~My boy, my King~

May 1483, London....

The two weeks to London were ones of tension and silence, laced with the cheers of the people as the royal party rode through various villages and towns. Edward did his best to smile, his best to wave but a dark shadow hung over his face and he refused to look his Uncle in the eye. His Uncle Richard that was, his Uncle Anthony, along with his half brother, had been sent to Pontefract, under arrest as per the order.

When he'd found out, he'd made quick his exit from his Uncle's chamber and retreated to his own, hiding behind the bed until his Aunt found him. He even refused to look at her for a week.

Then he only muttered quiet questions, quiet requests: where was his Uncle Anthony, could he see him once they reached London? Catherine could only answer one and so had to seek a peace between her and her nephew in quiet evenings spent in inns, tucking him in and telling him 'goodnight'.

It was unclear weather he and Richard would ever reach a peace for while young Edward did not rant and did not rage, she could see the coldness in his eyes that settled like ice when he looked at his Uncle. Any brittle trust between them was broken and it was not one that could be reformed or if it was, it would forever be overshadowed.

That was a worry in itself for if the King did not trust his Uncle, what would happen when he no longer needed him? The thought made her shiver and it didn't take her long to realise that while Richard reigned, it would be up to their children to secure their position in the country. They would have to win the King's trust. They would have to win his friendship.

Henry would certainly follow that duty and since he was older than the young King perhaps he would become an individual whom he looked up to?

But there was no room for that thought as they entered the city of London, the streets now gilded in blue and murrey, the Lions and lilies of England. Cheers filled the air, raising up to the rooftops, to the clouds above that were the purest white, letting sun shine through in hopeful beams, providing light to the procession of black velvet.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester rode either side the new King, cries of 'God save King Edward!' ringing in their ears and making the young boy between them smile. He even let the curve of his lips remain when Richard looked at him; nodded. He felt small, amongst the cawing crowds, overwhelmed by the thousands of hands waving at him, the thousands of faces looking to him.

They looked for his Father, for a King they could follow and who would lead them. He knew he wasn't that and yet felt a sense of power within that he knew would blossom with time. How he wished his Father was by his side, how he wished he wasn't yet King. He wasn't ready, no twelve year old was.

"You will be a King as good as your Father one day" A voice said beside him and he turned to see his Aunt smiling down at him from her chestnut stallion, dressed in black and yet still as beautiful as ever. Her sheer ebony veil floated down her back and her jewels glistened in the sunlight, highlighting the golden diamond around her neck, set with a sapphire.

"Where is your pendant from?" He asked "In the times I have seen you, I don't believe you have been without it?"

Catherine smiled at that and one hand automatically wrapped around the necklace, fingers tracing the delicate grooves within it.

"I've had it for seventeen years" She said wistfully "Richard gave it to me on Christmas Day of 1466, our second year of marriage!" Edward's eyes went wide at that and he gawped, halting his waving.
"But you must have been a child!" He exclaimed but Catherine only laughed.

"The first time I was married I was six, to Georgie!" She replied, nodding to the man that rode behind them, dressed in black but grinning at the enthusiastic crowds "Richard and I were married when we were eleven and by thirteen we in love!" The young King looked at his Uncle, appearing rather unconvinced at the notion that he could be as loving as she described "Oh, have no doubt, nephew, Richard is a brooder by nature but he is the most loving man I know"

"And you would not rather have a man you chose?" The question was a sensible one but her answer was no less full of amusement for it.
"There is no other man I would choose! His grace is the only one who could ever claim my heart"

Edward looked up at her again before he slowly nodded, beginning to wave again.
"One day" He told her "I want to love someone that much" Catherine laughed.
"I'm sure you shall"

꧁꧂

Richard led the way as he, Catherine and the new King walked up the never ending steps of the Tower of London. By God, she hated it. Though Edward was staying there for his coronation, the establishment of a new Reign, a new life for the country, all she could associate with it was death.

The cold cruelty of murder and the fall of the wheel of fortune. How it crashed down like a house of cards. One wrong move, one blow of a soft breeze and a soul was gone from earth, crushed once again by the fortress and it's inescapable walls.

A surge of protectiveness flooded Catherine's veins and she hopped up a step to put her arm around her nephew's shoulders. He didn't pull away, no, he leant into her, his eyes wary, darting this way and that at every noise. The only thing he knew the Tower for was death too, the death of King Henry and his son and the death of his Uncle George on his Father's orders.

It made him shiver to think of: how family could turn on one another.

But George had been the one to turn first.

"You'll be warm soon" Catherine murmured, rubbing his arm through his cloak "There will be fires lit in your rooms already" He didn't want to go to his rooms, he didn't want to be anywhere near the Tower! He wanted to go home, to Ludlow with his Uncle Anthony and half-brother Richard! He wanted everything to go back to the way it had been. He wanted peace.

But peace was not a possession of Princes and it certainly was not one of Kings.

So, up and up he climbed with his Aunt and Uncle, catching glimpses of the world outside when they passed a window, most narrow arrow-slits giving him only a flash of blue or white. He leant into his Aunt further, no appetite to play the King he'd been when riding through the streets; that sense of power now gone.

