章 18: Chapter 18

Zayne looked out one of the windows in his bedroom toward the mountain Rose had come from. He still could not believe that she had pushed herself to walk from the brothel to reach his camp overnight.

Rose had to have been going without any rest since it wasn't easy for anyone to reach here during that time if they were stopping to rest.

She looked exhausted and while she wasn't the thinnest person he had ever seen, she looked like she could use a feast to give her the strength she needed to continue to wherever she was heading.

To think there was someone here who impressed him and it wasn't the king he was yet to meet with. This land did have its surprises.

Zayne moved away from the window to search for an extra map he should have in the room. He was curious about where Rose planned to go from here or how long she could hide from Graham. While it wasn't his business to care about, he didn't want her to go back to Graham because the man annoyed him so Zayne wanted Graham to lose what he liked.

Zayne found the map tucked among books and picked it up. He could have a maid send it but Rose might like a familiar face. She should have gotten cleaned up by now and had her food sent to her.

Zayne left the room to see what the little runner was up to. If she was already plotting to sneak out of here when she wasn't a prisoner.

Rose's room wasn't far from his so he reached there quickly. Lucy, who was the one to volunteer to guard her, wasn't standing outside the door.

Zayne knocked and then awaited an answer. There was silence on the other side so he knocked again in case she missed the first time. Zayne grew suspicious that she might have sneaked out even though he had warned her that it wasn't safe to do so.

He had no choice but to break the door since it was locked.

"Rose!" Zayne called, looking around the room for her but there wasn't any sight of her. Why didn't she listen that she shouldn't leave?

Rose might have walked herself right into a group of men who wouldn't be happy to know she was from this land.

When Zayne walked to the balcony as it had to be the way she escaped, he noticed something at the side of the bed. Rose was tucked away in the corner with a blanket wrapped around her. How tired did she have to be to not have heard when he broke the door?

"This girl," Zayne muttered, running his fingers through his hair as the adrenaline started to fade. He shouldn't have been so concerned over her leaving and finding herself in trouble after he had warned her. "Why isn't she using the bed?"

Everything he had seen about her was strange. There was a perfectly good bed yet she found more comfort in a blanket and the floor. How much did the brothel or the man obsessed with her mess her up that she had to be this way? He had a good idea how but he would never understand it like she did.

Zayne considered leaving her as she was since she didn't like to be touched but she looked uncomfortable. By the time she was ready to leave, her back would be hurting and she would not make it far from the camp like she did last night.

"Where the fuck is the food?" Zayne wondered.

He expected Rose to be hungry but not so hungry that she could be done already. It wasn't that long ago since he sent her to get cleaned up. No one could have brought the food and taken the plates already.

Zayne walked to the corner where Rose rested to wake her so she could lay on the bed. He would make sure that no one disturbed her so she didn't have to fear someone entering her room.

When he kneeled before Rose and reluctantly tapped her hand, her eyes opened wide and already he saw the fear.

"Don't," Rose pleaded with him. She tried to back away from him but the wall she was resting on stopped her from going anywhere. She was between the bed and the wall so there wasn't anywhere for her to go. "Please don't. You said you wouldn't."

"And I won't. I was only trying to wake you since you looked uncomfortable on the floor. I knocked on the door but you didn't answer. I had to break it open," Zayne said, pointing at the door to prove his story.

Rose peeped over the bed to see the broken door. She didn't understand how he was able to break the door and it didn't wake her. She was used to waking up to the slightest noise near her room when she was at the brothel. "Why didn't I wake up?"

"Because you spent the night travelling across the mountain most likely without any food. Anyone would be so tired they don't hear drums being beat but you still managed to wake from someone touching you. You can lay on the bed, Rose. No one will come in here to trouble you," said Zayne.

"You are here," Rose softly spoke. She was yet to know why he came to the room to see her.

Zayne showed the map in his hands which was now wrinkled up after he was angry that she might have snuck out. "I brought the map you asked for. Thought you might want to start planning. We will need to get you another knife so you can stab intruders."

"Then I might have stabbed you," Rose answered. If she had a knife, she would have aimed it at him as she believed when she opened her eyes that he was here to do something to her.

His story about why he was here seemed true but Rose knew not to fall for anyone's kindness.

Rose pulled the blanket up to hide herself. The woman who came before had not returned with the dress like she said she would.

Zayne managed to see that her shoulders were not covered by anything other than the blanket. "You did not receive the dress? What about food?" He asked after Rose shook her head at the first question. "Those idiots. I will get you both but you must use the bed instead of the floor."

"It is comfortable here-"

"It doesn't look that way. It is either you use the bed or you do not get the map and food. What do you prefer?" Zayne asked.

Rose didn't want to use the bed since it was easy for someone to find her in the room, but she was hungry and needed the map to find a church. She nodded her head, agreeing to use the bed like he wanted.

She only needed to not be in such deep slumber that she could not hear when a door was broken down.

Lucy entered the room, her pace slowing down once she noticed Zayne was present. Why was it that he ended up coming here?