Together
When all was settled, it was the Netherlands who had the honor of reading the treaty. He rose from his seat and the first thing Antonio noticed was that Willem had grown more than he could have ever imagined. Willem cleared his throat and all eyes were on him as he read calmly, clearly, and above all plainly. It was the first thing Antonio and Francis had noticed when he began to read-how plainly he read the treaty as if he didn’t care what happened to the two of them. It didn’t matter how much the two of them lost compared to how little they gained.
It didn’t matter to Willem that King Philip, Duke of Anjou, would be recognized as the King of Spain. It didn’t matter to Willem that and Philip’s descendents were to renounce their claim to the French throne. It didn’t matter that Francis Bonnefoy and Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo were in love and wanted to be together. All that mattered to him was that a balance of power had to be kept in Europe and the Kingdoms of France and Spain could never unite as a result.
When the reading is over, Francis is the first one to jump out of his chair and announce his disapproval.
“The two of you are lucky that this is all.” Roderich sighed from his seat, “You’re lucky we even allowed Philip to be king.”
“Because you would rather keep Toni to yourself now that you don’t have to share with Portugal.” Francis spat back and next to Roderich, Gilbert snickered.
“Francis!” Gabriel, the Kingdom of Portugal snapped, rising from his chair.
“You had your chances, all of you did!” Francis yelled, “You were the ones who decided to leave-“
“Sit down, Francis!” Arthur demanded and the parties began to bicker back and forth, trying to reach another compromise.
In the chaos, Antonio spook for the first time. He spook tiredly and quietly, it was amazing that Willem had heard at all when he said his name to catch his attention, “Ja?” He asked, giving the Spaniard his attention.
“Give me the paper.” Antonio commanded, louder this time and the room fell silent.
“Toni?” Francis gasped and Antonio repeated again,
“Give me the paper, Willem.”
When Willem slid the paper across the table to Antonio, Antonio reached next to him for the quill and began to sign at the bottom of the paper-below the names of his enemies. When his name was signed, he held the quill up to Francis and smiled.
Francis stared at the quill and then at the smile. “What is this?”
“Our bosses have already agreed to this, Francis,” Antonio explained tiredly, “This is going to happen whether we like it or not.”
“But this isn’t what we wanted! This isn’t what we fought for!”
He coud almost cry when Antonio reached out to touch his cheek. “We can still be together, Francis, a Bourbon king will rule Spain!” Antonio reassured and Francis took his lover’s hand and kissed it.
“Toni, Toni. . . this isn’t what we wanted!”
“You don’t want the war to end?”
“That isn’t what I meant!”
“We’ll always be together, Francis. It’ll take more than a piece of paper to keep us apart!” And Antonio moved the quill into his lover’s hand. “I promise.”
He found himself thinking that Antonio shouldn’t have to be so tired that he had to force himself to smile. With much reluctance, he took the quill and signed his name, thus, agreeing to the terms of the Treaty of Utrect.
The meeting adjourns and Francis and Antonio leave together. Antonio walks ahead and announces how glad he is that they’re finally beginning to end the war. “When the war is over, I’ll have to stay at home and help fix the homes that were damaged in the war. . . and then I’ll have to help with the harvest this year too! Aye! I won’t be able to rest until winter at this rate! You’re lucky, Francis, the armies left your home alone. And the war isn’t even over yet! Aaah! There’s so much to do!”
“Why are you walking so far?” Francis asked, stopping in his tracks and staring at his back, “Why are you running away, Toni?”
“Ah, it’s a long ways back home! And I told you, I have a lot to do!”
“You don’t have to leave right now! There are still battles to be fought here! The war isn’t over yet.”
Antonio turned around. “I have an idea! What if you take care of the battles on this front and I take care of the battles at home-“
One hand at his waist, pulling him closer, their lips touching, a kiss that was enough to make Antonio breathless, and a pair of hands pushing Francis away with a force so weak it could make empire break.
“Are we still together?” Francis asked weakly to which Antonio replied,
“We’ll always be together, brother.”
They used to call each other love. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“You aren’t making any sense!” He laughed and he kissed his brother’s cheek instead of his lips. “I have to go now, Francis, but I’ll see you later, okay? Don’t let anything happen to you! I want to meet you again after the war!”
