Chapter 4

"Push Mary, PUSH!" Kenna yelled, trying to motivate her struggling Queen. Lola was getting more water, and Mary was crushing Greer's hand so Kenna was the only one able to think straight. It had been hours but Mary was finally crowning. She had been put on rest early in her old rooms and wasn't allowed to leave until after she had been churched; it had been driving her crazy. They hadn't found a single opening to England until yesterday, so now Francis was hours away gathering the troops they needed. Mary ordered her ladies and servants not to send for him until they knew exactly what news to give him. "You are so close Mary, but you have to push!" Kenna encouraged as Lola ran back in the room. Mary took a few deep breaths and pushed with all her might. She collapsed on the bed and smiled when she heard the sound of a baby cry.

The midwife cleaned the baby up before speaking,"your majesty, you have a boy, an heir."

All these months Mary wouldn't let herself hope for an heir, she was just lucky enough to be with child. "James" was all she could say before passing out. When she woke Francis was holding their son. "Fatherhood looks good on you," she spoke startling him.

"Oh Mary I am so proud of you. You have always been an amazing queen and wife..and now mother. I just wished you would've sent for me." he replied softy, not wanting to wake James. He stood up and walked over, knowing Mary hadn't held him yet.

"I know, but i knew how busy you were and i didnt want to pull you away until i knew if you were returning for a celebration..or..or a funeral." she stated, realizing for the first time how close to death she was. Thank goodness they had an heir, Mary didn't know if she'd survive a second time.

Francis was sobered by her fear. He could've lost them both. " I understand my love, but for future reference, my place is always by you. Regardless of how busy i am."

"Well how are preparation going?" Mary inquired.

"We don't need to speak of such things right now, you need rest." he responded. He didn't want to think of how he should be there, not here.

"Francis I have been resting for weeks, and I still have to wait to be churched. Please don't leave me pondering our fate. Give me an update."

"Fine, it's good news anyways. We had a rough start getting through the borders but your brother had plans to push through. We had just started inward when I received word of your condition and our son, lucky that we were as prepared as we were. At this rate you will be ruling England soon after you have been churched. I have to go back, to command our troops and make sure our allies don't steal it out from us. Any thoughts on what to do when we win?"

"Well, Elizabeth is in charge of her own fate. Im sending you with a letter I wrote to her weeks ago, asking for her peaceful surrender. If she accepts, she will be comfortably imprisoned in a convent, I think the one I stayed in will do well. If she fights back I have no choice but to take her head. Then with your approval I'd like to stay in England for a few years, secure the throne. Then you and I can choose a court, or travel between the three." she said, contemplating her choices as she stated. It was the first time she spoke them out loud since her and Catherine planned them almost a year ago.

-a week later at Richmond Palace, England-

"CAN YOU ALL BE ANYMORE USELESS?! Mary Stuart is basically at our doorstep, with EUROPE at her side and not one of the best strategist I have can figure out how to stop them." Queen Elizabeth sat down with a deep breath, "does anyone have anything of use?" Just then the door opened and the page rushed to deliver a message to the Queen. She read it quickly, then looked back at her council,"well?"

"I'm sorry your majesty, we have nothing. We are surrounded on all sides. They are depleting our resources, they have unlimited soldiers, and we don't see a way out," said her secretary of state William Cecil.

"Well then, you are all dismissed. Anything else we have to discuss is irrelevant if we don't know how long I will be Queen." She waited until all but Robert Dudley had left. When the doors shut and everyone was well cleared she spoke again as she handed him the letter, "I think I found a way to keep my head at least, I might be able to get a little more too if I play my cards right. She has been in confinement and is still in church so she has lots of time to consider her offer."

"Elizabeth, you're really going to give it up? All of this." Dudley asked.

"For you, yes, and for my head, yes!" she exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" he was sincerely confused.

She grabbed his hand, "I love you and you love me. As long as I am Queen we will never be able to be together. If you want, and are truly willing to divorce your wife, I will accept Mary's offer but only on the condition she lets me take a husband of my choosing as long as he isn't of noble birth. You have risen to your position, but even if you became their chief advisor our marriage will never be a threat. She already has an heir, I'll be declaring myself a bastard making our children unable to inherit the throne. I spent most my life in fear, only to come become a prisoner to the throne that has destroyed my family. If I must choose a prison, I want one with you. Plus this could give my cousin and I a chance to know each other and give England peace. England deserves peace. I want this, I just have to maneuver it, but only if you do."

