Hey guys, here the next chapter! All I have to say is I hope you don't hate me after this.
It had almost been four full hours since Mary had collapsed. She had been rushed to her chambers so that the physician could perform his work with more ease, but none of that mattered to Francis. Not when Mary was gravely ill and he couldn't even see her.
Whilst the physician was tending to Mary, Francis was trying to distract himself by going to meeting upon meetings to try and drown out the feeling of dread he had growing in his stomach. As the time went by the day slowly turned into a blur with and he only had one more meeting left.
As he sat down at his desk he heard the door knock and the English ambassador, Nicolas, walked in and sat in front of him. From what Francis could see the man in question had a piece of paper that he quietly placed onto the table.
"So, Nicolas what have you come to here to talk to me about"
"Well your majesty, I must confess I was hoping to talk to Queen Mary"
"Unfortunately, the Queen is currently indisposed, but I will convey any message you tell me to her once the meeting is over" Francis lied, well it did have some truth in its nature Mary was indisposed. But he could not tell him the reason why as he could've easily gone back to England and tell Elizabeth to stage an invasion in Scotland whilst Mary is unable to do anything.
"Then let us begin, shall we?"
The two of them began talking about the treaty and what was going to happen, such as the French and English soldiers being pulled from the Scottish boarders. And, the back lash that they both have faced since the terms of the treaty had taken place.
Countries such as Spain and Italy were steadfastly against it as it meant they couldn't turn England Catholic by putting Mary on Elizabeth throne. The Catholics living in England who also want Mary on their throne could revolt at any minute leaving England fractured and weak.
But soon the conversation took an interesting turn when the ambassador began talking about a subject that even he couldn't help but be curious about, the line of succession. It had been a question many been asking that if Mary would not be the next Queen then who would take the crown. Some assumed it would be Henry Stuart, the closest Englishman with a blood connection to the throne.
"Your majesty I would like to inform that Elizabeth has made a choice on an heir"
"An heir, who is it?" Francis asked.
"The heir will the child inside her majesty's belly" before Francis could even process what had been said he continued on. "Elizabeth would only ask this from you: that you make no announcement of this development to anyone."
"We be happy to comply with these conditions if that is what your Queen wants. Now if there is anything else I believe we are finished"
With a quick nod of the head Nicolas got up from his chair and left the room after giving him a bow. Not long after his departure Francis himself was preparing to leave, he knew that Mary would love to hear the news. That is if she was awake. If. That was a word that frightened him.
It also made him feel angry that his wife, the woman he was bound to until his death could be facing death herself and he wasn't allowed to see her. He knew deep down that he reasons they gave was a valid one. His mother had told she needed to be kept away from any source of stress that she may normally be exposed to.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
As he approached their shared chambers he saw the physician exiting the room, slowly closing door behind him as he turned to face the King. He waited for a few moments before bowing and slowly walking towards him.
"How is she?" Francis asked.
"Not well your majesty. The poison has worked its way deep into her system and it has left her very weak." Francis could feel himself tighten up as the words came out of his mouth.
"What else?"
"I do not want to imply anything, but it likely that the child will not survive this"
This was what brought Francis over the edge. Their child, who had not yet been brought into the world and had barley been in his mother's womb for two months, was already fighting for their life. This made him more determined than ever to find whoever did this and make them pay.
"You may leave now" Francis told him as he began walking off with an ever-growing pace as he knew that the King was in an unstable move.
It took Francis a few minutes to gather his strength before he opened the door widely to reveal Mary laying on her bed with the blanket pulled up to her stomach. The skin on her face seemed to grow ever paler, and there was small layer of sweat covering her forehead.
Almost immediately, Francis rushed to the bed and sat down on the pillows beside her. Francis slowly reached put the place his hands in hers, getting more hesitant as he got closer. Almost afraid that if he were to touch her she would break, like a mirror would when dropped.
The other hand rested on her cheek before running it down the side of her dress before leaving it on top of her swollen belly. Now that he was able to be alone with her he was able to notice more of her features. One of them was the dress she was wearing. It was still regal enough for a Queen but mainly consisted of a loose white robe, with a grey over coat that was heavily embraided with different types of patterns on it.
As he was looking at her he felt her begin to stir quietly, but as much as he would've loved to hear her voice he knew that she needed rest. Almost as much as he needed to sleep so he began to lull her back to sleep and then withdrew himself from her embrace.
As he got up to leave he glanced back to Mary before whispering to himself. 'Please be okay, Mary'.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
It was now morning and Francis had been sleeping in his old chambers so that Mary would be able to rest. He just wished he was able to rest as well, but unfortunately for him all he could think about was the dire situation that his beloved wife was in.
As he laid there in the bed thinking about what was to become of him and his family, he heard a swift knock on the door before the pager boy entered.
"Your mother has told me to tell you that you brother has arrived at the castle"
Francis soon remembered that with all that with all that was going on, such as stabilizing France after the return of the troops, that they had completely forgotten about Charles. Besides the boy had been away from his family for so long that it would've seemed cruel not to let him come home.
Moments after he left Francis got changed out of his sleeping clothes and into a more appropriate set of clothes for the court to see. He then began walking towards the door and out into the throne room where he would be there to greet him.
As he was walking down the corridor and past his and Mary's chambers he saw Kenna slowly close the door and begin to turn towards him. When she saw him, she started to walk towards him before stopping in front of him.
"I'm guessing you what to know how Mary's doing, don't you?" she asked.
"Yes, I do"
Kenna sighed before moving her gaze to the floor. "Well I am glad to say she has gotten better" Francis then let out a sigh of relief at the possibility of Mary's recovery happening sooner than the physician had anticipated.
"And our child, what news do you have about its health?"
Kenna then rose her face to look Francis in the eyes, but as she looked at him her eyes began to water which made Francis fear for the worst.
"Last night Mary was experiencing some bleeding and it is not yet sure whether or not it will survive".
Francis could barely hear what she was saying by the time she had reached the end of her sentence, not when he had just been told that his child may or may not be dead. But as much pain and sadness he felt he knew it would be nothing in comparison to how Mary would be feeling. When they had their first miscarriage it tore Mary to pieces. More so then it should have done, but considering that only an hour before she had been forced to endure the Christening of her husband's son.
He thought it only right that he should go onto the room and help comfort her just in case the worse had come to pass and what he feared had come true. But as he made his move Kenna moved her arm in a manner that told Francis not to go in there.
"She has been in so much pain, and she has just manged to sleep."
"Fine but I'll be back later. Make sure to tell Mary that I will be visiting her at 7 o'clock to have a private dinner in our chambers."
"Yes, I'll make to tell her when I check up on her in the next hour or so"
"Thank you" were the last words that were exchanged between them before the parted ways. All Francis could think about as he was walking was the news that Kenna had told him. But before he knew it he was already walking up the stairs that lead up to his throne.
Only minutes had passed when the guards announced the arrival of the Dauphin and the Queen Mother. When they both came in to the room Charles walked right up to the throne and did a little bow before looking at Francis with a smile on his face.
It was a smile that was also visible on Francis' face as he lifted himself up from his seating position and walked towards him with open arms. To which he returned with an equal amount energy.
"Welcome home brother"
Hoped you enjoyed this chapter! I just wanted to inform that I won't be able to update on Wednesdays anymore as my school schedule is getting pretty crazy. Any way see you next week!
