The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 328: Return to Lockwood (3)

"I’m not thrilled that you are leaving so soon, but I am going to pretend that I am. You cannot just pack one dress and many pants, Annalise. Luckily, I am here to help you," Celine said, standing up from the bed to go to Annalise’s closet to get her dresses. "You don’t know how long you will be staying there so you might need more clothes."

"I’m sorry I don’t have any money you can use over there. Would they take jewels? I have a few saved you can exchange for money-"

"It is fine, mother. I still have some money left over from when I was working as a maid and if I need more money, I can just get another job. Not as a maid at the manor since Rafael has fired me," Annalise replied, still not believing this was how she ended up fired.

She wasn’t concerned about money since she could find a way to get some. There were always jobs in towns.

Celine took out a black dress from Annalise’s clothes and started to fold it. "Since he has fired you, doesn’t that mean he plans to take care of you? Give you money to spend?"

"For doing what? I don’t want to rely on Rafael’s money. I am capable of working to make my own. Besides, it is not like I need to make a lot of money. I will be fine," Annalise assured her mother. The most she needed money for was for little things that caught her eye. She would eat with the knights and she wasn’t going to buy a lot of dresses.

"The truce will make you busy. Some men like to work hard so the women they care for do not need to. Over there, the women of a certain class wouldn’t do chores like I do, right?" Celine asked.

"You are like a queen, so no you would not be doing chores over there," Annalise answered. That was normal for noblewomen to not lift a finger since there were maids around, but Annalise wasn’t used to that. Especially with growing up watching her parents do the chores.

The men in the Castro kingdom might lose their minds if they were to know that Phillip took part in cleaning. Annalise often thought her father was better at it than her mother. It showed that it wasn’t something only women were capable of doing.

"I know you wouldn’t like relying on him for money, but if he brings up that you don’t need to work because he will take care of you, try not to dismiss his offer in a bad way. They just like having you live without worrying about money. And please Annalise, do not spend more money on weapons. You have enough," Celine said, looking at the dagger on the floor. "Isn’t there something else you like?"

"I am thinking of getting a pet," Annalise said, putting the dagger in her bag before her mother could hide it.

"Nothing that would scare anyone right? A dog or a cat is a nice start. No," Celine added as Annalise shook her head. "Well, at least I tried. The pets you pick up aren’t my concern anymore. It is up to you and Rafael to decide if they stay wherever you two are. Do you still want us to go ahead with building your own home?"

"Yes. I must return at some point and if Rafael comes with me, I don’t want to be here having to sneak around for a moment alone because you and father are here," Annalise answered.

Celine slowly nodded her head, understanding where Annalise was coming from. "Have you slept with him?"

Annalise’s eyes widened and she ended up choking on spit because of her mother’s question.

Celine continued to fold dresses for Annalise and stooped down to place them in the bags on the floor. "Don’t be so dramatic, Annalise. I am your mother."

Annalise patted her chest with her right hand and covered her mouth with her left hand as she tried to get over her coughing fit thanks to her almost choking. "You say that as if it stops your question from being weird. I don’t want to talk about that with you or anyone else."

"Why can’t you tell me? As your mother, I need to have a conversation with you. You must already know how babies are made so if you are doing something with Rafael or think of doing it, consider what can come out of it. You know-" freёweɓnovel.com

"Mother please!" Annalise exclaimed, reaching out to her mother. "I do not need to hear this. I am aware of what would happen. Can we please go back to just packing and you saying you will miss me?"

"Give me a little break here, Annalise. We talk but I have not given you a proper talk about men, sex, and marriage. I just want to make sure before you leave with him that I told you everything you needed to hear from your mother. I don’t want there to be anything you were left in the dark about. So please, ask me anything," Celine said, joining Annalise on the floor.

She had a conversation with Annalise about bleeding every month, how her body would change as she grew, feelings she might have towards boys, and once spoke of the act of how babies are made, but now that Annalise was with Rafael and their relationship was bound to lead to marriage, she wanted to have another talk.

"You do not need to worry, mother. You have told me everything I need to know and what you didn’t tell me, I found out on my own. Still, it wouldn’t have hurt to start this conversation another way instead of asking if I had slept with him. I know I am not like most daughters for us to sit down and have these important talks, but you have done your job," said Annalise, honestly feeling like her mother had done her part in telling her about being a woman.

There wasn’t anything she was confused about when it came to her relationship with Rafael. She was far from being in the dark about how everything worked and by everything, Annalise meant sex which at this point should be called making love.

When she asked a question, her parents were surprised at first, but they would always give her an answer instead of telling her she didn’t need to worry about it.

Celine sighed in relief. "Good. I can stop worrying that I didn’t tell you enough. You’ll figure out what you don’t know on your own, but if you need any advice, you can always come to me. I enjoy our mother-daughter talk even if it is about swords. I will miss you so can you please find a way to send letters to me."

"I will try. Rafael might know a way to get letters to you. One day I will bring you to see what life is like beyond our land," Annalise promised, wanting to share the experience with her mother. She knew that her mother shared her curiosity about the Castro kingdom.

"That is nice but unless your father is willing to go, I will stay here. Somebody has to be by his side. We need to hurry," Celine said, looking out the window at the sky turning dark. "He must be impatient to see you."

Since Annalise and Phillip returned home, it felt like the day was going by fast to send Annalise away. Celine would have liked for it to have gone slower so she could enjoy her time with Annalise, but then she thought of the young couple being impatient to see each other.

"Are you going to cry, mother? It is not like I am never going to return?" Annalise said, inching closer to her mother to comfort her. With her mother distracted, she tried to sneak a knife into her bag to avoid hearing she had too many weapons.

"It is not that. It just makes me tear up to see that you are ready to start a Chapter in your life with Rafael and when you return, you might be moving to your own home. It was all too fast, but the day had to come. Do not put that knife in your bag too or so help me," Celine said, eyeing Annalise’s hand behind her back.

Annalise was amazed by how fast her mother’s tears dried up. "You must teach me how you do that, mother."