There was no answer when Bash first knocked on the wooden chamber door. He huffed angrily and pounded on the wood once more.
"Roselyn, I know you're in there. Please, just let me talk to you." he begged.
His arm rose so that he could lean upon the door frame. His plea was responded to with silence. Prepared to fail, he rested his forehead against the wood of the door. After a moment, he heard a small noise on the other side of the door. With hope filling his heart, he pressed an ear to the door to hear better. The soft rustling of skirts brushed upon the floor and the latch was undone. As Bash stepped back to receive Roselyn, her lady, Truett appeared in the doorway.
"Forgive us, my Lord Sebastian, but our lady has already retired for the evening and we really ought not to wake her. She is quite restless and suffers constantly. It would be heartless if we were to wake her." Truett explained. She drank in Bash's reaction to her words before adding softly, "I will personally escort her to a place of your choosing so you may speak with her in the morning."
"Dine in my chambers in the morning. We shall speak then." Bash resigned fitfully.
"As you desire, Lord Sebastian." Truett curtsied and closed the door gently.
Bash turned and took off down the hallway. He wasn't sure where he was going, but it was of little concern. The only thing that was important to him right then was that Roselyn know how he felt. All of the chaos that had succeeded the announcement had kept him from reaching her before she escaped the great hall. He had had nothing to do with the change in betrothals. It was all on his father's shoulders, however now business was falling to him and Francis. What in the hell was his father thinking? Bash was no more than a bastard, but no less than the king's own blood. Still, to have a bastard marry the Queen of Scotland? It was ridiculous, preposterous, and downright mad. The Scots would probably be insulted to know that their queen had been handed down from a dauphin to a bastard. The whole affair no longer concerned just Bash and Roselyn, he realized. No matter how much he disliked the situation, he was sure there was a long line of people who disliked it even more than he himself. Francis, Mary, and the Scottish people in all their entirety, just to name a few. Surely even Elizabeth was not overly fond of marrying a Catholic prince, especially not the prince of a nation that had hated her own for hundreds of years. To add to that, Bash was certain that Elizabeth would not approve of leaving the safety of her country to her cousin, who had previously considered claiming Elizabeth's crown, and a French bastard.
As Bash thought, he struggled down the long hallways of the castle. Even at that late hour, there were still plenty of people bustling about. Every couple of people he passed, someone would congratulate him on his betrothal. If only they knew just how unfortunate it actually was. Finally, he reached his chambers and closed the door harshly behind himself. For hours, he sulked around the room, with nothing but anger on his mind. It was so incredibly frustrating to think of his father's plans. Francis and Mary had been betrothed since they were children and now, because some English bastard was about to take the crown, it seemed like a good plan to annul the betrothal? No, Bash would take that. He didn't care if his father was the King of France, he was a madman who only yearned for women and power. As his anger lived within his mind, there was a loud knock on the door. A castle guard opened the wooden door in the slightest way and poked his head in.
"What is it?" Bash snapped.
"Lady Roselyn Howard, accompanied by Lady Truett, has come to speak with you, my Lord Sebastian. Am I to permit her?" the guard inquired skittishly.
Roselyn came. Bash thought. She actually came.
"Yes, send her in." he ordered.
A moment later the door was pushed open wider and Roselyn stepped through with Truett. She smiled faintly, though her eyes still seemed tired and her figure worn out. Her dress was simple, one he had yet to see her in, with no great adornments or embroidery. Truett followed two steps behind Roselyn, such as any good lady-in-waiting should.
"I realize that it is still very early, however, when I awoke, I could not rediscover sleep, so I opted to come." Roselyn explained. "I tend to have, how do you Frenchmen put it? Oh, L'insomnie."
"That's alright. I haven't slept at all myself." Bash responded. "Roselyn, I need you to know, I had nothing to do with this. My father seems to have lost all his senses planning these engagements."
"Oh yes, I am well aware." Roselyn said as she crossed the room and played with the window curtains.
"Then you that I highly disapprove of the arrangement and have every intention of speaking to my father. I will not wed Mary, Queen of Scots." he insisted.
"And why not?" Roselyn interrogated, her eyebrows furrowed at this statement.
"Because I love you." he said bluntly.
Roselyn seemed taken back by his profession. More than once, she tried to open her mouth to say something, but nothing plausible came out. She turned her back to him.
"Bash, I love you too, but that's simply not acceptable." she insisted. She paused, contemplating her next words carefully. "I don't suppose I've been completely truthful. I told you that I am neither close to nor fond of my late cousins Anne and Kathryn. However, I am in good relations with my cousin, Anne's daughter, Elizabeth. For a while, she stayed at my father's home with my family. During that time, we became very close. When she heard that her half-sister, Queen Mary, was ailing, she knew that she would need a strong husband to help her claim her throne, should Mary attempt to deprive her of it. So she sent me here to France to find a suitable husband for a young Queen-to-be. I knew that your father desired England and though he does not know my duties, I suggested that Elizabeth might consider a match between herself and one of the princes. For some silly reason I thought he would just betroth her to one of the younger two, but instead he arranged this whole plot involving France, England and Scotland. I wrote to Elizabeth, but I have yet to hear word from her. But I am sure, she will marry Francis, as long as it ensures England's safety."
"You came here to find a husband for the Queen of England?" he asked, while her words still went through his mind.
"Yes, I did. I did not plan on falling in love with you in the process, but it seems I have and now I must pay for what I've done." she concluded. "Before I came, I knew of you. I thought you would suit Elizabeth well, but once I got here, I realized how little I could bear to see you marry someone else."
"Well it seems you will have to anyway." Bash said coldly.
He couldn't grasp what exactly was going on. He loved her and she loved him, but she was inadvertently responsible for arranging his marriage to Mary.In frustration, he covered his face with his hands and sighed deeply. Swiftly and silently, Roselyn crossed the room and stood beside him. Her soft hand reached up and took hold of his and she feigned a smile.
"I do love you, Bash. You must believe me." she whispered. He detected small tears in his eyes.
"I do." he murmured back. "I'm just worried about everyone else. Francis and Mary love each other, but they'll have to split. Elizabeth will have to deal with Francis. And my father will think he is so grand for arranging all of this that he will try to order Francis, Elizabeth, Mary and myself around. All in all, we're all miserable."
"Then don't think about them. Don't think about anyone else but me. I'm here with you right now; not them. Remember that." she cooed.
With her one hand still embraced, Roselyn reached up and kissed Bash's lips. It was a pale, powdery sweet kiss, but it was good enough to satisfy him. He wrapped his free arm around her and steered them both to the bed. They fell upon it and simply kissed, basking in the peace the morning brought.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry, if it's slightly short. I was hoping to get more done for all of you quickly, but I couldn't do more than this for right now. I promise, I will work on the next piece soon though. Thank you all!
Love, Emilia Dantes
