Chained to You

When Julien reached where Maria was standing, he stretched out his left hand that was holding a glass of white wine.

Maria put her hand out to grab it and thanked him before taking a sip and realizing that he had chosen the wine she had earlier.

"Did Jason tell you this one's my favorite?" she asked him.

"No, I actually just guessed," he replied with a soft chuckle.

"I'm starting to lose track of all the things you impress me with," Maria said before she could stop herself.

She immediately looked down, feeling embarrassed at the thought that was not supposed to slip from her mouth.

He smiled down at her with admiration and let them sit in the uncomfortable silence before asking, "So, how did your date with Henri compare to our midnight snack?"

If Maria was not red before, she certainly was now; she hurriedly sucked in a breath before she feigned confidence, whipped her head up to look directly into his eyes, and asked, "Why, are you jealous?"

Julien tilted his head to the side, not really surprised by her reaction, and responded, "Depends on your answer".

With that Maria felt as though the wind was knocked out of her from shock.

Both of the brothers from France seemed to already be so possessive over her, and she was not used to men wanting her like these men already had.

She struggled with coming up with a response, so she changed the subject instead, "How are you enjoying the palace?"

Julien decided not to push the matter and took in a breath as he looked around before saying, "It's a lot more open and inviting compared to home".

"Oh?"

"I mean, the walls are so white and fresh," he said with a chuckle, "It looks a lot newer than the castles we have in France. But then again, it probably is".

"My grandfather built this palace when he became King, so it is fairly new. I hope I get to see the French castles one day," she said without realizing what it might imply.

"I hope so too," he responded, looking longingly at the girl in front of him.

Their gazes met again, and something about his green eyes made Maria feel the numbness in her knees that seemed to happen only when she was around Julien.

They finished drinking the rest of their wine in the type of silence that felt comforting as they watched the people around them enjoy each other's company.

Maria excused herself and walked over to a servant to dispose of her wine glass before she heard an enthusiastic voice behind her say, "Fancy meeting you here".

She turned on her heels to find Henri beaming down at her with his energetic smile.

Her mouth immediately pulled into a smile also, and she giggled before her face fell again after remembering how nervous he looked at dinner, "I'm sorry about what happened earlier with everyone. I hope the other men don't try to give you a hard time about it".

He scrunched his nose and shrugged before saying, "Nah, they're all so nice. I don't think it'll be an issue. Plus, I know they are all excited to have their turns".

She knew that Henri did not mean to make her feel bad by saying that, but she still felt guilty knowing that this sweet man had to sit back and wait as she spent time with other suitors.

Maria knew that she might hurt some of them in this process, but the thought of hurting Henri just seemed unbearable, and she would feel wicked for it if it ever came to that.

"How do you feel about it?" she started, "About me going on other dates, I mean".

He let out a sad laugh before he thought about it for a couple of seconds. "It's not the best feeling...but if we end up together I hope it's because you chose me and not because you were forced on me. So in that way, I guess I'm happy with the thought that even after spending time with all of them that you would still come back to me".

His raw and honest answer activated the butterflies that frequented her stomach these last two days, and she realized now that the men must have thought who she ended up with was entirely her choice after the revelation at dinner; she felt the need to tell him, "Unfortunately I still have to go with whoever my father picks for me. But, he wants my opinion so that he doesn't chain me to someone completely miserable," she said with a forced laugh.

"I see," he responded somberly.

"Henri?" she asked while making sure she looked in his eyes.

"Yes, Maria?"

"I'd be lucky to be chained to you," she said sincerely, not realizing how unromantic that sounded.

With that, Henri threw his head back and laughed so hard that it caused Maria to laugh too, which startled everyone in the room and they turned to look at the pair.

When they finally composed themselves and everyone went back to their previous conversations, Henri wrapped his hand in Maria's before bringing it up to his face to gently kiss the palm of her hand.

"Thank you for the laugh," he said as he dropped her hand and flashed his famous warm smile.

At that point, everyone started to walk around to say their goodnights to each other and to Maria before retiring to their rooms for the evening.

Maria stayed back in the room by herself for a couple of minutes to enjoy the quiet before a yawn escaped her lips and she realized just how tired the day had made her.

She walked out of the wine room and took a few steps into the hall before she heard a low voice say, "We have to stop meeting like this".

She jumped from being startled and quickly turned to see Arthur who had his back leaning up against the wall next to the doors, his hands in his pockets, and his knee bent so that his left foot could rest flat against the wall.

Maria didn't know what to say, so she settled for, "I thought everyone went back to their rooms already".

"Everyone did...well, except you and me that is".

"Oh," was all that would come out of her as she stood there frozen in the same place.

That weird pulling feeling in her body came back; it felt almost like they were opposite ends of a magnet that were trying to force their way together.

"Let me walk you back to your room, unless you were planning another trip to the kitchen?" He asked void of any emotion, with his eyes never leaving her face.

She immediately felt flustered and wondered how he knew about her time in the kitchen last night.

Did Julien tell him?

Maria felt like she had been caught in a lie somehow, but was most upset with the idea of Julien sharing their chance meeting with others.

Did that mean Julien told him about the market, too?

She quickly shook her head in response to his question and tried to push the feelings aside while she tightened her mouth and started to walk down the hall next to Arthur.

The silence did not last long as he asked, "So what does my future Queen have planned for us on our first date, hmmm?"

Maria's blush deepened and she lied to avoid talking more than she needed to, "It's a surprise".

"Lucky me, I love surprises," he chuckled before continuing, "So when in line am I for this date?"

"Last".

"Ah, you chose to save the best for last. Well, whatever it is I'm sure it'll be wonderful with you by my side".

His words and the way he held himself made Maria uncomfortable, but strangely not in a bad way.

It felt right to be next to him, like it's where she belonged, and it frustrated her beyond belief because of how hard it was to fight the feeling of wanting to be close to him; the magnet feeling did not help matters because it made her plan to avoid making a connection with him more difficult.

In reality, that was why she had planned their date last-- she did not want to see what spending alone time with him would make her feel, yet here they were, alone.

When they reached her room, she quickly said, "Thanks," but before she could turn to grab the handle of the door, Arthur put his hands up on the door next to both sides of her face, trapping her, and stared deeply into her eyes.

Arthur's emerald eyes positively captivated her, which is why she nearly didn't hear him when he said, "I'd like to kiss you now, if you don't mind".

Maria was completely frozen, except for her mouth that fell agape.

When her brain fully registered what he had said, she slowly nodded and closed her eyes, waiting.

He took his time, relishing the moment, before he grabbed the nape of her neck and crashed his lips onto hers.

A gasp escaped Maria's lips and when her knees started to go slack, Arthur placed his other hand around her waist to hold her up while he pushed her back against the door, continuing to kiss her.

This was nothing like the romantic kiss she shared with Henri.

This kiss was forceful and full of a hunger Maria had never felt before, and before her brain kicked in to stop her, she trailed her hands up his body and around to the back of his head where she grabbed fistfuls of Arthur's hair.

As their lips parted each other's, she felt his tongue graze along her bottom lip before he brought his teeth together to bite her softly.

A sound started to form in the back of Maria's throat when he suddenly pulled away to look at her.

She was panting as if she had just run from the village and instinctively leaned towards him in an attempt to kiss him again.

Before her face could find his, Arthur let go of her neck and waist, removed her hands from his hair, and took a step back as he sneered and let go of a small chuckle. "If you want more, you know where to find me," he said, totally satisfied with her reaction, before he walked away and left the princess behind.