Francis watched as Antonio left with his men. He watched how tall his brother looked when he was nearby and he watched his shoulders slump and head bow down when he reached a certain distance. He began to run after them, “Toni! Stop running away, Toni! We said we’d be together!” Antonio get onto his horse and kick off. He knew he could never catch up so he stopped running and yelled as loudly as he could, “We can still be together Toni, but only if you let us!”
Historical Note:
In 1700, the last Spanish Habsburg died ending the union between Austria and Spain. The heir to the Spanish throne was Philip, Duke of Anjou and son of the Dauphin of France which would also set him in line for the French throne. Austria, wanting to keep its claim on Spain, declared that France and Spain should not unite because it would disrupt the balance of power in Europe. Within a year, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I expanded his territories to close in on France and Spain and had convinced England, Portugal, and the Netherlands to join his cause. The four nations demanded that Philip give up the throne to maintain balance in Europe but he refused. The succession crisis would later split the country of Spain and send it into civil war.
The war was centered mostly in Spain and the Netherlands but major battles took place in modern day Germany and Italy. The war also carried over to the French, Spanish, English, and Dutch colonies around the world. Seriously, this is a war where everyone in Europe got together to tell France and Spain they couldn’t be together.
The war concluded with the signing of two treaties: The Treaty of Utrect (1713) and Rastatt(1714). With the signing of the treaty of Utrect, Spain and France had to give up many of their territories to England-most notably, Gibraltar and parts of Italy. The European nations accepted Philip as the King of Spain however Philip had to renounce his claim to the French throne.
Twenty years later, Spain and France signed the Bourbon Compact which basically says, “I GOT YOUR BACK.” France would constantly use the Bourbon Compact to get Spain to ally with the French in wars-most notably, the American Revolution.
TL;DR?
Spanish Succession War = Europe cockblocking France and Spain forever
Treaty of Utrect = Allows France and Spain to be together but forbids them from being together if you catch my drift.
Bourbon Compact: I WILL FOLLOW YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, I LOVE YOU BUT SORRY, WE CAN’T BE TOGETHER BECAUSE OF UTRECT.
Fun fact: Spain still has a Bourbon monarch.
Author Note: I dunno guys, I just have this headcanon that says Francis really loves and wants to be with Toni and that Toni wants to be with Francis but they aren't allowed to be. ): STAR CROSSED LOVERSSSSSS. Ignore me.
It didn’t matter to Willem that King Philip, Duke of Anjou, would be recognized as the King of Spain. It didn’t matter to Willem that and Philip’s descendents were to renounce their claim to the French throne. It didn’t matter that Francis Bonnefoy and Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo were in love and wanted to be together. All that mattered to him was that a balance of power had to be kept in Europe and the Kingdoms of France and Spain could never unite as a result.
When the reading is over, Francis is the first one to jump out of his chair and announce his disapproval.
“The two of you are lucky that this is all.” Roderich sighed from his seat, “You’re lucky we even allowed Philip to be king.”
“Because you would rather keep Toni to yourself now that you don’t have to share with Portugal.” Francis spat back and next to Roderich, Gilbert snickered.
“Francis!” Gabriel, the Kingdom of Portugal snapped, rising from his chair.
“You had your chances, all of you did!” Francis yelled, “You were the ones who decided to leave-“
“Sit down, Francis!” Arthur demanded and the parties began to bicker back and forth, trying to reach another compromise.
In the chaos, Antonio spook for the first time. He spook tiredly and quietly, it was amazing that Willem had heard at all when he said his name to catch his attention, “Ja?” He asked, giving the Spaniard his attention.
“Give me the paper.” Antonio commanded, louder this time and the room fell silent.
“Toni?” Francis gasped and Antonio repeated again,
“Give me the paper, Willem.”
When Willem slid the paper across the table to Antonio, Antonio reached next to him for the quill and began to sign at the bottom of the paper-below the names of his enemies. When his name was signed, he held the quill up to Francis and smiled.
Francis stared at the quill and then at the smile. “What is this?”
“Our bosses have already agreed to this, Francis,” Antonio explained tiredly, “This is going to happen whether we like it or not.”
“But this isn’t what we wanted! This isn’t what we fought for!”
