"Tea Your Highness?" a voice said as a cup of hot tea was placed in front of me. I took the cup without even looking at the person. There was something so soothing about a cup of tea. The way the heat steamed from the top and the way the cup warmed your fingers. Such a simple thing, yet it was romantic in a way to sit and drink a cup of tea, while watching the place you hated, a place that was once a safe haven, burn to the ground in front of your eyes.

When the last flame was extinguished the vacation house was barely recognizable. Men and women ran from the water to the house with buckets upon buckets of water but nothing worked. The flame was too powerful. Our secret was safe. I remember nothing yet I remember watching each room go up in flames.

I sat at the table of a local farmer and stared through the window at the smoking morning sky. It was cold and someone had wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and brought me here. My children slept soundly, huddled together on the floor beside the roaring fire. I watched and listened to the women and children cry. I studied the way the men hid their panic. I felt nothing, not an ounce of fear, regret or remorse.

"Susanna." Someone touched my arm and pulled me back to my surroundings. I looked up into the face of Alexander. I gave a meek smile and he sighed. His face covered in soot and his hair hanging across his eyes. He brushed it back for my benefit and sighed. "The King has instructed that you and the children be returned to the palace." I nodded and looked out the window. As he stood to leave I grabbed his hand.

"How many?" I asked staring at the wreckage. I could feel him watching me and then he sighed.

"Six dead. The Duke of Cornwall is assumed to be one of the deceased." I looked up in horror and shook my head.

"The duke? But…how? How could they possibly know?"

"He was wearing his ring. Though it was badly damaged Adam managed to identify it."

"Oh my. That is horrible." I said looking back at the spectacle before me.

"Yes." Alexander said completely disbelief in his voice. When I met his eye he studied me carefully. I narrowed my eyes and felt my cheeks heat up. "My darling we are dearest friends." He knelt down in front of me and held my hand in his. "I would never betray you. And I trust that you knew what you are doing." He kissed my hand and I nodded. At the exact same moment the door to the farmhouse swung open and Adam strode in. He saw Alexander and I and stopped.

"Are you hurt?" I said standing and faking my concern. I went to him and wiped soot from his cheek with my handkerchief. He blinked at me and then glared.

"You are supposed to be waking the children and going home." He snapped.

"Of course my darling I was just-" I looked back at Alexander and he stood back straight, hands behind him and staring at the floor.

"I can see what you were just doing. It's what you're always just doing." He snapped. He grabbed my arm tightly and pulled me towards him. "This will be the last time you make a fool out of my Susanna. I promise you this." He grabbed my face and kissed me roughly, his lips like rocks scraping the skin off of my own. He pushed me away and looked at Alexander.

"Get their carriage ready. I assume you'll be more than eager to accompany them back." He said and marched out of the house. I stood shaking.

"He thinks-" Alexander said but I shushed him.

"He thinks nothing. I will fix this when I get home." I said. But the whole time there was a deep sinking feeling in my chest.

Adam did not return home with us that night, or the next night or the night after that. It was a whole two weeks before he returned to the palace. Addie had remained with me due to the death of the Duke and she clung to Albert's side as if her life depended on it. They didn't speak unless it was to each other and barely ate. Anthony wandered around lost. He was confused by his siblings' distance and was frequently agitated by Arthur who, being so young, begged for his brother's attention.

One morning, as I sat pretending to concentrate on my needlepoint I heard a carriage arrive below. My heart stopped for a moment as I sat and listened. Voices rose through my cracked window and I strained my ears to hear what was being said. When I could not distinguish a voice I stood up and looked below. A black carriage sat in front of the staircase; it's passengers already inside the castle. It was not a royal carriage therefore it was not Adam. I sighed and sat back down.

Within minutes there was a knock on the parlor door. I had sent my ladies away to do mindless tasks allowing me time for peace and quiet. I sighed and rose to answer the door.

"I was sent up to change the bed." Margaret said bowing politely in front of me. I blinked at the girl and was shocked. She looked up at me quickly waiting for a reply and I jumped.

"Of course. Of course. Come in." I said standing back and holding the door open for her. She looked at me shocked and then scurried past me.

I sat back in the chair and watched through the open bedroom doors as she quickly tore the old sheets off and remade the new bed. It was as if I were watching an old memory. The edges were tight and the top sheet turned down. She gave the pillows an extra punch before placing them gently back on the bed.

"Your parents," I started. "Who are they?" She jumped and looked at me.

