For anyone who never watched reign, the media video shows who Mary Queen of Scots [Adelaide's mother in the story] is based off of.

A D E L A I D E 

"My dear niece, please humor me on what the councilmen are raving on about. They seem to believe that you told them that they are no nothing more than advice for the queen?" Lord James spoke with a sarcastic chuckle as he pressed open the door to her chambers after a knock. Adelaide sat upon a small bench as one of her many handmaiden stood behind her tending to her hair for the day. 

"There is nothing to humor." She told him simply with a shrug, staring into the small hand mirror she held in her hand. Her soft fingers patted against her lips, touching up the rosy gloss she had applied. 

"Adelaide you cannot just silence the court." James scoffed. The reluctance of his words angered Adelaide. Her eyes peered up towards him over the edge of her hand mirror, brows furrowing in frustration. 

"I will do as I please, along with you many seem to have forgotten who is in charge here. I am the Queen of Scotland, I am free to do as I see fit for Scotland." She argued, standing from her stool. "The councilmen are nothing more than a party of scholars who stand by to aid me when I see fit, not as they like." Adelaide walked past her uncle, not caring that her dress slid over the tip of his shoes. Her hands pressed against the top of her window ceil, her eyes casting out over the fields below. 

"Who are you becoming?" James asked in confusion, not recognizing the woman who stood before him. She was no longer the timid, oblivious queen she once was. Something had snapped within her. James had watched the same change in his sister Mary years ago, but not until after the death of her first husband. This was sudden. No drastic event that he could recall to lead to this. 

"I am the queen of Scotland!" Adelaide turned towards him in a snap. The booming voice caused everyone's heads to lower in the room. "You may be my uncle, but you are my subject. I love you James, but I will rule my kingdom as it is my right." She said, her voice softening as she spoke. 

James dropped down to his knee, keeping his gaze to the floor as he did. "Forgive me my queen." He said, his gaze rising to his niece who stood before him. "I seem to have forgotten that you are no longer a child, but I now see who you truly have become." His lips curled into a proud smile, radiating a grin onto Adelaide herself. "I do not doubt you will rule Scotland as your mother would be proud to see." James told her. The words tugged at her heart, aching at the thought of her mother. She had always wondered if her actions would have made her mother proud. She tried to imagine what Mary would have told her, what she would have wanted for her.

Adelaide reached for her uncle's hand, leading him to rise back to his feet. "Do you really believe she would be proud of me? For what I have done for Scotland?" She asked him, her eyes searching his face for an answer. Her uncle's hands cupped around her face, leaning a kiss onto her forehead. 

"More than you could ever imagine." He told her brightly with a smile. James grinned, taking a step back from her. "We should host a party." He said excitedly. The handmaiden made their way out of the room, leaving the two to discuss in private. 

"A party?" Adelaide questioned in confusion, watching the handmaiden shut the door behind them. "On what occasion?" she asked. 

"Think of it as a coronation of sorts. A celebration to crown the queen of Scotland as it's sole ruler." James told her, his grin never fading. "We will invite lads from foreign lands just as we would for a formal coronation. We will announce that you will not be taking a husband, as of yet, but will be taking the throne never the less." 

The young queen's heart began to flutter in excitement as she watched her uncle rave on about the festivities. She knew that some people would not be happy with the news. There would be those who doubted her capabilities of ruling without a king by her side. She knew comparison would be drawn between herself and her mother's virgin cousin Elizabeth. Only worse with Spain now having her half brother to rule as a true king. A queen without a king was seen as an unfit ruler to most. It was the way in which the world worked. A queen had enough power to rule in the place of her husband if he was gone or until she was remarried if widowed, but never enough to rule solely by themselves. 

The continuing of the family line would be brought into question. The people of Scotland would eventually come to wonder about the future of their land. No husband meant no heir. At least no rightful blood heir. The thought was one Adelaide wasn't ready to carry. She wanted to be a mother surely, to continue her family line and the ruling of Scotland, but she wasn't willing to risk her own happiness or country at it's expense. 

For now she was content with ruling as a single queen. Regardless of not being wed, she would bring honor to Scotland and all it's people with her ruling. She knew that eventually she would have to find a king for her country, but for now she would do her best. Besides, her heart was in the wrong place, tied to someone else. She would have to wait for that to pass or severe the ties before she would be ready to find a partner. 

"Alright let's do it." She said with a giggle, excited for what was to come. Her uncle silently cheered, embracing his arms around his niece - but careful not to ruin the freshly done makeup or hair she had just been given. "I will ensure a list of invites are sent to the correct parties and we will discuss over dinner what will be at this party." He chuckled. James carefully brushed a stand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. "You will be a magnificent queen my dear." 

Some time later... 

The loud clunk of a knight's boots echoed down the grand hall as he hurried along. Within his hand was grasped a letter sealed with a wax stamp. He carefully held it not to bend or crinkle in any way. Beads of sweat began to gather over his olive skin. His muscles cried out for him to slow down, but he knew better than to be caught leisurely walking with such a important message. He gave no care to those he bumped into or nearly ran over. "Out of the way." He called out, causing a group of house keepers to make a hole for him to pass through. After what seemed like a long journey, he finally stopped before a pair of grand white doors. A intricate design of metal swirls covered the door from top to bottom. The door knobs were large, diamond knobs with a golden trim. Everything about the design only hinted as a reminder of where you were. 

