Flamme Éternelle: A Reign Fanfiction

Première Vue

The carriage ride was long, but it gave Mary more time to think. She was going back to court. It shouldn't be too scary; her friends were there, Kenna, Greer, Lola, Aylee, Francis, and Bash. And Queen Catherine loved her like a daughter. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but her fingers picked at some of the elaborate stitching on her blue dress. It was a deep blue with white accents like the colors of her country.

Mary looked out the window. Across a lake was a large grey castle: the French court. She had arrived.

A large party of lords and ladies stood awaiting the Queen of Scotland. Mary's friends had recently arrived. King Henry, Queen Catherine, Francis and his younger brothers who had been born to Catherine stood, waiting. The party was colorful, draped in extravagant silks and satins. Mary sat up straight and plastered a smile on her face. 'These people are my friends,' she thought, but she was still nervous to make a good impression.

The carriage stopped and everyone craned their necks to be the first to see the returning future Queen of Scotland, and eventually France. The driver hopped down and opened the door, holding his hand out to help Mary down. A few servants gathered her belongings and took them to her chambers. Mary stepped out into the sunlight. Her friends squealed and ran to her, curtsying and then embracing her. "Greer, Lola, Kenna, Aylee!" she laughed. The court issued some laughter as well upon her happiness. "We are so glad to see you, Mary!" Kenna gushed.

"And I am glad to see all of you," Mary smiled. They followed her down the path to stand before Henry, Catherine, and Francis. They curtsied. The King and Queen nodded to them. "It is nice to see you finally back," King Henry called, a strange glint in his eyes and a smirk on his face. He looked much older than Mary remembered, but it had been several years. He was balding, and what little hair he had left was grey. His eyes were a steely grey that betrayed nothing. He stood tall and proud, as a King should. Queen Catherine smiled warmly, "Welcome back, Mary."

Mary curtsied again, thanking them graciously. Francis stepped forward and bowed. She curtsied in response. He took her hand and raised to his lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. Mary flushed as she looked into his sea blue eyes. "Welcome home, Mary," he said, his voice deep and rich.

"Thank you," Mary replied, averting her eyes with slight embarrassment. She could feel the tips of her ears burning and was thankful her long dark hair covered them. She looked around at the assembled members of court, "I am glad to be back," she called, smiling at them kindly. As they clapped, Mary saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and watched a dark haired young man disappear into the castle. He wasn't a servant because he was dressed like the other members of court. Who was he?

Queen Catherine had one her ladies in waiting take Mary and her friends to their chambers. They all went and sat in Mary's rooms to talk. "Well this is exciting!" Greer commented.

Lola laughed, "I will agree with that."

"Did anyone see King Henry's older son?" Kenna asked, as she had not.

"Sebastian?" Aylee asked.

"Bash, yes," Mary mused. "I think I might have seen him sneaking off, but I didn't get a good look at him."

"Maybe we will see him later," Lola suggested, brushing her dark hair behind her ears.

"Perhaps," Mary replied, lost in thought. Where was Bash? She had been looking forward to seeing him. One of Catherine's ladies came in, interrupting her thoughts. "Excuse me, Queen Catherine requested that you all get ready for the banquet." She curtsied and left.

"A banquet?" Mary inquired.

"Yes, silly! A banquet in honor of your return!" Kenna laughed.

"Oh," Mary replied, surprised.

"We will see you in an hour, Mary!" Greer called as the ladies exited. Mary nodded. A servant came in and helped her into a different dress, a green velvet one this time with gold stitching. She wore a string if her mother's pearls around her neck as well as a pearl bracelet and earrings. Her hair was pulled back into an elegant bun.

Mary was ready early, so she decided to go exploring. She walked as quietly as she could on the stone floors, trying not to make a sound. She passed guards every so often, but they didn't stop her.

Mary reached a familiar part of the castle. She had spent many hours playing in this wing when she was younger. She approached a door when a deep voice called out from behind her, "That's not our playroom anymore."

Mary jumped and whipped around to face the speaker. The tall boy from before stood at the top of a flight of stairs, leaning on the railing. He was quite handsome with straight dark hair that fell in his ice blue eyes. He looked at her quizzically, as if trying to figure her out.

"Bash?" the word escaped her lips in a whisper.

"You remember!" he brightened and straightened up, running down the stairs to her. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her into the air and spinning her around. She laughed and her heart soared. She had missed his playful, carefree spirit. "Of course I remember!"

He put her down and looked her over, "You have changed." he murmured, looking down.

Without thinking she reached out and tilted his chin up with her finger, "As have you." Her heart stuttered when his eyes met hers. They were so close. His lips parted slightly and his cool breath washed over her face. She blushed a little, which he noticed.

"I'll... um... escort you to, uh, the banquet," he held out his arm and Mary took it. They both proceeded down the hall blushing and stealing glances at each other when the other wasn't looking.

Author's Note: The characters and settings of this story do not belong to me. The storyline of this fan fiction follows the initial sequence of events in Season One of Reign on The CW.