~The Vanishing Princes~

June 1483, Westminster Sanctuary....

Katherine was right. She did have to stay alive after all.

She would not stop till she saw both Arthur and Elizabeth dead and to do that she would have to postpone her wishes of an early end. So that was just what she did. It was difficult, there was no denying, there were days where she wished to sink into her bed and never emerge, days where she sobbed from dawn till dusk and felt hope was lost to her, days where she wished to burn the world, and herself along with it, in anger.

But she did not give in.

She and Katherine clung to one another to keep them afloat through their grief, comforting each other when sadness overtook them. She sat by Katherine when she prayed for her children, often with a hand on her shoulder, though she did not pray herself. In the mornings they would plait and pin one another's hair (having chosen to forgo the trouble of hennins) something which almost always ended in long embraced before they emerged for breakfast.

They shared the six gowns they owned (three of black, one of blue and two of purple) and in the evenings often read to one another from the Bible or the books the Archbishop brought them. Well, brought Katherine - ever since the coronation Constance had refused to see him. They made a point of continuing to don their jewels, retaining one last semblance of noble dignity, and never failed to tidy them away neatly into their caskets at the end of each day.

When the children slept, they hauled heavy buckets of water from the courtyard well (something neither had done in their entire lives) and heated it by the fire before pouring it into their wooden tub. They alternated between who bathed first and second so it was fair but whoever stepped into the waters first was the one to fetch water and heat it to warm up the second's bath.

They washed each others hair then dried it over the fire, hanging the hip-length tresses over the arms of their chairs. They drew strength from one another and that strength became their life line, seeing them from day to day.

One evening, an hour or two after the warming June sun had vanished, replaced with a chilling moon, they both sat by the fire, Katherine gazing into the flames, twirling the long chain of her emerald pendant around two fingers while Constance diligently worked on a split in one of Cecily's shifts.

"I do not know what I will do once the elder two begin to outgrow their garments, Kate" She murmured, biting her lip as she focused on a small stitch "The younger ones may wear what has been outgrown" She'd never thought that would be the case, her children always had the best and the best was always new "but Isabella and Richard" She sighed "Perhaps you may ask the traitor of an Archbishop if he could donate a few yards of material?" She glanced up, a mischievous grin spreading across her lips "We could steal the alter cloth!"

"Constance!" Katherine exclaimed, looking at her with wide eyes (though she couldn't hide her smile) "I know you are wavering in your faith but we cannot say such things! Especially when under the protection of the church!" Constance arched an eyebrow, sitting back in her chair.

"I suppose not. But it would be rather amusing, proving we can take from God just as easily as he takes from us....if he is real"
"Connie!" Katherine warned good-naturedly "Of course I shall ask him for a few lengths of material and make sure it is of fine quality! He brings us fine meals he should be able to bring fine cloth"

"Though not fine loyalty" Constance quipped, returning to her sewing "And don't tell me he didn't have a choice, each of us have a choice" Her lips thinned, hands stilled "James had a choice" Her voice was quiet and tears flooded to her eyes as they drifted towards the fire's roaring flames "My dear brother had a choice and he chose to die instead of betray me. Don't tell me he didn't have a choice"

She sighed sadly, slipping into her own dark realm.

Katherine was alerted by a knock at the door, the knock of friends they'd established when Margaret last came - two quick knocks, one heavy knock, three more quick knocks and two last heavy knocks.

Placing down her book, she stood and made her way to the door, opening the small window and nodding when she saw two familiar, cloaked figures.
"Please, come in" She said and unlocked and unbolted the door, ushering Margaret and Jane Shore quickly inside.

The pair were enough to snap Constance from her stupor for seeing the two walking together was about as likely as her dead husband dancing through the door! Their appearance couldn't be a good thing.

