A/N: A/N: As promised, here is the new chapter and I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you to princessElizabethtudor, Lizairy Cullen, AliLuvs242, hateme101, suns and stars, jagdoc09, QueenAnneTudor, Guest, Guest, gabbygrl247, Frog1, Guest, and markandcleo for all of the lovely reviews on the previous chapter. Enjoy it, everyone!

jagdoc09: I have read that Elizabeth was very mature for her age historically, which in itself was impressive, especially given the standards that were set for royal children even back then. And given how she wasn't favored like her brother, and even her sister to some point, she had to grow up rather quickly. Even in this story, where she retained her father's favor, she would have felt the need to be more mature. Not only to behave as was expected of a princess, but also because of her attempts to stay strong for her younger brothers..

Disclaimer: I do not own the Tudors, Showtime does.

...

May 22nd, 1543

Dr. Linacre frowned as he felt the heat radiating from his young patient's head.

The child panted softly as he lay in bed, his nightclothes drenched in sweat.

The physician began rummaging through his bag for one of the tonics to help relieve the small prince's discomfort. Even if the concoction could not completely ease the boy's symptoms, it would still at the very least grant the child rest for the night.

A soft groan escaped Edward as he downed the tonic and lay back down, with Dr. Liancre placed a cool, damp rag on his forehead to help bring down his fever.

He had done all that he could for the time being. Then prince's well-being was in God's hands now.

...

The Seymours all sat around, none of them saying a word. The situation they were in were now in could not have been more precarious...

Little Edward was ill. Deathly ill, they had heard.

Beside himself with worry, the king had sent his personal physician to tend the child. But even that did little to quell the fear that even the finest doctor in England could not guarantee life.

Jane was terrified. Her son could die! And were that to happen, what would that mean for her? For little Margery?

If Edward were to succumb to his illness, Harry and Geoffrey would once again be the king's only male heirs, and what would stop him from once again discarding a wife in favor of another in the hopes of fathering another son?

Jane was not a princess as Katherine had been, nor did she have any powerful relatives that would be ready to champion her cause. The only wealth or power her family could boast of had been gifted to them by the king, and even then that had only been after Jane had given him a son. And he could take away those titles and the power that came with them just as easily as he had given them.

He had already made his eldest daughter, once the Princess of Wales in all but name, a bastard. What would stop him from doing the same to Margery?

The blonde queen was beginning to see why Anne Boleyn had not provided any aid to Mary; she couldn't concern herself with the girl when she had her own children to think about. And now that Edward was already in the succession behind his brothers, if Jane had continued to insist on Mary's restoration, who was to say the people wouldn't remember how they had once supported the downtrodden princess and instead champion her over her brother?

She wanted to believe that the people would choose Edward by virtue of his sex, but some would still choose Mary simply because she was a woman now and Edward was a boy of three years. Even if Mary was not the one they supported, Harry and Geoffrey were seven years old now and they would reach manhood before Edward.

Edward and Margery seemed doomed to forever remain in the shadows of their elder siblings, always less important even if they were undeniably royal.

To make things worse, there were rumors that the king was seeking an alliance with the Protestant League, particularly the German faction.

From what Jane's brother Edward, Earl of Hertford, had told her, the political move had been proposed by Thomas Cromwell, with strong support from George Boleyn, who by this time had inherited his father's title of Duke of Wiltshire.

If the king were to agree to it, the Reformation would gain more power in England, which would put an end to any hope of them reconciling with Rome.

But what could Jane do? Henry had already warned her not to meddle in his affairs, and he was clearly angry with her about the meeting with Chapuys, though given the sudden bout of illness Edward had now suffered, he had not truly confronted her on the matter.

That was it! She needed to speak to her husband at once!

...

Tears dripped down Mary's cheeks as she prayed silently, pleading for the recovering of her sweet little brother.

Though she knew it was not her fault that the prince had fallen ill, the once princess still felt somewhat responsible, particularly as the distress Edward had felt had no doubt contributed to his illness becoming so violent.

As someone who had once suffered distress combined with illness, Mary could certainly testify that the two could make a condition far worse than it would have been had only one factor been at fault.

"Mary."

Making sure to finish her prayers before turning around, Mary didn't have to turn to know the voice belonged to her sister Margery.

When she did turn, she was surprised to see not only Margery, but Elizabeth as well, standing before her.

The two elder daughters of the king had not spent much time together as of late, and Mary herself knew the true reason why; Elizabeth held no love for Jane. Now that she was older and had heard others speak of her mother and father, as well as the woman who was said to have contributed to her mother's distress and ultimately led to Anne's death.

Mary herself loved and admired Jane, regarding her as a second mother to her. And Elizabeth could not forgive the sister she had loved for loving the woman she blamed for the loss of her mother.

How could Elizabeth not see how poisonous Anne had been? Her death had been a blessing, not a curse.

These thoughts were forced from Mary's mind as Margery hurried into her arms.

"I don't want Edward to die!" she wailed, burying her face in her eldest sister's shoulder.

"Father sent his physician to look after him," Mary assured the child, stroking her golden curls and wiping away her tears. "And you must have faith, sister. Edward."

"I have said my prayers," Margery spoke. "Elizabeth says leave it in God's hands."

"And she is right," Mary forced herself to smile, though she did not agree with Elizabeth embracing the Protestant mindset. "It is and you must trust Him and all will be well."

"I will," Margery promised, sniffling as she snuggled closer to Mary.

