Feu Sauvage: A Sequel to Flamme Éternelle

Je Connais un Gars

Mary and Sebastian sat by the fire in Mary's hearth through the night. They spoke quietly, not wanting to be heard by one of the many sets of ears wandering through the castle.

"Something is different about Francis, I do not know what it is, but I don't like it," Sebastian said.

"No, I don't care for it either. There's a darkness in him and it scares me. He no longer looks at you like a brother, and he always seems anxious," Mary frowned, "I had a dream about him."

"I know, I heard you telling Nostradamus about it. I've heard of the woman you mentioned."

"M-"

"No, don't say it," Sebastian pressed a finger to Mary's lips.

"Not saying it gives it power over you," Mary replied.

"Saying it gives it more power, and she has enough as it is. There's too much that could go wrong if she arrives before we are ready for her," Sebastian said gravely.

"How does one prepare to fight a goddess?" Mary inquired.

"I don't know, but there may be someone who does. Tomorrow at dawn I will ride out to the edge of the woods. I will wait for you there. Say you're going to visit villagers or a chapel or something. Have your ladies cover for you; don't let Francis know where you're going and don't mention me. And don't be followed," Sebastian stood, "I will gather provisions for our journey. Meet me when you can," he pressed a fleeting kiss to Mary's lips and then slipped out the door.

Mary sighed and went to stand at the window. The world outside was dark. The wind howled as if it were in pain and the rain pounded upon the windows with the fury of the gods, but Mary didn't believe in that nonsense. It was bad enough that Nostradamus was weaving tales to go along with her dreams. What was worse was that the name of a pagan goddess struck fear into her soul. She should not fear things that were not real. She should not be going along with these suggestions; she had real problems to worry about, like the safety of her people and the threat posed by Elizabeth, the other possible heir to the throne of England. Mauvais wasn't real.

Mary crawled into bed, she had to rest for her journey tomorrow. She blew out the candle and closed her eyes. At the edge of the forest outside the castle, a woman stood tall with a smirk stretching across her face. She looked familiar. 'How wrong you are, Queen Mary,' she said. 'You will learn soon, I am very real.'

'Mauvais?' Mary asked.

'Yes, child, it is I. And you should not stand in my way.'

'What do you want?' Mary demanded, disliking being told what she should and should not do.

'I want this country to burn.'

'No,' Mary said, but Mauvais just laughed.

Mary say up in bed, panting and sweating. It was just a dream. "Queen Mary?" Her servant girl asked, alarmed by her Queen's sudden awakening.

"I'm fine," Mary said. She got up and dressed for riding.

"Are you going somewhere, Queen Mary?" The girl asked.

"Just to the visit the nuns that took care of me for most of my life," Mary smiled, trying to be convincing.

"Would you like me to find King Francis to escort you?"

"No, I'll be quite alright on my own. I'll be quicker, too."

"If you say so," the girl curtsied and excused herself.

Mary sought out Lola and the rest of her ladies. "Mary!" Greer hugged her excitedly.

"Hello, Greer," Mary laughed in spite of the grave situation that faces her country; her friends never failed to bring a smile to her face. "I wanted to tell you all that I will be going to visit the nuns that took care of me for the past few years."

"Where are you really going?" Lola whispered.

"To visit the nuns," Mary replied, "I'll explain later. That's just where I'm going."

"Okay," Kenna nodded.

Mary turned and went in search of Francis to tell him that she was leaving so that he didn't send out a search party. He was not in the throne room, so she proceeded to his chambers where a guard stood on duty outside.

"Is King Francis inside?" She asked.

"He's still sleeping, Your Majesty."

"Could you deliver a message to him for me?"

"Certainly."

"Please tell him that I will be-"

The door opened and Francis finished tucking in his shirt, "Good morning, Mary," he smiled at her. Mary noticed that he didn't look like he had just been sleeping; he looked like he had been up for quite some time, but had only just bothered getting dressed.

"Hello, Francis," she smiled, "I'm going to visit the nuns who took care of me, to thank them. I'll probably be gone all day and I didn't want you to worry about me."

"I'd worry less if you let me come with you," he started walking down the corridor.

"Oh, no, Francis, don't worry about it. I'll be fine. Plus, you have some preparations to go over for the spring banquet, don't you?" She suggested.

"I can have my mother make those, she's much better at those things than I am," he waved her off.

"Francis." He stopped and looked at her, "I can go by myself, it's fine. I can help out around the abbey a little bit, catch up with them and be back later. You wouldn't want to be there for all of that."

He cast a suspicious glance at her, not understanding why she was fighting him so much on the issue, but then he shrugged it off, "Alright. Just be careful. Promise me, Mary. Promise me that you'll be careful."

"I promise," she replied.

"Good," he kissed her on the cheek, "Have a safe trip."

"Thank you," Mary turned and headed to the stables where she got her horse from its stall and started her journey. She made sure to travel in the direction of the abbey, knowing that people might be watching her leave and if she headed the wrong way, it would reveal her lies. Mary took caution as she approached the place where Sebastian was to meet her. She took a roundabout route to ensure that she wasn't followed.

Eventually, she made it to the place he had told her of. His horse was tied to a tree and Sebastian himself was pacing up and down urgently. He looked upset and was lost in thought. Mary dismounted and walked to him. "Bash?"

He jumped and turned to face her, "Oh, Mary! I was beginning to think you weren't coming!" He hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry I'm late. Francis took some convincing," she shook her head.

"What did you tell him?"

"I said I was going to visit the abbey I stayed at for the past several years of my life."

"Well, that's plausible. Did he offer to escort you?"

"Yes, he was insistent on coming. He was going to give the responsibility of planning the spring festivities to his mother, and that would have been something."

"That's his favorite time of the year! He would sacrifice planning the events for you?" Sebastian was stunned by his brother's devotion to the woman he loved, and also a little jealous.

"I know!" Mary exclaimed, "That's more evidence to the fact that something is wrong with him. We need to figure that out as soon as we learn how to deal with our other problem."

"Yes," Sebastian said, untying his horse. "Let's get going, shall we?" He helped Mary mount her horse and they started on their journey.

Author's Note

Hello, my lovely readers! I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update, but I'm back now! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) Please vote and comment to let me know what you thought. xox