"Have you heard any news from France yet?" Mary said to her advisers, they were in the throne room and she was doing her best to remain calm. Her mother would reprimand her if she sees her freaking out, "it's not good for the baby" her mother will always say. But she can't help it, waiting for the news is agonizing.
"The messenger said that French soldiers have returned from Calais, they were successful on retrieving it from the hands of the English" one of her advisers finally said.
"and what about my husband? Is he back in France too? Is he alright?"
"The messenger didn't mention any specific details your grace, but I was told that there were many casualties, hundreds of lives have been lost, both French and English"
Mary was lost with words, that news hasn't been comforting at all, in fact it made her feel the opposite.
"Mary, you worry too much" her mother finally said
"I will write to Queen Catherine and ask about the Dauphin, in the meantime, you need to stop worrying, if something bad happened to the crowned prince of France, I'm sure they will let us know right away." Her mother said again, but more convincingly this time
"Mother, you know I've never been good at waiting, I'll go there myself and find out what happened." Mary said firmly
"go there? to France? May I remind you darling that you're pregnant! You can't just go there right away, it would be dangerous, you can have a miscarriage on your way there!" her mother said almost frantically
"I'll take the midwife with me, or a doctor, or whomever you want, just please let me go to my husband, I need to know if he's safe." Mary said piteously
"you're not only risking your life but also the life of the future heir to the throne of Scotland and France!"
"I know that mother!"
"and you're still willing to risk it after knowing the consequences?"
"I will be careful, can you not trust me?" Mary angrily said. The attention of the noblemen at court is now focused to her and her mother.
"this is not about trusting you Mary! It's about the danger that you might encounter if you go to France!"
"this conversation is going on circles mother, I will go to Scotland with or without your blessing" Mary said with conviction
"Your grace, I'm afraid I have to agree with your mother, traveling to France now is not safe for you and your baby." One of her advisers said
"not you too Lord Edward" Mary said the intenseness in her voice now gone
"May I advise that you wait for just a few more days for the news of your husband, your grace" Lord Edward said calmly
"I'll wait until tomorrow for my husband's letter, if it didn't come, I'll go to France myself." Mary said ending the conversation. She marched to her room leaving her mother and the rest of the noblemen stupefied.
Later that evening, while Mary lazily brush her hair, a servant entered
"Your grace, a letter has arrived from the Dauphin of France" Mary was immensely relieved upon hearing the news, this means that her husband has safely returned to France and she can't wait to open the letter.
"Thank you, you may leave now" Mary managed to mumble before the servant leave.
She slowly opened the letter with quivering hands.
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
As much as she's relieved, she's also confused about her husband's letter. She doesn't understand why Francis didn't state the true reason why he couldn't come to Scotland. This "trivial reason" made her even more curious, for a split second she considered writing to Queen Catherine to inquire about this matter, but she doesn't want to go behind her husband's back. But what could possibly hinder her husband from coming to her, if it's so "trivial" then why didn't he bother to mention it, why did he sound secretive in the letter, and Mary also noticed that this letter is the shortest so far. She knew from then on that Francis is trying to hide something, she doesn't know about it yet but she's going to find out soon. She trusts her husband but she doesn't appreciate him keeping her in the dark.
Mary quickly wrote a response to Francis and went straight to bed.
~^oOo^~
Francis couldn't stand his mother anymore, she assigned several guards to follow him wherever he go, he thought the whole idea is ridiculous, as if he could just grab a horse, outrun those guards and go to Scotland. He told his mother that the guards are unnecessary but she still insisted.
Days later, he received a letter from Mary and he opened it as soon as his mother and the servants left his room.
My dear Francis,
I am so glad to hear that you are safe and back at French court, I was very worried about you for the past four months, I have not been sleeping well and I'll be lying to you if I say that I'm alright now, because I'm not, I'll never be alright as long as you're not here.
You told me that your mother was hindering you to go here because of some "trivial reason", what might this be? I can sense that you're not telling me everything, and whatever your reason may be, I can assure that we'll go through this together, as long as you tell me everything I need to know. It's bad enough that you're not here and it's even worse knowing that you're keeping secrets from me.
Anyway, since you've been making excuses for not coming here, I've decided that I'll come there instead, there's something I need to tell you, you'll know it as soon as you see me.
I'll be there soon.
Love,
Mary
Francis panicked when he finished reading the letter, he doesn't want his wife to see her this way, weak and utterly useless, knowing that his wife gave up on waiting for him made him feel guilty. He also know that Mary's just being forced to come here because he let her down, he's been promising her that he'll come to Scotland soon but he's still here in France. He also knows that the Scots are waiting for him there, he must prove to them that the French are allies and his marriage to their queen is still strong, if Mary comes back to France now when her countrymen haven't even see him yet, they'll immediately think that their marriage is falling apart, and maybe it is. So Francis wrote a letter quickly to stop Mary from coming to France and assure her (once again) that he'll be in Scotland soon.
He just finished writing a letter when he heard a knock from the door.
"Your grace, Nostradamus requests to visit you" one of the guards said
"Let him in" Francis replied
Nostradamus quietly walks towards Francis with a worried expression on his face
"How are you feeling your grace?"
"Dozens of people have been asking me that question lately" Francis said attempting to lighten up Nostradamus' expression, but he seems unsuccessful
"Do the medicines relieve the pain that you're feeling?"
"Yes, they're very effective, thank you" Francis lied, he doesn't need to make the whole castle worry about his condition
"Enough about me, how's my father? Have you found any traces of poison in his food, or maybe some explanation that will explain his odd behavior?"
"I haven't found anything yet your grace, but I didn't come here to talk about your father, I need to tell you something"
"What is it about?" Francis inquired
"I know that you never believed my prophecies, but I think you should know that on the night of your wedding day, I saw your future with Mary, it was happy but brief, I saw that you'll die of an ear infection"
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"because I think you deserve to know it, you deserve to have the chance to say goodbye to the ones you love, if my prophecy is true, you don't have much time left. I'm not telling this to scare you, nor to convince you, I just thought that you should know." And just like that Nostradamus walks away
"Wait!" Francis said
"You told my mother that it's okay for me and Mary to get married, you told her that the prophecy was over, was that a lie?"
"I was wrong then"
"You could be wrong now" Francis said, refusing to believe what Nostradamus said
"I hope I am, because if my visions were true, your mother would have my head on a plate the same day your heart stop beating" Nostradamus closed the door leaving Francis stunned and wordless.
"This can't be happening" he finally said out loud.