BLOODLINES
—15. Loyalty
In a hidden place in the courtyard, Kathy walked up to Charlie, who was waiting for her in the stables. She smiled as she walked up to him and Charlie slowly turned to face her, smiling as well.
"You came. There's something I wanted to tell you—" Charlie began to say, only to be cut off by Kathy.
"Wait," She quickly stated, grabbing ahold of his hand, "There's something I'd like to say first."
"Go on," Charlie encouraged her, smiling down at her.
"I love you," Kathy confessed and it was the first time she had said it, causing Charlie's eyes to widen in shock, "I love you, Charlie. And I have for a while, I just didn't how to say it."
"I love you, too," Charlie replied calmly and Kathy smiled.
"I know," She responded, causing them both to quietly laugh, "You've only said it a thousand times."
"Come on, don't go ruining the moment now," Charlie jokingly complained, grabbing Kathy by the arm before pulling her closer to him.
Kathy smiled up at him lovingly, wasting no time with pressing her lips to his.
____
On the walls of Westminster Palace, Marie walked up to Joanna, who was standing alone, trying to cool off after what happened at supper.
"You didn't come to mass," Marie spoke up calmly as she stopped in front of Joanna, "Your sister Catherine was hoping to find some comfort with you, I'm told."
Joanna smiled in amusement, shaking her head as she heard Marie's comment. "There is nobody to pray to," She told Marie, slowly turning to face her, "Or else He isn't listening."
"Everyone has their own opinion," Marie replied as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Do you believe in Him? In God?" Joanna asked, a curious look on her face.
"I don't know what I believe in," Marie confessed in a whisper, "I know I'm expected to believe in God, but in all honesty, I don't know if I do. If there is a God why would he let all these good people die? People like Nora, the woman who was like a mother to me? Why would He kill all her children when she never did anything wrong to be punished by Him?"
"Then, don't believe in him, easy as that," Joanna suggested as she moved closer to Marie, "If there was a God, the villains wouldn't be the ones always winning in the end."
Marie remained silent, trying to hide her uneasiness. "Joanna, I wanted to say sorry on behalf of my brother—" She began to say, only to be cut off by Joanna.
"Why?" Joanna asked, letting out a large scoff, "You're not at fault for what he does. You barely know him."
"He is my brother, though. We are of the same blood," Marie replied in a soft tone.
"In Flanders, at his father's court, your brother took his seventh lover of our marriage, closest lady of my chamber," Joanna informed Marie, a sad smile on her face, "He said I imagined it, so I cut off all her hair. He raged. He wouldn't speak to me..." She trailed off, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "So I had my ladies put love potions in his wine, because my heart is in a noose. But he caught them. He dismissed them, and he locked me in my room."
Joanna took a moment to contain her angry tears before she began to walk closer to Marie. "Now, he's writing to my father, saying he will rule instead of me. He means to have coins minted with his own face next to mine, to try to be the king himself, and now my father does the same and also tries to steal my kingdom."
"They can't do that," Marie argued, a look of disbelief on her face, "You are the queen. You are the one with the God-given right to rule Castile, not them," She explained and Joanna scoffed as she turned her back to Marie, "Your mother's crown was passed on to you, not them. They have no right to take it from you."
"They have every right. They are men and I am a mere woman," Joanna complained as she turned to face Marie once more, "All they see is power that they want and they will take. You must know the feeling. They do the same to you here. We're just chicken bones they squabble over, not a wife," She paused, beginning to laugh, "Not a daughter."
Joanna turned to face Marie, a stern look on her face. "Never marry, Marie. Men are pigs, and marriage is a trap. You're lucky you're free."
"I am not free," Marie confessed, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "I never was free and I never will be."
"You are," Joanna insisted in a stern tone, "You have the chance to be like that mother of yours. Nora of Lancaster. Women like us of royal blood could only wish to be as great and as powerful as her in our own right, not just because of some foolish man we are forced to marry."
Joanna began to walk away, only to be cut off when Phillip stormed over to them, beginning to yell at Joanna in French.
Marie stood off to the side, watching as Phillip angrily slapped his wife while shouting at her.
