Disclaimer: I neither own Reign, nor profit from this story.

Henry and his men finally made it back from subduing the uprising and made their way…to a surprisingly quiet Castle.

Francis had sent word to them that there had been an attack on the Castle, but that they were all fine. As a precaution Henry had sent about a third of the men back just to be certain, though it sounded like they had it all well in hand.

Upon returning though he noted that many of the Nobles had gone back to their estates and the servants seemed particularly subdued. Henry knew that the invaders had gotten the upper hand for a time, but he didn't quite expect this. Tired as he was he decided that he needed to find out more of what exactly had happened.

His adrenaline was still running a bit high from subduing the peasants, so though he was tired he was not yet ready to retire anyway.

He found Francis in his study, likely a room where he had spent much of his last few days. Although Catherine had been named Regent in his absence, they were both in agreement that Francis needed to start taking a more active role in the day to day decisions of ruling the country. He was both certain that his wife would have no trouble including him in her deliberations and glad that his son seemed to have taken to it so readily.

Entering the room Henry first noticed the withdrawn, almost haunted look on his son's face.

Odd, he thought the Castle had been retaken and the invaders had been fought back the same night they had assumed control…but one look at his son's face told a very different story.

"Francis," he called out.

The Dauphin looked up from his contemplations, his feet propped on the desk, and welcomed him back…though even the tenor of his greeting was distracted.

Hoping to draw his son out a bit more, Henry offered a report of his own endeavors. "Crushing the rebellion was quick, it was mostly a few very loud villagers stirring everyone else up. Once they were subdued the rest of the crowds settled down and dispersed."

When he received no response except for a a grunt he prodded a bit more directly, "And what of here?"

With a look that spoke of another kind of battle Francis answered. "Well initially the Count was planning to take myself, Charles, and little Henry with him as hostages, which as I am sure you can guess did not sit well with Mother. So instead she and Mary devised a plan to distract the Count while we got everyone else out of the Castle, including all of your sons."

"Distract them how?" Henry asked, now concerned.

Lowering his feet heavily, Francis sat up ever so slightly, only to rest his elbows on his knees still staring into nothing. It looked as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. "Well they had requested a banquet in their honor and at your expense before they left. The plan was that I and everyone else would escape, including Mary and her ladies while Mother kept up the facade. Unfortunately that did not quite go as planned and they could not get out. Ultimately though the ladies, all of them were victorious and all able to walk away at the end."

"When I returned the Count was lying half over Mary, and both Mother and Mary were covered in blood while her ladies looked quite disheveled. I have a feeling that the Count and his men had rather crude intentions, but they seemed to get more than they deserved as they were well dead by the time I got there. Beyond that all that I could get out of Mother was that poison was involved somehow, you will have to ask her for the specifics."

"And where are Mary and your Mother now?"

"Mary and her ladies have been rather scarce these last few days, taking care of themselves and consulting Nostradamus when necessary." Looking down a little farther he continued, "I hear Kenna," he almost spat her name, "had been staying down in the infirmary. It would seem that she had gotten a bit high and mighty as usual and so her treatment was especially unkind."

Henry rolled his eyes at his son's estimation of his newest mistress but kept silent.

Looking back up and preparing to stand Francis looked directly into his Father's eyes. "Mother has been assisting me when needed with matters of state, though I have done my best not to need her. The rest of the time she has spent almost entirely in seclusion, though she does check on the rest of your children daily without fail, and has been retiring noticeably early."

He rose fully to standing and moved to the door, but paused when he got to his Father. "She won't tell me any more than I have told you, but she is definitely not acting herself. Perhaps you can get more out of her than I could."

Francis walked the rest of the way out of the room, leaving Henry to his thoughts.

He left for less than a week, and his Castle had been turned inside out and upside down. And then there was his Queen…

For Catherine to get rattled, he knew something had definitely gone wrong.

Deciding that it would be best to ferret it out sooner than later he made his way up to her chambers and was let in with only a mild protest. Unsurprisingly he found her already retired for the night and presumably already asleep, but with the fire in her hearth well blazing and several candles still lit.

She was most definitely not fine.

Moving the rest of the way into her room and toward her bed, Henry approached slowly. She looked calm and at rest, but Catherine was a master of deception and he couldn't imagine after the Count's visit that much of her sleep had been especially restful.

Approaching slowly, he moved to sit on her bed to determine if she was indeed asleep when she sat up quickly, dagger in hand, raised and ready to strike.

She was alert enough after the initial shock that she hadn't actually moved to strike him. With a gentle hand on her wrist he lowered the weapon down to the coverlet and sighed.

"So you are doing fine then?"