Prince's did not beg. Future Kings did not lay on the ground and grovel with whatever God they found salvation in and plead for anything. But at the moment Francis would have begged anyone and anything if it meant keeping Mary alive.
His heart was in his throat, beating quickly and painfully against him, the thrum so loud it was drowning out all sense from his mind. He couldn't focus. He could only feel her weakened body in his arms, eyes closed, face pale, chest barely rising. Francis was panicking. He could see the entire future he had planned for himself crumbling in front of him the same way Mary had crumbled into his arms. While Francis had never been sure if France's alliance with Scotland was a good one from a political standpoint, he was now sure that he wanted their union more than ever for a personal standpoint.
"Please wake up." He stroked her face, still cold from their walk outside, trying to warm the life back into her. "Where is the physician?" He yelled into the corridor.
Across the stone walls echoes of hope could be heard, the hurried footfalls of a mass of people making their way to them, to what Francis hoped was Mary's salvation. He pressed his hand against the long arch of her neck and felt the reassuring thrum of her heart, weak and thready but still beating.
"What happened?" Cried a voice. Francis didn't care enough to look up and see who it was, he only cared that it was someone that could help Mary.
"She drank from that cup," Francis rose his hand and pointed to the chalice on the window sill. He was surprised to find how badly his hand was shaking, "And then started holding her chest. She looked like she was in pain." His voice cracked. "And then she collapsed."
The physician took his place on Mary's other side, his fingers prodding her neck, her chest, lifting her eyelids. "Someone bring me that cup," he cried to the room.
Someone brought it over and the physician raised it to his nose and sniffed.
"What is it?" Francis asked.
"Her pupils are dilated and there's a hint of a berry smell in this cup. I can't be sure but I think it's belladonna."
"But that will kill her!" Francis exclaimed, tightening his grip on her lifeless form.
"It would depend on the dose she was given. How much of it did she drink?"
Francis shook his head, trying to shake the fear off with it. "Two sips, I think."
The physician nodded. "Lets get her back to her rooms. If she didn't ingest enough to kill her then she's in for a rough couple days."
Francis wanted to ask what that meant but he was too busy clinging onto the thin hope that she had only drank enough of the poison to just be sick, not to kill her. A couple of the servants brought a stretcher to them and Francis helped them lift her onto it, shoving one of them aside to take his place. He would not leave her. They placed her gently onto her bed, covering her with a thin blanket and all stood helplessly around her.
"What do we do now?" Francis asked.
The physician gave him a look and swallowed. "I can make a potion to ease her pain, but there is no remedy for belladonna. We can only wait to see how much she drank. Time will tell."
"What happens if she only took a little, not enough to kill her?"
The responding look was grim. "She will be feverish and will start to hallucinate, start seeing things that are not here. I don't know how bad it will be until she wakes."
Francis felt his heart sink to his feet. He had never felt so helpless in his life. His future wife was dying and there wasn't a single thing he could do to help her.
"Someone alert the King and Queen. And then bring me Bash."
He pulled a chair up to the side of her bed and sat down, took her cold hand in his and placed a kiss to it. While worry was still gripping him to his core, a new emotion had settled into his gut that was bubbling up, white hot and unignorable. Someone had tried to kill Mary. Fury raced through him. Francis was going to find whoever had tried to hurt her and he was going to make them pay, even if it meant paying with their life.
King Henry, Catherine and Bash all arrived a short time later, demanding answers that Francis did not have. He quickly explained the situation, then asked for a word with Bash alone. The King and Queen left with their reassurances that they would return to check on Mary later, leaving Bash and Francis alone with the sleeping Queen.
"I need to find whoever is responsible for this, Bash," Francis said through clenched teeth.
"I'll look into it," Bash replied.
"No," Francis said. "I need to do it. I want you to stay with Mary. I need someone here I can trust."
Bash felt the pang of guilt rack through him. "Don't be long. She'll be asking for you when she wakes."
Francis placed a hand on Bash's arm. "Take care of her, brother." And then left the room.
Francis stormed through the halls with a determined resolve he had never felt before, winding his way through the stone halls to the kitchen in the belly of the castle. He thrust open the door with a bang and stood on the threshold, watching the staff scramble as they realized that the Dauphin of France was amongst them.
