A/N: Well, it's been a long time since I've written fanfiction but Reign has just awakened something in me! This is a modern!AU, taking place in the current year, with neither Mary nor Francis being royalty. It also takes place in the United States. Hopefully none of this puts you off! The prologue is written in present tense but I'm not sure the rest of the chapters will be? Let me know how you feel about the tense in a review! Also, while this story is very much starting out as Francis/Mary, Bash/Mary will be a central focus. With all of that being said, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Reign, Georgetown, or these characters. I'm just playing around with them in a different world.

The first memory she has is of Francis. They're playing in the backyard and he comes up to her, dandelion in hand. He puts it behind her ear and says, "There." It's all he says but it's all Mary needs to hear. She leans over and kisses him on the cheek before running away and telling him, "Catch me if you can!"

He does, catch her, that is. Every time. They play tag in the backyard together every day after school. Francis is always it and Mary always lets him win. She likes how he grabs her at the waist to take her down. She loves Francis, he is the best friend she has ever had.

She is 8 when her father dies. He passes suddenly and it's a shock to Mary's system. She doesn't know what to do or how to handle this. So she goes to Francis and for once they don't play tag. They sit on the porch swing in the backyard. They are sat next to each other, Mary starting straight ahead and Francis staring at Mary. Tears are silently streaming down her face but she can't feel them. She can't feel anything. She feels paralyzed. She can't even find the strength to wipe the tears off her face. Francis stays still for a long time. Then, he reaches over and grabs her hand. He smiles gently at her when she jumps in surprise. She doesn't smile back but he expected that. It's enough that she didn't flinch away from him. They sit outside, on that swing, hands intertwined until after sundown. It starts to get cold and the wind begins to blow, but neither Francis nor Mary move. Mary hasn't said a word and Francis doesn't know what he could possibly say so he keeps quiet too. The porch swing moves with the wind. Mary stops it with her feet. "I'm scared." She whispers, so low that Francis can barely hear her. He simply nods and they continue to sit.

The porch swing becomes their new tag. They sit there every single day until the snow begins to fall. It's Christmas break when Mary's mother tells her that they're moving. To some state far away. All Mary can hear is "We're moving away from Francis, the only person you care about." She resists. She protests. She cries. But her mother won't hear any of it. She simply wipes at her tired eyes and says, "We're going, Mary. You can yell, cry, and scream all you want." And she walks away, leaving Mary alone in the kitchen.

The last day they spend in Fredericksburg, Mary spends with Francis. They sit in his living room, legs crossed and knees pressed against each other. They aren't saying very much at all. Mary takes a glance at the clock. 3:00pm. Only one more hour until she leaves Fredericksburg, and Francis, behind. So she puts a hand on Francis's knee and says, "I promise I won't forget you." Francis grins at her.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did." She smiles sadly. She keeps her hand on his knee. She is looking down at the floor when a hand comes up under her chin and lifts her head up. Suddenly, she is looking directly into Francis's eyes. He blinks a few times before a look of determination takes over his face. Before Mary can even realize what's going on, Francis is leaning in. His mouth is on hers, only for a moment, before he pulls away. Mary is shell-shocked and Francis is blushing. "I won't forget you either." Is all he says.

Mary leaves shortly after that. Francis is standing at the edge of his driveway, waving. Mary waves back until he is out of sight.

Mary keeps her promise to him. She never forgets him. Years pass but every day she thinks of the best friend she left behind. She wonders what sort of trouble he is getting into with his older half-brother, Sebastian. The two had never been close because Mary had always taken up nearly all of Francis's time.

Birthday's pass and every year, when Mary is blowing out the candles, she wishes to find Francis again.

With each passing year, the image of Francis that Mary has ingrained her mind fades just a little bit more. She has no photographs to remind her of what he looked like. Her mother had gotten rid of all of those before the move in an attempt to cut all ties with their former home. Mary tries desperately to hang onto the last memories that she has of him. Eventually though details of his face begin to fade from memory. She forgets the exact color of his eyes and which hand he writes with. What she doesn't forget though is how his kiss made her feel. Maybe it was silly to be holding onto a childhood love the way she was but she promised him that she would never forget him and she has no intentions of ever breaking that promise.

The years go quickly, high school being a blur of work and friends, and before Mary knows it she's graduated and heading off to college. The application process was tedious but Mary gets into many of the schools she applies to. It took her nearly a month to decide where she wanted to go but in the end she went with her heart: Georgetown University. Only one hour away from her hometown of Fredericksburg. Only an hour away from Francis.

Her mother fights her tooth and nail on her choice but Mary stands by it. She's nearly 18 now and the decision is hers to make. In the end, her mother relents and stops fighting her.

She arrives at Georgetown University on August 22nd, 2013. It has been nearly 8 years since Mary had seen Francis in the flesh.

It takes approximately 3 hours for her to see him again.