~Kit~

Small sobs escaped the women present and the Queen as they all gathered around the Countess of Huntington's bed where sixteen year old Katheryn now lay cold and unmoving, all life gone from her.

Her dark hair was a tangled mess from where she had thrashed around the bed when the deadly fever she had contracted took a hold of her and her chemise was bloodied as was the bundle of blankets beside her.

The bundle that contained her stillborn baby.

The little girl had come when her Mother had been in the very grip of her sickness in the early hours of that morning and Katheryn's desperate screams had filled the castle.

The physician had tried everything to save Katheryn's life (well everything he knew), he had first professed it to be an imbalance of her humours and bled her until Eleanor had ordered her to stop.

She had never seen how taking away a person's blood could help them to recover and so pressed cold rags to Katheryn's forehead and neck to try and cool her down before helping the unfortunate babe be delivered.

It had been five in the morning when Katheryn's fever had subsided somewhat, still she burned but she returned to reality for just a moment.

Managing a small smile she had taken Eleanor's hand with her trembling one "I love you Mother" she had said, her voice hoarse and grating, almost gone from her screams of pain "and tell Father I love him too. Look after William....take care of Johnny, don't let him mourn me" she had begun to weep then, hot tears leaking from the corners of her eyes "let me hold my baby" she had whispered.

Between sobs, Eleanor had passed Katheryn her tiny little girl and watched as Kit's smile widened a fraction and love filled her eyes "I shall be with her now" she had said before looking back up at the woman sitting beside her bed "my little Eleanor, my very own girl...." and then her last breath had passed her lips and the chamber had been silent as a tomb for a mere moment before Eleanor's screams of grief filled it.

Cat had held her at first, then Anais and Marie, then Jane whom she had clung to with all her might, sobbing into her gown. A few moments later Richard had burst through the doors with John by his side and had dropped to his knees, face in his hands while John had ran to the bed and screamed at the sight of his dead sister.

There were no Christmas celebrations for the rest of the season. The court were ordered to disband and return to Westminster in January for the funeral and the royal family were left alone to mourn Katheryn's passing.

꧁꧂

Richard wiped away his tears as he stood on the ramparts of Pontefract castle in the dead of night, just in his shirt, breeches and boots. He didn't care that it was freezing cold and that the snow that fell down from the sky, as if God was shedding his own tears of ice, was beginning to dampen his clothes.

All Richard cared about was that his first child, his little Kat was gone and nothing had been able to console him, not even Eleanor. Neither of them had been able to comfort John either as he had locked himself in his rooms, refusing to see anyone.

It was only when Richard heard soft steps beside him, slippers crunching in the blanket of snow that had gathered around him that he ceased his staring blankly into the night and turned to see Jane Shore cautiously stepping towards him.

Normally he would send her away or ignore her but in that moment he did not have it in him and so simply nodded in acknowledgment before turning back to the endless sea of blackness before him; expecting her to move on.

But she did not. Instead she came to stand beside him, resting her delicate hands on the battlements despite the stone being cold as ice.
"I'm sorry" she said quietly and Richard glanced to the side a little, frowning slightly.
"Sorry?" He replied "for what?"
"For your daughter's death, your grace. Katheryn was a sweet girl and I know how precious she was to you and the Queen"

Richard look back out into the night, unable to refrain from crying again as he gulped.
"She was a sweet girl" he whispered, his voice breaking "an angel on this earth and now...."

"Now she is an angel in heaven" Jane said gently, daring to place a hand on his arm, surprisingly he didn't flinch "with wings of silver and a halo of gold....she may be gone from you in body, your grace but in spirit she is still beside you"

"I can still see her so clearly....smiling and laughing and then, then I see her dead, lying in her own blood with her dead baby in her arms... my first grandchild"
Jane shook her head, moving a little closer to him and looking into his face as he turned to glance at her once more. She managed a wry smile.

"Think of her as she was" she told him gently "as sweet and kind a child as ever was known on English soil, the daughter of a King, beloved by his Queen and all who knew her. She will not be forgotten, not by any of us, your grace. She will always be in our hearts"

Curtsying deeply, Jane bowed her head, flakes of the purest snow resting on her pale lashes as she made eye contact for a split second before turning and walking along the ramparts. Her figure had just begun to fade into the night when Richard called out in an almost broken voice.

"Wait" he held out a hand as if to will her back to him and she turned, almost hesitantly, worried she had said something wrong. But as she made her way along the snow covered stone she could see his expression, usually so cold towards her, was softened "I'm sorry....Jane" he said and she felt her eyes widen in surprise.

