Morning Glory-Francis (Reign)

Chapter Sixteen

When I walked into the breakfast room the next morning, I was surprised to find Anya already there, dressed in a dark purple instead of black, sitting next to my mother, chatting amicably. Anya looked up from her conversation as I approached and smiled, before ducking her head shyly. A quick glance at my mother told me she missed none of that. She sent me an approving smile.

A servant pulled a seat out for me at the other end of the table, next to my father. As soon as I was seated, a plate of food was set in front of me. Father was reviewing some papers at his side, and didn't acknowledge my arrival for a moment.

Focusing on my breakfast, it startled me slightly when Father addressed me quietly.

"Your mother tells me you are doing a wonderful job of wooing the Tsaritsa." He nodded towards Anya who was once again talking with Mother.

"She is a lovely woman." I answered, taking a bite of bread.

"Yes she is," Father said dismissively, "but there seems to be a problem. Marie de Guise is holding the marriage contract between you and Mary very close. She will not part with it easily." He leaned back in his chair away from his plate. "The only thing I can think of is to bring Mary here and have you do something to make her not want to marry you. The only problem with that is her mother is adamant that it is not yet safe to bring her out of hiding."

"Well, what do you plan to do?" I asked, a little worried. "Do you expect me now to marry Mary?"

Anya seemed to sense me looking at her, because she glanced down the table towards me.

"No," Father followed my gaze down the table. "Russia is a far more desirable ally than Scotland. Besides, I think your mother quite enjoys her company. And she already seems quite taken with you." Father pushed away his plate and stood up, leaving the room. After a few steps he paused and turned back around. "I expect you to entertain our guest during her stay." He whispered to me before stalking off towards his study again.

"It would be my pleasure." I muttered to myself, taking another bite of bread.

Once breakfast was over, Anya and I found ourselves walking slowly down a hallway.

"You know you don't need to spend the day with me?" Anya asked, as we passed a group of courtiers.

"My father asked me to. Besides, you're much more entertaining than politics." I smiled at her, as we rounded a corner. "So, what would you like to do today?"

"If it's alright, I would like to visit Liesel and the other seamstresses. I never told them where I was going. I think I owe them an explanation." Anya explained as we began our path towards the servants' quarters. "They should be in the workroom. I didn't see them in the throne room."

I let Anya guide the way to her friends. The only time I had been down into the servants' part of the castle was when I followed Anya all those weeks ago. I didn't know my way through the twisting and winding hallways that serviced the staff of the palace.

"This is it." She stopped outside a closed door, that looked all the same as the other ones to me. Anya reached for the handle but then dropped her hand, turning to an identical door on the other side of the hallway.

Carefully she opened the door and peered inside. Anya's posture relaxed when she saw the room was empty. Looking over her shoulder, I saw the room was filled with a few beds and trunks.

"That was my bed." She pointed to a cot in far corner. "They haven't replaced me yet." She noted. The table next to the bed was empty of any personal effects.