AN: Bonjour Monsieurs et Madames et enfants! I tried to post this tiny little interval last night but was wonky. A wonderful reviewer mentioned that the customs such as the punishment of certain crimes were a bit graphic. I do understand that everyone has their own threshold when it comes to gore, sex, etc… I personally will never write anything more steamy than what you see here in this chapter. However, there are many things in the 16th century where you have to deal with crime and punishment, personal safety, and nudity (no panties no boxers no bras) that I can't get around the fact that certain things just were not there. If my historical notes go too far please tell me, or skip them. For me, the whole point of writing this story is to take the Ever After world and characters and impale them onto the real 16th Century. The historical tidbit I will share is in no way creepy or gross…
This one is about the fact that Ever After screwed up the bird loves a fish analogy… To put it bluntly HENRI IS THE FISH NOT DANIELLE! Danielle was always the bird because Henri is a Dolphin, in 1542 dolphins were fish, and they were EATEN (okay that might be gross to some people sorry.). Now, you might be saying, "Silver, you've lost it, or you've been writing while drinking." Maybe the second thing is true, but I haven't lost it. You see, while Ever After crams it into our heads that Henri is 'the Crown Prince' or simply 'Prince,' these titles are WRONG. The heir to the throne in France was properly referred to as Le Dauphin de France! Just as the heir to Great Britain is called The Prince of Wales, or The Duke of Cornwall. Dauphin means DOLPHIN in English, and is the heraldic symbol of the heir to the throne of France. Henri should have been wearing at least one! Danielle, was always the free bird!
French: Mon Coeur, saignements de ma ame pour vous- My heart, my soul bleeds for you.
Le Conseil des rois des affaires- The Council of the King's affairs.
Mon Conseil des rois des affaires- My council of the King's affairs.
jeu de paume- Real or Royal Tennis. What we saw in the film, YAY! They got that right!
La chasse- Hunting! Very chaotic, very dangerous if you're not good at it. If you are, (Henri was) people took you very seriously. Women included!
En fete- The Renaissance version of a Hollywood party multiplied by 100,000,000,000. The one we saw in Ever After was SKIMPY!
Ma Amie- My Beloved, ANCIENT FRENCH!
Le Roi de Chevalier- The Knight King.
maman La Riene- Mother the Queen.
Indifférence, ma femme! Non. Indifference, my wife! No. Note to guys: We don't care if you hate the outfit but do not ignore it.
Mon Seigneur et mari- My Lord and Husband.
Je ne comprends pas- I don't understand.
ma amie, ma belle femme- My Beloved, my beautiful wife.
Tante- Aunt.
"With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26 King James Version.
mon chere bien-amie- My dear beloved. (or soulmate)
Pardon moi, mes enfants- Excuse me, my children.
ma poule- My hen.
la papillon de la grande reine- The great Butterfly Queen.
la cygne fidèle- The faithful swan.
La Reine Peaon- The Queen Peacock, or to be technical for a woman a Peahen.
la l'alouette ore- The Golden Lark.
la rouge-gorge bonne humeur- The Cheerful Robin.
la petite rossignol- The Little Nightingale.
ma Cherie tante- My dear Aunt.
ma La grande chouette sage- My The Grand Wise Owl.
Oui, mon bien-amie- Yes, my Beloved (or soulmate.)
"Oh, mon Coeur, saignements de ma âme pour vous!" Danielle sniffled through tear-filled eyes. Tenderly, and with great passion she chastely kissed his tears away. "I owe Anna-Teresa such a great debt. Almighty God spared and protected you through her. How could you think I would cast you, aside?" she asked, holding his face in the calloused palms of her hands. "Five years ago, I was too young for marriage, and even if the Baroness had raised me as a lady, your parents wouldn't have considered me a potential match. Your conduct wasn't motivated by sinful desire. Even if you and Anna-Teresa had fallen in love, how could I envy any woman who died while giving life! However, where is Marianne-Therese?"
Henri, drew her close to him and murmured into her ear. "Danielle, I know you might not be able to understand this, but royal children (legitimate or illegitimate) do not live with their parents as you did with your father. There are reasons for this: First, the royal court is a breeding ground for sickness. If a plague develops nearby, you can be sure many will be infected. With the royal children in their own households they can be relocated to safety easily. Second, once a royal or even a noblewoman gives birth, her job is to recover quickly and conceive again. Finally, the duties of Monarchs leave little time for parenting as you know it. Even after we are married I will go to war, sit in le Conseil des rois des affaires, also I must be seen associating with other men of high rank in the court that will one day form mon Conseil des rois des affaires. I train diligently in all the arts of war with them: fencing, jousting, archery, and the use of firearms. Also, what others might see as frivolous pastimes like: jeu de paume, and la chasse, are vital in establishing who will be your ally, your enemy, or both. Then the fact that the court is always en fete, means that every night there's a feast with an entertainment which the royal family and favorites take part in. A banquet of food, hours of dancing, drinking, and civilized debauchery until the early hours, are the hallmark of life here. I do want to be a true and loving father, but my will is not my own, ma amie. I write Marianne-Therese three times a day. I receive daily reports of all her activities. If she is ill, I race to her and stay until she can play outside again. For now, it is the best I can do. The King refuses to let me set up my own household, and has cut my annuities to make sure I cannot support a family in the style required of my rank."
