BLOODLINES
— 38. Reunion
It was nighttime when Charlie arrived at Kathy's residence in France. He rode forward and looked upwards, feeling almost relieved at the sight of Kathy standing on the balcony above. Despite wearing widow's black, Charlie couldn't deny that she looked beautiful.
Kathy stared down at Charlie, smiling in satisfaction. "Hello, Charlie Brandon," She spoke up in a mocking tone.
"Hello, Kathy," Charlie greeted her, staring up at her with a large smile on his face, "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes."
Once seeing Charlie climb off his horse, Kathy made her way back into the castle. She tried her hardest to contain her excitement but found herself unable to.
She squealed excitedly and jumped up, unable to help herself. After a moment, she stopped, knowing she needed to get ahold of herself before she gave everything away.
She closed her eyes, forcing herself to take a deep breath. "Keep it together, you can't give it away," She whispered to herself softly, "You're a widow. You can't be seen getting this happy over Charlie's arrival."
Kathy took a deep breath again. She smoothed out the skirt of her dress and with that, she headed for the door.
____
Charlie soon entered the castle and when he did, he was forced to stand off to the side and wait for Kathy. It was long before she entered the hallway, wearing all black. Her ladies followed close behind her. She made her way toward him, her head bowed down low as she silently cried.
She stopped in front of him and curtsied, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Thank you for coming," She spoke to Charlie in French as though it were her native tongue, but he wasn't surprised, "My heart is breaking."
Kathy cried out as she clutched onto Charlie and hugged her, causing Charlie to frown in concern as he hugged her back. Did she actually care for him?
Charlie turned, watching as two men who stood nearby scoffed and walked away. They knew Kathy's actions were all an act, after all.
Moments later, Kathy ended up leading Charlie into her chambers, where Charlie began to feel sympathetic. He truly believed her whole act of being the grieving widow.
"Kathy, I'm sorry about old Louis. I didn't know his death would have pained you so much," He told her, only to watch as Kathy laughed and turned to him.
She no longer looked sad. She looked both relieved and happy, causing Charlie to frown in concern.
"It doesn't pain me in the slightest. Truly," She explained, walking toward him with a satisfied smirk on her face, "He was a fat pig and who do you think caused the death in the first place?"
Hearing Kathy's words, Charlie couldn't help but smile in amusement. "How did you do it?" He asked her curiously, "Stafford and Marie thought you would do it with a pillow."
"Not quite. Though it did happen in bed," Kathy replied, smirking as she ran her hand up and down his chest while Charlie gave her a curious look, "I tired him out in bed. I had sex with him until he croaked."
"You're entirely serious?" He asked her and Kathy nodded her head in response.
"Yes, I'll probably go to hell, but it was entirely worth it," She admitted and Charlie began to smile.
"Well, if you do, it can't be worse than this tastes," Charlie confessed as he took a sip of the cup of wine he held in his hand.
"Chartreuse," She replied as she took the cup from his grasp and drank it herself in one gulp, "The only thing that got me through that hell of a marriage. I didn't much like the idea of being queen yet having no true power. All I did was sit there and look pretty all the time."
"Well, you are quite good at that," Charlie commented as he placed a hand on the side of her face, "You don't look as though you are struggling. You look radiant. More than you usually do, if that's even possible."
"Well, in my experience, death does wonders for the complexion," She admitted, causing Charlie to chuckle in response.
"Kathy, I don't know what I missed more. Your bluntness or your humor," He replied, causing them both to smile. He moved toward her, smiling as he cupped her face in his hands, "I've missed you. More than you could ever know."
"And I, you. More than you could ever know," She confessed, smiling softly as she stared up at him, "Now, what have I missed at court?"
"Once again, Marie is pregnant with Henry's child and this time, Catherine learned about it. Usually, Marie keeps it to herself and passes it off as Stafford's, but now it has been revealed to the whole court. You would think it to be Catherine's fault, but she didn't know any better. She doesn't know that Marie's other sons are also Henry's," Charlie explained, causing Kathy to frown in confusion.
