Francis watched Mary and Bash's whispered conversation. They looked awfully close, huddled together in a cozy corner.

"Excuse me." he muttered to Olivia and then crossed the room. When he reached them, Bash looked up and his face split into his trademark rakish grin.

"Well, speak of the devil." Bash said lightly. Francis glared at him. Mary, on the other hand, refused to meet his eyes. Feeling guilty, or was his presence so unwelcome?

"Sorry to interrupt," Francis lied, "but I need to speak with my fiancée." He grabbed Mary's hand and strode out of the room with her in tow.

As soon as they arrived at the empty hallway, Mary pulled her hand away, making him stop and turn to her.

"For someone who claims to be able to keep their distance, you're demonstrating very little restraint." she said coldly. "How dare you drag me out as if I were a misbehaving child?"

"You and Bash throwing your relationship in my face was childish." Francis retorted.

"Me?" Mary asked incredulously. "I told you there's nothing between me and Bash. You're the one who spent most of the night with Olivia hanging on your arm and your every word."

"Well, you seemed to have no shortage of men hanging around you all night."

Mary scoffed. "First you warn me about my associating with others at Court. Then you 'release' me to do exactly that. And now that I am doing what you suggested, and with much more propriety than yourself, I might add, you're angry with me?" She took a step toward him. "Did you think I would stay in my room, pining for you, while you stayed in your room lying with Olivia?"

Heat rose to his face. "Is that what this is about? Revenge?"

"Of course not. It's about you presuming that I need your permission to speak with anyone." She arched her brow. "What do you want from me, Francis?"

Lord, she was infuriating. He took a deep breath. "We agreed that until our marriage, we could spend our time with other people. But I thought we decided that you can choose anyone, except Bash."

"No, you decided that on your own, even though you have no right to dictate who I can or cannot see." Mary said with righteous indignation. "And you know full well that it was a grossly unfair ultimatum. As a man, you are free to bed as many women as you like. I cannot be alone in a room with any man for more than a minute without my virtue being called into question. Yet it is you who instructs me? Perhaps I should command that you choose anyone except Olivia?"

He decided to side-step the last question. "Unfair or not, it's what needed to be done." he insisted. "Bash is my brother-"

"And he is my friend." she countered. "But let's say I gave in to your demands and spent my time with someone else. Would that make you happy? Or would you still be jealous and hypocritical?" He frowned, unable to deny that he hated the sight of Mary flirting with other men. She rushed on. "Just as this is your Court and your choice to keep Olivia with you, this is my life and my decision to associate with any duke, count, or bastard I wish to." Mary raised her head and squared her shoulders. "You have no say in the matter. You said yourself, you are a prince. I am a queen."

Francis blinked in surprise. She had never pulled rank on him before. But he quickly recovered. "Don't you see, that is exactly why I'm doing this?" he asked, desperation seeping into his voice. "We are royals, but we're acting like children. Mary, I know I've been blinded by jealousy. Blaming you and Bash for the threat of the pagans was hypocrisy, since your only offense was a kiss, the same as mine. I fully admit we all made mistakes." Her expression softened as he continued. "And I know what I'm asking of you is unfair and unreasonable, but that's because I can't see reason, not when every time I close my eyes, I see my fiancée and my brother betraying me." Mary lowered her eyes, and he sighed. "I want to believe you when you tell me you don't return Bash's feelings for you. But right now, I don't know if I can trust either of you. I can't even trust myself. And that's the problem. That's why I am trying to be a responsible ruler, to end this discord between you, me, and my brother once and for all, before it makes us do something we truly regret and can never take back."

She looked back up at him, her eyes dark and intense again. "And you think the way to do that is by severing our ties?"

"Yes." he said. "It's the only way we can rule with a clear head and a compassionate heart."

"Forgive me, but I don't think it's worked so far, has it?" she asked. "We can't just pretend to not care."

"We must. We have to stay away from each other." His voice lowered. "Even if it kills us. There's too much at stake for us to listen to our emotions."

She shook her head. "There's too much between us for us to ignore them."

And suddenly she grabbed his lapels and pulled him into a fiery kiss. He was caught off-guard by her brazen move, but his body reacted instinctively. He kissed her with equal fervor as his arms snaked around her and crushed her against him. Her hands slid up his chest and neck to weave into his hair, bringing his head closer to her so she could deepen their kiss. Their passion was frantic and intense, and Francis found himself walking her backwards until her back hit the stone wall. She leaned against it as his hands roved over her. He swept her hair aside to reveal her milky skin, and he tore his lips away from her mouth to kiss her shoulder and suckle at her neck. Mary gasped his name and held onto him for support. He returned to devour her lips, their moans mingling together. God, how he wanted her.

Then, just as abruptly as it had begun, their intimate moment ended. Mary pressed her hands against his chest and shoved him away. He took a couple of unsteady steps back. They stood there in the corridor, breathing heavily and staring at each other with desire and confusion. After a minute, she swallowed and spoke.

"Even when you push me away, I still want to be with you. And I think we've just proven that you feel the same way." she said quietly. "Even though life would be so much simpler if we decided to have only a political partnership like your parents'... I still want to be with you, complicated uncertainties and all." She closed the distance between them once more, and he had to fight the urge to kiss her again. "We've placed our countries before ourselves, escaped other engagements, survived assassins, pagans, and your mother. The only thing that's stopping us from being together now is each other. We can't let other people or our own fears come between us anymore." She caressed his cheek and kissed him ever so softly. "I believe that Olivia is your past, and I am your future. Now you have to trust in me. My heart is yours and yours alone." She stepped back. "So if you want to be with me, then be with me." Another step and a deep breath. "Otherwise...keep your distance, stay out of my life, and leave me, truly, alone."

With a final look of sadness, Mary turned and walked away. Francis could do nothing but watch her go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N 1: This, like the show, is a piece of historical fiction/fantasy. I tried to avoid being anachronistic, but I do little research on the historical figures/places. I do not own Reign or its characters. Please review if you like or dislike. Thanks!

A/N 2: This is one-shot(?) set after 1x06 "Chosen." Inspired by a discussion with chrisrose. Sorry for the cliffhanger. I already wrote in "First Love" how I want the Francis/Olivia and Mary/Bash conflict to resolve, and in "Lion & Dragon" how I think Mary should help Francis deal with his love-vs-duty struggle, both stories ending with happy Frary, so I didn't want to revisit any of that. This is just a scene I'd love to see, with hurt, jealous Francis and bold, proactive Mary. I may add a clearer resolution later? Not sure yet. But I hope this short fic gives some insight into Francis' state of mind, since his behavior in the last episode disappointed some.

A/N 3: Don't forget to vote for Reign for Favorite New TV Drama at the People's Choice Awards! Vote at the PCA site, FB, app, or tweet "Reign #newtvdrama #PeoplesChoice". Let's show the power of Royals!