"The Duke and Duchess of Norfolk." She said bowing to me. Jesse's daughter. And Ceecee's daughter. It was Ceecee. Ceecee used to fold the bed sheets like that.

"You don't need to do that every time I talk to you." I said with a smile. She nodded and stood straighter. She blinked a couple of times and her eyes started to water. "Are you alright?" She nodded and then let out a sneeze.

"I'm sorry your majesty. I seem to have caught a cold." She said. Wiping her nose on her apron.

"Oh my. Well come and sit by the fire. Have some tea." I said standing up and pouring her a hot cup. She stood frozen by the bed. "Come. Despite what you have heard I don't bite." I said with a laugh and she smiled slightly. "How do you like your tea?" I asked as she shuffled into the room.

"Milk and two and a half sugars, if I may." She peeped.

"Of course. Of course." I bit back the unsettled feeling in my stomach. Her eyes seemed to hold the wisdom of the world. They were mysterious yet comforting. And her smile, though small it was perfect. It was genuine and…happy. It was as if I were sitting with someone I had known for my whole life. "Have you lived in Norfolk for your entire life?"

"I, uh, for majority of it. My mother told me that when I was a small babe we lived with her parents in Lancashire." She sipped the tea and there was a small smile on her lips.

"You're about 16 years of age, yes?" She nodded.

"16 as of last September." She said. My son would've been a month older, had he lived. I remembered that day as if it had just happened yesterday. I remembered the wedding and the smiles on my family's faces. I remembered the pain and the heat. I remembered Regan holding my legs and Ceecee was nowhere to be found. Ceecee. She wasn't pregnant, for she would've told me. And to have a baby in September? She was a flat as a board. I looked at the girl and studied her face. As she spoke of her life her voice had a tone that was familiar and her eyes, the way they spoke to mine was bringing back a memory. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to picture it.

A vision entered my mind and it was when I was seven years old. Bradley had tripped me as I raced by and I had dropped all the eggs I had collected. I looked up in the warm green eyes and heard her say, "Susanna, my darling, don't cry. They're just eggs." My eyes popped open and I tears filled my eyes.

"Your highness?" She looked at me startled. I let the cup of tea fall out of my hands and stared at her. She jumped up to clean the mess but I knelt down and touched her face. She blinked at me curiously and slightly frightened. But as I looked into my daughter's eyes I felt joy, happiness and yet sadness. My daughter, the daughter I could never have, sat before me, healthy happy and raised by another. I kissed her forehead and she raised her eyebrows. "Your-your majesty?"

"You may go now Margaret. I'm feeling tired." I said wiping the tears from my face and collecting myself. I stopped at the door and looked back. "When you write home to your parents, will you ask them to come to the castle? I wish to meet with them again."

"They are here your majesty." She peeped.

"Here?" I looked out the window at the frozen ground and felt my heart race.

"They arrived this morning." Jesse and Ceecee here. Under my roof and I had no knowledge.

"Ask them to accompany me for dinner would you. Tell them it's of the utmost importance." I said with a small smile. She nodded and returned the smile but I closed the door, laid on my clean bed and sobbed for hours.

Dinner came at the slowest pace. After a good cry I ordered my servants into a frenzy. The ladies were to pick out my most elegant dress and the parlor was to be scrubbed clean. The chef was instructed to cook duck for supper with a variety of vegetables and a cake for desert.

I stood by the dark window and thought over everything that I had wanted to talk about. As I pressed down the red velvet dress and fidgeted with the red hairnet in my hair I thought about what caused me the most pain. Betrayal is what it came down to. How dare they betray me? I was their friend and their lover. How could they steal my child away from me and then wave her in front of me years later? Did they think I wouldn't notice?

I heard whispers at the door and the knock was deep and long. I nodded to the doorman and he opened the door to my two friends. I plastered a smile on my face and nodded to them.

"Jesse! Ceecee! How I have missed you both." I said offering them my royal hand and kissing each on the cheek. Jesse narrowed his eyes at me, seeing right through my act and Ceecee avoided eye contact.

"Thank you for inviting us." He said looking around the room. "I assumed you were having one of your famous parties but this is rather…formal."

"Of course not. After 16 years you think I would just casually invite you to one of my parlor parties?" Ceecee's head shot up and I stared at her, my smile still on my face. The colour drained from her cheeks and she blinked at me.

"Susanna let me explain."

