Good morning, good afternoon or whatever time you will read this.
It might be one of my first english written fanfiction at all, so bear with my poor english.
I also might write it more french-sided, since I am a France rp'er and know way more about France than of Scotland.
Pairing: Scotland x France
Rating: T
Genre: Historical.
As I imagine how it all went down. I might miss events, but that's a minor loss in my opinion.
Disclaimer: France and Scotland belong to Europe, Francis Bonnefoy belongs to Himaruya and Alasdair Iain Angus McKirkland (Scotland, and I gave him this name) belongs to a user in pixiv.
_
As history continued, Francis set foot on the Island of Orkney. He was surprised to find that people lived there. But hadn't one of the letters delivered by Pierre said, that this new guy Mary Stuart was married to, was the Duke of Orkney? Or had been. Things like those didn't seem to matter in this far-off place. Long time it had been Nordic islands, belonging to the passive, third member of the Auld Alliance – Norway. The ex-viking had never cared much for the other too. But Alasdair and Francis have never minded him being absent. They were just enjoying their own little world of affection.
In 1468, Orkney was pledged by Christian I. of Norway, as a payment of the dowry of his daughter Margaret, betrothed to James III of Scotland.
Despite it being summer, it was bitterly cold in Orkney. But Francis had long gone over to wear more layers to protect him from the cold. There was no snow, just tall grass, unlike he had expected. Oh yeah, and people living here in poor houses. That's at least what the domesticated Frenchman would have said. Their houses were made from the wood of the few trees that grew here, but also some were made from stone, just smaller pebbles that were made so that not even wind would flow through the stonework.
Again, Francis showed the drawing of Alasdair around the village. And one person, a young woman, chattered exaggerated to Francis and made the impression that she knew where Alasdair was. First, France thought, she was mad. After all this time (another year had passed by), he hadn't found the redhead. Why should it be so easy now?
But he followed her. They went through tall grass, jumped over dangerous rivers … and finally came to more grassy fields in which a smaller house stood. The house was much more like an igloo made from wood, leaves and some stones. Really just the material that you would find here. Plus, the architecture was clearly celtic. Around the single lonely house was a small herd of sheep.
The Maid stood there and looked at Francis expectantly. The Frenchman looked back and she nodded towards the house.
The blonde hesitated.
What had he expected to find?
He remembered how he was crying during the nights. That he was literally fighting his loneliness, despite that Matthieu was still with him. And some people from the court in Fontainebleau. And now this…
What if Alasdair didn't want him anymore? Well… this was the moment to find out.
The blonde licked his lips. The air here was pretty dry. Must be the summer on Orkney.
Finally, he made the steps towards the house. He felt as if in a dream. But before he reached the house, a figure came out of it. A very tall person. Francis was paralyzed as he stared at Alasdair.
"Francis…", came a faint start.
"…Écosse! What the hell are you doing here?", asked Francis and tilted his head. Anger was certainly the emotion that filled him.
"A.. Ah am .. Ah din ken.", Alasdair stared to the ground. "Ah din ken."
"What are you doing out here? Don't tell me these are /your/ sheep!", in no time he was at the redhead and glared fiercely into the green eyes.
"Ugh… A-aye they are… Mmh.. Keek, a'm sorry, Francis! I'm sae sorry. Ah wanted tae come back tae ye. Bit ah couldn't! Ah juist couldnae keek ye intae th' een efter whit happened. 'n' a'm aye mixter maxter. Ah mean… wur nae merrit anymair, ur we? ah din ken whit tae dae!"
Francis sighed exaggeratedly. "Just why? Why did I have to come here all the way? Seven fucking years have passed since I last saw you! Did you ever think how worried I was? And your children! They talk to me all day on how they miss you! Did you think they care for if you are their father by blood, or if you are married to me or not? You have a responsibility!"
"A'm sorry…"
"What am I going to do with you?", Francis growled. He was unsure wether to just abandon him here or to force him to come with him. "…Hmm. Let me think. What happened actually back then? What did you do?"
