Rose of Versailles 1. Chapter 1

It was way past ten o'clock when Oscar decided to walk along the Jarjayes Mansion garden. Her father had just retired for the night but she, on the other hand, found sleep elusive that she decided to take a night stroll around their garden. She was lost deep in thought, her long white night dress almost brushing the grass. She sat by the water fountain in the middle of the garden. The moon was bright and she caught her reflection on the water and stared at herself critically. Cool blue eyes, the color of the sky stared back at her. Her wavy blond hair as bright as the sun tousled by the wind. She shivered against her thin white laced night gown.

I don't look so bad, she thought. She rarely sees herself clad in women's feminine clothes that she never knew the extent of her beauty. She thought she looked pretty ordinary as looking beautiful was not among her priorities, little did she know that even clad in masculine army uniform she was outstandingly beautiful.

She looked at the sky and wondered about the coming party her father's friend and technically her Commander in the army, General Bouille, was organizing in her honour. He and her father wanted her to meet possible suitors and prospective husbands. Marriage wasn't her priority but it didn't mean she wasn't interested. She wanted to get married...but only to one...Count Axel Von Fersen.

She saw a shooting star across the sky and wished that she would find love in this party. She knew there was only one love she wished and that is Count Fersen. She wondered if she could ever compete with The Queen in his eyes. The night was getting more chilly. She started back in the mansion and wondered if Count Fersen will be there to show interest in her or yet how many men of the nobility would show up to her party to show interest in her.

Her father said it was about time she quit the military and get married. But she didn't want to marry just anybody. Another shooting star grazed the sky and this time she wished Fersen would be there at her party.


	2. Chapter 2

She looked at herself uncertainly in the full length mirror in her walk-in closet. Oscar felt that something wasn't right. Her long gown in different shades of the moon and sky to accentuate her beautiful blue eyes, created by the best couture in Paris was stunning. Her long hair styled in flowing soft curls like swirls of the afternoon sun. She looked like dryad of the moon, sweet, innocent and feminine. Her uncertainty increased as she furrowed her brows in distaste, looking at herself critically.

"You're just not used to seeing yourself in gowns and your curly hair styled with diamond studded combs. You look terrific. Believe me," said Gladys, Oscar's only female friend from the neighbourhood.

They hardly played when they were growing up as Gladys loved playing house, dress-up, and cuddling baby dolls with other girls while Oscar grew up with toy guns, and rough games with Andre but their love for music, and their common piano teacher made them friends despite their differences.

Oscar looked away from the mirror to her friend standing behind her at the door of the walk-in closet. Gladys looked exotic with her mixed heritage of Hispanic and European. She had chestnut brown hair tinge with a hue of red, her eyes were amber and her skin a tawny brown.

"You think so?" asked Oscar.

"Hey, this is your masquerade ball. You're the most beautiful woman in this party and the men all came to see you, get to know you, and admire your beauty," said Gladys with a smile.

"Flaterrer!" accused Oscar with a little laugh.

Her friend placed her black mask on her face and helped Oscar with her own mask. Oscar slipped on the glass slipper custom made for her. She wasn't accustomed to heeled shoes that she almost lost her balance on her first step. She and Gladys laughed.

"How can I dance? I don't think I can walk," kidded Oscar.

The women became aware of a third presence in the room. They turned and found Andre dressed in his casual watching Oscar intently with a huge smile on his face.

"You are stunning! The moon and the stars fade compared to you. Everyone will be enchanted" he said.

Oscar rushed to Andre and gave him a little hug. "I wish you could be with me at the party. I want you to escort me so I wouldn't be nervous about being scrutinized by every man in the room."

Andre returned her hug and gave her a little pat on the shoulder. "No one's going to criticize you. All eyes will just admire you. Relax. I've never seen you this nervous," observed Andre.

Oscar sighed. "I just don't want to embarrass father and General Bouille is all but I really have no intention of finding a husband tonight," said Oscar.

