Summary: Anne's life is spared. And the King allows her to live out her days as the Marquess of Pembroke, with their bastard daughter. But Anne Boleyn is not a woman to take such insult kindly; her role in the King's Court is not yet at an end.
A/N: So Tudor stories have been sparking my imagination at the moment and I currently have (not including An act of Fate and God's gift) this story and another few stories in the planning/early chapter's stages, of which I will also be putting up today. I do not intend to abandon any story, but sometimes I get inspiration for some stories and not for others and it actually helps me to write when I am able to extend my brain to a number of stories rather than just focusing on two of them and so I have decided to upload all of them, instead of just keeping them to my self.
This story will be quite different to all of my other stories, and I hope that you all find it interesting.
This story follows the Marquees of Pembroke Challenge:
Henry manages to annul the marriage after the trial but before Anne's execution. The annulment becomes public and the people rally around Anne to prevent her execution seeing as she couldn't have committed treason if she was never married to Henry. Anne reverts to her title as Marquess of Pembroke.
The requirements for this challenge are as follows:
Henry must allow Anne to keep her lands and money
Just before her trial Henry visited Anne's bed. After she is released for the Tower Anne discovers she is pregnant.
Jane must die on schedule and Edward must also die as an infant (Shrugs it is AU)
Eventually must be Anne/Henry yet again
So I have the first three chapters completed, and am currently writing the fourth chapter (do not worry my other stories have not been forgotten), I will wait to post them until I see how this story has been received and if people would be interested in me continuing it.
As always I make no claims to owning anything, this is just a work of my imagination. Some dialogue has been used from The Tudors and Anne of a Thousand days
Chapter One:
17th of May 1536
Westminster Palace
" You are certain?" King Henry questioned, his eyes glaring daggers into the men in front of him. His loyal councillors, the Kings dogs that was what the commons called them.
It took a moment for any of his companions to answer him, he had no doubt that all of them were thinking of what was best to say, of what would anger him the least.
" Yes, Your Majesty," Cromwell responded his voice even but not quite calm, " The midwives confirmed the Lady's suspicions just an hour ago."
Henry could not help but want to laugh in response to his ministers carefully placed words. He had not mentioned Anne by any title, just that morning his marriage to Anne had been declared null and void; once again he had been left without a Queen and only a bastard daughter to his name. He called Anne the lady, the woman who has once been his Queen.
Cromwell had warned him against annulling the marriage, Crammer too had been shocked by his wish, Henry supposed that they had both worked tirelessley for the union, it must have seemed as if all their efforts had come to naught. Cromwell had stressed that the people might think it odd, for a woman to be convicted of adultery if the marriage had never taken place to begin with. Henry personally thought Cromwell was giving the common people too much credit, and besides the people of England had never warmed to Anne, her death he had no doubt would be a welcome relief to them, especially when he replaced the woman they so hated, with Jane. His people would love Jane as they had loved Katherine, even more so when she gave England its heir.
Since Charles had bought the rumours about Anne's infidelities forward, little had surprised Henry since Anne's arrest. Her verdict had come without any real shock, in truth she had been condemned before she had even walked through the doors, the men she was accused with had been found guilty, how then could she not be, even if they were to be swayed by Anne's charm and wit, even in her last days she still tried to out play him, Henry had been assured that her guilt would be made clear. And while he would never send an innocent woman to her death, he had known that he needed to be free of her, to marry Jane.
Yet once again, Anne Boleyn it seemed had the upper hand.
He had been told that after her trail she had fainted, and then for all the days since she had been ill. A doctor had seen to her (for she had still been the Queen of England at the time), and had suggested that she may have been with child; a midwife had confirmed such thoughts. Anne was due to deliver her babe in November, as always it was proving to be difficult to be rid of her.
Anne had sworn on the damnation of her soul that she was innocent of any crime against him, and that the child in her womb was his. Henry knew that some thought that he may return to her, the thought of a male heir too much to deny, but Henry had no such plans. If the accusations against Anne were indeed true, then there was no way to tell if the child was truly his, Henry could not even be sure that Elizabeth was his, how was he suppose to believe this woman who everyone claimed to be a liar, witch and a whore? He had been tricked into a marriage with her by false promises and declarations of love; he would not be so easily tricked again.