He stood up and kissed her. "It's the only thing I have ever wanted. Since we were in the tower together, and helped each other stay strong. All I have ever wanted to do is love and protect you, if you really think you can trust your cousin I will do this with you. I married because I thought we never could, I do would anything for this opportunity."

"I will write to my cousin, as soon as she is churched she will meet me on the battle ground leaving our weapons at the front and negotiating woman to woman," she replied.

-One week later Château de Fontainebleau, France-

"You cannot be serious?! You are not agreeing to this? There is no way she is going to actually let you live? They will shoot you as soon as you are in range!" Francis could not believe she was agreeing to this. Elizabeth writes one letter, and Mary thinks she can trust her.

"I will not be in range! Francis I have to, she won't trust anyone else! I knew this was a possibility when I gave you the letter. I would do the exact same thing. She probably wants something else which I was expecting and she wants to make sure if we don't come to terms we fight, just like any male ruler would do. I will have James at my side in the front and you ready to lead the rest of the mountains of armies behind us. She would be stupid to fight if I refuse her offer." Mary stated plainly, slightly annoyed.

"Do you want to leave our son motherless so young? Did you learn nothing from your father and your grandfather?" he asked.

"They never had all of Europe behind them. Say I die on the battlefield? You destroy her in rage and vengeance and our son inherits the throne and you the regent. There is no way she wins, the best she can hope for, is what I am offering her which is why I know she will take it. And why I will survive. "

"Fine, but I am switching positions with James in this. We do everything we can together, I will not stop now," and Mary knew better than to argue with her husband. It was a fair compromise even if she felt there were a list of reasons he needed to stay behind, her husband can handle himself.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

-Four days later at Hastings battlefield, winter of 1560-

The French, with the help of their allies, have London surrounded down through the battle ground they were on, giving the city a breathing range of 100 miles. No one in or out of the city, but enough room to let both sides breathe a little and hope for peace. Francis and Mary stood at the front, opposite where Elizabeth with Lord Dudley next to her. Both sides drench in warm furs, to combat the harsh winter breeze, the three royals bearing the English coat of arms. All four rode a quarter way into the open space. They both unarmed themselves, handing each weapon over to their most trusted-Francis and Robert. They then proceeded to meet in the middle where they could discuss a deal open and honestly. Neither knowing what to expect but neither looking at each other, heads held high. The wind whistled around these women as they sat tall on their horses.

"Nice coat of arms," Elizabeth snarked.

"Glad to see your as humble as they say," Mary retorted.

"Queens are never humble, to be humble is to admit you are anything other than chosen by God," Elizabeth said clearly trying to control her tone but was not going to apologize.

"Fair enough, you've had some time to consider my offer, what will it be?" Mary asked.

"See here's the thing Mary we don't know each other very well, I want to tell you about myself before I tell you why I won't take those exact terms. I'm sure you've heard the gossip of Tudor courts but I'll let you in on some truth," Mary braced herself not expecting this, Elizabeth paused until Mary nodded to continue, "my father was a monster. The way he disposed of women in his quest for a male heir, I'm sure you've heard the lies he spun to behead my mother. All Anne Boleyn was ever guilty of was loving a dangerous man; she promised heirs, all she could provide was me, so he moved on to the next woman who'd open her legs. I was declared a bastard by my own father at 3. When he died I was put in the care of my fathers last wife and her husband. He..he did horrid, unspeakable things. When Edward died, Mary took the throne and I foolishly thought my sister would never harm me. I was thrown into the Tower of London because my own sister couldn't trust me that I didn't try to kill her. I thought I would die there, the only thing that gave me strength was one of the other prisoners, the lovely gentleman behind me. I had to make myself safe, and I thought the way to do that was to hold tight onto my crown, until I read your letter. I was sitting with my privy council and realized there was another way. So here is my proposal Queen Mary, I will declare myself a bastard and you the rightful Queen, in return I get to keep one palace, one of your choosing, fortify it whatever you please. You will also allow the divorce of Robert Dudley and approve a marriage between us, they are protestant so your church doesn't recognize his first marriage anyways."

"If he loves you so much why did he marry someone else? And how can I trust you to keep your word?" Mary asked digesting the information and the implications of this offer. Could she trust her? People could try to swap them out but her and any heirs after her will inherit both France and Scotland so it'd be long term safe guarded in the respect of her future children. But she couldn't be sure Elizabeth would keep her word.

