The Forgotten Princess Rose
Chapter 116

Chapter 116: Chapter 116

Two days quickly passed since the visit to the market and since then, Rose did not get the chance to tell Zayne of the misunderstanding. She was puzzled by what to say to him. Should she let him know that she didn’t want him to leave? That she would miss him and his touch at that time brought on strange feelings.

It was now that Rose wished Janice was around for her to talk to for advice. Mary was present but Rose did not want to bother her.

Rose wore the pink dress she had been saving for a moment when she might attend a party and put on the white mask Zayne had bought for her. Her hair was braided and pinned up as best as she could do it with flowers she found around the camp,

Rose kept touching the flowers, wondering if she had done too much for a party. The flowers hid the fact that she was not wearing jewels like others, but maybe they looked childish.

Mary noticed Rose picking at the flowers in her hair and touched her hand to stop her. "You look pretty, Rose. The flowers in your hair match your dress and mask."

"I thought it was too much. You look beautiful. Your dress is lovely," Rose said, looking over the blue dress Mary chose for tonight. Rose then observed the market which had drastically changed since the last time she was here.

There were pretty lanterns and Rose wished to know how the flame inside burned different colours.

Mary pulled on the side of her dress, feeling uncomfortable whilst wearing it. "My mother likes to pack at least one dress in my bag. It has come in handy for once. Zayne and the others will be back soon after they tie the horses. Is he who you are looking for?"

"No," Rose shook her head. "I was looking at the lanterns. How are the flames like rainbows?"

"It is the glass. There is a colour to it, not the flame," Mary explained.

"Oh. That makes more sense than colourful flames," Rose apologised for her stupid question. Next time she should inspect what she didn’t understand instead of asking about it. "Why are they looking this way? Is my mask not right?"

Mary turned to the real reason there were many stares their way. "It is not you that they are curious about. General,’ she greeted Zayne.

The mask Zayne wore could only hide part of his face but not his body which gathered a lot of attention from the women around. It was easy to tell that Zayne was handsome as the mask only covered his eyes and since he had walked around the market before, most had to know that a man of this size was Zayne.

Mary stepped back to give Rose and Zayne some space. Maybe she had been watching the two too much but for the last two days, they were acting a little awkward around each other. It was odd that Zayne had not given the comb they all knew was for Rose to her yet.

Rose understood right away why so many were slowing down or stopping to look their way. Zayne looked more handsome than usual tonight and the mask made him look more mysterious. He would be approached by many young women tonight. Maybe it would help with the truce.

"Enjoy the night but be alert and stay close," Zayne ordered his men. He couldn’t trust that James or someone else wouldn’t pull something stupid when he thought their guards were down.

"Yes, sir!"

"I will be your guard tonight," Zayne informed Rose.

"But Mary," Rose pointed to Mary. "She is here with me. We won’t go far or stay for too long."

"If you do not mind, there is something I have wanted to say to Finn. Do you mind if I step away to speak to him, Rose?" Mary asked, doing Zayne and the rest of them a favour as she could not watch Rose and Zayne be so awkward anymore.

"You can. You do not need my permission," Rose replied. Still, she was curious about what Mary had to say to Finn. The pair rarely spoke to each other and Finn acted like he was afraid of Mary.

Rose was left standing alone with Zayne as the other soldiers grouped up and walked away to enjoy the festival. "You look handsome tonight."

"I do not look handsome other nights? I am only teasing you," Zayne added before she could panic. "And you look beautiful. I didn’t get the chance to tell you before. Stop troubling the flowers, Rose. They suit you. Were you trying to make a flower crown before?"

"Yes. How do you know?" Rose asked. Zayne wasn’t around when she failed miserably to make the crown.

"I passed by the garden and saw how many flowers you wasted. The other flowers will weep when they see you coming," said Zayne.

Rose wanted to forget about her mess but as usual, Zayne would never let her forget. "I didn’t waste all the flowers. Some of the ones from my failed crown are in my hair. While Mary is away, I can walk with you to where you want to go. I will leave your side if you need to speak to anyone. The ladies are ready to approach you."

"I don’t care about their readiness. I will not entertain any of their advances. I am only here because you and the soldiers wanted to enjoy a night out. I will escort you where you want to be. You also have quite the attention on you," Zayne commented, peering over Rose at two men looking her way.

It was good and bad that Rose had gotten so dolled up. She was an outsider to this town so many would be curious about her.

"Why are you trying to fidget with everything?" Zayne asked, watching as Rose moved around her mask.

"It is poking right under my eye. I will have to bear with it as I don’t want to be the only one without a mask. Why are they gathering over there?" Rose questioned, noticing how many rushed toward a carriage.

"The royals have arrived," Zayne answered.

Zayne anticipated James coming up with some excuse for why his family could not mingle with the people of the town. From where he stood, Zayne saw how the palace guards circled the carriage to stop the people from getting close to who was inside.

"We should go to buy food while everyone is distracted. The lines will be short now. You," Zayne started to offer his hand but he remembered his mistake.

Rose didn’t miss his hesitation and caught his hand before he pulled too far away. "You misunderstood and I was too embarrassed by my thoughts to explain it to you. I wasn’t afraid of you when you touched me. You touched me when I was feeling embarrassed over missing you when you will have to leave."

"Rose-"

"I know that it is silly. What was I thinking of wanting you to stay in this kingdom when it is not good? You must go home to your family at some point," Rose rambled, trying to stop herself from worrying about the day she had to say goodbye.

"Rose," Zayne touched her shoulders to calm her. "You must take a deep breath and stop speaking so fast."

Rose took a deep breath like Zayne instructed her to.

"Announcing her royal majesty, Queen Lilian and the princess Kiara!" They heard a man announce.

"Lilian?" Rose repeated, a pain building in her head as she thought about the name. "I," she swayed to the left after losing her balance but Zayne helped her to stand.

Rose bowed her head, trying to calm herself. Her head ached so much that it was hard for Rose to keep her eyes open. Rose knew the feeling of being close to blacking out all too well but this time, she tried to fight against it.