mad queen » reign cw

vii.

( fact seven! )
duke arthur is still bitter
towards james stuart.

—

isabelle de valois looked down upon her daughter, staring down at the princess's big brown eyes.

"please, mother!" eden pleaded.
"eden, no. uncle francis has very important business to take care of." isabelle commented strictly.

"belle, it's really no problem. i can take her and you can finish up your last bit of work before bash and i take over." francis responded.
isabelle sighed as she looked from francis towards eden.

she knew it and everyone knew it—eden stuart was probably the most spoiled five year old princess in history.

"go on, then." isabelle dismissed the two. eden cheered and her uncle francis picked her up, heading towards the gardens.

isabelle took a seat at her desk, beginning to look down at her tasks that needed to be done before she departed for scotland.

she skimmed through the documents, approving travel requests sent by royals. french court was a highly popular place to be, given how much the country was striving under isabelle's rule.

"belle! i've looked everywhere for you!" james's voice spoke, earning the queen's attention. belle looked at her husband, smiling brightly. belle stood, accepting a kiss from her husband.

"what is it, my love?" isabelle asked, looking up at james stuart.
"i was preparing for our departure to scotland and a thought crossed my mind. is arthur going with us?" james asked.

that was the one question that isabelle did not have an answer to. she hadn't seen arthur in nearly two days.

"when i find him, i shall ask him." isabelle responded, sitting back down.
"you haven't seen him?" james questioned, looking down at his wife.

"i have not. i haven't seen alessandra lately either." belle pointed out. she knew that her cousin had managed to win over her best friend's heart.

"excuse me, your majesty." a guard entered the room. isabelle and james both turned to face the guard.

"oh, i'm sorry. not you, queen isabelle." the guard apologized. isabelle went back to the documents that were in front of her.

"what is it?" james stuart inquired, looking at the guard.
"queen catherine has requested your presence." the guard said, gaining isabelle's attention again.

james looked at isabelle and tried to reassure her.
"i'll be fine, my love. finish your work." james smiled warmly at isabelle.

|||

"you need a second heir. there are no questions to it." catherine de medici stared at her son-in-law. james nodded along.

"i have told belle many times, but she's always so invested in her work or what arthur is doing." james scoffed at mentioning duke arthur. catherine furrowed her eyebrows. this was news to her.

"arthur as in duke arthur blackwood? her advisor?" catherine questioned. james gave a blank stare.
"considering that those are all the same person, yes." he responded smartly.

catherine was taken back by his tone.
"i don't like your tone." catherine commented.

"sometimes i feel as if she's in love with the man! but now, she knows that he has been spending days with alessandra, and i don't think she likes it." james revealed.

catherine knew that james had a dark nature hidden in him, and she was going to have to be the one to pull it out in order for her plan to work.

"james, when you and belle arrive in scotland, i want your only priority to be conceiving an heir. until then, i need you to prove that arthur and alessandra are bedding each other." catherine instructed, giving a wicked smile.