Mary Stafford nee Boleyn watched over her daughter Annie and her niece Elizabeth as they slept. She always tried to put on a brave face when they were awake, played games with them, give them lessons but when they were asleep and the house was silent she could truly grieve for the people she lost. Her children by William Carey were stolen from her by her in-laws because they believed Mary to be an unfit mother. George and Anne were murdered unjustly by the King of England and her husband William Stafford, the one person who didn't judge Mary for her past had been killed fighting for the Kings Army against rebels to the crown.

Mary had hoped that a show of loyalty to the King against the Pilgrimage of Grace would soften his heart toward his daughter Elizabeth who had been in Marys' care but he chose to stubbornly believe the lies of his court. It angered Mary how courtiers would show sympathy to the Lady Mary Tudor who defied her father at every turn but not care one bit for a child not old enough to understand what it was her mother supposedly had done to deserve death.

However Mary Stafford could not hold anything against Mary Tudor herself as she was the only one willing to help pay for Elizabeths' upkeep. Sadly that was not going to last as the new Queen Jane Seymour had recently birthed the King of England a son and managed to persuade him to allow Mary Tudor to be married off to some foreign noble.

Jane Seymour was praised as the peacemaker for bringing father and daughter together but what of the Kings' other daughter, Mary Stafford thought bitterly. What of the daughter of the woman Jane helped to destroy. Whilst Mary knew her sister Anne was no angel she did attempt to reach out to the Lady Mary initially. Lady Mary refused of course but as Anne started to lose power and became more paranoid for her own daughters' welfare she became less kind towards her step-daughter but Jane had already given the King a son what did she have to gain by keeping Elizabeth away. Elizabeth would never be seen as a threat to her son Edwards' position so why keep the child away from her father, why take away the Lady Mary the only family member willing to support Elizabeth.

It wasn't in Mary Stafford to hate anyone but as time continued on and Elizabeth was left forgotten her feelings toward the King and Queen soon turned to hatred. In her desperation she had Elizabeths' godfather Archbishop Cranmer who whilst not in the position to persuade the King of England to see his daughter he was able to send a letter to the King of France on Mary Staffords' behalf.

In her youth Mary Boleyn was a mistress to the King of France. No one ever considered them to be close considering the way he mocked her in public calling her the 'English Mare' but like King Henry King Francis didn't like to share and when her father Thomas Boleyn had designs to send Mary into King Henrys' bed Francis decided to humiliate Mary as Henry did Anne. Only in Marys' case she wasn't married to Francis and wasn't required to be loyal to him. Whilst Marys' feelings were hurt due to Francis behaviour she was able to walk away with her life unlike her sister Anne. It was difficult for Mary Stafford to swallow her pride and ask Francis for help particularly after he had hurt her so badly but for her niece's sake Mary felt she had to.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Grabbing her deceased hubands' dagger and concealing it in her dress she answered the door cautiously. A man in fine clothing with a French accent asked, "Are you Madam Stafford formally Mademoiselle Boleyn?"

"I am." Marys' hand tightened around the dagger in her skirts. "And you are Monsieur."

"I am the French Ambassador Clarence." The man introduced with a bow handing Mary a note with Francis royal seal. "My master King Francis has offered you, your daughter and your royal niece sanctuary in France."

Mary opened the note and began to read;

My dearest Mary

Words cannot express how sorry I am for your brother and sisters' death. Like the rest of Europe I was shocked that King Henry would go so far as to kill your siblings on such absurd charges but now my shock has turned to disgust when I learned how he has treated his youngest daughter the Lady Elizabeth.

Though I cannot offer to persuade King Henry to see Lady Elizabeth let alone take her into his care, I can offer you, her and your daughter a place to stay in France. She will be given the proper care befitting a Royal daughter.

Whilst I may not be your King I will act as your loyal knight and protector.

HRH King Francis I of France

Mary looked up from the note towards the Ambassador who was waiting patiently whilst she was reading the note. "He truly means this?" She asked, "He will take care of Elizabeth, myself and my daughter Annie?"

