Chapter 2

19th century in Marseille, France

She was tired.

She hated this. Her legs were killing her, her back as well, she was sweaty and hot and –she hated this.

"Remind me again why we are doing this?!" she asked with a sigh.

"We are going to church, Regina," her father answered, amused by her attitude, "like every Sundays."

"I know," the brunette griped, "but do we really have to go all the way to the chapel? It's so far," she kept on complaining as she stopped, breathing heavily.

She looked up at the next uphill stole they were going to have to climb and a desperate sigh left her mouth. So much for having put on a nice Sunday gown.

"She is right," Maria Margarida, who was just as tired as she, voiced as she stopped next to her cousin, lifting a tentative hand in an attempt to lean on her but the young girl spurned it, looking at her with a scowl.

"It's a special ceremony for the sailors, girls. Come on."

The two cousins looked at each other and they both breathed a muffled 'fine' as they resumed to their journey and headed towards La Boueno Maire, the chapel which had just been reopened for worship.

After a while, Regina finally caught glimpse of the Statue the Virgin and child and a smile graced her lips. She climbed up the many stairs, followed closely by Maria Margarida and her father.

"Look," the younger girl whispered into Regina's ear.

The brunette looked at her cousin then at the direction she was pointing at. Her heart instantly fluttered at the sight of the young sailor they'd met the day before, hand in his hair, chatting with his comrades. The man suddenly turned towards them as if he'd felt t heir gaze on him and he smiled brightly, his eyes landing on hers.

Regina smiled a little as he nodded politely at her before doing the same at Maria Margarida. The girl bit her lower lip, her usual pale cheeks now bright red and Regina couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that. The girl was so smitten but who could blame her?

The service lasted two whole hours and when she finally exited the chapel and arrived outside, Regina couldn't help but let out a loud sigh of relief.

"Regina," she heard her father and when she looked at him, he sent her a gentle but warning gaze.

"Désolé papa," she apologized, "it was nice but two hours –it's just way too long," she moaned, her shoulders slumping.

"Maybe," Henry said, "but keep it to yourself."

The brunette mumbled something unintelligible but she nodded.

"It was beautiful, wasn't it?"

A small gasp left the girl's lips at the unexpected sound.

She turned around with wide eyes and pursed lips ready to give the bother a piece of her mind but it died as soon as she found herself face to face with a grinning David.

She sighed, bringing a hand to her heart, steadying its rate and the blonde man chuckled lightly.

"Sorry," he said earnestly, "I didn't mean to startle you, Mademoiselle. I hope you'll forgive me."

"It's fine," Regina replied, taking a deep breath.

The man smiled and a small laugh left the girl's mouth as she shook her head.

"It was nice –indeed," she said, remembering his first words. "Albeit a little too long, if I'm being honest."

The sailor laughed nodding.

"I'll have to agree with you."

"See," Regina exclaimed, turning to look suggestively at her father who rolled his eyes.

David laughed again and she shrugged with a grin. He turned his gaze to look at Maria Margarida who was looking down at her feet, playing with her hands. The blonde man extended his arm in front of her and she looked up, eyes wide.

"It's nice to see you again."

"Oh," Was all the dark-haired girl could say before bringing a shaky hand up to his and letting out a nervous chuckle.

Regina couldn't help but laugh at her cousin's uneasiness causing the girl to take her hand back immediately, embarrassed.

"This is my father, Henry Herrera," Regina started, getting the attention away from the shy girl. "Fisherman. And the best, at that," she stressed proudly, wrapping an arm around the old man's arm and resting her head on his shoulder.

Henry closed his eyes briefly, chuckling.

"Nice to meet you –"

"David Dantès," David introduced himself, shaking the man's hand.

The older man smiled with a nod of his head.

"So, how do you know my daughter and niece?" he asked, putting a hand on both girls' shoulder.

"We met yesterday when the ship moored and Regina and I," he continued looking into the girl's dark eyes, "met again later that day."

The brunette beamed.

"Oh! So you're the 'friend' that made her come back home, unusually, late from the cemetery," Henry pointed out, looking at his daughter knowingly.

The girl bit her lip innocently before chuckling.

"That might have been me, indeed," David confessed with a small grin. "I'm sorry, Sir."

"It's quite alright. No matter what I say, she always ends up doing whatever she wants anyway," he reproached and his daughter only shrugged in response, an amused smile on the face.

"Idiote," Henry said, slapping the back of her head.

The girl instantly burst into laughter. So loudly that she caught half of the congregation's attention. She quickly brought a hand to her mouth, apologizing silently as she hid behind her father.

"Hey Dantès, you're coming?!"

David looked at the man who'd called him, Daniel, his closest friend on the ship.

"I should go," he excused himself, looking back at the Herrera family. "Passez un bon dimanche," he finished.

"Toi aussi, mon garcon," Henry said with a smile.

David nodded at him politely as well as at Maria Margarida who smiled shyly before ending with Regina, on whom his eyes lingered a little longer.

"She is cute," Daniel observed when David arrived next to him.

"Mm?" the soon-to-be captain said absently. "What?"

The browned-haired man laughed quietly. "I said: 'She is cute'."

"Who?" the fellow sailor asked frowning.

"Oh, you know who." Daniel answered with a smirk before heading back to their ship's company.

"So you and David…"

Regina looked at Maria Margarida as they walked back to their house. She furrowed her brows.

