'Sometimes we have to sacrifice our youths in order to let people live.'
Tulia Byrne has been a Queen for longer than she could remember. Her story begins so carefree and so full of love and yet by the end of it you'll be wondering if you even know...
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(Reminder: this is still a Charles book)
The atmosphere around court was peaceful. The weather was cool, rather than freezing and the sky was blue, rather than grey. The nobles walked around cheerfully and even the workers inside the castle had tranquil looks on their faces. The weather was quite the opposite of the storm that was brewing between the King and Queen of France.
Francis loved Mary, he made it very obvious that he would never give up on her, but Mary insisted that her feelings for Francis were depleting. Queens lie all the time, but this seemed like the most ridiculous one yet.
Mary and Tulia were sat together in Mary's chambers talking aimlessly about their lives. It was almost in this moment that they stopped being Queens, the two were just normal people, talking about their upbringings and their social lives. Mary was wearing a white dress with a grey shawl that hung loosely around her body, where as Tulia was wearing a dark grey dress with flared sleeves with a pattern of frolicking deers a its hem.
"I still love Francis." Mary admitted, picking at the sleeve of her white dress. "Yet every time I see him or he is near me I feel like I'm suffocating."
"Understandable." Tulia assured, her eyes cast out of the window watching as the people of court walked slowly around the gardens. "I know it's not the same but after what happened with me I wanted comfort yet was repulsed by anyone who tried to give me it."
"That's how I feel with Francis." Mary muttered, "I want him to be there for me but every time he comes close to me I'm just reminded about what happened."
"That's completely normal." Tulia assured. "You're bound to feel so many conflicting emotions and half the time you won't even know why you feel them. It's your minds way of healing itself."
"How do we know this is normal." Mary whispered, her eyes were filled with fear and uncertainty. "What If I am just falling out of love with him."
"Then you do what you must," Tulia responded. "you do what you must to be happy. Whether that is fighting for your relationship or moving on, do not be hasty. Take time to think about what you truly want."
"What If I do not have time?" Mary confided, looking at Tulia with her dark brown eyes. "What If there's somebody, who could be right for me, already here."
"Who?" Tulia inquired, the young Queen had to stop her eyes from narrowing at Mary. Although she could not fault the other girl for falling for someone else after her traumatic experience, she was not overly excited that Francis' feelings were going to be hurt.
"Conde." Mary answered, turning away from Tulia. "He confessed that he has fallen for me."
"And how do you feel about him?" Tulia wondered.
"I'm not sure." She answered, "I know that I do not love him, yet I can't help but feel drawn to him."
"It's a dangerous game," Tulia reminded. "for a married woman to be in love with another man."
