The Forgotten Princess Rose
Chapter 124

Chapter 124: Chapter 124

"I have known for some time now what I felt for you. I have recently tried to admit it but you misunderstood. It is not fair to you that you do not know there is someone who has feelings for you nearby. I will never act upon my feelings and make you feel uncomfortable. I never had any intentions of trying something but you must know," said Zayne.

"Have I broken you?" Zayne wondered, snapping his fingers to wake Rose.

It could have been the biggest mistake he ever made or maybe this confession would push them in a good direction.

"Why? I don’t have anything to offer you. I am only a maid and I have not been one long. I do not understand," Rose replied, puzzled by Zayne’s feelings.

It wasn’t that long ago she had been telling the women that she was not a woman Zayne would court. He had stated in the beginning that she came with too much trouble and Rose agreed with him.

There were never any signs to Rose that Zayne liked her or had she just been blind to it?

Men like Zayne went after women who were similar to them in status or wealth. Rose had neither.

"Tell me what is on your mind. We’ll fall back into being awkward with each other if you do not tell me what you feel. It is fine for you to reject my feelings. I knew not to expect you to accept them," Zayne said though it would hurt a bit to hear it from her lips.

Zayne couldn’t stop his feelings for her and already knew that Rose didn’t want to be with anyone. This was the worst kind of torture for him,

"I do not understand what you like. Is it my face?" Rose asked as Graham always spoke of her beauty. It is what he fell in love with and Rose could never understand it. Shouldn’t there be more to why someone loved you?

What if her face had not been pretty, would Zayne not like her?

"I cannot say your beauty has nothing to do with it but it is other things that make me like you. It is your curiosity about the world, how you act, and treat others. I have come to like everything I am discovering about you. You are special, Rose. It is hard to not like you," Zayne confessed.

Rose didn’t know how to respond. Was this the first real confession she had received?

Zayne was the one who confessed his feelings yet she was the one panicking.

Rose didn’t feel the same way but she didn’t want to reject him now to ruin the night. The night was already almost ruined by her dress. They didn’t need another incident now. "Can I answer another time?"

"You can do as you like and do not think of hurting my feelings. You must be honest with me from here on out, Rose. I will be more honest with you so there won’t be another misunderstanding between us. I will have you moved to another room soon," Zayne offered to make Rose comfortable.

"No," Rose shook her head. "I am most comfortable there and I don’t want to bother anyone. Will we be any different now?"

"No," Zayne responded.

"Then I do not need to move. I will tell you if I no longer feel comfortable there," Rose promised.

Now, Rose felt awkward standing beside Zayne. It was hard to fathom that Zayne liked her. That he liked her being herself and not just her beauty. Rose was left just as confused as the women who dressed her because she never placed herself as a woman who could get his attention.

"You are already overthinking. Had I known it would be this fun to watch you be this way, I would have told you sooner," said Zayne.

"How could you seek entertainment now? This is much for me to take in. It is not fair for you to enjoy this," Rose said, wanting to cover his mouth with her hands.

Zayne left her with so much to think about and he got to enjoy watching her worry about it.

"I have found it and marked where you need to go. You must be careful as many who go there do not return. Please return," Charlotte said to Rose. Her mother would enjoy dressing Rose personally. "I will take some money off if you come with him next time."

There was a small crowd at the door trying to figure out what Zayne was doing inside. Charlotte saw the money that could be made if she advertised that the foreigners had come here. These days the fear about the outsiders was changing to curiousity.

Zayne took the map from Charlotte and planned out how long it would take them to get to the Ambrose’s.

"You need to travel?’ Rose asked, tiptoeing to see the map.

Zayne lowered the map for Rose to see. "We must travel. She thinks you look like Lady Ambrose."

’That name again,’ Rose thought. Nothing about it felt familiar but if she looked a lot like the lady then maybe she was close to home.

"It is dangerous to go there," Charlotte warned Rose. "If the lord asks you to leave, you must. I do not know if the lady and her daughter came to the festival for you to seek an audience with her now. She attends a few parties around the town."

"Are there fields where the lady lives? Fields with flowers? Many flowers," Rose said, her hope returning.

"I have never been that far but I know there are fields there and mountains. It is all the lord’s land. There should be a small wooden fence around the lord’s land. If you step over, prepare to be attacked. It would be best for you to travel with a merchant who goes that way. Someone familiar with the land. Return tomorrow and I will find someone for you," Charlotte offered.

She would hate to hear of something bad happening to the couple and know it was her who mentioned the Ambrose’s.

"It is time that we shut up so the girls can enjoy the night," Charlotte said, kindly hinting that they were to leave now.

"Oh, thank you," Rose said once more.

"We will come again soon," Zayne said, rolling up the map to put it away.

"No," Rose responded. She already told him that it was too much.

"If you pay beforehand, perhaps she might see it as a waste if she does not show," Charlotte suggested to Zayne.

Rose could not believe the two were teaming up against her. She was trying to have Zayne save his money yet there was always something to stop him from doing so.

Zayne walked ahead to exit, leaving Rose with the new friend she might have made tonight.

"When a man like that confesses his feelings and wants to spoil you, it is not so bad to accept it. I didn’t want to disturb the confession," Charlotte revealed she had been close. "You are living what many dream of. Just in case you do not come again, I want to leave you with some advice. Do not let good things slip from your hands because you are too scared."

"Now go," Charlotte turned Rose to the door. "Show the town the madam’s latest art."