Ma Petit Princesse (aph Marie Antoinette fic)

Affairs of Uncomfortability

6 months later

"What is it, Francis?" Lady Abbatelli purred. "Whatever could get you so down in the dumps?"

Bathed in the yellow light of numerous strategically placed decorative lamps, pale candles dripping with wax and the crystal, glass-ecased chandeliers above, and the warm glowing heat of the fireplace keeping the wintry cold out, Lady Abbatelli urged her lover to tell her what ailed him. The two sat upon Francis' bed, Francis turned away from his mistress and the clock nearing about 8 in the evening. With her abundant chest pressed against his hunched over back, Tatiana traced circles upon and around the country's shoulder, humming lightly as she did so. Francis, lightly swirling a glass filled with ruby-red wine, sighed and his free hand through his blonde locks, then sat the glass down and turned back to the sultry woman behind him.

""The King," he began, stroking the soft, olive skin of his mistress. "Expects me to be able to fix the sexual problems between the Dauphin and Dauphine. They've still yet to consummate their marriage after 6 months! What am I supposed to do? They're children!"

"Children indeed, but children with the fate of France in the hands of whether they can muster themselves to relieve their virginity."

"I know," Francis huffed, spinning into a cross-legged position on the bed and pulling her into his lap. He then leaned down to Lady Abbatelli's collarbone and hovered, allowing his lips to graze the sensitive flesh with every word he spoke. "I just don't see why I have to be the one to do it. Louis Auguste is his grandson after all, and I am certainly not in the position of speaking to the Dauphine about a subject as delicate as this."

"King Louis wants you to talk to the Dauphin, la mia passione," Tatiana gasped, wrapping her slender fingers in her lover's long hair. "Because you are experienced when it comes to the subject, and also because you, frankly, aren't him. He has other subjects, those of the State to be concerned with, along with the Du Barry."

"Mon beau feu," Francis growled, kissing the soft skin between each word. "I am the one who attends to those affairs for him. I read concerns and needs to him, he tells me to stamp them, he fondles his whore for a few hours, muttering sick, sexual innuendos into her ears... That, along with ceremonial performances, is all he does. And then he expects me to clean up his mess of a grandson!"

"Mi amore, do not raise your voice in anger, and do not refer to the King nor the Du Barry in such a fashion," Tatiana said calmly as she reached behind her and began to unlace her tight corset. "I know your frustrations, but staying cool and collected is the best thing to do in situations such as these."

"I know," Francis sighed, reaching his long arms around the woman to aid her in the relief of her pesky garments. "I just...The people are growing restless, Tatiana. I can feel it in my bones, in the beating of my heart, in the blood pumping through my veins. They may not be acting yet, but where they're concerned, every day is simply one day nearer to dying. This tension I can feel in the very fibers of my being... there's going to be Hell to pay, Tat. It may be tomorrow, it may be 100 years from now, but... something is definitely brewing, and the more it does the more restless I grow with the King's carefree actions."

With those words, Lady Abbatelli's deep blue corset was finally unlaced. In one fluid motion, the frenchman before her removed it, leaving her in only her petticoat and a light sleeveless top. Tatiana laughed as she removed the final pieces of clothing from her body, leaving her nude, straddling Francis.

"See, mi amore," she purred, tugging at the loose, billowing collar of the frenchman's undershirt. "You're a natural with the art of intimacy. Surely with a few pointers for the young prince he shall become... inspired with the womanly form in no time."