Chapter 90: Chapter 90Rose ate as fast as she could whilst trying her best not to choke on her food again. Silence fell upon the room as Zayne kept himself busy by eating as well.

    Rose finished first and placed her fork down to then wait on Zayne. She was still his maid while she was here so she would take the plates from his room.

    To her surprise, food was placed on her plate. "I am full," Rose said, wanting him to take it back. He was the one who needed to eat more. "I am only waiting for you to be done."

    "I cannot eat all of this by myself," said Zayne.

    "That is a lie. You said that you do not like liars. I was there for the feast Janice did for you and Finn. You ate more than this. Please take it back and eat more," Rose said, lifting her plate toward Zayne.

    The corners of Zayne’s mouth curled. He enjoyed that Rose had not forgotten that he hated liars. "I did not lie to you, Rose. I had already eaten before you came and only had dinner sent for me because you were coming. Should I take another bite, I might ruin this table and your night with an awful sight."

    "Oh," Rose lowered her plate. "I am full and cannot take another bite. If I do, I will ruin your night. It is best to throw away the food since it is only a little and not worth us throwing it up. I shall-"

    "A maid will come for it. You are to retire to your bed now so you will be up early in the morning. I would hate to see you falling asleep as soon as the ride starts," Zayne said, but he still wanted to see the funny sight of her trying to stay awake.

    "I will not fall asleep during the ride. I am used to waking up early. I will go right to bed and be ready when you or anyone knocks on my door. Good night," Rose bid goodbye and then stood up.

    As she stood up, Zayne stood up which confused her.

    ’Is he walking me to his door?’ She wondered.

    Zayne walked around the large table and placed his hands in his pockets. "I will walk you to your door."

    "You do not have to. It is quite close and I will not wander off. You need to rest as you are the one leading the way. I am fine," Rose said, putting her hand out to block Zayne.

    She removed it, embarrassed by what she had done without thinking.

    "What a pity," Zayne said, disappointed that she turned to hide her face. He wanted to move her hair that fell over her shoulder and hide her face from him.

    It wasn’t intentional yet small reactions like this from Rose stirred something inside of him. It was best that she was on her way out now.

    "Good night, Rose. I will stand by the door to watch you leave. Much can happen in a small distance like you tripping on nothing again," Zayne said, pleased when she looked up at him again.

    Rose wished she had not almost fallen before Zayne as he would not let her forget about it just as he wouldn’t stop calling her a little bunny. She turned around to make a quick escape back to her room so she could rest.

    Rose listened to Zayne’s footsteps behind her. Despite wanting to return to her room alone, there was some comfort in knowing that Zayne was not far behind her. Who would be so foolish to trouble her when a man like Zayne was around?

    ’He is perfect for scaring away everyone,’ Rose thought.

    Zayne remained by the door until Rose entered her room. He waited until he heard the sound of her door closing to then step back inside his room. Knowing Rose, she was going to lock her door and sleep beside her bed.

    Zayne sighed, looking up at the ceiling. He might have made a bad decision to bring Rose along as he might find himself distracted. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ...

    The next day, Rose woke up bright and early to be ready for when Zayne had to depart. She was braided as she told Zayne with a ribbon tied at the end since Zayne said it was not childish. Her bags were already put away thanks to Finn who came to see her early and escort her outside since Zayne was busy.

    "It will get hotter when the sun goes further in the sky. If you don’t have a hat, if you ask nicely I will buy you one," Finn offered.

    Rose smiled to make her rejection not anger Finn. "I can buy a hat when I see one."

    "Rose, do you only accept when Zayne does nice things for you? You’re making me a little jealous but don’t tell Zayne that, right? I don’t want him to think I am trying to be a thief," Finn whispered.

    Rose nodded her head though she did not understand what Finn meant. Why would Zayne think he was a thief? Did Finn not have any money to buy the hat he spoke of? If he didn’t, Rose made the right decision to not accept it from him.

    "The woman with the white horse is Mary. How about you say hello now?" Finn asked and started to walk over to Mary before Rose could answer.

    "W-Wait," Rose replied, needing a moment to prepare herself but she still followed Finn. She stood behind Finn and listened to him being scolded.

    Finn touched his chest to calm his heart. Zayne needed to reconsider putting these two women together. "You’re always so ready to chew off my head, Mary. I am here to have you meet Rose. The woman that our general wants you to protect when you have spare time."

    Mary looked away from her horse to the small woman standing behind Finn. Why was she given such a minor task? When could she do something more? She already heard all the whispering about the woman Zayne brought here. She didn’t want to be mixed up with such women.

    Still, Mary knew not to be rude to Zayne’s guest. "It is nice to meet you, Rose. You don’t need to shy away. I will not hurt you."

    Mary noted that Rose was afraid of her like many others because they claimed that she looked scary or didn’t speak softly like a woman was expected to when around men.

    "You are pretty," Rose blurted out. She covered her mouth with her hand embarrassed that her thoughts came out. She meant to introduce herself.

    Mary’s eyes widened, her cheeks unknowingly flushed because of the sudden compliment. "Thank you. I need to find my place amongst the others."

    "Did I make a mistake?" Rose asked Finn as Mary was quick to get on her horse to move away.

    "No," Finn shook his head. "You just made me realise something."

    ’My friend is going to lose you to a woman,’ Finn thought. Zayne couldn’t get Rose to stop running away from him but Mary was able to receive a compliment right away.

    "Rose."

    Rose looked to her right at Zayne already seated on a white horse. His hand was waiting for her to come to him to get on the horse. "I must go."

    Rose went over to Zayne to not keep him waiting and held his hand so he could help her up. "Oh," she gasped, startled by how easy it was for Zayne to pull her up.

    She sat with her legs hanging off the left side as she didn’t have pants like everyone else to sit more comfortably.

    "Careful," she heard Zayne’s warning, his warm breath tickling her ear.

    Rose looked down at his left arm around her waist to keep her from falling while his right hand held the reins. Rose hadn’t envisioned them riding together to be like this.