A/N: Hello to my lovely audience! Here is chapter 11! Once again, thanks for all of reviews and support! I love it! And Queen of Frary, just be patient! This story has taken place over about 2 weeks, it takes longer than that for someone to be preggo! But I love your worry! Enjoy guys! -Emma
Disclaimer: I still own nothing.
Mary woke the next day still feeling tired. Her body was sore in several places and it felt like she had barely slept even though, by the sun peering into the room, she had slept all through the night. She felt the opposite side of the bed, expecting to be met with Francis's warm figure. Instead, she was met with cold sheets. She heard footsteps behind her.
"Morning," Francis's voice came as she turned around. He bent down and placed a light kiss on her lips. Francis sat down next to her on the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore," Mary responded honestly. "Tired."
Francis chuckled, "Yes, that is to be expected. You've had quite the week; I hope the rest of the week will be utterly boring."
"That would be lovely, but somehow, I doubt it." Mary tried to sit up without causing herself more pain. Upon seeing her struggle, Francis helped her.
"Well, the English envoy is due back tomorrow which will cause some excitement."
"And what of today? What needs our attention."
"Nothing." Francis said happily. "I got up early to write some letters and get some work done before you woke. Now with you up, I plan on spending the whole day, in this room, with you. You are still on bedrest."
"Ugh, don't remind me," Mary protested her bedrest. She rested her head on Francis's shoulder. "You don't need to stay here with me. I'm sure there's something that needs the King's attention today."
"There may be, but I am not King today." Mary gave him a questioning look. "Okay, yes I am still King, but what I mean it today I am focused on just being a loving husband who is worried over his wife. If anything urgent comes up, my mother will bring it to our attention. But we will stay here because you still need more rest. Mary, you were stabbed twice in a matter of days, I-"
"I know. I can assure you that I am fine, just a little sore. I'm still here."
"Yes, thankfully you are. I love you." Francis lifted Mary's head off his shoulder and brushed their lips together.
"I love you too," Mary whispered as she snuggled back into his side.
The next day, Mary woke to her husband still sleeping soundly next to her. Although her body was still sore, she wasn't tired anymore and felt the need to move. She quietly slipped out of bed and walked to the window. The sun was rising and it was looking to be a beautiful day out. Mary longed to be outside but she knew she shouldn't go out alone. Not just for her safety but also because she was still in some pain. She glanced over at Francis. He was still asleep and she didn't want to wake him, so she opted to send for Lola and Greer to accompany her. She sent one of her guards to summon her ladies and proceeded to dress.
Mary forewent the corset. It wasn't proper but her body couldn't handle it when there was still a gaping hole in her side. She was sure no one would say anything about her untraditional style of dress. She slid on a dress that would support her without a corset and sat down to wait for her ladies. Normally, Mary would have help in dressing, but with Francis still sleeping and only certain servants allowed in their chambers, it was easier for Mary to just dress herself.
Mary wrote a note to Francis. Telling him that she'd be out in the gardens with Lola and Greer. She knew he wouldn't take kindly to waking up and her suddenly gone. Although she didn't want him to be upset, she wasn't going to wait for him to wake nor was she going to wake him herself. She signed the note with love and placed it on her vacant pillow. It was then that a light tapping was heard at the door. Mary cracked the door open to find Lola and Greer standing there, bright smiles and dressed for the day. Mary slid out of the door and took their arms.
"Come," she said. "Let us go walking."
"Mary, are you sure?" Lola asked worriedly.
"Yes, I am feeling much better and can't stand to be further cooped up in my chambers," Mary responded definitely.
"But Francis will worry," Greer protested.
"I left him a note and I am with the two of you. If he wants to get mad, let him. I'll calm him down later, after I've stretched my legs a bit," Mary responded in a matter of fact manner. "Now, let us walk."
Before the ladies knew it, they were out in the sunny gardens. A warm breeze gently blew their hair out of their faces and the sun's rays heated their skin. They walked slowly to take in their surroundings, and because Mary was still fatigued and couldn't produce more than a gentle stroll. She was grateful, however, to get some fresh air and exercise, and to spend more time with her friends.
