I do not own Reign
applez4realz I dedicate the end of this this chapter to you! Some Mary for you ;)
Sophia
She made her way quickly down the hall and into her room. She seemed to find out things that she hoped never to know just by taking walks.
She had been walking to Mary's room when she had passed Olivia having a conversation with a hand maid of hers. They had been in a stone room as Sophia passed and she heard Francis' name. She stopped by the outside of the door hoping they hadn't seen her pass. It seemed by their tone and what they were saying that they hadn't.
"I am trying to make him but his feelings for Mary hold strong." She said.
"Women's wiles always win out over men's loyalty." Her maid said.
"I am afraid if I do not coerce him to bed soon the queen will think I cannot do the job. She will fulfill her promise to ruin me and my family. I know she shall. She cares nothing for me at all; only for Francis' future."
Sophia stepped away from the door quickly. She had felt useless and horrible after her run in with Sebastian. She felt as if she should fix something for once. She had written her father a letter earlier that she would act on now. She was going to have to act quickly and carefully. If one wrong person found out she was up to before they were supposed to he would be in some trouble that she herself couldn't charm her way out of.
So she would be careful. Many people owed her and today she would collect on those debts. She planned her day tomorrow.
Nostradamus
He woke to the sound of a knock on the table he had fallen asleep on. He had fallen asleep here too many times to count and as he raised his head from the open book of remedies he had been looking at he met the face of a determined Sophia. His heart dropped. He felt so much guilt whenever he saw this child.
She knew he did and that is why she seemed to be here. As he looked outside he realized that the sun wasn't up yet. It was still dark and this girl carried a candle and it lit up her face in an eerie way. She wanted something from him and he was sure that it was important to her otherwise she wouldn't be here. She hated him. He didn't blame her either. He had brought mental torture upon her when she was nothing but a child. He wondered now if she had come to exact revenge.
"Nostradamus." She started as he nodded at her sitting up as straight. "I would have you tell me the future of Francis future King of France. The same future that I sense you have shared with the Queen" He opened his mouth to protest but she held her hand up. "If you do this for me I will consider us even. You took my childhood from me and robbed me of my innocence. What I ask now is merely information."
He was still hesitant. Sophia had been known to be unpredictable. There was no telling what she would do with this information. He looked at her face as she waited for him to respond and the guilt that ate away at him when he saw her flowed over him. Would his conscious quiet if he told her what she wanted to know? She sighed; she must have seen the guilt on his face.
"Sir I must tell you that with or without this information that you may or may not give me I have never blamed you for what happened to me or my mother. Foreseeing the future must be a horrible burden and what happened to my mother was not you're doing. So if it is forgiveness you seek then I give it to you whether you help me or not."
As he looked up at her he knew that what she said was true. That she would forgive him if that is what he needed to be rid of her child's face in his mind. So he told her what she wanted to know
Catharine
She was still in her night clothes when the knock came at the door. She waved at her lady in waiting to answer it. The woman walked to the door and opened it.
"My Lady the Queen." the ladies maid said. "Lady Sophia seeks and audience with you." Catharine looked at her with surprise. She had had tea with Sophia several times since she had been here but the girl had never come to her chambers.
"That's alright. Get us a tea tray." She ordered and Sophia stepped into her room. She was wearing a worn leather pair of pants and a green linen shirt. It annoyed Catharine that the girl wore boys' clothes. Not because it was disrespectful but because the girl wore the clothes with confidence and grace. It was something that Catharine didn't understand.
"I see you are wearing men's clothes again." She said the distaste seeping in her words "You always thought yourself equal to them." She said as Sophia showed a slight hint of a smile at the queen's disapproval.
"Oh heavens no." Sophia said and Catharine looked at her with humor "I find women control so much more than men do. Don't you agree?" She asked the queen daring her to contradict her. They stared at each other for a long time and Catharine laughed at the girl.
"What do I owe the pleasure of your smiling face this morning?' She asked Sophia. Sophia sat on the edge of a chair and looked at Catharine.
"I know it is you who keeps Olivia here." She said to the queen. Catharine started at her as the girl stared at her with a collective calm.
"You are mistaken. I dislike Olivia…" She said trying to solidify her excuse. Sophia only shook her head at the Queen.
"I know of how you have kept her here and of what you are trying to get her to do." The queen got over her shock and slowly moved into annoyance at the girl. She knew too much for her own good.
"I think perhaps you should leave." The queen said standing up; to which Sophia responded by standing as well. She was rather small but she held a commanding presence.
"I do believe you will listen to me." Sophia said to her.
"You dare to assume that you can…" Catharine said horrified that this bastard child would speak to her as such.
"My Lady I beg you to reconsider." The girl was still calm and the horrible truth came to Catharine. She was calling on a part of Catharine's secret that only she and the girl knew about. She had never brought it up before and Catharine had almost forgotten about it. It was part of the reason she put up with the brash girl for this long. She sat back down as Sophia looked at her knowing her look. "You cannot blackmail me." Catharine said without much conviction.
