A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews. :) I am so very grateful to the readers who took the time to write them. My cup runneth over. :) This fic is one that starts out as parallels but eventually converges at the end.
Guest reviewer: I'm so happy to hear that KB are in character. It's one of the things I really strive for in my writing.
haley: I hope this one doesn't disappoint!
andre garcia: Thank you for your lovely compliment! Brought a huge smile to my face. :)
Many thanks to my beta, Tripp3235.
Disclaimer: Not mine. All Reign characters belong to Laurie McCarthy and Stephanie Sengupta and The CW. I'm just playing with them.
L is for Love
Bash never thought he could love his wife this much. He had been in love before with Mary and others or so he had thought, but once he had implored Kenna to try being married, he had begun to appreciate her qualities rather than find fault in her and he was surprised by what he had discovered. A strong, vivacious, supportive, loving woman who wasn't afraid to tell him what she thought. She didn't try to impress him. She didn't try to play him either. There was no expectation other than to be who he was.
He also found his equal in bed. At first concerned about her less than good experiences in this arena, he discovered in the fullness of time a woman who was his match in every sense there. Once they consummated their marriage, he found her creativity exhilarating, her love of novelty alluring, and her willingness to take charge arousing.
While he watched her dress for a dinner with the Ambassador from Lorraine, he realized what a partner he had. She was certainly not someone he would have chosen for a wife and yet after all these months, he realized that his mad father couldn't have chosen a better one.
Kenna never thought she could feel so much love for Bash. Other than an initial fleeting thought that he was a gorgeous man when she first laid eyes on him, he made no other impression on her. He was the King's bastard and his mother was a rival as Henry's chief mistress.
For a while, Mary had wanted to marry him to avoid Nostradamus's vision. For a long while even when they had first wed, he had loved Mary. Then something changed, he had defended her against a mad king, he had begun to appreciate her ambition, and he began to trust and appreciate her.
She also discovered to her surprise that he was a most considerate lover, who was always concerned about her wants, her desires, her needs above his own. Before she knew it, she started feeling something for him. At first, it was a sense of appreciation for his consideration. Then, it evolved into appreciation for his body and a wish for his well-being. Eventually, it became an all encompassing love, a connection to another person filled with respect and trust and desire.
While he escorted her to the dinner with the Ambassador from Lorraine, she realized what a partner she had. He was certainly not someone she would have chosen for a husband and yet after all these months, she realized that the mad King couldn't have chosen a better one.
A/N2: Thank you for reading. Very sorry about the lag in posting, but I wanted to get this one up before the new episode airs tomorrow. Thank you so much to my regular reviewers. Not sure what I would do without you. Please post a word or two of your thoughts if you have a moment to spare.
If anyone is interested in a continuation of any of these chapters, please let me know as some had to be ended rather abruptly to keep to the word count limit. I will start posting those after the end of this fic.
Each chapter will be posted 2-3 days after the last one. To see the list of words associated with the alphabet, please check out my tumblr: scarletcourt . tumblr . com (removing all the spaces).
