The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 444: Challenge (2)

"I am still getting the feeling that all of you are hiding something from me. My mother is acting odd and my father is nowhere in sight. I won’t question it any more so I won’t ruin any surprise, but I’m onto you. Did you enjoy your first full day here without me?" Annalise asked, curious about how Rafael spent this day.

"It was fun. There were many times when I got lost, but there was always someone to point me to where I needed to go. I bought a few gifts to take back to my parents and if you don’t mind, I bought something for Lydia. I am not the best at buying something for young girls so you may need to take a look at it," Rafael said, nervous about what he picked.

Whenever he bought the children at the orphanage something it came from a list sent to him about what they wanted. Picking out something yourself was a little harder than he thought it should be.

"As long as it is not something to hurt her it should be fine or something more suitable for a boy. Then tomorrow I will also look around for something that she might like. You can join me in looking around. Where are we going to eat? The market will have a lot of food at this time," Annalise said looking at the lights of the market ahead.

"We are not going there," Rafael replied, taking Annalise’s hand to lead her off to the spot he found today.

The knights should be finished and left by now so he would be alone with Annalise.

"Hmm. I’m curious about the kind of night you have planned for us. How is it that you managed to plan something in a town you were not familiar with? Did someone help you? Like Ezra or my father? Is he sulking somewhere because he did? I have not seen him and it is not like my father," Annalise said.

Rafael didn’t know where Phillip had disappeared after claiming he would help with decorations. Wherever Phillip was it was best he stayed there for now.

"Some of the knights helped me get what I needed," Rafael answered.

"So that’s what I saw them rushing around doing. I think that it’s a bit cute how the knights are like your very grown children. Hanging onto your every word and ready to do anything for you. You’re the commander, but many people in your position see so much loyalty. I’ve always noticed that you were a good person which made it hard for me to think of killing you," Annalise revealed.

"That is good to know. I would have been sad to wake up to you trying to kill me."

Annalise had a sudden thought. "I think that if I had failed to kill you and ended up in your dungeon, I would have still managed to get you to fall in love with me. It is a strange thought, but I would bet on it."

"I’ve never fallen for any of my captives," Rafael said, seeing a different ending than Annalise.

"And you’ve never fallen for your maids, but look at us. Unless bad experiences with your maids lead to you stop courting them. What is it?" Annalise questioned, suspicious about his past before she arrived.

"I have never entertained one of my maids. It would have been a disaster waiting to happen if I did. I had always heard the stories of men who got involved with their servants. Very few ended without one person getting hurt. There were times I would have liked to send you away because your presence made me want to break my own rule," Rafael said, remembering the conflict in deciding what to do.

"You couldn’t because you knew it would be wrong to fire someone over you having feelings. Which again makes you a good person. It is what I love about you. Where are you taking me, Rafael? Are you lost?" Annalise questioned because they were getting further and further away from where everyone walked.

Annalise was familiar with where they were heading because she lived here and explored the land daily, but did Rafael know where he was going?

"I do. Where we are going is a little far. Do you want me to lift you or carry you on my back?" Rafael offered.

"You know that I would enjoy seeing you lift me with ease, but I will walk. Don’t tempt me any more because I will soon find myself in your arms. My hand is cold," Annalise said, using the excuse to hold Rafael’s hand. "You are like a walking fire pit. When we sleep in bed, sometimes there is no use for a fire because you are so warm. Are we sleeping out tonight?" Annalise asked, all for it if Rafael had it planned.

"It is your turn not to tempt me, Annalise. I planned on taking you back home so your parents wouldn’t come looking for us. We’ll see how the night goes," Rafael replied.

Annalise knew her mother wasn’t expecting her to come home with Rafael anytime soon with the way she closed the door on them and said to have fun.

Annalise walked with Rafael far away from where there wasn’t light at one point or anyone else walking, but up ahead now she could see a faint light. She smiled because she couldn’t escape thinking that someone was trying to kidnap her.

"Did you plan a romantic- Oh," Annalise said, surprised by the view before her.

She had first spotted the blanket with food and drinks on top of it, but what caught her eyes afterwards were the armour and swords carefully placed on stands.

"I am a little confused. Do you buy me more armour and swords?" Annalise asked, hoping that they were for her.

"You are free to keep them afterwards. I would like to spar with you again, but this time, you are not to hold back. There will be a surprise for you if you win," Rafael said, letting go of Annalise’s hand to get the armour she needed to protect herself with since they would be using real swords.

"I am intrigued. Can I know a little bit more about the surprise? I don’t plan on losing, but knowing what it is will be more motivation to win," Annalise said, following Rafael to the stands with armour. "This is all very romantic. Are you planning to propose to me?" Annalise asked as a joke, but seeing Rafael pause for a moment, she thought that she guessed right.

"Put on your armour and we will see. It is good that you wore pants. There won’t be any excuse for why you lost," Rafael said.

"Excuses for why I lost. Ha," Annalise scoffed, amused that he thought he was going to win again when she would be serious this time. "I am not losing to you tonight. That would be some kind of miracle if I did."

"Knowing that you will withstand a fight with me, I am not going easy on you, Annalise. It will comfort you to know that there won’t be any losers tonight," Rafael said as the night will end with something grand to celebrate.

"Good. Remember what you said when you lose."