the heir's secret

The storm ahead

A sudden eruption of cheers and shouts fills the street as Jane enters. She is in a dark black dress with a bible in her hand but although everyone could see the redness of her eyes she was holding her head high and walked without stumbling. Some threw fruit at her while others reached out to touch the rich silk of her dress.

Finally she reaches the scaffolding and I see her pause before she climbs the last steps. Elizabeth says not a word beside me as everyone around us screams and shouts. I pull my hood just a little closer to my face as I see the executioner appear, me and Elizabeth had been kept under strict orders to stay in Elizabeth's chamber today but she had cried and cried, begging me to find some way so she could see Jane so luckily I had managed to bribe the guard but we had to be hidden beneath our cloaks so as not to be recognised. So disguised as peasants we watched Jane say a few prayers and then kneel before the block. As her gable hood was taken off and her beautiful ginger hair was tied up into a cap I saw a small tear escape from her eye. Then I realize that she is looking straight at Elizabeth, she recognises her and she smiles just for a second before her head is placed down onto the block, everyone is silent. The executioner slowly lifts his axe and raises it above his head. Elizabeth grabs my hand as the axe is brought down in one violent thrust and poor Jane's head is taken clean off. Cheers erupt from the crowd as her blood floods the wooden scaffolding and drips to the cobbled street below. The executioner picks up her head and raises it high for all the crowd to see making the cheers even louder. I feel a sudden tug on my hand as Elizabeth leads me away.

"She is the devil!" Elizabeth screams as I close the door behind us. "How could she do such a thing to our cousin, our cousin!" Elizabeth suddenly bursts into tears and I lead her to the chair.

"You should not say such things when people can hear." I say as I try to comfort her, "It is no longer safe to say what you think."

"How could she?" Is all she can muster before her tears take over. Elizabeth has lived a very lonely life, her father had never loved her and he had discarded her, naming her a bastard and had murdered her mother. She had been a shy quiet child and when my mother had taken me to court when I was ten years old Elizabeth had been nervous but after a few days we had been the best of friends. Before I had come along though her only friend had been Jane. They had shared the same interests in mathematics and poetry, history and religion. They had both been devout Protestants and had found similarities in the hard unhappy lives they lived, and now she was dead. Suddenly Elizabeth rises from her seat and wipes her eyes.

"I swear before God, she will make me cry no more." I have never seen her look so adamant in her life. We hear a sudden tap on the door and I raise to open it. One of the Queens guards stands outside with a little smirk on his face.

"Is the bastard Elizabeth here?" I glare at him as he smiles. Elizabeth approaches and stares the man in the face though she says nothing. "This way." He says to her.

We are lead into the great hall where Mary sits at the end on her throne surrounded by her plotting Catholic supporters. She smiles as she sees her red eyed sister. We do the routine of bowing three times and everyone watches in silence with smirks on their faces. When we have finally finished we stay in the last bow on the floor and for a while no one speaks then I hear a chuckle from Mary and I curse her name.

"Jane is dead." She says without a hint of remorse on her face.

"I have heared, your majesty." Elizabeth replies. Her voice stays steady and strong and I feel like patting her on the back.

"You have nothing to say to me?" Mary asks, "I saved our country from heresy and hell. I saved you." Mary is spitting on our faith and we can do nothing. Elizabeth does not reply and I see Mary's anger flare with each silent second. Suddenly she rises from her throne and approaches her. I strain to keep my body on the ground so as not to jump in front of Elizabeth and protect her. "Have you nothing to say?" Mary repeats as I hold my breath.