Winter 1340, Gaunt, Flanders

King Edward assumed the official title of King of France while at the Flemish court. The Flemish had signed a treaty that they would not attack the French king, so they insisted he had to officially assume the title, and they would still be honouring their treaty by recognizing him as the true king. Through the traditional ceremony of receiving their official crown, being anointed with holy oil, and adding the fleur de lis to his own coat of arms, he took on the full look of someone outwardly reigning over both countries.

Any of the Flemish who had had scruples fighting King Philip disappeared when after the ceremony, they agreed King Edward was the rightful king, and that they officially declared their armies to him. Edward needed all the allies he could get.

Spring 1340, Imperial Castle, Cochem, Holy Roman Empire

Princess Joan received two letters in quick succession. Firstly, her mother had given birth to another son, named John, while she was in Gaunt, Flanders. It was her second child born outside of England as Philippa was in diplomatic business. Joan wondered when this dreadful war would end so that her mother could rest and return home. Like Margaret taught her, she dutifully wrote back, calling her brother's birth a blessing and that she prayed for mother and child and kept any negative thoughts out of the letter. She thought if her mother truly objected to being abroad, she would tell the King, and the King would respect her wishes.

The second letter was from her cousin Joanna and much longer --

Dear Princess Joan,

Oh, Cousin! I hope you are well. I must tell someone a big secret. No one knows what has happened. I hope even this letter finds you well, and you keep me in your prayers if my actions go awry.

You know your brother, the prince, often threatened to marry me whether or not I wanted to, and I do not want to. I know I could not deny him if he publicly declared intentions, and my mother would also pressure me to be queen. Until now, I haven't ever been free of that worry. But now I have married!

You would like him. His name is Thomas Holland. He's tall with brown hair and very charming. He's a little older than me, and he's a baron. He is on military duty now, so he has travelled to fight. He has just left me to go to Flanders and France on behalf of the King. I am so beside myself in worry, and so in love with him! I pray your father wins his lands, and he and my husband are safe when this is all over.

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I blush as I write this part. I am truly a woman now. I cannot do justice to what nights with him are like in a letter, and it wouldn't be appropriate because you are a maid. But it is such a joy to be someone's wife. There is so much love and happiness with him.

I know because I am of royal blood, I was supposed to ask permission to marry, and I did not. I know Prince Edward wouldn't have allowed me to marry someone else, and I fear your father would have agreed to whatever he wanted to keep him happy. I am scared of what will happen when this news comes out -- but it was the right thing to do. No matter how much power the Prince yields, not even he can undo what was done before God himself. I will take whatever punishment I must when my marriage is discovered, and it is worth it because I was able to marry the man I love.

Please do not tell anyone of this, not a soul, and please pray for my husband Thomas while he is in Europe. I miss him dearly and wish to be reunited with him as soon as possible.

Love,

Your dearest cousin Jonna

-

Joan folded the letter and put it in her bureau where it would be unlikely for someone to come across it. She would honour her cousin's wishes for secrecy. She tried to picture her cousin married. Joanna still seems like a child, like she was, but Joanna was about the same age as Anna, and Anna was now married also. She really wasn't too young to marry, but she was too noble to decide to marry whom she wanted. Joan pictured her brother's fury. He was quick to anger and quick to decide once he wanted something, it belonged to him.

When Elisabeth came to look for her, Joan didn't mention the contents of the letter. They went to their music lesson. Since Anna had left for her marriage, Joan had grown closer to her other cousin because it was just the two of them. They did all their lessons together, and Elisabeth felt as close as her true sister Isabella had. Previously Anna and Elisabeth used to giggle and whisper to each other at night, and now it was Elisabeth and Joan who shared the personal jokes and the closeness.

But that was her old life when she was bonded close to Isabella, and being with Elisabeth made her heart ache less for her blood sister. Joan felt at home in the Holy Roman Empire the longer she remained. She felt welcomed into the family once she learned enough of the language to be in their meal conversations.

She did wish she could ask Joanna more about her new life and marriage, but she was scared to write back in detail in case the letter ended up in the wrong hands. So instead, her letter back was very generic, thanking Joanna for sharing her news and wishing her well and assuring her that her letter contents would remain confidential.

Joan would not even speculate her cousin's fate once it was discovered she married without permission. A girl trying to take her fate into her own hands could be a dangerous thing.