Author's Note: I didn't think I would be writing another Reign story. I have to admit, I've lost interest in the series since Torrance Coombs left the show but his absence in the show has made me miss him so much that I had to write one more story focused around Bash and Francis. This show isn't the same without Torrance Coombs and Toby Regbo.

Warning: not beta-ed.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

A Day before Mary's arrival…

Francis, the Prince and future King of France strode purposefully through the halls of the castle. Tomorrow, Mary, Queen of Scots, will arrive and Francis's freedom, or as much freedom the Dauphin of France can have, will be all but a memory. He had fond memories of the headstrong girl he played with as a child, but that was all he had and since they announced her impending arrival at the castle, she only represented alliances France needed and nothing more. Today, Francis has decided that he will do what he wanted. He will treat this day as his last day of freedom. He arrived at the stables and found his horse ready, as he had ordered. It was who had readied his horse that surprised him, though it shouldn't have. Francis narrowed his eyes at his half-brother, Sebastian. "I was very discreet when I asked for my horse to be readied."

Sebastian shook his head, a little condescendingly, at his future king. "My dear little brother, when will you learn that you can keep nothing from me?" He circled Francis. "Ever since you learned of Mary's impending arrival, you have been sulking."

"I do not sulk!" Francis objected.

"Tell that to someone who is not your big brother." Sebastian grinned at him before heading over to his own horse and leading it out of its stall.

Francis frowned suspiciously at what Sebastian had readied for him. "How did you know I wanted to go hunting?"

Sebastian mounted his horse which had been readied for the same purpose as Francis's. He shrugged. "One more hunting trip for old time's sake. Tomorrow, when Mary arrives, you will be submerged in politics and negotiations. Let us enjoy a day of adventure."

Francis grinned as he mounted his horse. "You know you could have allowed the stable boys to ready our horses."

Sebastian shook his head. "You know me when it comes to hunting. I am very specific with my needs."

Francis rolled his eyes, kicking his horse into an amble. "Bash, it was a long time ago and it was an accident. One that lead to the execution of the stable master."

Sebastian followed him out. "It was a mistake that could have killed the Dauphin of France."

Francis smiled at the memory of that day. He was only 10 years old. Sebastian was 12 and young as he was, he was very experienced with horses and hunting. For Francis, this was only his first outing. Queen Catherine threw up a fuss when she was informed the King would be taking the Dauphin and his bastard son out on a hunting trip. "It is time for him to learn about being a true man. He will be the ruler of France one day and he will be a strong one. Hunting is a good start, not to mention Bash and Francis have both been bugging me to take him out." It was extremely bad coincidence that the stable master used a worn saddle for the Dauphin's horse and that the strap snapped half way through the hunt. He returned with some scratches and bruises but that was it. It was no worse than the bruises he received from sword-playing with Bash.

Bash on the other hand remembered how scared he as he witnessed his brother's fall from the horse. He saw it before the King or any of the other guards, jumping off his horse without thinking and running up to his brother. He picked his brother off the forest floor and brushed him off, as he checked for any injuries. Bash smiled as he remembered the brave face his brother put on for him. Tears pooled in his big blue eyes but he didn't let them fall. "I'm fine, Bash." Francis had told him. Bash had grinned and ruffled his hair. By this time their father had ran up to them.

"He's okay, father." Sebastian told him. "Francis can ride with me." Ever since that day, Sebastian had took it upon himself to take care of both his and Francis's riding equipment.

The brother kicked the horses into a gallop as they cleared the castle walls. They laughed as they raced through the open fields of France. This is what freedom felt like and this is what Francis will miss. He enjoyed the time he spent with his brother outside of the castle, just the two of them. It was times like these where he could pretend he was not the Prince and Sebastian was not the King's bastard son. He remembered asking Sebastian if he felt sad when people called him a bastard and his brother answered, "It doesn't change the fact that we are brothers and being the bastard son means nobody cares about what I do." He was envious of his brother's freedom but it was not as if he couldn't benefit from it, like today, for example. Hunting on his own was never as enjoyable as hunting with Sebastian.

They pulled their horses to a trot as they reached the edge of the woods. They've hunted in these woods plenty of times. Sebastian was familiar with the area and even though he was quite callous with his own life, he would never risk Francis's. These woods were far from the Blood woods where extreme pagans practiced blood sacrifices. "What did you tell father and Catherine about what you are doing today?"

