Chapter 24

June 1560
Marie 8 Years
Francis 10 Years

Marie was finished and ready for her Anniversary ball. She was excited but nervous at the same time knowing part of the reason for this event was for the people of France to see and accept her – all of the people. The Queen felt that perhaps the other children were reacting to things their parents have said or been told. Marie had dismissed her ladies earlier so she could have some time to collect her thoughts. It didn't bother her when others didn't like her, she's been raised all of her life knowing that most people were not your friends; they would use you for what you could get them or for money. It was part of being a ruler, a Queen, people were going to dislike you, hate you, and even try to kill you. She didn't focus on that, people always showed their true colors. She preferred to put her energy into the people around her that he knew loved her for who she was despite all the challenges of being a Queen, even at her young age.

Actions had always spoken louder to words to her and the people who loved her proved that. She remembered the letters Francis had left her before leaving earlier this week. She had cried reading them, his thoughts and feelings as well as his regret about the events that had transpired clear. If she'd had any doubt before as to the depth of his feelings, they were gone now. She had read and re-read the letters a dozen times and they were now one of her most prized possessions. Before he had returned she had placed them in a box where she kept everything he had ever given her. A feather from their first week together, his other notes and messages to her, small gifts, dried flowers and more.

She heard a knock on the door and smiled when Francis entered, one hand behind his back.

He tilted his head and smiled, "Marie you look beautiful!" he told her admiring her. She was wearing a matching outfit in the style of his own dress. A beautiful ball gown in maroon silk and taffeta complete with a matching royal cape trimmed in black and white fur. Upon her head sat a crown his mother had specially commissioned for her to match his but in the style befitting a Queen.

Her eyes lit up, "and you, your majesty," she said giving him a curtsy, "are very handsome. You do clean up well!" She teased him making his eyes dance.

He offered her the crook of his arm and she slid her hand into it smoothly as he placed his other hand over hers there, escorting her out of the room and to the ball room.

Prince Francis, Dauphin of France and Queen Marie of Scotland, Dauphine of France! The Page announced as they entered the ballroom.

Usually custom demanded that all people no matter their station stop what they are doing and bow to the royal couple and both Francis and Marie were surprised when they weren't shown the proper respect by anyone.

They held their heads high and went to stand on the other side of the Queen.

"Henry!" Katherine gasped as she put her hand on her husbands, appalled at what had just happened.

King Henry motioned to Francis and Marie to come to him, he whispered to them and they nodded as they exited through the King's hallway as instructed. The King watched them go as he scratched his beard. He was very unhappy, his wife had been telling him of the issues with others mistreating Marie, not respecting her, not showing her the proper courtesy but he'd had no idea it had gotten this bad.

The King rose from his throne. Everyone in the room stopped talking and dancing, the bowed and waited for him to speak.

The King walked down the stairs, "I must say I am outraged with each and every one of you!" he said harshly. "The complete lack of disrespect for your Dauphin and Dauphine will not be tolerated!"

King Henry looked around the room. "There is no excuse for the royal family to be treated this way and I, will NOT stand for it!" He emphasized.

"Now, someone had better speak up and have a good excuse as to why my son and daughter, your FUTURE KING AND QUEEN, were just treated with a complete lack of respect due them."

Nobody said a word. Not one person. Not even the children in attendance which was a rare treat.

"Hmmm? Very interesting," he said. "There seems to be no reason for this and yet, it just happened and it has been happening for quite some time. So much so that your children are following how they see YOU act."

The King stood there a moment longer and when nobody said anything he spoke again, "Lord Narcisse! You always have the facts of any situation at court, why don't you enlighten your King and Queen as to why everyone has been acting this way and why nobody has seen fit to bring it up to either myself or the Queen." The King ordered.

Lord Narcisse grimaced, but he came forward to bow in front of the King. "Your Majesty," he began, "There have been some rumors in the last few months that Queen Marie had been…" he paused, 'inappropriate with another Noble Boy last year. It's been said, she was seen kissing him more than once and that they were caught with their clothes removed."

