The Serpent Queen

11. Honeymoon Love

October 24th, 1533
Marseille, France

As one of the many activities of the day, the king had organized a ball for the evening.

Many people had gathered in the great hall of the castle and were dancing to the music.

Catherine, who was dressed in a different red dress, sat next to Henri on one of the two-seaters placed on the dais in the throne room. on the two-seater next to her sat her brother and the dauphin, and opposite them the princesses Madeleine and Louise and the prince charles.

Catherine looked bored. everyone was dancing or chatting among themselves. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the evening, everyone but her.

"I believe your wife would like to dance." noted Francis, the Dauphin. He looked at Catherine, who looked almost longingly at the dancing people.

Henri rolled his eyes. "She'll have to wait for someone to ask her to dance." Henri said bluntly. He got up from the chair and walked across the room where he joined his friends, the De Guise brothers.

Catherine watched Henri laughing with his friends, and then their older sister Marie. They were so deep in conversation that Henri himself placed his hand on Marie's hip.

Catherine was furious. Furious that her husband paid more attention to her than to herself.

She averted her gaze from the image of her husband and Marie and looked instead at his brother asking the Queen for a dance. They walked together to the center of the room.

A young man walked up to the dais and bowed to the king and the pope. Then he turned to Catherine.

"Duchess, may I have this dance from you."

Catherine looked questioningly at the Pope who nodded. She smiled as she got up. "But of course, my lord." She stood up and took his hand as they walked to the center of the room.

"You are Antoine de bourbon, aren't you?" Catherine asked when they were dancing. "I am indeed, how did you know?" He smiled.

"I made the effort to learn a few names and faces.".

"From the most important people, isn't it?" Antoine said with a grin. "How did you guess?" said Catherine sarcastically, although she had a smile on her face.

Henri, who was not far from them, saw that his wife was laughing with Antoine. It infuriated him that they were so openly flirting with each other.

Henri stomped over to them and roughly pulled Catherine's hands from Antoine's. "I'll steal my wife from you, Antoine." he said with a menacing look.

Antoine bowed. "Of course, duke." He walked away from them.

"You seem to be enjoying the evening, wife." Henri said irritated. "What do you care? You haven't even looked at me all day." Catherine replied, in the same irritated tone as he.

"You're openly flirting with another man, I care!" Henri raised his voice, the surrounding people looked at them as she slowly stopped dancing.

Catherine roughly let go of Henri as she took a defensive stance. "Me, flirting? I'm simply dancing here with someone who had the balls to ask me to dance and you call that flirting? You just talked to another woman but you don't hear me accusing you!"

Now the king and the pope had also noticed that the two children were arguing. "What's the noise? Henri, Catherine, take a seat here again." he said in a calm tone. He couldn't bear to see the two children disgrace themselves in front of the court.

Catherine angrily returned to her seat, avoiding the Pope's stern gaze. She knew he wasn't happy about this but she couldn't help it; Henri annoyed her too much to answer in a normal way.

"What was that about?" Eleanor asked who was still dancing with Alessandro. "Marriage troubles." Alessandro simply replied. "That's normal in a marriage."

Eleanor laughed. "What do you know of a marriage, as far as I know you are still an unmarried man, still betrothed to my niece."

"I know enough about it, I've heard about it, and I've got plenty of married men around me, who even though they're married, still cheat on their wives, and the women get into a loveless marriage." said Alessandro.

"I know only enough about men who cheat on their wives." Eleanor twisted her face briefly, then smiled again, but a sad one.

Her husband himself also had a mistress whom he caressed on top of her.

It wasn't like she loved Francis, but she wished they'd at least had a chance to love each other.

"Does that sadden you?" Alessandro asked with audacity. He shouldn't have such conversations with the Queen and certainly not in front of so many people.

The dance came to an end and Eleanor and Alessandro went back to their places on the dais.

The king got up before they even arrived and indicated that he was going to retire for the evening, the holy father did the same and those present bade them farewell.

Now with the king and the pope no longer watching the children Henri and Catherine also took their leave leaving Eleanor with only Alessandro left, since the younger children had been picked up for bed by their governesses and Madeleine had followed Catherine to her rooms.

"Sometimes." Eleanor.

"Sometimes what, majesty?" Alessandro asked confused as he took a cup of wine from a servant.

"Sometimes it grieves me that my husband is more attentive to his mistress than to me, it deceives me that I get no affection and love from my own husband whom I have married in the eyes of God." she confessed.

Alessandro smiled briefly, the effect of the several cups of wine he had today was certainly starting to work and he felt that he was starting to get more courage.

"Is it love and affection you want, I'll give it to you, if you want it of course." he said with a crooked smile.

Eleanor was startled by Alessandro's words. Not just for what he said, but more for the fact that he said it.

"Your Grace, that couldn't be possible. You are betrothed to my cousin and I am a married woman; a queen. It is forbidden." she whispered, hoping no one had heard.

"a married woman whose husband doesn't even look at her, but instead flanks him openly with his mistress and puts you to shame." he leaned forward, his lips next to the queen's ear. "Don't you want revenge on your husband?" he whispered softly.

Eleanor felt the hairs on her neck stand up at the touch of Alessandro's warm breath. This was the most intimate she's been with another man since her wedding night three years ago.

Francis had completely ignored her after his marital commitments. they were together on official occasions and played the perfect king and queen, but even then his mistress was still in the picture.

it was with Anne de pisseleu d'heilly with whom he spent all his time. from her first day in france he had made it clear to Eleanor that he was more important to him than she was to Anne.

she exhaled. "do not." she whispered softly, almost inaudibly. they were still in front of the court and she couldn't bear to create a scandal, not for herself and not for Alessandro and the holy father and Catherine too.

Alessandro backed of disappointed. Eleanor turned her face away from him, though she still remained seated.

he was still a gentleman and wouldn't prosecute eleanor if she didn't want to, though he thought it a great pity.

"Very well then, Your Majesty." He stood up and bowed. "If you ever change your mind, you know where to find my rooms. Have a good night." He walked out of the room.

Later that evening, after Henri and Catherine's quarrel, the mood of the party had not improved much and many had withdrawn to their own quarters, including Alessandro.