Chapter 14

My ladies and I all got ready in my chamber. It was quiet, I'm sure everyone was thinking about what was to come. We didn't know if the passageway would work, or if anyone would be caught. But we need to try, that was the most important thing for us. We can't allow these people to control us like this. I know Count Vincent wasn't interested in harming me or my Scottish ladies, at least I don't think he was. But he threatened Francis. I wasn't going to allow something like that to pass.

When my ladies and I finished getting ready I grabbed them and forced them to stay an extra minute. "Remember, I'll ask Count Vincent for us to be dismissed and that's when we'll head toward the passageway." I waited for them to all nod so I knew they understood. It was a straightforward plan, but I wanted to make sure they knew what was happening so there were no mistakes.

We all exited the room and started heading toward the hall. I tried to get my heart to calm down, telling myself it was just a feast, nothing more. But my heart knew that it was much more than that and that if there was even a small mistake, someone could die.

The hall was crowded with Count Vincent's men. They were all wildly talking and drinking. I don't think I had seen them stop. The table was decorated with leaves, wreaths, and little jewels. Platters of fruit and cheese laid in the middle of each end. Then my eyes found Count Vincent, he was sitting in the middle of the table on the throne. The chair that is never sat in by anyone else but King Henry. If only the crazy man could see Vincent now.

Vincent waved his hand at me. "Queen Mary," He nodded, then looked at my ladies. "And handmaids."

He motioned toward the four empty seats in front of him. "Please have a seat." He said. My four ladies did as they were told and sat in the chairs, but I stayed standing. "Mary, please. Sit next to me." He smiled and pulled the chair out next to him. I slowly walked over and sat in the wooden chair. I thanked Count Vincent and tried to keep my attention away from him. Then I noticed Catherine sitting on the other side of Count Vincent. She was smiling and laughing away as she placed a grape in her mouth. I wondered how she could be so content right now. I knew she was just pretending but I didn't know how she was able to do that. I almost envied that side of her.

The food was brought out and served to everyone separately. I wasn't even able to eat but I forced myself to eat a little so I wouldn't seem suspicious. I could tell my ladies were doing the same. They were eating very slowly and were watching the men around them like hawks.

Later, when everyone was finished eating the plates were taken away by the servants. The only thing that covered the table now was the men's glasses and the decorations. Most of them were extremely drunk, but not Count Vincent. I don't think I saw him take even a small sip of his wine.

My ladies were now watching me. They knew this was the moment for us to leave. After the servants had taken the plates away that is when we would exit the hall and head toward the passageway.

I turned toward Vincent. "Count Vincent," I cleared my throat. He turned toward me, waiting for me to continue. "I can't exactly-" I fidgeted for a moment. "I can't breathe."

Vincent raised his brow. "Are you alright?"

I nodded and smiled. "Yes, of course. It's just that-" I paused and leaned in closer toward him so that only he could hear me. "My corset, it's too tight."

Count Vincent's eyes widened and he leaned back. "If you need to-" He paused trying his best to form the sentence correctly. "If you need to go back to your chamber and fix this problem you may."

I nodded as thanks but turned toward my ladies. "I would need my ladies as well. Is that alright?"

Count Vincent nodded. "Yes, of course. You are all excused."

"Thank you, Count," I said as I stood up and bowed my head. I quickly walked around the table to my ladies and led them out of the dining hall. "We need to do this quickly," I told them. I was still scared that somehow this plan would fail. I was terrified that my ladies would be hurt if we were found. When we got to the hall with the door to the passageway I looked around for any guards. When I knew for sure there weren't any guards I lifted the tapestry away from the wall. Then I lifted my hand and knocked on the door three times. It was quiet. The door wasn't opened. The plan was for Olivia to open the door when she heard the three knocks. I started to panic when a few more seconds passed. She left us, Olivia actually left us here- My thoughts were interrupted when the door was opened. Olivia stood in the doorway, looking at me then my ladies. "What are you waiting for?" She said. I pushed Lola in first, then Greer, Aylee, and Kenna. When they were all inside I looked around again, just to check that we weren't followed. When I turned back I was about to step inside, but guilt filled my body. I stared at Kenna who was standing closest to me. Catherine would be left with all these men and she would somehow deal with them by herself? I didn't see how even she could do something like that. These men wanted revenge for Count Vincent's son. They were not going to let her go.

