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It all happened so fast... Aylee was walking out of the tailor's building after picking up a few dresses that needed to be mended, when she saw King Charles running past her, covered in red liquid. She had no idea what could have happened to cause that (sure, she'd heard the rumors that he ate children, but she didn't believe that for a second), but judging by the sound of a commotion in the direction the king had just come from, she figured it couldn't be much good. Queen Catherine and Lord Narcisse, normally always near the king, were nowhere to be seen, and neither were guards of any kind. Aylee figured something terrible must have happened to the king, and so the noble lady did the one thing she could think of. She ran after the king.
That was easier said than done. Aylee was able to keep up with Charles at first, but she quickly lost him in the streets of the village. The red trail he was leaving behind was also starting to become smaller and less visible. By the time Aylee passed the bakery, she'd lost him. Why she was following Charles to begin with, she had no idea. Of course, he was her king (he wasn't. Aylee was a Scottish subject, not a French one) and she knew the Valois had a habit of getting into strange situations (that only applied to Claude), but Aylee felt like there was more driving her to keep going at that moment. To her great relief, she noticed a red stain on the door of an abandoned building. Aylee slowly opened the door and saw the king sitting curled up in a dark corner.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Y-Your Majesty, I-"
"Not you too... Don't call me that..." Charles said, and he sounded so sorrowful. Aylee couldn't help but feel compassion for him.
"I'm sorry, Charles... I saw you run by, and I was worried, so I followed you," Aylee explained, sitting down next to the king. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I don't want to be king, I never wanted it... I wasn't ready, and now I'm doing a horrible job. No matter what I do, everything goes wrong... And because of me, Thierry..." Charles quickly swallowed the sobs he could feel were coming. "I'll never be as great as Francis or my father..." Even though he tried to hide it, Aylee could tell Charles was on the verge of tears, so she placed her hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him.
"You're still young, Charles. You don't have to be as great as your brother in just a few weeks, you still have a lot of time ahead of you... And even a king should be allowed to make mistakes. How else are we supposed to learn?" And with those words, the king couldn't hold in his feelings anymore, and tears started falling down his cheeks.
"I don't think I'll ever be a good king..." Charles sobbed, and Aylee threw formality out of the window completely by hugging him.
Even though she didn't have much experience in comforting people, Aylee managed to eventually calm Charles down. She kept reassuring him that everything was alright, that he would be a great king, and that Thierry's death wasn't his fault. Through this, Aylee realized that Charles probably hadn't had anyone at court who he could confide in about his fears and insecurities. Catherine would probably threaten to put his younger brother on the throne instead, Claude would tell him to get over it, and Leeza would use it as an excuse to put her husband on the throne. Mary, Bash, Francis, and Leith would have probably understood and comforted him, but Mary and Bash were in Scotland, Leith had been bitter over Claude's marriage to Luc, and Francis was dead. Charles was truly alone, forced to be strong and emotionless, even though he was not able to be either. Well, he wouldn't be alone anymore
"I hope you feel better now," Aylee said.
"I do, thanks to you," Charles was finally able to put on a smile, "you really know how to give good advice."
Aylee's face turned red upon hearing the unexpected compliment, "thank you... It makes me happy to hear that."
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but why aren't you advising Mary in Scotland? I'm sure she could really use your help more than Claude needed another lady-in-waiting." The question stung Aylee. She hadn't told anyone, not even Mary, of her reasons for becoming Claude's lady-in-waiting instead of staying as Mary's lady and going with her to Scotland. Much like Charles, she didn't have anyone to confide in. She hadn't heard from Kenna in a very long time, Mary and Greer were in Scotland, and Lola... Oh, poor Lola... Aylee's heart had shattered in a million pieces upon hearing about her dear friend's death. Lola would have probably been the only one who would have understood. But Charles had confided in Aylee, and so she decided to trust him in return.
"I didn't want to go with Mary..." Aylee began, "as you probably know, I almost died of poison and being pushed off the stairs a long time ago, and ever since then, Mary and other ladies constantly treated me like a child that needed to be protected... I felt trapped in a cage like a bird, unable to be free and do what I want. So when Mary and Greer left for Scotland and Claude was looking for a new lady-in-waiting, I took the opportunity..."
"And now... Do you feel free now?" Charles questioned.
Aylee nodded, "I do, but I don't really know what to do with my life... I don't mind serving your sister, but I'm not sure if that's what I want to keep doing for the rest of my life..."
"I'm sure you'll find something. You're good at a lot of things. Meanwhile, I'm stuck with being king for the rest of my life, surrounded by people who want to control me or get rid of me, and even some of my family is like that... I don't think I can trust anyone."
"You can trust me. You can always come to me for help or if you want to cry. I'll always believe in you, Charles." Aylee didn't know where this sudden openness with the king of France was coming from. Perhaps it was because she'd found someone who understood what she'd been through, someone who also constantly felt trapped and controlled by their seniors. Even though Mary and the others had only wanted to protect Aylee because they cared deeply for her and didn't want to lose her, Aylee often wished she'd had the confidence to tell them that no, she didn't like being treated like a child, but she didn't have the confidence for that. Charles would never be able to escape his cage, but at least Aylee could make it feel less like a cage.
"Thank you so much, Aylee... I think I should go back to court, before Leeza comes back and sends the Spanish army to conquer France, or Claude gets into trouble, or my mother declares me dead," Charles laughed. It did Aylee well to see him laugh and joke around again. He stood up and gave the lady a hand to pull her back up too. The king of France then grabbed his crown from the ground and put it on his head.
"It suddenly feels a lot less heavy." The duo smiled at each other before leaving the building. Upon arriving at court, Charles arrived just barely in time before Queen Leeza returned from her monastery tour, much to the relief of the Queen Mother. Aylee returned to Claude and made up an excuse for being away for so long. She felt so joyful all of a sudden, it was almost a little embarrassing. She'd finally found someone who understood her, and while that person might also happen to be the King of France, to Aylee, he was her friend. And, deep in her heart, she knew that there was perhaps more between them than just friendship.