"Oh Ceecee, please. Come and sit. There will be plenty of time for catch up. But first you must try the duck." I nodded to the servant who pulled out my chair and sat down. "I've become quite the hunter you know. I would've killed this one myself, but I had a terrible shock this afternoon and needed a lie down." I smiled at them as I snapped the napkin over my lap. They exchanged a quick glance and then stared at me. I snapped my fingers at the wine boy and he filled our glasses. "What shall we toast to?" I said looking at my guests. Jesse blinked at me and Ceecee fidgeted with her glass.

"To your good health." He said.

"Come now Jesse. I'm sure you can think of something better than that." I smiled at him and he couldn't help but return the smile.

"To old friends." He said and I smiled more. I turned to Ceecee and she raised her eyebrows.

"To-to old memories." She said raising her glass and staring me straight in the eye. I blinked at her and narrowed my eyes. Her purple eyes glistened with an untold story.

"To Margaret." I said raising my glass and taking a sip while Ceecee dropped her glass and Jesse choked on the wine.

"Susanna please let us explain." I looked at the servants in the room. All were emotionless, standing against the walls waiting for command. But all had ears and all had tongues.

"You're dismissed." I said to them. They hesitated a moment and then left. "Except you." I pointed to the wine boy and he stood frozen. He was a child. Someone easily loyal if threatened enough. I sighed and picked a grape from the pile of fruit. I studied its soft purple texture and the way it was so easy to crush. I bit into it and tasted the sweet juices inside.

"It's not what you think." Ceecee fumbled with the napkin, dabbing at the spill.

"More wine?" I snapped at the boy and he jumped into action. He filled Ceecee's cup and she shook as she raised it to her lips.

"We had to Susanna." Jesse said and my eyes flicked to him for the briefest moment, the smile no longer on my face. He sat back, as if I had slapped him.

"I never meant to hurt you." She whispered. I narrowed my eyes at her and the nastiest laugh left my lips.

"Hurt me? How have you hurt me?" I said watching her panic.

"I- you- we…" She looked at Jesse who sat to my right and begged him for an answer.

"She had my colouring. We had to protect her and you." He answered for Ceecee.

"Please don't make it sound like you were heroes." I snapped. I took a deep breath, drank half of my cup of wine and smiled again. "So tell me. How long did you wait after you kidnapped my child did you marry?"

"Susanna please-" She started to cry.

"How long?" I snapped.

"A week." He answered. I stared at him in disbelief.

"A week." I whispered. "Well isn't that wonderful. I guess my invitation got lost on the road somewhere."

"No one was invited Susanna. And you know that we couldn't have invited you. You would've know about the baby."

"Clearly I meant so much to you." I said staring at him. His eyes narrowed and his face darkened with anger.

"You are one to speak. Marrying my best friend while I was recovering from the war I had fought in his honour." He shouted.

"I explained that already! He had told me you were dead." I shouted back.

"You were always such an idiot Susanna. Such a stupid little girl. You never saw that his attraction to you was based on competition with me. My whole life Adam wanted what I had. For whatever disturbed reason he wanted you because he knew that I loved you. He never loved you."

"You-you don't know him." I stuttered but it all made sense. The gifts and the parties and the special privileges I was given. "He loves me."

"He may have thought he loved you but he didn't. And he certainly doesn't now. But who can blame him? Married to a woman who has affairs and bares children that are not even him. I'm surprised you have lived this long." He shouted, his mouth practically foaming with anger. I sat back shocked.

"Jesse please." Ceecee's quiet voice made the room go quiet.

"My children…they are…how did you know?" tears were in my eyes.

"All you have to do is look at them." He snarled. "Well not the youngest one. He is the spitting image of his father. Good thing that he's like you, or at least the way you used to be."

"How dare you speak to me this way!" I said slamming my empty cup down. "I am the Queen of England and you cannot treat me this way."

"But you really shouldn't be should you?" He snapped. "You're nothing but a common farm girl who should've been married off to a farmer like everyone else. There's not a speck of royal blood in you." He stood up and marched to my chair. He placed both hands on each arm and his face was inches from mine. "You're a liar. You trick people into believing what you want them to believe and then make them think it's their fault when it doesn't work out the way you want it to." Tears lined his eyes. "You never loved me." He spat and that was all it took for the tears to pour down my face. I looked up at him and shook my head.

"If you only knew. I loved you more than anything in this world. I still love you more than anything. How do you think it feels to find out that my child, OUR CHILD, was being raised by you and my best friend?"

