mad queen » reign cw

xxi.

( fact twenty-one! )
james stuart hopes to
have at least two sons

—

when word of isabelle's loss reached mary stuart, the heart of the scottish queen grieved for her brother and her dear friend.

however, the queen knew that it was best to give her friend time to be alone in the moments of her tragedy.

isabelle de valois found herself out in the gardens, sitting in front of a fountain. it never dawned upon her how whenever she was in moments of distress, fountains were a constant in helping her think about her situations.

for the first time in a long time, the queen felt like she could breathe again.

arthur blackwood traveled back home to scotland, in hopes to recollect his emotions over the loss of his firstborn child. he was not aware that he would become a guest of scottish court.

the duke walked around the scottish castle until he found himself outside, walking along the grass. his blue eyes glanced up as he heard the sound of soft sniffles.

in front of him sat his lover, silently staring down at the small grey stones in her hand.

arthur stood from afar, listening in onto belle's words.

"...and your father, he loved you so dearly. you were his first child, you'll always be his first. ewan, i loved you. more than you would ever think possible, a-and you died. i cannot describe how much my heart sank when i....we loved you. deeply and truly. all of us." belle wiped her single tear from her cheek.

arthur didn't realize that he had started crying as well. he would never forget the child that he lost. isabelle looked up, seeing her best friend.

watching arthur cry broke her heart even more. the queen stood and rushed over to him, both of them embracing each other. arthur held onto his love with all of his might. crying into her shoulder, isabelle's hands found their way to his red curls. the two stayed silent, weeping in each other's arms.

|||

"why did you leave me? i needed you, the one time that i needed you by my side, you left!" belle ranted, looking towards arthur.

"i am aware." he nodded. isabelle frowned up at him and shoved him slightly, upset with him.
"our son died and you left me!" she yelled. however, arthur remained calm.

"i know, belle. i am sorry. i should have been there. i should have stayed." he whispered, resting his hand upon her cheek. belle's blue eyes stared into his as she began to think about ewan.

"he is gone, arthur. he wasn't even a month old." she frowned. arthur inhaled sharply, his journey to scotland was to take his mind off of ewan and the french monarchy as best as he could—he failed miserably.

mary stuart walked down the halls of the scottish court, stopping in front of the doors of isabelle's chambers. the queen brought her knuckles up towards the door, but hesitated once she heard a voice speak.

arthur's eyes flickered down towards belle as his hand caressed her cheek.
"belle, i am sorry. for leaving you, for trying to run away from the death of our son, and i am sorry for not being your shoulder to cry on," arthur apologized. he never meant to run away from the woman that he loved most.

"i...isabelle, i love you and i always will. and i give my oath to you that i shall never turn my back on you ever again." arthur's voice whispered and he leaned his head down towards belle.

mary's brown eyes widened as she watched the secret lovers through the door that was opened ajar. she couldn't believe that one of her dearest friends was having an affair, that her friend had betrayed her brother.

mary had always though that james was mad for suspecting that belle and arthur were together, but as she watched the two kiss, she knew that james was far from insane.

the scottish queen felt a conflict rise in her heart. was she to tell james or remain loyal to her grieving friend?