Daughter of a King

Part 11

Middleham Castle, Middleham, Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England - 1475

It came with the messenger that morning, that cold morning. I remember waking up and freezing as soon as my foot were out of the bed. The little dressing gown was ready in Elizabeth's hands, and she helped me putting it on.

"Is freezing, Elizabeth!" I lamented and Elizabeth smirked.

"We will add another fur to your bed, then" I nodded at her proposition and I dressed with one of my winter dresses.

Once I was ready, with my hair gathered in a braid, I went to the great hall, my brother John and my father were speaking and my father was showing him a sword.

"...you will use this once you will be older..." I heard him saying while approaching them. I cleared my throat to make notice them my presence and they both turned.

"Oh, Kathryn, here you are." My father said and I made a curtsy. "I was explaining to John that once he will be older he will be able to use this, I had it made for him by the blacksmith."

I admired the sword, I wanted to be a knight too, but I knew I couldn't be one, like my brothers could instead, they were boys and I was a girl, I was supposed to be the damsel in distress as tales told.

"Kathryn?"

I shook my head lightly and I smiled, "I'm sorry, it is a beautiful sword, father!" I said, and he nodded.

"Richard..." I turned the gaze toward the door and I saw Lady Anne coming with a letter in her hand. She came to us and handed it to my father, and he read it fast.

"What the King, or the Queen, demands?" Lady Anne asked, she seemed quite angry, she was surely holding back herself.

"Anne!" He said coolly, looking at her for a second, then looking back at the letter.

"The King, and the Queen..." He underlined the 'and' "...invites us for Christmas, all of us."

"I don't want to go, Richard... she hates me, last time I was there..." Lady Anne started to whimper and she was holding on to me by my shoulders.

I was there too and I know how much Lady Anne suffered, I was looking at both of them.

"Anne, you can't give the blame to the Queen." He tried to say calmly, I could see he was hurt by what she was saying.

"I don't want to go..." She concluded and she went away.

John and I were silent. Our father closed the letter and went away too. I guessed he was going directly to his wife.

"What are we doing now?" John asked me.

"I don't know... we could go outside, I want to see Guinevere." I told him and he nodded.

We went to the stables and there was Jeremy, the stableman, and Ned. I went directly to Guinevere, but slowly because I didn't wanted to scare her.

"I think we're even, sister, you have a horse and I have a sword." Commented John while I was caressing her mane. But it wasn't even, because soon he would have a horse too. But I didn't replied, just smiled and asked Ned the necessary to clear her.

My brother was called out from his trainer and I stayed there with my Guinevere and Ned.

"Kathryn... Kathryn?" He called me and I turned my head.

"Are you all right?" Solely he would joke, but this time he seemed serious.

I didn't know if I could reveal to him my secret dream, the fact that I wanted to be a knight, as my brother was to be, or as my father was. He would have laugh and told me that it was a silly fantasy, that I was a Lady, I couldn't be a knight.