His voice was becoming distant and knew felt darkness pressing on her brain. "Henry no…don't leave, I'm too cold." She reached out for him but there was no one and she felt herself collapse to the snowy ground. "Henry.." she murmured as the icy breeze blew the snow around her and she felt herself slipping away. With a shaking hand she reached out for her coat, which lay a short distance away, it was only now that she realized how cold she was. Her hand fell limp and her world went black, he always left when she needed him most. Her auburn hair was spread around her face in ringlets, free from her usual tight bun of imprisonment. Her skin was so pale in was almost as white as the snow around her, one hand was stretched out towards her fur coat, the other lay stranded beside her. Her cheek was pressed against the cold snow as were her shoulders, she shouldn't have let him take off her coat. She was too cold, he wanted her to come with him he had told her that before, he wanted her to leave the living world and come with him and the twins. She had told him she couldn't and now, this was the way he had tricked her into it anyway, she would surely freeze to death. She heard someone whisper "You'll be with me soon Catherine, we're waiting." She tried to pry her eyes open to see who it was but she couldn't her eyelashes were covered in frost crystals. "I don't want to, I want to stay.." She murmured.
Mary had seen Catherine venturing out to the gardens, but at this time of night it was too cold, too dark. Plus, a single guard didn't accompany her and she seemed rather dazed as she disappeared in the hedges. The only reason Catherine, out of anyone would be out there this late would be either she was plotting, or she was going mad. With a sigh of resignation she grabbed her cloak and hurried out to the grounds after Catherine. It took Mary some time to find her, but when she did she gasped, Catherine was crumbled on the ground, clearly unconscious. Her copper hair was caked in powdery snow and the curls seemed to be frozen. She was only wearing her dress, where was her cloak? Mary spotted it and quickly fetched it wrapping it around Catherine's bare shoulders, she was white as a sheet except her cheeks and nose, which were red from cold. Mary shook her "Catherine! Catherine can you hear me?" When the queen didn't respond she ran to the castle.
Mary burst into the castle "Guards! Guards!" She yelled and a flock of guards rushed to her side "It's Catherine, come on I couldn't lift her myself." They all dashed out of the palace, into the snowy courtyard. Mary felt someone grab her hand, it was Francis, "Mary, what's the matter are there intruders? Are you hurt? Where's Catherine? Is she back to trying to poison you, or Claude or?"
"If you let me talk I might tell you!" She said impatiently, "You're right it is Catherine, but she hasn't hurt anyone someone's hurt her, or she's just out of her mind." Mary rushed and when Francis looked puzzled she sighed rather dramatically "Just come on." They all rushed out to the gardens where Catherine was lying, motionless as ever and the small breaths she took, soft puffs of smoke like air came out of her presumably frozen lips. It was defiantly a shock for anyone to see the Queen this unguarded this weak, and Francis looked vaguely horrified.
A few guards went forward but Francis stopped them "Please, she's my mother I will get her." The guards nodded and backed up, as to give the king room to attend to Catherine. He sighed and lifted her, she was limp and looked unnaturally fragile.
Francis carried her back to the castle and Mary followed suite, they lay her down in her chambers and Francis went to get medication. Mary stayed by her side and lit a fire in the hearth, removed her soaked cloak and outer dress, placing a warm robe around her. She seemed to be coming to her senses and blinked repeatedly "I'm not.. I'm not dead, why am I not dead? I don't understand…he left me to freeze to death…why am I not dead?" She mumbled still groggy.
"I found you lying in the snow, so I ran to get Francis and the guards, Francis is getting medicine right now. Just rest." Mary sighed, then she realized something "Catherine? When you said he left you to freeze to death, do you mean you were with someone?" All trace of Mary's previous calmness was erased and replaced with urgency. "Catherine if there was someone with you and they tried to kill you they will be killed." She was now taking hold Catherine's shoulder.
Catherine shrugged her off and shivered rather violently "He can't die, he's already dead." She whispered and then she gripped the edge of the bed 'Mary please…help me." Something dark was looming over her, something heavy and cold. Any other day she would be able to block out this energy but he had already weakened her, he was another step closer to having her claimed by the dark knight called death.
She could hear Mary rambling but another voice spoke louder "Don't be afraid, close your eyes, let me take you to places you've never been tonight, I thought by now you'd realize, I can do anything I want, Catherine it's your turn to die." She didn't know how to escape, she was trapped in this horrible nightmare, or maybe she was awake but she could rarely tell these days. When she slept she was plagued with nightmares, when she woke she was just as out of it, staring into the distance and forgetting what she was doing. Her eyes felt as heavy as lead and her head was pounding, she just wanted to rest at this point. "I give up…take me.." She sighed.
Mary was sure Catherine was crazy, there had been no one else in the courtyard with her, and they would've defiantly seen blood if they'd been killed. "Listen I know you're tired but if someone was with you I need you to tell me who they were and what happened, this is serious!" She pressed, but Catherine was saying something about how she gave up "I don't want to take you just…" Suddenly Catherine's chest fell still "Catherine! Catherine!" Mary screamed and shook her frantically "Francis!" She didn't know why but she now felt that if Catherine died she would be very alone.