"I thought Marie was done with Henry," Kathy complained, a puzzled look on her face.
"She is," Charlie replied, causing Kathy to furrow her eyebrows in confusion.
"Then why does she keep going to his bed?" She asked and Charlie's face immediately fell, "What am I missing?"
"It's nothing you need to know," Charlie replied as he shook his head in response.
Kathy grabbed him by the arm, a stern look on her face. "Charlie, what aren't you telling me?"
Charlie stared down at Kathy and sighed, knowing there was no point in lying. "Marie doesn't want to go to Henry's bed. Ever. He forces her to," He informed her, causing Kathy's eyes to widen in horror, "He makes her feel as though she has no choice. It has been like this ever since you married Louis. She feels obligated to bed him just so he won't torment her any longer."
Kathy remained silent, trying to contain her anger. "My brother..." She trailed off and scoffed, "I barely recognize him anymore. Now, you are to take me home and back to court, where I must deal with his stupidity once more. Tell me, Charlie, what does my brother say my fate should be?"
"I haven't asked," Charlie confessed as he shook his head, "I didn't care to know. I don't think I want to know."
"Why not?" Kathy asked as she stared up at Charlie curiously.
"Don't make me say it when you already know," Charlie complained and Kathy smiled as she watched him walk past her. "I feel I don't know Henry as I used to."
"Wolsey is the cause of this sudden change, I'm sure," Kathy stated as she sighed in annoyance.
"Yes," Charlie replied as he nodded his head, "Henry, he's...he's lost his joy. He has an anger now about him. And the whole situation with Marie horrifies me. The poor girl is terrified and broken beyond repair because of him. Even after all these years, I feel as though Henry still treats her like the hostage she was when we were all children, the hostage he could boss around," He explained as sighed in relief, "Whoever you are married to, he'll be a lucky man. But you will be lucky as well. For you will be able to escape Henry's torture, which is a fate the rest of us aren't lucky enough to have."
Kathy smirked and walked toward Charlie, a mischievous look on her face. "What of you, Charlie?" She asked and leaned closer to him, her face dangerously close to his.
"What of me?" Charlie asked, glancing down at Kathy's lips before forcing himself to look her back in the eyes.
"Are you married yet?" She asked him curiously as her lips curled upwards into a smirk.
"N-no," Charlie quickly answered, his lips parting as he stared down at her. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her and clearly, Kathy wanted the same. He knew just by the look she was giving him. She was doing it all on purpose, "Is it wrong of me to admit how badly I want to kiss you right now?"
"No, because I want to kiss you just as badly," She replied, only to turn away from him as sigh in defeat, "But we cannot. Not just yet."
Charlie nodded in understanding. He walked closer to her, placing a hand on the side of her face. Kathy watched him curiously and Charlie leaned forward, pressing a lingering kiss to her cheek. "Good night, Kathy," He told her in a whisper and Kathy smiled.
"Good night, Charlie," She replied and Charlie bowed to her, just before leaving the room.
_____
The following day, at French court, Kathy walked through the gardens alongside Charlie, a large, bright smile on her face. She felt as though she hadn't smiled like that in months. Though Charlie had always been known to have that effect on her.
"Do you remember how you used to tease me, Charlie?" Kathy asked him curiously, "When we were children, even after that, for that matter."
"As I recall, there was a certain someone who teased me right back and was quite cruel about it. You were a ghastly little thing, from what I remember," He explained and Kathy scoffed in response.
"What am I now, then?" She asked, beginning to frown at him.
"Even ghastlier," He taunted her, and Kathy scoffed as she lightly slapped his arm, causing him to laugh, "But despite that, you still manage to be the most beautiful woman in the world in my eyes."
Hearing his words, Kathy smiled and locked arms with him. "You see, that's the thing about us, Charlie. We always made each laugh. We always understood each other. We made each other swoon and you seem to be the only man truly capable of making the famous Katherine Tudor's heart of stone turn soft. And yet here we are, both of us instructed by my cruel bastard of a brother into marriages we do not wish to be in," She explained and Charlie looked down at her with a knowing look.
