Feu Sauvage: A Sequel to Flamme Éternelle

De Voir L'avenir

It was sometime after midnight when Mary awoke. The castle was quiet, but something was not right. She couldn't place the feeling, but she knew something was happening.

She got out of bed and dressed as quickly as she could. She took a candle and began wandering the castle, trying to be as quiet as possible. There was no one about, which was unusual. There were always guards, but tonight, the castle was empty and silent. She turned a corner and saw Francis standing there. He was not looking at her, but looking through her. "Mary?" He whispered.

"Yes, Francis, it's me," she was frightened by his odd behavior. He was very pale and stood motionless at the other end of the corridor. Mary took a step in his direction, hoping to find out what was wrong with her fiancé. As soon as she moved, he jumped back, clearly frightened.

"Francis? What is wrong?"

"You're dead. I watched you die. I held you in my arms-"

"Francis?" A woman called. She walked to his side and rested a hand on his arm. "Francis, what are you doing out of bed? It's the middle of the night!"

Francis's eyes wouldn't leave Mary. She studied him, wondering what on Earth was going on. He looked older than he did earlier that night. What did he mean when he had said that she was dead? She looked down at herself, she looked like she usually did. She looked back at Francis and the woman. Who was she?

"Francis? What's going on?" Mary asked.

"You sound the same. You sound like you did when we got married," he whispered.

"Francis? Are you okay? What are you talking about? What are you staring at?" The woman asked, sounding worried.

"Mary," Francis said.

The woman's face darkened, "I don't know what is happening to you, Francis, but I don't like it. I wish you would stop acting like this all of the time. You didn't act like this before. Don't you remember? We were happy, Francis!" The woman was pleading with him now.

"Who is she?" Mary asked.

"Mauvais."

"Yes, my dear?" The woman asked.

Mary nodded and then left for her chambers again. She could hear him yelling for her, but she did not turn. She could also hear Mauvais trying to reign him in. Mary knew now what this was, it was a dream, another vision of what could come to pass. Nostradamus may have said that there may be nothing to worry about, but he had lied.

Mary opened her eyes. It was just before dawn. She got out of bed, hearing the regular sounds of the castle as she got dressed. She had somewhere to be.

Mary made it to the dungeon without much trouble. She crept up and down the rows of cells, looking for one in particular. She came to door of the cell she had been looking for and called through the door, "Nostradamus!"

He jumped at her voice breaking the long silence. "Queen Mary?" He asked.

In the cell next to him, Sebastian stirred upon hearing her voice, "Mary?" He whispered.

"Nostradamus, why did you lie to me? These dreams, they are visions! I will die and so will countless others too, probably. And there's a woman! She-"

"Queen Mary, please slow down, I cannot interpret anything when I can't hear what you're saying," came Nostradamus's raspy voice.

"The dreams are visions of the future," Mary began.

"Yes, they are. I did not want to frighten you. I see them too," he replied.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"Eventually, yes. We will all die..."

"Nostradamus, that isn't what I asked," Mary said.

"I don't know. the visions keep changing. There was one I saw where you died, then Francis died in the arms of his wife, and then France fell. The streets ran with blood and people everywhere were dying. This beautiful country was in ruins. But there were others, like yours. I saw you killing Sebastian at the orders of Francis. You saw that one. I have also seen your death and resurrection."

"I believe that is the one I just saw. Francis was with someone else... M-"

"Don't say her name!" Nostradamus snapped. "She is not to be spoken of. She will lay waste to this land sometime in the future, be it two hours from now or two centuries. She is like a plague; she will ruin us!"

"Why? Why have I seen her? Why is she with Francis?" Mary wanted answers and was running out of time to get them. Soon, guards would be sent to feed the captives in the dungeon, and Mary could not be found there.

"She is an old goddess..."

"An old goddess? What are you speaking of? This is a Catholic nation!" Mary said.

"It wasn't always. There was a time when each group of men worshiped his own gods and goddesses. She was powerful in that time. They said that she could lure men to her and twist them. She poisons their minds, hearts, and souls until they are utterly in her control. This is what will happen to Francis if we are not careful," Nostradamus said.

In the neighboring cell, Sebastian knew exactly who was being discussed. The wicked woman, the ghastly goddess: Mauvais.

"How does a goddess walk the Earth among us?" Mary did not understand the pagan beliefs.

"She is a being of magic, all gods and goddesses are. They can take any form they please. She will come, and when she does, you must be ready. But for now, you must go. The guards will come soon and you can't be seen here. Go!" Nostradamus hissed.

Mary left, as quickly as possible from the dungeon back to her chambers where she would stay for a while.

In another room in the castle, a young prince opened his eyes. They were black, like the devil's. A woman was lying next to him, blankets and her hair keeping her somewhat modest as daylight broke over the bed they had shared. "My Prince, you are wonderful," her voice was light and charming. She was beautiful and had felt magical to Francis, but magic wasn't real, the church had told him that.

He blinked and his eyes were blue again, "Thank you, lovely lady. You were rather magical yourself."

The woman giggled, "Such a lovely compliment for little, old me from the future King of France! And what a good King you will be!"

"How do you know?"

"I can feel it," she smiled and kissed Francis. "I should probably leave. We don't want anyone to find me here. That would be... disastrous."

"Where could I find you?" Francis asked, sounding much more eager than he should.

"Go to the edge of the forest and call my name, I will come to you," the woman replied, dressing in a black gown, embellished with gems of all different kinds. It was a royal gown, which was odd for a woman Francis believed not to be of noble birth.

"What is your name?" He called from the bed as she walked towards the door.

She turned back to him, and with a seductive pout she said, "Mauvais."

Author's Note

Hello, my lovely readers! I hope you liked this chapter. Please comment and vote to let me know what you thought!! Thank you so much :) xox