The Shadows of the Past

A.N.: I sadly don't own any of the characters, netheir do I make proffit out of this.

Chapter 6

Henry was curious man by nature. After what he had seen in the Throne Room, he could only manage his curiosity for a certain time. And King Henry Valois was not known for his patient. As such, he had walked his queen towards the gardens, where they could have a more private conversation.

Walking throught the Castle, hand in hand with Caterina was something he hadn't donne in a really long time. Years. In fact, he had no memory of ever doing so, asides from their early times. And so, they got quite the odd looks. Principlly from the younger Ladies and servants that had allways held the hope of getting in the King's bed.

Caterina held her head high, of course, ignoring the whispers around them. However, there was a twinkle in her eyes he hadn't seen in many years. The Queen of France allways had something special in her eyes, at least in the opinion of her King, but this litle twinkle was only for him. Also, the corner of her mouth was twitched up slightly, against her efforts. Henry loved to see his wife like this. It had been her smile and her eyes that made him fall in love with her for the first time.

Henry, on the other side, couldn't seem happier. He was a very expressive man. If he was displeased, than everyone would know. But also, if he was happy, then the mood in the Castle couldn't be better. It had allways been like that since he was litle, and Catherine secretly liked it. Not that she would ever admit it.

When he was with one of his Mistress, the mood was bareable, could even be described as relaxed, but still, one mistake, and they would have to face the King's wrathe. The servants had to be carefull not to step on his toes. However, with Catherine, the King was calmer, his decisions more logic. Maybe because when he was entertained watching his Florentine Queen scream at people, he himself forgot to do so. Unless it had anything to do with her well being. In that case, better run as fast as possible, and that to dodge a painfull death.

Seeing his Queen distracted, he wraped his arms around her waste and started kissing behind her ears. Catherine squirmed under his touch, trying not to loose posture in public. She tried to get free of his grip, but it only got worst when his hands started tickling her sides. The Queen started pushing Henry while trying to contain laugther, making him fall. He grabed her arm right in time, making her fall on top of him.

Henry got confortable on the grass, while Catherine got confortable on his chest. The Monarchs of France kissed passionetly. They batled for dominance until the last second. Henry and Catherine only separated themselves when a sound came from the bushes.

"You heard that?" Catherine looked nervous and ansious, trying to desesperatly find the sorce of the sound.

"Catherine, calm down. It must have been a squirl." the words of the King didn't have any afect on her. Even worst, she stood up and started searching.

Seeing that his Queen wasn't going to sit back down, Henry got an idea. He silently walked to her and grabed from behind. Catherine let out a litle scream, that soon turned into girlish gigles when the King started running to the lake.

He entered the water wetting all their clothes. Catherine tried to escape, swimming away, smiling much like she used to do before. Before he broke her heart and made her crate walls. Before Diane and Bash and all the others. But that wouldn't happen again. Never again. Henry had finally woken to the truth of the love he held for her wife, and he would never let go.

Soon they got out of water and laid once again on the grass, waiting for the sun to dry their staied like that, looking at the clouds in the sky.

"What was going on when I found you? I could feel the tension from the other side of the Castel."

"Oh, nothing important. Women's stuff. What about you? I didn't see you the all morning."

"I went to talk to Francis. And I met Bash in the corridor. He said you had been arguing with him again." she opened her mouth to say something but he cut her "Look Catherine, I know you don't like him. He is my bastard and you have all rights to hate him, but you could try to be more civilizide towa-" Catherine sat up,her eyes fuming with fury.

"I have to be more civile towards him! ME! Honestly Henry, the boy does whatever he wants and gets away with it! If he doesn't treat me with respect, than why should I treat him other way?! I AM the Queen of France, and he does not have the right to treat me like he knows me."

"I know. But it didn't use to be like this before! You two would just ignore each other and now every time you see the other there's allways an argument." Catherine stood up but Henry pushed her back down, placing her on his lap. "Please Catherine. Something happen and I know it." when she refused to talk, he finally understood something was really wrong. He cupped her face and forced to look him in the eyes. "Please Caterina. Trust me."

Catherine looked in his eyes. How could she tell him what hapenned. It was degradating, and he certainly would side with Bash. She wanted to trust him, to have someone tell her it was ok and that it was over now. However, past experiences told her to be carefull. She could remember times when she had told him about her secrets, and the next day Diane had mocked her about them.