Somedays Mary missed the simpler times, when she was the ruler of only one nation instead of two. In those days, she had more time to spend with her friends and sneak off to different parts of the castle with Francis. She still had obligations, but not nearly as many. Those were the times that she and her ladies would giggle by the lakeside over petty things. Although Mary did love being the Queen of France as well as Scotland, somedays she simply wanted a break. A true break, not one that could be interrupted at any moment, no matter where she was. Until that day could come, Mary relished in the moment alone with her friends where no one was disturbing them.
"Lord Gideon, welcome back to court," Mary greeted as she and Francis approached the entering man as the sun was setting outside.
Gideon bowed once he approached the royals. "Thank you. I have brought news regarding your proposal."
Francis took the turn to speak, "Well then, shall we?" He gestured for Gideon to follow them into the empty throne room. Mary and Francis led the way with Bash close by. Gideon, his men, and several more valued nobles followed. A table had been set up off to the side with three chairs surrounding it, two on the far side, and one on the side closest to them. "Please," Francis said to Gideon, indicating for him to take the lone chair. Meanwhile, him and Mary went to the opposite side of the table where two servants hurriedly pulled out their chairs for them so they could sit.
"I trust your journey was good? No major complications on the way?" Mary conversed politely.
"It was, excellent conditions for both horseback and ship. As luck would have it, made the quick return and back simple and easy for me."
"Excellent," Mary smiled kindly, hoping to form some kind of alliance with this envoy as he seemed better than their previous ones. "Shall we get down to business?" Gideon nodded. "Tell us what your Queen has said."
"She was very happy in knowing your request, as were many of the English lords." Francis and Mary smiled at the good news. "And she is determined to do whatever it takes to forge this treaty between our nations."
"Wonderful," Francis exclaimed, his hand slowly moving to Mary's and giving it a squeeze. If Elizabeth would agree to this, they could finally live in peace- or, the most amount of peace a King and Queen can have. It also meant that Francis didn't have to be so constantly worried over Mary's life.
"She has agreed," Gideon continued, "to pull English soldiers out of Scotland if you sign away your claim to her throne. This would effectively end the war between England and Scotland, and by extension, France. I have drafted an agreement that just requires both of your signatures, and the signature of my Queen, once I return to England once more."
"And what of the attempts on Queen Mary's life? Will those stop as well?" Francis asked, expectantly.
Gideon looked confused. "I am not sure what you mean your majesty. Queen Elizabeth has never, let's say, seen eye to eye with Queen Mary, but I assure you that she has never made an attempt on your life. Although you are her rival, she still recognizes you as the anointed Queen of France and Scotland."
It was Francis and Mary's turn to be confused. A moment of silence fell over the three, trying to make sense of the situation. "An attempt on my life was made not two days ago. The night after you departed back for England. And the order that prompted that attempt carried the English seal. We have proof Lord Gideon."
"I'm, I'm sorry your majesty," Gideon stumbled. "I do not know what to say. I have no knowledge of these orders nor that an attempt on your life was made."
Francis gestured for Bash who was standing not far off from him. Bash leaned down and Francis whispered in his ear, "Examine those orders again. See if there's anything we've missed. And do it quickly." Bash nodded and swiftly left, getting straight to work. Francis cleared his throat to bring the attention to him. "Well, it seems that we are not quite ready to sign this." Gideon looked taken aback. "Let us reconvene in the morning. My Queen and I have some things to discuss. As you know, this is her birthright and we want to take the upmost care in deliberation." Francis added, diplomatically as he and Mary stood.
"Yes, of course," Gideon responded, not convinced of the reason but not able to argue. Francis led Mary out of the room, the rest of the group bowing as the royalty passed. Both of their faces were straight and didn't give anything away.
Once away from the prying ears of the English envoy and his men, Francis spoke. "Bash is looking over the letters again, seeing if they're forged."
"Gideon looked thoroughly surprised and confused. I truly believe he didn't know." Mary added.
"I agree. It is completely possible that Elizabeth kept this a secret from her Lords and paid the assassins without their knowledge, or that someone is setting her up, which I think is more likely. There is little chance that Elizabeth could have privately obtained the amount of money it would take to pay a man to assassinate a Queen, there would have been rumors and we would have heard about it."
"The question is," Mary and Francis stopped walking and hid themselves away in a little niche in the corridor, "who would want to set Elizabeth up? And how do we get these attempts to stop?" Mary gazed up at Francis, worry shone through her light brown eyes.
