The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 288: Home (1)

"Are you nervous, Thomas?" Annalise asked.

They were close to home after sneaking by where the border guards roamed, looking out for anyone they could capture. It was close to a three-day walk to get back to where they belonged.

"I wasn’t nervous until just now. Are you nervous? Because that would make me nervous. You are supposed to be the fearless one between us," Thomas said, starting to panic.

If Annalise was nervous, he should be too since she was the one who said she wasn’t worried about her father’s reaction when they returned home.

"It was a mistake to ask you if you were nervous. I feel a little bit nervous. We’ve been gone for so long and didn’t send any messages that we were fine. If they don’t kill us, we should work through our punishment together. I might get locked away in my bedroom. I don’t know what might happen to you," Annalise said, missing the way she caused Thomas to panic more.

She wouldn’t be surprised if her father tied her to a tree to make her stay put or assigned guards to watch her at all times of the day.

"Good to know that you are aware you will be punished," Ezra said, looking back at the two.

If it was up to him, he would have the two of them working on taking care of the crops, dragging around the wood to help with repairing some of the homes, and gathering some of the materials needed for their weapons.

"You shouldn’t talk so much, or I might get you in trouble for waiting so long to rescue your dear princess," said Annalise.

Ezra’s brows were surprised by what she titled herself. "Princess? You’ve started to use their titles. I remember you would get upset when other children called you a princess. Now you are fine with saying it. I hope a lot about you has not changed."

"It was a joke. Don’t be so serious. I have not changed and I would appreciate it if none of you would go out of your way to try to figure out what about me has changed. I have not lost my talents to throw any of you on your ass," Annalise warned.

She didn’t mind anyone wanting to know what life was like beyond the border since she was once curious, but she didn’t want to hear comments with lies about how she had changed. Annalise felt the same way as she did when she had left aside her feelings.

No one was going to know about Rafael aside from Thomas and maybe her grandmother who was always the one in her family who wasn’t angry to talk about life beyond the border. Telling her father about Rafael would have him walking to march far beyond the border to kill him.

Despite feeling nervous not long ago, it all went away when Annalise spotted familiar houses. Her home was different compared to the towns she visited only with the houses being smaller. There wasn’t a need to have a big house with unnecessary space.

Annalise’s childhood home was no different in size compared to many of the other houses since it was only her and her parents. Her grandmother continued to live on her own so she could have peace and be with nature.

Ezra gave a signal to alert the guards that they weren’t a threat and soon some of the guards ran toward them to check if they were hurt and then ran past them to make sure they weren’t being followed. The border guards should not find the paths they used to get around them.

"Send a message to Phillip that we have brought back his daughter and Thomas," Ezra ordered the guards.

Annalise smiled and gave greetings to the men and women eager to see that she was back.

"Does anyone want to speak to my father on my behalf?" She asked the group. It would be a nice return gift if someone agreed to do it.

"No," some replied while others shook their heads.

"Right," Annalise muttered.

She followed Ezra to search for her father and hoped that her father was out looking around the land to check for intruders. Unfortunately for Annalise, her mother and father were present.

A crowd started to form as news of her return quickly spread.

Annalise walked ahead of Ezra and Thomas to greet her parents. Her mother and father stood side by side at the door of their house, looking down at her and Thomas.

Annalise’s mother, Celine Woods, eyes were teary while her father, Phillip Woods, stood with an expression Annalise couldn’t figure out what he was feeling. He was either fuming with anger or maybe it was disappointment.

Phillip looked away from Annalise to Thomas since he was going to address him first. "Take Thomas to reunite with his family. I will have a word with him later. I will speak with my daughter in private," he said, turning around to go inside.

It was now Annalise knew that he was angry with her as she would expect.

Annalise took her bags from the men carrying them because she didn’t want anyone looking into what she had brought home. She needed to put away the helmet, dresses, and dagger Rafael gifted her.

Annalise flashed Thomas a little smile to let him know it would all be fine. This was all her doing and he was just following her to keep her safe so as she promised, she would take all the blame. He would still receive a punishment, but she would take the most of the heat.

Annalise walked up the steps to her mother who waited for her.

"You silly girl," Celine said, embracing Annalise. She pulled Annalise close for a hug so she could check if this was an illusion they all saw or real. Feeling the warmth of Annalise’s body confirmed that this was real and her daughter was back. "I swear you will be the death of me."

"I missed you too mother," Annalise replied, hugging her mother. She truly missed her mother’s hugs that-

"Ow!" Annalise groaned after her mother pulled on her ear.

"What were you thinking?" Celine whispered, leading Annalise inside so she could scold her daughter in private before they had a meeting with everyone. "You mustn’t argue with your father. Of all the things you did, this is the most foolish one."

"I am aware," Annalise said, rubbing her ear to try to soothe the pain. "Thanks to you, I might not be able to hear what father wants to say because you almost pulled my ear off."

"Sorry," Celine apologised. She moved Annalise’s hand out of the way to see what damage she had caused. "You will survive it, Annalise. Don’t tell me that you have become a baby."

Annalise became distracted by her father standing along with his right hand covering his face and left hand on his hip. She placed her bags on the floor to deal with after she spoke with her father.

Annalise walked briskly to where her father stood. "Father," she said, reaching up to touch the hand covering his face. She was careful not to have him scratch the scar on his face. "I am home safe-"

Phillip moved his left hand from his side and used it to pull Annalise to his chest so he could hug her. He was angry with her for leaving home in the middle of the night to travel to enemy lands and not sending a message to let him know she was alive and well.

He had started to think the worst when all the groups he sent out returned without her. He was getting ready to declare that they storm the border walls where the border guards were and take over it once and for all. He was ready to go straight to the palace and murder everyone in sight. Killing who he needed and flipping the kingdom upside down to find his daughter.

"I thought I lost you," Phillip said, squeezing Annalise’s arm. He moved his right hand from his face to fully embrace her. He never wanted to feel such pain again.

Annalise moved her father’s hand from covering his face, revealing the tears that coated his cheeks. "I’m sorry, father. I won’t worry you again," she promised.