Chapter Two: Simply Henry
Danielle was standing with her back next to one of the orchard trees, trying to even her breathing. It had been a long day in between farming, cleaning, and dealing with her stepmother and stepsisters. To make matters worse she was going off on very little sleep thanks to a certain prince whom she was meeting in a few moments.
She looked down at her washed hands and started running them through her hair. For some reason, she had let Paulette and Louise talk her into "dolling her up" a bit before meeting the prince. They had washed her hair and scrubbed her down until some of her skin was pink before putting her into one of her nicer dresses. The dress itself wasn't too much to look at but it was certainly better than the absolute rags he had found her in earlier today.
She didn't even know why she bothered. After all, the prince had seen her in her servant clothes, men's clothes, and wet clothes. Surely, if her way of dress had offended him, he would have said something already.
All of a sudden, Danielle found herself feeling incredibly self-conscious. The words of her stepmother come back to her. She was so dirty and masculine and stubborn and headstrong. It was a wonder she hadn't been completely ridiculed yet. She was about to make the decision to quickly run back and change, figuring the prince would just have to wait a bit when she heard the snapping of twigs off to her right. She turned and there was prince Henry in all of his smug glory.
Now, there was nowhere else to go, unfortunately.
"Danielle!" He smiled, after looking at her.
Danielle tried to ignore the feeling of butterflies his gaze elicited. "Your majesty," she curtsied.
"You look…" He gestured to her gown, "different."
She grimaced, waiting for some sort of insult to follow but was pleasantly surprised when he continued, "Not a bad different. A good difference. More yourself… or what I would assume to be yourself. It seems I am always meeting different versions of you."
She had the decency to be a bit ashamed. "Yes, I suppose it is time I finally explain myself then, your highness."
He nodded towards her, signaling for her to continue.
Danielle swallowed and began nervously, "As I have told you, my name is Danielle De Barbarac. I am the daughter of Auguste de Barbarac and Nicole de Lancret. Both of my parents have passed away and I live with my stepmother, the Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent."
"Not that horrid woman," the prince grimaced automatically.
This brought a small smile to Danielle's face, calming her nerves a bit. "Yes, unfortunately."
"However, do you manage?" he asked with mock seriousness.
"With great patience and much screaming into a pillow," Danielle responded.
The prince grinned. "I'd imagine."
"Well, to return to the story," Danielle straightened her posture. "After my mother passed, my father, who was a skilled swordsman, taught me many things. Not only how to read and write, but arithmetic, ledgers, farming, and swordplay." She found her tone of voice growing softer, letting herself relive some memories. "I don't think he quite knew what to do with me after my mother passed. He knew I was a lady and ought to have been raised as a lady but… I think he recognized our spirits were much one and the same. Of course, after he passed…" Danielle trailed off.
She caught the prince's concerned gaze fixed on her. She was once more a little surprised by the empathy she found in his eyes. Coughing, Danielle continued, "After he passed, my stepmother, the baroness, decided certain liberties would need to be taken to ensure the stability of the house."
"Certain liberties?" The prince's brow furrowed in confusion.
Danielle lowered her eyes. "Yes… we wouldn't be able to afford many servants or workers, so she prematurely dismissed many of them. And before I really knew what was happening, I found myself as a servant of the house."
"What?!" Henry exclaimed.
Danielle was startled by the anger in his voice. "Surely," He stated, "They did not. By all rights, you should be a lady of the house."
Danielle merely gave a sad smile in response. "By all rights, yes, but unless someone is overseeing that the rights of all individuals are being protected, there will always be those who are mistreated and misused. I count myself amongst the more fortunate. At least I have books to read, a place to sleep, and a house to call home."
That wasn't enough to soothe Henry's anger. "Then I shall personally visit the baroness on your behalf and see to it that you are reinstated as a member of the household."
Danielle felt her heart seize in her chest. "Please don't your majesty, I beg you!"
The prince's eyes widened in response. "Why ever not!"
"I understand and am thankful for such a proposition, but I am afraid it would surely do more harm than good. She will not stop mistreating me simply because you say so and if she knew that you and I were meeting I would be cast out of the house." Danielle explained in hopes to deter him.
"But—"
"It is my word against hers, your highness. And though I am grateful that you believe me, there is no one who could speak for me. My fellow servants' words have no sway in court. It would not work." Danielle finished.
The prince ran his hands through his hair and gave a long exhale. "How could, you be sure? I am literally the prince of France. If I say it, then it must be so."
Danielle stepped in front of him. Without giving herself time for thought, she took the prince's hands within her own and held them tightly.
"I thank you, truly for what you would intend to do. But no matter how hard the wind may blow, the mountain will not bow before it. Decreeing that the baroness must recognize my place in the family would only incite further ire against me. I dare not think what she would do. And despite what you might think, your highness, there is pleasure in the life of being a servant, simple pleasure though it may be."
