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'A strand of her long raven black hair fell into her forest green eyes and framed her beautiful face. She felt a strong warm hand brush it behind her ear and she looked up. A pair of bright sea blue eyes met her gaze.

'His handsome features fixed into a look of utmost adoration and care as his soft lips formed the words: "I love you more than the ocean and sky. Every night, I go to sleep thinking of you and my first thought in the morning is of your smile. I will love you as long as the stars shine in the evening sky and even after that. You are more beautiful than a dew-covered rose and the moon on a clear night. You are my everyth-'

I chucked the book across the bed before I could finish the page. I huffed in annoyance as I reluctantly got out of bed.

I was sick and tired of reading books like that one- with two perfect, beautiful main characters that were madly in love. Sure, it was a nice escape from the real world, but it was just so unrealistic.

The couples in those books never fought. They always said the most poetical things and most importantly- they were absolutely gorgeous.

They never had plain dark brown hair or eyes the color of a swamp. Their skin was never imperfect or rough and their teeth were never too big or crooked. And of course, they were never overweight.

Unfortunately, I have just given a perfect description of myself. Imperfect, unlovable me.

I didn't bother picking up the book on my way to the bathroom, my maid could do that later.

"Good morning, miss." said Mandy, my personal maid and best friend.

"Is it?" I grumbled, washing my face with a warm washcloth.

"Indeed it is!" she said cheerfully, helping me change out of my nightgown "Today you get to meet your future husband!"

I rolled my eyes. Every few months, my parents would find some single Lord looking for a wife and invite him to the mansion to meet me. But it never worked out. Most of the time, the man would be repulsed by my plumpness or lack of natural beauty and call off the engagement.

But this time it was my last chance. I had to be married before my twentieth birthday or I would be declared a lost cause. My birthday was on the 24th of December, which was right around the corner.

Sir What's-his-face was my only hope for husband. My sister was married last year, even though she's two years younger than me. But she's beautiful and kind, unlike me, so she was swept away by some rich Duke almost immediately.

"I heard Sir... Uhhh..." I started, trying to remember the Lord's name.

"Rochefort" supplied Mandy.

"Yes, him." I agreed "I heard he's from France. How will we communicate? Does he speak English?"

"I'm afraid not." said Mandy, pulling the back strings of my corset tight "I think he's bringing a translator."

I nodded and looked at my reflection. I frowned and turned back to my maid.

"Can't you pull it any tighter?" I asked.

"I can," she started "But I won't. I want you to be able to breath, Miss Astra. Plus, I heard there will be macarons at dinner tonight. We must leave some room for those."

I smiled at her thoughtfulness but still felt awfully fat in the snug corset. Mandy helped me put my hair up into a braid that wrapped around my head and dabbed a bit of red coloring onto my lips and cheeks.

"Beautiful." she told me, stepping back to admire her work.

"Thank you, Mandy." I smiled at her.

The two of us left my room and went into the parlor, where I was soon to meet my possible suitor.

וו×

I stood up from my comfortable spot on the couch as Sir Rochefort entered the room.

He was pretty tall and not bad looking. He had a lean build and a head full of curly black hair. The only thing I would change was the small wispy mustache under his nose.

"Ah, Astra dear, I'd like you to meet Sir Dieudonné Rochefort! Sir Rochefort, this is my daughter, Lady Astra!" said my mother.

I curtsied as best as I could and gave him a small smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Sir Dewdaney, or whatever it was, turned to a shorter man on his left that I hadn't noticed before.

Probably because there was nothing noticible about him- he had plain short brown hair and eyes, average height and build and an average looking face. He wasn't ugly but he wasn't exactly handsome either. He was just average.

The man whispered something in French back to him and Sir Dewdaney smiled. He said something loudly in French that I couldn't understand in the slightest, because the only words I knew in French were 'croissant' and 'baguette'.

The man next to him, his translator I guessed, said, mercifully in English:

"He says it is a pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Astra, and he looks forward to getting to know you better."

Goodness, even his voice was plain.

I wasn't sure who to address so I just turned to the translator and said:

"As do I. What would you say to sitting down for a cup of tea and cookies?"

He relayed the message to his French companion, who responded enthusiastically with 'Oui, oui!'. We all sat down around the table as a maid brought a tray of tea and coffee.

Thankfully, my mother knew just enough French to get by, so she struck up a conversation with our guest while I was left to chat with the translator.

"So... You got a name?" I asked him, taking a sip of my cinnamon tea.

"Me? Oh, I'm Foxen Winters, but everybody just calls me Fox. But don't mind me, miss, I'm just here to translate!" he added hurriedly.

