Slumber had come more easily than Catherine had thought. She assumed the stress would have kept her up all night, but the comfort of Bash's arms around her, allowed her to rest easy, until now. A strange noise caused her to stir. Metal clanging. The sound of guards making their way down the hall. Wait…guards? As the sound got closer, Bash started to wake as well.
"What's going on?" Catherine asked, her heart suddenly beating faster.
"I don't know." He answered as he started to pull his shirt on. Before he could even reach the bedroom door, it burst open and a cluster of guards flooded the room. The familiar fleur-de-lis of the royal crest emblazoned on their armor. Kings guards. The situation didn't even have time to register in their brains before Francis came in after them. Bash protectively took hold of Catherine's arm and pulled her behind him.
"Francis, how did you?…This isn't what it seems. Please let me…" Catherine began.
"No! You don't get to speak!" He walked closer to them, furious eyes staring her down. They instinctively took a step back, as he pointed an accusing finger at them. "You call yourself a mother?! First you endanger my son's life and then you plot against my wife…and if all that isn't bad enough, you corrupt my own brother into sleeping with you, because why?…You think he can protect you from me!"
"Francis, I don't know how you figured out where she was but, if you'll just let her explain…" Bash tried to speak.
"And you! I trusted you, but you've betrayed me as well! Hiding her from me! Harboring a fugitive is treason!" You will lose your head for this!" He turned to the guards. "Take him back to the castle to await trial."
"Francis, please, no. He didn't have anything to do with this. It's me you're angry with, my fault. You don't need to put him on trial." She said as the guards grabbed his arms. He turned back to look at her.
"You're right…" then his eyes got darker. Catherine could feel a pit in her stomach. Her son was gone. His anger at her had taken over. "After all, what do I need a trial for when I've caught him red handed." The guards pushed Bash to the ground and Francis pulled his sword, and with a single swipe…took his brothers head.
"No!" Came Catherine's blood curdling scream.
"You're next." He said grabbing her by the arm…
Catherine shot straight up in bed. Sweat dripping from her brow.
"No!" She screamed. She looked around. There were no guards, no Francis…It was just a dream. Only a dream.
"Catherine?" Bash said as he groggily sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. She pulled him into a desperate hug. Holding onto him for dear life. "Are you alright?" He asked as he cautiously returned her embrace.
Her mind flashed back to the dream. Bash's blood dripping from Francis's sword. She knew it was just a nightmare, but it was all too possible and it had felt so real. She kissed him urgently, She needed to know he was there with her.
"Catherine…" he was worried about her.
"I just need to feel you." She assured, stroking his cheek. She'd meant it quite literally. She needed his touch to burn the images from her nightmare out of her head. She ran her hands over his chest and down his arms, making sure every inch of him was real. She knew she was putting him in harms way just by being near him. Even if Francis wasn't as angry as her dream might suggest, Bash could still be imprisoned or worse. The guilt was eating her up.
"That may have very unintended consequences." he said. He could see that she was upset, and he wanted to help her, but the way her hands were roaming over him was almost too much to take.
"Then I shall accept my fate." she said and she kissed him again, letting her hands slide down his sides to his waist. He laid her back down, pulling her leg up over his hip, her nightmare shortly forgotten.
They went about the next few days, much the same as they had been. Bash would go back to the castle during the day to carry out his duties, then return to her that night. Francis continued to assume he was visiting his huntress in the woods and thought nothing of it. All the while, the search continued on for Catherine.
After a couple of days, Catherine started to ease a bit. Maybe Bash was right. Who would ever think to search here for here? She could barely believe she was with Bash, why would it ever even occur to Francis? She decided she needed a little fresh air. She knew she couldn't leave the grounds, but she just had to look at something other than these stone walls. She went out to sit in the garden. It wasn't anything even close to being as lavish as the one at the castle, but it was pretty none the less. She brought some tea out with her and waited for Bash to come home. It wasn't really her home, but looking around, she could really see herself making a life there…with Bash. It's funny how quickly she'd become comfortable there, nut she knew it couldn't last. Surely she couldn't stay there forever. How long could she hide away realistically? She would have to go eventually. Go where though? Would Bash go with her? Would she be forced to abandon him to save them both? The uncertainly of it all terrified her.
Bash was getting ready to go home when he noticed a company of guards getting ready to leave the castle.
"What's going on?" he asked one of them.
"We caught a lead on the Queen Mother. Some of our contacts told us that a woman baring her description bought a cabin from a man in the village a few weeks back. We're headed there now." said the guard. Bash worried a bit. He knew they would find the cabin eventually, but how had they done it so quickly? He could only pray that they hadn't left anything behind. He knew he had to go with them, to make sure Catherine's secret stayed safe.
"I'm coming with you." he told him and began to ready his horse.
When they got there, Bash kept a watchful eye on everything the guards touched, waiting to rush in and cover something up if need be. They turned over every piece of furniture, dug into every crevasse. The only thing left was to pull up the floorboards. It didn't seem that they had left any clue.
"Well, If the Queen was here, there's no sign of her. No way to know where she's gone." one of the men said. "Let's get out of here."
As they started to leave, they bumped into Caitlin, who was just arriving to do her usual job.
"Good day miss, do you happen to know the owner of this home?" the guard asked.
"Yes, of course, I come to help clean her house a few times a week. What is this all about?"
"Her? Then this home is owned by a woman. You see the King has sent us to search for his mother. She has committed possible treason and he wishes to try her in court. So tell us, what does this woman look like?" he asked as Bash came out of the house behind them. Caitlin's eyes went wide when she saw him. He eyed her as if to plead for her not to say anything. "This is the king's half brother and his deputy, you don't have to worry for your safety. He can offer you protection." the guard assured.
"Catherine…de Medici." Caitlin whispered to herself. "…The Kings brother…" she started to put it together in her her head. She'd been serving the Queen Mother all this time. The Queen Mother who was sleeping with the King's bastard brother. She swallowed and looked back to the guard. Bash's nerves were about to explode waiting for her to answer.
"She…" Caitlin looked at Bash. "She's a young woman, not much older than myself. Long…dark hair. She…lives here with her nephew." Bash tries to keep the guards from noticing his sigh of relief at her lie.
"If she still lives here, then where are all her belongings?" Asked the guard.
"They're off to visit relatives. Asked me to look after the place while they're away."
"You guards can get back to the castle. I want to question her a bit more before I go." Bash ordered. They did as he said and he ushered Caitlin inside and waited until he was sure the men were out of earshot.
"Not that I'm not grateful, but why did you lie for us?" He asked.
"The wrath of Catherine de Medici is a thing of legend. I wouldn't want to incur it…besides, she was kind. She spoke of her son to me, of course I didn't know at the time that she was speaking about our king, but whatever she did, I doubt it deserves for her to be hunted down for treason."
"Well, that's just the thing, she didn't do what they think."
"Why doesn't she just tell him?"
"Infortunately it's not that simple. I wish I could explain, but that would put you in danger…Thank you. It was a big risk you took."
"Where did she go?"
"Somewhere safe."
"She's not coming back is she?"
"No."
"Good luck to you both then."
Bash nodded and she picked up her things and left.
