A/N: Seriously, Showtime owns the Tudors, history owns the historical facts, and I just own Elisabeth, her kids and my plot.
Summary:Mama's little empress, let's see what she thinks about that, hmm?

Victoria

Insecurities plagued her quite a bit.

But then, it was unavoidable, wasn't it? Her mother has high expectations for her, she knew. As the eldest Princess of England, future Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, possibly future Holy Roman Empress, she was raised to measure up to certain standards. She was supposed to be a role model for her younger sisters as well.

And she couldn't disappoint her mother, that wouldn't do at all.

Sometimes, she thought she wasn't behaving properly enough; her clumsiness didn't help. When she was five, she once – accidentally – dropped juice all over Aunt Maria's dress.

It was a family dinner, she oughtn't be too worried about it (as her eldest brother said), but Tori couldn't help but be red all over the face, and even stutter over her apologies!

Aunt Maria just laughed it over, saying she had plenty clothes, and there was a twinkle of mischief in Mother's eyes; "Come now, Tori, it is fine. No harm, no foul, and we've even had a laugh over it!" looking at how her daughter was trembling, her mother softened her approach, "It was only a mistake, querida, no need to be so scared."

Then came the lessons, Victoria excelled in her lessons.

So much so, that all her tutors were over the moon at having such a bright student; it was in the family, she heard people whisper; Queen Isabella of Castile, Queen Katherine, King Henry VIII and Queen Elisabeth herself were all scholars. But she turned a blind eye to that, after all, hadn't her mother said that talent came from you and not your ancestors? And Mother was always right, her stubborn seven-year-old self believed.

After that was her fear of rejection, she'd had that one strongly.

One day, when she was eight, Harry and Ned stopped playing with her, preferring the company of other boys their age or oftentimes older. But, boys, nonetheless... not her: not their sister.

Aunt Nan noticed, and being her brutally honest self, just informed that "Boys are completely stupid, and therefore need others to share that stupidity with, seeing as going to a woman with that won't help, especially such an intelligent young girl like you." She knew Anne Stanhope, Lady Seymour, did compliment people, just in an unconventional way, and calling two princes of England stupid... well that was certainly unconventional.

Of course, Aunt Anne (Lady Percy) noticed as well. "My brother, George, was the same for a while, but he came back to his senses in a few months or so."

She didn't want to wait a few months – her insecurities had kicked in, and made her think that they no longer liked her. In hindsight, she was being too emotional, but you can't change the past.

Being a little eight-year-old girl, she did exactly what her instincts told her: she ran to Mother.

In a moment of sensitivity and disregard for protocol, she barged into the Queen's rooms, sniffling and barely holding in her tears, "Mother, Ned and Harry don't... sniff... don't like me anymore!" she cried.

Her mother raised a questioning eyebrow, to which she answered with everything that had happened in the past weeks (that included Ned and Harry ignoring her in favour of male friends) and, in all her child-like logic, claimed they no longer liked her.

Mother laughed softly and informed that little boys did that, but she'd talk to them... after all, "what kind of knights and princes would they be if they made their sister cry"?

As she grew, her clumsiness decreased, as did her fear of rejection. How could it not, when her brothers claimed they'd readily go to war for her sake, when her sisters all proclaimed they wanted to be just like her when she grew up, when she had the greatest of examples for propriety in Mother, Grandmother and Aunt Maria?

Thinking of Grandmother, though...

The Bedfordshire Plot, as people now called it, haunted her dreams. What if they had been able to kill her and her siblings? What if they had been able to kill her aunts, uncles and cousins? What if they'd been able to kill Mother? What if Mother had fallen for the bait?

Everything would be horrible, she knew. England's beloved Queen and her much-loved children would die, and Uncle Hal would rule. A Fitzroy would rule the country. Which meant the Tudor dynasty would fall.

She often woke up from nightmares of times when Bessie Blount had succeeded. But she didn't, Tori, Bessie Blount is dead as are her co-conspirators; the family is safe, so are you and so is the dynasty. She firmly told herself, in an effort to control her inner turmoil.

The dynasty's safety: that was something their mother had drilled into all her children's head very well.

"Our claim is derived from three things: the right of conquest, same as William the conqueror, which we got at the Battle of Bosworth; the Lancaster claim, which we got from Henry VII's mother, Margaret Beaufort, who was a direct descendant of John of Gaunt; and lastly, matrimonial claim, derived from my grandmother – your great-grandmother – Elizabeth of York, who was the oldest surviving heir of Edward IV, and Edward V. But, despite this, many people did not believe we were the rightful dynasty to rule over England." Mother explained, "In my grandfather's reign, he experienced many pretenders, most notably Perkin Warbeck and Lambert Simnel."

The Tudor then went on a detailed history of the Cousins' War, how their family acquired their crown, Margaret Beaufort's importance, the Yorkist uprising and pretenders, why they should have many heirs and why war should be avoided at any cost.

Mother had a saying, a saying that they all dutifully stuck to throughout their lives.

I do things, you do things, but we all die: in the end, it is the legacy that survives. In the end, the Tudor legacy and the Tudor name survives, and always let it be that way.