"How long shall I stay here?" He asked and Richard looked over his shoulder as they made their way down a long, cold corridor.
"Only until your coronation, Edward, it is the tradition of all Kings, as you know"

"It shan't be for long" Catherine added warmly "In a week or so you shall be crowned and then your Mother shall see sense and you shall have her, your brother and sisters with you! You'd like that wouldn't you?" Edward nodded as they finally came to the King's rooms and Richard opened the door, clearing the way to a spacious chamber flooded with light and walls smothered with bright tapestries.

It was the happiest Catherine had ever seen the Tower look and even Edward stepped inside willingly, relaxed somewhat by the sight of the large bed raised on a dais and it's crimson curtains.
"Will you bring your son to visit me?" He asked, shooting a rare glance at Richard who was looking in a chest where games were stored.

"Which one?" He replied "I have three and each of them are a menace to my life span!" A small smile curved the young King's lips and he shuffled from foot to foot, a habit that was much more alike to Richard than Edward. 

"Henry" He answered quietly "I would like to meet Henry first, he is, after all, a knight. I would like to meet a knight, especially one who is my cousin"
"And will be loyal to you, as your Uncle was to your Father" Catherine finished "You can count on Henry, you will be able to count on all of our sons, just as you can count on Richard"

Edward looked hesitantly towards his Uncle and didn't reply. The two adults looked at one another and Catherine shook her head 'all will be well' Her eyes told him 'but you must be careful' and being careful meant handling the two prisoners in Pontefract with the upmost importance. Their lives were the only things the young King's trust hung on but she was sure they wouldn't lose them!

Anthony and his nephew need only be kept under lock and key until Edward was secure on his throne and the Queen had seen sense! Elizabeth would emerge from sanctuary once her son was crowned, she was not stupid and certainly couldn't deny the power she would have as the King's Mother. If only Catherine didn't suspect that wasn't enough for her; that she wanted the power of the Lord Protector.

The council certainly wouldn't allow her that, not unless they thought Richard unsuitable which wasn't possible!

No, Elizabeth would have to come out, no matter what happened.

"Henry it is!" She exclaimed, dispelling the tense silence that gathered in the air like dust, choking ease away "Now, I believe there is a solar for you through there, why don't you have a look?" Edward obeyed and went through the door leading to the adjoining chamber, closing it softly behind him.

"He doesn't trust me" Richard grunted immediately "Not one bit!"
"Oh, my love...."
"He doesn't! You know it, I know it, but he must trust me if he is to be safe, if we are to be safe, if England is to be safe! We cannot have him pining for Anthony every moment nor yearning for his Mother!"

Pushing himself from the chest he leant against, he strode to the window, the thud of his boots echoing every syllable of his discontent. The shards of light highlighted the stress in his eyes, the worry that made them dart from place to place looking for resolve.

Catherine watched him, shaking her head again.
"You arrested the men who raised him" She explained, joining him "You can't expect him to be precisely hanging onto your every word after that, Dickon! Give him time. Once things are settled you can release Anthony and Grey! The latter may have to be kept away from court as he will follow his Mother's word but Anthony I believe will work with you! That will earn Edward's trust"

Richard nodded as she spoke, one hand cradling his chin in thought. Anthony, he knew, Anthony he could work with but what surprised him was how critically Catherine spoke of the Queen, or Dowager Queen that was.

"You said I underestimated Elizabeth" She continued "So it's time I did not" She grimaced as her teeth bit into the side of her cheek, slicing into her flesh to draw blood. The metallic taste filled her mouth and she moved away, perching the end of the bed "This situation is critical you and I both know how the wheel of fortune can turn you and I both know how tenuous a transition of power is normally, let alone when it involves a child!"

Richard turned to face her, the severity lacing her soft voice one he hardly ever heard, the last time it surfaced being before they headed to London on that fateful night "We must surround him with our children, with our friends" She said, eyes never leaving his as he sat next to her, the mattress dipping under his weight "We must make sure he trusts us and those around him that we place there. For now and his reign"

"You want to control him?"
Catherine shook her head again, pain thrumming through her heart.

She knew what it was like to be a piece on the political board, an important piece to be controlled, manoeuvred, traded as if she was an object without memory, without feelings. She knew what it was like to have those around seek to use her and knew all would now seek to use the young King. All she had ever wanted as a child was someone to hold back the lions, to keep her safe from those who wished to push her about as they pleased.

Now, that was her task for the child who would be King.

"No" She whispered "I want to protect him"

꧁꧂

Westminster Palace was eerily quiet, like a ghost town inhabited only by the lonely spirits garbed in black that floated through its halls. Most of the nobility had retreated to their ancestral seats in the country and would return for the coronation and Catherine did not blame them. The death of a King brought inevitable difficulty and most did not want to attend court lest they be caught in its web of ever changing lies.

The shutters were almost all bolted, the tapestries covered with black silk and no music was played, not even in the evenings. The only sounds that could ever be heard were the angelic melodies sung by the choir in the chapel, praying for the lates King's soul day and night, by sun and candlelight.

