Mary sunk down on the window seat and gazed at the view outside the castle. It was nighttime now, pitch dark with the only light coming from the moon. She inhaled sharply, trying to get her nerves under control. It had been a few months since her marriage to Francis but the two hardly spoke to each other since they got back from their honeymoon. Francis was always off fulfilling his duties during the day. When they saw each other at night, they were restless. Both were too stubborn for their own good, neither willing to talk about all the problems in their relationship. All of this resulted in a tension that was always present whenever they were in the same room.
If you think that because in your minds you're saving me that I will forgive you for this, you're wrong. The words that Francis had said in the dungeon echoed through her head, causing tears to sting her eyes and threaten to spill down her face. She knew that her actions had hurt him deeply. She could sense that he was still angry at her for what happened, which filled her with regret. She never meant to hurt him - she just wanted to save his life. She needed to tell him that; let him know what was on her mind. But for some reason, she couldn't build up the courage to confront him.
It was pathetic, really. She was the girl who was brave enough to be in the same room as a man who was holding everyone in the castle for ransom, the girl who was able to kill the same man when he attempted to rape her after dinner. And she was afraid of talking to her husband, of all people. She sighed heavily, tilting back her head and leaning it against the cold stone walls of the corridor. Mary could faintly hear footsteps in the distance that were getting progressively louder as the person got closer to where she was sitting. The halls were dimly lit with candles, so she couldn't see anything, but she could make out a figure approaching her.
"Mary?" The person asked, startling her and causing her to jump a little. She would recognize that voice anywhere. It was him.
"Francis," she said, turning to face him, her eyes connecting with a pair of icy blue ones. God, she loved his eyes. She would get lost in them forever if she could. The two stared at each other intensely for a few minutes, neither willing to break their gaze. Neither spoke. They just stood there in complete silence, the tension between them growing even greater with every passing minute.
"What are you doing out here at this hour?" Francis finally broke the silence.
"I couldn't sleep."
"Why?"
"I just have a lot on my mind, that's all." Okay, so that was true. She did have a lot on her mind, not that she was going to tell him about the thoughts that were currently eating away at her. "And I could ask you the same thing. Why are you still up."
"I was just with my brothers, saying goodnight to them. Apparently they wouldn't cooperate and their nurse figured I would be able to get them to settle down."
"I'm sure you did." Mary smiled at the thought of Francis and the little princes, "You're very good with them. They adore you."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Francis asked, inching towards her. He may still harbor anger after the stunt she pulled, but his concern outweighed it at the moment. "I know for fact that neither of us have had a good night's sleep in weeks."
"I'm fine," she insisted, but Francis could see right through that. He could read her emotions so well and he knew she was anything but fine. The shakiness in her voice as she spoke gave it away.
"You're not. Mary, what's on your mind?"
"It's nothing."
"I know something's bothering you. You don't have to be afraid to tell me what it is."
"I just…" Mary trailed off. Why are you so dam nervous? It's Francis. You can tell him anything.
"You just what?" He asked, inching even closer to Mary.
"I think we should talk."
"Right now? It's the middle of the night."
"Yes! We've been married for months and the only conversations we've had are those that concern our duty. I'm tired of avoiding all the issues that are plaguing our relationship. We can't just ignore them forever."
"Fine," Francis sighed, his silence that followed a hint for her to continue.
"I can sense you're still angry at me," she said, choosing her words carefully.
"Why would I still be angry at you?"
"Why wouldn't you be? I completely destroyed your life in an attempt to save it," she referenced her crazy plan to legitimize Bash and make him the next king of France, "I can tell that you are. I don't blame you"
"I'm not."
"I've gotten pretty good at reading you since my return to court. You're still angry at me for what I did. Don't deny it."
"Okay, so maybe I am, and with good reason. You took everything that means something to me and just handed it over to my brother, who you very well knew was harboring feelings for you."
"I was just trying to save both of your lives! If I didn't propose that plan to Henry, he would have had Bash killed!"
"But you couldn't find another way? It would have caused a lot less pain for both me and him."
"Lives were at stake. I know my actions were extreme, but I was desperate to save people from dying!" Mary shouted, her voice getting progressively louder as she spoke. She knew she should probably talk in hushed tones so the maids didn't overhear their conversation, but she didn't know how else to get her point across to Francis.