"Margaret, Mistress Shore!" She exclaimed, sitting up straight as Katherine locked the door again "Why are you here? What is wrong?"
"Forgive the intrusion, you grace" Margaret said, pushing back her hood and sitting, Jane remaining on her feet "but I bring Mistress Shore to you tonight because she is in danger"

"Danger?" Katherine took her own seat, frowning "Whatever do you mean?"
"The Woodvilles know she has been to you and want her head for it"
"Of course they do" Constance sighed, shaking her head "Any ally of mine is an enemy of theirs. Are you still safe, Margaret?" Margaret nodded.
"I am. Though I think it best I do not come to you for a time"

"I agree. I would not wish for you to come to harm on my behalf....Jane, you must stay here"
"What?" Katherine cried and Constance looked to her.

"We have not been friends but Jane has put her own life in danger to bring us news when without her we would've known nothing, no certainty! The Woodvilles cannot touch her here....at least not for now. She shall be safe here"

Katherine gave a sharp nod.
"If that is what you wish" She looked to Jane "We shall find some furs and blankets, you can make up a bed in here, by the hearth where it will be warm"
Jane curtsied, lowering her eyes.
"Thank you, my Lady. Thank you, your grace"
"We must protect those we can" Constance replied and Margaret turned to her again.

"More men have bent the knee to Arthur, making his family's grip on the country stronger. The Percys have relented in their rejection of him as have the Savages. The the De Veres still refuse to. Arthur has been crowned and he is a man grown. Weather they believe in his legitimacy or not, they are tired of war and believe he can bring them peace"
"They are cowards"
"They are, but they see a man on the throne and a woman with no friends locked away in sanctuary with her children, though, on that note, I am glad to say I do bear some good news at last"

Constance's heart skipped a beat, lips parting.
"Good news? Please, Margaret, tell me!"
Her friend smiled.
"It is my joy and honour to tell you that your son, King Edward, is safe in Burgundy with your daughter, Princess Marie, Francis Lovell and his cousin, Lord Edward of Gloucester. Maximilian has taken them under his protection"

"Safe?" The cry left her mouth before she even had time to think, body forcing her to stand, a tentative smile spreading onto her face. Her son was safe? Her sweet boy was in the arms of her little love across the sea in Burgundy? He was under the protective wings of her dear sister Margaret and the Holy Roman Empire?

He was alive....her son was alive.
And so was she.

A laugh tumbled from her lips and she lunged forward, gathering Margaret into a tight embrace.
"Thank you!" She whispered "Thank you my dearest, kindest friend, you have brought me more joy than you could know!" Drawing back she glanced between the other two women, colour returning to her cheeks as she beamed "Did you hear that?" She laughed "My son, my sweet boy is alive! He's with his sister! He's safe!"

"Oh, Connie!" Katherine chuckled, standing and rushing to her side, hugging her "This is the greatest news! Our King lives and he shall have his throne!"

"He will! He will! He is alive! My boy lives, Kate! The amount of gold I shall give to Francis for this service shall see him rich through two lifetimes! Fetch the wine the Archbishop gave to us a sennight ago! We must toast to my Edward's good health and fortune!"

༻᯽༺

There was no telling who woke first when enemy fists pounded against the sanctuary door, a booming male voice demanding they rise, Constance and Katherine leapt from their beds, wrapping their robes hastily around them and throwing open their chamber door.

"Hide Jane and Margaret!" Constance hissed as the bewildered newcomer and her noble companion (who had stayed too long into the night to return to the Palace without danger of robbery or murder), startled from sleep, rushed from her furs, stumbling when Katherine grabbed her arm and dragged her back to the children's bedchamber, pushing her inside, Margaret following, and telling them all to stay quiet.

The pounding became louder, the demands fiercer and as Constance arrived by the door, her breath shook, hands clutching at the front of her robe.

"Who is it?" She called and the banging stopped, there was silence and then -
"The Duke of Buckingham, Madam. I demand you open this door at once!"
"I certainly shall not!" She cried with indignation (though she could feel fear creeping into her heart) "What business have you here?"
"I am here by the order of the King"
"The only King I know is in Burgundy!"
"Open the door!"
"No"
"I bring terms from King Arthur!"

