GTLive Oneshots

Astronomy [AU]

She was what people liked to call natural beauty.
It was no contest, really, if you watched her carefully enough.
Her fascination with the stars, for example, or how she stumbled out of her closet every morning with a new floaty, lacy gown of some sort that was enough to make any man fall in love. How she pored over recent books with fascination, storing facts in her head that she could use one day as a just ruler. If she could make it to the throne alive. There was no guarantee.
How she twirled in the ballroom, hanging onto the arms of suitors and twisting strands of her hair around her pointer finger, giggling politely at a joke she didn't find that funny.
How she sat in front of the mirror and brushed her hair and then asked for her crown, placing it lightly atop her head where it truly belonged.
She could have chosen anyone. Any man or woman that came to her door with the intent to woo her over.
But after looking over all of the people, one person stood out to her like a sore thumb.
And he was an author.
•••
He opened her door quickly, closing it with barely any noise behind him with a heavy sigh.
"If you could tell your royal guards that you have a visitor next time, perhaps I'd have less of an argument with them." He huffed.
She straightened her back and turned around to face him, sweetly smiling because she was prone to do so at the sight of people she loved.
"Matthew?"
"Your highness." He smiled, bowing low and taking her hand as to kiss her ring.
A light flush came onto her face as she lifted him to his feet.
"How have you been?" She questioned, her eyes looking over his general appearance. He didn't look too shabby, she thought, noticing a newly tailored suit.
"And how much was this?" She asked, taking the fabric in her hands.
"I'm rather well, your highness. And I paid a fair sum for it. I had earned enough and wished to impress."
"Rest assured, you have, Matthew." She said in amazement at the quality.
She straightened.
"What have you planned?"
He took another step closer to her, grabbing both her delicate hands.
"My dear Stephanie, you do love the stars?"
"I do indeed."
"I have authored a book on astronomy and would like to show you in person what you would learn."
She nodded eagerly as he guided her away.
He took her out onto the balcony where one would be able to see the dark night sky and sat her down, kneeling before her and pulling out a thick, leather bound book, handwritten.
"I have composed a theory that the earth and all the other planets do, in fact, rotate around the sun." He hummed, flipping through the crisp, fresh pages.
She shook her head.
"A theory is but a theory alone, an unproven thought. Perhaps it will garner some weight in the future, but I cannot find it in myself to believe you."
He shrugged his shoulders and lay down the book, open on a page about constellations.
He grabbed her hand and eased it into a pointing position, guiding it upwards towards the beautiful ebony expanse of darkness.
"That one, there, in the shape of a little lion, do you see it?"
She had to be honest and she shook her head.
He looked at her and concentrated more.
"That would be it's head. And there is it's tail."
Her eyes widened.
"Do you see it now?"
"Yes!" She responded enthusiastically.
"That was dubbed 'Leo'. You were born in the month guided by this creature of strength, and you will inherit all of it. You will be fierce to your enemies and just to those you love."
He pulled her close.
"You will be a fantastic queen. And if the world is against you, I will be by your side."
His breath, hot on her face, made her pink as he pulled them flush together for a kiss.
She broke the moment when she had to take a breath, grinning widely at him.
"And yours is?"
"Ah..." He breathed.
"I am... A man. Pouring water out from a vase."
She laughed as he tried to get a word in edgewise about why it would be good to be born under his guidance, but she wouldn't listen and all was right with the world.