Phillip slowly turned to Marie, a furious look on his face. "My wife is...delirious," He told Marie, speaking French in the last part of his sentence, "I cannot even see a woman before she's so certain I'm making love with her. And now, she's roped you, my own sister, into believing it as well," He ranted and Marie turned to glance at Joanna, who was looking down at the ground in shame, "You see what I must live with?"
"I see that she is deeply unhappy and I also see the cause of it," Marie responded with an attitude as she stared at her brother in disgust, "You. You treat her like shit and expect obedience in return. It doesn't work like that, brother. Especially when she is the one with the true power in the marriage. Father understood that when he married Mother when they married. It is a pity you haven't done the same."
Without a care in the world, Phillip began to laugh in Marie's face. "Little sister..." He trailed off, smiling as he spoke to her in French, "Wife of no one."
"Well, at least I'm not allowing myself to be some chest piece in someone else's game. I control the game," Marie snapped at her brother without a care in the world.
"You've become so much like Nora that you are too far gone to ever be saved," Phillip continued on as he finally stopped laughing, "You're an English woman. Through and through. No wonder why Father has made no attempt to come save you. You're aren't ours anymore."
Phillip roughly grabbed Joanna by the arm, shooting his sister one last look before he walked away with his wife.
Marie remained in place, trying to hide her sadness as she watched her brother walk away with his wife.
"All she has is words," Phillip told Joanna as he walked away with her, "And nobody to listen to them. She'll end up just like Nora. Buried six feet under with her head detached from her body."
"At least she's smart enough to see you for the fool you are," Joanna retorted in a venomous tone, "We will leave in the morning."
____
The following morning, having nothing else better to do, Marie stood at one of the windows in the castle, watching Joanna walk toward her horses in a hurry. Phillip tried to catch up with her, calling out to Joanna as he did so.
"Your Highness, we have some bad news," Kathy spoke up as she walked over to Joanna and Phillip alongside Lord Stafford, "Your ship is not yet ready."
"Que?" Joanna asked in disbelief, "There was a cracked mast. That is all."
"But there was a hole found upon the stern," Lord Stafford added in calmly, "I've just this moment come from Tilbury."
"The carpenters are working hard, but they say it'll take at least a week," Margaret informed the group as she walked over to them.
Joanna smiled, not believing a word they were saying. "If our ship's not ready, you will sell us one of yours," She demanded and both Kathy and Lord Stafford exchanged a look, both of them chuckling at her eagerness to leave, "How much gold to buy a ship? You can't say you do not need it."
"We don't have any ships to spare, Your Highness," Kathy informed the Queen in a calm tone.
"So let us settle down and eat and see how we might trade," Margaret suggested, which even earned an eye roll from Kathy. That was all she cared about, wasn't it?
_____
That afternoon, Marie walked into the chapel to find Joanna holding a large, golden cross, almost glaring at it.
"Did you hear about my ship?" Joanna suddenly asked, turning to face Marie.
"I did," Marie replied calmly and she nodded her head in confirmation.
"It's mended," Joanna continued on calmly as she walked over to the lit candles and blew one of them out, "Any fool can see that they are lying. Deep down, you know they are lying, too. And Phillip must be to blame for it. He doesn't want me in Castile, where I rule him, so he tells them to keep me here, just as he locked me in my room in Flanders. We rule nothing, you and I. No matter how many of us powerful women there are in Europe, none of us will ever come close to accomplish what Nora of Lancaster had. She had been branded a whore and still, she had the respect of everyone, even her enemies."
Joanna began to walk away, Marie following close behind.
"But that makes no sense," Marie argued as she tried to keep up with the elder girl, "If my brother wanted to take your crown, then he would want to be in Spain before your father took it for himself."
"You think that I am wrong?" Joanna questioned, raising a brow at Marie as she moved closer to her, "Then why do all our horses have no shoes? Come. Follow me. Watch this."
Despite feeling hesitant, Marie followed Joanna to the courtyard, where the Spanish Queen walked toward the gates of the castle. Just moments later, she was surrounded by guards, all of which had their swords drawn.
Marie watched on, her eyes widening in disbelief. She felt uneasy, knowing the same exact thing happened to her every time she tried to leave without a royal family member.
