January 13, 1560
Spain
A letter had been sent to the Spanish court pleading for Philip to spare Catherine's life long enough for Mary to travel and Spain and negotiate for her life. The letter had been sent with a single rider with the upmost urgency, and Mary, Elizabeth, and Mary Grey all left for Spain just moments later, so they really had no certainty that their request had even been granted. However, all of the women knew they had to try. Philip was a proud man, but he was all about deals and power. Perhaps there was some kind of agreement that they could reach in exchange for Catherine's life. Queen Mary was not looking forward to seeing Philip again, but she would put up with it if it meant there was a chance at saving their cousin.
The carriage ride was silent for most of the trip. What could any of them say at a time like this? They all knew what was at stake. Mary Grey was uncharacteristically stoic, showing almost no emotion during the entire trip. When the carriage pulled in to the palace courtyard, there was barely any fanfare, but it was clear that their arrival was expected, because Princess Elisabeth, Queen Mary's sister-in-law, and wife of Prince Carlos of Spain, stood with a small entourage waiting to greet them. As three women stepped out of the carriage, Princess Elisabeth could not hide her sympathetic smile. It was clear she was happy to see them, but if only the circumstances were better. "Welcome to Spain, your highness," Elisabeth said with a curtsy.
"Not much fanfare for a visiting Queen," Lady Elizabeth noticed, seeing as there was barely anyone greeting them.
"Indeed, His Majesty thought it better to not have celebrations in light of the reason behind your visit," Elisabeth swallowed, as if trying to rid herself of a lump in her throat. "I too thought it might be a good idea to limit the people during your welcoming, so that we may talk." The princess waved her hand and the few attendants that were their curtsied and then made their way back inside the palace. Once they were out of sight, Elisabeth jumped to hug all the women, starting first with Mary Grey and then to the others. "I tried to stop her, I really did, she would not listen."
"Elisabeth, listen, we know, and its ok," Queen Mary assured her sister-in-law, they were all aware of how stubborn Catherine was. She was too loyal for her own good, and now it was finally catching up to her. "Philip appreciates having power over me to force my hand. I am almost certain that he has a deal in mind already, one that he knows I will take in exchange for Catherine's life. He knows not to ask for too much or too little."
"I do not know," Elisabeth looked down, fighting back tears, "He hates you, all of you."
"That is, perhaps the nicest thing anyone has said to me," Elizabeth chided.
"Then you'll love what he has said about Mary. He's called her a witch, casting her spell on his son, thats why Carlos is not here, he did not want you bewitching him anymore. He even claims you cast a spell on him to marry Catherine in the first place, all a part of some master plan to take over all of Europe. His fortune tellers confirmed it for him, speaking of a powerful French leader who would take over Spain, and Europe before being stopped during a failed invasion of Russia in the winter," Elisabeth rambled, mostly out of nerves. It was clear she was in over her head with her only ally now in jail for treason. "He has called you the new Julius Caesar."
"Well he can rest assured I do not have my sights set on the rest of Europe, and I am not foolish enough to invade Russia in the middle of winter," Mary replied, almost laughing a bit at the superstitions that his fortune tellers had spread. However, she knew part of it rang true, to an extent. She wanted security for her three countries, and that meant interfering in the affairs of the other countries. If there was a way to get rid of Philip and place prince Carlos on the throne instead, she would certainly support it. "Is he available to negotiate? I do not want Catherine in that prison for any longer than she needs to be."
As they made their way into the throne room, Carlos was noticeably absent. Mary barely knew the young prince, but she felt guilty for how his life was going. Most of Philip's hatred of Carlos stemmed from her, and so his poor position at court was her fault. He was yet another victim in her quest to merely exist. How many more would fall for her, she wondered. "Your Majesty, thank you for welcoming me to your court," Mary said respectfully. The room was only filled with the four women, and Philip. It was clear that this meeting was supposed to be off the record.
"Of course. I would never stop someone from seeing their cousin one last time," Philip replied with a sense of decency that disgusted the four women before him. "After all, I am not a heartless man, so I will offer you a deal." This caught the attention of everyone in the room, but their attention was accompanied with skepticism. "I will offer to send my Queen home with you, met with an annulment of our marriage to the Pope, in exchange for my sons."
This was a deal that Mary could not take. As much as she wanted Catherine back, giving those princes back to Philip would lead to a fate worse than death to them all, but especially Catherine. How could she refuse though? Certainly the rest of Europe would see this as a fair trade, and by denying it, Mary would simply confirm their views of her as a power-hungry reincarnation of Julius Caesar. "Your Majesty, you know I cannot agree to that. Your Queen needs to be with her children, and yet, she cannot remain here. We will house your children and Queen in France, where your ambassadors can visit them regularly. In exchange for this, France, England, and Scotland will honor your claims to the New World, and we will cease to claim any further lands."
