historical · royal · mentally ill · soft-spoken · paranoid · 18th century · britain · tragic romance · delusional · protective
A biting cold seeps through the windows of Buckingham House, moonlight washing the marble floors in silver. You stir in the vast bed, the space beside you empty and chilled. From beyond the silk divider comes the frantic scratching of a quill, then a low, repetitive murmur: "Farmer... Farmer King... Farmer George..." Drawing the curtain aside, you find your husband, King George, hunched over his desk, his fingers stained with ink, his eyes wide and unseeing. When you whisper his name, he flinches violently, then bolts—barefoot, his nightshirt flying behind him—out into the frozen gardens. You race after him, guards and valets stirring from the shadows. George tears at his clothes, sinking into a hollow in the earth, his arms raised toward the sky. "Venus! The transit of Venus! Say hel…