Find me

Francis is all alone, looking over the balcony of the left wing of the castle. It seems this has become his favorite pass time, feeling the cool breeze on his face, listening to the soft giggles and the tapering of children's feet running across the hallway. He is deep in thought when Kenna finds him and bursts out worriedly, "Francis, have you seen Mary?"

Francis is taken aback, "Uh, no, I thought she was with you and Lola?"

Kenna continues, a desperation creeping into her voice, "She was… but then she said she wanted to go for a walk. We said we'd accompany her but she insisted on having some time alone." Francis could see where this is going and starts shifting nervously. And then she finishes, "I've just checked the castle grounds and I can't find her anywhere."

Francis rushes out in anger, "Where in hell are her guards?!"

Just then Lola runs towards them, "Francis, I've talked to her guards and they said they escorted her to the royal garden. They were still standing unaware at the entrance when I found them… but Mary isn't inside the garden!"

One of her guards standing behind Lola begins sheepishly, "Your Majesty, we did not see anyone enter or leave the garden after Her Highness—"

Francis cuts him off by bellowing, "SO ARE YOU TELLING ME MY WIFE DISAPPEARED INTO THIN AIR?" Kenna and Lola are taken aback as they have never seen this side of Francis before. The guards, however, know very well that their young king's wrath had just begun and they were in for far worse. Francis swears under his breath, "No, God please no, this cannot be happening" and then he barks at the guards, "There is no time to waste. Go fetch every able bodied man and search every inch of land until you find her… and you better pray you do, because if ANYTHING happens to her, I WILL have both your heads!" And with that the guards start scrambling in different directions, Francis tells Kenna and Lola to wait near her bedchambers in case she returns and then he frantically runs towards the royal garden.

Francis' thoughts begin to wander… This is where they used to go when Mary sorely missed Scotland, when they were children. The vast greenery and variety of flowers reminded her of home, she used to say. But now this was her home, France… Why had she come here today? Did she still miss Scotland so much? Of course she still missed it… now more than ever… now that her life in France has brought her so many horrors. He falls to his knees and grabs a fistful of grass and yanks them up, trying to rid his frustration off on them. He was supposed to keep her safe, safe from England, safe from anyone who could ever hurt her. But then how come he is always the one who ends up hurting her the most? As he throws the blades of grass in his hand away, he looks towards the left side and it hits him.

The blood wood! It all comes back to him. That one afternoon when Mary had wanted to explore the gardens, she always wanted to explore everything, and she had run toward the hedgerow on the left, and suddenly she wasn't there anymore… He remembers how his heart had nearly stopped when he could no longer see or hear her. He remembers how he had run towards where she had disappeared, screaming her name. He had stopped just before the hedgerow and looked around for her. On not seeing a single soul, he had decided that this was the only option remaining and without a second thought, he had walked through the hedgerow. And then he had seen her, all of seven years, crouched and shivering, crying on the ground. And then he had hugged her, the tightest he had ever hugged anyone, even her. "I thought I'd lost you", he had breathed out. And then her shivering had stopped and she brushed her tears off and looked up at him and croaked out "I was… But you found me" and with that she fell back into his arms. It was like the world had stopped and they were alone, together, two best friends who had lost and found each other again. And they sat like that, molded as one, for a long while, before one of his mother's ladies had found them there and hysterically rushed them back into the castle before anyone could see them.

And with that in mind, Francis runs through that same spot in the hedgerow on the left. Just as he had suspected, there she is, looking nothing like he had seen her all those years ago. She is not scared, or shivering. She is looking somewhere into the woods, deep in thought. Francis rests hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath, and she turns and looks straight at him, as if she was just waiting for him to show up. And he wants to scream at her, he wants to scream his lungs out at her… And he wants to hug her, crush his body with hers, feel her safe in his arms.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

"DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS?!"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ANYONE YOU WERE HERE?"

"WHY DID YOU COME ALONE, YOU MAD, MAD WOMAN!"

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Yes, Francis wants to scream all these things at her, and she knows this already because she says in a low voice, "It's alright… I'm alright". And suddenly Francis doesn't need anything else, he just looks up at the sky, closes his eyes and says a silent prayer, thanking God for her safety.

He then looks at her and she could see the anguish in his eyes, "I thought I'd lost you".

She gives him a small smile "I was, Francis, but I knew you'd find me".

He just gapes at her. He doesn't know what to say or do. He knows what he wants to do, but he resists and she can see his struggle. Instead he motions for her to come with him, much like he did when they met for the first time, again, less than a year ago. And then they are walking back to the castle, to their home, side by side. Mary can see that the worry has lessened, but the tension is still within Francis. She knows he must have been half scared to death. But she couldn't help it. She had to talk to him, to know the full truth, in private, without Francis' knowledge.

Author's notes: So, I started writing this loooong ago, like during the mid-season break, long. But you know, life happened. Anywho, this is a bi-chapter story. The next chapter is underway. Will upload it ASAP. And about the geography of the castle and grounds, well, they haven't shown us all of it, so I'm gonna pretend there is a royal garden near the blood wood, so there! Cheers! Do let me know if you like it.