Chapter 7

Francis held my arm tightly as we walked through the entrance. He had his hand placed on my lower back too in order to help me walk. When we walked inside we were quickly surrounded by family and friends who bombarded us with questions. Greer, Lola, Kenna, and Aylee circled me and blocked me from the conversation Francis was having with Catherine. I almost wanted to butt in just so that I could hear what that woman had to say to him. When Greer and my other ladies attempted to hug me I put my hands up quickly, blocking them from touching me. "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm not feeling too well." I assured them. Without warning, Kenna grabbed my hand and pulled me into her, slamming her body into mine. "Oh, Mary. You aren't pregnant are you?" Kenna said jokily, but my stomach was screaming at the fact that Kenna was pushing her body directly into me. I gasped and quickly pushed her away from me and gently placed my hand on my stomach, trying to hold back the pain.

"Mary?!" Lola gasped and took a step toward me. Kenna covered her mouth in horror. "I'm so sorry!" She frantically apologized. I raised my hand in an attempt to stop her. "Don't worry. It is quite alright."

Francis noticed the ruckus and turned his attention toward us. That meant Catherine now had her attention on me as well. "If she was attacked like you said she was then take her to Nostradamus. He'll look at her wounds." Catherine turned without saying another word and walked away, leaving my ladies with questions. "What does she mean wounds?" Aylee asked, gently grabbed my hand. "Bandits?!" Kenna shouted. I gently smiled at them. "I'll explain later."

I grabbed onto Francis' hand and let him lead the way toward Nostradamus. As we walked I could tell Francis was thinking about something because he was quiet and he only looked forward. "What is it?" I asked him.

"I don't think my mother believes me," Francis replied.

I figured this would happen, but my muscles tightened. I was terrified of what was to happen if people were to find out what really happened. And now Catherine knows. As much as I don't like Catherine, she is a smart woman. If she didn't know already she'd eventually put the pieces together and realize what happened. I don't know how but she will.

When we made it to Nostradamus' study Francis knocked and waited for the door to open. When it did, Nostradamus stood in the doorway. He looked at Francis, then at me. "Francis was supposed to die." Nostradamus noticed me holding my stomach and Francis helping me stand. "Tell me you did not go to war, Mary." His voice sent a chill down my spine. But he didn't look surprised even if I answered yes.

"It doesn't matter now." Francis almost pushed Nostradamus aside as he gently helped me inside. "Catherine said that Mary should get her wounds checked by you." Nostradamus motioned for me to sit on the bed, I slowly nodded and sat down. I looked up at Nostradamus who seemed to be still putting everything together. "My vision changed, but you were gone before I could tell you," Nostradamus told me. He began rummaging through his shelves and tables. He didn't look back when he said, "May I see the wounds?"

I looked at Francis as if to ask him for permission. Francis answered by nodding his head. He came over to me and helped me slightly undress, leaving on the underdress. Then Nostradamus came over and examined my wounds. He first looked at the one on my side. He never said a word, he kept to himself as he gently touched around the wound. Every now and then I would wince, but his fingers were gentle whenever he'd touch my skin. When he was done checking that one he lowered himself and looked at my stomach wound. He let out a quiet sigh when he turned my body and saw that there was an exit wound on my back. "This was the wound that Francis was supposed to die from," Nostradamus said. I saw Francis flinch, and I could tell he felt terrible. Then Nostradamus looked up at me, meeting his eyes with mine. "This is the most idiotic thing I have ever seen someone do." Nostradamus was furious. "I told you that vision so you could prepare yourself. Not so you could throw yourself into a war, Mary!"

I stared at Nostradamus, was usually a gentleman, one who would stay quiet even when he himself was getting yelled at. "I did what I had to do." I smiled weakly. "Francis is alive and so am I. We even succeeded with the siege of Calais."

