Hello readers! I am very honored by the several follows and favorites this story got from just the first chapter! Many thanks to my two reviewers, who gave me such wonderful feedback :)

This chapter is much longer and focuses on new plot - Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2

Mary and Bash continued riding at a swift pace, pausing occasionally to stop for a drink of water or to catch their breaths. So far they had come across no one, and the path they took was clear of bandits and passers. Though they carried limited possessions with them, it was clear by the state of their horses and Mary's clothes that they were not simply peasants out for a ride. If a robber came across them, they would not hesitate to steal whatever they could. If an intelligent robber came by, they would return the two to Court for an even bigger prize than the two could have possibly been carrying.

The slightly damp air was making Mary feel a bit stuffy, as they were traveling along a cliff side.

The sun was starting to set when the two stopped by an uprooted tree to rest briefly. Mary was leaning her head against a moss covered tree, looking at Bash, who had found a nearby stream and was washing his face. Leaves rustled around her and she looked up to see the first star appear in the darkening sky. There were only about an hour or so before night fell, and they did not have a lantern with them.

"Bash," Mary called. Bash turned his head to look at the queen.

"What?"

"Do you have any idea of where to stay for the night?"

"Why? Does the idea of sleeping in the woods scare you, my lady?" Bash replied with an eyebrow raised.

"No," Mary replied somewhat indignantly, though inside it really did. "I just didn't fancy getting strung up by a gang of pagans like Colin was, in case you don't remember."

"Oh, but I remember," Bash said grimly. "Better than you, I can promise."

"Well, do you have a place to stay? Or will we have to find a cave somewhere?"

"There is a place I know of that would require us to go slightly off the course, but it would take us at least an hour at a good pace to get there."

"Is there nowhere else?" Mary asked desperately. She could not bear the thought of getting caught so soon.

"There is a small inn across the water that is half the distance away, but the bridge that used to connect the two cliffs broke two or three years ago. The only safe path now is the longer one.

"Very well," Mary sighed. She smiled briefly at Bash before continuing. "Get on your horse, then!"

Bash chuckled lowly and jumped onto the back of his steed with ease.

The two had only traveled a mile or so when the unmistakable sound of hooves found their ears.

"Bash, do you hear that?" Mary called uncertainly. Bash had turned around also, his horse nervously pawing at the ground. The clattering of scabbards on armor reached his ears and a look of panic lit his eyes.

"Go!" he ordered. "They have caught up…though I didn't think it would take this little time. I thought this path was one untraveled, but obviously little brother has told them all of my trade secrets."

Bash spurred his horse faster and Mary trailed him directly. The sound of the guards was getting clearer and distant voices shouting orders echoed in the otherwise empty forest.

The sun was going down faster, and within minutes Mary could barely make out the silhouette of Bash in the dark. She glanced backwards to find that the first of the guards was well in sight, and he had seen her too.

"That's her!" she heard him shout. "Faster! Don't let her get away."

Mary pushed her horse faster and saw Bash turn left. She followed, wondering what his plan was. She reached a clearing to find that he had jumped off of his horse and was looking down a sheer drop of the cliff. Mary uncertainly hopped off of her horse, weary.

"What are you doing? They will catch us any minute now! We must go!" she whispered loudly at Bash.

He looked at her, as if calculating her words and summing her up. He let his eyes trail down her figure, grimacing at the heavy dress she wore.

"There are only two paths here, one that goes straight, and this one. If we jump, they will have immense difficulty finding us and the chase will end, if not just for now."

"What are you suggesting?" Mary said suspiciously.

"I'm suggesting that we save our lives. Unless you want to go back and face the wrath of Lady Catherine," Bash spat out the last words with disdain. Clearly he had faced the selfsame wrath his whole life. "Jump."

"What?" Mary asked incredulously. The voices of the guards came closer. They would find them any moment. And if they did, there would be no escaping Court again. Mary nodded briefly and stepped forward. Bash reached out a hand.

"On the count of three," he said. "Three."

The first of the guards had come upon the clearing.

"Two."

"Stop!" he yelled.

"One."

Bash and Mary jumped off of the cliff, both holding their breaths, hoping that the end of their falls would not be the end of their lives. Mary squeezed her eyes shut, predicting the fall. Bash kept his open until the last second. He closed them a split-second before they landed in the freezing water, waves crashing over their heads.

Bash opened his eyes, which immediately started burning from the salty water. He could see Mary's figure trying to kick up to the shore. He grabbed the edge of her skirt and she looked down at him. He pointed underwater at his right. They had to discreetly get out of the water without the guards knowing that they went in the direction that they would not expect. Bash swam swiftly to the shore, making sure Mary was not far behind. He poked his head out of the water and gasped for breath. Mere moments had passed since their jump, but it already seemed as though night had fallen. The last glimpse of the sun fell behind the cliff that they had left the guards on.

What seemed like ages later, they reached the opposite shore. Remains of the bridge that used to connect the two sides thrust out of the water, the dark wood as ominous as swords piercing through flesh. Mary shuddered, whether from the thoughts in her head or from the cold she did not know.

