Tied.

A/N: The last chapter was painful.. but what's even more painful for me is that I have DTV and our CW was dropped.. so I had to watch the last episodes on my tiny cell screen.. but it didn't help my frustrations over the happenings. I was still just as annoyed with how things played out with Mash. So I'm going to hang out with my own little angsty characters instead!

This chapter has a bit of a time lapse.. and eventually I may write Bash's point of view but for right now it's still Mary. As always, thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own Reign or its characters.

Chapter 7:

"Simon Says"

It had been over a year and one half since Mary had broken the heart of Sebastian, and although she thought of him daily her life had taken on a strange sense of normalcy. Her friendships were real, classes were challenging, and people knew her as a wealthy but typical girl on campus.

After the agreement with Francis had been made Mary initially hoped to hear back from Bash. She left him message after message. He never called. The tickets that he had given her for Christmas went unused, or at least his did. She had taken herself, alone. She could have given the extra to a friend but she held out hope that he would call. When he didn't she tucked away his unused ticket into her keepsake box and tried to move on.

The spring semester had then kept her busy with studies and social events. Greer had kept her promise about driving lessons and after a few months of practice Mary had taken and passed her road test. Her celebratory act was to buy her very first car and take a weekend road trip with her friends. Her grades were excellent and she pursued her business degree with zeal. Even her parents seemed thrilled for her success.

Somehow Sebastian was still a ghost haunting all her joyous days. He wasn't there to share the big or little moments with. She had wondered of him.

When the summer breezes rolled in and finals were over she made some significant travel plans with her friends to keep her occupied. She had made sure that Francis knew she would be tied up for much of the summer. So when she flew into Miami on that hot July day not even Catherine had suspected she wasn't at Greer's parents' home.

She had tracked Bash down by looking up his company's directory online. When he walked out of his office building that day she had been leaning against a rental car out front, her heart was racing at record speed inside her chest. Her eyes beckoned his to meet them and they did.

He had stopped briefly in shock, but then came to her. She hadn't really known what to expect but she certainly didn't expect his chilly words. "Go home Mary. You belong to Francis and I've managed this far without anything of my brother's. I'm not about to start with you." He had glared at her with his icy blue eyes and walked away.

Her return flight had given her time to accept his rejection and she knew that it truly was in his best interest. She tried not to be hurt by it and instead she spent the summer grateful that he was taking care of himself rather than placing himself in the dangerous grip of Catherine DeMedici's manipulative hands.

By the time she had ended the previous school year she and Francis had developed what might be called a friendship. They spoke once a week to keep each other abreast of important information and Francis had even made a point of visiting her occasionally for a business like lunch or dinner. Holidays involved forced smiles at first but then they started to become easier. She never asked him about his romantic interests and he paid her the same courtesy. Catherine seemed pleased.

It was evident though that this summer couldn't be spent constantly travelling with her friends. Her parents wanted to spend time with her and seemed intent on taking a family vacation with Francis's parents. It was looking to be a very uncomfortable trip to say the least. She sincerely hoped that they weren't going to try to pressure them into marrying soon. She was thinking of this when she heard the doorbell of the mansion ring loudly.

A moment later the butler cleared his throat as he stood at the entrance to her quarters. "Miss Mary, Francis DeMedici is calling. Shall I see him in?" She was slightly shocked but she nodded. They really hadn't been surprising each other with visits.

"Hello Mary!" Francis greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

"Francis, to what do I owe this pleasantry?" She smiled but with a raised eyebrow.

He chuckled and flopped down on the sofa in her sitting area. "Can't I just visit my girlfriend for no reason?"

Mary frowned. "Well I suppose you could, but you don't typically. I suppose I'm just curious as to what the change is."

He smirked. "Maybe our impending departure for the islands has left me feeling rather festive. I just thought I'd come by to see if you're packing. Make sure you remember your bathing suit because while I'd have no qualms seeing you sunbathe naked, I'm sure our parents wouldn't be amused."

"Francis, are you flirting with me?" She shook her head slightly. "I'm not aware of any changes in our agreement so I'm not sure of where this sudden attention is coming from." Unfortunately her admonishment didn't carry the same message as the shade of rose that flushed her cheeks.

Francis was too busy chuckling though. "Relax Mary, I'm just being friendly. Are you prepared for our parents and their scrutiny?" He fingered through the pile of clothes that was in front of him on the ottoman.

"I suppose I'm as read as I'm ever going to be." She answered, stepping forward to remove the pile from his reach. "Are you?"

"I think I am. I took the liberty of creating an itinerary for you and me." He kicked his feet up onto the now vacant stool in front of him.

