Francis woke up in his bed, the first thing he saw was her mother and brother's face.
"Francis!" Catherine and Bash both said in unison.
"Are you all right, Francis? You collapsed earlier, are you feeling better now?" Catherine said almost hysterically
"Brother, Nostradamus said that you came to him four months ago, and you asked for a medicine for your ear, this has been going on for some time, why didn't you tell us anything?" Bash said demandingly
"I'm not a child anymore Bash, I won't go running to my mother or my brother whenever I'm hurting, I can handle myself." Francis insisted
Francis saw a servant walked in and put a bowl of soup on the table.
"Have you packed my things yet?" Francis said
"Yes, your grace"
"Things? What things?" Catherine said clearly confused
"I'm going to Scotland tomorrow mother, I was going to say that earlier during the meeting" Francis responded
"You can't go to Scotland now Francis, it's dangerous for your condition!" Catherine said loudly
"you can't stop me mother, I've already decided. It's been five months since I last saw Mary, I followed all the things you told me while I'm here, and now I have to go to my wife, she needs me there" Francis said distantly
"why does she needs you there? If you want to see her wife so badly, let her come here! You are in no condition to travel and you know that" Catherine said continuing the argument while Bash sits quietly in the corner, he doesn't exactly know who to side, he agrees that Francis shouldn't go to Scotland now, it's too dangerous, and yet he also understands that his brother longs for his wife, so he chose to stay quiet instead.
"I promised Mary that I will go to her and I will not break that promise just because of a silly ear ache" Francis said furiously
"Francis! You will not go to Scotland, I won't allow you to" Catherine said at the top of her voice
"I'm not a child anymore, mother!" Francis is becoming even more furious now
"This conversation is over Francis, you are not going to Scotland unless you get well, I'm putting guards outside your room, don't even try to escape."
"You're locking me inside my own room? This is madness!" Francis' voice is at full volume now, he can't believe his mother is doing this, he isn't done talking yet when Catherine walks out of the room.
"I'm doing this for your own sake Francis, please understand" Catherine quietly said before she closed the door.
Francis focused his attention to his brother now
"Bash, you can't let them do this" Francis said almost pleadingly
"rest first Francis, I'll try my best to help you, but for now, rest please, you need it" Bash said calmly before he too left the room
Francis is now alone in his room, seconds later, a servant came in.
"I'm terribly sorry to bother you your grace but there's a letter here from Mary Queen of Scotland"
Francis mood brighten up, he has wanted to hear from Mary and the time has finally come.
"Thank you" he said to the servant
He braced himself for what he's about to read, hopefully this letter contains good news.
After he read the letter, he was wondering what the "great news" is, his wife is clearly excited about it and so is he.
He wrote a response to her quickly
My dearest Mary,
I just got back from Calais and thankfully we emerged victorious, don't worry, I'm not wounded or anything, I just miss you terribly. I want to come to Scotland and be with you, believe me, I really do.
But my mother's not letting me leave France for some trivial reason, I'll be right there as soon as I escape my mother's meddling. I won't let you face your troubles alone Mary, I love you and I'll be there as soon as you know it.
Love,
Francis
Francis kept the letter short, he's going to say all the things he needs to say to Mary in person, and his ear is hurting terribly again that he kept pausing every time he writes a word. Francis thought it best that he should just rest for a while in order for the pain to go away, and as he lay on his bed, he thought of Mary, wondering how it might be if she was here beside him. And in that moment he made up his mind, if he can't make his mother see reason, he would just obey her and strive to get better; he got up and drank his medicine wishing that when he wakes up the next morning, the pain would be just a terrible nightmare.
"Mary, I'll be there soon" was the last words he spoke before he fell back to sleep.