Rest in Peace, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Chapter Ten~

May 23rd 1471, Palace of Westminster, City of Westminster

The Great Hall was full of whispers as Anne Neville was to appear before Edward and Elizabeth, George and Richard both beside Edward. I stood next to Isabel, the two of us now having a tentative friendship with her now having returned to court. When the doors to the Great Hall opened and Anne entered all the whispers died down and I watched as two ladies lead Anne, now longer a scared little girl, entered with Anne glancing at Richard who stood stony face. Her gaze then turned to her sister and when she noticed me by Isabel's side Anne frowned. Standing before Edward, Anne curtsied low and began asking for forgiveness.

"You know that Margaret of Anjou is defeated, and will never ride out against me again. And that her cause has no merit?" Edward asked her with a frown ask Anne again glanced at Richard with her saying,

"I know that now."

"Well that is good enough for me. I forgive you, and I pardon you, and you are welcome here at Court and you may live here with your sister." Edward said though I watched as Elizabeth sat mouth parted clearly unhappy with the turn of events.

"You're Grace." Anne spoke up causing whispers to begin and Edward too slowly turn to see her with a frown growing on his face.

"I am grateful for the mercy you have shown me. My Mother, she is still in sanctuary."

"Indeed, and that is where she has chosen to remain." Edward said before nodding to an attendant to see Anne out. After she curtsy's and leaves I watch as Isabel follows so that with one last parting look at my sister, I go to find Isabel and Anne. I never knew her Mother had been put into sanctuary.

"Kathrine," I hear Richard call and turning am stopped by him before I can leave the room.

"Edward has appointed George as Anne's guardian." Richard tells me as I look to try and find the man in question as he continues,

"Edward says it is because he cannot trust Anne since there are rumors that her Mother is sending letters to her from sanctuary."

"Why would her Mother be doing that?" I ask only he shakes his head making me realize that was why Edward would not release their Mother from whatever Abbey she had been sent to. Giving him a small smile, I leave with a kiss before trying to find either Isabel, Anne or George. I end up finding all three talking and it is George who greets me.

"Ah, Kathrine, perhaps you can ease Anne's fears some." He asks me making me look between the three confused as Isabel tells me,

"She is worried about our Mother." The smile she puts on tells me that the sisters must have been talking so with an easy smile say to Anne,

"There is nothing to worry about Anne, in fact, I shall write to her on your behalf if you want. Ask her if she is in need of anything she might want?" Anne glares at her sister before glaring at me saying shortly,

"No, there is nothing she might want from you." Then storms off away from us as George looks at me then his wife so that the two of them leave down the same hallway. Standing alone, I am left to try and pick up pieces of broken families not knowing where to start. I begin by taking my nine month old Kate to find her Grandmother and Aunt who are talking to one another.

"Ah there she is!" My Mother says taking my little Kate into her arms and cooing at the little bundle of laughter.

"What are you two talking about without me?" I ask as Elizabeth sighs heavily telling me,

"Edward wants to send my boy to Ludlow Castle to set up his own household alone! Appoint a guardian and leave him there!"

"Well that is how it has been done before Lizzy. I doubt he plans to change customs now." I tell her taking back Kate from Mothers arms carefully, Kate uncaring as she continues to giggle and smile. As Elizabeth stands by the window to look out Mother smiles and says to Elizabeth says to us,

"George will have nothing, nothing at all to do with my son!"

"Does he intent to harm the boy?" I ask only she shakes her head telling me,

"I don't know, perhaps it is the pain of being made to part with him." Mother pours us all some wine as she tells Elizabeth simply,

"When you married into the Royal House their customs became yours. As surly Edward knows this."

"I do not know what he understands!" Elizabeth says taking a seat before continuing,

"I just know the closer he gets to his brothers the further he feels from me."

"That is impossible Lizzy, he can never be parted from you ever." I tell her taking a seat with Kate cooing and laughing in my lap. I sit playing with her and tickling her stomach as the two of them continue to talk until Elizabeth taps my shoulder saying to me,

"Did you know?"

