"You must eat, my darling-" the King of France quietly states, reaching a heavy arm to trace it up the detailing of his wife's sleeve, bringing her attention away from the signed treaty sending troops to Scottish soil. "-as although do appreciate your worry for me, and your closeness-" he sends a slow, lazy glance towards their position, he laying propped up with pillows, she laying her head on his shoulder, curled to his side with her arm around his midsection, as if proving to herself that he still breathed as her arm went up and down. "I haven't seen a morsel pass your lips since the sun was up." and it was hours past down now.
Mary sits up slightly, propping her weight onto one elbow in a position that seemed so unqueenly and ragged, but she didn't give a damn about propriety after such a horrid scare.
"Have food sent for the both of us," Mary orders a servant girl collecting the last set of bloody pillowcases. The blood had slowed considerably, only a little dribble every now and then, now, and the fever had broken. There would be no need to fight rags from physicians and servants' hands, wanting to clean her husbands' blood from his neck herself, no more need to hold up complacency with Catherine, or Narciesse, or Conde or anybody else. Soon, they would be alone, and there would be no more need for lies or secrets or pretence.
The servent girl collects her basket of linens and curtseys to them both, before exiting the room.
"What've I missed?" Francis gives her a crooked smile, and she sends a relieved one in return. "From what mother says-"
"Yes, I've made her believe it, Louis and I." Mary sighs slowly. "She hates me again, and Louis trusts me because of it. I hate it, Francis, having to touch him or be near him, when all I think when I hear his voice is yours, all I see when I see his face is yours, all I feel when his hand touches mine is your skin, I don't know how much longer I can keep the façade, Darling. Especially after-" she gestures to his ear.
"I know, my love. But you and I both know that getting the information about Elizabeth and the state of England has to be worth the manipulation of my cousin. He loves you, you and I both know that, and we have to use it to our advantage." Mary kissed his hand.
"I can't believe he actually thought I would be going to Scotland with him, that I had to actually consider leaving to keep the act up, to make him not suspicious of you or I." she falters lightly at the mention of her homeland, the longing in her eyes obvious to her husband. "Thank you for sending troops." she whispers. "I don't know what I would have done if Catherine-"
"My love, why wouldn't I send them? I'm King of Scots just as you are Queen of France. You wear the crown of Scotland just as I do the crown of France. Even if the act with Louis was real, and the story we've spun to him not a tale, but the truth, I would do so then. For you. For our marriage pact. For the alliance. Even if I didn't awake last night, they are just as much your troops now as they are mine, my mother has no right to campaign with Narciesse to try and take them from you."
"She's simply intoxicated by her hatred of me and the bite he has in bed to think straight right now, she was different when your father was still alive." Mary states softly, laying back down to listen to his breath again.
Francis gags. "Please, don't put me into another coma with thoughts of my mother-" he shivers with repulsion. Mary giggles, kissing his cheek.
"I'm sorry, Darling." she chuckles. "Thank you for being patient with me, for letting me heal on my own time, for-"
"You don't need to thank me for anything, Mary. I held a hand in what happened to you, and it broke my heart to see you suffer so badly, I owed it to you to help in any way I can."
She smiles, her eyes tearing up. "God, I was so scared when Lola-"
"Shh. Don't think about that right now, nor about her or Conde or my mother. Just be with me in this moment, together."
"I can't think of another place I'd rather be."
//
Damn I've neglected this story!
Sorry for the big wait, but I have no more requests nor ideas for our frarytales rewrites and other stuff took presidence. Feel free to put in a request or two (but as much detail as possible please, I have no way to watch Reign apart from youtube videos or memories, so yeah, stupid netflix) if you wanna see some rewrites!
I've always enjoyed the idea of Frary teaming up to manipulate Conde after the rape in 2x09, to get his secrets and remain strong together, healing together. I'll always be annoyed that the writers didn't choose this and not the dumb affair storyline that made no sense and made everybody act super dumbly. I'm not gonna go into a big rant again, everybody knows my feelings on mid-late s2 by now, so imma sign off and try and write a chapter or two for the oneshot book before I start editing Rule The World next week :)
love you all
me
:)
