A Courtier's Life Chapter 1, a tudors fanfic

A Courtier's Life:

Katherine Boleyn was the youngest Boleyn, starting court at the age of thirteen. Wishing to part from the shadows of Mary and Anne, Katherine will do anything to be different, even if that means to turn on her family's name. She never imagined she catch the king's eyes though.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1) 28 June, 1491 - Henry VIII is born

2) 1499 - Mary Boleyn is born

3) 1507 - (?) Anne Boleyn is born (as is Jane Seymour)

4) 1520 - Affair between Henry VIII and Mary Boleyn starts

5) 4 February, 1520 - Mary Boleyn marries William Carey

6) March, 1526 - Affair between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn beings (Henry VIII's and Mary's affair ended a year earlier.)

7) January, 1533 - Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn marry

8) 7 September, 1533 - Elizabeth I is born

9) 19 May, 1536 - Anne Boleyn is executed (Henry VII marries Jane Seymour on the 30th.)

10) 28 January, 1547 - Henry VIII dies.

Hello my readers!

Thank you for reading this first chapter :) it really means a lot. As you can see, this is under the category TV Tudors. I just wanted to make something clear: I have only watched half of the first season of Tudors, so I apologize in advanced for the events, people, and scenes that do not go along with the show. I tend to, however, to finish the show.

This story will mostly have elements from The Other Boleyn Girl. If you have not seen the movie, I recommend you do you so, and read the book as well (I loved the book!).

All my knowledge that is going into this story is facts from the books I've read, copyrights can be found at the end of this chapter, historical facts, and my own knowledge on this era and the Tudor Dynasty.

Enjoy! :)

Chapter 1:1522, Spring

"Katherine!"

It was a sunny morning. The birds were chirping outside the castle, streaks of sunlight made a garden of dust. The servants were awake, preparing the breakfast for the king and queen, but the courtiers still slept, all but George.

"Katherine."

George Boleyn had awakened by dawn. He had dressed for the morning and went in search of his sister. He knew the oldest Boleyn, Mary, was at home with their parents, the second oldest, Anne, was still in France, so that left the youngest, Katherine.

"Katherine, wake up!"

He rounded the corner and pushed the bedroom doors open. There he saw Katherine- she had the covers over her tiny body, shielding the morning away.

"Oh, Tiny," George sighed. He opened the curtains, letting the sun in.

Katherine hissed at the sudden invasion of the sunlight. "George, get out!" She bunched the covers closer to her face and shoved a pillow on her head as well.

George yanked the covers down. "Wake up! It's a beautiful morning; the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and you lay here wasting away."

"I will waste all I want," Katherine snapped. She sat up and pushed her auburn waist hair out of her face. "And stop with the antics, George. I know Anne is coming back today."

"Aren't you happy?"

"Why should I be?"

"Your sister is coming home!"

"Oh yes, so let's stop everything. Anne will waltz in here like she owns the castle. We shall go back to listening to her. Father and uncle can't go a day without Anne putting in her thoughts. Let me put my thoughts in for once."

George chuckled. "I'd like to hear that. Get up now, Tiny."

"Get out, George." Katherine had stood up out of her bed, not caring that her brother was seeing her in her sheer white nightgown.

"Hurry now," George said. He shielded his eyes from his sister as she pulled at the strings of her clothing. "You could have waited for me to leave, sister."

"I told you to get out, brother."

Katherine had no shame, George knew that. He just couldn't understand why men always overlooked his youngest sister. She was beautiful, the perfect combination of both Anne and Mary. She had auburn colored hair, a mixture of a golden honey and light chocolate.

With milk colored skin that resembled the pale moon, freckles joined to the captivating lure of her complexion. Her eyes were not of a Boleyn, they were a Howard. The pale sliver eyes were alluring, they were mysterious and dangerous. It seemed that with one look, Katherine could turn men to stone, granting her the nickname Medusa to the people of court.

When men finally noticed Katherine, they always took the same approach. Talk to her, ask her of her status in the court, and court her – or at least try to court her. Katherine was independent; men surly liked that about her. She'd be a wife who wasn't constantly crying for their husband, asking for help always. She'd hold her own ground, finding a way to handle problems. One thing they could not overlook though was her inexperience of sex.

At the age of thirteen, Katherine should have already been married, pregnant with her first child. Yet she refused every man presented to her. She wouldn't tell a soul why she wouldn't marry. Mary said Katherine would was looking for love, Anne said she was too foolish, but George assumed that Katherine would prefer a female lover.

Katherine heard all these whispered assumptions about her, but couldn't find it in herself to care. All thoughts were incorrect, though.

