Reign oneshots

Just open your eyes

Prompt-  Let Henry discover that Diane was behind the invasion of the castle, and punishes her for her acts of treason.

"My lord? My lord, our spies have found out who was behind the invasion."

That was how this had started wasn't it? A simple hunt that had ended in him returning to a castle that had been invaded, spies sent out to discover the why's and the how's of the invasion, and chaos reigning over the castle.

Staff and guards were paranoid, nobles were outraged, his son and the Scottish queen had only narrowly made it out with the young woman's ladies... and his wife? His wife was barely lucid. She had been beaten half to death, left in a bloody pile with the rest of the dead invaders she had managed to cleverly poison. Count Vincent had attacked her, the bastard had laid his hands on the queen of France. His queen.

Now this. His mistress, the woman he had chosen to replace his wife, she had been the one to betray him.

She had been punished for this. Neither of his sons, nor his wife, would ever have to fear Diane again. She had been banished from France and any thoughts of treason had been wiped from her mind with a promise that his son would always be provided for as long as she stayed away. Her assets had been seized, along with any fancy clothes or jewellery, and all her ladies had been given new posts so that she would have no help. The news of her treason had been kept quiet so that his son would not be harmed but she would never again come to his court.

The scene of her leaving played through his head.

She had pleaded with him, falling onto her knees infront of him, tears rolling down her face. I had disgusted him.

"You can't do this Henry."

Her hands clawed at his robes as she fell to her knees.

"After all these years, after everything we've been through together. How could you do this?"

He kicked her away from him.

"How could I do this?"

He waved the guards that had tried to restrain her away.

"You allowed an invasion, an attempted coup of my home, my son, my future daughter-in-law, and my wife to happen. You didn't just allow it, you planned it!"

The sobbing stopped and was replaced by a furious gaze.

"I was doing what was best for my son!"

"Putting my other children's lives in danger! Not to mention the queen, my wife!"

"As if you ever cared!"

She spat at him.

"You loved me! You replaced her with me! You chose to have a relationship with me, not her!"

"And look what you've done."

He nodded at the guards and watched as Diane was dragged to the ship that would carry her away from him, away from his family.

Now though, in the present, it was his tears that were slowly rolling down his face. He sat next to his wife, holding her hand, watching her chest rise and fall with each shaky breath she took. Her hand was cold, and her face was pale, almost grey in colour. He couldn't believe he had let this happen to her. He had left her to fend for herself years ago because of his own selfish desires and now she was paying his price.

He reached his free hand up to her hair. He brushed his fingers through the long tresses of gold. He had always loved her hair, but now? Now the blonde hair framed a powder white, clammy face and it scared him. He touched her cheek, stroking the side lightly.

He was still waiting for her to sit up. To open her hazel eyes whose depths he felt he could drown in, to open her mouth and laugh at him. He so desperately wanted her to ridicule him. He would have hated it just a few weeks ago, but now it would make him feel like the luckiest man in the world. He was waiting for her to tell him that it had all been a joke, that it was payback for all the years he had abandoned her.

"Please Catherine."

He lifted her hand to his lips.

"If you would just open your eyes and tell me that you'll be fine, if you would just tell me to leave and stop being such an idiot, I would take every chance to be the man you deserve."

He stroked her cheek again.

"She's gone now. Diane. I sent her away, you'll never have to see her again."

He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Just... open your eyes, Catherine.

He sat there for hours, just waiting for her to wake up.

It was the sunlight streaming through the windows that woke him. He sat up to stretch his back, rolling his neck to remove the cricks in it. A pressure on his hand alerted him to the woman lying in the bed next to him. His wife's eyelids fluttered, and she squeezed his hand.

"Catherine?"

Slowly her eyes opened, and he met her gaze, a smile spreading across his face as she opened her mouth to speak.

"That bitch had better not be coming back."

And he laughed, because only Catherine would wake like that. Only Catherine would ignore everything he had said but the fact that her enemy was gone. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.

"Never, Cara Mia."