Molly stared around the garden, her mouth slightly open as she gazed at the beauty of the flowers and huge leafy plants that were bathed in the light of the moon and the stars. She was certain it must be even more exquisite in the daylight, but even at night, it was stunning. That he had chosen to bring her here of all places made her smile brightly once she remembered to close her mouth. She could hear the gentle hum of a fountain somewhere in the deeper reaches of the garden, and she could feel the cool night breeze blowing through the gardens, carrying with it the scents of flowers that she both could and couldn't identify. As hiding places went, it was certainly unique.
Molly soundlessly followed Lysander as he took her deeper into the gardens. She spotted the fountain she'd been able to hear earlier, in the center of rose-covered hedges, but he didn't stop there. Rather, he led her toward a knoll that rose up like a gentle wave in the grass. In the dark, Molly couldn't see much of the mountains Lysander spoke of, but she believed him that it must be beautiful. She grinned at him and settled into the grass, putting the plate down carefully so as not to spill any of their treats.
"Well, it's definitely high on my list of perfect hiding spots," Molly answered him as she tucked her dress under her. She flopped back onto the grass in a rather unladylike way, folding her fingers together on her stomach as she stared up at the fiery orbs in the sky. "Next time my family has a function, I'll have to remember to invite you personally, so I can show you the best hiding spot within the vineyard. The mountains are too far to see well, really. They're so distant they look tiny. But you can see every star in the sky as clearly as you can see a glowing candle alone in the dark. I've studied quite a bit about them in the spare time I'm granted."
Molly smiled a little bitterly then. Spare time. She didn't have much of that anymore, what with trying to keep her family from falling farther into debt even as she struggled to get them out of it. She'd tried to take a few hours to herself to pursue what she'd enjoyed, if only to get her mind off what her possible future might be if she didn't succeed, but her thoughts inevitably turned to what she had to do, rather than what she wanted to do.
Molly shook her head to chase those thoughts away and focused on the here and now, focused on her time with Lysander. He was truly charming, a good friend, and she wished that she had gotten to know him long before now, if only so that she could have more confidence in asking for help. Still, Molly had decided against asking, because she didn't want him thinking she was only after him for his wealth. She liked him. Not his money.
Realizing that she had been quiet for some time, Molly shook herself and sat up, hoping that her motion covered the turmoil her emotions were in. "For example," she lifted one arm then and pointed, smiling, "that big one that's glowing bright blue. That star is called Kirvan, and it's part of a constellation called The Scimitar. You can kind of see it, if you follow Kirvan south a little bit to a cluster of stars that looks like a hilt, and then if you follow that cluster back to Kirvan and go north and slightly east, you can see several stars that make up the blade of the weapon."
Molly pointed then to a different collection of stars. "And that one is called The Amphora, because it looks like a giant vase. There's a legend that my family passes down, and it says that one of the gods took such a liking to the wine of mortals, especially the wine created by my ancestors, that he swept down from the heavens and stole a cask for himself. To celebrate its taste, the god then put that cask into the sky, so that all would know where the best wine grapes grew." She shifted her arm to point to a third constellation that she could see, then realized that she was babbling. Heat suffused her face and she wrapped her arms around her knees. "I'm sorry. If I'm boring you, I'm sorry."