The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 330: Not welcomed (1)

Annalise and Rafael made it to the front of the knights with Ezra joining them instead of staying behind with Thomas and the others to help pull the cart.

Annalise wished she could have ridden ahead to have more of the wind in her hair, but she didn’t so her horse wouldn’t be tired before they reached where they were going to rest.

The sky had long become dark after they left the border, and torches were lit to help light the way. Annalise was not certain how many hours they had been riding for, but she could tell from the sky starting to change colour that it would soon be dawn.

They were a few minutes away from the first stop to let the horses rest, eat grass, and drink water before they would move out again to get to Lockwood in less than three days.

"When we stop to let the horses rest, will you put up a tent to sleep, or do you just lie around on the grass and look up at the sky? It is not raining or too cold that we cannot sleep on the grass to save time from putting up many tents," said Annalise, looking up at the sky. "Then again, I would like to hide from Ezra’s eyes."

"You can either sleep on the grass without a tent or put up one as long as you are ready to move out when it is time to leave, or you will be left behind. Do you want to use a tent?" Rafael asked, glancing to his left at Annalise. He didn’t need one, but if she really wanted one put up, he would do it as soon as they stopped.

"Well, I asked because I would lay wherever you are. I am fine with lying without a tent. If not for my horse needing a break, I could be awake for a few more hours. How long will we be resting for?" Annalise asked, searching for the area they were going to rest.

"An hour or two. We can take our time to get to the palace, but I don’t want us sticking around one area for a long time to attract bad attention," Rafael replied.

There were times when some people were foolishly brave to approach where they set up camp to look to steal some of their supplies. Rafael didn’t want to deal with those people who stayed near these roads to steal from people travelling. He was focused on getting Annalise to the palace safely.

"Would there be a fight? I would not mind since I am craving a fight. My sword has not been decorated by blood for a long time. Though I suppose it wouldn’t be good if I kill someone on this land when I am trying to talk about peace. Will you reveal that I was the one to kill the guards?" Annalise asked, knowing that would put her in a bad light even though she killed them for a good reason.

"No," Rafael answered. It would be used against her by people who wanted to paint her as a savage. The guards could stay dead wherever they were, but now that she brought them up, Rafael was curious when she had killed them. "How did you kill them? When did you do it?"

"I left the manor at night and went to the red light district where I heard they would gather. I had to act like I wanted to sleep with them. The hardest part was trying not to kill them when they put their disgusting hands on my body. They followed me to where no one walked and I killed them. I don’t know if Thomas moved their bodies," Annalise said as it was odd they weren’t found.

Rafael wasn’t happy to hear how she had lured them out. The two had been loud with what was on their mind when it came to women. If there were a chance she messed up in killing them, it would be Annalise the town guards was looking for.

Annalise looked to her right at Rafael’s face and then down at his grip on the reins. "I wouldn’t have gone after them if I didn’t think I could take them, and luckily, Thomas spotted me, so he followed us. I am not a fool to be quick to pick fights. When I know there is a fight I cannot win I take time to plot them out."

"Now that I know who you are, if there is someone you want to kill, you should inform me-"

"Will you be honest with me in the future if there is danger and not leave me in the dark?" Annalise asked, hoping it wasn’t just her who needed to inform him. "Like problems with your uncle. Will you tell me or are you the type to leave me in the dark because you think it is safer? If he learns that we are together, he might hand to kidnap me again."

"If he is targeting you, yes I would tell you. I know that it is more dangerous to keep you in the dark since you won’t know to look out for danger. I will be honest with you just as I want you to be honest with me. No more sneaking off to kill someone. I won’t sneak off to kill anyone," Rafael promised.

Annalise smiled, amused by the rule. "Is this our first house rule of living together? You sound like my mother. Next, you are going to stop me from getting more weapons. I must inform you now that I would like to get a pet, and it is not a dog or a cat."

"I don’t want a snake, spider, beetle or anything else you are thinking of in my bed," Rafael replied, looking at Annalise. It was already hard for him to sleep at night sometimes. When he was finally able to shut his eyes and get some rest, he didn’t want to feel something crawling on him. "Start with a dog."

Annalise shook her head, disagreeing with Rafael. "A dog is boring. A snake is more exciting. Have you ever tried to feed one? Do not frown," she said, enjoying the look on his face now. "I will be the one to care for it, and if it bothers you so much, I will not share a bed with you."

Ezra looked off to the side at the field they were passing. The conversation Annalise was having with Rafael was ridiculous in his opinion. They had not reached where they would be staying and the two were already disagreeing about pets.

For as long as he knew Annalise, she was one to bring home the strangest pets. Ezra hated spiders and had to walk away each time he saw Annalise holding a spider in her hands, trying to show him the new friend she made. Then there were snakes.

Celine disliked Annalise having swords, but Annalise’s love of snakes came from her mother and grandmother. Ezra could take the insects but not the bigger creatures. It was the reason why he never stayed around for dinner. He didn’t care how much of a coward it made him look.

"You can use a room to keep them in and make sure they do not creep out to scare any of the servants. I have not forgotten you scaring some of the maids with a snake. Could you not put together a large cage outside like one for birds so they do not-"

Annalise gasped, shocked by how cruel Rafael could be. "To have them outside when winter is coming? My pets have always slept near me. My spiders make nice homes behind my bed and the snake is in a basket at night. You are acting like there will be many pets. I am only looking to have one. I will start with a small snake and let it have its own room. We can have trees and plants inside the room."

"Well," Annalise said, realising it was all Rafael’s decision. "It is up to you. It is your manor."

"If it escapes the room, I am getting rid of it," Rafael answered. He hoped that her strange love of these animals would stop at her and not be passed on to children should they ever have any.