The next afternoon found a very excited Philippe in the village plaza at his Fathers side.
D'artanyan motioned over towards a small circle of children that looked to be about Philippe's age.
"Philippe, there are some children your age, go and become friends with them. If you need me, I will be over in the tavern talking to some of my old friends." He said, pointing over to a nearby building.
Philippe grinned eagerly, "Alright Father, I will see you later."
D'artanyan grinned and watched his son run off towards the other boys and girls, before turning to walk into the tavern to catch up with his old friends.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Philippe ran up to the circle of boys and girls, who immediately stopped talking to look at him. He froze, suddenly realizing that he had no experience in matters like this.
One girl with blonde hair and blue eyes in a beautiful pink dress broke the short but awkward silence quickly,
"Hello." She said with a smile "What's your name?"
Philippe swallowed and hoped he didn't look as nervous as he suddenly felt.
"I'm Philippe," He said shyly, looking down at his feet."
The boys and girls all smiled and waved. "Hi Philippe" they said in Unison causing them all to giggle as well as Philippe. Then they began to introduce themselves.
"Hi Philippe." Said the girl who had first spoken to him, "My name is Marie. I'm 13, how old are you?"
Philippe excitedly replied, "I'm also 13!" Causing Marie to giggle at his enthusiasm.
"Well Philippe, these are my best friends."
She motioned to the boy directly to her left, who reached out to shake Philippe's hand.
Philippe briefly looked over him. He was a rather tall boy, taller than Philippe but with the same sort of build. His black hair reached his shoulders and contrasted well with his rather tanned skin. 'He has a calming smile' Philippe thought distantly.
"This" continued Marie "Is Georges, he just turned 14 last month, so you're basically the same age." Georges smiled at him, "When's your birthday Philippe?" He asked.
"It's on September The 5th." Replied Philippe, schizophrenically recalling sweet memories of his birthdays with Perronet and Father Claude.
The honey cake he had always loved, the small but heart-felt gifts. The way they would merrily sing "For he's a jolly good fellow" around the fire to him and then give him a kiss on the head and tell him how much he meant to them..."
He forced the memories out of his mind, not wanting to cry in front of the other boys and girls.
Marie continued to introduce the other children to Philippe. She motioned to another young boy by the name of Nicholas who was 13 like Philippe and then to a 13 soon-to-be 14 year old girl by the name of Sophie. All of the children were born in the village.
Philippe talked with them for a few minutes and soon it became clear that they liked him.
After an hour or so, Philippe had enjoyed himself more than he ever thought possible. He has tears streaming down his cheeks from laughing so hard.
Soon, he felt someone run into him from behind, and he knew it was a girl for the feminine squeal which followed. He turned around to apologize immediately, his compassionate personality shining through, but he was rendered speechless when he whirled around to find...
The most beautiful girl he had ever seen or imagined.
She was tall with Snow White skin and deep black eyes. She had long, Jet-Black hair that fell down in curly waves to her skinny waist. She was dressed in a beautiful purple dress and she wore a white rose in her hair. She was perfect, in Philippe's opinion at least.
With wide, adoring puppy like eyes, that cleared said he was very taken with her, he quickly regained his composure. "Are you alright Mademoiselle?" He asked quickly. She smiled a radiant, glowing smile, "I am alright Monsiour, nothing I won't survive surely." She and Philippe laughed at her little joke and it seemed to break some of the tension. Philippe mustered ever ounce of confidence he could.
"What is your name?" He asked.
She smiled, "Abyss. What is yours?"
Philippe blushed and almost forgot the answer to her simple question. "It's Uh...Philippe."
Abyss giggled, her voice soft in the wind. "What a wonderful name. How old are you Philippe?"
He swallowed hard, "I'm 13, and you Mademoiselle Abyss?" He as,Ed in the most gentlemanly way possible.
She giggled again. "I'm 13 as well. I'm Marie's best friend, have you met her yet?"
Philippe sighed inwardly with relief, "Yes I have. Just recently though, I am new here in the village and today is my first day out of our house, I've been..." He paused choosing his next words carefully, "I've been sick. For quite some time now actually," he said almost painfully, recalling how sick he had been in prison.
An awkward silence came over the 2 young people. They didn't know it, but each of them was desperately trying to make a good impression on the other, as they were quite taken with one another.
D'artanyan's deep voice broke the silence from behind Philippe, startling him. "I'm sorry to interrupt Philippe," he said, putting a mischievous spin on the word, "Would you present me to the lovely young lady?"
Philippe blushed deeply. "Father, this is Abyss. She is one of my..." He paused awkwardly.
Abyss smiled her radiant smile, "...Friends." She finished for him, "We uses met moments ago, but we seem to have mutual friends. He is very sweet, and I can tell that we are going to be very good friends."
Philippe's cheeks now looked like chili peppers and D'artanyan could not help but chuckle. It was so obvious that Philippe desperately liked this girl and was hence so incredibly bashful. He would assist him later.
"Well Abyss, I'm very pleased to meet you, but Philippe and I must retire to out house for supper, would you care to join us?"
Abyss shook her head but smiled again, making Philippe almost drool as he marveled at how her hair seemed to flow like water in the wind. "No thank you Monseigneur, My Mother will be expecting me back at our house for our own dinner. But perhaps another time, I would love to see Philippe again soon. He is quite charming."
Philippe's eyes widened more than D'artanyan had thought humanly possible, and his blush, well, the shade of red now spread to his ears.
"Father, may we have a moment alone. Just one moment?" Philippe asked timidly.
D'artanyan's smile spread across his face. "Of course son, I will be waiting by the entrance of the tavern." And with that, he strode off, using all his strength to contain his laughter, and leaving Philippe alone with Abyss.
Philippe turned to face her again.
"I...I..." he studdered, unable to find the right words. Suddenly, like a lightning bolt, he was struck by a brief streak of confidence. "I do hope to see you again soon milady. I have enjoyed our time together, and I do apologize for being so bashful and awkward. It's only because..."
He softly bore his blue eyes directly into her black ones.
"I've never been in the presence of one so beautiful as you."
Withought another word, he took her right hand from her side and bright it up to his lips, where he planted a gentle kiss.
Now it was Abyss's turn to blush deeply.
"Until next time, Abyss. I hope to see you again soon."
And withought saying anything else, but feeling beyond proud of himself, he walked over to his Father, who was slowly applauding with a ridiculous grin plastered on his face. Philippe grew embarrassed, realizing his Father had watched his little Scene unfold.
"Well, let's hear it Father."
Suddenly D'artanyan couldn't control his laughter any longer, and he burst out with perfectly audible chuckles. Soon, he had tears up in his eyes from laughing so hard, and Philippe had to smile at his Fathers teasing.
"So Philippe," he said with an affectionate yet teasing ruffle to the boys hair. "I assume you made some friends today?"
Philippe's smile broadened and he blushed again, his cheeks glowing red,
"I did Father." He glanced over at Marie, Georges, Sophie and Nicholas who waved goodbye to him, which he returned with a wave of his own.
Then he glanced over at Abyss, her beautiful silhouette glowing against the bright sunlight where she still stood, talking to Another (far less beautiful) girl. He sighed, wondering how it was possible for a woman to be so incredibly gorgeous, and then he watched her walk out of sight, her long hair dancing in the wind.
He looked back at his Father,
"I did."