" She will remain in the tower until she has delivered the child, and then her execution will go forth as planned," Henry said seriously, he could see the look of surprise on some of his councillors faces, on others he saw happiness especially in the eyes of the Seymour's, " The lady should feel lucky that I am not inclined to kill her while her bastard is still in her belly." No one made mention of the fact that it was illegal to kill a pregnant woman, if he wished to, he would make it legal, but he was not such a monsters.
" Yes, Your Majesty," Cromwell responded again, not quite meeting his Kings eyes, " but what of the others?"
" They are traitors, they will die as such."
" Yes, Your Majesty."
Tower of London
Anne had thought that the news of her pregnancy would at least allow her husband (for he was still her husband no matter what anyone claimed), to treat her with more kindness. She had foolishly believed that he would return to her, that he would abandon his Seymour whore and realise Anne and the others that had been wrongly accused with her were all innocent.
He had not. It had taken little less than an hour for word to get back to her in regards to his reaction and the decision about her pregnancy and fate. She had thought it to be her saviour, the last chance she had begged him for, yet it only gave her time. Once her child was born, she would be executed, her brother and the others were not awarded even that amount of kindness.
She knew it was almost time, she could hear the crowds gathering outside of her window, and as Anne pushed a chest up against the wall, with no care for her health or the health of her unborn child (for at least the moment), she just had to see it through, to see them, her friends and confidant's her dear sweet brother in their last moments. She thought she owed them that much, for if not for her they would never be in such a situation. They were to be killed for there loyalty to her, in any other nation loyalty to a Queen would reap rewards; in England it only earned death.
The window gave her a view of the scaffold and the sight put tears into her eyes. George was the first of the men to walk upon it, he had a title and as such he was awarded that honour, if it could be called that. She was surprised that the crowd was so quiet, as soon as George had walked upon the scaffold it was as if they had fallen silent, Anne didn't care for why, she was simply glad that she had been given the opportunity to hear her brothers voice one last time.
" I say to you," He began his words trembling only slightly, " I say to you trust in God and not in the vanities of this world for If I had done so I think I would still be alive, as you are now."
As much as she wished to Anne could not look away as he lowered himself into a kneeling position, she could not even imagine the fear he must have felt when he lowered his head onto that blood stained block, nor could she imagine the pain he felt at knowing that he was to die an innocent man, murdered so that his King could take a new wife. As her brothers head was taken from his body in one clean sweep, Anne could feel her body give out on her, the cries and sounds that came from her body were heart wrenching.
She could not understand why Henry, the man who had changed the very fabrics of his country to be with her, wanted her to suffer so much pain and anguish. If he wanted her dead so badly, why could he not have simply settled with her, why did he have to take more innocent people to their graves, people who had once been so dear to her heart and too his too.
She did not watch the others. Her grief for George was too much; she did not think she would have been able to bear the sight of any more death. Surprisingly the crowds remained silent. Anne had never attended an execution personally but she had been told that they were often rowdy and noisy affairs, it was almost as if the crowd to was grieving, the crowd was so silent that she heard the swing of the axe three more times.
She did not love or care for the others as she had her brother, yet still she grieved their deaths all the same. Mark had been a friend to her, she had seen him rise in court and now because of the friendship that had developed between them she had been endured to watch him fall as well. Her ladies had told her that he had ben tortured into his confession, and Anne did not doubt it, he would never have betrayed her otherwise. Henry Norris, she knew had had a crush on her but she had never returned such affections, in fact she had done the opposite she had encouraged him to marry Madge but he had been obliged to tarry and so he too had been imprisoned. She knew very little of William Brereton, to be truthful the man had always frightened her somewhat, she had always been under the suspicion that he hated her, perhaps that was why he confessed, or perhaps he had thought a confession would give him his freedom, either way Anne would pray for him.
Taking deep calming breaths Anne prepared herself to rise from her position on the floor, for Elizabeth's sake and for the sake of her unborn child she knew she had no choice but to remain strong.
18th of May 1536
Tower of London
Charles held no desire to do what he had been ordered to do, yet it was the King's command, and what Henry wanted, Henry always got. He did not think it a job befitting his station, neither as the Duke of Suffolk or as Henry's most trusted friend and ally, yet still he found himself walking into the tower and into the rooms of Thomas Boleyn.