Francis waved his hand at him. "They're too busy getting ready for Mary's arrival. They won't even notice me gone."

Sebastian pulled his horse to a stop. "Are you telling me you did not plan to tell anyone about this trip?" Francis turned back and shrugged. Sebastian clenched his jaw and rode up beside him, grabbing his reigns and pulling both horses to a stop. Francis frowned at him. "Let me get one thing clear, brother. You can keep your little trips from the entire castle but you do not keep it from me. I am your big brother. I cannot protect you if I don't know where you are." Francis sighed and nodded, knowing his brother would not continue with the hunt unless he agreed to his terms. "Good." Sebastian smiled and let his reins go. "Let's go have some fun."

Francis grinned. "Lets."

They arrived at the thicker parts of the woods and dismounted from their horses, tying them to a tree and grabbing their bows and arrows. Sebastian wasn't sure about going so deep into the woods but Francis had pleaded, telling him it wasn't an adventure if they were just hunting hares and rodents. Sebastian nodded, giving in. He did want Francis to have a good time, but at the same time he felt uneasy the deeper they went.

Francis wished his brother would relax a little but he tended to get this way when they were on hunting trips. He kept a very close eye on his surroundings and Francis had to admit that he took advantage of it. It allowed him to enjoy the hunt knowing his brother was watching his back. A rustle from their left drew their attention. Francis peered through the trees and smiled. Sebastian on the other hand was not as excited. Francis looked at him, his eyes wide with excitement, while he returned it with a warning glared, but his brother ignored him. Sebastian sighed and turned his attention back to their prey. It was a brown bear, a rare find at this time of the year, so close to winter. He readied his own bow, knowing one arrow would not be enough to take down a bear this size. Sebastian watched as his brother took aim. He cautiously took more steps towards him when…SNAP. Sebastian screamed as something metal clamped around his ankle. "AAAAHHHHH!"

Francis's arrow flew wide as his brother's scream made him swing around. He was shocked to find his brother on his back, trying to reach for something on his leg. Francis's eyes widened when he saw what was around his brother's right ankle. "Bear trap." He gasped, dropping to his knee beside Sebastian. "Bash, what do I do?"

Sebastian clenched jaw, growling as he tried to push past the pain. "Get it off!"

Francis took a breath and nodded, inspecting the trap without touching it. Its teeth were digging into Sebastian leg and it had a tight hold. He looked around for something strong enough to use as leverage.

Sebastian laid there with his arm over his eyes, trying his hardest to not give in to the pain. He concentrated on his breathing. He could hear the rustles of his brother's footsteps. "Calm down, Francis." He grunted, knowing his brother was on the verge of panic. "You know what to do."

Francis stopped his frantic search for a thick branch and looked down at his brother, who had pulled his arm down and was looking up at him with confidence. Francis nodded and calmed himself. Finally, he found what he needed. He knelt down at Sebastian's feet and pulled off his scarf, wrapping it around his hand to protect it from what he was about to do. He needed to pull the jaws of the trap apart. Sitting on the ground, he placed his heel against one jaw while his left hand, wrapped in the scarf, gripped the other side. His right hand held the thick branch, ready to wedge it between the teeth as soon as he got it wide enough. He turned to Sebastian, who had his eyes closed. "Bash, this is going to hurt." He warned.

Sebastian had to laugh. "It already does, brother." He gasped as the teeth sunk deeper into his leg. "Just do it!" He grunted.

"Don't move your leg, no matter what?" Sebastian nodded, acknowledging the instruction. Francis took in a shaky breath. "On three…one…two…THREE!" He pushed his heel at the same them the pulled with his hand, grunting the strain. At first the trap wouldn't budge, then the teeth pulled from Sebastian's leg. "AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Francis ignored the agonising scream as he wedged the piece of wood between the teeth. He let go once it was in and keeping the jaws apart. He got on his knees and quickly pulled his brother's leg from the trap. "It's out. It's out." Francis threw the trap far from them. "It's over." He huffed before realising his brother wasn't moving. "Bash?" Francis gently laid his brother's leg on the ground and moved to his head. Sebastian's eyes were closed. "Bash." He breathed, laying his head against his brother's chest.

