A/N: I know this is super late and I am so sorry for keeping everyone waiting and if I worried anyone. I have been super busy and I've just had a lot to deal with so I didn't have nearly as much time to dedicate to this as I wanted to. It's been a rough few months guys, I'll tell you that. Anyway, thanks to dani-cutrues16, SaikoGoyangi, QueenAnneTudor, Lord Mortensen, Crockett Rocket, Marina Ka-Fai, tricorvus, Guest, IWantColouredRain, Robin4, kate657, Simplegurl4u:, Guest, Guest, Guest, dracoqueen, Jazz 116, Ceridwen Kalamack, and klarka11 for all the reviews on the previous chapter. Without further ado, here is the update enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Tudors or any of the characters, Showtime does.

...

Phillip barely registered the words of the midwife as he rushed into Mary's bedchamber, greeted by the sight of ladies rushing about here and there before his eyes came to focus on the woman in the bed, looking slightly bedraggled, but no less lovely in his eyes.

She, his beloved Mary...

"I want my baby," Mary demanded, leaning against the cushions and holding out her arms.

As she stared down at the newborn, Mary saw that she had borne Phillip a daughter.

Had her husband been a prince or king who shared her father's obsession with siring a male heir, she would have faced great displeasure. But in Phillip's face, she saw no sign of disappointment. If anything, the Duke of Bavaria looked positively overjoyed as he gazed down at the infant.

"She is beautiful," he said in an almost reverent whisper. "Just like her mother," he added before planting a kiss on Mary's lips and then another atop her head. "Well done, my love."

"What have you decided to name her?" Anne asked, smiling lovingly at the babe.

Phillip looked to Mary and nodded.

There was indeed only one name for their new daughter...

...

Geoffrey's expression was as cold as the winter winds that blew the swirling snow just outside the window of his chambers as he stared into the fireplace.

He had still yet to make peace with the death of his twin. And a part of him felt he would never truly do so.

He had neither spoken nor written to Edward since the latter's mother had been arrested and taken to the Tower of London following Lady Elizabeth Seymour's confession that Queen Jane had played a role in the deaths of Harry and Margery. Of course, the younger twin prince had no doubt in his mind that Jane had only intended for Harry to die. And had it not been for a mere exchange of the cakes, his elder sister Elizabeth would have died instead.

For his part, Geoffrey had always suspected his stepmother did not like him or his siblings. And as he grew older, he slowly came to understand why; had his mother, Queen Anne, not borne he and Harry, Edward would be the king's only son.

A small knock at the chamber door pulled the brooding prince from his thoughts.

"Enter," he sighed, turning away from the fireplace.

As the door opened, his elder sister Elizabeth entered, her expression solemn and her demeanor dignified.

Neither sibling spoke as the princess drew nearer to her brother, but just as she came to stand just in front of him, the spell seemed to break; the corners of Elizabeth's mouth twitched slightly and Geoffrey closed his eyes for a moment, as though to still any emotion from making its presence known.

But after a moment, the attempts proved to be for naught as Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her younger brother and the two sank to the floor.

"She killed them," Geoffrey whispered, his voice shaking as he buried his face into Elizabeth's shoulder.

"I know," Elizabeth replied back in an equally soft but shaky voice.

"And Mary," Geoffrey stiffened and shook his head, causing Elizabeth to pull him back and hold him at arms-length.

"What about Mary?" she questioned, her brows knitting together.

"She won't answer any of my letters," Geoffrey stated sadly.

"Nor mine," Elizabeth admitted, her expression crestfallen.

"It's as if she's forgotten us," Geoffrey wiped his eyes. "Why is all of this happening to us?"

"We must remember all things have their purpose," Elizabeth said, the strength returning to her voice as she gently but firmly grasped her brother's shoulders. "We must be strong and endure whatever hardships may occur. We are the son and daughter of King Henry and Queen Anne. Father said Mother was his Lady Perseverance. She survived the sweating sickness before we were born, she endured many hardships."

"Mama must have been a truly strong lady," Geoffrey said, clutching the locket that bore his mother's portrait, the locket he carried with him everywhere. "I wish I could have known her."

"You would have loved her," Elizabeth smiled slightly. "I was only a girl, but she still loved me. Imagine how she would have loved you."

"If she hadn't died, that wicked woman never would have been queen," Geoffrey stated bitterly.

"But then Edward and Margery would never have been born," Elizabeth pointed out.

Geoffrey shrugged.

"Perhaps they still would have been," he pondered. "Maybe they would have been Mama's children instead. She would have been a better mother to them than...that woman..."

He found in that moment, he couldn't even bring himself to say Jane's name.

Elizabeth frowned. She did not like Jane either, but it had been that kind of hatred that had led to the actions that had robbed the two of their brother and sister. She would not let her younger brother tread down that path if there was any chance at all that she could prevent it.

...

After the hellish years she had endured following her separation from her mother, her mother's death, and her estrangement from her once doting father, Mary felt as though she had died and gone to Heaven; she was married to a man who truly loved and cared for her, she had a beautiful child, her life in Bavaria was like a dream, and she even had a bond with the half-siblings who she had once resented.

If only they would answer her letters...

It had been weeks, no months now, since she had heard word from any of them. Elizabeth, Edward, Margery, even the twins, not one letter had come to her from any of them.

But why?

"Mary."

Phillip's voice pulled the duchess from her thoughts. She could hear a heaviness in his tone like she had never heard before, and it unsettled her. And so did the hollow look in his eyes as he took her hands in his own.

"Phillip," her voice trembled as she could feel his hands shaking. "What is it?"

"Forgive me, Mary," Phillip kissed her hands, each finger one by one before pressing his forehead against them. "Please forgive me, my love."

"Phillip, you're frightening me," Mary murmured. "What is wrong?"

"There's something I must tell you," her husband whispered.

...

...

Alright, everyone that was chapter 38. I am so sorry you all had to wait so long, and I do hope that was enough to tide you over for the next two weeks, as I will be unable to update again until September 1st. But rest assured my lovely readers, the next chapter will be out then, and I will make it worth the wait, I promise you that. Until then, everyone.