Mary arrived quicker than she had thought to the meeting place. The dark and damp passage ways in the castle guided her outside quickly and unseen. The air outside was as warm as it looked from the window in her room and her pale skin soaked the warm rays eagerly. It was early afternoon still, so if she were to hurry there she might be able to make it back before nightfall. All she needed was to see his face, if only for a moment. To understand why he left, to convince him to come back. For what end she was still unsure, but she pushed those thoughts aside.

The trotting of a horse came into earshot and Mary turned towards the sound to see the guard guiding a black horse towards her. She quickly approached the two walking towards her.

"Thank you. You've been a great help. I hope you'll keep your silence on this matter?"

Mary took the reins in her hand and mounted the black horse.

"Yes, my lady."

She hoped his assurance wasn't another lie in a royal court that seemed to be brimming with them, but she was desperate enough to take him at his word.

"When will you return, my grace?" the guard questioned looking up at her. His eyes seemed worried and Mary felt a pang of guilt for questioning his loyalty.

"I hope to be back before nightfall." She hoped that would be enough to reassure him.

The directions the guard gave were straightforward and easy to understand. Mary was glad that she managed to get out of the castle. The fresh air was calming, the weather was beautiful and the ride was clearing her head. It didn't take too long for the eagerness of seeing Bash's face again to set in and her nerves began to bounce with anticipation.

The château was on the outskirts of a local village. Luckily she didn't need to enter the village to get there, so there was even less of a chance of running into someone who would recognize her. She had dressed down just in case, and the cloak she chose was a plain brown similar in shade as her eyes. From far away no one would notice the intricate golden thread that could set her apart as someone who held wealth. She guided the horse left to the path the guard had instructed her to turn at. The path was wooded and the green leaves blocked the sun above. Mary nearly missed the warmth of the sun, but the end of the path was near and before she knew it she has crossed into an open space of grass where the large château loomed in the distance. The horse began to trot quicker as she encouraged it to speed up. She couldn't help but smile as she wondered if Bash could hear the horse approaching and if he knew only one person was arriving.

Sebastian lay his head against the table. He had woken up and drank the last of his rum and he knew if he wanted more he had to make a trip into the village to get more, but the thought of leaving the château wasn't appealing. Laying his head here felt much better. Everything kept moving too quickly for him.

The sound of a horse approaching perked his ears. Only one. He groaned, hoping it wasn't Francis coming to fight him. He didn't have the energy for anything physical right now and with the range of emotions he was feeling he was worried he might try to fight back. He needed the distance so he could catch his emotions and mold them into something that could be strong. Pulling his heavy body up from the table in the corner of his room he drug himself toward the window to look down at the ground below. He recognized the horse tied up to a post below, it was from the castle stables, but he couldn't see who it had carried. His brow crinkled and he sat back down at the table. He decided answering it would only be asking for trouble, it'd be easier to just pretend he wasn't here.

Mary had knocked on the door repeatedly to no answer and her chest began to ache. He wasn't answering the door. He didn't want to see her. The door didn't budge so she wasn't able to get in, but she knew there must be other entrances. It looked as if the château was empty, but there were servant quarters for when it was occupied. She left the horse where she had tied it up and walked towards the side of the building. Relief flooded her when she found another door and it opened successfully on the first yank. It was an entrance to the kitchens and she found a staircase that led up and out of the servant quarters to the main areas of the large home. The interior was dark, quiet and even a little cold. Portraits caught her as she walked down the long hall of people she recognized, most particularly of Diane. You could tell the King admired her very much, even though he kept other mistresses and had a wife, he stayed true to her in a way that she could appreciate. Even though his escapades with Kenna had left a sour taste in her mouth as of late. She couldn't help it, she didn't want to see her friend hurt.

An open door sparked her interest and she hurried towards it. As she veered towards the room she heard a groan and a voice,

"Aha. I caught you."

Bash stumbled out of the room and bumped right into her.

"You caught me?" Mary asked, her tone uncertain.

At hearing Mary's voice and seeing it was her, Bash immediately stepped back and his posture changed from what she thought was meant to be a defensive stance to something she couldn't quite understand.

"Were you attacking me?" Mary's confusion was evident.

"That wasn't a very good job, Sebastian. I heard you before you came out." She added. Her eyes began to take him in as she looked him up and down. He was a literal disaster. He eyes were red, the stubble on his face hadn't been trimmed in the week he had been gone, his clothes were wrinkled and he smelled strongly of rum.

"Bash, have you been drinking?" She stated the obvious and she stepped towards him, placing her hands on his arms that were crossed over his body. He was looking down at the ground intently focusing on the red floor, not at her. She brought her hand up towards his face and placed it on his cheek, "Bash?" she said his name again softening the tone of her voice. "Answer me. Please."

He pulled away with a clumsy gesture and rolled his back along the wall and door frame as he turned back in towards the room.

"I'm fine. And you should probably go." His slurred response gave Mary enough evidence that he was indeed drunk. Very drunk.

Mary approached him again, grabbing his arms with her small hands and pulling him towards her, but he pulled away yet again and went further into the room towards a bed. She pulled the hood of her cloak back off of her head and began to remove it as she followed him.

"I'm not going anywhere." She laid the cloak on a table situated near the wall opposite of the bed.

Bash had laid down on his bed, his face was hiding in a pillow. This isn't quite what she expected. She didn't know what she expected exactly, but she'd never seen Bash act quite this unwelcoming or depressed before and she couldn't stop her body from wanting to get nearer and comfort him. She walked over to the bed and kneeled on it as she looked over him.

"Sebastian, I had to see you. Please talk to me, I rode for an hour get here."

After another few moments of silence he finally complied, turning his body towards her he sat up, but still averted his gaze elsewhere too afraid to meet her eyes.

"You shouldn't have. Francis will come looking for you soon and if he finds you here with me that'll be the end of me. He won't be so forgiving, especially after all that has happened. In his eyes I attempted not only to take his woman, but more importantly his throne. That's not easy to let go of."

"Francis has gone with your Father and some delegates hunting. Nobody is looking for me. That's why I came, because I had a free moment and I don't want to waste it arguing." She didn't agree on the fact that Francis did really hate Bash right now. She knew with time the anger would fade, but it definitely wouldn't be anytime soon and she didn't want to confirm what he saying when he was so obviously upset.

"I'm not arguing. There is nothing left to argue about." Bash replied. His tone was simple and held finality. He was gathering himself together successfully.

Mary didn't often cry. She found it useless and it never seemed to help a situation become better and her life had been filled with trials she didn't want to be in, but she couldn't help the tears that started to swell up. She laid her head into Bash's lap and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I've missed you. I had to come and see you, Bash."

Sebastian sighed. The tears were impossible to resist. Like him, vulnerability wasn't something she easily showed and he'd only seen it a few times, but never quite in this form. He pulled her up and encouraged her onto his lap and held her. The moments passed by slowly and he could feel Mary's body tremble near his. He pushed her hair behind her ear with a gentle hand and finally spoke,

"I've missed you too."