AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'd like to thank everyone for all the views and reviews on my previous chapter. I am very thankful.

Falling Out Of Favour

Chapter 2

Mary watched as her ladies in waiting ran for the shelter of the foyer. Their dresses no longer dragged behind them as they would on a hot summer's day. Their dresses were tightly fixed to their legs, showing their slender figures. She followed closely behind them, trying to force her legs forward, even though her dress was restricting her movement. Her dress was soaked down to her undergarments. It made her skin feel sore. The closer they had got to the castle the heavier the rain had got. As she entered into the castle she felt exposed. Mary felt eyes on her but was unsure of where the gaze was coming from. She looked up the staircase in front of her and found Sebastian watching her from afar as he climbed each step. He was also sodden. Water droplets dripped onto his clothes from the tips of his hair. She waited for his beautiful, heart-warming smile, but a glare was placed on his facial feature's instead.

"Mary can I have a moment, please." Francis called towards her in an abrupt statement. She turned to face him, he was striding through the foyer on the way to her. Her heart halted. She glimpsed back at Sebastian on the staircase, but his visage had disappeared. She felt solemn. Francis was dressed proudly and obviously hadn't been outside because he appeared to be dry. He was thrown by Mary's appearance. He glanced down at her body.

"We'll tell your maid's to get a bath ready for you." Greer said as she took her leave with Lola. Mary smiled towards them in appreciation. She valued then with all her heart, she dearly wished Kenna hadn't drifted from her.

"Francis," She acknowledged, "Of course you may." She was polite out of courtesy, but looking at Francis made her feel fractured. His curly blonde hair bounced as he stopped in front of her. His eyes scrutinised her in a passionate way.

"I would like to address the current situation." He admitted and Mary cocked her head to the left as her eyebrows knitted together.

"What current situation?"

"The end of autumn ball is this upcoming Saturday and I would just like to make it clear that in society we must keep up our appearances." He nodded. "Which means efforts of both parts."

"By appearances you mean the arrangement that you theoretically called off until it is deemed appropriate by you." Mary replied sourly, now breaking her gaze with Francis. Sadness flickered across his face momentarily and Mary tried not to acknowledge it. Her heart felt guilty for what she'd just said and she back tracked. "I understand Francis." She nodded whilst smiling carefully. "I will be by your side, when you want me." Francis fell short at her final words. It felt like she'd scratched him with her disputes.

"Thank you, Mary… for understanding." He nodded and Mary glanced towards the stairs. "Now please, go bathe before you catch a taciturn cold." He gestured in the direction of the stairs that lead to her rooms and she turned to walk away. Her heart felt a sudden release, knowing she didn't have to look at him. It pained her, knowing what he'd previously said to her. He said she could spend her time with others, but she knew it was because she had pained him so much, he wanted to be with Olivia. She believed it was her fault, for the choices she had made.

Mary started traveling up the foyer steps sluggishly, her shoes repeatedly slipped off and on her feet as she moved. Her feet felt like they were blistering. The water had made them sodden. When she reached the midpoint of the stairs where they parted both ways, she turned cautiously to see if Francis was still situated in the foyer. She found to her surprise that he was gone. She looked both ways and single-mindedly turned left, the direction that Sebastian had once been standing. She lifted her dress and scrunched her toes in her shoes so she could travel quicker. She carried herself down the hallway in an attempt to find Sebastian. It was then that she wondered what she was doing. She couldn't be reckless like this. She paused in her step and questioned her whereabouts. She turned back in the direction she had just come and took the door closest to her. She closed it behind her and leaned against it, trying to regain her sanities. She fell to the concrete floor and balanced her insubstantial body weight on her crouching slender legs. She pulled her matted hair from her face and let it fall down her back. She closed her eyes and sighed in euphony.

"It would appear that you've entered the mistaken room." Sebastian alleged from somewhere in the room. She stood back up in shock, he was walking towards her and she felt indisposed. She picked up her proud stance and stood strong. "You need to bathe and correct me if I'm wrong, but this is not your room." He nodded behind her towards the door and as he did so his hair sprayed water.

"It's not yours either." She acknowledged as she glanced around the room. It was furnished with couches and tables that presented the room as being a study. She knew Sebastian's quarters were above hers.

"No, but this is my father's quarters." He smiled wryly and turned away from her. She carried herself forward feeling a sense of shame. Mary noticed how his mood had ludicrously changed from their prior rendezvous.

"I'm so sorry Bash." She began. "I'm sorry for what I said to you. You were speaking the truth and I just couldn't bring myself to acknowledge it." Sebastian's eyebrows lifted and his eyes widened. He hadn't expected her words, but he heard her sincerity excel through them. "You are right. What I have with Francis, it's just an alliance. I understand why you questioned my motives."

