A Queen Twice Over: Mary Tudor the Elder Marries Francis I of France
- Thread starter FalconHonour
- Start date
But that's why we love it... Right? I mean... it's why I love it, anyway...
I love this in the same way I love Ice Cream...... It tastes SO GOOD in the moment.... but I regret my Poor Life Choices later.
No when my poor Henri is killed! And the fuck kind of ice cream are you eating! Find a better ice cream brand or store! Good ice cream won’t make you regret that!But that's why we love it... Right? I mean... it's why I love it, anyway...
Last edited:
Lactose intolerance says No Ice Cream.
Not unless I take two lactaid pills before eating it.Daaamn! That’s awful! But fuck I’d still do it!Lactose intolerance says No Ice Cream.
I do too! I just need to actually remember to take the lactaid before!
Oh sure... and there's sorbet and flavored ices...... but they're just not Ice Cream. It's like... all the lactose-free alternatives for Milk... It's just not the same.
Working on it. Slowly, but I am working on it.
How does a Anne/Kate Parr interaction sound for chapter 76?
Section LXXIV - April 1528
Amboise, April 1528
Three nights. Three whole nights. That’s how long Marie’s been screaming, struggling to bring their child into the world.
No one has said anything yet, but Francis is no fool. The longer a labour takes, the more likely it is to kill a mother and child. Everyone knows that.
He hates to think it, but part of him is already steeling his mind to hear the question, to have to choose between Marie and their new child.
Oh, God. Marie. He knows he wants to save her. He’s got three healthy boys and two beautiful daughters. He doesn’t need another child in the cradle. Not the way he needs his Queen, or the children need their mother. But if Marie ever found out that he’d saved her over their child, less than a month after they lost Henri…It could destroy her. It really could.
He reaches out, and, with trembling hands, lights another wax taper. He looks up to the statue of the Virgin nestled in the niche above the altar.
“Holy Mother, save her,” he beseeches, tears in his eyes, “Save her. Save them both. Don’t make me have to choose. Please. Save them both.”
His mother finds him an hour later. He springs up at the familiar tread.
“Maman!” He exclaims, before falling silent at the sight of the bundle in her arms.
“Congratulations, mon fils,” she says tiredly, holding the child out for him to see, “You have a beautiful daughter.”
“But…But…It’s over? I haven’t heard Marie stop screaming…” Francis trails off, flustered and distracted by the tiny girl in his mother’s arms.
“That’s because this little sweetheart was hiding a baby brother behind her, one who’s being rather slower about coming out.”
Louise tries for jocularity, but Francis can see the exhausted worry in her eyes. He reaches out and puts a hand on her shoulder, holding her for a moment, before taking his daughter from her.
“Marie, Maman,” he whispers, answering her unspoken question, “If it comes down to it, I want you to save Marie. I already have three sons. I only have one Queen.”
Louise gapes momentarily, then nods, pushing her greying curls out of her eyes, “As you wish.”
She knows she should go back to Marie’s rooms and help, but she can’t. Just for a moment, she can’t face it. She wants to catch her breath, re-gird her loins for the fight and watch her son meet his baby daughter.
She watches, transfixed, as Francis pushes back the swaddling bands, just a touch, so as to see the infant’s face. The fuzz on the little head peeps out, gleaming ruddily in the candle light.
Louise’s breath catches in her throat. She’s got her mother’s colouring. Like her late brother, the baby has her mother’s colouring.
“Elisabeth,” Francis says softly. “Marie wants to call her Elisabeth, for her mother.”
“I’ll tell her you’ve agreed. It’ll give her the strength she needs to birth your son,” Louise replies.
Taking a deep breath, she dips a half-curtsy, then forces herself to turn around and prepare to leave the small chapel. She has her hand on the door frame when Francis speaks again.
“Edouard.”
“Pardon, my son?”
“Edouard. Marie wanted to call a son Edouard for her grandfather. Have our son baptised Edouard.”
Louise hesitates. Francis sounds so sure, and he’s obviously trying to help Marie, bless his heart, but…
“Even if he’s born dead?”
Francis stills for the briefest of instants. He knows as well as she that it is considered a sin to baptise a stillborn child. Louise watches him, holding her breath.
She can pinpoint the exact moment he makes his decision. His shoulders slump and he lets out a breath.
“Even if he’s born dead. It’ll give Marie at least a crumb of comfort. I’ll answer for it to the Cardinal."
Louise nods and curtsies again, “I’ll send Lady Parr to you so she can meet her new charge,” she murmurs.
Then she leaves the room, leaving her son cradling his new daughter and humming a lullaby to her as the sun begins to rise through the chapel windows behind him.
Awww you can really tell that Francis truly loves Marie here, with both of his choices, both to save her and name the twins after members of her family. Louise definitely seems to be a great help to both her son and daughter-in-law here as well, they are lucky to have her. Wonderful chapter!
Yeah, especially as Edouard was NOT a popular name in France at this point, for obvious Plantagenet related reasons...
Thank you, this was such a bittersweet chapter to write, I'm glad you enjoyed it
Does this mean that Eddouard is coming out feet first is they already know it’s a boy yet Marie is still screaming?
Yup, or at least that he's presenting in such a way that you can see between his legs...
Here's hoping both Eddouard and Marie survive! Although I'm unfortunately not 100% sure if one of them(or both) actually makes out alive.