The Forgotten Princess Rose-Chapter 296

Zayne drank and spoke to Gage for nearly an hour then decided it was time to head back to Rose with his mother. He kept looking down at the clothes given to him by Gage which made him look even more like Gage.

Their different behaviour and clothing had always set them apart but now Gage thought they looked more like twins. Zayne couldn’t wait to make it home and get back into his clothes.

"General!"

Hearing Lucy’s voice, Zayne looked around for her and found her walking behind him.

"Why are you doing in the palace? I haven’t decided whose group you would be in yet," Zayne said, looking around for who she came with.

"I am not in anyone’s group yet. As far as anyone is concerned, I am still one of your soldiers. I came here with my father and happened to spot you leaving. I wanted to ask about where I should go from here. I know I disappointed you but I would like another chance," Lucy replied.

Lucy wasn’t ready to give up just yet. Her time helping Zayne couldn’t end like this.

"I believe I gave you a second chance and maybe a third before I sent you home. You didn’t take the time you were on the ship to think or the time that I didn’t send for you to join me on my last outing? Are you still lost on why you were sent home?" Zayne wondered as it seemed Lucy didn’t realise her mistake.

Lucy didn’t think she was given a second chance. "A second chance would be to head out with you again and not get involved in your matters. I don’t have any intention of doing that again. I want to do what I am tasked to do as a soldier."

"Good. You can do that with someone else. I will assign you to someone who won’t look down on you because you are a woman. Finn will take over now that I am stepping down so you should ask him-"

"You are stepping down?!" Lucy exclaimed, not liking this news. "Finn is not capable of replacing you. Not even Liam could do it. We all follow your lead because you will take us right to victory. It is too soon. There is still so much for all of us to do with you leading us."

Lucy couldn’t believe he would want to give up so soon when he still had so much left to give. Was it because he was now married to Rose? It didn’t make any sense for him to stop all because he was married. There were plenty of men who were married and still carried out their duties in the army.

’She is too weak,’ Lucy had to conclude as the reason why.

As soon as Zayne left the kingdom, Rose would become a target so it had to be why he didn’t want to leave.

The more Lucy heard about Rose the more upset she became. Rose’s arrival was ruining everything.

"You can’t just leave us like this. We were all excited to follow you wherever you go. There are victories we have yet to claim so you can’t just give up on us yet. This feels like a stab in the back for you to just end up leaving us. I ask that you reconsider," Lucy pleaded.

Not just for her sake but for the sake of the men and women who loved following Zayne. He had to think about them and not just about Rose.

"You will all be taken care of. I care about everyone enough to put someone in place who can lead you to victories and back home. As foolish as Finn comes off, he will make a good leader. Either you want to follow him or you look for someone else to take you in. We are done here," Zayne said, continuing on his way to find his mother.

Lucy followed Zayne since she was not yet done. Someone needed to convince him to not give up now. "There is no one else like you to go out and bring us home. Finn can do well but he’s not you. Your wife will be safe here. She’s a Hamilton so no one will harm her."

Zayne stopped walking. "You are one of the people I don’t want to hear speaking about my wife’s safety. I know you wouldn’t be so foolish to harm her but I think about how much you speak. Focus on finding where to place yourself now and don’t be so concerned about me or my wife."

"You’ve already disappointed me with how you cared so little about someone who needed our help all because of your feelings. It’s hard to see you any different so I ask that you do not beg me and try your luck with Finn. You have a talent that should not be wasted but you are too caught up in your feelings. I have never loved you," Zayne revealed what should have been obvious.

"You know that I have never loved you. I would have married you long ago if I did. I had hoped you would be smart not to believe that list and move on to find someone who will love you but you have held onto it. You will not move on if you are at my side and I hate to see you ruin what you gained over the years. Move on," Zayne advised Lucy.

The next time they spoke regarding her feelings or Rose she would not receive a warning.

Zayne left Lucy to seriously think about her actions and where she would go from here on out. Telling her that he was stepping away from the army wouldn’t matter since it would soon have to be announced. There was a chance that he might go back one day but at the moment, it wasn’t something he wanted to do.

After walking further from where he spoke with Lucy, Zayne found Catherine.

"Zayne. Why do you look so lost in thought? Is it because you look so much like Gage right now? I forgot how much you two look alike. I always thought you shared more resemblance to Zeek. It is good to see," Catherine said, fixing Zayne’s shirt as she spoke.

It was always a good day when her children got along even if there were many deaths in the palace for it to happen.

"I do not look like Gage," said Zayne.

Catherine smiled. "You can try to deny it all you want but I see it. You are brothers so you will have some similarities here and there. Are you ready to go? I must go get my bags and return to the palace to help Paige find a husband. I will see how Rose is doing and leave you two be. I know when my presence is not needed. Let me hold onto you."

Catherine held Zayne’s hand so they could walk together.

"Thank you for being with Rose through all of this. I owe you for staying with her while you had Paige and everyone else in the palace. Tell me what you want and I will get it for you," Zayne said, willing to give whatever was on her mind.

Catherine laughed at Zayne thinking she did this wanting something in return. "I don’t need something in return. I helped because I care for you and Rose. I enjoyed her company so I have already been rewarded. Just let me come around again like you did before."