I might only imagine how sweet that must have felt. ( she is wondering if he is in love with this woman; it'd make sense. and the thought is a lovely one, just as it is heart-breaking that they were reunited but for so brief a time.

quietly, elizabeth shakes her head in response to his latter words. )

If she would have had no regrets, then that is what you should remember the most; that speaks of a kind spirit and a life well-lived, though I have never met her.

And given that, I doubt very much that she would agree with your thoughts on the matter.

( she folds her hands together in her lap, steepling her fingers. ) I often wonder, should I have spent more time with Mary? Or said or done things differently whilst in her company.

But then I recall that she was ever-smiling, always happy. That she was and still is well-loved, by my other living siblings as well as myself.

And so then it must follow that however brief it was, her life was a full and happy one. Her memory never leaves me, and so in that way, I am never alone.

Nor are you, I think.

This conversation is not about me. ( she reassures him, gently. ) Yet I offer you my most sincere thanks for your kind words.

Loss at any point in one's life is a terrible thing. I am deeply sorry that you have endured it twice with someone so special.

( hesitantly, she shifts her hand to cover his own. if the gesture is inappropriate or too bold, he can feel free to remove it. it is a quiet effort to comfort someone from a place of sincere empathy. )

Now would I wish it upon anyone else. Forgive me, I did not know that you had also lots yours. My deepest condolences, sir.

( her family has been gutted. her relations fall so often that surely there must be a pile of corpses at her feet. and she cannot even blame henry tudor for the whole of it. the house of york devoured its own. a fact which has never sat well with her and never will. )

Oh, sir.. ( her face falls, her expression utterly stricken. ) I am terribly sorry.

( but immediately when he voices his worry that he might not have done enough for them, she shakes her head sharply, jarring herself out of the empathetic grief his words have caused to seize her heart. releasing a shaking breath, elizabeth will attempt to reassure him with an example of her own experience.

without making it all about her. )

My brothers are gone. Disappeared from where they were last seen. Many believe and say they are dead. I am the eldest; my duty ought to be to protect them. I could not. As I cannot protect my sisters from here.

But there is naught more or less I could have done. The same is true in your case, I believe. We are not gods. Thus, our utmost is truly the best of which we are capable.

Please, do not become caught in that trap. It is.. all too easy. I understand that very well.

( hesitantly, elizabeth nods. she'd heard melusina's lament upon the waters of the thames. her brother edward is gone. that much is certain. and a poor peasant boy who'd known not what he was being led into. her heart will always hurt for them both. )

Edward is dead, of that I am sure. Richard—no. My mother sent him to Flanders and sent a peasant boy to the Tower in his place.

She'd said if one had two rare jewels, you aught not keep them both in the same box. I shall pray that he will live and succeed my uncle. It is his right.

( admittedly, she tends to look for shreds of hope wherever she might find them in order to cling to them fiercely. they are why she has managed to endure what she has without going mad.

and if doing so might help another, then she will do her best to. her smile now is sad and faint. )

Which is why one should seek the patches of sunlight to be found in the shade. I am alone here, and yet I am not. The same might be said of you, sir.