September 27, 1559
France
Queen Mary and King Francis were in the throne room with their entourage which consisted of Catherine De Medici, Lady Elizabeth, Lord James, and Princess Mary. Unfortunately, Prince Carlos and Princess Elisabeth had to return to Spain. Admittedly, Mary was nervous for the young couple. So young and innocent, in the lion's den that was Spanish Court, however Mary knew they would be in good company. Marie De Guise was in Spain and would take care of them, as well as Mary's cousin Queen Catherine. The news of Catherine's failed assassination attempt on Philip had not reached France, so Mary though Catherine was still safe.
Today Mary and her allies were awaiting a special royal visitor. Dowager Queen Catherine of Portugal was coming with her grandson, the five year old king, in order to negotiate with Mary and Francis. This was strange to them all in honesty. The Royal Family of Portugal were not Hapsburgs by birth, however they were strong allies. The Dowager Queen herself was Hapsburg by birth.
Soon, the doors to the throne room were opened and the servant announced, "Their majesties, the King of Portugal, and Catherine, Dowager Queen of Portugal." Mary watched as the older woman entered the throne room holding the hand of her five year old grandson. Though King Sebastian was the king of Portugal, due to his age his Grandmother, Dowager Queen Catherine, was his regent.
The Portuguese Queen curtsied to Francis and Mary and smiled at the couple. "Your majesties, thank you for welcoming me into your court. I know you two are very busy so allow me to get straight to the point. I have heard you have recently been blessed with a beautiful daughter. A daughter from a powerful couple such as yourself needs a powerful marriage. She deserves to be a queen on day, our queen. My grandson needs a bride, and I hear you still have not arranged a marriage for princess Adelaide. I think the solution is clear. Make her the future queen of Portugal and secure an alliance between our nations."
Mary listened intensely as the Portuguese Queen spoke. This was a bold move for Portugal to make, seeing their history and even geographic ties with Spain. Perhaps this was a trick from the Hapsburgs. After all Dowager Queen Catherine was born a Hapsburg before marrying in to the Aviz family of Portugal. However, before Mary could speak she heard Francis say to the queen, " That is a generous offer. However, I am just confused. Why would you turn your backs on the Hapsburgs? I would have assumed you'd arrange a Hapsburg marriage for your grandson."
The Portuguese Queen smiled at Francis, "I may be old but I am not blind your majesty," she replied, "The lines are being drawn and each day we get closer to a Hapsburg-Valois war. I may be a Hapsburg by blood, but my loyalty is to my grandson, who is the King of Portugal. Eventually all of Europe will have to choose sides, call me a fool, but I want to choose your side. I will leave you to think this over." The Queen curtsied and exited the throne room, leaving just Francis, Mary, and their supporters.
"She is clever I will give her than," Catherine de Medici said to the royal couple after the Portuguese Queen had left the room. "We are the underdogs in this conflict with the Hapsburg empire, but if we win the reward is great, and with Portugal's support, the chances of us winning are increased exponentially. She is practically gambling her entire nation for this, but I think it is a good deal. We should accept the offer."
Francis nodded in agreement with his mother. "It is clear she is determined to take down the Hapsburg empire just as we are. We need all the allies we can get," He said and looked over at Mary, noticing she had been silent, "What do you think my love?"
"I do not know, there are many risks involved for us too. Accepting this proposal will heighten the tensions tremendously, putting us that much closer to an all out war. Are we prepared for that? Not to mention whether or not we can even trust Portugal," Mary replied, knowing Francis would listen to her, it was Catherine she knew would be upset.
"Ah yes, more ideas from the teenage queen," Catherine said and began pacing the floor, "What do I know of politics I was only queen for 12 years! We can trust Portugal. But it is two against one, why as we still discussing this?"
Mary stood from her throne, even though she and Catherine were allies now, sometimes the Dowager Queen of France needed to be reminded of her place, something that Mary was no longer afraid to do. "Because there is only one Queen of France in this room and it is me, not to mention the Queen of Scotland and England as well, and the mother of the princess we are discussing. You do not get a vote Catherine, you get to thank the heavens that we even allow you to be here."
Catherine looked at her daughter in law, she was proud of her, even if Mary was trying to force her to submit. Catherine nodded to her queen, "Yes your majesty, forgive me, but remember, you would be nothing without me."