It gave him an almost sicking feeling to be once again walking towards the tower gates, in such a short amount of time. He had no love for Anne Boleyn, even in her days as Henry's mistress he had never been fond of her, he supposed he had his late wife to blame for that. Mary had hated Anne so much, that Charles himself had been obliged to feel the same, although he was slightly (only slightly) better at hiding it. He had never felt anything other than hate for the woman, yet as he had walked her to the tower, as he had told her what it was she had been charged with, he had felt sympathy for her, sympathy and guilt, the guilt was the hardest to deal with, he had hardly been able to look the woman in the eyes when he had arrested her, he feared that if he had, that one look into those dark orbs would have had him crawling back to Henry on bended knee and telling him that all the accusations were false.
Oh yes he knew there was no truth to the allegations that had been drawn up against the Queen. Oh Anne Boleyn was a flirt that could not be denied (and truthfully that was all he had ever said to the King) but she was not an adulteress, the woman was in love with her husband, even if he was no longer in love with her. While it was true that the woman was no saint, Charles had only slowly begun to realise that she was not the devil either. Yes it was true that she had stepped over other people to gain her crown and position, her rise had caused pain for many and the deaths of a few, but in the end Charles knew (as much as he would like to deny it) that the fault of all that had happened did not solely lie on her shoulders. It was Henry who decided what did and did not occur, it was Henry who decided who would die and who would be spared, Anne Boleyn had simply shown him that he had the power to do as he willed, and now no one would stand in his way.
As he walked into the rooms of Thomas Boleyn, he could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of rage, if not for him and his desires to place his daughters in the beds of Kings, then none of this would have ever happened, if not for Thomas Boleyn, Charles would not have the deaths of four innocent men (and possibly an anointed queen of England), on his conscious.
" Am I…Am I to be tried?" Boleyn's voice was weak, it was the first time Charles could ever remember not hearing an air of arrogance from the man.
" No," Charles responded with gritted teeth, "You are to be released."
Charles was sickened to see the smile that covered his counterparts face; he was even more disgusted when Boleyn tried to cover his glee by placing his hand over his mouth. He still could not quite believe that Henry was allowing the man to go with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. If anyone were to blame it was he, and yet there he was, having just lost his son, and his daughter too in time (once she had delivered her child) smiling and about to be set free.
" But," Charles started hoping to erase some of the mans relief, " Your Majesty commands that since you no longer have his trust and affection; that you are to be stripped forthwith of all of all your official purses and titles. You will no longer serve under the Privy Council; you will relinquish the role of Lord Privy seal and all its privileges. His Majesty also desires that you leave court and that you never show yourself in his presence again on pain of death."
Charles had been hoping to see some disappointment cross Boleyn's features, but he was left disappointed by the mans response.
" So I am to keep my Earldom?"
Charles was beyond outraged at Boleyn's nonchalant attitude; he was so beyond anger that he all but ran across the room before grabbing hold of Boleyn's shirt and slamming him against the wall.
" Did you watch your son die? Charles questioned, his tone angry but controlled, " What about your daughter, will you watch her suffer? Will you watch her die? Tell me, Boleyn, was it all worth it?"
Westminster Palace
It had been many years since he had been given reason to believe that his people would rise up against him. Not since his father's reign had Henry truly feared a rebellion, never had he been given anything more than grievances, even when he had left Katherine the crowds had not been nearly as rowdy as they were now.
It was the noise of them all that got to him the most, the screams and cries emitting from outside the walls of his palace, that despite the space between him and the common folk were loud and clear. He could have sworn that some of them were shouting murderer, others were calling for God to spare good Queen Anne, Henry was just glad that he had had the good sense to send Jane to Wolf Hall, no doubt she would give the people more reasons to shout.
Not once during their marriage had the people of England supported Anne as their Queen, yet now when he wanted to be rid of her, they acted as if she were the virgin mother herself.
" What is it they want?" Henry questioned through ground out teeth, his expression firm and unwavering.
" They are calling for the Lady Anne's release," Cromwell said, his voice stiff but clear, " and the executioner from Calais is refusing to come."
" There are many men I am sure who could chop of that Harlot's head." Henry ground out again, " It is not as if we do not have the time to find another."
" Your Majesty, If I may I do not think that to be the best course of action." Cromwell responded smoothly, making his voice sound as calm as possible. He could not believe that after all his work, to remove Anne Boleyn from power, that one simple mistake could ruin everything and spare her life. He had warned the King against it, he had told Henry that the people would not accept a charge of adultery if the adulteress had never been in a marriage to begin with, yet Henry as always had been insistent and this was the result.