"Nonsense, you're a guest!" I said "And besides, you don't expect me to strike up a conversation with the teakettle, do you? Now, what's your favorite flavor of tea? I personally recommend the cranberry or the cinnamon. They really get me into the Christmas spirit!"

"Um... Cranberry would be fine, thank you." Fox said, sounding a little overwhelmed about my little tea rant.

A maid came forward and poured him a steaming cup of dark red liquid. He accepted with a word of thanks and started sipping it slowly.

"What are your hobbies? How did you come to know Sir Dewdaney? Do you eat croissants and macarons everyday?" I asked him quickly.

My talkativeness was another one of the reasons I still didn't have a husband. Luckily, Fox wasn't the one I was trying to impress.

Not that he seemed to mind. Though he struck me more as the quiet type, he answered all my questions with a friendly smile.

"I enjoy reading, studying and farm work. Sir Rochefort hired me to be his translator for this trip and I eat a croissant every day for breakfast. But macarons are only a Sunday treat."

"Interesting! What sort of books do you enjoy, Mr Fox?" I asked him.

His eyes widened slightly at the sound of 'Mr' before his name.

"Please just call me Fox." he said with a nervous smile "I'm not used to Mr. As for what kind of books I enjoy... I'd have to say action and... romance."

He blushed at the last part, looking embarrassed at enjoying something most men did not. But I lit up as soon as he said it.

"As do I! If I am destined to be alone forever, I might as well enjoy reading about other people's happy romances." I sighed.

Fox chuckled, a pleasant and unexpected sound.

"I know what you mean." he said and immediately after his cheeks burned pink "I'm sorry, you must think I'm very silly. A working man who enjoys reading romance novels, how pathetic."

I hadn't realized I was moving my hand until it was on his shoulder.

"I think you are an extraordinary man, Fox! There is no shame in enjoying a little escape from the real world through a harmless romance novel and it takes a real man to admit that. Now tell me all about your favorite ones." I smiled and he smiled shyly back.

Goodness, I was getting along better with the translator than with my potential husband.

I looked up and saw that mother was still deep in conversation with Sir Dewdaney. I took another sip of my warm tea and listened intently to Fox as he told me with a passion I wouldn't have expected from him about his favorite books.

"There's just one problem with romance books as a whole," he finished "The main characters are always beautiful and basically-"

"Perfect!" I finished for him "I know right! In almost every single one, the lady is beautiful and the man is handsome. They never fight and they think of the most poetical things on the spot!"

"It's just so unrealistic." he agreed.

I had never met someone who understood me so well. Here we were, two imperfect people talking about the standards romance novels were setting for young couples and about how we would never be able to live up to them (not that we would ever be a couple haha). At the same time, we chatted about how much we enjoyed the plot and character development in some of the popular one's we'd both read.

"Ah, Astra, I seen you've made friends with the translator." my mother noted with a hint of disapproval in her voice.

"Um, yes, Mr Winters was telling all about Sir Rochefort!" I lied.

"Is that so? Sir Rochefort was just wondering if you could show him around the gardens. And you better take Mr Winters with you as well." she added as an afterthought, leaving the room in a flurry of skirts and clicking heels.

"Uh... The garden in this way, Sir Rochefort." I said kindly, motioning for him to follow me outside.

I sent a maid to fetch my coat as Fox relayed my message in French.

Then the two men followed me down the hall and through the door to the garden, conversing quietly in their foreign language.

וו×

Outside was like a winter wonderland.

There was a decent amount of snow, but not too much for it to be inconvenient. It covered the ground like a thin blanket and was sprinkled over the leafless trees like powdered sugar.

I felt like I was talking more to Fox than I was to Sir Dewdaney as everything we said to each other went through him first. If we did do happen to get married, would I have to study French until I was fluent or would Fox become a constant addition to our life?

I smiled at the idea. Fox could be the ultimate third wheel: Fox between us at the dinner table, Fox with us on walks like this one, Fox with us in bed-

I stopped myself before I could let my imagination go too far.

I probably wasn't even going to marry this Lord, let alone fall in love with him. If I did somehow manage to marry someone in the next month, I would want it to be for love. Almost like in the books I read.

We walked around for little while longer, enjoying the beauty around us. But after a few minutes, the cold got the better if us and we hurried inside to warm up by the fire.

"Ah, you're here, Astra!" I turned and saw my parents bustling into the room.

"It would appear so. How can I help you?" I asked them.