King Arthur. He was no King, she seethed, staring at the wood before her. She could tell they would not leave without seeing her.

"I shall open the window"
Hand shaking, she reached up and slid open the bolt to the small hatch, pulling it slowly back. Her breath caught in her throat. The Duke of Buckingham was indeed there and, behind him, filling the passage like shadowy ghouls in the touch light, at least a dozen armed men.

His face was thin and chin pointed, his hair an almost custard yellow and eyes narrowed. He reminded her of a ray.

"We are under the protection of the one true Church!" She told them "Do not think to set foot in here!"

"I come here to fetch your sons" Buckingham said, trying to see into the chamber behind and a shudder ran through her bones "King Arthur sends his prayers for their health and wishes for his brothers to join him in his new court"
"He is no brother of theirs!" She snapped "They are true born Princes of the late King, not a bastard whelp begotten on a common whore!"

The rat-faced man's jaw twitched but he spouted no sharp rebuke.
"The findings of the law would say otherwise, Madam. Your sons shall be given titles, as befitting their royal blood" She snorted, rolling her eyes "They shall be given high offices and noble marriages! They shall be respected by the court and loved by their half-brother, the King! He wishes for them to be free of this dungeon"

"He is the one that chased them to this dungeon the day of their Lord Father's funeral, Sir, or is he so quick to forget his treason?" She replied curtly. Titles? High offices? Noble marriages? The Woodvilles would not dare risk putting her sons in their court, reminding the turncoats there of their true birth, of their legitimacy, of the people's love for them.

"He would love them very well, they would be under the sovereign protection of the King himself, Madam!"

She was no fool, many would desert the Woodvilles and declare for them and their brother, a rebellion would be stoked in weeks, perhaps days. No. If her sons stepped one foot out of sanctuary they would not be seen at court, they would never be seen nor heard from again.

Elizabeth truly was stupid for believing she would submit to such an 'offer'; not see through it for the plot it was. On the other hand, perhaps she was not, perhaps this was a ploy so she could declared she had tried to establish peace before her men broke sanctuary and had Richard and Charles hauled away; Constance and her daughter's clapped in irons.

Perhaps it would be better to agree, or at least appear to.

She bit the inside of her cheek, pretending to be pensive for a moment.

"They would be safe?"
Triumph lit Buckingham's eyes in the gloom and he nodded eagerly, an unpleasant smile curving his lips that she supposed was meant to be friendly.
"Of course! They would be beloved!"
"And what of my daughters?"

The man was practically inches away from whooping with joy at that; bouncing around the passage like the oily rat he appeared! It was more than his 'King' had demanded, more than he'd dared hope. Oh, the little lickspittle was relishing his victory.

"Your daughters shall be cared for with just as much affection! They shall be matched with good, noble men and may even enter into My Lady the King's Mother's household!"

Her royal daughters? Serve the witch? Never.

She raised her chin slightly.
"They would not meet the same fate as my brother and Lord Hastings?"
Buckingham bowed his head slightly in a feigned show of sorrow, sighing dramatically and shaking his head.

"His grace was most aggrieved when told of the deaths of Lords Somerset and Hastings" Was he, Constance thought, fighting the urge to roll her eyes once more nor let tears fill them "He regrets it greatly and wishes to make amends"

"Amends?"
"Indeed, Madam! By your children and by you! This land has seen too much of war, his grace wishes for peace! You need only bend the knee to King Arthur and he will welcome you back to court with open arms!" And she'd greet him with a dagger to the heart and two hands around his Mother's neck "You will be well looked after as your station as the daughter of a Duke demands!"