"There is a boat ready to leave tonight but it must be now." The Ambassador answered truthfully, "We don't know how King Henry will react once news reaches him of Lady Elizabeths' disappearance."

"That's if he notices at all." Mary said sadly turning to where the girls were sleeping peacefully. "Very well I suppose we should get moving." She moved to pick up her sleeping daughter and offered her to the French Ambassador, "You carry Annie whilst I'll take Elizabeth."

"Don't you have any luggage Madam?" The Ambassador asked gently taking little Annie into his arms.

"Just these." Mary stated taking two pearl necklaces with a gold 'B' pendant off the side table. Marys' mother had them made for both Anne and Mary when they were girls. It was the first piece of jewellery that they had ever owned. When Anne and Mary had married they stopped wearing them when they had taken on their husbands name but they had still treasured them to remind them where they had come from. Though the name had been tainted thanks to Thomas Boleyns' ambition it did serve as a reminder to tread carefully when dealing in court life. If Mary was to see Francis again she was going to need that reminder now more than ever.

King Francis was preparing to leave the palace. When he had received a note from his former mistress Mary Boleyn he had been surprised. He had last seen Mary in Calais when King Henry wanted support for his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Francis suspected Mary had been invited to sweeten the deal in supporting Anne only Mary seemed less enthused of the idea. Throughout the night Mary had given him the cold shoulder much to her fathers' frustration.

Many assumed that Mary was the meek one of the Boleyn sisters but Francis knew she could be just as stubborn as Anne when she wanted to be. Francis confronted Mary privately over why she was so cold to him and she told him that she didn't appreciate his comments about her to others. When Francis offered to make amends to her Mary seemed insulted. She stated that she wanted no rewards, or titles, or even a crown, all she wanted to know is that she had once mattered to him. Francis almost assumed it was a Boleyn ploy to reap more rewards from another King but after so long without one word from Mary he believed her words to be genuine more so after he heard of her marriage to that common soldier William Stafford.

Then finally over a year after her sisters' death Mary wrote to him:

To my dearest friend

I'm not sure if 'friend' is the right word to describe our relationship but I am running out of friends so quickly these days that I'm in desperate need of one.

You have no doubt heard of my siblings' untimely death. I shouldn't have to tell you of the lies told about my siblings for I know you are wise enough to know that the charges against them were false but unfortunately King Henry doesn't see them that way. He refuses to see his daughter Elizabeth on the grounds that he believes she is not truly his child but anyone can see by just looking at her that she is a true Tudor in every way that matters.

My husband and I have tried to take on the role as parents in her fathers' absence by raising her alongside our own daughter Annie but unfortunately God has saw fit to take my husband from me too.

I'm all alone now with no friend or ally. My own uncle who placed my sister in front of the King in the first place refuses to help us because he doesn't want risk further disfavour with King Henry. I have never asked you for anything but now I'm begging you please help. Elizabeth is all I have left of my precious sister and Annie is the only child I have left since my other children were taken by my first husbands' family.

Your ever loving servant

Mary Stafford nee Boleyn

Mary may not have the gift of poetry like her sister did but her words were honest. Francis had his own spies in England who confirmed the Lady Elizabeths' welfare. He couldn't imagine his own children let alone his bastards being subjected to such treatment. It was thinking of them that he decided to offer Mary and her girls sanctuary in France.

Unfortunately his current Queen Eleanor didn't see it that way. "I don't see why you would offer that little bastard sanctuary."

"She has a name Eleanor." Francis growled at his wife irritated with her behaviour. Francis only agreed to marry Eleanor to secure his sons' release and he was slowly beginning to regret it. His eldest son Francis had died of illness probably brought on by his imprisonment whilst his second eldest Henry clung to his mistress Diane de Poitiers skirts. There were many in court who would prefer Francis youngest son Charles to take the throne after him but Francis would never consider it. Whether it was Francis own guilt for putting his son into such a situation he couldn't say but he would honour his son Henrys' birth right.

"Her mother was a harlot who stole King Henry away from my aunt." Queen Eleanor insisted.

"And you're worried her daughter might push you of throne one day." King Francis mocked his wife, "I wouldn't worry, the Lady Elizabeth is far too young for me."

