Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown

Part 2

     Music grazes the walls of the banquet hall and smiles plaster on the faces that surround me. I slide my hands on the throne's handles. The light of ceiling candles glow on the smooth mahogany embroidered vines that spiral up and down the seat.

     "Your sister looks absolutely stunning this evening," Isabelle says. Her wide emerald green sleeves cascade over my seat as she reaches for my hand.

     I entwine my fingers together and place them to my right, towards my mother and away from her, "Indeed. She will be a fantastic queen of Spain."

     "The same way I will be a fantastic queen of England, right?" she says, staring deep into my eyes, begging for an answer. Her pupils are small and the white of her wide eyes seem to swarm into her baby blue eyes. She has a round face, like a child. Her cheekbones are equidistant from each other and her baby pink lips are thin and long. Her cheeks look swollen and evade the space designated for her under-eye and her nose sprouts in the middle of her face. Her head looks as though it floats above her neck, like she has not a brain working in it.

     "Of course...the queen of England," I say before turning to face my mother to my right, to my surprise she is already facing me. She leans into my ear and whispers, "If you know what's good for you, you will treat Isabelle like the Princess she is and like the daughter of a country's King you need alliance with. Now we have Spain by our side, adding France to that list will put England in high ranking across the seven seas. You will not put shame on my name. Do I make myself clear?" she says and I nod a slow nod.

     Before I can respond Audrey walks to my mother and whispers in her ear causing my mother to rise from her seat and leave the room. She walks to my left, "My Lady, your father is here and would like to speak with you." Isabelle smiles a large smile, one that stretches from one corner of her jaw to the other. She kisses my left cheek, wipes the slobber and lip print, and walks to the other side of the room.

     "Is she any good?" Audrey asks as she shifts her body weight from one leg to another, causing her hips to sway softly.

     "If you're looking for child to watch over, then yes," I respond as I look at Isabelle from across the room. She and her father are laughing and a young man around my age is standing by her side with a smile.

     "Can we meet later in the night? I have something very important to talk to you about. It truly is extremely important," she says as she plays with her dress and stares at the floor.

     "Look at me," I say.

     She looks up and stares into my eyes. I wonder what she sees when she looks at me. A King? A prince? A fool? A lover?

     "Whatever you need I will give to you," I say. She smiles then winks at me before she pivots and turns towards the other maids.

     I watch her as she walks. Her curly black hair bounces on her back with every step and the rings that adorn her fingers reflect gorgeous colored lights on the glorious domes and arches that sit high above me.