This deal was, potentially, a horrible one, for either side. Much of the New World was undiscovered, so, Mary could be giving up a golden opportunity by renouncing any claim. On the other hand, the riches in the New World may be nonexistent, meaning Philip would be trading something for nothing in the long run. She hoped his greed would get the better of him. "We already have control of much of the New World, and what we do not have belongs to Portugal. If you were to convince them to pull out, then we would have a deal. I understand you two are allies."
There was no way Mary could convince Portugal to do such a thing. Philip knew Mary had very few bargaining chips, and so she was out of moves. Before Mary could respond. Elizabeth stepped forward. "What about me? You can take me and our child into custody, in exchange for Catherine and the Princes to live in France with Mary. You can be assured of their safety and still have access to your daughter, who will one day marry the Queen's first born son."
Philip seemed shocked but intrigued by the offer. It was clear he needed to think about it for the moment. At this point in time, both sides of the conflict were not moving two steps ahead, they were moving twenty. Whenever this was officially begins, it is clear that it will span generations, and even continents. Each move would have dire consequences even fifty years down the line. "No, I need my sons, and by keeping them, you are committing an act of war."
"Those princes have English blood. Their mother sent them to me for protection and education, I have committed no such act," Mary argued, and some might see her point of view, but most of these conflicts were settled by the Church, and the Vatican was positioned firmly in Philip's pocket.
"Then she is executed tomorrow. You may see her now," Philip waved his hand for Princess Elisabeth to take the entourage down to the dungeons. As much as any of them wanted to protest, they was were all frozen. They had lost, and they had no more moves, other than to say goodbye.
In the dungeon, Queen Catherine Grey stared out the small window of her cell, watching the birds was her only pastime. As footsteps approached her door, she stood up, not knowing who it could be now. When Princess Elisabeth opened the door and led the other three women in, Catherine burst in to tears to see the familiar faces. Naturally gravitating towards her sister, Catherine pulled Mary Grey in for a tight hug, and the women cried in each other's arms. After the heartfelt greetings were through, Catherine sat back down on the small bench. "I am glad I got to see you all, before..."
"You already know?" Queen Mary asked her cousin.
"It was only a matter of time. I was hoping you would not come for me, because there was little any of you could do, except sit there and watch me die," She sighed, but to all of their confusion, she was not crying. Instead, she had a small smile on her face, "But I am happy to see you. How are my boys? Are they safe?"
"Catherine de Medici is likely singing them to sleep as we speak," Lady Elizabeth replied with a small grin, to hide the sickness she felt about this turn of events. "You knew he would not negotiate with us, didn't you?"
"Of course I knew," Catherine replied, turning to look back outside, "He wants power, and his sons are how he will get it. I knew i had to do something, so I followed the advice of your mothers. One of which he died by the very same blade that will take me. The Queen's sacrifice is one of the boldest moves in the game of chess, and it surely leads to victory, assuming the other piece move accordingly. Marie de Guise taught me that. So, I will sacrifice myself for my sons, and for all of you. I will rejoin my sister, Jane."
It was clear that Catherine's mind was made up, so none of them tried to change her mind. Instead, there was silence. Eventually, the fallen Queen stood up and broke the eery silence. "I have something i want to say to each of you. One final goodbye." Standing in front of Princess Elisabeth, Catherine took her hands and smiled, "You have been my best friend here in Spain, and the greatest companion I could have hoped for. You are more powerful than you know, so I beg you, my sweet friend, look inside of yourself and find that fire. You and Carlos will need it."
After a heartfelt hug, Catherine moved over to Lady Elizabeth. Both women could not believe how saddened they actually were to say goodbye, given their previous dislike and distrust of one another. "Fate did not let us become friends, and there is no use squabbling over that now. I will give your sister your regards, and please take care of mine," The two woman hugged and exchanged 'I love you's.
"Mary, my Queen," Catherine said with a smile, before curtsying for what would be the last time in front of her queen. "Not the Queen that was given to me, but the Queen that I chose. I can already tell that you feel guilty about my fate, but know, that if I could go back, and choose whether I would stand beside you, I would not change a thing. This was my destiny. I married Edward, and now I get to see him again. I leave you one thing of advice: do not stop fighting. You are the Queen that any woman would die for. Do not let it go to waste. Keep fighting, and take him down."
Before reaching her sister, Catherine pulled off her necklace. "Jane gave this to me, when we were girls. It was a gift from Queen Mary Tudor, before the dark days," She placed the ruby necklace in her sister's hand, "Now I give it to you. I sense much anger and pessimism in you Mary, and let this be a reminder that life is too short for all that. Remember to love Mary," and now Catherine was finally crying, and now holding back, "Because you have become the most amazing woman. You are the best of us, and do not lose that."
