This was written for NaNoWriMo 2012 and has bee sitting on my laptop for well over a year so I thought it was high time I actually did some thing with it. This is a story between Henry VIII and my own character Isabella Lockhart; it's long, it's not necessarily historically accurate (but then again neither is the series haha) and (also like the series) it isn't suitable for anyone under the age of eighteen. Hope you enjoy.

You think you know a story but you only know how it ends. To get to the heart of the story you have to go back to the beginning…


It all began when she was a child. As soon as she saw him she knew that her entire world was going to revolve around him. Even at that young age she knew that it could never be anything more than a fantasy that she could indulge in...well a fantasy she could indulge in along with every other young maiden in England. The fantasy of marrying the potential future King of England was one the entire female population of the kingdom shared, even those who had no social standing even among the lower classes – never mind having a social standing in the royal circle.

It was the fantasy of every little girl that she would grow up to marry the King of England and she was no different. She knew that it was just that – a fantasy. She had more sense than any of the other girls. Girls like here didn't grow up to even know the King of England, never mind to actually marry him. But a girl could dream...


The late afternoon sunlight warmed Isabella's head and shoulders as she wandered around the grounds of Greenwich Palace. She knew that she shouldn't be there; if she was caught, then not only would she be in trouble but so would her mother as well, firstly for allowing her daughter to accompany her to the Palace when she should be working and secondly for allowing her to wander off on her own. Isabella's mother was one of the ladies maids to Elizabeth of York and Isabella knew that when she came of age she would also go to work in the house of the Queen of England; it was her appointment by birth.

Knowing this Isabella had begged and begged her mother to take her along to the Palace one day, hoping to catch a glimpse of Her Majesty, and finally she had relented. She was not happy about taking her daughter with her, as there would be serious consequences if she was discovered, but Isabella had pleaded so hard for so many months. Her mother had made Isabella promise not to get into any trouble, not to be seen by anyone and not to go wandering off on her own. Isabella had kept her first two promises at the very least but when Her Majesty had required her mother's assistance Isabella had taken the opportunity to go off and explore the Palace grounds.

The grounds were so beautiful and Isabella wished that she had more time to explore them but she knew that if she stayed longer then she would be missed by her mother, who was probably already looking for her. She would be in so much trouble if her mother returned to where they had parted and she was nowhere to be seen and she didn't want to face the punishment when they returned home. She turned to return to the Palace when a movement from close by caught her eye. Isabella held her breath and shrank back into the shadows of a shrubbery standing close to where she was.

The person walking around the grounds was about her height and Isabella deduced that they were probably also about her age too. She stared in wonder, curious as to why another child as young as herself was walking around, unsupervised, in the Palace grounds. As the figure got closer she saw that the child was a young boy. He was very well dressed and looked as if he knew his was around the grounds so Isabella assumed that he must be a member of the court. The boy turned slightly and Isabella finally saw his face. She let out an involuntary gasp, her eyes widening; standing a few feet away from her was none other than Prince Henry – the son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York and heir to the thrown of England!

The young Prince turned slightly at the sound and Isabella froze in horror. She knew she wasn't well hidden and there was no possible way that she couldn't hide from his view. If he turned to fully face the shrubbery then she would be discovered and she would be in serious trouble. The Prince, satisfied that no one was around turned away. Isabella silently let out the breath she had been holding, all she needed to do now was to slip back into the Palace and she would be safe. She took a step back, unable to take her eyes off the Prince in case he turned and spotted her at the last moment, and found herself backing straight into the shrubbery, falling into it.

The plant rustled, which marginally muffled her yelp as she fell, and the Prince turned to fully face her. Isabella jumped to her feet, her heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to jump out of her chest. She was frozen to the spot and despite the heat of the sun she could feel herself shaking where she stood. The Prince took a step towards her hiding place and any vein hopes that Isabella had been harbouring that he might not be able to see her were dashed. She stepped out from the shadows and into his view. She hung her head as she had been taught to avert her eyes from royalty, especially considering the position she was in and that it was royalty that had caught her trespassing.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the Prince asked. Isabella opened her mouth and closed it again, unsure of what to say to improve her situation. "I asked you a question, answer it." the Prince stated when she failed to answer.

"Isabella." she replied, her voice cracking slightly. "Isabella Lockhart."

"And what are you doing wandering around my grounds Isabella Lockhart?" the Prince asked, emphasising the fact that she was trespassing on his land.

