Mary and Francis strolled by the lake, hand in hand, enjoying the tranquil surroundings and each other's company.

But when they reached the spot where Mary and Bash had kissed, she faltered for half a step and turned away to hide her face. Francis noticed her guilty expression. He sighed inwardly. As much as he wanted to continue in blissful ignorance and golden silence, they couldn't ignore the cloud of secrets and regrets hanging over their heads forever. He stopped her.

"Mary, I think we should talk about what happened, between you and Bash."

Her eyes widened in shock and her face reddened in embarrassment. "Y-you know?" she gasped, then belatedly realized the cause of the brothers' fistfight.

"Yes, I know about your kiss." He grimaced. "After we fought, I went looking for you, and well, I found you...with Bash."

"Francis!" Mary said, horrified. "I'm so sorry! I swear it was nothing. Just a stupid, immature, drunken mistake that I wish had never happened. And I was going to tell you, but you were still angry, and I was scared, and things have been going so well for us lately, and I didn't want to ruin it." She took a breath. "It meant nothing." she repeated emphatically. "Please believe me." She could see that she had hurt him, and she feared he would not be able to forgive her.

He stared into her eyes for a few seconds, desperately hoping that the passionate kiss he had witnessed had only been one-sided. Her remorse was sincere, he knew, and he was sure of her love for him. He decided to believe in that, so he said, "I do, Mary."

She let out the breath she had been holding. "I'm so sorry that I hurt you, Francis." she said, placing her hand on his arm.

"There's plenty of blame to go around." he sighed. "You only went to Bash in that emotional and..slightly inebriated..state because I was behaving like a 'moody, arrogant arse' again."

She smiled slightly at that, but insisted, "No, I was the one who was unreasonable and, as you said, unsteady from too much wine and too little food. I should have trusted your word, but instead I overreacted and lost my temper."

"I lost mine, too." Francis admitted, wanting to clear the air of all their errors and doubts. "And of course you were angry and upset, after hearing about my and Olivia's kiss." He lowered his eyes, ashamed.

Mary bit her lip and asked, hesitantly, "And, is that..all that happened?" He hadn't said exactly, only that he had "stopped it."

Francis took both her hands in his and looked directly at her. "Yes. Just one meaningless kiss. I wasn't thinking and got caught up in our trip down memory lane, which ironically, also involved alcohol. But that's all." She still looked unsure, wounded and vulnerable. "Mary, I swear to you that nothing else happened between Olivia and me, and I would take it back if I could. I'm sorry." He kissed her hands.

After a moment, Mary said, "We both made mistakes, did things we regret. We could have handled things better."

Francis nodded. "We should have talked more, and drank less." he said. "Perhaps we should add that to our wedding vows."

Mary laughed a little then turned solemn again, her insecurities still eating at her. She forgave him for the kiss, as she had had the same lapse in judgment. But if not physical, what if Francis and Olivia had resumed an emotional affair? She was his first love, just as he was Mary's. Olivia would always have a place in his heart. What if he loved her still?

"What is it?" Francis asked her, searching her face. He could see she was still in pain, and he had to erase it.

"I just-" she began, then started again. "I was worried, because after we fought, you were avoiding me..and spending more time with Olivia." Francis tried to reassure her, but she rushed on. "I know nothing else happened with her. I believe you. And I know you love me." She took a deep breath. "But, Francis, she was your first love. I know what she must mean to you. That first, sweet, pure love never really goes away. I should know." Because it was what she had always felt for him.

Mary looked down at their hands and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm being ridiculous, fretting over the past and bringing up petty jealousy after the life-and-death situation we just went through. Forget I said anything." Francis released her hands and brought his to her face. He lifted her head. Instead of exasperation like she expected, he was smiling at her with adoration.

"Mary," he said tenderly, "I'm sorry I made you worry. I only avoided you because I was confused, jealous, and afraid that I had pushed you away, to Bash." She shook her head no. "Olivia and I only talked." he stressed. "We decided to go back to being just friends because, as I told her repeatedly, I am in love with you, Mary."

She smiled, and he tucked her hair behind her ear, chuckling softly as he told her, "She actually got fed up with me because all I would talk about was you. How much I admire you, and care for you, and love you."

Mary blushed with pleasure. He leaned in and kissed her, his lips warm and soft, and all her doubts melted away. She was sure of Francis' feelings. Regardless of who came before, he loved Mary now. The past no longer mattered, only the present and their future.

When they parted, Francis grinned and said, "But you're wrong, you know. Olivia wasn't my first love."

"What?" she said, bewildered. "But I thought..."

"True, she was my first..romantic relationship." Francis said, suddenly shy. "And there were feelings and happy days and intimacy. But it was a fantasy, an escape from the pressures and restrictions of my life. Everything was already decided for me, how I spent my time and where and with whom, what I would be when I grew up, and even who I would marry. I just wanted to control one thing in my life, and the only thing they couldn't decide for me was who I fell in love with."

Mary understood. As a queen, she felt the same frustrations and lack of freedom. She nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"When you first returned to Court, you said I wouldn't let myself love you. That's how it was with Olivia. I think I wanted to fall in love with her, to have someone of my own and dream of another life. But I knew, we both knew, that we had no future together. So my heart wouldn't let me." Francis caressed Mary's face. "It was waiting for you."

Mary was so touched she was speechless. So she simply kissed him then wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. He held her, speaking softly into her hair. "A few days ago, my biggest concern was that I had lost you to someone else. And then in the woods, I almost lost you forever. Facing our mortality made me realize what you mean to me, and I don't want another second to go by without you knowing, too."

He pulled back to look at her and said, "You are my first love, Mary." The smile she gave him was radiant. "I didn't understand it when we were children," he said, "and when you were gone I told myself to ignore my feelings and focus solely on my duty. But you were right, that pure love never goes away. And when you came back, it was as if my heart had found its home."

Moved to tears, Mary cried and laughed with joy at the same time. Francis wiped the tears from her cheeks. "There's nothing I want more than to have you as my wife, Mary, my queen. But even if our time never comes, even if I'm forced to marry someone else for France, my heart will always go back to you."

"Francis." Mary thought she might burst from all the happiness and love she felt.

"You're my first love, Mary, and my last." Francis said, his eyes shining with emotion.

"And you are mine, Francis." she said ardently. "Since the day we met, until the day I die, you are my only love."

They kissed, and everything else faded away. In that moment, there were no countries or treaties, no rules or responsibilities. It was just the two of them, and it was all they desired, all they needed.

Later, at the church, Mary and Francis knelt before the altar and in the sight of God, pledged themselves to each other for the rest of their lives. They were not married in name yet, and may never be, but in their hearts, they were forever one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE END~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N 1: This, like the show, is a piece of historical fiction/fantasy. I tried to avoid being anachronistic, but the historical characters and story are not based on any research. I do not own Reign. Please review if you like or dislike. Thanks!

A/N 2: Finished! (Just in time to be ruined by tonight's episode yay!) I hope this story read like an "episode" of Reign that you "watch" in your head, since that's what I was going for. (Though of course I took liberties.) And if it didn't, then I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Thanks so much for reading and for the follows, favs, and reviews!

A/N 3: This chapter was inspired by UnlessIt'sEvil's Reign fic "Retaliation," which you should read. A single, beautiful line about first love made me imagine this "scene." (The whole fic, really, since I wrote the "episode" to lead up to this. Hm, maybe I should have just skipped the first 6 chapters and 13,000+ words and simply done this as a one-shot? o_0) So shout-out and thanks to UnlessIt'sEvil!