"You don't know who yours is yet," Charlie reminded her in a calm tone, "He might be handsome."
"Oh, I highly doubt that," Kathy replied, smiling at him playfully, "He'll be an ancient goat who I am forced to spread my legs to just like the last and I know for a fact Henry will make sure he is ugly just to spite me," She paused, sighing as they walked down a set of steps together, "Tell me, Charlie, why should I be faithful to a king who cannot keep his word to me? He uses you. He torments Marie. And he bullies me."
"He tries to bully you. You and I both know he never succeeds in doing so," Charlie corrected her and Kathy smiled in response.
As they made their way down the steps, Kathy grabbed Charlie by the hand and pulled him to stand behind some bushes. It gave them both flashbacks of when they were younger, trying to find any secret place they could to sneak a quick kiss from each other before going about their day. It had been like that ever since they were twelve. Well, at twelve, they were only sneaking small kisses from each other in the gardens, but by the time Kathy turned fourteen, other matters started to occur in the bedroom. It had been a surprise that she had only gotten pregnant once during the span of their secret relationship.
"Let us make our own choice, Charlie," Kathy spoke to Charlie with a large smile on her face.
"What do you mean?" Charlie asked her in concern as he stared down at her.
"You know what I mean. Let's choose each other. As we've wanted to ever since we were children," Kathy explained, causing Charlie to sigh in response.
"Kathy, I...I've wanted to for a long time. I've thought about it. We both have. But it's treason," He reminded her as he cupped her face in his hands, "I know in the letter I spoke of marrying you, but much has changed since then. Henry is practically unrecognizable to me. I fear upsetting him. If Henry didn't take our heads, he'd banish us."
"He's my brother. He's your best friend. He'd forgive us. We are the ones who matter most to him in this world," She assured him and placed her hand over his, "And even if he tried to take our heads, the whole of England will rebel against him if he ever laid a hand on me, their beloved princess. They love me more than they fear him. They have always preferred me over him, just as my father did. It would not end well if he executed me. Deep down, he knows that. And he wouldn't harm you either because he knows I would start a war with him if he tried to lay a hand on you."
"Kathy.." Charlie trailed off, sighing as he affectionately stroked her cheek, "Our fall would be—"
"Legendary. Exhilarating, even," Kathy spoke up, smiling as she grabbed his hand and held it, "Tales of our love would be spoken of for centuries, just as they do of Nora of Lancaster and King Edward."
"But your brother would only see betrayal," Charlie sighed in defeat and shook his head, "And I'm betrothed to—"
"To a child," Kathy argued as she smiled up at Charlie, "Charlie, he could have sent anyone out here to fetch me. But God made him choose you, despite Henry knowing of our history."
Charlie sighed and stared down at Kathy, unable to form any words.
Kathy scoffed and began to walk away, unable to believe that he didn't want to agree to marriage, which was something they had been wanting to do for years. "If you won't have me, Charlie, then I guess I'll ever a nunnery because I would rather be celibate than be forced to spread my legs to another man who I want nothing more than to kill."
"You cannot join a nunnery, Kathy," Charlie argued as he cupped her face in his hands, "You weren't made for that. You were made to rule, to be powerful in your right, and to have a husband that would allow you to embrace your power instead of concealing it," He explained and Kathy smiled up at her, "Not to mention, you are far too pretty to be a nun and if you are gone from England any longer, the country will break in two. England needs you, now more than ever."
"Then let us marry, then, Charlie. As we've always wanted. I would be privileged to be called your wife. And delighted to be the mother of your children. You are the man I love. The man I've always loved and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, no one else," Kathy explained, smiling happily at Charlie, "You were the first man I had ever been with and I hope that you may be my last as well. I don't care if Henry is angry. He can sod off. I would gladly start a war with him if it meant I could have you forever. If we must fall from Henry's favor, Charlie, let us fall together. Together, nothing may stand in our way."
Unable to take it anymore, Charlie cupped Kathy's face in his hands and kissed her passionately. Kathy moaned into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I love you," They spoke in unison, causing them both to smile before they kissed once more.