"Sorry, your grace?" he nodded.
"I have judged you unfairly, Jane" he admitted, wringing his hands together "I judged you on what I knew of you instead of who you actually were and I am wrong for that. I have seen the loyal friendship you have given my wife and I see you are loyal to those around you. Loyal and kind and a credit to the royal household. I have treated you unfairly, Jane, and I ask for your forgiveness"

A smile touched Jane's lips and she took the hand he extended.
"I forgive you" she said and he nodded his thanks "I hope that we may be friends in the future?"
"I hope so too"

꧁꧂

January 1485, Westminster Chapel....

All in black with sombre looks on their faces, the court watched on as Katheryn Plantagenet's coffin was placed inside of the grave she was to be buried in with her stillborn daughter. William and John wept at one side of the grave, clutching a screwed up handkerchief, not daring to look up from their shoes.

He and Kathryn had been married in this very same chapel six months ago, that day seemed so close and yet so far, just out of reach yet the laughter and music of the day could still be heard.

On the other side of the grave stood the King, Queen and their children all of whom were shedding tears. Eleanor had a black veil hiding her face and was holding onto Richard's arm so tightly that it was going numb. But he did not try and move away and would not, her clinging to him was a form of comfort and he placed his free arm around her so that she could cry into his shoulder.

The ceremony was short but no one seemed to mind, it honoured Katheryn and all of them wanted to be away from their grief as quickly as possible. As the court dispersed and Richard took the children back to the nursery, a sturdy arm placed around Johnny's shoulders, Eleanor went to the freshly placed stone that marked Katheryn and her babe (next to her own Jaquetta's) only to find a woman get there before her.

She was dressed from head to toe in black, a headdress covering her hair. Her skirts billowed around her as she knelt at the grave and Eleanor saw tears begin to splash onto the hard stone as the woman's shoulders started to shake and she covered her mouth with a hand.

Kate.

At first the Queen was at a loss of what to do, so conflicted her heart suddenly became. 'Katheryn is mine!' Her mind screamed 'she is mine!' But her head knew different. Kate was her real Mother, a Mother who now mourned her daughter.

And so, with a heavy heart, Eleanor slowly knelt down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. The woman looked up at her, dark brown eyes bight with tears and she was taken aback at how beautiful Kate was, even with grief plain in her face.

Her oval face, perfect skin, eyes exactly like Katheryn's with long dark lashes and rosebud lips. 'Yes' Eleanor thought 'I can see why Richard fell for her'
"Your grace" Kate said quickly, trying to stand but the Queen shook her head.
"No, Kate" she said gently "you have no need to rise for me, please, stay"

"Thank you, your grace" the woman said and turned back to the stone "I'm sorry for intruding"
"Intruding?" Eleanor exclaimed "how could you be intruding? Katheryn is your daughter and you were invited here, you are welcome to Westminster!"

Again Kate mumbled her thanks.

꧁꧂

Walking along the banks of the river Thames, Richard twisted his rings back and forth on his fingers, trying to find solace in the quiet birdsong and air unfilled by the rushing of water that would usually filled his ears for the river was frozen over.

He had ordered his guards away and they had not dared to refuse him so he had been left alone to wander, to try and order his thoughts. He could not rule in such a state and yet the country needed him.

Stopping for a moment, he looked across the frozen waters and once again wished he could freeze time. 1483, that's when he would have frozen it, that sunny day on the moors where the children had been playing with Georgie and Harry, he had Eleanor in his arms and everything had been perfect.

He would freeze it before the letter came. The single letter where every single one of their lives had changed. 'This crown is a curse' he thought bitterly to himself for what good had come to the ones he loved since he had taken it?

Harry was dead, Bess had been taken by the French, Katheryn and her babe were dead, Edward's children had been declared bastards and his sons were in hiding, Johnny was inconsolable, Eleanor's heart was broken and so was his.

What good had come with the crown?
"I should've burnt that marriage paper and had done with it" he muttered, twisting his rings again.

"Dickon" his name was nearly a whisper on her lips but he heard it all the same and spun around at the sound of the voice he knew so well.
"Kate" he breathed as he saw the woman standing behind him. The pair stared at one another for a moment. They had not seen each other for fourteen years and now were both heartbroken and dressed in black.

"I never thought I would see you again" she said softly, staring into his eyes as she stepped closer.
"Nor did I" he returned quietly "at least, not in these circumstances"
"Our daughter is dead....and so is her babe, our grandchild"
"I know, Kate....I know"

Her face crumpled, tears once more welling in her eyes as Richard began to cry too and they moved forward into a tight embrace, weeping against one another.

"It was awful, Kate!" He cried "her screams....I could hear her....and I couldn't do anything!"
"There was nothing you could do, Dickon" she told him gently as she pulled away a little, gazing into his face "but she is with God now" she looked around for a moment, breathing in the cold air "and there is only us....there is only us, my love" she leaned forward but her lips only brushed his before she found herself pushed away.