"Why, Henri? I don't understand why the King would treat his own child with such callousness. From what you've told me over the days we spent together you've done nothing wrong. Trying to run away isn't wise, but surely it isn't unforgivable," Danielle retorted.
"Because, I won't forgive him!" Henri answered in the same voice he'd used with her at the Masque. "I will not forgive that he let my grandmother send my brother and I to Spain as hostages when ten noblemen could have gone in our place. He had decided to break the treaty before he even left Spain! He knew what Charles would do and he let it continue for five years! His own sons, his flesh, rotting away with no comfort, no education, not even decent clothes. My brother Francis was broken in that place. He became detached from his own feelings. To survive, he transformed into the most wonderful brother a boy could have, into a cool but courteous political animal. He was good to all, but he buried his true feelings and cast me aside when he realized our father despised me just as much as I hated him. The King deliberately let the world know after Francis died that although I was his legal heir, he wanted Charles to have the throne. He made it impossible for me to befriend my own baby brother. He kept me from my mother after I came back, telling Helene to take Madeline and I to the country and civilize me. I have committed an unforgivable sin in the King's eyes, Danielle. I see the man he truly is underneath the image of Le Roi de Chevalier. I won't say he is the worst King or the worst Royal Father in Europe, my Godsire has that dubious honor; but I cannot forgive him for deliberately sending Francis and I away with lies on his tongue. That's why he hates me."
Danielle wrapped Henri in her arms and held him silently until the sky began to be streaked with lavender and gray. When she knew, they were both calm and settled once more, she teased him gently. "Your maman La Riene and Helene spent hours dressing and adorning me as the perfect courtier and you don't even notice. I was afraid you wouldn't recognize me or laugh, I think indifference is worse than both Monsieur le Dauphin," she chided with a smile.
"Indifférence, ma femme! Non." Henri objected bolting up from the bench and raising Danielle to stand with him. "You mistake being overwhelmed with passion and awe, for indifference. While you opened your arms to the heavens and twirled in the garden, I had to control my passions, and praise Almighty God for his creating perfection in you. Not even Leonardo could do you justice." he whispered hotly in her ear, and dropping a kiss on the bare skin of her neck.
Danielle darted out of his arms startled by both the action, and the rush of white hot heat shooting through her blood. "Perhaps some prudence should be added to our love-play, Henri," she softly stammered. "While we have pledged ourselves to marry, we have not yet received the blessing of the King, and I wouldn't want to give the impression of being indiscreetly amorous."
"Indiscreetly amorous you say," replied her young lover, wrapping his arms around her waist. He lowered his face again to her ear and smiled as he felt her melt against him in-spite of her convictions. "Now, I wonder," he continued in a low timbre. "How is it possible that a woman of your education, intelligence, and infinite charms can know nothing of honorable courtly love? Kissing one's Lady on the neck is a tradition that all Knights who have won a lady's favor. It isn't as if I can kiss your hypnotizing mouth in front of the masses as it is not chaste. This isn't Sir Thomas's England, nor it is his Utopia."
Danielle felt her cheeks flush a hot red she knew would still be visible in the evening light, not only because of the emotions and euphoria she felt, but also because for the first time she understood that Henri now had the upper hand. "Mon Seigneur et mari, it is with deep regret I admit that my education never included the arts of noblewomen in many regards. Je ne comprends pas how a kiss on the neck is chaste, for it sets my blood afire in a way I have never experienced. Je ne comprends pas, Knights and maidens in this way. I was not taught music and dancing, nor was I taught the comportment of a noblewoman. I understand I must learn these things now, for I want to be the best wife to you, and the best Dauphine for France that I am able. However, you must please be patient with me. I was scolded by a demoiselle de chamber, named Antoinette for picking up a pitcher earlier, and I find so much so strange," she answered in the meek, almost timid tone, of someone lost.
