Tampered Beauty

Trust

"Mama." James smiled, rushing into the room where his mother and brother lay. Reclined upon the pillows, Mary was settled comfortably. Her white nightgown hung slightly on her frame, shrinking bump disguised under the mound of blankets and furs that lay on the bed. Neck and shoulders exposed, the sleeves were oversized on the arms, clinging only by the weight of her newborn baby that fed upon her breast.

"My love." she smiled. Smiling wide at her, the little boy scaling the bed and settling at her side.

"Missed you." the boy smiled. Mary pressed a kiss to his hair and he petted his brother's blonde hair.

"You too, Lucien." he giggled.

"Mary." a tired voice said. Looking up, she saw that it was her blonde haired Lady had taken her son in to see her and stood a few feet away.

"Greer," she smiled as much as possible, her heart aching at the sight of her grief-stricken friend who was her most precious Lady, even more than the Baronness, who could be a little vain and materialistic at times. "Please, sit." sbe nodded to the chair Francis had so recently vacated.

Greer quietly sat upon the chair, looking slowly at Lucien before his mother. "How are you feeling?"

"Still quite sore, but it's worth it." she smiled softly at the newborn boy. "And you?"

"Sad." Greer admitted softly. "This baby, I-" she trailed off.

"I know." the Empress half smiled sympathetically, knowing full well the pain her dear lady was going through. Reaching over for a few small cakes that servents had left at her most recent yet almost constant tea time, she passed them to her friend. She could remember Kenna's fears of the dowager Lady losing her baby because of her grief infused refusal to eat.

"Here, for the baby." she smiled softly, repeating the words Greer had said in France when she was still pregnant with the little boy who sat giggling at his little brother as he fed from her.

"Thank you," she said, her voice soft and tired. Mary nodded and reached again, sipping on a cup of hot tea quietly as Greer finished the little cakes in silence.

"I received word from your brother James."

"My regent or my commanding officer, or my religious tolerance enforcer?" she asked, not liking the fact so many of her half brothers were named after her father.

"Regent." Greer half smiled. "He's received word from Denmark."

"Denmark? Is it about the marriage between James and Princess Anne?" she asked, watching James look up at the mention of his and his betrothed's names.

"Yes, he says that the Princess is ready to set sail as soon as you give the word."

"I'm not sure if I want her to sail to meet her future husband yet, we're still not friendly with Spain and the Vatican isn't happy with me because of it, with the addition of Anne's protestantism."

"Well, I'm sure the offer will stand." she said, her tone now a little faint.

"Mama?" James asked. "Anne?" the little boy finished. The two little royals had sent squiggly letters to each other for a couple months and had seemed to have formed a bond. It was something that the Empress approved of, seeing as though when she had came to France as a five year old girl, she had no idea who anybody was and found it hard to bond with her resentful betrothed at first.

"Yes, Anne." she said, referencing the little Danish Princess of whom her son would probably marry. "She'll be here in a while."

That seemed to appease her almost four year old son as he gave her a big toothy grin, before becoming rather distracted with his brother's little hand as it moved.