The Reign Of
PHILIP I of FRANCE
CHAPTER VI
Thursday, May 17th, 1067
"Guard" called Philippe, sitting down on his throne. It still wasn't a comfortable seat, but every so often, he tired of standing. "Bring me Amèdèe de Roucy."
"Yes, liege." replied the guard. He made his way out of the courtroom, and a minute or two passed before the King of Spies made his way in, kneeling before the throne.
"Arise" said Philippe, and Amèdèe stood. "I need you to do something for me, and I need it done right." Philippe produced a parchment before the spymaster, who took it and read it over.
"Is this-?"
"Indeed, it is the original charter for the Duchy of Normandy, between Charles the Simple and Rollo." explained Philippe.
"What do you intend with it? If you don't mind me asking, my liege" said Amèdèe, looking puzzled.
"I need to know if the Duke of Normandy is still loyal to the crown of Francia. I worry that Guillaume will no longer look upon me as his liege, but as an equal at the table, and I cannot have that. There may only be one sovereign crown in this land." explained Philippe. "And I need you to help me come up with an idea that will expose his position in relation to the crown."
"I see." said Amèdèe. "We could send an ear to his court, and find out that way?"
"No, no." said Philippe. "That would be too obvious. We need some way of coaxing it straight from the horse's mouth, without forcing it out." Philippe thought for a moment. An idea came to him, and he gave it breath, "Why not we invite our dear Duke of Normandy to a banquet of sorts, in celebration of the unity of our Kingdom? Let's invite all of our vassals and treat them to a good time! But, I shall have you watch Guillaume de Normandie's actions althroughout. What do you think?"
"That... is brilliant, actually." agreed Amèdèe. "With some fine tuning, I'm sure I could make it work out. I'll need the cooperation of some of the servile staff, but I'm sure they will comply."
"Excellent." said Philippe. It was simple, but it sounded like it would work. He quickly came to a second realization. "And, it would put me in the same room as the Duke of Aquitaine, should he attend. Two troublesome birds, one stone"
"The cup-bearer is an excellent candidate for an ear, sir, if we wish to know what the Dukes are saying. Do you think he's trustworthy?" asked Amèdèe.
"He certainly is." said Philippe. As fortunes would have it, the position of cup-bearer had been delegated to Thomas. "Guard, tell Janvier to have Thomas Saint-Hillaire to come to the courtroom."
"Yes, liege" said the guard, darting out the door again. Within a few minutes, in walked Thomas, smiling to see his friend the King, and respectfully kneeling.
"Arise, Thomas" said Philippe. "It is good to see you"
"As to you, my liege." said Thomas. "Do you require assistance on this day?"
"We are planning to hold a banquet" said Philippe. "As the cup-bearer, you are in a most honourable position. It is also the prime position for an ear over a certain guest to be present."
"Ah, so you wish for me to gather some sort of intelligence? Who in particular should I be watching?" asked Thomas.
"Guillaume, Duke of Normandy." said Philippe.
-later, that evening-
There, in the garden, on the banks of the pond, there sat two souls, Philippe and Sibylle, hand in hand. It was peaceful in the twilight hours, and for a short while Philippe was able to forget the stresses of the throne and simply admire her. There was no doubt that she was beautiful, with fair skin and hair as red as rust, and those eyes so blue that they put the endless sky to shame.
"Sibylle" he whispered.
"Yes?" she answered, looking up at him.
"I, erm.... I wrote a song... that may or may not be about you..." said Philippe, blushing.
"Oh, did you?" she said, smiling.
"Ah, yes, yes indeed." said Philippe. "And, I was wondering if you would... if you would hear it, perhaps, if you wanted to?" He lowered his eyes and smiled a sheepish smile.
"I would love to" she said, wrapping her arms around him. She let him go, and he stood before her.
"Ah, my knees are trembling" he said, laughing nervously.
