After lunch, she gathered up as much lemon balm as she could find while he packed everything neatly back up. They headed back to the castle, him describing all the activities of the boating party as they went. Once they'd made it into the castle, she noticed he continued walking with her.

"Are you going to walk me back to Nostradamus?" she giggled.

"Well, it is my job to guide you today. I'd make a terrible guide if I didn't ensure you got to your final destination safely," he smirked.

"I'm not quite so hopeless," she rolled her eyes, playfully annoyed. "But always glad for your company. Anyways," she pointed to the door. "This is me. Where should I meet you tomorrow night?"

"I'll meet you in the main hall at 8."

"I'll see you tomorrow night at 8 then." She waived as he departed, then turned to knock on Nostradamus's door.

"Enter."

"I'm back," she sang as she waltzed into the room. "With enough lemon balm to hold you over for quite some time," she continued, setting the basket down at his desk. "I also grabbed some other supplies while I was out."

Nostradamus looked through the basket. It was quite the selection of various flowers and herbs. "Well done," he said proudly as he closed the lid. "I'd say these will hold us over for about a week."

"A week?" she asked incredulously.

"This is a castle after all, with many lords, ladies, and servants."

"Oh," she said as she realized the full scale of his services.

"Don't be so put out. A week's worth of supplies means a few days off if we take tomorrow to make all the sleeping droughts."

"Really?" she asked excitedly. "Oh! I do need to leave by 6 pm tomorrow night at the latest though."

"For the boating party, I'm guessing?"

She twirled her skirt back and forth sheepishly and nodded. "Jonathan asked me."

"That young man you were with earlier?"

She nodded.

He grumbled something under his breath.

"Sorry, didn't quite catch that. What'd you say?" she asked.

"Hm? Oh, nothing of concern. We should be done long before 6 tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning."

"See you tomorrow, Nostradamus."

Mona spent the rest of the following day grinding ingredients with so much determination that her hands started to cramp, forcing her to take multiple short breaks. After a while, the two of them had gotten into a rhythm.

"Switch?" she begged, to which Nostradamus relented with a nod, taking over grinding to let her stir for a while. "Thank you," she whimpered and happily took to stirring the ingredients. "How many more batches?"

"This is the last one, I promise. Normally, I don't have enough time or supplies to do this many batches at once. The effort will be well worth it."

"I know and it's good to have what people need right when they need it."

"It's nearly time. You go ahead and get ready. I'll finish this last one up."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite. Go be young while you still can," he smiled warmly. "I'll see you on Tuesday. We've got enough to hold us over til at least then."

"Thank you, Nostradamus!"

She bounded up to her room to start the fire, then down to the nearest well to fetch water. Back and forth she went til her bath and kettle were filled. As she waited for the kettle to heat, she pulled out the one dress in her closet that she thought she'd never wear. It was sent with her by her mother, who spent her days and nights meticulously working with the madder to get a deep enough wine-colored red to stay in the linen. Mona ran her fingers over the green vine embroidery on the edges of the neckline and sleeves. Her mother continued that embroidery onto the black stay folded neatly beside it. Mona laid them out on her bed to envision how the pair would look together.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the kettle singing, signaling it was ready for her bath. She poured it into the water, stirring in some of the petals she'd brought back from yesterday's trip to the glad. She stripped, then sunk into the large wooden tub. She was mindful of the time, glancing frequently at the clock on her mantle, realizing she had only an hour left. She scrubbed every inch of herself thoroughly, washed her hair, and then got out. After drying herself, she dressed quickly. Tightening the stay around herself, she took a look in the mirror. As she looked at her reflection, she patiently braided the front strands of her hair into a crown, fastening them together in the back with a smaller piece of string to hide amongst her tresses.

Stand up straight! She heard her mother's voice scolding her in her head. Perk the girls up! Men love to see a full bust. She rolled her eyes as she pulled her chest into place and found herself standing a bit taller, which only seemed to accentuate them more. Digging around in the bottom drawer of her dresser, she found the accompanying shoes and a small tub of vermillion lipstick. Her mother had saved up for this for ages and warned her to use it sparingly. She slipped into the red flats and applied it, rubbing what was left on her finger onto her red dress. Red on red. It's not like anyone will notice. She took one last look, making sure everything was sitting perfectly. She wanted tonight to go well, not for her mother, but for herself. Now don't mess it up! After a final twirl, she headed down to the main hall.

Bash was waiting for her as she came down the stairs. He wore black from head to toe, which just made his striking blue eyes stand out more. Even the leather seemed to be dyed, though there were hints of golden stars embroidered throughout his vest. His lips spread into a wide grin, and his eyes widened and sparkled, as though he was seeing her for the first time.

Say something! Anything, you fool! Tell her she looks pretty. No! Beautiful? No!

"Jonathan, are you alright?" she snickered. "Cat got your tongue?"

The usage of the fake name he gave her snapped him out of his trance. I have to tell her sometime… Tonight. She deserves to know the truth.

"Well, when a vision in red descends from the heavens, I find myself at a loss for words. None seem quite good enough," he smiled, taking her hand as she descended the last step, kissing the back of it, making her giggle bashfully.

"I could say the same. I would love anything that accentuates those stunning eyes of yours."

He was thankful for the dim lighting of the castle at night for hiding the shade of pink his cheeks were surely turning. "Shall we?" he asked, offering his arm.

"We shall," she linked hers with his own. Her stomach felt as though an entire hive of bees were buzzing around inside of it, her skin tingling with anxiety.

If he gets any more attractive, I swear I'll propose my damned self. Look at him!

The two made their way through a few of the stalls. He grabbed two goblets off a nearby servant's tray, handing one to her. They sipped at them as they walked along, gazing out at the water in the light of the sconces. After the third goblet, her head began to swim. Noticing a line forming for the boats, he pulled her along with him.

"Hurry! If we don't get in line now, we won't be on the water in time for the fireworks."

"Alright, alright," she laughed, a bit tipsy. "Slow down or I'll lose a slipper." They managed to stumble their way to the line, though losing a bit of wine along the way. After Mona downed the rest of her goblet, Jonathan insisted on her holding the spot in line as he ran off to find the nearest servant. The line inched along slowly, but she found herself nearly at the front when he came running back, breathing heavily.

"Mona, I must apologize. I'm the king's fastest rider and he's sent me on a mission. I have to leave. I'm so very sorry. I have to go now."

"Now?" she asked, wide-eyed. "As in right this very moment right now?"

"Yes. I promise you, I will make this up to you later," he held her hands, gazing into her eyes. "I have much to make up for and I assure you it begins as soon as I return."

"Well, when the king summons, you go. Please be careful and return safely to me," she begged.

"As much as I can," he promised before swiftly kissing her on the cheek, then bolting off in the direction of the stables.

With that, she chose to stumble back to the castle. The kiss was bittersweet. She sighed wistfully, holding her palm to her cheek where his lips and stubble had brushed it. It's not like he was ditching me on purpose. What the royals say goes, everything else be damned. She found the emptiness of the castle eerie, yet comforting. She was accustomed to the constant hustle and bustle of various servants and royals alike, but she was glad for the quiet. She wanted to be alone now more than ever. As she drifted up to a balcony on one of the higher floors, she heard the fireworks start. The corners of her mouth turned up just slightly, for she could see what he meant about the reflections of the fireworks on the water from this height. It really is beautiful. The only thing that would have made this night more perfect is if you'd been able to share it with me. Oh well…