"We've decided that, as long as it's fine with him, Sir Rochefort will stay here until Christmas. You don't have to be married by your birthday, but as long you're engaged by then it should be fine. You and Sir Rochefort have about four weeks until he has to make his decision. Oh, just imagine, we can have a beautiful Christmas-themed wedding!" my mother gushed, getting sidetracked.

"I suggest you start learning French." smiled my father.

I looked back at Fox and Sir Rochefort. Fox was quietly conveying the conversation to Sir Rochefort, who was nodding along and smiling.

So far, he hadn't shown that much interest in me, but he had stayed after tea, which was more than most of the other men had done.

I forced a smile and nodded. I had to do this. For my parents. For my reputation. I had to marry Sir Dewdaney even if I didn't love him.

Then again, there was a chance that, at the end of his time here, he wouldn't propose. He would decide he didn't like me after all and leave just like the rest of them. I tried not to get my hopes up.

At least Fox would be here as well.

I'd found an unlikely friend in him and we were bound together by our love of books. I couldn't wait to show him our enormous library.

That thought cheered me up slightly as I went back up to my room to get ready for dinner.

וו×

"It's... wow..."

It had been two weeks since Sir Rochefort had arrived and I'd finally found the time to show Fox our huge library.

I grinned at his loss of words and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, I'll show you the romance section!" I laughed, pulling him along.

We passed the rows and rows of books until we came to the ones where I spent most of my time.

Fox seemed to be in awe as he picked up on of the classics and thumbed through the pages as if they were made of gold.

"It's incredible." he breathed, turning towards me "Thank you."

I felt my cheeks grow slightly warm.

"It's no problem, really." I assured him, directing my gaze back to the books so he wouldn't be able to see my expression.

Lately, I've been spending more time with Fox than I have with my maybe-future-husband. Sir Rochefort and I got along well enough, though he had yet to propose.

I planned on saying yes when and if he asked but for now I let myself enjoy the company of his fun book-loving translator.

Now all I had to do was make sure I didn't fall in love with him.

וו×

Too late.

It was my birthday and Sir Rochefort still hadn't asked, which was making my parents antsy. I was glad he hadn't yet but now I wasn't sure if I would be able to say yes.

I'd been spending even more time with a certain plain-looking, romance novel-loving someone and I had a creeping suspicious my feeling towards him were a tad more that friendly.

I had never had many friends outside of our mansion, let alone male friends but I felt like this was different.

I felt like the female lead in a romance novel, slowly falling for the male lead.

But was Fox the main character? I definitely liked him more that Sir Dewdaney but wasn't Sir Dewdaney the one I was supposed to fall in love with?

I watched the snowflakes fall slowly from the grey sky on the other side of the window, lost in thought.

"Hello, Miss Astra."

I jumped and whipped my head around, startled out of my stupor-like trance. To my relief, it was only Fox.

"Sorry to startle you!" he said with an apologetic smile. A smile I thought about more than I cared to admit.

"Oh, it's not your fault, I..." I was distracted by his hand, which he was not-so-stealthily hiding behind his back.

"Oh, these are for you." he said sheepishly, handing me the bouquet of winter pansies "Happy birthday."

My heart swelled in a way only Fox could make it swell as I accepted the gift with a big smile.

"Thank you so much, Fox," I exclaimed "It means a lot."

He grinned and said:

"I was actually on my way to the library and wondered if you wanted to accompany me?"

"Always!"

I stood and held onto his arm, which he so kindly offered me.

We walked like that all the way to the library. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief when we didn't run into my parents or Sir Rochefort.

But when we came to the large doorway of the library, I froze.

Mandy paused her dusting to send me a quick smile and a wink before continuing her work.

Hanging above mine and Fox's heads, was a branch of mistletoe. I didn't know whether I wanted to hug or strangle Mandy for putting it there. Probably both.

Fox stopped when he noticed I wasn't walking anymore and followed my gaze to see what I was staring at.

His face went red when he noticed the mistletoe.

Neither of us moved as Mandy went to clean shelves farther away, probably to 'give us some privacy'. I deeply regretted telling her about the feelings I may or may not have had for Fox.

"Well, I suppose we should follow the rule." Fox said at last, looking away from the mistletoe and back at me.

"What rule?" I asked, feeling my heart rate speed up.

"That when two people walk under a branch of mistletoe, they kiss." he said, face red but eyes determined.

Before I could process what was going on, he leaned in and connected our lips.

Time seemed to slow.

And in that beautiful moment, it was just us. No Sir Rochefort, no parents, no Mandy, just us. A plump lady who couldn't find a husband and a plain translator who enjoyed romance novels. Two imperfect people who had somehow managed to fall in love with eachother.

But our love wasn't like in the books.

It was better.

«The End»

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