"Mary, what are you doing?" Kenna asked. She attempted to grab onto me but I pulled away and grabbed onto the side of the door. "Go," I said quickly before slamming the door shut. I didn't know if it even closed all the way since the only way to open and close it fully was from the inside, but I could hear men approaching. I grabbed onto the tapestry and pulled it down so that it would cover the door.

"Hey!" I heard someone shout at me. I turned slowly and found 4 Italian guards. The guard closest to me grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the tapestry. The force of his pull made me cry out. "What are you doing here?" One of the guards asked. "I'm coming back from my chambers," I said. The guard holding onto my arm yanked me toward him so that his chest was against my back and my arm was on my back as well. "Let's take her back." The guard said as he began to walk and force me forward.

I don't think I completely thought this through. Before Catherine would only have to worry about herself and nothing looked suspicious quite yet. But now, I was returning without my ladies.

When we got to the hall everyone was still enjoying the evening. Throwing around leftovers and clashing glasses together for a toast. I spotted Catherine who was still seated. She was talking to the men that were seated next to her. It looked like she had everything under control, but now I'm here. To ruin it all.

The guard holding onto me cleared his throat. "Count Vincent," he said loudly, getting the attention of everyone in the hall. Count Vincent looked confused as he looked at me, then at the guard. Suddenly the guard threw me forward, causing my stomach to slam into the corner of the table. I yelped.

"We found her standing in the hall by herself." The guard told Count Vincent.

"Where are your ladies, Mary?" Vincent seemed calm at first but then he stood and slammed his fists onto the table. "Where are they!" He shouted. I flinched from the sudden loud noise ringing in my ears. I stood up straight and patted down my dress, but said nothing. I almost wanted to laugh and tell him they were gone, safe from his grasp. Vincent started to scan the room. "Where are the servants?" He was now looking down at Catherine. She sighed heavily and stood from her chair, then she made her way to the end of the table. A large chest sat there and when she opened it, it revealed gold coins filled to the brim.

"I have sent the servants to their chambers as did Mary to her ladies." Catherine leaned against the table. "I wanted this conversation to be between leaders. Not the servants and handmaids."

I stared at her. There was no way he was going to believe that. He knew something was going on, but she was already moving on as she put her hands on each side of the chest. "A gift for you and your men." Catherine took a step back and gestured for the men to grab some. Gasps rose up from the men as they looked at the gold. Then there was a sudden rush and all the men were trying to grab handfuls of gold. I took a step back, getting away from the animal-like soldiers.

When the men had grabbed their handfuls and calmed down, Count Vincent took a step toward Catherine.

"We'll be leaving now." Count Vincent slowly pushed the chair he was sitting in away from him. He was watching Catherine and me. If he was leaving that meant he was taking Francis, or he was going to find an empty room where Francis once was. Before I could react and try to stop Count Vincent from going any further Catherine took a step forward, blocking his way.

"Please, do not take my sons." She begged. "I will give you more gold!" Count Vincent glared at her. "I do not want your gold! I want you to suffer! Suffer the way I did when I received my dead son's corpse at the harbor!" The room was quiet. Count Vincent glared down at Catherine, his eyes were filled with rage and anger. "If you can bring me back my son I will let you have yours." Vincent took a step forward but Catherine continued to block his way. She looked at me for a moment, then back at the angry Count Vincent. "Take Mary. Take her virtue. She wouldn't say a word or it would ruin her reputation."

Fear overwhelmed my body and my heart thumped against my chest. I curled my fingers into a fist and dug my nails into my skin. Catherine didn't care about anyone other than herself. I saw Count Vincent turn toward me, his eyes stared into mine. Then he looked away and walked past Catherine. He stopped when he was in front of me. He smirked. Somewhere inside of me, I thought he was just going to walk past me and leave. That was what I wanted to believe.

