January 2, 1559
On this cold and cloudy morning, Queen Mary rode in a carriage with her three cousins. Despite being inside the carriage, all huddled together with warm clothing, there was a chill in the air that no amount of wool or fur blankets could alleviate. It was not secret to any of the four women that their tension was that of life and death, but even still, Mary had hope that her plan for today would help to bring them all closer. She hoped that to reach Elizabeth emotionally, in such a way that they could form a friendship and avoid whatever she was planning. However, as silence filled the air, Mary knew they were not up to a good start.
"Do you think it will finally snow?" The young lady Mary asked, looking out at the clouds from the carriage window. It had been a relatively dry winter, and the young girl missed the light snow showers from her childhood. It was all she could look forward too now, seeing as the rest of her life was filled with stress and anxiety that she was much too young to handle.
The Queen looked at the girl, only a few years younger than herself, and she could see the childlike innocence disappearing from her young cousin each day. It broke her heart to see, and it reminded her much of herself when she arrived back at french court from the nunnery. Her days were once filled with nursery rhymes and stories from the Bible, but now they were filled with plots, coups, and death. Mary wanted her cousin to hold on to any shred of childhood as long as she could. "It certainly does appear like the clouds could be snow clouds. I would love to see the English snow, as it has not snowed at all since I've been here."
"It has not snowed, at all since your predecessor died, and it barely rained during her reign at all," Catherine Grey replied, remembering the days of Mary Tudor's rule, and the drought that came with it. Much of England feared that God was displeased with the late Queen, which led to her eventual unpopularity.
"Surely you did not drag all of us out in the cold to simply talk about the weather," Elizabeth snidely interjected. "What the hell are we doing?"
Queen Mary's eyes narrowed ever so slightly on Elizabeth, and her disrespect. Perhaps now Mary should demonstrate her power and reprimand Elizabeth's disrespect, but she decided against it. Today was supposed to be different, and Mary could not let that be ruined. "Since my coronation is tomorrow, I thought it would be a good idea to visit the grave of my predecessors. We are headed to Westminster Abbey."
And just like that the chill in the air worsened. They all knew who they were going to see there, and none of them were to happy to be reunited with the woman who caused them so much pain. Slowly, the carriage came to a stop, and the four women exited and stepped out into the frigid cold. "Your Majesty?" Lady Mary asked quietly, "Do we have to go in?"
"Mary, hush," Catherine scolded her sister, sensing that their new Queen would take this as a sign of disrespect.
In that moment, the Queen was taken aback. It seems that in her plan to carry favor with Elizabeth, she neglected to consider how the Grey sisters would feel visiting the grave of the woman who killed their sister. "It is alright. I will not make you do anything you do not wish to, but please, step inside at least, to get out of the cold." The entourage of women entered the church, and without giving her a chance to resist, Queen Mary laced her arm in Elizabeth's and began pulling her in the direction of Mary Tudor's resting place. "I wanted to share this moment with you. Is this your first time visiting her?"
"Yes," Elizabeth replied coldly, and they reached her sister's final resting spot. She was not prepared for the feeling she got when she saw the coffin. It felt as if there was not air left to breathe, and a life time of abuse and trauma, but also love and laughter replayed in her head all at once. She sank to her knees in front of the coffin, not shedding a single tear.
"She wanted you to be there with her," The Queen said softly, having never seen an ounce of vulnerability in Elizabeth before this moment. "She loved you."
"May I have a moment with her?" Elizabeth asked with no emotion in her voice. The Queen nodded and left. Now there was no one left, but Elizabeth and her sister. "I bet you think you are smart don't you?" Almost as if expecting a reply from the coffin, she paused before continuing, "Calling upon that little girl to come running here and save you and your pathetic legacy. You were not strong enough for this, and your a damned fool if you think she is. But I am. I will be the greatest Queen this world has ever seen, and no one will even remember your name, or hers." Elizabeth felt like she needed to be angry, but the sadness she felt drained her of any potential rage. "We were sisters," Elizabeth said as the tears began to fall. "We were sisters and you threw me away for a crown, but I was never coming after you!" She was almost screaming at this point. "I would never betray you for power, why could you never see that? You imprisoned me, you killed Jane and for what?" she took a long and deep pause, collecting herself. "Now, you are cold and alone, and that is your fault, but worry not, soon you will have company. A foolish Scottish Queen will join you shortly."
Meanwhile, outside of the church, the Queen joined her two cousins who were waiting in the cold. "I told you two to wait inside, what are you doing out in the cold?" She pulled her fur coat tighter around her shoulders and shivered in the cold.
"I want it to start snowing, and if it does, I do not want to miss it," Lady Mary explained, but the Queen knew too well that there was more to the story.
"We have no interest in being in there," Lady Catherine responded bluntly. Perhaps she was foolish, but she trusted her relationship with the Queen enough to be honest with her.
"Do you really hate Mary Tudor that much?" Queen Mary asked with a small frown. She knew her predecessor was not popular, especially amongst her cousins, but she could not fathom this hatred for her. Perhaps it was because Mary only met her moments before the poor woman's death, and that gave her a different perspective.
