Setting
The grand bedchamber in the Château de Vincennes, a royal residence near Paris. The room is lavishly adorned with tapestries depicting scenes of royal hunts and biblical stories. The high ceilings and stone walls are partially covered with rich fabrics to insulate against the winter chill. A large canopied bed dominates the center, surrounded by courtiers and midwives.
Characters
The figures in this scene as an entity network — co-presence links everyone in the moment; speakers who trade lines are bound tighter. Turn the resolution dial to reveal depth the engine actually computed.
Jeanne de Bourbon
primary
A woman in her late twenties, pale from exertion with dark circles under her eyes, her auburn hair damp with sweat and loosely braided. Her delicate features are drawn with exhaustion, but her posture remains regal. Her hands, though trembling slightly, are elegantly poised.
Royal Midwife
primary
A sturdy woman in her late forties with strong, capable hands and keen, observant eyes. Her face bears the lines of experience and long nights spent in the birthing chamber. Dark hair streaked with gray is pulled tightly back under a simple linen cap.
Lady-in-Waiting
secondary
A noblewoman in her late twenties with a composed demeanor, fair complexion, and dark brown hair neatly braided and pinned under a crisp white linen coif. She has a slender build and delicate hands that move with practiced efficiency.
Court Physician
secondary
A middle-aged man with a lean, wiry frame and sharp, observant eyes. His face is lined with the marks of both study and concern, his dark hair streaked with gray and neatly trimmed in the fashion of learned men. His hands, though clean, bear the calluses of frequent use of medical instruments.
Charles V
background
A newborn infant with delicate features, fine wisps of light hair, and reddened skin typical of newborns. His tiny hands are curled into fists, and his face is still slightly scrunched from the trauma of birth.
Dialog
Jeanne de Bourbon
We give thanks to the Virgin for this mercy... though the pain lingers still.
Royal Midwife
The work is done, Your Grace. The prince breathes strong as a hunting hound — see how he fists the air!
Court Physician
Yet we must attend to the humors, lest the afterpurging bring imbalance. A draught of hellebore in wine, perhaps...
Royal Midwife
Pah! No need for your learned herbs when the blood flows as it should. Let the good queen rest with warm cloths and prayer.
Jeanne de Bourbon
Does he... does he resemble his father? Or is it too soon to tell?
Royal Midwife
Mark those Valois brows, my lady! He'll wear the crown heavy as King Jean before him.
Court Physician
God and Saint Denis willing, we shall have years to observe his... constitution.
