I went back to my chambers, only to feel as though someone was watching me.
"Guards!" I yelled.
The guards outside of my chambers ran in.
"Is everything alright, Queen Mary?" One guard asked.
"I think there is someone in here. I want the entire room to be searched, even the passageways if there are any that connect to this room. Do all of you understand?" They all nodded and got to looking at once.
Francis must have heard about the guards coming into my chambers because he came running. I could see the look of concern on his face before he even spoke.
"Mary are you alright?" He questioned. I could tell he wanted to know more about what was wrong, but he knows I don't like to have a million questions asked at once.
"I'm fine, but I felt as though I was being watched, so I called in my guards to search my chambers. I know I probably sound crazy, but I would rather be cautious than have something happen." I explained.
Just as I had finished explaining, my guards came out with a man in tow.
"This man was under your bed, perhaps to have his way with you when you were alone." The guard said, scowling at the man.
"Send him to Her Majesty Queen Catherine. I am in no state to think straight and choose what should be done with him." I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"Yes, your Majesty." He bowed before pushing the man towards the throne room.
"Are you alright, love?" Francis asked.
"I'm fine, but I am a little rattled that someone was in my chambers, under my bed, waiting to attack. I can't even begin to wonder who would send him to do this." I said, but I knew that Catherine was probably behind it. But unfortunately I knew that I couldn't take her down because she is still the Queen of France, and me trying to stand up to her would be like Francis trying to overthrow his father. It just wouldn't work.
"Would you like to come back to my chambers so you aren't alone? I don't want to risk anything and you be alone." He put his arms around my waist, with a loving look on his face.
"Sure. Thank you for running up. Even though it is late at night."
"Love, that is what I'm here for. I know mother thinks that we, as royals, cannot love, but I disagree. If we cannot love, then she needs to explain why my heart seems to want to explode every time I see you. I know my family has not made it easy to be here at French Court, but I will not let them run you off. Not Bash, not my Father, and most certainly not my mother." He smiled at me.
He leaned forward and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips and pulled away just as quickly. He took my hand and we walked to his chambers. Everyone seemed to think something was up, so they decided to stare. Lovely.
Everyone bowed as we passed them, and I smiled up at Francis.
Just as we reached his chambers, we had a guard come up to us.
He bowed.
"May I speak with the both of you, Your Highnesses?" He asked timidly.
He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place where I knew him from. But my gut told me to not trust him. Something seemed off about him.
"If you would excuse us for just a second. Francis, may I have a word with you in private?" He looked at me and knew something wasn't right.
We moved away from him, and made sure he couldn't hear us before we started talking.
"Mary, what is the problem?" Francis questioned.
"I don't know where I know him from, but I know him and I have a feeling that something is not right with him. I think he is up to something and that he will try to do some harm to one of us, if not both of us." I whispered quickly.
Francis looked at me, then at the guard over my shoulder.
"Alright, I'll tell him we'll speak with him in the morning. Then when we get into my chambers, and we know it's safe to speak, we'll talk about this more." I nodded and put my trust in him like I did with most everything else.
I turned around and as we walked back over, the man who was dressed as the guard that we were just speaking about had disappeared.