"Probably about the same as watching you marry and play wife to the man I called my best friend." He said and his face softened. I took a deep breath and stared into the eyes that I loved so much. My heart ached for him.

"I truly am sorry." I said with my entire heart. "If given the chance to change everything I would." I touched his cheek and his face softened. "You know I would." He sighed and pressed his forehead to mine.

"As would I." he said.

"But nothing can be changed now," Ceecee's voice came from the distance and brought us back. She was crying and staring at the napkin in her lap. My cheeks heated with embarrassment as Jesse coughed and returned to his seat. I motioned for our glasses to be refilled and I took a deep breath.

"Tell me what happened." I said and Ceecee wiped her eyes.

"The night of the masquerade Jesse came to me. As you know we were childhood friends and he knew that I would do anything for him."

"Because you loved him." I said and her eyes flicked up to mine. They were full of hurt and anger but she nodded.

"I loved him more than anything. But I was not a foolish enough to pretend that he loved me." Jesse studied his glasses and didn't make a sound.

" The night of the masquerade he came to me to discuss your pregnancy. He confessed to me that one night before your second wedding you two had lain together and therefore the child might be his. I didn't want to believe it but I had known it to be true. We watched you mingle with guests as he told me his fear that you would be put to death, along with his child if it were in fact his child. I told myself he was crazy and that it was just wishful thinking, but as the child inside you grew I started to worry. I was unsure of how I was going to get the baby away from you once you had held it in your arms.

I read the letter of your brother's wedding to the king and told him that you would probably want to go. For you see at the time His highness had sought me out many late nights, especially in you're heaviest of months. He and I were childhood friends and…physical acquaintances. It wasn't romantic and it wasn't love. I was helping him and he was entertaining me.

When I read that letter I immediately wrote to Jesse, who was never too far away. I told him that we would be leaving to go to your family and he arranged to drive us. It shocked me how you did not recognize him, especially when he helped you from the carriage." I looked at Jesse who was drinking his wine heavily. I hadn't even looked at the man, let alone talked to him. It had always puzzled me how quickly he had disappeared.

"That night at the wedding I had noticed your pain and I sought out Jesse. This was around the time you thought I had disappeared. When we returned to the house the baby was crowning and Regan lectured me while I wiped the sweat from your forehead. When you passed out I examined the baby and explained it all to Regan. She was furious. I've never seen her so mad before. But the baby was dark than you and her hair was like Jesse's. Our fears were confirmed. She was not Adam's. Without Regan we would've been lost. She jumped into action, agreeing that Margaret needed to be protected. She went and got the doctor, while I tended to the baby and Jesse sat by your side.

When they returned with a stillborn birthed that morning we thanked God and the two of us took the baby and left immediately. We walked for days." She looked at Jesse as if it was a fond memory and I felt myself get angry.

"Why wouldn't you have told me?" I snapped and they both looked at me. "You know I would've done anything to protect her."

"I tried to talk to you about it Susanna but you wouldn't listen." Jesse said. "I told you about the possibility of the child being mine but you were convinced it was Adam's."

"It didn't seem likely, for that one time to take so quickly." I looked down at my lap.

"We couldn't tell you because you wouldn't have been able to hide the secret you kept. So we took the baby to Lancashire. I told my parents it was a sin I had committed and didn't get the chance to explain it before we were married and sent back to Norfolk. I wanted to tell you. There is nothing more that I missed then your company. But I had to protect the ones I love." Tears poured down her face and she shook her head. "Imagine looking into the face of your child and instead of seeing yourself you see the mirror images of the two people you love most." I wiped my own tears away and sighed.

"Why did you not have more children?" Ceecee looked up at Jesse and he stared out the window.

"We were afraid of the differences the children would have from Margaret. So we said that Ceecee could not have children anymore."

"He loves you Susanna, not me." She said sadly. Guilt filled my stomach and the wine rose into my throat. My best friend has sacrificed her entire happiness for my safety. I shook my head.

"I'm so sorry Ceecee." I said and went to her side. I knelt down beside her and kissed her hand. It was the humblest action I could do and it took everyone by surprise. "I wish desperately-' She touched my cheek and smiled the tiniest smile.

"Nothing can be changed now Susanna." She looked over at Jesse. "All we can do now is prevent anything from happening."

"Why after all these years would anything happen? Did you think I would say something?" I said standing up.

