Disclaimer: I do not own Reign

She stood apart from the crowd that buzzed with anticipation. Henry and his troops were returning home from a victory in Milan today and the entire court was on the lawn, dressed in their best and bearing banners of the house of Valois. Catherine put on her brightest smile, but she did not quite share in the joy of the occasion. She was more than relieved that her husband, the dauphin, was returning. They had parted on bad terms and she fretted constantly that he would be lost to her. Her final words to him echoed in her mind, "You are nothing but a fly trapped in her web and you are too damn ignorant to notice!"

The spider in question was Diane de Poitiers, Henry's most favoured mistress. Her web was a large, oak canopy bed piled with the soft, white fleeces and delicate pillows. What Henry found so fascinating in that woman Catherine would never know.

On their return from Italy Henry and his men had stopped off in Paris, delaying their return by three weeks. Catherine knew. She knew he was with Diane. Henry was punishing Catherine for her harsh words by blatantly choosing his mistress over her. Sometimes their marriage was bliss itself, recently though, they used each other to sharpen their claws. The most glaring issue between them, other than the whore he chose over his wife, was the lack of children. They had shared a bed for ten years without conceiving. They had been together for a decade today. She had arranged a joust and purchased him a beautiful new stallion as a welcome home/early anniversary gift. Unfortunately, his three week delay had upset her plans. The vast array of food for the feast had to be eaten before it spoiled, the musicians were paid and sent on their way, and the threat of heavy snows caused many of the men who had come to participate in the joust to start their journeys home before the weather impeded them. All of that preparation for nothing. She wondered if he even remembered that it was their anniversary or if it was simply a coincidence that he returned today.

The horses came to a halt and as the trumpets flourished, her husband dismounted with a graceful ease. Catherine swelled with pride in spite of herself as his voice rang out across the grounds.

"France never need fear as long as she has men such as these," he gestured to the troops fanned out behind him. "The courage of the heroes you see before you will be written in the volumes of history, their honour recorded for the ages to come. Join me in saluting the heroes of Milan!"

Catherine saw the king her husband could become. He had fostered not only the respect of his men, but their true devotion. He was born to lead, that much was clear. She smiled at the thought, turning towards the castle entrance. The hordes of bustling people, all fighting to get back to the warmth of the indoors, deterred Catherine from entering. Instead she sought the solace of the gardens.

She shivered, tucking her cape closer against the biting wind. The only consolation of her frozen hideaway was that she did not have to endure the snide comments of courtiers subtextually hounding her over her inability to conceive. She could hear them now, "Did you hear that Lady Ellen is finally with child? It took her long enough! Three years! It's a wonder he didn't give up on her." Her loathing for those petty, insipid women was burned into her mind. Catherine knew her duty. It was all that was expected of her, but, as of yet, she had failed. Her family was no better, sending constant reminders of what was at stake. Her aunt felt obliged to point out that her husband's love was contingent upon her ability to give him sons. If Catherine continued to disappoint him, she would feel his wrath. But she already felt it. Instead of the happiness and contentment that they once shared, he was vindictive and regarded her with distain. The strain of her barrenness had marred everything.

Just then Henry slipped his hands over she shoulders, causing her to start.

"Hey, take it easy. It's just me."

She slid over, offering him a seat on the bench. "I'm glad you're home."

"Are you, now? I wasn't sure if you would welcome back your ignorant fly of a husband "

He had a knack for making her hate herself, but perhaps it meant something that he remembered what she said. All these months later and her words came to him in perfect clarity. Maybe he did still care.

In her silence, he continued. "Truthfully, I am glad to be home." He stole a glance at her, "I hear you were living large in my absence."

"What?"

"Oh yes! I heard about feasting and scores of men traipsing around my court. It seems that you know how to have a grand time without your husband around." He finished with an edge in his tone.

She lied, "I don't believe I have had so much fun in a long time."

His colour rose, as he stood. "Well, I am so sorry that the victors of Milan broke up your little party, but don't let me stop you! Continue reveling, by all means, it's not like you have anything else to do!"

Henry stormed off, leaving Catherine to her thoughts. Must he always antagonize her? Why had she taken the bait? Who could possibly win in their war of words that maimed and isolated them both?

