November 30, 1558

England

Mary watched as the land drew closer and closer on the horizon. The last time she had been here she was a foreign visitor, but now, she was England's Queen, if they would have her. As the ship sailed closer and closer to the docks, Mary knew this was the moment that could change everything. This was her first time formally introducing herself to her people, and she wanted to make a good impression. She was a Scottish girl raised in France. What business did she have being the Queen of England? Nonetheless, she was Queen, and she knew that she would have to become popular amongst the people and the nobles if she wanted any hope of making this a smooth transition of power. Getting closer by the second, Mary could feel herself approaching her destiny, whatever that may be. She began to hear a roaring sound, which, as they got closer still, she noticed was the cheers of the people. She sighed in relief, knowing that she was being welcomed so warmly, at least by some. The small group of nobles standing on the docks did not seem to excited.

Mary had summoned some of the more suspicious nobles to greet her, she wanted them close so she could keep her eye on them. Most notably, she invited the three most dangerous women to her reign. Three of her distant cousins, each of which have a claim to the throne, and supporters. First, there were the Grey sisters, Catherine and Mary, great-granddaughters of King Henry VII, just like Mary, and avid Protestants. Many nobles were Protestant, including some of Mary's other distant cousins, but the Grey sisters were different. When Mary Tudor became Queen, Jane Grey, the eldest of the Grey sisters tried to usurp the throne, and failed, later being executed. This meant that some Protestants were still loyal to the Grey family. If the Grey sisters were to turn on Mary, there is a possibility they could rally enough people to dethrone her.

However, as nerve-wracking as the Grey sisters were, they were nothing compared to Elizabeth Tudor. Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, Elizabeth was the bastard daughter of a King, but to the eyes of the Protestants, she was the true Queen of England. If there were to be a true Protestant uprising in England, odds are, they would be attempting to put Elizabeth on the throne. Mary had other cousins with claims to her throne, but none were as prominent, or as dangerous as these three. That is why Mary needed to keep them close.

The crowds cheered as Mary walked off the boat. "Her Majesty, Mary Queen of Scotland and England, accompanied by her husband, the Dauphin of France," the herald announced. Mary waved to the peopled as she stepped off the boat and on to the docks, with her husband at her side. The nobles, however, were giving halfhearted claps and brief smiled, but Mary was not concerned with them. Nobles can be charmed by the simplest of flatteries. No, they would not be the issue. Mary was concerned with the three women, her cousins, each of home threatened her reign.

"Dear cousins, it brings me joy to see you here, it is a pleasure to finally meet you all," Mary said to her cousins. She studied each of them, trying to determine what they could be thinking in this moment. Elizabeth, the most mature of them all was standing there, being respectful, but Mary could tell that she was resenting being here. On the other hand, the Grey sisters seemed excited by the events, and Mary noticed that the younger sister, Mary Grey, was holding a rosary, no doubt a subtle sign of loyalty.

The three women curtsied to their Queen out of respect. "Your majesty, the honor is all ours," Catherine replied. The woman was rather tall, and perhaps maybe a few years older than Queen Mary, and her strawberry blonde hair, made her stand out from her Tudor relatives. "It brings my sister and I great joy to be able to welcome you to England, and we are at your service in anyway you need. Of course, we cannot speak for Lady Elizabeth."

Then all eyes turned to Lady Elizabeth, to see what would be her first words to her new Queen. She nodded, "Of course, have similar sentiments with cousins Catherine," She said simply, not wanting to truly acknowledge Mary as her Queen. It was clear that Elizabeth wanted to be Queen herself, because she felt that it would be best for England. She wanted her country to have a wise and devoted ruler. However, Elizabeth knew her reaching or the crown would be impractical without help, and a civil war would destroy the country. Elizabeth would only reach for the crown if she had a chance of winning.

The four women and Francis all entered a carriage that would take them to the palace. There was a lot for Mary to do on her first day as acting Queen. Certain policies and laws she would need to immediately address, not to mention planning for the coronation which would most likely take place in a few months. Mary also knew she needed to use this time to win over support from the nobles and other prominent English citizens. This would ensure her rule. The first step to this, was winning over her cousins. "I was thinking," Mary said to her cousins, "I need some guides to help me learn English customs and court practices, I would love for you three to be my ladies-in-waiting. I think it would be good for us all."

"Us? Ladies-in-waiting to the Queen? That would be a dream come true!" The fourteen year old Mary Grey responded in an outburst of excitement. it comforted Queen Mary to have Mary Grey in the carriage with them, so that Queen Mary did feel like the youngest person in the carriage. Besides, the young Mary Grey seemed nice enough, and innocent of all the court corruption.