"Aye... hm… Ah gaed tae this John Knox.", Alasdair tried his best to remember what he had done 7 years ago as he lit a cigar to calm down. "Then we hud some kind o' conference in Auld Reekie. Ah tried tae blether thaim intae goin awa th' Alliance, 'n' that th' Auld Alliance wid be reformed as weel. Bit thay wur a' against it. Instead o' bein' an Alliance juist against Englain, it cuid be an Alliance o' trade 'n' juist protecting against a'body, whin it's needed. Lik' ye helped me in th' Siege o' street. Andrew's Castle. Or ah helped ye whin in th' 100 years war. 'n' then thare wis aye this renewing o' th' Auld Alliance. How come? we wur th'gither a' th' time… Bit aye did this John Knox outsmart me wi' his constant blabbering! he wis stowed oot o' hate fur ye. Ah…Ah wis sae goosed afterwards. Ah loved ye sae much… 'n' noo it's sae late."
"What you really needed was a lawyer. I have done research on John Knox. He is some kind of clerical man and therefore well educated. But still no reason for you to not show up again after you failed. So what? It is not only your alliance. You're such an idiot."
Alasdair was still unsure if Francis and the children would welcome him. And if their life would be just as normal like before. Before, they could always say that they were nations and had an alliance and therefore could be together. But at these times, gay marriages were highly prohibited. In fact it was only because of their Auld Alliance that there had been no attempt of them being killed or at least treated very bad, that they were close to death.
And now, not even Protestants tolerated this kind of relationship between two human beings.
"Come on!", Francis shook the older one. "We will find a way. Together. I'll just have to wait a bit. I send like a billion Pierre's just to find you! I walked all over Scotland and asked everyone and anyone."
"Ye did whit?", Alasdair just snapped out of his melancholy for once and hadn't listen to the younger one. "Did ye … ask th' Clans?"
"Aye.. Ah did it in a Scottish disguise.", Francis winked.
"Th-That wis mad rocket! ah tellt ye nae tae blether tae thaim! whit if thay hud murdered ye? Especially wi' th' Clan wars gaun oan richt noo. Whit wur ye thinking?"
"I was thinking that it was the only way of getting to you. I named myself McKirkland. And I had a map of the Clans – there was no 'McKirkland' on the map, so I thought I'd be just fine."
"...It seems ah pure am an eejit. Bit how come did ye dae a' o' this?"
"Because I love you, eejit...", after a slight pause, he pulled the taller one into a hug and kissed him.
Alasdair showed Francis around... what he had done the past 6 years. First of all, he had been traveling around on his own. Lost in thoughts and unsure of what to do. Eventually, he found a home on the Orkney main isle. Then he had build up this 'forest-igloo' all by himself. By the time he had also made bowls and tools himself – except for a knife with which he had carved it all.
And then the sheep. It was a group of 8 healthy sheep of which some were still young lambs.
"They're so cute...", Francis muttered. Then one of his Pierre's came. The one that informed him about news from England and France. He wrote back that he had found Alasdair and that they could stop sending him birds.
"Howfur ur th' bairns? did ah git that juist richt that thay sent ye Pierre?"
"Oui. Before I went, I talked long time with them and they wanted you back as well. They agreed that they would lead the central of the Pierre messenger birds. After a while, they became more birds... well, we have two really cool children. They're cute, brave and smart. I expect you to come back with me and care for them again like you used to."
"I will..."
The trip back to Edinburgh took another few months, and they were to share the horse Francis had come with. When they came back, the Queen of Scots was in the hands of the English, because she was guilty for murdering her second husband. Mary had tried to ask Elizabeth of England for help, but the english queen had used this as an opportunity to get hold of the rival.
Mhairi and Matthieu were very excited to see their daddy again and clung to the redhead man for more than half an hour.
"It seems that alot of things have changed while I was gone.", Francis frowned.
"'n' even mair sae, sin ah wis gaen. This is pure tairible. Bit ah hawp, Seumas VI. Is a'richt."
"Oh, he is. And he just learned how to walk. He is such a cute baby!", Mhairi squealed. "come on, I'll show him to you!"
The baby king was with his nurses in the gardens of the castle, enjoying the winter and the thick freshly fallen snow. Alasdair took him in his arms.
"Sae, yer mah freish king. Nice tae mak yer acquaintance. Ah hawp we wirk weel th'gither."
Francis laughed. "He is only a baby. He will not understand you."
But the king reached out in an attempt to grab the big hand of his nation. It was like a handshake. "Aye, he does."
"Mmh... so adorable. Both of you. Now, I'll leave you here. I have some business to prepare."
