I apologize deeply for how long it has taken for this next chapter. I hit a block with where the show had gone and then I had some personal stuff and I am now without Internet. However, I do hope you all enjoy this chapter that you forgive me in the delay. I'm trying to get back to writing this story more often and hopefully the chapters will come quicker! Again, I am sorry for how long this took. Let me know what you think!

Arianna couldn't believe how long it had been. Two months had come and went since she last saw Bash. Every day still felt like the first day he left. She waited for it to get easier, for time to heal the hole he left but it never came. So much had happened since Bash had left and there were days where she hoped a letter would come but it never did. She had written tons to him, telling him all that happened but she never sent there. She didn't know where she would send them.

Arianna had finally had her coronation and was the Queen of Hungary but somehow, she was able to convince her grandmother to let her go back to France. She couldn't imagine being anywhere else and she still hoped that Bash would return or at least send a letter. Agreeing, her grandmother would now run Hungary while Arianna was in France. Once she was wed to Daymen, they would both return and take over. Daymen, he had come back briefly but then left again per his father's wishes. Blazhe on the other hand stayed behind, becoming the official negotiator with France or something. Arianna couldn't remember exactly what he had become but she knew he had other motives for staying in France.

Blazhe had been determined to figure out a way to get Arianna out of her marriage and he could do that better in France where his father and brother would not be able to see what he was really doing. Daymen was thrilled that he didn't need to be around Arianna to get her country and told Blazhe that he needed him to watch over Arianna and make sure she didn't get out of line. Blazhe easily fooled his brother, agreeing to his plan. He did agree to keep an eye on Arianna but for a different reason. After seeing how Bash's absence affected Arianna, Blazhe wanted to make sure she would be okay. Especially with her wedding getting closer and closer.

Arianna had postponed the wedding due to getting a letter from Vienna about her brother. She hadn't heard anything in a long time and she was worried that the nurses there were too afraid to tell her the bad news. When she read the letter, it was the opposite. The nurses hadn't let him write because he was fighting infection after infection but he kept defeating it and his health was improving quickly. She saw an opportunity and quickly leapt at it. Convincing her grandmother to postpone the wedding was hard but after hearing about Nikola's improving health, Emese agreed to waiting on having the wedding until Arianna's brother could be there.

Trying to pull herself out of all these thoughts and getting out of bed, Arianna went to get ready for the day as for today was the day that Mary and Francis were returning from their honeymoon and there were others that were arriving at the castle as well. She was excited that Mary was returning, missing her company deeply, but she was still a little upset that Francis had banished Bash. Hopefully, she could talk to him and try to ease her resentment towards him.

Looking over her appearance once more, Arianna made her way down to the throne room to greet the guests staying in the castle. Walking out of her room, she spotted Blazhe waiting for her by her door.

"Good morning, Blazhe." Arianna greeted with a smile.

"Morning, Aria." Blazhe nodded his head in respect to her. "Are you excited that Mary and Francis are returning?"

Arianna nodded, looping her arm with Blazhe's. "I am. I hope that their honeymoon went well. Everyone will be expecting her to have children very soon."

Blazhe hummed in response, thinking about how the same would be happening for Arianna soon. Arianna turned her head to look at Blazhe who was now lost in thought. She was about to ask what was on his mind until she realized that they had arrived at the throne room. Quickly making her way over to the girls, Arianna stood up straight and tried to listen to the king but she didn't really hear the words coming from Henry's mouth. Arianna did notice the look that the archduke gave Kenna and the look Henry gave her after seeing him look. Quirking an eyebrow, Arianna glanced at Kenna only to see that she had ben completely oblivious to all of this.

Soon, everyone in the throne room started to disperse and Arianna watched as King Henry went over to speak to Kenna. They seemed to be talking about something very private; their voices quiet yet their demeanor showed that it was nothing more than a king talking to one of his subjects. Arianna, however, knew better than to believe that's all it was.

Soon, the horns were sounding, announcing the arrival of Francis and Mary. Following the girls, Arianna went out into the hall to great the two newlyweds. With a smile on her face, the girls greeted Mary.

"I've missed you all!" Mary announced as she was taking her coat off.

"You both look happy." Arianna said with a smile, hugging the two.

"We were." Mary responding, Francis wrapping an arm around her. "We are. I'm sure we'll be just as happy here as we were in Paris. And Annette and every castle from here to the Noir Valley. Oh! Which reminds me, I've found a wonderful suitor for you Greer. And there's one in Paris who's very keen to meet you, Lola."