Constance gave a small nod, glancing at the floor before her eyes flicked back to Buckingham.
"I shall consider these terms you have laid before me, Lord Buckingham"

She would not. She would not give them another moment of thought for they'd only cemented what she'd truly feared. Even in sanctuary her son's were not safe from the Woodville's grasping hands. The men would not stop coming to the Abbey until they were taken from her.

Buckingham's unsettling smile widened and he clasped his hands with a pleased sigh.
"I am most gratified to hear it, Madam!" He said "You truly are a woman of good reason and intelligence"
"What a testimonial, my Lord!" She returned, forcing a small smile of her own "I shall consider what you have said....now, I must attend to my morning prayers. I shall pray for God to guide me"

The man nodded, inclining his head.
"I bid you a good morn, Madam and hope you shall tell the Archbishop to send for me soon so I may bring you and your children back into the light"

He turned away, signalling to his men and it took all she had to not slam the window as hard as she could. Instead she closed it gently, feigning calm until the hatch was bolted shut and the footsteps on the other side had faded into silence.

Turning, she ran to Katherine, who stood by the fire, and grasped her hands, staring deep into her eyes, finally allowing panic to flare within their emerald depths.

"They're going to take my sons, Kate" She whispered hurriedly "She wants to kill my boys"
"We will not let her" Kate said firmly and Constance shook her head.

"No, no we will not. We must send them to Burgundy to join their brother and we must do it quickly and quietly. The girls are still safe enough and to have five children travelling across the country would almost certainly see them captured. My sweet boys must go to their brother and my little love, Marie. Jane shall go with them. Marie and my dear sister Margaret shall keep them safe until the time comes where they can be returned. We will send our Margaret with instruction when she leaves the Abbey later today. We shall tell her what to do, what needs to be arranged and she shall report back so we may be ready to act"

"We agreed she should not return for a time!"
"We did" Constance returned, drawing her hands away from Katherine's and clasping them to her bodice, fingers intertwined "But that was before the Woodvilles sought to take my boys from me"

༻᯽༺

Margaret left as night fell and a day later a message was smuggled into sanctuary, concealed beneath a slice of ham saying she'd entrusted one of her most loyal servants to row down the Thames and collect the boys and Jane at midnight.

And so, once all was dark across London, the girls safely in bed, Constance tried to hold back her tears as she knelt by the fire, her dear Richard before her, watching his brown curls fall to the floor as she sheared them from his head. Without them and his little brother's blonde locks, they'd be less recognisable and, though it tore her apart to do it, she knew it would help protect her boys.

Charlie watched from the nearby chair where she'd placed him, little legs swinging back and forth, fluffy hair cropped close to his head. It was a heartbreaking sight but he didn't seem to mind; nor did Richard who sat patiently still until his Mother was finished, running a hand across his shorn scalp and the remaining prickly hair beneath his fingers.

"Father ruffled my hair when he was happy" He murmured "I shall do the same to Charlie when his grows back" He looked over his shoulder, offering a small smile "I will be a Father to him, both Edward and I will, I promise, ma Mère" She nodded, he looked so much like his Uncle Richard in that light and neither would break an oath.

"I know, my love" She whispered, trying to smile as her fingers brushed gently across his cheek "I know you will and I could not wish for finer Princes to raise him"

He tilted his head.
"Apart from Father"
Constance sighed.
"Apart from your Father....but you shall do just as well and together, build an alliance stronger than any"
"The three sons of York!"
"The second coming" She sighed "The first set of sons had their day and burned. You must not do the same. Come"

They stood with her and she lifted their cloaks from where she'd warmed them on the back of the chair behind. They too had been smuggled into sanctuary; plain unlike their royal ones so they may blend in. Richard put his on easily, fastening the simple cords but Constance knelt again to attend to Charlie, draping the thick blue wool around his shoulders and deftly tying the front strings into a tight bow.

He blinked up at her, still a little uncertain with his situation. She'd tried to explain it to him but he didn't truly understand. How could he? He was still only one, still her little baby with plump cheeks and downy hair; the innocent, high-pitched giggle of an infant. He was so small, so helpless....