"I don't know, and it bothers me greatly," Francis brought one hand up to grasp the side of Mary's face. "What I do know is I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. And we won't sign anything until we are sure that it isn't Elizabeth behind these attempts or that we add a clause to it."
"Thank you," Mary whispered and slowly moved into him. Francis gave her a comforting embrace. One hand stroking her hair and his eyes glazing over in thought. He was troubled by the uncertainty of the situation and troubled by the threat it brought to Mary's life.
Bash examined the three letters that bore the English seal. The writing on each letter was the same but different than Lord Nicholas's hand when Bash compared the two fonts. It could be due to the fact that Lord Nicholas was simply the messenger, working on behalf of his Queen and Lord Gideon had just been kept out of the loop. But the answer to who had written them still remained a mystery. They knew right away that the handwriting had never been Elizabeth's, as she would never leave concrete evidence of her plots in the hands of a stranger and the writing didn't match as well. They had originally assumed it was Lord Nicholas's, but now Bash was sure it wasn't.
"Bash," Francis interrupted his thoughts as he entered the room, Mary at his side.
Bash turned to him and responded before Francis got the chance to say anything more. "These letters weren't written by Lord Nicholas as we previously thought. I don't know who they were written by but I assume that they are forgeries that are meant to make it look like England's behind this."
"We thought the same thing. Lord Gideon's surprised seemed genuine," Mary told.
"Yes, well, who is behind this then? And why did our assassins point to Lord Nicholas?" Bash asked.
Francis rubbed his chin, thinking. "Someone must have impersonated Lord Nicholas to set him up to take the fall. These assassins that were paid had no way of knowing, nor should they even suspect, that the man wasn't who he claimed to be. Everyone knows that Elizabeth and Mary are rivals, so it wouldn't surprise anyone.
"Who though? It does not matter if we know this if we do not know who." Mary reminded.
Silence fell again, the three had no inkling as to who was behind these attacks. There were, without a doubt, countless people after Mary, but who would try to hide it? Just then, a sharp knock was heard at the door followed by a guard entering without permission.
"Forgive me, your majesties, but there's urgent news. The man who was believed dead after his attempt on Queen Mary's life is gone."
"Gone? What do you mean gone? He was dead," Francis shouted.
"Francis," Mary calmed with a gentle touch on his arm. It wasn't the messenger's fault. "What more information do you have?"
"It appears that he took poison that made him appear dead but one of the guards revived him with another potion."
"And when was this?" Mary asked, still levelheaded as Francis fumed beside her.
"Just a moment ago your majesty," the guard responded.
"Have guards gone after him?" The man nodded in confirmation. "Good, find him and the guard who helped him and report back to us as soon as anything else is learned." The guard bowed and left. Mary faced her companions once more, "This may be a blessing in disguise."
"What do you mean?" Francis cried. "How could they let a man convicted of treason go? I don't care that they thought he was dead, it shouldn't happen."
"I agree," Mary approached him and gently ran her hand up and down part of his arm, calming him. "But, if we can capture him again, and put trusted guards to watch him at all times, we can figure out who is really behind this." Francis looked up at Mary. She silently told him that it was alright which calmed him. He let out a sigh and she grabbed his hand. "Bash, is there anything in the letters that could help? Anything at all?"
"Nothing that I can find. Whoever did this must've forged the English seal. Once they did that, anyone would believe they were Elizabeth's orders."
"Well then we have to be looking at an organized group here, a single person wouldn't go through all this trouble." Mary concluded. "What groups have it out for me, or would use me to get to Francis?"
"French Protestant," Francis replied, finally calm. "Or really any Protestants."
"The English," Bash supplied. "But I think we can rule them out."
"Member of the Catholic church may be upset that you are renouncing your claim. The Vatican wouldn't be happy that with your claim gone, English is completely Protestant," Francis added.
"Yes but this started before anyone knew that I planned on renouncing," Mary denied.
"Catherine," Bash said, only half joking. Mary's eyes grew wide, knowing it was completely possible and she would go to any lengths to cover it up.
"No," Francis quickly shot down. "She no longer has any reason too and she knows you mean too much to me; I would have her behead if even the whiff of her involvement reached me."
Mary nodded, knowing it was true. Although her and Catherine weren't exactly friends, they had formed an alliance of sorts. Catherine was no longer out for Mary's blood but was still jealous that Mary now wore her crown. But Catherine wouldn't harm Mary if it meant causing Francis immeasurable amounts of pain. Whatever is said about Catherine, she always puts her children first.