"Did you get the word?"

"You're still here?" Katherine looked over her naked shoulder at her brother, who was covering his eyes.

"Could you answer me, please? It's infuriating when you do that."

Katherine laughed. "Alright, alright. Word of what?"

"The Queen has given birth to a still born." The words were spoken in a rushed breath. No one was to know of this, not yet.

Quickly, Katherine turned around, clutching the untied top of gown to her chest. "How do you know this? George, look at me."

Without hesitation, George uncovered his face and looked his sister in the eyes. "The King has told our uncle, sister. They are not publicizing this news in haste, but the King needed to talk to someone."

Katherine shook her head and turned back around. She felt no sympathy for her King; she knew something heart-aching would come of this pregnancy. Katherine had stood by her Queen for the six months of her pregnancy, and each time the King would join them, he'd talk about the son Queen Catherine of Aragon was carrying.

Katherine could see the whirlwind of emotions swirling through the Queen's tired eyes. She knew her majesty stayed up late at night, praying to God for the child to be a boy. The Queen was so in love with the King, she wanted so badly to please him, and it disgusted Katherine. The King should be content with the child he has. Mary was a fine princess, she was so eager to learn everything, but she wanted her father to accept her more.

"Poor her majesty, poor Mary." Katherine stepped out of the nightgown and headed towards the tub filled with warm water. She sunk into the water and wasted no time washing herself.

George turned his back, staring out the window. "The poor King."

"What is poor of him? His majesty can lay with any woman and produce an heir." Katherine washed the suds of soap off her skin before she wrinkled. "He already has."

"Yet it is not the Queen's. It was a mistress's son."

Her clothing awaited her one the chair closet to the bed, and with slowness, Katherine began to dress herself. "If he wanted to, the King could persuade her majesty into claiming the child as hers'."

George snorted. "That Spanish blood makes her stubborn."

"I'm stubborn, is there something wrong with that?"

"You're not Spanish."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Could you tie my corset for me?"

"Why can't you call for a servant?"

"Because that is wasting time. Just do it, George. I'm decent; you will not see any part of me you wish not to see." A coy smile crept to her lips. "Unless you have fantasies of seeing something."

George lurched forwards, clutching his stomach. He gagged. "You'll burn in hell with that mouth of yours, Tiny"

"I'll be warm and cozy then. Come now, you're wasting daylight!"

With a heavy sigh, George obeyed his little sister. He fumbled with the strings, at a lost with them. "How do you women do this?"

"Oh, you men are babies. We women have to wear this tight, uncomfortable corset for your eyes to linger on our bosoms, and we even carry your children for nine months, knowing whether or not…"

George pulled at a string of her hair. "Shut up, Tiny. I was merely implying that the corset resembles a death trap."

"You act as if you've never dealt with a corset before, brother."

George's face blossomed with a pink blush. "You need to go to confession."

"What for?" Katherine asked innocently, grunting as George tightened and pulled the strings. "I'm not the one deflowering virgins."

George's eyes widened. "Katherine, shut up! If anyone were to figure out…"

"Oh, calm down, brother," Katherine laughed. She did greatly enjoy teasing him.

Once George was done, he spun Katherine around and smiled. "Beautiful." He brushed his knuckles along the silky skin of her jaw. When she blushed, he grabbed her chin to make sure she didn't look down. "Such a beauty shouldn't hide itself."

"Oh, George," Katherine breathed, her breath fanning his face.

George lowered his head until his forehead leaned against hers. How a man could deny her, he'll never know. "Get ready," he whispered. He placed a kiss on her nose, trying to count the freckles around it. He gave her a quick hug before opening the door.

"Get ready for what?"

"The King is coming to our home tomorrow." George walked out the door; leaving it open, knowing Katherine would be joining him soon.

Phew! That was five pages, and I could have wrote more, but I felt like that would have taken away aspects of the story.

So what do you think of Katherine? I don't want her to be a Mary-Sue, because there are many Mary-Sues. Trust me, she won't always be this stubborn and dismissive towards her king. Henry has a certain type, and he spent his whole life looking for that in all his wives and mistresses, but he never found it :(

Henry VIII was much more than a womanizer who saw his wives only good for bearing sons (and got rid of them when they couldn't produce him an heir), and his mistresses only good for sex. His childhood, like always, has much to do with his views on females and that all shall be revealed as the story continues.

Check out my other stories as well.

Please review and tell me how I did :)

~The Other Boleyn Girl

By Philippa Gregory

~The Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses and Bastards

By Philippa Jones

ISBN-13: 9781435122628

Publisher: Sterling

Publication date: 5/20/2010