Some of the guests had already fled the country. In the meantime, only King Marco, Queen Catherine, Princess Claude, Luc Narcisse, and Philippe stayed. Queen Elisabeth did leave something for the Queen, especially for me as her niece, a gift from Spain, of course.

Rizzio already knew the location of Lord Darnley's meeting with the Vatican representative. I went with my mother to catch Lord Darnley in action, conspiring with the Vatican behind the Queen of Scotland.

"Lord Darnley, Cardinal," she said.

"Mary!" Darnley gasped.

"So what's happening here? Why am I not informed about this? "

"It was I who invited King Darnley here to have a meeting with me." The Cardinal said.

"As I remember, I am the Queen. Every meeting that will happen here will come through me. Darnley, you may leave now. If you refuse to get up on your feet, I have guards there to help you." She said this as Lord Darnley was left speechless and disappointed.

"Queen Mary, what you're doing may cost the willingness of the Vatican to support you for the English crown."

"You can't do that."

"Vatican wants a king for Scotland. Now that you have a king, we support his decisions for his country. "

"He's no King. I didn't grant him the crown matrimonial. "

"Then I will. "

"No, you can't! Scotland has one true ruler: Mary, Queen of Scots. I am the Queen of Scotland. I am Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, daughter of James V, crowned on her sixth day and not appointed by the Pope but by the Almighty himself. It is my duty, my God-given birthright, and my crown to defend it from anyone who attempts to take it away! No one can take that from me nor the Vatican. "

"Well then, I am sorry, Queen Mary. I will make sure this comes to the Vatican—to the Pope. I will also make sure that the Vatican will no longer support you for the English throne. " We left after meeting with the Cardinal.

The Queen immediately went to Catherine for help.

"What happened?" Catherine asked.

"I guess the Vatican also wants a king for Scotland." I said.

"They support Darnley as the King of my country. They want to help him build his power. The Cardinal was even willing to grant him the crown matrimonial, but I told him that he couldn't because I am the Queen of Scots and that's my God-given birthright. "

"That's good that you stopped him."

"But I do have a problem."

"What is it?"

"They pulled out their support for my campaign for the English throne."

"Oh, no worries."

"What?"

"I may have an idea to solve that."

"What is it?"

"You do have gifts from your guests; more on jewelries? Am I right? "

"Yes"

"Well, I'll take care of that. You go ahead, my dear. "

"Please do everything, Catherine."

We left Grandma there for awhile. The Queen headed back to her chambers to rest while I was on my way to see my friends.

"Ana! "

"Hey, Alex!"

"What are you guys up to?"

"I was supposed to go to you and ask if you wanted to join us, but now you are here!"

"Where to?"

"We are planning to shop in the villages. You know, buy new things that aren't found here in the palace. "

"I get you! Of course I'll come. Let's go! "

The five of us went inside the carriage, followed by my guards. As we arrived there, I saw my brother and my fiancé.

"Philippe! Marco!"

"Oh, hello ladies." My brother said.

"Alexandra," Marco greeted.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Nothing?"

"Yeah, I was just getting to know my future brother-in-law!"

"Oh god, Philippe"

"Sorry for my brother, Marco."

We laughed.

"Don't worry. We're having fun here."

"Where are you ladies going, by the way?"

"Just going through stuff here." Ana said.

"Buying new things," Isabel said,

"Might as well join you?" I asked.

"Of course." The boys nodded.

Marco and John Philippe joined us while buying in the market. They also brought food for the people back at Scottish Court. Suddenly, I came up with an idea.

"You know, while the men are here, we should buy bread for the people. We should give and show them our kindness as high-borns. " I told my ladies.

"Yes!"

"You're right."

"Why not?"

"It'll be good to help people in need." I smiled.

"Of course."

"Great idea!"

"I'll tell your guards to prepare." Marco said.

"Thank you, Marco."

We bought as much bread as we could. After buying, I called for the attention of our people to gather, for we would be giving food to them.

"My fellow Scots, I am with a very kind company. My fiancé, the king of Italy— King Marco, my brother, Lord John Philippe of France; and my wonderful friends, Lady Anastacia, Lady Isabel, Lady Rebekah, and Lady Antoinette. We are here to give our help and kindness to all of you here. We decided to give you bread for your families! "

Everybody applauds our presence and right-doing. We personally gave them the food we bought.

While I was giving food to them, one said, "Your royal highness, we are thankful that you are this kind to us."

"We admire you for being thoughtful, just like the Queen." Added by another Scot.

"Queen Mary did very well at taking care of you and teaching you good values. My princess, King Francis, would be so proud of you. " A vendor said.

"For your thoughtfulness and gratitude, we honor you and your friends. A token of gratitude for our lives, our support and our hard work. We are here to help you and the Queen in any circumstance. " Another one said.

"We will always be loyal to our Queen. It may be to death, but we are here. " A woman proudly said,

"We are Scots. We are one. We are Scotland! " They chanted.

I can feel their support for us, especially for the Queen. I can feel my emotions deep inside and I want to cry because of happiness.

"Thank you! Thank you for your loyalty, the support and the love that you are showing us. The Queen will know about this, and she will be absolutely delighted with what you said. On behalf of my friends, we are all thankful for how you welcomed us here. Again, I am grateful for the wise words and I will always treasure them. And Yes! You are right! We are Scots! We are one! We are Scotland! "

Everybody applauds once again. After my speech, my friends were congratulating me on another good deed. I wouldn't have achieved this without them. After that, we went back to the castle.

I saw my mother talking to my grandmother, the Queen Mother of France. I went to them to tell them what happened in the villages.

"Mother!"

I guess she didn't hear me. Well, she's talking to my grandmother. So I just stood beside her and waited for it to end.

"Don't worry, Mary. I already solved the problem. "

"How?"

"Remember when I asked you about your gifts from the wedding?"

"Yes"

"I used the gold and jewels you received to bribe the English border towns. You know, they won't decline when it comes to fortune. Of course, they accepted it. Regardless of the Vatican's pulling out of their support, most of the English towns are on your side again. The Vatican will not cause you anything. " Catherine grinned.

"Thank you." She embraced her grandmother. "Thank you, Catherine," she said again.

"Oh child, don't worry. I always have your back. Whenever and wherever you need me. You have my word. "

"Thank you very much, Catherine!"

I then talked to my mother about the wonderful news. She was very thankful and teary-eyed because she told me that I was growing so much like a true ruler—loyal to the country and a kind woman. I am too, thankful that she was there for me. She's been a great mother to me. A perfect role model for me and for everyone here in Scotland who has witnessed her powerful and successful reign until now. I hope that I can be like her in the future, a strong woman with the intelligence of a genius and the strength of a true queen.