"I don't think you do." He said smiling lightly and Mary rolled her eyes. His face was un-readable. His eyes stared into hers, his jaw strong. It was like looking at a statue.

"I know you like me Bash." She said now feeling embarrassed. She spoke out of turn and found herself looking from his lips to his eyes. "If you kissing me wasn't enough, telling me you regretted my engagement to your brother was." She smiled. "You're not a subtle person at heart." He coughed a chuckle and subsequently smiled. She amused him.

"Well then yes, yes I do." He admitted openly and Mary was shocked that she wasn't disturbed by his abruptness. Hearing the words spoken out loud struck her hard, but in a positive way. She felt like a ship whose sails had collapsed. He took her hand in his and she felt discomforted. His presence was close to hers. Her palms suddenly felt clammy in the uncomfortable compressed distance at which they stood. "I don't care what Francis said. I don't care about his warning." His tenor was full of truth and passion. "I will not treat you how my brother has treated you. It's unfathomable that he chose Olivia over you. I told you that I regretted your engagement to my brother. That kiss we shared, you wanted me to regret it so you would feel better. You told me it was a mistake, but I know it wasn't. I'm not allowed to look at you, dream of you, touch you or even speak to you, but I will. I always will." He glided his fingers through her matted hair and tucked it behind her ear. He then dropped his hand to his side. "If my half-brother can have his dalliances then you shouldn't have to stick around to endure."

Mary stationed herself steadily on the spot. His monologue filled her with hope. Sebastian was so passive and innocent, yet she felt like she was destroying that quality. She looked into his eyes as they were watching her plainly. They were so hard. She glanced to his lips and back into his eyes. His hand touched her cheek lovingly. The warmth of his skin on hers brought her back to reality. She placed her hand over his and took it from her face.

"Should we be doing this?" Mary said. "I can't help but feel guilty."

"Do you like me?" He asked honestly and she nodded once. "Then yes, we should." He encouraged her and she shook her head.

Sebastian felt overpowered and slightly annoyed at her reserved behaviour. He took it within his stride to kiss her fully on the lips. The impact knocked Mary slightly off balance, but he caught her weight by pressing one of his hands on the side of her face. He laid his lips upon hers passionately. Mary caught Sebastian's musky scent and it lulled her into a world of fantasy. Water dripped from his hair onto her face. She felt it trickle down her nose. Mary felt disinclined to part her lips. She pulled back again and took herself out of his grasp. She heard him sigh in disbelief.

"It worries me." She sounded.

"Why?" The frustration in his voice. "Please, do not mention my brother." He begged. He could not handle the power his brother had over Mary.

"What would Francis say? When he becomes king, he could damn you for treason."

"Then let him!" Sebastian shouted in angst and started walking around the room, attempting to burn his fury with his stride. He halted in his step and faced her from across the room. "I relent what you just said. I want you Mary and this is not a game. I can't just be indisposed." She was wary on how to return his words with her own.

"We could never marry." She stated simply.

"We wouldn't have to," He stated, "My father never married my mother and he loved her. He is still very much infatuated with her. That could be us."

"But he's king, it's different!"

"And you are queen!" Sebastian retorted in anger.

"I need to bathe," Mary turned to open the door. She didn't wish to talk about the current situation any longer.

"Please, don't walk away." Sebastian countered. Her hand rested on the handle of the door. His plead tore her heart from her chest. "Please, Mary." Mary heard him begging and it cut into her. "We can be careful."

"I'm being careful now… I'm frightened of what I might do." She admitted. "I'm frightened of the consequences. The only way to be happy is to find something outside of ourselves, worth caring about." She finished and disappeared through the door with her head held high. As she closed it behind her, she heard a short and swift bang. It startled her, but she also couldn't bring herself to look back. Sebastian on the other hand felt deeply wounded.

Mary revolved on the spot and began to advance down the hallway. All that laid in her mind now, was the thought of her silky warm bath back in her room. She anticipated that her bath was not taciturn. She did not want to inconvenience her maid's by asking them to replenish the tub. It was then in that moment, that she deemed her considerations to be folly. She had just partook in a fate encounter with Sebastian and she was rationally thinking of her bath tub and its contents. As she got to her room she was overwhelmed by the scent of herbs. She found her bath waiting for her and the maids were there ready to strip her of her sodden clothes. They unlaced her dress, though it was tricky and helped her into the bath. There were pieces of brown and green herb leaves floating on the smooth surface of the water, along with the ends of her dark hair. She inhaled the scent dreamily. As she did so one of the maids spread the dressing screen in front of her. Mary had never felt more comfortable, but she wondered if Sebastian felt the same. Her mind then turned to Francis and whether he was happy with Olivia, as he once was. Mary felt as though her brain was exploding, there were more important things than the affections of the fragile heart. With that she sunk deep beneath the surface of the water, to drown out her flamboyant thoughts and to replace them with familiar sounds of the ocean.