"Well I can tell you, there is only one love. If any person claims to have loved twice in all their life—they have not loved at all."

-Lang Leav

Francis was woken up by the cold breeze that entered the room, he noticed that the fire has gone out and the window is slightly ajar. He closed the window hurriedly and goes back to bed, his feet feeling cold. He lies down to the exact same spot to feel the warmth and wraps his body with a blanket, but even the blanket is not enough, he longs for Mary's warmth, he misses her body beside him. It has been like this since Mary went back to her old room and they started sleeping on separate chambers, but their chambers is just one of the many things that they don't share anymore, he rarely sees her in the castle and when he does see her, they talk for the very briefest moments in a very formal manner, Mary doesn't even look him in the eyes and she seemed pained whenever she sees him. Francis thought that this is torture in its purest form, seeing the woman he loves the most but not being able to touch her, it even make it worse that he knows that his presence alone causes her discomfort and pain, he wants to hug her and comfort her in every way he can, just like the old days, but it seems like the only way to do that is to stay away from her and keep his distance. He knows he already caused her too much pain, and he's not going to force her to take him back, if the only way to protect Mary is to be apart from her, then he'll be willing to just love her from afar. But he's also not willing to give up their love just yet and so he will keep on trying for as long as he can.

"Mary, there you are, I've been looking all over for you" Francis said as he approached Mary in the castle grounds

"what is it?" Mary said, barely looking at him

"nothing really, I—I just wanted to talk" Francis said, his voice quite cheerful

"it's a lovely day, don't you think? It's the perfect weather for boating" Francis said as he stares at her, his voice trying to imply something

"would you like to go boating with me, Mary?" Francis added when Mary remained silent and doesn't seem to acknowledge his presence

"uh—no, Francis"

"how about archery? When we were younger you said you wanted me to teach you, I wasn't good at archery then but I can teach you now" Francis said, still not losing hope that he might make Mary do something with him today

"Francis I'm not really in the mood for that today" Mary said tiredly

"oh, we can go riding then, they said there's a very good—"

"Francis stop this, stop acting like nothing's change, we were supposed to have separate lives, remember? Well this is not living separate lives… give me some time, Francis" Mary said as she walks away, her voice sounding equally irritated, tired and hurt.

*several months later*

"What is this about Francis? I have to attend a meeting with my advisers, can this wait?" Mary said in a hurried voice

"I'm afraid not, Mary"

"I—"

"Here, take it" Francis said as he pulls out to Mary the papers the he has been holding

"Another letter? Francis this is ridiculous! I'm right here, why don't you just say what you need to say and be done with it? I have received dozens of your letters from the past month and-"

"Yes and I can see that you haven't opened any of them" Francis said with a sad voice, his gaze finding the pile of letters on top of Mary's desk

"You know I've been very busy—"

"I know... but promise me you'll read this one, it's important Mary please"

"Why don't you just tell me what's in it?"

"It's—it's not just a letter, enclosed is our annulment papers" Francis said trying to find the right words while hiding the pain in his voice.

"Annulment? You're ending the alliance?!" Mary said, her voice filled with shock

"Is that what are marriage was all about? Just an alliance?"

"All marriages really do is hold alliances, you told me that" she said while her face remained stoic, though her voice betrayed her as it breaks a little as she speaks

"I did... but I thought our marriage is different... I thought—we married for love" Francis said as he tries to hold back his tears and maintain his posture

"Stop this Francis, if you hold on to this foolish notions, you will only hurt yourself"

"Is there still a part of you Mary, even a tiny piece, that loves me still?"

"I'm sorry…Francis" Mary said as she avoids looking him in the eyes

"I—I'm just going to leave it here" Francis said as he puts the letter on top of the pile of papers on Mary's desk

"Francis, I still haven't agreed to the annulment of our marriage"

"I see no point for us to continue this, Mary" Francis said, both his eyes and voice full of hurt

"Read the letter Mary, please"

My dearest Mary,

I love you, I will always love you, I need you to know that. But I have come to realize that my love for you has brought you nothing but pain, our love has tortured us in so many ways, it's the one thing that I hold on to in hoping that maybe someday we'll find our way back to each other, and it might also be the same thing that brought me false hope, I was blinded by my love for you that I didn't know I was being selfish ,I wanted you back Mary, and God knows I still do, and I would do anything to win your love back, I wanted us to be happy again, to share each other's burden and be each other's strengths. But I was too blind to realize that you're already happy, you found someone to share your burdens with and in him you found your strength, and I won't take that away from you Mary, I won't ruin your happiness. After all the hurt I have caused you, I know you deserve to find happiness, even if it's with someone else. For months I fought for you, for us, and I admit I was being selfish, I was fighting for someone who never wanted to be won back, I realize that now, and that's the very reason why I'm doing this, I have decided to stop being selfish, I have decided to let you go.

I know that there is something between you and Lord Conde, for the last months I only see your beautiful smiles when you're with him, and I don't hate you for it, Mary. You deserve to be happy more than anyone else, and whenever I see you in his arms, I know you are. This annulment is the only thing I can do for you right now, you deserve your freedom, you deserve another chance to love, you deserve a man who will always put you first, you deserve to move on.
This is where we part Mary, from here we will lead separate lives, we might never see each other again, and perhaps that might be a good thing, you will never again be reminded about the hurtful things that happen to you at French court. I know that my presence alone brings you pain and I'm not going to lie, seeing you with someone else is like dying over and over again. I don't want to part with you with so many things left unsaid, I don't want us to hate each other, despite the consequences of our love, I want to believe that it was real, I know you regret our marriage, I remember you saying that it was an awful mistake, sometimes I can't help but think that you might have better chances of happiness with Bash. Maybe our marriage was a mistake but I dare say that it's the one mistake in my life I don't regret committing.