"Know what?" Then looking at Mother with her secretive smile turn back to Lizzy with a hand on her stomach smile and squeeze her shoulder. Watching her stand to kiss Mothers cheek, she frowns before holding her cheek and say to her,

"I think I quite exhausted you."

"Of course you haven't, you never could. Go. Go! Go!" She shoos Elizabeth out leaving me to turn to her and ask her,

"What are you hiding Mother?" She turns to me and putting on a smile says simply,

"There is nothing to hide my dearest." Frowning then, I take my Mothers cheek into my hand and feel the chill on her skin. Knowing however that I would not get answers from her, we speak of trivial things until Kate begins to fuss and so I take her out to lay her down for some rest. Only when I enter the hallway I find Elizabeth running out from her chambers and call out to her yet she will not turn around. Frowning, I go to my chambers to bring Kate back to a wet nurse before going back to find out what had just happened. Once I had given Kate and made sure she was well taken care of, I went off to look for either Mother or Anthony. Luckily I found Anthony who upon seeing me quickly took my elbow and said to me,

"Elizabeth is beyond upset."

"What happened?" I ask so that he told me,

"You shall find out soon enough." With that Antony brought me outside into the courtyard and I discover Mother standing before Elizabeth sitting on a stone bench looking pale and distraught. Upon seeing her I asked carefully,

"What happened Lizzy?"

"She saw Edward with Jane Shore." Mother said so that when I raised my eyebrow in question as Elizabeth told me,

"Her name is all around the Court."

"Have you tried asking Edward?" I asked her making her look shocked as she told me,

"And what should I say?"

"And what is there to say? Your husband is a King with a Kings appetites. This is nature as you have always known. Whoreing is merely a sport to Edward, as is hunting or jousting." Anthony says so that I smack him in the chest and shushed him as Elizabeth says that this event seemed completely different yet Mother tells Elizabeth simply,

"She is no different. You are the Queen, you flatter her to even dwell on her name."

"He cares for her, I saw it!" She snaps and with that she leaves making me want to go after her yet Anthony holds me back so that she can have her moment alone. However it is later that day when Anne discovers that Richard and I have wed. I knew that this day would come yet I was dreading it so badly. Richard and I were in our favorite place, the little library from where we used to meet so long ago. With Kate in my lap, the two of us were enjoying our time alone as just a family when Anne entered. Standing, Richard and I met with her shocked expression.

"Richard?" She asked looking from his face to mine before finding our daughter in my lap.

"What—what is this?" She asked trying to figure out what she was seeing before Richard told her gently,

"Anne, I am sorry, but I am long married to Kathrine and this is my daughter."

"Daughter? You—you married and have a child?" She said stepping back and blinking rapidly to hide her tears put a hand to her chest before fleeing from the room with Richard trying to go after her. However at the sound of our daughter crying I took hold of his sleeve and told him,

"Richard, she was going to find out sooner or later." Watching him sink into the seat next to me, I knew he cared for her as a friend and so put my head on his chest and he took one of Kate's hands into his much larger ones. My next run in with the Neville's was a week later when I was supposed to meet Isabel for tea. Instead I walked into Isabel arguing with Anne and tried in vain to leave before either of them could see me. Luckily neither of them spotted me so I was able to overhear their conversation while hiding just within the doorway.

"You knew! The entire time I had returned you knew Kathrine had married Richard!"

"Her having married Richard would not have changed anything Anne. They had married long before you ever came to England. And now they have a child and you are a widow."

"You knew for so long how I longed to marry him, we talked late into the night about how we wished to marry the York brothers."

"Anne, you ended up marrying a traitor and in return Edward had to marry his brother to someone he trusted. There was no one else he could but Kathrine and we have no one to blame but Father."

"So that is it then? I am to remain a widow until George decides I am to wed? And you will just smile and go along with his plans to silence me? Are you even my sister anymore?!" Unable to hear the rest of the conversation, I snuck away feeling ashamed for what I had done and went straight to my daughter. Once in the safety of my family's chambers, I went to my daughter's basinet and held her close to my chest.