"Itinerary? For the two of us? Well I suppose that's what would be expected of us." Mary leaned against the windowsill absentmindedly. "We really would spend time together as a couple."

Francis came up behind her and playfully smacked her on the backside before darting out the door calling "Oh yes my dear, we have quite the time planned!" over his shoulder.

Mary's jaw was left open while she wondered at his sudden change in disposition. He was always cocky but he hadn't tried to be charming around her in privacy for a long time; he certainly wasn't in the habit of flirting with her.

A few days later they had arrived at their resort as if they were part of some sort of traveling circus. Their parents, their parents' assistants, what seemed like a hundred suitcases and of course the happy young couple who had very different ideas of what was necessary to carry on their charade.

Francis had been playing with her hair, rubbing her lower back and keeping a firmly planted hand on her thigh for most of their flight. He seemed to be going above and beyond their normal display of false affection. Mary was starting to feel a bit confused and while she was indeed a bit flattered by his attention she was also very skeptical of his motives.

When she checked into her suite she realized that it was attached to his and she began to get quite nervous. His knock on their adjoining door startled her and she caught herself checking her reflection in the mirror before unlocking it.

"Hello my lover, it would appear we have quite the charade going." Francis leaned against the door frame with a smirk on his face. "I overheard my parents talking to your parents about how it would appear you and I would be spending most of this trip in each other's arms."

Mary blushed fiercely. "Oh! Francis.. I um.. I really think you and I should talk about this."

He laughed loudly. "Mary I told you before not to worry. I have no intentions of bedding you on this trip. In fact it's quite the opposite."

Confusion swept over her face.

"I have brought a date on this island get away." He waltzed into the room in grand style, grabbing her by the waist and spinning her around.

"Her name is Anne and she is.. well let's just say she's good at every little thing she does." He released Mary and reached into his back pocket where there was a paper rolled up.

He started reading aloud from it but Mary barely heard him. He brought a date! The nerve of him! And to think I was starting to warm to his deceptive charm and attention. All the while he was bringing along a whore like some purse dog that travels with its rich master.

"Mary are you even listening?" Francis sounded impatient.

"I'm sorry, but did you say you brought a date? We're on a family vacation where we are supposed to be giving the appearance of a couple in love and you brought along your girlfriend to hole up in a hotel room.

He looked utterly shocked. He reached for her arm slowly. "Mary, you know our arrangement. I definitely did not think you would be disappointed in me finding other ways to spend my time." He turned her to look at him. "I honestly just figured that we wouldn't want to be together every waking hour so it would be better to have company."

"Disappointed? I'm not disappointed!" She huffed at the insanity of the idea. "I just think it's going to be obvious when we aren't seen together and I'm sitting alone of the beach somewhere."

"But didn't you hear me? I've taken care of that. I flew Greer and Lola here as well as a surprise for you. They are staying just a couple floors down from us." He squeezed her arm before letting it go. "I certainly didn't want you to be alone. These itineraries are separate but you'll always know where I am if you need to find me, as will I of you. The appointments at the spa, the shopping trips with the driver, everything.. it's all planned for you and your friends. The time we have to spend with our families is highlighted there and obviously you won't be able to bring your friends to those events but I'm sure they'll find their own fun. This place is like an all-inclusive playground."

She took a deep breath. It really wasn't terribly upsetting. She had no right to be angry. They had agreed to see other people. She hadn't made that jump yet but she obviously could have. She wasn't upset at him for dating, was she? No. She couldn't have been.

"Well it was really nice of you to bring my friends.. I can't believe they kept the secret." She started to smile. "Thank you for thinking of me, and for planning all this. I'm sure it will make the trip less frightful."

She was right. The time with her friends was amazing. They had great experiences and the girls were very grateful for all the lavish tropical fun. The downfall was that at night she could hear Francis and the lovely Anne through the walls. They were apparently quite passionate and it reminded her that it had been a very long time since she had even been kissed by a man. And that man had been Sebastian.

On one of their last nights on the island their noise was beyond bearable. She was beginning to think he was literally slamming her up against their shared door just to frustrate Mary. She finally found her iPod and put on her favorite play list to relax so that she could keep herself from calling the hotel staff to complain.

How unfair it seemed that he was in the arms of someone else, and apparently perfectly content there at that. He had who he wanted, and from the sound he had her quite frequently.

Mary found her thoughts drifting to Bash, which wasn't uncommon. He had been on her mind often during the trip. The Senator had mentioned him at dinner a few times, remarking over his successes and recent projects. She was proud to hear that he was making such strides in his career. His father had made sure it was known that he hadn't played a single part in Bash's success and bragged about how he was truly self-made.

