Disclaimer: I don't own Reign!
A/N:Thank you so much for your patience! Finally another chapter-I'm getting pretty terrible at sticking to my goal of updating once a week...deepest apologies! But thank you as always for your guys' wonderful support!
Chapitre 7
The sun was just beginning to set when Mary and Francis suddenly heard multiple voices speaking and quite a bit of shuffling going on outside their room. The two had begun dozing off, but were immediately alert once they heard the commotion.
"I wonder what's going on," Mary said as she picked her head up off of Francis' shoulder.
The door suddenly burst open to reveal Lucien, who strode straight through the door to the young couple. He looked as if he were in a hurry and a bit distressed.
He kneeled down before Francis and took out his dagger to cut the rope that was tied around his feet. "Come with me," he said aggressively, as he yanked Francis up off the ground and pulled him towards the door.
"What are you doing?! Where are you taking him?!" Mary cried out, but Lucien did not respond. He just continued to pull Francis outside of the room. Francis looked back at Mary and attempted to give her a comforting smile before he was taken out of sight.
Jeanne and Margaret appeared in the doorway right when Lucien and Francis departed. Each with a pillow in hand, they came and kneeled down before Mary. Both were looking slightly terrified.
"We brought you some pillows, your majesty. We hope they will make sleeping a little more comfortable," Jeanne said.
"Thank you," Mary said, but was distracted with thoughts of what was happening to Francis. She was about to ask the young women if they knew anything, but noticed they were trembling. "What's wrong?"
Jeanne was looking down at her apron, playing with the edge of it. "Our aunt is here…she isn't too friendly," she answered.
XxxxxxxX
Lucien pushed Francis into a small, wooden chair beside a desk that was located in the main room of the cottage. Francis groaned in pain.
"What are you doing?!" Francis exclaimed. Lucien ignored his question and quickly began tying Francis' feet to the chair.
Lucien then pulled out a piece of parchment from a drawer and laid it on top of the desk.
"I need you to write a letter to your mother, letting her know that you and Mary have been kidnapped and that you will be released if she accepts our requests," he ordered while pulling out a quill pen from the desk.
Francis eyed him suspiciously. "What are your requests?"
"That I get to visit with your father one last time," a female voice said from behind Francis.
Francis turned his head to see who was speaking, and his eyes widened once he saw who it was.
"Diane?"
"All of France has heard that your father has been going mad, Francis," Diane began to explain. "One of my spies informed me he was injured at the jousting tournament yesterday…I imagine this may be the end for him, and I would like the chance to see him one last time…your mother will surely keep him away from me, so I was in need of some leverage…" she said as she eyed Francis. "I asked my nephew to be on the lookout for you," she said as she looked over to Lucien. "It was pure luck that he managed to capture Mary first."
At the mention of the jousting tournament, Francis felt the guilt crash over him once again. But he knew he couldn't let his face show it. Part of him wondered if he should reveal that his father was already dead, thinking they might let him and Mary go. He decided against it, figuring they would probably ask for something more if they found out they had captured the king of France.
"I'll soon be off to see your mother, so it would be nice to have proof that I have you in my possession," Diane said, gesturing to the parchment and quill.
Lucien cut the rope that was tied around Francis' hands, and Francis immediately tried to untie the rope around his ankles and get up out of the chair to escape. However, Lucien was quick to push him back down in the chair.
"Perhaps, we should have Mary join us…and then we can use her to help keep you under control," Diane said with a malevolent smile.
"That won't be necessary," Francis quickly replied and made no move to get up out of the chair. Lucien hesitantly stepped away from him, and Francis leaned forward on the desk to pick up the quill.
"What would you like me to say?" Francis asked them.
"Let your mother know that you and Mary are in my care, you're safe, and that you'll be released once she grants me permission to visit with Henry," Diane told him.
Francis did as he was told, hating himself for it. He never did enjoy taking orders from other people, especially ones using him for their own gain. But he knew he had to do it, for his and Mary's safety.
Once Francis finished writing the letter, he folded it up. Lucien lit a wax stick to let it drip on the letter and indicated that Francis should press his ring into the wax. Francis complied and handed the letter over to Diane.
"Excellent," Diane said.
Francis could only hope that he and Mary would manage to escape before Diane found out that Henry was no longer alive.
XxxxxxxX
After tying up Francis' arms again, Lucien and Diane escorted him back to the room where Mary was. When they appeared, Mary's eyes looked up at them, and she was immediately taken aback at the sight of Bash's mother.
"Diane?" She questioned in surprise. Her eyes immediately sought to meet with Francis' and showed her confusion.
"Hello Mary," Diane said. "How lovely to see you," she said sarcastically.
"What are you doing here?" Mary asked her.
"I'm sure your…husband here will fill you in," Diane replied. A moment later, Diane sighed. "You know Mary, if you had only married my son, you wouldn't be in this situation."
Francis glared at her in response to her comment. Bash and Mary's relationship would always be a sore spot for him, and he did not enjoy being reminded of it. He also did not enjoy being reminded that he was the reason for his and Mary's current predicament.
Mary had a cross look upon her face, feeling angry that Diane even dared to say such a thing. She knew it probably hurt Francis.
Lucien roughly pushed Francis to the ground across the room from Mary. When he fell to the ground, his head ended up hitting the wall, causing him to yelp in pain. Mary gasped. Diane didn't look too concerned, and Lucien simply proceeded to tie up Francis' ankles.
"Have a pleasant evening. Thank you for your help, Francis," Diane stated before turning and heading out of the room. Lucien followed her, closing the door behind him.
"Francis, are you okay?" Mary asked him. "I'll roll over to you."
"No!" Francis was quick to protest. "No, I don't want you to risk hurting yourself."
"But Francis—"
"No, Mary. It's already my fault we're here. I don't want you to be hurt anymore by this."
Mary sighed and wished Francis would just accept that she didn't blame him at all for their captivity. Knowing she wouldn't get anywhere with him, she decided to change the subject. "What is Diane doing here?"
"Apparently, she heard that my father had been going mad and that he was...injured at the tournament. She thinks he is still alive…and she's using me to convince my mother to permit her to see him. I imagine she would've wanted to make one last plea that Bash be his successor. She made me write a letter to my mother to prove I'm her prisoner," Francis explained. "I think she intends to go to the castle early in the morning."
"But she'll most likely find out that Henry is no longer alive. Unless Catherine convinces her otherwise…but if she doesn't, what will happen to us then?"
"Hopefully, we'll be able to get ourselves out of here before we have to find out. I think I have an idea…"
XxxxxxxX
The next morning, Francis woke up after hearing some voices outside the room. He assumed Diane was preparing to leave for the castle and decided he should wake Mary up so they could implement their plan as soon as Diane departed.
When he looked over at Mary lying on the floor on the pillow, he noticed that she was already awake. However, something didn't seem right.
"Mary," Francis whispered.
"Francis," she said weakly. "I…I don't feel so well. My head is aching again…I think I have a fever."
Francis' eyes widened in alarm when he heard Mary suddenly begin coughing.
A/N: OH THE DRAMA!
Sooo once again, life is just getting in the way of me writing a chapter. Plus, on top of that, I'm just a slow writer! I can only write in small little bits here and there...I think I started this chapter on Sunday and I had to keep going back to it each day since then lol. But I hope you all liked the chapter! Please review because I'd love to know your thoughts :)