Was It Really A Dream?

"I am sure that you have enough knights to protect you, my lady." he placed the sword back on the table and then sat on the chair.

She followed him silently looking at his actions. For some reason, he felt stiff and closed.

"I thought you would be taking a rest today." she smiled when he just nodded. The moment turned awkward.

"I will be leaving for my palace after breakfast." he nodded again stiffly when she held her dress tightly, "i will be waiting for your letter to know when you will be available to go to market with me." she pressed. Though she had to leave in a while, she did not want to let go of all her hard work when Madeline was already there.

"You did not need to be so worried, my lady. I am sure my father already accepted you as the duchess." he informed when her lips pressed further and she stared deep into him.

"Rowan! The position of duchess makes me your mother too. And I don't know what you think about it, but I do want to play that role well. If you are worried about something, do share it with me. But I hope that you give me a chance." there.. Her words and her expressions felt genuine again as if she could not stop crying about him.. But the question was still there. Why? Why did she care about him?

What will she get?

"My lady…"

"You did not need to call me that!" she pressed with a frown when he paused, "anyways, i am feeling hungry. Would you like to have some fruit and juice? It is good after training." she had already waved her hands towards the maid who was standing nearby and asked her to bring fruits.

"Why are you here so early in the morning, my lady?" even if she wanted to spend time with, should it not be his father?

"Ah! That…" her face suddenly turned a bit red, surprising him, "your highness the princes and the princess visited last night and requested me to join them. Since I am not that comfortable with them, I lied that you have asked me to accompany you." her face flushed as she bowed her head like a child who knew that she had done wrong.

It was so different from her cold and elegant behavior last night that he felt a strange fuzzy feeling.

"I did not want to lie but I really wanted to spend my time with you instead of them. But I know that I did wrong." her eyes softened when she looked so frail and defenseless that he could not help but feel worried for her.

"It is fine, my lady. It was a harmless lie." he assured but then he felt strange, "i mean.. You should not lie like that. You could have just bade them goodnight and gone to sleep. It is not like they can forbid you. My aunt and uncle are very kind and understanding." if only he knew how kind and understanding there were!

Though she was not sure, she had a hunch that Garrison never accepted her because of Meredith. If only the king had allowed him to marry Madeline!

"I am just not fond of them." she admitted as she did not want Rowan to bring them closer. In her past life, she was already too close to Meredith but it did not bring anything good in her life.

"You are not fond of my father too." she nodded withou ny hesitation when he criticized her, making him speechless.

"I am only fond of lord Rowan! What can I do since he is so handsome and cute? If only…" she covered her chest with her hands and sighed, making his eyes widened.

If only she could tell him how cute he looked with those expressions. She chuckled and as the fruit arrived, she started digging them in swiftly.

She placed the fork back on the table and picked up an apple and started munching on it when she found he was staring at him again.

"You do not like apples?" she asked as she passed another apple to him when he shook his head.

"I eat fruits with a fork, my lady." you should eat that way too. He wanted to add but the words just did not leave his mouth when she shrugged.

"You know Rowan, I have been starving for days with only dirty water in a pitcher full of moss. Since then I could not stop but ate every time I saw food. Who knows when I will suffer the same fate again!" she sighed as she looked at the food.

She had realized that it was not love but food and water that was needed to live. She was never going to let go of them again.

Three deep lines formed on his forehead as he looked at her confused. She was deprived of food!

"When did that happen? Why did you not complain? Even if it was domestic violence, we have strong rules against them.'' Domestic violence? She blinked her eyes and looked at the child who looked worried and laughed.

If only he knew that his father was the violent one.

"It was just a dream Rowan. It did not happen in reality." her words brought a frown on his face, "but it left a deep impact on me. So, I love eating now. And…"

"And?" he could not help but ask. Her eyes were so full of pain that it did not look like a dream to him.

"And.. I want to do things I had never done before like running away from the palace and seeing the world or learning things I had never learnt before. So, think about teaching me sword wielding. Who knows when I would not have knights to protect me again or… when I would need to sacrifice my life to save someone this time?"