Replies to reviews:
elder441 [chapter 78]: Ah, I'm so sorry, haha! Thanks so much and I'm relieved we can finally get somewhere with badarse Francis joining the game against Darnley who would be shocked for sure!
Guest (1) [chapter 78]: Yes! Cry in relief, I am because it was getting hard and emotional for me, I love Francis. Can't hurt our baby our like that. Ooh, I'm actually considering doing defiant, badarse Anne against the world and her journey in Sweden as its new queen story which will be a spin-off from ATEOTB and not a sequel as we still have a lot to do with Frary, going into their older years. Sisters fight, mine and me sure do! But the good thing is we always make up so Rose and Anne will too. Frary won't find out about their little girl's marriage until an unexpected gift comes in the next chapter, leaving them stunned. You're not, hehe but their marriage is not legal so Anne is still a virgin which will be much to her parents' reliefs. Awh, you're welcome, thanks! :D
FeliLuna13 [chapter 78]: Yeah, I wanted to trick you guys, I'm sorry! I took Robin's dream and had you all breathless! But thank Goodness Mary's a queen and not a doctor.
BlerBlerBler [chapter 78]: Thanks, enjoy the next!
I just can't get enough of Frary, hope you guys don't mind my favourite ship sailing hard this chapter.
"I see you're still as energetic as ever," Mary mumbled, laughing softly against Francis's chest. "I wasn't expecting to make love so soon."
Francis grinned, his eyes closed. "I've missed this just as much as you."
Mary smacked his chest lightly, sitting up as she covered her chest and attempted to find her dress. She yawned, stretching as she stood and let the covers fall back onto the bed. She found her nightdress instead, seeing that it was pitch black outside.
"I want to meet Darnley's son," Francis said.
"Not now," Mary replied, turning to him with a grin. "I just want you to myself right now and tomorrow and the day after that..."
Her husband raised his brows, biting his bottom lip at his wife's insinuation. He was not complaining, she was looking delectable. They both had needs that needed to be sated but he also had duties for France.
"My love, come back to bed," he said, deciding that he would stay with his wife. They'd been through so much and he couldn't wait to make the most out of having her back in his arms as they slept again.
Mary did as told and snuggled into his chest, feeling his kiss on her jawline. "I love you."
"I love you too," Francis replied, falling asleep.
...
"P-Papa?" Anne stammered once she entered the dining hall for breakfast the next morning.
Francis looked up from his tea and smiled brightly. "Anne! Come, sit beside me and tell me everything about Sweden. Was Oskar good to you? Did you make friends?"
Anne let out a shaky breath. "Is this real?"
Francis pinched himself and nodded. "I am certain that this is all real. Now, come and eat."
Anne hurried over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly as she let out a sob. She felt his warm arms wrap around her waist in response and she grinned through her tears. Her father was alive and breathing and he was right here, in her arms, talking and joking and...
"Papa..." She whispered, her voice breaking. "How I've missed you."
"I missed you too, Annie," Francis said into her ear. "My darling little girl. All grown up."
Anne laughed. "Oh, Papa!"
Rose joined them after with James, Peter and Joseph talking animatedly around her. The four of them stopped and eyed their father and elder sister still in an embrace.
"Papa?" Rose called out softly.
Francis pulled away from Anne and gave Rose a bright smile, holding out his hand before he realised that three little princes were also present. He stood from his seat and waved the four over, embracing his children tightly as he knelt on the ground, James's arms around his neck, Peter cuddled to his chest, Joseph on the opposite of James, his arms around his father's neck and the girls hugging their brothers' backs.
"You all smell amazing. Did Mama tell you to bathe in lavender this beautiful morning?" Francis asked them.
The boys giggled and nodded.
"I don't like lavender," Joseph whined.
"But you smell great," Francis said, his arm around Anne's shoulders as his hand found Peter's hair. "In fact, I could eat you all up!"
"No!" The boys cried out, giggling as Francis started to tickle them.
They begged their sisters to help but Anne and Rose shared a soft smile, discreetly ending their private war in peace over the shared joy that their father was alive and well with their hands clutched together tightly behind the princes' backs.
...
"You must be happy," Kenna said, taking a seat at her vanity table and fixing her jewellery on. "Francis is up and about, perhaps you can go sparring or whatever you men do when you celebrate the limits of your mortality."
Bash looked up at her as he finished buttoning up his tunic. Silently, he retrieved his navy doublet and put it on, button by button. He could feel the awkwardness in the air and he wanted nothing more than to end whatever argument they were in and get back to normal.
But a part of him still wanted her to feel guilty for putting such thoughts between them that he and Mary would ever return to what they had in the past. He knew the difference between what he felt for Mary and what he feels for his wife.
"Bash?" Kenna called him, turning her head slightly as she lifted her necklace up. "Do you mind?"
Dutifully, he helped her put the necklace on, keeping his touch on her neck and shoulders minimal before returning back to dressing. Francis had planned an impromptu ball, the damned man and it made Bash laugh to himself. Francis was never one for balls and parties and celebrations so he really must have been feeling better.