Spain
Elisabeth hated having to be back at Spanish court. When she and Carlos were in France, it seemed that just for a moment that could both be together without all the stress. Now that they were back in Spain they had Philip's evil plans to worry about. Elisabeth did not want to return but Carlos said they would have to so they could share the news. "Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Astrius," They were announced as they entered Philip's throne room. Elisabeth was already confused to not see Queen Catherine on the throne next to Philip, she began looking around worriedly.
"Son, I trust you trip to France went well?" Philip asked his son half heartedly. Philip knew that his son's wife had poisoned Carlos's mind against him. He knew Carlos was now loyal to the Valois, which was another reason Philip wanted him declared unstable and removed from the line of succession.
"It was wonderful father," Carlos replied without any sense of joy to see his father, "We would have stayed longer, but felt it was only right to return so we can deliver the news to you in person, before rumors spread." Carlos then looked over at Elisabeth and smiled.
"Your majesty, it appear i have been blessed, the Prince and I are expecting a child," She said to her father-in-law and the whole court got silent. This changed everything, atleast Elisabeth hoped it did. She hoped that this meant the Vatican would be even more reluctant to remove Carlos from the line of succession. "Where is her Majesty the Queen? I would love to share the news with her."
"Congratulations to you both," Philip replied, but it was clear he was not happy. This would make things more difficult for him. Then at the mention of the Queen he nodded, "Yes actually she was imprisoned for a failed attempt on my life. Do not worry the true culprit confessed just this morning. I am sure the Queen does not wish to see me, so Elisabeth I was hoping you could free her and tell her your news?"
Elisabeth sighed in relief to know that Catherine had been cleared of the charges but she wondered who took the fall for this. As the guards led her down to the dungeon they told her that the true criminal was imprisoned in the cell right next to Catherine. As she reached Catherine's cell, the guards opened the door and Elisabeth saw her mother in law wearing dirty clothes, sitting on a wooden bench. "Catherine? I am here to let you go, they have cleared you of the charges," Elisabeth said.
Catherine turned and saw Elisabeth, so relieved to see her. She had grown fond of the princess because Elisabeth reminded Catherine of her younger sister Mary. She embraced Elisabeth and smiled, " Its so good to see you. But cleared of all charges? How?"
"The King said that someone had confessed to it, clearing your name of any involvement, I do not know who it was, but they are in the next cell over, I am sure the guards will let us speak with them," Elisabeth replied, knowing now was not the time to tell Catherine about her baby.
Catherine nodded and ordered the guards to open up the next cell. As she entered, followed by Princess Elisabeth, she saw Marie De Guise, as elegant as ever, sitting on the bench by the window. "Leave us," Catherine told the guards before looking at Marie, "Why are you doing this? You do know that Philip is going to execute you right?"
Marie looked at Catherine and smiled a bit, "You will understand when you have your child. Everything I have done was for my daughter, that is what mothers do. My life is devoted to her survival and success. You and I had one shot to take down Philip and we failed. Now one of us has to take the fall. In chess this is known as the Queen's Sacrifice, where the queen is sacrificed for the greater good of the game. One of us has to go down Catherine, and it is clear that you are a more valuable piece for my daughter than I am, therefore it is I who needs to take the fall."
September 30, 1559
Spain
Catherine sat on her throne next to Philip, uneasy to be in his presence again. Part of her felt that perhaps Philip still suspected she was behind the attempt on his life. on her right side, stood Elisabeth who was holding Catherine's hand, squeezing it gently. They each had their eyes on the scaffold, watching as the executioner readied his blade. Soon the guards escorted Marie de Guise up to the block. Everyone was silent, there were no cheers, nor were there any cries. From a distance Catherine could see Marie say a quick prayer before getting on her knees. "Last words?" the executioner asked.
She nodded, "Yes thank you," Marie then looked straight up at Catherine on her throne, "Let my daughter know I did this for her!" She then addressed the crowd and said, "Long live Mary Stuart Queen of Scotland, England, and France. Long may she reign, and bless her with the strength to take down the tyrant that is Philip Hapsburg!"
At this point the crowds were wild, Marie was silenced before placing her head on the block. Catherine was holding back tears as she watched the axe come down. She couldn't look. She closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. Once it was done she stood up, and Philip gripped her wrist. That same forceful grip he had that night. "Where are you going?" He asked her.
"Mary's mother is dead, and she deserves to know," She pulled her wrist from his grip and eyed him down before she walked back inside followed by Elisabeth and Carlos.
