The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 289: Home (2)

Annalise used her thumb to wipe away her father’s tears. She missed seeing this side of him. As always, he looked scary to outsiders, but to her, he was an emotional person. More so than her mother and she liked every second of it.

"Did you come inside so that you could cry, father?" Annalise asked, teasing him as she always did.

"I am still angry with you," Phillip said, letting go of Annalise now that he had his fill of hugging her for now. "Talk," he said, folding his arms as he looked down at her. "Where have you been all this time?"

Annalise looked off to the side to avoid her father’s gaze. His tears had dried up fast and now he was staring into her soul for the answers he needed. "You might want to sit down and mother should stand beside you to help me hold you back if you try to walk out the door."

Phillip didn’t like the sound of this. He was getting the feeling that he needed to grab his sword and search for someone to kill. "Nonsense. Tell me what it is. Who do I have to kill?" He asked.

"Father!" Annalise whined. She was yet to share that she worked for Rafael and he was already looking to pick a fight. "You must sit and listen or I will keep what I did to myself. I want to be honest and tell you where I have been, but we will not get anywhere if you look to grab a sword before I explain."

Phillip glanced behind Annalise at his wife staring at him, tapping her feet on the ground which showed she lacked patience. He could also read her mind that she was screaming at him to sit down.

Phillip reluctantly sat down on a wooden chair and folded his arms. He wouldn’t have to sit if Annalise wasn’t about to deliver him bad news. "Go on," he urged her. He could not wait much longer to hear what made her avoid his gaze. He mentally prepared himself for the worst.

"I have always told you that I am curious about what life is like beyond where it is safe for us to walk around. I have only listened to stories from those who have ventured to that side, but I had to see for myself what makes us so different. I also wanted to gather information for you. I did here and there along with the fact I killed two guards," Annalise said, stopping to look at her father.

She had to keep an eye on his anger to stop him from leaving. His anger was replaced by a smile as he was proud that she took out two guards.

"For most of my time away from home, I worked as a maid for Rafael Callahan," Annalise said, mumbling Rafael’s name so it came out as nonsense.

"What?" Celine asked, drawing close to Annalise to hear what she said. Judging from her husband looking lost, he had also not understood what Annalise said. "Be out with it instead of dragging this out, Annalise."

"I worked for Rafael Callahan-"

"You did what!?" Phillip yelled.

His veins became evident thanks to his anger and Annalise was almost certain she heard the wooden chair crack. She lunged forward to push him back down into his seat just as he tried getting up.

Her father was as tall as many of the knights, but more bulky than many of them. It was thanks to her years of calming her father that she was able to deal with men twice her size.

"Father, please stay in your seat," Annalise said, trying her best to keep him still, but she soon found herself being tossed to the side.

"Have you lost your mind, child?" Phillip asked as he walked to where he kept his weapons. "Of all people, you worked for that man’s son."

Annalise turned to her mother for help. "Umm...mother?"

Celine was just as surprised as her husband to hear that Annalise worked as a maid for a knight. She could never forget that last name after her husband fought the man, River Callahan. This could be used to mock Phillip in the future should anyone know. However, she couldn’t let her husband march out to who knows where to search for the Callahans.

"Phillip," she called to him as she carefully approached him. "Phillip, why are you searching for weapons there? I moved them."

"Mother, is that honestly important right now?" Annalise asked, taking a seat in the chair her father was meant to be sitting in.

"It is important. That is my area to mix my poisons-"

"No one wants to be sitting close to poisons. This area is better suited for weapons. What if someone tries attacking our home? We need weapons spread around," Phillip argued. He continued to rummage through the baskets for his swords.

"I have claimed this area as mine. You are the one to say we need more poisons to place on the weapons," Celina retorted, closing all the baskets Phillip opened. "Phillip," she said in a low threatening tone. "Open another basket and I will throw you on your ass."

Phillip stopped before he could lift another basket cover. "Where did you hide the weapon, woman?"

"Near the doors and the windows. Now listen you old-"

"Old?!" Phillip exclaimed, offended by the word. "You are not much younger than I am."

Annalise leaned on the large small table beside the chair to comfortably watch her parents. She would bet they forgot what started all of this. "Father, I met the man you fought against. River Callahan."

Phillip stopped trying to find his weapons and turned to Annalise. He could always grab a sword from someone outside. "Did he speak of me? Make the claim that he beat me? You think he could take on your father?"

"He didn’t speak of you. It was a shame because I really wanted to hear his side of how your fight went. I don’t think he can take you, father," Annalise said to please him. She had not seen River seriously using a sword to know if he was better than her father. "He lives quietly with his wife and doesn’t seem interested in fighting unless he has to protect his family. You might have the edge."

Phillip already knew it to be so that he would win against River should they ever cross paths again. Once he was finished with the father, he was going straight for the son and anyone who saw Annalise working as his maid.

’Father, I want to have a conversation without you interrupting me to look for a weapon. If we cannot talk properly, I will go to my grandmother and stay there," Annalise said, standing up to act like she was leaving.

Phillip could not believe she had not long returned and she was ready to leave him again. He watched her go to the bags she dropped on the floor. "Annalise," he said, holding out his shaky hand.

Celine cleaned her space now that Phillip was distracted, fearing that Annalise was going to leave him. He always let Annalise turn him into an emotional wreck.

"That is enough. We are going to sit as a family and talk about what happened during her time away. I don’t want any more interruptions," she said, looking at Phillip. "And I don’t want any more mumbling to hide the truth," she said, turning to Annalise.

"We are to have a normal conversation to figure everything out or so help me," Celine said, accidentally destroying the basket cover she was holding because of her strong grip. "Understood?"

Annalise and Phillip nodded their heads, both not wanting to make her angrier than she already was.