Nostradamus nodded, pretending like he knew what I meant but I knew that no one would understand why I would sacrifice myself for a man I didn't know even know if I could have. I looked over at Francis who was leaning against the stone wall, watching Nostradamus' every movement. He was the man I loved and I would do everything in my power to save him from the bad things in this world.

Suddenly I felt a sharp sting and when I looked down I found Nostradamus putting some kind of liquid on my wounds. "What is that?" I asked him.

"This will help with the healing and prevent it from getting infected." He paused. "I'm surprised it isn't infected already. This is a very large wound, which means it is much easier to get infected."

Being on a dirty battlefield did not help, but I did wonder how it wasn't already infected. Although it's not something I'm going to question. Nostradamus finished putting the liquid on and stood up. He grabbed a vial and put it in my palm. "Put this is your drink for the pain." He closed my fingers on the vial and tightly held my hand for a moment, but quickly let go. "You may go."

I thanked Nostradamus, as did Francis, and we left the room. I know I probably had a lot of things to go over in court, but right now I just wanted to lay down. I looked at Francis as we walked. "When are we going to lay together by that fire?" I asked, almost giggling. Francis smiled. "I think that would be a lovely thing to do right now."

I felt like a young girl in love. And that's all it was. Two young people, madly in love. But it wasn't just that. I was the Queen of Scotland and he was the Prince of France, next in line for the throne. In my heart, I wished that Francis and I were simple servants or anything other than a queen and a prince. Maybe then we could be together without the decision from anyone else.

When we made it to my chambers Francis opened the door, only to find a distasteful surprise inside. Catherine was sitting on one of the wooden chairs inside. She sat close to the fireplace, that had a small fire inside of it. You could see the fire reflect in her hazel eyes. It almost made her look like the demon she was.

"Ah, so you saw Nostradamus for your wounds. That's good." She didn't bother to look at Francis or me, she just continued to watch the fire burn away the small logs. "Do tell me, Mary. What relatives do you have in France?" She finally turned toward me and her lips curled into a wicked smile. I could only stare at her, speechless.

"Yes, that's what I thought." She stood from the wooden chair and took a step toward us. "So, Francis comes home from the war but doesn't bother to ride in with the other soldiers?" She lifted a finger. "Oh! That's right. Because Mary's carriage was attacked by bandits and her relatives managed to let Francis know while he was at the camp."

Francis' grip on my hand was tightening and I could feel his pulse begin to quicken.

Catherine began pacing back and forth as she continued. "I do have a few questions of course. As every story will have its problems. My first question is what carriage? No carriage left the castle when Mary left to visit her relatives. All royal carriages are accounted for." I tried to speak up, but Catherine whipped toward me. "I am not done." She hissed. "Why would the bandits not kill you, instead of letting you live? And if you have no relatives in France, who helped you?"

She stopped and smiled waiting for a reply, but she didn't get one. "Ooh, child. I'm not dumb. Nostradamus told me of his vision, but he also told me of his newer vision as well."

That's when my heart started to pound against my chest and my breathing began to heavy. "Mary would be severely injured in a battle, saving Francis' life."

The room got quiet. The only sound was the popping of the logs in the fireplace.

"Mother-" Francis began, but Catherine cut him off. "Mary, you are a stupid girl. An ignorant girl!" Her rage quickly ended when she took in a deep breath. She looked me in the eyes. "Even though you are an ignorant girl. I want to thank you for saving my son's life."

Francis and I both weren't expecting that. I had never really heard Catherine thank a person, at least not full heartedly. Without another word Catherine left the room, leaving Francis and me in shock. Even though she thanked me I knew this wasn't going to be the last I heard about this. She will hang this over my head someday when I least expect it.

"I wasn't expecting that." Francis let out a sigh of relief. Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the fire.

We laid in each other's arms for the rest of the night, or at least until I fell asleep. Feeling Francis' warm body against mine made me feel safe and it always helped me fall asleep quicker. I hoped that we could spend several more nights like this in the future.