Suddenly Count Vincent wrapped his hand around my neck and pushed me into the stone wall. I gasped as my head slammed the cold wall. My eyes widened when Vincent leaned in and started to kiss my neck.

"Get off of me!" I shouted. Vincent's men began to laugh and cheer. I tried to look over at Catherine to see if she was trying to do anything she could to stop Vincent. But I found her staring at me with in shock, like this was actually a surprise to her.

"Count Vincent, please don't do this." I cried. He whipped his head up, glaring at me. Then without warning, he pulled me off the wall and slammed me onto the table. I yelped as pain shot up my spine. Count Vincent towered over me, his hand was still tightly placed around my neck. He began to squeeze slightly. "Maybe now I can have an heir the French will not kill."

I stared at Count Vincent in disbelief. "No!" I screamed. I threw my arms up and hit Count Vincent as hard as I could. He grunted and glared at me. He squeezed my neck even harder. I gasped for breath. Men came over and held my arms down while Count Vincent began lifting my dress. He tightened his grip only a little. My throat was trying so hard to help me get enough air into my lungs.

"I'm not going to enjoy this." Count Vincent said, but my body refused to listen to him. It felt as though my ears were ringing, attempting to block the sound from my ears. Trying to keep this memory bearable. I stared up at the ceiling, trying my best to avoid looking at anyone else. My body wanted me to cry and scream even more, but I felt like I no longer had any energy to fight. Somewhere inside of me was telling me to accept this. This was the type of punishment I had to endure for being royal and the only thing I can do is to let it happen, regardless of whether I wanted it to happen or not. I could feel my underdress being tugged away from my body. I felt like my heart was going to explode from my chest. Count Vincent let go of my neck and grabbed onto my legs and tried to pull me toward him. But as a last-second attempt to save myself, I tried to push my body away from him. Vincent almost growled and grabbed onto my waist then slammed his other hand, that was in a fist, in my face. A searing pain jolted through my cheek and lip. I whimpered at the pain that was pounding in my head. "Make this easier on yourself," Count Vincent said. "Accept me." He tried to pull me in again.

Suddenly, Catherine grabbed onto a wine glass and threw it onto the ground. "Stop this!" She shouted. Count Vincent slightly jumped at the sudden noise. "Let go of Mary." She commanded. Count Vincent raised his brow in disbelief. "Who are you to make demands?"

She glared at him. "If you let go of Mary now I may let you leave here with your life."

The men began to laugh as did Count Vincent, but suddenly the laughing began to dwindle and turn into coughing. I tried my best to see what was happening and when I found out my eyes widened. The Italian men had blood coming down from their noses and out of their ears. The man who tried to assault Kenna tried his best to continue standing but his legs buckled beneath him. His head slammed onto the table then slid off and fell to the floor. They were dead, each and every one of the Italian men who tried to take over our home. Count Vincent was staring at his men as he slowly shook his head. "We ate the same food. We drank the same wine." He slowly turned toward Catherine who was almost smiling. Then he looked down at the gold that was scattered on the floor. "The gold." He said to himself. Then he whipped his head up. "You bitch!" He shouted.

Catherine took a small step forward. "Leave. You still have your own life."

Count Vincent let out a small laugh and brushed his hand through his hair. "You kill my son." He paused as he put his hand on the table. "You kill my men."

The man's eyes were no longer filled with rage, they were filled with loss and desperation. He wasn't going to leave with just his life any longer. Catherine had pushed him to the point where he would no longer return.

Without warning, Vincent pulled me up off the table and held me against his chest. He pressed something sharp against my throat. I could feel his warm, scattered breath on the tip of my ear. But I could also feel his heart that was beating wildly against his chest. My own heart was doing the same.

Catherine was staring at us, wide-eyed. She had her hands up. "Put her down," Catherine said.

Vincent laughed and pulled me back. "So you can kill me too?" Then I felt him shake his head. "No, that is not going to happen."

"It's over, Count Vincent." I tried. I could feel the sharp metal push against my throat even harder, I gasped as a pinching feeling began to become more apparent.

"I could take you," Count Vincent whispered in my ear. "I could take you home, make you my wife."

