To my dearest brother,

I have been recently been made aware about the issue with the succession of the throne, and that the King is persuading you to annul your marriage. I know that you have no feelings for her, but please do not have the marriage annulled. It will be the end of House Winterbourne if you do so, Gil. The Ainsworth scum shall take over the land, and what use is love then? For all of our sakes, Gil, do not be reckless.

Your dear sister,

Anne de Chauvelot, 
Duchess of Cindertrappe

I sent out the letter, not knowing what to expect in return. I knew that Gilbert had no lady loves other than Princess Margaret, and now that she is safely married off to Prince Henri du Terre, it is safe to assume that he is not in a hurry to annul the marriage to pursue his true love.

The matter of the succession has reached the ears of Edmund's mother and sister, and while my mother-in-law is mostly silent, Claudie has been rather vocal with her dissatisfaction.

       "Who would've thought that my brother's fate would someday depend on the decision of the daughter of a whore," she murmured in disdain, and while I thought that her face was very beautiful, angelic even, the sour expression on her face made her look horrendous.

       "She is your cousin, Claudia. Do not speak of her that way," my mother-in-law reprimanded, albeit half-heartedly. I could not blame them for hating the daughter of their husband and father's murderer, but the poor girl has done nothing to deserve all this hate, and listening to Claudie's venomous words all day made my stomach turn.

      "She is also the wife of my twin brother, so I hope that you would at least show her a little respect, for my sake," I spoke through gritted teeth, not wanting to lash out at Claudie, but also not wanting to remain silent forever.

      "Not for long," Claudie chuckled. "Soon, the marriage would be annulled, and she would be Thomas Ainsworth's wife. We would be massacred the moment she ascends to  the throne, and I doubt she has any say in that! The days of the Chauvelots would end, Annie!"

      "We do not know about what will happen," I huffed indignantly, not wanting to appear weak in front of the adamant Anna-Claudia. "Perhaps she might choose to remain with her husband afterall."

Claudie scoffed. "And miss out becoming Queen Regnant? Sounds silly to me! What a waste would that be, Anne. If you were in her shoes, would you let that opportunity simply pass by? Clearly you wouldn't, since you readily accepted my brother's proposal after being promised the throne!"

Her disdain for Cecily has now been shifted towards me, and Claudie's once warm green eyes had become cold and narrowed, with no compassion left in them. She was a Chauvelot, courageous and domineering, but she had forgotten that I was a Winterbourne, and eventhough we were not as outstanding as they were, we would never let ourselves be trampled by others.

       "His intent when he proposed to me wasn't any better either, Duchess," I sneered, with words laced with malice. "He needed me and my family's reputation to support him to the throne. Yes, I gobbled up the proposal like the power-hungry witch that I am, but your brother is not any better either! It is he who needs House Winterbourne, not House Winterbourne who needs him!"

Claudia's expression hardened as she opened her mouth, ready to retort, but in a heartbeat, it immediately faltered. 

       "Ned!" my mother-in-law suddenly said. "When did you arrive?"

My hands and feet became cold and my mouth felt dry as dread pooled in the pit of my stomach, and I could not bring myself to turn around.

         "I just arrived," I heard my husband say. "The matter of succession is settled. Cecily has refused the throne, and it shall be passed to Prince Gregory in case of the King's passing, and Queen Jane shall act as regent."

        "This is good news, is it not?" Claudie suddenly said. "It will be much easier to rally the people against a mad child king, rather than a puppet queen. Both are easy to vanquish, but any advantage is welcome at this point. You should be more assertive though, Ned, lest some people forget their standing."

My shock and dread quickly melted away, and it was immediately replaced with intense anger and hatred. I wanted to turn around and lash out at her, to scream in her face and pull out all her hair, but the little respect I had left for her stopped me from doing so. 

         "Do not listen to her, Annie," I heard my mother-in-law say as she grasped my hands and smiled at me warmly. "I am going to take a stroll in the gardens, would you like to come with me?"

I abruptly shook my head and smiled bitterly. "No. I wish to go home, to see my father."

Edmund did not answer, but his sister did, almost immediately. "So you may. Now, Ned, tell me about your alliance with the Marquis of Hasteburn. It will surely give you all the support that you need, no? Although, I heard that the Marquis's daughter, Melissa, is yet to be married, but a fair girl she certainly is..."

I had already walked away, carrying the little pride I had left, and I rushed into our room, threw the wardrobe door open and roughly shoved my clothes and jewelry into suitcases. I was consumed by rage, jealousy and disdain, and I barely noticed as my mother-in-law slipped into the room.

      "Oh Anne," she sighed. "Claudia has a sharp tongue, but don't let it get to you."

      "It has nothing to do with her. I simply miss my father, that is all."

She shook her head as she walked closer towards me, her lips pursed in a sympathetic smile. "You are hurt. I can tell, Anne."

      "I am not," I scoffed indignantly. "Those insults of hers are child's play. They do not hurt me in the slightest."

     "If you are not hurt, then why do you cry?" she spoke softly as she wiped away the tears that flowed down my cheeks, tears that I did not realise I had been crying. "She is jealous of you, Anne, that's all. You shall be the Queen of Phoenicia, while she will simply be known as the King's Sister, with her rank being raised to a Princess at most. Lest you forget, I was almost a queen too, once. Many ostracized me, belittled me, and humiliated me. They say I bewitched the Prince, that I coerced him to marry me. They all said I married him because of my thirst for power, but the truth is, I did it out of love.

But you are different, Annie. You indeed married him because you wanted to be Queen, I can tell. You are destined for great things, things beyond our imagination. It is not wrong to have ambitions, not wrong at all. Without ambition, our lives are aimless."

