In light of recent events on 'Reign', I wrote down my opinion of them in form of a fanfic. It's from Francis' point of view and it describes how I think he'd feel after all the crap Mary put him through.

Yes, I dislike Mary very much, practically since the very beginning of the series. But, despite my contempt for her, I hated it and was shocked when she was raped. I would never want that for anyone, not even for my worst enemy. I was glad when she got her revenge. The bastard deserved what was coming to him.

Still, since the current plot of 'Reign' is quite similar to the plot of season 1 ( to be honest, I only watch it for Lola and Narcisse - no other ship has such chemistry :) ), it reminded me of all the mistakes Mary had made before, without having an excuse for them but her own foolishness and selfishness. I've never been neither Frary nor Mash shipper, I just hated the way she treated both of them and practically destroyed their wonderful brotherly relationship. I admit I'm in that minority that doesn't hate Lola. I like the friendship between her and Francis and I think they both deserve to be happy after everything that's happened to them. I hope that Lola will get with Narcisse, but if that doesn't happen, it's obvious that Lola, and Francis especially, are truly happy only when they are around each other. They are the only one who don't judge each other for what happened between them. And that's why I love them together.

So, final warning: if you are a Frary shipper or Mary worshiper, you should press the 'Back' button. You won't like this. I'm not afraid of your flames or that you will disagree with me. We all have right to our opinion. This is just a fair warning, so you don't get angry unnecessarily.

If you still decided to give it a go, I won't delay you any longer. Enjoy :)

He knocked on her door.

He had nowhere else to go.

If anything else was the matter, he would have gone to Bash. His brother didn't judge him, not even for killing their father. He would hardly judge him for this. Bash was the only one who always stood by him, whom he could always rely on.

Well, almost always.

He couldn't trust his brother, not with this. It would reopen old wounds they had worked so hard to mend. Those old arguments and misunderstandings had to stay buried in the past. Bash was his oldest and dearest friend, but once he had been his adversary in competition for Mary's heart. Despite his marriage to Kenna, he surely didn't forget everything that had happened between him and Mary. Francis hated to admit it, but anything that had something to do with Mary couldn't be shared with Bash.

His fears hit harder and hurt deeper as he realized he had been completely blinded by his love for Mary, love he still wasn't ready to utterly give up on. She had done this to him before, yet he had let her back into his heart so easily, without a second thought.

"Francis?" so curled up in his own thoughts, he hadn't even noticed the door in front him had opened.

"Lola." he nodded at her in greeting. "May I come in?"

"Of course." she moved a step backwards so he could enter the room.

He noticed she couldn't look him directly in the eyes, her cheeks red as strawberries. Almost against his will, it lured a smile to his face.

"Still thinking about last night, huh?" he wondered as he bypassed her. As of late, she was the only person in whose company he laughed.

"I'm so, so sorry about that." she covered her face with her hands to hide the blush of her cheeks. "I'm so embarrassed by all I've said and done ... If I could erase it all, I would."

"I don't know." he sighed teasingly, approaching the crib in which the biggest joy of his life lay. "I think you did our soon a great favour."

He heard her let out a light laugh. At the sound of it, Jean-Philippe opened his eyes and looked curiously at his father.

"You should be grateful to your mother, Jean." he took the child into his arms, enjoying warmness and comfort his son provided. "You deserve a wife with pretty ears and two eyebrows."

"And a cute small nose." Lola added, making them both laugh.

"Absolutely." he agreed.

They stood in silence for few moments, looking at their son with adoration and love. Francis remembered how he had felt about this child when he had first found out about its existence. He had thought of his son as of a mistake that would destroy his and Mary's marriage. He had thought he didn't have enough love for both his son and his wife.

His son made many things complicated for his marriage and country, but holding him in his arms, loving him, was the easiest thing in the world. He didn't know how he would have gone through Narcisse blackmailing him, Mary's constant questioning of every decision he made and, at the end, her blaming him for the rape and falling in love with Conde without this small ball who brought him joy even when he cried.

"Yesterday." he raised his head to look at Lola. "When you told me you hoped everything would work out between me and Mary ..."

"I did mean it." she said hurriedly, finally looking him in the eyes. "That is the only true thing I said yesterday evening."

"I know." he nodded, feeling her sincerity. "But, it didn't. I doubt we will ever try to have a child again."

She stared at him in silence for few moments, taking in the news.

"I am sorry, Francis." she said compassionately at last. "When I heard you intended to visit her chambers last night, I thought things were getting better for you two."

"She insisted on trying to make an heir so she could secure her rule in Scotland." he blurted out bitterly. He didn't intend to slander Mary so harshly, but the hurt in his heart took control over him.

Shock on Lola's face confirmed his thoughts from last night; none of them had ever deemed Mary capable of such coldness.

"The rape ... it changed her." she mumbled quietly. He could feel in her tone that she was thinking about the person Mary had been before she had been raped. That Mary and today's Mary were not the same person. How could they be? "She ... I believe she tries to focus on helping her country so she can forget about it. She has also been under pressure from her mother. I'm sure she wouldn't have suggested it if Marie de Guise hadn't pushed her into it."

"My mother suggested Mary perhaps welcomed the push." Francis said bitterly. "It didn't feel like that last night."

"Maybe she needs more time." Lola remained on her friend's – her Queen's – side. "I know her pain hurts you too. And you have been through a lot yourself. Maybe you should both give yourselves just a little more time to heal."

"It is not about time anymore, Lola." he laid Jean-Philippe back into the crib, but let his son play with his fingers, wondering at how large they seemed compared to Jean-Philippe's.

But, he couldn't keep it inside anymore, this final blow of Mary's. His eyes met Lola's as knuckles on his other hand whitened after he had grabbed the edge of the crib.

