Stars in Her Eyes
There had been a precise moment when Bash had given up on his hopes of being with Mary.
He knew exactly when it was, and he remembered just how much it would hurt - just how much it still hurt. To know that he would always love her, that he would always be loyal to her, and that it would always be unrequited. Oh, Mary had once loved him, sure enough, but he did not harbor any illusions about that now.
She had meant every word of what she had said.
"I love you."
"Say the rest, Mary. I need to hear it."
"But I love Francis more."
It had felt like a knife to the heart at the time, even if he had asked her to say it, but he knew how. She was only telling him the truth. Mary was kind and not a cruel soul, but she was honest when she could be and when she needed to be.
Yet that moment had not been when Bash had given up on his hopes.
He hadn't given up even when she and Francis had been wed. Perhaps that was just foolish, wishful thinking on his part, and illogical at that. Their marriage would not be annulled. He couldn't offer her country the title and wealth that Francis could. She truly couldn't even consider an affair with him, not without risking her head and his.
Not that she would.
After all, she loved Francis more.
No, he gave up on his dreams of being with her much later, even after he was married to Kenna. It was doubtful that Mary even suspected that he still harbored feelings for her by then, but that would never change. His love for her still burned just as much as it ever did. A hopeless, undying love.
Mary was speaking to Francis at a dance. They were off by themselves, away from the crowd, and she was gesturing animatedly toward several foreign dignitaries. Speaking breathlessly of their plans for new alliances, for peace across France, for Scotland, for ruling England - who knew just what it was?
He watched her a moment, drinking in her beauty, and her eyes met his. She automatically flashed a smile at him.
And that was the moment when Bash gave up.
Bash looked into her eyes and he knew. He would never be enough for her. She had stars and galaxies in her eyes, and he was stuck on the ground.
Mary was a queen, and he was nothing.
So he quietly shelved away his love for her, knowing that nothing could ever come of it. He turned to his new wife and offered her his arm.
"Dance with me?"