"Oh my little rose, I love you with all of my heart you know that. You must know that, you and your father love you with all of our hearts." I told her kissing her forehead and rocking her until my aching heart felt soothed. It was not until Yule Tide that everything seemed to calm down. Kate was now eleven months old and the pride of her father's heart. Even George could not help but come to stay awhile to be with the baby, as long as I was there to watch him. Isabel no longer talked to me perhaps to be on the side of Anne though I did miss her friendship. Anne was icy towards not just me but Richard as well which I truly felt was not earned. I felt it was simply caused by heartache and I told him so. Meanwhile Elizabeth's stomach was growing ever rounder and Mother was growing ever weaker. Despite her not telling me what was happening I could sense something was not right with her. At last it was the Yule Tide feast and Elizabeth and I went to Mother dressed to make our entrance.

"Happy Christmas Mother, the children will be arriving shortly." Elizabeth said as we both entered, Mother sitting by the fire while I helped Elizabeth pour some wine. Mother replies saying she simply did not hear us enter and does not take the wine when offered.

"In truth, I think I would prefer to rest rather than dance." She says so that coming over Elizabeth teases her with the offer of gossip yet I notice how pale Mother is and frown.

"There is nothing for a physician to see and, thank God, nothing that some fool with a knife could think to cut out." Mother tells us so that kneel down next to her I take one of her hands feeling how cold they are as I asks her,

"Then what is wrong?"

"My heart, it beats strangely. I feel it skip a beat and then go slow. It will not beat strongly again both of you." Giving her hand a tight squeeze, it is Elizabeth who asks her,

"What are you saying?"

"Prepare yourselves, I will not be with either of you much longer." Looking up at Elizabeth, I see her fearful expression and when I realize we have to go to the Great Hall, release Mother's hand reluctantly and take Elizabeth's elbow instead. Tugging on it, we leave her and I lead her towards the Great Hall entrance where we find Edward waiting for us. Elizabeth is given her crown to wear and her two eldest boys stand behind her. I wait for her to go fist, and after a long pause follow after her to find Richard. Once I found him talking to George with Isabel at his side, I ask for him to talk a moment alone and took him aside.

"What is wrong?" He asked me so that I told him softly,

"I believe our mother is dying." I told him taking one of his hands into both of mine fighting back tears seeing his frown as he cupped one of my cheeks said to me,

"I am so sorry, would you send for a physician?" Shaking my head I tell him,

"She says her heart is beating strangely and there would be nothing they could do. Oh Richard!" I cry falling into him as his arms wrap around me tightly. I close my eyes to fight back tears letting him rock me. After a moment, I pull back as he takes both of my cheeks into his hands to say,

"You are such a fighter and always have been. It is truly one of your strongest qualities. Even during war you have been able to do wonders, such as give birth to our daughter. I am so terribly lucky to have you." He tells me this with an honest smile and giving him a weak smile in return, I kiss him briefly before stepping apart from him to try and celebrate the rest of the night's festivities. The end of the night however when I returned to Mother's chambers I return to find Elizabeth sitting on one side of the bed while she lay weakly in bed and move to sit on the other side of the bed and to hold Mother's hand, saying to her softly,

"I do not wish for you to go Mother, it is too soon. Please, please stay you have to stay with us. Stay for my daughter."

"Oh Kathrine, I see such strong hearted daughters for you. York women destined for greatness." She tells me with a smile on her face. I looked to Elizabeth for comfort before feeling tears fall down my face, that night when I returned to my families chambers Richard he held me as I cried. When at last I did fall asleep, I dreamt of Mother in white holding a bundle close to her chest. The vision was so quick that when morning came I almost was afraid that the vision did not happen. Yet when I looked in the mirror to get ready for the day the image of Mother in white holding the bundle returned and I was certain of what I had seen. Mother would indeed die and my fear was that she would be bringing Elizabeth's child with her.