Disclaimer: I neither own Reign, nor profit from this story.

It was the 10th anniversary of recommitting the French Scottish treaty, marked originally by the promised engagement of Francis and Mary. Although the specifics were currently in limbo as to who exactly Mary would be marrying, the occasion was worth marking, in this case with a royal ball.

Marie de Guise had been invited, but was unable to attend and with Mary's final choice for a husband still in flux, the focus instead was placed on the two existing Queens of both countries, Mary and Catherine to celebrate the future finalization of their alliance.

Henry may or may not have devised this in part as a way to show off his Lady, his Queen for the prize or rather the treasure that she was.

He had in fact insisted that he should be the one to commission her gown for the evening. She had acquiesced to his request under the condition that one of her ladies supervise the process in her absence. Henry had reasonably good taste when it came to formal attire, but his choices sometimes lacked…finesse.

When she was finally presented with the end result she was stunned. The bodice was encrusted with pearls, rubies and accents of amethysts in a breathtaking pattern which she had never used, but which offset the folds and form of the rest of that garment beautifully.

From the full skirt to the newly commissioned crown which took on a lighter pattern of the jewels offset on a burnished gold foundation. She looked every bit the ruling Queen, and felt it too.

Catherine could barely keep the grin off of her face as her ladies readied her for the evening. The only drawback to the garment was the rather open neckline that it bore. Nothing indecent to be certain, but not her favorite shape as is begged a wardrobe malfunction, though the bodice would be reasonably sturdy with the significant amount of jewel work that supported the precarious neckline.

She didn't even care that Henry had said that he would meet her at the ball instead of walking her there himself as he had begun to do again. His love was written all over her body tonight and she felt it, firmly ensconced in his careful planning and consideration. It was a tangible example of his affection.

Now look what he had done, she was apparently becoming sentimental in her old age and that was his fault too.

Just before she rounded the last corner she saw Henry waiting for her. 'So she wouldn't be walking in alone after all,' she mused. Her grin only intensified when she saw him freeze for a moment at his first full glance at her form. Mesmerized was the nearest description she could come up with of her husband's currently frozen stance. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. It had been a long time since she had been able to say that.

Gliding up to him, she pulled him from his reverie with three simply words, "Good evening Henry."

As if he had been suddenly released from a magical spell, Henry gracefully took one of her hands in his and bent down on one knee to kiss her borrowed appendage once his lowered form settled on the stone floor.

"My Queen you are absolutely radiant tonight."

"His Majesty the King has exceptional taste, and the Queen couldn't possibly think of refusing such a gift from her doting husband."

Henry rose, a firm grin still plastered on his face as he offered with an extended hand, "shall we?"

Taking the offered hand, Catherine gladly allowed him to lift hers aloft and fell into step with him as they made their entrance for the night.

-/-/-/-/-

The evening went smoothly, and Henry stayed intently attentive to her all night, offering her dance after dance, and complimenting her frequently, for her own ears and all else who would hear him.

His advisors were less than thrilled at that which amused her to no end. To think that he might actually have feelings for the ice queen, what a thought.

She was so lost in his affections that when he asked her out to the gardens 'for a brief moment alone before the formal part of the evening begins' was what he claimed, she accepted without a second thought.

He had been such a gentleman all night that she didn't think much of it when he pulled her into a secluded part of the garden and began kissing her in earnest.

"Henry, just try and not mess up my…" was all she could get out before her lips became inescapably otherwise occupied. The man certainly knew how to kiss."

She had been expecting this earlier with the looks had had been giving her since he first saw her before they entered the hall. He had already explained that the reason he had not picked her up from her room was that he didn't think that he would have allowed her to leave if he had seen her earlier. It would not have been the first time he had…sequestered her just prior to an event, but as she was one of the guests of honor it would not have gone over well.

Once he actually kidnapped her for the whole night, much to his father's displeasure. Henry simply could not steal the prettiest woman in the room, he had claimed.