"Thank you," his wife mumbled, cutting into his thoughts as she sprayed some perfume on and placed the delicate glass back onto her vanity. "I'll get Sophia, shall I?"
Bash didn't reply, he merely entered the nursery and retrieved their youngest himself, planting a sweet kiss on the nine-month-old's head. He watched as the door opened and the governess led Anastasia in, dressed in her finest blue dress. They were all dressed in the colour of France, blue. It was also the colour of Scotland and Bash had no doubt that Francis would be wearing his crest, the crest uniting France and Scotland through marriage and later siblingship as France's king and Scotland's queen will be brother and sister, equal in their own rights.
"Papa!" Anastasia hugged her father's legs. "Can I kiss Soso?"
"Who's Soso?" Her father teasingly asked.
Ana glared at him. "Sophia, silly!"
"I know," he said, chuckling as he allowed her to kiss her sister's head. "Come along now, why don't we go to the ball?"
"Papa and his girls?"
"Papa and his girls," Bash confirmed, leaning down to kiss Ana's forehead. He stood, taking her hand and holding Sophia in his other arm.
In their bedchambers, Kenna sighed and ran her hands down her face before she stood and went to retrieve Alexander and Robert. She held her youngest son's hand and wrapped an arm over Robin's shoulders as they entered the hall. Robin was taller than her and she was still surprised at how much her firstborn had grown.
"I need to speak with the Queen," she said, shooing them off. "Find your cousins, no mischief!"
"Yes, Mama!" Xander said, running off as Robin followed after at a steady pace.
She walked over to Mary and curtseyed before accepting a drink and turning to watch everyone celebrate whatever they were celebrating. She knew Mary could feel her low mood but before the Queen could even utter one word to query about it, Lola and Greer turned up and curtseyed.
"I see Mary's looking like she's thoroughly enjoyed her night," Greer teased the queen.
Mary blushed. "Hush, you."
"Hush yourself," the blonde continued lightly. "You're the one with a love bite-"
Mary gasped, handing her drink to Lola to check her skin with much difficulty. "Where?"
"She's teasing you," Lola said, making the three women laugh as Mary playfully scowled.
"Off to the dungeons for you," Mary told Greer as she took her drink back and she rubbed her neck. "He was quite lustful..."
"Number seven will be announced soon then," Lola replied.
"Lola!" Mary cried out, laughing as her eyes landed on a quiet Kenna. "Is everything alright, Kenna?"
Kenna's eyes snapped away from Bash and their daughters who spoke to Francis who lifted Ana into his arms as he continued to hold a conversation with his brother and a few other nobles. She turned to Mary and smiled tightly, nodding.
"Everything is fine," she assured the queen. "Just tired."
"None of us has slept properly," Mary said, agreeing. "But what Francis wants, Francis gets and I don't mind because God saved him and brought him back to me. I can breathe."
Greer scoffed a little. "For now," she mumbled. "We still have the whole Scotland situation."
"We're working on that," Mary said, self-assured. "With Francis back, we can put our heads together and find a solution. My husband is a smart man."
"With an even smart queen," Lola reminded them. "You have been doing well so far. Just because you are married does not mean you should sell yourself short. You used to be so..."
"Confident? Abrasive?" Kenna offered. "We ought not to rely on the likes of men to order us about as they lie to us and probably don't give a second thought to our opinions nor what we feel."
Mary, Lola and Greer turned to Kenna, more confused and concerned and Kenna waved it off with a sigh.
"We had an argument," Kenna mumbled. "He's trying my patience."
"Kenna-" Mary began.
"I need air," Kenna mumbled, leaving their sides.
Mary looked on, wondering whether to follow or not but before she could make a decision, Francis came up to them, offering his hand to Mary.
"I want to make an announcement with my queen beside me," he said, making Greer and Lola mock swoon much to Mary's embarrassment.
"Ignore them," Mary said. "I can't say much for their sex lives."
"Mary!" The women cried out, Mary laughing as she followed after Francis.
...
"You thanked our daughters," Mary began, pressing a kiss on Francis's chest. "Our sons..." A kiss on his stomach. "Me... I wonder how your mother reacted, she was behind us."
Francis chuckled, lifting her chin so their eyes met. "I did a lot of thinking, Mary."
Mary nodded. "About what?"
"If I should die prematurely-"
"Francis-"
"Just listen," her husband begged her.
Mary sighed heavily and covered her chest, making herself more comfortable on the bed. "Go on."
"You are protected by the French, by your birthright and our sons. Should you need to remarry..." He sighed, biting his lip. "Perhaps Charles if he isn't wedded then. Or someone closer to Scotland."
"If you're suggesting Darnley-"
"God forbid!" Francis replied, shaking his head. "Or an Englishman. Someone who will look after our children. Look after you. Will not control you, a queen in her own right. We must plan."
Mary nodded and kissed him. "But don't worry about that. We'll die together in old age, my king."
"Mary, should you die before me, I want you to be assured that I will remain widowed until my dying breath," Francis said, making her smile widely against his lips. "With a few mistresses-" He gasped in pain. "Mary!"
"I dare you to say that again," she replied, smacking his chest again, adding a pinch.
