Reign "Fated" (Part 4)

The person carrying the cup is the one having difficulty breathing. She keeps stumbling, knocking into walls and tables. Her cup is filled with a liquid with a green tint. The woman continues to move along, coughing as she goes. Clarissa is still following her. The woman is still moving through unpopulated areas of the castle, coughing as she moves. She stops at the top of a set of stairs, leaning against the wall. Clarissa stops just behind her, looking at her before pushing her. The cup goes flying, spilling the liquid and crashing to the floor. Francis tells Mary she is no longer alone in her struggles. He admits he would die for her, which makes her frown. Before either can say anything, a scream is heard and they rush from the rooms and towards the sound.

At the bottom of a set of steps several people surround a body. Lola turns to Mary, saying the servants found her and they came searching for Mary. Aylee is on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding her head. She tells Mary that she was told she would never return home again. She tries to speak, but is having difficulties. She tells Mary that there was too much bloodshed for her and they must go home now, before she dies. Everyone is surrounding them, crying, and Kenna looks to see a cat lick the spilled drink. She remembers Aylee drinking from the cup earlier.Mary gets up, wiping Aylee’s blood from her hands and onto her dress. She sees Nostradamus at the end of the hall and remembers what he told her. She tells him he was sent from hell and that he is the devil. Francis attempts to comfort her, but she pushes him away and continues to cry.

Diane tells Bash that Catherine knows about her plans, but will keep their secret for a trade. Bash asks what the try was and Diane admits she didn’t do it because she couldn’t live with herself if she did. She remembers smelling the jar with the poison once Catherine left her alone in Henry’s rooms, then throwing the jar and watching it smash when it hit the wall. Diane pulls him to the side, saying Catherine cannot hurt them if she cannot find him. She tells Bash of her plans to go to Henry when he travels, making him see reason regardless of what Catherine tells him. She thinks that once Francis weds Mary and he acquires England, Henry won’t care anymore and they will once again be under his protection.

Nostradamus looks down at Aylee, saying she was poisoned and questioning if he should suspect the queen when he knows the affects of this particular poison. He lifts Aylee’s hand and shows her finger tips, mentioning the blackened skin and the smell of flowers. He says the poison is one of his own, not Catherine’s, and then asks if he was being watched. He asks Clarissa, who he was speaking to all along, why she killed Aylee. Clarissa says that Mary needed to believe Nostradamus’ prophecy or she would have married Francis and caused his death.

Nostradamus realises Clarissa sees Mary as a victim of fate, much like herself. He tells her that Mary is a beautiful queen. He then grabs Clarissa and brings her closer to Aylee, telling her to look at what she had done. He pulls off her hood and tells Clarissa that she killed a child of God and made Aylee her victim, not one of fate. Clarissa has missing patches of hair, which is the only thing seen. He tells her she brought it on herself as he pulls Clarissa behind a curtain and up a flight of stairs.

Mary is packing to leave, and Greer asks about her alliance to France. Mary says she will find a new alliance, that the current one has cost them enough already. Mary believes in Nostradamus’ gift, and she cannot lose someone else she loves. She asks them to come with her, but Lola says they can’t. She knows Mary would be able to get away faster without them tagging along. Lola also says she knows if they tell Francis, he will try and stop her. Mary says she will send for them as soon as she can, and that they will all return home to Scotland.

Francis follows Mary into the hall, saying he doesn’t understand and wants to know why she didn’t tell him before.  She says she did, she told him she was afraid and worried. Francis says it doesn’t matter, he wants to marry her without any stipulations, that he loves her. Mary cannot trust that, reminding him of when he told her that as royals they cannot make decisions based on love. They have too many responsibilities to their countries and the lives of their people to make life choices based on love alone. She tells him she loves him, but she will not allow another person to die for her.

Mary is in the stables when she comes across a guard. He asks if she needs anything and she tells him she was just going for a ride. He says he will alert the guards, but she asks him not to. The guard tells her it is not safe for her to ride alone, and if the king finds out he let her, but Bash interrupts him. Bash knows the guard will get into trouble, so he volunteers to accompany Mary on her ride, and that he has horses ready for them. The guard is confused as to how Bash already has horses ready since he just volunteered, but leaves without questioning it further.When they are alone, Bash asks where she is going and what is wrong. She tells him she is leaving and he cannot tell his brother if he cares about Francis. Bash asks where exactly she is going, and Mary’s response is far. Bash tells her that far is his destination as well.