My body was screaming at me to do something, do not let this man take you. I let my body take control as I threw my elbow into Count Vincent's stomach. The sharp object he was holding cut me, but not deeply. Count Vincent coughed and gasped as he tried to recuperate from what just happened. I quickly ran to the table and grabbed onto one of the serving knifes. Without a second thought, I shoved the knife into Count Vincent's stomach. I pushed it in as deep as it would go.

Count Vincent grunted and took a few steps back. He slowly looked down and lifted his hand up to the knife. He wrapped his hand around it and quickly pulled it out of him. My eyes widened. I had never seen someone remove something like that from their body, not even when they were filled with anger.

Count Vincent chuckled and lifted the knife to look at the blood that covered it. "A queen who fights back." He looked up at me. "Now you have just given me the motivation to make you mine."

I stared at him. He was still trying to take me, he was still fighting! Even after Catherine had killed his men and after I stabbed him. I took a step back, in utter shock.

Suddenly there was a faint walking sound, then without warning a sword burst through Count Vincent's chest. Count Vincent gasped and collapsed onto the floor, replacing him was Francis who was now towering over Count Vincent's body. But he wasn't looking down at Count Vincent's corpse, he was looking at me.

"Mary," He whispered. He ran toward me and wrapped his arms around me quickly, but before I could return the embrace he pulled away and examined me. He put his fingers on my chin and looked down at my neck. "Mary,"

He had said something else, but I was staring down at the bodies. The ones that looked just like the many I saw in Calais. My mind flickered back to the men in Calais. They all lied dead in the snow with a pool of blood surrounding them. We had killed men that had wives, children, and families. We knew knowing about them, only that we wanted them dead.

Suddenly my body was shaken out of my thoughts. Francis was staring into my eyes, searching for some kind of response.

"I'm fine." I managed to whisper. Francis looked unconvinced as he ripped a piece of fabric from his shirt. He lifted it and gently placed it on my throat, I winced at the touch.

"Why didn't you go with your ladies?" Francis asked. Catherine came over and started to look me over. "You wouldn't be in this mess if you would have just followed the plan," Catherine stated.

"I was worried about you Catherine," I said. Catherine stared at me blankly, then quickly brushed off what I said. "Francis, lead the people back inside."

Francis nodded then quickly laid a kiss on my cheek before turning and running out of the hall.

"Why didn't you let Count Vincent continue?" I asked Catherine. She paused. "You saved my son. I suppose I had to repay you one day. Now my debt is repaid and I no longer have to worry about it." She tried kicking away Count Vincent's body from the table, but I stared at his lifeless body.

"One day," Catherine began. "You will get used to the bodies. Because they will not go away and as a ruler, you will only see them begin to stack up."

I knew what she meant but at the same time, it was not something I wanted to hear. I wanted to protect my people, help them any way I could. But there would be no way to do that without leaving bodies along the way.

"The men I saw at Calais," I paused, attempting the keep the memories away. "There were so many. There was so much blood."

Catherine stopped in her tracks and slowly turned toward me. "Mary, look at me."

I attempted to look up at her, but tears were starting to build up in my eyes. "You are here now. Live in the present, not in the past. If you continue thinking about those men you will only be making yourself feel worse. As a ruler, it is your responsibility to take care of the living, not the dead."

Everyone had returned safely inside of the castle and were starting to get back into their routines. The servants were ordered to clean the dining hall. The guards were told to get rid of the bodies. I didn't envy either of those jobs.

Francis held my hand tightly as we walked to his chambers. Now that he had me, I knew he wouldn't let me go. When we got to Francis' chambers he helped me undress and dress into my sleeping wear. He was very adamant about doing everything, even though I was more than willing to do these type of things myself.

"Mary," Francis spoke up. I turned toward Francis, he was smiling softly. "You are so strong."

My eyes widened from the sudden compliment. "Francis, I'm hardly-"

"You are the strongest person I have ever met." He got up from his side of the bed and came over to my side. He grabbed my hands. "I would not want anyone else by my side."

I smiled warmly, but Francis wasn't done. "When my father gets home, I will persuade him that it is time."

"Time for what?" I asked him.

"Time for us to wed."