* 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 / 𝔯𝔢𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡

luca can’t help but smile at the little bundle in theodor’s arms. he was surprised that he’d gotten the call to come and visit little freddie this early, with everything going on - he’d assumed the new parents would want plenty of time to themselves, to get used to the new baby before they had to show him off to the world. it was exactly what luca did, before nathalie returned to work. he gives theo a knowing look, “ah, they always do. freddie’s just used to her - she has carried him around for nine months, you know.” he nods, putting on a smile, “i remember that, too. the girls were born early, they were so little. enjoy it while it lasts, you’ll miss when he was this small.” 

november 15th 2021 drottningholm palace, stockholm @theodcr​

everything was strange, she didn’t like to feel invisible. catherine dissected every small interaction, every single word said to her about her son — and it silently piled in her mind, one weightless straw atop another, waiting to break the camel’s back. the proud look upon her husband’s face was difficult to miss, a permanent display upon his features as he spoke to family members and politicians while she stood to the side. he had done his duty, and she had done hers; although it hardly felt that way. catherine even wondered bitterly if he might look the same way during the christening of their next child, scotland’s heir, if he would even love them the same. the mere thought caused her hand to shake in fury, and she had no choice but to set down her moisturiser. 

“my father asked if we’re going to spend christmas in balmoral this year. we are, yes?” it wasn’t so much as a question, after all, he owed her! “not coming back to edinburgh with freddie would be inexcusable, given what happened—” the protests, the blasted, damned protests. thinking too much about them might send her down yet another spiral. “—it’s not enough that father and effie are here, christmas at balmoral would be the perfect time for him to meet mother.” 

he was seated on the edge of the bed, feeling giddy and weightless after a long but satisfying day. he was hunched over with his arms outstretched, working on untying his shoes, when he heard the dull thump of the bottle she’d had in her hand. he looked over and studied her form, careful. in the next moment of silence, he took stock of her body language. his eyes darted across the tensed span of her shoulders, the tremble in her hand, and the look on her face, reflected back at him in the mirror. his face didn’t change while he went back to working off one of his dress shoes, but he prepared himself mentally for an argument.

her next words, though, surprised him. he paused again, caught off guard by the comment; it hadn’t been at all what he was expecting. and while he might not appreciate the presumptuousness with which she expressed in the question – not really a question, was it? – he saw no real issue with the notion itself. “i had assumed we would spend christmas both here and in edinburgh, like we did last year.” christmas eve at one, christmas day at the other. it had worked fine before, but he could see that catherine needed christmas in edinburgh far more than he needed christmas in stockholm. his approval rating was through the roof, and hers... well. “but we can just go to balmoral, that’s fine. your mother should meet him, you’re right. we’ll just need to come here afterwards, maybe on monday? to see my family.”

catherine let out a loud whoop of laughter that she could hardly control, as her son was unceremoniously deposited back in her arms. “you’re so cute!” she cooed, tearing her eyes from freddie to glance up at her husband. “the way you jumped! ah- people might think that you’re handling a bag of explosives.” if they were that kind of couple, catherine might have forcible pulled him down to kiss him squarely on the lips — instead, she settled with a little glittering look. “you have to show him who’s in charge here,” turning back to focus her attention to the little bundle in her arms, she began speaking in a stern voice, as if her son would know exactly what she means. “now, now, you don’t want to piss off the future king of sweden, don’t you?” frederick looked up at her quizzically, his brows remained knitted together from his intense wailing. “go on, you be nice to daddy or he’ll cut you off in the will… come theo, i think he’s ready to try again.” take two!

“the doctor says we can fly as soon as a week is up, so he’ll be at the mercy of all his swedish relatives for the christening.” catherine turned to coo again at her baby, voice sugary sweet. “or else you’ll burn in hell, my boy!” at least that was exactly what her mother and more stringent catholic relatives might say, those who has gotten over her marrying a lutheran, that is. “oh don’t be daft, he’s a baby — he doesn’t like anyone who wont give him food.” she waited until the swedish prince bent a little lower from his towering height to properly receive the little bundle, there was only a small part of her that felt terrified at the prospect of him completely fumbling. “he’s smaller than you think so you have to make sure he doesn’t slip past—” catherine could barely finish her barrage of warnings before frederick let out a wailing cry. 

“ that baby is more organized than i am ! ” ebba laughed. a secretary ! she would have taken it as a joke had theo not sounded so serious. “ remember to say no too. you two don’t need every well-wisher in your apartment. ”

“sorry the gift is late. do you know how hard it is to track down a book of icelandic folktales in swedish?” nearly impossible, actually, but natasja had been determined. she’d come up with a run of the book from the 1980s released exclusively in stockholm, and then had tracked the threads to an antique bookshop in london. the book was surprisingly cheap, after all of that work. she’d thrown a moomin plush into the bag just for good measure, and to make up for her lateness, “i wanted to make sure you could read it to him in swedish, before he ditches the nordic accent for catherine’s scottish brogue.” 

catherine sighed, taking a finger to gently stroke at the baby’s cheek. “he’s a scotsman, he’ll learn to swear far too young and be inherently good at it.” even her sainted mother had been known to call a few members of the house of lords ‘bloody bastards’ in very special occasions. “i do have effie, katja, and uncle robbie here, so you could probably have some of yours to pop in discreetly.” she paused, finally letting her head fall comfortably on the pillow in order to bring her gaze up to his. “i don’t know if any of mine would like to fly in… maybe just očka. mother only called charlotte to see how we’re doing and went about her day.” her tone was flippant, it was extremely like queen mary to behave in such a way. instead of explaining further, catherine turned her attention once more to the dozing baby in her arms. “he’s so well behaved, it’s disconcerting… do you want to have a go?” 