That woman... It was all her fault! She had lost her King to her, lost twenty years that could've been the happiest of her life... Sure, maybe Catherine had been a bit obsessed with having children, but Henry had no idea how it felt to be mocked for not being able of doing the most important job of a married woman. Of course she had later been pregnat multiple times, but only after Diane.

Only after Diane... I might have had a lot o children, but only after Diane got pregnant with Henry's primogenit! Wich actually doesn't make much sense... I have seven kids, but it took me ten years to get pregnant. And only after Diane... That bitch!

"Catherine, are you alright?" Henry waved a hand in front of her. Feeling distressed with the act, Catherine caught his hand and held it with both her hands.

"Sorry. I... I'll tell you. But not now. This is neither the place neither the time. Maybe tonight."

"I can wait." he stood up and extended his hand to her, helping her up. "How does lunch sound to you?"

They walked back to the Castle together, their clothes already dry. Henry went to get the litle ones. It would be a good surprise for them. It was not often the King took time for his offsprings.

Catherine went directly to the Dinning Room. She saw Mary and her Ladies were already there, as well as her cousin Hortencia. Weird... I thought they had gonne to visit some villages near the Castle...

"Catherine! How good to see you! You look soooo much better!" Hortencia had that cocky smile that bothered so much Catherine. "Look! You're not so pale anymore. It's almost impossible to see you're freckles now!" I knew I had forgoten something!

"Oh, Hortencia! Thank you so much! I thought you had left. Why are you still here?" Catherine had no patiente to for her family right now.

"I just wanted to make sure you were up and fine. Everyone was chocked when dear Henry spent the ALL night with you. After all it's not usual." No patiente at all!

" Well, you would know about chocking things wouldn't you. One week after you're husband death and you already have someone warming you're bed. What's is name, really? Something Horningold, isn't it?"

"Well, at least I din't have any bastards!" the argument was escalating quickly. As an oposite to what had happened with Penelope, Catherine had no desire to control her temper with Hortencia. Technically, they weren't her family anymore, so if she was to hurt one of them than there wouldn't be any problems. At least not a lot of them. Catherine might not have the support of her family anymore, but that didn't mean she wasn't a force to fear. And she had her own resources. The money Mary had tried to steal was nothing compared to the rest. As an oposite to what many might think, Catherine de'Medeci had friends. Veeery good friends. And her cousin should know better than to touch such a sensible subject.

"Better having bastards than a borcken nose!"

"WHAT?!"

"Catherine wai-"

The sound of brocken bones was heard at the same time Catherine's hand colieded with Hortencia's face ad over Mary's voice trying to stop the Queen. The dark haired italian fell to the ground with a scream. The Queen of France stared down at her fallen cousin. She had wanted to do that for a long time. Hortencia had a look of fear and realisation. She had finally understood who she had been messing with. And now she didn't have the protection of her uncle. She knew she would have to be carefull not to step on Catherine's toes.

The italien Queen barely saw Mary and her Ladies walking towards them. She spunned around when Mary placed a hand on her shoulder. All her fury dissipated when she saw the look on Mary's face. The girl looked fearfull. Scared of her, maybe. Lola and Geer took Hortencia to Nostradamus, while Mary and Catherine sat at the table.

"Catherine, what was that?" Mary handed her a glass of water. One than Catherine didn't took.

"Family business." Catherine answer was short and cold. She had been treating Mary in that fashion since the Tower epsiod.

"Alright. What's wrong Catherine. You have barely talked to me in the last month and when you do you're allways cold and distant. What did I do to deserve such a treatment?! You're the one who tried to kill me!"

"Well, where should I start? First I saved all of you when the Castle was invaded. How do you repay me? You get me locked in a Tower! Then you forge papers saying I tried to kill that bastard, wich by the way, I didn't! You acuse me of trying to kill you without even hearing what I have to say. You let Bash chain me to a wall like an animal. Chains that left scars on my wrists for your information. Oh, but don't worry, I've got payback coming his way. My son was disowned because you couldn't decide who you love more. One of your Ladies is one of my husband whore and you encourage her. I wonder how you would feel if the same happen to you and Francis. And of course you couldn't even protect Charles and litle Henry. Not to speak of the time you decided to have me kidnapped because you didn't got the money you wanted. Oh, by the way, I killed the man you hired and got the money back. To bad for your mother. And this are only the ones I remember right now." when the Queen ended her speech, Mary felt ashamed.

