December 25, 1559
France
If there was anyone that knew how to survive a place siege, it was Catherine de Medici and Mary Grey. The two had seen their fair share of battles and sieges, that they both knew how to navigate this situation. Their plan this time was flawed to say the least, but it was all they had. It relied heavily on Mary's wit and ingenuity which frightened her, however Catherine assured her all would be ok. In fact, their plan was not that complicated, but it was dangerous. Mary had switched clothes with a servant so she could blend in, and Catherine handed her Henry. "You know what to do, go through the kitchen and out to the stables, if the guard catches you tell them you need fresh water for the baby."
Mary gently rocked the prince in her arms and she shook her head, "No, Catherine, this plan is foolish, what if they do not let me out? What if they catch me?" She pleaded as she tried to get the poor child to stop crying, "Not to mention carrying two babies!"
"You must be confused," The Dowager Queen replied as she hugged her daughter-in-law, "You will not be taking the princess. Two babies will slow you down, and arouse suspicion. You must only take Henry. Get out to the stables at all costs and ride to meet the Duke of Guise's armies, which aren't far. Tell him whatever you need to in order to get him to fight, we can deal with the consequences later."
"No!" Mary exclaimed as she listened to her mother-in-law, "I owe it to Mary to save both of her children, how we can act like one life is more important than the other?"
Catherine wrapped a cloak around Mary and sighed, "We could debate about the patriarchal society all day, but the sad truth is, for right now, Henry is more important than Adelaide, he is the heir to three thrones, he must be our priority, if the Spanish were to harm him then it could jeopardize Francis and Mary. Now go!"
Mary nodded and kissed her husband, Charles softly, "I will come back for you," She promised as she snuck out of the room, rocking Henry so he did not wake up. She made her way down to the kitchen, where many of the servants recognized her, but knew not to make a fuss. It was as if there was a silent agreement amongst them to let Mary in and protect her. She quickly made her way into the kitchen and out the door, all but running through the field, trying to get to the stables.
As Mary quickly walked she heard a "Stop there!" which made her heart sink. She knew it was the guards, and she made it to far to lie about her true destination, it was clear that she was trying to go to the stable. Instinctively, she began running, knowing that on foot, she was probably faster than these guards in their heavy armor. Mary ran as if her life depended on it, and by some miracle she reached the stables. Hopping on the closest horse, Mary quickly rode out of the stable and toward the direction of Duke's armies.
Rome
The time had come, it was time to meet with Philip. Francis had left, because Mary insisted this was something that she and Elizabeth needed to do alone. The conversation had been planned by the two cousins, it would begin with Mary, and then Elizabeth would join in later. If there was one thing that Mary had learned from Catherine de Medici, it was the element of surprise. Mary simply sat in her chambers as she awaited the King's arrival. Her heart dropped when she heard the servant announce, "His Majesty, the King of Spain."
Mary stood from her chair as she offered a polite smile to her bitter enemy, "Your majesty, thank you for joining me," she replied and turned to her servants, "Leave us." The queen then sat back down and gestured to the seat right across from her. She wished to sit straight across from the Spanish King, in order to insist they were equals, "Please have a seat."
Philip nodded and sat down across from Mary, " Of course, when you summoned me I knew I could not refuse, I would do anything in the interest of peace between Catholic nations."
She smiled and nodded to him, "I am glad to hear that. That means that we can speak frankly between rulers," Mary said before taking a drink of wine, trying to ease her nerves. She thought perhaps in such an intimate setting, Philip would be less intimidating, but she was wrong. However, she knew that for the sake of her people, she could not let this intimidation control her. "I would like for us to talk of peace, what will it take to achieve it?"
Philip nodded and smiled a bit to himself, a smile that sickened Mary to even look at. "Your Majesty, I commend you on whatever you are trying to pull here, but I think the Church's solution is the most fair, after all, who are we to claim to know better than the messenger of God?" The cocky tone in his voice infuriated Mary, she was no longer intimidated, but she was furious.
