mad queen » reign cw

v.

( fact five! )

francis de valois's favorite nickname
to be called is "france", given to him
by his niece, eden stuart.

— — —

isabelle, francis, and bash all stood next to each other as they watched their cousin exit her carriage.

duke arthur stood behind isabelle, waiting to see the woman that isabelle disliked so much.
catherine de medici greeted the italian royal, pulling alessandra into an embrace.

alessandra hugged catherine back and then pulled away. alessandra's brown eyes traveled over towards her cousins.
"oh, belle! look at you!" alessandra gasped, walking over to the french queen.

"look at you!" belle commented sarcastically as her cousin pulled her into a hug.

arthur looked at alessandra in awe. he thought that she was beautiful—more than beautiful, she was breath-taking. he watched her smile widen as she conversed with her cousins.

then, she looked back towards him.
"who's this?" alessandra inquired, smiling at arthur.

"this is arthur, my royal advisor. he is also one of my best friends, so tread lightly, alessandra." isabelle warned.

"i would never!" alessandra looked at her cousin, upsetting arthur.

|||

"where are this husband and daughter that i keep hearing about, belle? i don't bite!" alessandra walked next to her cousin.

"my daughter is busy with her lessons right now. currently, she should be learning her languages. maybe later you can meet her when james and i take her to the gardens." isabelle said.

"james? your husband?" alessandra questioned.
"yes. he should be around here somewhere, perhaps he is with mary, his sister. mary is the queen of scotland." isabelle informed.

as if on cue, james was walking towards alessandra and isabelle.
"belle, i have news!" james grinned.

he walked up towards his wife and a lady he did not know.
"before you begin, james, this is my cousin alessandra. alessandra, this is my husband and the king consort of france, james stuart." isabelle introduced.

alessandra shook james's hand, slightly smirking at him.
"your husband is handsome, belle! how do you keep him around in a castle like this?" alessandra questioned.

"because she is the prettiest one here." james commented, letting go of alessandra's hand.
"and i'd probably have his head this time if he bedded another woman." isabelle looked at james, only half-joking.

"this time?" alessandra questioned, picking up on her cousin's words.
"its a very long story." isabelle shook her head.
"how convenient! i have enough time. we can talk later." alessandra stated.

isabelle brushed off the news and turned back towards james.
"what's your news, my love?" isabelle asked, giving james a warm smile.

"your mother approved our travels to scotland!" james smiled. isabelle's smile dropped and her eyes widened.

"she did what?" isabelle questioned, shocked that her mother went behind her back. again.
"we're going to scotland, belle. isn't that wonderful?" james smiled.

isabelle sighed, turning towards alessandra.
"if you two will excuse me for a moment, it appears as though i need to have a word with my mother." isabelle stated, leaving the presence of her husband and her cousin.

the queen of france held her head high as she walked towards her throne room. she needed to put an end to her mother sneaking behind her back and approving travel plans without her consent.

isabelle walked into the room, seeing servants standing in the room, cleaning up. then, her eyes fell upon catherine de medici, whom was invested in a conversation with sebastian.

the queen took in a deep breath before losing her temper.
"everyone except for my mother should leave this room, immediately." isabelle commanded.

catherine's eyes glanced up towards her daughter, whose voice boomed throughout the throne room. catherine could not lie, when isabelle lost her temper, it terrified her.

all of the servants scurried out of the room and sebastian de poitiers left the room, quite amused. he loved it when his sister would tell catherine off.

"oh my dear, what has you so upset?" catherine feigned confusion.
"you, mother. i told you to stop approving my travel plans and you outright disobey me." isabelle responded firmly.

"isabelle, you know how important this trip was to your husband." catherine said, taking isabelle's hands in hers.

"no, mother, i know how important this trip was to you. you think that i will go off to scotland with my family, and leave you in charge. however, my sweet mother, you are very, very wrong." isabelle stated, giving her mother a sinister grin. isabelle pulled her hands out of her mother's grip.

if isabelle learned anything from her father and being in the royal family, it was how to cunningly play her cards right. this time was no exception.

"what do you mean, belle?" catherine looked up at her daughter in confusion.

isabelle de valois was no fool, and she was surely going to make her mother pay for disobeying her.

"james, eden, and i will go to scotland, yes. however, you will not be left in charge of this country while i am away. i am officially commanding francis and bash to lead my country in my absence." isabelle stated, joining her hands together in front of her.

catherine's eyes widened at her daughter's orders.
"they don't know how to run a country, belle! they will drive france into the dirt!" catherine objected.

"they shall learn. mother, they will be better rulers than you. i can promise that. you will not try to intervene their temporary rule, or i will have your head. do you understand?" isabelle leaned towards her mother, mumbling the last part.

catherine stared up at her daughter in horror. she never saw it before, but it was at that moment that she saw the similarity between her daughter and her late husband.

"yes." catherine nodded, resulting in isabelle leaving the throne room, feeling accomplished.