Cordelia practically kicked the door in when she arrived at Matthew's chambers. Olivia flinched, thinking about how much pain Cordelia just exposed herself – and her ankle – to by almost kicking in the door.
"Cordelia…" Patrick said, jumping up when he saw his sister
"You're not stopping me, Patrick" Cordelia said "He was there for me, I'm going to be there for him"
"Delia, you don't want to see him like this" Patrick said "Please. Remember him as he was"
"He's not dead, Patrick!" Cordelia exclaimed "You're acing like he's dead!"
"There's a good chance" Patrick said "There's a good chance that he is going to die"
"Yes, well there was a good chance that I was going to die too" Cordelia said "But, miracles do happen"
Cordelia pushed past her brother, Patrick rolling his eyes in the process. She stopped short when she reached Matthew's bed. Tears formed in her eyes and blurred her vision.
She didn't take her eyes off of her unconscious brother. She didn't even notice when Henry wrapped his arms around her. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
"Charles" Henry said, softly "Take Cordelia out of here. Take her back to her chambers for a little while"
Charles nodded and took Cordelia out of her father's arms. With his arm around her, Charles led Cordelia out of Matthew's chambers, with Olivia close behind.
Henry slowly turned back to Matthew's bed. Anger formed inside of him, on top of the sadness.
"I want search parties out there finding the bastard who did this to my son" Henry said, softly, to Boleyn and George who were also in the room "I don't want them to come back until they find something"
"Majesty, the guards are already searching everyone on the castle grounds" Boleyn replied "All of the staff and servants, anyone who is on castle grounds"
"Good" Henry said "Now, if you'd excuse me, I have to go and pray for my son"
Boleyn and George bowed as Henry passed them, with Patrick close behind. They looked at each other for a moment and a couple of small smiles passed between them.
&&&&&
"Father! Father!"
Henry almost rolled his eyes as he turned around to his youngest son. "What is it, Patrick?" he asked "I'm a little preoccupied right now"
"Father, I was just wondering…" Patrick said, almost afraid of continuing "What's going to happen if Matthew dies?"
Henry eyed his son carefully. "What do you mean?" he asked "What do you think is going to happen?"
"I mean with the succession, Father"
Henry's eyes widened. "That's all you can think about right now?"
Patrick looked at the ground.
"Your brother – your twin brother – is practically dying in there and all you can think about is the succession?!"
Patrick was silent.
"You disgust me!" Henry said "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"It's something to think about, Father" Patrick said "I'm just trying to think of England"
"Leave that to me for now" Henry said, coldly "You better pray that your brother pulls through because, if you don't, I might start to believe that it was you who attacked him!"
"Father!"
"Look at the evidence, son" Henry said, harshly "Your brother is dying and all you care about is who takes his place in the royal succession. That's very suspicious if you ask me"
Patrick just stared at his father. Henry stared back. After a moment of awkward staring, Henry turned on his heel and continued on down the hallway. Once Henry was gone, Patrick turned and punched the wall.
&&&&&
Mary was sitting in her bedroom, reading a book, when Lady Bryan came in.
"Lady Mary"
Mary looked up, quickly stood and bowed. "Lady Bryan"
"I have some bad news to tell you" Lady Bryan said "About your brother"
"My brother?"
"Yes" Lady Bryan continued "It seems that Prince Matthew has been attacked…"
"Oh my God!" Mary said, grabbing onto the bedpost for support
"The doctors are not sure whether or not he will live" Lady Bryan continued "They think that he was hit over the head by a shovel. He is unconscious as of right now"
Mary's eyes filled with tears. "It's just like Cordelia all over again"
Lady Bryan looked to the ground. "The king has asked me to tell you that you are relieved of your duties until further notice" she said "There is also a chance that you might be moved back to the castle, but nothing is definite"
Mary could only nod. Lady Bryan walked over to her and pulled her into her embrace. Mary broke down into tears.
"I'm sure that everything will be alright" Lady Bryan said, trying to soothe Mary "I'm sure that Prince Matthew will pull through. Look at Princess Cordelia. She was in a far worse state than your brother is in and she survived"
"I hope so, Lady Bryan" Mary said, pulling away "I sincerely hope so"
&&&&&
"Did you hear?!" Boleyn said, angrily "The king is thinking of moving Mary back into the castle!"
"Of course I heard!" Anne said "And, I'm not too happy about it!"
