Her mind was whirring.
England.
A crown.
A future.
Her future.
Bash.
Francis.
Lifeless bodies.
There was lace in front of her eyes, obstructing her vision but the soft sunlight coming in from the window glimmered in the full length gilded mirror in front of her. Her ladies-in-waiting stood around her, smiling and musing over how beautiful she looked. Mary turned from the mirror and took a deep breath. Kenna moved her hair over one shoulder and affixed her Celticnecklace and tucked the front of it beneath her bodice. Lola handed her a bouquet of soft peonies, wrapped the night before by the girls themselves. Tears came rushing to her eyes, tears of joy.
She was in the chapel, staring across at Francis in his maroon doublet of embroidered silk. Bash, behind him, gave her a reassuring smile. Her gaze returned to the future king of France's face but as soon as she did, his features morphed, his stricken face only revealing fear and a sudden rush of confusion. His stark white shirt suddenly bloomed scarlet like a soft rose and he fell forward into Mary's arms.
There was blood everywhere.
She fell sideways and caught him in her lap just before his head hit the floor. As flower petals rained from above, his blood pooled around her and soaked through her dress, dark and warm, but she continued to hold him for dear life. She called his name over and over; he took a shuddering breath. With that, his eyes, the ones always so full of life and love, lost focus and became blank as the snowy sky above.
She shook the image out of her head, her eyes glistening with her fears. The unfailing desperation seemed to overtake her entire body and she fell into the chair at her dressing table just as another vision appeared.
She saw him. Sebastian's arms were bound tightly behind his back; a solider on either arm forcing him to move forward into the throne room. It was a death march and he knew it. His mussed up shirt had been ripped and lay open on his heavily bruised chest. Spots of dirt and blood could be seen as well from days in the horrid dungeon.
He was the perfect display for the royals that even the most beloved could fall.
He had not been fed well in the weeks that he had been down there, his hollow cheeks were testament to that but his eyes were bright with the knowledge of his decision, the determination in his beliefs. He knew what he was doing; that's what hurt Mary the most. He opened his mouth to comfort her, always more concerned with her own feelings of guilt than himself, but Henry, proud and true, strutted over, ripped Bash's shirt from his body and stuffed the piece of cotton in his mouth. "If Mary wishes to change her mind, there is nothing you can do or say about it boy." Henry laughed menacingly and gave her a steely look as he pushed his first born son to his knees.
She could see the grief within his eyes for, not himself, never himself, but his brother who would soon be lost and for Mary's own heartbreak. As the tears began to flow from Mary's eyes she made a guttural noise and tried to reach for the broken boy; two guards held her fast as she struggled.
She watched the scene as if it were in slow motion: Francis, with pain and fear in his eyes looking on from his father's side, pleading with Mary, shaking his head from side to side. Bash, shaking his head nearly imperceptibly pleading for her to not change her mind, his grief-filled eyes boring holes into hers. But the King took his son's head and held it fast on the wooden block set up before him.
Time seemed to stop.
She could see in his cool blue eyes the love he held in his heart for her as he shed a tear, unseen by anyone but herself. He tried to smile through the wad in his mouth and gave her an unconvincing, conspiratorial wink as the King read out his sentence. Mary turned her head and buried it in the guard's shoulder to her left as the chilling axe came down on the hard wooden block with a sickening, final thud.
Greer shook her back to reality. "MARY!? Oh god Mary!" She was lying on the floor this time, sobbing uncontrollably. Greer sat beside her queen and pulled the young queen in her arms. "It's going to be okay... I know we'll find a way." the maiden shushed her friend as she continued to cry, deep into the lonely night.