7 Midnight Snack

'I just can't catch a break,' Maria thought to herself as she had slowly turned back towards the man who was cooking.

Julien stood at the stove, now having turned to face Maria before he continued, "I'm making eggs and bacon. Would you like to join me and have some?"

Maria thought about saying no, but her stomach was growling uncontrollably, she had no knowledge on how to cook a proper meal herself, and she was not about to be rude and wake up the kitchen staff.

"Is there enough for both of us?" she shyly asked once she found her voice.

"Sure," he said as he smiled, looking at the blushing princess whom he had not expected to see until morning.

"Thank you," she said as she took a seat at the assembly line counter in the middle of the kitchen, suddenly aware that she was in front of an attractive man while in her nightgown and nothing else.

She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to breathe slowly to calm her nerves.

Julien turned back towards the stove and continued to cook while Maria looked up at him to sneak a glance or two, knowing he would not see her do so as long as he did not turn back around.

He had taken his coat off from earlier, but he was still in his button-down shirt and the black pants that tightly wrapped around his thighs and bottom.

Realizing that she was staring at a man's backside, Maria turned red and looked down at her hands as she wrung them together on the wooden countertop.

When Julien was done preparing the food, he blew out the fire on the stove, plated the food, and came and sat next to Maria.

He put a plate and some silverware down in front of her and kept one set for himself.

"Isn't this typically a meal reserved for the morning?" Maria asked before looking over at the prince?

He chuckled before he looked at her to answer, "Yes, but I have found that breakfast foods are good at any and all times of day".

She took a bite and her body immediately relaxed while a satisfied sound came from the back of her throat.

"This is delicious, thank you."

The prince smiled at her before he started to eat from his plate as well.

Having realized that she could never cook anything, let alone something this wonderful, Maria turned again to Julien and asked, "How do you know how to cook? Is that something the royals in your family do?"

"No, just me," he said politely before he took another bite.

She recalled the conversation they had had at the marketplace where he had said that his dream would be to spend all day cooking cuisine from around the world.

"You know," she bravely started, "I think you are closer to your dream of being a chef than you realize because I have never had eggs that taste this good".

Julien looked up at her with sincere eyes, having felt his own heart skip, before he said, "It means a lot to hear that, your Highness, thank you, truly".

"You can just call me Maria," she said with a soft tone. "And thank you, by the way, for not outing me by saying that we had met before. My parents don't know that I escape to the village and I'm afraid they would lock me away and throw away the key if they ever found out," she finished with a sad chuckle.

"Of course. I do the same thing back home and would hate for anyone to find out, so I figured you were in a similar situation."

Maria did not know what it was about Julien that made her feel at ease enough to keep talking to him, but she was grateful for the safety she felt during such an uncomfortable time in her life.

She risked looking up at him again, and took a minute to really study the prince before her.

He had prominent cheekbones and full lips that stood out on his tanned face, along with those bright, green eyes that he shared with his older brother.

Just then, Julien looked up, and Maria tried to look away quickly towards the wine cellar in the corner to avoid being caught staring.

"What about you?" he suddenly asked.

"I'm not sure what you mean," she responded, completely lost.

"Do you make art? Or write?"

"Oh!" Maria exclaimed, "Actually, I do draw with my pencils, but I've yet to try to use them to write".

"I hope I have the privilege to see your art sometime," he said with a genuine smile while he held his fork on top of his plate.

The thought of it had suddenly brought heat to Maria's cheeks, as she had never shared her art with anyone before, not even her brother Jason.

Now, she did not know what to say as she had suddenly lost her confidence, but she managed to return Julien's genuine smile.

After they had finished eating and cleaned up after themselves, they both walked out of the kitchen to return to their prospective rooms.

Their chambers were on opposite sides of the hallway, but Julien insisted that he walk Maria back to her room.

"I've lived here my whole life, you know. I think I can manage to get back on my own."

"Oh I don't doubt it. It's just the gentlemanly thing to do," he replied while he glanced towards her.

'Of course,' Maria thought to herself, 'he's just being kind,' before she gave him a nod and led the way.

When they reached her room, she thanked him again for dinner but before she could turn away, he grabbed her hand and brushed a light kiss across the back of it.

Maria swallowed hard as her legs went numb.

She had started to wonder if this would be a new routine for them as he let go and whispered in her ear, "Goodnight, Maria," before he quickly returned down the hall to the guest quarters where his room was.

Maria entered her room and leaned against the door before she let out a breath she did not realize she had been holding.

She got into bed and held her pillow tightly, as her heart had slowly calmed down, and she fell into a comfortable sleep.