"Nothing, not even the royal blood that coursed through their veins, could ever stop the affectionate feelings the two royals had for each other."
[COMPLETED]
Rankings:
#1 in #frary
#1 in #marystuart
#3 in #reign
#17 in Historical Fiction
#23 in...
200 votes WHAT THE HECK thx & I just realized that at the moment this story is placed at #238 in Historical Fiction!
The Royal Court of France
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Princess!" As I turned to the voice, I almost stumbled over little Charles and Madeline who were still booming with energy as they ran about the throne room.
I caught my balance and looked up. "Simon, back in France already?" I smirked, shaking the man's hand. Simon is- well, was- the English envoy for France. But because I am here now, his presence was rather unnecessary.
"Apparently." He chuckled lightly, causing me to smile. "Weird how there is always something to bring you back to the place you are meant to be."
"I do agree with that." I smiled. "I never really thought I would be back at French Court, but now I could not be happier."
"That's wonderful." Simon smiled, taking my hand again. "I must be on my way. Duty calls."
"Of course. It was very nice talking to you." Simon gently bowed his head before placing a light kiss on my hand.
"The pleasure is all mine, Princess." I gave him a small smile before he stalked off.
"Bella," I was taken aback when I felt two arms wrap around my waist from behind me. "My beautiful Arabella." Francis hummed as his chin nuzzled into the back of my neck. I chuckled at the ticklish feeling on my neck before turning around to him. "Looking more and more fine by the moment."
"Thank you, my dear." I smiled up at the adorable boy.
"Oh, I was actually talking about the apple strudel dessert over there." He cheekily pointed to the dessert table, and I slung my hand over my chest pretending to be offended. "It looks quite scrumptious. I've been eyeing it all night."
"And here I was thinking that you only had eyes for me." I shook my head, barely being able to hide the smile that was slowly creeping onto my face. Francis chuckled before intertwining over fingers together and pressing his forehead to mine.
"Well, you were sure thinking right." His lips lingered over mine shortly before attaching themselves.
This feeling. This amazing feeling. I can't even describe it with human words. Maybe this is what love feels like, but there is something telling me that this is more than just love. What Francis and I have is indescribable. I don't even know if the gods above have words to describe our love.
Our lips then detached. I looked up, my teeth biting the edge of my lip, trying to hold in my smirk. "You are something else." Francis spoke, pulling a piece of my hair behind my ear. My eyes drifted behind him. Distracting me was ex-envoy Simon speaking to an obviously worried Mary.
"Hold on one second." I spoke, not taking my eyes off of the two. I let go of Francis' arm before walking over to them.
It's obvious Mary is trying to keep her strong front, but I know her, therefore; I know when she is vulnerable. I've seen both her strongest points, but I have also seen her most vulnerable points. And this is one of those.
"Mary!" I called smiling brightly, drawing their attention to me. "Oh, Simon, so you have met my dearest friend?" I grasped Mary's arm as I let a glimmer twinkle in my eye.
"Yes, she's quite delightful." He spoke, a small smirk still set upon his lips. I wanted to personally slap the little smirk off of his face, but that would be rather unladylike.
"Well, her and I still have some serious catching up to do, so please, let us be." I spoke, striking a threatening smile.
"Of course." Before I walked away, I stopped and leaned into his ear. "Also, tell my mother that the next time I see her will be the day that her crown is set upon my head." I whispered in Simon's ear before stalking off with Mary at my side.
"My best friend truly knows how to get what she wants, doesn't she?" Mary chuckled, raising her eyebrow.
"Always." I smiled and wrapped my arms in hers.
"Thank you, Ara, for getting me out of that. Was it that obvious that I was struggling in there?" Mary questioned as we stopped at one of the tables with wine, each talking a glass.
"Well, yes, but I only noticed because I know you, Mary. Everyone else in this room is too focused on themselves to actually take notice of anyone else." I took a sip of wine. "And I know that not even I can sway my mother to stop going after you. She thinks you are some sort of threat to me. An obstacle in the way of my journey to the English crown. But I'm not worried."
"Arabella, you know I wouldn't go after your English crown, right? I have too much of my own with just Scotland and finding a new alliance to deal with." Mary spoke assuringly, then dropped her voice to a lower whisper. "Hell, I can't even handle the thought of taking England with me."
"You are doing fine, Mary." I smiled.
"Thank you, Arabella. I don't know what I would do if I was in your position." Mary spoke, sipping her wine. I rose an eyebrow, questioning her silently. "Arabella, you are the heir to the English throne, so no doubt you will have to take control of Ireland, as well. And don't forget that you have a birth right to the Spanish throne. Oh, and did I refrain from mentioning that you are the next in line for Holy Roman Emperor? Well, empress after you're done with it." Mary spoke, causing a chuckle to slip from my lips. "Plus, when you marry Francis, you will be the next Queen consort of France, as well. You will be holding the entire world in the palm of your hand, Arabella. Must I continue?" She smirked and I shook my head.
"Well, I suppose I haven't really had the time to fully contemplate everything yet." Mary is right. If all works out in my favor, I will basically be ruling the world. Of course, I knew that I had all of these opportunities set before me, but hearing someone list them like that was quite overwhelming.
"Don't worry. You'll do a fantastic job." Mary smiled, patting my shoulder genuinely.
"And how can you be so sure?" I quirked an eyebrow at the Queen of Scots, testing her.
"Even from a young age you have always shown great leader qualities. You are fair. And confident. And strong. But you also have a genuine and kind-hearted side to you. There is no other person on this planet that could do any of this better than you." Mary spoke, making me smile.
I didn't say anything. I simply wrapped my arms tightly around my best friend. A small tear fell from my eye, but I did not even budge to wipe it away. It wasn't a tear of weakness. It was a tear of strength and confidence.
A tear of a leader.
A/N- So, whatcha think of this chapter?
This has me emotional. Who am I kidding? I'm always emotional.
I hope this wasn't bad. It's midnight right now and I'm seriously so tired, so there are probably tons of errors. Lol
