Feliz Navidad
Christmas was a festive time in the castle for the Tudors.
The Princess Mary eagerly attended morning mass and prayer, her Queen Mother and King Father walking up with her to the Bishop, sending the head of the church a season greeting and blessings for another wonderful year.
The day would follow with presents, gathering around the fireplace and reading Christmas tales. Her great mother would read them from the Bible, which she treasured and kept at her bedside faithfully.
There would be feast, with sweetmeats, fine wines and music played by the court entertainers. Into the night, the noble lords and ladies would get up from their seats and dance. Colors of velvet and finery swayed along with the rhythm of the drums and the lyres. From her seat, Mary hoped that one day, she would be asked to dance by a fine gentleman like her father.
Each winter, the snow would be harsh and gloomy, but when Christmas came and she was surrounded by family, she would always feel safe.
She wished those days could last forever... that they would never stop happening each year.
But then they took her mother away, and her title of princess.
Instead of the warmth of the fire, she woke up to the dingy, narrow room she was placed in. She served that harlot who stole her father's affections. It was the first time that she celebrated Christmas without her title. It was the first time she celebrated the yuletide season without her beloved mother...
Just as quickly as her mighty father dismissed her mother and his only daughter, the witch was also brushed aside as fast. The enchantress's failure left behind a daughter as well. Her father's new queen and wife brought Mary back to court. Perhaps the new queen and mother would be a blessing this time, rather than a curse. In time, the scars that the former princess had were slowly beginning to heal, thanks to the gentleness of Queen Jane. The king and his heirs were slowly coming back together... They would be a family again.
When the Yuletide came again, she was joyous for the occasion. The same finery of the dresses, the music, the fest, colors that decorated the corridors of the palace were still the same... yet she couldn't help but feel empty inside.
Her Father King abandoned the Catholic faith and replaced it with heresy while he was chasing down the witch, but the princess still kept her Catholic rosary and always wore it in prayer.
As she knelt at the alter and prayed for her Queen Mother, her face began to feel wet. She hummed to a familiar tune that she used to hear Catherine sing.
"A donde sea que yo esté… Tu corazón alcanzaré. Y una sonrisa en tu mirada pintaré. No habrá distancia entre los dos, al viento volaré mi voz… Con mis deseos a tu alma llegaré. Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad…! Feliz Navidad… Prospero Año y Felicidad."
With her Spanish roots, Catherine taught Mary Spanish words. During Christmas, she also sang Spanish Christmas melodies to her.
She could hear her mother's voice... feel her warm hands. The way her dark, beautiful hair glowed when she was near the fire. Her gentle kisses when she tucked little Mary in bed. Mary could still feel her embrace...
Christmas was all the more reason why she wanted her mother back with her.
Feliz navidad, mama… Te amo.
~*x-mas*~
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night*~!