My Life As The Dauphin

Passe Un Joyeux Petit Michel

I DO NOT OWN REIGN.

French Court. Kingdom of France. Michaelmus Day.

On the day of the Michaelmus celebration, everyone was gathered in the throne room for the ball. Keeping in with the show, I dressed up in the visage of St. Michael; it was a bit pretentious, I must admit, but this was all on the show. As I went into the great all where everyone was enjoying the masquerade, all of the nobles and other guests were gussied up in various guises in celebration of the holy day. I noticed that the large chair at the far end of the room sat empty. As much as I would have loved to see Simon meet the headsman for terrorizing Mary, it wasn't fair for the ass wipe to be put to death for the crime of another.

When I walked in, familiar faces stood out to me. There was Lola in her Norse myth getup. Kenna appeared in her forest sprite costume, eager as ever to jump King Henry's bones. I finally saw Bash out of the corner of my eye. He was wearing his usual type of clothing, except that he was also wearing a lion's pelt for a cape. I grinned as I made my way over.

"Aha! , aren't you?" Basks asked in jest. "As I remember, we already slew Lucifer."

"And Mary's life will be the better for it." I assured him and partly myself as we picked up goblets of wine and toasted them.

When I saw Mary in her costume, I nearly spit out my mouthful of wine. She was an Angel; a literal Angel. Mary was sporting a beautiful white gown with gold colored tassels. She was sporting big white wings; similar to those that Lola wore. A headband similar to a golden halo topped it all off. I was struck dumb by her heavenly beauty as she walked up to me.

"Mary...you look..." I stuttered as I looked like a virgin.

"Heavenly?" She asked with a shy smile.

"Yeah...that." I replied with a chuckle as I offered my hand and led her into the floor to dance.

"May I ask, why the Angel?" I inquired as I remembered that in the show, she had dressed like a huntress in a vain attempt to please Tomàs.

"When you told me that you were going as St. Michael, I felt that I could be seen as your angelic bride, a reward for casting the devil out of Heaven." Mary replied, not knowing how closely her words hit home; considering what Bash I had done for her.

"I would kill a million devils to have you as my bride." I remarked as she wrapped her arms around me while we moved to the music. I was amazed by how easy it had been for me to fall in love with her. I had thought it would be harder, it the more that I spent with Mary, the more that I saw how amazing of a person she was. The only problem was that unless I was able to change Francis's fate, I might not get to have a long life with her.

We danced a few more dances, each were very enjoyable, but I eventually stopped when I saw Leith dancing with Greer. I hated to see how Leith was falling for her, considering how she would only break his heart twice in the end. I had to say something to him.

"Are you all right Francis?" Mary asked as she could see my discomfort.

"Of course, I just need to attend to a personal matter, please excuse me?" I asked as she nodded her consent. I then walked over to Leith and Greer who were surprised to see me.

"Your Grace!" Greer said in shock as she curtsied.

"Would you mind if I borrowed Leith for a moment?" I asked as both were shocked that I knew what was going on.

"Of course, your Grace." Leith said with a head bow as we excused ourselves and walked out into the hall.

"I know that you and Greer of Kinross are...whatever it is you're doing and please don't deny it." I remarked as Leith was stunned into silence. "I must ask that you end it and break off whatever you have going with her."

"Because I am below her station and am not worthy to court her?" He asked bitterly, assuming that was my issue.

"No Leith, you are not the problem; Greer is." I declared as he was once again stunned by my words. "Listen to me Leith Bayard, you are a kind and honest man with a good heart. None of that matters to Greer. She is a girl who only cares about what she has and how she looks."

"It's not that simple." Leith insisted as he tried to defend his crush.

"She'll tell you that she's doing it for her family, that her father is in debt, that her sisters need dowries, but the truth is that her reputation matters to her above all else." I pointed out as I tried tog eye through to him. "She wants the life of a noblewoman and she would never give it up willingly. At the end of the day, Greer only cares about Greer."

"I see..." Leith said, feeling forlorn as I put my hand on his shoulder.

"I tell you this not to hurt you Leith, I say this to spare you from drowning in a sea of unhappiness and if you pursue Greer, that is surely what you will find." I insisted as I stood up and left him to think about what I had said.

Meanwhile, I sought out Bash. I had to get serious about the threats to Frary. There was Catherine, who would put Olivia into play soon enough. There was Henry who would eventually go mad and try to kill me. There was the evil fucker Narcisse, who set into motion the events that led to Mary's rape. The list went on and I knew that I couldn't fight them on my own. I would need an army behind me.

"Bash, a word?" I asked as he excused himself from his drinking buddies and followed me into an empty room.

"What troubles you, Nolan?" Bash inquired as I turned to face him.

"Simon...Tomàs...they are only the tip of the iceberg. Mary has so many enemies here at court and we can't fight them all by ourselves." I told him as he looked at me seriously.

"What enemies?" He asked, concerned about Mary.

"Many, but that serpent Catherine is the most pressing." I explained. "She sees Mary as the key to my ruin and that bitch is out for blood."

"How do you expect us to stop Catherine di' Medici? She is skilled in getting her way and removing all obstacles in her path." Bash asked me as I leaned in close.

"We have to fight this fight the way she does. Catherine has a flying squad to gain information...we need to make one of our own." I reasoned as Bash looked surprised.

"You want a flying squad?" He asked with amusement as I shook my head.

"No...a secret society, an army of spies to help us root out our enemies and crush them." I explained with a grin as Bash shared my sentiment.

"A secret society...we'll need to recruit those we can trust." Bash replied as I looked over at Leith.

"And I know our first recruit." I replied as I clasped hands with Francis's brother. "We will become the Varden." I had gotten the name from Eragon: one of my favorite fantasy stories.

"The Varden?" Bash asked.

"I read of them in a fairy tale. A group of warriors who rebelled against a wicked tyrant; as we will." I assured Bash as I was ready to begin my war to save Frary.

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