Marie and Francis were outside the door behind the page when they heard the announcement. Marie gasped, putting her hand over her mouth shocked. "Francis! I wouldn't!" she started to defend herself.

Francis shook his head, "Don't worry Marie. We know it's not true. There are rumors about all royals but my parents will squash this one," He promised.

The King looked enraged and he briefly saw his wife send a servant away for something. "Queen Marie has never acted in any such way," he defended. "Who would dare to start false accusations against my royal family?" he asked.

"I did!" a voice came from the crowd. Lord Hubert came forward. The people around them gasped and began talking.

"Silence!" The King ordered as the voices died down.

"And what prompted you to start rumors rather than bring your accusations to the court?" he asked.

"I am the Uncle of Lord Tomas!" he said proudly. "The boy has told me in specific detail about how the young queen led him on. He even described a small birthmark she has in a place one would not see unless they were undressed."

The Queen spoke up, "Marie is only 8 years old, and you believe a child is capable of all of that?" she asked laughing.

"You have some nerve on causing this ruckus over what this particular boy has said. He has everything to gain and you have much to lose," the King threatened. "As we all know Lord Tomas threatened, harassed and harmed Queen Marie not just once but three times before he was punished and his father sent him away."

The King went on, "give me the dates and times the boy has said these things occurred," the King ordered and the crown will prove they are false lies and the guilty will be punished.

Lord Hubert gave three different dates smiling confidently.

"Lord Hubert, you may be unaware but the Crown keeps very detailed records for instances such as this," he said as a servant brought him a book which they set upon a podium so the King could flip through it.

Lord Hubert's smile faded and he looked nervous.

King Henry smiled as he flipped to the first date and time, "On the first date and time given," he said, "Queen Marie was in an assembly with my wife, the Queen of France, the Queen of Spain & the Queen of Navarre for almost the entire day."

The people began talking again as King Henry flipped to the second date and time in question. "It appears on the second date of question Queen Marie was not even here at the castle. She was several days away visiting extended family with my son, Prince Francis!"

"And finally, on the third date in question, Queen Marie spent her day with the 'Affairs Planning Committee,' assisting in planning and coordination of a Ball that week."

"Lord Hubert, are you telling me that on all these dates in question you are accusing 3 allied queens, the entire party planning session as well as numerous guards, servants and royals of covering up some bad behavior of a child?"

Lord Hubert said nothing.

"Very good,' the King said. 'Now that we've gotten to the part where you have made false accusations against a member of the royal family. Not only have you disgraced yourself and your entire family by committing treason against Queen Marie, you also committed treason when you lied to your King and Queen and you spread falsehoods instead of bringing them to the court as the law requires."

The King looked disgusted as he sat back down, "Take him to the dungeons!" He ordered.

The Queen stood up now, "Does anyone else have anything to bring up about Queen Marie?" she inquired.

The room was silent.

Outside the door Marie was hugging Francis, fear in her eyes. "They truly hate me Francis," she told him.

He bent down to look into her eyes, "No they don't. They just haven't given you a chance yet, we must show them who you are and they will love you as much as I do."

She looked uncertain.

"When we go back in there you will hold your head high and you will show no fear. Can you do that for me?" he asked.

She smiled, nodding.

Queen Katherine smiled, "Very good, then I will tolerate no more disrespect to my son or daughter or you will answer to me,' she said sternly.

The King motioned to the page and he made the announcement again.

"Prince Francis, Dauphin of France and Queen Mary of Scotland, Dauphine of France!"

Francis and Marie entered the room with smiles on their faces as if nothing unordinary had occurred over the last half hour.

Everyone in the room swept to the sides, silent and bowing.

Francis led her to the small royal sofa that had been placed there for their Anniversary and they both sat at the same time looking out at everyone with smiles on their faces. Here the people would come up and wish them well, bring them gifts.

There were still murmurs of gossip going but most were paying attention now.

The King and Queen stood up, King Henry offering his hand to Queen Katherine who took it as they stood on the top stair nearest their thrones.

Prince Francis also stood up and held his hand out for Queen Marie and they went to stand in front of the King and Queen looking out at their people on the next stair down.

