My Sister's Prince

Chapter Fifteen:

      Eulalie had been confined to her bedroom for what felt like years, but in actuality was about a month and a half. Alaric still slept in their shared bed, but when the sun came up, he left her behind to start his day as Absalon's king.

     She had received relatively few visitors throughout her confinement. The highlight of her day was always when her maids sat with her while they minded their mending and stitches. They gossiped to their queen about the scenes from court that they observed beyond the four walls that confined her. The Queen-Mother was pleased that Eulalie was out of the way. 

     She heard from Elisabetta and Muriel that Violet had taken on all of Eulalie's own responsibilities. In public, she acted like the dutiful grandmother and Queen-Mother that she wanted everyone to think she was, but in private conversations to her ladies that Elisabetta and Muriel overheard, she was thrilled to be back to her former power. To Eulalie's horror, she was even told that the Queen-Mother had taken to sitting in Eulalie's throne beside Alaric's.

     There were days where she was so cross with her husband, his mother, and all of court that she refused to speak to anybody. She wasn't sure if it were the mood swings brought on by her pregnancy that caused her to feel so much anger towards the man she knew he loved. She knew, however, that there would always be a part of her that never forgave him for his preferential treatment of his conniving mother.

     Thinking back to her own mother, Eulalie nearly missed her in comparison to the cunning and sharp-tongued Violet. Even though her mother was mean-spirited to her in her childhood, she always made sure Eulalie knew and appreciated her rank. 

     Violet, on the other hand, twisted and broke the courtly rules of engagement to spread rumors about the Queen, abuse her power, and manipulate Alaric. Muriel even told Eulalie that there were whispers at court that the baby wasn't Alaric's. According to rumor, when the king found out about the queen's indiscretion, he punished her with her sentence of confinement. 

     When Eulalie heard this, she balked at how ridiculous such a rumor sounded. "Whose child do they think this is?" She asked after an incredulous laugh. 

     Muriel's sweet honey brown eyes darkened, and she leaned towards Eulalie and lowered her voice. It took all of the little maid's courage to present this slanderous gossip to her queen, but she straightened in her spot on the bed and knew Eulalie deserved to know.

     "The c-court..." she started, clearing her throat, "or at least, certain courtiers, believe that the heir in your womb is the bastard child of..." it was hard for the girl to finish. She looked to the floor with blushed cheeks.

     "Well?" Eulalie asked with nervous anticipation.

     Muriel shook her head, too uncomfortable to continue. She wasn't used to queens that genuinely wanted to know all of the court's dirty gossip, and the love she had in her heart for her queen made the words difficult to say out loud.

     "They think that your child's father is a, and I quote, 'dirty Naviran bastard,'" Elisabetta said, finishing the sentence for Muriel. Where Muriel's bashful temperament prohibited her from speaking such heinous words, the fire that burned in Elisabetta's eyes in offense at the slur only seemed to embolden the young Naviran girl. 

     That same fire burned in Eulalie's own eyes after hearing the words. She was almost hesitant to ask, but she had to know. "What did the King do to address these rumors?" The Queen-Mother?"

     Muriel continued staring at her feet, but Elisabetta continued. "The King threatened anyone that continued to spread these lies."

     "And Violet?" Eulalie felt a weight begin to settle in the pit of her stomach.