To celebrate the visit of King Charles IX, Prince Henry of Navarra organizes a crossbow shooting contest. During the contest his gaze meets the sweet smile of a young farm girl. He soon finds her again at the fountain and exchanges a promise of love. However, neither his mother, Jeanne d’Albret, nor the old councilor look favorably upon the romance, and they introduce him to his bride to be: the future queen Margot. He thus writes the girl, saying that only “reason of state” obliges him to marry and leave her. Filled with remorse, he then asks her to meet him at the fountain where they met for the first time.