Empire of Dreams

*11*

My dreams may have been a glimpse into future, maybe they were something that actually happened to me, maybe it was just a dream. But it has been a long time since that dream and I can't shake off the way the whole universe was silent for a moment. The wind stood still, not a leaf moved. The rivers didn't flow and animals didn't call their masters. The earth was taken away from me for a moment. That was the moment I died.

"I am not marrying anyone, mother. You shall not meddle in my business" I said quietly before  lying down on my bed, pulling up the covers and closing my eyes.

I woke up the next day to my mother movements. She was getting ready for breakfast. I checked the list of events they had given- we were going to a winery.

I took out a light blue dress, matching the teal dress of my mother. With a usual string of pearls and a headdress, I looped an arm through my mother's acting as if nothing happened last night and we walked out of the room.

We were fairly early, only five other ladies besides the hostess were there. Lady Quillion was an average looking lady with the arrogance of a goddess. She walked with her head held high, her mere presence demanding respect though she was just a marchioness.

She had been rumored to be close with many powerful men but the success she brought for herself and her husband shut the mouth of most. Though it was the Marquess who had the power officially, it was the Marchioness who actually won the king's favour. I had been intrigued by their rise to power since he beginning, but the need to know the actual secrets seemed to grow with each passing minute.

That day's wine trip seemed to melt into next day's early morning boat ride. The next three days passed by just as quickly with me pretending to be the best daughter in front of the scrutinizing eyes while behind closed doors I barely talked to my mother.

Finally, we are back to Sudeley. Somehow, little Mary has grown a lot in this one week, or maybe it was my absence that now makes me realise how much she has grown since her birth.

She was sitting without support on the garden bench while Aunt Catherine knitted something. The birds chirped loudly while Uncle Thomas seemed to have gone to the royal court.

"You're back" Aunt Catherine said neutrally.

"Still not over my secrecy?" I said and she nodded.

"It's not as if I don't trust you, I don't think I'll ever burden anyone with this crucial an information"

"Why? It's not like I've ever told anyone your secrets!" She protested.

"I'm not saying you have. Just..... Leave it be, I'll talk about anything else but that, please"

She looked at me, concern clear on her face, then turned away.

"Keep an eye on Mary, will you? I am going to sleep" she said as she disappeared inside.

I settled on the bench and pulled Mary up on my lap.

"How are you, Gladiolus? Your mother should've let me name you. Gladiolus is such a sweet name, is it not?" I asked and she smiled in reply.

It seemed when everyone was disappointed in me, she was with me. Her little hands could mend even the deepest of wounds. Maybe she had somehow inherited Kathyrn's talent.

Within an hour, Mary fell asleep and so, I brought her inside.

"We have a wedding to attend" Uncle Thomas announced at my arrival.

"You look happy" I remarked

"I am, because I made it possible"

"Who's marrying who?" My mother asked and I was reminded of her presence. We hadn't talked since that night of disagreement.

"Daughter of Countess Gwen scored a good match! She's marrying the Pope's nephew- Lexon. I made the match possible. The Pope's sister is a tough one. She didn't want an English bride for her son considering England's situation but I talked sense into her and now they're being married."

"Edward knows about this?"

"He doesn't matter"

"He is the king"

"Only for some time. Change is close, my dear little Grey, we'll soon enter a new era and until then, we make way"

I was surprised to see this new side of Uncle Thomas. With no regard for the crown, he seemed to be toying with it's powers, using them to his advantage. The wedding was three months away, in peak spring for the best blooms. Countess Gwen and her daughter would be living with us until then.

That evening, I found I had developed a kind of repulsion Uncle Thomas. I didn't want to talk to him, but I made myself see how illogical that was. Why would I care to interfere with his social matters? I had more than enough things to engage me.

I retreated to my room, asking Sia to inform Aunt and Uncle I wasn't hungry. Changing into my nightwear, I began to ponder and suddenly I realised that if by the miracle everyone seems to expect happens and I become the Queen of England, I was going to be treated just like, if not worse than, Edward. He was a child but he was still a king.

England was going to have it's first independent Queen on the throne and it was not going to be good for the crown bearer. Heavy would be the head on which the crown will lay, they chanted and it was true. A new era would dawn over the country with the new monarch and the change was coming.