King Francis was just on his way out the door when he was stopped by his wife's voice, "And what of the girls aunt Mary, wasn't she one of your early mistresses?"

Francis turned and glared at his wife. "You can rest assured dear wife that I'm nothing like my dear brother Henry VIII of England though the lord knows I have been tempted to discard you over the years. The Lady Elizabeth and her family are my guests. If I find you've been mistreating or disrespecting them in any way I'll make sure you'll wish that you had been discarded like your poor Aunt Katherine."

As Francis walked away he couldn't help but think about how he had just threatened his Queen. King Francis didn't like the idea of treating his wife that way. He thought such behaviour was not becoming of a King but Queen Eleanors' behaviour wasn't much better.

Francis first wife Queen Claude wouldn't have objected to allowing the Lady Elizabeth into their home. She would have considered it her Christian duty to care for Elizabeth in her time of need. Despite Mary Boleyn being Francis mistress, Claude chose to remain kind to Marys' sister Anne and Anne had greatly respected Queen Claude because of it. In King Francis mind he only had one true Queen and at times like these he truly missed her.

Mary Stafford held little Annie close to her as Elizabeth stared out of the window looking at the sea. When the girls first woke up to find themselves on a boat sailing to France they thought they were dreaming but Mary soon told the girls that they weren't. Mary explained that they were going to stay with a friend she knew when she and her sister used to live there. It took a while before Mary give in to the girls constant questioning that the friend Mary was referring to was the King of France.

"We're staying with the King of France?" Annie squealed excitedly.

"Not exactly." Mary smiled at her daughter indulgently, "The King of France is going to provide lodging for us and schooling for you girls." At least Mary hoped he would, Francis didn't exactly outline any particular details on what he would be providing for the girls but Mary knew he could be generous when he wanted to be.

"Why couldn't Papa give us those things?" Elizabeth asked turning towards Mary.

Mary didn't want to answer that question but she knew Elizabeth was smart and would figure it out eventually. "Come here Elizabeth." Mary patted a place next to her as Elizabeth sat next to Mary she placed her arm around the child and tried to explain. "Do you remember when your sister used to live with you at Hatfield?"

Elizabeth nodded, "Papa was mad at her and made her work in bad clothes."

"You're Papa wasn't mad at your sister and he's not mad at you either." Mary said delicately stroking her young niece's flaming red hair. "Your Papa was mad at Mary's mother because he believed she lied to him."

"Did Mama lie to Papa too?" Elizabeth questioned, "Is that why Mama had to die?"

"No Elizabeth." Mary said sternly, "Your Mama never lied to the King." Mary knew that what she was saying wasn't strictly true but she didn't want Elizabeth to believe that her Mama deserved to die. "Some horrible people who didn't like your Mama told some nasty lies to your Papa that made him upset with her. These nasty people made your Papa believe that your Mama was committing treason against the crown and we talked about the penalty for treason when Annie's Papa went to fight in the war."

"Those bad men who rebelled against the King and killed Papa had to die." Annie commented.

"That's right Annie." Mary kissed her daughters' head.

"So Papa thought Mama was committing treason like those rebels?" Elizabeth said slowly putting the pieces together.

Mary nodded, "As King it is your Papa's duty to have traitors to the crown executed."

"Lizzie's Papa is stupid," Annie said, "Aunt Anne loved him she would never be like those men." Ever since Annie could remember her Mama told her stories about her beautiful Aunt Anne who fell in love with King Henry and got married against all the odds. The idea that King Henry believed those stupid lies and had killed Aunt Anne was just silly to young Annie. "The King of France isn't that stupid is he?" Annie asked nervously not wanting to end up like her beloved aunt.

Mary laughed at her daughters' question, "No sweetheart. King Francis isn't stupid like King Henry but I wouldn't go around saying things like that. It's naughty to say nasty things about royalty even if it is true."

"What is King Francis like Aunt Mary?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

Mary was glad for the change of conversation. Someday when Elizabeth was old enough she would know the full particulars about her mothers' story but for now Elizabeth would be a little girl starting a new adventure in France with her Aunt Mary and her young cousin Annie Stafford.