"You are the one who summoned Margaret to work for you aren't you?" She said.

"No. I had no idea you were even married." I said honestly. They exchanged worried looks with each other looked as if they were going to throw up. The sound of a carriage below broke the silence and I strode to the window to look. A golden carriage with white horses. Adam.

"He sent for her." Ceecee said.

"He knows." Jesse agreed.

"How could he possibly know?" I said watching as my husband climbed out of the carriage. He turned and spoke to whomever accompanied him. He offered out his hand and a women climbed out. I could not see her face but she was dressed magnificently. She wore light blue robes and a large hat with a white feather. Even in the darkness I could tell her dresses were made by the palace dressmakers.

"He must know. Why else would he send for us?" Ceecee said.

"We'll take her home quickly before he gets here. I'll explain to him that she is very sick."

"It's too late. He's already here." I said and caught his gaze as he looked up at me. He stopped and lifted his hat to me, mocking me before bringing his mistress into my home.

I could not sleep that night or the next night. Adam had not made any command to see me yet through parties that lasted day and night, which I was required to attend. He told me he was celebrating a knew era, and those were the only words he said to me. For the first time in years he looked happy. As I changed out of a crimson silk dress a servant arrived and instructed me that His Majesty wished to speak with me. I snapped at my girls to dress me quickly and chose a plain green dress as me outfit of choice.

Halfway to Adam's chambers Jesse crossed my path. He looked nervous and afraid.

"What is it?" I asked.

"He summoned me." He wiped sweat from his face.

"He summoned me as well." I whispered and we stared at each other.

"He knows Susanna."

"He might not." I swallowed the bile in my throat and continued on my way.

"What are we going to do? She'll be killed."

"She wont be killed because he doesn't know." I took a deep breath as his parlor doors appeared in the hallway. "Besides it would create too much of a scandal if he were to kill my bastard after I took in his." Jesse nodded but I could tell he wasn't listening. We announced ourselves to the doorman and he let us in.

The parlor was dark, apart from the roaring fire in the corner. There was a meal on the table, set for two people and it had been eaten already. We stood frozen in the room and listened to the rustling of bed sheets and the creaking of the bed as two people had sex. It was embarrassing and I could feel rage fill my cheeks. Jesse grabbed my arm as I stepped towards the door and shook his head. It would just be giving him what he wanted.

We stood at the door for ten minutes before Adam strode out in a red fur robe with his crown on crooked and a cup of wine in his hand. He stopped when he spotted us and smiled.

"So sorry. I would've been quicker if I knew you were waiting." He smirked into his cup. "Come and sit."

"Why did you summon us here?" I snapped. He didn't even flinch he poured himself some wine and motioned for the empty chairs.

"I said sit Susanna." Jesse touched my back and gently pushed me towards the chairs.

"Remember back in the days when the three of us would share wine and a meal and laugh about the future?" He said staring out the black window.

"Those days are long gone." Jesse said.

"Yes I suppose your right." Adam smirked. "You married my mistress."

"And you married the woman I loved." He snapped. Adam blinked at him and then smirked.

"I would like to say the best man won but…look at her. No man won in this situation." He raised his cup to me and I was completely shocked. If I didn't hate this man I would've cried.

"Why have you summoned us?" I asked again. He looked into his dark and musty bedroom and nodded to whomever was in there.

"Beautiful daughter you have Jesse." He looked at him. "She's what, 16?" The sound of shuffling feet came out from the doorway and Margaret appeared, clothes torn, lips red and her eyes were dazed from some sort of concoction.

"Hello Daddy." She said and then fell to the floor.

"Looks like the best man won." Adam said.

"You bastard!" Jesse lunged across the table and grabbed Adam's throat. He punched him in the jaw and the two broke out into a fight. I raced to Margaret's side and scooped her into my arms. She was alright just a little disoriented and told me she had fallen asleep. I quickly assessed her body and noticed that even though her clothes were torn they were not torn in places that would be suitable for rape. Also there was no blood. So unless the girl was not a virgin she had not had sex.

"Jesse." I said holding the girl in my arms. He pushed Adam away and wiped his bloody lip. He bent down beside Margaret and touched her hair.

"I'll kill you Adam! I swear!"

"Now now. To threaten the king's life is treason. You could be hanged." Adam smirked as he wiped his bleeding eyebrow with a cloth.

"What have you done to her?"

"I've just shown her what you've been missing." Adam smirked again and I held Jesse's arm.

