ROYAL BLOOD | THE WHITE PRINCESS

40

Edmund stared up at Nora silently, clearly not understanding that much of what she was saying. He lifted his chubby hand, though, placing it on her cheek before hugging her.

Nora smiled softly, immediately hugging the small boy back. She tried her hardest to choke back a sob as best as she could as she turned to Lizzie. She handed the girl the small boy, who remained calm as he was placed in his aunt's arms.

Nora placed a hand on Lizzie's shoulder, pressing a kiss to her forehead and Edmund's. "May we meet again."

"May we meet again," Lizzie whispered softly, giving Nora one last parting look before heading toward the door.

Lizzie stopped, however, when her eyes locked on Little Marie, who had been there the entire time, watching the scene occur.

She smiled sadly at the girl. "We will see each other, Marie. I promise," She assured Marie, who simply nodded before she rudely turned away from Lizzie.

Lizzie sighed in defeat, just before leaving the room with Edmund. John de la Pole followed after her, ready to escort her to the ship bound for Austria.

Once they were gone, Nora turned to Marie, a curious look on her face. "Why must you always be so dismissive of Lizzie?" She asked the girl as she made her way over to her.

"I don't like getting close to people," Marie admitted in a whisper as she looked down at the ground, "It only ends in heartbreak. Everyone around me dies. If I don't get close to them, I won't be sad when they die."

"You're not optimistic, are you?" Nora asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"What is there to be optimistic about?" Marie questioned, frowning at Nora, "You sent Lizzie and Edmund away, but you kept me. My father doesn't want me. It's obvious. Cousin George is locked up with the Tudors and we don't know if Scotland will support us."

"We will win, Marie," Nora argued, a determined look on her face.

"If we were going to win, you wouldn't have sent Lizzie away with Prince Edmund," Marie whispered softly and Nora tensed up, knowing the girl was right.

"You're too smart for your own good," Nora realized as she walked over to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Advice for the future? You mustn't let people know that about you. They won't like it."

"You're too smart for your own good and you show it," Marie reminded Nora, who smiled.

"I didn't always show it. Being with the King of England gave me confidence I didn't always have. I was like you once. But unlike you, I didn't always show that I was wise beyond my years. It helped me learn. It helped me become clever. Girls like yourself are invisible to men. But I think you already know that." Nora explained, smiling slightly as she gave Marie a knowing look, "If you're invisible, people will say things in front of you that they shouldn't. You take all that in and you'll learn from it."

"You say you want me to become nothing like you, but all these lessons sure seem like you want me to," Marie commented, causing Nora to let out a large laugh, "Did your mother teach you this?"

"God, no," Nora replied, causing Marie to smile, "These are things I learned on my own. The things I do teach you, I teach you so that you can be better than I ever was."