"Ah, ma amie, ma belle femme," Henri sighed, turning her to face him. "I have no intention of letting our marriage change who you are. If there is something you disapprove of, or an aspect of life here you do not enjoy, I will never force you to take part in it. I myself am hardly a model Dauphin. The only time I smile or laugh is with you, Leonardo, maman, and tante. I have no interest in unbridled revelry. I despise flattery, intrigues, gossip, and wantonness. My only true passions have been: my faith, jousting, hunting, jeu de paume, fighting The Holy Roman Emperor, and finding a way to run with Marianne-Therese for a while to escape this court! I am blessed to have found you, for I feared going mad. All I ask of you is that you always tell me the truth, especially when I don't want to hear it. As for the gaps in your education, I find your deportment far superior to most women. The music you can learn easily with a mind like yours, and I would be honored to help instruct you in dance. Until now, I never had a reason to love dancing at all. As you are already my Lady, as your Chevalier Servant, it is my turn to bestow upon you my own most treasured books. For my entire life, all I have ever wanted is to be considered the greatest Knight France ever made. I never, ever, expected to find anyone worthy of calling Ma Dame, Danielle. I wasn't born nor was I trained to be king, but now I am ready to except my responsibilities. If a gauche, immature, hot-tempered boy can become a true man in a matter of weeks because he found the woman God made for him. Do you think it's impossible for you to learn to rule with me, and take your place in this court with the man God has made for you?" he asked, holding her gently in his powerful arms.
Gazing up into Henri's burning midnight blue eyes she answered in a grave and solemn tone. "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. I will rely on his wisdom and on you to guide my way, mon chere bien-amie."
"I will never fail you, Danielle," Henri swore, punctuating each word with a kiss on her forehead, one for each cheek, one for her nose, and the last one on the end of her name for her lips.
Helene kept a discreet eye on the young couple. Tears of sorrow filled her eyes when she saw their anguish, changing to tears of joy as she observed their joy and tender passion. Her attention broke when a Page of the King appeared by her side. "Madame la Comtesse, the King is preparing to come to sup in the Queen's chamber."
"Very well, Stephan, you may go," Helene dismissed with a wave of her hand. Reluctantly, she replaced her book of poetry back onto her golden and gem encrusted girdle and approached the couple. "Pardon moi, mes enfants, the king is on his way to the Queen's chamber for supper. We should hurry to arrive before him."
"Very well, ma poule lead the way," Henri sighed, offering his left arm to Helene, and his right to Danielle.
"You cannot refer to you loving and gracious aunt as a hen Henri!" Danielle rebuked. "Certainly, not in front of me," she added with a sharp glare.
Henri raised his eyebrow and turned to his aunt. "I believe ma femme loves you best, ma poule! Shall you tell her why I call you that or shall I?"
Helene also raised an elegant arched eyebrow at her nephew. "If it pleases Monsieur Le Dauphin, I will explain your eccentricities to your fiancée. You see, Madame La Dauphine, in addition to his impulsive behavior, his short temper, and his penchant for running away from anything that angers him, my nephew refers to those he loves as birds or butterflies. I am la poule, because I oversaw his education and religious instruction."
"You mean you cackle like a hen about every step I take from age ten to this very day," Henri retorted defiantly with a slight smile.
Helene simply ignored the interruption and continued. "The Queen's pet-name is la papillon de la grande reine, the Princesse Jeanne-Marguerite is known in the Dauphin's house as, la cygne fidèle, La Riene de Navarre is called La Reine Peaon. Even the three Demoiselles' who have taken care of you, have their own designations. Demoiselle Collette is known as la l'alouette ore, Demoiselle Julie is known as la rouge-gorge bonne humeur, and Antoinette is known as la petite rossignol! To make matters worse he even has a whistle with which to summon us by the birds' calls. I won't go into what names he uses for the men around here, but let it be known he'll either christen you a bird or a butterfly of some sort. Personally, I think he's old enough to stop, but he won't. You just wait!" Helene huffed.
Henri scoffed as they drew near to the entrance of the Queen's apartments. "You just wanted to be the Pelican! Well, I am sorry, ma Cherie tante, it isn't my fault that you sound like a hen always clucking about."
"Jesu! Henri, leave her be. Now, we might as well decide. What flying creature am I to be?" Danielle admonished in exasperation and excitement.
They came to a stop at the Queen's door and Henri motioned to her Page not to announce them. Releasing his aunt and kissing her hand, Henri then turned to Danielle. "You are, ma La grande chouette sage!It's been running through my mind since you quoted Utopia to me in the gates. Since then, every moment, I have thirsted for your wisdom like a dying man in the desert. You talked with me, you heard my thoughts even if you disagreed. From the time I can remember people have always just told me what I should do. You showed me, and then left the choice to act to me. There do you approve, ma femme?"
The depth of emotions flooding her heart caused her throat to swell to the point that she could just barely whisper. "Oui, mon bien-amie."