"I suppose you are right Your Majesty," Mary replied in a quick and sharp tone, eyeing down the Spanish king. "Who are we, mere mortals, to betray the representatives of God? Whether those representatives be Pope's, Cardinals, or," She paused, wanting her true intentions to be clear, "Monarchs? After all, all monarchs are chosen by God to rule their nation, therefore it would be wrong to think that we mortals can interfere with such a decision."
The King raised his eyebrow, unsure of what the Scottish Queen was trying to imply, "With all due respect your majesty, the succession in England is unclear, it would not be radical to believe that Catherine Grey might be the true heir, after all, King Henry VIII left a very detailed will explaining who should rule England after him, and assuming that Elizabeth is excl-"
She had to interrupt him before he went on a tangent, "I was actually thinking more along the lines of my predecessor Mary Tudor." She watched him, wanting to see his reaction, trying to search for any signs of guilt.
Mary could see it, the the change in his eyes, he was guilty, and now she knew it, despite whatever he might say, "I do not think I know what you are trying to imply?" Philip asked her, but it was clear he was trying to cover up for his crimes.
"Oh but I think you do," Mary replied with a painfully kind smile, "As her successor and closest legitimate relative, I was in charge of settling the late Queen's estate after her passing. Honoring her will, cleaning out her rooms, and settling anything that had been left undone. As I was going through her things I could a strange vial of herbs, her ladies told me that they were given to her by her sweet husband to help her feel better, but the poor Queen only took two doses before rapidly declining in health."
Mary could see Philip's hands gripping the armrest of the chair and she knew she had him, his whole demeanor made it clear that he was guilty. Mary knew she had no solid proof, and that prosecuting a foreign king would be nearly impossible, but this move was a power play, and she needed to take it. "Are you accusing me?" Philip asked, grinding his teeth in anger, "How dare you do such a thing! I was her husband, and I loved my wife!"
Elizabeth, who was standing in just the other room took this as her cue, she walked in with a wicked smile, disgusted to see her ex husband again, "Oh Philip, we all know thats a lie." Philip's eyes widened seeing Elizabeth strut into the room and stand right next to where Mary was sitting. "Surprised to see me? I know what you are thinking. Why am I helping Mary? Well you would be surprised on how being manipulated, married then annulled, and left for dead might change a woman's loyalties. In fact, it may be the best thing to ever happen to me, because in the mean time, Mary and I were able to compare notes, all of which led back to you."
Philip stood from his chair, eyeing the two women in front of him. "So, the teenage queen and the bastard have teamed up against me, what a cold day in hell this must be." He replied to them, "But it does not matter, your new alliance with one another will affect nothing."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Mary stood up and Elizabeth came to her side, "Your whole plan relies on the cooperation of the Tudor women, but you seem to have angered every last one of us. Elizabeth would never support you, in fact she could convince her protestant supporters to fight along side my Catholic ones. You could have built your empire with Mary Tudor before you killed her, and then there's Catherine, my dear cousin and the key to your plan. Do you really think she'd consent to anything that benefits you? She would never accept the crown, even if I did agree to this outrageous deal."
"Face it, your majesty, you have lost. You have sabotaged everyone who could help you with your plan. Perhaps you could tell us just how cold hell has gotten," Elizabeth added, but it was a bluff, both Elizabeth and Mary knew that if Philip was determined enough, he would go to war, and probably win. However, they were gambling that he would not want to go that far, under these circumstances.
"It is true, Catherine is not a loyal Queen to Spain, but that is precisely why she's a means to an end, a vessel to produce a child, and she may not agree to my plans, but she would never do anything to harm her child. Through our child, I will gain England, even if she tries to stop me," Philip replied and walked over to the window near the corner of the room, "Besides, how could I lose when I have already won? The key to winning, you see, is to control the board, and if you don't have control, then you need to seize it." He then opened the curtains to reveal troops marching through Rome, and the troops bore the Spanish coat of arms.
