~Sanctuary~

May 1483, Westminster Abbey Sanctuary....

Fourteen days it had been. Fourteen long days of waiting, listening, weeping, lying awake at night with nothing to hear but one's own thoughts swirling around the tortured mind.

There was one way in and one way out, through the abbey anyway.

One great door in one great wall that remained locked and bolted day and night. A small window was in the top where meals would be passed through and Constance would open to talk and pray with Thomas Bouchier. She had the keys, she could slide the bolt open but still the sanctuary was a prison and she, Kate and her children were it's prisoners. They couldn't leave. If they did they would be the most foolish creatures on the earth.

There were three rooms. A large chamber one stepped into upon entry, holding three great arched windows up high along its left wall and a mighty fireplace carved into the opposite, a small wooden bath standing beside it. There were three simple chairs before the fire, a rectangular table in the centre of the room with long wooden benches either side and they made up the entirety of the chamber's adornment.

At the end lay two small doors leading to two small, octagonal rooms, both without hearths, leaving them cold. Each possessed a small, single bed, with an even smaller trundle bed underneath it. It was a unanimous decision made early on to put both trundles in one room for the children and the two single beds in the other, that way, everyone would be rather comfortable - as comfortable as they could be.

It is not that the mattresses weren't pleasant, the pillows weren't soft, no the Abbey had made an effort to provide the royals with the best they had, it was their minds that made them uncomfortable, the state of their ears, ever primed to detect the slightest noise from outside, stirring such fear that all seven members of the sanctuary ended up squashed together in the same beds by the small hours of the morning.

Their existence was one of terror, a game of waiting for the sanctuary door to come crashing down and soldiers to flood in - or at least it was for the adults. For the Woodvilles had taken London. That was all they knew and that was all they needed to know for their hearts to never beat steadily.

On the fifteenth morning, Constance lay awake on her bed, fingers stroking across the locket which cradled the one last thing she still had of her husband, and staring up at the stone ceiling as she had been doing for the past five hours or so. She didn't know exactly.

She knew that her son was meant to be have been crowned by now, a new York reign was supposed to have begun, the land still full of celebrations for their new ruler. The Lords of the realm were meant to kneel before her the night prior to the coronation, kiss her hand and swear allegiance to her as the Queen Regent. She was meant to have her son in her arms, Richard at her side so they may share their grief.

Now, she didn't know where he was, she didn't know if her son was safe, if the Woodville claws had reached North. She did not know if her brother was safe or Will, both who fought so valiantly for their freedom. Were they captured? Did they escape? She refused to think of any other option and the same went for her ladies whom she prayed for day and night alongside Katherine.

Dear, sweet Kate. She was the strength of the sanctuary, the one who dressed the children each morn while Constance wept, who helped them climb up on the ledges of the windows in the larger chamber and take turns feeling the sun on their faces, a little breath of air.

There were three doors they were forbidden to pass through. The one they'd rushed through on the night they'd never forget and a tiny rectangular one that lay just a few feet away from the furthest window of the chamber, squashed into the same wall, which led down to a small courtyard carpeted by frosty grass with a small well, holding the third door at the end of it.

A door to the Thames.

Hearing the squeal of a child (most likely Charlie), she flinched. It was a merry squeak but she couldn't help it, every sudden laugh was - for a moment - a scream of pain, every dropped cup or plate, a fist slamming against the sanctuary door, trying to tear it down.

Constance sighed, groaning as she forced her aching limbs to move, to push her body into sitting. She swung her legs over the side of the bed; slipped her feet into her shoes. It was never a good idea to tread around the sanctuary barefooted, the uncovered floors were awfully cold.

Her shoulders hunched, fingers digging into the edge of the bed frame, she stared at the stone slabs beneath her. In sanctuary she'd tried to be strong for her children but all her strength seemed to be spent and the will to even rise dwindled away entirely. A dark cloud had shrouded her mind, killing any thoughts but the most dreadful ones, hammering a heavy weight into her chest that never left and grew each hour, pinning her to her bed.

She'd stopped feeling hungry too, perhaps her body had relented in trying to make her eat after two weeks of little more than bread and water passing her lips.

The others had full meals.

She couldn't stomach them - though Katherine tried to coax her.

