Chapter 56: Chapter 56"I cannot believe he wants to eat with us. Not there, Rose. Put it in the centre. Is this some sort of tradition from his land? I am not used to my employers sitting with me," said Janice.

    No matter how hard she thought to come up with an answer, Janice couldn’t find one. She knew nothing about the foreigners and the way they were with their servants so she feared that she had been giving Rose the wrong advice.

    "I ate with him the first night I came here and it was not so bad. We will be fine and it will give you the chance to get to know him like you wanted. I do not think he is a bad man. I have seen bad men and he has not shown similarities to them. Though you might not like the nickname he gives you," Rose considered.

    She wondered what animal Zayne might think Janice was like but at the same time, Rose didn’t want him to refer to Janice as any kind of an animal to her face. ’That man is a fly,’ Rose decided.

    Flies were annoying little things that would not go away even when you used your hands to chase them away. Rose smiled as she thought of how insulted he might be to hear that she thought of him as a fly.

    She didn’t want to upset Zayne so she had to keep this a secret though she wanted him to feel what it was like to be annoyed by nicknames.

    "Oh Rose," Janice said, touching her chest. She started to notice some of the comments Rose made. "Where have you been to see bad men? Has someone troubled you?"

    Janice knew that it wasn’t always safe to travel alone as there were bad people who would try to harm you, especially a young woman like Rose being all alone.

    "I see them just from walking around the market. We should be quick to bring the rest of the food here before he comes down. He will be impressed by how much you have cooked. Should I take the guards’ food to them?" Rose asked.

    "You know I don’t like you going to them. I can take them-"

    "No. You were just complaining about your ankle hurting because of where you hit it against the door. I will be quick," Rose promised.

    She only needed to hand them the food and come back inside. The guards couldn’t leave their post to come join them for dinner and as the only maid, it was only right that she gave them their food.

    Rose returned to the kitchen to pick up the two plates Janice had already prepared.

    "Be careful with them and if those two are rude, call for me. I can still make it out there with my ankle. You’re dealing with a woman who has pushed her way through crowds to get dresses for cheap prices."

    Rose laughed. "Yes, I cannot forget the strength that you have. I think one of the guards is afraid of you."

    "It’s the short one. Sometimes when people are trying to be rude to you, you need to put your foot down and say what’s on your mind. If you continue to be silent, they think they can keep speaking to you as they like. I might only be a cook but it doesn’t mean I am to be disrespected," said Janice.

    There were too many jobs in town or outside of it for her to stay where she was not treated well.

    Janice fixed Rose’s dress as she walked. "Be back right away since it is so cold outside and you don’t have a coat. The next time I go to the market I will find one for you."

    Rose wanted to tell Janice that she did not need to but knew her words would fall on deaf ears. Janice was the only person she could not get to tell her a price so Rose tried to make up for it by helping Janice with her cooking.

    Janice opened the front door for Rose and waited there to see if Rose needed her help.

    Rose was careful with the food as she walked to where the guards stood. She noticed how they tried to ignore her at first but then they had to look at her because they wanted her food. "Janice sent your food," she told the two, holding out the first plate to Soren.

    Brian watched the interaction. "Are you doing this because he is here? You have never brought our food. One of us could have come for it."

    "I thought you would worry about leaving the gates with Zayne here and Janice has hurt her ankle so she could not bring it. It smells really good so I hope you enjoy it," Rose said and then turned around to go back inside.

    The night air was cold like Janice said. How were the guards standing around like it was normal? Shouldn’t they have a blanket to keep them warm?

    ’There are extra blankets that I put away,’ Rose thought.

    "See, I told you she would put on a show once he is here."

    Rose heard the comment made by Brian but it didn’t bother her. They could have all the assumptions they wanted. She knew what was true and what wasn’t. If Zayne scolded them, it wasn’t because of her.

    "Tonight is clear," Rose said, looking up at the sky. This was the clearest it had ever been in a while. When it was like this, Rose through the night sky was prettier than in the daytime. "Oh!"

    ’That could have been bad. Do you often walk with your head in the sky?" Zayne asked.

    Rose had tripped on the first step but somehow managed to not fall. She looked up at Zayne standing with his arms folded. "Not all the time. Only when the sky is pretty. We are so busy that sometimes we miss the beauty before us." Sear?h the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zayne looked up at the sky. It was close to the view he got when out at sea. "It is pretty but not pretty enough for you to be falling around everywhere. Keep your head out of the sky when you are walking. You went to give them food?"

    "I did. Do you scold them often? They have the wrong idea that you would scold them because of me. I don’t want them to keep misunderstanding," said Rose.

    "I wonder where they get that idea from," Zayne replied, looking over Rose to the gates. What had they shared with her when he was not present? "Come inside, Rose. You need a coat."

    "Janice says she will buy me one. I am not done with outside yet. I want to take them some blankets. They must be cold out there."

    "They are not. Our clothes were made with fur inside to keep us warm in harsh weather and this is not cold to us. Our kingdom has seen colder days," Zayne said, shutting the door behind Rose so she could not go out again.

    The two idiots outside should freeze.

    "We have winter here," Rose replied, wondering if his winter days were just as bad. "It is bad but maybe I only thought so because the brothel was hard to keep warm and I didn’t have a coat. Then, you should come to sit at the table. We already have it set up."