"What are you so mad about?" George asked "If all of the royal children are back in the castle, it will be easier for us to get rid of them"
"The fact that the king is showing compassion towards Mary is what's wrong" Boleyn replied "It means that Mary might have a shot at the throne"
"Father, all of his children have a shot at the throne!" Anne exclaimed "Haven't you realized that by now? Henry never stopped loving Mary. You can tell when he talks about her and by the way he's acted towards her lately"
"Which means we have to work quickly to get rid of them" Boleyn said "Very quickly"
"But, we have to wait until something happens with Matthew" George said "We can't attack again until something happens with him"
"Oh, who knows how long that will take?" Anne said "Look at Cordelia. She was on her death bed for almost a week before she miraculously pulled through!"
"Your sister is right" Boleyn said "Our next attacks are going to have to be public"
"Public?" George said "Are you serious?"
"Public meaning that they look like accidents" Boleyn explained "Like, during a jousting event for example"
"A jousting event?" Anne said "There aren't going to be any jousting events until something happens with Matthew"
"Maybe you could use your alliance with Princess Cordelia to get one set up" Boleyn replied
"Do you really think that Cordelia is going to want to go to Henry about having a jousting tournament while Matthew is sick?" George said "She's going to think that idea is crazy!"
"Oh, I'm sure that your sister will think of something" Boleyn said, looking at his daughter, who had a sly smile on her face "She'll think of something"
&&&&&
Cordelia was in her chambers with Charles and Olivia, doing anything to keep her mind off of her brother. She had tried to go back and sit at his bedside – something that she heard he had done for her – but Charles and Olivia wouldn't let her, not yet anyway.
Charles was reading a book, Olivia was playing with a deck of cards by herself, and Cordelia was staring out the window.
"Why don't you sit down, Cordelia?" Charles said, looking up from his book "Relax a little"
"Relax?" Cordelia said, turning towards him "Relax? How can I relax?"
"It's the best thing to do in these situations" Charles said "There's no use getting yourself all worked up. You have to stay calm in situations like these"
"How can I stay calm?" Cordelia said "My brother is dying!"
"It's very hard" Olivia replied "But, you have to try"
Cordelia was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. Olivia got up to answer it and Anne walked in. Charles stood and he and Olivia quickly bowed to the queen.
"I'd like to speak with Cordelia" Anne said "Alone"
Olivia and Charles looked to Cordelia for approval. Cordelia nodded, not looking at any of them. Charles and Olivia looked at each other for a moment and then left the room, closing the door behind them.
"What do you want, Anne?" Cordelia said "I'm really not in the mood for anything right now"
"I just wanted to see how you were doing" Anne replied, taking a step closer to her stepdaughter "I know that you are close to Matthew"
Cordelia slowly turned to look at Anne. "I'll be alright once Matthew is ok"
Anne nodded in response. "You know, it might be a good idea to get our minds off of Matthew for a little while"
"Excuse me?" Cordelia said
"What I mean is" Anne said "We shouldn't put our lives on halt until something happens with Matthew. We should try to think of happy things, along with worrying about Matthew's well being"
"Matthew deserves all the same courtesies that I got when I was in the same boat he was" Cordelia said "And, as far as I know, everyone's lives stopped while I was sick"
"That is true" Anne said "And, it was very painful for everyone involved"
Cordelia rolled her eyes and looked away from her stepmother.
"Cordelia, listen" Anne said "It might be a good idea to hold a jousting tournament in Matthew's honor"
"Jousting tournament?"
"Yes!" Anne said "It would get our minds off of this tragedy for a little while. I'm not saying for a long time. Just for a day, to give everyone's mind a rest and have some enjoyment during this sad time"
Cordelia was silent for a moment. "Why are you coming to me with this idea?" she asked "Why aren't you going to your husband?"
"Because I thought that he might listen to you more than he listens to me" Anne said, with sadness in her voice "You know that that's what's been happening lately"
Cordelia took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I will consider it" she said "But, I'm not promising that I will suggest it or that Father will accept the idea"
"That's all I ask" Anne said "For you to consider it"
There was silence for a moment.
"You know" Anne said "If you ever want to talk, my door is always open"
Cordelia nodded and slowly turned back to her stepmother. "Thank you for taking the time to see how I am" she said "I appreciate it"
Anne nodded. "What are stepmothers for?"
Cordelia tried to smile, but it didn't work. She looked down at the ground as Anne turned and left her chambers.
How stupid does she think I am? Cordelia thought
Hope that you like this chapter!!
Just to let everyone know, this is going to be a very long...saga, so to speak. Right now, it is 212 pages on word (My longest story yet!) I am trying to find a spot where I can stop this story and then post a sequel, but I'm not sure when that is going to happen. I have a lot of interesting - or at least what I think is interesting :) - ideas coming up, but I'm not sure where/if I am going to "cut" this story off, so to speak. :) So, there may or may not be a "sequel", haha!
Anyways, hope that you like this chapter!!
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