A Summary of Thomas Seymour_By Esther S. Casady

                     

      ~ Forword  

               Death is a horrible thing. Knowing that it's coming to you very soon is terrible also.

I know I'm not a saint, but I'm no criminal!

               The charges against me are false and everyone knows it. My brother,who is the 

Duke of Somerset and protector both was to decide if I was truly guilty of high treason or not.

I believe he would have declared me innocent if it were not for the Privy Council. They told the king he would be biased and asked for full charge of the "case." The king granted permission and I have been told to prepare myself for execution.

                 This is what I am doing…. I shall write all that has led me to this point, so when

the time comes to light I may be vindicated.

  

                                                                       ~Thomas Seymour 

                                   A Summary Of Thomas Seymour 

                                                        by

                                               Esther S. Casady

                It was during the first year of the reign of our sovereign King Edward VI of England

in the year 1547.

                Having saved the Marquess of Dorset from embarrassment over large gambling debts,

I was given full guardianship over Lady Jane Grey. We were on our way to Chelsea to visit the Queen Dowager, Catherine Parr.

                During the last four years of King Henry's reign the Queen and Lady Jane had become very close.

               "Do you think she shall want to see me?" she wondered. "At Hampton Court we needed one another to lean on…..but,now she is no longer under King Henry, will she want me?"

                I really had no idea what was going through that pretty nine year old head of hers. Like Catherine would want to see her again!

               Jane couldn't exactly be called pretty. She had brown eyes, to large and dark against pale skin, and she also possessed an abundance of sandy blond hair.

                The real reason I had wanted her in my household was to cement a relationship between Jane and King Edward who had always been good friends. I was pushing for an alliance between the two.

                 Jane was greeted cordially and went off to find Princess Elizabeth. I went off to find Catherine and we talked of the realm. 

                  When almost time for dinner we went to find the girls. They were obviously talking of some matter that they didn't want us to know of. Elizabeth had seen me at the garden gate and Catherine and I were forced to tell of our marriage.

                   Catherine being recently widowed by the late king had to keep this a secret as to prevent an embarrassing scandal.

                   The protector was enraged when he found out. We had always been rivals since birth and suddenly I had gained Queen Dowager…..My time is slipping away so I must hurry with this tale.

                     War…..what a sad word. My brother has beaten Scotland. They broke the marriage treaty between Edward and Mary the Queen of Scots. War was the only choice. Six thousand men killed fifteen hundred taken prisoners.

                     I wrote letters to the king after my brothers return, I tried to make Edward write a letter to the council complaining against Protector. He caught me, imprisoned and I was forced to kneel and apologize to the protector…..I was publicly humiliated.

                    Shortly afterward Catherine announced that she was pregnant. We moved to Sudely Castle to be remate….She died of child bed fever. I fell apart. I was mad at the world and took it out on my mother and Jane. I saw less and less of them.

                    I started with a close association with a man by the name of Sharington. I became afraid of the world. I believed everyone was out to get me. I manned a garrison at Holt Castle.

                    I went home to Mother and Jane and I was caught. Thirty three charges against me! I sent word that the first three had no substantial  evidence, and I would not condescend to the remaining thirty. I was not even allowed my own trial. I have been told that Sharington, who has helped with my fortress, has testified against me!

                     I hear footsteps coming up the tower steps. I hear voices and a key. I am done for….. May my testimony vindicate me. This is the end….

                                                                       ~Thomas Seymour

      My name is Jane. You know me from as the ward of Lord Thomas Seymour. I want to finish this narrative as a last service for Thomas Seymour.

                On the twentieth of March 1549 he was beheaded  at Tower Hill. He had not surrendered, even at the end. On the scaffold he horrified everyone by refusing to listen to listen to the minister's prayer, by condemning his judges and physically attacking his executioner! When he would not kneel for the blade his life was hacked from him ruthlessly-bloodily. 

    Seymour Place had lost its soul. It's tempestuous spirit was stilled forever.*

                                                                       ~Jane Grey

                                                               *Taken from Coronation of Glory.

A Day In The Life Of Eleanor_By Esther S. Casady

     A Day In The Life of Eleanor

     

     Hi, my name is Eleanor, but everyone calls me Ellie. I’m seven. I am the oldest girl in my family.

     Yesterday, someone said that they wished that they knew what I think about things.

     I guess, since I know, and they don’t, I’m smarter than they are.

     I don’t want to spend a bunch of time writing, so I’m only gonna write about one day. That day, was yesterday.

     Well, yesterday was a Tuesday. I like Tuesdays because Mommy has Bible Study. When she goes to Bible study, I don’t have to do school. When I got up yesterday morning, Daddy was making Raspberry pancakes. He knows that I like them best. 

     On Tuesdays, I get to stay in my pajamas as a special treat, cause Daddy’s in charge. Mommy would never let me do that.

       I still have to brush my teeth, and comb my hair. I wish I didn’t have to, but Daddy says that I wouldn’t look right if my hair was tangled or my teeth were yellow.

  I went to the kitchen where Daddy and Evelynne were. Daddy was trying to braid Evelynne’s hair, but he didn’t know how. He finally just told her to wear her hair down. 

     My Daddy is good at a lot of things, but he can’t fix hair. I don’t blame him. Evelynne’s hair is hard to fix.

     Daddy finished making the pancakes while I  set the table. I’m a big girl, so when I set the table, I use the glass plates.

     Evelynne wanted to help so I let her do the napkins. She’s only four, so she can’t do plates.

     David, my only brother, was already in his highchair. He’s two.

