Finally finished with her day's work, Danielle stole away to the library. When Marie first showed it to her during a tour, Danielle could not help but gasp. It was magnificent. Books lined thousands of shelves aginst the wall. In fact, there seemed to be no wall. The library had made her feel more at home than anything.

Marie, noticing her awe, smiled and said, "It's my husband's collection. He died a few years ago, and, unfortunately, all they've been doing lately is collecting dust. I try to make it a habit of coming in here every so often to come and clean up."

Danielle inhaled sharply and a large smile creeped up over her face. "It's beautiful," she breathed.

Marie's eyes twinkled and she made a sweeping motion with her hand toward the room. "Feel free to come in here any time you like. I'm glad they'll finally be put to use again."

Now by herself, Danielle smiled as the familiar scent of leather bound books tickled her nose and filled her with a sudden warmth. There had been a library at the Manoir de Barbarac, but her access to it had been cut off by Rodmilla, and then later all of her father's books had been sold.

Tracing her finger reverently along the binding of each book, her eyes wandered across the titles, searching for a specific one. She spotted it, and for a long moment she stared at it, her eyes watering a little. "Utopia." Carefully, she slid the book from its place and fondly wiped bits of dust away. It was her bible. Waking up each morning without it in her sight this past week had been a bitter torture. Now, she had it again. Closing her eyes for a moment, she pressed the book against her chest and whispered softly, "Papa. Papa, I miss you." One solitary tear slipped down her cheek, and it was almost as if she could hear his voice, calling to her, murmuring, 'Danielle, I love you. I'm here with you always. I'm so proud.' She leaned back against the bookcase and smiled. Her papa. Opening her eyes again, she glanced down at the last book he had ever given her.

Eagerly, and with tenderness she opened it and sifted through its leaves. She stopped at a random page and let her eyes drink in the familiar words:

"" Upon this I said to him: "I earnestly beg you would describe that island very particularly to us. Be not too short, but set out in order all things relating to their soil, their rivers, their towns, their people, their manners, constitution, laws, and, in a word, all that you imagine we desire to know. And you may well imagine that we desire to know everything concerning them, of which we are hitherto ignorant.""



Suddenly, her thoughts traveled to the first day Henry and she had met, and he had heard her quote Thomas More. Had it really been no more than a fortnight since they first met? It seemed ludicrous, as if the memory of Henry had been with her always. Henry...but he wasn't just her Henry. He was 'Prince Henry'. The Prince of France, and then, someday, King Henry of France.

Danielle sighed, allowing herself a moment to think of him. Memories revolved around her head, reminding of every moment they had spent together. There was no way she would ever forget...

"Julie?" Danielle flinched in surprise as Albert opened the door to the library, and nodded to her. "Are you all right?" he asked, stepping forward uncertainly. "You face is flushed."

Danielle sighed and laid 'Utopia' fondly on the table that rested in the middle of the room. "Yes, I'm fine." She ran her hand through her hair and raised her eyes to Albert's, not annoyed at his intrusion, but only regretful. "Did you want something?"

Finally stepping through the door, Albert walked closer and glanced at the book she had put on the table. "Yes, mother's finished dinner and you can eat with us if you want," he said absent-mindedly. He picked up the book and then glanced at Danielle with surprise. "You're a fan of Thomas More?"

Trying hard to resist the urge to snatch it out of his hand, Danielle only nodded. It was, after all, his library. "Yes. And, it does have some sentimental value to me."

"Oh?" Albert raised his eyebrows, and set the book back on the table.

"Yes, it was the very last book my father ever gave me before he died." Danielle gazed at the book affectionately, the memories of her father returning again, making her smile. "But, it's not my copy. It's yours." She sudden felt embarressed and forward. Hoping he wouldn't think she was impertinent by laying claim to his own father's books, she broke eye contact with it and avoided her gaze from either of them. "Mine was destroyed."

"Destroyed?"

"It was an accident." Despite herself, her eyes narrowed darkly as she remembered Marguerite tossing the book into the flames. Afraid that he had noticed the change in her expression, she decided now would be the best time to change the subject. "So, you said we were expected for dinner?"

~*~

"What are you reading?" Laurent asked, glancing over at Henry as he packed the bags onto the horses after their campout.

His eyebrows rose in surprise at being interrupted and he shrugged. "Just a book."

Feeling particularly curious, Laurent bent down and stared at the cover. "Utopia? Havn't you read that aleady?"

Bookmarking his page, Henry put the book down. "Yes, I have. But, I see it from an almost completely different point of view now. I'm noticing things I hadn't before"

"Really?" Laurent finished packing and mounted his horse. Making sure everyone else in the riding team was all set, he whistled at Henry. "Come on. We've only got a few miles left.

Henry rose out of his seat on the ground and mounted his horse. "All right. But, how long are we to stay in this Reimoins?"

"One week. Then on to the next twenty-something towns the King expects us to visit."

~*~

Danielle was unused to the simplicity of her chores. She was almost always finished before noon and found herself becoming restless for the remainder of the day. Marie was good company, but she kept to the kitchen. The only chore Danielle was exempt from doing was cooking. Marie loved to cook and reserved any making of a meal or dessert to herself. Though, once in a while, Danielle would wander into the Marie's sanctuary of fresh spices and sweet odors and become the woman's apprentice. Her culinary skill improved immensely over the course of two months.

"Why do you always avoid Albert?" Marie asked finally one day, her curiosity getting the better of her. She had noticed that Danielle spoke very little to him, and always found an excuse to leave when he entered the room.

Taken by surprise, Danielle only said an honest answer. "I'm not sure."

Having left the yeasted bread in a dry area to rise, she motioned for Danielle to sit by her at the table. "Think about it. Do you not like him?"

Danielle shook her head and frowned to herself, "It's not that - I just..." she trailed off, looking for a way to express the way she felt. "I don't want him to get too close to me. I don't want him to feel anything for me." Danielle bit her lip, and then glanced nervously at Marie.

The woman only nodded wisely and cupped Danielle's chin in her hand. "You've already fallen in love, havn't you?" It was a statement, not so much a question. And when Danielle nodded in confirmation, Marie could only smile and drop her hand. "That's so wonderful!" Suddenly, she frowned and glanced searchingly in Danielle's eyes, "but why did you run away from it?"

Danielle had asked herself that same question during dreams filled with Henry, both haunting her and enchanting her. "Things became complicated."

"He was a noble, wasn't he?" Marie nodded knowingly and sighed at Danielle. "Dear girl, don't worry about Albert. Just - become his friend and make it clear to him that nothing more than that will ever happen. I can tell he's hurt and confused as to why to why you shun him."

"I didn't mean to hurt him, I only wanted to -"

"Protect the both of you, I know," said Marie, rising from the table and stretching. "I'm going to go outside and work in the garden." She paused before disappearing behind the door and gave Danielle a fond look. "I can see that whatever happened to you in the past still hurts you to this day. It wouldn't be natural if it didn't. But don't ever feel guilty for it. Love is love. You can't pick and choose." With that, she left.

~*~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~*~

Author's Note: More to come! I just want to thank everyone for your reviews! Thank you!