Rosangela: The Half-Blood Princess

Tonight was raining cats and dogs in London. The wind was howling fiercely. Lighting flashed across the sky, and then thunder crashed.

Walking in the pouring rain was a man in the brown raincoat. He was holding a bundle of blanket that he covered with his raincoat.

The man’s steps came into a halt in front of a gate of a building. He looked at the nameplate which was nailed on the wall beside the gate. It read: McCarthy’s Orphanage.

The man opened the gate that was unlocked and began walking to the front door. Once he reached the doorstep, he rang the doorbell.

Layla McCarthy, a fair-skinned woman in her late middle age with blonde hair that was greying at the sides, awoke to the sound of the bell ringing. Throwing back the covers, she leapt out of bed and rushed to the front door.

She answered the door and was terrified to find a burly man in brown raincoat standing in her doorstep.

“W—who are you?” she stammered.

The man didn’t utter a word. Instead, he pulled down the hood covering his face to reveal his face to the woman.

“Oh Dexter you surprise me.” Mrs. McCarthy chuckled.

“I am sorry to startle you,” the man with brown raincoat, Dexter said apologetically.

“Never mind,” she said.

“What are you doing here in the middle of the night? And what are you carrying?” She pointed to the bundle of blanket on his arms that had caught her attention since the first time he came.

The man pulled down the blanket and a beautiful baby girl who was sleeping soundly was visible.

“Oh my goodness, it’s a baby!” the woman exclaimed.

Dexter gave her a brief nod.

“Can I carry her?” Mrs. McCarthy asked hopefully.

“Sure.” Carefully, Dexter handed the baby to Mrs. McCarthy.

“Whose baby is it?” she asked while cradling the baby in her arms.

“She’s Claribelle’s,” he said under his breath.

Her eyes widened. Her face suddenly turned pale. She looked cautiously around and finally uttered, “Come on in!”

Layla McCarthy stood aside and let Dexter enter her house. She looked at her surrounding one more time and lastly shut the door behind her. After that, she led him to the living room. And lastly, they sat face to face on the sofa.

Caressing the baby’s brown hair, she inquired, “What happened? Why did you bring her child to my home?”

“They found them,” the man replied.

His answer took the woman by surprise.

“They’ve figured out about the baby and tried to kidnap her,” the man continued.

“Oh my goodness!” she clamped her hand to her mouth.

“Claribelle and her husband had me to take her to a safe place before they came and got her. That’s why I brought her here. I can’t think of any other place that is safer than your place,” he told her.

“You’ve made the right decision for bringing her here, Dexter. She is safe now,” she said, kissing the baby’s forehead.

“Mrs. McCarthy, would you protect this child?” Dexter asked.

“Don’t worry. I owed Claribelle my life. I am going to protect her daughter with all my might,” she promised.

The man pulled a golden locket out of his pocket and gave it to the woman. “It belongs to Clary. She said it would protect her from them.”

Mrs. McCarthy unclasped the locket and then put it on the baby’s tiny neck.

“I’ll make sure our baby will never take it off,” she assured.

“Good!” was the only thing Dexter responded.

“I must be going now.” Dexter rose from his chair and started walking away.

“Wait!” Mrs. McCarthy called after him.

He stopped abruptly and turned around to face the woman. “Yes?”

“What is the baby’s name?” she asked curiously.

Dexter stared at the baby sleeping in the woman’s cradle. A smile curved his face, and finally he told her the baby’s name.