This is my first non-romantic piece in quite awhile.
Anyway, I kind of based this off of my idea that I briefly touched on in Piers; that Britain had an intense hatred yet inexplicable love for the king's favorite in the early 14th century, Piers Gaveston. Then I got this whole string of ideas following that love and how he'd be upset in 1592 when Marlowe wrote Edward II and…oh, just read it!
Disclaimer: Do not own Hetalia. Do not own Edward II.
He wasn't the Master of Revels.
But that didn't mean that every now and then a new play wouldn't slip onto his desk for him to look over, the freshly dried ink glistening in the candlelight as it tantalizingly drew him in, pages itching to be turned. And they weren't always there, anyway. Of course, in the case of some authors, he would reverently request the script before even the Master of Revels got a hold of it.
His favorite, as of late, was a man by the name of Marlowe.
England, Sir Arthur Kirkland as everyone else knew him, was enthralled by the man's work. Tamburlaine had been absolute genius, and Faustus was something he was especially fond of: dealing with magic himself, he was so intrigued by the protagonist's compact with the Devil and how he had been so foolish upon being granted so much power. He would be lying if he said that the end almost had him in tears.
But that wasn't why he was now furiously storming down the castle's hall, into the Queen's chamber no less, people behind him squawking and pestering him, telling him he couldn't go in there. Bloody hell if he couldn't; he WAS the British Empire, and he could do as he damn well pleased. The heels of his shoes clacked rather loudly against the cobblestone floor, the Queen's messenger flushing behind him as he tried to keep up with the angry country.
Britain didn't even bother to knock he was so angry. He just stormed right in, the Queen looking up at the noise in mild irritation; though to be say she hadn't expected it would be somewhat of a lie. She nodded to him as he stood before her, panting a bit from his rage and quickness as he just venomously stared her down. This was the first time she had ever seen him so truly upset and that worried her a bit, though she didn't let it show as she stared back at him, her gaze showing more level-headedness while the green that was opposite of her did all it could to contain itself, miserably failing at that.
The messenger scurried in, finally catching up to the blonde as he doubled over, took a couple breaths himself before bowing to her in respect. "Your…Your Majesty" he said, still somewhat breathy, "Sir Arthur Kirkland is here to see you."
To which she waved him away, her ladies looking curiously at Britain, wondering what had gotten him so riled up. Of course, they didn't go unnoticed, as she dismissed them all by quietly clearing her throat, the few girls that were in there scuttling out of the room rather quickly.
It was then that Arthur had found his voice as he threw the bound script he had been carrying to the floor, rather harshly to show his anger. The Queen didn't even flinch though, her eyes holding themselves steadily, and it seemed as if she almost wasn't even blinking.
"What…what is this?" he spat out.
"It appears to be a script," she said, her voice flat and calm. "Though I cannot tell from where I am currently seated, Sir Kirkland. Perhaps you could enlighten me as to its contents?"
"You know damn well what's in there! Your seal, the Master's seal is on it!"
"Sir Kirkland, I am sure you are aware that not everything the Master of Revels approves comes to me directly."
"It's Marlowe's recent play!" he yelled angrily, his volume going up a bit at this.
"Ah, I see you've read EdwardII then," she said all knowingly, once again unwavering in her spot as Queen. "Though it seems you are not as pleased as I'd hoped you'd be. I had it sent to your desk just as soon as it'd been approved. Tell me, what are your thoughts on it?"
"What are," he laughed a bit, "what are my thoughts?" Britain was able to get out a few cynical laughs as he paced in front of his Queen. "Your Majesty, I think you are well aware on what my thoughts would be on this…this…"
She interrupted him, "then why, Sir Kirkland, have you decided to grace me with your presence, if you know that I already know your opinions?"
At this he was silent and he stopped his pacing. At that moment it was as if all anger had drained from his body and instead replaced with an immense sadness. But he was determined not to cry, not in front of his Queen. Instead his shoulders sank, he hung his head low and he merely sighed. "I'm sure you're well aware as to why I am here."
