The Forgotten Princess Rose
Chapter 108

Chapter 108: Chapter 108

"You are a busy little thing. Aren’t you working yourself too much?" Mary asked, tired just from watching Rose work.

All doubt about Rose went away now that Mary saw how hard Rose worked when Zayne was not present. Rose couldn’t be foolish to think that Zayne would want her for being good at her job so it was evident that Rose just wanted to do her best as a maid.

"I want to have all his things packed away. He did not get to do it last night and I didn’t get to put away my dresses because I was too tired. I will be done here soon," said Rose.

"Are you comfortable sharing a room with him?" Mary questioned as it weighed her mind all night from the second she heard Rose would stay with Zayne.

"It is not bad. My bed was placed in another room with a door which I could lock. Have you seen how large the beds are? They are like this," Rose spread out her arms but it wasn’t enough to show the length. "A lot bigger than this. Why does anyone need such a big bed?"

Mary smiled as it was funny how the bed got Rose’s attention. "I do not understand it as well. I only need a small space to rest or maybe I have gotten used to small beds during my travels. Having a big bed would be good for rolling around in your sleep."

"That is what I think it was made for. How long will they be gone for?" Rose inquired, looking at the gates once more.

Each time she looked, Zayne and the others were not there returning from their long trip to the palace. Rose could not wait to hear Zayne describe the palace and then have her lesson for the day.

"It is hard to tell. It depends on what kind of mood everyone is in. The meeting can be long or short. What we must hope for is for the general to return safely with everyone. Should anything happen to him and he does not return today, then we must prepare to fight," said Mary.

Rose looked around the camp that was now well set up. Though the group was large it was far smaller than the king’s men Rose saw when she walked through the market. "The king’s army will outnumber you. Many of you might die."

"Then so be it. We’ve all accepted the risk that we might die during these outings," Mary replied, leaving out a bit of information as she didn’t fully trust Rose.

They had ships close to this land waiting for any signal that they would forget the truce and take this kingdom by force. It was Zayne’s call to make. All they needed to do was stay alive until help came.

Rose did not understand how they came here ready to die. There were many times when Rose wanted to kill herself but that was due to years of torment. Soldiers like Mary were here to die for their kingdom.

"Your kingdom must be lovely for you to come here with the chance of dying for it. I could not do the same for this kingdom. I do not mind if you judge me for it," Rose said as soldiers might not respect her decision.

"I will not judge you for it. I do not know how your life is but if your king has not done well for you, no one should expect you to fight. Luckily for you, many do not accept women fighting. We are to sit at home and make children. Do not stare!" Mary snapped, yelling at the men who thought she was blind.

Mary had ignored it the first two times when they circled where she stood with Rose but now that they were getting closer to where Rose worked, she couldn’t anymore.

Rose was confused at first but then she found two men looking their way. They were smiling like they found Mary’s words to be amusing or they were planning something. "We should go back," Rose said, wanting to avoid an argument. "I am done here."

It was a mistake to wash and hang up the dirty clothes gathered during the ride here while Zayne or Finn were not present. Now that she was done, they could return to her room.

"They are insufferable. It is only a few weeks we have been from home but they can’t help entertaining any woman they see. You don’t need to listen to me, but I advise you not to get involved with them. Most of them have wives and children at home or they are to wed when they return. It is easy to hide their life at home to someone like you," said Mary.

"Thank you. I don’t have any interest in them. I am not surprised that they do this while having a family at home. I hope that Zayne returns soon," Rose said as then she would feel comfortable.

Rose tried to ignore the stares which were either out of curiosity or the look of lust that she would never forget. She was nervous and trying to distract herself by speaking to Mary but the stares were on her mind once again.

There were moments since Zayne departed when Rose felt like she couldn’t breathe. She had to dig her nails into her skin to refrain from letting the breakdown happen before Mary. It had been a long time since she felt so suffocated like this.

Rose had been fine before she saw some of the stares she recognised. Some of the men around were failing miserably at hiding their thoughts or maybe she was just so used to those looks that she could read their minds.

’Don’t,’ Rose said to herself. She shouldn’t be this weak anymore. She had to live with many staring at her from time to time. It could not be helped. Like everyone else, she had to learn to ignore it but it was hard to do.

"Some of them make it hard for the women in the army. It is mostly the king’s spies that do it since they do not listen to the general- Rose," Mary said, startled by Rose’s hand shaking. It wasn’t cold out for it to be the weather. Was it fear? "They will not touch you. They would have to be stupid to try something under Zayne’s leadership and if they were, I would protect you."

"Rose," Mary touched Rose’s hand only for Rose to pull away like she was in danger. Her doe eyes filled with fear.

Rose couldn’t believe that she was so scared by Mary’s touch. There wasn’t any danger around as no one had tried to touch her inappropriately yet her body was overwhelmed with fear just from Mary pointing out the stares.

On the way here, Rose had not failed to notice that everyone was watching her, trying to understand why Zayne brought her along. So why now was her body acting like this? Why was this behaviour coming back now?

"Excuse me," Rose whispered and walked away from Mary before she could be stopped.

"Rose, wait!" Mary called, following Rose since she was not to let Rose out of her sight. What happened? What caused Rose to act this way in the blink of an eye? Had the soldiers troubled her before?

Rose made her way to the room she shared with Zayne. She always had a spot where she felt protected and could hide until this fear passed. She only needed to sit alone for a moment and calm herself. This feeling always went away when she was by herself in a small space.

’No one troubled you,’ Rose repeated in her head. There was no reason for her body to be so shaken up when nothing had happened.

Rose’s thoughts were so loud that she could not hear Mary speaking to her.

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