Je T'aime.

XV. The Gaze of Selene

Night fell over Vienna, just like it did every evening. But this night it seemed different. With my clarity of an expressed heart and mind, the moon seemed to shimmer brighter and the stars seemed to twinkle with more furosity. Maybe it was me, but the whole world seemed a little crisper. The arrival of autumn silenced the crickets of night, and frost began to form along the edge of the window panes. The era of Schönbrunn was over- Hofburg was beckoning us with its thick brick walls and numerous fireplaces. The Snow Queen, with her icy smile, teased the world with midnights that left the grass sparkling with frost.

I threw another blanket on top of my bed. I was sleeping in my banyan tonight; I couldn't stand to sleep in just a chemise and stockings another night. I tucked myself into bed, and slyly pulled out the book of Sappho. By candlelight, I opened to the first poem of the book.

There was a knock on my door. I jumped, and shoved the book under my pillow. "Come in, Pia!"

Pia entered, holding a brass bedpan full of hot embers. "Here, that chill is quite strong tonight. The Hofburg is calling our names," she lifted my blankets and placed the bedpan beside me. It slowly spread heat under the blankets, making my previously cold bed warm and cozy. "Hofburg's servant's quarters are not as nice as the ones here, but it shall do for the winter."

I looked past my handmaiden and out into the night. "It's such a pretty night," I commented. "I think I need to learn more astronomy."

Pia looked behind her. "Rather pretty, yes. The stars always shone so brightly back home. Like little lanterns, floating all around. That's what my father used to call them."

I rolled over in bed onto my left side, folding my arms under my head to serve as an organic pillow. "Do you think your brother married that girl?"

"I'd like to think so, yes," Pia replied. "But I can't know for sure until his letter arrives. It's a long distance for letters, unlike yours, which come from just up the hall."

"Isabella's letters?"

Pia nodded. "At first Albert delivered them to me, but now her lady hands them directly to me. Many, many letters."

Suddenly the realization struck me. "Hand me paper and a pen, please," Pia did so. I scribbled onto the page:

Isabella-
Meet me in the ballroom as the clock strikes midnight. I have to tell you something.
Christina

I gave the letter to Pia. "Deliver this to Eleanore, Isabella's lady. Tell her it is for the Crown Princess, and the Crown Princess only."

"Yes, Madame," Pia said with a curtsy before scurrying out of my chamber. She always acted extra formal when she was nervous, which made me chuckle a little. After a few moments, Pia returned with a reply. I broke the blue wax seal.

Christina,
I will be there. I anxiously await midnight. Thank you for choosing me to retain your knowledge.
Isabella

I took a sigh of relief as I read Isabella's affirmative message. Pia glanced at me, concern written across her face. "Oh, Pia," I said, tenderly laying the note across my heart. "Isabella is such a good friend. She is helping me with marriage affairs." That was a lie. But what else was I going to tell her?

I sat alone in the dark of the ballroom. The only thing that lit the way was the moon, coming through the windows in silvery beams that just barely gave enough light to see. I had pulled a chair into one of these beams so that Isabella could see me. The candle I had used to guide me down here had long since been blown out. Quietly, wrapped in my banyan, I waited in the dark.
The clock struck midnight. The chimes of the clock echoed throughout the night, bouncing off of the chandeliers and golden walls of the ballroom. As the third strike of the hour rang out, Isabella emerged from the darkness of the hallway. God, she was beautiful. In lunar glow, she shimmered. She wore a banyan of white, decorated with a floral pattern of shades of pink. A pink ribbon tied it closed around her natural waist. Her hair was hastily braided, loose hairs framing her face. "Christina?" she called out, stepping into the ballroom cautiously.