Replies to reviews:
elder441 [chapter 30]: Thanks so much and I agree!
BlerBlerBler [chapter 30]: Yeah, hate it but I won't even dwell on the horrible idea about that. Yeah, there will be more moments like those to come!
Guest (1) [chapter 30]: Here's the next chapter!
Mostly this is a happy story, but with the calm, comes the storm.
Mary opened her eyes, realising that they had all fallen asleep on the ground. She smiled to herself, sitting up with a bit of difficulty. She rubbed her bump and yawned, noting that the sky was getting darker.
She woke her friends up and they got up, heading back to their carriage. She gave the driver a wide smile, accepting his help in getting inside the carriage.
Soon, they were on their way back to the castle.
"Today was amazing," Mary told her friends. "I can't wait for tomorrow's plans."
"The winery is lovely in this season," Kenna said. "We can try our hand at making our own. If it's undrinkable, I'm sure our husbands and father will gladly stomach it for us."
They laughed, accepting the plans.
"After, we can plan the christening for the new baby," Greer said. "If I won't be able to meet them, at least I can help in some way."
"That would be wonderful, thank you, Greer," Mary replied.
The queen looked out of the window, feeling an unsettling feeling in her stomach. The roads were busy and as the neared the castle, it seemed as if the guards had doubled or even tripled in size, all frantic and some on horseback.
"What is going on?" Kenna asked fearfully, getting out of the carriage first when it came to a stop just before the gates. She went over to a guard as her friends followed. "What is happening? Is it my father?"
"The Duke is well," the guard said. "Two of the children have been taken."
"Taken?" Mary asked, shoving through to get to the guard. "W-Who-"
"Princess Rose, Your Grace. Princess Rose and the Earl of Avon."
Mary's legs gave over and Kenna, Greer and Lola were quick to catch her, the fear in both mothers' eyes evident. Mary didn't know how to feel, but her heart was quickening and she felt as if her world was closing in.
"My daughter, who has taken my daughter?!"
...
"Mary, please, sit down," Francis begged, getting up to stop her pacing. "I am sick with worry too, but we have many guards on the matter. Bash is out there looking for our children."
"How long have they been missing for?"
Francis swallowed deeply. "A short while after you left. The governesses took them out for a swim and Rose and Robin went off alone as they returned to the castle and before they could notice, it was too late. These abductors, they were skilled. They were silent and we're questioning the guards that went with them - they were put down, some didn't survive."
Mary shook, sinking down into a chaise. "Rose... It's all my fault. When she was born, I was upset because... because she wasn't a son, but I adore her. She's so special, our Rosie and now she's gone and we might never see her again."
"Don't think that!" Francis cried out. "She's our daughter, she's a natural-born fighter."
Mary sobbed. "If I hadn't had left, if I'd stayed-"
"The children would still have wanted to go to the lake and we would still be in this position," Francis cut her off. "I promise you, they'll find our children. We will have them home."
In the next room, Kenna held her daughter close to her chest, whispering sweet nothings as tears slipped down her cheeks. She watched as Anne and John nervously played with Anne's dolls on the ground, feeling her friends' gazes on her.
"They will find them," Greer told her, holding James in her arms. "Rose and Robert will come home."
Kenna looked away from the children, turning to the door when it opened. "Francis has there been any word?"
"No," he said apologetically. "Mary... I've sent her to our bedchamber to rest. She is in no fit state and it is not good for the baby."
"What can I do?" Lola asked, getting up. "Is there anything-"
"Remain with the children. At this point, the people in this room are who I trust with my children's lives," he said, crossing his arms. "We... All we can do is wait."
Kenna scoffed. "Wait?" She repeated, getting up and giving her daughter to Lola who sat back down. "Wait for what?"
"A sign, a trail-"
"What if they've spilt their blood already?" Kenna asked him. "You and I both know that France has a lot of enemies, Francis. You and Bash most especially and if your children die... it will be on your hands."
Francis froze. "Kenna-"
"Just find them, Francis," she whispered, leaving the room.