Joanna turned on her heel without a care in the world and made her way back over to Marie. "It seems you and I are the same now," She told the younger girl calmly, just before walking away.
_____
At the Privy Council Meeting, Kathy and Phillip were among those attending.
"Ah, we all want peace in Europe, but—" Phillip began to say with a smile on his face, only to be cut off.
"I have labored for it through my reign, and we are close," Henry told Phillip, growing impatient with the man.
"The king has sacrificed to win it," Sir Thomas Boleyn spoke up, just as agitated as everyone else in the room. They were all becoming impatient with Phillip's failure to help them in any way.
"Yet even here in England, two sides form...rich nobles and then the poor people, who hate you for their taxes," Phillip asked, a taunting smile on his face, "And deep down, people on both sides yearn for vengeance for what you did to the famous Queen in all but Name, Nora of Lancaster, no?"
"Edmund of York will plunge us back into bloodshed," Margaret argued in a stern tone, growing tired of their enemies always having the need to mention Nora to them, "No one benefits from this assault on the English crown. You could stop it. Your father—"
"My father..." Phillip trailed off with a smile on his face as he pointed at Margaret, "...he hates walnuts," He paused, noticing the puzzled looks he was getting, "Uh, yes, wall-nuts. Des noix?"
"Walnuts?" Kathy found herself asking, a puzzled look on her face.
"They give him the gas. Vraiment terrible. Yet he keeps them in a plateaux d'argent–silver plate, oui? For his guests," He explained, a large smile on his face while everyone else looked annoyed, "So now it's une tradition. He must eat one walnut with each favored guest, even though there's the consequence. Now, other men of power would shun things they detest. My father is a Christian man, so I will tell you this. My father ate a walnut with Edmund of York and Lizzie Plantagenet."
Outraged, Henry bolted out of his seat and roughly slammed his fists down on the table.
Henry turned on his heel and began to walk toward the door while everyone but Phillip and Kathy stood up. Henry stopped, whipping himself around to face Phillip as he pointed a finger at him. "You mock us!"
With that, Henry stormed out of the room and Kathy couldn't help but chuckle. "I like this guy," She spoke up, pointing at Phillip.
Margaret turned to shoot Kathy a glare while Phillip smiled tauntingly at everyone.
Outside the privy council room, Harry had been walking down the hallway when he suddenly heard his name called.
He immediately smiled, his eyes laying on Marie. "Marie," He greeted her happily, "I was just searching for you."
"That's funny," Marie replied, beginning to walk toward him, "I was looking for you as well."
"I barter for the future of this throne while you dawdle on the sidelines making love-play!" Henry shouted at Harry angrily as he made his way over to him in a fit of rage.
"What?" Harry asked, a deeply puzzled look on his face.
"You're the one who let him slip through the net," Henry scolded Harry in a stern tone, "You should be in there negotiating his return!"
"I do not think he is important," Harry confessed, shaking his head in disagreement.
Henry scoffed loudly, staring at Harry in disbelief. "You mock us for our effort to keep this throne for you. Well, perhaps I will not do it anymore. Perhaps I will choose myself a new successor," He told his son as he began to walk away, "I could easily choose your sister Kathy over you and there isn't a person in England who would refuse that offer."
"Hah!" Harry laughed loudly as he turned to face Henry, "Well, I think God might pass comment upon that, since I am His heir."
Henry whipped himself around to face Harry, glaring at him almost hatefully. "You ungrateful little shit," He growled at his son lowly, "One day, you'll not have us to guide you." He told him and just as he was about to walk away, Harry decided to make a comment.
"I count the days," Harry remarked, causing Henry to whip himself around and backhand his son with his balled-up fist at full force.
Harry grunted in pain, nearly falling to the ground as he recovered from the hit.
With that, Henry walked away, trying to ignore Harry as he shouted. "Do not bait me, Father! I will win!"
Henry turned to glare at Harry, just before walking away. He shot Marie an annoyed look as he did so.
Once he was out of sight, Marie rushed over to Harry, a worried look on her face.
Harry had walked off to the side, wincing as he tried to check to see if he was bleeding.
Marie walked over to him, standing behind him as she placed a comforting hand on his arm. "What made him so angry?" She asked him in a soft tone.
