Hello, everybody! So, first off, it took me all one episode to fall in love with this show. It also took like a minute for me to fall in love with Bash =)
So, this is a Mash story. Don't get me wrong, I like Frary. The scenes with them are so cute. But then Bash comes on screen and my Mash-shipping heart takes over =)
This takes place after the mid-season finale, Fated. I don't know how long it will be yet. It'll definitely be a couple of chapters. I'll decide how long I'm going to make it once the show comes back in January (sigh, so far away).
Disclaimer: I don't own Reign.
Enjoy!
Chapter One
They rode till the sun started to near its peak, telling Mary that it was midday. For the hours that they'd been riding, she'd been too focused on steering her horse, too focused on following Bash as far away from the castle—and Francis—as possible. Though they were far from the castle now, her heart still pounded as it had when she and Bash raced down the road, Francis screaming desperately after her. They slowed as they emerged from the edge of a strip of trees they'd been riding through and came upon a grassy meadow.
"Bash," she called out, her voice coming out a not much more than a gasp.
But it was loud enough that he heard her, pulling his horse to a halt.
"Can we just rest for a bit? Please? I-I..." Mary trailed off, her breath hitching in her throat. She thought she'd done a pretty good job of keeping her emotions in check, but now the weight of what she'd done was starting to catch up to her.
Without a word, Bash climbed of his horse, tying the reins to the nearest tree. He helped Mary off of her own steed, his strong hands steadying her. Once he'd secured her horse as well, his blue eyes found hers.
"Are you alright, Mary?" He asked gently.
She shook her head. "I don't know."
He was silent for a moment. "May I ask what all this is about? Your leaving, that is?"
"Nostradamus," she replied. "He had a vision that one of us would die and I didn't believe him, but then Aylee—" she broke off, the words catching, not making it last the lump in her throat, tears stinging in her eyes as she spoke of her friend.
Bash lifted a hand, like he wanted to reach out and touch her, comfort her somehow, but he hesitated, and after a moment let his hand fall back to his side.
"Nostradamus saw that if Francis and I wed, Francis would die. I didn't believe that either until Aylee died, and I…I couldn't let him die, Bash. If he'd died, it would have been all my fault, so I fled…" Mary felt tears drip down her face, and she cast her gaze away from Bash's.
This time, without a second of hesitation, Bash pulled her into his arms, one arm wrapping around her waist, the other stroking her hair as he whispered soothing words to her.
"It's alright, Mary." He murmured. "Everything's going to be alright. We're going to figure this out, I promise you."
They stood like that for a little while longer, Mary wrapped in Bash's warm embrace until her tears stopped and her sorrow and uncertainty was replaced with something close to numbness. Finally, Bash pulled away, still keeping his hands on her arms.
"We should get moving. Francis will no doubt have sent men out looking for you." he said, his azure eyes scanning the trees behind her as if he expected an armed guard to leap out at any second.
"Yes, of course," she agreed. "Where exactly are we headed?"
Bash gave her a little smirk. "I thought you already knew where we were going?"
Her only response was to furrow her brow in confusion.
He chuckled, the gestured his hand, spreading it widely in front of them. "Far, remember? You said it yourself that's where we were going,"
"Bash," she huffed in frustration.
He laughed as he untied her horse, placing the reins in her open palm.
"You still haven't answered my question," she told him as she mounted.
Bash straddled his own horse. Instead of telling her what she wanted to know, he turned to look at her, the midday sun making his eyes sparkle like the sky above. He smiled slyly, gave her a wink, and rode off with a laugh, giving Mary no choice but to follow. As she caught up with him, her hair whipping around her face, she couldn't even be annoyed with him. Soon, she was laughing as well, and his smile only grew bigger at the sound.
For a minute, Mary forgot that she had just run away from her alliance, her marriage, and the man she loved just hours before. She forgot that she was Mary the Queen of Scots. Right now, in this moment, she was simply Mary. She was just a girl and Bash was just a boy. And right now, they were free.
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Not long after, as they neared the river, Bash led both of their horses just inside the line of trees next to the forest road they were currently traveling. Mary immediately dismounted, stretching her legs and grabbing some bread from inside one of her saddlebags. Bash stayed atop of his horse, eyes examining the trees for threats that probably weren't there. They weren't deep enough into the forest to be at the complete mercy of the pagans, but that didn't mean they were completely out of reach.