"You say that like its a choice," Catherine responded. "I did not choose to hate Mary Tudor, but she chose to kill my sister, despite promising not too. Despite knowing full well that she was just a pawn in my father's plan for power. She chose to strip my family of everything, and then imprison Elizabeth in the tower of London after doing nothing wrong. I am glad you seem to think that she realized her mistakes, but it does not bring my sister back to life."
Mary felt a feeling of darkness surround them, "What about your other ancestors? Many of those kings and queens buried in there are related to you as well. You are of their line. Do you not wish to see them?"
"Why should I?" Catherine asked, her tone was a bit sharp, but Mary knew there no anger directed towards her. "They are guilty of the same thing. Murder, abuse, war, all for the throne. All for the crown that currently sits atop your head. They may be my ancestors, but I will not be one of them."
Suddenly the darkness surrounding them seemed to spread and engulf the entire church. Mary had always dreamed of stepping foot into Westminster Abbey and taking her rightful place, but as she turned to look at the church once again, the promise land now looked like hell. It was almost as if she could see the names in blood written across stone walls. Jane Grey. Catherine Howard. Anne Boleyn. The Lancasters. The Yorks. Mary knew that each kingdom had similar histories of war and bloodshed. Scotland was one of the worst, and she knew that. However, that did not scare her. She was the undisputed Queen of Scotland, and in essence, she was Scotland, meaning she could change it. England was different though. She had to fight to be here, to stay here. As she looked at the now Church of Darkness, filled with the graves of the bloodthirsty rulers before her, she wondered if she'd be like them one day. She wondered if the darkness would consume her, and she would become Queen of the Darkness.
She was snapped out of her trance by Elizabeth's return, and it was as if the light of daytime returned immediately, her vision dissolving. "Did you see a ghost your majesty?" Elizabeth slyly asked as she marched past them all back to the carriage.
"No, I jus-" she shook her head, "Never mind. Lady Elizabeth, you are in a better mood than i was expecting."
"I love my sister," Elizabeth said, taking her seat back in the carriage, "But I will not grovel over a corpse. Can we go back now?'
Mary sighed in annoyance as the rest of them piled into the carriage. Her plan had not worked well, but she had one more trick up her sleeve. One last thing she could try. "Actually, we have another place to go."
"Where?" Elizabeth asked, clearly irritated.
"To see another corpse," Mary smiled passive aggressively as the carriage began to move.
Tower of London
As they reached the tower, the guards saluted Mary and let the entourage of women through the gates. There was an eery silence between all of them. The grey sisters, of course, had spent time here and their father and sister were executed here. Elizabeth was imprisoned here and her mother was also executed here. This was also the final resting place of Jane Grey and Anne Boleyn. The four of them made their way to the chapel, which held the graves of those executed at the tower. First, the four of them saw Jane Grey's final resting place, and the Grey sisters fought back tears. Queen Mary hugged both of them tightly. "She is still with you both, I promise."
"She would have liked you," Lady Mary told the Queen with a small smile. They lost everything, but there was something comforting about knowing that Queen Mary was in power. They were the closest allies to the Queen, so it not longer feels like Jane died for nothing, in a way.
"I wish I could have known her. She sounds like an incredible woman," The Queen replied, looking at the grave. The body of her cousin, murdered by her other cousin. How different things would be had she lived. Perhaps Mary would have another friend and ally, or perhaps Elizabeth would not hate her so much.
The four of them grieved and mourned together, even comforting Elizabeth's brief show of vulnerability by Anne Boleyn's grave. However, Queen Mary still did not feel like she achieved what she wanted too. Elizabeth was still distant and hardly opened to Mary at all. As they returned to the palace, Lady Mary Grey was summoned my Prince Charles of France, much to the teasing of the other three women. Even Elizabeth seemed to think it was cute. On their way in, Mary was stopped by Lady Catherine Grey, "You Majesty, a moment?"
The Queen obliged and smiled at her cousin, "Of course my dear cousin, what is it?"
"Your plan failed," Catherine responded bluntly, knowing that Mary's plan to soften Elizabeth was not subtle. "She is a Tudor, and though they are ruled by emotions, they are not light of heart. You could show Elizabeth a million dead relatives, but her mind has been made up since you stepped foot in this country. She will take your crown, and she will be your enemy until the day she dies."
"Surely something could sway her," Mary pleaded, but she knew well that her plan had failed, and she was running out of options. The window of opportunity to resolve this peacefully was shrinking by the second, and Elizabeth seemed more determined now than ever. "We could be a great team if she just-"
"But she won't," Catherine interrupted. The Queen conceded to her older cousin, knowing that Catherine was more knowledgeable about this than she was.
"Then what am I to do?" Queen Mary questioned her cousin. "I either give up my crown to her, or I kill her and have everyone hate me just as you hate my predecessor? I will become just like her."
"It is your job to rule, not to love," Catherine sighed, taking Mary's hand in her own and squeezing them gently, to show affection, "The crown has a cost. Elizabeth is yours. She will not stop fighting until you concede, but true power concedes nothing. No matter what happens, it will end poorly for the both of you. It is unfortunate, but you this island, this world is not big enough for the both of you. Eventually one of you will cut down the other, and you need to make sure, for the sake of your baby, that you are the one left standing."
As Mary watched Catherine make her way back inside, she struggled to hold back her tears. There had to be some way to get Elizabeth to stop coming after her. Whatever it was, she would figure it out.