Chapter 3:

Servants were running around the castle trying to get their duties done in a timely manner. The Queen of England was due to arrive at the castle at any moment and the castle was still not up to standard. Things were tense, as the court members knew that a lot was riding on the meeting between King Henry and Queen Elizabeth. They wanted to make sure they were not to blame if things went sour, so they prepared to look their best.

King Henry and Queen Catherine had been fighting more frequently, the closer Elizabeth's arrival came. Queen Catherine was against anything that had to do with Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a Protestant, a heretic, and Queen Catherine was certain she would bring France's downfall. King Henry was rational. He knew that England was powerful and that it didn't serve his purposes to anger Elizabeth at the beginning of her reign. He wanted Elizabeth to gain her trust and find out her weaknesses. That way he would have a guaranteed victory when he did choose to conquer England.

Things between Mary and Francis were also strained. Francis did deliver on his promise to see her after he finished showing Olivia around the market, but Mary didn't care. It was a personal slight to choose Olivia over her and she wasn't ready to forgive him for that. There were rumours floating around the castle about Francis and Olivia and she thought there was some truth to it. He was losing her trust with every day that passed. Their last encounter was so tense that Francis had started to avoid Mary. It was what Francis did best. He would prefer to avoid difficult situations than face them head on. Mary tried to keep herself busy so that she didn't notice his absence. Elizabeth's arrival gave her hope and she clung onto that hope with all that she had.

Looking at the mirror one last time, Mary deemed herself ready. It had taken three different outfits before she was satisfied. Deciding to let her hair fall into loose curls, Mary turned her attention towards her makeup. Applying charcoal around her eyes and lip stain to make her lips red, she thought she was looked presentable. Fidgeting with her hands, her lady-in-waiting pushed her out the door so that she wouldn't be late.

Walking to the main entrance, Mary started to get nervous. What if Elizabeth didn't like her? What if she changed her mind? Focusing on taking deep breaths, she arrived at the main entrance sooner than she had planned. The King, Queen, and Francis were already stationed at the entrance waiting for their guest. When the King caught sight of her, he seemed to relax. Mary knew that King Henry wanted to show that France was strong and therefore, emphasize its alliance with Scotland. Reluctantly, Mary took her spot beside Francis. He linked arms with her and she pasted a smile on her face. She was thankful that Olivia was nowhere in sight. It would have made this day more difficult.

Mary smiled when Bash took his spot beside her and immediately relaxed. He was her closest friend and confidant and there was no one else she would rather have at her side. Francis seemed to tense up with Bash's arrival, but she didn't care. It was Francis' fault that they were at odds and Mary refused to apologize.

She held her breath when an escorted carriage came into view at the end of the road. The King and Queen stood closer together and looked more united than Mary had ever seen them. It was as if they actually liked each other. Mary released her breath when the carriage stopped and the door opened.

A redheaded woman was helped out of the carriage. Her long auburn hair was pulled back into an elegant updo and she wore a proper, yet richly made gown. The Queen of Scotland looked fierce, yet pleasant as she strode up to the King.

"Queen Elizabeth, you are most welcome here," King Henry announced as he bowed.

Elizabeth smiled and returned his bow, "Thank you, your Grace."

"You have had a long journey. One of the servants will grab your belongings and show you to your bedchambers. I hope that they are to your liking," King Henry said, "Tomorrow, we will hold a feast in your honour."

"Thank you for your kindness," Elizabeth said before following the servant to her bedchambers.

And just like that, it was over. Mary felt a tightness in her chest as her cousin walked into the castle and out of view. Not once did Elizabeth glance in her direction during the exchange. Had Elizabeth changed her mind? Although Mary had to admit that she was in awe of her cousin. The way she held herself with such poise, such grace… Elizabeth was more powerful than Mary had imagined.

"I'll make sure to double your guards during Queen Elizabeth's stay. You will be safe with us," Francis said.

When Mary looked up, she realized that everyone had already left, including Bash. His words reminded her of a better time when he rescued her from the English ambassador Simon. That was how things changed last time, how they became close. Francis wanted to come to her rescue once again, but to what purpose? It would be so easy to get wrapped up in him, to forget the challenges they were facing.

"That won't be necessary. I will be perfectly safe," Mary said as they started walking towards the castle.

"Are you certain? It is of no inconvenience," Francis said, opening the door and letting her enter first.

"I appreciate your concern, but I will be fine," she said.

"Could I see you tonight? I haven't seen you in weeks and I miss you," Francis said.

Mary stopped and looked at him confused. He had never asked her to do anything before or was so forthcoming about his emotions. She was torn. Mary missed him as well and the last few weeks had been difficult without talking to him. She was about to say yes, when Olivia walked into view. It was like a slap to the face and she couldn't believe that she had almost been fooled. Mary had seen them interact over the past week and there was a closeness between them that hadn't been there before. She had a suspicion on what had brought them closer, but refused to believe it true.