"Remember Oscar, you don't have to marry anyone if you don't want to. I won't let anyone force you to do anything against your will," said Andre.

Oscar laughed. "Don't be dramatic, Andre. I can take care of myself. I never do anything I don't want to," she reassured him.

Gladys and Oscar proceeded down the long winding staircase of the ballroom. As they descended, Oscar searched the crowd for Fersen. She wanted him to be there. She'd been hoping Fersen would put an end to his illicit affair with the queen and realized it was Oscar he loved.

The ball was well-attended, General Bouille would be pleased, thought Oscar as she watched the crowd in the ballroom. Everyone turned to look at her as she approached the last few steps of the stairs. A big applause welcomed her and she smiled at her friend in relief as she felt her nervousness beginning to ebb.

Oscar curtsied, danced a little, and made a few friendly conversations with the men and women at her party. Yet, she still strained her neck in search of Fersen. Just as she spotted him on the opposite side of the room, her hand was caught by Girodere. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.

"Good evening, Oscar. It's such a pleasure to see my former Commander looking so beautiful," smiled Girodere.

"May I have this dance please?" asked Girodere.

Oscar was too preoccupied with watching Fersen across the room. She was wondering why he hasn't said hello, why he hasn't approached her. Fersen suddenly stepped outside the veranda and away from Oscar's sight. She tried to move closer to the veranda just so she could watch Fersen but Girodere held her hand, inviting her to dance.

"I...I... have to go, Girodere. Talk to you later," she uttered absent-mindedly as she scoured for Fersen's broad shoulders and blond hair. She didn't mean to be rude but she freed her hand from Girodere's grasp and unceremoniously went straight for the veranda. She was worried that Fersen disappeared into the garden without greeting her. She made a dash outside in search of Fersen.

Girodere watched disappointedly as Oscar disappeared into the darkness in the garden. He thought he could have a long talk with her to convince her that marrying him was the best for her. Alas, Oscar did not even give him a chance. Perhaps later this evening, he consoled himself.

"Forgive Oscar. She's just not herself lately. She kept dashing here and there, or quiet lost in thought" said a gentle voice.

Girodere looked up and found Gladys a few yards from him. He forced a smile to be polite. He closed his distance to her and extended his hand.

"I'm Girod..."

"Girodere" finished Gladys.

They both laughed at the awkwardness of talking at the same time.

"How did you know..." asked Girodere curiously.

Two glasses of champagne were handed to them by a female servant.

"I...saw you a couple of times when the King and Queen or the Royal Family is on parade in Paris. You are often behind Oscar. By the way, my name is Gladys."

Girodere shook her hand. "I want to dance but no one has asked me yet," said Gladys with a gentle smile.

Girodere bowed and gestured for her to take his hand. "Would you like to dance?" said Girodere.

Gladys gave her hand to Grodere's and the two danced the entire night.

Meanwhile, Oscar rushed into the darkness in search of Fersen. She was careful not to trod on her gown nor to slip because of her glass slippers. The garden was empty except for a couple of lighted lamp posts scattered at the corners of the garden.

Oh, Fersen, where are you? She wondered desperately.

A gush of fierce wind made her shiver. From behind the enormous tree near the rose garden, she caught sight of the familiar long green cape that she knew Fersen had been wearing that night. Though he was hidden by the tree, she knew it was him. She excitedly rushed towards the green cape but before she could get any closer, she realized Fersen wasn't alone. She felt as though her heart had been pierced with thorns. She couldn't see his companion but she knew the foreign accent, she knew the timbre of the voice. She had been listening to her, talking to her for the last ten years before she left the Royal Army.

She came close enough to catch them locked in a tight embrace. The woman was heavily masked but despite her disguise, Oscar knew without a doubt who she was. Large pearsl of tears grazed down Oscar's cheek. She wanted to look away but she couldn't. Every second that she watched them kiss, watched their bodies so close in a tight embrace was a dagger plunging her heart.

"Oh Fersen. I've missed you," cried the sultry voice of Marie Antoinette.

