Confrontation

They walked back, still hand in hand, silent but with minds racing thinking about what was to come in the too near future.

In fact, Maria and Julien were so lost in their thoughts that they had entered the palace in that state, thinking nothing of it until Maria locked eyes with Arthur who happened to be walking in their direction.

Arthur immediately looked down at their intertwined hands, and Maria, being whipped out of her mindless state, pulled her hand quickly away from Julien's.

She noticed that Arthur's face instantly hardened into the blank state, but not before she caught a glimpse of anger in his eyes.

"You know," he started while he looked to Julien, "It would be nice if my brother could keep his hands off of my fiancée. We're no longer children who must share our toys. Plus, you know how easily rumors spread at court".

Maria felt the blood rush to her face in embarrassment, and she saw Julien stiffen out of the corner of her eye before he retorted, "Don't talk about her that way".

Arthur tsked before he sarcastically asked, "Trying to be her knight in shining armor? It's a little too late for that, brother". Arthur looked away from Julien to Maria before he stretched out his hand to her and sternly said, "Come with me, darling".

Even though her parents raised her to be strong and independent, she knew that once she was set to wed that she would become her husband's property like every other woman of the time.

Maybe when she was Queen she would be able to take her power back, but until then, she had none.

Being disobedient and disrespectful to her betrothed in front of others was not an option, so she took Arthur's hand and made no attempt to look back at Julien as Arthur pulled her away from him.

When they were out of earshot, he asked her, "Rendezvous at the market again?"

"I went by myself but Julien came to warn me that the servants saw me, and that the guards would probably notice soon that I was gone, so we walked back together."

"Yes, I saw that," he said with no emotion in his voice.

Maria felt her heart skip and did her best to change the subject. "How did the meeting with my father go?"

"Just peachy," was all he said.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," she dared to say in a voice that lacked confidence. It seemed like she was constantly finding new ways to hurt Arthur.

"Now what could you possibly be sorry for?" he asked sarcastically.

Feeling more shame than she had ever felt in her life, she couldn't hide when she choked on a sob as she answered, "Everything".

That was enough to stop Arthur dead in his tracks.

Maria had taken an extra step before she was suddenly jerked back by the fact that he stood there in the middle of the hall, unmoving.

He still held tightly to her hand, but brought his other hand up to lightly graze her cheek, leaving a trail of heat where he touched.

She couldn't bring herself to look at him, and the tears that she had managed to hold back since breakfast came tumbling down.

She wanted him so badly that her whole body ached.

Had she known that falling in love would do this to her, she would have never agreed to the dates with the suitors and would have preferred just meeting one of them at the altar on their wedding day.

To have love and lost was most definitely worse than to have never loved at all, screw what all the romantics in her books had to say.

Though he was right in front of her, he was still just out of reach in the ways that were most important.

And it was all her fault.

"You should go change," he said in a calmer and softer voice before he let go of her and continued on down the hall by himself.

Maria stood there, alone and vulnerable, for a couple of minutes before she had the strength to open her eyes and retreat to her room.

There she found Alexandria pacing back and forth between her bed and the table.

When she saw the princess enter her room, she jumped up and ran to give her a hug before she said, "My Lady! I heard the news that you are engaged to the eldest French prince! Oh, I can't believe you're all grown up and going off to get married. I'll miss you so much".

The maid started crying gently as she held the princess, and Maria wrapped her arms around her back and gave her a pat.

"I'll miss you too, Alex," she said with a crack in her voice. "Hopefully I won't be gone for too long as we'll need to have a coronation in Greece as well when father decides that he is done being King. I know he wants me to take over sooner rather than later".

"Now, now," the maid said as she pulled away to dab away the tears on her face, "we mustn't cry." Maria figured Alexandria said this more for her own personal benefit, before she continued, "Come, child, let's put that old jacket away and run you a warm bath so that we can get you cleaned for the celebration tonight".

She filled the tub with warm water, lavender, and lemon, and helped the princess clean the stress of the day away; her future was just ahead, and Alexandria wanted to make sure the princess approached it feeling relaxed and confident.

"So," the maid started, unable to hold back anymore, "tell me about the prince!"

Maria sighed into a small giggle at how excited her maid was before she answered, "He's unique".

Alexandria continued to wash Maria's hair as she waited, "...and?"

"He's charming and confident and knows what he wants, that's for sure."

"Good qualities in a future king," Alexandria noted. "But what of him as a husband?"

'Leave it to Alex to not beat around the bush,' Maria thought to herself before answering out loud, "I'm sure he will be a doting and caring husband".

Maria was not sure that that was the truth after how she had treated Arthur, but she couldn't leave tomorrow having her maid worried about her.

She owed Alexandria so much credit for helping to raise her and turn her into the woman she was, so she was not about to leave the poor woman stressed until her return.

Alexandria stayed quiet for long enough that Maria turned to face her to make sure that she was alright.

Her face was pinched together and beat red as if she was holding a secret that she wasn't sure how to let out.

"Alex?" Maria asked, now concerned.

"There's something I must tell you," she started, somehow her face had even darkened more, "about the bedchamber on your wedding night, my Lady--".

Completely embarrassed, knowing what the maid was about to say, Maria interrupted her, "Please, Alex, let's not. I've heard plenty of gossip from Jason's friends to know what happens between people who have decided to be intimate with each other".

"Well, do you know about how to--"

"Alex, please. I'm sure I'll be able to manage if the time comes," Maria said, now with her face the same color as her maid's.

"More like, when the time comes," Alexandria said with a small giggle, "He's handsome, I doubt you wouldn't want to be with him the second you are alone--".

"Alex!" Maria said as she slinked back into the tub and covered her face.

"Alright! I just want to make sure that you are aware. I know I was surprised on my wedding night."

Part of Maria was embarrassed to be having this discussion, part of her was flushed because she knew how attracted she had always been to Arthur, and the last part of her was sad because she wasn't sure if he would ever want her in the way husbands were supposed to want their wives.

By the way he had kissed her in the past with so much passion that had left her wanting more, she knew that he probably would have immediately jumped into bed with her had she initiated, but now, she was not so sure that he would still want her, even if they were married.

She imagined that at some point they would have to be intimate to produce an heir for both France and Greece, but she knew that there must be a difference between being intimate for the sake of producing versus being intimate out of desire for the other person.

Before she could dwell on it for too long, it was time for her bath to be finished so that she could get dressed and ready for the rest of the day.

After Alexandria helped her get dressed, she gave the princess a kiss on the forehead and left her alone in the room, promising to return after dinner.

Maria thought about packing some belongings to take with her when she left for France in the morning, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Instead, she took her pencils and parchment outside onto her balcony, and drew the gardens as the sun set over the rows of flowers and flowing waters.