The Kingdom of Winchester - Chapter One

 

 Kathrine meets King Edward while taking a walk on the castle grounds. She was visiting her father, who was serving the king on his council at court. Edward is taken by Kathrine's beauty and charm, so Edward invites her to the evening festival thrown at the castle. 

During the festival, King Edward invites Kathrine to sit by his side on the throne. It was very noticeable to all that attended that Edward liked Kathrine. As the night drew to a close, Edward invited Kathrine to stay at court. This would give Edward a chance to get to know Kathrine better and to court her. During these times, it was a big honor for the king to invite anyone to stay at court.

Kathrine fit in at court very well. She was a feisty young girl and very ambitious. She brought the court to life with dancing and lots of celebration.

As time went on, Edward began to fall for Kathrine. "It won't be long for them to wed," many people thought in court. It always seemed that Edward could hardly be apart from Kathrine. 

On most mornings, King Edward would greet Kathrine with a kiss before she would even be dressed for the day. This gave Kathrine the highest rank in court, other than the king himself. He showered her with many gifts and told her he was in love with her. 

So that day, Kathrine was betrothed to be the king's wife. That was a promise of marriage but not a proposal. This insured the king that Kathrine was his, and no other man could court her. The next step would be to make it known in the kingdom that he would wed Kathrine and make her queen.

A few weeks later, Edward came to Kathrine with a surprise. He told Kathrine to have her ladies pack her things and that they were going on a private trip to one of his other homes in the country.

The day after they arrive at the king's estate, Edward presents Kathrine with a magnificent ring, then he goes down on one knee and asked Kathrine to be his queen. 

Kathrine was so excited with the ring the king gave her that she squealed with delight. Edward planned to make the announcement to the whole court during the upcoming banquet. 

As preparations for the wedding were set into motion, Edward moved Kathrine into her own private quarters near his own. It would take some time before all of his friends and family would arrive for the wedding, as well as all the preparations for the decorations.

One evening Kathrine took a walk in the garden like she did almost every evening. She runs into one of the king's servants. He was a past love of hers back when she was a teenager. This stirred up old memories she had of him. Kathrine would change her fate at that moment when she fell into his arms and disappeared behind the gates. 

It didn't take long for the king to discover that Kathrine had betrayed him with one of his servants. Kathrine didn't realize she was being watched in the garden by one of Edwards's other servants. When he found out, he was furious! He couldn't believe she would betray him right before they were to be wed. 

"I want you gone from my sight and my court,"  Edward demanded. "You have embarrassed me and hurt me deeply. For this, I will teach you a lesson and hurt you in return. I will not put you to death, but I will banish you to the swamps where you will live alone forever! You will never marry or have any children! If another man dares to be with you, he will be put to death most horribly, and any children will be taken from you!"

Kathrine couldn't believe this was to be her fate. She thought the king would never find out and could not believe she was to be banished and treated so badly. Before she was escorted through the gates, she saw the king's guards escorting the man Kathrine had been with away.

The following day the man was executed for high treason against the king.

After Kathrine left the court and the execution of her lover, everything went on as before. Edward was sad and angry about the betrayal of Kathreen. He tried hard to hide his feelings when in the presence of others, but his servants knew.

Many months passed, and Edward met a young woman named Anne. She had an excellent reputation for being smart and kind to all that knew her. She was also beautiful and young. Edward began to invite Anne to many of the festivals and events in order to court her. After much time, he asked her to stay at court to get to know her even more.

The king would often have dinner with Anne in his private chambers. There they would spend many evenings together. Edward felt that Anne would be faithful to him and would never betray him as Kathrine had done. He began to slowly drop his guard and fall in love with her.

Anne enjoyed reading and talking to all the people in the court. She was surrounded by the highest of royalty and was spared no expense of luxury. She was given her own quarters with all the fine things a future queen would have.

It didn't take Edward long to ask Anne to marry him. The following week wedding arrangements were made. King Edward married Anne and made her his queen.

Anne settled into being a queen quickly and loved her new role. She treated everyone with kindness and was pleasant to be around. She was loved by all the people in the kingdom.

As in most traditions of kings and queens, they had their own bed chambers and mostly slept alone. But Anne and Edward didn't want to spend a moment apart. They were always together in his or her bed chamber.

It wouldn't take Anne long to get pregnant. It was evident that the queen was with child with all the morning sickness she experienced. Anne couldn't wait to break the news to the king.

As with any king, Edward was so thrilled with the idea of having a child. He would have an heir and a child to love. Edward then announced her pregnancy to all in the kingdom.

As Anne's pregnancy progressed, Edward gave in to Anne's every craving and every want.

Several months later, Anne goes into labor and after many hours of excruciating pain.

Anne gives birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl. The king was so happy that he threw the biggest celebration in honor of his new daughter.

King Edward named her Kristen after his mother. Kristen is the pride and joy of her parents. One day she could be the queen of Winchester if her parents do not have any male children.