" I do not care," Henry raged slamming his fist on the table in front of him, " Anyone who argues my word can stand on the block with her. I want her dead, I want this over with, Finished!"
" Your Majesty knows I only have you interests and the interests of England in my mind, I do not think that executing the Lady Anne is the best course of action, I think that such a thing could lead to civil war."
Henry stared at his minister with eyes full of anger, all the while wondering why things could never be simple when they concerned Anne Boleyn. Their relationship had never been simple and now when he was trying to move on, trying to rid him of all the pain she had ever caused him, it still wasn't simple. First she discovered she was pregnant and now his people were rebelling against him in her name.
" What is it you propose I do? Continue to stay married to a woman who has committed adultery against me, to make a known harlot the Queen of my realm, to pardon her for crimes for which she has been fond guilty and condemned to die for, what would be thought of me then, what would other nations think of the King of England, incapable of killing one simple woman."
" No Your Majesty, of course not," Cromwell said quickly not wanting to anger the king any further, " But perhaps you could allow her to live as a sign of mercy and goodwill to the people of England. You could allow her to live out her life in one of her estates as the Marques of Pembroke, it would almost be as if she did die."
Henry stared long and hard at the man in front of him thinking over his minister's words all the while knowing that he was speaking the truth. He could not risk his throne, not before he had a male heir to secure his line. He would send the harlot into exile where she could raise her bastard and never be heard of again.
" So be it."
19th of May 1536
Tower of London
She had been sitting staring out into a brick wall for what she felt was an age. Her ladies tried to get her to talk, to play games, to even sing, but Anne refused all of their advances. She was in no mood to be merry, she may have longer than her brother and the others, but she would still die, one day soon the executioner would take away her head.
Nan came before her, a nervous expression upon her face and a plate of food in her hand. Anne just shock her head in response, she knew that for the sake of the child in her belly that she must eat and keep up her strength, yet she did not think that she would be able to stomach anything, not that night at least.
" I am not hungry," she said her voice soft but firm, " Take the food and leave me, all of you."
She knew they had been given orders not to leave her presence, yet they all complied to her message just the same. Some it seemed had forgotten that she was no longer their Queen; others she knew would obey her wish no matter her station, those that were loyal to her, those that had not betrayed her.
She was given peace for only a moment; she heard the door to her chambers (the Queen's chambers still), opening and heavy footfalls coming with it.
" I said…"
" Anne," Anne's head spun around at the sound of the voice, his voice, why had he come, did he really wish to punish her some more; had she not suffered enough. " Anne is it true?"
Anne looked at him with a quizzical look, what was it he wanted to hear from her, did he really think her guilty or was this just an act, a trap to get her to confess to sins she had not committed. She had heard the rumours, Nan had whispered them to her the day before, the people were not happy with her sentence nor the executions that had taken place on Henry's orders, perhaps he wanted to give them reason to believe she was guilty, well she would give him no reason to.
" Have you stepped into your own trap, my lord?" Anne questioned with a laugh, " Any evidence you have against me, you bought and paid for. Do you now begin to believe it?"
" Anne The court has already decided your verdict, but I don't want to hear your guilt from them, I want to hear it from your lips." Henry did not know why he had come to her, to see her perhaps for a final time, he had just known that he had to. She would be told of her freedom that night, yet for some reason he had wanted to do it, to show her that he was capable of being merciful…even to her after all she had done to him.
" That I was unfaithful to you?" Anne questioned with a smile, she could not believe that the man in front of her was the man she had married, the man she had fallen in love with, the man whom had fathered her children. He seemed nothing more than a monster now, a monster wearing a King's crown and her husbands face.
" Yes, Just that." Henry responded nodding, he needed to hear it from her; otherwise the question would plague him for the rest of his life, " Were you unfaithful to me whilst I still loved you? Of course, ill never know. Whether you say aye or no, I shall never know."
Anne stood from her chair in response to his words anger and defiance and hurt all flashing in her eyes. Who was he to condemn her of adultery, he who had promised to stay faithful and truthful to her, yet who had jumped from bed to bed once he had had her?