Mary's face went pale as she saw the Spanish troops occupying the city, she rushed over the window to get a better look, "You snake! This is why the Cardinal arranged such a horrible deal, because you are holding the Church captive! You are a Godless man!"
"Mary, I have not been entirely honest with you," Philip said with a devious smile, "I was not late because I stopped at your mother's grave, I was late because I had to arrange these troops, but also, an elite force to march into France and hold your family captive, they are currently in my custody, and if you do not agree to the deal and hand over England, then they will all die."
"This is an act of war!" Elizabeth snapped, worried because her own daughter was in France as well, "I swear to you that you will pay for this, I will personally take your head if I have to!"
Philip eyed down Elizabeth, "So be it, but at least unlike you, my head will be wearing the crown of England if you take it, whereas when I take yours, it will just be the head of an unloved bastard! Good day miladies," He responded before marching out of the room.
Spain
Catherine lay in bed, with her daughter-in-law Elisabeth by her side, still thinking about her sons, her sweet sons that she would only get to know for a few minutes. She hoped they were well on their way to France by now to be taken care of by Catherine's sister Mary, and she knew that she would never see them again, so she sent them with a letter, explaining why this needed to be done. In honesty, she was upset, but she was collected, knowing she took her best course of action. Elisabeth on the other hand was inconsolable, because she knew this action would cost her the only friend she had in Spain besides her husband. Catherine took Elisabeth's hand and smiled, "My dear friend, please do not cry for me."
"How can I not!?" Elisabeth explained wiping away some of her tears, "I am going to lose you because of that vile man! What happens if he takes Carlos too? I will be alone! Just me trying to look out for my child, Catherine I cannot bear this!"
"Listen, I know what you are going through," Catherine replied and Elisabeth gave her a questioning look, "My sister Jane, was just sixteen years old, but she was my greatest friend. Kind, gentle, and loyal, a victim of evil men, most notably my father. I had to watch her get arrested, humiliated, and eventually executed. I did not know what to do, I was just a child, but here I was, now the only older sister that Mary had, I had to protect her from the dangers of the life we were born in to. Trust me Elisabeth, you will know how to protect your child, just as I have protected Mary and am now protecting my sons. You can do this."
Rome
Mary, Francis, and Elizabeth were all pacing the room, trying to think of some way to get out of this. They had brought troops to escort them to Rome, but they were well outside the city, meaning they probably did not even see that Spanish armies now occupied the city, and Mary had no way of contacting them for a rescue. The three of them were discussing ideas, but none of them seemed to work. The Elizabeth stood up, "Enough of this. Everyone has been making sacrifices for the good of the cause, now it is my turn, I can sneak out of the palace and go find James to tell him of this treachery."
"Elizabeth that is to dangerous! Besides, even if James were to attack the city, then Philip's troops would surely come in here and slaughter all of us and our families back at home, then all three of our nations would descend into chaos, ripe for Philip's take over," Francis responded.
"Nonsense," Mary announced, much to her cousin and her husband's surprise, "If we know Catherine, we know she is saving her family, I trust that she is concocting a way to take back the castle. If Elizabeth could sneak out and find James, she and him could lead a small team back in to secure our safety, followed a few hours later by our armies attacking Spain's."
"You are putting a lot of faith in the idea that Catherine de Medici will successfully save your family," Elizabeth replied and paced the room slowly, "And besides, we could never lead even a small group of people in here without Philip's guards seeing! We would need a distraction."
"Then we will send a small force back to France, to intercept any messengers that Philip may send that orders the massacre of our family," Mary suggested and nodded to herself, "And I can muster enough of a distraction to leave a window of opportunity for you to lead James and a few other trips in. I will request another feast to negotiate the deal, most of the guards would be concentrated in that area, as long as you are stealthy you could go undetected."
"What kind of negotiations would you have to warrant such a feast, surely if you request a feast they will be expecting you to at least suggest another deal, except in these circumstances, we do not have another deal," Francis asked his wife.
Mary looked out the window to observe the troops that surrounded them, she would not let them beat her, "Leave that to me."