Here is chapter 8! Sorry about posting late, again. I will try and get back into my regular schedule. But anyways, enjoy.
Mary was beginning to wake up slowly from her long sleep. The only thing Mary could say she accurately remembered was the lunch she had hours ago. She barely remembered one of her ladies, Kenna, coming in to her chambers briefly to check up on her.
As she laid there on her bed, she felt a pain rise in her head and lower back, to which she assumed was caused from the fall she suffered. The pain was a sharp and stinging, the type of pain one would get after accidently walking into a table that corners dug deep into your ribs.
Finally opening her eyes to look at her surroundings better. Mary waited for the pain to dull enough for her move, or at least enough to allow her some moment of peace. The time came soon enough for her as it only took a few minutes for her to regain the feeling in her back and for the pain in her head to fade to point where she could once again hear her thoughts.
Quietly moving one of her arms to the side of her ribs, Mary used it to prop herself up so she could sit up and face herself towards the window. From what she could tell the door to the balcony was left open to let some air in the room.
As she was gazing out of the balcony she could see that the sun was already half below the mountains that surrounded it on both sides, this was one of Mary's favourite things do. She remembered being a child and sneaking out into the gardens with Francis to watch the sun set. It was something that was still fond in her mind because those days seemed so far away now.
Sure, she had been Queen of Scotland back then and Francis the heir to the French throne, but they were still children and so their peers had taken a hold of all their power leaving them to be just Mary and just Francis.
Mary was suddenly snapped out of her daze and brought back to reality when she felt something underneath her hands. It was hard and rough, nothing like the soft linens that normally adorned her bed. When she looked down to see to find out what it was she was greeted with a sight that made her stomach turn.
It was a patch of dried blood. It was also then that she realised that she was in different dress than she was in previously. Mary then began to look around the room to see of her other dress was still in the room, go which the answer was yes. As she locked her gaze on to a dress that was hunched over a bucket, ready for a laundry servant to come and take it.
But the thing that striked her the most was the familiar colour of deep red that was dotted on the area below where the corset would sit. The sight of this made her look back down to the blood on her sheets before looking back at the dress. Immediately, the worst came to mind as she realised what could have happened to her in the hours that were lost to her memory.
"No, it can't be." Mary could barely have muttered before tears threatened to spill from eyes. If what she thought had happened had actually come to pass she couldn't bear even breathing, knowing that she had failed Francis a second time.
"Excuse me your grace, is there anything you require?" A servant girl asked. Mary must have been so deep in thought that she didn't even hear her open the door or enter.
"No. No, there isn't"
"Okay your grace" the girl paused for a few moments, almost as if she needed to remember what she was going to say "The lady Kenna also wanted me to inform you that the King will be coming to your chamber for a late night dinner at 7 o'clock."
Great, this was the last thing she needed or wanted. Mary didn't know how she was going to face Francis. He always was able to tell whether or not she was lying and the love in his eyes, that always shone so brightly, would have completely broken through any defences she may have put up.
Just as the girl was about to pull open the door to leave the Queen to wallow in her own thoughts a voice spoke up from behind her.
"Actually, there is something I do require" the girl turned her head back in a questioning manner but was still ready to carry out the Queen's orders to the best of her abilities.
"Yes, your grace. What is it that you require?"
"Can you send in a midwife, and make sure to tell her to come immediately. I want her visit to be over before the King's return."
"Yes, I'll make sure to get her quickly"
And with that, the girl bowed before silently leaving the room. Leaving Mary alone to stare at the blood stain besides her hand and with each passing moment she was more confused about what was to become of her child.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Francis was the first to pull himself away from his embrace with his brother. Francis then looked around the room until he saw the women he was looking for, his mother. As he looked over to her he could almost see a softness in the way she was holding herself. Francis assumed that it was because she had not seen her son in so long.
But it was a softness that was quickly over as she returned to her normal stare of dominance that showed the court that she was the great Catherine de Medici and she was still a powerhouse here in French court.
As her normal demeanour returned, she looked up to make eye contact with her eldest son. She knew that he meant he needed her over to where he was. It wasn't a surprise to her that Francis still needed her direction from time to time. He was still revering from his illness and was currently going the heartbreak from the possible death of his child.
