A/N: I admit this one was written out of sheer boredom while I was stuck writing 'Until We Meet Again'. I thought I needed some romance writing exercises for that story so I sat down and let my muse flow… And there it is. Warning: Quite fluffy and might be a little bit confusing, but just to let you know, I avoided mentioning Corinne's name until the very end on purpose. You'll see why. Enjoy!
Midnight. Louis lay awake in his bed, his eyes watching the moonlight that filtered in through the open window. Something kept him from falling asleep; but this time, it wasn't the anxiety about a possible plot against him, the desire to be free, or the newfound responsibilies of a king that bothered him anymore.
It was a feeling of blissful contentment, a warm, pleasant aura that warmed his body in this cold, winter night. It was her.
Tearing his eyes from the night sky he had been watching through the open window all night, Louis gazed at the beautiful woman in his arms as she curled up to him, her eyes fluttering shut in exhaustion. She had been sound asleep, with a peaceful expression on her face. Her long blonde hair spread around her face and gave off a comforting scent to him. And once again, like on many other sleepless nights, Louis pondered over one and one thing only: How did he fall in love with her?
Louis had met many women in his life. Countesses, noblewomen, princesses from countries all over the world. All were beautiful maidens with impeccable manners. Each one of them was a jewel that was precious in its own way. Yet there was still something missing in them. Character. Personality. Courage and determination to change for the better. Thus in his eyes, they were like withered flowers in an exquisite vase. A charming façade, but an empty soul.
And so he rejected the idea of marriage and indulged in his studies. When he seemed to finally complete his new invention, the invention that would allow man to fly, something no one had ever expected to do, he never knew that it was the reason of his meeting with her.
She had left a deep impression on him the first time they met. She was different from all the women he had met in his past. She was neither a noblewoman nor a princess. She was far from perfect, and her quick temper was something Ladies were trained to control. But in a crowd of those women, that made her special. That made her believable. For once, Louis had found someone with normal flaws. Someone who made mistakes once in a while. Someone who was real.
When his experiment with the new invention went fatally wrong, she was the last person he had expected to come and rescue him. Ironically enough, when his life was most at stake, the person to save him wasn't any of his Royal Musketeers, but her. He came to realize that she was truly different. She was the only woman who would dare to jump on a strange floating she had no idea how to control machine to save him, putting her own life at risk. Then his mind averted to the women his parents had longed for him to marry. No, none of them would ever do that. They had been too accustomed to waiting for their prince in shiny armor to come for them. And in that moment, he knew she was the one for him.
"I want to be a musketeer." Those words surprised, but also intrigued him. She had a dream. But it wasn't just a dream. It was a crazy and delusional dream by everyone's standards. Just like his dream. He remembered having told a woman about his dream. She didn't understand. He knew she didn't. He could see the confusion in her eyes when he confined in her. But this blonde maiden understood, for she herself had a dream. She encouraged him, "Just because you have your feet firmly on the ground, doesn't mean you can't keep reaching for the sky." And now that Louis looked back on everything, perhaps it was her encouragement that motivated him to keep following his dreams. She was right. She had always been right.
She was not only a special woman who changed his life and his perception of women, but also his new reason to live, to carry on even when the circumstances seem most unfavorable. Perhaps… He fell in love with her that way.
A gentle touch on his chest pulled Louis back to reality, to the sleeping blonde next to him. He gazed at her face, his eyes filled with adoration. And slowly, as he began to stroke her arm, he realized something wasn't right. He could feel a line cut straight across her smooth skin. He took a careful look at it, and was horrified to find a scar right on the back of her hand.
Louis' head spun around madly. Why hadn't he notice this? She was hurt; probably during a battle a while ago, and he never knew about it. Guilt permeated his mind as he tried to recall every single detail of the past several weeks to find a clue to her injury. His mind then flashed back to two month prior…
He was standing on the balcony, enjoying the fresh morning air as his mind revolved around the problems that had risen since his coronation, when he heard footsteps behind him. His lips curved into a gentle smile as he recognized the familiar sound.
"Welcome back, my dear," He turned around to face her, then was about to take her hand and kiss it like he always did, when she suddenly withdrew it without looking at him.
"What's wrong?" He asked, slightly dumbfounded. He clearly hadn't been used to this kind of reaction from her. "Aren't you happy to see me again?"
"Of course I am," She quickly replied, her eyes finally meeting his. "I just… don't think now is a good time to… well…" She gestured toward a group of male musketeers who were keeping a close eye on the couple.
"Alright then." Louis soon forgot about her strange reaction. Ever since then, she had been trying to hide something away from him, but he was perhaps too oblivious to suspect it had been anything serious. Not until that night that he knew it was actually a battle scar. She hid it from him, afraid he would be worried and prevent her from doing the job she most enjoyed: Fighting as a musketeer.
She had always been stronger than him. Had always put others' feelings before hers. Another reason why he had fallen so madly in love with her.
But if he loved her much as he claimed, why did he never do anything for her? Why did he always leave everything in her hands? Why did he always let her carry all the responsibilities and burdens on her shoulders? He had taken her for granted, thinking she was strong and independent. She was. But she was also a woman who needed her man's protection from time to time.
He had failed to protect her.
He had let her get hurt, and to make matters worse, never paid enough attention to realize it once it happened to her.
Fighting the tears that were already forming in his eyes, Louis embraced her in his arms. She let out a sigh, and moved closer to him as he took her hand in his. He made a promise. A promise that would last for a lifetime.
"You've always been the one to protect me," He whispered, "Now it's my turn to protect you. I promise you that. I love you, Corinne."
Corinne's lips curved into a smile as she acknowledged his words. "I love you too, Louis." She thought, hoping he would hear her… somehow. She knew she shouldn't have been so careless as to reveal her injury to him. But now that her little secret had come out, she felt surprisingly relieved. Safe. Protected. It was like a great burden had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt… happy.
Then, as the moonlight got slightly dimmer, she finally fell asleep, finally feeling safe in his arms.
P/S: Ah, there it is. Told you it'll be a bit confusing. I hope you liked it. Please review if you do. Thank you very much for your time.