Queen at the Crossroads

1318

Elzbieta followed closely behind her father on her horse.  Her father was touring Poland to campaign for the crown.  After years of uncertainty, he was finally ready to steak his claim.  Elzbieta's whole family was here today to show him their support.  Riding besides Wladyslaw, was Jadwiga, and besides Elzbieta, was her eight-year-old brother, Casimir and her younger sister.  Closely behind them, was her older sister, Kunigunde and her husband, Bernard.  Their three children followed in a litter behind them. 

Elzbieta's oldest niece and nephew were closer to her in age than her older sister.  Her nephew, Bolko, was six, and her niece, Constance, five.  There was also a second girl, a namesake of Elizbieta, who was three.  Becoming closer to royal status,  her parents household was growing.  One family who joined their staff, had a daughter, Magda, who was Elzbieta's age.  Elzbieta so far spent much of her free time with Magda.  Jadwiga saw the friendship between the two girls, and decided that when it was time for Elzbieta to have her own ladies, Magda would be one of them.  

"Long live the King!" the crowd shouted.  They already saw Wladyslaw as their king, even though he had not yet been crowned.  This was a long process he long awaited.  Elzbieta looked around at the crowd.  Here was their new royal family.  Elzbieta knew that soon she would be the daughter of a king, second only to a queen.  Her mother told her that one day, she might even be a queen herself.  

Later, Wladyslaw was in his private chambers with his wife and children.  He looked at the family he was so proud of.  His only remaining son, Casimir.  His twenty-three-year-old daughter, Kunigunde, the wife of one of his most loyal supporters, and the mother of three herself.  Then his two youngest daughters, Elzbieta and Jadzia, who could be designated for grand marriages to foreign princes.

Wladyslaw and Jadwiga called for Elzbieta to meet with them alone in a separate room.  Right away, she worried if she had got in trouble.  Quietly and cautiously, she joined her parents.  

 "As you have heard, the Hungarian King's wife had died this past winter."  Wladyslaw said.  Elzbieta nodded.  "He is still without issue.  He needs a new wife.  I backed him on his quest for the Hungarian throne, and he is helping me on my quest for the Polish throne.  Mother and I are thinking of marrying you to him."

Elzbieta moved back a couple of steps.  Was she really hearing that she would marry soon.  To marry a king- and become a queen was something she always dreamed of.  But she would have to leave behind her family, and everything she had ever known too.

"I am your daughter, I will obey whatever you have in store for me." said Elzbieta.  

Wladyslaw smiled.  "On the marrow, I will send some envoys to Hungary to discuss your marriage with the king."  Elizbieta never felt so much excitement in her life.  Now she felt even more excitement when her father told her he would be king.  She would now be a queen herself!

Full of excitement, Elzbieta ran through the chambers.  "I will be a queen!" she said.  "Papa will marry me to the king of Hungary."     

Excitement showed on the faces of her younger siblings, Casimir and Jadzia.  But in the same room was Kunigunde.  She seemed to be nothing but disappointed.

"Foolish girl.  Since when did the King of Hungary ask for your hand.  In Silesia, there is talk of him wanting to marry a sister of the King of Bohemia.  Silesia is right next to Bohemia, so we are more likely to hear of this before all of you in Greater Poland."  

"You are just jealous, because your husband's not a king, and never will be." said Elzbieta.    

"No.  I know this as a fact.  Envoys of the Hungarian king had already come to the Bohemian court.  Some stopped by my castle on the way over.  The Bohemian king has two sisters, and they said that they will evaluate them to see which one best matches the Hungarian king."  

At that moment, Kunigunde's husband, Bernard entered.  "Aw, yes.  I hear you talking about the King of Hungary's marriage."  he said.  "I hope that his marriage alliance with Bohemia won't hurt us too much.  Bohemia is our enemy, and Hungary is supposed to be our ally."

"So it is true then?"  said Elzbieta.  Disappointment showed in her eyes.  She went from the most excitement she ever had to bitter disappointment within minutes. All because of her sister knowing something that her parents did not.  

"Traitor!" Wladyslaw yelled, as he threw down some papers that had just been handed to him.  "I was so close to capturing the crown of Poland.  Then my main foreign ally, the King of Hungary, went behind my back to ally with the Bohemian king, who is trying to steal the crown which rightfully belongs to us! And this treacherous plan involves the Hungarian king marrying the Bohemian king's sister."  

Jadwiga was in the chamber with Wladyslaw.  "Maybe he wants to have the Bohemian king's support too.  You can still have allies who may ally with your enemies.  It doesn't mean that they are conspiring against you.  There are not just two sides."

Wladyslaw would usually take his wise wife's advise.  But the fact that the Hungarian king was allying with the Bohemian king- the two kingdoms bordering Poland, he felt weakened.  "What should we tell our Elzbieta now?"  he asked.  He sat down on his coffer, and sighed.  

"She already heard about this." Jadwiga said.  "She told me that Kunigunde already knew about it.  I asked Kunigunde, and she said it was indeed true.  But I'm not ready to send my Elzbieta out into the world anyway.  She's only thirteen.  Yes, I know many noble girls leave their home countries at even younger ages, I guess it's just that I married late, and to a man of my own country, that makes me oppressed to this.  Kunigunda was fifteen when we had her married, but it was also too a man of our own country..."  

"We'll find Elzbieta a suitable match when the time comes."  said Wladyslaw.  "and perhaps he'll also be a prince of Poland."  

"Either way, I think Elzbieta is destined for a bright future."  said Jadwiga.  "After those years you spent in exile, feeling that you were surrounded by enemies in your own country, but then things looked up, and you returned.  Then I became pregnant with Elzbieta.  I felt that she was a special gift about the fortune to come..."