The evening had just arrived, when, after almost four hours of sea voyage, Kara and the young prince Philip had reached the Isle of Man, under the rule of the Stanley family.
It had been a long, tiring and mostly clandestine journey, as, given the war situations of recent times and the tension between the two domains, England had for those moments refused to welcome new French in the nation.
So mother and son under Henry's advice, had embarked in a ship full of poor people determined to seek a better future in the lands of Great Britain.
But there could be no future, no future of any kind as long as Isabelle ruled over the nation.
And that was how they both arrived at their destination at six in the afternoon when the sun was already beginning to set and the blue sky slowly darkening.
During the whole trip it had been almost impossible for the woman not to vomit.
It was a mixed trip, with men and women and many of them not being at high cultural levels had no sense of good manners.
Others, not finding a place where they could go to the bathroom, had decided to unload their needs in the middle of the ship, while others, taken by the movements of the boat at sea, had started to vomit.
So for four hours Kara and her son had had to suffer a strong smell of urine, feces and that acid smell that people's vomiting produced in the air.
Philip was afraid of all this: growing up as a prince at court it had never happened to the thirteen-year-old boy to see so much to brought back a bitter aftertaste in his stomach.
His mother immediately understood he was afraid, mothers always and innately had that strong connection to their offspring, Kara perceived it for how the boy tightly clung to his mother's body as if to seek protection from her.
Kara had held him close to her for the whole trip, letting him go only when finally after all those hours they were alone and safe in a prized carriage made available to them by the Stanleys.
Now they were sitting close together but at a fair distance, she understood, it was all new to him, that new life, that landscape, those lands.
The young prince stood on the outermost side of the carriage, on the side closest to the small window of precious but solid glass, he laid his head there, his numerous straight brown hair: he looked tired and sad but curious at the same time.
She saw him move his big grey eyes from right to left, up, down, looking at the landscape outside the window, the great plains of that island, the shepherds, the trees seldom and the dogs guarding the great flocks of sheep.
He did not speak a word to his mother, he seemed too intrigued by the landscape to close in himself, in his own world, in his own thoughts.
He often did it when he felt alone, when he was missing something, not because he wanted to protest but because it was as if he didn't feel complete, as if he had to somehow defend himself from the new surroundings.
The lady held out one of her hands towards her son's delicately placed on the dark leather seats of the carriage, she touched it, she touched the boy's fingers, they were cold and they trembled.
Of course, there in Man the summer was not as hot as in France but they had to get used to that climate, they had to if they had once become sovereign of Great Britain.
It was strange though, Kara had never wanted to become a royal, not a queen and the idea of it amazed and shocked her at the same time.
Henry was no longer the man she had known, the man she had fallen in love with and married in an evening years ago, he had become more restless, anxious, he almost seemed to want that place but not for himself and not for them but to show the world how much he was worth.
She didn't need such a demonstration, he was her Henry and she loved him, as a prince and as a husband without needing him to pursue the desire for a more privileged place.
Kara exhaled, left her head, her brown hair rested on the back of the carriage, she too looked out the window, the fields, the sky that was turning from blue to make room for a sunset.
It was all so peaceful and reassuring there, it was all a little more free.
The woman placed one of her hands on her lap, gently, she was pregnant entering the fourth month for a few weeks already, expecting their second child.
The baby should have been born in months by now but Henry wasn't there, not with her and their son, not to support her.
She was worried of course, everyone was worried with England's declaration of war against France, what would have happened if Henry hadn't made it? What would become of her? What about their children? Should they have grown up without a father?
Her eyes of a sweet honey brown colour observed carefully and with tears inside them, she observed the last movements of the carriage, she could now see it slow down, stop, slowly and with soft movements in front of a massive and wide staircase of white marble .
Even the young prince Philip suddenly turned his face, he looked out the window on the side of his mother.
He had to get out of the carriage, they had arrived at their destination, at Peel Castle under the dominion of House Stanley.
Kara took a first look at the residence as she got off her seat, it was a fairly welcoming place with a magnificent view, a mansion directly positioned on a hill, overlooking the blue sea that divided the island from Great Britain.
At the entrance of the mansion there was a woman, she waited patiently for the arrival of her guests, she imagined she was the lady of that house, she perceived it and understood it from the fine clothes she wore, from the sweet and precious perfumes that she wore on her body.
She was smiling, holding her lips against each other in a sincere and friendly smile.
The lady of the house possessed a very noble and sincere gaze, two large brown eyes on her sweet and dark complexion and a large amount of black hair, sometimes squeezed with some greyish locks, locked in small and neat braids behind her head.
