Chapter 94: Chapter 94Rose stood beside Finn and a man she was introduced to named Liam. She watched as the soldiers all helped to put together their meal for the night. The aroma that filled the air reminded Rose of the tasty stew which was cooked by Soren and Brian. She could hardly wait to try what was being prepared.

    "Enjoy your time with Mary?" Finn questioned, curious as to how the different women fared.

    "I did. She is quite interesting," Rose replied.

    "Mary? The same Mary that I introduced you to? Was all it took to have another woman around?" Finn wondered as he never heard anyone call Mary interesting.

    "If you act like you are afraid of her, you cannot expect her to give you a warm welcome. She can be serious but I think she is also fun. She is willing to teach me how to ride a horse. If I can find a horse, I won’t need to ride with Zayne," Rose revealed.

    "That isn’t good," Finn blurted out. "I mean, it costs a bit of money to buy a good horse. A young strong one that could do what you need. It’s best to ride with Zayne for now until you have saved up. Maybe if you smiled sweetly and asked to borrow his horse, he would give it to you."

    "I don’t think he would," Rose answered, her excitement fading thanks to Finn.

    "Trust me that he would. You only need to ask him as sweetly as you can and wait for the best time to ask. Don’t do it when he is busy and watch how he quickly agrees to it. Do you want to bet?" Finn asked, offering his hand for them to shake on it.

    Rose didn’t think Zayne would give her the horse he rode on but she still did not want to make a bet with Finn. "It is best that we do not. Where is he?" Rose asked as she had not seen Zayne after his tent went up.

    "You’re supposed to know where he is. His tent is up and though he is a bit busy planning out our trip, shouldn’t his maid be there with him?" Finn asked.

    Liam looked at Finn, puzzled by why Finn would think of sending Rose to Zayne now. It wasn’t the best time which was why they were sent to stand with her. "You-"

    "You don’t want to be a bad maid right?" Finn spoke over Liam.

    Zayne was in a bad mood just as anyone else would be after the woman you liked saw you as a father. Finn had to put Zayne in a better mood now or the rest of the trip would be torture for everyone but Rose.

    "No. I must go," Rose said, turning around to go to Zayne’s tent. She had yet to go to her bags to pick out what she would wear after washing up and also see where she was meant to sleep.

    Rose was used to sleeping beside her bed so where was she to find comfort in Zayne’s tent?

    The tent was not far away from where everyone stood watching the food being cooked so Zayne shouldn’t scold her for running off alone to find him. Finn could see her from here. Sёar?h the N??eFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Zayne!" Rose called as rushed into the tent. "O-Oh," she stumbled, falling to the ground.

    Rose covered her eyes to not get a glimpse of the sight before her. "I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were washing up."

    Zayne was startled by her sudden appearance in the tent but then he relaxed. He was not shy like Rose was for him to care whether she looked or not. "You have a habit of tripping."

    Rose couldn’t disagree as this was the second time she had tripped before him all for nothing.

    Zayne spread his arms out across the edge of the tub which was not long ago brought in with warm water for him. He told Finn to keep Rose busy for this very reason. "You may go but please do not walk with your eyes closed. I cannot have you bump into the tent."

    Rose did not want to open her eyes. She was confident that she could get up and walk out of the tent with her eyes closed. She was ready to move but the sound of water dripping as Zayne most likely moved stopped her. "Are you still sitting?"

    "Would you like me to stand?"

    "No!" Rose yelled then bit her lip as someone outside might have heard her.

    As much as Zayne enjoyed watching Rose plan her escape painfully slow, he would hit Finn hard enough to send him to the ships for placing her in this predicament.

    Rose stood up and turned around to back Zayne. Only then did she open her eyes. "Are you in need of something to dry with? I didn’t know you were bathing or I would have helped to prepare for it. Why didn’t you call for me?"

    "Because there was nothing for you to prepare. Rose, unless you are here to help me bathe, I suggest you go before you faint. We both know that this is uncomfortable for you," Zayne said, putting an end to her frantic state.

    He noted how she played with her fingers and only stopped when he pointed out that she was uncomfortable.

    "I will be outside," Rose replied, making a quick escape through the front of the tent.

    Rose stood by the entrance of the tent wanting to protect Zayne from having someone else walk in while he was not dressed. She would hate to have it happen to her so she would not move until he was dressed.

    "I can protect him like this," Rose spoke softly.

    She couldn’t use weapons like the soldiers could but at least she could say that she protected Zayne during this time.

    Rose looked down at the ground. The memory of what she walked in on would not go away. She shook her head each time Zayne came to mind. Was it possible to shake the memory out of her head?

    Rose only found relief in the fact she had only seen his upper body. His hair had fallen over his shoulder to cover part of his chest. "No," Rose tapped her cheeks. If Zayne were to ever walk in on her bathing, she would want him to forget what he saw immediately. "It is my fault for running in. How could I be so careless?"

    Inside the tent, Zayne considered if he should inform Rose that thanks to the fire, he could see her silhouette. From where Zayne sat Rose looked like she was beating herself up over taking a look at him.

    How would she react if she knew that he would welcome her stumbling upon him like this again? He didn’t get to fully enjoy her reaction the first time.

    "You idiot," Zayne scolded himself. He was thinking of inviting a woman not comfortable with men back inside his tent.

    Zayne tilted his head back, looking up at the top of the tent instead of Rose’s silhouette. This was a great test of how patient he could be. He had to wait far longer for a day when Rose wouldn’t be so quick to run away from him.

    Did he have that much time left in this kingdom to see the day Rose changed?

    He was a fool sitting alone in a tent with growing feelings for a woman who wanted to be far away from men.