A/N: Hey guys! today I decided to start another reign fanfic! But don't worry, I'm currently working on my other one! I hope you guys enjoy this one. Don't forget to REVIEW! No A/N at the bottom(:

Mary ran quickly back to the small house. A small home made of wood. A house her grandfather built on his own. It was a humble home. A happy home. The house was no bigger then two little rooms combined, but that wasn't a problem. Only her and her grandparents lived there. Unfortunately, her mom died when she was giving birth to Mary, and her dad left. Mary has always thought her father was a pathetic coward, but he left before he found out Marie De Guise was pregnant. And why he left? Because duty calls.

Mary entered the humble home.

"Mary!" Her grandma exclaimed.

"Hello, Ma!" Mary set the bag on the small table.

"Whadda you have there?" Her Ma asked.

"I got some fruits and milk!" Mary said with excitement.

"Oh, wonderful!" Ma approached the table. She examined the contents in the bag: apples, pears, and oranges!

Suddenly Ma's brows furrowed. "Mary, please tell me them fruits aren't stolen," Ma scorned Mary. "Cuz if they are, I'm gonna be very mad'a you. You know how me and your Pa feel about you stealin'."

"What other way are we s'pposed to get food?" Mary pointed out.

"We gotta work for it, Mary," her Ma scorned her.

"If we could work! They don't wanna give my Pa any work! They just look at him and just like that they don't wanna give'im the job. Just cuz were (hey this is the author! I meant to put were! Even though it's supposed to be we're. This is how Mary pronounces it!) poor!"

Ma let out a frustrated sigh. "Where did ya get these goodies?"

Mary stayed silent. She knew Ma wouldn't like the answer.

"Ya got 'em from one of the king's lands, didn't ya, Mary?" Her Ma was hoping the answer was no.

Mary still said nothing, and that was enough for Ma to know where she got the goodies.

"Mary! Ya can get in trouble if ya keep stealin' from the king's lands!"

"Ya said it, Ma!" Mary started to defend herself. "He has more than one land. The King of France owns all of France if ya di'nt know. And it won't hurt 'em if he loses a couple of apples. Boy, he has enough food to feed the entire world!"

"Don't be so snippy! And you still have a hard time undahstanding this feudalism shit." Ma chastised Mary. Mary didn't say anything. She just went outside in hopes of riding Stanley, her horse, but Bash wasn't here yet. Oh, she was so yelling at him. Bash took care of their home for little pay. Even though they were poor, they had a small terrain and 1 horse and only 1 cow, but the cow didn't want to give any milk anymore. They tried to grow crops, but it was a waste of money. The crops just didn't want to grow. Mary's Pa brought Bash in when he was 12. Her Pa found Bash alone and stranded. Pa fed him, took care of him, until Bash left at 15 to who knows where. To repay Pa, Bash helped him around the house. Bash was here most of the time, and Mary didn't realize it, but she was jealous of the attention Bash got from her grandparents. This is why she treats him so badly. She had always been the only one that got the love, and she didn't want to share it.

Mary saw Bash approach with Stanley.

"What took you so long?!" Mary exclaimed.

"I was bathing Stanley," Bash explained.

"Stanley don't need a bath!" Mary gestured for Bash to get off Stanley. Bash did as she ordered.

"Hello, Bash!" Ma came out of the house. She went up to him and hugged him.

"Where's Pa?" Bash asked after he hugged her.

Pa?! Since when does Bash call her grandparents like that?! That's how Mary calls them! Mary tried to burn his back with her stare.

"He went to look for a job," Ma said.

"He's still looking?" Bash asked.

"Yes. He hasn't any luck," Ma had a sad mask plastered on her face.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Ma nodded and went back inside.

Bash was about to walk away, but Mary called after him.

"Bash, I want you to go give the cow a bath!" Mary ordered.

Bash turned his attention to Mary. "I already-"

"Give her one again! And try to get some milk out of her," Mary mounted Stanley, and with a cold voice she said: "and don't call my Pa 'Pa'. That's what I do."

"Yes, ma'am," Bash always said that after Mary gave him orders.

Mary rode away.

"Your father is dying," Queen Catherine announced to Francis.

Francis put his head in his hands.

"And as soon as he dies," Catherine continued, "You need a queen to rule by your side in order for you to be king."

"Mother," Francis said in a mournful voice. "I can't think of that at this moment. My father is dying, and I can only think of death."

"There's no point in that," Queen Catherine said in an impatient voice.

"Mother! He is my father and your husband!"

