'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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10th June 1566
It had been just over a week since the Queen of France had awoken. Every day she grew stronger, there was not a day that passed in which she regressed to her tired and fatigued state. The thought of dying so young had brought forth a sense of mortality in the woman.
To many, this new found sense of self preservation would lead them to want to play it safe, to live their lives in comfort as to not test the fate of God. Tulia, had of course, gone in the opposite direction. She knew now that every day she spend not doing something about England, was a day wasted.
She would waste no more time in the shadows. England would be hers in the end. And the end... the end is near.
Upon hearing of Henri's disappearance with Nicole, she had been quite hurt. Tulia knew that there was almost certainly a reason as to why he had done what he had done but she could not fathom the reason. Nicole was not important at all.
Tulia knew that something was wrong. But she could not place what it was.
The brothers seemed to have swapped places since she had awoken. It was now Charles' turn to take it upon himself to visit her every day. The man had tried to be subtle about it at first, but the Queen knew that it was no coincidence that her breakfast maid always deferred her duties to the King.
It had bothered her at first, she didn't want to see his face. But seeing him leave when she got uncomfortable, seeing him respect her wishes in every way, lessened the feeling of hatred that she had so strongly felt for him before.
Do not get her wrong. She did not love him. Not anymore. But she could no longer say that she hated him. Not when he spent so much time making sure she was ok. The time he spent with her was not suggestive nor was it forced. The Queen of Ireland is a perceptive person, she knew what his intentions were right off the bat.
He wanted her to get better. That was all.
There she sat. Staring at her reflection in the mirror. She still looked gaunt, yet her face no longer held the malnourished transparency that it had harboured for the past week. She was regaining colour in her cheeks and strength in her body.
A knock at the door brought Tulia from her staring.
"Come in." She called, clearing her throat before she spoke. She quickly gathered herself together and stood from her chair as the person entered.
The door was pushed open by the persons back as they carried a silver tray into the room. Charles smiled at her once as he placed it down onto her table.
"My breakfast maid is ill again?" Tulia mused as she walked over to the tray to see what he had brought her.
The Kings cheeks went slightly red as he nodded to his wife. His hair had grown out again and he looked tired. He had been spending way too much time making sure she was ok that he had forgotten to look after himself.