An extravagant celebration was held to honour the returning troops. Wine, dancing, dozens of women pressing against him to whisper their congratulations, men clapping him on the shoulder spouting praises, but where was Catherine? Henry acknowledged his admirers absently as his eyes scanned the room for her. He had seen her earlier, smiling, dancing, playing the gracious hostess. Where had she gone?

Henry approached King Francois, "Father, have you seen Catherine?"

"She has retied for the evening." The king shot his son a grim expression. He and his father had, at best, a strained relationship and the king had always adored Catherine.

"Why the hell didn't she bother to let her husband know?"

"Her husband was preoccupied."

Henry thought back. The full-breasted brunette who laughed incessantly. She asked him to dance and he had been about to decline when he saw Catherine out of the corner of his eye. He took the girl around the floor many times and laughed loudly when she gave him a small peck on the cheek. He couldn't help but glance at his wife as he laughed; it had all been for her benefit. He sat and pulled the girl onto his lap while he played a game of cards with some of his men. He wanted her to know that he was enjoying himself without her, just as she had him.

"From what I hear she celebrates freely in my absence. Maybe I should leave again so she can entertain men and feast to her heart's content!"

Francois' voice was dangerously low, "You are a fool, Henry. She arranged a joust and a feast in your honour, to celebrate your anniversary, but you were too busy in Paris to deign to return in time."

Henry felt his heart drop at this news. She had planned a surprise for him? A joust? It had all been for him?

"Excuse me."

With that he departed the celebration at a sprint. He took the stairs two at a time, coming to a halt outside of her door. He swallowed hard, knocked, and entered.

"Henry," she was at the window seat when he entered, "What are you doing here?"

"Why didn't you tell me about the joust? You just let me assume the worst."

"I'm so sorry for not explaining things to you when you came to accuse me of inappropriate behavior! I don't know what I was thinking! How incredibly insensitive of me! The fact that you quickly accepted that conclusion… The fact that you so easily think the worst of me…" She turned her face, "It says a lot about both of us."

"Catherine, I was wrong, but why didn't you just tell me the truth then and there? We might've enjoyed tonight. We might've celebrated our anniversary together." As he spoke, she rose from the window seat.

She came to rest on the floor before the fireplace. "I suppose that I should have, but I am so tired of always being to one to fix things. Not that it lasts, the solutions are always temporary. It always falls apart again and it just makes me tired. Maybe if we just stop trying-"

"Don't! Do not say that, Catherine! I'm sorry, I am. Don't stop trying… I love you."

"You say that, and sometimes I believe you mean it… But you can't ask me to keep giving everything, while you spend your time in Paris with Diane. It doesn't work like that!"

"Diane? I know that I have made the mistake of not putting you first, but I was not in Paris to see Diane. I was in Paris having this made." He knelt beside her and out of his coat emerged a spectacular ruby ring.

"I… I thought… but…" She was awed as he slid the ring onto her finger. She saw the intertwined "H" and "C" on either side of the stone.

"I wanted to do something special for our tenth year. I know it seems insignificant now that I-"

She embraced him, pulling him close, needing him to know how much she still loved him. She wouldn't stop trying, she wouldn't give up. "Henry, thank you." It wasn't about the gift. He had thought of her, just as she thought of him. He didn't abandon her for his mistress, but was crafting a token of his love for her.

He held her, breathing in her scent. He kissed her hair, her cheek, her neck. He laid her down gently before the roaring fire. She smiled up at him as she pulled him closer. She removed his coat and he quickly kicked off his boots. He unlaced her dress, pulling it down to kiss her collarbone and shoulder.

Just then a knock at the door, broke the spell of the moment. Henry sighed and rolled onto his back.

"Milady, shall I draw you a bath?"

Catherine suppressed a giggle and answered, "No, I have retired for the evening. Do not disturb me further."

Catherine turned to look at him. The firelight framed his perfect wife, a sight most bewitching to Henry.

"You know, a bath might not have been such a bad idea…" He grinned devilishly at her.

"Hmmmm…" Catherine smiled, "Do you remember, in our first year of marriage, the night we snuck out through the tunnels?"

Henry chuckled at the memory, "I could never forget it."

TBC