AN: From the moment I started watching Reign, I was hooked. I have a soft spot for these kinds of series/books/films... and this was no exception.
I still don't know whether I prefer Frary or Mary x Sebastian, both have chemistry and both are interesting pairings. For this story however, I decided to go with Frary, and a hint of Thomas x Mary (although I don't ship that). There's a lot of angst in this chapter, so be warned. I did't want it to turn out this angsty, blame my fingers for not wanting to stop writing these things.
I hope you enjoy this story and please, let me know what you thought!
Also ideas and suggestions are always welcome, as I am just going with this story, I haven't planned it out yet.
Thank you and enjoy!
Chapter 1: If I could change your mind Francis
Francis
Ever from the moment they met, Francis had known she was special. Of course, that vision was kind of blurred, ever since that very moment had happened about 13 years ago and he'd been too young to realize such things. Now however, being eighteen years old and laying eyes on her again after all this time, she still looked as beautiful as he could vaguely remembe. Her hair was still long and brown, beautifully braided and nurtured with the greatest care. Her smile was still as enchanting as it had been when he was five years old. And her eyes, those deep hazel eyes, which captured him every single time, were still just as gorgeous. Through the years, she'd grown to be a young woman even though she wasn't an adult yet, and he couldn't help but fall in love with her all over again.
Francis felt like he was the luckiest man on earth. It wasn't like he could choose the girl he wanted to marry, that had been a decision made by his parents years ago. He felt lucky that his bride-to-be was Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, as she was probably the best he could ever get.
His desire to make her his wife only grew when she resided at the castle and they got the chance to grow closer towards each other. Evidently, a lot had changed ever since they were children, but still, Francis recognized the adventurous and active spirit she used to have when she was five. He discovered she loved to ride horses and she still loved playing games with the younger boys. She wasn't afraid to climb trees and at formal events, she'd dance like no one was watching. Of course people were, Francis couldn't keep his deep blue eyes off of her.
Unfortunately, not all odds were in their favor. As they grew closer, slowly but surely it started to become clear that their marriage wasn't going to happen. King Henry II, Francis' father, blew off the marriage, finding an alliance between Scotland and France not strong enough. It wasn't hard to find the missing puzzle piece when one evening, all of the sudden, Mary was knocking on his door, her eyes distant, like she wasn't being herself.
"Mary…" Francis' voice sounded worried, "What happened… Are you alright?" he took a step closer, wanting to pull her in for a hug but Mary backed away. She put a hand in between them, gesturing towards him to stay back. "Are you okay?" he repeated himself.
He could see the queen sigh and nod slowly, "I am." He voice cracked, making it clear that she was not okay.
"Why don't you come in, talk to me about it?" Francis suggested, offering her a hand, but she refused to take it. To his surprise, she did follow him inside his room. The boy coughed awkwardly, suddenly feeling nervous. The usual energetic and always happy Mary was looking like the complete opposite and he didn't like it one bit. Francis closed to door behind them, offering them some privacy, and sat down on his huge bed. She followed him and sat down right next to him.
"I'm leaving." She said quietly, her voice almost as soft as a whisper. It was clear she'd troubles finding the right words. No matter how soft she said them though, they hit Francis hard. "W-what… What do you mean, you're leaving?" he asked, although he had a feeling that he knew what was going on. He had seen it happening in front of his eyes and the worst thing was, that he couldn't do one thing about it.
"He's offered me to marry him." The girl said, her eyes avoiding Francis'. Once again, the words hit him like a thunder strike, making him feel completely numb. "If I marry him, he'll make sure my country is safe. I'll be safe. Our countries will be strong together. And he'll send troops to defend Scotland from England first thing in the morning." Mary went on, her voice sounding soft like satin but at the same time very vulnerable. The blond prince tried to catch her eyes but she kept avoiding his. "I have no choice." She whispered.
Francis whished he knew what to say. Usually, he was pretty good with words, which was a good feature for a future king but at that moment he was taken aback. He had expected something like this to happen although he had been hoping that it wouldn't. "What… What about us?" he asked her, his voice almost as vulnerable as hers had been.
The dark haired girl looked up and their eyes finally met, dark brown crossing clear blue. "I-… I don't know Francis." She bit her lip and softly touched his cheek. He leaned into her hand, closing his eyes and enjoying the warm feeling of her skin against his. "I have to go to Portugal, I can't stay here. You know how I feel about you." her hand dropped in her lap but Francis grabbed it and squeezed it softly. Her words swirling around in his head like a rollercoaster. "He… won't ever be able to replace you." she finally said, looking at their linked hands.
Francis sighed and put their connected hands up to his lips, gently putting a soft kiss on her knuckles as he tried to figure out what to say. He didn't want her to leave France. He wanted to tell her he'd marry her, no matter what his parents said. That they could elope, forget about the throne and all their troubles. But he just couldn't. He couldn't bear the thought of the disappointment, the shame and the disapproval of his parents and the rest of the court. Besides, it was his duty to defend and care for his country, leaving it behind like that wouldn't make it worth living. He tried nonetheless to change her mind, he couldn't let her go without at least giving it a try. "Please. I beg you Mary." He said, his free hand grabbing her other hand, making her look at him. "Please, stay. I-I… promise you I will be able to fix this. Somehow, I'll find a way to convince the king. We've been engaged since we were little, not that that means anything. But honestly, for the past few weeks, I've really gotten to know you all over again. I was able to fall in love with you all over again and it was worth every second of my time." He explained, suddenly finding the right words to go on, "I see you don't love him." He said carefully.