Even those who still resided spoke little and when they did it was in hushed voices, behind locked doors where no one could hear nor see. Most were Richard's men and at least they were loyal among the pit of vipers they had all once more fallen into but even they were not to be seen as Catherine rushed along the corridors one morning, lured to the courtyard by the sound of hooves on cobble.

"Mother!" The sound of her name was called by multiple voices as she burst into the May sunlight, warming her skin with its heat and her heart with its merriness. Her children clambered out of their carriage and Henry dismounted from his horse, nodding to Francis who had ridden beside him before joining his siblings "Mother! Mother!" They all called, dressed in black, arms outstretched.

"Oh my darlings! My jewels!" She took the stairs two at a time, almost jumping like a child just to get to her little ones and when she did, she gathered them close. Her hands clung to their clothes and the scent of spring flowers filled her nose, making her smile. She kissed each of their heads, nuzzling into the soft hair that crowned their heads and counting: Henry, Joan, Dickon, Edward and Cecily.

All five of her precious jewels returned to her.

Nell and Meg followed behind them (Margery being the only one who accompanied the household in the mad-dash to London) and smiled, dipping into curtsies. Catherine's face lit, shining like the sun as she looked around and her gaze settled on friends. Rob, Francis, Dickie and one of the dearest friends of all "Anne!" She cried and rushed to the slight woman who stepped out of the carriage, grinning "Oh Annie!"

Anne accepted the hug readily, laughing like a child into Catherine's shoulder until she pulled away, sharing a look of warm affection with her.
"I haven't brought your little namesake with me, I'm afraid!" She said "Little Cat is still at Middleham with Margery's son! They are firm friends"
"Ah yes!" Catherine chuckled "Young William has been at Middleham with his Father since he was five hasn't he? How time has flown!"

Anne's grin widened.
"Although apparently not for those two!" Catherine turned at the sound of Margery's high pitched squeal to see Dickie had lifted her up and was spinning her until she shrieked with laughter "We had better stop them before God strikes them down!"
"Oh, leave them!" She said "And get inside, Annie, you look pale and I know travel tires you! Warm yourself by the fire in your rooms, I have made it ready for you and Francis"

"Mother! Mother" A little hand tugged at her skirts and she looked down to see Cecily peering up at her, a toy bunny nestled closely to her chest "Mother! Me want see Father!"

"I shall leave you, my friend" Anne said, brushing a light kiss to Catherine's cheek before she was guided inside by her adoring husband and Cecily was whisked from the ground.

Instantly the little girl clung to her Mother in any way she could, wrapping her legs around her bodice and her arms around her neck, nuzzling into her soft skin with a happy little babble.
"Ah, my little girl" Catherine cooed, stroking her hair "Have you missed me?" Cecily nodded vigorously, clinging to her all the more  and her Mother chuckled.

"We've all missed you!" Edward chirped and the others called their agreements, crowding around her again "Even Henry and he's a man now!"
"Even a man is allowed to miss his Mother, Ed!" Catherine chuckled and Henry's lips quirked up at the corners before dropping open like a gawping fish at what he saw behind them.

"Uncle Hal!"
Catherine turned as fast as lightening at her son's call to see it rang true and the Percy banners were fluttering high above the head of her older brother. Dressed surprisingly in black like the rest, he rode into the courtyard, a band of his loyal men behind him and a smirk on his face that was identical to Catherine's when it appeared.

As of then, she simply stood, stunned, mouth agape like her son's while he pulled his horse to a halt a jumped easily from the saddle, pushing his fur cloak behind him.
"Sister!" He called, voice wrapped in his ever present, flippant tone, pulling off his gloves and tucking them neatly into his belt "What a coincidence in seeing you here!"

"It is no coincidence!" She replied, walking forward to meet him "Hal what on earth are you doing here?"
"I'm here to see you, of course!" He said with a shrug before grinning at the little girl she held in her arms. He remembered his little sister at that age and how clinging she'd been to their Mother, ever at her skirts when she was not with him, just as this little one seemed to be "Who is this, Cate? I don't believe we've met!"

"That's Cecily, Uncle Hal!" Dickon called up to him "She's our baby sister and she's almost three!"
"Almost three?" Hal exclaimed with a light laugh "My it has been long since I saw you all! Although I saw your Father only two months ago? Where the hell is he?"

"In our rooms" Catherine answered "And I wouldn't disturb him if I were you, I think if anyone walked in he would run them through with the fire poker!" Hal raised his eyebrows and the children laughed, the boys eager for his approval, none more so than Henry.
"And that would not end well for you, Uncle" He said, making the man turn to him. He stood up straight.

"By God!" He exclaimed "Aren't you a man and just the spitting image of your Father?" Henry grinned "Ah but there's your Mother's smile! I'd recognise that anywhere and I hope she's happy to see me!"
"Of course I am, silly" Catherine laughed, punching him playfully on the arm "Now you must let me go so I can order rooms readied for you"
"Oh no, I'll just sleep in the stables!"

She glanced over her shoulder as she walked away, sending him the most unconvinced look possible.
"We both know you would prefer death over that, dear brother!" He simply shrugged again.