Bash squared his shoulders and looked up.

"Well, it's going to be tough to get up from down here, but it isn't as steep on this side, and there are plenty of ridges to help us climb," he said thoughtfully.

"But the guards…won't they find us?" Mary queried.

"Not where we're going…unless they are smarter than I think, which is highly doubtful. Catherine's guards might know where to find me, but it doesn't seem as though she wants either of us around, so why would she bother sending them?" Bash reckoned.

Mary couldn't argue with that, so she tried to wring out as much water as she could from her soaked skirts. They still weighed her down, but the climb up the cliff was not as bad as it could have been.

Bash was worried for their safety – the only light that they had was that given by the moon. Several times he had to grab Mary's hand to make sure she wouldn't fall. The looks of gratitude she shot him tugged at his heart. How could such a woman be so brave and beautiful? He did not truly know where his affections lay, but it was not of any help that he was alone with his brother's fiancée that he had started to develop some sort of feelings for.

Once they had scaled the cliff, Bash looked around for the worn down path that had not been traveled on from their direction in several years. The way was dark, and he was afraid that he was misguiding the both of them. Twigs poking out of the dirt scratched their legs and the low hanging leaves on the haunted trees brushed their faces.

Bash was relieved when he saw a dim lantern in the distance, signaling the presence of some life. He pointed at it to Mary, and she smiled in relief. Her shoulders were beginning to sag and she was clearly running out of strength. Bash was too, so he resorted to grabbing her hand and almost dragging her along with him.

The lantern grew closer and the dark outline of a building could be seen. Bash jogged closer to read the signpost that was staked next to the lamp. It read "The Red Arrow." He nodded his head knowingly and motioned for Mary to enter.

There seemed to be no one awake in the pub, since the lights were all out and the moonlight streaming through the window shed light on no person. Bash was about to walk towards the staircase that would lead to rooms when a voice came from a dark corner.

"Who is it?" it called quietly, but with authority.

"Visitors, requesting shelter," Bash replied evenly, not wanting to give away his identity before he confirmed the source of the voice.

"If shelter is all you desire, then you are welcome here," the voice said. "If you are in any sort of mess or you bring soldiers here, do not doubt that I will claim to have never seen you before, Sebastian."

A young woman stepped out from the shadows.

"Ah, Guillemette. I thought I might find you here," Bash smiled lightly, recognizing the sharp tongue of the innkeeper.

"Well, why are you here? And who is this?" Guillemette demanded.

"This is…" Bash started uncertainly, looking back at Mary for ideas.

"Margeret," Mary supplied quickly, glancing back at Bash for a split-second, telling him not to say anything differently.

"She's a peasant girl - I told her I would accompany her on my way to Scotland," Bash said, trying to come up a convincing story.

"Fancy clothes for a…peasant," Guillemette said smartly. "I can tell when you're lying Sebastian, dear."

"Don't talk down to me, darling," Bash shot back, slightly annoyed.

"Nevertheless, I won't pry," she shrugged, seemingly uncaringly.

Mary looked between the two, confused by the apparent connection they seemed to have had long before she ever met Bash. Guillemette apparently caught the look in Mary's eyes and flashed her a knowing smile.

"We go back a ways," she supplied 'Margaret.' "When he was younger, he used to come out here on his horse. We met when I was eleven and he was fourteen."

"Ah, yes, I have so many fond memories," Bash interrupted her. "Now we could really use a room, if you don't mind, Guillemette."

Guillemette raised her eyebrows slightly and shrugged to herself. She went behind the wooden desk in the corner of the room and pulled out a large metal key.

"This one is for the second room on the left once you go up the stairs," she said to Mary. "Tell me if he tries anything stupid. Trust me - it wouldn't be past him, the compulsive idiot."

Mary smiled wanly at this blunt statement and nodded at the weathered innkeeper. She was more concerned about the guards that had been chasing them than the prospect of Bash and her sleeping in the same room.

"Will you be needing anything else?" Guillemette asked quietly looking over her shoulder at a doorway behind her. "I can lend you some extra clothes if you need any. I didn't realize it was raining outside."

"It's not," Mary said naturally. Bash gave her a look, and Guillemette looked between them, puzzled, but she asked no more questions. "Fresh clothes would be lovely. Once mine dry out, I will definitely return them to you."

"That's alright. Here, you go on up to your room and I'll bring them to you," Guillemette said kindly. "Bash, I can get you some of Gerard's clothes…if he's still sleeping," she muttered under her breath.

"Bash, I don't want to pry, but is there something that I should know about the two of you?" Mary asked softly as the other girl left the room momentarily. Bash looked down at her understandingly, his brilliant blue eyes shining in the dim light.

"Nothing that can't wait, really. It is of minor importance compared to what we have to do for the next few days," he said thoughtfully.

"If you trust her, then I do," Mary said firmly. "But you have to tell her that she must not tell anyone that we are or were here."

