"Catherine, do you have the slightest idea where we are headed?" She rolled her eyes at him. They walked along a dark passage with only a candle to guide their way.

"He should be here," she muttered, slipping out of the passage.

"Who?!" Catherine continued to ignore Narcisse as she paced about the room.

"He must have escaped! How, without my knowledge?"

"Catherine, so help me if you don't tell me who..." but she turned to deliver him a toxic glare.

"Marius, of course! I admit I was a little slow in putting this all together, but I pieced most of it."

"Forgive me, but I am still lost."

"Nothing out of the ordinary," she poked at him, "Marius was the one who let Alastor in. Think! The castle killings didn't begin until we brought him back to the castle. Alastor would have no reason to access the castle since he was part of Bash's guard. I, at first, suspected the baker was the one giving access, so I had Leith trail him. I still refused to face facts until you came to our rescue. It struck me as odd as to why Marius was at the cabin with me. It was all a set up not only to cripple France, but to avenge their brother and sister's death, which I cannot blame."

"But why carve different sins into those of seemingly arbitrary people?"

"First, the Alastor brothers felt that Christians were hypocrites and wanted to make that known, however, I don't think one would look at the events and see that. And secondly, they were forming a group, a cult if you will, that was trying to undermine France. I discovered that from Lola. She got mixed up in the group purely by accident. She revealed that those who left were hunted down to be killed. To cover up this reason, a sin was etched into their wrist. I.." she swallowed, "was the only exception." She put a protective hand on her stomach as she continued to pace.

"That child deserves to be draw and quartered!" proclaimed Narcisse.

"That is a problem," said Catherine, eyes brimming with glittering water, "I cannot let that happen. He is only a child despite the impurities he has indirectly inflicted on me and others. I simply cannot bring myself to murder a child."

"As though that has stopped you in the past," mumbled Narcisse.

"How dare you! Let me remind you that it was you that ordered the castle to be locked when the plague broke out! You who allowed the English to trespass and kill innocent French people!" she screamed.

"Need I remind you that you never once tried to stop me! So, given the circumstances, that cannot be entirely blamed on me!"

"As if I had any power to stop you! You were regent! My opinions didn't and still seem to have little importance to you." She took a deep, heaving breath.

"Catherine, you know that is a lie."

"Really? I knew of no such thing."

"Why must you be so stubborn! You are one of the few people whose opinions I listen to, as hard as it is to believe." Catherine gave an annoyed laugh. Just then, a guard bursted into the room.

"Pardon me, your Majesty, Lord Chancellor, but I have word that Marius has crossed over into the English border." At first, anger could be identified on Catherine's face, but it quickly dissolved into indifference.

"Have Mary send word to Elizabeth. A plot may be made against her likewise." The guard bowed and shut the door. Catherine sank down on the bedroom's bed and sighed.

"What is it?" asked Narcisse.

"A weigh lifted off my amounting shoulders," she said falling back. Narcisse climbed on top of her in a straddled position, leaning down to kiss her. She mirrored him, sealing the kiss with pure passion. He quickly undid the ties of her dress and shoved it off the bed. She steadily pulled his shirt over his head. Their breathing quickened, reaching an unsteady climax.

"Are you sure about this, Catherine? Having sex after an argument may not be the best..." but she kissed him even harder, pushing her hips against his.

"I am beyond sure," she said, breathing heavily.

Catherine awoke to find herself resting on Narcisse's slowly rising chest, the sheets wrapped tightly around her exposed body.

"Catherine, how many times must I tell you I love you for you to believe me?"

"Only once," she said kissing him again, his hand pushing her head to deepen the kiss. "I love you too," she breathed as he ran his hands down her back, removing the sheets from her body and laying her back down on the bed. They both released laughter full of joy and anticipation.

Off in another part of the castle, Mary's guard, lay on the stone floor beneath an ancient silver mirror. His throat was slit, and his eyes wide with fear. A shadow was seem looming in the mirror for a minute longer before vanishing. Beside the mirror was a window which shown Scorpio, shining bright as ever. Back in the guest bedroom, Narcisse lay asleep while Catherine gazed around the room. Suddenly, she looked into the mirror above the fireplace and screamed as a figure reached its dark, deformed hand out of it.

Thank you all for for reading this story. Hopefully, the next one will be better. I promise all questions will be answered at some point.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed: All of the Guests, LaurenBelgium, cattuesmountain, Isa H. , and Carmen. I can never express how much I appreciate it! :D

To the last three people who reviewed- Carmen: I am so glad you like it. Hopefully, I can keep your interest. Thank you so much! Guest: As am I :) I will try to better answer any questions about the third killer in the upcoming stories. Guest: When is Catherine not brave? :)

To be continued... (the next story will be more supernatural and paranormal)