She, in contrast to her brothers, knew that she was to marry King Ferdinand's son since she was capable of understanding people.

"It is the duty of all English princesses to marry, and provide their country with alliances." Her governess explained.

When she was twelve, the men at court began to notice her, but kept their distance (which was right and proper), as she was the Princess – the Queen's daughter, far too high for them – and she was promised to Archduke Maximilian of Austria since she was a babe.

When little Bella died, she was almost as mournful as Mother, Isabella was her favourite. Almost, because no one could match the grief of a mother who lost her child (much less her), nor did she wish to.

At seventeen, she was a blossoming beauty, or so people said. She had her mother's red hair, but with her father's curls, her father's warm brown eyes, her mother's perky nose and bowstrung lips, as well as much of Isabella of Castile's figure, which was natural, considering she was descended from the woman on both sides.

It was also at seventeen that she was to leave her home country in order to get married. Hearing much of Maximilian, including his kind nature and good looks, she liked him; but that wasn't the problem.

Her insecurities kicked in again, and this time, Mother found her with a handkerchief, pouring her eyes out.

"What's wrong, mija?" the resulting answer was incessant blubbering. Mother sighed and calmed her down, until Victoria was able to explain her predicament.

"I'm scared... sniff... I don't want to leave you, or Father, or any of my siblings! I want to stay in England; I want to stay at home! And what if Maximilian hates me? What if he thinks I'm not worthy enough to be Queen? What if he thinks I'm too clumsy, or improper?" Tori wiped her eyes quickly, mindful of who she was speaking to: Mother believed duty was the most important thing in life, other than family. "I apologize, Mother, Your Majesty, I was being unnecessarily emotional; it is my duty, and I am to complain nothing of it." If it were up to her, her mother wouldn't have had her say it, she knew. But she was terrified of disappointing Mother.

She gave a gentle smile, and cupped her face, "It's alright to be scared, you know. You are leaving everything you know to an unknown country, filled with unknown people, it's completely understandable. But I have no doubt they shall love you within moments. As for Archduke Maximilian, how could he do anything but love you? If he does, do not hesitate to inform me. And if I am dead and gone, inform Harry; though, I suppose not – I'd rather not have him marching to war against Hungary, Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire; inform Ned: he'll come up with something more sensible."

Victoria spent the rest of the afternoon blissfully sleeping on her mother's shoulder.

Elisabeth Regina-Elisabeth Regina-Elisabeth Regina

In early winter, during the year 1558, after her mother's funeral, Tori got a letter.

Daughter,

I know it might trouble you greatly to be away from family while I am ailing so, but it is for the best. I know I am not long for this world, and I would like to tell you a few things.

Firstly, I know. I know what it feels like to incessantly try to make your parents proud of you, constantly wish for no disappointment, and you should know: you've done me proud.

Secondly, I am sure Maximilian loves you greatly, for I know things even from here.

I've tried to be the best mother I could, while balancing it to be a good queen; I hope I've succeeded.

I love you.

Your mother,
Elisabeth

Tori's next daughter was named Elisabeth.

A/N: Well, that's another chapter done. Two chapters in a day, tell me I don't deserve a review for that! (You'll have to review for saying that too.)

Anyways, I read a review asking how many kids Lisa has, so it's eleven. Here's the list with Lisa's age at the time in brackets:

1. Henry 'Harry' Tudor, born 1531 (17)

2. Edward 'Ned' Tudor, born 1531 (17)

3. Victoria 'Tori' Tudor, born 1531 (17)

4. Mary Tudor, born 1532 (18)

5. Katherine 'Kate' Tudor, born 1532 (18)

6. Edmund 'Eddie' Tudor, born 1533 (19)

7. Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Tudor, born 1533 (19)

8. Lionel Tudor, born 1536 (22)

9. Isabella 'Bella' Tudor, born 1537 (23)

10. Eleanor Tudor, born and died 1538 (24)

11. Jacquetta Tudor, born 1551 (by my calculation, Lisa would be around 35 when she's born, so it's possible, despite the age gap between her and her older siblings).

Anyway, next up: Mary! There's an awful lot of Marys in this time, aren't there?

So, as you know, I'd previously written that no updates until finals are over, but I was taking a break from studies (though the French pops up whenever I feel like it) and felt inspired. But don't worry, exams end on the 8th of April (which I can't wait for), and then I'll be my usually active self.

EDIT:2/4/2021
337YD, your questions are a delight, but that would ruin the suspense, so I'm really sorry that I can't answer it. As for the one about Isabella, I've made the needed changes to fit the timeline and add her; thank you for reminding me. And, you asked me to write about the Bedfordshire Plot, which I will, but after we finish with... ah, Jacquetta's chapter, yes? But I'll keep it in mind, and if I feel particularly inspired, maybe I'll write a whole chapter on why Lisa and Duarte were cold and formal to each other.

EDIT:3/4/2021
Okay, so I forgot to mention this before, but Anne Stanhope's dialogue wasn't meant to offend anyone; I can just see Nan saying that, and little eight-year-old Tori believing her. All good then?