She didn't have the desire to, the thought had stopped crossing her mind.

She wore only her shift most days but she did not shiver once.

The door to the chamber cracked open but she didn't notice that, she didn't notice Katherine enter and sit on the opposite bed, she didn't smell the usually enticing scent of venison in a rich sauce and roasted vegetables nor look up when it was slowly offered her way.

"Connie?" Katherine had taken addressing her like she was a frightened mouse, slowly, gently, never a hint of reproach in her voice. Constance wagered a mouse was braver and mightier than she was "Con, please eat, I asked the Archbishop for one of your favourites! The children are worried, they have not seen you for two days...."

"As they should be" She murmured "Our enemies are close at hand and have forced us from our position. Their Father is dead and so may their brother be"
"Constance!" Katherine cried, almost dropping the plate before forcing herself to set it down by her gently "Do not say such things! You do not believe them and nor do I!"

"I do not know what I believe. I had hoped I'd never hear the name Woodville spoken again and yet they now infest my halls, the witch probably sleeps in my bed....whore. Mark my words she will seek the crown for her bastard son, she had sought to put him on the throne since his first breath. If she cannot be Queen she will be the King's Mother but she will not be tolerated. Our friends are many, hers are none but her own kin. The House of York will rise for my son. If I were able to send letters from here I would write to my brothers and sisters, though Margaret has been dead these past two years, they said I could call upon them for aid....I thought I would never have to call them to fulfil that pledge. Still, England will rise for my son"

"Too right" Katherine affirmed, seemingly encouraged by Constance's words, despite them being spoken without one spark of life, and picked up the food again "Here, it will do you good"
Constance finally eyed the plate.
"I'm fasting" And she turned away, lying back down to stare at the wall.

"You said that yesterday. And the day before that"
"And each day you do not understand what I say or you choose not to listen"

"Because you will die if you carry on so!" Katherine snapped, head jerking hastily to the door when she realised her words. She looked back to Constance, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder "And I will not allow that. I will not allow you to wither away nor give up hope. One day you will join Edward in paradise but today is not that day - nor shall it be any day soon!"

"Mama?" Little Charlie toddled through the door and over to his Mother's bed and Katherine sighed, watching the little boy try to hoist himself up to Constance's curled up form "Mama?" She rolled over a little, tears glistening in her eyes and held out her hand to her son.
"Hello, sweet boy. My darling Charles"

"Mama" Charlie said again, shuffling up the bed as she weakly sat up, letting him crawl into her lap. She sniffed, sobs instantly shaking her body at her baby's soft touch. Little hands wiped at her cheeks, trying to take her tears away but it only made her cry harder and she clutched Charlie close, beginning to rock him back and forth as she'd do when he couldn't sleep.

"I love you" She whispered into his golden locks "I love you, I love you, I love you and I will never let anyone harm you, I will never let you or your brothers and sisters be harmed, I swear it"
"Love Mama" Charlie murmured against her chest and she nodded, squeezing her eyes shut in an effort to dispel the tears.
"Thank you, my love, thank you"

She held out a hand and Katherine pressed a handkerchief into her palm. Constance wiped her face, forcing herself to breathe as she slowed her rocking and finally leant back against her pillows.

"Charlie?" She heard Katherine whisper and the little boy turned to her, tilting his head "Would you help me to feed your Mother? She will be very poorly if she does not eat" The small boy nodded eagerly (Constance felt the urge to fiercely shake her head) and took the spoon Katherine passed to him, licking the side clean of sauce himself and grinning before pressing it to his Mother's lips.

"Yum yum" He said and Constance opened her eyes, looking down at her son "Nice!" Charlie told her and slowly, she felt her lips part, the heavenly sauce spreading on her tongue, though it tasted rather bitter to her in that moment, and small chucks of meat passing her lips. Charlie only withdrew the spoon once she'd licked it clean, watching on as if he were the Mother there, and looked happily at Katherine who smiled.

They repeated the process over and over, again and again, until the food was finished and an ounce of colour returned to Constance's cheeks, though her stomach hurt at the sudden intake of food "Good" Charlie nodded proudly at her before snuggling against her chest "Sleep" He told her and she nodded, hardly thinking on that she was obeying a baby, her own child. In that moment, he was perhaps wiser than she and she listened to his words - or rather, word - and closed her eyes, feeling Charlie snuggle up beside her.