"I'm not dead." Sebastian pushed himself up at the sound of his brother's voice. He couldn't believe Sebastian was smirking at him.

"You scared me!" Francis looked back down at the leg. "I'm going to have to bandage your leg before we start back." He warned his brother, but before he did anything, he pulled out his water skin and lifted Sebastian's head. "Have some water." Sebastian gratefully took a couple of mouthfuls, groaning when the water was taken away. "You can have some more later."

Francis moved back to the leg, lifting it as gently as he could. Sebastian bit his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain. "I'm sorry." Francis said as he rested his leg on his lap. "This is going to hurt…again."

"Francis, just do what you have to do so we can go home." Sebastian said, breathlessly.

Francis nodded. He pulled at the boot, grimacing at the pain he was causing. The sticky blood was making it harder to get the boot off. He stopped and looked at his brother. Sebastian had his eyes closed shut and his hands balled into a fist. Francis sighed and closed his eyes, taking a firm grip on the heel of the boot and pulled. He dropped the boot but kept a firm grip on his brother's leg, waiting out Sebastian's struggles.

Sebastian fought against the darkness for as long as he could but the pain and blood loss was too much. He let go, falling into the blackness.

Francis felt his brother go limp and looked over to confirm he had lost consciousness. He was glad for it, hating to see Sebastian in pain and it made it easy for him to tend to the wound without the struggles. He hissed at the bloody leg. There was too much blood. He needed to clean it and stem the bleed. Using the water from the skin, he poured it over his leg, looking over at his brother when he heard him groan, glad to see he wasn't awake. He pulled the ends of his shirt out and tore off strips for bandages, wrapping it tightly around the wound to slow the bleeding and protect the open wound until they returned to the castle. He then grabbed Sebastian's boot and pulled it back on. Francis huffed once he was done and wiped at his forehead. "Great day this is turning out to be!" He complained before moving back to his brother's head, lifting it to rest on his lap. "Father is going to kill me." Francis frowned, "And mother is going to kill you." He squinted up at the sky. "Time to wake up brother. It's getting late and we have to get back. I'm meeting my fiancé tomorrow."

Sebastian groaned as he felt himself returning to the living, the pain in his leg was pulsing. He opened his eyes to find himself looking up at his brother. "Welcome back." Francis smiled at him.

"How's my leg?"

"Good, for now. We have to get back. Nostradamus will do a better job at tending to it." Francis worried as his brother's eyes closed again. "Hey, don't go back to sleep."

"I'm tired." Sebastian complained. He opened his eyes when Francis didn't say anything. Francis was worried. "I'm fine." Sebastian amended. "Help me up." His brother nodded and pushed him up by the shoulders before standing up. "Hey!" Francis dropped back down when his brother started falling back without his support. "I'm fine. I'm fine." Sebastian assured his brother. "Let's get back to our horses."

Francis stood up and pulled Sebastian to his feet from behind. "Ah…" Sebastian complained. Francis grabbed his brother's bow and arrows and hid them in the bushes, before carrying his on his back.

"I want those back." Sebastian told his brother.

"I will send men out here to retrieve them tomorrow. I can't carry you and your equipment back to the horses." Francis pulled Sebastian's arm over his shoulder. "Are you ready?" Sebastian nodded. "It's a long walk. Tell me when you need to stop." Again, his brother only nodded. He worried Sebastian wouldn't make it back.

"Standing here won't get us there any faster, little brother." Sebastian tried to joke but it lacked energy. Francis started walking.

Sebastian was able to take his own weight for most of the walk back to where they left their horse, but he could only keep it up for so long. Sweat ran down his neck from the effort of trying to place one foot in front of the other. Francis worried as his brother grew heavier once they cleared the thicker area of the woods. He could feel the heat coming off Sebastian and he feared it was not from the event of the day. "It's just ahead, Bash." The closer they got to where the horse were, the more the concern grew. "I can't hear them." Even if they weren't close enough to see the horse they should've seen movement in the trees or their sounds. Francis continued walking until he was sure they have reached the spot their horse should've been. "Bash?"

Sebastian didn't even realise they had stopped walking. "Hmmm?"

"Where are our horses?"

