Catherine stood outside Mary's room, the guards weren't at their post at the moment and she stared at the door, not sure how she should approach the situation without getting thrown out before she even had a chance to speak. She sucked in a breath and decided to just play it by ear and hope for the best. She opened the it slowly and stood in the doorway. Mary was seated at the mirror, brushing her hair, when she noticed Catherine's reflection in the background.
"I'm not interested in hearing any more of your arguments and threats, so you might as well just go now." Mary said without even turning around.
"I'm not here to argue." Catherine said. "May I come in?"
"Since when do you ask? Usually you just barge in. What's stopping you now?" Mary said flatly. Catherine wasn't sure how to take that, so she took a step forward and closed the door but didn't venture further into the room.
"I just wanted to apologize..." Catherine began carefully.
"Apologize?" Mary turned around in her chair. "You actually changed your mind about the Duke?"
"Not about the Duke. That's something I stand by. I mean, I wanted to apologize about what I said. It was said in anger and I didn't mean it...I don't blame you for not trusting me. Too much has happened between us for you to do that, but you were wrong when you said I don't really try protect the ones I love. I would do anything to protect my family, and even though you would probably never believe me...that includes you." She said sincerely.
"You're right, I don't believe you. With all the things..." Mary started. Catherine put her hand up to signal her to stop speaking.
"How could you? I know. I've been thinking on that actually. Those things I did to you, most of them were necessary to prevent even worse things, but I know that doesn't make it feel any better. I would take it all back if I could, do it differently, but words can't change the past. I know." Catherine said.
"You're just trying to play to my sympathies, hoping I'll change my mind." Mary said turning back around.
"I figured you'd think that. Especially since I'm not the type to bring up the past. I don't see the point, seeing as it can't be changed. But on this matter, I'm hoping to change the future instead." Catherine said.
"If you're about to tell me Nostradamus had another vision, I don't want to know, from now on I'm letting my future stay unknown. Prophecies cause nothing but trouble." Mary said.
"No. This has nothing to do with Nostradamus, or the Duke, or Francis, or anything else. What I'm trying to say is...we...well...we used to be close, you and I, when you were young...and now...well I...I know I'm mostly responsible for that and I..." Mary cut her off.
"Stop. You've tried some awful forms of manipulation before, but this is low even for you." She said slamming the brush down on the desk. "Just leave. I've heard enough."
"I am sorry Mary, I really am. I hope you can see that one day. You should have this."Catherine said. She then pulled the little chunk of glass out of her pocket and placed it on the desk beside Mary. Mary stared down at it as Catherine began to walk away, her heart filling with sadness knowing she'd failed. Just as she reached the door, Mary spoke.
"You kept this...You held onto a meaningless piece of glass...all these years." She said picking it up and turning around as she stood. Catherine swallowed and turned to face her.
"It wasn't meaningless to me." She said simply and left.
That night, Catherine was sitting in her room staring blankly into the fireplace contemplating the days events, when Bash peeked in from the passageway.
"Should I run for cover, or have you run out of vases?" He said teasingly. Catherine rolled her eyes.
"I'm not angry anymore. Actually, I'd almost prefer anger to the his feeling I have now." She said as Bash sat down next to her. "She isn't going to forgive me. I practically poured my heart out. It didn't effect her at all. I don't blame her, but I hadn't realized how far I'd gone until now. That I'd damaged her perception of me so badly that she doesn't just hate me, but she she's me as some heartless monster." He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "The worst part is, I'm starting to think she's right."
"Stop that. You're far from being a monster, and you're most certainly not heartless." Bash said.
"You were right, Mary and I were close, but I ruined it...I'd almost forgotten how much I used to care for her. I suppose I had to pretend I hated her for so long, I started to believe it myself." She said.
"She'll come around. I'm sure of it." He said.
"I wish I could believe that. But you didn't see the look in her eyes. I'm afraid there isn't any hope. In the end, she'll be the one getting punished for it. That uncle of hers will destroy her, and all I was trying to do was protect her and Francis." She said.
"You can't blame yourself. You did everything you could. As far as the past goes, you did what thought was right, just because you made mistakes doesn't make you a bad person." He said as he started playing with her hair. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes, trying to push all the negativity out of her head. "You know it wasn't so long ago I thought the same things and now I couldn't possibly imagine ever feeling that way again. There is still hope." She looked up and stroked his cheek.
"Maybe that's just because you make me a better person." She said. He smiled, then learned in to kiss her.
"I did nothing. It's always been in there." He said as he started to play with her hair. She kissed him again, then nestled into his chest.
The next day, as Catherine made her way down the hall, on her way to the garden, she noticed Francis talking to the Duke. She saw him shake his hand and then the Duke walked outside. She made her way to the window and watched him ride away. Curious, she approached Francis.
"The Duke is leaving?" She asked.
"Yes. I decided to give him a different position. One that requires him to stay outside the castle." Francis said.
"I don't understand." She said.
"Well, it's not often you, Bash and Mary all agree on something. So I thought, considering that, I should take a second look at the situation." He said.
"Mary? I thought..." she began.
"Yes. So did I, but this morning she said she was wrong. She said she also felt something amiss with the Duke. So I thought maybe a compromise was in order." He told her. She smiled at him and he walked away, just as Mary was rounding the corner.
"Mary. Francis just told me about the Duke...What made you change your mind?" She asked.
"Words can be made up, but not the this." She said pulling the small piece of glass from her pocket. She picked up Catherine's hand, placing it in her palm and closing her fingers around it. She held it there while she spoke. "I remember the day I arrived here. I was scared to death. Being left in a place I'd never been, with people I'd never met. I was shaking and you came, and you put your arms around me and you told me not to be afraid because you would always be there to protect me. For awhile I thought that woman was gone forever, but I saw a bit of her yesterday and I took a chance, hoping against all hope I wasn't making a grave mistake. Please don't make it one." Catherine squeezed her hand just a bit.
"I...thank you. Mary." She said. Mary nodded and walked away. Catherine opened her hand and examined the little trinket beneath her fingers. For the first time in a very long time she felt at peace.
She moved as fast as she could to get to the garden. When she arrived, she rushed to Bash, hugging him.
"You were right. I only had to tell her the truth. She did it. She had him sent away. I mean he is still working for Francis, but he's gone." She said a bit exited. Bash smiled and hugged her back. She pulled back just enough to look at him. "It's all thanks to you. If you hadn't...how did you know?"
"Because I see who you are, and I knew if you could just let Mary see what I see, there's no way she wouldn't forgive you." He said.
"Well, I don't know that she's forgiven me exactly, but it's a start. The most important thing is she trusts me now." Bash smiled again and kissed her. "Now if I could only get rid of our other unwanted guests. I swear if one more person shows up unannounced...what is it?" She said as she realized he was no longer paying attention.
"There. A carriage... is...is that my mother's carriage?" He said looking into the distance.
"Son-of-a...I had to open my big mouth." she said grimacing.
Dun dun duuuun....to be continued...