"Hello, my children" Catherine's said as she approached the two of them. "Ah, Charles. My have you grown!"
"Yes, well I have my mother to thank for providing me with such great homes to stay at"
"You must tell me of how your journey back to court was"
Francis, Catherine and Charles then preceded to leave the throne room and then begin to walk down the neighbouring corridor. They were mainly talking about Charles; his recent travels to Spain and the lessons he had been being taught.
They quickly came to a stop when two lord approached them. They were both young men, around 18 and were a similar stature to the prince. As they got to them they stopped before removing their hats and bowing.
The first of the men, who had black ragged hair that adorned his head along with a golden-brown coat that showed of his status as one of the riches nobles in the country. "Charles there you are! We've been looking for you."
The two men suddenly dropped their formal demeanour, in exchange for a more casual, friend-like one. Catherine and Francis both looked at each other with a worried look as they watched Charles walk over to them and greet them like they were life time friends.
"Francis, who is that boy?" Catherine hissed. She didn't like those boys and the influence they had on him. Even though he may only be Dauphin for a few more months before a new heir was produced, he was still able to make nation changing decisions.
"He and his companion were living in the estate in Spain that Charles was spending time out, during his appearance at Spanish court. They've been staying with him ever since"
Like Catherine, Francis was not happy to see them here. Ever since Charles became sixteen, he would go out drinking to no end and was ditching his tutors he was is in no shape ready for the responsibilities that faced him.
Charles then began to wonder off claiming that he need to catch up with his friends, and Francis and Catherine were left to bicker about what to do with the prince and his friends. But Francis soon told his mother that he would have to leave if he wanted his dinner with Mary to be done in time. Catherine muttered something about a 'get well' but Francis couldn't tell as he started to walk off to the kitchen to place his order.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Bash was sitting shirtless at his vanity, which was a smaller one that paled when compared to that of his wife's. Kenna always had a thing for buying the most extravagant things to bolster her reputation as a member of the royal family.
Focusing intensely on shaving the side of his face when he heard the doors slowly begin to open and a figure appeared from the shadows and approached him from behind. Bash could only recognise this woman as his loving wife, Kenna.
"You're focusing too hard. What's wrong?" Kenna frowned.
"Francis asked me to lead an investigation to find out who poisoned Mary."
"Do you have any leads on who could've done this" Kenna asked as she walked even closer to sit beside him.
"All we know is that he fled to Lyon, we've sent a group of men to the town to find him." As he finished his sentence he looked up to his wife deep in thought.
"What is it?"
"I just remembered something someone said to me earlier"
"What did they say?" Bash asked as he rose from his seat to stand next to her.
"A woman ran into me looking distraught, when I asked her what was wrong she told me that her husband had been acting strange recently. Then a few hours ago he claimed he had an emergency in Lyon and left immediately."
"He could've had a part in it." Bash then moved to put his coat and boots on "Which means she might know something, do you know where should be now?"
"Probably in the Great Hall dancing with the other ladies"
Bash then said a quick goodbye and left to go find the woman in question.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Francis was walking towards his and Mary's chambers for their late-night dinner. As he approached his destination all he could think about was Mary and whether she was okay. He wasn't even sure if she was sleeping or not, but he just had to see her.
When he reached the door to pull it open it took him a few moments before he could find himself able to pull it open. Francis felt a worrying pain grow in his stomach as he looked at the bed to find that was empty. Francis then began to look around the room to see where she was, until he locked on to her body, that was standing on the edge of the balcony.
"Mary?" Francis asked. Mary quickly turned to face him, and from what he could see she had been crying for some time.
"Mary, what's wrong? Please. Tell me" Francis moved towards her. Once he was stood beside her he reached out to touch her hand but failed as she pulled herself away.
"The b-baby"
"What about it, is it okay Mary?"
"It lives." These were the only words that Francis could hear before he pulled Mary in to hug. The two of them then spent the rest of the evening together thanking God for their blessings and eating the dinner Francis had ready for them. To which afterwards they went to sleep.
I just wanted to say sorry again for posting this chapter late, I was out all day yesterday and completely forgot to post the chapter. See you next Saturday!
