Chapter 4

                                    

                                          
Zaiden and Emily grew closer as the days passed by. During the day, they spent all the time they could with each other. He often helped her with her chores.
 "Zaiden! Come here! Look at the flowers and butterflies!" Emily's excited exclaimed. Zaiden walked over to her side. "Aren't they lovely?" Emily smiled as she knelt down in front of the flowers. Zaiden rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Not as lovely as you.." They both blushed with embarrassment. "Um...I-I'm gonna start dinner.." Emily murmured. Emily walked into the cabin and began to prepare the dinner. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to get Zaiden off her mind. 
 Zaiden had wandered into his room. He couldn't stop thinking about this mysterious maiden. His gaze shifted to the scars left by his encounter with the cougars. "I should do something for her...But what?" he wondered. He wanted to do something for her to thank her and show her he cared. He was still learning to control his temper and be nicer. He sat on his bed and thought for a while. "Maybe I can make her room look nicer..." he thought. He smiled to himself and decided to try that. When Emily called him for dinner, he told her that she would move to another room. "Why?" she asked. "Uh...B-because....I-I need to...um...fumigate the room for bugs! I wouldn't want you to get eaten alive in there!" Emily looked at him curiously, as there weren't really any bugs in her room to begin with. But, she didn't argue. It was his house and if he wanted her to move rooms, then she wouldn't argue. After dinner, she moved her things into the spare room. It wasn't as comfortable as her old room, but she was thankful she had a room. 
 A week past, and Zaiden worked diligently on her room. It kinda seemed to Emily like he was avoiding her. She had no idea why or what he was doing. Sometimes, he didn't even have meals with her. One night, while she was asleep, he went into her new room and looked in her bag for her house key. When he found it, he quietly put it in his pocket and left. Early the next morning, he left her a note saying he went out into the woods for a while. He walked through the woods with a cloak covering his face. He stopped when he came to the edge of the woods. He gulped nervously and crossed the border. As Zaiden walked through the town, he came across Robin and Anna. "Excuse me, ladies," he stopped them. He needed directions to Emily's house. "Do you happen to know anyone by the name of Emily?" The two girls looked at each other. "Yes we do...Why..?" Anna told him suspiciously. "Well, I'm a close friend of hers and I wanted to stop by and visit her while I was in town today. I don't exactly live around here." Zaiden lied. "Uhhh....Ok, just to make sure your not lying, what does she look like?" Anna asked him. "Dark brown hair, brown eyes, pretty, with rose gold glasses. And she loves reading and writing and she loves flowers and butterflies." he answered. Robin and Anna nodded, still suspicious. "Ok...So, why did you ask if we knew her?" Robin asked. "Well, you see I've never been here before and I'm not sure where she lives," Zaiden replied confidently. "I'm assuming you don't know that she's missing?" Anna's remark startled him. "Uh...No, I didn't know...Um...W-well in that case, I'll just go up to her house and leave her little gift I brought for her when she returns." the girls nodded at his stuttered reply. "C-could you tell me where she lives?" he asked. "She lives right over there, in that house." Robin pointed to a small, white house with flowers around the border. "Thank you, ladies. Maybe I'll see you around sometime." He said with a smile, making sure he continued to hide his face. He walked over to the house and unlocked the door before entering it. "What is he doing?? How did he get the key to her house??" Anna exclaimed. "I don't know, but let's keep an eye on him.." Robin replied. They walked closer to the house, making sure they were out of sight. 
 Zaiden had taken a suitcase and packed some of Emily's things. He wanted to try and make her feel at home. He didn't take everything, because he wanted to get a few things from the store. "Hmm..maybe instead of this old lamp, I could get a new one..Maybe one with a dolphin or a horse on it. And this old bookshelf, it needs to be bigger! There are books all over the place!" Zaiden said to himself. After packing all Emily's books and toys she had kept from when she was a kid, he went to a nearby store to get a few more items. "Ah ha! This shopping bag is perfect! Like the one she put her book and stuff in when she went to the woods! Only much different.." Zaiden picked up a bag with horses on it. The bag Emily had had some dolphins on it. Zaiden went around the store picking out some things he thought Emily would like. Even a new book or two, even though he knew very well that he had packed every book she had. Which was a lot. After picking out a larger bookcase, he went to the section where they sold lamps. "These are nice! How am I supposed to choose??" he mumbled.
 Robin and Anna had followed him to the store when he left the house. When he left the store, they heard him telling the store clerk he'd be back tomorrow to pick up a bookcase. After he said that, he walked away with his purchases and the things he'd brought from Emily's house. "Is he stealing from Emily or something?!" Anna whispered anxiously. "It certainly looks that way." Robin remarked. They carefully kept far enough away so the man didn't know he was being followed. But it didn't really matter. Zaiden was too excited to really pay much attention. He was just focused on getting back to the cabin and decorate the room. They followed him to the edge of the woods. The girls were confused. Did this stranger live in the woods or something? If so, why?