Francis came running at Mary's shouts "What is it?" He demanded.
Mary turned to look at Francis tears streaming down her cheeks, "Catherine's dead." She choked out.
"No…she can't be." He went to Mary's side then he saw her, "She is…"
"Oh Francis I'm so sorry." Mary whispered, "Do you want me to leave?"
"No…please stay." Francis murmured, then without hesitation lay down next to his mother wrapping his arm around her motionless person. Once again a little boy looking for comfort in his mother's arms, head on her motionless chest and arms wrapped around her, wishing she would come back.
Mary was still silently sobbing and she copied Francis by lying on Catherine's other side and taking her hand. The two of them fell asleep there, with the Queen who would never wake.
Catherine felt herself falling, she felt like screaming but she just fell into a seemingly endless pit. People passed her some she didn't know others were people who had died, even if they didn't mean much to her she knew they had died. Count Vincent, a guard that Henry had murdered so he couldn't prove Catherine's innocence. Finally she landed on something soft, a cloud? No, it was snow and then Henry was standing next to her. "Catherine, we were waiting for you." He said while putting a hand on her shoulder.
She stiffened his hand was like icy "Henry I told you I didn't want this." She whimpered suddenly feeling vulnerable.
"Too late now darling." He whispered in her ear.
She spun around to look at him "Henry! Let me go back! The people I love are there, Francis, Charles, Claude, little Henry, even Mary!"
"They don't love you, we love you." Suddenly the twins appeared at Henry's side.
"You're not real! You're not real! YOU'RE NOT REAL!" She screamed, her knees buckled and her hands went to the sides of her head then everything went black.
The next morning Mary woke first only to find Catherine's figures entwined with hers, and her other arm holding Francis. Her chest was rising and falling easily, evidentially asleep. Mary sat up and letting go of Catherine's hand and throwing her arms around her practically squishing the Queen. "Catherine!" She sighed.
Catherine opened her eyes looking up at Mary, then wrapping her arm around her and stroking her hair. Mary hugged Catherine so tightly she was nearly suffocating her but Catherine didn't care. Francis started to awaken and when he did he couldn't believe what he was seeing, his supposed dead mother hugging his wife. "Mom?" He stuttered.
Catherine looked over at Francis with a loving smile "Come here sweetie." She hadn't talked like that since he was little but he didn't care. He hugged her tightly and she did the same, one arm was still around Mary the other around Francis and although they couldn't see it Catherine was smiling like never before.
She finally felt loved with the two of them overjoyed that she wasn't dead but more so that it was a peaceful silence with two people she deeply loved. They stayed like that for nearly an hour before Francis looked up at his mother "We should go down or they'll start to worry."
The two women agreed and they got up, neither Francis nor Mary questioned Catherine on the previous nights events. They would have that conversation later. Catherine requested to freshen up before heading down to the throne room so Mary and Francis bid her goodbye for the time being.
After they had left Catherine had her ladies make her up a bath as she chose her cloths for that day she pondered over what'd happened the other night. She remembered Henry leaving her out in the snow to die and how Mary had rescued her. Then she didn't know what'd happened she supposed she must've fallen asleep because she had to oddest dream. Falling and landing on what she'd thought to be snow, then Henry and the twins had spoken to her trying to convince her to stay. She screamed and screamed and then utter blackness and next thing she knew she was woken by Mary throwing her arms around her. She snapped out of her trance when her lady informed her that the bath was ready.
She sighed as she stepped into the bath letting the warm water wash away all her fears. After a while she stepped out of the bath and putting her robe on, she turned and nearly screamed when she saw Henry standing behind her. "Henry I told you no." She shuddered.
"You know you can't leave me behind." He whispered putting his hands on her shoulders.
"I have to, you're dead we both know that." She sighed shrugging him off. "I don't even know if you're real."
"It doesn't matter if I'm real if you love me." He followed her as she went to change.
"Of course I love you Henry, I always have but I have to stop living in this fantasy world. As much as would like to live in a world where you loved me above everything else and never second guessed me I cannot because that world doesn't exist." She said taking a dress from her closet.
"I do love you above everything I always have." He told her running his fingers through her hair.
"That's what I would want you to say so naturally you say it." She shook her head.
"What you're saying is you don't want me anymore?" He said grabbing her shoulders.
" ' !" He said placing her hands on his cheeks "I will be with you soon enough."
"Catherine please…" She cut him off by kissing him softly.
"Goodbye Henry." She whispered and he disappeared.
She loved Henry with all her heart but during his life he had never treated her equally, never made her feel loved. She had shed so many tears over things he'd said to her, things he'd done. She had shut down when he brought Diane back to court and that was the night she realized he was no longer hers. From that night on she had been cold hearted, never let anyone get close enough to hurt her. Now it was time to let go of Henry once and for all, yes he would always have a place in her heart but she couldn't dwell on it forever. Taking a deep breath she put on her dress and headed out to the Court, ready for another day. She was Catherine de Medici after all.