Instead of replying like she had before, the Queen stood up from her seat, garments rustling as she moved towards the man who was the personification of her country. Each slow step she took felt agonizingly painful for Britain. Though she did not reach out to him; that would hardly be acceptable for someone of her status, even if he was the embodiment of her people, her country, she was still Queen, and it was her who reigned over the people and the land.
"I thought this would be how you reacted," she finally said. "Though really, I wasn't expecting this much of a fuss, you barging in here without proper notice or introduction."
At this Arthur blushed, adding the feeling of shame to his saddened heart.
"Tell me, Sir Kirkland…Britain…" she saw him stiffen at that name, "after all these years, does your heart still pine for him so?"
"It's just…I mean…" he muttered under his breath, eyes glued to the floor, "I never really expected something like this. I don't think I was prepared to come face-to-face with a part of my past I had kept locked away."
To which she laughed. "Oh, you do have quite a sense of humor. Surely this is to be expected from Marlowe, no less." She shook her head, a few more chuckles slipping past her lips. "Always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong."
To which Arthur was able to let out a small laugh as well. Indeed; leave it to someone like Marlowe to stir up this much trouble.
"Were you able to come to terms with his death, Britain?"
He swallowed, eyes still staring at the floor, feet shuffling awkwardly as he did respond. The tears, he could feel them in his eyes, they were so close to falling.
"I've only heard rumors about my ancestors," the Queen began, "though I'm sure that you are more than familiar with what is truth and what is a lie when concerning past affairs."
Arthur was still silent in her presence. She paced before him, eyes up his stance. The Queen couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for him; someone with so many horrible memories standing before her, condemned to live forever as the personification of the people. Sure, she had had her own hardships, but as a human she was still going to die, and those bad times would be forgotten and washed away as her throne made way for someone new. But here was Arthur Kirkland, Britain, her family friend, who had lived for so long with so many unpleasant times behind him and yet they would always be there to haunt him., and still so many more to come.
"Piers Gaveston…Did you love him, Britain?"
At that his head snapped upward to face the Queen, her aged face showing compassion and pity towards his sorry frame. He couldn't control the single tear that squeezed its way past his eyelids and dribbled down his cheek. His lip quivered slightly, and although he wanted to say so much to her, he couldn't even force himself to utter a single word.
This was all the Queen needed to answer her question. She went back to her seat, heels echoing against the floor as she approached her chair, back facing the country that stood before her. "This once. Just this once, I'll let you have final say."
Britain gasped, feeling his chest tighten as his hands closed tightly.
"Though I'm sure you're aware," she continued, "of what happens to a playwright whose play is rejected? I simply cannot tell Marlowe that it was you who objected to its publication. I will need to take credit, and punish him as the law dictates."
Yes, yes, this is what he wanted! The last thing he had wanted was for the damn thing to be approved and this piece running freely in the country!
"Pity, I had really liked this one, and Marlowe himself shows a great amount of potential."
His excitement was quickly contained as he let her words sink in. He couldn't go against his Queen, not when she had put it like that. And he was the United Kingdom of Great Britain. He couldn't let silly things like emotion get in the way. Half-heartedly Arthur sighed.
"No, no, it's quite alright. It would be…uncouth for me to put Marlowe in that amount of danger simply for the sake of my feelings."
To which she smiled and nodded. "If you insist."
He bowed to her to exit, staying down there for several more seconds to make up for not doing so upon entering. "I am sorry that I rudely intruded on Your Majesty. It will not happen again, forgive me, Your Grace."
She nodded again, and turned back to sit upon her throne, waving him away in dismissal. Arthur got up off his knees and sighed in defeat, turning around to leave her presence, thoroughly embarrassed with his performance in front of his Queen. He took hurried steps to quicken his absence from her presence, but before he was able to fully leave she spoke again.
"From this, though, it seems you are undeniably tense and overworked. Perhaps, Sir Kirkland, you are in need of a holiday." She knowingly let her smile widen. "I think there is someone in the colonies who would be most pleased to have you with him. You have my permission to go there, if it so pleases you."
