Title: Ours
Summary: What happens to the schilling given to Queen Mary? Set in the 1986 movie Lady Jane.
Author: PirateRina717
Disclaimer: I just own the obviously fictional end to the obviously better movie.
(A/N) I loved the schilling connection throughout the movie, so here is what happens to it after Jane's death.
Ours
In the privacy of her chamber – soon to be hers and Philip's – Mary was deep in thought. Never before had she questioned the acts she did, for doing so would result in doubt among her subjects and her God. Ultimately, her task was simple: rule and govern justly in the name of the true Church, and to prevent any heathen believers to take her rightful place. Simple. Why then, she wondered, was she sitting where she was, reflecting on the past when she should be looking forward to the future? Moonlight gleamed off of an object that seemed to almost boast its presence in the room.
"Of course," Mary muttered, laughing dryly. Jane. Or, "the usurper" as most would have her called. She was the one obstacle that kept Mary from being with her husband, even when she had tried to avoid it. Why did her death bother her so greatly? Was it youth? Perhaps Jane was too naïve to understand the decisions she made and how manipulative others could be.
Mary shook her head. "But that is not so," she whispered into her fingers. Mary sighed and picked up the coin from the table beside her, turning it over in her hands. The engraving of Jane on the schilling was of little likeness, but nonetheless it prominently showed her passion for making such worthless things. Mary thought again of why she was so upset by her execution. Was it the breaking of her promise? Or – Mary stood in sudden realization – was it the breaking of something else?
"Could it be," said the Queen to her self, "that I am ashamed for separating love?" The sense it made! Mary thought of Jane and her husband's pure and unconditional love for each other that was talked about by anyone who was asked about the late Lady Jane. Jane loved her husband more than she loved the throne, and Mary had killed them both like traitors for her future husband. Distraught, Mary sat on her bed, and put the schilling into her sleeve. What she needed was extensive prayer and time to think.
[0o0o0]
The ceremony was over. Finally wed, Mary left the church with Philip at her side. The bells sounded all over the city, and flower petals rained down from every window. In her path, Mary saw a man thin to the bone from starvation. Upon closer inspection she saw that he bore the burnt mark of a beggar. Mary smirked. She took out the silver schilling and held it above her head so the crowd could see. Silently she gave it to the man, much to her husband's confusion. The crowd cheered, and Mary continued on the path to the carriage. Content, Mary reminded herself of the conclusion of her prayer the night before: why should she remember the usurper and her husband through a mere schilling? Who cared if the coin was theirs? As the carriage jolted into motion towards her new life, Mary grasped the rosary around her neck.
They will be happy, she thought, even when they are both in Hell.