"I shall help the children up onto the ledge" Katherine whispered as she covered them with furs and blankets "Sleep, my dears, I shall keep the others quiet"

༻᯽༺

In the three days that followed, Constance became a little better as Katherine found she could coax her Mistress to eat consistent meals if she had the children do it.

On the third morning Constance even ventured from her room and sat in the bed robe she'd brought by the hall fire, watching Cecily and Aliénor play at her feet. The Archbishop had been kind enough to supply them with toys, wooden horses and dolls and blocks for Charlie to build with. She knew they wished for their own toys, Cecily's dolls with a wardrobe to rival her own and the boys swords, but they seemed content enough. After all, they thought their stay in sanctuary would end soon.

Opposite, Kathrine sat in her shift and cloak, darning a split in the single black dress she'd brought with them; the one she'd worn.

"Have one of mine" Constance murmured and her friend looked up, eyes widening slight before she shook her head, placing down her needle.
"Constance, I couldn't, they're your dresses, you are...."

"I'm not the Queen!" All the children looked up, startled, as their Mother yelled, shocking herself with her sharp tone and forcing the sanctuary to silence. She blinked, sinking back into her chair and casting her gaze to the fire "Not anymore....." She said quietly "I'll never be again...." While some would've been hurt by her outburst, offended even, Katherine only gave one of her sweet, understanding smiles.

"You are the King's Mother"
"And you think that matters in here? We are where criminals run when the law comes to catch them"
"We are where souls seek refuge from ill will against them" Katherine countered but Constance only raised her eyebrows, tossing back her head with a humourless laugh.

"Ha! I remember Elizabeth Woodville was here, chased here by Warwick. Now I've been chased here by her! Rather ironic I think and I have come to believe it is the fate of Queens, and shall be the fate of Queen's after me as it has been before, that happiness is the one thing we can never have....." She gave her friend a wry smile "put on a gown, Kate, you'll freeze to death otherwise....and I need you"

Sighing, Katherine nodded and stood, selecting a deep green dress (knowing Constance wished to wear the black ones herself), a silver girdle and dressed in their shared chamber. The sleeves were a little short and the hem an inch or so from the ground, she was the taller of the two after all, but she didn't mind, it was simply nice to wear something new after two weeks.

"You look beautiful, Lady Kate!" Isabella praised when she emerged and Katherine chuckled, hugging the girl.

"Thank you, Princess, you are too kind" She retook her seat and took up her dress and needle once more when a small knock came at the sanctuary door that made all freeze like scared mice. The two adults looked at one another as the knock came again and Constance stood, wrapping her robe around her, hands shaking.

"Children, to your chamber" She instructed and they obeyed without a word, Richard herding them all into it and drawing his dagger, shutting the door.

"Sit, Con" Katherine murmured, standing herself and tiptoeing towards the door "You're too weak to stand for long" Constance couldn't bring herself to do it, frozen to the spot, despite the trembling in her legs, and watched as Katherine approached the door, lifting the window latch and slowly opening it.

She heard a sharp gasp and feared the worse when....

"Mistress Shore?"

Her eyes blew wide.
Jane Shore? Jane Shore was outside of the sanctuary? Was she seeking it too for some inexplicable reason?

She heard a female voice talking on the other side and Katherine back glanced over her shoulder at Constance, utterly bewildered before replying.
"Are you alone?"
The female voice spoke again and Katherine turned away fully, closing the window. She sighed.

"May she enter, your grace, she says she has news"
"News?" Constance repeated, finally forcing herself to sit before she collapsed, a little panic leaving her "Oh for heaven's sake, let her in, Kate"

Flinching as the heavy bolt was pulled back and Katherine fished the keys from her girdle, using both hands to turn the ancient lock and heaving the door open just enough for a clocked figure to slip inside before slamming it shut, locking and bolting it once more.

The figure hurried inside to the fire, throwing back her hood to reveal a flash of red curls which confirmed it truly was Jane. Constance's eyes widened, though she didn't quite know why, it could've been a number of reasons.

