Hello my lovelies! i'm back with another chapter. i'm sorry it took me so long to write again but i hope that you all still enjoy to read this chapter :)

Disclaimer: I do not own "Reign" and i don't make any profit out of this story.

Chapter six

The corridors of the palace had felt darker recently, it was one week ago since this masquerade ball which ended so terribly for both, Catherine and Henry. Henry had tried to talk with Catherine about everything that happened but Catherine refused. Day for day. She was as cold as always and if Henry was being honest, he just wished he could talk to his wife without any shouting...at the moment King Henry II was on his way to some council meetings. Usually he found the business of running a kingdom too important to do anything else and it was also an good way to get his wife out of his head at least for that moment in time. But today he couldn't get any orders or businesses of the day into his head. That was all filled with images of his beloved wife. What would she do right now?

Maybe writing some correspondences or a walk in the gardens.

Visiting their children and playing with them...just the image of her magnificent smile as soon as she saw their children brought a smile to his face...Probably he should visit his children after this council meeting, it had been weeks since he last saw them. His little princess Margot was turning six soon, he still had to get her something..he didn't know what yet but maybe this question would give him the chance to talk to his wife again. Speaking of his children Henry came out of his thoughts and looked at his son, Francis. The young man was carefully listening to Henry's closest advisers, he really would be a great ruler someday Henry thought.

Henry still couldn't believe what had happened since Mary came back from the Covent, so many things had happened in this short time and he had nearly lost his wife because of his mistakes...could he even call Catherine his..was she his? She wasn't his. He had lost her many years ago and now she didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore..he had lost her. But he didn't want to give up. He loved her even though he didn't showed it as often as he should have had. He was too concentrated to hurt her because she had hurt his ego..but now he realised how wrong he was. How bad of a husband he was..he was a cad. He really was and he wanted to change. He wanted to go back to those earlier years..those simpler times where she used to smile at him with this smile that was only reserved to him..he would give anything to see her smile again. Back to those years where he hadn't been such a cad who was led by his enormous ego. Back to those days before he had brought Diane back, before he had hurt his Catherine. What could he do? He didn't know..the only thing he did knew was that Francis would go to his mother after the council meeting. As clear as he remembered they had planned a tea session for today. Maybe if he was fast enough he could give his son something for his mother...actually he, himself had planned to give her this sort of present but since she didn't even want to speak with him, he didn't dare to upset her even more.

Ending the council meeting earlier as planned, Henry get up and ran into his chambers to get the "present" he made for his wife and then tried to caught up with his son again. Luckily he had ended the meeting earlier, so his son didn't go right after the council meeting to his mother.

"Francis," said the King, trying to cover his upcoming nervousness, this sort of present was probably his last chance to get to talk to his wife more private that's probably why he was getting nervous now...he didn't feel this sort of nervousness in a long time. "Do tell your mother that I am hoping she finds herself in high spirits today. And give her this…"

With a gesture of his hand, a box with one single letter; his mother's coat of arms had been carved on the centre of the box's lid. Francis was slightly shocked by this, he didn't trust his father's intentions. Too often he had to see how his mother had gotten hurt by his father again and again.

"You know, this won't grant you her forgiveness, or, anything father," said the dauphin, not knowing what exactly was in the box.

"I am just hoping to make her smile again.." Henry replied, with a slightly sad undertone, "She always had a beautiful smile."

A part of Francis wondered if his father was going mad, or if his father was really hoping to make his mother smile again. Not that he was going to say that now– he had seen his father breaking his mother's heart countless of times, his mother always tried to cover up the hurt she felt but now as he grew older he could see through his mother's walls and he saw how hurt she was. His father had humiliated his mother before court more times than he could count and he couldn't and wouldn't allow his father to break his mother's heart once again. Francis didn't knew not much about marriage in general, he and Mary were only wed since a couple of months and the both of them really enjoyed their time together. He was so glad that she choose him. He was madly in love with her and she was madly in love with him. And he didn't want to hurt Mary in any way like his father did to his mother. Mary was his true love.

Francis didn't dare to look inside of the box, he thought it was some expensive gift his father brought for his mother, though he didn't really think that whatever was in this box could make his mother in any way happy.

So they remained at what could either be equilibrium or an impasse. And either way, Francis had tea to get to.

He nodded at his father, sighing only minutely, "I shall see that she receives it. But only under one condition, don't play games with my mother. She doesn't deserve this. You hurt her so many times, you humiliated her before court, before everyone and I won't support such things. Please don't play with mother."

Henry couldn't help but be impressed how well raised his son was. "I don't want to hurt her again. I want to change. I love your mother and I want to try again. I don't care how long I will have to wait but I will do everything in my power to win her back. I promise you my son, I don't play any games with your mother."

Henry replied with complete honesty in his voice.

Francis was shocked. Truly shocked. He still didn't trust his father. But the honesty and sincerity in his fathers voice made him want to believe even only for a tiny bit that his father did mean the things he just said.

His father then turned and left the council room to go his younger childen. He didn't visit them often but this would change now too, he thought.

So the young dauphin followed the halls round to the chambers of his mother confused about what just happened and trying not to open the box in his hands. He then knocked at his mother's chamber door before a soft "Enter!" bid him come in.

"Good day, Mother," he greeted without looking up from the door, which he was closing.

"Father bid me to give you this and make sure that you receive it..."

There was no other reaction to be had – trailing off was the most suitable thing he could do, when he finally turned and came not face-to-face with his mother.

"Ah, Francis, my golden child!" his mother said a few seconds later, she was so happy to see her boy, by coming from a room off to one side. "It's good to have you here!" She said taking her golden child in a big and tight hug.

Francis merely hummed his reply as his mother released him from the hug.

