mad queen » reign cw

xvii.

( fact seventeen! )
marlene, former duchess of
edinburgh, was unfaithful to
arthur throughout their marriage.

—

isabelle de valois looked down at the small, blanket wrapped baby in her arms. the queen couldn't help but to smile at the baby that she had grown inside of her for nine months.

belle's blue eyes looked up as she smiled towards arthur. the duke had spent the last five minutes crying in silence at the birth of his firstborn heir.

"you did it, belle. you gave birth to our son." the duke whispered, leaning down to press a kiss on her forehead.

the physician had cleared out of the room on orders from isabelle. the guards were strictly advised to not allow anyone into the infirmary until she said so. not even james, not even catherine. a part of her was still shocked at finding out that her husband bedded her sister.

"do you want to hold him?" isabelle questioned. arthur's blue eyes widened at the thought of holding his son. the newborn was so little in comparison to the duke.

"i- what if i hurt him?" arthur questioned.
"you won't, arthur. just hold him." isabelle held the baby out in her arms, and arthur accepted him, carefully supporting his head.

the duke looked down at his son, softly gasping in awe. the newborn stirred in his sleep, snuggling into his father's arms.

"hello, you. i have waited so long to meet you. your mother has too. i-i do not really know what to say to you. i think i should say that i love you, it is my fault that you are a bastard child. when you grow up and find out, do not be mad at your mother. be mad at me. i loved her a lot, i do love her. she means a lot to me and so do you. i'm sorry that your step-father is not the nicest king. your uncles love you—francis and sebastian, they know that you are a bastard. they promised to protect you. bash knows how it feels, so...trust him.," arthur spoke to the newborn.

isabelle smiled at her lover bond with their son.

"we have not decided on a name for you. belle, what should we call him? will he have a french name or a scottish name?" arthur questioned, looking up at the queen.

"i think both." isabelle responded. arthur nodded as he rocked the baby in his arms gently. the duke looked up towards his queen.

"i have a name that i have always had picked out. it was to be used when i had my first son." arthur stated. isabelle raised an eyebrow, curious to hear his name idea.

"tell me the name." she responded.

"ewan." arthur revealed, causing belle to erupt with laughter. the royal advisor gasped.
"ewan? you want to name our son ewan?" belle questioned.

"yes! i think that it is a strong name. what did you want his name to be?" arthur responded.

"henry." isabelle revealed. her mother told her that king henry's dying wish was for isabelle to name her first born son after him.

"you want to name our son after your psychopatic, power hungry father? absolutely not." arthur disagreed.

"it was his dying wish!" isabelle pointed out.
"yes, and i wish for our son to be named ewan." arthur retorted, holding the baby against him.

"ewan henry blackwood?" isabelle questioned. arthur's previous smile dropped.
"stuart." arthur corrected. isabelle's eyebrows stitched together in confusion.

"what?" the queen questioned.

"he cannot take my last name. they'll know." arthur frowned and looked down at his son.

then, the realization hit both isabelle and arthur. arthur would have to watch his son grow up as an heir to the scottish throne. he would have to watch his son be publicly claimed by james stuart and raised by another, without any say in how he is raised.

isabelle frowned, and realized that the only opinion that arthur had over their son was his name.

"we can name him ewan. ewan henry." isabelle whispered, causing arthur to smile as he looked down at their son.

"hello, ewan." arthur smiled.