His hands were rough and warm. And his eyes were solely focused on hers.
"But are you happy?" He whispered.
"I…" Danielle struggled to find an answer. He was so close to her and if her eyes were not betraying her, he was leaning in further. "I am… as happy as I can be your highness."
With that, she dropped his hands, ignoring the coldness that followed. She took a step back and breathed deeply. "I hope that I have answered your questions, your highness."
He stood still; his eyes still drawn to hers. "I suppose you have. There is still one question that you haven't answered though."
"And what would that be?"
"Will you come to my tennis match tomorrow at noon?" He asked.
Danielle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm afraid I will be in the market tending to our stalls."
"Truly, that is regrettable." The prince said softly.
"Yes, yes, it is," Danielle found herself agreeing with him.
Realizing how late it was, Danielle cleared her throat and said, "I should be going now. I apologize." She curtsied.
"And if I want to see you again?" The prince called to her.
Danielle couldn't keep the smile off her face as she looked back at him. "Then you know where to find me."
For the life of him, Henry could not pinpoint what possessed him to take a turn about the market with Marguerite. While the woman in question was beautiful, he soon found that in terms of qualities, that was about it. Still, he supposed he had presented himself with an opportunity to pry a little more into Danielle's situation. That was how he found himself handing a piece of chocolate to the blonde lady.
"Here," he said, offering her a piece.
He watched her close her eyes and open her mouth, expecting him to feed her the chocolate. Grimacing, Henry resolved to do what he needed to do in order to get answers. He placed the chocolate in her mouth, trying not to touch anything while he did so. Marguerite's eyes widened and she let out a sound that Henry figured was supposed to be provocative.
"Delicious!" She said, batting her eyelashes at him.
Henry cleared his throat. "Like it?"
"Like it?" Marguerite answered. "Why, it's positively sinful. What's it called?"
"Er…" Henry stammered a bit, "Chocolate. The Spanish monks keep sending bricks of it."
Marguerite then latched her arm around his own and began leading him down another street of the market with a smug smile. Before Henry could say anything, she stated, "These are our servants, Your Highness."
'Really? I'd love to meet them." Henry said genuinely.
He figured that perhaps this wasn't a wasted venture, after all, seeing how Marguerite was offering up information without him even asking. They arrived at a stall and Henry observed two older women whose eyes widened in worry as he approached.
"Good day, ladies," Henry greeted, unsure as to why they were apprehensive.
It was then, that Danielle seemingly appeared in front of him with a chicken in her hands. He watched the utter horror flash across her face before her grip on the chicken loosened which sent the bird flying at his face.
"Woah!" He exclaimed as the bird flapped at him and Marguerite gave a small cry of horror.
"Your majesty!" Danielle said, managing to reach across the baskets of vegetables to regain a hand on the chicken and pull it away. She shoved the chicken back into its cage before straightening and giving another bow. Despite seeming remorseful Henry looked closer and could see the slight smile on her face.
"What are you doing?" Marguerite all but screamed. "Trying to scare the prince to death? Danielle, you rotten, no good, horrible—"
"A thousand apologies your highness, madam," Danielle lowered her gaze.
"We were startled, that's all," one of the older ladies came to Danielle's defense.
"Hmph!" Marguerite turned up her nose, and once more, pulled herself closer to Henry. "Mother will certainly hear about this by the end of the day."
Henry watched the color drain from Danielle's face as she gave another bow of apology. Once more, he was introduced to a different side of Danielle, although, he didn't like this version at all. She seemed so small and quiet. It was so different from the headstrong and vibrant woman he had met yesterday. He wanted to say something but before he could, Marguerite started to pull him away.
"Let us explore more of the market, your highness!" Marguerite announced.
And before Henry even knew what was happening, they were off to another section of the market in front of new vendors. However, his curiosity about Danielle's situation had not lessened.
"So those were your servants?" he asked hoping that Marguerite would take the bait.
She did. "Yes, we only have a few, unfortunately. We would get more but our poor estate is not what it used to be." She replied, with what Henry assumed was false sadness. She was trying to get him to pity them.
"They seemed lovely enough," Henry probed.
"As if," Marguerite let her ire slip. "Paulette and Louise are old as doorknobs and Danielle must be the worst servant there has ever been. The slob has the audacity to talk back to us and pretend that she has other more important duties than making us breakfast."
Henry felt cold anger expand through his chest as Marguerite continued to rail against Danielle.
"Why, you have already met the ingrateful servant once before! Surely you remember that when you acquiesced one of our horses, one of our servants, Danielle, had the gall to try and stop you! She is amongst the laziest, ill-suited, ugliest, and ungrateful and I dare say it won't be long before we ship her off to the Americas!"
His fists were clenched, and Henry felt very stiff by the time that Marguerite had finished her spiel. If the lady had noticed, she pretended not to so she could press herself further into Henry.
