10 The Gardens
After doing a lot better with eating through her nerves than she did last night, Maria walked over to the floor length mirror that was next to her vanity in order to take one last look, and made sure she was presentable.
"You look lovely, my Lady, don't fret," Alexandria assured her.
Alexandria began to clean up the table from the lunch they had together, where Maria had finally told her what transpired over the last day.
She told her about the stranger at the market who turned out to be a prince himself.
She also told her about each suitor and the dates that she had planned for them with Jason's help.
Alexandria had never been much of a gossip, but she loved knowing what the young woman who was practically her daughter was up to.
Alexandria had been married once when she was young, before she had become a lady's maid at the palace.
She had fallen in love with the neighborhood jokester and they had a blissful three years of marriage together before he fell ill at the youthful age of twenty-three and was taken from her by Hades.
Since he had died so young and unexpectedly, the couple had not had a child yet as they had planned to wait until they were a bit older and could afford a family of their own.
After he passed, Alexandria had come to the palace to work because she knew it would keep her busy enough so that she would not be able to spend every waking second thinking of the love that was ripped away from her far too soon.
The year that followed was the most difficult time in Alexandria's life, but she became the personal Lady's Maid of the Queen, and got to stand by her while she gave birth to Greece's first princess.
She loved that baby as if it were her own, and she vowed to protect Maria until her last breath.
Her only hope was that one of these men would be worthy, and be someone the princess could fall in love with, because if anyone deserved to feel the happiness that true love brought on, it was Maria.
Maria looked back at her loyal maid and gave her a quick hug and a smile before she headed out the door to go have her first date.
Although she was nervous, she felt a sense of relief knowing that Henri seemed to be genuinely kind and funny.
Not only that but Jason seemed to like him already, and her parents seemed to enjoy his company at dinner last night.
Plus, she didn't have the same knots in her stomach that some of the other suitors gave her.
Maria glided down the hallway from the royal quarters to the guests' wing in her pink dress and brown sandals, and went to knock on Henri's door before she froze with her knuckles just inches from the wood.
"Just breathe," she reminded herself softly before she found the courage to bring her fist down on the door in three rapid knocks.
The door cracked open to reveal Henri, who upon seeing the princess, broke out into an infectious smile that looked like it hurt from how hard his cheeks pulled up.
It immediately put Maria at ease and she said, "Hello, Henri. Are you ready to see the gardens?"
"Am I ever!" he exclaimed before exiting his room and offering her his arm to hold.
Maria giggled, her nerves slowly calming, as she placed her hand in his arm and started to lead the way out to the very best gardens Greece had to offer.
When they passed through the final doors to end up outside, an audible gasp escaped Henri's lips as his jaw dropped upon seeing the site before him.
The gardens at the palace truly were incredibly beautiful and unmatched for their time.
Many shades of purples, pinks, and green filled the vast space; vines ran up white columns and intertwined at the tops to create flowing topiaries and arches.
In the middle of the gardens was a typical Greek fountain behind a large gazebo.
The sounds of flowing water made the space relaxing, and it was a place Maria considered to be sacred.
It was a warm, sunny day so butterflies pattered around near the flowers and birds chirped as they splashed and played in the fountain.
"This may be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," Henri said softly, surprising Maria who had only ever seen him be energetic, "except for you of course," he added, shyly smiling down at her and making her blush.
"The gardens have been a staple at the palace for many years. Shall we?"
"Oh yes, please," he giggled.
As they had started to walk, Maria noticed that Henri had picked up the pace and was on the verge of dragging her along out of pure excitement.
They walked quietly since Maria could tell that his senses were already overwhelmed by the sites and smells, and being a less talkative person herself, it felt natural.
She found his spirit endearing and felt herself smiling more than she thought she would.
When they reached a bush of white carnations, Henri suddenly stopped to admire them and slowly reached out his hand to brush against the delicate flower before saying, "My sister would absolutely love these".
"You have a sister?" Maria inquired.
"I have three," he said as he turned his attention towards her.
Maria wanted to hear about his family and waited for him to say more.
"The twins, Clara and Ella, are two years older than me, and Amelia is two years younger than me," he said with a smile before saying "I know it has not been long since I left, but I miss them already. We do everything together, the four of us."
Maria could tell by the way he smiled when talking about them that he probably had a similar relationship with his three sisters that she had with Jason.
"Clara was born three minutes before Ella, and she won't ever let her forget it," he chuckled, "She is the strongest woman I know and is incredibly quick witted. Ella on the other hand reminds me of you".
His eyes met Maria's as he continued, "She has read every book in our library and prefers the company of literary characters than actual people; not that that's a bad thing," he tagged on at the end, "And Amelia is a dreamer who wants to travel the world".
Maria imagined three beautiful women who shared the same wild, golden hair and blue eyes that Henri possessed and her heart warmed at the thought of meeting his family one day.
Henri loved his sisters so much and could probably talk about them all day, but he also was enamored with the girl in front of him and wanted to hear her speak, so he asked her about the flowers in front of them.
"These are carnations," she answered, "It's said that Zeus was envious of his wife Hera, knowing that she had her own flower, so he threw a lightning bolt to the ground in Thessaly to create a flower of his own. These ones are white so they represent talent and the purity of true love".
Having felt his heart tug from listening to Maria speak, Henri dropped the arm she was holding onto so that he could hold her hand instead.
Maria looked down at their hands that were now intertwined and felt her heart skip a beat as they turned to continue down the path through the rest of the garden.
There was something so soothing about being in the presence of Henri, and Maria was enjoying every second of it.
As they walked, Henri told her a story about how his sister Amelia had tried, unsuccessfully, to cut her and their dog's hair when she was young, and the two of them laughed and laughed until Maria felt as though her cheeks might actually fall off from overuse.
After Henri was assured by Maria that they had seen every inch of the gardens, they made their way back inside.
He walked her to her room, still hand in hand, and she noticed that the closer they got to her room, the slower Henri had started to walk.
When they finally reached her bedroom door, Henri dropped her hand and placed both his hands on either side of her face before he kissed both of her cheeks.
Somehow Maria was not as surprised by this action, and thought it might be because she remembered his surprise hug at dinner the night before.
Unlike the hug though, she did not mind the quick kisses on her face, and she giggled as each one was placed on her.
Henri moved his head back to look at her, and Maria watched as something she did not quite understand changed in his eyes as they met hers.
His smile had slowly fallen off of his handsome face, and before Maria could notice that her smile started to fade as well, he started to lean in towards her.