Sebastian's mind cleared at little at that question. He looked at their surroundings, then down at the ground. "This is definitely where we left them." He pointed to the footprints. "They were here."

Francis led his brother over to a tree and sat him against it before getting up to review their situation. He knelt on the ground near the hoof prints and notices something else. "Footprints." He took note of the direction they headed. "Horse thieves." Francis shook his head in disbelief.

"Stupid horse thieves." Sebastian said with his eyes closed and head resting against the tree. "No one will buy horses from the castle. They've been branded with the Royal insignia, recognised by all in France…except the horse thieves." He opened his eyes when he felt a cool hand against his forehead. Sebastian smiled at his brother's worried frown. "I'll be fine."

"You have a fever." Francis contradicted him. "Your leg must be infected. We have to get back to the castle now, but without the horses…"

"I can walk." Sebastian tried to calm the panic that was building in his brother. "Let me rest a little and we can…" He closed his eyes and brought his hand to his head when a dizzy spell hit him.

"Bash?" Francis tapped his cheek. "Bash." Sebastian could barely keep his eyes open. "Stay with me, Bash. Please." Sebastian forced himself to stay conscious at Francis's plea. Francis took out his water and pressed the skin to his brother's lip. "Drink." Sebastian swallowed the much needed water. It helped to clear his head.

"Thank you." He looked up at the sky. "It's getting late."

"We may be sleeping under the stars tonight." Francis took in his brother's clammy and pale skin. "You are in no condition to walk back to the castle."

Sebastian smiled. "We won't be walking all the way. I left a message with one of your guards to send out a search party if we were not back by late afternoon."

Francis's eyes widened. "You told someone."

Sebastian shook his head, "You may be callous with your life but I am not. You are the future King of France. I can never put your life in danger."

Francis smiled, "My big brother, Bash. Always protecting me."

"Always." Sebastian smiled.

Sebastian tried his hardest to take his own weight but the pain coupled with gravity didn't make it easy. He felt as if his body was getting heavier and heavier. Francis felt himself take more of Sebastian's weight. He also felt himself tiring. They'd been walking for two hours now. He knew that because they didn't have much time before sunset and it was sunset now. Soon he'll only have the moonlight to find his way back to the castle. "Just keep walking." Sebastian told him before he passed out, dragging his brother down with him.

"Bash!" Francis gasped as Sebastian's weight pulled him to the ground. "Bash!" No amount of calling or slaps on the face would wake Sebastian up. "Alright. If you cannot walk, I will carry you." He didn't know how much longer he could carry his brother across his shoulders but he would carry him for as long as his body would allow him. It was amazing how much strength he had if his mind willed it. The thought of his brother dying was enough for him to walk for another hour before his body gave out. He dropped Sebastian to the ground before he collapsed to his knees. He could feel himself losing his hold on consciousness. He would have passed out but something in the distance caught his eye. Francis squinted his eyes at the rows of fire coming towards him. It was light flames dancing in the air, pretty. He fell onto his front, his body no longer able to hold him up but he could hear people calling him. "Your Grace. Your Grace..."

Francis was groggy when he returned to consciousness. He could hear his mother, the Queen, calling out orders. He was comfortable, which told him he was in his bed. "I think the Prince is waking up, Your Majesty." Francis recognised that voice, it was Nostradamus. Francis slowly opened his eyes and found his mother watching him with concern.

"Francis, my son, how are you feeling?" Katherine asked her son. "What in God's name made you go out hunting with your bastard brother the day before Mary arrives?!"

Bastard brother? Francis's eyes widened when he remembered Sebastian. "Bash!" He shot up in the bed and grabbed his mother. "Where's Bash?"

"Do not concern yourself with your bastard brother? He put you in danger by taking you out hunting!" Katherine scalded.

Francis frowned and turned to Nostradamus who avoided his eyes. "Where is Bash?!" He ordered this time.

"Just rest and allow us to deal with Bash!" Katherine spat out Sebastian's name with disgust.

"What did you do to him?" Francis growled. "How did you deal with him?" He demanded his mother to answer.

Katherine let out a breath in frustration. "Do not concern yourself…"

"I WILL CONCERN MYSELF WITH MY BROTHER!" The volume of his voice caused everyone in the room to freeze. "Tell me where my brother is!" He demanded for the last time.

"He is in the dungeon." Katherine answered quietly.

