December 26, 1559
France
It was well into the early hours of the morning, so much so that sun hadn't even come out yet. Mary Grey's hands were almost numb from gripping the reigns of the horse. The temperature was well below freezing, as evident from the snow coming down around her. However, she could not stop riding. She had to get to the Duke of Guise's estate so she could get his help. She rode for hours, and when the sun began to rise, she could see the Chateau on the horizon. Reinvigorated by this sight, she snapped the reigns so the horse would go faster. Once she reached the gates of the palace, the guards stopped her. "Stop there, who are you?"
"I am Princess Mary, wife of Prince Charles, and I come from the palace with an urgent message from the Queen Mother, for his Grace's ears only," she responded, finding it difficult to speak for her face had gone numb, "I carry with me the Dauphin, Prince of Wales, we need to be let in immediately, I fear he's already been in the cold to long."
They seemed reluctant to open the gates for her, but it was clear that they did not want to turn away a woman with a baby. The gates lifted and Mary was hurriedly led inside so that she could speak to the duke.
Rome
Elizabeth had to sneak out of the palace and out of the city, a task which proved more difficult than she had imagined. The Spanish troops constantly marched through the city, making sure no one left their house, and if they did, only for a short time. Elizabeth was lucky, but she managed to convince the soldiers that she was the baker's daughter, who needed to deliver to her clients, or her father would be ruined. The soldiers took pity on her situation and allowed her to pass. It was not hard for Elizabeth to act like the baker's daughter. In fact, she used to be very good at it. She used to play baker's daughter as a child, to pretend to be a normal person. Certainly, she'd imagined, that being the baker's daughter was much easier than being the daughter of Henry VIII
The walk from the city to the military camp was the most brutal. Trudging through an endless trail of snow in the middle of the night. However, soon she made it. "I am the Lady Elizabeth Tudor, sent from her Majesty the Queen, I need to speak to the Earl of Moray, immediately." She showed the guards the royal seal, and they nodded, leading her to James' tent.
The guard gestured for her to enter and she nodded. She walked in and noticed a bed in the tent, but it was moving, quite aggressively. Her eyes widened as she understood what was happening. "Oh dear lord, um, I can give you a few minutes."
From the bed, James sat up from under the covers, followed by a woman, who Elizabeth assumed to be a prostitute. "Elizabeth, I am so sorry, this is not what it looks like." He got up, and pulled on his robe, tying it around his waist. "Thank you Donatella, your services are no longer needed," he said and the woman hurriedly left the room.
"No need to apologize, I denied your proposal, remember? You are a free man to sleep with whomever you wish," She scoffed, as she tried to not feel jealous, after all, she did tell him no. "Besides, I am promised to Robert Dudley as soon as Mary can arrange the annulment, but thats not why I am here. Mary needs yours help. Philip's troops have occupied Rome and are holding Mary hostage until she signs a treaty giving the English throne to cousin Catherine."
"That is an act of war! We have to do something! We can lead a full force invasion into the city so we can free her from having to sign such a terrible deal," James hastily replied as he began getting his armor ready.
"It is more complicated than that. If we lead an invasion, then Philip will surely still control the palace, therefore Francis and Mary, we need to lead an elite team into the palace to sneak in. Mary said she would arrange a distraction so the guards will be limited. She will hold a feast at noon, we need to be in the Palace by noon, so when the feast ends at two, we will already be safely waiting for Mary in her chambers," Elizabeth explained to James, " Then, have your armies attack Rome in full force at around 4, with Mary safe, we will have to arrange a way to get her out."
"I hate to say it, the fighting in the city would be the perfect cover," James replied as he hastily began getting dressed , "If we could get her out of the city safely, God willing, we can sneak her back to camp, then have our troops retreat and simply return to France. We will hopefully spill very little blood and get out of this godforsaken country as quickly as possible."
The Vatican
At noon, Mary and Francis made their way back to the great hall for the feast that Mary requested. She had a plan for negotiations, which she knew would not be accepted by Philip, but she did not need one. All she needed to do was stall and keep the guards in the great hall long enough for Elizabeth, James, and some soldiers to sneak in to her chambers. "Your Majesties, welcome, and please come sit with myself and the King of Spain, we are both very interested in what you have to say," The Cardinal said, seemingly already slightly drunk on wine.