"Ow!" He cried out, bringing her pillow to his frame for defence. "But you'll be dead! And do you seriously think I can remain celibate for the rest of my life?"
Mary glared at him, crossing her arms as she looked away from him. "How dare you-"
"Dear Lord, my wife has no sense of humour," Francis teased her, wrapping his arms around her waist so he could kiss her shoulder as he pulled her into him. "Of course, there would be no other for me. You're everything and if you die, my heart goes with you. In fact..."
He kissed her cheek and left their bed, retrieving a covered frame from the table. He brought it to the bed and handed it to Mary, watching as she removed the cloth to reveal a portrait for her asleep on their bed, the covers down her waist and a soft smile on her face as she dreamed.
"I was inspired," he said, making her blush when she realised she was bare in this portrait. "Very inspired..." He blushed now.
"Oh, Francis..." She whispered, smiling.
"Any time I feel scared or not assured or certain... or even happy because you make me happy, Mary," he began, his voice breaking. "I will look at that. Along with the other pieces of you. I will have them framed, a whole room dedicated to you. I'd sit there for hours until I'm by your side again."
Mary beckoned him back into their bed and he crawled on top of her, pressing a ticklish kiss on her nose. She looked up at him with a smile, cupping one of his cheeks and wondering how she was so lucky to have someone like him in her life.
"I love you," she whispered, not really knowing what else to say because he did that. Made her breathless, stole her best words and made them his own... "I love you. I love you. I love you..."
"I love you too."
And it's the too that makes her lips crash onto his as they spend the rest of the day, entwined with each other. Two souls, one body.
...
"Do you want me to apologise?" Kenna asked softly, watching as Bash got changed in silence. "I'm sorry." More silence. "I do trust you, I swear." But, she thought uneasily. "I take everything back."
She sighed heavily and got out of bed, grabbing her night coat and putting her slippers on. She left the room and found the nanny reading Sophia to sleep but the baby was not having it, trying to play with the poor woman's bust instead.
"I'll take her," Kenna said, lifting the baby into her arms and dismissing the nanny with a tip.
She looked down into Sophia's green eyes and smiled, brushing her brunette curls back so she could see the baby's eyes clearer. When she first saw her, she felt nothing but sorrow for what she had lost. But she hadn't lost anything as he was alive and breathing and now she had her husband and their children, including their practically new daughter.
"So beautiful," Kenna mumbled, pressing a kiss on Sophia's head. "So, so beautiful. Aren't you, Sophia?"
The baby babbled and Kenna smiled, closing her eyes as she rocked the baby to sleep. At least someone was replying to her. She circled the room until finally, Sophia's coos were non-existent and soft snores emerged instead.
Kenna put her in the cot and looked up to meet Bash's eyes. "She's asleep."
"Tell me about your dream."
Kenna looked back down at their daughter. "No. There's no point."
"I shouldn't have dismissed it," Bash said softly. "It's just that when things like that are spoken aloud... We really do stop and think, don't we? Mary brought up the prophecy when Francis was dying and... I almost wanted to scream. For her to never utter those words. That curse but our son... he sees them and so does Nostradamus and I can't even imagine knowing that and not being able to protect those I love."
Kenna sighed heavily, gesturing for them to take this away from their sleeping baby. "My dream," she began, once she sat on their bed and he made himself comfortable at the table. "Francis was dead and Scotland revolted, forcing Mary to go there to calm relations. She left James, Joseph and Peter behind. Anne was in Sweden and Rose and Caterina went with her, destined for a life in Scotland permanently. I had decided to go, my loyalty to my queen and blood strong so you joined us, deciding nothing was left for you in France with Catherine as regent for James. We had the little ones, Robin staying behind to be with John and the boys. We were happy until you were leaving our bed at night and I found out... I tried everything to keep you loyal to our marriage and vows but you said you loved her and never stopped. The dream stopped when I became undone."
"Mary loves Francis," Bash started gently. "I love you."
"It's possible to love two people at once, Bash," Kenna told him. "As I was with Renaude, I couldn't stop thinking about you and what you were doing. I just couldn't let you go. I will never be Mary. I'm not a queen. We didn't grow up together as children. We didn't run away together for a chance of freedom or to change a line of succession." She stood and sighed. "I take my apology back. I will never apologise for fighting for you. And if that makes me selfish or a bad person, so be it. We didn't choose this marriage but I damn well worked for it far more than you ever have done. Don't let it all be for nothing."
"I'll be better."
Kenna came over, cupping his cheeks. "I don't need you to try harder or to do less or whatever. I just want you. I want your love, your security, your trust. To others, you are second-best but Bash, you will always be first for me. Losing you to death or to another woman... you will hate me because I will become someone I hate either way. Soulless. Heartless. Loveless."
Bash pulled her to his lap and pressed a kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry too."
She sighed gratefully, hugging him tightly. "Can we end whatever this was now?" She asked, her voice breaking. "I want my husband back."
He nipped at a bit of exposed flesh, making her scoff. "In what way?"
Kenna rolled her eyes. "I wasn't thinking that but I'm not complaining," she said, grinning when he kissed her.