Once he was satisfied that there was nobody near them, he hopped of his horse, giving the animal's neck a comforting pat. He reached into one of his own saddlebags and pulled out an apple. He found Mary seated at the base of a wide-trunked tree, chewing her bread silently. He sat down next to her, far enough away so that they weren't touching, but close enough so that he could feel the warmth radiating from her body and smell the flowers and vanilla scent that she carried with her everywhere.
"Thank you," she murmured when he used his dagger to cut off a chunk of apple for her.
After that, there was no more talking. He was alright with it though, as he had always been a friend of the silence. He watched Mary—watched as her eyes took in the trees, the green plants, the white flowers, the whistling birds around her. The sunlight that streamed through the branches of the trees created marvelous, dappled shadows across her. The beams that shone through danced across her skin. Her dark, silky hair fluttered in the light breeze that traveled in between the trunks of the trees. Bash felt the corners of his mouth pull up into a smile. He had never seen her more beautiful. Despite what a huge, consequential decision she had just made, she seemed freer, more at peace.
Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck rose. Bash stood up instantly, dropping his half-eaten apple and drawing his sword all in a matter of seconds. He eyes darted around, once again searching the trees. He knew something was wrong. He could feel it. Someone…something was out there…watching them.
"Bash?" Mary posed his name as a question as she stood, brushing crumbs off her hands.
"Shh," he whispered to her, holding out his other arm to ease her behind him, using his body as a shield for her.
Bash's head whipped around towards the horses as they started whinnying uneasily. He heard Mary give the slightest gasp as the bushes rustled off to their left. Bash sidestepped so was directly in front of Mary. He leveled his sword in front of him, his whole body alert as the horses became more restless. Mary stayed silent, but he could feel the nervous energy flowing off of her in waves. Suddenly, an arrow whistled past him, straight into the shoulder of his horse. Mary's horse reared and took off, the other following closely behind it. Mary cried out for the horses, and Bash cursed as they grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Another arrow whizzed past and sank into the tree next to them. Two more came at them, the last one embedding itself in the bark next to Mary's head.
Knowing full well that these were warning shots from the pagans or some other rogue, Bash took Mary's hand.
"Come on," he urged, sheathing his sword.
No footsteps—or arrows—followed them, but Bash moved quickly, Mary keeping up with him the whole time. They ran out of the thick of the trees and along the path. Bash took in his surroundings. He'd never traveled to this part of the woods, so the path was unfamiliar, but he figured it was a safer bet than running amongst the trees themselves. They were both breathing heavily as the trees thinned and they neared the river. He thought he could see the path diverging downhill, towards the water, but something in his gut told him otherwise. Bash slowed his pace, tugging on Mary's hand lightly to get her to do the same. It turned out his instinct had been right as they found themselves halted at the edge of a cliff, the precipice dropping off into the water below.
Bash released Mary's hand and took stock of their surroundings. If they went back the way they'd came, there was a chance they could find their horses and travel a different direction much faster than they would be able to on foot. But going back also meant the possibility of running into whoever had been aiming arrows at their heads. He figured it was some sort of bandit or rogue, as bows weren't the pagans' usual weapon—they preferred daggers to slit people's throats with. Still, all he had was a sword and a dagger. Their opponent had the advantage of distance. Bash would have to get close to do any real damage.
That left only one option.
Bash looked over the sheer drop-off, weighing their chances of survival if they jumped. The water wasn't moving fast, so there was less of a chance that the currents would carry them away. It looked deep enough, but it was hard to tell from way up here.
He heard a commotion—shouts and branches breaking—from the way they'd come. They had to jump soon.
"Mary?" he turned to look at her. She looked mildly frightened, but she was putting on a brave face, and it somehow made him admire her all the more. Most people would be cowering behind the nearest tree, but here she was, standing next to him, readying herself for whatever they were faced with.
"We're going to have to jump," he told her bluntly.
She paused, then nodded, meeting his eyes.
"Do you trust me, Mary?"
"Yes. I trust you." she responded.
He looked down, and took her hand in his. Then, together they jumped.
So there's chapter 1! I hope you guys liked it =) Right now, I'm thinking the story will be about 5 chapters. Maybe longer depending on what happens in the next episode.
I will try to update within a week, but with the holidays coming up, we'll see how that goes =)
PLEASE REVIEW! Just take a minute or two to tell me what you guys think, it would really mean a lot to me! Especially on the first chapter, I really want to know what you guys thought, what you liked, didn't like, suggestions. Anything, really, just review, pretty please!
Thank you all for reading!
-DaughterOfPoseidon333