"I demand that all servants in these kitchens gather forward here," he proclaimed, feeling braver than he felt with adrenaline coursing through his veins.
They quickly assembled in front of him. Francis looked at each of their faces carefully, trying to remember which one it had been that had brought the cup to them. Disappointment coursed through him when he realized that the one he was looking for was not among them.
"I am looking for a young gentleman, possibly kitchen staff, that came here a short time ago to get a cup for Queen Mary."
The room was full of silent, scared faces. "He left, Your Majesty. As soon as he came back to the kitchen."
"Come forward."
A small girl walked to the front of the crowd, no more than an yearly teenage but small in stature and voice.
"His name?"
Her eyes were filled with a sense of betrayal.
"You will be rewarded for your honesty and bravery," Francis prodded.
"Charles Stafford."
"He works in the kitchens here?"
She shook her head. "No Your Majesty. He's a stable boy. But he's here often."
"And where did he go after he came back here?"
"He didn't say. Just came to take his things and left."
"What's your name?" Francis asked gently.
"Anne, Your Majesty."
"Thank you, Anne. You've been a great help to your kingdom today."
Francis turned on his heel and left. He had a name, a lead, something to go on to track down the monster that dared to make an attempt on Mary's life right in front of him. He was about to walk to the stables when another servant approached him from behind.
"Your Majesty, it's Queen Mary. She's awake and asking for you."
Francis' heart jumped and the hope that Mary might pull through it rose. "Is she alright?"
The servant shook his head. "She's not well, Your Majesty. She thinks…"
"What?' Francis asked, fear gripping him again.
"She thinks that the Crown Prince of Portugal, Tomas, is in her room. She keeps yelling and screaming."
Francis' heart dropped. He had clung onto the hope that Mary was going to be okay, that she was going to pull through and be the same girl she had always been. But it had been naïve of him to believe that she could get through it without any ill effects at all. Francis ran. Ran from the servant, from the kitchen, back through the many halls of the castle until the pain in his ribs was too much to bare, until his lungs seared with pain. He walked the length of her hallway until the screams reached his ears. Tears sprung into his eyes. She was suffering.
He opened the door and the cries became more pronounced, more anguished, filled with dread and terror and desperation.
"Please." She was sobbing, curled into the very corner of her room with her knees pulled tight against her chest, face buried into the palms of her hands. "Please make him leave, Bash!"
"Mary there is no one here that is going to hurt you, I promise. Tomas is not here."
Bash was crouched at her feet, trying desperately to calm her down.
Her racking sobs just became louder. "He is, he is. He's over there. Please don't let him hurt me." She raised a shaking hand to point to the corner opposite without looking up.
Francis ached to make it better for her. It was breaking his heart to see Mary in so much pain. He crossed the threshold between them and placed a hand on Bash's shoulder. His brother turned around and his expression was one of complete relief. He stood from his position and traded places. Francis sat on the floor at Mary's feet, wary of touching her.
"Mary?" He asked quietly.
Her sobs quieted but she didn't look up.
"Mary, it's Francis. Can you look at me?"
She was quiet for a minute until finally her head left her hands with great effort. Her eyes were red and tears marred down her pale cheeks. She was breaking Francis' heart.
"Francis?" She asked.
He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile and gingerly reached out. She flinched but didn't draw away when the pads of his fingers caressed the bone of her cheek.
"It's alright, Mary. I'm here."
Her knees slowly lowered to the floor and her hand reached out to find him, to touch him.
"You're real?" She asked. "Nothing is real."
"I promise you that I am real." He shuffled over so he was sitting next to her, back against the wall. "See?" He took his hand from his side and placed it on her own. She was still just as cold as she had been when they had come from outside.
"You're real." It was a statement, not a question. Full of relief and wonder and the promise of safety she had been so deprived of.
"I'm real." He placed his arm across her shoulders and drew her body towards the warmth of his chest, rubbing soft circles into her back. "I'm real. And I promise you I am not going anywhere."
I hope you guys are enjoying this story because I am definitely enjoying writing it. I am so obsessed with Reign right now it's ridiculous. While so far I'm a Frary shipper, I know that there are plenty of Bash/Mary fans reading this so I'll be adding some love triangle drama to the mix! Please please please please pleeeeeease review! It would mean so much and it definitely helps motivate me to update faster! Hope you're all enjoying the story!