Statements like that did nothing to help mend their relationship, but she appreciated the affections the Sr. Valois bestowed on her, especially in those early years.

She was enjoying the moment so much that even when his kisses traveled lower on her neck and he began kissing along the line of her dress she simply allowed herself to enjoy the moment and continue just a little longer.

That is until she felt the sharp pain of his teeth meeting rather indelicately with the skin right above her heart.

Shoving him off her she was speechless for a moment, so filled with anger at his betrayal of such a moment, of her trust.

"What do you think you are doing Henry, and here of all places, of all times…I can't believe you!"

"Well I wanted to stake my claim on you, your heart is mine Catherine, and I want all here tonight to know that. Some of those Scots were giving you a most ungentlemanly stare, and I wanted to confirm clearly what is mine and not theirs."

Again speechless, Catherine turned to return to her rooms and remedy Henry's claim on her when she felt his hand grip her wrist, a grip which she knew she would not get out of easily.

"It is time for our formal address, there is no time Catherine, we must go inside…now."

Anger boiling over, Catherine knew that she would not be able to get out of this one without causing a scene, she set her jaw and began to stride back inside, shaking his hand off as she went when she stopped suddenly. Turning around she made one final bid before she decided what to do about Henry's blatant act of disrespect.

The look in her eye gave no question that what she was about to say left no room for error in his response.

"Apologize Henry."

"But Catherine, I was just…"

"No Henry, you have humiliated me for most of our married lives, in front of the Court, in front of the children, and I have taken it with barely a word except in our own private moments. I have accepted it, I have accepted it all and do you know why Henry?"

"Wh…"

"I have done so because despite what they may or may not think of what you do and don't do, the Nobles, the Court, even the commoners expect you to treat me like a wife, which for most of them loosely translates to the dirt below your feet."

"Catherine…."

But she continued on, not yet caring what he had to say.

"I have accepted it because your actions were either a show for the Court, or because we had already gone our separate ways, and at least then I didn't have to deal with the immature King who thought that sitting mistresses in his lap in full view of foreign ambassadors was not only a good idea but amusingly adorable."

"But if this is to in any way continue, I am not that woman any longer. The Court can think what it will think, but if you want anything more than a political marriage Henry you will learn to treat me with respect. Unless there is some political reasoning for seemingly treating me in such a way, I refuse to be both your paramour and your pigeon. You need to choose which one you would like.

Honestly taken aback by her speech, Henry took the span of about three breaths to process what he had heard before letting out the most heartfelt response that he could muster, "I'm so sorry Catherine, I didn't realize, I'm sorry."

As she finished the last phrase, he walked over and knelt before her, lightly grasping one hand in his own. Saying nothing more and only looking intently at her to see what she might do, he was left kneeling there when she turned to continue her journey without a word, leaving Henry to decide what he would do in her wake. She decided she needed a moment to compose herself and didn't want to be near him just yet.

He eventually caught up with her but stayed a pace behind until they got to the door. There he stepped right up next to her and offered her his arm.

She took it but still didn't spare him a glance. He knew that she would carry on with her duty, but he also knew that he would pay for this later. He just hoped that his response had bought him just a little grace and that she wouldn't turn him completely away.

No, that wasn't even the case, he was absolutely terrified.

He had been proud of his accomplishment. He wanted to let all those Scots, practically heathens as far as he was concerned with their drinking and their loose tongues, let them see Catherine for what she was. She was not only the Queen of France, but his Queen, his wife, his and his alone.

But she was no ordinary wife. She was Catherine de Medici and she was a woman not to be crossed, In his zeal to announce that in a way that he thought they would best understand, he had forgotten that.

Now he just hoped that he would be able to pay whatever price she had in mind in recompense. That there would be the possibility of recompense at all.

-/-/-/-/-

Catherine was furious over Henry's antics that evening. She was angry that he had fallen back into old habits but she was also angry at herself for still allowing herself to fall for him.

