fair » stuart

iii.

[ IT'S BEAUTIFUL ]

...

isabelle dismissed her servants as she made her way over to her vanity. the doors to her chambers closed and she let out a sigh of relief.

there was merely an hour left before her birthday party were to begin. francis and bash would be escorting her to the ballroom. she had heard no word on james's arrival, much to her surprise.

the princess stared at her reflection in her small mirror, fixing her hair. the doors of her chambers were opened as her mother walked into the room with a gigantic smile on her face.

"why are you so cheerful, mother?" isabelle turned to look at catherine. catherine held a sleek case in her hands.
"you have received a gift from james." her mother stated, opening the case.

isabelle stood and looked down at the gift. her eyes widened as she stared down at the gorgeous necklace.

"it's beautiful. however, if james thinks that he can win me over with some silly necklace, then he is—" catherine stopped her daughter's rant.

"belle, just take the necklace! wear it tonight so that he knows you like it." catherine commanded, taking the necklace out of the case. she put the necklace on her daughter, and isabelle touched the gemstones on it.

"it does go quite well with my dress." isabelle stated, looking down at her beautiful dress. there was a knock on the isabelle's doors before her two brothers entered the room.

"francis, sebastian, you two are early." isabelle furrowed her eyebrows.
"guests are starting to arrive and henry wanted you to be there to greet them." sebastian stated.

the two boys walked over to their sister, resulting in her linking her arms with theirs.
"goodbye mother! i'll see you at my party!" isabelle called out as she walked with francis and sebastian.

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isabelle laughed at her brother as he made a fool out of himself while dancing.
"francis, you've gone mad!" she smiled as she sipped her wine.

"you seem to be enjoying yourself, belle." king henry stated, observing his daughter's bright mood.

"absolutely, considering that i haven't heard a word of james since the party started." isabelle sassed, looking at henry. he was taken back by his daughter's comment, and he looked towards francis.

"how many glasses of wine has your sister had?" henry asked the blonde prince. henry felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn his head.

"they have both had too many, father." bash said, joining in on the conversation.
"and where have you been?" henry asked, looking at his son.

"that's not important. what is important is that belle is enjoying herself." sebastian stated. when henry turned his head back to francis and isabelle, they were gone.

his eyes traveled to the middle of the room where the two had joined in the dance that the guests were partaking in.

"stop stepping on my foot!" francis insisted, scolding his sister.
"oh francis, i'm sorry!" the drunkened princess apologized.

they looked at each other for a moment before erupting in a fit of laughter at isabelle's inability to dance.

the two were unaware of the man walking through the entrance and into the ballroom.

he stood, surrounded by his guards, watching the princess laugh and smile. a smile managed to work its way onto his face at the sight of her merriment.

all of the guests had stopped dancing and watched isabelle and francis finally stop laughing. once they did, a french guard stood in front of the fashionably late guest.

"princess isabelle of france, may i present to you james stuart, regent of scotland." the guard announced, causing all of the happiness to drain from isabelle's face as she looked at her future husband.

"oh no." francis whispered as james stood in front of them, amused at the events he just watched unfold.