Thank You For Saving Me

"Your highness had specially asked us to change the room as per your liking in the morning when you visited the palace, my lady. We were only given minor details. So I am not sure if we did a good job." the maid hesitated. This was the first time the duke had asked them to prepare a room as per the liking of a lady. Even the previous duchess was not given this luxury, "is it not to your liking, my lady?"

"He asked you to decorate the room for me and even gave the details for it?" That was something she could never think of!

"Yes, my lady." Lily smiled as she took a step closer, "I think your highness is smitten by you."

Ana scoffed as if she had heard a joke when the maid frowned and came closer, "I have never seen anyone talking to your highness so defiantly and boldly. Yet he stayed silent. Even when you challenged him, he did not say a word. Your highness is not that patient normally." she explained but Ana was not going to buy it.

Though she was shocked that Garry had paid attention to her. But she was sure that he must have hidden motives. Others might not know him, but she had spent more than a decade with him to know him well.

"It is getting late for the bath." she responded curtly and the maid started rubbing her again.

When Ana came back to the room, another maid was waiting for her with a few pairs of clothes in her hands.

"My lady, I have brought a few nightgowns for you. Which one would you like to wear?" The gown looked new and comfortable that surprised Ana again who was not expecting such minute care.

"I will go with the second one. Thank you!" She changed her clothes with the help of the maid and noticed that tea was already waiting for her on the table.

"Is that your own consideration or the tea was ordered by Garrison too?" she could not help but ask as she sat on the sofa and stared at the tea set as if she was looking at a puzzle that was getting complex every moment.

"Umm, his highness said that you did not have dinner properly and if you will not have tea, you might have a stomach ache!" her eyes widened when the maid said so. As if he had read her thoughts and knew what she was blabbering in the dining room. No! She shook her head. That was not possible!

"Camellia tea is good for your sleep, my lady." the maid offered her tea, which she took absent minded and started sipping on it.

"Would you need anything else, my lady?" Ana came out of her trance and shook her head as she asked all of them to leave her alone.

The tea tasted just like she remembered in her past. As if he knew what she liked or disliked!

"Ha! Even if he would know it. He was never going to do something for me." She remembered her mother telling Garry what she liked most at the time of their wedding so that he could prepare a gift for her. But he did not.

He replied that it would be a waste of his efforts and he was rather busy with important things. That was how he was in his memories. There must be some ulterior motives for him to do all this. She should not let her guards down.

She shook her head as she sniffed the tea again. It did not look like it was trampled. After finishing her tea, she walked towards the balcony and stared outside. The cold breeze felt good after a day of hard work as she kept staring at her garden.

When she used to live in the palace, that was her favorite spot. She had spent most of her day there. She kept staring for a few more minutes before she walked out of the room. She knew a shortcut for that place from where she could leave without being seen by the maids and knights.

She giggled like a child when she reached the garden with her secret route and felt the cold breeze caressing her skin and playing with her hair.

She took a deep breath and then started walking in the dark without the guidance of anyone. She paused in front of a swing and sat on it.

Closing her eyes, she started to put the pressure.. The swing started to rise higher and higher and her hair started to dance in the air.

A smile crept up to her lips as if she was finally feeling alive again. Her feet rose higher in the air before hitting the ground again as the swing danced to and fro in the rhythm.

The events of the past few days which had chained her tightly started to loosen in her mind.

Since she had closed her eyes and was lost in her thoughts, she did not feel the chain was loosening from one side and before she could know, she felt a strong jerk on her body and started to fall from a higher point as the rope snapped and tore completely.

"Aahhh!" a small shriek escaped her lips as she covered her face with her hands readying herself for the fall but she heard the sound of a strong thud". Yet the pain she was waiting for, did not come.

She slowly took her hands away from her face and opened her eyes to see what exactly happened when she felt the grip of two muscular hands on her back.

Did a knight find her and help her?

"Thank you for saving…" her eyes widened when two cold pairs of hazel eyes stared back at him.

"You should be more aware about your surroundings, my lady. The rope of the swing was weak after all the years of not being used."