He remained silent, now and Marguerite could scarce get a word from him. When he bid her adieu, he finally let himself mull over his findings of the afternoon. It wasn't just the baroness who was mistreating Danielle, but her stepsisters as well. Suddenly, he understood her desperate fear from last night. Even if he ordered them to treat Danielle with respect, he was sure that they would defy him at every turn.
Something must be done.
Danielle needed to be rescued, of that much, he was sure. But how? How could he bring her out of that awful situation? Well, if she was being treated as a servant, he supposed he could simply buy her and grant her freedom.
Henry shook his head. That wasn't enough. If he "bought" her, he would be cementing her status as a servant/former servant when she was never one, to begin with. He went over what he had learned last night. Her parents, August de Barbarac and Nicole de Lancret… perhaps the answer lay there. If one of them held any titles, then that would mean Danielle would have a much more elevated position in society. But if they didn't…
It still was not enough. How was he to grant Danielle the position she deserved? His thoughts turned to the strange woman. She was smart, wickedly smart. Her verbal repartee was enough to cut down the most studious of men. She was also kind and humble. The kind of humility within her and compassion was that of the most graceful of ladies. But she was rough too. She fought in both word and deed. He doubted that Danielle would ever be happy simply being a lady. No, she would not.
She would grow bored almost instantly. She needed to be in a place of prestige and power. She had the ability to move mountains with her words. Her beauty in it itself would be enough to inspire wars. There was only one position that she could fill…
No.
Henry stopped his line of thought. He couldn't possibly be thinking what he thought he was thinking. He knew that his parents had granted him enough leeway to choose his own bride, but they would balk at the idea of a servant becoming queen… wouldn't they? And what about himself? How did he know that he loved Danielle? They had only met a few times; he couldn't possibly be considering marrying her.
Yet, every time they had met, it had inspired something within him. She left him truly thinking about who he was and what he wanted as an individual, not as a prince. There was something so… enticing about her, yet he could never pinpoint it for what it was. Henry figured he could probably spend the rest of his life trying to figure out Danielle. But that was preposterous.
Henry shook his head, hoping that some semblance of sense would reinstate itself back into his mind. For now, he would return to the palace and inquire into Danielle's parents. Then, he decided, he would make his next move… before or after he met with her again. He smiled. There was just something about her that wouldn't allow him to keep away.
With his mind made up, Henry began walking toward his mother's room. If there was one person who would know the court better than anyone else, past or present, it would be his mother.
Leonardo Da Vinci did not eavesdrop. He liked to think that the eaves naturally dropped near him. So, when he was walking about the castle, looking for something to do to keep him occupied until his painting dried, he just so happened to see prince Henry walking towards his mother urgently. If he slightly changed his trajectory so that he would bypass them, he did so unconsciously. As he got closer, he began to hear what they were saying.
"Mother, I would like for you to do me a favor," Henry asked.
"A favor?" The queen looked at him strangely. "Whatever is the reason?"
"It's not terribly important but I need it done quickly," Henry answered, looking a bit sheepish. "I would like for you to look into Auguste de Barbarac and Nicole de Lancret."
"Auguste de Barbarac and Nicole de Lancret?" The queen repeated.
"Yes," Henry reiterated.
By now, Da Vinci had passed the royal couple and had turned down a different hall. He wondered if this sudden interest of the prince had anything to do with the lovely girl he had met yesterday. Still, what did he know? He was really too old to meddle in the affairs of young people by this point. Although… perhaps it was time to finally test out that kite. And if he did so near the river where he had met the girl, it was completely by accident.
"Look, Gustave! It's floating!" Danielle exclaimed, flying the kite that she had found.
"Why are you so happy?" Gustave shouted back, still trying to focus on his painting. "You'll be swimming in manure if they get married."
Danielle tried her best to ignore the stab in her heart that Gustave's words had brought forth. Right now, she was trying to have some fun.
If she was being honest with herself, when she had seen the prince and Marguerite walking in the market, her mood had plummeted. Logically, she understood that the prince was looking for a bride and that bride could never in a million years be her. But she hadn't figured that the person he was thinking to align himself with was Marguerite. It felt like a betrayal of some sort.
She had thought, if for a moment, that she and the prince shared something special. Despite his attempts to annoy her and his unending arrogance, there was a spark in him that just needed to be fanned. She could tell, in what little time they had spent together, that there were the makings of a great man and king within the prince, if only he opened himself up to the possibility. But if he were going to spend the rest of his life with Marguerite, then Danielle felt it might all be for naught.
She sighed a bit. This was not what she wanted to think about right now. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy her bit of free time, flying Signor da Vinci's kite.
"I don't know why it bothers you so. I couldn't care less." She said.