She caressed my hair gently and spoke to me warmly, things my mother never did for me. "You will become a great queen, Anne. You have a chest full of fire and a spine of steel!"

I laughed, and for a brief moment, an actual smile appeared on my lips. "Is that why I'm crying so badly right now? All that steel will rust if I don't stop crying!"

She pulled me into her arms, encasing me with warmth and the subtle scent of jasmine and sandalwood. "Everyone has a good cry every now and then. Don't keep your grievances to yourself. Better out than in, for sure. But, it does not do you good to be sad for long periods of time. It takes a toll on not just your mind, but your body as well. Besides, if you are sad, then my grandchild will be sad as well."

I immediately looked up at her, eyes wide in shock. "How do you know?" I stammered. My monthly cycle has yet to come, but I told no one of it, not even Edmund. I feared that it was simply a late cycle, and that there would be no child after all. 

      "I practice magic, remember?  Of course I would know," she chuckled heartily. "Now, I know that you felt threatened when Claudia mentioned that Hasteburn girl, but now that you are carrying his heir, he can never disregard you, Anne."

She smiled warmly as she tucked the loose strands of hair behind my ear and looked at the halfway opened door. "Isn't that right, Ned?"

The door creaked, now fully open. I see the travel-worn face of my husband in the dim candlelight, his thin lips spread in a wide, joyous smile.

     "Is it true, Annie? You're with child again?" he asked me, his expression similar to that of an eager puppy. 

I nodded, and his smile widened even more. He rushed towards me, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug and raining kisses all over my cheeks. "Do you think it will be a girl or a boy, Annie? I reckon if it's a girl, she will look like you, dark locks and phoenix-like eyes."

     "You need a son, an heir," I stated numbly, unaffected by his tender sentiments. "And it is my duty to give you that."

Edmund shook his head, his eyes wide in confusion. "No, I do not mind at all, Annie. Even if it is a girl, there will be others. But I would readily name her as my heir, Anne, if only our people don't detest women ruling so much. One of the reasons why Cecily refused the crown is because she received many letters from the ministers, beseeching her to refuse it, saying that a woman in power will be the end of the world. Those people would rather have a drooling infant as their king than a woman, Annie. But if this child were to be our one and only, it will be my heir and successor, no matter whether it's a girl or a boy."

      "I heard that you made an agreement with the Marquis of Hasteburn," I murmured. "Is there anything that I do not know of ?"

      "Ah yes, that. The Marquis shall lend me his soldiers, and with their help, we shall cripple the royal army. Then, we shall oust the king and queen from the palace, and we shall take over the capital city."

I simply nodded and turned my gaze elsewhere. "It's a shame that House Winterbourne does not own an army as large as the Marquis. Or else we could have helped."

I became anxious at the thought of Edmund setting me aside for Melissa Hasteburn, a person I have never even seen before, just for her father's military support. I was distrusting of him, and I wanted to question his every action. 

     "What do you mean, Annie? Gilbert is rallying soldiers in the south, and he has an army far larger than the Marquis's. Your uncle, the Earl of Aldridge, shall capture the royal navy barracks and put it under siege. I had to ask for the Marquis's help to quell the army of Lansbury, led by the Queen's father. Lansbury is not far away from Fallerie City, Annie, and I fear that Gilbert's army might not reach there in time. So I must vanquish them first."

Shock rushed through my veins, and I shivered profusely, realising that Edmund's plan to retake the throne would soon become very real indeed. The crown would be placed on my head, and while I felt excited, I also felt horrible unease.

     "When will you strike, then?"

Edmund smiled and pulled me even closer to him, resting his chin gently on top of my hair. "In seven months time. Your father is sowing discord at court, and the King has began to cast off his most trusted ministers, namely the Queen's father, as well as the young Marquis of Lockebel, the son of his close friend. When we attack, he will be defenseless, Annie. There will be no means for him to fight back."

      "Will you execute him?" 

      "If necessary," he murmured. "If he poses no threat to me, I might let him live."

I abhorred the king, but I was rather opposed to the idea of killing him off once the throne had been claimed. Not out of sympathy for the tyrant, but for my sister-in-law. He was Cecily's father, her last living parent, and after all that she went through, I would not want her to witness another parent dying.

      "But the very second he has thoughts of rallying men up against me, I will have his head cut off."

I inhaled sharply, my hands balled up into fists next to my thighs, but I did not say a thing. It was the order of things in this world. As long as King Edward lives, he would always be a threat to Edmund.

      "What of Prince Gregory, and the Queen?"

Edmund sat down, his eyebrows set into a deep frown as he mulled over my question. "I haven't really thought about that. What say you, Anne? What should we do with them?"

     "Prince Gregory would certainly be a threat to you," I began. My husband nodded in agreement, but I had more to add on. "He didn't ask for it, though. It is his Ainsworth relatives who push him forward, so if you want to punish anyone, punish them."

      "Are you saying that we should let him live?"

I nodded thoughtfully. "I do not want more blood on my hands. Besides, you have an heir now. I doubt anyone would try to put Prince Gregory on the throne, other than his Ainsworth uncles and those Easterners, who are staunchly loyal to the King."

      "We shall root them out, Annie, if we must," Edmund sighed. "I have waited for so long; I have fought my entire life to be king. I will not give it up to a mere child."

There was stiffness in his eyes, and coldness in his touch. He was changing. His skin still felt warm to my touch, his lips would still smile for me, but I knew that he would never be same again. As was I. I was no longer a child pining for love and power, I am soon to be a mother, and the crown of Phoenicia would be mine.

We were both changing, drastically, irreversibly, and whether or not these changes would tear us apart is still in question.

Hi! If you liked this story, try checking out my other story, which is set in the early 1700s, Catarina and The Prince ! And please vote and comment, it means a lot to me 🥰