You Are My Light Part II

263 - Brothers

"Mama," Princess Annelise Elizabeth Catherine de Valois-Angulème-Stuart chastised her mother, folding her little arms around her torso, the expensive pink satin and gold mesh overlay rouching with the movement of the long limbs, cocking her head to one side and sticking her tounge into her cheek, looking down at her mother dissapdovingly as the Queen of France and Scotland lay in her child bed, clutching two newly born Princes. Dark curls fall over her shoulder and she glares at the two mewling lumps that stare up at their mother, father and brothers with such wonder and amazement. "I'm rather cross with you, mama. You promised last time that you would give me a little sister, and look! Two brothers! That's not what we agreed on when Nikolai came out! I'm sick of brothers, I want a girl!" she stamps her foot in anger, glaring over at the babies again as her mother blinks at her, astonished.

"I remember, darling-" she begins softly, glancing down as her husband glides their fourteen month old fourthborn son's chubby little fingers over the newborn babies' cheeks in greeting. "-and I'm awfully sorry that you didn't get the sister you wanted. Of course, we would love to give you sisters, and we would love them with all our hearts. But we can't choose if God will grant us a Prince or Princess. We can only be grateful he thinks us ready for another child, something we wanted so badly for so long." Mary tells the five year old, who is every inch her mother's daughter with her father's crystal eyes and her black curls. "We want to give you what you want darling, and it has to be odd not having a sibling who you can do the things you enjoy with willingly." she adds. "But aren't Anna, Louise and Anastasia your friends? Girls your own age? As well as your cousins from Tante Greer and Kenna?"

"I suppose so." Anne mumbles. "But it's not the same, mama. I want a sister, so badly! Some-sometimes James pulls my hair and Francis only plays with me when he's piled with sugarplums and honey buns, and Nikolai likes pulling my dresses until the details come off!"

"I don't!" The Dauphin quickly defends himself, but he silences with a look from his father, and lays his head onto Mary's shoulder again, the six year old continuing to hold little Prince Francois as he greets his twin brothers.

"Nikolai can't talk yet, darling. He doesnt know he's playing ruff, he's still a baby." Francis answers, pulling the baby from the newborn. The new fianceè to the heir to Russia, Anastasia, sits back in his father's lap with a sigh of contentment, busting himself with playing with a button on the French King's sleeve.

"But-"

"Annelise, I can't promise you that you'll have a sister leave your mother's womb, we didnt expect to have so many sons so quick after the other, and it would be marvelous to have a few princesses to spoil and worship, but only God can decide if we should be graced with sons or daughters, do you understand?"

"Hmm." The girl hums. "Papa, may I go down to the chapel and ask God really, really nicely for a couple sisters? He might often to me, because he's obviously not listening to you."

Helloooo

Just popping up to let you all know I am alive, I've just been super busy with work and am having a staycation right now with my best friend so updates havent been up on my list of priorities, also I've been having difficulty with inspiration right now, so I promise I'll try to write as much as I can soon!

Points if you can guess who Nikolai is a reference to and where I got the name from!