"Don't you see, Francis?! It's better for him to die, then for word to get out that Henry has gone mad! We will lose France!"

"If you want me to wish my father's death, you will not achieve your goal."

"My Queen, sorry to interrupt, but we have a problem!" A guard approached the site where Catherine was.

"What seems to be the problem?" Catherine asked.

"A peasant was caught stealing food from one of Howard's lands. Howard sent a complaint saying that the court needs to deal with the subject."

"Put it in the dungeon," Catherine said simply. 'It.' As if the person wasn't a person.

"Mother," Francis interfered. "The poor person must need some food. Be a little compassionate."

"Francis, don't argue with me."

"I will. I am the future king of France."

Catherine stared at Francis long and hard. Then she turned to the guard."Bring the peasant to me," Catherine ordered.

Mary tried to yank her wrist away.

"Please let me go!" Mary pleaded. "I won't steal from the king's lands again!" The guard only tightened his grip on Mary even more.

"Oh, c'mon!" Mary exclaimed. "He has so many prahduts! (Again, pronunciation.) It wouldn't hurt him to spare just a lil! I barley have enuff to feed myself!" At that moment another guard approached. "The Queen would like to see the thief," the guard announced. Mary instinctively pulled away. Her heart was beating so hard against her chest. She knew this was very serious if the Queen wanted to see her. The guard yanked Mary forward, but Mary put up a fight. "No! Please! I swear I won't steal again!" She said as she pulled away from the guards arms.

"Guards!" Mary's head perked up. She knew that voice. It was Bash.

All of them stopped what they were doing to look at Bash.

"Who are you?" One of the guards asked.

"I'm her brother-" Bash was interrupted in the middle of his lie.

"You're related to this thief?" One of the guards asked.

"Yes but-" the guards grabbed Bash a little too hostile and dragged him along with Mary to see Catherine.

Catherine could hear the peasant pleading to the guards to release her. But more than one peasant came into view after the guards led them into the huge room. Catherine was standing next to Francis. Francis was sitting down on the king's chair. His eyes lit up when he saw the beautiful girl. She was a bit of a mess, but nonetheless, she was beautiful. Another guard was holding a man with the most peculiar eyes by the elbow.

"Here are the subjects, my Queen," the Guard said as he gripped onto Mary's wrist.

"I must of misunderstood," Francis said. "I thought there was only one subject."

"The rebellious subject has a brother," the Guard responded. Francis' eye twinkled with surprise. So the rebellious subject was the girl? Interesting.

Francis' eyes darted to Mary. "Will you like to explain-"

"My grace," Mary interrupted then. "I'm sorry I-" The guard tightened his grip and hissed, "Don't interrupt the future king!" The pain of the grip made Mary wince and she instinctively tried yanking her wrist free, but the grip got even stronger. Mary gasped at the pain.

"Release her at once!" Francis demanded. The guard that was holding Mary looked at Francis in surprise, yet he released Mary. Mary felt a stinging sensation on her wrist. She took her wrist in her hand and started to rub it. She removed her accusing eyes from the guard and looked up to the handsome man with the beautiful gold curls. The Dauphin was still looking at the guard. "That is no way to treat a lady," he chastised the guard.

"Lady?!" Catherine exclaimed. "She is a peasant!"

"Mother!" Francis turned his attention towards Catherine. "Please, don't utter another word. You told me I could handle this situation."

"And I see you are not handling it as a king should," Catherine said in a cold voice.

"Don't utter another word," Francis returned his attention to the guard. "You are dismissed."

The guard said then, "But, my majesty, you need protecti-"

"-you are dismissed," Francis interrupted. The guard hesitated before he left. Now, Francis let his eyes rest on Mary. She looked like such a wild, free, beautiful creature. What stood out to him most about her was her eyes. Her eyes glinted with innocence. Mary, for some reason, felt embarrassed under the Dauphin's stare. Mary scooted a little closer to Bash, hoping to shine some attention on him, and that is exactly what happened. Francis looked at Bash. "Who was the one that stole?" Francis finally asked. Francis knew the answer, but he still wanted to ask.

"I was the one, your highness," Bash lied. Mary looked at Bash in surprise, and so did Francis.

"Oh, really?" Francis let the words flow out of his mouth. Mary felt something on the inside of her chest. Fear for Bash. "No," Mary said then, "I'm the thief."

Bash let out a are-you-kidding-me-you-just-ruined-everything sigh. "That's not true," Bash insisted.

