The Wine Room

Maria awoke to bright light coming through the balcony doors as Alexandria pulled the curtains to the side and said, "Wake up My Lady! You have slept for far too long!"

Maria groaned as she turned her back to the glass doors, attempting to shield her eyes from the light that was slaughtering her senses.

Despite going to bed late after her hectic and nerve-filled day, she had one of the most restful sleeps she could ever remember, and she couldn't help but think that maybe her midnight rendezvous with Julien was a contributing factor.

She rolled out of bed and picked up the regal version of a toga to wear for the day.

Alexandria handed her a note written on parchment from the King, and gave the princess a shrug of the shoulders as if to say that she had no idea what it could be about.

"My child, the staff will take care of the young men this morning in the dining hall while we have family time in Dionysus's Room. See you soon," it read.

The note worked better than caffeine at perking Maria up, since now she had the morning off and could just be herself with her brother and parents.

After she was helped by Alexandria to be dressed and presentable, Maria made her way over to Dionysus's Room, which was more commonly and simply called- the wine room.

While most other kingdoms indulged in tea rooms, the Greeks put their own spin on things, as they usually did.

The wealthy Greek families had wine rooms instead, in honor of the Greek God of wine, Dionysus.

Maria skipped through the hall, completely carefree and unaware of her surroundings, which had caused her to bump directly into one of the French brothers who was on his way to the dining hall.

Arthur grabbed Maria by the waist after they crashed into each other in order to prevent her from falling, as a rather loud "Oufff," escaped his lips.

"My, my," he started. He raised his eyebrows as his cheeks had started to lift into his iconic and mischievous smile, "If it isn't my future wife," he said as he looked down at her.

This whole interruption snapped Maria back to reality and she had found herself locked in the arms of Arthur and pushed up against his body.

"Please excuse me," she mumbled breathlessly as her eyes met his, causing her to turn red.

"You should really watch where you're going," he said in a mock-disapproving voice. "Or don't so that we can find ourselves wrapped up like this again soon," he said as he raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.

She averted her eyes from his, embarrassed yet again, and felt his warm breath hit her forehead before he slowly had let her go, much to his dismay.

"Well, my Lady," he continued, "would you like to take my arm as we stroll together to the dining hall?"

Maria finally remembered how to speak and answered the prince, "I'm to meet my family on my own this morning, so I'm afraid you will have to walk on your own," she said before she internally questioned her choice of the word "afraid" and why she had said it.

"Hmmm, already breaking my heart I see," he responded before he picked up her hand and kissed the back of it.

He walked away before another word or glance could be shared between them.

Maria took a moment to recover and watched Arthur walk away before she continued to walk to meet her family.

Still in a bit of a daze from her encounter in the hallway, Maria took a breath as she entered the wine room to find her brother already drinking a glass of red wine, while her parents were hunched over a book together.

"Jason, it's morning," Maria laughed as she entered the room.

"Eh," he responded with a shrug as their parents looked up to see that their daughter had finally joined them.

"My dear child! How did you sleep?" the Queen asked as she rushed over to Maria to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Well, mother. And you?" Maria asked with a smile.

"Beautifully after meeting those lovely gentlemen," the Queen replied as her cheeks turned slightly pink.

"Speaking of the suitors," the King started, "I wanted to start our morning with just our family so we could openly discuss them."

"Oh?" Maria questioned as she looked to Jason to see if he had any idea where this was going.

The look on Jason's face gave him away as being clueless, so Maria turned back to her father so that he could explain.

"Sit, everyone! Let's be comfortable," said the King.

Maria suddenly felt nervous and waited to see what would be said.

"My child, I was thinking last night after seeing how shy you were around the suitors, that it would be beneficial for you to spend one-on-one time with each of them. This way you can get to know them better and see which ones you have a connection with. I know at the end of the day I will be the one deciding which man will be the best for you to unite with for Greece, but I still hope that he can be a man you can learn to love, and not be one you think yourself stuck with for the rest of your life."

Maria felt her hands go clammy and she looked down as her father continued to speak.

"Hopefully after going on dates, you can report back to me so that I can factor your opinions of the men into my final decision. How does that sound?"

Maria swallowed and looked back at her father with the best composure she could muster as she replied, "That's so kind of you, father, thank you".

She appreciated the kind gesture and knew it would be beneficial to her, but at the same time, the thought of being with five different men, one-on-one, seemed more exhausting than she could handle.

Maria had never been on a date in her life, and she had no idea how to prepare one.

What would each man like?

Could she manage to hold a conversation?

How awkward would it have to be before it would be socially acceptable for her to run away?

Could she just run away?

'My gods,' Maria thought to herself, 'What am I going to do?'

Maria looked up from her lap to see her brother, the playboy, sitting directly across from her. Before she could really think about it, she found herself saying, "Jason, do you think you could help me plan these dates? I mean, you're a man so surely you know what other men will enjoy?"

Jason choked on his sip of wine as he laughed and responded, "I think I can do that, Mar."

"Excellent!" the King said as he pulled his wife from the couch and said, "Let's leave the children to get to work, my love!" They exited the wine room to go enjoy the rest of their day together.

Maria looked back at her brother and said, "Well?"