The Knight's Mysterious Maid
Chapter 141: Fun (4)

Chapter 141: Fun (4)

Annalise groaned, lifting her head from the hard surface she landed on. It somehow fitted her to be the one to fall into a hole. ’Why is there a hole in the middle of a field where children might play?’

Annalise tried to get up, but something weighing down her back stopped her. She opened her eyes, having somewhat of an idea of what she had landed on. To no surprise, Rafael laid under her with his eyes closed.

’Did I kill him? Not like this!’ Her mind screamed. It would be boring if this was how he died.

"R-Rafael?" She hesitantly poked his face. "Are you dead?"

"Move your knee," Rafael muttered in a low deep voice. He was already in a lot of pain and Annalise wasn’t making it any better.

"My knee? Oh," Annalise smiled as she realised where her foot was positioned. "I almost rid Beatrice of any chance to have a grandchild. You could always adopt, but your wife might not be happy."

"Stop talking and move," Rafael said. He was yet to open his eyes as he tried to get over the pain of Annalise falling on top of him.

"I’m sorry. You should have just let me fall into the hole. Why is there a hole here?" Annalise questioned as she got off of Rafael. She looked up at how high it was from the top. "We can climb out of here. When you feel better of course. I’m really sorry," Annalise said, sitting down beside him.

"How did you not hear me calling out to you to warn you about the hole?" Rafael asked, finally opening his eyes to look at her and see if she was alright.

"Well, the wind was in my ear and I got really lost in the moment. I really did not hear anything else. You should roll over so I can check if your back is okay. I was supposed to be accompanying you and I ended up almost getting you killed. You didn’t need to follow me and I could have landed in the hole myself, but still- Ow!" Annalise winced, pulling her hand away from Rafael. "Why did you pinch me?"

"Because you are not very grateful that I saved you from a nasty fall and you keep acting like nothing hurts you. A small pinch did so this fall would have hurt you. Just accept that I helped you, Annalise. Why is it so bad that someone wants to save you from being hurt?" Rafael asked.

Annalise scooted her feet up to her chest and hugged them. "Because I don’t want to owe you after. It is this weird thing my grandmother has with the world. I don’t like to go against her ways and how close she is to nature. That and I can protect myself. I am not weak. Now look at you because you tried to save me. I owe you."

"I didn’t save you with the intention of getting something in return. I won’t tell your grandmother-"

"You don’t have to tell her. She also seems to know. I feel like she is watching me now. If I don’t do something good in return for you saving me, she might just set a lot of bad luck on me and I don’t want that from my grandmother. Plus, I will get hit in the head with a stick and that really hurts. Getting you out of here and back to the manor in one piece should count as me repaying the favour. Now roll on your back," Annalise ordered him.

Rafael stared at her.

"Please," she added with a smile.

"I hope to never meet any more of your family," Rafael said, carefully turning on his side. He knew there had to be a few bruises and cuts from the small rocks he landed on.

The only saving grace with his fall was that there was grass thrown at the bottom of the hole to soften the landing of anyone falling in. It would have been more helpful if they removed the rocks at the bottom first.

"I need to roll up your shirt to see. Nothing more," Annalise said and then began to lift his shirt.

"When you add nothing more, it forces me to be concerned for what you are doing behind me," said Rafael.

"I need to so you don’t think my silence means I am staring at your body. Your back doesn’t seem too bad. There are some scratches with a little bit of blood and the skin around them is turning red, but it is not enough to have you laying around in bed for days. I should check your head for bleeding. Stay still," Annalise advised him as she raked her fingers through his hair and then pulled them out to look for blood.

"There doesn’t seem to be any bleeding and it’s a bit dark for me to part your hair to search properly. Can you sit up? The sooner you get out of here, the better. We should go right back to the manor."

"I will go back to the manor myself. You can stay at the festival and find the other servants," Rafael replied, sitting up with her help though it was not needed. The pain was bearable now that Annalise was no longer on top of him.

"It is my fault that you ended up in this hole. For you to be injured and I do not return with you, would show that I am a terrible maid for you. Besides, only Edwin is left back and he will need some help taking care of you. If you do not let me help you now, I will have to owe you another day and I don’t want that. If there is time, I will go back to the festival once you are in bed. I will climb out first and then pull you up," Annalise said.

She stood up to search for the best way to climb out without accidentally slipping and falling back down on Rafael. She might kill him if that were to happen. She could just leave him down here if not for her grandmother.

’But he did save me,’ Annalise sighed. She couldn’t be so cruel to leave him now.

"I will- Wait! Wait! Wait!" Annalise repeated, patting Rafael’s chest as she found herself hoisted in the air and up towards the opening of the hole. She froze, startled by him not only getting up without her noticing but also holding her in his arms.

"Annalise," Rafael said to get her attention. She was as still as the statue of royals throughout the town. It seemed like he had broken her by suddenly touching her without letting her know. They were supposed to be past that, but she was still shaken up. "Grab the top and pull yourself up. I will push you."

What she was feeling couldn’t be more torture than it was for him when she had her hands moving around in his hair and when she was kneeing him while laying on top of him. She had to suffer a bit so it wouldn’t be him alone.

"Right," Annalise muttered, grabbing the top to pull herself out. Rafael hoisted her up as much as he could and pushed her legs up to help her out. "Take my hand," she offered it when she was safely out of the hole.

To avoid pulling her back inside, Rafael climbed out of the hole without taking her hand.

"We need to go back to the manor now," Annalise spoke softly as she walked ahead of him.

This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om