Mary looked down and sighed. "Weren't you the one who told me love was irrelevant for people like us?"
This took Francis by surprise and even though she was right and a few weeks ago he had really said that, he now wished he'd never spoken those words. "Yeah well, time change things." He replied. Francis was starting to feel desperate now. He was losing her, she was slipping away and he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't offer her a marriage right away, just now when her country needed it. "Mary…" he tried, putting a finger nimbly under her chin, making her look up so their eyes met again. "Tell me he'll make you as happy as I can make you and I'll let you go." He said intensely. He knew he was overreacting, although he felt like he was losing everything that had been giving him hope lately. He couldn't let her slip away without putting up a fight of sorts.
She didn't reply to him though, she simply stared into his eyes, clearly searching for the right answer.
Francis didn't have patience, he never had had and certainly not now. Time was running out and he needed to do something. Slowly, careful to not scare her away, he leaned closer, his finger still under her chin. There was a sort of energy surging through him that gave him the confidence to lean in even closer, their noses brushing lightly. Francis stopped breathing for a second, debating whether this was a good idea or if this was just going to push her away. He decided to just go with it and let their lips brush tenderly against each other. He kissed her gently, his hand making its way to her cheek to make sure she wouldn't pull away. He didn't want this feeling to end. Ever. He deepened their kiss, pushing closer towards her. Francis wanted to be as close to her as he possibly could. Mary didn't pull away so he saw that as a sign she didn't mind. The boy let his tongue trail carefully over her lips, deepening the kiss by letting his tongue twirl delicately around hers. He'd kissed girls before, but none of them had quite felt as soft, gentle and plainly amazing as Mary's. The sensation running through his body was making him feel like he was going to explode, it even made him a little dizzy for a moment. This happened to him every single time they made out, without it ever getting boring. His eyes were closed and he was completely losing himself in the sweet scent that was Mary, which is why he was surprised when he felt all the sudden a hard coldness against his lips. Mary has pulled back, the expression on her face sad but determined.
"No one will ever be able to make me feel like you can do." She whispered, "but I can't commit to the person that I love if he can't promise me safety for my country." She said, as if it were a studied text, "I made up my mind. It-… It's what my mother wants. I will leave tonight." She said, her voice barely audible now.
Francis whished he could pull her back, take her in his arms and assure her everything was going to be okay. But to be honest, he wasn't too sure it would be, that they would be. "And… There's nothing I can do to change your mind?" he asked, regretting it from the moment he'd said it.
"No you can't."
Mary
She'd said it. There was no way back now. She had been lying though. Of course he could change her mind, one more kiss like that and her pathetic strength would break. It was already unbearable. It took her every bit of restraint to not pull him in again and kiss him and forget about the world. Her lips were still tingling from the passionate kiss they'd shared only a few moments ago. But she couldn't. She'd said yes to Thomas. She knew it was her duty as Queen of Scotland to marry for her country, not with the man she'd really fallen in love with. It really was like Francis had said once before; love didn't matter to people like them. It'd only make them feel miserable.
Mary bit her lip for a second but then turned her expression into a softer look. She first had planned to leave him behind without any further explanation, hoping that that'd make the goodbye easier. But she knew it wouldn't now and seeing his pained expression, she just couldn't leave like that. "Francis… You'll always have a special place in my heart, never forget that." She said while getting up from the boy's bed. Gently, she leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on his forehead. "This is goodbye, but it's not forever." She promised, knowing they'd meet again on certain occasions.
Mary longed for that one last kiss but she didn't give in, in stead she tried to smile at him, although it was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do and turned around, leaving his room, hear heart wrenching painfully in her chest.
Hours later, Mary found herself sitting next to her soon-to-be husband, in a carriage that would bring them to their ship. Soon, she would be in Portugal and she'd have to learn how to speak the language. She couldn't reign over a country if she didn't even speak the main language. Many things were going to change and she wasn't sure she was all that happy about it. Mary bit her lip, closed her eyes and tried to make the storm of thoughts to leave her head. It was driving her nuts.
"Are you al right, my love?" Thomas asked gently.
There was no doubt that the soon-to-be king of Portugal was a real charmer and genuinely seemed to care about his fiancée. Even though they actually barely knew each other, she did feel comfortable around him. Not as comfortable as around Francis, but it could've been way worse and she realized that. "Yeah… Just a headache. It's the nerves, I guess." She lied, although the nerves might have had something to do with it.
"I'll take care of it." The man spoke, turning his head so he could look at Mary closely, "Our chef has an amazing recipe, which cures all illness. It has always helped me in the past." He said with a bright smile.
Mary smiled a little and nodded, "Thank you, that's very kind of you." she replied. He grabbed her hand and squeezed softly in it. It reminded her of how Francis had grabbed her hand and for some reason, she felt tears welling up in her eyes. No. Mary, no. She thought firmly to herself, the girl turned her head and started to stare to the landscapes flashing by, at least that way she could avoid Thomas' curious eyes. She was not going to show him there was something wrong, let alone let him know she was already missing France and the prince.
AN: I really hope you enjoyed this! Make sure to let me know if you did, and also if you didn't. Thank you for reading and have a good day!
