.

Spending money, sometimes the young princess wondered if it was all she could do. But what else was there to be done? She was not her mother, not tasked with ruling a kingdom or changing the course of history. She was only tasked with attending a husband who was ever so distant. So Antoinette did the one thing she was good at, enjoying herself. Her hand of cards was particularly bad that evening, but it did not stop her from continuing the game. When one was to be Queen of France, what worth did money hold? “I thank you for the compliment, I can only return it though. And I assure you, I intend to do nothing else but drink and laugh all night long”, a chuckle accompanied her statement. 

“Is this spot already taken?” It was a beautiful autumn day, the rain that had locked half the city into their houses was now all dried up and Marie sat down on the park bench, smiling at the man in front of her. She was sure it was him, she had stared at his picture for so long, there was no denying. If he reacted, if he was able to see her... There would be no going back. 

“You are not French, then?”, a stranger from a different country? It had been quite some time since Marie met someone who was not born and breed for the strict rules and the pomp of Versailles. “Might I ask where you hail from then?” There was not one part of her that doubted his reasons, the Queen was sure no one would wish to harm someone like her.

As you have probably noticed by now, I am quite absent lately. I am still not fully recovered from my sickness, I work 40+ hours a week, I am super busy, and Nanowrimo is approaching again. All that being said, I am not sure I will be able to return to full speed anytime soon. So all my blogs are on Semi-Hiatus until the end of the year. I will try my best to still get many replies out to you. Thank you for understanding.

          “Hello there? Your manners are quite strange, Monsieur, if one might say so.”, the young queen was used to people holding themselves differently around her but everything about this man was... confusing to her. For a moment she thought of calling out to her guards, fearing an assassin, but naive and young as she was the thought did not last against her curiosity. “What brings you to Versailles? Do you have an appointment with your king?”

                    “But is she not utterly delightful?”, the Queen did not really speak to the people around her, nor was it a question, but simply a show of her own happiness. The child in front of her, her dearest Marie Thérèse had managed to steal her heart within the shortest time. The girl had become her sole joy in life and Marie Antoinette was always more than eager to let everyone at court know as much. She doubted that her own mother had been so happy about each of her children, but the Empress of Austria had given birth to sixteen while the Queen of France had only her small madame royale to dote upon. “Never have I seen such a happy little girl, she makes one forget all the worries of the world, does she not?”

“You have watered the flowers for her, my dear?” Such a notion filled Marie Antoinette’s heart both with happiness and with sadness. It was strange, she had not thought that someone could be able to feel in such a way, that the human heart was able to be torn apart by two so very different emotions. But the truth was that no matter how happy she was about Thérèse’s infuriation with her aunt, it was always tainted by knowing that her sister Christine might never return to Versailles.  “That was really kind of you. I am sure she will be happy to hear it.”, Carefully she tried to tiptoe around the subject, make the young one forget the question asked so she did not have to give an honest answer.

Everything will be short as I am still getting into character. Please keep in mind that this is a sideblog and I will follow back from my main. Thank you all for following me! I hope you know what you got yourself into.

sideblog / selective / heavy WiP / Habsburg Nerd / promo credit @animusviincit