Once upon a time, a girl was visiting the Tower of London. She entered through the main entrance, and then got lost in the maze of buildings and alleyways.

By the 16th century, the time we cover in the Renaissance English History podcast,

the tower would have been a large complex with houses, barracks, a chapel,

as well as the torture chambers, and execution block.

It was its own village. It served as the royal mint, the home of the crown jewels, a treasury,

a public records office, an armory. And yes, people were executed here.

Actually, not that many, to be fair. Most people who were executed suffered their fate on the

Tower Hill, out in the public where they could be seen by folks out for a fun family day of

beheadings and burnings. The executions inside the tower were reserved for nobility, for those who needed extra

privacy, royalty.

These nobles and royals were not used to not getting their own way, and being executed was

the ultimate not getting your own way event. These folks were not simply resigned to their

fate. They were upset, and they've stuck around to let us know.

So let's go back to our girl in the tower. She's wandering around and she gets lost. It's a cold,

blustery day, cloudy, and it seems as if the sun never rose before it's dark again.

She hears the famous crow squawking, and she starts to feel a little

nervous, as if she's being watched. It starts to rain, and she notices that she is all alone,

just under the bloody tower. She sees a well-lit doorway, ah, a bathroom. She walks in and stands at the sink,

holding on to the side as her hands shape. Then she looks in the mirror. In the reflection,

she sees two boys. There are two boys in here with her wearing nightgowns. For a moment,

she freezes, wondering whether she went into the men's room.

But they don't seem surprised or alarmed to see her, nor do they look cold in their light clothing.

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