Word Count: 1033

Reign "Fated" (Part 3)

When asked what she thinks, Mary says that both Catherine and Nostradamus seem to believe it. Mary also admits she couldn’t sleep for days when she saw Tomas’ banner unravel, showing he was the dragon, who went off to fight the English’s lion. Greer says they were just sailors though, and they did not actually fight. They do discuss that Tomas was actually slain in the forest though, where poppies were at the time. While discussing the dragon and the lion fighting on a field of poppies, Bash explains that as a bastard, Tomas gave himself the symbol of the dragon since he did not truly inherit one. He then shows Mary his sword, saying he took on the symbol of the lion since he would not inherit his father’s. Diane asks what Catherine wants, and Catherine admits she never thought she would want anything from Diane. She tells Diane how she doesn’t understand how she does it, having Henry stray from her to Kenna and then back again when he gets bored. Diane admits that she loves Henry for who he is, not what he can give Diane.  Catherine corrects her, saying she doesn’t understand how Diane can put up with it. Catherine puts up with Diane and the embarrassment in public because she doesn’t have Henry bothering her in private. Catherine wants Diane out of the castle, never to return, or she will tell Henry what Diane was planning. Diane thinks Henry would understand since he adores Bash, but Catherine tells her the timing is not on her side. Regardless of who Henry might love, his love of power is greater and he doesn’t care what he has to do when something gets in the way of it. Henry wants England, and legitimizing Bash would prevent him from getting it. Catherine is happy since Francis might now be considered Henry’s favorite son, since when he marries Mary Henry will acquire England as well.  Diane tells Catherine that Bash never wanted to be legitimized, and if he is killed due to what Catherine tells Henry, Henry will find a way to kill Catherine. Letting Diane leave the castle, with her life, will stop Catherine from saying anything to Henry. In addition to leaving though, Catherine wants Diane to share something with Kenna first. Catherine removes the jar with the poison from her bag, showing it to Diane, who correctly guesses that Catherine wants her to poison Kenna. Catherine explains that there are two things she does not forgive, betrayal and stupidity, both of which Kenna has in spades. In addition, Catherine knows Kenna will do anything to get to Henry, and once Diane is gone she knows Kenna will go after Catherine next. Catherine wants Diane to take one thing off of her plate, this, and questions why she must always be the one with blood on her hands. She opens the jar, smelling it, saying it smells nice and is jade. She then puts the jar down and tells Diane these are her terms, before leaving the room. Kenna has a tray placed besides her bed with food and a cup of tea. Lola, Aylee and Greer enter the room, sitting at the edges of her bed. Kenna asks Aylee to pass her the cup, and when she lifts it, Aylee says it smells nice and asks what is in it. Kenna says it is a mix of lemon and honey, but Aylee mentions smelling a spice in it.  Kenna thinks it smells floral, and says it must be to speed the healing. She offers it to Aylee, who takes it but hands it off to Greer to hold while she goes through her bag.  She says her parents had sent her to France with things for them all to wear upon Mary’s wedding. Lola says she always forgets how rich Aylee is, as her family owns half of the land Scotland, because Aylee is so modest. Aylee hands out pieces of jewelry to each of them, telling them all to keep it. Frost on windows is melting, which was part of Nostradamus’ prophecy about one of Mary’s ladies dying.  Someone is carrying a cup, and walking behind them is Clarissa. One of them seems to be having difficulties breathing.Francis asks what Mary means by testing fate. Mary thinks there is a terrible price to pay by getting everything that they were wanted. She believes this is only meant for the gods, and not kings and queens.  Word Count:749

Reign "Fated" (Part 2)

As Catherine enters the room to join in on the conversation that include Mary, Henry, and Francis. Henry tells Mary that when the Mary Tudor of England dies so will Henry VIII's line. He tells Mary that she is literally the next heir to the throne, because her cousin Elizabeth is a bastard born child so she has no right to the throne. Catherine tries to reason with Henry telling him that having a Scot on the English throne and dismissing one of Henry VIII's own daughter will cause an uprising and when there is was Catholics against Protestants will be a very bloody war.

Diane finds Bash and tells him what she thinks is bad news. Her connections in the Vatican cannot continue trying to make a case for Bash’s legitimization so he can become the next in France, since this is what is crushing Elizabeth’s chances in England.  Bash isn’t upset about this, he is actually happy since he didn’t want to be legitimized in the first place. Diane goes on to tell Bash that she is sorry for dangling Mary in his face, but he needs to forget about her. They discuss Francis’ warning to Bash a while back, telling Bash to keep his distance from Mary. Bash wonders why both Diane and Francis equate Mary to a cool glass of water and Bash to a man with a thirst. Diane tells Bash that there is a similar thirst in Mary, for Bash. She warns Bash though, telling him that he should be killed over her.

Kenna finds a servant coming out of a set of rooms and asks if they belong to Diane. When she is told they are, but Diane is not there, Kenna tells the servant to let Diane know that the king’s mistress would like to speak to her. When the servant leaves, a man approaches Kenna. He tells her that he heard Kenna mention she is the king’s mistress, and admits that he thinks Diane is younger than he originally thought. Kenna is confused at first, but doesn’t correct him in thinking she is Diane. He goes on to introduce himself as the priest she has been communicating with about Bash’s potential legitimization, and that he is sorry but they cannot continue since the pope is in favor of Francis and Mary’s upcoming nuptials. Kenna hints at Henry knowing, but is informed that he was kept in secret at Diane’s request. Kenna thanks him again before leaving him.

Word Count:416