Princess of the Black Death | ✔️

Chapter XII

One good news Joan found was that now that she was at a more permanent residence after visiting Coblenz, she could more easily send and receive letters. She sent letters to her family in England and eagerly awaited incoming mail. The nature of mail exchange meant weeks between letters or letters that were never received or delivered, but generally the Wittelbach family knew how long they would remain at each castle and what their next planned residence was to better forewarn the family where to send their correspondence.

The first letter she read was not written for her, but it was to Empress Margaret and summarised that Queen Philippa had given birth to a healthy baby boy in Antwerp, Flanders named Lionel. Joan had longed to be a big sister, and it now seemed she may never meet her new brother. Joan immediately wrote back to her mother saying how lonely she was without her family.

Margaret read the letter before it was sent and scolded her. "I'm sorry, Joan, I do not mean to read your correspondence, but as you are my new ward, I must insist on your tone improving. I know what it is like as a young princess sent away, but you must remember your duty for now is to your parents, and you don't want to upset them, do you?"

"No," Joan reluctantly admitted.

"I am to guide you in diplomacy while you are here, and you shall rewrite the letter. I am sorry you are lonely, but a princess must harden her heart enough to think with her head. You are here by your father's command to be educated. He does not want to hear anything but your success."

Joan did want to make her parents proud.

"You will have your own tutor in the morning, first thing you will learn is to be fluent in German, and then join my daughters to study Latin, then theology, and music lessons. Education is most important to me and your parents. Do not worry. I do not want to read through all of your letters. I trust you will think before you write. You can talk to me about your heartache, but don't burden your family with things they cannot help with," Margaret said.

The boys had their own lessons, mostly separated from the princesses. The prince Louis was heir, and tall, prim, and quiet. He was brief in talking to Joan, but she didn't see him talk to his sisters either. He was mostly only seen reading. He didn't seem to act entitled to rule the way England's heir did. Louis was also known as the Roman because he had been born there when his father was declared Emperor. The Roman contrasted his same named father, the Bavarian. He said he was not in Rome long enough to remember it. Empress Margaret talked about what a beautiful and bustling city it was, many more buildings practically on top of each other with narrow streets and hardly any trees.

William was much more talkative to her in Latin, but sometimes he would start speaking quickly, too quick for Joan to follow, and then would abruptly get up and run off to talk to someone else without finishing a story. He was all over the place with dizzying abundance, unwilling to hold still long to learn or converse. She found him puzzling.

Princess Margaret, the eldest daughter, shared some of her lessons with her brothers, which Joan felt so peculiar. At home, the prince always had his lessons alone.

"We don't learn with them because we're lesser princesses," Anna said.

"I wasn't less than my sister," Joan said. Her father had brought her to meet the emperor, hadn't he? He had chosen her to represent the family in the HRE. She and Isabella were equals.

"Everyone is in a hierarchy, and there is no such thing as fair." Anna laughed, then focused back to their own lesson.

Soon, Emperor Louis continued his Frankfurt Diet. Louis had been elected emperor and was crowned in Rome where he had met the Pope years earlier. Joan had never heard of an elected leader nor met anyone who had met God's earthly representative. She wanted to learn more about the Pope, but the Emperor was dismissive of the inquiry.

The empire was at a head with the Pope, and Louis continued to meet with regional representatives, tired of Papal interference in Louis's claim to the empire. The Pope, who had long since lived in Rome, now held court in Avignon, France. He was loyal to the French king when he should have been impartial to mortal politics.

Joan prayed for her English family, for her new family, and for mainland Europe's tensions to end. She wanted her father to get his lands in France without angering the Pope. There were too many angry men with armies to fight for them.