I love you Mary, I have always loved you, and I will love you for the rest o my life, please know that you will always have my heart, even when we are apart, you're the one person that brings me joy, you are my light, you are my life and though I never wish to be parted from you, I know I have to. Maybe someday you'll find your way back to me, and until that day comes I will be waiting for you with my arms open. You will always have me Mary, always.

Love,

Francis

*1 month later*

Francis has been missing for 3 weeks and they still haven't located where the abductors are keeping him, Mary stayed at French court and still hasn't signed their annulment papers, she decided she will not leave Francis, especially now when he needs her most. She has not have a proper sleep since Francis went missing, the castle is full of terrified and scared faces that seemed to await a dreadful news, but not Mary, she refuse to believe that Francis is dead, deep down she knows that he is alive, he must be, or else Mary won't be able to forgive herself, the words she spoke to him or the lack thereof implied that she does not love him anymore, which is a great big lie, for months she thought she moved on, she thought she would be able to live a life that is not tied to Francis, but the last three weeks proved her wrong, she realized she cannot live in a world where Francis does not exist, and it's a pity that she have to lost him first in order to realize that. Lord Conde comes to the castle from time to time, but even his presence does not bring her comfort, no one can bring her comfort, not her friends, not even her mother who came their last week, she was very disappointed at Mary for letting her marriage fall apart, this made Mary feel even guiltier than she already is, what her mother said was true, it was Francis who fought for their marriage while she just stood there and watch it crumble into pieces.

"Your grace"

Mary's thoughts was disturbed when a guard entered the throne room, she sits alone and glances sadly on her husband's throne.

"what is it?"

"The king has been located; the guards are taking him in the infirmary as we speak"

"Oh thank God" Mary said as she quickly stands and leaves the throne room

"your grace, General Renaude, one of the chief conspirators escaped, we are still looking for him at the moment"

"make sure you find him, he will be punished for the crimes he did to the crown, he will drawn and quartered when he's found"

"Yes, your grace"

"mother, what is she doing here?" Claude said with hatred as she saw Mary enter the infirmary, Francis is still unconscious while the physician tends to his wounds

"Claude, not now please" Catherine said as she braced herself with the confrontation she is going to witness, she knows Claude has been hating on Mary for the past several months, she hates seeing his brother hurt and now that he has returned, she will do anything to protect him from harm

"how dare you show up your face here!" Claude said as she stops Mary to come any closer

"Francis is my husband" Mary said clearly shocked by Claude's outburst

"in name only, he is your husband in name only, you have no right to be here, after all the things you've done, after all the hurt you caused him" Claude said as she raised her voice

Mary was still dumbfounded and was not able to reply immediately

"do you think I didn't know? I saw you Mary, I saw you in Conde's arms!" Claude said, her voice full of anger

"Claude—"

"and that's not all, you know who else saw you? Francis."

Mary's eyes was wide with shock

"That day Francis asked me to set up a surprise for you, he seemed so excited that I couldn't turn him down, he said it's only a matter of time before you two get back together again, he said you'll find your way back to him… and then we saw you, you and Conde kissing by the lake!"

"it was a mistake!" Mary said, her voice cracking

"oh spare me your lies, Mary. How could you do that to him? To my brother?" Claude said as she shouts at Mary, Mary's eyes are now wet with tears and her hands are trembling

"the next day he told me to not tell anyone about what I saw, he said it might put your life in danger, even mere rumors about it will put your reputation at stake, that was the same day he decided to annul your marriage, he thought you already moved on and so he decided to let you go"

"my brother loved you Mary, he loved you too much that it was already hurting him"

"I never wanted to hurt Francis"

"oh of course you don't! you didn't mean to hurt him when you decided that living separate lives would be better for you, you decided to leave him because it was best for you and not for the both of you, you even paraded your lover around court! How did you expect Francis to react to all of that?"

"he was hurt and yet you did not care" Claude said, her voice still full of conviction

"that's not true!"

"I know you experienced too much hurt than any of us here, but it's not fair to put my brother in the same position… I know what happened to you, I'm not blind Mary, and I know you blame him for it, would you rather he was there with you the night the Protestants attack?"

"of course not!" Mary said, tears falling from her eyes

"then why did you blame him? He would have done anything to prevent that from happening to you, he would have given his life! If he was there the night they attacked, he would have been killed in an instant, is that what you want?"

"No!"

"and yet you knowingly abandon him to his guilt, you've hurt him in so many ways, and I will not let you hurt him any further"

"please Claude, I just want to see him"

"he's wounded and barely breathing, no thanks to you!" Claude raised her voice again causing Mary to talk a small step back

"he's the only one that cared for me as a family, he accepted me and does not treat me as a burden of the Valois line, he loves me truly, it's a shame he wasted that kind of love to someone like you" Claude said with both anger and sadness

"Leave, Mary"

"please" Mary said with an almost inaudible voice

"Leave" Claude said as she throws Mary a stoic expression and slams the door in her face.