Chapter 65: Cousins
The sun had risen for some time now on the British island.
Isabelle, who had woken up early that morning, was happy, excited and the main reason why she was happy was quite simple.
Primarily the princess could no longer wait to see her child in the sunlight.
She opened her big eyes and slowly turned her gaze towards her little Charlotte.
She observed her little girl with curious eyes, almost enchanted, the baby was already awake and with active and innate strength she had already begun to move her little hands to the sky and emit the first moans and small noises.
Her little girl was lying in the bed next to her mother's body but despite being there and having an excellent function of her eyes it seemed that her baby did not direct her gaze to her mother.
It seemed that Charlotte wanted to look towards the window.
The little girl was wrapped in a beautiful little dress of soft blue silk, almost shaded, that highlighted the colour of her big eyes.
She seemed a little curious, she took her in her arms.
Isabelle hugged her to her chest, she gently caressed her smooth white hair, which was numerous on her little girl's head.
It no longer mattered to the princess that she had given birth to a girl, because she repeated to herself that her little princess was better than many princes put together.
In addition, from the marriage with Aleksei she would have been able to generate a male child, so for her it was no longer a problem to rise to her power.
On the other hand, she would not have waited any longer, she only needed to eliminate the last of her possible enemies.
That was Juniper.
Moreover, it would not have been easy to annihilate her cousin, not when she had a proposal that was too advantageous for him.
She was sure that the baron would not refuse this proposal, which represented the goal that her cousin had always cherished.
In the form of a royal secret, it had reached the princess' ears that the usurper baron: Augustus Whiteblossom, had recently died of severe pneumonia.
The man did not have any children that survived the great fire, so the baron's place of dominion was effectively left empty.
Juniper had to accept in every way, he wanted more than anything else to recapture his father's lands from his uncle, who had violently murdered both of his parents.
The baronage of Scotland in addition covered an enormous territory, comparable to 78 782 square kilometers and was also economically attractive for trade and landings in the North Sea.
And just when she thought of her cousin, it was exactly her prey that fell without further effort inside the spider's web.
On that morning Juniper was preparing to pay a visit to his dear cousin and so to her newborn daughter.
He was curious, because, during those days at court, rumours about a "cursed" princess had spread and he, intrigued by the fact and the appearance of the little girl, soon went to visit.
The young man appeared from behind the door, his pale skin, his big blue eyes and curly golden hair.
He kept his soft lips parted as if he wanted to say something but at the same time wanted to hold his emotion back.
Juniper saw his cousin sitting, half covered with white and soft blankets scented with jasmine essence.
He saw her conditions, the soft and wavy golden hair that ruffled up to her bottom, the white nightgown covered with fine lace, Isabelle's small breasts now swollen and full of milk. .
Her gaze still tired and sleepy, her cheeks full of a red complexion but mostly the little body of the child that the princess held tight to her breast.
-Come closer, Juniper- she begged him, cradling the body of the little girl in her soft arms.
The young baron approached with small steps, slowly, as if he were afraid of the little girl, of all the rumours that were circulating about her.
But once he reached his cousin Juniper could see that the baby girl was not at all as scary as the others said she was, but on the contrary, she was pretty, small, cute.
He slowly and gently caressed the child's numerous white hair and dared to ask.
-How did you decide to call her?-.
Isabelle smiled, looked at the sweet little face of her baby, how tender she was, her little princess.
-I called her Charlotte- the princess replied quickly turning her eyes from her baby girl to the face of her cousin next to her.
Juniper looked back at her, smiled, he knew she had something to say to him, he perceived it from her gaze, from the look of mystery that she possessed.
-Juniper ... - the young woman whispered, lowering her gaze -Augustus Whiteblossom died, leaving no male heir in power, you know what that means...-.
The baron exhaled the air through his tight lips, his large, blue eyes widened.
He was enthusiastic.
Juniper put his hand to tightly squeeze the white shirt that he possessed, at chest height and dip his fingers in the numerous golden curls that covered his head voluminously.
That moment, that news, his revenge, all this was what he had been expecting from his childhood, after the murder of his parents.
He did not have the strength nor the will to express words, he did not want to ruin that beautiful moment.
-As you well know in these situations I should be the one to put someone in charge of the territories allied to the crown and by my will, you, Juniper Whiteblossom will soon be prepared and taken to the North where you will take the government of the barony as the legitimate heir of your father- Isabelle said thus observing how happy her cousin was.
He was bursting with joy, gratitude was a good feeling, but sadly, it didn't last long.
-Let me then... - the cousin began to speak still exploding with enthusiasm -...just let me take my wife and her son with me too, so that they can all get used to the cold conditions of Scotland- but to that enthusiastic question, coldly the princess he answered with a no.
Isabelle soon saw how the baron's enthusiasm turned into surprise and sadness and thus also into disapproval.
His tight lips took on a grimace of sadness and surprise.
-For what reason?- Juniper asked still surprised -why shouldn't I be able to take with me, my wife and my son?-.
Isabelle slowly closed her eyes, cradled her baby more gently.
Charlotte was small, sweet, innocent and with snow-white hair.
She was actually starting to get nervous and moan, she felt as a maternal instinct to have to help her little girl, to calm her down.
The princess cradled her slowly, gently, until the baby closed both her eyes, almost falling asleep.
Anyway her cousin was waiting for an answer and as her duty as regent, she explained her plans a second time.
-I will let you take only Rudolph with you, but Abigail will have to stay here, at court- Isabelle thought back to her answer, her plan, it was an elaborate, sensible plan, as in one way she could have chased two possible suitors from the lands of the crown.
On the other hand, however, she did not feel ready to release Abigail, she needed her as a hostage, for both of them, to ensure the good future conduct of the two, at least if they wanted their respective wife and mother to continue to stay alive.
It was diabolical but it had to work, on the other hand it was an order and Juniper did not have the power nor the position necessary to contradict a princess.
The baron slammed one of his fists strongly against the white wall of the room, directly next to the door, he was furious and it was strange to see how soon the man's emotions had changed.
The strong blow had awakened Charlotte, who had begun to protest, which briefly made Isabelle nervous.
How did that cheeky young man dare to disturb her precious baby?
-How could I raise a child alone, at least explain me that!- Juniper protested further raising his voice and making the little girl nervous -Rudolph has just turned four months old, how come he could live without his mother?-.
The princess knew she should have put an end to that dramatic scene so she too decided to raise her own voice.
-It's an order!- shouted the young woman opening her eyes wide, contrasting with the very long and wavy golden hair -you only have one evening to prepare yourself and the child to leave with you, alternatively the heads of all three of you will be hung to the city walls!-.
Juniper shook his head, he couldn't believe what he had to hear, he left the room, let the door slam behind him.
Charlotte started to cry, she was nervous, she heard too many voices, too many all at once and too angry, so Isabelle started gently rocking her and whispering into her little ears.
The sunlight faintly illuminated the baby girl's small pale face, her white hair.
It was easy to calm her down, easy at least as long as she was close to her body.
Isabelle didn't like being so hard and violent, she didn't really love it, but she knew well that in such a society people would always try to command her and she would never allow it.
She had to be tough to be respected, she had to be tough to survive.
Weekly Power Status
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