February 16th, 1564

Richmond Palace

Elizabeth carried the flask of wine to the rooms of the king's mistress. She was nervous, her mother was putting so much faith in her, so she took a deep breath and approached the guard.

"I have a gift for the Lady Marie." Elizabeth announced, trying to make her seven year old voice sound as official as possible.

The guard chuckled. "Surely you do not have anything for, Her Majesty."

Elizabeth flinched at the guard's use of the words "her majesty" in reference to the king's mistress, but feigned indignation. "My father, Lord Wiltshire, asked that I delivered this wine for him to express his support of Lady Marie."

The guard eyed her dubiously. "You are the Lady Emma Boleyn?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Sir, you are not of the status to question my paternity. I am the daughter of Anthony Boleyn and Mary Percy and I demand entrance to Lady Marie's chambers so that I may deliver this gift."

"My apologies madam, I will inform Her Majesty of your presence and try to secure an audience." He disappeared into the chamber and Elizabeth could do nothing but wait.

She was thinking of several scenarios in which the plot could be discovered and all of them involved King Edward discovering her. While Marie's guards had never seen her before, one look in her eyes and the King would instantly recognize her. Sometimes, it was a bad thing to be your mother's ghost.

The guard returned. "Her Majesty will receive you now."

Elizabeth nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Marie was sitting a chair, similar to the one Queen Isabella had, but she stood when Elizabeth entered.

Elizabeth nodded to the older woman, it was not necessary to curtsy to her as they were both of the same status despite the age difference.

"Lady Emma," Marie began, her eyes fixed on Elizabeth's. "I would think that you would know to bow to your queen."

My Queen? Queen Isabella is not anywhere nearby...oh she means herself does she? Oh my, His Majesty has made her truly delusional. Well, I was given a task and I think it best to complete it.

Elizabeth smiled. "I apologize, Your Majesty."

She shrank into a curtsy, clutching the flask to her chest.

"So, tell me Lady Emma. Why has your father, one of Lady Isabella's lapdogs, decided to support me, the King's rightful wife?" She inquired as she sat in her chair.

Rightful wife? When did the king marry her?

"My father is unhappy with the lack of progress in retrieving his rightful titles. He lays claim to the Earldom of Ormond and she has been slow to intercede with the king on his behalf." Elizabeth lied smoothly.

Not that it was a lie, the Boleyns did have a claim to the Earldom of Ormond, Lord Wiltshire just didn't press the claim as someone else also held the title. Marie closed her eyes for a moment, tapping her fingers on the table.

"I will speak to the king about it, after I speak more with your father. What is that your father has sent me?" She was staring at the flask.

Elizabeth sat it down in front of her. "Wine from Gascony, Your Majesty."

Marie nodded to one of her ladies to pour her a glass. "Very well, you are dismissed Lady Emma."

Elizabeth gave another curtsy and walked out of the room as fast as her legs could take her without breaking out into a full sprint. She had just killed a woman.

February 21st, 1564

Richmond Palace

"I know it was you."

Isabella stared at him without flinching. She honestly didn't care whether he knew the truth or not at this point. He had told her he would be rid of Marie before she had let him into her bed and conceived William and Edward, yet while she was in confinement she had been informed of his lies.

Isabella nodded. "What did you expect to happen?"

Edward's ears turned red in anger but his face remained stoic. "I expected for you to allow me to send her away."

"I did." Isabella replied simply. "However, you failed to remove her, so I did."

Edward was silent for a long time, staring at Isabella. She couldn't begin to guess what he was thinking, however, the redness of his ears spread to his face. He didn't speak and turned to walk out of the door without another word.

"Edward?" She called after him, but he didn't return to her.

Instead, Ruth entered with a flask of wine.

She gave a smile. "I know you should not trust me with your wine, but I can assure you that it is safe."

With that, Ruth poured herself a glass and took a sip. "See?"

Isabella giggled and waited for Ruth to pour her a glass as well. "Edward just asked me about it. Well, he told me that he knew I ordered her death."

Ruth raised an eyebrow. "Oh, do tell how he reacted."

Isabella sighed. "Honestly, I think it may have done more harm than good."

Ruth laughed. "Why? We have done God's work by ridding His earth of a sinner. He said thou shall not covet, thou shall not steal, and thou shall not commit adultery-"

"He also says thou shall not kill." Isabella pointed out.

Ruth rolled her eyes. "She had also committed most of the cardinal sins."

Isabella was unconvinced. "As did I, wrath is one of the cardinal sins, is it not?"

"As are gluttony, lust, pride, greed, and envy, correct?"

"Ruth, it is not our place to judge her. We cannot play God's role, yet we have by poisoning her." Isabella put her head in her hands.

Ruth shrugged. "What is done, is done. We cannot change it and even if we could, I doubt either of us would. I know I wouldn't."

Isabella shook her head and stormed out of her rooms, she had to find Edward. He was in his rooms, dressed in black, as he opened a few letters. She noticed the seal of Portugal, hoping they had accepted her terms for an engagement between Anna and Sebastian.

"Why have you come?" Edward was staring at her, an unreadable expression mixed with a passive tone made her unsure of how to proceed.

"I want you to pray for my soul." She whispered.

He dropped his papers and approached her, pulling her into his arms. "I will pray for your soul."