"I think what my sister means to say," Catherine interjected, shooting an annoyed glance at her younger sister, obviously embarrassed by her sister's informal outburst, "is that we would be honored to serve as your ladies, and to help you in anyway we can as you learn the ways of English court."

Elizabeth sighed as she looked out the window, her eyes roaming the countryside on their way to the palace. "If it is all the same to you, your majesty, I would like to stay in my humble country estate, where I can be at peace."

Of course, the idea of that sounded nice, but Queen Mary could not help but think that perhaps this was a trick for Elizabeth to stay away from Mary's eye in order to plot against her. Mary could not let that happen, she needed Elizabeth at court, preferably at all time. "Nonsense!" Mary said in a polite tone, even though she knew Elizabeth would not like what she had to say, "Atleast stay at the palace for a bit, I need someone to show me around after all, and who better to do that than you?"

"I did not live at the place," Elizabeth replied simply and sighed a bit to herself, "But if your majesty insists, I shall stay at the palace with you and try to show you around." Elizabeth acted like she did not care that she had not lived at the palace, but Queen Mary could tell it was bothering her.

Mary shifted uncomfortably in her seat, trying to think of some sort of way to begin to build a relationship with Elizabeth. "I have a message from your sister, Mary Tudor," Queen Mary said and noticed Elizabeth perk up, "She called me to her bedside when she was dying. Her second to last wish was for me to succeed her as the Queen, but her last wish was to tell you that she loved you, and that in another life, you could have been friends."

Mary could see a wave of emotions on Elizabeth's face, sadness for her sister, jealousy that her sister had called their estranged cousin to her deathbed instead of Elizabeth, even anger, as Elizabeth remembered how her sister locked her in the tower for many years in her reign. "Well if only she had those sentiments when she wa alive, then perhaps we could have been close, but she locked me in a tower for years, so I find it difficult to believe her sincerity."

That night, after Mary had been moved in and got settled in her chambers, the Grey sisters were exploring the halls ecstatic to be in the palace, serving their Queen as ladies-in-waiting. As they walked they heard a voice call for them, "Cousins! I have been looking everywhere for you! I must speak to you both!" They turned to see Elizabeth walking towards them.

"Do not worry, we will have that Catholic usurper off my throne!" she whispered in excitement to them. However, upon Mary's arrival the Grey sisters converted to Catholicism, still bitter toward the Protestant faith in England for practically forcing their sister to try and go against Mary Tudor. Elizabeth then handed Catherine a letter, "Read this, its our salvation."

Catherine took the letter and immediately noticed its seal, "Thats the royal Spanish seal. Elizabeth, are you in contact with the king of Spain?" Catherine asked but Elizabeth just gestured for her to read the letter. As Catherine read the words of the Spanish King, her heart sank, knowing that war would be at hand. " He wants to marry you, and then place you on the throne on England instead of Mary, but that does not make any sense, he is Catholic."

"That is what I thought too, but we have been in correspondence for months," Elizabeth explained to her cousins, still excited, "We have stuck a deal, England will officially be Catholic, but Protestant may worship in secret with no threat of punishment. He is threatened by the idea of Mary and her French allies controlling England, so he wants me to be the Queen! Do not worry cousins, you will be well rewarded as my officially heiresses, until I have a child that is. I will find you good husbands. Mention this to no one, now I must go and take care of somethings. Philip will be here soon for a secret wedding ceremony."

As they watched Elizabeth hurry away they each felt a pit in their stomach. This is how civil wars started. They had seen it themselves with their sister, Jane. This is how women lost their heads, whether or not it is Mary or Elizabeth, either way, they both could not survive this if Elizabeth were to go through with this. "She is going to get herself killed isn't she?" Mary Grey asked her elder sister, worried for all of their safety.

Catherine shook her head, "No, I do not think Mary could do that, her heart is to pure. However, if she find out that we knew about this and did not alert her, we could still be punished, not to mention we would be at threat of assassination," Catherine responded, knowing they would have to pick a side, and soon.

"And if Elizabeth becomes Queen, what becomes of us then? We would be her heiresses, she would control who we marry and what we do!" Mary said back, worried for the future.

Catherine shook her head, "Elizabeth is not my queen, and she never will be. I will be damned if that Tudor brat controls my or your life, I do not care if she beheads me herself, she is not my queen. Come on, we have work to do," Catherine took her sister's hand as they marched back to their chambers together.

Chapter 3 rewritten