"Honestly this throne has destroyed my family, our ancestry in drench in blood and you are the only family I have left. While I understand if you send me to a convent or agree to my palace, I hope you can see this as a chance to actually get to know me, and I, you. Me giving you support after this campaign will help prop up your reign. I know you are a rare Queen who actually has a loving marriage. My grandparents had that. All I want is the same, all we both want is peace. What do you say?" she finally looked at Mary. Mary looked back staring into her eyes. Looking for a hint of falsehood, of treachery.

She found none, in fact Elizabeth's eyes were pleading- she was holding back tears. "You will wait here with me until my army arrests you, they will lead you to the tower. There you will sign away your claim to the throne and the admission of your bastard position. You will remain there until my husband and I's coronation. You will follow us through London and sit front row. After we have been crowned you will bow down and confess your loyalty to us, I will pardon you. From there you will be lead to a castle of my choosing. I will take care of the marriage. I too hope we can find a friendship because I can be quite loving and imagine you could be too. But mark my words, you ever dare to defy me or begin to make a play for the crown, I will crush you. Deal?"

"Deal."

Mary signaled Francis forward while Elizabeth ordered her men to stand down. She was peacefully taken into custody. She didn't protest as she was paraded through London to that dreaded tower, she even held her head high, she made the right choice for herself and her country. If Mary kept her word, she would prove to be a level headed, strong, and merciful.

It took a week to plan the coronation but finally the day had arrived. Mary and Francis followed the custom of staying the rooms of the Tower of London. She had told Robert to go ahead with his divorce. Francis was uneasy about the arrangement at first and argued tirelessly about it, but Mary wouldn't budge. She went to visit Elizabeth everyday for at least an hour, sometimes being there for hours. At first he refused to join and thought Mary was foolish to do so; then one day Robert came to visit when Mary was there and there was no way he was letting him and Elizabeth together in a room alone with Mary.

He burst in to see Robert hugging Elizabeth in almost the exact same he holds Mary when he's scared he'd never see her again. Mary was in the corner with her hand over her mouth smiling, with a tear rolling down her cheek.

"When he showed parliament that their new King and Queen supported his divorce they granted it right away. They are free to marry," and Francis knew it was pointless but he had to ask marry one last time hoping that since her plan went through as hoped she'd tell him her real reason, the queen reason. They had every personal reason for this but he knew that there was a specific reason she let this through, the deepest part she hates to admit that drives her every move no matter how gentle and forgiving she was. She followed him out of the room.

"Mary, this is a huge risk. Please tell me the non personal reason, the royal one," he pleaded hoping she understood.

She whispered, "you can't see it? She doomed herself. Robert married because as Queen they believed they couldn't be together. Now she's marrying a divorcee, which while allowed in their religion, is still taboo and unacceptable as a Queen. She will never be able to be Queen of anything again. Her children will never be more than bastards unless we say otherwise. I hate that I think that way, and I'm happy for them and glad to be getting to know her, it's the best thing she could've done for us."

Now he understood. And he didn't question their friendship anymore.

After that Francis relaxed and even joined Mary to visit Elizabeth in the last few days in the tower. Mary decided to let him decide what castle they should preside at hoping it would calm his fear and allowed him to over see it's fortification. It needed to serve dual purposes. It was their luxury prison so it need to keep them locked tight unless Mary or Francis declared otherwise, as well as the fact Elizabeth would always be a (dowager) queen and queens have enemies. She needed to be safe in her own home. It had been a stressful few weeks and while she was glad to have Francis by her side they had been debating so much. She missed her friends and her child she was barely able to hold before heading off to England; she was ecstatic they were finally here. They entered her chambers: Kenna coming in first curtsied and ran to hug her Queen, followed by Lola and one year old John, finally Greer carrying James.

Greer walked over to hand Mary her son smiling, "We have been so worried about you. We were so glad to hear that you settled things peacefully and that you are safe."

"Ahhh what's a little war? I was closer to death giving us this bundle of joy," Mary laughed for the first time in months.

The coronation was a grand affair with no expense spared, gifts were given from all countries and Mary couldn't stop smiling, Elizabeth and Francis by her side practically the whole day. As part of the deal they struck, Elizabeth had to show the country she supported them fully. That night she married Dudley and they were sent to their new home. Francis took Mary to bed that night enjoying their new night as rulers of three nations, in need of many more heirs.