Tu Es Ma Lumière

127 - Nurturment - Part 2

"Jean, sweet Jean," the young Queen of Scotland whispered, running her fingernails through the sleeping boy's blonde curls. Her step, God and adoptive child continued to sleep through this, only his little lashes fluttering. The Queen smiles down at the sleeping, small human, standing tall over his cot. Her only true tie to the only man she would ever truly love, the last tie to a dear friend who was so guilt stricken over her betrayals too numerous to count that she was willing to put her head and neck on the line to obey an order that would almost certainly go awry. "Mama loves you, Papa loves you. They watch over you from an unearthly world. They'll keep you safe until I return." she whispers to the child, stroking his cheek with the back of her hand.

As the child grew from an eighteen month old toddler into a near three year old child, the small baron de Velay looked more and more like his father as the days went by. His hair was a bright blonde, starting to curl just before his second anniversary of birth. Every inch his father with Henry's eyes, a serene child who looked to her and no other, referred to her as maman after six months of Scottish life. The child, no longer a token of betrayal and treason, but a final, parting gift from two people she had loved and lost. Her child, now. Only hers.

Blonde curls swept past the corner of her eye, a long blackened coat sweeping past. The Queen of Scotland jumps, inhaling softly. Blonde, dark eyed. Not Francis, but the new Countess of Moray. Her half sister in law and most loyal lady in waiting, Greer Seton-Norwood Stuart.

"Mary, I'm sorry." she apologises, laying a hand on the mourning Queen's back. After Castleroy had left her for Karen Browne, the annulment had left Greer alone with her daughter. However, with the conversion of James to Catholicism, the two married quickly in the highlands. With James loyal to the Queen, he had great standing in Scotland, and the two were happy together. "Are you ready?" she asks softly. "The carriages and horses are awaiting you." she says, fixing her ribbon belt. Mary's second mourning gown was made of fine blackened lace and tulle, the bodice tight and the skirts wide and the train long. Her veil, pulled back to expose a pretty face, even longer. She didn't know if it was because she was now accustomed to burying husbands, or if it was simply because her true heart was buried with him and the man she was now putting in the ground had never been loved in the same way? A friend, a brotherly love, a marriage of convenience and political intrigue, nothing more. He had been content with it, and so had she.

"Yes, just give me a few moments with them." she says quietly. The grief wasn't as mind numbing and soul crushing as it had been with her beautiful French King. Saddening, absolutltey. But it felt similar to when they got the news of Sebastian's death from her dearest David Rizzio. Of course, Sebastian was on a whole other pedestal to the now dead King Consort of Scotland, but the foreign Prince's death caused a grief similar.

The Queen of Scotland walks over towards the other, grander crib in the nursery. She smiles down at the little being who showed her a love she didn't know was possible. The only issue of she and her second -now dead- offspring. A son, a healthy son who was heir to an empire. A son who carried the name of her father and the only man she would ever fully love. Her precious James, her heir, the child she had grown and birthed and adored above all else, who would be Jean-Philippe's brother, despite the lack of biological connection between the two of them.

She whispered her love to the small, dark haired baby. The only son of her second husband, who had died saving her life from Elizabeth's bullet. The Tudor Queen had been incensed by the birth of a strong, healthy Prince from the womb of a recovering Queen, her rival. So, as the royal procession showed the fist looks of the baby Prince James, an assassin jumped out of the crowd and aimed at the Stuart Queen. Her husband jumped in front of his wife and child, pushing them both down, protecting them until his last breath. Today, they would bury another King Consort and look towards a brighter future with a secure succession and a healthy successor.

"Mary, Greer, there you are." the former Baroness de Portiers states softly, the click of her heel giving her away. The Viscountess of Tulloch came slowly into the dimmed nursery, her steps loosing pace as she noticed the former Queen of France take refuge with her child and heir.

"Kenna?" Greer asks, turning around. "What is it?"

"Nothing, just the procession grows restless. We should get going before they anger." she says, placing a hand on her small bump. After giving up her and Renaude's daughter in Sweden, Kenna had returned to service to the Queen of Scotland. The blow of Sebastian's death had wounded her horribly, but thankfully, she had been wed to a kind, unbelievably wealthy royalist who had helped Mary get her throne back after the almost successful coup lead by the long dead John Knox. Childless so far, but William was kind and wealthy and provided her with the attention and finery that she enjoyed out of life.

"Alright," Mary whispers. Protect them, my love. Protect them until I set my eyes upon them once more. The Queen of Scotland prays quickly, fingering her black rosary beads given to her on the day she left convent for French Court, so many years ago. She opens her dark eyes and spins towards her ladies and dearest friends. Dark hair, blonde hair. Dark eyes, light eyes. Close, but so far away. "I suppose it's time to say goodbye." she whispers.

The Viscountess and the Countess smile at her softly, walking over to take Mary's arms in their own, ready and willing to get her through yet another period of widowhooded grief.

~/~

So I'm the stupidest person alive. What Mary said to John in the first part of the oneshot was the main inspiration for the last oneshot, but I completley forgot to put it in when I wrote it. So, here ya go! A more competent and less crazy Reign timeline, don't you think? Please let a girl know what you think down in the comments!

Spoiler for the next one, it's about John and James and the sibling rivalry I've always pictured them having.

Stay safe, be kind.

Love,

me

:)