"You know," the young girl continued, "you seem close."

"I've just met him," she answered with a confused shrug, "he is fun, yeah."

"Oh come on, Regina," Maria Margarida countered with a wry chuckle, "I see how you look at him and how he looks at you."

Regina chortled.

"Don't go imagining stuff, little cousin. We're just friends. Plus, you are the one to talk?! You should see your face whenever he's around," she teased, smirking.

The younger girl blushed instantly.

"See," Regina pointed out with a laugh before shaking her head.

"I like him yes. I won't pretend the contrary but -" she grabbed her cousin's arm a bit suddenly, and Regina frowned, looking into her eyes. "Admit that you like him as well."

The older brunette watch her cousin intensely then a small (and somewhat sad) smirk crept to her lips.

"Love is for the weak," she let out simply. Then, she straightened up and shrugged.

"Is everything alright?"

The two girls turned their heads to look at Henry who had stopped a little bit ahead of them.

Regina smiled and nodded.

"Yes," she reassured her father before taking her arm back and trotting up towards the man, soon followed by her cousin.

Henry smiled with a nod before going down the hill.

"Well in that case," Maria Margarida's voice rose again, this time in a whisper. "You are as weak as I am."

He didn't expect to see her again later that day but he couldn't say that he minded. On the contrary, he was quite enchanted.

A day since he'd met her and yet, he couldn't deny that whenever his eyes met the girl dark ones, his day brightened up instantly.

She was sat on the edge of a stone bridge, next to her cousin. They were facing the sea, watching offshore the floating Chateau d'If, an aura of mystery exuding from it.

"And we meet again."

The two girls jumped at the voice.

"You again," Regina was the first to speak, faking being annoyed albeit a little surprised.

The sailor chuckled swinging his legs over the edge of the bridge to sit next to her.

"Nice to see you too," he mocked. "How are you Maria Margarida?" he asked, tilting his head to look at the younger girl.

"H…G…Good. And you?" the brunette asked with a shy grin.

"I'm very well, thank you." He glanced back at Regina and he beamed. "I was hoping you both would be free tomorrow night." The brunette frowned. "There's a ceremony at the hotel Bellevue in order to make my promotion to the post of captain official." A small smile spread on the young girl's lips and it filled his heart with warmth. "I'd like you to be there –with me. Both of you," he added quickly.

Regina bit her lower lip, her gaze lost into David's and the blonde man had to kick himself mentally not to let his hand wander on her cheek.

"We'll see about it," she said finally, shrugging her shoulders and looking back at the horizon.

Her voice was detached but she had a wide smile on her face. As for her brain, it was already trying to figure out what she'd be wearing. A shopping swing seemed to be appropriate for the next day morning.

David chuckled, shaking his head.

"I'm looking forward to it. I'll be searching the room for the two most beautiful women," he said then before jumping off the bridge and landing on the beach. He looked up and smiled. "See you tomorrow. Hopefully."

Regina tried her best not to let her excitement show and she simply smiled, dismissively.

"Au revoir, Mesdemoiselles," he said, amused.

"Au revoir, sail –Captain!"

The two girls watched him walk away, the white shirt he was wearing making it easy for them to make out the muscles of his back. He was so handsome that they felt like they were sinning just by looking at him.

The older brunette sighed, tilting her head backwards and closing her eyes.

"He likes you."

Regina turned to look at Maria Margarida who was glancing down at her knees.

"What?" she asked, brows furrowing.

"The sailor. David. He likes you." There was a small pause before she cursed under her breath, standing up quickly. "They all do."

"Hey!" Regina called, standing up in turn to follow her cousin. "Maria Margarida! Attends!" the brunette pleaded, forced to run up until she was able to catch the younger girl's arm. "Come on," she reasoned, catching her breath as her hand slipped to take Maria Margarida's one.

Her cousin bit her lower lip trying to fight the tears, unsuccessfully. She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head before taking her hand back harshly.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Yes," she replied without missing a beat, "I'm sick of seeing every man we meet looking at me just as 'Regina's younger cousin'. They just see you. Everyone. They only care about you. It's just you and -" The brunette's voice broke. "I like him but he likes you and you say that you don't like him but you do and I feel guilty for wanting him to like me and not you."

"You complain but you don't do anything about it."

Maria Margarida watched Regina, taken aback by her tone.

"I'm not going to apologize for being more outgoing. It's just the way I am. If you like David, well go for it. I'm just flirting with him and it will never be more."

"You say that but you don't know."

"I don't love him, Maria Margarida."

"Because love is weakness," the younger girl chuckled humorlessly as she repeated the words she'd heard her cousin say so many times.

"Yes," Regina confirmed earnestly. "He and I will never be more than friends. Of that you can be sure. So really," she said, raising her hands and letting them fall back as she walked past her cousin, "if you like him as much as you say you do, I'm certainly not the one keeping you from trying your way but -" She turned around to face the girl. "Don't blame me for your own lack of actions."

And on that note she walked away.

It wasn't long until she saw Maria Margarida walking up her pace until she arrived at her level, her head lowered to the ground. The younger cousin wanted to say something but nothing seemed right anyway so she just silently followed Regina back home.


Translations:

Désolé papa: Sorry, daddy

Idiote: Silly, girl

Passez un bon dimanche: Have a nice Sunday

Toi aussi mon garçon: You too, my boy

Au revoir Mesdemoiselles: Goodbye ladies.