fair » stuart

viii.

...

isabelle sat at her desk, staring down at the parchment and ink. the princess was unsure if she should go to france to begin her reign or if she should stay in scotland to raise her child.

she did not want to snatch her child's childhood home from them. she wanted to write two letters for her unborn child. one in scotland and one in france, both to be read when the child came of age.

belle took the ink and began to write the letters.

to my child,
i want to begin this letter by saying that i love you. you will always be my greatest accomplishment. if you are reading this letter and you are in scotland, i have done right by you.

you, my child, are the heir to the scottish throne. that is, unless, mary has a child of her own. if you are in scotland, i hope you know your father for the loving, intelligent, humorous man that he is. at least i hope he shows you that side of him.

if anything has happened to me, i want your father to look after you. if something has happened to the both of us, either your grandmother catherine or your uncle sebastian shall look after you.

if you must venture to france, please remember that you are, and always be, a scot. do not let france strip you of your identity. however, you are a valois and you are a stuart. own those titles, my dear.

signed,
your mother, isabelle de valois.

as much as belle wanted to stat in scotland for her baby, and for james, she knew that france needed her. the princess took out another sheet of parchment and began to write her second letter.

to my child,
i want to begin this letter by saying that i love you. you are my greatest accomplishment. if you are reading this and you are in france, i'm sorry.

i'm sorry that i put politics first, my dear. sometimes, you must fulfill your duties to your country. you would know this, considering that you are a prince, or maybe a princess. i do not know your sex yet, considering that i have not met you at the time that this letter was written.

if anything happens to me or your father and you are in france, your grandmother catherine or your uncle sebastian will look after you.

if you are in france, that means that you do not see your father as often. for that, i am sorry. i hope you still know how much he loves you. he does love you. may you only know the loving, kind, humorous part of him.

please know, my child, that you were born in scotland. no one can take away the fact that you are a scot. no one can take away who you are, either. you are a valois and you are a stuart. you carry so much power with you. i hope that you see that one day.

signed,
your mother, isabelle de valois.