"That wouldn't be a good idea," Mary said pulling away from him, "Thank you for your offer, but I must prepare for dinner this evening."

Francis' brow was furrowed at her response, but a look of realization crossed his face when he saw Olivia. Instead of following Mary like she hoped he would, he stayed behind to greet Olivia. When Francis thought Mary was out of view, he grabbed Olivia's hand as they walked in the other direction. Mary tried to not let that act affect her, but she felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Standing up straight, Mary returned to her bedchambers. She would not let Francis affect her.

It was on the fourth day that Mary received a letter from Elizabeth inviting her to have tea with her. King Henry and Elizabeth had been in meetings the past few days and no one knew what they were discussing. They knew it was heated, however. The King often stormed away from the council chambers to his private study after the meeting was over. After ensuring that she looked her best, Mary left for Elizabeth's bedchambers.

Elizabeth's bedchambers were in close proximity to Mary's, making it easier for her to visit Elizabeth without arousing suspicion. After talking to the page, Mary was granted entry and for the first time, was face to face with her cousin.

"Mary, it is so good to finally meet you," Elizabeth said as she engulfed Mary in a hug, "You must sit down. We have a lot to discuss."

"Thank you," Mary said as she took the offered seat, "Has your stay in France been productive?"

"Not as productive as I would have like. King Henry is quite the negotiator. Now let's talk about the reason I invited you here. How is your relationship with France?" Elizabeth asked after a servant poured the tea and gave them both a cup.

Mary looked up in surprise. She had never seen someone so blunt and wondered if it was because Elizabeth was English. It added to Mary's nervousness. Although Queen Catherine was regal, she had nothing on Elizabeth. Where Queen Catherine was older, Elizabeth was younger. Queen Catherine wore an expression of disdain, where Elizabeth looked firm, but interested. Queen Catherine looked tough and although Elizabeth was strong, she also looked delicate. Queen Catherine was losing her attractiveness with age, where Elizabeth was a fresh face of beauty. Mary knew the feats that Elizabeth had accomplished to sit on the English throne and she was in awe of the woman in front of her. It made Mary feel quite small in comparison.

"Nothing has changed since our correspondence. King Henry is reluctant to marry me to Francis. He is hoping for a better, stronger ally, in which case he will discard me. I am stuck. France will not have me, yet my mother demands that I find a husband soon," Mary said.

Elizabeth sighed, "That is what I feared. King Henry wants to arrange a marriage between Francis and I, but I declined. I would never have a French man in my bed. They are not to be trusted. I also know how you feel about Francis."

"Will we continue with our plan?" she asked, feeling her heart drop that King Henry truly didn't want to ally France with Scotland.

"Yes. It is the best course of action for us both," Elizabeth said after taking a sip of tea, "Tell me more about your situation with Francis. I know that it has been weighing heavily on your mind."

"I don't know what to say. I am torn. When I was at the convent, Francis fell in love with an Italian noblewoman Olivia. She left him heartbroken and I returned to court a few months after. It took a long time, but eventually Francis and I grew close. We had fallen in love and I thought we were unbreakable.

"Then Olivia returned to court after being attacked in the woods. Francis started spending more and more time with her, leaving me alone in the castle. That is when I decided to take matters into my own hands and contact you," Mary explained.

"Has Francis realized the error of his ways?" Elizabeth asked.

Mary looked away, "I fear that I have pushed him away. He came to me a few weeks ago promising that he would change, that he would spend more time with me. The next day, we spent some time at the market before Olivia came and interfered. He went off with Olivia and promised he would see me later. I was angry, but I didn't yell at him. I was just cold, unyielding. He started to avoid me and now we are here. He spends his spare time with Olivia and although he claims to want to see me, he hasn't made the effort. I shouldn't have pushed him so hard."

"You haven't pushed him enough," Elizabeth interrupted, "He is in the wrong. Has he considered what this might do to your reputation? That it would be an embarrassment for you? There are rumours around the castle that even I have heard. It is unacceptable."

"What should I do?" she asked.

"Life at court is a matter of politics. First, what are Olivia's motivations? There are two things she could want: to become Francis' mistress or to become the next Queen of France. To do that, she would need to create a rift between the two of you. She wants more power. You need to show her that you are more powerful than she is," Elizabeth said with a smile.

The more that Mary thought about it, the more truth she saw to Elizabeth's words. It didn't matter if Olivia loved him or not, she clearly wanted something more out of Francis. This entire time, Mary has had to live with Olivia's smirks and interruptions. Olivia has had all the control from the beginning. Elizabeth was right, things had to change.

"How do I show her that? What do I do about Francis?" Mary asked.

