The Celebration

The booming laugh of the King filled the room as he clapped for the musicians and the staff as they joined the royals in the dining room.

Without missing a beat, some of the servants walked right over to Maria, pulled out her chair, and lifted her up to join them in the free space next to the table.

Some clapped with the beat and most cheered, but all of them were smiling and excited to get Maria to join them as they danced around her.

The music from the lyres, flutes, and drums filled the air, and Maria giggled as all of the important people that had been with her all of her life celebrated her.

Dimitris danced his way over to her and grabbed both her hands before the old man spun her around and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

Every one of them took time to greet the princess while they continued to dance, and then two of the younger female staff members went over and grabbed Arthur.

He had a huge grin that dropped when they approached, paired with a slight fear in his eyes, as he clearly had no clue what was going on.

The women pulled him over and pushed their way through the sea of people until they got to the middle where Maria was, and they pushed him towards her.

Arthur gave her a questioning look before he looked around at the fifty plus servants who had them surrounded.

Maria laughed thinking about how it was probably the first time in the prince's life that servants had been so forward with him without fear of losing their heads.

It was the first time in days that Maria felt unbridled joy, and it showed in the glimmer in her eyes, and how she started to sway with the music and the people around her.

Feeling bold, she grabbed both of Arthur's hands and moved his arms with hers so that they were dancing freely in beat with the notes that filled the room.

He was stiff as he was now the nervous one, but seeing how happy Maria was made him laugh with joy and start to loosen up his body and movements.

When the song came to an end, everyone yelled, "Opa!" and clapped their hands for the newly engaged pair.

Before a minute could pass, the musicians started on a new song, and Jason jumped up to join in the dancing since he was never one to miss out on a good time or party-like atmosphere.

Seeing that, the King stood and grabbed his wife's hand to lead her to the side of the room where the dancing was taking place.

Julien was alone at the table, but not for long because two more servants went over and tried to pull him up to join them.

The smile on his face instantly vanished and he looked more shy and frightened than Maria had ever seen him.

The ladies grabbed his hands and forced him to move along with them, and his entire face went crimson in embarrassment.

Obviously this was something new to the French brothers, but since they would be family soon, it was something they would have to accept and get used to for whenever they would be in Greece.

With everyone up and dancing, the palace felt more alive than it had the entire time the suitors had been present.

They danced until their feet stung and they were out of breath.

Since there was plenty of dessert for everyone, the King insisted they all stay and enjoy the fruits of their labor with the royal families.

Maria looked over at the table that held probably fifteen different types of sweets for everyone to taste, and before she could decide on which one she would try first, Dimitris walked over to her holding a plate of loukoumades.

The heavenly smell of honey and cinnamon reached her nose and she immediately reached out for the plate.

Dimitris chuckled and told her, "Your favorite for your special night, my Lady".

"Oh, thank you! I'm going to miss your cooking very much."

"Don't worry, I've heard French cuisine is among the best," he replied.

"It is," Arthur replied as he joined them again with a plate full of different desserts, "but I'm afraid nothing can compare to what you've made for us this past week".

"Your Highness, you are too kind," Dimitris said with a small bow.

His face was usually red, so Maria couldn't tell if he was blushing, but he certainly seemed grateful for Arthur's words of praise.

Absolutely refusing to wait a moment longer, Maria picked up one of the honey covered fried dough pastries with her fork and took a bite, "Mmmm, absolutely divine," she said when she was done chewing.

She looked back to Dimitris and joked, "Do you think Arthur might let me bring you with us?" before she winked and turned to gauge Arthur's reaction.

He let out a quick laugh and smiled at her before Dimitris brought her attention back to him by saying, "He might, but your father won't let me leave here unless the time for Hades to claim me has come".

"Now don't you talk like that!" Alexandria scolded as she walked up from behind Dimitris.

"You're right, the King probably made a deal with Hades to keep me for long past my expiration date," he said with a loud laugh.

Alexandria swatted him, and the sounds of Maria and Arthur's laughs filled the space around them.

Maria sighed before she continued to eat her sweets; so much was about to be different, and she never had done well with change.

When the night started to come to a close, the staff again took turns to go to Maria and congratulate her and Arthur on their engagement before they returned to their usual duties around the palace.

After the last servant paid his respects to the engaged couple, Arthur turned to Maria and said, "It must be nice to have such a close relationship with all of the people in your home. I know maybe four of my maids by name, and we have hundreds that serve us".

"They've always been like family," she replied with a soft smile, reminiscing on all of her good memories with the people that helped raise her.

"How lucky they are to have you."

Maria turned to look at Arthur, and saw him smiling at her with admiration in his eyes.

Her heart flipped and the magnetic feeling made itself known in the pit of her stomach.

"Thank you, but I'm the lucky one," she said in almost a whisper.

"You really like to underestimate the effect you have on people, don't you?"

Her brow furrowed in confusion, but before she could ask Arthur what he meant, the King made his way over to the pair to say, "You both should go get some rest before you're stuck in a carriage for the next week".

"Week? Is that how long it'll take to get to France?!" Maria asked with clear shock in her voice.

Arthur and the King chuckled before Arthur answered, "It took Julien and me about five days to get here".

"Goodness," was all Maria could say.

"Yes, goodness indeed, so go kiss your mother goodnight and get to bed," the King replied.

"Alright, father, goodnight," she said as she leaned into his body to hug him tightly.

"Goodnight, my child," he said before he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

Maria walked over to where her mother was talking with Jason, and she playfully poked Jason's ribs from behind to scare him.

"Damn it, Mar!" Jason said with a laugh.

"I just came to say goodnight. Father thinks I need to go to sleep now to prepare for the days ahead where I will exert myself by doing absolutely nothing in a carriage," she mocked with a laugh.

"I don't know, I've done a lot of exerting myself in carriages before, if you know what I mean."

"Jason!" Maria and their mother yelled at the same time.

He laughed and put his hands up in front of him in a retreating manner. He laughed and gave his sister a side hug before he said, "Alright, good night Mar".

Their mother then let out a small sigh before she wrapped her arms around both of her children. "It won't be the same without you here," she said solemnly.

"I'll be back before you know it," Maria said even though her throat was starting to close up in sadness.

Her mother pulled away and rested her hand on Maria's cheek for a moment. "Goodnight, my child. I hope you were able to enjoy your last night as a single woman here."

Maria gave her mother a smile and small nod before she walked over to Julien who was sitting alone at the table.

"Relieved that the dancing is done?" she asked him jokingly.

"Believe it or not, I actually can dance when I'm prepared for it," Julien said with a smile. He looked up at Maria and his smile faltered before he said in a more serious tone to her, "It seems like you're more at ease than you were earlier today".

Before she could say anything in return, Arthur walked over to join them and said to Maria, "The King has insisted I walk you to your room since you insist on keeping the night going".

She looked back at her father who was now ushering his wife out of the room before she turned back to the brothers and said, "He's so stubborn".

"That must be where you get it from then," Arthur immediately teased, with his eyes still on her.

Maria chose to ignore him and looked to Julien to say, "Goodnight, I'll see you tomorrow".

He barely had the chance to respond as Arthur grabbed her hand and started to pull her out the door.