The King spoke, "This is an Anniversary ball for my son, Prince Francis and my daughter, Queen Marie. We celebrate two years of their engagement today and celebrate the trials and sacrifices they have both made for the sake of their countries."

"Queen Marie came to us two years ago," the King continued. "She gave up everything she knew, her family, her country, and her people. She sacrificed it all to come here to honor her engagement to Prince Francis and to secure the alliance that France holds with Scotland. In that time, the Queen and I have been greatly blessed with her presence and have come to love her. She is now one of our daughters and as such she WILL be given the respect and courtesy due any royal in this court."

King Henry looked at his wife and she continued. "Queen Marie's sacrifice is no small thing; she was but a child of 6 years old when she came here. Those that know Queen Marie have seen her kindness. She is caring and compassionate and she cares about the people of France as she would her own Scottish people. Marie loves France and has proven that time and time again even at her young age. My son, Prince Francis and Queen Marie are devoted to each other more than I have seen from most married couples here in court. She loves him and he loves her and both have proven they will lay their lives down for the other when necessary. She is wise beyond her years as is my son and I ask you to think about your actions towards both of them, now and in the future. They are the future of France and your actions today will have an impact on what kind of relationship you will have with them, what positions of power you will or will not hold in the future here in court. After God calls King Henry home they will be the KING and QUEEN of FRANCE!"

Marie had tears in her eyes and Francis smiled as he wiped them away. Her eyes shining into his as they turned sideways, each of their hands in the others, showing their people how devoted they are to each other.

After a few moments the King and Queen went back to their thrones and Francis led Marie out onto the dance floor for the first royal dance as the Queen ordered dancing music.

Everyone watched them moving gracefully across the floor. They heard some comments about how they seemed to be an extension of each other as they twirled and turned, totally in tune to each other, never taking their eyes off of each other.

Afterwards, Francis led her back over to their seat as the other couples began dancing. Over the course of the evening, most people came over to wish them well and to bring them small gifts. Many admired Queen Marie's enthusiasm and delight over the gifts and her sweetness in including the Prince in all ways whether it was talking with them or accepting the gifts.

After a few hours Marie's head started to hurt. 'I'm going to get some fresh air she told him," as he began to stand up. She shook her head, "stay, talk, I think Bash has been trying to get your attention," she said smiling looking in his brother's direction. "I'll be back in a few moments."

Francis left his seat, walking over to his brother. "Francis, I must speak with you," Bash told him.

"What is it?" he asked concerned.

Bash pulled him out of the ballroom and into a private room where they could talk. 'I've been making inquiries about Olivia," he told his brother. "Discreetly of course. Her attitude with Marie those weeks ago didn't make sense, she holds a lot of animosity towards her and I wanted to know why."

"And what did you find?" he asked.

"Olivia is Tomas cousin and they have been very close, since they were small children. She blames Marie for Tomas being sent away and it's said that she has vowed to pay her back for ruining Tomas' life as has most of Tomas' family."

Francis frowned, "she wouldn't dare hurt a royal," he argued. "She's been at court for as long as I can remember."

"And did you think a few weeks ago she would have talked to Marie the way she did or that she would act in such a way?" Bash asked.

Francis sighed, "No! But what does this all mean?"

"That's not all I found out; some of the other girls here have said that Olivia has made claims on you. That you will be hers."

Francis laughed, "She is delusional, I can only marry for the good of France and my engagement with Marie has been arranged since we were four years old."

"She's not talking about marriage, Francis," he shook his head. "The other girls say she plans to seduce you, maybe not right away but that is her plan."

"She is a year younger than I, she shouldn't even been thinking about that at her age," he said dryly. "Are you sure this isn't just women's gossip?" he asked.

Bash sighed, "Not when it comes from the horse's mouth herself," he told him seriously.

Francis paused, "she told you this?" And Bash nodded.

"Alright, I need to check on Marie, she went outside for some fresh air," he said as they walked back to the ballroom.

"I don't' see her," he told Bash.

"Uh Francis, I don't see Olivia either and she was here earlier!" he said as they both rushed to the door Marie had exited earlier.