"You don't let her get under your skin. You show her that you have to control and that she was only here because you were being gracious. You are a queen, she is a noblewoman," she said, "Most women believe that men can do whatever they please. I disagree. Francis needs to realize that this is more than what he wants. You cannot let him have all the power in your relationship. You need to stand up for yourself. We come from a line of strong men and women. Remember that.

"But your first duty is to your country, despite your feelings for him. You need to act in Scotland's best interests. If France won't have you, then show them you have options. Show them that you are strong and that they should not cross you. If they do, you have my support," Elizabeth said.

Mary was shocked. "You would do that for me?"

"You are my family and ally. It is time that we make a formal alliance," she said, "We will meet again tomorrow to write the contract and make it official. I have to meet with King Henry within the hour."

"Thank you for everything. You have given me more than you could possibly understand," Mary said as she rose to give her cousin a hug.

After setting up a time to meet the next morning, Mary left Elizabeth's bedchambers feeling energetic and confident. As King Henry was unavailable, she strode to Francis' bedchambers. Although Francis was keen on avoiding her, she was going to force him to confront their issues.

The page outside the door tried to stop her, but she managed to get around him and stumbled into Francis' bedchambers. The sight in front of her made her pause, even though she had suspected it. Part of her wanted to turn around and run away. It was uncomfortable and inappropriate. She was still unnoticed as Olivia was focused on riding her betrothed and Francis' eyes were glued to Olivia's naked frame. The sadness and hurt that she had been feeling since entering the room fell away. Mary needed to listen to Elizabeth. Mary was strong, confident, and related to Elizabeth. If Elizabeth was fierce, that meant that it was in Mary's blood as well. The disgust and anger built in her until she decided to make herself known.

"So the rumours were true," Mary said and watched as Francis threw Olivia off the bed in surprise.

"Mary! This isn't what it looks like," he said as he covered himself up.

"I'm sure it's not," she said before turning to Olivia, "Leave."

"I need my clothes," Olivia said as she stood up to reach for them.

Mary laughed, "No. Leave now. At least the world will know you for the whore that you are."

Olivia looked between Mary and Francis and realized that Francis wasn't going to interfere. With a huff, Olivia sauntered out of the bedroom and slammed the door.

"That wasn't nice," Francis said as he walked naked to his wardrobe to get a housecoat.

"She had sex with my betrothed. I'm not concerned. Francis, we need to talk. Your behavior with Olivia is unacceptable. You are engaged to me, Francis, and how do you think this makes me feel? You have broken my heart. You have broken my heart and embarrassed me. Do you know that I get laughed at in the corridors? That no one takes me seriously? This is all your fault!" Mary said as a tear escaped her eye, "As if taking my heart wasn't enough, you had to take away my dignity as well."

"No one else knows. I have been discreet. I never meant for any of this to happen. I never meant to hurt you. I was confused. I loved her and when she left, my whole world fell apart. Then I met you for the second time. I got overwhelmed. It doesn't matter if we get along, if we love each other, because we will have to get married at some point. Being with you involves all of these expectations and it is enough pressure to make me go insane," Francis said.

"So I'm a duty? A chore for you to do? Do you think that I asked for this? I'm in the same position that you are. I'm just as trapped as you. But I have been trying, trying to make this less bearable for the both of us. You think that you're being discreet? The Queen of England knows about your affair with Olivia. Everyone knows!" Mary said hitting a vase off the table, feeling pleased to hear it shatter.

Francis looked at her like he didn't recognize her. She used to be wild and stubborn as a child, but the convent had taught her to rein it in. But now, now she was losing control of her emotions and there was nothing she could do to stop the flood. It was in that moment that Mary realized that she didn't recognize him either. He was a stranger wearing a familiar face. She didn't know what hurt more, this realization or the fact that he didn't share her love. With that thought in mind, she turned away from him to flee.

"Mary, wait! You can't leave. You're my betrothed and our countries are on the line. We might not see eye to eye right now, but we will have to one day," Francis said grabbing her arm.

There was a steady stream of tears pouring out of her eyes that she could barely see his arm, his face.

"All you care about is duty, isn't it? It doesn't matter that you've shattered my heart and broken my reputation. You don't care about me. You don't care that you've hurt me. Even if you don't love me, you used to be my best friend. I can't believe you would say that!" Mary said backing away from him, "I can't believe you. Your father doesn't want us to marry. He doesn't want our countries to become allies. And you know what? I don't care. I don't care anymore. If your father refuses to officially join our countries, there's no reason for me to stay."

"You can't leave. Scotland will be attacked in days! You won't go through with this," Francis tried to convince himself.

"Then that is a risk that I will have to take. As far as I am concerned, we are finished. I don't want to see you ever again," Mary said as she stormed out of the room.

