"Jane was nothing she was too uneducated that she could to write her even write her name," said Anne getting angry at Henry in her head she was screaming" why does he keep on about her when I am here with him". "She was a Roman Catholic and a follower of the pope. So were her family."
"What do you mean by that Anne?" Henry had not noticed the hardness in Anne's voice.
"They do not understand the way that they do not play in the plan that God has for the world," Anne said. "And that is one without them," Henry did not understand what Anne had said and what it meant. "Henry I do not want to talk to you about them. I want to talk to you about you."
"What do you want to know Anne?"
"I want to know… I want to understand what you want, Henry," purred Anne.
"I want to know what is going on?" asked Henry almost shouting.
"Henry you know what is going on you are on your deathbed. You have just have died, and you would not want me here. But you have got to live with it," she paused and laughed at her choice of words.
"Where am I going to?" Henry was worried now.
"You, Henry my love, are coming with me," Anne said holding out her hand. "Take my hand Henry and please I need you trust me," she smiled at him. Henry took the hand that was offered to him. The second skin meets skin the world around them faded into nothingness.
All Henry could see was white and more white in this place was nothing apart from Anne and him standing next to each other still holding hands.
"Where are we?" asked Henry in an echoing whisper.
"Nowhere," Anne said back. "We are in-between worlds. Step forward" ordered Anne Henry did so. Only to be shocked by a pair of golden gates closed. "They will only open to those who are true of heart," whispered Anne into Henry's ear who was nodding his head. "Are you true of heart Henry Tudor King of England?" Anne smiled knowing how to play him with the use of the title. "Are you true of the heart the head of the church in England? Are you?" she repeated.
Slowly the gates opened and Anne pulled Henry though them. Inside was a world of beautiful gold and silver seemed to be built into the brick of the walls. There was mirrored inward looking glass on the walls. They passed many people wearing different fashions. However to Henry Anne was the only one that looked like an angel.
"What is this place?" asked Henry breathlessly looking around him.
"This is the palace of heaven and this where I have to leave you for now," said Anne stopping in front of a mirror door. "There is someone that you need to meet," she opened the door and stepped inside. "Your majesty?" called Anne out into the room. The room was duller than the mirrored walkway that they had just been on. There were one chair and a fireplace.
"Sweet Anne have you got him for me?" asked a female voice thick with a Spanish accent one that Henry knew only too well.
"Yes I have Queen Katherine," Henry was shocked at what Anne was saying still of the view that Anne would never call Katherine his first wife, Queen. Anne turned to Henry and smiled. "I have to go you two have a lot of things to catch up on," and with that Anne was going seeming to disappear before his eyes.
"Henry you have changed," Katherine stated merely standing in front of him.
"You have not," Henry said back.
"Oh Henry is still mad at me because I would never give into you?" asked Katherine laughing a little.
"Katherine I am not mad at you anymore," said Henry looking anywhere but at Katherine.
"Then why can you not look at me in the face?" asked Katherine sitting down on the only chair.
"Because if I do, I will find that I am in hell," whispered Henry.
"You are not in hell," said Katherine. "Did Anne not explain to you?" she saw Henry shake his head. "Well, she is swamped at the moment doing her jobs."
"What do you mean?"
"Seat down Henry," said Katherine cutting him short as a new chair appeared out of thin air in front of them. Henry sat down and waited for Katherine to speak. "Anne is what you might call a maid of mercy or a sister of fate," Henry still looked like he had no understanding.
"A what?" he merely said.
"She has to look after the people in the world," said Katherine. "She has given you this time here to look back on your life and talk to the many people that you have hurt in your life. You are going to have to ask her more about it."
"OK, I will. Katherine, you want to talk about the things that went wrong with our relationship let's talk about it," Henry paused so that Katherine could talk first.
"At the beginning of our relationship you were a loving prince to me but when we lost our first child then the second and others afterwards only leaving Mary I was lost you. And your eyes began to wander around the court," Katherine looked and so did Henry behind Katherine were the figures of small children some of them as small as newborn babies. "Even here they never grow up. They will always be children and babies never growing."
"What do you mean?"
"Henry in this place you have stuck the way that you die," Katherine sighed. "Take Anne you had murder by the judgement of the swordsman. She was with child at the time. She is with the child, but she can never have it. Never have your son Henry the one thing that we all wanted to give to you," Katherine moved and picked up a painting in change the subject because there was what things to talk about. "This was the image of you when you were mine," she showed Henry.
"I was much fitter back then," smiled Henry remembering that.
"When I came here I was a mess I was given a visitation by another Maid of Mercy she takes me the fates and what was going on the world," said Katherine. "Everyone gets one. You will get to go to the fates in the out."
"Katherine I am sorry that I fell out of love with you," said Henry looking down at his fingers.
"I know you are Henry," said Katherine quietly.
"It's just that I wanted a son so badly. That I know that I hurt you and I hurt Mary and me hurt Anne and I also hurt Elizabeth," thinking about it.
"Both of those girls would have made great queens. And would have made great wives and mothers," smiled Katherine knowing something that her husband did not about what was going to happen.
"I know that Katherine," said Henry not getting the underlying message in her voice. "But I needed a son and prince to take over to stop the country from falling into civil war."
"Henry in the future I have seen is that men and women will become equals," said Katherine. "But I believe that our time is up to talk about us for the moment."
She looked around to see Anne standing in the doorway. "Sorry but Henry has another meeting to get to I promise that he will be able to talk to you at a later time," said Anne in a calm voice. Henry could see her wings the light bouncing off the tips as she stood in the mirrored hallway or walkway. He could also see the outline of a growing stomach under the thin material of her whiter straight long dress. It brushed the floor and was different from Katherine's was wearing her favourite Spanish court dress.
"I am fine with that Sweet Anne," said Katherine. "Do you know if there is a meeting today Sweet Anne?"
"I believe so your majesty," said Anne. "Come, Henry," ordered Anne in a soft voice. "Good peace, for now, your majesty," then she turned towards the door.
"Katherine I did miss you," said Henry kissing her on the cheek.
"I know Henry go with her," waving him out of the room and closing the door behind him.
"Why did you say that to Katherine?" asked Henry following Anne as she walked past the many faces of the people around them.
"It is the way that we greet people here there is not a morning or a night so we cannot use the worldly saying here," said Anne looking around her at where they were. "Oh, the many lives to the world we must hurry up and make the next appointment. Henry will you hurry up?" then she added as an afterthought. "Please."
"Of a maid of mercy or a sister of fate you are very emotional one," murmured Henry under his breath thinking that Anne would not hear him.
"I heard that Henry," Anne shouted at him. "One thing that you must never do is talk back to me. Because I am the only here that wanted to give you another go it fix things for the better."
Henry was shocked and scared this was more like the old Anne that he knew and loved but hated in equal measure.
"Henry I promised...no it does not matter," said Anne but whispered the last part as she shook her head thinking better than saying anything on the subject.
"What did you promise Anne?" asked Henry stepping closer to her then he was before.
"Like it said it does not matter. I just need you to finish this," said Anne turning to another doorway the same as the one leading to Katherine. "This time I cannot go in with you. You must go in alone," and with that, she was gone again leaving him standing alone.