Guillemette returned with two pairs of folded up clothes in her hands and handed one to both Mary and Bash.

"Here you are," she said.

"Guillemette, you mustn't let anyone know that we are here, do you understand," Bash told the young woman gravely. "There might be guards from the French court looking for me, but you are, under no circumstances, to tell them of our presence. If they come here, we will be gone as soon as we see their horses anyway."

"Under no circumstances, is that right," Guillemette said skeptically. "Are you going to tell me who she really is?"

"It doesn't concern you," he replied harshly. Guillemette seemed to deflate with his words.

"You're right, who am I to ask…I'm merely a peasant girl who serves the whim of those superior to her, even a bastard," Guillemette said bitterly. She gathered her composure and walked to a room in the back with the lantern. The light was soon extinguished, and Mary glared at Bash in the dark.

"What was that all about? You can't go around hurting our host!" she whispered vehemently.

"I know, I was just speaking out of worry…Something tells me that we won't be alone here for very long," Bash said lowly. "I will apologize to her tomorrow morning; I shouldn't have been so severe. In the meantime, let's go to the room."

Bash and Mary crept up the stairs as quietly as they could, not wanting to wake any other boarders. When they reached their room, Bash unlocked the door and pushed it open to find a small and dusky room with only one bed.

"Oh," Mary commented. "You can take the bed, Bash."

"For God's sake, Mary, do you really think I would? I may not be royalty, but I know to be respectful to women."

"Then be respectful to your queen and obey her wish," Mary argued. Though she felt physically tired, she did not feel sleepy at all.

"I have to keep guard. Somebody might have followed us or seen us."

Mary couldn't argue with that point. She prided herself on being a good diplomat, but if it came to anything more than that, she would be defeated in mere seconds.

"Alright. But you have to rest as well. Now, turn around while I change," she commanded.

A roguish look reappeared in Bash's eyes as he turned to face the wall opposite Mary. He turned his face slightly and in his peripheral vision saw Mary pulling her overcoat off her dress. Her eyes met his for a split second.

"Bash!" she exclaimed. "Don't look!"

"What do you expect, m'lady? I am a man in my prime, and you are a lady in yours," he pretended to charm her.

"Go wait outside…Maybe you can change there," she suggested, pursing her lips.

"Fine," he conceded. He opened the door and left, his breath coming out in a rush as he finally allowed his body and mind to relax. He leaned his head against the wall next to the door and thought about what was going on.

Why had he left? He had left because he did not want to be legitimized. And since Catherine knew of Diane's plan to do exactly that, he had to leave. Mary had simply joined him, for reasons he wasn't completely sure of. He knew it had to do with Catherine and a prophecy, but he did not pester for further details.

Bash had never wanted the crown – it was a burden, a responsibility that never went away unless you died. Bash was a creature of life – he would joke with his non-noble friends about the hypothetical pain of being heir apparent. He loved his brother, which is why he left court. How could he have stayed and ruined both of their lives by taking away what was most valuable to the other?

Bash paused…was the crown really what Francis wanted most in life? It couldn't be, not with him being such a nice person and with him being in love with…Mary. Mary was what he wanted most in life. Realization and guilt flooded Bash. True, he had left, leaving no chance for him to break the line of succession, but he had also taken away Francis's love. She left willingly, but she was still with him, and to anyone who didn't know the situation, that was betrayal at its finest. Bash couldn't bear the thought of breaking his brother's heart.

The one question that nagged his brain was that, if Mary were to go back to Francis, would it break his heart? It was true that he had feelings for Mary. To say otherwise would be pure untruth. However, he always played fair since he was a child, unlike most of the royal people he knew. He would not take something of Francis's if he knew that it belonged to him, no matter how much he wanted it. Francis wouldn't either. Since Bash had been more privileged in many ways, they had both learned to respect what was the others.

Tired of wearing down his mind with confusing thoughts, Bash decided to go get some water from the first floor and change. He quietly went to the bucket of fresh water and cupped his hands to bring some to his mouth. When he had his fill and was wearing dry clothes, he heard a loud snore coming from next to him.

He walked over to the room where Guillemette had gotten his clothes from. Sprawled on the bed was a clearly drunk man of fatherly age. He had a bottle dangling out of one hand, and his shirt was messily tucked into his trousers. He smelled of spirits and grime. Grimacing, he quickly exited the room.

While going up the stairs he could make out the gentle sound of slow breathing amid the loud snores of the drunkard. He stepped questioningly to the room where Guillemette had exited into and took a step in. There she was, asleep on her bed with one arm tucked under her head and the other holding a flat round stone. Careful not to wake her, he unfurled her fingers from around the stone and pulled it out for a moment.

Clearly engraved on its smooth surface was the crest of a lion.

To be continued in the next chapter - To those who have an idea of where this might be going, I'd love to hear it (I'll write back and tell you if you're close).

Reviews are appreciated, as are follows and favorites :)

Long may she Reign,
Sammy-U