Arianna watched as Kenna gave Lola a look while Lola looked to Francis for a brief second. No one else noticed anything out of the ordinary but none of the others knew what Kenna and Arianna knew.

"Wonderful." Lola replied with a small smile.

"Mary!" Catherine announced as she burst between the girls. "Oh how I've missed you!" She came and kissed Mary on her cheeks, all the girls shocked by the amount of affection that Catherine was showing Mary.

She reached for Francis and kissed his cheek as well. "A word."

Francis looked to Mary who only smiled. "And so the politics and backstabbing begin." She said, following the girls away from Francis.

Arianna stayed in her spot, turning her head ever so slightly to the left to hear what Catherine had to tell Francis. Standing near the wall and keeping her back to the two, she hoped that they wouldn't see what she was doing.

"You must tell me all about your travels! Later. First," Catherine paused; looking to make sure Mary and the girls were out of earshot. "You need to know that your bastard brother didn't make it to Spain."

"What do you mean?" Francis asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

Arianna was holding her breath, unable to believe what she was hearing. Could Bash still be here?

Francis lowered his voice a little before continuing. "I sent those guards with him myself. They were supposed to accompany him to a ship and see him safely on board."

"The bodies of those men you sent were found by the side of the road, not long after you left for your honeymoon." Catherine told him.

"Bash's body was not found?" Francis asked. Arianna was trying her best not to let her mind wander with all this information as she listened in.

"Either he killed the guards himself, or the whole party was attacked and he managed to escape." Catherine said, letting her voice say she believed the first rather than the latter.

"Are they looking for him?" Francis sighed, obviously upset about the situation.

"Of course." Catherine reassured. "Henry has his men looking everywhere. Aren't you glad you have a mother who pays attention to such things?"

Seeing that the conversation was over, Arianna quickly walked down the hall, hoping that Catherine and Francis would not see her and put two and two together. As she walked, she tried to calm her breathing but she couldn't. Bash was still here, in France. He never left. Even though this information brought her a small amount of joy, she wanted to know what happened. More than anything, she wanted to know why Bash hadn't tried to contact her.

Sighing, Arianna decided to go join the girls, hoping that they would take her mind off of all of this. Once at Mary's door, Arianna tapped her knuckles of the wood and waited until she heard Mary's voice tell her to come in.

"Arianna! Where did you get? We all thought you were right behind us." Mary said once Arianna was in the room.

"Oh I was just letting you have some time alone with the girls." Arianna said with a smile, hoping that it didn't look as forced as it felt. "Well don't you all look lovely!"

Greer smiled and turned in her new dress. "It fits perfectly. Thank you."

"I love mine." Kenna said, pulling out the skirt a little. "How utterly virginal."

"And utterly ironic." Greer added.

Arianna and Mary laughed at this, Arianna now sitting next to Mary. Lola appeared from behind them, a sad look on her face.

"Oh you're not wearing your gown, Lola." Mary pointed out with a frown.

"Uhh. It's incredibly lovely but I'm afraid it's a bit snug." Lola admitted making a good effort to keep her stomach covered more than usual.

"Oh don't worry. We'll have the seamstresses work on it." Mary reassured her.

"So, Mary, tell us." Greer piped up suddenly. "Are you pregnant?"

"Greer." Arianna breathed.

"It's been almost two months, you know everyone's wondering." Greer was right there; everyone would be wondering when the new couple would be popping out heirs.

Arianna watched as Mary struggle to get her words out as Mary held out a box for Greer and Arianna. Each of them took a treat as Mary finally got the words out. "Two months isn't very long."

Getting up, Mary offered a piece to Lola, who just shook her head with a very apprehensive look. "I thought you loved marzipan?" Mary asked confused.

Lola tried to smile and she reached for one, carefully taking the smallest bite. As soon the food touched her tongue, she looked like she was going to vomit all over the room.

"Lola, are you alright?" Mary asked as she rubbed Lola's arm.

"Perfectly fine. Thanks." Arianna could tell that Lola tried to make her voice sound strong but the look on her face was giving her away.

Arianna could tell that Mary believed Lola but she wondered how long Lola could up this charade with Mary. Sighing and trying to put that thought in the back of her head, Arianna spent the rest of the afternoon with the girls, enjoying their company and hearing all about the places Mary had visited on her honeymoon. No matter how much Arianna tried though, her mind kept wondering back to Bash and what she heard Catherine tell Francis. The only thing that she wished was that wherever he was, he was safe.