'Sometimes we have to sacrifice our youths in order to let people live.'
Tulia Byrne has been a Queen for longer than she could remember. Her story begins so carefree and so full of love and yet by the end of it you'll be wondering if you even know...
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29th May 1566
To say that the Queen was struggling, was an understatement. The month of May had brought nothing but warmth and tranquillity to French court and yet this seemed to be the thorn in Tulia's side.
The Irish Queen was eight months pregnant and fast approaching her ninth. Every day was becoming more and more of a struggle. It began with not being able to dress herself, then it moved to not being able to walk long distances and now, now she was struggling to even get out of bed. This child was making her feel a lot worse than Harry did when she was having him.
Luckily, it was the time where Queens would often retire to their chambers and away from the public eyes. It was a period of respite from the hard work that she had to do in making sure that she did not hit, or physically harm, Charles in some way.
Speak of the devil and he will come. The King of France had finally returned from his holiday and was now on his way to see his 'wife'. He wanted to be there for her in her time of need but he knew that he could not. The marriage had to end in order to save her life, that is what he had been told. He would not risk her life for his happiness.
With the help of her ladies, Tulia had managed to move herself onto the chair that sat next to her window. She had not bothered to get dressed today as she did not believe that she was in any fit state to walk around the castle. She would probably get tired the moment she walked out of her room. This baby was extremely heavy.
A light tap on the door caused her to groan loudly as she beckoned them into the room. She groaned even louder when she saw who it was.
Charles had managed to keep an icy demeanour every time he was around her, he wanted her to hate him. No, he needed her to hate him and it seemed that he has succeeded.
"Tulia." Charles nodded as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. "How are you?"
"No better now that you are here." Tulia spat, turning her head away from the King in disgust. "Why are you here?"
"I came to tell you that I have almost finished writing the letter to the Vatican." Charles stated, hoping to see sadness in her eyes to show him that she was as opposed to this as he was, but when he saw none it broke him.
"Fantastic." Tulia smile sarcastically. "The sooner I can see the back of France, the better."
"I know that you don't like me," Charles started, being interrupted by a scoff made by his wife. "But I still want to be a part of my children's lives."
"If you want to see your children, you can make the journey across the sea yourself." Tulia answered simply. "I will make no effort to go out of my way to make sure that you are happy. You have caused me too much pain for me to care about you anymore."
"I know." Charles sighed, agreeing with everything she had said. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity."
Tulia was taken aback that he had so willingly agreed to her terms, she was sure that he would kick up a fight. Her husband loved to mention the fact that he was the King and that people came to him, not the other way around.
