Good Enough

As Arthur was holding her, Maria had started to relax her body, but her thoughts continued to race.

The more she thought about Leonardo's note, the more she thought about how he was not really even the first one to reject her.

Her date with Rafael had gone horribly and he could tell that they had no chemistry, Arthur had openly laughed in her face when she told him to kiss her and then he pushed her away when she had kissed him, and Julien wanted her, but also not really, as it seemed like he only wanted a certain version of her.

The only one who had not pushed her away at some point was Henri.

However, it was still early in the process, and it certainly wasn't too late for him to realize that he didn't want her, either.

So with these fears being brought to the surface, Maria's logical brain had been buried by her emotions, which caused her to outwardly ask herself, "What if I'm not good enough?"

The second the words came out of her mouth, she felt Arthur stop rocking her and he tensed under her touch.

He immediately moved his hands to grab her arms to remove them from his neck, and once they were apart, he grabbed her face to force her to look at him.

"Don't ever say that again, do you hear me?" he asked her, sternly, his emerald eyes locked on her, demanding her to obey.

Suddenly realizing that she had said that out loud, she blinked hard and moved her eyes to look down, but found herself at a loss for words yet again.

"Hey, Maria, look at me," he said and once she met his stare, he continued, "You are fierce, you are independent, you are strong, you are capable, you are intelligent, you are beautiful, and you are absolutely good enough. Your worth is not defined by weak men who are intimidated by you and who are not mature enough to handle a woman who can fight her own battles. Maybe you're more than Leonardo can handle, but that is a reflection on who he is as a person, not you. Do you understand?"

Maria's heart swelled and she felt the tears threaten to come back after hearing his words, but she blinked them away as she nodded her head up and down.

She was not sure that she really believed Arthur's words, but hearing them did make her heart tug with thinking that it was possible that he thought all of those things about her.

It truly had been the nicest thing anyone had ever said about her, but she struggled to find accuracy in his declaration because no one ever had talked about her in that way before.

She figured that he was saying it simply to make her feel better in a moment in which she was struggling with low self-esteem.

He could tell by the look in her eyes that she was not entirely convinced, but he also knew that it would take her time to digest everything, and that right now, all she needed was to calm down enough to not spiral into the endless emotional turmoil that she was creating for herself.

Arthur continued to patiently watch her face, and he made circles on her cheeks with his thumbs to help soothe her.

She closed her eyes and leaned into his hands as she let out a breath through her nose.

Maria tried to calm herself by focusing on his comforting touch, as well as his even breathing that she was attempting to match.

After a couple of seconds, he brought her face forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before she reached out for him again to wrap her arms around his back, and she buried her face in his chest.

Maria didn't know how long they stayed there silent, with her on his lap and buried in his arms, but when she was finally calm enough to speak again, she asked him, "Did you really mean all of that?" before she pulled away to see his honest answer.

He studied her face before he answered, "Every word. You are going to be an incredible and passionate Queen and wife".

"Thank you, Arthur," she said, her eyes still locked on his.

"Anything for you, my future wife," he said, and she laughed to herself, as he had returned to his usual presumptuous self.

She became serious again, and needing further reassurance, asked him, "Do you still want to marry me after all this? I haven't scared you away?"

"My dear, I would marry you right this second if I thought that you would let me," he said with a chuckle before he continued, "I don't scare easily, and you're unlike anyone I have ever met before-- you're incredibly feisty and positively adorable," he said, and she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was being honest. "In fact, I'm sure we could probably find someone here who is ordained, and you're already in a white dress, so we might as well just stop delaying the inevitable, right?" he finished with a smile and a wink.

When he talked about marrying her, Maria felt her whole body tingle from her magnetic pull towards him.

Part of her wondered what it would be like to have him as a husband, but as quickly as the thought came, she pushed it away, still unwilling to risk falling for someone like him.

She was also sure that Arthur was the only one of the men who would refer to her as "feisty", and she believed it had everything to do with her seeking him out and attacking him with kisses in the hallway the other day.

So, Maria, who was feeling more like herself again, blushed and looked away from him.

She really could not pin-point how she felt about Arthur, and it was driving her wild.

"I'm hungry," was all she could think to say.

"Alright, let us go get some food then," he said, and instead of letting her get off of his lap, he quickly moved one arm under her knees and the other on her back before he scooped her up bridal style and started walking out of the training room.