Addendum:

Chapter 3: In the Garden

Elesia found herself staring into the same blue eyes she had found in her vanity mirrors reflection this morning. These eyes, with the same pale blue hue, held twinkles of mischief and chaos instead of pity and love, but oh how she found comfort in those eyes. Just as long as she had known Maggie, she had known Maggie's son Eli. Her startled face softened at the memories of her toddling after her longtime friend. He was three years her senior and she had followed him everywhere, including into trouble.

Maggie had come to their household as a single young lady, working as a scullery maid and had become fast friends with a young Lydia, who due to her arranged marriage felt like a servant of sorts herself. The king had welcomed Maggie's friendship for his wife's sake as it seemed to be the only thing that would brighten her spirits. Maggie worked in the palace for a few years before falling in love with the village blacksmith. Lydia, although happy for her friend despaired at the thought of losing her as it was no longer proper for a married woman to fill that position. It was king Dominic who suggested that Maggie be given the title of official companion, allowing the two to grow even closer. Maggie shortly learned that she was expecting. Several months later the joyous news of her sons birth was clouded with grief as there was an explosion at the smithy and no survivors were found. The king, learning that it had been intentional strike by Malachi, offered to take Eli on as a ward. Providing for both him and his mother. The wounds of grief were just beginning to heal when Lydia learned she was expecting. Lydia has seen the joys of motherhood in her friend and it had suited her well. What she didn't know was that she wouldn't get to experience those same joys. Lydia died in childbirth, ripping away Maggie's friend, Dominics' love, and Elesia's mother. It was settled that Maggie would transition into the position of governess, raising and teaching both her son and Elesia. There weren't any other children for companionship so the two quickly became inseparable. Until they had reached their teenage years that is. When Eli turned thirteen, their fun loving friendship had been deemed inappropriate and rather than spending her time running around the garden,  she had been resigned to finishing lessons while he started an apprenticeship. Elesia's heart ached for Maggie's tragic past but she was glad it had brought her Eli. Elesia was pulled from her thoughts with a hand waving frantically in front of her face.
"Helloooooo..."
"Hi."
"Why are you being so quiet?"
"It's been a long day."
"How so?" He asked, the question was accompanied by a chuckle. "You don't spend your days swinging a hammer in blistering heat."
The forlorn look on his friends face spoke volumes and her eyes swelled with tears.
" I went before the counsel, they were discussing arranging my marriage."
"Well that's not so bad, is it? Your dad wouldn't let you marry someone who is only after your dowry." "It's not about the dowry." The floodgates opened and the tears fell freely from her eyes. Between the sobs racking her body she explained circumstances about the treaty and how there was no choice, not for her, not for her father.
Eli pulled her into a hug, propriety be hanged. He felt her tears stain his shirt and could have sworn he felt his own heart cracking in two. The scent of her lavender perfume filled his nostrils as she burrowed her head into his chest. The pair stayed that way for several minutes, the sobs dwindling, becoming less constant. Eli felt his hand move to her hair, stroking her soft locks.
He broke the silence. "So what do you want to do?"
Elesia pulled herself away from his chest, "what do you mean 'what do I want to do'? You think I have a choice in this matter?"
"Well, they can't force a marriage if you run away."
The words hung in the air for minutes that felt like hours.
"Elesia.."
"Yeah?"
"Would you run away with me?"
Elesia felt herself take a step back, completely separating her and Eli.
"What are you talking about?"
"Would you run away with me?" The question repeated.
"We can't run away."
"Why not?" Reasons of why she couldn't leave bombarded her. Her reputation, his reputation, her duty, her father, his mother. She couldn't just leave these things, these people, behind.
"What about your apprenticeship? " she choked out "And the kingdom? And... and ... what about our parents?" She finished softly.
Eli stopped. He hadn't thought about his mother when he asked the question. He knew it would break her heart, not knowing where her only child was, or the state of his health. She would be angry, leaving her so suddenly like his own father had done, but she was his mother, she would welcome him home after the initial bout of anger had passed or at least he hoped she would. The king on the other hand was a different story. The situation at hand went beyond the happiness of his daughter, it was about the safety of his kingdom.
Eli had heard rumors of Malachi gearing up for something big, all the servants had. The news of soldiers bearing his royal crest being spotted in small camps in the forest had spread like absolute wildfire. But at the time they were just that, rumors spread along the working class grapevine. Obviously there was more truth to them than king Dominic cared to admit if he was preparing to sign his daughters future away.
Eli's eyes found Elesia's. " What about you? You deserve to be happy."
"How could I be happy knowing I'd be breaking my fathers heart?"
"Elesia, his heart is already breaking, no parent wants to hurt their child the way this is hurting you.... I want to know if you think you could be happy with me? ... Could you be happier with me than in the arms of a stranger ?"
The question was selfish, he knew. Elesia didn't have romantic feelings towards him, not yet anyway. She had never allowed herself to consider the possibility, but again, neither had he. Not until his mother told him about the counsel meeting and the scene she had created in the courtroom. That was enough to give him glimmer of hope that his feelings could amount to more than looks of longing across the schoolroom and the brotherly teasing he had resorted to in order to hide his true intentions. Maybe it was foolish, his mother had certainly thought so, a love match between a blacksmiths apprentice and any person of the noble class was unheard of, much less the sole daughter of the grand king.
What surprised him was not the tremble in the voice that broke the silence but the words being spoken.
"Yes... I think I could be happier with you."
Eli felt his heart soar. She had said yes. Not in a million years had he thought she would say yes. " We'll make plans to leave in a week, until then I need you to keep a brave face and act as though nothing has changed."
"How will I know what to pack? Where are we going?"
"You won't be able to bring much. And truth be told, it'll be easier to travel if you are disguised. You can pack the simplest of your dresses but only one or two. I'll acquire some clothes for you to wear while traveling."  He didn't like the idea of her ditching her flowey gowns for form fitting trousers and thin linen shirts, but it was best this way to avoid detection.

