This is based on the show Tudors
This chapter is a tester but if people like it I would gladly continue
I screwed up with history a lot to fit in my story! Sorry
Disclaimer: I do not own anything!
Happy reading
Whitehall Palace
December 1518
Lady Elizabeth Darrell, maid of honour to Queen Katherine of Aragon, couldn't help but smile, she was with the rest of the ladies in waiting helping the Queen prepare for the evenings celebrations, the Queen was different today, happier, Elizabeth decided and she knew why, the holidays were among them and Queen Katherine's children were coming back to court.
Elizabeth had heard of the difficulties the Queen had faced in child bearing, every child born to the royal couple were either miscarried or still born, apparently the King had even given up hope of having any children until Bessie Blount, King Henry's mistress had given birth to a boy, christened Henry in the Kings honour, the court had been celebrating as if a legitimate son had been born, plans were already in progress to try to legitimatise young Fitzroy, it was believed that Bessie Blount and her family would be honoured beyond belief for giving King Henry his first and only child, bastard or not, the King had claimed him as his own.
The Queen however was also with child, although no one believed that this child would survive, they were proven wrong and within a short month after the King's bastard son had been born. The Royale couple after many years of trying finally had a child.
Princess Mary's birth had quickly overshadowed that of Henry Fitzroy's, the King had a legitimate child, even if it was a girl, his delight was evident, taking her with him to important meetings and referring to her as 'the pearl of his world'.
The King however did not forget about his bastard son, Henry might not have paid him as much attention as he had done the first month of Fitzroy's birth but plans were underway to give the young bastard titles and estates, even though it was against the Queens wishes, however before young Fitzroy could receive such gifts, Queen Katherine announced that she was with child, Henry out of respect for his wife and daughter had decided to wait until after the birth before he bestowed the titles on his son, not daring to hope that God would gift him with a legitimate son, and a King for England.
Like the King, the Court and all of England did not believe the Queen could carry a second child to term but to the surprise of many; she did and delivered a healthy boy, to the delight of King and Country.
Edward had been born, the Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the throne and the next King of England, the King had a son, and all of England was celebrating.
After the birth of Prince Edward, Henry Fitzroy's life drastically changed, the King scrapped all plans of trying to legitimise him and all but forgot about his first born child. Supporters of Bessie Blount quickly changed sides and Bessie herself removed herself from Court life
Lady Darrell looked over at Mary Boleyn, the King's current mistress, she harboured nothing but loathing for the women. Queen Katherine had done nothing but show kindness to the girl, and how did Mary repay her, by bedding Katherine's husband.
Mary Boleyn was the worst thing a women could become, known as the "Great Prostitute" throughout the French court, she had done nothing to prove the name wrong, Elizabeth's eyes wandered over to Anne Boleyn, Mary's younger sister, Elizabeth only talked to the younger Boleyn girl when she had to, believing her to be exactly like her sister.
Mary Boleyn had been unwell for quite some time, although she had dared not tell anyone, she had been to see the physician and was surprised by what she was told, surprised but excited.
Her excitement soon diminished. She had been the King's mistress for over six months and like she always did with the men she bedded, Mary was starting to fall for his Majesty. She had started to believe that he felt the same way, she had started to dream about what her life could be like, she of course could never be Queen but as the love of Henry's life, she could become maîtresse en titres and eventually have more influence then Queen Katherine, she had believed tonight's celebration would be the first stepping stone, tonight his Majesty's children would return to court and Mary believed that Henry would introduce them to her. Show them and the entire court that Mary was the love of his life and nothing and nobody could change that.
She was sadly mistaken, Mary's dreams came crashing down when Henry in no uncertain terms told her to stay away from the royal children, when she had dared to question why, he had bluntly told her that he did not want his children to know that he had a mistress, and had ended there conversation by telling Mary that she was to be married off to William Carey. Mary had run off in tears, forgetting completely what the physician had told her. She would have stayed in her apartment all night if her father had not threatened to drag her out.
King Henry the eight could be described as many things, handsome, cruel, generous, but Henry did not waste his time thinking about what people thought of him, he was of course King after all. There were only three people's opinions he cared about, the first was his beloved wife, Katherine;
Katherine was the love of his life, although he did not treat her as well as he should have, bedding which ever women took his fancy, he went out of his way to keep his many flings hidden and making sure he paid more attention to his wife then any mistress.
The other two, were his children. Henry had thought so badly of his father, he had promised himself that his children would never think of him that way, there opinion of him, meant the world to him.
That was why Henry had dismissed Mary Boleyn, people gossiped at court; especially the servants and it would not surprise Henry if Mary or Edward overheard his relationship with Mary Boleyn being discussed.
With a sigh, Henry opened one of the many letters on his desk, he quickly read it, and then scrunched it up. The letter was from one Elizabeth Blount, now known as Elizabeth Tailboys, it was a request for Henry to come and see young Henry Fitzroy, known as Harry, Henry chuckled at the irony; Harry was the name he went by before he had become King Henry.
Apparently the boy was excelling in his studies. Henry had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, it was a feeling he always had, when he thought about his eldest son.
Henry missed young Harry, although he would never admit it, not to anyone. Fitzroy had been his first child and for a short while he had doted on the boy but after all the pain Katherine had gone through to bless Henry with two healthy living children, paying attention to his eldest son felt like a sin to him.