She was within view of her bedchambers when she felt a hand grab her arm. Her hand immediately shot out and slapped her intruder. Mary gasped when she realized that it wasn't Francis that pursued her.

"Bash! I am so sorry," Mary said as she tried to inspect the damage done to his face.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," he said, "Let's head down to the woods. We won't be interrupted there."

"Are you going to exact your revenge?" she asked trying to slow her tears by making a joke.

The walk to the forest felt like an eternity. She wanted to be alone and would have emphasized that, but her guilt at slapping Bash kept her silent. They took a series of servant passageways to avoid detection and when they walked into the forest, Mary burst into tears once again.

"It's going to be okay," Bash said as he wrapped his arms around her and held Mary.

His presence and warmth was a comfort and she broke down. Mary couldn't believe what had happened. Francis was cheating on her. He was having sex with Olivia and she caught them in the middle of the act! Francis didn't feel guilty either. He felt like Mary was a duty, a burden. That had hurt more than she would have anticipated. Because no matter how much she knew that Francis was a duty, Mary had tried to get to know him. She had tried to make it more than a duty.

What was her mother going to think? Her mother had worked so hard for this alliance and Mary had destroyed it. It wouldn't matter to her mother that she had found an ally in England. Mary would be a disappointment, a reminder to her mother that she wasn't the son her mother had always wanted.

When Bash asked her what wrong, Mary told him everything. It was refreshing to have someone to share her worries and doubts with. Someone who wouldn't use this information against her. Someone who genuinely cared. She went as far as telling him about her new relationship with Queen Elizabeth and how she finally had a way to strengthen her country without France.

"I had no idea you were going through this. Why didn't you tell me sooner? You know that I would have helped you," Bash said as they sat down against a tree.

"Because you're Francis' brother and you are French. What I decide will affect your life. You love Francis and he loves you. I would never want to make you feel like you had to choose between us," Mary said.

"Listening to you and being your friend isn't going to force me to choose between the two of you. My brother is being an idiot and I will make sure to let him know. What he did with Olivia isn't right. I didn't think he would turn out this way, like our father. Francis will realize the consequences of his actions," he said.

She sighed, "I never thought that things would end up this way. Do you remember when I used to force you and Francis to play marriage with me when we were younger? Francis was always my husband and you were always the priest. It was simpler back then. Why did we grow up?"

Bash put his arm around Mary and she leaned into him, "Because it was time for us to take responsibility. You have your country to rule, Francis will eventually have his, and I will become a stuffy old man who yells at children."

"You won't become a stuffy old man. I won't let you," Mary smiled, "I'm leaving tomorrow."

"So soon? Can't you wait a little longer?" he asked.

"No, I'm afraid that I can't. Speaking of my departure, can I ask you something?" she said.

Mary felt him nod and smiled, "I have a theory that I've been trying to work out for the past couple of weeks. Have you used your charm to make one of my friends fall in love with you?"

Bash immediately pulled away from Mary and looked at her. "What would give you that idea?"

Mary laughed, "You're not denying it, so I must be right. A few weeks ago, Lola told me that she had fallen in love with a man and that everyone would disapprove of it. I hadn't seen Lola with anyone in particular, so I started to pay attention to see if I could guess whom it was. You are a lot more obvious than you think you are, Bash."

"Are you angry with me?" he asked.

"Are you going to hurt her? Are you just having fun with her?" Mary asked.

"No, of course not. I love her," Bash said.

"Then I do not have a problem with it. My two dearest friends are in love with each other. I think that it is great. Can I ask how it happened?"

"When I was wounded, Lola took care of me. She made sure that I was taking the right potions, sleeping enough, and kept me company so I didn't feel lonely in Nostradamus' room," he admitted, "Are you ready to return to the castle?"

Mary sighed, "I suppose I should return. I am very happy for you. I can see how much you two care for one another."

Bash helped Mary up and together, they returned to the castle the very way they had left it. It was a quiet walk, but Mary felt better now that she had confided in Bash. The road she had chosen wasn't an easy one. She was going to anger many people including those who raised her after her mother sent her to France.

It was in this moment that Mary realized her duty to her country. She had always thought of herself as just an ordinary girl, but that was the furthest thing from the truth. Mary was the Queen of Scotland. She had an entire country relying on her to make the right decisions, to make the right sacrifices, and to protect her people from harm. Mary had always known that, but now she understood the implications after talking to Elizabeth. She needed to be strong for her country. She needed to do the right thing for her people, no matter the cost.

After bidding Bash goodnight, Mary returned to her chambers and got ready for bed by herself. Today had been difficult and she was scared of what the next day would bring. She would have to be strong, but for tonight, she would cry. Mary would grieve for the love and innocence that she had lost today. Allowing her tears to fall, Mary crawled into bed and pushed tomorrow's events to the back of her mind.

Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think :).

Kate xx