"I'm not quite sure what the truth is. Who is telling the truth? No more lies, or both of you will go to the dungeon." Francis said in a firm voice.

"I stole, your Highness!" Mary confessed once again. "I was just so hungry; I could not help it."

Francis let out a sigh. He observed Mary closely. Such a wild and beautiful thing. Francis stood up an moved towards Mary. Francis sensed both subjects tense at his sudden approach. "You are free, and you can keep what you have taken without consent." Mary looked into his eyes then. She was so sure she was going to be thrown in the dungeon, but now he was letting her free. He smiled at her, and she could feel her knees shake. Nevertheless, Mary smiled back. Such a beautiful smile. Bash looked them. He glanced back and forth between them. Bash cleared his throat. Francis' attention snapped over to Bash. "You will not be punished for lying," Francis added to Bash.

"Thank you, your Highness," Bash replied.

"Both of you may leave," Francis said. "Guards!" Three guards came into view. "Please show them the way out of this castle," and with that the Guards were guiding Mary and Bash out. Mary and Bash walked in silence back to the little home. Bash wasn't just silent, but a different kind of silent. Mary knew something was bugging him, but she just didn't know what. "How did ya know I was in trouble?" Mary finally asked.

"After you left, I went to town-"

"But I gave ya orders. Ya had to give the cow a bath, ya had to milk the cow-"

"I tried, but it was no use. So I just decided to go to town and buy milk."

Mary's head was getting red. "And were ya thinking of telling me that the milk did not come from the cow?"

"Mary, you're getting off topic," Bash replied instead. Mary scuffed. "When I was in town, Madeline told me there was a commotion at the castle. A girl was stealing from the king. I knew right away it was you."

Mary stopped walking then. "I thought ya went to get milk?" Mary had a burning sensation in her chest, but she knew it wasnt fear. Madeline was a beautiful girl; she was two years older than Mary. Mary hated Madeline for some weird reason; she just didnt know why.

"I did-"

"Then why were ya with Madeline? Are ya 'nd her together or somethin'?"

"How about the way you smiled at the Dauphin?" Bash shot back.

"What?"

"The way you smiled at the soon to be king! That was more than just a friendly smile!"

"It was a smile of courtesy! And I do not see why I can't smile at a boy!"

"I'm not saying you can't. It's just that-"

"-I'm a peasant and can't smile at any one who is higher status than me?"

"That's not what I meant, Mary."

"Then what did you mean? Why can't I simply smile at-"

"BECAUSE YOU DONT SMILE LIKE THAT TO ME!" Bash exploded. Mary flinched at his sudden outburst. Everything went silent, and Mary tried to process what just happened. Bash swallowed hard and continued walking, but Mary was stuck where she was. She couldn't move. She was in shock.

"Bash!" Mary called out. "Please come." Bash stopped walking but didn't turn back. After a few seconds, he finally turned around and walked towards Mary. He was right in front of Mary, but Mary said nothing. She wasn't sure of what to say. She looked up at Bash. He was staring at her with intensity. Mary took in a breath, and before she knew it she was kissing him. Her lips were on his, but he didn't hold her, or press her to him even more, so Mary retreated. Bash looked at her again. Bash grabbed Mary by the waist and pulled her towards him. Mary squealed in surprised, but before she could say anything, his lips were on hers. It took a little time for her to respond, but eventually she did. Her lips moved along with his, and her hands were around his neck, pushing him closer. His lips felt soft and warm against her lips. Bash let one of his hands cup the back of her neck. He pulled her in closer, and the kiss became deeper. His lips moved perfectly along with hers. He felt his bottom lip sting. Mary had bitten his lip accidentally, but it didn't bother him. It actually excited him even more, but Mary jumped back and broke the kiss.

"I'm sorry," she said as she looked at his lips. "I bit you." He noticed both of them were breathing heavily.

"There is nothing to be sorry for," he replied. "But we should be well on our way back to your home."

Before they entered Mary's humble home, she let go of Bash's hand.

"Does Ma know about what happened?" Mary asked with a concerned voice.

"I didn't utter a word, but I hate to tell you that she might already know."

"Oh, I know," Ma appeared in the doorway. "Do you now see why stealing in not good? Thank goodness Bash was there to help."

"Sorry, Ma," Mary said with her head down. Her ma scuffed and went back inside.

"I have to go," Bash said and his voice was coated with disappointment. Mary nodded. "Okay."

He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Even after he left, Mary still stood there touching her cheek where he kissed her and smiled.