"I was exploring." she stated, still not looking up at him. "My mother is a maid to Her Majesty and I was told that I would be joining her when I came of age and I so wanted to see the Palace before I came to work here." It came out as a garbled mass due to her nerves. She was sure that she not only would she be in trouble her mother would also be reprimanded for bringing her to the Palace as well. Her mother may even lose her job because of it, meaning that she would also lose her future career. "I'm terribly sorry for trespassing Your Highness, I so desperately wanted to see if the Palace really was as beautiful as I had heard."

Once Isabella had finished her explanation she fell silent and waited for her reprimand and punishment. The Prince made no reply so she continued to stare at the ground, shuffling her feet awkwardly. Her stomach was fluttering and her heart was still hammering against her ribcage but all she could do was stand there and stare at the floor in front of her. Still not looking up Isabella heard the crunch of gravel underfoot as the Prince took another step towards her. As she continued to stare at the ground a hand came into her line of vision and tilted her chin up so that she was forced to look into the eyes of the boy in front of her.

Isabella's breathing stopped as she stood staring at the Prince with him staring back at her, taking in her appearance. She dared not move for fear that his composure would cease and he would explode into a violent rage and strike her. He removed his hand from underneath her chin but Isabella didn't drop her head, it was as if the Prince's gaze had her there hypnotised. As Isabella continued to stare at him she couldn't help but notice how handsome he was; with his well cropped dark hair and light blue eyes – he was going to become more handsome as the years went on, Isabella could tell.

"You're very pretty." the Prince stated. Isabella's expression turned to one of complete shock – did the heir to the throne of England just say that she was pretty? She must have misheard him, there's no way that could be what he actually said.

"I beg your pardon Your Highness?" she asked. There must have been some mistake. Isabella was by no means plain but she would hardly have considered herself worthy to be dubbed pretty by any member of the royal family, never mind the future King.

"I said that you're very pretty." he repeated calmly. Isabella continued to stare in disbelief for a few seconds when etiquette told her that she should thank the Prince for his compliment.

"Th…thank you, Your Highness." she said, curtsying and averting her eyes coyly momentarily. When she looked back up into his handsome face she even felt brave enough to smile slightly this time. The Prince smiled back at her.

"Well Miss Lockhart if you promise not to tell anybody that you saw me out here without proper supervision then I promise not to tell anybody that I saw you at all." he told her. Isabella's eyes widened slightly, she couldn't believe what she was hearing but she was certainly willing to take the Prince up on his offer.

"I promise You Highness, I will not breath a word of this to anyone." she said, shaking her head in earnest. The Prince smiled at her.

"Good, I'm glad that we are in accord with each other." he said. A loud and sudden call from inside the Palace made the Prince look round. He rolled his eyes. "It appears I'm already missed." he stated. "We should return before you are as well."

"Yes Your Highness." Isabella agreed. She should get back to her mother before she got in even more trouble than she was probably already in. The Prince took hold of her hand and pressed his lips to it softly.

"I hope to see you again, Isabella." he said, placing emphasis on the use of her name rather than a formality, and began to walk back to the Palace.

"I hope the same thing Your Highness." she replied, not wanting to move until he had left her. The Prince turned to smile at her again.

"Please, call me Henry." he told her and disappeared inside the Palace. Isabella stared after him, confused at what had transpired between them. The Prince...or Henry as he had asked her to call him, had caught her trespassing in his grounds when she had no right to be there but rather than scolding her he had complimented her. He had told her she was pretty and that he hoped he would see her again. He had also told her to call him Henry. That was completely unheard of for someone of his standing to allow such an informality with someone of hers.

It might have been Isabella's imagination but Henry seemed as if he wasn't as interested in following formalities as he should have been. Then again he was young, Isabella thought her mother had once told her that the pair of them where the same age. Either way she was sure that he wasn't like any other members of the royal family (even though he was the first one she had ever had the opportunity to meet).

Isabella made her way back inside the Palace to where her mother had left her, being very careful not to be seen. Well, she thought, just because Henry had been as accommodating and letting her leave without punishment didn't mean any other member of the Palace would be. When she arrived back to her original spot her mother was furiously waiting for her. She was so angry that her daughter had wandered off without permission and Isabella knew that she would be servilely punished when she returned home and she would never be allowed to return to the Palace until Her Majesty required her services but she no longer cared.

All Isabella could think about was her conversation with Henry, his compliment on her appearance still replaying over and over in her head and the back of her hand tingling from the kiss. She knew he was handsome but he thought she was pretty too – that was the part that she had trouble believing. She very much hoped that they did meet again; she very much wanted to be able to have a real introduction with him now that they had spoken. She was now very much looking forward to when she could return to the Palace, when she could have the opportunity to spend each day within its walls and, maybe if she was lucky she would get the chance to meet the young Prince again.