Stepping back with a look of shock on his face, Richard stared at her before he began to frown and straightened his back. Kate looked down, an embarrassed flush creeping onto her face.
"What do you think you're doing, Kate?" He asked coldly.

From the castle steps, Eleanor watched with her mouth partly agape, her hands fisted in the skirt of her gown as she took in the scene before her. Anger rose within her, filling her heart but not at Richard, at Kate.

"How dare she" a voice hissed behind her and she whipped around to see Johnny glaring at Kate as if she were Satan himself. 'Oh Lord' she thought 'he won't know who she is!' And she was right. "Hold my morals, Lady Mother" he said curtly, fists clenching tightly as his dark eyes flicked between Kate and Richard "I have scores to settle"

"John! Wait!" She cried, reaching out to catch his doublet but he was too quick for her and was running down the steps within a moment. At a loss at what else to do she took off her headdress and dropped it to one side before running after him, skirts in hand.

The raised voice and pounding of quick feet on the frosty earth made the two by the river bank turn to see who was approaching. Richard's eyes widened while Kate stepped away, as red as the Lancastrian rose.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" John hissed as he came to face her, stepping in the gap between she and his Father, blue eyes blazing "how dare you come here and insult my Mother when she is in mourning for her daughter, just as my Father is!" He caught his breath as Eleanor finally caught up to him, going to Richard's side.

"I didn't...." he began but she simply shushed him.
"I know, Dickon" she whispered, taking his hand. "I saw everything, don't fret" he instantly relaxed.
"Johnny" he said "this is...." he trailed away as his son turned to look at him before his eyes suddenly widened and his shoulders dropped as he turned back to Kate.
"Mother...."

"John" she murmured and his face paled. He shook his head.
"Jesus Christ I'm too depressed for this" he declared bitterly before turning on his heels and striding back up the river bank to the palace, breaking into a run when no one tried to stop him.

Turning back to the King and Queen, Kate slowly observed them. How closely they stood, how tightly they clasped one another's hands.

How right they looked together.

"I see" she said, curling her hands around her gown.
"What do you see?" Richard asked and Kate almost scoffed, shaking her head.
"You really do love her, don't you, Dickon?"

"She is my wife, Katherine" he retorted sharply, gently pushing Eleanor behind him as he stepped towards her "she is my wife and I love her with all that I am and all that I have" Kate shook her head.

"I thought you hated her" she said "the last time I saw you...."

"The last time I saw you I told you that she and I had a chance and I was going to take that chance" He cut in and she looked down at her shoes "and I thank the Lord every day that I did for it is the best decision I ever made" he turned to walk away, holding his hand out to Eleanor but it was not to be so simple.

"And in doing so you allowed her to take my children away from me"

He turned around in an instant, the spark of anger he felt in his chest fanning into a flame that roared within him.

"What?" He asked, his voice dangerously low, a warning almost "when was the last time you asked to see Johnny or Kat? When was the last time you wrote to them? Asked after them? When was the last time you wrote to me asking for something other than money for yourself and your new husband? When was the last time you thought of them, Katherine?"

"I thought of them all the time!" She cried in her defence, striding forward to face him while Eleanor watched on, frozen to the spot and unsure of what to do "and how that" she pointed. "How that Woodville whore took them away from me"

"Speak another word against the Queen and I swear to God you will regret it forever"

Kate fell silent as Richard glared at her, his fingers curled around the hilt of his dagger. She knew he would not use it, not even draw it from its leather sheath but the threat was enough to make her be quiet.

"Eleanor invited you to Katheryn's wedding" Richard continued "personally and yet you were not there. When the children came to Middleham, yes she was resistant at first but then she stepped into the role of their Mother and raised them alongside our own. She has loved and cared for Katheryn and John with all of the love in her heart, never once excluding them or reproaching them. She has treated them as if they were her own flesh and blood and because you made no attempt to even try, Kat and Johnny accepted her as such and love her for it" he paused for a moment before leaning in a little closer, anger filling his blue eyes "she has been more of a Mother to them than you have ever been"

He stood up straight again, adjusting his rings as Kate stared at him with hatred and heartbreak in her face "I love her Kate" he said "She is everything to me and I regret each hour I did not see her spirit, her wit, her wisdom, her kindness, fierceness of heart and her loyalty. She is invaluable to me and I will adore her for all eternity in this life and the next"

"And I will hate her for taking you from me" Kate replied, her nails digging into her palms. Richard merely shrugged.
"Do as you wish" he replied coldly "but now I want you gone from here, Kate. And I don't want you ever to come back again"