章 6: Chapter 6

Rose ran as fast as she could to keep up with Mathias and be out of reach of Henry who she was losing in the crowd.

As a soldier, Mathias should be able to help her. He would have the means to look into what the price Graham truly bought her for or help her sneak away.

For eight years she had held onto a promise, never losing hope in it for a second and now at least one of her friends was back.

"Mathias!" Rose called, unable to stop calling his name.

From the moment Mathias spotted Rose when she yelled his name, he did not stop looking at her. Mathias looked at her like he couldn't believe his eyes that she was before him. Rose felt the same way. It was wonderful to see him well and alive, but most importantly back here in town.

Rose waved to Mathias who shook his head like he couldn't believe what he saw.

Rose succeeded in getting near to him and reached her hand out only to be pushed to the ground by another soldier.

"Watch it around the captain."

Rose groaned, her left hand which she fell on was in great pain. She looked up at Mathias who stopped his horse. "Mathias. It's me, Rose."

The soldier who pushed Rose was ready to kick her out of the way, but he had to confirm that she wasn't a woman the captain knew.

Mathias looked down at the girl he never expected to see again. With Graham's obsession with her in the past, he thought she would have been locked away somewhere or killed herself to get away from what Graham wanted to do to her. Was she foolish enough to wait for them?

Mathias looked back to see if Alexander was near. The men Alexander travelled with shouldn't be close right now. Alexander would be happy to see her and forget about the men around, happily revealing their past.

Rose was a reminder of their past. How they were almost sold to be slaves. Mathias didn't need anyone to know of that.

"You!" Henry bent down to force Rose to get up. "You wretch."

Henry knew that she was going to get him killed by pulling a stunt like that. Graham should allow him to tie a rope around her hand and pull on her like the farmers did with their animals.

Henry turned to the soldier she offended. "Excuse her, sir. She must have lost her mind."

"She knows the captain," the soldier who pushed Rose said.

Rose stayed staring at Mathias, not believing he had forgotten her. How could he forget one of the people who ran away with him that day? "Mathias-"

Henry covered Rose's head with the cloak so the soldiers wouldn't see her face. Graham would have his head if he knew that Rose's face was seen by a lot of men.

"Of course, she would know me. Who doesn't know my name? I don't know this woman. Control her," Mathias said, looking away from Rose to stop the guilt from growing.

Rose shouldn't have shown up before him. He hoped that she would not open her mouth about when they were children. None of the men he marched with knew of his past besides Alexander. They had risen far above those days to have that thrown onto their name.

Henry tugged on Rose's arm to start pulling her away.

"Wait! You were there with me at the wall with Alexander-"

Mathias kicked his foot out to hit her chest to get her to shut up. Why couldn't she understand that wasn't to be spoken of now?

Henry unsheathed his sword as the soldier made the mistake of touching Graham's property.

Mathias was confused by why the man was so quick to defend Rose to the point of taking out his sword. It couldn't be that she had become some kind of lady. When taken by Graham, she would have been placed in the brothel. Her clothes looked a little too well for her to have come from the brothel, but women did get gifts from men.

Rose paid no attention to Henry and the soldier. She was more focused on why Mathias acted like he did not know her when he had recognised her earlier. It couldn't be that he was ashamed of what she was now. Back then, they knew her fate if she were to be caught by Graham.

"Out of the way," Mathias said, looking away from Rose once more.

Rose touched her chest where Mathias had kicked her. The pain was too much to ignore. Why was he being this way with her? Rose watched as he rode off on his horse. She had embarrassed herself enough by calling to him only to be pushed to the ground and kicked in the chest.

Rose didn't believe that Mathias did not remember her and if he did, why was he treating one of the people he swore to protect this way? He was still one of the king's men so he shouldn't carelessly harm the people.

The soldier followed Mathias instead of picking a fight with Henry.

"Look at the trouble you've caused," Henry said, putting his sword away now that the two were gone. "Let me see-"

"Do not touch me," Rose said, covering the first buttons of her dress with her right hand.

Henry wanted nothing more than to drag her back to the brothel. Why did Graham like her? Sure she had a pretty face but she was troubled. "You better not have a bruise. If I am injured for this, I will kill you."

Rose ignored the warning. She had other things to think about. She held onto hope that her friends would return to her for eight years. They were all that she knew.

Rose couldn't remember the face of the man she believed to be her father who sold her or what her mother might have looked like. Everything beyond when she was placed in a room with children was a blur.

"I want to return," Rose spoke softly.

Her chest hurt and she didn't know if it was only from the kick.

"That's the best thing you said since we left. Do not try to slip away from me again," Henry warned. He had to inform Graham of the man Rose called out to. Should she have a secret lover all along Graham might finally open his eyes and treat her how she deserved to be treated.

Henry grabbed her hand, not caring about her dislike for others touching her. This was the only way he could guarantee that she wouldn't run again.

"I said…" Rose didn't finish her sentence as the world went dark.

Like once before, the strange memory of a field came to her.