Harry was proof of Henry's many infidelities and the pain he caused Katherine, going to see him would just make everything worse. He had sworn to himself that he would have no contact with the boy.
With a sigh, Henry walked out of the room, deciding to dine with his wife, some time together would be good for both of them before the festivities began and their children arrived.
He was right, Henry decided as he sat across from his wife, listening to her talk about her day, her ladies had been dismissed and it was only the two of them, a rare joy, one Henry wished they could indulge in more often.
"Sir Cox writes that Mary and Edward are excelling in their studies" Katherine continued
Henry couldn't help but smile, he knew his children were both intelligent and the fact that Mary was a girl did not mean that she could not have the same education as Edward.
Sir Richard Cox and Sir John Cheke were two gifted scholars, perfect as tutors for the young royal children.
"That is most excellent" Henry replied, causing Katherine to smile before he could say anything else, there was a knock at the door
"Enter" Henry said grudgingly, a page boy walked in
"Your Majesties, the Prince and Princess have arrived" the page boy said nervously
Katherine jumped out of her chair, eager to see them, Henry held back a chuckle at the sight of his wife, it was times like these when she was the most happiest that he remembered the young girl he had fallen in love with.
Lady Salisbury walked in with Mary and Edward behind her.
"Your Majesties" she bowed, Mary and Edward followed her example.
"You may leave us, Lady Salisbury" Katherine said kindly
When Lady Salisbury closed the door behind her, the formalities were long forgotten
"Mama" Mary and Edward said running into her arms, Katherine scooped them up,
"My darlings, I have missed you terribly" Katherine said, hugging them as tight as she could.
They quickly jumped from one parent to the other
"I missed you papa" Edward said
"I missed you more" Mary replied, holding onto him tightly
"I've missed both of you" Henry replied smiling, he really had missed both his children, they both had there own household at Greenwich palace and although he tried to see them as often as possible, it simply wasn't enough.
They both seemed to be growing by the day, although they were only six and five years old, Henry could see their whole lives flashing before his eyes.
"Papa are you alright" Mary asked, looking worried
"Of course I am, I was just thinking about tonight's celebrations" Henry laughed
"Your Papa has gone to a lot of trouble for you two" said Katherine smiling, "I wouldn't be surprised if he has emptied the whole treasury"
"You haven't? Have you" Mary asked worried
"Of course he hasn't" Edward said
"And why wouldn't I" Henry chuckled, "you two are more then worth it" both Children looked alarmed
"Your Papa is just joking" Katherine laughed, hugging Henry
"Well, are we going to stand around here all day, or do you two want your gifts" Henry smirked
"Gifts!" both children said simultaneously
"The celebrations have not even begun" Katherine scolded gently
"Just one gift each then, and you can have the rest in the morning" Henry said to the delight of the children.
Henry left the room and returned with two small boxes. He handed one to both children
"It is from your mother and me" Henry said proudly, hugging Katherine close to him, as the children opened their gifts.
Mary took out a pearl necklace with jewels around it
"It is beautiful" she breathed in awe
"I thought it was fitting" Henry laughed, "a Pearl necklace for my Pearl", he lifted Mary up on his hip and she rested her head on the crook of his neck
Edward took out a gold dagger with a jeweled hilt
"It's amazing" he said mesmerized "it looks just like yours Papa" the delight in Henry's face was obvious as he watched his family sitting around, telling stories and generally having fun, but as he watched his son playing with the dagger, the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach returned, and Henry couldn't help but wonder what his eldest son was doing.
The festivities had already begun at Court and celebrations were in full swing. There was only one person not enjoying the night and that person was Mary Boleyn.
Mary had been forced by her father to attend, since the celebrations were in honor of the royal children it would be deemed an insult if she did not appear.
"Why are you in such a mood?" said a voice next to Mary, Mary turned her head to look at her younger sister, Mary was often jealous of Anne, although Anne was not exceedingly beautiful in Mary's opinion, what she lacked in looks, she made up for in wit.
Anne would never have been treated in such a manner, Mary though, her sister was too strong willed to be used by any man, King or not.
"I am not in a mood" Mary said, she had not told anyone, what the King had said to her or what the physician had said. Not even Anne whom she told every detail about her life.
"Then why are you glaring at the Queen" Anne chuckled. Mary looked over at the royal family, Henry was holding Katherine's hand, with Mary on his lap and Edward sitting next to him, looking like he had no care in the world.
She had never seen him smile like that at her, or look at her so tenderly, her broken heart was beginning to hate Henry and his perfect family, oh what would he do if his precious children found out about his infidelities, Mary though. It was an unspoken rule to never speak of the King's mistresses in front or near his children.
"I am not glaring at anyone" Mary said tight lipped. Anne looked at her worriedly
"Mary what is the matter" Anne asked putting her hands on her hips.
Mary was not planning to tell anyone, she had not even informed the King but seeing Henry so happy without her broke her heart and she needed to tell someone, someone who would not judge her or scold her for what had happened.
Mary nodded at the entrance, and Anne understanding started to walk out the room, they did not stop until they reached their apartments.
"What is the matter, you can tell me anything, Mary" Anne said reassuringly. Mary stared at he younger sister, unsure of how to say it; she decided to just come out with it.
"I am with child and it is the King's" Mary blurted
Not sure if I should continue it or not
So what do you think?