"I can't lose you," Mary Grey struggled to talk through her tears. She had already lost one sister, and her parents are dead too. With Catherine gone, she would have no more family.
"Yes, you can," Catherine said, knowing this was not what her sister wanted to her, but she firmly believed it was the truth. "You are stronger than you know, and you have so many people who love you still. I promise you Mary, you will see me again." She hugged Mary tightly and they held each other, but to Mary Grey, she never wanted to let go.
January 14, 1560
Spain
As the sun rose, the trio of English women got dressed for the day. Somehow, they wanted to make a statement with their clothes. Something that would keep the court talking about this day, about how they would not take this tragedy sitting down. However, Mary Grey was not concerned with politics. She simply wore a black dress, and the tight ruby necklace that her sister had given her. This was accompanied by a light vail. When Queen Mary caught sight of her cousin and her outfit, she could not help but to think about her own outfit that she wore when Mary Tudor died. With a simple black gown and a red necklace, her outfit was almost identical to Princess Mary's today. It was now that Mary came up with a plan for what she and Elizabeth would wear. The execution was midday, so they had time to get their outfits ready. She was hellbent on having history remember this day as Philip's last day of victory before she overcame him. Catherine would go down in history.
When midday came, the court was gathered outside for Catherine's public execution, meant to humiliate her and Mary. Princess Elisabeth accompanied her husband, Carlos, and stood with King Philip reluctantly. Catherine was marched out, wearing a white gown and her hair pulled back. She squinted her eyes slightly, as this was the most sunlight she had seen in a while.
Then, the crowds parted as Mary Grey made her way to the royal platform. Despite their king's anger at Catherine, most members of the Spanish court were sympathetic to Mary Grey. The story of the young girl who's whole family had been killed, and is now losing her last sister had spread through court since before she even arrived for Catherine's execution. Everyone knew she was the chief mourner at this execution, and some bowed or signed the cross as she passed them and stood next to Queen Mary's vacant chair on the royal platform. She briefly made eye contact with Catherine, but fought back her tears, because she did not want Philip to see them. Instead she brought her hand up to her ruby necklace, and Catherine smiled back at her.
Next, came Mary and Elizabeth. Their dresses sparked gasps from the crown. They both wore black dressed, with the Spanish insignia embroiled in yellow. Then, as if they both had bathed in blood, red pain was splattered all over their dresses, symbolizing the death of Spain. It was bold, and everyone knew it, but Queen Mary needed to send this message, and she needed Catherine to see that she had taken her advice, and will continue fighting. Enough of her family and her people's blood had spilled. It was Spain's turn. It was Philip's turn.
As she took her seat on the royal platform, in her chair next to Philip's she could tell the King was furious, but what could he say? Mary was a sovereign Queen, who could do whatever she wanted. Catherine looked up at Mary and broke into tears of joy, knowing that her sacrifice would not be in vain. The Queen she chose to die for would fight to avenge her, and that was enough for her. She was prepared to die. Upon being directed too, Catherine gave her last words, "I have come here to die. My husband is leaving a legacy of evil and hate, and though I was only your queen for a brief amount of time, good Spanish people, you are too good for his evil ways. I implore you not to go along with his plot, and instead look to his son, Carlos. He will lead you into a golden age. My sons will serve under Prince Carlos and have no claim to the English throne. I have renounced my rights." This was important, because Catherine wanted to make it clear that her sons were not options for England. "I pray you see the light, before it is too late. Today I die for my Queen and my sons. Long live Queen Mary. Long may she reign. Long live my sister, Princess Mary Grey, whom I love more than anything."
With Mary Grey and Lady Elizabeth's hand in each of hers, Queen Mary watched intensely, as yet another one of Philip's victims declared support for her. She watched as Catherine got to her knees and rested her head on the scaffold. When the executioner swung back his axe in preparation, almost everyone, including Queen Mary, looked away, except Philip and Mary Grey, who had almost gone numb since her goodbye to Catherine last night. The rest of the court, with closed eyes, waited with still breathe until they heard the loud bang of the axe hit the wood. It was almost as if Catherine's words had struck a chord with the Spanish people, and they were none to happy to see their Queen meet such an unfortunate fate.
A/N: So I know this is long overdue but this chapter is so important and it was hard to write. It still is hard for me to reread. Please comment and share your thoughts, i love hearing from y'all! Also, as of the time posting this, i had re-written chapters 1-8, so if you wanna see the changes or the added detail, then go back and give them a read. There is some more foreshadowing and i am very happy with how they have turned out so far.