Britain only paused at the door to hear her words, turning only slightly to respond. "Thank you very much, Your Majesty. Surely, I am not deserving after…"
"Oh hush," she interrupted. With that, Britain opened the doors to her chamber and walked out, leaving the smiling Queen to continue with her day.
Though it was not to say that all of his anger had left him. He was still quite irritated with the playwright, and with every step he took he became more infuriated. Of course, he couldn't go back and complain to the Queen, not after so rudely barging in on her like that and telling her himself that he was okay with EdwardII's publication, even if that had been a total lie.
Tucked away in a dark corner, he nonchalantly nudged a guard, to which the man looked upon him and bowed. "Sir Kirkland," he said upon shrinking to his knee.
Britain's hand shot into his own pockets to pull out a bit of currency, fingers clutching against the cool metal as he placed them into the guard's hand. He didn't even bother to contain the malice in his voice as he leant over and whispered ever so softly.
"Take care of him. Christopher Marlowe. I want him dead."
Surely, EdwardII would be staged, just as his Queen had ordered. Marlowe himself, however, would not be so kindly forgiven for this blow to his ego, his past, and his fond memories of Piers.
No. He would most definitely pay.
END
So yeah…I basically combined the whole conspiracy behind Marlowe's murder with Hetalia…haha, it was so fun!
Anyway, a bit of historical background.
Obviously, the Queen mentioned is Queen Elizabeth.
Christopher Marlowe, for those who aren't familiar with him. He was a playwright right before Shakespeare who is rumored to have been a spy for Queen Elizabeth. He died about a year after Edward II was written in a bar fight, but many question whether it was because he had really enraged his bar companions into a fight that just went horribly wrong or if it had been planned because they wanted him to keep his mouth shut. Some theories even suggest that he faked his own death, and then wrote under the penname William Shakespeare. So yeah…he's one of the other guys some people think wrote under that name (What the hell, Hollywood, WHY is there not a movie about this guy's life?) The work he is well-known for is Dr. Faustus, though Edward II is my favorite, and I've heard really good things about both parts of Tamburlaine.
Edward II is a history play written by Christopher Marlowe with elements of a revenge tragedy. Most of the things written in Edward II are actually true, though dates and history are distorted in the play (in the play, Edward III is a character when Gaveston was alive, though I'm pretty sure Edward III wasn't born until after Gaveston's death. Also, Gaveston is not married in Marlowe's play, though I'm also pretty sure the books I've read said he was married before the king).
Piers Gaveston was a knight and the favorite of King Edward II. They met when the two were teens, and because Edward I thought Piers would be a good influence on his son, he appointed Gaveston as a member of the court for his son. Though it didn't work out as planned. Pierswas banished. But then Edward I died and he was brought back. But he managed to piss off a ton of important people and was banished again. Though because Edward II missed him so much, he was brought back again. Life pretty much went this way and he was banished and brought back a second time. Anyway, Gavestonwas beheaded. There were a ton of rumors that Edward II and Gaveston loved each other.
The one that the Queen suggests England go see on a holiday is America. Since the year is 1592, there isn't a whole lot that Britain is doing with the United States; however, the first person born to British parents was born in the colonies in 1587, so Britain's character would have at least known who America was. So maybe the bond between them as seen in the anime as a personification of history isn't quite at the "brothers" level yet, but I just thought it made a good ending. Besides, since Marlowe distorted history a bit, I should be able to too!
Ah, also, I should explain who the Master of Revels is for people who aren't familiar with that. The Master of Revels was the guy who ran festivals, though he was later charged with censorship for plays and activities. If you were a playwright, it went through him and he checked over to make sure it wouldn't anger the monarchy. And you did NOT want to anger the monarchy; the smallest thing they would tell you was that your play or activity was unacceptable, and you were really lucky if you got off with just that.
God, that was a lot of points to make. I kind of liked the idea of Britain having a hand in Marlowe's murder. Makes things kind of interesting.
Well, have a nice holidays! Hope you enjoyed reading, don't forget to leave a review!