He coud almost cry when Antonio reached out to touch his cheek. “We can still be together, Francis, a Bourbon king will rule Spain!” Antonio reassured and Francis took his lover’s hand and kissed it.
“Toni, Toni. . . this isn’t what we wanted!”
“You don’t want the war to end?”
“That isn’t what I meant!”
“We’ll always be together, Francis. It’ll take more than a piece of paper to keep us apart!” And Antonio moved the quill into his lover’s hand. “I promise.”
He found himself thinking that Antonio shouldn’t have to be so tired that he had to force himself to smile. With much reluctance, he took the quill and signed his name, thus, agreeing to the terms of the Treaty of Utrect.
The meeting adjourns and Francis and Antonio leave together. Antonio walks ahead and announces how glad he is that they’re finally beginning to end the war. “When the war is over, I’ll have to stay at home and help fix the homes that were damaged in the war. . . and then I’ll have to help with the harvest this year too! Aye! I won’t be able to rest until winter at this rate! You’re lucky, Francis, the armies left your home alone. And the war isn’t even over yet! Aaah! There’s so much to do!”
“Why are you walking so far?” Francis asked, stopping in his tracks and staring at his back, “Why are you running away, Toni?”
“Ah, it’s a long ways back home! And I told you, I have a lot to do!”
“You don’t have to leave right now! There are still battles to be fought here! The war isn’t over yet.”
Antonio turned around. “I have an idea! What if you take care of the battles on this front and I take care of the battles at home-“
One hand at his waist, pulling him closer, their lips touching, a kiss that was enough to make Antonio breathless, and a pair of hands pushing Francis away with a force so weak it could make empire break.
“Are we still together?” Francis asked weakly to which Antonio replied,
“We’ll always be together, brother.”
They used to call each other love. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“You aren’t making any sense!” He laughed and he kissed his brother’s cheek instead of his lips. “I have to go now, Francis, but I’ll see you later, okay? Don’t let anything happen to you! I want to meet you again after the war!”
Francis watched as Antonio left with his men. He watched how tall his brother looked when he was nearby and he watched his shoulders slump and head bow down when he reached a certain distance. He began to run after them, “Toni! Stop running away, Toni! We said we’d be together!” Antonio get onto his horse and kick off. He knew he could never catch up so he stopped running and yelled as loudly as he could, “We can still be together Toni, but only if you let us!”
Historical Note:
In 1700, the last Spanish Habsburg died ending the union between Austria and Spain. The heir to the Spanish throne was Philip, Duke of Anjou and son of the Dauphin of France which would also set him in line for the French throne. Austria, wanting to keep its claim on Spain, declared that France and Spain should not unite because it would disrupt the balance of power in Europe. Within a year, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I expanded his territories to close in on France and Spain and had convinced England, Portugal, and the Netherlands to join his cause. The four nations demanded that Philip give up the throne to maintain balance in Europe but he refused. The succession crisis would later split the country of Spain and send it into civil war.
The war was centered mostly in Spain and the Netherlands but major battles took place in modern day Germany and Italy. The war also carried over to the French, Spanish, English, and Dutch colonies around the world. Seriously, this is a war where everyone in Europe got together to tell France and Spain they couldn’t be together.
The war concluded with the signing of two treaties: The Treaty of Utrect (1713) and Rastatt(1714). With the signing of the treaty of Utrect, Spain and France had to give up many of their territories to England-most notably, Gibraltar and parts of Italy. The European nations accepted Philip as the King of Spain however Philip had to renounce his claim to the French throne.
Twenty years later, Spain and France signed the Bourbon Compact which basically says, “I GOT YOUR BACK.” France would constantly use the Bourbon Compact to get Spain to ally with the French in wars-most notably, the American Revolution.
TL;DR?
Spanish Succession War = Europe cockblocking France and Spain forever
Treaty of Utrect = Allows France and Spain to be together but forbids them from being together if you catch my drift.
Bourbon Compact: I WILL FOLLOW YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, I LOVE YOU BUT SORRY, WE CAN’T BE TOGETHER BECAUSE OF UTRECT.
Fun fact: Spain still has a Bourbon monarch.
Author Note: I dunno guys, I just have this headcanon that says Francis really loves and wants to be with Toni and that Toni wants to be with Francis but they aren't allowed to be. ): STAR CROSSED LOVERSSSSSS. Ignore me.