A May Queen for a King

[HENRI D'ARTOIS]

[style=font-family: times; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 1px; text-transform: lowercase; color: #989898; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;]928 WORDS FOR THE ELECTION Sorry, I just couldn't resist his young boy's infatuation. LOL. LOVE [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #6d6d6d;] [style=padding: 10px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 10px; height: 475px; overflow: auto; color: #1e1e1e;]Henri was still a little wary after he ducked out of the Mystic's tent. He was not sure what to make of what he'd been told by that lady and decided it would be wisest to simply try to put the matter at the back of his mind and not think about it too much more for the present. He had the distinct feeling that his mother would not approve of him dealing in fortune and magic like he had just done. Oh well, what she wasn't here to know wouldn't hurt her in the least, he thought as he decidedly turned his feet to walk away from the darkened tent and out into the lighted rest of the field where there was no more spookiness. He broke into a spirited run, glad to breathe fresh, spring air deep into his lungs and feel spring grass tickling against his ankles above the tops of his shoes. He could have run and run forever and never stopped he thought. He liked running through the Tuileries too, but after being cooped up all winter long... it was nice to be outside again. The sun shone down on him bright and warm, though not as warm as if it was Midsummer, but to a boy that didn't matter. He was thankful to be outside plain and simple. The little things meant the world - regardless of the circumstances in which he encountered them. It felt childish but he soon found himself slowing from his run and practically skipping about. A second later, he dropped to the ground and did a somersault before getting back to his feet and continuing on. From one of the little stands he used a bit of the pocket money he'd been given that morning to buy a small wooden stick onto which had been sewn a colorful French flag which he waved as he ran. He stopped rather suddenly as he caught sight of a gaily colored stand which had been painted and decorated with paper flowers, ribbon strands in pink, lavendar, and pale yellow. It was pretty enough (though a bit girly really) to attract his attention as he wandered over to it curiously, seeing a scad of young women scattered about it dressed in all different manner. Some he knew weren't very well off judging by their dress, but that didn't bother him in particular. Too many years of reading ideas from More and Voltaire told him that they were still probably nice, smart girls regardless of whether they had much money or not. However, he didn't want to think about matters of finance right now. He just wanted to think about having a good time and how the girls were pretty. He was getting to the age where that kind of thing was important, after all. That made his cheeks flush pink. He pushed the thought out of his mind. Fast. He curiously approached the colorful booth trying to figure out what it was. Two boys a few years older than him were sitting behind the booth with a pretty paper-covered box and a stack of vellum paper squares with pens. A sign explained that this was the voting for the May Queen. Each square of paper had a set of girls' names on it with check boxes so you could choose which one to vote for. Problem being, he didn't recognize half the names. He was bothered by the fact that he recognized all of the girls with Lady in front of her name.. but none of the others. A small frown creased his features. It was definitely something for further thought later on for sure. He looked at the girls listed on the ballot. "Are any of these here?" He inquired, pointing to the ones he didn't recognize on the sheet of paper. "I want to be certain I vote as fairly as I can..." At least as fairly as one is able when one doesn't know all of the girls up for the position... However, it hardly mattered because his eyes were drawn to one girl in particular - a girl he didn't know dressed all in blue. Gosh she was gorgeous. He'd rarely seen somone that pretty in fact. He wondered vaguely if she could compare with Maria Antonia, but the thought made him sick - thinking he could like another girl more than Maria Antonia whom he'd sworn to love forever. He'd passionately kept up with his promise even while alienated from her here in France. He hadn't liked it at all when he'd received the invitation to her wedding to smeone else. "Which is that one? Is she one of them? and if she's not she should be. he added silently. He nodded with an attempt at the girl in blue. She had on a pretty blue bonnet and had long, cascading curls of pale blonde which spilled all down her shoulders. Her skin was clear as silk and her eyes were the color of blue glass - a china doll come to life. "Ahh..." the boy at the ticket stand said. "That's Cosette." Henri wasn't sure whether it was appropriate to vote for someone solely on looks.. when so much more should be taken into consideration.. but he couldn't resist doing so anyway, carefully marking his ballot, folding it, and placing it in the box. He secretly hoped she'd win. If she did he'd have to extend an offer to dance with her at the masqued ball that evening. A May Queen for a May King. [/style]

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