"You are wrong. I wish your anger to come out not to feel the victim, but to get my friend, my Queen to help me. Like she would. But, I see you now. Who you have became. And I know she will not."
"How dare you impune my character! Oh, Lola, please forgive me for not waving a magic wand and making a perfect nobleman who will wed you, pregnant with a bastard whelp out of thin air! Oh, forgive me for being concerned by the fact that if Henry and Catherine take my head -like the contract they tricked me into signing allows them to do- that my country will fall into their grip and will burn from the inside out! Oh, no, it is all about you and your problems! Always about you and your problems!"
"It was a mistake!"
"A choice! A stupid, foolish choice!"
"If I don't wed, I won't have any choices! Not anymore! You do and you always will, you are a Queen!"
"How perceptive of you! In case it slipped your notice, the life of a Queen is so much harder than that of one that ties my shoes and fastens my corsets! That is all you have been born to do, all you will ever be, and you find a way to mess it up! How stupid are you?!"
"Am I forbidden to bemoan my problems? That because of the child that grows inside of me, I will be ruined forever? Cast aside and left to starve in the streets? Oh, mighty Queen, forgive me! You will hear nothing of minor problems. Problems of village girls and people who have forced themselves onto others. Or of a girl who used to be your friend."
"Oh, no! How will I ever survive? My husbands' whore doesn't want to be my friend anymore! Oh, excuse me whilst I go cry myself to sleep! No, wait a second, I don't think I will. Think about it, you not wanting to be my friend any more is all the power you have. I could take your head for treason! Without me, you are nothing. You cannot wed without my permission and if you anger me, I will refuse any marriage proposals you may miraculously attain and ensure you starve on the streets. Get out! Get out of my life, and go burn without me!"
That wasn't one of her bizarre dreams. Not like the ones where Clarissa was granted her mothers' love, not like the ones where Leith and Greer wed and not like the ones where Kenna gave birth to Henry's child. That was a flashback. A flashback to one of her and Lola's first arguments about John, just before Francis nearly drowned and Henry forced Kenna to wed Sebastian under duress. A flashback that, Mary could readily admit, wasn't as dissatisfying as the others she had. The most noticeable, being Lola's execution. Which, of course, was still on the cards in reality.
~~
"Mother, what do you plot?" Queen Elisabeth of Spain asked, coming into the room where her mother sat writing. She placed herself down on a nearby settee, her skirt rustling as she sat.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself over, dear. You have matters of your won to deal with." Catherine replied, not looking up from her parchment.
"Like what, mother? I am the lone, foreign Queen in a foreign land. Not a friend, not an ounce of power. This is Phillip's country, he does whatever he pleases. I can do nothing about it."
"Oh, not of political matters, darling." Catherine smirked, standing up from her table and chairs and walking over to her eldest daughter, wolfishly smirking at her. "Of a matter a little more personal." she let on, sitting down next to Elisabeth, toying with her dark locks.
"Mother?" Elisabeth frowned, clearly not used to matters so personal and affectionate from her Medici mother. Although she doted on her children when they were young, Catherine had only been touchy feely to Francis, much to the young boys' dismay. Plus, she had always resented her daughters a little more than her sons, loved them a little more. When they were children, Catherine had absolutely despised Mary as she grew for four years, but there had always been a little more resentment to Elisabeth's' end than any of her other daughters. Something that contributed to her being shipped off to Spain when Mary was shipped off to the convent.
"Hush, dear. Let me help you."
"Whatever with?" she frowned.
"How long have you been wed? Years? And not once has your womb swollen with child." Catherine's hand snuck south, touching the lower part of Elisabeth's' bodice. "I wish to help remedy this."
"Mother!" she snapped, snapping up to her feet. "This is not about my womb and the lack of a son for Phillip. This is about my brother." she snapped. Catherine's eyes hardened. "Why do you betray him? Francis is and always was your favourite out of all of us. Your golden child could do no wrong. So, why do you betray him so?"
"That Scottish wife of his, that's why." Catherine hissed.
"Why do you hate Mary so? I adore my sister in law, something Phillip hates more than her herself."
"She has poisoned Francis' mind against me! He listened to me until he started taking his council from her! He listened to reason, claiming his bastard, ruling well, but then he ran off after her after she left him! The girl stole my life! My crown, my position, my country, my son! Now it is time that I take something from her!"
"So you conspire with her enemy? Think of it, mother! She has birthed your grandson, expects another child within the month! Why would you harm something so precious and dear to your golden child? Why, mother? Why?" Elisabeth cried. But Catherine had no response.
~~
Hey guys!
Super sorry that's it's been so long since I updated. I was just having trouble navigating through some plot stuff and haven't really been inspired to update this over the last while, on top of being super busy right now. So, I thought I'd give you a longer chapter to make up for it!
So, how did you all like this chapter? Sorry the Francis bit is a little bland, but I thought I'd add in some happy Francis since I stan him when he was happy and serene -but not when he was with Lola and Jean cause like, no- in the show. But, I love the idea of uncle Francis and realised that I hadn't really added a lot of that to this story. So, I hope that suffices and pleases!
It was so therapeutic to write Mary's flashback scene, so I hope all of you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I just really dislike Lola's character and felt really strongly about the whole argument in 2x04. I feel like that -more so than the wine- contributed to Mary's onscreen miscarriage and felt I'd spice it up a bit, without the risk of miscarriage. Lola had literally no valid points in that argument, she just wanted to play the victim, in my opinion. Like why would you want to make Mary angry, especially when she's pregnant? Lola wasn't Francis' mistress, she wasn't a French subject, Francis couldn't protect her if Mary wanted to seriously take revenge on Lola. Which, she should have done more than she should. Up until Lola left for England, I can't remember a properly good thing Lola did for her, so why was Mary so forgiving of everything she did? Why was she so important to her, the girl who blamed Mary for her attempted rape? The girl who thought that it was okay to sleep with Francis then gets mad when Mary expresses her anger towards her, something Lola wanted? I'll stop ranting now, promise! I just really dislike Lola in the show, in case you all couldn't tell!
Anywhoo, how do we all like James being the adoring protective son? I love writing him, he's just so sweet! I get why we couldn't have one, but I really wanted them to have a James in the show. I envision him to be just like how he would be in this story, anybody else?
How do we all like Elisabeth? I really hate how inaccurate they made Elisabeth/Leeza in the show. She wasn't like that at all! She was humble and gentle and kind IRL, also having a close friendship with Mary until she died, not manipulative and cunning like how she was in the show. So many pointless inaccuracies! She didn't even need to be added, she was just an attempted antagonist for the even more pointless continuation of the French Court saga. But, in this story she'll be far more accurate.
Now, a little feedback is necessary, guys. Do you all like reading the historical accurate parts of this book? I adore writing stuff like that, but I wanna know if you like reading it. Plus, with Frary baby number two coming in in a few chapters, do you guys want a boy or a girl? Any names? I love adding your ideas into this little book!
As always, comments and ideas are appreciated! I'm not sure when I can update again, but I'll try my best to get something else out in the coming weekdays. If not, definatley next weekend! And, if you all want more writing, I'm publishing out one shots like crazy lately, so if you guys would give them a little look, I'd really appreciate it!
See you all in the next chapter!
Love you all!
C
:)
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Tampered Beauty
Historical Fiction~Reign AU~ It's been two years since the death of King Henry, a year after the death of King Francis. French court thrives, however, with empire, a powerful, resilient regent and a healthy, young king. However, is everything as it seems with the dea...
