The Forgotten Princess Rose-Chapter 229

Hours later, Rose returned to the palace with Anna and Finn sent to escort them there and back home.

Rose looked out the window, thinking of where Alexander had picked to go. Was it safe for him to walk around when everyone else stayed inside because of Zayne’s soldiers? If he told Zayne that Alexander had left and wanted him not to be stopped by soldiers, would Zayne do it?

"Why do you seem so down, Rose? Or should I call you Princess Rose?" Finn wondered.

Rose turned to Finn. "I don’t want it to be known that I was the king’s daughter."

"Oh, I don’t mean because of that. I meant from you marrying Zayne. You know, the soldier’s attitudes toward you are changing. You’ll find that they will be a little more protective of you," said Finn.

Rose didn’t believe it since she was used to everyone looking at her like she didn’t belong. "It is hard to believe. Is it all because of Zayne?"

Finn thought about it. "Some of it is. A lot of the men and women saw how kind you were when you worked for Zayne and seeing how the slightest noise scared you, they saw that you were harmless. Their opinion about you had changed but you were looked at as Zayne’s woman so they couldn’t just speak to you."

"Those who didn’t start to like you will protect you because you are Zayne’s woman. They respect him too much to let you get hurt and do nothing. A lot will change when you carry the Hamilton name. You still need to be careful as there are a few who don’t care for you," said Finn.

It was primarily the men sent to watch Zayne by the king and the court.

"Oh," Finn remembered something important. "Only your sister Willow will be present at dinner tonight. The others have already left for the home they will use. Our court might have scared them a little bit."

Rose wasn’t happy to hear this. The point of heading to the palace was to see her siblings. "What did the court do to scare them?"

"The court is a little different from us. They act like they are the royals which is why Zayne doesn’t get along well with them. They are against the idea of your sister becoming queen and think the other princesses should be taken as spoils of war to be shared amongst men back home," Finn shared, wanting Rose to be ready for what she was walking into.

"In other words, they want the royal lineage here to mix with the lineage from your home but those princesses might not be treated well. That is why they fled," Anna pieced together.

Finn nodded his head. "Yes but don’t worry. Zayne will not allow it therefore the king will not allow it. Our war is not with the princesses. All we wanted was for the king to be dead. We do not need to hurt innocent princesses who were caged most of their lives."

"But the court wants something different," said Rose.

"They always do. When we found your siblings, Zayne already knew the men from the court wouldn’t miss the chance to think of either offering a princess to their sons or suggesting they have one. Anything to tie their names to a royal family," Finn explained.

Anna looked at Rose. "If the court is that bad, why didn’t Zayne stop Rose from coming?"

"Willow would be all alone at dinner and truthfully, Rose cannot avoid seeing some of the courtmen at some point. Do you remember Lucy?" Finn asked Rose. It had been a while since he heard the name.

Rose remembered the soldier who wanted her gone. "I do. Zayne sent her away."

"He did and to no surprise, she spoke of you. She informed the court that Zayne was distracted by a woman. At that time, Zayne was only helping you so she was wrong. She’s no longer part of Zayne’s portion of the army. Lucy ruined the chance to return," said Finn.

Finn was hoping she would return since she was a good soldier but after she said too much to the court and the king. He looked forward to when Lucy learned that Rose was the missing daughter of a lord and Rose wasn’t simply some distraction. Rose would soon be Zayne’s wife.

"Forgive me," Finn put his hand up as his laughter started to get the best of him. "Don’t worry about Lucy. Her father must have punished her a lot for losing her place beside Zayne. Are you ready to meet others from our kingdom or would you like to go back? It is not too late."

"I cannot leave Willow alone," Rose decided. If she couldn’t face the court, how would she ever be able to survive in the land she was heading to? "I know I would be judged for being next to Zayne. I am prepared for it."

"Good. It is not like you have much to worry about because Zayne will be by your side and I will be your sister’s guard for the night. The court is a little afraid of Zayne because of the last time he sat with them. They are more likely to talk about you behind your back than to your face," Finn reassured Rose.

"Is it because of the finger he chopped off?" Rose asked.

"No. This incident involved a window. The men here are a mixture of the ones who never want Zayne to take the throne if something happens to his brother and others secretly plotting for him to be king. He has conquered lands in the name of our kingdom. Many see him as a better protector," said Finn.

Anna was the only one excited as she thought of how Rose might have a chance to become queen one day.

"I see. He is there," Rose noticed Zayne right away as the carriage entered the palace gates. "And there are people behind him."

Zayne walked down the steps to open the carriage door for Rose. He thought of leaving her at her parent’s home tonight but Rose couldn’t run and Willow needed her.

"Are you certain you want to do this, Prince Zayne? Your brother already picked out a list of women most suited for you," he heard from behind him.

"A woman from this kingdom isn’t worth much now unless you want to take her as a servant."

"I wonder, how upset would my brother be if I killed all of you now?" Zayne asked, stopping to look over his shoulder at the small group. "If you like your tongues and teeth, don’t show them to me."