“ welcome to the best club you’ll ever belong to ! seriously after seeing all those pictures of baby freddie, i’m having a bit of a baby fever. remember to complain a lot about the lack of sleep so i don’t do anything rash. ” | @theodcr​

        “    do you know how strange it is to think of you as a father?    ”    almost as strange as it was to think of theodor as a husband, but he supposes that he’ll get used to it all the same.    “    anyway, i think a congratulations is in order.    how does it feel  ?”        /  @theodcr​

“ theo ! there you are ! congratulations ! ” she wrapped her arms around her cousin and gave him a very tight hug. “ i don’t want to impose but when are you letting people see him ? i assume family members get to see him first. ” she winked at him. ( @theodcr​ )

she was angry at him for coming in the nick of time, absolutely appalled at the fact that he had strolled in right as everything was happening, but as she looked down at the helpless bundle in her arms catherine couldn’t bring herself to care. “we have until tonight tokyo time to deal with all the witness statements.” she had been slipping in and out of consciousness for the past few hours, and still she never refused when the nurse asked if she wanted to hold her son. “like shite, obviously.” the wry smile never quite made it to her features as she looked up at her husband. “every single relative we have will want to meet him, we should make a schedule or…” she paused, searching the baby’s face as if he would have express opinions about the problems at hand. “… is he too young to get a secretary?” 

so both theo and henri have been back in sweden/france respectively

theo has been doing... government... stuff and working on stuff for plots that i haven’t plotted yet, so if you’re looking for some uhhh political intrigue feel free 2 hit me up for that. he’s been back in the program for a couple weeks now as catherine’s due date has been approaching

“hindsight is 20/20. this time you’ve got a good, clear vision of it, thankfully.” liquid swirled in the glass as he turned his wrist this way and that. “i know this might not be what you mean, theo, but is it truly necessary to be seen as a victor of a battle? not to belittle your decisions, of course. absolutely stellar, mind you, the clarity you’ve had through this –” and it was necessary to stoke his friend’s ego, such as a balm, “but do you think arnauld will just…sit back and let everyone regroup without due retaliation?” and art made it no secret of his hatred of the french. perhaps it would do well to stoke the fires a little more, just so he could enjoy the players dancing on hot coals without being one himself. it was proper entertainment for someone who found, quite recently, that he enjoyed the shadows of war more than its spoils. “now that you’ve gotten involved, will you continue on further, or let arnauld bring his own troops home and mobilise them again? reaction is less productive than action, i’ve found.”

he frowned, his eyes narrowing in his friend’s direction. “empty ass-kissing, art, really?” weren’t they well beyond this? he didn’t want hollow praise from people he considered friends. “i’d like to be on the right side of history. when my name’s mentioned a hundred years from now –” and it would be, he would make sure of it “– i don’t want it to be said with disgust.” the question caused him to raise a brow. “he has nothing to retaliate with. his generals are being arrested, it’s safe to assume that the chinese have pulled his funding, and germany is knocking on his front door. if d’orléans tries something else now, he’ll be burned at the stake for it. we’ve put him on the defensive.” but... “i’m not totally out of the fight, anyway. i just don’t want my men dying there anymore, that’s all.” everyone else had things well in hand, and now that france’s progress had been stopped, theo had no leg to stand on when it came to military involvement. financial involvement, maybe, but that was a card he wasn’t ready to share just yet. “especially not with tensions brewing in the north. i’ve stirred the pot quite enough.”

catherine counted herself lucky, the big villain of her war had conveniently dropped dead. but for theodor, the light at the end of the tunnel certainly felt like it was slinking further and further, the long stretch of darkness making it all seem unattainable. she knew what it was like, the frustrating drop of her stomach when the legitimists took london — the absolute fire that made her see nothing but red. tentatively, she reached out a hand to squeeze at his arm; in what she hoped was a comforting way. “i don’t know if you could pulling them out would be the best thing to do — maybe … a tactical retreat? just to stay out of the city for a bit.” the death of a member of the royal family, no matter what their title was, was felt throughout the country and abroad. the only way arnauld d’orleans could control the situation is if he completely controls and annexed belgium, thus remaining the victor who could rewrite history as he pleased. of course, she couldn’t be quite so matter-of-fact out loud right at that moment. “it’s not going to look very good that he timed it when all the royals are there for the national day celebration. even world war two soldiers had a truce on christmas.” all of the countries will take it extremely personally, and will attack twice as hard. his excuses must be running ever thinner by the day. "i know i shouldn’t be the one saying this- but why in the world would he want to do a wedding in this climate? the conflict in england was technically a civil war, nothing like what’s happening in belgium.”