A beautiful golden sun peaks over the horizon. Greeting the morning with an abundant amount of colors. Reds, pinks, oranges, yellows they all spread through the land and touched everything in sight. Waking France with its pristine nature. Birds chirped to life in the background. Inside the castle the kitchen worked hard to get breakfast ready for the royal court. The prince would awaken soon and his servant was getting nervous that the food wouldn't be ready in time.
"Please is there any way you could work faster," the servant begged to the cook. The cook turned to him for the fifth time today.
"Be patient. It will be ready soon," the cook tried to calm the young servant.
"Tell that to the prince!" he exclaimed. The cook just turned back around and chuckled to himself. There was much going on in the kitchen. The smell of freshly made bread and sizzling bacon filled the room. There was murmuring and small talk going all around. Finally, the cook turned around with a tray with a heaping pile of bacon.
"Blessed be," the servant sighed relieved that it was done. He took the tray from the cook and set it on the table behind him that was filled with dozens of other foods.
"Now be careful with that it's hot," the cook nodded his head and turned back around to make the next batch. The servant quickly picked up a few pieces and transferred them to a different tray with the prince's breakfast. He winced at the pain but it was only short. The servant quickly stacked the rest of the prince's breakfast onto the plate and then was off. His short feet sped down the long corridor. The air was chilled and the torches still lit. His face was contorted in determination to get to the prince's room before he could complain about it being cold. He finally had reached the door and knocked on it softly. There was a bit of a stir inside before the door opened. The prince's face popped out and looked at the servant curiously.
"Uh, s-sir here is your breakfast," the servant stumbled on his words. The prince smiled and opened the door a little bit more. The action revealing he did not have a shirt on. The servant looked away before his eye could peer into the room.
"Thank you very much. I won't be needing anything else from you today. Please take a day off for yourself," Francis grinned at the young boy. The servant smiled and bowed. Francis turned around and shut the door behind him.
"Smells good," a voice from the bed spoke up.
"Hopefully it tastes good too," Francis replied bringing it to the bed. He set the tray down on the bed before getting on it himself.
"Would you like some, Mary?" he asked very kindly. She smiled and sat up.
"Yes please," she answered. "I love the food here. I always have," She reminisced about the times when she was here as a young child. The times when her and Francis would anticipate these meals. How delicious they were and they especially loved when the cooks would sneak them a little extra deserts.
"I'm sure it's much better than what you would eat at the convent," Francis looked at her. She nodded her head and pursed her lips.
"Do you miss it? The convent?" he asked. She looked at him and smiled.
"I don't really miss the place itself. Mostly the ladies there. They were always so sweet to me. I never realized how much they did to protect me," She thought back to the day she left the convent. The day she watched one of the women die because of her. Francis realized what she was doing and pulled her out of her thoughts by kissing her softly. She kissed him back and then pulled away.
"I'm starving," she said. She picked up some bacon and put it in her mouth. Francis reached for a bread roll and spread some butter on it.
"So how was sleeping in here last night?" he asked and looked back to her taking a bite out of his roll.
"Very comfortable," she said not realizing her mouth was full. She smiled and took a second to finish chewing. Francis smiled at her and waited patiently. "I just wanted to say thank you again. I didn't realize what was happening when it was happening. I didn't want to feel like I was intruding and I didn't want to get you in trouble or anything like that," she finished. She grabbed some of the orange juice and took a sip of it.
"You know we don't have to sneak around. We are engaged and it's not like anything is happening in here anyways," Francis grinned.
"I know that. But, I'm very glad I have you here with me. You make me feel very safe," Mary stated.
"Well anytime you want to be in here you can be. I'll let my guards know that you can come and go as you please," he explained. Mary smiled at the thought of this. He trusted her so much and it made her heart beat with a little more purpose. "Like I said last night, there is no need for you to be scared. I will always be right here," he finished. The two of them thought about last night and how they wished it was something that could happen every day.
Mary woke up with a sweat. She had never felt so scared in her entire life. Not even when her own life was in danger. She looked around the room dazed by the dream she had just woken from. The last thing she could remember was Francis' cold, dead body hanging from a tree upside down in the forest. It felt so real she felt the need to get up and make sure Francis was actually still alive. As soon as the thought crossed her mind she was already up out of her bed and on her way out the door. She instructed the guards to come off duty as she would not be coming back to her chambers. They nodded without any questions and took off in the opposite direction than Mary's. With each step she calmed down a little bit more. She began to think a bit more logically and realized that Francis probably is alive. Then again things happen in this castle that she isn't so sure about herself. Nevertheless she continued her quick paced stride down the hallway. When Francis' guards came into sight she took a moment to gain her composure.
"I'd like to see Francis," she spoke to the guards when she reached the door.
"The prince is sleeping m'lady," the taller guard spoke to her.
"Please, this is very important and I feel as though it cannot wait until tomorrow," Mary made sure to seem frightened but not too frightened as the guards would think something was very wrong. After all this was just Mary making sure her dream only was a dream. The two guards glanced at each other before agreeing to Mary entering the room. One guard turned around and knocked on the door softly.
"My lord. Queen Mary is here to see you. It seems urgent," he said loud enough for Francis to hear through the thick door.
"Allow her to come in please," Francis spoke up sounding nothing short of tired. Mary let out a sigh of relief at hearing his voice. The guard gave her one more glance before pushing the door open. She glided past him and strode into the chamber.
"Francis," she smiled. Not wasting a moment's time she pulled herself onto his bed and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face into the crook of his neck. Francis pulled her closer to him.
"Mary? What's going on?" he asked scared that something horrible had happened. She sniffed and pulled her head back to look at him.
"I- I had a dream that you were dead. It was horrible and I was standing under you because you were upside down in th-the woods," she finally choked out. She broke down in his arms and started crying.
"Oh, Mary. It was only a dream. I'm here. I'm right here," he rubbed her back trying to keep her calm.
"I know, it just felt so real. I had to come to you and make sure you were okay," she whispered into him. A hiccup escaped her mouth. He only hugged her tighter.
"Please stay calm, Mary. I'm alright. I'm holding you in my arms right now," he comforted her with his soft words. She sighed into him and the tension in her seemed to lighten a little bit. Francis stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.
"There now. Feeling better?" he questioned making her look in his eyes. She nodded and wiped the tears off of her face.
"Oh goodness. This was so foolish of me. Coming in here at such a time only because of a silly dream," she regretted her decision and should have just gained her own composure in her room. Francis shook his head.
"It is quite okay, Mary. I understand your reasons for coming in here at this time of night. You are welcome in here whenever." Francis reassured her of her actions. She smiled and grabbed his hands, which were still on her face, and played with them in her lap.
"I'm just glad you woke up so that I had someone to cry to. I was afraid I was going to break down in front of your guards!" she giggled a little at herself. Francis laughed along and then just gazed at her with that loving look.
"Would you like to stay in here tonight? Maybe if I'm lying next to you the dreams won't come back," Francis suggested hoping Mary would say yes. She smiled and nodded.
"I'd like that very much," she said to him. The two of them shifted so they were both under the blankets. Francis waited for Mary to get under the covers. He lay his arm down so that when she lay back his arm was under her. Mary turned on her side and rested her face onto his warm chest. Francis kissed her forehead ever so softly.
"Goodnight, Mary," he kissed her once more.
"Goodnight," she whispered back before falling back into a comfortable slumber.