I DO NOT OWN REIGN.

French Court. Kingdom of France. The same night.

To be honest, I had never planned a murder before in my life. I'd like to tell you that I was able to turn off my emotions like a regular sociopath; but if I did, I'd be a liar. The Lord's honest truth is that I was so scared that I felt as though I was going to piss my pants. It hurt my conscience as I struggled with the thought of taking a human life.

Was Tomàs of Portugal a domestic abuser? Yes. Was he a low down piece of shit? Yeah. Would the world be better off without him in it? Probably. But did I have the right to off him? It's a huge chasm to hop over; from wishing that dickheads like Tomàs would drop dead to going out and actually making it happen.

Then I thought about Mary who was a desperate young woman being taken advantage of and duped into a life of submissiveness at the hands of that Portuguese brute. I also thought of his manservant Miguel and how he lived in fear of Tomàs's abuse. It had to be done. Tomàs had to go. I reassured myself that if we didn't kill him now, Bash was just going to kill him anyway, once we learned that he had snitched to the English.

What Bash and I were planning to do was cold blooded murder, but it was certainly justified. We planned out the whole thing. The best way to kill Tomàs was to make it look like Tomàs had not been killed at all.

"So, we're agreed." I said as I walked with Bash. "I've sent a message to Tomàs to meet me on the balcony connected to my chambers in an attempt to make him reconsider his original deal with Henry and ply him with wine. At some point, I will utter this phrase; may you and Mary have a happy marriage. That is your cue to strike."

"Then I shall emerge from your wardrobe, we push him over the railing and it will appear as the Portuguese prince to be took a drunken spill." Bash finished as I nodded my agreement.

"Mary can never know about this; she would be crushed, despite the justification." I insisted as Bash nodded.

"I understand Nolan, Tomàs will be stopped and then, we defend Scotland." He assured me as I went to the balcony to await the bastard's arrival while Bash hid himself within my wardrobe. After what seemed like a half hour, the door to my chambers opened and in walked Tomàs.

"Good evening, Milord." I said as I bowed my head.

"I must confess, you're Grace, I was surprised to receive your invitation." Tomàs said as he walked up to me.

"I wanted to speak to you personally, on my father's behalf." I lied as I offered him a smile. "I understand that you are engaging in a deal with Scotland to buy lumber."

"Queen Mary has made…a very intriguing offer; one that I can not refuse." Tomàs replied as I walked over to a jug of wine, popped the cork, and handed it to him.

"Is there nothing that my father could do to convince you to stick with French timber?" I asked as Tomàs drank the wine.

"I'm afraid not. Mary will surely accept my offer to wed me. I know that she was promised to you, but you didn't seem willing to commit." He explained as I needed to lure him in.

"To be honest, you're lifting a great cross off my shoulders." I remarked, trying to gain his trust. The Portuguese bastard looked at me in confusion.

"But...I thought you were in love?" Tomàs questioned as i threw him a fake smirk as i took a sip of wine.

"We need to put on an act to fool the English because they are a threat to both Scotland and France...but the truth is that I can not stand Mary Stuart. Her boldness, her impatience, her refusal to heed any advice save her own...it gets on a man's nerves." I replied as I could see Tomàs changing his tune. "I hope that she will be more agreeable to you."

"She will be...or she will be sorry." He said coldly as i had him in my trap.

"What do you mean?" I inquired innocently as he gave me a wicked chuckle.

"When the time comes, I will discuss some rules, rules she will live by in Portugal." Tomàs explained with his cold dark eyes on me. "She seems to believe that until she's married to me that she is free. If so, she's mistaken."

"I like the sound of that, tell me more milord." I said, feigning glee.

"Whatever freedoms of actions or thought she took advantage of here, she'd best forget them." He declared with with malicious intent. "When I am King, I will rule like most Kings: What belongs to my Queen belongs to me."

"Well then, may you and Mary have a happy marriage!" I declared as Bash emerged from my chambers right on cue; surprising Tomàs.

"I didn't know that the your father's son would be joining us." he said as Bash grinned like a cat.

"I just wanted to offer my sympathy on your passing." He replied before winking at me. Before the Portuguese bastard could reply, Bash and I grabbed him, lifted him off his feet and flung the next king of Portugal over the balcony. Tomàs screamed in anger before he hit the concrete ground below. Bash and I saw a ghastly sight as he head was crushed and bloody. I still felt guilty about committing murder, but i suppose...when in medieval France. After Mary's abuser to be was sent to Hell, I turned to Bash.

"Now you must ride, send a message to all six captains." I commanded. "Tell them that they'll board ship at Outreau."

"I'll leave at once." Bash replied as he finished off the wine.

"Are you sure you're all right to ride?" I asked.

"I am a riding fiend, Nolan." Bash assured me with a grin. "You'll be happy, Scotland will be happy, Mary will be happy, and Mary will stay."

"Just be careful." I cautioned.

"Aren't I always?" he asked playfully as he walked out of my chambers.

"Well, if always means never." I said to myself as I went to alert my guards of the terrible accident.

2 days later.

Everything went exactly as planned. I alerted the guards to what had happened and sure enough, Tomàs was found below my chambers with a broken wine bottle, When King Henry was alerted, I informed him that Tomàs had come to my chambers to discuss how to woo Mary over a bottle of French wine. He'd gotten exceptionally inebriated and fell to his death. Everyone believed my story or was unwilling to challenge me if they didn't. The bastard's body was to be shipped back to Portugal along with gifts for the Portuguese King in condolence. After the ship carrying Tomàs's body had set off for Lisbon and the shock had somewhat calmed down, I went to see Mary. She was in the courtyard, playing with her dog Sterling.

"How is Sterling today?" I asked as Mary offered me a smile.

"In fine spirits...unlike most at court." She replied as I held her hand.

"I'm sorry about Tomàs...I know that he made promises to you." I replied as she squeezed my hand in return.

"I can't be upset about that now...Scotland is still in danger and I have no way to save my people." Mary replied solemnly.

"Then it's a good thing France does." I said with a smile. "Six companies are on their way to Scotland as we speak."

"What...Francis...but how?" She asked in a mixture of shock and joy. "You said the King wouldn't change his mind, that you'd done all you could."

"I suppose I was inspired." I said with a shrug as we walked hand in hand with Sterling trailing after us.

"I can't believe it." Mary said with relief on her face as we walked.

"I still can't marry you right away." I cautioned as I turned to face my betrothed. "However, I can offer you hope and my word that I will never try to force you to be someone you're not. Mary...I...I love you as you are."

"I would rather have hope with you than certainty anywhere else." Mary insisted as I gently caressed her cheek.

"Mary...would you be terribly offended if I asked to kiss you?" I inquired as the response I got was her lips on mine. I ain't ashamed to admit that I had fantasized about kissing Adelaide Kane; how it would feel, how it would come about. This was different. I had see Mary go through so much over those 4 seasons and yet remain the beautiful bad ass she always was. As we kissed and she wrapped her arms around me, I decided that if I wasn't in love with her, I was pretty fucking close.

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