"I almost took matters into my hands...the king was always beside you. He hasn't gone away for 3 months. It's a good thing we found this opportunity to meet at Oscar's party," replied Fersen without taking his hands off the woman.

Her eyes were so clouded with tears, she didn't know where she was headed as she ran as far away from the pair as possible. She found herself up on the balcony on the north part of the garden. She sat on a metal chair as she tried to calm down her raging emotions, and dry her eyes. It was such a cruel twist of fate, she thought. She wished on the stars that Fersen be here on her party, and he is...but he wasn't here for her. He was here for a rendezvous with the queen.


	3. Chapter 3

Oscar never felt so vulnerable and emotional. She never knew such pain. Being a countess, she had always gotten what she wanted as a child, and as a high ranking soldier and skilled swordsman, she gets her way often too. She wins almost always and she found fate so cruel to dangle something she wanted so much but cannot have right in front of her face.

She wasn't thinking straight. She just kept running and running, trying to get away from everything. Her tearful eyes gazed at the stars above on the horizon as she ran across the cobblestone circular veranda on the garden. _I only wished to find my true love tonight but instead I had my heart broken to pieces._ Oscar wanted to leave the Jarjeyes Mansion without anybody noticing her. She didn't want to explain her distraught appearance. She didn't want to face the visitors, nor her family, and their stable hands and maids that she took a gigantic leap from the high balcony, believing she was skilled enough to cross the other side of their house unscathed. It was too late when Oscar realized the balcony was too high and it was too far from the Mansion Walls surrounding the garden.

She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the inevitable sprain or broken bones awaiting her as soon as she hit the pavement but the pain and the sound of cracking bones did not happen. She realized something or someone broke her fall. Oscar opened her eyes and found herself locked in the arms of a dashing knight clothed in medieval noble clothes, a glittering blue mask covered his eyes, concealing the contours of his handsome profile.

It was hard to recognize him in his disguise but Oscar felt an uncanny sense of familiarity towards the man in the blue mask. He spoke in English but Oscar noted a faint French accent in his manner of speaking.

"Are you alright, mademoiselle?" he asked Oscar.

"I am, thanks to you. I miscalculated the distance and the height of the balcony from the street," said Oscar.

She was waiting for the masked knight to put her down on her feet but he still held her against his broad chest and masculine strength. He held her gaze as though he was so mesmerized by her sky blue eyes. Oscar wanted to tear her gaze away. She felt like a butterfly under a microscope but she found herself equally enchanted by his sea green eyes that couldn't break away from her, his sea green eyes that seem to hold a thousand promises, and reflect a deep sense of longing. Slowly, the knight descended his lips on her soft pink lips.

She had never been kissed before, never allowed any man to kiss her on the lips. She had always thought the gushing and cooing and sighing of her sisters and some female acquaintances were a mere exaggeration in order to put some excitement to their otherwise dull conversation about clothes, make-up, and boys. She never knew it could be this wonderful... her sisters' descriptions don't even describe half the wonder and awe that she was feeling at the moment.

She found herself pressing closer to him and clinging her arms around his neck but before she knew it, he broke the kiss and set her down. Her knees felt wobbly from his kiss and she needed a moment to set her balance.

Oscar groped for words but she was speechless. But the mysterious masked knight found his voice. "Forgive me for being bold, mademoiselle. I couldn't help it. Having you close to me felt so overwhelming that I just had to kiss you. Forgive me, it shall not happen again," said The Knight.

He didn't wait for Oscar to reply but hastily disappeared into the night. Everything happened so fast that Oscar wondered if he was just her imagination. She traced her lips with the tip of her forefinger. It still felt tender and warm. The mysterious masked knight wasn't just her imagination.

She was still dazed when she heard her friend Gladys calling out her name. She turned around and started back to the mansion.

"There you are, Oscar. Everyone's been looking for you. Where have you been? Girodere's been waiting for you. You ought to be ashamed for keeping him waiting" said Gladys.

"I didn't tell him to wait," replied Oscar.

