It was a warm summer day, the first day of august in fact and the warm summer sun was lifting up over the horizon, casting the landscape below in rays of gold, brightening everything as far as the eye could see. A few of these precious little sunbeams even made their way through a sheer white curtain, flittering into the room and illuminating the room in a soft glow. The room was that of the prince of France, François L. Bonnefoy. The young prince laid in bed, arms wrapped loosely around his pillow and face pressed into the plush comfort of the fresh linen, sprawled out comfortably with a thin sheet draped over the lower half of his body, his smooth toned back exposed to the warmth of the gentle sunlight. As though acting as a reliable servant the sunbeams began to gently awaken the young man from his slumber, letting him know it was time to get up.
After a few moments of trying to hide from the light, to cling onto the lingering tendrils of his dream, he finally gave in and began to wake, arching his back with a little yawn as he sprawled out more and hugged the pillow a little tighter. Finally he shifted to get up, looking around as his long flowing blonde locks cascaded to form a perfect curtain around his face, although a little messy and in disarray from the deep sleep he had just arisen from. With a shift he sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he muttered "Mon dieu… what time is it?" as he slipped easily out from under the cover and went to grab some clothes and begin to dress himself. Slipping on his trousers he made sure they were nicely laced with a bow around his calves, slipping on his shirt next. Just as he was buttoning up the white shirt he heard a knock at the door.
"François, are you awake?" a handmaid called through the thick oak door that caused a slight echo through the hallway.
"I will be right out, Madam!" François called back simply, not bothering to stop dressing himself. This was routine at this point, his body becoming naturally accustomed to waking up just slightly before he had his morning wake up call. It made it much easier than when he used to sleep in and get scolded, missing appointments and ending up having to deal with his parents more than he would like to.
With the maid having left, the frenchman Finished dressing himself into some casual wear, something comfortable he could wear down to breakfast and spend a lazy day today. After all as far as he knew he had the whole day off to himself, wondering what he could do to enjoy the lovely weather he noticed from the window. He was lost in thought, various frivolous daydreams dancing through his head as he headed down to the dining hall to find no one else there, silently praising himself for being the first to breakfast and perhaps a bit smugly.
"Bonjour, cuisinier~ is breakfast ready yet?" He asked, his french accent dripping his words spoken so suavely as he took a seat at the table, his cheek propped up on his hand with eyes that still hadn't fully left behind the stars of the dreaming world yet.
"It's been ready, monsieur." The chef replied simply as he came over to the table carrying a tray of fresh fruits, cheeses and breads, placing it in front of François with a glass of tea and a glass of water.
Such words made François look a bit surprised but the chef continued on in his explanation upon seeing the rather surprised look.
"The king and queen have already eaten. They're currently in the courtyard entertaining some important guests. Speaking of which you should go get properly dressed. They have picked out an outfit for you."
From that the young prince nodded in understanding and picked up a table knife to slice into the cheese, generously spreading it over a piece of toasted baguette "Oui, I will right after breakfast." he replied in a even and neutral tone, easily seeing that he was not pleased to have his peaceful day off interrupted with such chores but c'est la vie. There was nothing he could do about it.
Eating until he was satiated he cleaned himself up and went to get dressed. Finding the garments laid out for himself he began to dawn them, finding them to be more stiff and less of the style he was accustomed to. With a huff he grumbled to himself "Who would prefer such plain clothes?" he asked himself as he stood and looked in the mirror, frowning at the olive drab overcoat that stared back at him "Honestly, so tacky." assuming from the lack of style that he would be meeting with the austrians or perhaps those of a germanic state. With a shrug he accepted his fate, reminding himself it was only temporary as he made himself look as presentable as possible, spritzing himself with rose water before heading out to find where his mother and father were meeting these foreign ambassadors.
Being led to the drawing room by the head butler he watched as the older gentleman knocked, opened the door and announced François's presence, the prince then following suit as he stepped into the room and took in the scene. He saw his two parents standing a meter or so away from a young man with green eyes and rather shaggy short blonde hair. One thing he definitely noticed were the thick eyebrows upon the man's face, finding a certain bit of ridiculousness in the man's nearly barbaric demeanor but he swallowed the slight disgust as he waltzed over, flipping on his typical romantic charm like a light switch, coming over to the man and taking his hand as he bowed his head to kiss the back of it.
"Bienvenue, monsieur. It is wonderful to make your acquaintance~" He spoke, a certain purr in his voice rolling off his tongue easily.
Green eyes wandered down to look at the frenchman as he spoke, a small arrogant smirk coming to his face "Yes, you must be the prince? I am Arthur, the prince of the england." He introduced himself before pulling back his hand from Francis's hand to instead tilt his chin up and examine his face as one would do for a horse at an auction. He seemed unphased by the romantic gesture that had been given "Yes, not really my type but he'll do nicely."
Such words, actions and sheer audacity caught François by surprise, pulling away from the touch with a slight scowl as he looked towards his parents for clarification as to what was going on.
"Yes, he is well cultured and well behaved. He can read, write and speak in both English and French. That should be an asset to you, non?" The queen assured, still not making eye constant with her son but rather focused on the englishman.
"Yes, that will be quite useful, but don't think this will be enough. We will be regularly collecting taxes from you as payment for our services." Arthur responded rather callously.
"Mama, what is this…?" The french prince finally asked, speaking up from his stunned confused silence.
"This…" She began as she came a little closer to Arthur as if introducing him "... Is your new partner. You will be living with him starting the day after tomorrow."
From that François's eyes widened as he looked towards the englishman and then back at his mother "I will be married off to him?!" He exclaimed as the shock set in, jolting him out of his previously somber state as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him.
Arthur gave a hearty laugh in response to the outburst "Married? Heaven's no!" He replied as he bent forward a bit, holding his stomach as he doubled over slightly "Me? Marry you? Don't be absurd!" He said before regaining his composure and coming to stand in front of François "You are a man. You can not bear children, you can not be my queen. No, no. You will simply be a concubine for me." He said as he brought a hand up to touch the french prince's cheek.
François stared in horror at the words. Something so cruel, something he was told nothing about before today. Before he could even think he found himself slapping the hand away "Non! I refuse to be with this brute!" He said as he turned towards the queen with tears in his eyes "Mama, surely this is a joke. Some kind of trick? Have I wronged you? S'il vous plaît, don't make me go with him!"
The queen was silent, refusing to make eye contact but at that moment the king finally stepped in and spoke up "That is enough out of you, François! Go to your chambers!"
"But–"
"Sortez!"
There were no words, nothing but silence and a lip tremble as François hesitated before he shook his head, turning and running out of the room.