"And what is this?" said his mother, smiling down at her gift and unintentionally snapping Francis out of his thoughts.

"Oh… this… it's a gift from Father," he informed her, immediately causing her expression to sour. Just as he'd suspected, gifts – however pretty and expensive – wouldn't put his father back on Catherine good graces anytime soon. Francis didn't know what happened between his parents this time but he knew that it had happened something big. His mother as also his father both seemed hurt...and even though his father seemed to change now and finally seeing what a bad husband and father he was. He had been nothing but cruel to her throughout their marriage, taking mistresses whenever he felt like it and humiliating her on a constant basis.

It hadn't been like that since their beginning...they once loved each other deeply but after ten years without being able to produce a child rather than a heir for their family, it had been hard. In those first few years of their marriage Catherine and Henry were happy, absolutely happy and madly in love but when Henry's older brother Francis III died everything changed.

Henry's father and french court began to put a great amount of pressure on the young couple to produce a child. Rumours began to circulate that Henry would divorce her due to her difficulty conceiving. The pressure to produce a heir got bigger and bigger. Catherine tried everything. They tried many remedies for getting pregnant, and many of them were quite unpleasant and ineffective. When the pressure got too big and when Catherine shut herself nearly completely out of his life. Henry took Diane de Poitiers as his main mistress, which he knew since his childhood years and this humiliated and hurt Catherine even more. Then Diane got pregnant first and delivered a baby boy. Everything got worse between him and Catherine and their relationship just grew more and more apart. Then after ten hard years Henry and Catherine finally sought help from another doctor, and just a few weeks after her 24th birthday the dauphine received the news she had been praying for when she discovered that she was finally pregnant. The couple welcomed the first of their 10 children the Dauphin Francis on a cold winter night on January the following year. Catherine's golden child Francis had brought light to their life that had seemed to make her husband kind to her again. Henry had been there, and for a while they'd...seemed to be happy. The couple were also able to solve their problem, and Francis would be followed by: Elisabeth, Claude, Louis, Charles, little Henry , Margaret, Hercule, and twins: Emone and Henrietta

But it had all changed again in the blink of an eye. He hadn't been the same towards her since he first took Diane as his main mistress, Catherine and Henry had some good times but they all didn't long for last and always ended up in a fight and Henry jumping in one of his mistresses bed again and again...and since their twins, Emone and Henrietta died and Catherine almost died giving birth to them...it was a horrible time back then and especially after the twins deaths Henry seemed to had simply lost all interest in her, in making her happy, or in...anything what had to do with her that didn't involve him getting what he wanted. He preferred getting it from other women, whenever and wherever he could - Those things combined had broken Catherine's heart. They spent no time together whatsoever either, and when they had to appear together in public, they didn't speak. They barely even looked at each other.

He'd truly brought her nothing but pain and embarrassment. Did he really think he could even begin to make up for anything with a trinket? A flimsy piece of jewellery that they both knew was really just a bribe to crawl into her bed and slither back out again when he was done?

How stupidly shallow did he think she was? He could gift her a thousand new pieces of jewellery, and have all the odd fancies about her that he wanted, but it wouldn't even begin to take reverse what he'd done to her! She didn't had to look inside the box to know what was inside, Henry never put much efforts in those things. She still had to admit that she was quite surprised however this she didn't show anyone.

"Oh," very close to scowling, she used the fingers of one hand to take the little chest and placed it on her desk without even looking in it.

Francis just raised an eyebrow, he knew that just a gift and some words couldn't bring his father back to his mother's good graces but still he was stunned by the words his father told him before he went to his mother.

not wantig to bring up the confusing and really strange conversation he had with his father earlier the dauphin replied, "Mother, I am just a messenger. But i do think you should at least look in the box...maybe later?" offering his arm to Catherine and gesturing at the waiting tea, the dauphin changed the subject back to the waiting tea "Shall we?"

"Indeed we shall," Catherine allowed her son to escort her to the table. Nearly forgetting about the little box since her golden child was with her now. She knew she had to open it someday but not now. Now she would enjoy the time with her darling son.

They seated themselves, and the conversation began. It covered a list of subjects, from the topics at the day's council meeting to the weather, the various hunts that would no doubt be starting up soon and to Mary and their progress in getting pregnant

An: i hope you don't mind that this chapter is shorter than the one before but i promise i will write a bit more in the upcoming weeks and i will also upload a bit more regulary...well at least i will try ;) and i'm sorry thta i didn't answer your reviews earlier so i thought i just make it here:

To Elle Rose Maltz: Heyy my dear! i'm so glad that you're enjoying my story so far. how did you like this chapter?

To .fan: First of all Heyyy my dear :) thank you for your review! i'm so glad that you enjoy this story so far and hehe I love cathry so much too! they're just an amazing couple even though their relationship is complicated...we will see if he will be able to win her back. Maybe the conent in the little box will be a step forward ;) we'll see. How did you like this chapter my dear?

To Yogurtime: well i hope i didn't broke you heart with the Masquerade ball from the prevouis chapter, if i did, i'm sorry *offers cookies and hugs* and yeah i wonder thts too. I think he would go into the prossesive henry mode or something like that. i mean nobody is allowed to flirt or rather touch the king's wife am i right? :)) well maybe we will see some of this stuff in this story too since Narcisse is still present at court and as we know he has laid an eye on our queen...

To Cattuesmountain: I felt soo incredibly honored when i read your review! Thank you! I love your Stories, they are my personal favourites :) especially walking on broken glass. I hope you like this chapter as well.*sending you a virtual hug*

Stayed safe and healthy. i'm sending to all my readers a virtual hug and feel free to leave a review :) I love you all Leonie.