Jane curtsied low, bowing her head before rising, her nose pink-tipped from the biting chill God had indicted on London that morn and cheeks a coral pink.

"Your grace"
"Mistress Shore...." Constance blinked "What in our Lord's name are you doing here?"
"I did say she had news" Katherine quipped, walking back to the fire and sitting. Constance threw her a stern glance before looking back to Jane.

"Yes, I am aware, yet still I am left wondering, why would you come here? Why would you put yourself in such danger by visiting me. I have tolerated you and thanked you for your constant respect which as Queen was due to me but we have not been friends. What do you gain by bringing me news other than perhaps a sack of gold for acting as the Woodville's spy?"

Though she was sick and, as Katherine had pointed out, weak, she'd not yet lost her quick mind and watched Jane with a slightly narrowed gaze, trying to read the face of her husband's mistress. Jane's red-rimmed eyes went wide with shock at the accusation and she immediately shook her head, clasping her hands together as if she were about to fall to the floor and beg for mercy.

"No, your grace!" She exclaimed "While many think ill of me, and you certainly have cause to do so, I am not and never will be a spy! Elizabeth Woodville and I may have shared the same man's bed but we are not allies, in fact, she detests me! Not one day after the Woodvilles took the palace I was thrown from it without a penny! My family turned me away and many refused to give me shelter! I am sorry to say this before you, your grace, but I loved King Edward, with all of my heart, I would never betray him or his rightful successor, your son! I come here, not to deceive you but to try and aid you if I can! Please allow me to do so"

Constance tried to speak but no words would form as her lips opened and closed, tears pooling in her eyes and trickling down her cheeks. She had never expected Jane Shore to make her weep out of anything other than anger but when she'd mentioned Edward, spoken of her son, her heart lurched and a wave of grief washed over her body, rendering her speechless.

Through her tears, she could see Jane crying too and, for a moment, she understood the other woman completely for her love for Edward was clear, not only in her words but her broken face, now slipping to a ghostly pale pallor. Though they were different as night and day in many things, they shared a love for the same man and that man was gone and there was nothing but an unbearable grief between them - not even jealousy.

Constance believed her.

"And if you speak true, what news is there?" Katherine pressed, eager to hear of her own loved ones outside the abbey walls - her husband, her children, her kin.

Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, Jane blinked and sniffed, tilting her chin up.
"I think it best if I relay my news in order, my Lady, for none of it is good and it only grows worse as it unfolds. Forgive me for relaying such words to you"

"Sit" Constance murmured, gesturing to the empty chair between she and Katherine. Jane's surprise was all too clear and she simply shrugged "There is little use in standing upon ceremony in here, Mistress Shore, and besides, it is apparent you are tired from your journey"

Jane nodded and quickly slipped into the seat, folding her delicate hands in her lap.

"I shall begin. The Woodvilles hold London fast and the entire family has taken up residence at Westminster Palace, including Elizabeth and her sons. The men that fought to defend the Palace were defeated but I know that his grace the Duke of Somerset and my Lord Hastings were not killed. Instead they were taken to the Tower and that is where they remain to the best of my knowledge"

A hand crept up to cover Constance's locket and she felt herself breathe a small sigh of relief. James was imprisoned but he was not killed, he still breathed and, for now, that was enough of a reprieve. Opposite, Katherine crossed herself, murmuring a prayer of thanks before returning her attention to Jane.

"Your children too are safe enough, Lady Hastings, they have been taken to Wingfield Castle where the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, their own children, Lady Elizabeth Parr and both the Lady Margaret of Clarence and her brother, the Earl of Warwick have been imprisoned. The Dowager Duchess of York is being held to Raby Castle"

Beth was alive. Good.

"Lady Margaret Stanley has been imprisoned by her husband on their estates for the time being, along with Lady Bouchier but, and I am sorry to tell you this, but the Earl and Countess of Northumberland, Lord John and his Lady Isabella, have gone missing. Not a soul knows where they are or weather they breathe or have passed into God's hands. Their children too have been taken to Wingfield. They would've been given to the Percy's but they refused to declare for Elizabeth's son"

Katherine huffed a quiet laugh.
"Even the Lancastrians refuse to support Yorkist opposition"
"And what of my son?" Constance asked, ignoring her friend, deep creased of worry etched into her frowning brow "What of the North?" Her heart grieved for the unknown fate of John and Isabella but her sadness did not override the need to know the fate of her boy "And his grace the Duke of Gloucester?"