The guard stood quietly, his eyes closing as he forced himself to take a breath and calm his breathing. He swiped the beads of sweat onto his sleeve. Though he was a messenger and expected to travel great distances, he was still expected to look his best while within the castle walls. As he wore his lands crest across his chest, he served as a representation of them at all times - or that was what he was taught. Clearing his throat and straightening his posture, his hand rose to knock upon the door. There was a brief silence before a woman's voice boomed from within ordering for him to enter. 

The door knobs were grasped by two guards from within, pulling the doors open at the same time. The doors led into a vastly open room. The walls were covered with book cases that stretched up towards the ceiling. Each a different size and color. The title was written across the spine in a gold or silver writing. In the center of the circular room was a large wooden round table. A top the table sat a cluster of books, some open to certain pages while others stacked upon one another. 

A woman stood on the other side of the table, her back turned to the messenger. She wore a blood red dress decorated with golden designs, each delicately stitched into the fabric one by one. Her bright red hair was twisted into a messy bun mingled with braids. The sharp red stood out against her white skin. "What is it?" She asked, speaking over her shoulder while her eyes stayed on the book within her hands. 

"Messenger Davidry, I come baring an urgent message my lady." He spoke sharply. There was nothing the woman hated more than mumbling. He ensured his words came out clear and sharp spoken. 

"Approach." She ordered, turning towards him. She placed her book amongst the mix of others onto the table. Davidry approached without hesitation. As he got to the table, his head fell in a bow as he reach out with the single envelope. The woman's cold hand snatched the envelope from his hand, her long nails ripping across the top of the letter. 

"Oh deary me." You could hear the smile on her lips as she spoke without having to glance towards her. 

"What is it mother?" A voice called from a far corner of the room. "It seems your sister is having a celebration James." Elizabeth giggled as her eyes roamed over the paper. A dark smirk pulled at the corner of her lips as she read down the paper, her nail tracing across each word. 

"Is she getting married?" Young price James asked with his thick Spanish accent. 

"Oh no, no, no." She laughed, handing the paper towards her adopted son. James took the sheet, his eyes reading over the message. "She seems to be crowing herself without a husband." She shrugged. 

"And she's invited us?" James spoke with a bit of disbelief and confusion in his mother's smirk. James knew of his blood origin and his mother Mary, but with a twist of Elizabeth's own teachings. He had been told his mother was going insane and was not fit to rule. It was Elizabeth who saved his mother's image by protecting her from the public eye. Elizabeth told him that she had kept Mary in a warm room to aid in her recovery, but after her attempt at killing her son James, Elizabeth had no other choice than to take James from her. He was told that Mary had betrayed her husband, James's father, and planned to either kill him or dethrone him and live out her twisted dreams with her protector. James was grateful to have Elizabeth as his mother or else Mary would have killed him, or so he had been told. He was left to be a ruler of both Scotland and Spain after his mother's passing. Upon the birth of his half-sister, Elizabeth attempted to hide her identity so James could have freedom to rule both kingdoms. As Elizabeth and James saw it, Adelaide was never meant to rule over Scotland. She was only half-royal and shouldn't have been born in the first place. It was Lord James, Prince James's uncle who had pointed out that since Prince James had declared Spain as his first kingdom and Scotland as his second, Adelaide had the right to rule over Scotland.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her son's obviousness. "Oh no, this is nothing more than a simple notice to us of your sister's current events. But, that doesn't mean we can't simply send her a gift." She grinned darkly. 

The young prince's eyes reached up from the card in his hands. Slowly, a smirk of his own began to stretch over his lips. It would be the perfect opportunity for them to send a gift to Queen Adelaide without it being questioned. The two half-siblings did not have contact with one another. It wasn't forbidden, but had never seemed natural between them. After multiple disagreements over the history of their mother, the two saw it to be best fit if they shared nothing more than small updates with the other - just as they did with other countries they had alliances with. Prince James was adamant about Elizabeth's story being the truth while Adelaide trying to convince him that Elizabeth had lied to make Spain more desirable for the young boy. 

"I think my sister would be left speechless with a basket of Spain's grandest fruits and herbs." He suggested darkly. Prince James had been taught by his adoptive mother the ways of ruling. He knew better than to ever strike war against his sister's land, but it didn't mean he had plans of taking back the land that he truly saw as what belonged to himself. "She will be so overjoyed in the festivities she won't have time to recognize thorn apple mixed amongst other delicious treats." 

Grown in the hot Spanish gardens, Thorn apple was a beautiful flower with poisonous leaves. It only takes a few to consume before the hallucinations set in. If left untreated, the individual will die a slow, confusing, and painful death. Queen Mary knew the powers of this beautiful flower and the different ways to use it. It would be practically untraceable. The small leaves, as she was told by her testers, tasted much like leaves in a salad which, when prepared correctly, was unnoticeable until it was too late. The gift would be perfect for the queen as she would likely enjoy a light side salad mixed with exotic Spanish fruit. Her judgement would be clouded with joy and booze, she wouldn't think twice before taking a bite. One mouthful would be all it takes. Left without a queen or king, Scotland reign would fall back into the hands of Prince James without having to even raise a sword. Just how he liked it. 

"I've raised you well young prince." She grinned brightly, "Let's discuss this over a glass of wine. I've always wanted to repaint the walls of that hideous castle in Spanish gold."

A/N: Sorry for the late post everyone! I have been overseas for military for the past month, but finally got some time off with Ramadan this weekend! I will be heading home next week and will finally get back to posting more often. This chapter was more of a filler/suspense to add to what's coming!