"He's a nice man. Go talk to him. Let's go back to the party. General Bouille and your father awaits you," said Gladys as she led her friend back inside the mansion.


	4. Chapter 4

Oscar absentmindedly stirred her coffee as she stared out into the garden veranda where she met the mysterious knight. "Daughter, you look dazed? What ails you?" asked her father as he took a glance at her from his morning paper. They were having an early morning breakfast at the garden the next day after Oscar's party.

"Nothing's wrong father," replied Oscar as she took a sip of her coffee. She made a face as she realized she doused too much sugar into it.

His father caught her distaste and laughed. "Nothing wrong but you seemed out of it since last night. I've been meaning to ask you if you found anyone of interest at the party..."

Oscar swallowed hard. She wasn't sure if she should tell her father. She wasn't some young girl waiting for a prince, or some damsel in distress dreaming of a man to save her. He would certainly be enraged if she told him she knew neither the name nor the identity of the man who caught her heart. Even she wasn't sure if the kiss or the knight was real.

She longed to share it with someone, but with whom? Andre? Gladys? Andre might act overprotective and search for that knight. He might frighten him away even before they could get to know each other better. No... She shall not tell Andre, well, not yet.

Gladys. She should tell Gladys. She would certainly understand. The sight of her father staring at her brought her back to reality. He'd been waiting for an answer.

"You know, Oscar. Even if you neither confirm nor deny it, I know there was someone you've met last night. I've never seen you so flustered and disconcerted before..."

Oscar remained quiet, pretending to enjoy her awful-tasting coffee.

"Very well, then. I know you would tell me when you're good and ready," said her father as he went back to reading the morning paper.

* * *

Gladys paced back and forth in her room. Oscar was on her way over. She wanted to tell Oscar that she thinks she's falling for Girodere but Oscar said she had something urgent to tell her and she sounded utterly excited. She didn't see her talking long with anyone except Girodere who was her subordinate in the army before. What if Oscar would say she loves Girodere. It worried her. But it was no use fretting over it. She'll know in a matter of minutes.

An urgent knock on her bedroom door came before Oscar excitedly burst into the room without waiting for her reply. She'd never seen her friend giddy and excited like a school girl before. It was a refreshing change. She never knew she had it in her to be all dazzled. Oscar's disposition had always been composed and serious, and somewhat no-nonsense. The only time she ever saw her loosen up a bit and laugh was when she was around Andre.

Oscar bounced on her bed as she took a cookie from her bedside table. She spoke excitedly as she took a bite of the cookie. "Oh Gladys, you won't believe this. He was magnificent...he was tender... I've never experienced anything like it. His kiss...It was magical...it was glorious..."

Gladys was absorbing all the information that came out Oscar's lips like a speeding bullet. What? What is she talking about? A kiss... She gasped in absolute surprise...but a sudden relief overcame her as well as she deduced that it couldn't be with Girodere as they have never been left alone and she didn't recall seeing them kiss.

"Gladys!" screamed Oscar.

"You're not listening!" accused Oscar.

Gladys snapped back into reality and gave her friend an equally glorious smile. "Oh Oscar, that's absolutely wonderful! Tell me, who is he? Come on, tell me all about him," urged Gladys.

Oscar averted her gaze from her friend's honey coloured eyes. She took another cookie, trying to avoid her question.

"Come on, Oscar. You can't not tell me his name after you told me you kissed him, and it's not every day that I see you this giddy. He must be someone special."

Oscar swallowed hard. "I don't know his name," she whispered almost inaudibly.

"What!" gasped Gladys.

"Oscar, it's way inappropriate for a woman to kiss a total stranger, and I specially believe it's way beneath you."

"Hold your horses before you completely be mad at me. I didn't act like some shameless hussy...He saved me. I almost plunged to my death because I was upset..."

"What were you upset about?" asked Gladys worriedly. "Is it about Girodere?"

Oscar looked at her in confusion. "Gorodere? It has nothing to do with him...It's not important anymore...what I'm more concerned about is if I will ever see that knight again," said Oscar in a small voice.