"You're lying! The prince would be your brother-in-law, and you, Danielle, would be bringing them breakfast in bed." Gustave explained.
Danielle ignored the small pang in her heart, instead opting to look on the bright side. "But they would move into the palace, and I could stay with the manor and turn things around."
"You like him, admit it." Gustave pressed.
"Nope!" Danielle exclaimed.
There was a strange warble in Gustave's voice when he said, "And I suppose if you saw him again, you'd simply—"
"I'd walk right up to him and say, your highness, my family is your family. Please, take them away." Danielle gave a mock bow.
"Good, because here's your big chance! He's headed this way!" Gustave stated.
His words caused Danielle to look up in astonishment as prince Henry and one of his attendants were riding this way. Panic seized her and Danielle felt she couldn't bear to speak with the prince after the events which transpired yesterday. She ducked behind one of the larger haystacks and prayed that Gustave had the decency to lie for her. She heard the galloping of the horses subside and the prince talking to Gustave.
"I'm looking for Signor da Vinci. We're going to the monastery, have you seen him?"
"Da Vinci?" Gustave stumbled. "No, your highness."
"Well, is that not his flying contraption?" The prince said, pointing to the kite, which was still in the sky, courtesy of Danielle's carelessness. "Where did you get it?"
"From er…" Gustave was wracking his brain before ultimately deciding to just tell the truth, "Danielle de Barbarac."
"You know her?" The prince's surprise could be heard all the way over to where Danielle was.
"Since we were little kids," Gustave answered proudly.
"Then—"
Danielle took a deep breath before coming from behind the haystack with the offending kite in hand. "I'm here, your majesty," She interrupted.
"Danielle!" She watched his eyes light up with some sort of emotion that Danielle couldn't quite place.
"Your majesty," she bowed.
He cleared his throat. "Well, I… I was going to invite Signor Da Vinci to the monastery with me today but…"
"But?" Danielle felt herself on the verge of smiling.
"But it appears I cannot find him. Most regrettable." The prince said with mock disappointment. "Perhaps, such a distinguished lady as yourself would like to join me instead."
Danielle felt herself go quiet, unsure what to do with the invitation. However, it seemed Gustave had other ideas.
"She would love to!" Gustave interjected on her behalf.
"Gustave!" Danielle stopped herself from slapping him over the head.
"I beg your forgiveness your highness, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline seeing that I am not even dressed for such an occasion." Danielle tried to save herself.
"What she means to say," Gustave once more interceded. "Is that if you give her a few minutes to go back to the manor and change, she would be honored to accompany you."
"Gustave." Danielle's voice grew dangerously irate.
However, the prince seemed to be enjoying this little exchange and latched onto Gustave's proposition immediately. "Very well, then allow me to escort you back to the manor so you can make yourself more… presentable."
Danielle's eyes flashed with frustration and anger but seeing as she couldn't really refuse the prince, she huffed and accepted his hand as he helped her onto the back of his horse.
"We shall be off," The prince nodded towards Gustave. "Nice painting," he added.
As they started off towards the house, Danielle did manage to give Gustave a good kick in the head. She was rewarded with an "Ow!" before they had galloped off.
She found holding onto the prince on the back of the horse to be strangely… wonderful, if not a bit awkward. He didn't say anything to her, so she hoped he was not offended by her smell, the dirt on her hands, and the stains on her dress. She was trying not to cling too tightly to him but being on the back of a horse is so much more different than being on the front. By the end of the ride, her face was pressing into his back, and she couldn't help but… smell him. His scent was strong and masculine, with notes of pine and smoke that probably came from all the candles they burned in the palace.
He got off the horse first before offering his hand. Unfortunately, Danielle's foot got a bit tangled in the stirrups and she tripped trying to slide off the horse. However, the strong arms of the prince wrapped themselves around her and held her steady. She looked up only to find their faces uncomfortably close and his dark eyes focused solely on hers.
She heard the captain of the guard clear his throat behind them and Danielle finally found the strength to step away.
"My apologies, your majesty. I'm afraid my list of offenses is still increasing. By the end of the day, I might be in prison yet." She joked before opening the door of the house.
She shut the door behind her and missed the absolutely beaming smile on Henry's face. She quickly called for Paulette and Louise's help. This time, they insisted she wears a proper dress. With her face and hands scrubbed and her hair put in a simple braid, they shoved her outside in probably ten minutes or less.
"Your highness." She said.
He was stunned into silence for a moment before he stated, "The Franciscans have an astonishing library. Since you are so fond of reading, I thought you might join me."
Danielle smiled. "It is not fair, sire. You have found my weakness, but I have yet to learn yours."
"I should think it was quite obvious." He said looking into her eyes.
His statement caught her off guard and Danielle could feel her heartbeat increasing rapidly.
"Captain Laurent!" The prince announced. "I shall not need my horse or your services. Today, I am simply… Henry."