"She has not been touched." I reassured him. He panted heavily and stared at our daughter.

"How can you be certain?"

"No blood." I said quietly and he sighed. I placed her in his arms and he cradled her, wiping his own tears off her face.

"Why have you done this?" I said walking towards him.

"She's a beautiful young woman don't you think?"

"She's a child." I pushed him.

"I think it was her eyes. So green. So…mysterious. I was instantly attracted to them." He looked at me, the smile gone from his face. "It was the same set of eyes that attracted me to you." I blinked at him and felt the world spin.

"He knows." I said and grasped the chair beside me.

"Oh he knows alright. It was a lovely day when I first met Miss Margaret. I think she was about two, wasn't she Jess? I had been visiting to talk about the party for Albert when she came stumbling in and grabbed onto my leg. Those eyes were a dead giveaway. Without those eyes I wouldn't have thought anything of it. But then when she was ten and we through Anthony a birthday party I watched how she ran and talked to the other guests. Even her personality was like you. She was the daughter I had always imagine us having. It wasn't until she was 14 that I knew. After speaking to her and asking her date of birth it was confirmed. My beloved wife and most trusted friend had betrayed me in the happiest days of my life. They stolen my child away from me." I blinked at him and looked at Jesse. He looked at me confused.

"Why I wondered would the people I love the most want to steal my first born child away from me? Why would they place a bastard stillborn in my arms and tell me my son had died?" His gaze flicked to Jesse. "It's all about the revenge isn't it?"

"Revenge?" He looked past me and strode towards Jesse.

"You wanted revenge for me betraying you. Well my friend you got it." He stood up. "So I guess, in fact the best man did win. I stole your woman and you stole my baby!"

"Are you mad?" Jesse looked up with pure rage. "You sick fuck!"

"You think I would hurt my own daughter?" Adam said touching Margaret's cheek. "She's so beautiful." He stood up and sighed. "Don't worry Jesse. I'll take care of her as best as I can." He snapped his fingers and two guards appeared from the shadows.

"What is this?"

"Jesse De Silva, Duke of Norfolk, earl of Sussex and lord of Dover you are under arrested for kidnapping of the royal family and threatening the king." Adam said formally.

"You can't do this! You sick and evil bastard! Don't touch her! Don't lay one finger on her! She's my-" I jumped into action and placed a hand on Jesse's chest. I nodded to him and touched his face.

"It'll be ok. She's safe." I said.

"She's with him." he cried and I nodded.

"But she's safe." He sighed and blinked through the tears.

"I love you." He said. I kissed him gently. "I love you." I said and watched them cart him away.

"An interesting turn of events." Adam said when the doors were closed. "I had expected it to be harder but you are making this too easy."

"How could you drug our daughter?" I said rushing back to her side and trying to take her from him. He pulled her closer to his chest.

"How could you lie to me?"

"I…I didn't know." I said honestly.

"You weren't in love with me." He said without emotion.

"You weren't in love with me." He looked up at me and studied my face.

"I guess I wasn't. I wanted to but I just couldn't."

"So it was all a competition for you?" I said biting back tears.

"It was supposed to be fun." He sighed. "It ended up just being annoying."

"You took me from my home and made me into this. You did this to yourself and brought all of us down with you."

"I rescued you from that horrible shack."

"You took me away from the only place I knew. I never wanted to be queen. I wanted to live a normal happy life." A tear betrayed me and slid down my face. "You made me this way!" A smile slid over his face and I heard rustling from in the bedroom.

"Susanna McTavish, Queen of England. You are under arrest." I looked up at two guards who appeared in the same doorway.

"Arrest? For what?"

"For multiple charges."

"Name them?" Rage filled my chest as the two guards yanked me off the floor.

"Fraud."

"Fraud? You must be mad!"

"You lied to me about your heritage to be the queen." I stared at him shocked.

"You knew I was poor. It was your idea!" I shrieked and he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's my word against yours."

"I have witnesses."

"Bring them to your trial and they will be judged, but lets hope it's not your homosexual brother, David, or the war veteran who shot himself in the leg so he could come home. Or your slut of a sister who ran off with a bandit." I stared at him completely flabbergasted. Papa had died and the rest of my family would be in danger if they were dragged into this. I shook my head and stared at me daughter, sleeping in Adam's arms. "Would you like to hear your other charges?" I scowled at him. "You are also being charged with Adultery."