Francis's blood went cold. "He is injured. He needs Nostradamus."

"He needs nothing and has a right to nothing!" Katherine sneered. "He put your life in danger by…"

"He saved my life! It was my idea to go hunting. He was the one who left a message with my guards to come looking for us if we were not back. I wanted to ride out without telling anyone but Bash is too good of a big brother to allow that. He knows me so well that he knew exactly what I had planned!" Francis eyes threw daggers at his mother. "If anything happens to Bash because you've delayed him his physician, I will ensure your place in my life will be less than that of a peasant outside these walls!" Katherine's hand flew to her heart at the shock of the words. Francis has never spoken to her like that. She stumbled back a couple of steps. "Guards!" Francis called as he pushed aside his covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"Your Grace." Two guards stood at the door.

"Follow me to the dungeons. Nostradamus, Bash's leg was caught in a bear trap. I tried to take care of it but he developed a fever. Please ready your clinic for him." Nostradamus bowed as Francis passed him.

Francis dropped to his knees when the guards opened the door to Sebastian's cell. His brother was shivering on the floor. Sweat covered his skin and soaked into the thin shirt he was wearing. His mother was ruthless in her treatment of Sebastian. She allowed him minimal clothing and had him in chains that were attached to the wall. Sebastian laid on his side, his back to the wall. "Bash." Francis called softly as he gently placed his hand on his brother's cheek. His fever was raging. "Get him to Nostradamus!" Francis stood aside for the guards to unchain Bash and carry him away. He prayed they weren't too late.

Nostradamus winced as he pulled away the makeshift bandages from Sebastian's foot. He glanced at Francis, worried. It didn't look good. He wasn't sure he could save Sebastian's leg. "I will do what I can." He said instead, pulling out a blade and sterilising it with wine. "I need to drain the wound. The infection is too great."

"Do what you have to." Francis said without taking his eyes off his brother.

"It's not that simple. Draining the infection also means draining his blood. It is dangerous. If I can't rid his leg of the infection, then I must amputate before it is too late." He heard the sharp breath from Francis at the word 'amputate'. "If I go too far, then he could lose too much blood."

Francis knew why Nostradamus was telling him this. He needed the prince to make the decision. A decision involving the life and death of the son of the King was not one that could be made by the physician. Even if the son was a bastard. "Losing his leg isn't an option. He would rather die and as much as I cannot watch him die, I cannot be selfish. Drain the infection and don't stop until it is clear." Francis held his brother's hand in his, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I believe in you, Bash. You're strong enough to get through this." He nodded to Nostradamus to do what he needed. "Bash will survive because he made me a promise. He would be by my side when I become King. Bash never breaks his promises. Not the ones he makes to me."

Nostradamus strapped down Sebastian's leg by the knee to the bed. He wanted as little resistance as possible and he didn't want to ask the prince to hold down his brother. This procedure was traumatising enough without that. "He may be unconscious but he will feel this." He warned before cutting into the infected skin.

Sebastian gasped and jerked at the first incision. He tried to pull his leg away but the strap was tight. Francis placed a hand against his forehead. "It's going to be fine, Bash. I'll take care of you." He smiled sadly as their roles reversed. "You've always taken care of me, Bash. Now I'm going to take care of you." He tried to sound confident but his voice was shaky.

Sebastian turned his head into Francis's hand, his eyes opening just slightly. "Don't be scared." He whispered. "I won't let…anything…happen to you."

Francis couldn't stop the tears from falling. They kept coming. "This is my fault. You only went with me to protect me. Mother threw you in the dungeon to protect me. Everything anyone ever does is to protect me and you're always the one to pay the price." His grip on Sebastian's hand got tighter as his anger with himself, with his mother, rose. "I'm going to make sure Mother never does anything like this to you again!" Sebastian jerked again at the pain. Francis turned to see that Nostradamus was putting pressure above his wound. Pus mixed with blood was coming out. There was a towel already soaked in Sebastian's blood. "How much longer?"

"His blood is almost clear." Nostradamus nodded at Sebastian. "How is the fever?"

Francis felt Sebastian's forehead. He frowned. There was no fever but his skin was abnormally cold. "There's something wrong."