All Catherine had said was true. She had been ungratefull. Of course she was mad at Catherine for killing that man and stop her from helping her mother, but the money was hers after all. And it was true that she hadn't bothered to ask why Catherine had tried to kill her. The Scotish Queen looked at the other Queen's wrists. They were covered in pink scars. And it was partially her fault.

I knew what she had been througth as a child and still helped locking her in a Tower and kidnaping her. And I did encoraged Kenna! Catherine used to be like a mother to me... How did things changed so much?

"I'm sorry... Catherine, I'm so sorry! You're right, I... I should have asked you..." Mary squized the Queen's hand forgeting the scars. The italian hissed in pain and Mary imideatly stoped. "I should have never donne those things! If you tried to kill me than I'm sure you had a good reason. Please Catherine, can we forget all of this? I'm tired of fighting you... You used to be like a mother to me, and I want things to be like before!" Mary was surprised by what hapenned next. Catherine wraped her arms around her, hugging her in a maternal way.

"It's alright. I know I'm not the easiest person, but you are almost as stubborn as me. And it's very likely that I will never forgive you for this." Mary's face turned pale. "But what can I do? I'm not the forgiving tipe, and I'm sure you aren'ty either. But I'm sure I can manage a truce. After all you married Francis." Mary smiled. Being compared to the Queen made her feel proud, even more because it had been the Queen herself to say so. "Besides, I did not tried to kill you."

"You placed a knife on my neck. It REALLY looked like you were going to kill me."

"I needed a reason to be in your bed chambers. I never wanted to kill you. Do you honestly think that if I wanted you dead you woul be here? I'm not only good with poisons." That statement showed the Scotish Queen how good it could be to have the protection her protection, and how more ressoucefull she was. Mary was happy she no longer was an enemy to the Queen. "No. There was someone else in there that night. He had been following you for some time dreessed as one of my guards. The night I got out I followed him. The knife I placed on you're neck was his and so was the blood. I found this in his pocket."

Catherine showed Mary some papers. At first she didn't understood what they were. Reading them, she figured they were all the movements of Catherine in the lasts months. There were some about Mary too, but all of them were about her relationship with Catherine.

"What's all of these?"

"I don't know. It seems someone was going to kill you and incriminate me. I have no idea who might be this person, but I want you to be carefull. Whoever this is, it surely knows what he is doing. I might have killed the man, but I only did because he wasn't expecting someone to apeare from behind, and I'm sure there are more like him. It's not easy to get inside the Castle and kill someone without help, wich means he has an Ally."

"Do you think who did this also poisened you?" they heard footsteps coming in their direction.

"I don't know. It could be pratically anyone who hates me. Wich means basically everyone. That's why I need you're help. Now be carefull and don't tell this to anyone."

The doors openned and the King entered, followed by his children, Nobles and others.

"What do we do?" two men sat together deep in the forest.

One was tall and musculed, his hair shaved and had a cross in his chest. His eyes were of a dark brown that could see througth the soul of a man. He was dress with the clothes of a priest.

The other was smaler, yet stil musculed. He had a huge scar on his face, across his right eye and cheek. His hair was light brown and was combed behind, held in a ponytail. He wore fancy clothes, like a member of the Court.

"This is your mission. Keep trying and the Lord will reward you generously. But carefull, my brother. Our patiente as... limits." the voice of the priest was low and solene, with an italien accent.

"I know, I know. I just wasn't expecting the King to be there. Otherwise, I would have it already." the man with the scar seemed nervous and ansious.

"You know what the punishement for failure his. There is no space for failure!"

"I know, I know. I already have another man working for me, since the last disapeared before completing his mission."

"Be quick. Kill her if you have. Do not make the mistake of giving her a dissuluted poison again. The orders have change. Master says that the Lord will forgive us for taking one life if it is for the greater good."

"But... but she is Queen and the King now his more worried about her. Wha-"

"Enough! You will do it or pay!" the priest stood and prepared to leave. "She is starting to connect the dots. Soon, she will be onto us. If you fail the next time..." the priest gave him an evil grin. "... we will have no need for you Horningold."

To be continued...

A.N.: Hey everyone. Sorry for the late update and for any mistakes. So, the story is finally getting to somewhere. I hope you liked it. Tell me if you like it and if you have any sugestions please tell me.