" You come here to make sure whether there was truly adultery, because that would touch your manhood or your pride," Anne spat out between clenched teeth, moving closer towards him with every word, " And even so, my heart and my eyes are glad of you. Fool of all woman that I am, I'm glad you are here. Go, then. Keep your pride of manhood, you know about me now."
Henry stared at her with a confused expression upon his face, why did she always have to enchant him so, why did she always know just what to say to make his heart flutter and his blood boil. " Anne, is it true that you're glad to see me?"
" Yes it's true, now what do you want of me?"
" Agree that the marriage never was, give up all rights. You can take Elizabeth and the child in your belly, you will be cared for. Please just set me free."
" You have already annulled the marriage Henry what good will my agreement be?" Anne questioned her eyes turning darker with each word she spoke, " I will not give you my leave to marry that Seymour wench and make our child, our children bastards."
" Anne," Henry raged, her defiance grinding on his every nerve, " You have left me no choice, you have been found guilty of treason, of adultery. What more can I do?"
By your order, Anne thought but did not say, there was no point in proclaiming her innocence not when he had already made up his mind about her guilt. " Once I told you any children we had would not be bastards. You promised marriage and the crown. Now you try to dance out of your promise. Well, I won't have it! We are man and wife together. King and Queen. I keep that. Take it from me as best you can."
" It has already been decided there is nothing you can do to change it." Henry responded furiously his whole body shaking with anger.
" Then why have you come Henry, what more can you take from me, please just go," Anne knew she was on the verge of collapsing, but with every fibre of her being she held her sadness back, " but before you go, perhaps you should hear one thing. I lied to you. I said I love you, but I lied. I was untrue. Untrue with many.." Anne lied never losing eye contact with the man before her.
" That is a lie," Henry said, he wanted to believe more than anything that she was being false with him, to see the accusations on paper was one thing, to hear them from her lips was another entirely.
" I was unfaithful to you with all of them." Anne lied again her voice getting more angry and more fierce with every word she spoke, " with half your court, with soldiers of your guard, with grooms, with stable hands, look for your life at every man that ever knew me and wonder if I didn't find him a better man than you!"
" You whore," Henry, raged, his palm connecting with her cheek in a firm movement. He had never hit her before.
" But Elizabeth, and this child in my belly are yours." Anne declared, her voice not once wavering, " Watch them as they grow, they are yours. They are Tudors! Get yourself a son off of that sweet, pale girl if you can- and hope that he will live! But my children shall reign after you! Yes the children of Anne the Whore and Henry the Bloodstained lecher- shall rule. And remember this; my children will be greater rulers than any king of yours. They shall rule a greater England than you could ever have built! Yes my children, my children will rule, and my blood will have been well spent."
Henry could do nothing but stare at the woman in front of him in disbelief, words had forsaken him. Half of him wanted to strike her again, if it were any other he would have, the other part of him wanted to have her executed, to forget the whole conversation he had had with Cromwell and have her killed and out of his life for good, the smallest part of him wanted to wrap her in his arms and take her then and there, but he could take none of those options. For the sake of his reign she had to live, no matter the atrocities she had committed against him, he had little choice. Once he married Jane, she would be forgotten anyway, she would never again have to set an eye upon her.
Taking a deep breath, Henry spoke as calmly as he could manage, " I have decided to be merciful for the sake of Elizabeth and the past we once shared, you shall live. You will leave the tower tonight and make your way to Pembroke castle, there you shall reside as the Marquees of Pembroke and you will not return to my sight unless you are commanded to. Do you understand?"
Anne did not know whether to believe his words or not, and she found it very hard to believe that his decision was an act of mercy, perhaps Nan had been right perhaps the people had risen up against him.
" What of our children. What of Elizabeth and the child in my belly?" Anne questioned boldly, she would not thank him, he had murdered her brother and three other innocent men, and she would not thank him for not killing another innocent. The only thing she had left in the world was her children, Elizabeth and the baby that was not yet born; it was their fates she was concerned with.
" You can keep your bastards," Henry spat out, he was still consumed with anger, " I will have your daughter sent to you madam."
It took everything Anne had to not smile in response to his words; instead she simply curtsied, purring out "Your Majesty," as she did so. His eyes despite the anger they held were still full of lust. Jane Seymour would be lucky if he lusted after her half as much as he still lusted after Anne.
A/N: So there is the first chapter of the first of my new stories, I do hope you enjoyed it please let me know what you all think and leave a review.