"A queen who had a yearlong affair with a stable hand would be sufficient to use against you." Sophia said.
"It is your word against a Queens." Catharine said
"Are you willing to take that risk? Queens have been beheaded for less." Sophia said to her and Catharine began to panic. The girl didn't seem to cause trouble much but when she did it was all at once and a lot of it. She looked at her again and the defeat poured over her face as anger welled within her. She was being put in her place by a child.
"You don't understand, I am doing this to protect Francis." She said she said to the girl hoping to change her mind.
"You cannot live your life in fear of the future Catharine." She paused. Catharine knew the girl cared for Francis too. "When it is time for Francis to die he will and not because of a prediction from your fortune teller" She said to her. "I do care for him also Lady. With my history with Nostradamus It scares me more than anything but treating people this way is not the answer. Francis is worried about France and the best thing for his country. How would he react knowing this is how you were going about things? Getting rid of his betrothed by forcing him to bed Olivia?" They were both silent for a while staring each other down. Catharine's dislike and strangely she was also impressed with the girl.
"What do you want from me?" She asked the girl.
"Nothing. I want you to do absolutely nothing. When I move Olivia out of the castle you will say nothing; you will do nothing." She said. Catharine nodded. She didn't ask Catharine if she understood because there was no need. Sophia stepped toward the door just as the ladies maid came back with the tea. "Enjoy your tea." Sophia said to her as she left.
Francis
He was pouring over a map when she approached him. When he turned he smiled at her and as soon as he saw her face his smile faded. He knew that face. She had a plan and there was no way that he was going to talk her out of it. It made him nervous when she was in one of these moods.
"I am scared to ask you." He said as she came up to him and kissed both his cheeks
"Francis I have found a place for Olivia to go." She said. He almost said something else but she rushed in before he could which is what she always did. "Francis what if I could promise her safety and social rising, she will be taken care of."
"Sophia this is not for you to get involved with." He said getting angry with her. She presumed she could talk him into something. She put her hand on his shoulder. This was something they did when they were talking as friends and it calmed him down.
"I speak as one friend to another Francis. I adore Mary and I know you do too. You keep Olivia here because you feel as if Mary has wronged you somehow. But I would not tell you she has feelings that run deep for you if it was not true. Olivia being here hurts her and she is confused. I do not want to see you lose something that precious. I know you love her Francis. Regardless of country you care for her" She said to him
"Where would you send her?" He snapped at her and she sighed exasperated. "What makes you think you can get involved in this?" He asked again
"Because I care." She said "Not only for you but for the country as well. You are allied with Mary for now. If she breaks the engagement and then you find that an alliance with Scotland would have been the best thing; what will you do?"
"You are manipulating me." He said to her but he heard himself giving over in his voice. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him. She kissed his cheeks again and began to explain her plan.
Mary
Mary walked the grounds with Sophia. She was deep in thought and so they walked in silence. She was thinking about everything that had happened since she had been in court. Their walk was supposed to take Mary's mind off everything but it only seemed to make it worse. Out in the open she had room to think about everything. Sophia had let her graciously keep silent though the girl would look at her from time to time with a very worried look.
When they reached the pond by the castle Sophia sat on a stump of a tree as Mary paced back and forth in front of her. She kept looking over at her but Sophia's legs were crossed and she was looking at Mary like she would wait for her to become less distraught if that is what Mary wanted.
Mary couldn't explain how nice it was to be around someone like Sophia. She didn't expect anything from her. She didn't act like Mary was in a different class than she was; like her ladies maids did. She didn't bring up duty and honor and she never spoke down to her.
"What is wrong Mary?" Sophia asked her and Mary turned to her. She could tell this girl she just met how she struggled here in court. Could she tell her how she didn't get along with the queen? Could she tell her how she feared for her country a lot of the time. But a lot of her time her heart ached thinking about Francis and Olivia. So she looked into the dark eyes of Sophia with her half smile and her all knowing smile. She would be sad when the girl was no longer around when she married Gerald.
She began to unburden herself on Sophia and the girl just sat as she was and did not interrupt once. Once she was done she felt so much better. She had covered everything and she now felt like perhaps she would sleep well tonight.
"Well I cannot help with most of those things Mary. Nor will I pretend to know the difficulties of your situation." Sophia said to her as Mary looked at her. "However I do have a bit of news that you may like."
"And what might that be?" Mary asked her smiling at the girl who turned out to be one of the people that she needed most.
"Lady Olivia will be moving out of the castle and to Spain." Sophia said and Mary looked at her with wide eyes. "My family has offered to host her. My father knows of her past and he will make sure that she is comfortable." Mary could not believe that this girl who she hardly knew would do something like this for her.
"But Francis…" Mary said thinking of how he would react.
"He and I have already discussed it about it. She will be on her way by the end of three days." Sophia said. Mary got up and threw her arms around Sophia. Who made a surprised noise but laughed with her. Mary had not asked for help from Sophia but she had helped her anyway. When she stepped back Sophia winked at her and She started walking back.