Francis followed after but instead of going the same direction, he went the other way in the search for the Duke of the castle.
He felt like his world had been ripped apart. His precious Rose, his second daughter and third child. She had been so perfect when she was born, his blonde curls and her mother's beautiful eyes. A perfect mix, even more so than Anne.
His precious Rose who wanted for nothing. Timid and shy, but resilient and clever. He ached to see her again, to hold her against his chest and kiss her head repeatedly.
Francis stopped, hearing a guard call his name. "What is it?"
"A ransom note, Your Majesty..." The guard trailed off, handing him the letter.
Francis frowned at his hesitance and he opened up the letter and saw a lock of bloodied brown hair attached at the bottom. His heart sank. "Any leads?"
"Not yet," the guard said. "It was found nailed to a tree near the opening of the woods."
"Ready my horse," Francis ordered, heading towards the exit.
"Your Majesty, that is not wise-"
"Two children are missing and now, we have a ransom note with my nephew's hair on it," Francis said, stopping. "I will find them."
...
Mary studied the note. "They ask not for money, but for me to give up my claim to England?"
"It seems that way," Francis said. "Unless that is hiding the real reason as to why the children were taken."
Mary frowned deeply. "What I don't understand is Rose is not our heir. She's no spare either, but she isn't James or even Anne."
"Maybe it was a case of mistaken identity," Francis said. "Rose does take after me in looks and James, well, he was in the governess's arms throughout and he was dressed in a way he could have been mistaken for a girl."
"Do you think Catherine is behind it?"
"My mother-"
"She told me herself she was making moves to put England in our hands. If this is their way of retaliation against her actions... I will need to see Elizabeth personally," Mary told him. "Beg for my child's life and give up England."
Francis sighed heavily. "We knew the risks. Elizabeth must have felt threatened with our prolonged stay in Scotland... Mary, we need to tell Bash and Kenna-"
"No, hide the hair. Our children are safe. They have nothing if they're dead-"
"They have something if they are with them anyway," Francis cut her off. "Dead or alive, we want our children and they will prey on that fact."
"Have you no hope?"
Francis closed his eyes. "I do have hope. So much hope that I will lead the next search now."
...
Bash knelt down, placing two fingers on a sticky substance that plagued the ground below. He lifted his fingers up, feeling the texture and seeing the colour.
Blood.
Whose, he didn't-
"My lord, over here!"
He got up, walking over to the guard. "What is it?"
The guard directed him towards a hedge leading to the river stream. He saw other guards tending to a wounded man, clutching at his stab wound.
"They're questioning him," the guard explained.
Bash nodded. "I'll do the questioning myself."
He jumped down the hedge, landing on the ground below before gesturing for the guards to leave except the one keeping the man alive for now.
"Speak," he demanded. "Who did this to you?"
"T-The boy," the man spat out. "Had a little knife on him. Said his father would kill us if he and the girl didn't return."
Bash felt a bit of relief. He hadn't told his wife, but he had been training their son somewhat. It wasn't his fault that Robin took great interest in what it meant to be a fighter. Pride swelled in his chest.
"Which way did your men take him?" Bash asked.
"I won't tell you."
"Who do you work for?"
"I'm already dying," the man said. "But you should have the ransom by now."
Bash looked up at a guard. "Ransom?"
"It would have been taken to the castle," the guard said. He looked up when they heard the sound of horses. "It's the Duke and Marquess of Barton."
"Alright," Bash said. "Kill him."
He stood up and headed back up the hedge to meet his father-in-law and brother-in-law as he heard a grunt behind him.
"What did you learn?" Robert asked, getting down from his horse.
"There's a ransom," Bash told them. "Did you know?"
"No," his brother-in-law said. "We left after you."
Bash sighed heavily. "My son, he wounded the man greatly. I fear that may have repercussions."
"Do not lose hope, Sebastian," Robert told him. "That boy is a fighter and he will protect himself and his cousin fiercely."
"We must move on," Kenna's brother said. "Time is of the essence, ransom or not."