"Will you be my brave boy? My perfect knight?" She asked with a smile and he nodded, eager as ever to please "Will you be good for Jane and for your brother?" Another obedient nod, a happy coo "I love you very much, little one and you, Richard" She reached out, drawing the elder boy to her side "I love you so very very much and we will be together again, I swear it! You must be brave, you must be so so brave now, my sweet boys! One day your brother shall have his crown and all will be well, we shall live in peace and I will hold you in my arms and never let you go but for now? You must be warriors, my loves, you must be soldiers and you must do exactly as you are told until you are with your brother and sister, do you understand?"

The two nodded and she opened her arms, fighting back a sob when they sunk into them, winding their arms around her body, Richard sniffing, trying not to cry. How long would it be till she held them again?

"I love you" She whispered "Remember that, always remember that!"
"Always!" He promised and Charlie rubbed his soft cheek against the curve of her neck.
"Love Mama" He babbled "Love! Love! Love!"
"Yes...." She told him, holding them close "Always and forever"

"Your grace?" From the courtyard door, Jane emerged, the hood of her cloak pulled over her bright hair, holding a lantern. Constance looked up "He is here, it is time"

Breath catching in her throat, she nodded, drawing away from her boys.
"Thank you, Jane.We shall follow"
"Your grace" Jane curtsied and vanished into the night once more.

"Do not fear, Mother" Richard told her bravely as she scooped Charlie into her arms and stood "I will protect them both"
"I know you will, sweet boy" She replied, an arm around his shoulders as they moved away from the warmth of the fire and into the cooling air of early night.

She forced her legs to complete each movement, walking down the steps to the courtyard and the door to the Thames which was, for once, open. Through the stone arch she could see a small wooden boat which Jane was already sat in at one end, a cloaked man sitting at the other, ores in hand.

Constance shuddered as she crossed the grass with her boys, slightly wary as the man in the boat stood and stepped out, pulling back his hood and bowing low to her.

"Your grace" He greeted "My Princes" He was a small man, grey wiry hair dusting his oval head and blue eyes that twinkled kindly when he rose and smiled, dressed in brown with a deep green cloak over his shoulders "It is my honour and privilege to meet you and promise that the Princes Richard and Charles shall be safe within my care, as shall Mistress Shore"

Constance forced herself to give a small nod.
"Thank you, Sir?"
"Thomas Ravenswell" He told her "And I am no knight, your grace, I am a steward of my Lady Margaret Stanley's household and have been since she was young"
"If she trusts you then I am sure I have cause to" She hesitated, exhaling shakily "Jane? Take Charlie"

Jane stood with a sympathetic smile, laying down the bag in her hand containing the crowns of the Kings and Queens of England, and held out her arms, gently lifting Charles from his Mother's embrace and into her own.

"I will care for him as if he were my own" She said and Constance nodded, bending to press a kiss to Richard's brow.

"Go on" She whispered, possibly the most painful worlds to ever pass her lips "Into the boat, my brave love" Richard nodded but even as he did so, he launched himself into her arms squeezing tight and she squeezed back.
"I love you, ma Mère"
"I love you too, sweet boy....now get in the boat, Dickon, before I decide I cannot let you go"

Nodding against her bodice, he tore himself away, clambering into the boat and taking Charlie from Jane's arms.
"I will care for my brother" he told her, nuzzling his face into the boy's soft cheek "Yes, I will keep you safe"

Thomas retrieved his ores and she knew the time was now, watching him use one to gently push away from the shore. 'My sons....my sweet boy...'

"Godspeed to you all" She whispered and forced herself to shut the courtyard door as the little boat sailed away. If there was one thing she couldn't bear, it was watching her sons fade into the distance. One it was bolted, she allowed her sobs to break into the night, sliding down the door until she was slumped on the ground and her hands covered her face.