Kara slowly climbed the staircase, she felt a look of sincerity in the woman and felt, although not really knowing her that she could trust her, also because she was the one who had proposed to host the woman in such a difficult moment.
-Lady Mary Morley, nice to meet you, Lady Karassandra- the lady of House Stanley introduced herself -I am really pleased that you have arrived at your destination without any complications- the woman prepared to tighten both her hands around those of the guest.
Kara smiled briefly, she too was grateful to have come to that place, but in a certain sense she didn't even know the woman personally, she wasn't aware of her story and her ideals.
As far as she could see at that moment in every way Lady Mary Morley seemed incredibly friendly and open to her new guest.
-Thank you for your hospitality, especially in such a complex and difficult time-.
Lady Mary Morley squeezed the woman's cold hands in hers further and affectionately, smiled moving part of her long, small braids over one of her shoulders.
-It's really a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady- she admitted then placing her gaze on the little lord who was beside his mother, squeezing her hands tightly and partially even to warm himself.
-And also to make your acquaintance, young Lord Philip- admitted the woman, inciting behind her a new presence to make room in the middle of the situation.
Behind Lady Mary Morley's back, a little girl made room, her age will have been between ten and twelve years.
She hid herself behind the woman's body, almost as if she were embarrassed or frightened by the situation, the eyes of the young lord soon understood, observing the blush on her cheeks and on the young lady's small nose.
-May I have the pleasure of introducing you to my young lady Sophia Stanley, my stepdaughter, the daughter of my second husband, Richard-.
Philip looked for a long time at the big blue eyes of the young lady, at her pale face, at the wavy and medium long reddish brown hair of the girl, everything about her, that new acquaintance was all new to him.
But on the other hand, given the fact that he was not yet aware of how long he would be there, it would have been useful to meet a girl of his age with whom to spend some time and play waiting to see his father again.
The young prince raised one of his hands slightly, greeting the young lady Sophia amicably and informally, who at that moment, urged on by her adoptive mother, had finally come out of her hiding place.
Philip smiled, held out his hand to the girl, he hoped she would accept to spend some time with him, maybe showing him the surroundings.
-Why don't you take our guest to visit the beach, Sophia?- proposed Lady Mary, placing one of her hands lightly on the girl's back.
Kara already knew what was happening, she knew it because she had been used to this growing up in the nobility of those times.
She did not forbid her son to shake the girl's hand, to smile at her, to see how happy and lightly the two moved away from their mothers heading accompanied by some tutors towards the beach.
That seriously her son Philip could experience some feelings towards that girl over time?
Both were thirteen, so it was time for the two to grow up and start planning their future, perhaps a wedding for the unification of their two noble families.
Both mothers watched their children go away hand in hand, Kara felt a faint smile on the other woman's face, she knew that was her plan, with such beauty as Sophia it would not have been difficult to convince the prince.
-Really adorable, isn't it?- Lady Mary asked proudly, turning her gaze to her new friend, placing a slight smile on her face and moving a part of her small and fragrant black braids over her shoulders.
-By marrying Richard Stanley, cousin of my deceased husband, I was lucky enough to become the adoptive mother of the young Sophia Stanley, the sweetest girl your son will ever know-.
Kara was forced to put a small embarrassed smile on her pale face, she was sure that friendship would lead to something else, she knew her own son very well and she was also convinced that it would help to make new acquaintances in a new land.
-I am convinced, as I am convinced that it will be a great pleasure to meet your other stepsons from your first marriage-.
This statement immediately led the lady's big brown eyes to expand enormously, she understood that she had focused on a weak point of the woman.
At that moment Kara perceived all the hard feelings that the woman felt towards the illegitimate children of her late first husband, she could understand it, actually having to live together with the man's bastards would bring in her bad memories of infidelity and betrayal.
In any case Lady Mary soon had to recover from the question, she turned his light but deep gaze directly into the eyes of his guest -Oh, they are not here at the moment, they are in Great Britain to run a commission for me-.
Lady Kara soon lowered her gaze to the floor, that situation was becoming somewhat awkward and she didn't want it, not at the moment she had just made the acquaintance of her new landlady.
-I heard of the loss of your daughter Diane, of her disappearance, I hope she will be found as soon as possible and brought to safety...-.
Mary Morley smiled briefly and let out a small laugh full of pain from her fleshy, dark parted lips, she wanted to seem kind while resisting the other's inherent impertinence.
-This is just a little of what has already happened in my life, slavery, my marriage, my husband's bastards, my daughter's disappearance, I'm ready for everything now- the woman caressed some of the tears created in her eyes.
-In any case, forgive me, I did not want to sadden you, you are expecting a baby and after such a long journey I imagine you want to rest…-.