My Life As The Dauphin

Un Contrat Secret

I DO NOT OWN REIGN

French Court, Kingdom of France. 1 week later.

"From the Sultan in Constantinople." A servant said as brought out another wedding gift for our already growing pile. Our wedding had been a few months past, but we were still getting our royal asses kissed.

"How long will they keep coming?" Mary asked in disbelief.

"Oh, my mother said gifts for her wedding were drifting in for a good year." I quoted as I picked up the fancy Ottoman bridle that had been sent to Francis.

"For the Arabian thoroughbred now in your stables, Your Grace." A servant told me as I have to admit, I did get a kick out of riding that horse. He was faster than any other in the stables. I ended up naming him Tommy Oliver, in honor of my favorite Power Ranger; not that I could tell anyone why I picked the name.

"Better try it on your wife, it may help you to keep her in hand." Henry remarked as everyone laughed at Mary's expense. I fought desperately against the urge to knee that prick in the balls as I called for music and led my wife to the dance floor.

"Thank you for understanding." I said as we started to dance.

"Does the court truly not notice the change in your father?" Mary asked in disbelief.

"Any who do are keeping their mouths shut and the rest attribute Henry's behavior to his temper." I answered.

"France cannot be governed by a mad king." Mary insisted to me.

"My mother's doing her best to divert important matters from the king to her; trying to run the country behind my father's back." I quoted as we kept dancing. "I have to respect her for keeping the world from seeing how sick he is. These days he seems infatuated by that kitchen whore Penelope. He barely even notices affairs of state. She may be a blessing in disguise."

Later that evening.

The night had started off bad and had only gotten worse. Because of Lola's dark side, Lord Julien had not proposed to as he did in the show; although I heard that he was still courting her and that she was still receptive to his suit. Unfortunately, things only got worse when Mary stormed into my chambers; bringing that secret clause sub plot with her.

"A secret clause...This is exactly the sort of trick my family would pull." I replied, having come to know those shit heads well enough.

"Well, the contracts went on forever, page after page; some were even in Latin." Mary replied.

"Well, I'm sure it was well hidden. I'm going to go to my mother and demand to know if it's true and what the hell she and my father think they're doing!" I quoted, not needing to fake the frustration I felt towards them.

"They think they're getting insurance. In case I'm not cooperative in laying claim to the throne of England." Mary explained. "If I don't provide an heir..."

"Then there's a sword hanging over you." I finished as I took Mary's hand in mine. "If you're not named the English queen's successor, my father can cut his losses, kill you and gain Scotland to use as his staging area to invade England."

"If he can't use me to get England while I'm alive he'll use me dead." She realized as she squeezed my hands. "Francis, don't tell your mother just yet. I don't want her to know that we know. We must find out if Charlotte was telling the truth or if she just concocted a story to get herself out of France.

"We need to get that contract, it's the only way to confirm what Charlotte said is true."

"Where does the king keep his important papers?"

"In his chambers, mostly." I replied. "The guards are unlikely to let you or me in without a good reason."

"There's one person I know that they will let in." Mary said as I felt a great swell of pity for Kenna de Poiters.

The next day.

"It's a copy without my signature. Who knows where the original is." Mary said angrily after Kenna had secured the contract from Henry's grasp. I looked over and sure enough, Scotland was inches away from becoming a French province.

"I'm sorry, Mary. You've been betrayed. This is nothing more than a license to murder whenever it's convenient." I said as any sympathy that I still had for Catherine was officially laid to rest. As soon as I became king, I was kick that cunt to the curb.

"It's not just a threat to me, it's a threat to my country!" Mary cried out in anger. "This alliance was supposed to strengthen us against England, not sell us out. I'll write to my mother, when she hears of this..."

"Mary, it's not just my family that's betrayed you. Your mother's advisor spent hours going over the contracts." I quoted from the script as I hadn't bothered doing research since I knew what was gonna happen. "I've just looked through the ledgers of the Treasury. On the day of our marriage, a surprisingly large payment was made to Marie de Guise for services rendered the crown. She was desperate for money to prop up her rule, and I'm sure she thought that this was an easy way to get it. That you would conceive an heir, live a long and happy life, and never even know about it." I quickly took my wife in my arms, desperate to comfort her.

"We will have a son, Mary, in time." I assured her, remembering Nostradamus's prophecy.

"I know, we can't hand this off to someone else. All of our parents are in on it." She pointed out.

"I know, they won't lift a finger to change things...unless they're forced." I said as I could see the light bulb over Mary's head.

"You're right...My mother is under immense pressure from the Protestant faction in Scotland. They would love to oust her and see the nation under Protestant rule." She said as the wheels were turning. "What if they found out that she had sold out her country for money? Don't you think Her political enemies would use that against her?"

"They'd whip up Scotland into a frenzy." I told Mary with a wicked grin. "To save her rule, she'll have to deny it, Say she'd never think of doing such a thing, Publicly distance herself from ever trying it. She would have to find her copy of the contract and burn it."

"And when France sees Scotland baying for French blood..."

"It'll be the same. Henry is obsessed with England. He doesn't want to waste the lives of his troops on a pointless war with Scotland, and Catherine..."

"No, she knows this is no time for a war; Not with a mad king leading the army. Francis, if this works, your parents will have to burn the evidence. It'll be as if the contract never existed."

"Once the news is in Scotland, we can trust your mother's enemies to do the rest... but are you sure you want to do it this way, Mary?" I asked as I looked in her eyes. "You are setting your mother up for a very hard time."

"Then she shouldn't have deceived me." Mary said nonchalantly. My first duty is not to my mother. I am the Queen of Scotland, not the Queen of Marie de Guise."

"Well, the hard part of the plan will be getting the word out of France." I pointed out. "The Medici serpent will be suspicious of any letters addressed to Scottish Protestants."

"I think the next step is to have a party." Mary said as we both smiled at each other as she and I were most eager to spit in Catherine's face.

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