     We all ate breakfast and played a guessing game. We tried to guess what Mommy was doing right then.

     Daddy guessed that Mommy was in her meeting. He sent her a text message just to make her phone ring. Then he guessed that she was jumping up and running out of the room, spilling stuff out of her purse. We all laughed.

     After breakfast, we played Junior Monopoly. I won. Then we played hide-and-seek. Daddy always let David get to base.

     Then we watched Sleeping Beauty. Daddy held Evelynne when she got scared of the mean fairy. I didn’t get scared, ‘cause I’m too big to be scared of movies. After all, I am seven.

     For lunch, we had leftover pancakes and strawberries out of our garden.

     The we had naptime. Mommy got home during naptime. When we woke up, she told us to put our clothes on.

     Daddy had already left to go to work. After snack, Mommy said to run around the house two times and then she’d take us to the library. I carried David because he’s so slow.

     I picked out three books and a movie. Evelynne picked out three books, and David picked out two books. David can’t read his books, so I’ll read to him. Mommy got some bedtime stories to read to us at nighttime.

     At the front desk, the lady said a bad word. I told her that she shouldn’t say that word and Mommy put her hand over my mouth. She told me that I was being rude.

 I don’t think that I was being rude, but I apologized. That’s when she said that she wished she knew what was going on in this head of mine.

     I guess I have opinions on a lot of things. I’m not always right, though. I think about a lot of things. Daddy says I shouldn’t say everything that I think, and then I wouldn’t get in as much trouble.

     After the library, we went to a park and then back home. I read to Evelynne and David while Mommy made supper.

     We had chicken noodle soup. It was hot and I burned my tongue. Mommy said, when you burn your taste buds off, new ones grow back. Just like a gecko or lizard’s tail. I wish I could see them growing back.

     After supper, I changed David and put his pajamas on. Then, me and Evelynne put our pajamas on. Mommy read to us until seven-thirty. Then, David and Evelynne had to go to bed. I got to stay up until Daddy got home at eight o’clock.

     When Daddy got home, he prayed with me and kissed me goodnight. He came and turned my light off and closed the door. He only closed it halfway because he knows I don’t want it closed all the way.

I like having the door open so that I can call Daddy or Mommy if I need them. I’m a big girl, but I’m still Daddy and Mommy’s little girl.

The End

Alydia_ By Esther S. Casady

Brown, straight hair and searching blue eyes, that's what I saw when I gazed at Jazmine. But they weren't Jazmine's eyes, they were Alydia's eyes. Eyes that would never see, again. Eyes that seemed to stare into the distance, seeing that which no mortal could see. Eyes that used to sparkle when their owner laughed. But, Alydia was no more.

I had bumped into her on my way to my seat at a conference. I knew Jazmine slightly and so knew that she had lost her sight at the age of two. I also knew that she had no right to Alydia's one vain glory, her beautiful eyes.

I stood staring at Jazmine's face. She had changed over time, and was no longer the carefree 12-year-old whom I used to know. She was now all of 17, and her face told a sad story, one of pain and sadness and a lost childhood.

I forced myself to look away, to walk on. I won't ever forget what I saw in her face, I wont ever forget Alydia's eyes.

After the conference, I again met with Jazmine and she told me all that had transpired since we had last met. She told of a terrible accident, of losing her eyes, of gaining another chance.

I asked her if she knew the name of her donor. I waited, half hoping, half dreading for the name to be Alydia's. She smiled a sad smile and spoke two words: Alydia Treyor. 

I sit now in a dark room and the only light by which to write comes from beneath the door by which I am sitting. I sit here and think of all that has brought me, Lyrica Brown to this point.Only one name comes to mind: Alydia.

I first met Alydia after I had first moved from Springfield, Arkansas to Columbia Missouri. We had both recently moved and were going to the same church. She also lived four houses down the street from my home. I was 14 and Alydia was 13. Even though she was a year and a half younger than I, she seemed as though she had seen a lot in life. We became close friends.

Over the years, I moved 2 more times.Somehow she always did, too. We eventually ended up in Mobile, Alabama when she was 16 and I was almost 18.

When we both got our drivers license'  I remember seeing the bottom of her license and shuddering when I read: organ donor. On the back of the card she had the choice of any and all organs or just certain specific ones. She chose eyes, heart, and lungs. It made e sick to my stomach.

And, then came the accident. I was driving. The memory haunts me still. It was a cold, dark, stormy night around the middle of November. I was hurrying to get home and we were talking. I took my eyes off the road for a split second. That was all it took. Just one split second. I'd come up on a semi's blind spot. It turned without me realizing and we crashed. It was my fault that we crashed. One split second Alydia wasn't here anymore, she'd gone on before me.

Her parents held a memorial service for her and I felt so bad. They forgave me, but somehow I just couldn't forgive myself. Our last conversation had been about life after death. It was why I wasn't watching the road. If only. If only I hadn't taken my eyes off the road, if only we had left the library earlier, if only... I keep thinking 'if only' but all my 'if onlys ' won't bring her back.

Alydia was special. She had a special joy in living, but she wasn't afraid of death, either. She knew where she was going and she rejoiced in the thought. Now I have that same      hope. I now know that I will see her, again. 

It still hurts to think about Alydia. The pain has lessened but it won't ever go away. But Alydia had a big impact on my life. I just hope I can have that same impact on someone else's life-maybe even Jazmine's life.

I'm now 21 and a lot of time has passed by, but Alydia, I still remember you. I will never forget you Alydia.

THE END