Authors note: Okay so I'm supposed to be doing homework but alas I am slack and easily distracted lol so here's a quick chapter, mainly just from Henry's point of view. The next Chapter will likely feature more of Elizabeth and what I think her response should been had she had knowledge of her fathers plans to execute her mother, if not then it'll definitely be more Catherine centred but I haven't decided yet lol please let me know what you would rather see! Also I take prompts so if there's anything you'd like to see my take on just comment it in the reviews! Alright well enjoy! Thank you all for your reviews so far they really keep me motivated to continue so please keep letting me know what you think , love you all xx

Disclaimer: I do not own reign

"Or perhaps the executioner" She threw over her shoulder as she made her leave

Henry let her go. He didn't want to, there was a voice inside him screamed for him to go after her but he ignored it, no good ever came from interrupting one of Catherine's dramatic exits. She needed time to process and he would allow her to have it as he needed time also.

Now alone in his chambers he fell back onto his couch, forgoing any grace that would be expected of a King as he slouched back, his legs spread comfortably, but not before he poured himself another glass of wine, sculling it down as if doing so would somehow drown out his wife's voice but it was to no avail as her truths continued to echo through his mind.

For the first time in years he truly felt guilty for his many short comings throughout his marriage. Catherine , among many things was fiercely loyal, to her children, to her family and he had thought to him but it seemed his continuous betrayals had cost him that. The heartache he caused her must have been agony he realised as his wife was many things but weak was not one , for her to have compromised her values and convictions, to have risked not only her position but her life were she caught..the pain she was in must've been unbearable.

He remembered the way she was, the way they were before he brought Diane back to court. She was a vision, her hazel eyes that would light up like a shimmering green flecked with specks of gold when the sun caught them at the right angle, skin soft and creamy scattered with freckles that she labeled imperfections, though he thought they made her all the more beautiful. Her hair the most unique shade of blonde he'd ever seen, an almost honeycomb colour that when hit by the light would shine like a halo around her, and the way she smiled...it would take his breath away. It still did. Her beauty was that of an angel and in her presence he often felt unworthy, but she adored him, he knew by the look in her eyes and he felt the same. Every day he would wake up with her at his side and thank god that he was lucky enough to have married a woman he loved so deeply. It was only when his brother died and he was forced to take on the role of King that their relationship started to become strained under the pressures of giving France an heir. He knew his wife kept much of her emotions hidden away, her childhood was troubled to say the least and so she had learned to protect herself by being hard and cold. For her young age she knew much of the world and it's cruel ways and so after years of being unable to conceive she began to let fear and doubt plague her every waking moment.

She would lash out at him frequently. Force him to see physicians, use potions, anything that had a chance of assisting in the matter she was willing to try. Her determination was one of the many things that made him love her so but her obsession with a child was down right exhausting. He just wanted it to be how it was, or to at least be trusted enough to hear her fears first hand instead of having to deduce them for himself. He wanted to know her, all of her. But that was something she just simply wouldn't allow. There was so much she would never tell him and she held it all just beneath the surface, he could almost see it in her eyes but she would never let him in long enough to get a proper look. She was the one mystery he, even after more than 20 years together he had made almost no progress in solving, it was infuriating!

In a moment of anger and weakness on his part he had invited his childhood sweetheart to join him at court because he needed a break from his increasingly demanding bride and Diane was her exact opposite. She wanted nothing of him, her only goal was to please him. She was soft and gentle and she all but repaired the ego Catherine had done such damage to. If Catherine were fire, Diane was water and at the time Henry was in desperate need of a cool drink. He had tried to hide his mistresses presence from her at first in hopes of sparing her feelings, little did he know that she had come looking for him on Diane's first night at court and heard them making love. Utterly destroyed by his betrayal she did whatever she could to sever any emotional ties toward him in order to protect her heart. If he thought her cold before it seemed to him that overnight she had turned to ice and as far as he knew for no reason at all.

Soon he began to build a deep resentment for her as any attempts at affection were rejected and he began to convince himself that she was incapable of feeling, incapable of love and so to punish her for her incapabilities he began to flaunt Diane around as his official mistress, even sitting her on his lap during meetings he knew Catherine's presence was required. He was young and childish and he wanted to hurt her for not allowing him to see her pain, of course his strategy was more than flawed and only managed to make things worse. The more he tried to get a rise out of her the more his stubborn Queen refused to give him one and so for years they played this game both waiting for the day the other would give up. It was only now he was beginning to realise the stupidity of this game he had created and how much it had cost them both.

Catherine was difficult and complicated, whereas his mistresses for the most part took it upon themselves to be easy and simple as to stay in his favour but now, as he sat alone in his chambers starring at the tapestries she had picked out. He came upon the sudden realisation that, difficult as she may be Catherine de Medici was well worth the effort.

TBC