Mary smiled and kissed the pope's ring softly, "Your Holiness, I was pleased to hear that last night your were formally confirmed as the Pope, England and Scotland extend their congratulations to you," She said and then took her seat next to Francis. Much like the last feast, the beginning was eating and pleasantries, without any actual discussion, but this time Mary knew they were on a time limit. She needed to be in her room before four, which is when her troops would storm the palace. "Holy Father, forgive my rush, but I would much like to discuss my negotiations."
"Your majesty, why such a rush? Enjoy the party!" The new pope replied, but Mary persisted and eventually he relented, "Ok your majesty, what is the plan you wish to propose?"
May smiled, thanked the Pope, and stood up, to address entire table of Cardinals that were present. "Good men of the church, I, Mary, Queen of England, Scotland, Ireland, and France, have been a faithful servant to your interests for many years. I have put my life on the line multiple times for you, but I have seen nothing for it!" She said passionately and there were gasps and whispers amongst the guests. "I waged war against my own cousin, to claim a crown for the interests of this once good Church. Now this church, who's pockets are heavy with the gold from Spain, wishes to take that country away from me! This body has used the name of a pure and holy religion to accomplish the works of an evil, power hungry man. But I believe this Church is still capable for good. Now, I, as the god anointed queen of England and Scotland have a proposal."
Philip was grimacing throughout her entire speech, obviously not impressed with her oratory skills. "Out with it then!"
Mary fired an angry glance at Philip, then looked back at the Pope and the Cardinals, "You will let me keep England to my self, you will condemn Philip and the Hapsburg's unnecessarily aggressive actions, and you will refuse Philip's request to remove his son, my brother-in-law, Don Carlos of Spain, from the line of succession. These are my terms and I will accept nothing less, not in this lifetime or the next."
The cardinals all laughed at her claims, which is what she was expecting. This was a crazy amount of terms, "Your majesty, we respect your persistence but what on God's earth do you have that could equal such a deal? Surely you ask for to much?"
"Someone once told me that in order to win the game, you must control the board, but I argue that relinquishing control of the board to a third party could be more beneficial. Which is what I plan to do, if you don't meet my demands. I will step down as Queen of England, and officially recognize Lady Elizabeth Tudor as the rightful Queen of England," There were more gasps and murmurs, even from King Francis, whom Mary did not tell the plan to. "And if anyone were to try and stop me before being able to do that," She said, eyeing down Philip, "Before leaving to come here I wrote an official statement of recognizing Elizabeth which will be released when I give the orders, or if I am dead. So, you said you wanted a fair deal, how does control of millions of English souls sound? I will leave you to consider." She was bluffing on the statement, but seriously considering the deal she proposed. She would not let England be bullied by Philip, even if that meant giving the throne to Elizabeth. Taking Francis's hand, she began to walk out and then turned to Philip, " You know, you are right, he who controls the board can be powerful, but in the game of chess, there is only one Queen and she's the most powerful piece on the board." As she stormed out of the room, her husband by her side, she prayed that James and Elizabeth would be waiting for her in her chambers.
France
Mary had been let in, given fresh clothes, and was met by the Duke of Guise. She explained to him the situation as best she could and begged him to help her. "I am prepared to negotiate on behalf of the royal family in order to win your support, but do know, this is all without the King's knowledge, so my powers only extend so far."
Francis, the Duke of Guise, contemplated her question, seeming so he could figure out what he wanted from the royal family. "I want a seat on the Royal Privy council, and the lands an privileges of being on the council. I would also like my son, Henry, to be married to the King's sister, Margaret, when they are both old enough of course. Those are my terms, in exchange I will free your family."
Princess Mary stood up in protest at his terms, " I just told you that I to do not have consent from the King I could nev-"
Francis interrupted her and stood up as well, "Make it happen, or else your family will get slaughtered."
I know all the recent chapters are hot messes, but I promise it'll settle down as the stories start condensing and coming together!