Grant it, Henry's display had sent a clear message to its intended recipients as there was not one single man the rest of the night that didn't bow and address her formal or steer clear from her altogether, especially when Henry was at her side, but that wasn't the point.

However, he had apologized, and she did believe him when he said that he hadn't realized how demeaning it might be to her. However, she had never been one to simply hide herself away because of display like Henry had made…even one made of her, not when there was another way.

If for nothing else it would serve as a reminder to not cross her like that again. And in this case, the method would indeed be very satisfying. She fully planned to return such a favor in her own way.

Once she had set her plan and put everything into place she simply waited in her own rooms for Henry to appear. Although most of her necessities had been moved to his or rather their rooms, she had instructed her ladies to return some of them to this room tonight, necessities of his and of hers. That done, she sent word for Henry to meet her here for the evening instead of in their usual evening abode.

"Catherine…" Henry called as he entered, but that was all that he got out before be took notice of the alterations that she had made to her ladies attire for the evening.

"Yes Henry." Catherine reveled in her victory for a moment feeling very smug at the initial success of her plan.

Henry knew better than to pull a stunt like he had tonight. She was not a woman who took embarrassment lightly, especially not in public. While Henry might think all things an amusing game, she did not.

"Is there a problem Henry?"

"Your ladies are, they don't, I mean they are…"

"Yes Henry I asked them to attend us with their upper assets presented and a mask of their choosing. Their choices are quite apropos, don't you think husband? Huntresses, every one."

"These are after all some of my best flyers and periodically I have them undergo an inspection so that I can be sure to assign them correctly based on their attributes."

"Catherine how can you, I mean I don't want to…"

"Having some trouble there Henry?" she asked with a single eyebrow quirked, peering back at him through her vanity mirror. "What was it that you said earlier, 'I wanted to stake my claim on you, your heart is mine and I want all here tonight to know that.' Well my ladies have been very well trained to encourage men to indulge in the rather primitive nature that you were accusing the Scots of and in response, unabashedly displaying tonight. A nature which is not given to a singular affection or fidelity. You have asked how you might prove your intentions to me, so prove it, if you can keep your eyes from straying…"

"Catherine, how can you possibly expect me to…" he couldn't even come up with a proper end to his statement with her ladies presented as they were.

"Oh come now Henry, with the sexual appetite of a lion surely you are an expert at not only satisfying desire, but also at the application of delaying gratification. Try thinking of something else, or else admit that you were wrong tonight to mark me as you did and admit defeat."

"Catherine I can't even," from the time he realized the changes in her ladies attire, he had taken to staring at the ceiling and was making quite a spectacle of himself. Catherine was beginning to feel avenged for his little power play earlier. Beginning to…

"Henry look at me." she requested, waiting until his eyes had found hers before she continued.

"Henry," she called again.

He had such a pained expression on his face, she almost called the whole thing off, but she wanted to make sure that he never did anything like that again.

"Henry my love, look at me," she tried once more, her voice tinged with a slightly softer edge.

Slowly he turned his body fully in line with her voice before slowly lowering his head enough to find her. He then raised his head again to literally block out the images of her Ladies and walked over to her before daring to lower it again.

"Catherine I love you and I want only you but I can't do this, I have no idea, please have mercy on me."

"Mmmmmm close Henry, you are almost there but I still haven't heard what I want, what precisely is it that you need from me."

"Catherine,"

"Say it Henry, what do you need from me."

"I need help."

As the words she was waiting for finally made it out of his throat, words so strangled that she was surprised that they made it out with any form of discernible articulation. Leaving him to his misery for just a beat longer, she help up a blindfold, saying nothing more.

Henry grabbed the cloth out of her hand and donned it so fast, that his hands were little more than a blur.

Smiling with the satisfaction of well executed revenge, Catherine waited to see what he would do next. He was still fully clothed and now blindfolded.

He was completely at her mercy.