Chapter 1
The women of our county are renowned for their blessed fertility, and I, Margaret Eldwood, am the most favored among them.
In my former life, I was thus betrothed to the ailing Prince Edmund, means for bearing his heir.
Three months hence, I was found to be with child, a sign of God’s grace. When I gave birth, the babes were fraternal twins -a boy and a girl, hailed as a divine blessing. Even Prince Edmund, whose days were numbered, miraculously recovered through my nurturing presence.
The king was greatly pleased, vowing that upon the birth of my children, I would be named Princess of Eldwood.
Yet on the day of my travail, Prince Edmund, wielding his sword, cruelly cut the babes from my womb and cast them to the hounds. Bleeding and broken, I wept, asking why he would do such a thing.
“Three months more, and I would have healed and wed my betrothed, Lady Eleanor,” he spat.
“But you, under pretense of a blessed union, bore my children, compelling Eleanor to wed a base lord who brought her to her death through cruel maltreatment.”
He pierced my womb, rendering it barren, and cast me into a stranger’s crypt, sealing the stone..
“You claim your fertility can quicken even the barren?” he mocked. “Then bear a dead man’s child, or be guilty of treason!”
Entombed, I suffocated, and all the women of my county were slaughtered for treason.
When my eyes opened again, I stood before the queen in her royal court, summoned to answer whether the tales of my fertility were true.
I fell to my knees, pleading, “Tis but a rumor, Your Majesty. Moreover, Prince Edmund, blessed by heaven, needs no such bride to preserve his line.”
The queen’s eyes betrayed disappointment, yet she pressed on.
“Rumors oft hold truth. Perchance you are indeed blessed with fertility. If there’s a chance to save my son, I must seize it. Besides, marriage to Edmund would be a boon for you, would it not?”
My heart raced, seeking to refuse, when a frail voice echoed from without.
“Mother, I will not wed Lady Margaret. My heart belongs to Lady Eleanor alone.”
I turned to meet Prince Edmund’s cold gaze.
He knelt beside me, his voice firm. “Mother, Lady Margaret spun tales of her fertility to ensnare me. Do not be deceived by her lies. Though she has not yet wrought great harm, I beg you to punish her lightly-say, a hundred lashes, to teach her honesty.”
I laughed bitterly, addressing the queen. “Your Majesty, the prince seeks my death at first sight. I am unfit to wed him. I beg you, rescind this betrothal.”
Chapter 1
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The queen, torn between pity and frustration, chided her son. “You misjudge her, Edmund. It was I who summoned her, swayed by rumors. She has denied their truth.”
Edmund’s eyes flickered with confusion, then suspicion, as if I plotted some scheme.
I bowed low, pleading, “I am but a lowly daughter of the Church, unworthy of so great an honor as to preserve the royal line. I beseech Your Majesty to reconsider.”
With a sigh, the queen relented. “So be it. Depart the court for now, but abide in Crownhold, as I may yet summon you.”
I breathed deeply, nodding. Escaping the tangled web of Edmund and Eleanor’s love would not be so simple.
As I left the castle, Edmund called my name. I quickened my pace, but his guards barred my path.
Reluctantly, I faced him. His illness had drained him, his face pale, eyes rimmed with feverish red.
“Why do you not wait for me?” he demanded. “Did you not once seek to guide my arm as we walked?”
I scoffed inwardly. In my former life, I had indeed sought to guide his arm, fearing his frail body might collapse. I once
tried to steady him, only to be shoved away, nearly losing my child. “I loathe being touched,” he had snarled. “Your
clumsiness provoked me.”
Thereafter, I dared only walk close beside him, ready to steady him.
“When have I done so?” I replied coldly. “This is our first meeting, Your Highness.”
Edmund froze, realizing he had spoken of our past life. His voice hardened. “Do not feign ignorance. You, like I, have been
granted a second chance by divine will. Else why would you deny your fertility to my mother?”
I met his gaze silently.
He continued, “I bear you no ill will. If you vow not to interfere with Eleanor and me, I will spare you and your kin.”
“Rest assured, I will not,” I said flatly. “May you and Lady Eleanor be blessed with happy life.”
If your body can endure your wedding night, I thought mockingly.
Edmund’s expression wavered, emotions unreadable. At length, he said coldly, “So be it. Henceforth, we are strangers. But
if I hear any rumor linking us, upsetting Eleanor or our betrothal, I will not spare you.”
Chapter 1
