Chapter 96: Chapter 96An hour later, Rose had already returned to the tent with Zayne and enjoyed the food made by the soldiers. Now she was alone in the tent while Zayne went out to speak to who would be on watch throughout the night.

    Rose stood before the makeshift bed she was to use of tonight. It was flat on the floor so she did not have anywhere to hide and there was a large blanket placed for her to pull to hide herself from where Zayne was to lay.

    Rose waited for Zayne to return first before she moved to lie down.

    "Why are you still standing around?" Zayne questioned, confused as to why Rose was not yet in bed while everyone else not on watch was going to bed. "Is it not to your liking?"

    "It is. I only thought it would be wrong for me to go to sleep while you are still awake. I will go to bed now," Rose said, sitting down on the makeshift bed.

    It was warm and after the cold bath she endured, Rose needed this right now.

    Rose still sat waiting for Zayne to lie down first. He had a long day of leading everyone here so it felt wrong to rest before he did. Though he rode a horse all the way here, how was Zayne not the slightest bit sleepy? It was hard for Rose to keep her eyes open.

    "Rose, just go to sleep. Another day of travelling will be here the faster you close your eyes. No one will enter the tent. There are guards on watch to alert us of intruders and I am a light sleeper. Go to sleep," Zayne ordered Rose.

    He took one look at Rose and knew she was fighting back her sleep.

    "Then you should rest as well," Rose replied, choosing to stay up with him. "I am not tired so I can stay up with you."

    Zayne smiled as he knew that Rose wasn’t going to stay up long. She might wake in the middle of the night like she did at home but she had been yawning during the time they ate dinner. He gave her an hour.

    Zayne sat down on his bed and from where it was placed, he could look straight ahead at Rose’s bed. She had yet to pull the blanket to have privacy. It was the first thing he thought Rose would have done when it came time to sleep.

    Rose was distracted by something outside. She brought her feet up to her chest, hugged them and then rested her head on them. She was a bit stubborn in his opinion. Why should she stay awake when the others were already fast asleep?

    Other than the guards on watch, no one stayed awake at this time with Zayne.

    Zayne looked down at the map in his hands. He was to memorise the path they would take to the town. It could be left until the morning but he could not miss the chance to mess with Rose. She should just admit that she was tired and go to bed.

    Zayne purposely stayed up longer than he needed to, occasionally looking up from the map at Rose who drifted to sleep but then opened her eyes when she realised her mistake. Zayne looked away from her to not laugh at how she tortured herself.

    "Rose, go to bed."

    "I am fine," Rose responded, her eyes feeling heavy with sleep but she could stay up a little bit more. Why did Zayne have to work so much while the others got to rest? Being the general did not seem so good now.

    Rose laid down on the bed though she didn’t have any intentions of going to sleep. Unfortunately, once she got comfortable, Rose went to sleep.

    Zayne noticed it moments later and set the map to the side. She put up a good fight but he knew she would be defeated. She would appreciate going to bed now when the call for everyone to wake up was heard in the morning.

    Zayne sat up from his bed and went over to Rose to pull the blanket he hung up so he could not see Rose from his bed. He stopped after Rose turned in her sleep after the first step he made. Rose might be more of a light sleeper than he was.

    Zayne didn’t want to think of how stupid he must look trying to walk so lightly on his feet in his tent. Still, he did it and managed to move the blanket without waking Rose. Though he liked seeing her from where his bed was, he knew this was what she wanted.

    There couldn’t be anyone in this group who wanted the morning to come faster than Zayne did. S~ea??h the N??elFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The next day, they set out at dawn to continue their way to the second camp.

    Rose was excited as there was much more to see now. They were starting to pass by the large fields with crops grown by farmers and were soon to reach the first tavern. These were all signs that they were getting closer to where they had set off for and Rose couldn’t wait for the moment she would see the palace in view.

    What was this town like? Was it grand like she overheard? Was there plenty for her to enjoy looking at other than the palace? These were all questions she needed answered soon.

    "It is there," Rose said, pointing to the tavern Zayne spoke of. It was the first place they would take a small break to get water for the horses and anyone who wanted to could buy a warm meal.

    "If you do not stay still, they might mistake you for a bunny and try putting you in a stew."

    Rose ignored what was said by Zayne as she was too happy to let his teasing get to her.

    Once again, Zayne got down from the horse first and this time, he let Rose enjoy the fun of jumping down by herself but he had to catch her when she almost fell.

    Rose wanted to find a hole and crawl into it after the way she didn’t gracefully jump down. They were at the front of the group so many had to see her failure.

    Zayne handed his horse off to a soldier and started to walk toward the tavern.

    Rose was behind him as she wanted to find water to drink and also see what the inside of the tavern was like. From outside she could hear the familiar sound of a drunk chatter, something she could never forget. She stuck close to Zayne as she knew how others got when they were too drunk.

    As usual, Zayne received a lot of unwanted attention since he didn’t cover his face to hide his peculiar eyes. He walked toward where a man was cleaning a cup with a cloth.

    "This is the first time I have had travellers come from so far. I heard the rumours of your kind here but didn’t think it was true. What can I do for you?" The owner asked. As long as anyone who walked through the door had money he wouldn’t send them away. "We got drinks and my wife is good at cooking."

    "Oh please."

    Rose peeped from behind Zayne to watch a woman her size playfully tap the owner on his chest.

    "Let them try a little first and then decide if it is good," said Vivian, the owner’s wife. She placed the cleaned cups on the counter for her husband to use and then looked up at their visitors. "Oh. Milady?" She asked, staring at Rose.