Gladys was as relieved as she was excited for her friend. "Cheer up Oscar! I don't think you've let anything stand in your way in the past. Let's wait and see. I'm sure he'll show up again. If he truly loves you...he will."

Gladys gave her friend a comforting hug. She would have to wait before telling Oscar about her own romantic concerns.


	5. Chapter 5

Oscar tossed and turned beneath the soft Thai quilt covers of her bed. She had an overwhelming feeling she knew the knight in the blue mask. His gentle touch gave her a familiar sense of security and comfort just when her world crumbled down at the discovery of Fersen and Lady Antoinette in the garden.

She felt like screaming in frustration and anger, crying out her disillusionment and anguish till there were no more tears left, running away from everything even crossed her mind that time but the knight's gentle touch and soothing words wiped out all damaging thoughts in her mind, cured every agonizing wound in her heart, making her forget all things but the wondrous, and thrilling moment of their first kiss.

Oscar was awakened by the rustling sound at her balcony. She glanced around the darkened room faintly illuminated by the moonlight and found her surroundings cold and empty. She tightened her wrap to disperse the cold as she rushed out of the balcony. The night was shivering cold and lonely as she looked at the quiet surroundings of the garden. Suddenly she felt soft petals brushing her cheek, grazing her arm, and the wind blew a pleasant faint scent of roses that she drunk in delight as she drew her wrap tighter to keep her warm. She glanced up the sky and found hundreds of red and white rose petals pouring from the sky, bathing her and caressing her with each soft petal and it's intoxicating sweetness.

She twirled around in delight, catching the petals with her palms, and as the shower of petals dwindle, she stared at the petals at her feet and found a single white rose with a bow tied to its stem with a note bearing "To My Lady Oscar".

Oscar swallowed hard and kissed the white rose. She glanced about in search for the knight whom she knew left the rose for her. "Where are you? Please, show yourself. I've missed you," cried Oscar. But all was silent but the wind bustling wilder against her scantily clad form.

"It's been two weeks. I wish to see you," she begged.

"You do not have to see me. I am always close by, watching you," said a warm enchanting voice that melted Oscar's heart.

"Please, where are you? I cannot see you...Don't you want to ask my father for my hand?" she asked.

"A hundred times I almost did but I know I would be condemned...I know I have no right to have the heart of a lady such as you," replied the voice.

Oscar couldn't help the tears streaming down her eyes. Somehow she knew, she felt that her mysterious knight would say good bye.

"Do not cry, my Lady Oscar. Though you do not see me, I will always be nearby loving you and watching over you. Good night, my lady. May my love bring you sweet dreams."

* * *

A bright and cheery day woke up Oscar the next day. She sat up as she was welcomed by warm sunshine the lovely chirping of the birds outside her window. She threw the bedcovers and found the single white rose on the pillow beside her. _It wasn't a dream. _She ran excitedly out the balcony and found her flower petals still on the balcony floor. As she bent down to pick them up she saw a pair of sandaled feet a few yards from her. Her heart skipped a beat. _My mysterious knight. _But when she glanced up she looked into the smiling green eyes of Andre Grandier.

He was her best friend and his presence made her emotional. He threw herself in his arms sobbing.

"Oh Andre...I have lost my heart twice...Love is a very terrible thing," she cried

Andre stroked her hair and drew her firmly against his chest, kissing the side of her head , "Don't cry, my Lady Oscar. Sometimes love can be as painful as it is wonderful...The sight of your love, the mere presence, is enough to draw your breath into a stop, she is the reason you live, the reason you look forward to each day, she paints your world with magnificent and dazzling colour...but the ache is in you... knowing she would never be yours."

"Have you ever had your heart broken, Andre?"

Andre kept silent for a moment before smiling and changing the subject.

"Come, Oscar. I'll take you the Lovers Falls. You'll love it there," he invited.


End file.

Rose of Versailles, Romance, Suspense