Life within French Court

by Mellyssa Rosalyn

(Slightly AU, takes place a few months after the season finale) Things are finally settling down for the group in French Court. Relationships are blossoming, and in some cases growing. Families are expanding. Like all couples they'll have their ups and downs, but they always make it through. And things take a turn when Mary makes a big announcement everyone's been waiting for.

Mary sat under a tree near the edge of the castle grounds, staring off into the distance. She spent most of her time out here, hiding and thinking and relaxing. It was a spot no one but she knew about, and it was the one place she could go to get away from everything waiting for her back at the castle. As she sat there, her mind swam with thoughts of Francis and France and Scotland. It had been 8 months since the death of King Henry, 8 months since she and Francis became King and Queen of France, 8 months since the plague, and most importantly, 8 months since Francis and Lola's son was born. During that amount of time many things have happened. Kenna announced that she and Bash were expecting their first child, Greer married Lord Castleroy, the plague had passed quite quickly, taking a low number of casualties, and Mary was crowned Queen of England. Things had finally started to settle down in French Court. With Mary the Queen of England, the soldiers were pulled out of Scotland and France and peace spread through all three countries. Everything was peaceful, yet Mary was still burdened. Dark thoughts filled her mind. Thoughts that filled her with fear and somewhat unsettled her.

She was worried about her relationship with her husband. The one year anniversary of she and Francis' wedding was less than three weeks away, but the short year had definitely take it's toll on their marriage. She and Francis have had their fair share of fights, usually about a decision over how to handle an issue in one of the countries. The fights were very few and far between but on the rare occasion they do get in an argument it is always full of passion and stubbornness on both sides.

Thankfully, as of late, they have been very happy. They haven't had a fight in quite a while, which Mary was thankful for. She loved Francis with all her heart. He was her best friend, her lover, her husband. He was her world. What troubled her though was that, even after a year, she had still been unable to provide the one thing they both desired above all. A child.

No matter how much they tried, or how much she tried not to think about it, the simple fact was Mary had yet to produce an heir. True she had fallen pregnant a few months ago, but with all the things happening around her and all the stress she was under, sadly she lost the baby. One night while Francis had been away on a business trip, Mary had woke up to a sharp pain in her stomach and a wet feeling between her legs. She had pulled back the covers to find blood pooling between her legs and she was immediately aware of what was happening. She had seen it happen to some of the girls in the convent. She knew she had lost the baby. After she got over the initial shock, she had called in the maids to strip the bed of the bloody sheets and put fresh ones on it, though she would not be sleeping in them. Mary spent the next 4 days in her room in a deep depression. She didn't eat much, she didn't sleep for when she closed her eyes she was plagued by nightmares, she didn't speak to anyone, not even her friends. She had simply sat by the window and stared outside. Word of the Queen's state spread like wild fire throughout the castle but no one was able to get through to her. When Francis returned from his trip he was shocked when Bash told him the news. He had felt horrible that he had been away and left his wife to go through that loss alone. When he had found Mary in their room and asked her about it, she completely broke down, crying for the first time since the tragedy. They had sat together on the floor of their room for an hour mourning the loss of their child, Francis holding Mary tightly to him as she cried hysterically, shedding a few tears of his own while promising his distraught wife they would get through it together.

Mary sighed and shook that memory from her thoughts. Francis had kept his promise and had been by her side the entire time. She heard a cooing noise on the ground close to her and smiled at the little boy playing on the blanket by her. A slight pain filled her chest as she looked at the infant she called her son. When Francis had arrived back at the palace with the baby and told her of Lola's death during child birth she had silently cried for her fallen friend as she took the baby boy into arms and vowed that she would help Francis and raise him as her own, just as she had promised Lola. She had kept her promise. She treated the young boy as if he was her own. As far as anyone was concerned, since the day Francis brought him home and she claimed him, he was her son. No one dared to call the boy a bastard, especially in front of the King and Queen.

Mary watched as Mathew played on the blanket happily. She had brought him out with her and laid down a blanket for him to play on while they both got some much need fresh air and sunshine and time away from the castle. She laughed as a butterfly landed on his nose then flew away leaving her son squealing in laughter. She absentmindedly put a hand on her stomach as she smiled in pure happiness. Just looking at the young Queen you could see her glowing, and for good reason, for that morning she had received news that made her unbelievably happy. She hadn't told anyone yet but she knew she would have to soon. She was finally pregnant.