her dream self. Her dream self had been blushing after receiving the kiss and she looked down at her lap. This definitely was a most peculiar dream.