Chapter 30: Chapter 30"Don’t set my home on fire and don’t bring any friends here," Zayne answered. What rules was she expecting him to have for her?

    Rose bit her lip to resist telling him again that she would not set anything on fire since he would not listen. What friends did she have to invite anyone here when she was supposed to be hiding? Rose prepared herself to keep hearing about a fire for as long as she was around Zayne.

    "There aren’t any rules, Rose. You are to clean and not do something stupid like leaving here for someone to find you. Now, I need to figure out which room you should use. Maybe one of the second floors," Zayne said, going up the second floor first.

    Rose was close behind him as she wanted to see what a second floor was like. The brothel was all laid out on one floor and there was only one second floor which Graham did not allow even her to see.

    Rose touched the stair railings as she walked. "It must pay well to be a general. Even the stairs have tiny art on them."

    Zayne slowed down so he could sneak glances at Rose being fascinated with everything she walked by. "I am risking my life with this job so it should pay well," he said, leaving out more of his background.

    Zayne didn’t think Rose would change to be more interested in his wealth if she knew, but he liked how little she knew about him. In time it would come out but by then she should be used to him as he was now.

    "This house isn’t marked on the map. Where are we?" Rose asked.

    "You’re the one with the map so you should be able to figure out where it is positioned on the map. We’re on the edge of the town. If we keep going north from here, we will end up in the next town over where the palace is," Zayne answered.

    "I do not understand. I heard that you are here to speak about the king concerning a truce so, why aren’t you closer to the king?" Rose wondered as from what she remembered from the map, the palace wasn’t close by though it was in the neighbouring town.

    "It is simple. The king wants to keep us at a distance so he doesn’t need to worry about us trying to kill him. He’ll call upon us to travel to the palace when he wants to speak," Zayne answered. "Suddenly interested in the war?"

    Rose shook her head. The war sounded too complicated for someone like her to understand. "No matter how you explain it to me, I don’t think I would understand anything about the war or the truce. I only need to focus on working to make money."

    "Rose, you are not stupid," Zayne said, knowing it was what she was getting at. She was not stupid to not understand anything about war simply because she was caged up in a brothel or didn’t know how to read. "You don’t need to know how to read to understand things happening around you."

    In his eyes, Rose was smart. Smarter than she might ever believe. If she could read, she would do great things and maybe, that was the very reason others stopped her from trying. sea??h thё n??el Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "If you would like to learn how to read, I can teach you in my spare time. There are a few other languages I know as well. I have a few books from back home that you might enjoy once you learn. Would you like to learn?" Zayne asked, giving her the choice.

    Rose would love to read but she didn’t want to take up his time. "Thank you but I must decline. I don’t need to learn how to read. I am not alone in not knowing how to read. Most servants don’t need-"

    "Rose, you are not in the brothel to follow his rules. You can do as you wish now and forget what anyone told you about reading," Zayne said, wanting her to forget her old life soon. "Whoever told you not to read only feared what would happen if you had more knowledge. You know nothing of this world and the only way you learn more is to read."

    "Then, would you accept me doing more work as payment for your teaching me? You must already be busy with the truce and your soldiers so taking time to teach me should not be free," Rose proposed.

    Zayne was now used to Rose needing a price. "I will think about the price and let you know soon. I will hire someone who will do the cooking. Remember, there are days that I come here for a break," Zayne added before she could reject the offer. "I will need proper food. I will find someone who will not speak about you being here."

    "Thank you," said Rose. Seeing how much Zayne was helping, Rose was ready to do her best with cleaning so he would not regret bringing her here. As soon as she saw her room, Rose was ready to start cleaning to show that she could be a good maid.

    Zayne opened the door to the room that was opposite his own, something he had to keep from Rose for now so she would not panic. "You can use this room."

    "Can I?" Rose had to ask as the room was far bigger than she was expecting. Though the house was smaller than the one at his camp her room here was bigger.

    The servant rooms in the brothel were small and most of the servants were meant to squeeze into them to rest. Even her room only allowed her to take around four steps from the bed to the window.

    Rose wanted to say that it was too large of a room for her but she wanted to continue to experience what it was like to live like this. She was only a maid but with a room like this, she could pretend to be a lady.

    Zayne remained by the door to not step into what might be her comfort space. He wanted to see how she would react to his room back home since it was far larger than this.

    His presence here was quickly forgotten as Rose explored the room. To think there would be a day where a room got more attention than him.

    "Rose," he called to get her attention. "I know what the payment for teaching you will be."

    Rose stopped exploring to look at Zayne. "What is it?"

    "You cannot hide between the bed and the wall when it is time for you to sleep. You must use the bed as it is what it was made for. No one will try to harm you here. I promise you," Zayne promised.

    Rose turned to face the large bed. It would be comfortable to lay on but she was so used to hiding beside her bed because anyone who broke into the room would expect to find her lying on it. She wanted to agree to it but the memory of Jonathan breaking into her room stopped her from being strong enough to agree so soon.

    "I cannot. I would feel safer if I lay beside the bed. I am sorry," Rose apologized.

    Yesterday when Zayne asked her to go up on the bed, she had pulled the pillow back down to the side of the bed after he left. She needed more time before she could stop the habit.