"He's lost a lot of blood. If he's cold to the touch, it is normal." Nostradamus told him. "Get the quilt from my bed. He needs to be warm." He sighed in relief when pus no longer came out with the blood. "It's clean." He quickly re-bandaged the wound and undid the strap. Francis came back with the large quilt. Together, Francis and Nostradamus made sure Sebastian was completely covered.

"Is that it? He'll recover?" Francis begged Nostradamus to say that it was.

Nostradamus felt for a pulse. "I can't say for certain. His pulse is too slow but the warmth should help. I'm going to start a fire."

Francis sighed. Nostradamus never gave false hope. He was always straight forward with what he knew. At times, it was refreshing to have people tell him the truth and not just what he wanted to hear but this was not one of those times. He needed somebody to tell him his brother would survive.

Francis stayed at his brother's side the entire night. Sebastian didn't wake up. He didn't even move. By the time the sun rose, Francis couldn't help but think the worst. He buried his face in his hands as he tried to think about anything but life without his brother. A knock at the door shocked him from his thoughts. "Your Grace, the Queen of Scots has arrived. Her Majesty is demanding your presence." A guard called from the door.

Francis curled his fists into balls at the mention of his mother and her demands. He shot up and stormed to the door, swinging it open. "You tell Her Majesty that unless my brother wakes up she can take her demands and her presence far, far away from me!" He slammed the door in the guards faces and then as an afterthought pushed Nostradamus's desk against the door. Nobody was getting in here unless his brother returned to him.

He didn't know that Sebastian had woken up at the sound of the knock at the door. At first, he was groggy but then he heard his brother's voice. He would've laughed at the words, but his throat was dry and he felt so weak he could barely keep his eyes open. He smiled as he watched his brother push the heavy wooden table to the door.

When Francis turned back to his brother he was shocked to find Bash grinning at him. "Morning…" Bash winced at his dry throat.

Francis got over his shock and rushed over, quickly pouring a cup of water from the pitcher. "Here." He lifted his brother's head, helping him take a few sips. "How's that?" He asked as he put the cup down, lowering Sebastian onto the pillow.

"Thanks." Sebastian said, exhausted. He looked around the room. "I see you got us back."

Francis scoffed, "You got us back. If you hadn't left a message with my guards, we'd still be out there and you'd probably be dead."

Sebastian lifted his hand towards Francis but he couldn't hold it up. Francis quickly grabbed it in his before it could fall back onto the bed. "I may not have been entirely conscious on our way back but I remember my little brother, the future King of France show exactly why he would be the best King to ever rule France. He is strong and fiercely loyal." Francis brushed away the tear that was about to fall. "He carried his bastard brother on his shoulders for as long as he could. I remember brother. Your guards would not have found us in time if you didn't get as far as you did. You saved my life, Francis."

"But I'm the one who put it in danger in the first place." Francis denied any good doing. "I'm the one who wanted one last taste of freedom before Mary arrived and I'm the reason why you were thrown in the dungeons instead of taken straight here." He sighed when Sebastian gave him a confused look. Clearly, he wasn't aware enough to remember that part. "Mother blamed you for everything and threw you in the dungeon." Sebastian couldn't help the small laugh that burst out of him. "How is that funny?"

Sebastian shrugged, "She's Katherine. Any excuse to get rid of me, she will not let it pass her by."

Francis looked exhausted, "I just wish you'd stop getting punished because of me."

"I will." Sebastian said confidently, "When you become king." Francis chuckled. "Don't you have a fiancé to greet?"

Francis groaned, "Why'd you have to wake up so soon?" He winced when he saw Sebastian's look of shock. "I didn't mean to say that out loud."

Sebastian shook his head in amusement. "I can't believe you wanted to use me as an excuse to not do your Royal duty." Francis shrugged. He was relaxed now that Sebastian was well on his way to recovery. Sebastian nodded at the table in front of the door. "Do you need help moving that?"

Francis groaned again. His mother had ways of making him do nonsensical things. "I can move it."

Sebastian wanted to laugh at his brother trying to push the table out of the way. He did it so easily earlier but that was because he was angry and was motivated to do so. Now, he didn't have either to give him the strength. Sebastian had no doubt his brother could move the table but he was going to be sore from the strain. "How did the table get heavier between then and now?" Francis complained. Sebastian burst out laughing.

The End.