9 CHAPTER 9 AGREEMENTS
The whole carriage ride home Jane was silent reading through a thick red leather bound book on basic magical plant life in Stonia, while she read Beau noticed she tended to bite her top lip in focus. He thought about how close he had become to nearly kissing those very lips under the effects of the Lover's violet.
"You truly have a passion for plants."
Jane looked up though her lashes and blushed before folding the corner of the page she left off closing the book and placing it next to her on her side of the carriage.
"Yes I do. I relate to them a lot actually."
"You relate to plants? Care to elaborate?"
Jane laughed softly at the prince's confused expression and twiddled her thumbs as she spoke her soft voice filling the carriage.
"Well for one I love sunshine, I could sit in the sun for hours and feel like my skin is drinking up the sun rays. But I don't really need a lot, like plants. They just need water, sunlight, maybe a kind word or two for morale and I find I need about the same with the addition to food."
The prince tilted his head curious at her answer and was about to ask more when the carriage pulled to a stop at the palace gates.
"We've arrived."
Jane got out first this time with the help of the footman and looked up at the palace from the outside for the first time in awe of it's grand architecture.
"Home sweet home."
Jane turned, it was early evening and servants were beginning to light lanterns around the palace. Prince Beau reached for her hand comfortably now as the two held hands most of the day during their shopping trip but this time he slowly intertwined their fingers. She felt her complexion betray her again as her cheeks began to warm up with blush.
*I'm no better than Jun at the rate I'm going. Was this the feeling he was looking for with his secretary?*
Even though she was literally dead to her ex husband she felt as though she was betraying him, she pulled her hand away gently from Beau's dejected giving him a polite smile.
"There's no need to hold hands here, I can't get lost like in town."
Beau could see the worry painted on her face easily, the furrow between her eyebrows giving it away. Then he came up with a perfect idea.
"Jane I have one more gift for you."
She arched an eyebrow in a questioning manner.
"You already have given me so much, your grace. I couldn't possibly accept another gift."
Beau gave her a sly smile before grabbing her arm and began pulling towards the direction of his bright idea. He had to shorten his long running stride so that he wouldn't cause her to fall. Jane was surprised but excited at his bashfulness laughed as the two ran off along the side of the palace. Soon a large glass building came into view and Jane instantly knowing what it was.
"A green house!"
Beau looked back pleased to see her expression much improved, and approached the greenhouse once outside he opened it's large glass doors and motioned for her to go first.
Jane smiled, lifting her skirts as she stepped inside the wonderful humidity, inhaling the familiar scent of dirt and plant life. She closed her eyes to listen to sounds of crickets chirping softly, relishing in her hair starting to curl at the bottoms from the warm moist air.
"Jane, open your eyes."
And she did to see fireflies light up the entirety of the green house so much so they didn't even need a lantern. But they were different from the kind from her world, these were all different colors and she covered her mouth stunned by how beautiful it all looked. The green house itself was untamed, overgrown and wild but with love and care she could imagine the great beauty it could be. It could even put Seoul's international green house to shame.
"Oh my God, your grace. It's absolutely beautiful"
She spun around in place to take it all in.
"Call me Beau, please."
Jane stopped her slow spinning looking at the prince and again was taken aback from the racing of her heart. She struggled to remember a time when she felt like this, she always thought she wasn't the type of woman to get butterflies but Beau continued to prove to her that simply wasn't the case.
"Beau, thank you for bringing me here. It's lovely. And massive."
Beau chuckled as he took a couple steps taking her hands in his own.
"Hopefully it's not too large of a project for you to take on, because it's yours to do with whatever you like."
He relished in her shocked face as she looked at the green house in a new light, as her own. She shook her looking up at him.
"Beau… this is too much. I'm no one special for you to be giving me something this… this grand of a scale."
The prince stood silent for a moment debating if he would be rejected, but he decided to place his bets and took one of his hand to stroke her cheek gently and then combed his long graceful fingers along the side of her face into her raven hair making her look up at him.
