Almost midway through the 16th century, France and England are crosshairs away from warfare. Malevolence is thick in the air between the two countries and both of the reigning kingdoms are desperate to avoid violence and keep the peace. A marriage b...
The bright rays of warm sunlight shone through the cracks in her curtains, waking Marie. She turned over and stretched, feeling entirely well-rested and serene. The events of the night before, began to play over in her mind. Filipe's smarmy words, Harry's impulsive ones and, the most surprising of them all, Leopold's sincerity...as well as her transformed ideas about him. She lay there for a few moments, thinking it all over and over again.
A steady knock on her door breaks her thought process and she quickly covers herself. "Yes?" She's surprised when Leopold's head peeks in. "What are you doing here?" He smiles at her.
"May I come in?"
"I suppose so..." She smiles back, softly. He walks over and sits down on the edge of her bed.
"We signed the treaty with the Spaniards earlier this morning...they've already left for their boats!"
"That's wonderful, Leopold."
"It is, isn't it?" She's unsure of what this means for them. He takes one of her hands in both of his own. "What are you doing today? Have you got any plans set?"
"Not that I'm aware..."
"Come with me, will you? I want to show you something." A wave of sadness comes over her. She had wanted to see Harry...explain to him that—well, she wasn't sure what she needed to explain to him.
"What are you going to show me?"
"Well, if I told you...it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" She bites her lip, fighting the smile that's trying to take over.
"What shall I dress for?" He shrugs.
"Leisure, of course!" She thinks about this for a moment.
"Alright, fine then." She pushes the sheets away from herself and steps out of bed. She catches him looking her up and down and then he's shaking his head, returning to reality. "Well, go on, leave me to get dressed!" He takes both of her hands, kissing them before grinning and leaving her alone in her room. She chooses not to call for her ladies, instead, she quickly washes herself down and twists her golden waves into a loose braid. The soft tulle of her sand colored dress isn't easy to climb into herself, but she manages to figure it out on her own. Soon she's checking her reflection in the mirror, ready to go.
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Upon stepping out of her chambers, she watches Leo push himself off the wall and walk towards her. "That was...surprisingly quick, my lady..."
"What were you expecting? Hours and hours of dreadful waiting, only for me to be horridly made up and dressed in some ridiculous costume?" He smiles and folds his hands behind his back.
"You look lovely, Princess."
"And you look like...a very handsome prince."
"Different than usual then?"
"Oh stop...you're quite...enchanting."
"Enchanting?!" He scoffs, though humor is heavily laced in his tone. "I'd like to think that enchanting is the wrong word."
