Empire of Dreams

*43*

My room in the Wakefield Tower was undoubtedly regal. It had a vaulted ceiling and the tapestries depicted the War of Roses. There was still some time left for the supper, almost an hour. We would be eating a lot later than the normal time, but at least the whole family would be together. Meanwhile, I decided to look at the prisons. It was ironic how this grand tower, supposedly made as a royal residence, had been continually used as a prison cell for the past many years. 

As I walked towards the cells, I realized how lifeless those walls actually were. Most prison cells were filled, yet no report of the prisoners had reached me until now. Some of the newly recruited guards visibly flinched with every torture while the older ones were quite used to it. The agonizing screams of the prisoners sent shivers down my spine and shattered my heart. 

"Guards!" I summoned.

"Your Majesty" They all bowed once assembled.

"Free all the prisoners and bring them to the cradle tower immediately" I ordered and the surprise on their faces was clear.

I reached the Cradle Tower before the Guards and the prisoners. The Thames shone in the moonlight. I thought about what I would say to those prisoners. They had grown to hate the monarchy and being the face of the monarchy now, I wanted to make amends. I wanted to set free the innocents. The previous two reigns had been specifically bad for the prisoners and commoners. Those who were accused in King Henry's reign were tortured in the worst imaginable ways, while during Edward's reign, he had little control over who was being imprisoned. The prisoners had faced ruthless torture by the guards and most of them had been innocent. If my reign was to work, I needed to convince the people that I cared. Many had told me before that Mary and Elizabeth were more popular because they were more connected to the people than I was but I was the Queen now. I needed to make this right.

"The prisoners, Your Majesty" The guards bowed and surrounded the group of prisoners after bringing them in. 

It was a sorry sight to witness. Each prisoner was bleeding. There were poorly beaten women and men but it was their eyes that caught my notice. Each eye seemed to be done. Those eyes had seen torture, despair, disregard and hate, those eyes had seen it all. 

"I want to know each of you. Tell me who you are, do not be afraid. I am your Queen, Queen Narcissa"

Immediately an old woman broke into a sprint, coming straight at me. Before I could react or understand anything, the woman was strangling me.

"You! Your father accused me of heresy. Your father destroyed my life! He took away my life from me! Do you think changing your name is going to save you, Mary? You will pay for your father's sins! Why is your baby brother not ruling? Did you kill him just like your father was fond of killing everybody?" She shouted as my vision blurred. I tried to loosen her grip and escape but the strangling and the panic together were blocking my breaths. 

Suddenly, the pressure on me was removed. I tried to look and after a few seconds, I could make out the figures. The guards had taken hold of the woman but the woman didn't look frightened, nor was she shocked. She was overcome with just one emotion- hatred.

"What- what i-i-is your name?" I asked between violent bouts of cough. I had no idea it hurt this bad to be strangled. 

"Solana" the woman spat in rage.

"Solana, I am not Mary nor am I Elizabeth. I am Jane. Jane Grey. I was chosen by Edward as his successor. I understand that my presence is not welcome, but I want to know you all. Genuinely. Mary and Elizabeth are not their father nor was Edward. I understand what you've endured, but stop blaming the whole family for one person's mistakes."

"Why should I? You wouldn't understand, but why should I stop when they did exactly that to me? Henry locked me in this tower because I was Catherine's friend. I was not like the others, I did not falsely testify when the king was searching for reasons to behead her. I knew she would never do anything! I knew she was innocent and the King punished me for supporting an innocent teenager! He didn't kill me, no, that would've been so much better. He killed my soul. He tortured my father before my eyes. He killed my sister by burning her alive. He murdered my brother and called it a mistake! He ordered to torture me until I lost my mind! Why should I stop blaming his family when he blamed mine!" Solana screamed agonizingly and the other prisoners began joining in. 

There were stories of lives lost and children taken away. They were falsely accused and tortured mercilessly. Each prisoner had a reason to hate the crown. To hate the monarchy and to hate me. This fact began to sink in with every story and I knew what I needed to do. I had a plan now.