Absence (Reign)

Contact

A month. So much can change within that period of time. Court was just the same, but the air around it was different. The hole Francis left behind was not easily filled.

Today, Mary and her ladies decided to have a picnic down on the grassy banks of the river that flowed parallel to the castle. Greer, with Leith's help of course, had prepared them a simple meal.

It was a pleasant day. The sun was out, but it wasn't harsh. It was a comforting warmth. The kind that kisses your skin gently, and causes a slight reddening of the face.

"He does not!" Greer exclaimed, giving Lola a playful push.

"Oh, please! We've all seen the way he looks at you." Lola responded, pushing Greer back.

"Anyone with eyes can see how he looks at you. Leith is madly in love with you!" Kenna argued, making kissy faces at Greer, whose laughter suddenly stopped, replaced by a look of worry.

"What's wrong, Greer?" Mary said, popping a grape into her mouth. Greer's crestfallen expression was concerning to the other three girls.

"He's a kitchen boy." She whispered. "I'm falling for the help." Her eyes welled up, but Lola quickly grabbed her hand.

"Please don't cry, Greer. You don't choose who you love, it just happens that way." Seeing that her words weren't making a difference, she delved further. "Colin wasn't rich, he was a commoner, a servant. But our love was real, and held no ties to money or power."

Greer sniffled. "But I'm not of noble birth. I can't afford to get caught up in something like this."

"Leith understands that Greer. And I can guarantee he doesn't care." Kenna added.

As the girls went along, trying to reassure Greer, Mary found herself thinking about Francis.

"It's been a month." She said suddenly. The girls turned her way. None of them had spoken about Francis since he'd gone, which had been helpful in keeping of him out of her mind.

"He still hasn't written?" Lola inquired, testing the waters carefully.

"Not a word." She replied smoothing the blue silk of her skirt.

"Does anyone even know where he is?" Kenna asked, harshly. It was no secret that her disdain for Francis had blossomed the most of the four. "How could he be such an ass."

They sat in silence for a time, eating their food and enjoying the weather. Mary wished desperately that she could forget Francis and love Bash. There had been a time shortly after she'd arrived that she thought she might like Bash. But her duty to Scotland and the alliance had kept her from pursuing it. Not that it mattered, because it was around that point in time that Francis swept her off her feet.

Trying desperately to break the silence, which was becoming awkward, Lola asked, "When does King Henry return from the Vatican?"

Kenna quickly answered, "He told me it would be two weeks at the very most. So he should return by weeks end.. At the very latest." The king and Bash had gone to the Vatican to check on the status of Bash's legitimization. Mary's mood did not improve at the thought of this.

"I'm not feeling too well." Mary said, seeking the comfort of solitude. "I think I'll retire."

She got up from her spot on the blanket, turned, and headed back for the castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After resting in her chambers for some time, she decided to go to Bash's room. She'd made a habit of it lately, enjoying reading the interesting books he'd brought back from his travels. He always told her she was welcome, so she assumed that applied to when he was abroad as well.

Entering the dimly light room, she could just make out the faint smell of leather and horses. Not repulsive like the stables, but musky and earthy.

She made her way to the grand leather chaise by the fire, which she started herself. The servant were always surprised at Mary's willingness to do things for herself, a habit she'd picked up while living in the convent. There was a pile of books already there, a sign that Bash had been doing so reading lately.

Running her dainty finger down the spines, she picked one that looked faintly new. Removing it from it's place midway down the stack, she realized that it was brand new, the pages crisp and the binding rigid. The front cover bore a title, written in Spanish.

As she opened the book, an envelope fluttered out. Curious, she bent down to pick it up. It was addressed to Bash, of course, but there was something that really caught her eye about this letter.

It was written by Francis' hand.

She would recognize his loopy penmanship anywhere. Seeing that it was already opened, she hastily removed the letter.

"Bash," it read. "I should have known you would know where to find me. All is well and the weather here is nice. Elizabeth sends her love to mother and father, so please let them know. She's expecting her second child soon." So Francis was in Spain, Mary thought to herself. She felt like she was intruding, but simply couldn't stop reading.

"To answer the question from your last letter, I don't plan on returning anytime soon. There is nothing left for me there. I wish you luck as you continue you're training." Mary felt a pang of sadness in her heart at his words. Had he really dismissed her so easily?

"Unfortunately, I can't correspond for awhile, as the king (over here) has offered me a very unique opportunity that I simply can't refuse." Mary's eyes scanned the loopy script as fast as they could.

"For the next six months, I will be visiting the Spanish colonies in the New World. I will not be writing, so don't expect anything from me for awhile. Before I end this, please know that my feelings towards you hold nothing but resentment and sorrow. Goodbye brother.

-Francis"

She slowly folded the letter, and part everything carefully back as she'd found it. Putting out her short lived fire, she exited the room, trying to sort her thoughts.

She wasn't sure what hurt more- Bash keeping the letters a secret, or the fact that Francis didn't even mention her.