Chapter 274: Last day (1)
The next day, Annalise sat outside in the garden with Rafael and Beatrice to enjoy a picnic Beatrice put together for the last day. River was away with Logan and another knight to speak with Siena’s guard who was taken by the town guards.
"It is a nice day out to lay on the grass and do nothing," Beatrice said as she laid out what the cook prepared for her to use.
She spent her night thinking of ways they could spend time together before heading home in the evening. The trip went by faster than she liked, but she was ready to go back home to tend to her garden if she had time and start packing to travel with Rafael.
"It was a bit chilly last night. Did you sleep well, Annalise?" Beatrice asked, looking at Annalise who appeared lost in thought all morning. "I hope I didn’t make it hard for you to sleep by asking you to watch over Rafael for me."
Annalise stopped thinking about her conversation with River and turned to Beatrice. River didn’t seem to have told Beatrice anything or they were leaving the future to her and Rafael. "I slept well. The window was open, but the room was warm," she answered.
"Good. There wasn’t any need for me to worry about Rafael. He is walking around like he wasn’t wounded yesterday. I can peel an apple for you if you want. When Rafael was younger, he wasn’t fond of eating the skin of apples so I would peel them for him. Then he grew up and said they were a hassle to peel so I should stop," Beatrice said, picking up a shiny red apple and a small knife to start peeling one for him.
Annalise watched Rafael move around a big branch that fell from one of the trees in the garden. "He might have thought you were tired of doing it," she said.
"Little did he know that I liked doing it. I was a terrible cook back then so I enjoyed seeing his eyes light up when I peeled or cut fruits for him and put them in a bowl. I’d do it every morning and night if we had plenty of fruit around. That is why I want to add more fruits to my garden. So I can cut them up and take them to him. He’s grown, but he is still a baby for me," said Beatrice.
Annalise sat hugging her feet, watching Beatrice place the apple slices on a small plate. "Are there any embarrassing stories from his youth I can tease him about?"