"No one special? Jane, you literally came from a whole other world, and somehow out of all the places you could have landed, you landed here, in my kingdom. You wake up on your first day and save the Emperor, my father's life. I'm truly beginning to think you were always meant to be here. I'm just giving you all you deserve, and besides you are my fiancée."
Jane shivered at his words, as lovely it all sounded. Her mind wandered back to Seoul, her failed marriage, her tragic and sudden death that left the people she cared for heartbroken. She couldn't make herself pull away from his gentle touch but looked away so he wouldn't see her eyes brimming with tears she willed to not to fall.
"I-I'm just a boring woman with a failed marriage under her belt. Beau your're a prince, an actual prince, the kind in fairytales that all the little girls fall in love with through the pages of a book.You should find someone from this world, and deserving to stand next to you."
She felt her voice tremble as she spoke, and she forced herself pull away and took a few steps to catch her breath. She looked up at the clear ceiling , placing her hands on her hip to steady herself looking at the stars and fireflies. It all had to be a dream, all of this… it couldn't be real. She closed her eyes and shook her head trying to rid herself of the headache she typically got from holding back tears.
Beau stood there and watched as she collected herself a small distance away from him. He recalled watching her memories and how she spoke of herself as badly as the man that had been unfaithful to her. Her broken heart had distorted her view of herself. What she thought was boring and simple, Beau saw as intelligent and thoughtful. He silently walked up behind her and bent over slightly so he could wrap his arms around her and placed his chin atop her head.
"You'll see soon enough. How about we go along with the engagement for now, until you decide for yourself what you want to do with your second chance at life here. No wedding will be planned, but you can enjoy the benefits of being engaged to me until you figure it out."
Jane tilted her head to get a better look at the prince.
"That's hardly fair, what are you going to benefit from this arrangement?"
Beau's nose was tickled by the sweet scent of her hair, he suddenly realized it was the same aroma he had smelled when they were under the effect of the Lover's Violet. He was a bit stunned but then collected himself as he thought of a way he could convince her the arrangement would be fair.
"I know. You can help me figure out who tried to poison my father, and restore my mother's green house."
Jane pulled away slightly so she could turn away to look at him better.
"This green house was your mothers, she wont mind that your giving it to me?"
Jane thought of the current Empress, she really didn't seem like the type to get her hands dirty and work inside a greenhouse.
"Oh god that woman is not my mother, that's my father's mistress that he took as his wife after my mother, the real Empress died."
"Oh…Beau I'm so sorry if I pry too much."
He turned her all the way around so that they were facing each other again shaking his head a gentle smile touching his lips.
"No it's common knowledge, I rather you have the clear picture. Last thing I want is for you to think that I have the same blood as that women. My mother, I think she would have liked you, which is why I want you to have the green house and restore it. It was truly lovely in her care, and it's nice to think it could be as lovely again."
Jane smiled softly nodding her head.
"Alright I'll accept your offer. I'll restore the green house and help you find out who tried to poison your father in exchange for being the crown prince's fiancée."
Beau took her hand and kissed her knuckles and then kissed her cheek, causing her to gasp in surprise, her hand instantly covered the spot on her cheek that he just kissed.
"Thank you Jane, with your help I truly think I can solve this attempt on my father's life. I hope you'll find some fulfillment as well working on this green house."
Jane blushed giving the greenhouse another once over with new eyes realizing she had a lot of work to do. Her eye's returned to the prince who was also smiling pleased that she had agreed to his terms.
"Your welcome, and I think I'll be pretty busy with my work in here."
The two laughed as the moon began to break though the clouds and shine brightly filling the green house, Simon who had a clear view from his tower could see the two and smirked.
"I think you did a wonderful job of choosing her your majesty, she suits Beau very well."
The former empress looked down at her son and the lovely girl who's soul she brought back from her own world.
"Yes, I think so too."