"Then our answer is right there," Mary agreed after a moment of silence. "Protestants. However unintentionally, we have done much to anger Protestants in our country. This may be their way of getting revenge, only they're pinning it on England so they can't be beheaded for it."
Bash and Francis couldn't help but agree. It was the most logical answer to their question. Bash spoke, "I am going to check in with the guards and help them in the search of our resurrected dead man. I'll report to you the moment we find him and his guard friend."
"Thank you," Francis grasped Bash's shoulder, "and be careful."
"Aren't I always little brother?" Bash gave a crooked smirk. Francis just shook his head as he watched Bash leave.
Mary slid her hand down Francis's arm and intertwined their fingers together. She rested her chin on his shoulder and softly said, "Let's go to bed, I'm tired and there's nothing we can do now. Bash will handle it and wake us as soon as something changes."
"You're right," Francis replied with a smile and let Mary guide him out of the room, a smile on her face as well. "But we still have more to talk about."
Mary's smile dropped. "Let's just enjoy a peaceful walk through our home and we can talk once we are in privacy again," she procrastinated the conversation.
"Mary," Francis chided. "We need to talk about this tonight. I told the English envoy that we would meet in the morning with our final decision. I don't think I can push it back farther without him looking into why."
"And if he does, he could find potential allies that would give England power over Francis," Mary sighed. "I know. I'm just worried."
"I am too," Francis agreed.
"This is the best way to stop this war," Mary glanced around, making sure they were alone in their walk with the exception of their guards. "This war has been a drain on both France's and Scotland's treasury, armies, and time. It needs to end."
"So?" He prompted.
"So, I am still going to do it. I trust you and Bash to get rid of this looming threat hanging over me."
"Are you sure?" Francis asked. He himself was hesitant to go forward with more letters that ordered Mary's death still out there.
Mary stayed silent for a moment, pondering the question. "Yes, I am sure. This is what's best for our countries. If this war doesn't stop, there may not even be a France or Scotland for us to rule over. We are headed into dangerous waters if we do not stop it."
"I can agree with that," Francis said as they approached the door to their chambers. "But this means I, along with two guards, are going to be your shadow until this threat has passed completely. You will stay on the grounds, and the guards will be ordered not to let anyone close to you, except for the people we trust."
"Francis," Mary vehemently protested, her voice gradually getting louder. "I know you want to keep me safe but that is excessive. You act like I'm an invalid, unable to protect herself. You are overreacting."
"No," Francis loudly stood firm. "I would go to any lengths to keep you safe, you know that. You would do the same."
"Yes but-" Mary began to scream back.
"I don't care," Francis shouted over her. His voice quieted as her held her face in his hands, "You have been stabbed twice in less than a week, I won't take any chances."
"I still don't need to be treated like a child, I am a Queen of two nations," Mary said, still angry but her voice softer.
"I know, but you're also the love of my life, my wife, and my most prized possession. I just want to keep you safe. Especially after how close I've gotten to losing you this week." Francis pulled her in for a hug.
Mary melted into her husband's arms. With everything they had been through, she couldn't stay mad at him when there was a real threat to her life. When Condé was threatening his life, she had gone into the fire to save him. She knew she had to expect the same from him.
"As long as you don't lock me in a tower again," she joked.
Francis laughed and held her tighter. "I don't think I would live through doing that again." He pulled back to look her in the eye, his hand stroking her cheek. "I'm actually surprised I'm still alive now after doing that the first time."
It was Mary's turn to laugh at his joke. "I keep you around cause you're nice to look at."
"Oh, yes," Francis started to lean in. "I'm sure that's the only reason you keep me around." The gap between them closed.
Their lips met in a passionate kiss. They only broke apart momentarily for air before they dove back into each other. His hands slipped down to undo her dress as his tongue asked for permission. Mary granted him permission and their tongue's fought for dominance. She began to undo his clothes. Gradually, clothes piled up on the floor, leaving a trail to their bed. Francis gently laid her down in the center of the bed.
"Are you alright to do this?" He asked, worried about her wound.
Mary nodded, "Just be gentle and I'll be fine."
Francis didn't need to be told twice. He captured her lips once more and set out to make her feel pleasure in the wake of so much pain.