La Reine Margot Nicolas de Barry 2008

Actually, I am a coward.
Actually.
And not actually as well.
I fear gloomy dark cellars, the tuberous Boa Constrictor and other heavy-hearted monsters, fecal-scented indoles, and crowned heads anyway.
I don't even want to talk about stage fright, fear of heights, and writer's block.
Just a coward.
Life as such is not very fun, but it has become easier since I discovered a wonderful thing called confrontation therapy.
At its command, I climb the Strasbourg Cathedral, carry palm-sized wolf spiders out into the garden, and bravely hold my nose to fragrances that demonstratively bear the names of jasmine, patchouli, and other fearsome opponents.
And now it should also be a queen, a queen with jasmine in her entourage, with a lot of jasmine...

To make a long story short:
I needn't have been afraid, not of Marguerite de Valois, not of Margot, as her brother Charles called her.
Nothing about her is condescending, nor haughty, she doesn't roar or stomp, she doesn't chain me up, and decapitation is far from her mind.
She appears a little cool at first glance, bright and clear, slightly distant, just as befits a lady of her standing.
But even this aldehydic opening announces her friendly, approachable character, drawing the flowers clearly and softly accentuated - nothing jabs, nothing bites, nothing blooms insignificantly.
This jasmine is fine and yet expressive, generous and mature, dense and rich and grounded, radiating warmth from the sun, without ever becoming loud, without imposing itself, without putting a noose around my neck or an iron band around my head.
Despite all its presence, "La Reine Margot" stays close to me, surrounding me for many hours like an aura of light and warmth, of flower white and dark green, leading me from the castle park out into the forest and meadow, to where it is shady and cool, where the trees are tall and the treetops distant, the ground soft and the moss a thick cushion on which we lay our heads, she and I, he and I, talking, dreaming, also silent, close together, shoulder to hip to leg, very near, very still, completely free of fear.