January 3, 1560
Spain
Philip marched out of his carriage, and began the long walk down the halls of the palace to his wife's chambers. Without time to be announced, he burst through the door, and saw his wife, son, and daughter-in-law sitting around a table, playing a card game. When he enters the all stood up, as was the custom when the king enters a room. Philip gazed at the three traitors before him. He knew that his daughter-in-law, Elisabeth, was loyal to France, and she had poisoned the mind of his son too. "Everyone out, I need to speak to my wife," he said in a strangely calm voice.
They all quickly hurried out of the room, no doubt knowing what this would be about. All of court noticed that Catherine had given birth, yet there were no babies in the nursery. Elisabeth lingered a moment, looking at Catherine with fear, sympathy, and compassion. Part of her thought this may be the last time she'd see her, but she eventually hurried out nonetheless.
Catherine gave Elisabeth a nod and small smile, trying to comfort the girl as she left. Then her gaze turned towards her husband. She had committed treason, she knew it, but maybe he could be reasoned with, because if not, then Catherine would certainly die. "Husband, I trust your journey was a pleasant one," She said softly, but it was a lie. The rumors about the event in Rome, known now as The Battle of the Vatican spread through Europe like the plague. The Pope was dead, but other than that, theories and conspiracies ran wild in court gossip.
"Do not play dumb Catherine, it does not suit you," Philip merely responded, with a venom in his voice that shocked Catherine, even in this situation. "I heard they were boys, two of them, who could have guessed. What did you name them? Before sending them off behind enemy lines without giving them a chance to meet their own father."
"Enemy lines? We are at war now then?" Catherine replied, knowing full well of Philip's plans, but war at this point was unexpected.
"Yes!" Philip erupted in rage, gripping an end table and throwing it aside in fury. "Anyone who not Spain is an enemy, you ignorant woman!" He paced in anger, burning off some of his energy, meanwhile Catherine maintained composure, refusing to show him her fear. "I suppose that is what I get," He sighed before sinking into a chair, "for marrying some low born noble with no royal upbringing. Your ignorance betrays you."
Catherine gently went to pick up the table he had thrown, and all of the chess pieces that had flown off. She knelt down, picking up the Queen piece and stared at it intently. The words of Marie de Guise rang in her head. This is known as the Queen's Sacrifice, where the queen is sacrificed for the greater good of the game, that is what the Dowager Queen of Scots had told Catherine when she took the fall for the attempted assassination of Philip only months before. Catherine lived by those words when she sent her sons away, and she must live by them now. She needed to think, what good could she still do for Mary in the short time she had left. When she got the chance, she would write a formal renunciation of all rights to the English Throne for her and her decedents, which would weaken the twins' claim to England, making them less valuable to Philip and less threatening to Mary. She could easily write that document in prison, where she'd be allowed to write to her family one last time. Now all she needed was to end this, before Philip could use her to hurt her family in any more ways. "I am not ignorant," she finally spoke, "I know what I did, and I did it to stop you from using our sons as weapons."
"You will pay the ultimate price for your betrayal," Philip replied, getting out of his chair, kneeling down net to Catherine, taking her hands, almost lovingly, "Don't you see? We could have had it all. Spain, England, maybe even France and Scotland. We could have had our sons, an empire, everything we could ever want, had you just been loyal."
Catherine looked down at their hands, together, a sight which disgusted her at this point. She pulled them back and stood up, turning her back on the King. "I am loyal, more than you will ever be. You are a power hungry monster who threatened the life of my Queen my cousin!" She said, starting to get angry, angry at everything she had ever been put through since her sister was beheaded all those years ago. "You threatened civil war in my country, caused a battle that killed my husband! The only man I have ever loved. Then you lied to us, tricked me into marrying you so you could use me as your weapon against the only Queen I ever cared about and throw my country into civil war again. You want to force my people in to submission, just as your forced me, but like my people, I will not be ruled by you or any other Spaniard. I am Catherine Grey, sister to Queen Jane Grey and my loyalty isn't taken, its earned, and the devil himself has a better chance of earning my loyalty than you do."
Catherine had grown tired of these high born people dictating her life. She was not a pawn, she was not a tool, she was a person who would make her own choices. "Over a year ago I was lost, still in darkness after the death of my sister, but soon a beacon of light, of hope, docked on the shores of England and I pledged my loyalty to Queen Mary II," Catherine continued, having a lot she had always wanted to say to this man, "She is a Queen of morals, of respect, and she wields her power with grace and compassion. You rely on divine right and the size of your treasury to force people to bow to your wishes, but let me tell you, my Queen is stronger than you will ever be. She has the heart of a lion, and one day, you will bow to her feet."
Philip had remained silent throughout her whole speech, listening intently. "How sweet," He finally said in a tone that was more demeaning than anything. "Truly, I take back what I said about your loyalty. You have much loyalty, you just stupidly picked the wrong side. We will see soon if it will be me or that Scottish brat who is bowing, but sadly you will not be around to see it. Your lioness Queen is so great, I hope you are prepared to die for her."
Catherine clenched her fists, filled with fury. Without thinking, she spit in his face, "Gladly." He then screamed in rage and slapped her in the face with the back of his hand. She fell to the ground, tears streamed down her eyes, not from pain, but from anger. However, she quickly dried them, and stood up, taller than ever. "See you in hell," She said as the guards grabbed her by her arms, and drug her down to the dungeon.
France
Mary Grey, lay in the cold and brutal snow. She was always commended with being a survivor. It was usually meant to be a compliment, but for her it was a curse. She would survive and watch everyone she ever loved die. First her father, then Jane, then her mother, and now Catherine. Her whole family, save for two small babies, were gone. She tried to pull herself together though. The Queen's carriage rode into the palace like a beacon of light in Mary's blizzard of darkness. She wanted to run over to see the Queen, but her legs are numb, not from the cold, but from the shock, and despair. Instead she watched as Catherine and Charles greeted the returning royals. There was, at least, some hope, as King Francis, Queen Mary, Lady Elizabeth and Lord James all exited the carriage proving their survival.
Perhaps Queen Mary could bargain for Catherine Grey's life, as a fellow monarch. That is what Mary Grey was counting on, and she hated do it, but that is what she would ask of her Queen. Her and Catherine's loyalty was always undying and unquestionable, now it is time for their Queen to return the favor. Princess Mary watched, as Charles and Catherine spoke to the royal party, and then pointed to the middle of the garden, where Princess Mary was sitting in. No doubt they were sharing the news.
Soon, Mary Grey could see two figures make their way to her direction. Those figures were Queen Mary and Lady Elizabeth, the two women whose tumultuous relationship started all of this. However, Mary Grey did not look upon them with resentment. In a weird way, there was a sense of bonding, a kinship, between the four of them, including Catherine Grey. The four english heiress who survived the brief civil war and came out of everything as friends. Queen Mary and Lady Elizabeth sat down in the snow net to Princess Mary and embraced her, the three of them hugging each other, noticeably, the arms of their fourth, Catherine Grey, was missing, but after all, this may be their future. The Queen whispered, her voice almost muffled out by the wind, "We will get her back."
Not eventful I know, but I really think this is where everything about Catherine's character comes to a head, so I hope you all liked it!