She pictured Bash in his slightly cocky posture, hair tumbling into his eyes as if he really didn't have to try in the least to be gorgeous. Those crystal eyes whose blue pools could pierce a heart and drown a soul. She longed to see him. She found herself aching over the memory of that Christmas kiss in the hallway of her dorm. He had taken hold of her and it had been so real and so right.

She could close her eyes and feel his tongue tied up with hers, his hand on her spine pulling her body against his. Her fingers drifted under the covers and into her panties as she remembered how her heart raced and how she had wished that he would have taken it farther. As she pet herself into a frenzy she could almost taste his kiss all over again and she could have sworn she heard him say her name as she peaked..

"Mary!"

Her eyes opened and she realized Francis was standing near the doorway of her room wearing nothing but underwear . She was absolutely mortified as she pulled her ear buds from her ears. She couldn't even formulate words.

His eyes looked surprised at first and then awkward as he ran his hands through his messy hair. "Wow, I uh.. I heard you call out and I thought maybe you needed help. I did not expect… you were just pretty loud." He stammered a little but she could see even in the dim light that his mouth was starting to turn up into a smirk.

"Oh gosh! I must have been talking in my sleep!" Mary lied. "I honestly was having a pretty good dream."

"I see. Well it certainly did sound like a good dream. Better than any dreams you ever had while we were dating." He was out right smiling boldly at her now.

Mary pulled the covers tighter around her. "Well you know, my life hasn't entirely suffered since you've been removed from it." She glared at him in embarrassment.

"You sure you weren't dreaming of me? I have that effect on women." He was teasing but Mary was absolutely mortified at the idea that he was so conceited.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Mary growled at him.

"Oh! I forgot about Anne. Yes I do!" He turned toward the door. "I bid you adieu. Continue your sweet dreams, by all means."

"Oh and Francis, can you two please keep it down? It sounds like some sort of wild animal show in there." She couldn't help herself. He had to know that she wasn't the only one putting on a free porn sound track.

He grinned widely. "What's the matter sweet cheeks, are you afraid that the neighbors will think that it's you and I going at it so vivaciously? Well no worries, I'm sure they heard you cry out just now so you added your own spin on it." With that he was gone.

XX xxx x X xxx XX X xxxx XXX x XXXX

The rest of the summer went surprisingly well. Mary could have sworn that Francis flirted with her but he claimed it was simple friendship and nothing more. She didn't complain because she knew it was good for appearances and Catherine seemed incredibly pleased to see their relationship going strong. She also knew that Francis was still seeing Anne. She gathered that things were doing well.

When she returned to campus she moved into a suite with Greer, Aylie, Kenna and Lola. Being an upperclassman had its perks, including the option of living in nice new apartments across the quad.

Fall orientation started a few days prior to classes and Mary was volunteering at the new student information table so she made sure to be settled in ahead of time so she could focus on her duties. When she showed up at the table the first day she found herself loving how summery the weather still was.

She was standing, face turned up to sponge up the sun's warm glow when she heard a person clear their throat. She opened her eyes and found a tall young man with a mature muscular physique and dark brown eyes looking at her. "I'm sorry to interrupt you." He smiled awkwardly. "I'm Simon" He extended his hand to shake hers.

"I'm Mary. Nice to meet you! And you aren't interrupting; I was just enjoying the sun." She blushed a little. "I guess I was just taking a moment of peace before the storm. I hear it's supposed to be very busy today. Are you the other volunteer for this table?"

Simon nodded. "I am. This is my second year of doing this. I'm a junior. I had a really rough start freshman year and the people who worked the info tables really helped me sort some logistics out." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Of course, that guy wasn't nearly as pretty as you are. If he had been I might never have left the table to find my dorm."

She laughed and tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear nervously. "Oh wow! Don't you just know what to say to a girl!"

"I'm sorry!" Simon said quickly. "I didn't mean to sound like a jerk. I meant the complement but I guess it was a bit forward. Let's start over. I think you're really pretty and you seem really nice. Could we have coffee after this and get to know each other?"

She caught her breath. She found herself shaking her head. "Oh I don't know.."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" He asked her pointedly.

"Well, no not really." She stammered her answer.

"Well Mary, if you have no boyfriend then I really see no reason why you can't have an innocent coffee date with a great guy. It truly can't hurt anything to give me a couple hours of your time. I am really a great guy, I can even get you references if you need them." He winked at her.

She smiled. Well like Simon says.. I guess it can't hurt anything.

A/N: Don't hate me, I know Simon isn't exactly a suitor but I always felt like he and Mary had a little chemistry. And I liked him better for this role than Tomas.