"It's alright, nobody else is listening" said Sibylle, giggling. "It's only me"
"Alright, I'm, er... okay, here it goes" he paused for just a moment, gathering himself up. He commenced, and oh, did he sing! He was a gifted voice, with a wide vocal range, from the very low to the very high. It was only Sibylle that could ever get him to sing, but it was always a spectacle when she did convince him. He sang in her native German, and when he was finished, he sat back down next to her, and asked "So... how was it?"
"It was wonderful" she said, and wrapped her arms back around him. They stayed like that for what seemed like a long time, before Sibylle looked up at him and asked, "Can I ask something of you?"
"Go ahead" said Philippe.
"Would you..." she paused, and looked down. "Would you kiss me, Philippe?"
Philippe's eyes lit up, half in disbelief. "Would you allow me that?"
"A kiss on the lips, mind you" she added "As you would a lover." The two stared at each other, unsure of who should make the first move, until Philippe came a little bit closer, and Sibylle did the same. Philippe saw this, and jumped back nervously, unsure of himself. Sibylle giggled, and Philippe closed in again, as did she. They paused every inch or so, that their nerves may be calmed down enough to continue, until they finally met. When finally they did part, Sibylle sunk back into his arms, and said, "That was amazing"
"Sibylle?" asked Philippe. "May I ask you something?"
"Go on" she said.
"Do you think that we are in love?"
Sibylle thought for a moment, and replied "I don't know... but... it feels right"
Monday, June 4th, 1067
"Would you care for more wine, good sir?" asked Thomas, making his way around the table.
"Indeed, sir, I would." said Thibault, the Count of Champagne. He, along with many other prestigious members of the Frankish rulership and peerage were present at the royal banquet. All of Philippe's vassals were present. All, that is, except the one he had intended to be there. The Duke of Normandy was nowhere to be found.
"Where the hell is the Duke?" asked Philippe to Chancellor Tyrel, seated to his left. "Even to be late, he would have been present by now." Philippe was highly annoyed at this development, and it was beginning to show through his (admittedly fabricated) calmer exterior. The other guests didn't seem to notice, as they went about their conversations all up and down the long tables. Even the Duke of Aquitaine, an outspoken opponent of the King, was merry and sociable. The Duke of Valois and Burgundy, and Duchess of Aquitaine (and their respective consorts) were present, as were the Counts of Champagne, Flanders, Anjou, and Tolouse. Some brought their sons or daughters to be present. Notably present was Agnes d'Aquitaine.
"Clear the way!" shouted Janvier, trailed by several of the servantile staff, all of which carried various dishes prepared for this evening. Many geese and pigs were slaughtered specifically for this day, to be served alongside such fine delicacies as eel and Burgundian wine. One food which Philippe had ordered prepared specifically, a particular variety of strongly flavoured cheese, was mostly avoided by the upper class palates of the rulership, but some of the more adventurous did sample it. Philippe himself did not eat much, as he was waiting rather impatiently for the arrival of the Duke of Normandy.
"My liege" said Janvier, approaching Philippe. Those squinty eyes of his were slightly offputting to Philippe, as was the sound of his voice. To be honest, to hear Janvier talk was equivalent to hearing a raven thirst to death. However, his meticulous bookkeeping made him an asset, despite everyone's low opinion of him. "We recieved a message from the Duke of Normandy." he said, placing a sheet of parchment on the table before Philippe, who snatched it up and read it over:
Esteemed King of the Franks, Philip Capet
I appreciate your invitation, and for as short as it has been, you have been a fair liege, but I fear that English and Frankish affairs must be kept separate. Let it be so that I shall hold on to Normandy as my personal holding in Francia until my death, in personal union with the Kingdom of the English, and we shall go our separate paths. I may not attend this function as your vassal, as we are now equals at the table. I will not apologize, as I am only a tool of God's will, and this is how it has manifested.
Signed, Guillaume. King of the English, and Duke of Normandy.
At that moment, Philippe could have flipped the table...
An updated map of Francia, denoting the claim to all of Normandy