"She loves another."

"Conde." she nodded in understanding after few moments of silence.

"Did you know about it?" he sensed another betrayal was about to land on his back, but Lola's words eased his worries.

"I knew he had feelings for her." she said. "When she asked me to suggest him to court me, I thought she wanted me to draw his attention, so she could try to get closer to you again. Without any obstacles."

"I guess that way she would get rid of two obstacles at the same time." Francis' eyes wandered between Jean-Philippe and Lola. His son had his mother's hair, long and black as ink. "Until she found us sleeping with him, I hadn't realized she still thought of you as of an obstacle in our marriage."

"It is nothing compared to the speech Marie de Guise gave me." Lola crossed her arms over her chest, but it wasn't an act of defiance. She was trying to keep it all together, but tears still started to form in her blue eyes. "About how mine and my child's very existence is a threat to Mary's life and position as Queen, about how I betrayed her ..."

"I think both Mary and her mother conveniently forget Mary was to marry another heir to the throne of France at the time." Francis hated to remind himself of that period in his life, but not once until now did he have a chance to express all the anger the events had caused within him. "If Mary had married Bash, they wouldn't care whether we had dozens of children."

Lola smiled and stood next to him, looking at their son.

"I think this one is quite enough." she rubbed her eyes, wiping off the tears.

"He is the biggest joy of my life." Francis admitted out loud, taking even himself by surprise. He had always saved that kind of words for Mary. This was the first time he reconciled with the fact she was currently brining a lot of things to his life, but joy was not one of them. "I thank you for him."

"He is my biggest joy too." she smiled at the baby. "I just wish that others stopped seeing him as a threat or proof of my intentions to replace Mary as Queen of France. I would never do that and she knows it, yet I can feel she still blames me for sleeping with you. I've been trying to stop blaming myself for that, but whenever I look at her, I'm right back at where I started."

Francis tried to put himself in Lola's shoes for a moment. He knew Lola had gone through a lot more of hatred than he had. His own father had had countless lovers and nobody had thought of it as of something scandalous. Bash's mother, on the other hand, had had to face Catherine's anger for having given birth to bastard son and all of insults the court had thrown at her. Being the King's mistress, or just being thought of as one, was anything but an easy task. He knew Lola had never wanted it, yet here she was, bearing everything so he could be with his son. It took a lot of strength to live like this and he was grateful she possessed it.

"I don't blame you." he told her encouragingly. "It was my choice as much as yours."

She glanced at him.

"Thank you." happiness sparked in her eyes for a moment. "That means a lot to me."

Francis felt a little bit of his own burden being lifted off his shoulders. It was nice to make another person happy, even for a moment. Mary had dismissed his every attempt. She hadn't dismissed Conde's.

He let out a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding. He could see pity in Lola's blue eyes, but also understanding. She knew how much it hurt him to see the woman he loved in the arms of another. That was the thing he liked the most about Lola, her endless understanding for everyone, even for, he reminded himself less contently, Narcisse.

"I've given my all to help Mary forget it, I've given her all the time and space she'd asked for." bitterness still managed to find its way into his tone.

Lola didn't answer. Or perhaps he didn't let her.

"I forgave her stripping me off my title, my birthright." he continued to speak. Once set free, all of his anger and hurt couldn't be restrained. "I forgave her falling in love with Bash. I forgave her keeping the secret about my child. I forgave her not having faith in me and constantly questioning my every decision when I was trying to save her from Narcisse."

"Francis ..."

"I cannot forgive her anymore, Lola." he interrupted her, determined to let it all out in one breath. He had to speak now or be silent about it forever. "I love her and I care for her, and I know I've made a lot of mistakes of my own, but this is too much. She told me herself that after she secured her position as Queen by having my heir, she would run off to Conde's chambers."

Lola stared at him open-mouthed, disbelief preventing her from saying anything. He let her come to terms with it.

"I ... I don't know what to say." she said at last.

"There is nothing to be said." he shrugged his shoulders.

He was glad Lola didn't try to use Mary's rape to justify this. Sure, it was a terrible thing and it had made Francis and Mary grow away from each other, but to fall in love with Conde was Mary's own choice. She had known even before the rape that the man had feelings for her, yet she had let him stay close to her, giving him hope.

It was just like it had been with Bash. She had known of Bash's feelings for her and she had returned them even before that nonsense with the prophecy. Looking back now, he sneered at what a fool he had been to think it would never happen again.

Mary dared to blame him and Lola for one night that had happened when she had had no rights to judge him for any of his actions, yet she had broken each of her promises to be with him and love him forever. She had never trusted him to make the right choice on his own. Everything had had to be her decision, her choice, because she had always known best.

Not anymore.

"Our marriage is as good as broken." he said, looking back at Jean-Philippe. Those words were enlightening, but also those of defeat. "So is my heart. My son is the only one who keeps it in one piece."

"He is your family." Lola said. He noticed she hadn't used the word 'we'. "Family is supposed to make you happy, isn't it?"

"Yes." he agreed, giving her a small smile. "Yes, it is. But, so are friends."

Smile brightened her face. She stood on the opposite side of the crib, kissing Jean-Philippe's forehead.

"As a friend who senses you need to enjoy your son's company alone, I will leave now." she said and then headed for the door.

"Lola." he called for her as she opened the door.

She looked at him.

"Thank you."

"Any time." she nodded at him and left.

Francis smiled at his son, tickling his tummy a bit to entertain him.

To his surprise and delight, the boy smiled back.

It felt like looking himself in the mirror.

For the first time in what felt like forever, both heart and mind of the King of France were at peace.

Both of the boys kept smiling.

I'm sorry for any grammar or spelling mistake I made. I hope you liked it :)