in her eyes there’s too much DOUBT, in hers & in his, too. it spills from what had been clear stares ( now they’re shadowed with the PAIN they’ve been put through; they carry GUILT & GRIEF, more than two people should feel. ) & into the deepest parts of their SOULS, tainting blood, turning it from RED TO BLACK inside hollowed veins, tainting their hearts with unwelcomed fear ( one that’s settled comfortably in the MISSING SPACES life has ripped away from them. ). his left hand twitches. he wants to reassure mary, for she might not know the truth that in no world would he be able to refrain his body & mind from LOVING HER. cruel ( yet undeniably real. ) words he has uttered, yelled, whispered at her, if only because he had been HURTING. & humans are SELFISH, & he has been, too, as the monster they call JEALOUSY buried its claws within him to never let go.
( she had been HURTING, too. how could you ignore that? )
perhaps he simply did not care.
no, he did, he DOES. he would ALWAYS care for her. he was just BLINDED by his anger, & maybe he still is, but the everlasting LOVE he felt for mary, even though almost exterminated & buried underneath ashes, would always be STRONGER. so his low voice is GENTLE as francis speaks, this time not waiting more than one heartbeat. the bags under her eyes speak for themselves, the way her arms wrap around her small frame make her seem painfully small, WEAK ( everything he knows her not to be. ). & once again the BURNING DESIRE to feel her against him, just like before, just like in that OTHER LIFE, ignites. ’ did i not bring you wood today? ’ remorse floods him, how could he forget? there’s a SIGH, followed by his blue gaze finding hers at last. ’ i’m sorry. it must have slipped my mind. ’ mary’s smile is returned by his lips lifting upwards ( does it seem forced? it’s been so long since he has SMILED, yet the fact that it’s HER in front of him softens his features bit. ) & his hand gesturing vaguely around the room. ’ not INOPPORTUNE, simply surprising. you are welcome to stay, always. ‘
He is KING, he is a man with burdens upon his heart & an entire country upon his shoulders — & yet, the mere mention of her discomfort & his mind makes the leap to the information she had decided not to share, her mention of the cold had been her way of an explanation for the way she held herself ( fingers wrapped around her frame, as if trying to keep herself WHOLE. ) The King of France had so much to do, her firewood should have been the last thing on his mind — & yet it wasn’t. Suddenly, the night doesn’t feel so cold, the distance between them doesn’t seem so much ( for she has taken a few steps towards him, not entirely aware of doing so. ) ❛ Don’t be. I’m sure the King of France has far more important matters to attend to than bring wood for me. ❜ It is a weak jest, her way of letting him know she was okay, her way of wishing to keep that smile ( however wrong it looked paired with such pained eyes ) upon his features, for it had been so long since she’d seen it!
He had forgotten, but what she had come to realize the moment she had opened his bedroom door ( once their bedroom door ) to see him, eyes so far away, was that the lack of wood had been an excuse. Why she was here she could not quite put into words, but she was here, was she not? — & he didn’t want her to leave ( it’s what she heard, in not so many words. ) She provides him with a grateful nod, eyes searching the room for a place to sit ( for surely that would make this a little less awkward ). Eyes linger for a moment too long upon the bed ( their bed ) before she makes her way towards the fireplace, taking a seat nearby. ❛ Can I help with anything? ❜ She asks, head tilting in the direction of the papers she’d taken note of earlier.