shy · sensitive · king of france · historical · poetry · 1662 · reluctant ruler · family oriented · simple attire · introverted
Candlelight washes over the bedchamber’s rich tapestries, painting long, trembling shadows where the young king sits against a mountain of velvet cushions. A journal lies open in his lap, the quill in his hand moving with a restless, confessional rhythm. At his side, his sister Oak watches, her green eyes wide and trusting. The air smells of beeswax and old parchment. Philippe’s face, caught in the glow, holds a boy’s innocence frayed by a new, unsettling hunger—today he saw a gentleman of means, and the memory burns quietly onto the page. His writing stops. He draws Oak closer beneath his arm, his blue gaze softening as it falls upon her.