"Adultery? You've completely lost it." I shook my head. "Whom do you suppose I had sex with?"

"Well after countless hours of…questioning Alexander admitted to being a homosexual so he was out of the question. He sources collaborate with his story so he cannot be tried for treason. But don't worry he will be severely punished."
"Alexander? You mad fool! He is a friend."

"Yes so I have heard. But Thaddeus Beaumont, or Tad as you may know him, was more than just a friend wasn't he?" I blanked. Tad. If he knew about Tad then he would know about the boys? I was afraid to speak. "You're silence does wonders for you Susanna." He smirked.

"How…what…No!" I said.

"Luckily for me, years ago you asked a favour of someone. You told her that you trusted her dearly and she was the only one fit for the job. I agree with you whole heartedly but she came in use to me in more ways that one." He strode to the door and held out his hand. A perfectly small hand grabbed onto his and she stepped into the light.

Dressed in my old lace, see through nightgown, with her blonde tousled hair and her bright blue eyes stood Elizabeth. My lady in waiting that Tad had "gotten rid of". I stood shocked.

"Elizabeth." She smirked at me and winked.

"You see Lady Elizabeth came to me one night, after Tad had refused to marry her and told me that he was in love with another. She confided with me that you were the one he loved and that our children were in fact his children. The only children I've ever loved her not even mine. Now you can understand how embarrassed I was and I sent the sobbing lying child away, causing her years of pain and abuse." He wrapped his arm around Elizabeth's shoulder and touched her cheek gently. "But then one day, while visiting Paul she stumbled onto my lap."

"Literally." She laughed into his eyes and made me want to vomit.

"Yes quite literally." He looked at her for a long time and then kissed her deeply. It was revolting. "Our passion was instantly rekindled and I realized that I had found the one. She was the one that I was missing. I had so hoped that it would be you but you failed me and all this time I was searching for her."

"My Your Highness. You are making me blush." She kissed him again. "You see he's too much of a man to see what you really are." She said turning towards me and walking slowly. "He doesn't see that you are a cruel and evil woman who schemes and plots to make herself look better." She stopped in front of me and smiled at me. Her body was perfect, no signs of age or childbirth on it. I could feel the two guards radiating with lust for her. It was pathetic. "You see it was my idea to bring Margaret to the Duke of Cornwall's castle. His Majesty had confided in me his concerns about the girl one day and I took it upon myself to investigate. After, which I hate admitting, becoming the duke's close confidant, I gave him the idea. Once I got to know the girl, taught her the ways of us Ladies-in-waiting I met with Adam and confirmed his fears. Since that day we have been coming up with plans to bring you down and give you the justice you deserve." She smiled and moved closer. She placed both hands on my face and brought her lips to mine, kissing me gently and making the guards quiver. "You see Your highness," She whispered into my ear. "You ruined my life and therefore I shall ruin yours." She stepped back and smiled.

"You'll always be a slut. If you think he's going to marry you then you're a fool." She gave a high pitch laugh as the doors closed behind me.

"Your Majesty?" a tiny voice came from the other side of the wooden prison door. I had locked away in the Tower of London in the Royal Lodgings. I was accompanied by 5 handmaidens, not chosen by me, and I was dressed in black garments given only a bible.

The door was opened and Regan appeared. I felt tears fall down my face as I collapsed at her feet. She picked me up and sat me on the bed.

"Oh Regan. I am so glad to see you! You don't know how horrible it is up here." I sobbed into her dress.

"Susanna I have news for you." She said her face was still and not happy.

"What is it?" She looked around and found a cup. She filled it with hot tea and passed it to me. "What Regan?"

"His majesty has dropped the charges of fraud."

"He has? That's good Regan that's good." I smiled but when she didn't smile with me I felt my stomach turn.

"He has dropped the charge of fraud but has laid a new charge." I waited, holding my breath. I knew what was coming. I could feel it. "He has charged you with High Treason."

"High Treason? How? He has no proof of this?" She bit her bottom lip and sighed. She brushed back the hair from my ear.

"Both Lady Elizabeth and Lady Ceecee have admitted to overhearing you and Lord Norfolk planning the kings death." I felt the cup slip from my hands at the sound of Ceecee's name. I watched it tumble from my lap and related my life to it. It starts off warm and beautiful. It comforts those who need it and soothes those that crave it. It's elegant and charming. But it's unreliable and turns cold by the second. Each taste is different from the first and it will never be as it once was for it is always changing.