The Forgotten Princess Rose
Chapter 126

Chapter 126: Chapter 126

"A festival where I wasn’t able to get drunk. Is this really a festival? Are you listening to me or are you focused on what Rose and Mary are doing?" Finn questioned, once again finding Zayne to be pitiful. "They are buying something. No need to be so alert."

Finn left Zayne’s side to go into the carriage first. He could not wait to return to the camp where they would not be stalked anymore.

The king’s plan hadn’t worked in Finn’s opinion. Though the town was beautiful, there were still slaves around the kingdom. All King James had done was prepare a festival to try to distract them.

Zayne waited by the carriage door for Rose’s return with Mary. Something had caught her attention just when it came time for his soldiers to leave. An hour at the festival was more than enough time for his soldiers to have a break but before there could be any danger, they should return home.

Zayne noticed Rose’s suspicious behaviour when she tried to hide something from him. She had been showing him what she bought all night so now that she was being secretive, it had to be for him.

Zayne offered his hand to Rose to help her get inside the carriage.

Rose placed her hand on his, thinking his gesture to be no different from when Mary or Finn helped her. Again, she heard the sounds of women nearby sighing. Rose entered the carriage quickly as along with those sounds, she had witnessed the awful looks she received tonight.

Charlotte’s words remained on Rose’s mind. It was evident that the women who had some interest in Zayne did not like to see another woman by his side. It was like in the brothel when there was a loved customer and all the women fought over him, bullying the woman who got his attention.

Zayne sat beside Rose and closed the carriage door, letting the coachman take them back to camp. He looked to his side at Rose knowing she had to be in her head about something and hoped it wasn’t his confession.

"Rose, you can sleep and we will wake you when we are at home," said Zayne.

"I am not tired yet. It is not near the hour when I go to sleep and I wanted to," Rose stopped, reminded that they were not alone when she noticed Finn and Mary watching them.

Rose let go of the gloves she wanted to give Zayne. Having an audience when she gave Zayne the gift was not what she wanted to do as it was harder to say what she wanted out loud.

"Nothing," Rose added, choosing to look out the window. They shared a room so she could wait a little longer.

Zayne was left puzzled by what Rose wanted to say and could only think that the confession had placed an awkwardness that would remain for days.

Finn shook his head as he watched the two choose to look out the windows instead of speaking. "This is going to take forever. Perhaps you- Why are you looking out the window too? Aren’t you seeing what is before us?"

"Just because we sit on the other side does not mean that they cannot hear us and I want to enjoy the silence so please leave me alone. I am tired," Mary said, uninterested in Finn’s plans. She was ready to get back into her normal clothes and get the day over with.

Finn regretted not travelling on his horse since the three were boring. He closed his eyes, hoping sleep would make the ride be over sooner.

Less than an hour later, Rose accepted Zayne’s hand out of the carriage but she worried about Finn who was still fast asleep though the carriage had stopped.

Neither Zayne nor Mary wanted to wake him and stopped Rose when she tried to.

Rose looked back at the carriage as she walked with Zayne. "It will not be comfortable for him to sleep there and he will think of us as terrible to leave him there. We should wake him."

"He sleeps so well now that he might be angry if you wake him," said Zayne.

"Oh." Rose hadn’t considered that.

Zayne and Mary knew Finn better than Rose did so she trusted them that waking Finn was not the best decision right now.

"Good night Mary," Rose waved goodbye before they parted ways.

"Good night Rose."

Rose was happy to see Mary be so comfortable with her dress and enjoy the festival though they were not there long.

"Was the festival that great? You have not stopped smiling," said Zayne.

Rose nodded her head. "It is my first and now I want to see many more. I should learn to dance so I can join next time. It was hard to not spend all the money I took with me. I will wake early in the morning to remove my things from the carriage. I will not need to go to the market soon."

"Is it because you don’t need anything or do you want to avoid the princess?" Zayne questioned, suspecting it might be due to the princess.

"I don’t want you to add more guards for me. I am fine with exploring around the camp and I am worried about what the princess might do. I hope the princess’s jealousy does not interfere with what you are here for. I do not understand her actions. It was only a hug," Rose said, still confused by the princess’s jealousy.

Rose didn’t have her old feelings for Alexander since he was away for so long. It was like reuniting with a long-lost sibling just like Alexander said.

Zayne opened the bedroom door for Rose to enter first.

"Thank you. Before I go to bed, I wanted to give you something. Forgive me since they aren’t expensive but I think they will suit you. Not that something cheap-"

"Rose, slowly," Zayne encouraged her.

Rose took a deep breath. She worried that he might not like his gift since it was so simple. Rose revealed the gloves she snuck off with Mary to buy for Zayne. "Your hands were cold so I thought you would like a pair. Mary said the knitted kind is best for the cold but there weren’t any. I think you like black since you have many black coats so I picked black."

Rose watched with great nervousness as Zayne took the gloves from her hands and inspected them. She was certain he had many gloves of great quality. As his maid, she put away his clothes and could tell that someone with great talent had made Zayne’s clothes.

"Thank you," Zayne replied, trying on the gloves to see if they fit. "How did you know the size?"

"I picked the largest ones. I was afraid they would not fit but they did," Rose said, relieved that she had picked well. "You can wear them when you go train outside."

"I will not. I will save them for a more special occasion," Zayne answered.

Rose didn’t know what special occasion there could be but she was happy knowing Zayne liked the gift. "I should get to bed now. I want to put away this dress well."

"Wait," Zayne said, going to a drawer to get the comb he failed to give Rose. He opened it the drawer, taking out the lonely coomb to show Rose. "This belongs to you."

"But you bought this for yourself. You lied," Rose realised his intentions then.

"No," Zayne disagreed, placing the comb in the hand of its true owner. "I did need a comb for my hair but this one is too pretty for me."

"You have lied," Rose laughed, not believing his answer. "You did that because I would not accept it. It feels good to give others gifts and now I know how it feels to think about someone not accepting them. I will accept them from now on. As long as you do not spend so much money. You must learn to save," she scolded Zayne.