"You, of course," Harry answered in an obvious tone as he turned to face her, "It's always you. But I will not let him break me. Nothing will stop us from being together. Not even him."
Harry grabbed Marie by the arm, pulling her into a hug. Neither of the teens noticed that from afar, Joanna was watching them with a mischievous smirk on her face.
"Come," Marie encouraged Harry in a soft tone as she pulled away from the hug and grabbed his hand, "Let me tend to your eye."
Harry nodded, the two of them wasting no time walking away together.
_____
"Go!" Harry shouted at the servants as he entered the kitchen, holding Marie's hand, "Leave us!"
"Yes, Your Grace," The ladies quickly curtsied to the prince, just before fleeing the room.
Marie walked through the kitchen, picking up an onion before she continued to search for the other ingredients she needed to make the concoction. "I need garlic, onions, and sheep's stomach if they have it..." She trailed off, turning to smile at Harry, who was giving him a questioning look, "Your grandmother Nora used to use it on wounded soldiers after battle when she was a nurse. Most of all, she used it on your grandfather and his two brothers, the famous three brothers of York."
Harry moved closer to Marie, a mischievous smirk on his face. He took a seat on the table and once Marie was in arm's reach, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to him until her chest collided with his.
He leaned closer his face closer to hers, his lips brushing against hers.
Marie playfully rolled her eyes, pulling away from him since she was too preoccupied with wanting to heal him.
Harry placed a hand on the side of her face, wearing a determined expression. "Let me kiss you," He insisted and he tried to lean forward again.
"Your blood is up, Harry. A kiss with you right now will never end in just a kiss," She argued, smiling in amusement when Harry continued to try to kiss her, "Let me tend to you first."
Harry smiled, shaking his head. "You shall tend to me in a different way," He playfully answered, rocking her lightly as he began to kiss down her neck.
Marie chuckled, feeling Harry's hand find its way underneath her skirt. "You do not quit, do you?" She asked Harry in amusement, "In a kitchen, of all places. You have no shame."
"When it comes to you, I have no shame whatsoever," He confessed and Marie laughed, only to be cut off when someone suddenly entered.
"A virgin should not entertain a man alone if she hopes her reputation as a maid to be maintained," A voice suddenly spoke up, causing Marie to immediately pull away from Harry as they both turned to see Joanna walking into the room.
"Joanna, please. Now is not the time," Marie warned Joanna, an uneasy look on her face, "I am tending to his eye."
"Is that all you're tending to?" Joanna asked, raising a skeptical brow at the duo as she poured herself a glass of wine, "We should be acquainted if you are to be my family. After all, if this marriage is to go through, my husband will become your brother-in-law."
"We met already, but you had other victims in your sights," Harry retorted with an attitude as he turned to look at Joanna.
"Victims?" Joanna questioned, giving Harry an almost amused look, "You think that I have victims? You think that I am cruel?"
"Please, Joanna. Enough," Marie insisted, a pleading look on her face when she saw an argument between Joanna and Harry on the verge of occurring, "This is not the time nor the place."
"Then, when will it be? How would your little lap dog like to know that deep down, you're still a white rose of York, not that of Tudor?" Joanna asked daringly as she glanced over at Harry, who looked confused, "I was in Burgundy when Nora of Lancaster was executed for treason, and when Margaret of York returned to us. She said that even with Nora gone, her legacy would live on. Through Marie most of all," She explained, smiling almost sadistically as she gestured toward Marie, "Because it didn't matter how many years she spent with the Tudors. She was a York through and through. And she'd fight until her dying breath to reclaim vengeance, even if it took her entire life. But it wouldn't take her entire life if she had an English Prince wrapped around her little finger from the start now, would it?"
"That isn't true," Marie complained, staring at Joanna in utter disbelief.
She didn't understand why Joanna was doing such a thing. She thought they got along just fine. Marie thought Joanna was starting to like her.
That was the thing. Joanna had enjoyed the girl's presence and even began to believe she could find a friend in her. But then, she found out the truth. Marie was only getting close to her in hopes of Catherine's dowry being paid, seeing as though it was the only way Marie could marry Harry. And Joanna didn't like being used.