"How will we avoid your mothers detection, we couldn't do it as children, what makes you think now will be any different ?"
"We'll have to be careful, and leave in the middle of the night after she's gone to sleep but it'll be okay, I promise." Elesia felt her doubt subside with the sincerity in his eyes pleading with her to trust him.
"Okay, I trust you."
Just then the dinner bell tolled. Ding, ding, ding, ding. Four tolls meant that dinner was in one hour and that she was late.
"I have to go..."
Eli dropped a kiss to her forehead and whispered "Everything will be okay, now go and change for dinner before you catch your death."
The two parted ways, Eli down the path that snaked through the forest toward the smithy, and Elesia toward the house to change for what was guaranteed to be a very awkward dinner.
She made her way up the servants staircase that led into the maze of corridors that allowed them to silently enter the bedrooms. She opened the panel that led to her room and found Maggie sitting on her vanity chair, waiting for her.
"Good heavens child, where have you been?"
"In the garden, I needed time to think."
Maggie gave her a knowing look.
"Well, for all your thinking you'll probably catch a cold, you're drenched. Come, let's get that dress off of you and get you changed child." As if on cue, Elesia sneezed, further proving Maggie's point.
Maggie made quick work of removing the Green Day dress and all of the undergarments that accompanied it and shuffled Elesia toward her changing partition where a steaming bath sat waiting for her. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Maggie was always looking out for her. She stepped into the water and the warmth made her feet tingle in appreciation for the change in temperature. Elesia felt her self slowly sink into the warm water allowing it to overtake her knees, her stomach, her chest, and finally her shoulders, before coming to a stop just beneath her chin. She tilted her head back, allowing the water to claim her hair which had now escaped the neat braids it had been in earlier that day. She felt Maggie's fingertips lather Rose scented oils and soaps into her scalp, washing away the weeks dirt, oils, and cares. Twenty minutes later, she was scrubbing the rest of her body clean and being wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe. Her sleek hair hung down her back, freshly cleaned. Maggie ushered her into her wardrobe and soon had her dressing in her underclothes. After some deliberation, they settled on a pale blue gown, with full sleeves that flared at the elbow and draped all the way down to her wrist. The bodice was covered in lace, mimicking the daisy's that grew rampant in the pastures in spring time. The style suited her quite well and made her look beyond her fifteen years. She slipped her feet into a pair of matching slippers that were trimmed in gold thread, pairing perfectly with the simple locket she had chosen to wear. Her appearance was considered complete after Maggie tied a matching blue ribbon into her hair tying up half her hair away from her face and leaving the remaining half of her waves flowing down her back. Maggie gave a satisfied "hmph" as she stepped back, approvingly nodding her head.
The dinner bell rang twice just as she finished, signaling dinner would be served in fifteen minutes.
"Your father requested that you meet him in the private dining room."
This room was reserved for the family's private use and was often where Elesia and her father would eat dinner, usually accompanied by Maggie and Eli .
"Will you be joining us tonight ?"
"No, he asked that only two place settings be set."
"Oh."
Sensing Elesia's anxiety, "Don't worry dear, everything will be okay," she said with a reassuring squeeze of the hand. With that Elesia began her descent downstairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey guys!
This chapter is a smidge shorter than normal but man I was excited for it!

What does everyone think of Eli and his "solution" to Elesia's dilemma ?

As always I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and any feedback is greatly appreciated 💛

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Lots of love
~Mads