October 8, 1559
France
The queen of Portugal was still in France and the debate over the marriage was just as lively as it was in it was first introduced. Catherine de Medici was still adamant about this being a good match, however Mary was worried this would put them closer to war with Spain, a war that they were not prepared to fight. As Catherine droned on and on in one of her lectures about how her experience helped her know that this was a good choice, Mary was given a letter from the Queen of Spain. "A letter from cousin Catherine! I shall read it allowed!" she said hoping to stop this conversation.
Dearest Cousin,
It devastates me to tell you of the events that have taken place here in Spain. While here your mother attempted to carry out an attempt on the King of Spain's life. She eventually confessed to this crime and was imprisoned for three days. Throughout those three days I pleaded with the King to spare her life and surrender her back in to your custody, however he refused. On the morning of September 30, she was executed on order of the King. She asked me to tell you that everything she has done this for you and that she loves you.
With Sadness, Your Humble Servant, Cousin, and Friend,
Catherine
The entirety of court was shocked to hear this news. Of course they knew that Marie was sent to Spain to kill Philip in the first place, but knowing now she was caught and she had been executed was a major blow to everyone. Mary stood from her throne and walked to the door, "I need some fresh air right now."
Francis was walking after her before Catherine grabbed his arm, "My son, I know you have good intentions, but she needs this time alone. A woman loosing her mother is a horrible thing. I suggest now you give her space."
Before Mary could even make it to the gardens she was already in tears. Yet another person had died for her. Not just any person, her own mother. She had a complicated relationship with her mother to be sure, but she loved her mother and she knew her mother loved her.
Lady Elizabeth was walking through the gardens, trying to avoid seeing Lord James. It seemed she was more likely to run into him inside the palace so she spent alot of time outside. As she walked she saw Queen Mary sitting on a bench, crying. At first she was reluctant to disturb the Queen, but Elizabeth knew that now that they were allies, she needed to start acting like one. "Your majesty?" She asked, "Is everything alright?"
Mary jumped at the sound of Elizabeth's voice and she quickly wiped her tears away, "yes thank you I am fine." She said in a voice that was surely not convincing. She sighed and looked at Elizabeth, "He beheaded my mother."
Elizabeth sat down on the bench next to Mary as she listened. "Well I suppose that gives us something in common then. My mother was beheaded as well. Atleast you got to know her." Elizabeth paused as she looked across the expansive palace grounds. For once she felt that she and Mary finally had something in common. "Its hard being a woman in this world. Men get to live, but we have to survive. Just look at us, the only reason we were at odds was due to the conflicts created by men. Here we are almost at war with Spain, because of Philip. Your mother, my mother, Catherine Howard, all headless because of men."
Mary looked over at Elizabeth and smiled a bit, "You are right." She said simply. "Maybe it is possible."
"What is possible?" Elizabeth asked, slightly confused.
"That we could be friends. I mean, look at us, now we are talking as if we are old friends." She said and smiled as she wiped away her remaining tears. "I suppose I always wanted us to be friends. When your sister died she told me that in another life you two could have been closer. I saw the pain in her eyes from losing you. I guess I felt that I was that other life. I felt that through me, I can honor Mary Tudor's last wish by being your friend, somehow saving your broken family. Perhaps it was wishful thinking to compare myself to Mary Tudor."
Elizabeth was shocked to hear these things from Mary. She was shocked to hear how much Mary Tudor's death affected Queen Mary. "It was foolish of you to carry the weight of that with you. Mary and I were ripped apart by religion and politics, there was no saving it. She and I could be close in this life because we are both stubborn, call it the Tudor way. You are nothing like us Mary, and that is not a bad thing. Your stubbornness is in the form of determination. Your authority comes from caring, your policies from compassion and safety. I think I was the fool. England suffered through enough Tudor monarchs, and I did not realize it until just now." It was true. During her exile Elizabeth decided she did not want England especially if it did not want her. What she wanted, was England to prosper, something it could only do if Elizabeth submitted to Mary's rule.
Mary could not believe what she was hearing. After all this time Elizabeth was practically declaring not just acceptance, but loyalty to Mary. She knew that times were changing. Mary took Elizabeth's hand and smiled, "We will do this together. We will take down Philip and restore peace together." Then Mary stood up and looked back at the palace. "Philip will rot in hell for this. If it is war he wants, it is war he will get. I am going to accept the betrothal of Adelaide to the Portuguese prince."