Chapter 70: Chapter 70"This is the one time I would allow you to set anything on fire. Why aren’t you moving?" Zayne asked as he stood up but Rose remained seated. "I don’t trust you with fire where you are."

    "It is not that. Can you please go ahead so I can stand and straighten the blanket?" Rose asked, leaving out that she wasn’t properly dressed.

    "Very well," Zayne replied, turning around to leave. He had disturbed her when she thought it would only be her and Janice. "I will wait for you in the kitchen."

    Rose quickly stood to shift the blanket so she could pull on it at the front to stop it from falling. She then hurried to go to her room to get changed into a dress. She could not burn the paper and hand onto the blanket at the same time. Sear?h the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    She was not ready to be so exposed before Zayne.

    Zayne was left waiting downstairs for Rose to join him. In the meantime, he started to look around the kitchen. There was a pile of fresh vegetables and it was likely that Janice had gotten most of them for Rose.

    If they weren’t careful, they might fatten up the bunny to the point that it could not run around. Zayne picked up a shiny red apple to eat while he waited for Rose. Had he not rushed to leave the camp he could have picked up a good bottle he brought from home for Rose to celebrate with Janice.

    He spent his time looking around at what Janice was spending the money he put aside for food on. Not long after, he heard Rose running down the stairs.

    "I’m sorry to keep you waiting," Rose said, leaning over slightly as she tried to catch her breath. She had to be quick to take off the shirt and pull a dress over her head.

    "Got into a fight and lost?" Zayne asked because of her messy appearance.

    Her hair was no longer neat and the dress was crooked.

    "I did not. Oh, would you like me to cut an apple for you? These were sweet," Rose said, moving to the basket with the red fruit to pick out a few for him. "It would be nice if there were some apple trees here. Not that what you have isn’t enough."

    "Do as you want. It will take some time to grow but you can plant some seeds and wait for the tree to grow and bear fruit," Zayne answered.

    "Would I be working here that long? You won’t ever fire me?" Rose asked jokingly.

    "I won’t be here that long to fire you. I have to return to my home at some point. Have you forgotten I came from another kingdom? You are frowning. Why? You will miss me?" Zayne asked and then took a bite of the apple. "I am told that I have that effect."

    "I am still trying to understand if that is your confidence or ego speaking. Perhaps a mixture of both. When you leave this kingdom, I shall go elsewhere to find work. Thanks to you, I can explore the kingdom and keep items from my travels like you do," said Rose.

    This town had too many bad memories so when the time came for Zayne to leave, she would leave.

    "You would not want this house?" Zayne asked. What was he to do with it then? "I don’t plan on coming back here soon. Once it is safe, advisors of the king will travel here to speak. I am just the blade they send at the beginning."

    "Zayne, how rich are you to throw away carriages and houses? Does it pay well to be a soldier? Should I sign up?" Rose seriously considered.

    "I might be distracted if they were to put you at the front lines," Zayne said as he would be confused by her and her little knife. "But I advise you not to sign up to be a guard. Not that they would take you."

    Rose took offence to Zayne not having any confidence in her. Not everyone involved in the king’s army went off to fight in wars. She had heard the stories from drunk customers who spoke of their work to the other women. "There is something I would be able to do in the king’s army."

    "How many women did you spot walking around in that army?" Zayne asked, knowing she was thinking clearly. "You can’t think of one. Just because you have seen women present from my side does not mean they are welcomed elsewhere. So far it is only women from families with deep connections to the army that have been able to join."

    "And Rose, you are not suited for anything that has to do with war. You may be more suited for other things," said Zayne.

    "I think being a maid is what I am suited for. I will light a fire to burn the paper," Rose said, going to the stove to do what she saw Janice do when she wanted to cook.

    "You have good years ahead of you as long as you don’t play with fire. You might not stay as a maid for long. There is no telling what awaits you. As long as you move to do what you want with your life, it can happen," Zayne said as he moved to stand beside Rose.

    "Since you are confident in me, I shall try to believe it. With this, Mathias should stop having those guards looking for me. I hope," Rose said, staring at the slave paper once more.

    Now that she escaped Graham there shouldn’t be any reason to have to hide to escape Mathias. They were strangers now but she wouldn’t do whatever he was afraid of.

    "Now that you are not a slave, would you go back to your friend if he would accept you?"

    Rose shook her head. "No. I am not a fool. He dismissed me then and it will still linger in his mind that I was a slave sold to a brothel. It is a shame this is how our friendship must end but I cannot hold onto the past. He might have taken me back to Graham."

    Anyone who would help Graham to catch her would forever be an enemy in Rose’s book. Any soldier that could just kick someone approaching them whilst their name was being called was not a good person in Rose’s eyes.

    She did not leave one terrible man to be friends with another.

    Rose leaned on the counter as she watched the fire begin to grow. "I do not know what to make of Alexander yet since I have not seen him. I don’t want to place Mathias’ actions on him. I plan to keep moving so we might never meet."

    Rose glanced at Zayne who was watching the fire. He had to be concerned about his home burning down. "Right now, I am fine with you and Janice. Forgive me if it is wrong to count my boss, but you two have been the kindest people I have met in years. You have been making it easy for me to start believing every man I come across does not want to hurt me."

    Zayne could have kept having her papers from her or showed her and decided to own her but he didn’t. For that, Rose wished him the best and whatever Zayne needed in the future, she would gladly help him.

    Rose threw the paper in the fire and watched on as she detached her life in the brothel from her name.