30th of July 1535 - Royal Palace of Tordesillas
Hurrying through the halls of the Palace, Ferdinand moved as quickly as he could knowing that the moment that he had arrived that news of his arrival would be sent to his brother.
It had taken patience for him not to react sooner, he had longed to rescue his sister from the clutches of Charles but he knew that he must wait for the perfect distraction.
When news had come to him that Florence had fallen, Ferdinand knew it was the time to strike; he had mounted his horse and ridden hard with his guards to come here.
Entering Eleanor's chambers, Ferdinand was not surprised to find her seated by the fire; her eyes focused down on the book that she was reading until he had disturbed her.
"Ferdinand?" Eleanor asked getting to her feet, a confused look upon her face as she stared at her younger brother wondering why he was here.
It felt like years since she had last seen him, there was little to occupy her while she was trapped in this prison that she had been sent away to.
"Eleanor, you must quickly pack. I have come to take you away from here," Ferdinand instructed, his heaving heavily like he had run here and he looked behind him almost fearing that Charles would make his presence known.
It was hard to believe that this was happening, he knew that Isabella would send news when she could but he did not trust her entirely especially given her love for her husband.
"Charles has asked for me?" Eleanor whispered, she had longed for the moment that perhaps Charles could forgive her and see her comfortable in one of his many palaces.
He could not stay angry with her forever nor leave her to rot in this place like he had done with their mother.
"Charles does not know I am here, if he did then I would be a head shorter," Ferdinand informed her sharply, he did not wish to harbour any hopes that she might have that any of this was their brother's doing.
Charles would happily order their executions for what Ferdinand intended to do, he had his own plans and he doubted his brother would forgive him.
Stepping into the room, Joanna of Castile stared at her two children having heard what had been said before she had entered the room.
A part of her was relieved that this Ferdinand was nothing like her father, he would not allow his sister to rot away in a place like this when there was still much that God had for her to do.
"Madre... if it pleases you, I should see you returned to your rightful throne and spend your last years in comfort," Ferdinand told her, he knew it would be an uphill fight and if he could not restore her then she, at the very least, deserved to spend her years in comfort.
This palace was in no way suited for her, it was cold even in the summer and Ferdinand was surprised that she had not taken ill in her time here.
"Rescue your sister, I shall remain here until God tells me to do otherwise," Joanna stated with a shake of her head, a curious look on her face as she approached Ferdinand and stroked her cheek.
She smiled up at him and cupped his cheeks, she knew that she could count on him to restore glory to their house; if it was left in Charles hands then she truly feared what would become of them.
The look on Joanna's face, made Ferdinand frown; he felt like he was missing something and that his mother had plans of her own once he left.
He nodded his head before looking to Eleanor who stood still staring at their mother, her mouth opening to say something to her before she stopped herself and moved to gather her things.
"I shall pray for your victory, Charles is a dangerous man and you shall need all the help that you can get," Joanna told him once Eleanor had left them alone, she stared up at him for a moment longer before taking her leave.
Joanna was no fool, she knew that if she left with Ferdinand then his cause would only be made more difficult; no, she would wait and be patient like she had been for years.
Charles was running out of time and Joanna was certain that she still had her part to play in destroying the legacy that her son intended to leave behind; it would come for her when the time was right.
***
31st of July 1535 - El Escorial
Walking through the halls of the Palace with her ladies, Isabella of Portugal could not help but ponder the very situation that they found themselves in now.
The news that Florence had fallen into the hands of the Alliance had arrived that morning, along with news that Alessandro had been murdered at the end of the siege.
Lorenzino had been named as the murderer, he had been found in a hovel after taking his own life before justice could be served for his treasonous act of murdering his Lord and cousin.
Her husband's bastard daughter was now a hostage and Isabella prayed that she would be treated well, she would likely be treated as a hostage until she could be ransomed back to them.
Isabella swore to herself that she would welcome the young girl into her household when she was returned to them; that she would have a place at court despite her low birth especially after the sudden loss of her husband.
Her thoughts turned to her four children, Philip, Maria, Ferdinand, and Joanna; she would do anything for them and Isabella prayed that God would be kind to them.
Her heart still hurt from the sudden loss of Ferdinand, her second son had been taken from far too soon and she wished that she could have had more time with him before he had been called to heaven.
Isabella squeezed her eyes closed trying to push away the tears that built in her eyes and knew that she had to be strong; her realm needed her right now especially with everything that was happening.
Charles was pushing forward with his plans of mounting an attack against the alliance, he was determined to take back what had been stolen from him no matter the cost to anyone else.
Spain was struggling under the taxes that had been raised to pay for the army that Charles was building, the country already struggling and there seemed to be no end in sight for them.
Isabella was relieved that she had Ferdinand on her side, her brother-in-law helping her as they sort to put a stop to the fighting and delay the dispatch of the army to Italy.
The sudden sound of something breaking snapped Isabella from her thoughts, her ladies stopping behind her and she could hear them whispering amongst themselves as she edged towards the room where the crashing had come from.
Stepping into the room, Isabella frowned at the sight of her husband standing in the middle of the room; his hands resting upon the table that was in the middle of the room with his head lowered.
"My Love, what upsets you so?" Isabella asked him, her heart pounding in her chest as she stared at the destroyed room and stepped further into room.
Thoughts raced through her mind at the possibilities that could have caused such a scene; she stared at Charles fearing for a moment that something had gone horribly wrong.
"Ferdinand had betrayed me. He has freed our sister from her imprisonment and spent an envoy to the Alliance, he seeks to join them against me," Charles spat furiously, he could not believe what he had been told.
He had never thought that his own blood would betray him so, he had turned to Ferdinand when this had all started and they had planned a great Habsburg empire together with their families.
The very fact that the envoy to the Alliance was Frederick, Elector Palatine, a man that Charles had thought he could trust especially with him arranging a fine match with his sister Isabella of Austria's daughter.
It had been bad enough when he had caught Frederick courting Eleanor behind his back, he had forgiven him for a grave mistake that he had made but his forgiveness had been hard earned.
"I shall have his head for this," Charles declared slamming his fist into the table, he would not forgive any of them who sided against him; he would make them pay for their betrayal and he knew just what he would do.
Already he had ordered that Ferdinand be stripped of the titles that Charles had granted him, he would see no wealth from Charles and he would take everything that his brother had from him.
Isabella swallowed, her face blank as she tried to keep her emotions from her face; part of her relieved that Eleanor has escaped while another was terrified that he would discover her role in all of this.