Chapter 89: Chapter 89Rose’s disappointment changed to feeling proud of herself after Zayne’s compliment. She did not faint this time so she did well as he said.

    Rose followed Zayne to the room she had used before. When she stepped out of this room, Rose thought she would never be back here again yet here she stood. "What time must I have dinner with you? Finn told me."

    "Shortly. What do you think of him? Does he bother you?" Zayne asked as he knew how Finn could be.

    Zayne opened the bedroom door and waited for Rose to go in first.

    "Finn seems to be a fun person. He doesn’t bother me," Rose replied. "You two seem to be close friends."

    "I have known him for many years. We used to be tutored together in my home. He is only like this when he doesn’t have work to do. He will be more serious when it comes time to guard you," Zayne reassured Rose.

    He placed her bags down by the bed and watched as Rose got familiar with the room again.

    "Pretty ribbon," he commented on the red ribbon in her hair.

    Rose touched the ribbon which was a gift to her from Janice. "It is. Janice gave it to me and a few others. It might be a little childish for me."

    "It is not. Besides, it is not the ribbon that makes you seem childish," Zayne teased, a smile spreading across his lips while Rose’s smile disappeared. "I am only teasing you, Rose. You are not childish."

    "Did you bring me along on this trip so I can be the source of your entertainment?" Rose questioned, suspicious of his intentions.

    "I did not but if you want to entertain me, I welcome you to do it. Would you be so kind as to make me laugh when the trip starts going down a bad path? I will give you a lot of rewards for it. Carrots and whatever else a little bunny needs," said Zayne.

    Rose took a deep breath and turned away from Zayne to look outside at his soldiers. From tomorrow, she will be amongst them.

    "I must warn you that you have to ride with me on my horse. We will be close as I must hold the reins and at times you so you do not fall off. My carriage is filled with other things so it cannot hold you yet," Zayne said, closely watching her reaction.

    "I understand. I rode here with Finn and it was not so bad. I will need to braid my hair again so it doesn’t get in your way. I promise to be still while I am riding with you. It will be like I am not there," Rose promised.

    "That will not be possible as you are hard to ignore. Get settled in and I will send for you when dinner is ready. Excuse me," Zayne said, walking toward the room to give Rose privacy.

    Rose listened to the door close behind Zayne. She wanted to pat herself on the back for how comfortable she was around Zayne to not worry about them being alone. She troubled him once more by Zayne having to let her ride on his horse.

    "You must sit still," Rose said, believing it was possible for her not to move during the ride. "But how will we both fit on a horse together?"

    Zayne was larger than Finn in Rose’s eyes. She had always been inside when he came on his horse so she didn’t get to see what he looked like on it. Would he be wearing a uniform or his armour? She had never seen him wearing either one.

    Rose patted her cheeks and shook her head. What Zayne wore did not matter. She shouldn’t be concerned about what her employer wore.

    Rose stepped away from the window and went to sit on the bed to wait for when Zayne would call upon her. She welcomed his invitation to eat with him as she had grown used to having dinner with someone and did not want to go back to hiding away in her room eating by herself.

    Not long later, there was a knock on the door and a woman dressed in a maid’s uniform stood before Rose to lead her to Zayne’s room.

    ’Should I wear a uniform?’ Rose wondered. She was a maid after all and the best way for anyone to tell was by dressing as one. If she had uniforms, she wouldn’t need to bother herself with buying other dresses.

    "Excuse me, where do you find the uniforms?" Rose asked only to be met by silence. She bit her lip, stopping herself from asking once more since she wouldn’t get an answer.

    Did the maids not like her presence as well? Rose couldn’t tell if they were foreigners but since Soren and Brian didn’t like outsiders, Rose figured the maids must have come from the same land to make the soldiers comfortable.

    Rose quietly followed the maid and was left alone after the door was opened for her. Unlike Zayne’s room at the other house, this one was filled with papers, weapons and pieces of armour. If the papers were all the work Zayne had to do, Rose understood why he liked having a second home to escape to.

    "Zayne," she called to get his attention.

    There was already food placed before him but Rose did not want to sit until he told her to. Sear?h the N??eFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Do you plan to stand there all night to stare at me or do you want to come eat, Rose? I wouldn’t mind if you picked the first," said Zayne. He leaned back on his chair, watching as she hurried to take a seat before him. She was nervous but less jumpy than how she was when they first met. "Eat till you feel full."

    Rose looked down at the large plate before her. Janice was right that the soldiers ate many meals all at once. It was too much for her but Rose would prefer too much over too little.

    Rose picked up her fork but before she touched her food, she glanced at Zayne and found him watching her.

    "You don’t need to sneak glances at me, Rose. Look all you want and I might even pose for you if you ask nicely. Why are you acting all shy now after your endless stare?" Zayne asked, amused by how embarrassed she acted over being caught.

    She had caught him looking but he did not try to hide it.

    Rose kept her head down, deciding to look at the food instead of Zayne. "I only wanted to see if you were eating."

    "Believe me, Rose. I am eating and I am enjoying every second of it. If you don’t start eating, I will assume that you have come here because you want to stare at me. Oh dear," Zayne said, smiling as Rose placed too much food in her mouth at once. "I have not gone through the trouble of helping you just for you to die from choking on food. Take your time, Rose. Here."

    Rose accepted the glass of water Zayne passed over to her. "Thank you," she said softly.

    Rose quickly realised that she loved sitting to eat with Janice and Zayne. Sitting alone with Zayne felt like a punishment.