Jane sighed, meeting her gaze.

"The North is lost, your grace. Middleham has been taken"
"No...."
"But your son escaped! As did the son of the Duke! A Woodville force descended upon the castle and his grace fought valiantly, giving them time to escape, but was defeated....he is alive!" She added quickly "But imprisoned in the fortress"
"Where has my son escaped to?" Constance demanded, the pounding of her heart beginning to drown out Jane's voice, tears running anew down her face "Where is he now?"

"I do not know, your grace....but he is not in Woodville hands and I pray each night for his safety. Now, I come to the worst of it"
"What could possibly be worse?" Katherine breathed, crying also though she prided herself on her strong facade "It cannot be...."

"I'm afraid it can, my Lady and I'd best be out with it" Jane paused, glancing between the two women "Elizabeth is going to crown Arthur as King"
"What?" Katherine cried and Constance flinched.
"Do not yell so, Kate" She said "From the first night of their attack we knew this was their, her, plan, Mistress Shore has simply confirmed it....tell me, how could this be so? He would need Parliament's permission and they will not grant it!"

Jane looked down at her hands.

"Lady Hastings said that not even the Lancastrians had deflected to their side but, while the Percys have not, there are some who have turned their cloaks to Woodville. The Cliffords. The Stanleys. The Duke of Buckingham whom you know was married to Elizabeth's little sister and has brought the majority of the Stafford affinity with him. Elizabeth has had your Parliament arrested and imprisoned, many in the Tower with your brother and Lord Hastings and replaced them with the traitors and her kin. Brothers, cousins and Uncles from Burgundy and Luxembourg who supplied her with men, though the Burgundian Court will support none of their treachery"

"So Elizabeth has created her own parliament to approve the ascension of a bastard to the sacred throne of England?" Of course she had. While she hated Elizabeth she could not deny she was clever, cunningly so, deviously so. She was like a snake winding through life seeking advantages, slithering through the cracks so she might arise victorious.

"There is more"
Constance closed her eyes.
"More?"
"Yes, your grace....Elizabeth has not only used her new parliament to sanction Arthur as King but to....but to legally rule your marriage to the late King Edward as null and void"

Her eyes flew open, wider than the moon and this time it was she who shouted.
"What? What on earth do you mean? What on earth can you mean? How could she? She cannot!"
"Oh, Connie" Katherine whispered, rushing to her side, taking her hands and squeezing firm "God be good"

"It seems God has turned a blind eye, my Lady" Jane said, crossing herself straight after "It has been declared, and is being declared to the country, by town criers, by parchment nailed to doors, by letters to the nobility that your marriage to King Edward was bigamous. That when he took you to wife he was in face already married. It is said that when he was sixteen, in the summer of 1458, he took Lady Eleanor Butler to wife so when he married you, it was not lawful. Lady Eleanor died in 1463....."

"So she cannot speak and Edward would have been free to marry her...." Katherine finished grimly, Constance fully frozen in her grasp.

"Arthur has been declared legitimate, the rightful heir to the English crown and...." She hesitated, once more averting her gaze to her hands "and your children have been named bastards....he is to be crowned in two week's time"

The earth fell silent to Constance in that moment, her head felt as though it were about to split, an invisible fist repeatedly driving a dagger of words into her mind. Her children bastards? Her marriage null and void? Arthur to be crowned King? Her darling boy missing? Richard imprisoned? Her brother in the Tower.

No.

No. No. No.

It couldn't be true, it couldn't possibly be true. She tried to shake her head but it felt heavy and only fell forward, bolts of pain shooting down her neck and spine. The hall became blurred but not by tears, the figures of Jane and Katherine fuzzy, their voices, suddenly calling to her but she couldn't hear what they said.

Edward.....Edward....Edward....she thought, eyelids fluttering, arms and legs tingling, slowly growing numb as if her body was being cut up, piece by piece, limb by limb.

Help me....help me....help me....my children....

And the world fell away into nothing as darkness consumed her.