Disclaimer: I do not own Reign.

AN: Has it been a hot minute since I've posted? Yes. Yes, it has been. Here's some of the Valois to hopefully tide you over and provide some more background to what's happening.

"Well played, Henry."

"I could have done better."

"What are you talking about? You nearly beat me! Thank goodness you didn't or there would be talk about you trying to usurp me as heir."

At this, Francis slung his arm around his little brother's neck and put him in a light headlock with a laugh. Henry laughed along and pushed his brother off of him, knocking him further away with his racket. People always whispered behind their hands about how he must want the Crown for how competitive he was when they were at their games, but that wasn't the case at all. Francis knew his brother to have a competitive streak in him, but his fighting spirit wasn't one borne out of a lust for the kingdom. No, as he grinned over at his brother who was poking his arm with his tennis racket, the Dauphin knew that competition itself was what made Henry's blood sing. He loved the chase, the sense of going somewhere or doing something. The kingship would tie him down. Being the second son gave Henry the kind of freedom and choice that he craved after their imprisonment in Spain. At times, Francis wondered if Henry wasn't still held captive by the Spanish the way his attitude would sometimes shift and he would draw away from others. He'd done it less and less now that they'd grown older, but he knew that his little brother would never forgive their father for having left them there with no warning and no warmth of greeting after returning home. It was all in the past, but unlike himself, their father hadn't particularly taken a liking to Henry even before they'd been held in Spain and Francis was at a loss as to why. But perhaps this marriage business was a means to make amends for it all? Having his little brother marry before him was uncommon, especially since there wasn't anything in the works for himself as yet, but these girls seemed groomed well enough to be good wives despite them being common born.

There was the heiress of course, and she seemed like any other noble girl besides for the fact that she wasn't a noble through her father even if her mother was descended from one of the most noble lines in France. Well dressed, well spoken, and from what their father's informants had found out about her, Catherine was incredibly intelligent. Swinging his own racket at his brother as Henry continued to poke him, the Dauphin wasn't quite sure if he'd do well with a wife that was smarter than he was. On top of that, she was a Medici and bound to be as clever and manipulative as the rest of her Italian family. He didn't want his brother to be taken advantage of and although he knew that Henry could hold his own, Catherine might prove to be a little too much. Besides, Henry needed to be surrounded by people that made him happy and not once had he seen his brother smile or laugh while he'd been in the company of la duchessina. Surely if her manner was anything of note, she'd display it that first night? What would be the point of hiding any part of herself when the very reason she was here was to gain a royal engagement? She was charming in her way, but she seemed too reserved for the kind of girl Henry usually preferred. Francis knew that their father would prefer that Henry choose Catherine if only for what her dowry could bring to France as well as to bring the estates she'd inherited through her mother under the long reaching arms of the Crown, but for his brother's sake, he hoped he wouldn't choose her. Besides, who would choose Catherine when there was Hortensa? She was lively and sweet and approachable and her hair was such a beautifully rich brown and the way she danced was so graceful and - Francis caught himself thinking about her and was promptly thwacked on the back by Henry.

"You seem worlds away there, brother. Perhaps you'd like another just to wake you up a bit more, hm?"

"Henry!" The two turned, but not before the Dauphin had seen his little brother roll his eyes. Servants and nobles bowing right and left as their father made his way down the corridor, His Majesty did not seem pleased. "How dare you strike your brother?"

"Father, it was only in jest. I've not been harmed." The heir was quick to speak up for his younger brother, even taking a half step in front of him.

"Don't defend him, Francis. He's old enough to know better by now - unless there really isn't anything in that thick skull of his."

Henry's tone was laced with irritation although his voice was low. "Nothing to speak of."

"Don't be impertinent." Believing the immediate danger to have dissipated, the Dauphin stepped out from between the two. "Have you chosen either of the Medici girls yet?"

"It's not yet been a full week, Father."

"Remember you have until the end of summer. Just charm them into your bed and decide then. If they're as conniving as their family is famed to be, they won't even reject being in your bed at the same time as each other." Francis cast a glance at Henry and braced himself for whatever it was he'd say in reply.

"If I like them both, I'll take one as my wife and the other as my mistress. We've enough rooms. Perhaps I can put my mistress next to yours, Father?" All three of them had expected the blow to fall across the second son's face.

"Mind your tongue, boy."

When His Majesty had continued on his way, Francis turned to his brother. "Will you go through with it?"

"Bedding them?" Henry rubbed at his cheek while spinning his racket in hand as he considered the idea. "I'm not sure. Besides, it wouldn't be much of a comparison. The small one seems too much a lady to be wooed into bed within a summer."

"You'd also be ruining the chances of marriage of the one you didn't choose." Francis cringed mentally at the thought of a certain dark haired Florentine against his brother's sheets.

"Didn't you hear?" The younger Valois tutted playfully at his big brother for his apparent lack of listening skills. "I'll be keeping the other as my mistress, so she won't need to marry."

"Why, you - "

Some time and a pair of broken tennis rackets later, the two boys found themselves out of breath and laughing.

AN: I do still have a lot of plans for this, and thankfully I've done a little of an outline to get it all out. Thank you everyone who's read so far, new and returning readers! You all are amazing xx