"Then, can you stand here and tell me that you're innocent of any thoughts of killing the Tudors once and for all for taking everyone you loved away from you?" Joanna asked in a low, threatening tone and Marie remained silent as she stared down at the ground, "That is what I thought. You're a serpent, just like me. But unlike me, you tried to hide it and make people think that you're some innocent flower. People like him," She explained, pointing at Harry, who glared at Joanna, "And he's foolish enough to believe it is the truth. I bet you're just like your mother Nora, a whore that let the man you love bed you before you were even married just so you could keep his interest."
Without thinking, Marie had struck Joanna, which could have been punishable by death. Marie was Burgundian and Joanna was the wife of the Duke of Burgundy.
She could have easily been executed for such a thing and it wasn't like Phillip would stop it. He didn't much like his sister.
"See?" Joanna asked as she turned to look back at Marie, practically smiling, "There is that darkness in you I speak of. No matter how hard you try to contain it, it will all be unleashed sooner or later," She paused, her entire expression turning cold and threatening, "Your dowry's dead. You won't get a single coin from me. And one day, you'll meet the same fate as your mother did if you're not careful."
Marie shot Joanna a glare, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she stormed off.
Joanna watched Marie storm off, an unreadable expression on her face. Gradually, a smirk began to form on her lips and she walked to stand beside Harry, who continued to sit on the table.
She poured herself a glass of wine and turned to him. "So are you scared of me?" She asked curiously.
"Hah!" Harry let out a loud laugh before he began to glare hatefully glare at Joanna, "Of course not. You're a girl."
Joanna chuckled, knowing that deep down, there was one girl Harry was afraid of. His sister Kathy.
"But I will bid you goodbye," Harry decided, standing up from his seat before he began to walk toward the door.
"Go, then," Joanna encouraged Harry, an amused look on her face, "Run after her."
"I'm not running after anyone," Harry complained, turning to face Joanna as he lifted his arms slightly.
"No?" Joanna question, grabbing onto the hook used to hold dead animals that were meant to be cooked, "I think you are. I think you'd do anything she told you to."
"No one tells me what to do," Harry argued in a low, stern tone as he slowly backed up.
"Really?" Joanna asked, beginning to smile in amusement, "Because from the looks of it, if she asked you to jump, you'd ask how high."
"I'm–I'm going to get some wine," Harry replied, beginning to feel uneasy.
"There is wine here," Joanna spoke up as Harry was beginning to walk away, causing him to sigh in defeat as he stopped walking.
She was up to something and he already had the feeling he knew what.
He slowly turned to face her to see her smiling at him tauntingly as she held onto the hook above her. "Unless you're scared of what your father wants."
"Of course I'm not," Harry answered, shaking his head in disagreement.
"Scared to make him angry," Joanna continued to taunt him as Harry walked toward her, "If he thought you had had it and he had not."
Harry walked over to the wine. He was on the verge of picking it up, only to turn his head to see Joanna giving him a look that was almost seducing.
An emotionless look on his face, he made his way over to her while Joanna smirked in satisfaction.
He stopped when he was standing in front of her and roughly pulled her closer to him by the waist.
Joanna smirked, thinking he was going to kiss her as he slowly leaned forward. Instead, he roughly pushed her back and Joanna scoffed as she watched him begin to walk back toward the door.
"You're not my type," he called out to her as he walked away from her, and Joanna smiled slightly at him.
"But girls like her are?" Joanna questioned him, "No matter what you may think, she isn't innocent. She may seem like it, but she is not. She's far from it, actually."
"Why do you think I like her so much?" Harry suddenly responded as he turned to face her, causing Joanna's face to fall, "She has layers and I intend to see every single one of them until I'm at the core."
"You'll grow bored of her once you reach her core," Joanna pointed out as Harry smiled in amusement.
"I doubt it," Harry scoffed as he shook his head in disagreement, "I mean, have you see her?"
Harry began to chuckle at her angry look and left without another word said.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Harry really did that😂
Of all the side ships in this book series (not the main ships I listed a few chapters ago) which was your favorites?
Nora and Jasper?
Arthur and Lizzie? (ew tbh but whatever)
Nora and Richard?
Kathy and Charlie?