Emilie of the Royal Heart

Chapter 37: Sincerely, The Emperor Pt. 2

 The back of the palace was a grand labyrinth of lush, green hedges with a number of courtyards tucked into the maze. Minnie held a lantern as she eagerly pulled Emilie through the pathways. The only thing she could do was hold her skirts in her fist and try to keep up.

Once they broke through to a clearing, Minnie dropped her hand and rushed over to the side of the fountain at the center of the stone-paved yard. The border of the fountain was colored dark grey and it was wide enough for her to sit on it as she pulled her bag off from the side and began unloading it.

Emilie hovered in the entryway of the courtyard, her heart all a flutter. The papers from letter were clutched in her hand. She unfurled her tense fingers from them and smoothed them out. These papers were going through a lot tonight. Emilie felt bad.

"My lady, I have set you up exactly where your admirer has instructed, but I have a third part to complete still. You will have to call for me again, but I suspect the letter will inform you when that is," Minnie explained, rising from the side of the fountain. Emilie turned to her, hugging the letter to her bodice. Her attendant gestured to the perimeter of the fountain for her to sit.

Slowly, Emilie approached the fountain with its quiet gurgling next to her. Once she set herself along the side of it, she noticed there was a box next to her. She glanced at Minnie, who was disappearing into the labyrinth again before she could be asked any questions. Emilie held back a giggle and she forced herself to wait another moment before pouring over Elias' letter again. She would only be able to read it for the first time once.

The second her eyes met the left side of the courtyard, she gasped with giddy air and covered her mouth with excitement. Just on the left side of the courtyard was a spectacularly massive hydrangea bush. She couldn't wait any longer. Emilie grabbed the lantern Minnie left and lifted it over the letter as she read on.

"If you have properly followed all the prompts I've put into place, we should be in the centermost courtyard of the garden maze at Tilzen palace. If you are not there... then get there. I have put far too much thought into this charade for it to be ruined even by you, my dear. You should be alongside the fountain under the night sky. I can only pray for the weather to cooperate. The stars and moon are of the utmost importance tonight. You'll have noticed the hydrangeas, no doubt."

She couldn't explain it, but she could feel him smiling as he wrote those words. Even though she was sitting in courtyard alone, she almost thought she might turn around and hear him reciting the words she was reading. Emilie looked up at the sky, lowering the lantern to the stone for a moment. She smiled. It was perfect. Not a single cloud to obscure the vision of the heavens. The moon was nearly full and glowing with a haze against the black. Emilie kept on reading, though she felt a shiver from the cold night air. She wished she brought a shawl or something.

"Minnie should have left a box for you. I would like you to open it now."

Emilie's eyebrows raised, but she complied, setting down the letter and stuffing it under her leg to make sure it wouldn't blow away. Her fingers reached for the box and she removed the top. She raised the lantern for a better look and then she stared at the contents with a taste of disbelief and yet complete expectation mixing her mouth.

She reached down into the box and from it took a clipping from a hydrangea bush. She twirled the stem in between her fingers and watched the blue blooms shine under the moonlight. There was something else in the bottom of the box, but she picked up the letters, hopeful that Elias would explain himself.