"I understand that, but you threw all rationality and logic out the window and you hurt me, deeply!" Francis' voice rose as well.
"I never meant to hurt you! You know that!"
"You have no idea how much you hurt me. You have no idea how much emptiness I felt when I no longer had you. Losing you and the crown to my brother, of all people, it destroyed me."
"I'm sorry!" Mary shouted, holding back the tears that were welling in her eyes.
"You're sorry. That's all you have to say?" he spat back.
"I hate that I caused you so much pain. I hate that I took away everything that mattered to you. I hate that I destroyed your life. I hate that we haven't been able to talk through our issues. I hate that we have so many restless nights. I hate that I have regret and guilt that eats away at me every single day. I hate that I'm in love with you but can't show it because of our situation. I hate-" she was cut off by Francis lunging forward and kissing her. She stood there in a state of shock at first, her body paralyzed, but after a few seconds, she eased into the kiss. They kissed each other passionately, Francis biting on her upper lip, an action that sent chills racing up and down Mary's spine. Sure, they were married, but it had been a long time that they had shared a kiss of this intensity. The two broke away from each other, breathless, their eyes glazed over with lust and desire.
"We should go somewhere else," Francis said in a hushed tone. Mary nodded wordlessly, her breath caught in her throat, as Francis grabbed her hand and the two hastily made their way to the room they now shared. As they walked through the corridors, they intertwined their hands. Francis stroked her hand with his thumb, a small smirk creeping across his face.
As soon as they reached the privacy of their room and locked the door, Francis pushed Mary against the wall and started kissing her passionately again, the tension that had been building between them slowly fading away and being replaced with the feeling of wanting each other.
He slowly moved one of his hands from cupping her face, trailing it down her neck and grazing it over her breast. His mouth swallowed her gasp as she moved her hands to the hem of his shirt, tugging it upwards. They pulled apart for a second so she could pull it over his head. It was tossed to the side, forgotten, as they reattached their lips before he slipped her nightgown off, as well as her undergarments. He pressed his body against hers and started nibbling on her earlobe, causing her to gasp in response.
Francis could feel his member bulging against his tight leather pants . He needed to be inside her, and quickly. Sensing his need, May reached out and roughly pulled them down his legs in one fell swoop. He kicked the pants off and tossed them to the side, forgotten with the rest of their clothes.
He swiftly entered her center, thrusting gently at first. It had been quite a while since they had been this intimate, so he wanted to take it slow at first. Mary wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer so there was no space left between them. She tangled her hands in his curly hair as she attacked his lips with kisses.
Francis took this as affirmation to continue and began thrusting harder and deeper into her core. Mary's mind ran wild, every inch of her body feeling as if it were on fire. He moved his mouth to her neck, biting down and sucking on the skin. There was bound to be a mark there in the morning – proof of this night of passion they were currently sharing with each other.
Mary could feel herself being brought closer to the edge with every thrust Francis made. She dug her nails into his back, pressing her body against him and throwing her head back in pleasure. "Fran-Francis!" she shouted as she reached her climax, her whole body shaking from the sensation that rippled through it. Those words pushed Francis over the edge as well. Mary could feel his fluids release inside her.
"Oh my God, Mary!" he breathlessly said as he came. The two collapsed against the wall, breathing heavy.
Still tangled up in each other, Francis walked them over to the bed, laid her down on it, and pulled himself out of her. She got under the covers as Francis walked around the room, blowing all the candles out. The room became dark, the only source of light being the faint illumination of the moon shining through the window. He joined her in bed, crawling under the covers and pulling her close to him. He wrapped his arms around her midsection and she placed hers over his. "I love you," he whispered in her ear, kissing her temple afterwards.
"I love you too," she replied, a smile appearing on her face, "And I truly am sorry for all the pain I caused you."
"I know. I'm sorry for lashing out at you about it."
"It's okay," she said, turning to face him and burying her head into his chest.
It was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Everything would be okay in time. She sighed contently as Francis stroked her arm with his thumb. She closed her eyes, thoughts of the night they just shared consuming her. They may have had many restless nights over the past few months, but tonight, they would both sleep peacefully.