Garnet turned the last corner of the hedge maze. A huge fountain with a statue of a Pegasus in the center with jets of water shooting from the base took up the middle of the clearing. Kuja sat on the side, the moonlight made his silver hair glow brightly. He was staring at her as if he had never seen anything like her before.
She walked over and sat down beside him. He hadn't taken his eyes off her. As soon as she sat down he placed his arm around her waist and kissed her with such tenderness it left her breathless. When he pulled away she stared at him in surprise.
"When I saw you come around that corner, I thought I was seeing an angel," he said, kissing her again.
She didn't know what to say, she was so caught up in the way he was looking at her and the way he was making her feel. She wanted him to do more than just kiss her… she wanted…
"PRINCESS!!" A voice cried.
Garnet and Kuja jumped apart and looked at the opening of the clearing. Steiner stood there with an astonished look on his face.
"What is going on here? You are supposed to be in your room!" he cried, rushing forward, then his eyes fell upon Kuja, "You snuck out to see him!?"
"Yes, Steiner, I did," she said calmly, as if it were a regular occurrence.
"But…. Why?" Steiner said, then turned on Kuja.
"How dare you! When her Majesty the Queen hears about this you will be sent to the dungeon! How dare you try to seduce the Princess!!" Steiner yelled, jumping up in down in anger.
Kuja merely looked at him as if he could care less. This caused Steiner to get even angrier.
"What is all this yelling about?" Another voice said before Garnet could defend herself and Kuja. Beatrix entered the maze and looked at Garnet and Kuja in surprise.
"That man is trying to seduce the princess!" Steiner accused.
"He is not!" Garnet cried.
Beatrix looked at her and then grabbed Steiner's arm, "Come, let's leave them alone."
"But I can't let this happen! He's trying to seduce her! What will the Queen say? He's turning the Princess into a whore!" Steiner cried as she pulled him away. After a moment his protests couldn't be heard.
Garnet sat back down, her face burning and buried her face in her hands.
"Sometimes I can't stand having him as my body guard." She said, shaking her head.
"Don't worry about it. Forget about him. Let's have this night for us," he said, placing a finger under her chin and lifting her face until their eyes locked. Then he bent his head down so their foreheads touched. For a moment they just sat there, not taking their eyes off each other, then he pressed his lips against hers.
His kisses were like magic. They lit a fire in her body that both excited and scared her. His hands began to wander up her back to her shoulders. She groaned from the pure pleasure of it all. She was so content when his arms around her. She felt as though nothing could ever harm her there. And she loved the way he touched her in ways that no other man ever would. She knew then that no matter what, she had to make her mother decide to let her marry Kuja.
It was then that he decided to pull back. She stared at him in surprise.
"We shouldn't be doing this. Not yet," he said, moving away from her.
"Why?" she asked, feeling both disappointed and dumb.
He looked at the ground, "You are the Princess of Alexandria, and I am not even a noble—," he started, but she interrupted him by placing a finger on his lips.
"I don't care about that. Kuja, I care about you, your rank doesn't concern me. How you make me feel is what matters," she said.
He looked into her eyes and smiled; she could feel herself getting lost in his eyes again. He pulled her close and kissed her again, his hands cupping her breasts. She gasped at the sudden pleasure that shot through her. He made her feel good, like she was the only person in his world that mattered. For a long while she lost herself in the way his lips wandered along her jaw to her neck and ear.
Finally she pulled back, she knew that she wasn't ready for everything he wanted to give.
"Steiner will throw a fit if I don't get back," she said, biting her lip at the lie. She knew Beatrix would keep him away from the hedge maze. The truth was she was scared of the powerful emotions he made her feel. She had never experienced anything like it before, but she knew that it would not be the last time she and Kuja had an intimate encounter.
Kuja lifted his hand and ran his fingertips across her jawbone. She nearly weakened and stayed, but she knew she had to get away before she did something she regretted.
"I will dream of you tonight, my beautiful canary," he said gently.
"And I will dream of you," she replied, a smile bright on her face. She leaned down and gave him one last kiss, then left the garden.
***
She had trouble sleeping that night. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Kuja. She loved the way he made her feel, the ecstasy of being in his embraced flared at the memory of it.
And yet something was troubling her, she couldn't quite place her finger on what it was. It had something to do with what she was thinking about on the terrace; only she couldn't remember quite what it was. It was more of a strange feeling than anything else.
Then her thoughts drifted towards her mother. Why was her mom so anxious to marry her off? She was still young, not old enough to worry about Garnet producing an heir. Many of her mother's recent actions were in question as far as Garnet was concerned. Something about her mother had changed after her father died, but she couldn't put her finger on that either.
The mere knowledge that she couldn't tell what was wrong with her mother, or even what that feeling was, frustrated her. She hated not knowing, and yet she was laying here awake because she didn't know what was bothering her. Finally she sighed, rolled over, and fell asleep.