Then, without a word, Elizabeth joined her sisters and the three girls wrapped their arms about one another.

Elizabeth was ten years old now, Mary realized as she felt her hand move to the girl's brilliantly red-gold hair. In two short years, she would sail for France and marry the Duke of Angouleme. After which, the sisters may not see one another ever again, or if they did it would be a rarity.

A stab of regret pierced the half-Spanish girl's heart as she realized she had lost precious time with the sister she had once played with and loved. How could they have drifted so far apart?

There was little point in worrying over that now, all it would do is cost her more time. The only thing she could do was enjoy what little they had left...

...

Edward's eyes opened slowly as the boy stirred, his head pounding.

As he moved his head to the side, a surprise awaited him. There, leaning against the bed, his head lying on the side and his hands encasing one of Edward's within them, lay Harry. And as Edward moved his gaze to the other side, there lay a sleeping Geoffrey.

The youngest prince was shocked; his older brothers, both of whom he seldom saw, were now here gathered next to his sickbed.

The message was clear; they loved him and were worried for him.

"H-Harry..." he murmured, his throat paining him, but he was determined to let them know he knew they were there. "G-Geoffrey..."

Geoffrey's eyes opened first and the Duke of York glanced at his little brother sleepily at first, but then the icy irises widened and he whispered loudly "Harry. Harry, he's awake!"

Harry startled from his slumber and when he saw Edward looking at him, he smiled.

"How are you feeling, Edward?" he asked softly, squeezing the toddler's hand gently.

"Not well yet, but better," Edward tried to smile, but found he could not.

Geoffrey's dark brows knitted together in concern.

"Dr. Lincare said you still had a fever," he said. "He almost didn't let us come in. He thought we could get sick too."

Edward looked away. Geoffrey hadn't meant anything spiteful by his words, but they hurt nonetheless.

The blond prince knew he was not as healthy as his elder brothers were. This was not the first time he had been ill, but it had clearly been the first time it had caused so much alarm.

"But he says you'll recover soon," Harry stated brightly, seeing his youngest sibling's crestfallen expression and was determined to cheer the boy. "Then when you feel better, we'll all go see Margery and Lizbeth."

This should have sounded splendid to Edward, but it did not.

"I cannot," he sighed, pulling his hand from Harry's and picking at the bedclothes. "Mama would never allow it. She says Margery and I shouldn't be around you or Lizbeth."

Harry looked hurt while Geoffrey looked indignant.

"It's because she said we're bastards, isn't it?" the younger twin's eyes, so filled with concern a moment ago were now filled to the brim with rage. "She's a wicked liar! Papa says so!"

With that, Geoffrey stormed from the room, leaving a stunned Harry and a tearful Edward in his wake.

Harry turned back to Edward and immediately set to trying to soothe the now sobbing boy.

"Geoff didn't mean that," the Prince of Wales assured. "He...he's just upset...Lizbeth says people are upset, the words they say are never from the heart..."

But this did little to quell his younger brother's anguish.

...

Jane entered her husband's chambers. This was rare as it had always been he who came to hers, she had only been in his chambers once before, when he had warned her not to meddle in his affairs.

When she entered the room, Henry was sitting in a chair near the fireplace, a glass of wine in his hand as he stared absentmindedly into the flames.

"Your Majesty?" she spoke in a meek voice, just as she had done when he first courted her. Perhaps it would help to ease his displeasure with her and remind him of when they were happier, before Anne's bastards had ruined everything.

"I was just about to summon you," Henry turned to her and smiled, though it did not reach his eyes. "Come, sit with me, sweetheart. Have you been to visit our son?"

Jane nodded. Perfect, he was the one to bring up the topic of their child, so it would not seem odd for her to do so.

"I have," she answered, looking worried. "Dr. Linacre assures that he will recover, but I just worry so for our dear boy."

"As do I," Hnery replied. "As do his sisters, and his brothers."

Jane shivered as he mentioned the other children, realizing immediately what Henry was doing.

"Your Majesty, I-"

"When I visited our son and daughter, Madam, they both expressed to me, separately I might add, that they wished desperately to speak to their brothers and older sister, but that you always have given some reason or another why they cannot. Even more troubling, Geoffrey has brought to my attention a certain conversation in which you mistakenly referred to him, as well as Harry and Elizabeth, as bastards. Forgive me, but I was under the impression that my only living bastard child is the Lady Mary. To suggest otherwise is nothing short of treason."

That dreaded word...treason...

Jane began to tremble, but found that she could not say a word. What could she possibly say to that?

"You will never utter such wicked lies again," Henry glared at her. "You will never engage in private meeting with this Chapuys again. Is any of this at all unclear?"

"N-no..." Jane stammered. "O-of course not, Your Majesty."

"You will offer your apologies to the princes and princess for causing them such pain," Henry continued, much to his wife's chagrin. "And you will allow them to see Edward and Margery as is their right. Do you understand?"

Not trusting herself to speak, the third wife of the king nodded reluctantly.

"Madam," Henry barely inclined his head before turning away from her.

Taking this as him dismissing her, Jane stood, curtsied, and exited the room, her entire frame now trembling. She had hoped that the worry they shared over their son would have enabled her to once again coax the king into seeing the matter from her point of view. But that plan had failed. If anything, her visit had only served to make things worse.

He had not said it outright, but the message was apparent nonetheless; the king no longer loved her.

...

...

There you are, ladies and gentleman, chapter 17. And the next will be out on Monday, February 11th. Until then, everyone.