"Pure, Francis?", Alba looked hurt.
"Oui. You still have Mhairi and Matthieu here. We'll meet each other in the evening for Dinner."
"So, where have you been all the time, daddy?", Mhairi asked, to start a conversation, as they took a walk through the snow.
"Ah huv bin in th' north. Yin o' th' isles, Norway gave back tae me some time ago. It's nae sae taps aff thare. I'm aye pure sorry that ah didn't come back. Bit 'twas said that oor fowk hud tae split up. Ye ken that yer Papa 'n' ah huv an alliance, instead o' a real mairriage. 'n' thay said that this alliance wis ower."
The redhead girl nodded in understandment. Matthieu just listened.
"Ah tried tae rammy fur oor fowk. Bit 'twas in vain. Ah lost. Mmmh. Bit Awright. Ye grew, wee lassie."
"I did? Ugh... I mean.. I didn't notice.", Mhairi blushed. She had the size of a girl at the age of 10, while Matthieu still looked fourish. "Soon enough I will be an adult, just like Papa and you."
"Ah hawp nae. Ah lik' ye as yer noo."
Little James VI. liked being carried around by his nation.
A few days later, John Knox mysteriously disappeared, and another conference was held on the topic of the Auld Alliance. This time, the reformation went smoothly. France and Scotland were still Alliance partners, the alliance didn't need a renewal as it was one lasting forever. Furthermore, trading was fee-less between the two. The alliance was no longer just against England, but against everyone who would bring the other nation into a critical situation. Francis and Alasdair were married both as humans and as nation. But they had to do without a real wedding ceremony.
But not everyone had a reason to celebrate. Scotland and France were experiencing political problems still. But Francis still didn't care, as the religious wars in his land confused him.
Alasdair in the meantime wanted to save Mary of Scots. She was not really needed anymore, since James VI. would be with no trouble king over both Scotland and England. But still had the nation some attachment to Mary. Maybe just like Francis had to Jeanne.
"Do you want to do it alone again, my silly husband?", Francis raised an eyebrow as he stood beside the redhead, both on their horses on the border to England.
"... Nae.", Alasdair smirked and looked away. "Ah wis waiting fur ye."
In the conference, or commission of inquiry between october 1568 and January 1569, Mary refused to give up on her power. Furthermore it was about to clearify wether or not she was the murderer of Henry Stewart – the cousin she had as her second husband. There was letters, written in poor grammar and language. But the style the letters were written in, were hers.
Mary said that she hadn't killed her husband and that she hadn't written these letters. But the critic were unforgiving.
But in the end, no one was declared guilty or not guilty. The regent of Scotland, Moray, was sent back home, while Mary remained in custody. Elizabeth of England remarked, that she had no intention in accusing Mary for murder, but it was all just a political exercise.
"She was playing with her like a cat with some ball of wool. What kind of woman is that Elizabeth? She never had to fear anything. And then again she is an illegitime daughter to Henry VIII.. Why the hell is she queen anyway?", Francis asked. He was getting angry easily to such nonsense.
"It seems lik' na yin pat rocks intae her path.", Alasdair said as they were sitting in a pub. An Irish pub in London ironically. "We shuid huv uggit Englain mair instead o' fleeing tae ye."
"Oui. But now it's too late. Do you have a plan on how we could get Mary out of her prison?"
"Nae exactly. Whin we dae it lik' we did wi' Jeanne, it's gaun tae be tairible."
"Agreed."
They were about to fetch Mary from one of the places she was held. That was easier said than done, as she got moved around alot of castles. The two nations couldn't exactly find a hole into the system. Even more so as Mary was always surrounded by at least 16 people. So abducting her was no option. It was crazy. She was better guarded than the crown jewels of the queen of England!
Early in 1571, Moray was assassinated, and then succeeded by the Earl of Lennox as the regent of Scotland. It was coincided with a rebellion in the northern England, led by catholic earls, which wanted to convince that Mary was a threat. Then there was other groups who tried to free Mary also. The Duke of Norfolk with the help of Spanish troops. Norfolk was executed. At the same time, the English parliament introduced a bill that would make sure that Mary would under no circumstances regain the throne – but Elizabeth refused to give her okay to it. Possibly, this was another display of how powerful she was. Yet in turn, the false letters of Mary were published throughout London.
Later on, Mary was moved to different castles again.
