Time & Space

Royal Ride

"Better luck, huh?" Ash teasingly scoffed at Zach as she walked around him and out of the building. "And I thought you're all about time."

"The mastery of travelling forward and back in time does not mean mastery in timing," Zach said, reluctant to accept his defeat against his biggest enemy, timing. He followed her out of the store and stood by her as she crossed her arms, listening to the announcement.

"Who is she anyway? And what did she even do to get executed?" Ash inquired Zach, assuming Zach would know from all the time travel he has done.

"Who? You mean the Queen Mary of Scots? Well as her name implies, she is the queen of Scotland." Zach explained, placing one of his hands into the pocket of his pants and leaning down to the side and closer to Ash. "She was executed for being part of a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth the first. Or well, not really?"

"Huh? What do you mean by not really?" Ash turned to Zach, her mild curiosity for the execution piqued by his dissatisfying statement. Without answering her, Zach turned away and began walking away from the crowd that had gathered. The dark-haired girl was dumbfounded by his action, following him from the side and pushing the question harder. "Are you really not going to explain what you mean by that?"

"If you really want to know... it's quite tragic really..." The man says, sighing as he continued his stroll through the city. His hand reached for the top of his head and scratched the jungle of golden hair. "It's quite a long story too, but I'll try to shorten it down. You know about the Catholics and the Protestants right?"

"Yeah? What about'em?"

"Well, Queen Mary was a Catholic, but despite her religious views, she ruled equally towards both the Catholics and the Protestants. King James V, her father, had passed away when she was only 9 months old, but by law she was crowned the queen just at that age. Obviously, no one took her ruling seriously, but eventually, after a long while of doing everything she could, Scotland finally accepted their new queen. Mary was also married, and was also having a surprisingly loving relationship during the time, with the king of France himself, King Francis II. Now, I'm skipping over many, many events here but believe me when you can make multiple book series and tv shows surrounding her drama-filled life." 

Zach looked down and contemplated whether or not he should tell her the full story. He figured that he might regret what she might do after getting the information, but hoped for the best as he opens his mouth once more. "Not long after Queen Mary had full control over Scotland and France though she lost her most beloved Francis, losing him to a disease that is only curable in our day and age. With the tension between the Catholics and the Protestants rising, the Catholics believed that Queen Mary should be the next ruler of England. They believed it should be that way because of an alleged scandal but mostly because they did not want a protestant to rule England, which was what Elizabeth was. The Catholics devised a plot to kill Elizabeth, but it went completely wrong. Because of the plan to make Mary the Queen, it had gotten everyone to assume that she was involved, even though she had done nothing other than mourn for the recent passing of Francis. For 19 years she was locked up for it, tomorrow will be her execution."

The both of them paused, still walking this path as neither of them are even aware of where they were going. Ash waited for Zach to say something she was hoping to hear, but Zach had nothing else to add. She raised one of her eyebrows and stepped right in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. "So what? You're not going to do anything about that?"

As he suspected, Zach began to regret his decision of telling her about Queen Mary's tragic life. After years of being with her, he knew that she would never be able to just stand and let that be the reality she lives in. She always acts to not care for most people, but she will stop at nothing to help those in situations they do not deserve. Fairness, something she is really passionate about, and something Zach had admired her for. Now, he is only able to explain to her why they are unable to interfere. "Ash, I'm sorry to say this, but there is just no way for us to help her. Her execution is part of history. It is something that we have read about, news that is passed down in words. Even if you try to do something, history will set it back into its original course no matter what. Why do you think that there has never been a time traveller that stopped historical atrocities?"

Ash's face formed an expression of disbelief, upset at her lover's ways. She simply could not accept to not do anything like he does, even if told that there was no chance of saving Mary. She opened her mouth, presumably to lecture Zach for his actions, but something caught her eyes behind him in the distance. It was bright and reflective, made mostly of what seemed to be gold. As she looked straight at it, she quickly asked him the question, "Babe, what does the royal carriage look like?"

"Hm? You mean The Gold State Coach?" Zach looked up to clear his mind and remember the time he went to the Royal Mews. "If I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure it was made of actual gold, excessively too."

"Why'd you ask anyway-" He looked back down to where Ash was, to find her gone from the spot. He turned around, frantically looking around him to find her. "Ash? Where in God's name..."

Meanwhile, Ash had taken off from Zach, following the coach of gold. She held the lower part of the skirt so as to not trip on it as she rushed towards the coach. The carriage had stopped in front of a store, allowing her to catch up. 

There was a woman stepping out of the carriage and onto the steps. It was her majesty Queen Elizabeth who had stepped out. As Ash finally reached exactly where she wanted to be, Elizabeth raised both of her hands and placed them on her lips. Right when the royal purple eyed lady was going to say something, the woman of royalty herself interrupts. "Mary!? What are you doing here?"

Ash's mouth opened, her brows curled to show the extent she was confused in. "What?"

The surprised look on Elizabeth's face was quickly replaced with one filled with anger. "Do you really take me for a fool? Just by changing the colour of your hair, you believe you could deceive me? Guards! Take her back where she belongs!"