"Baron Seymour, your majesty." The usher of Edward's chambers announced, bowing to him. He moved out of the way as Thomas entered the room, also bowing to the king, his nephew.

"Your majesty." He said, rising from his bow.

"Uncle!" Edward said happily as he approached Thomas. "I am glad you have come with such short notice. I did not interrupt you from any other affairs, did I?"

Thomas shook his head, smiling. "Your majesty, you are the king, and my nephew, my own blood. I can't imagine considering you as an interruption."

Edward beamed. "Well, I am glad and thankful to hear that, my uncle, truly. I think that in you, I find a faithful friend and relative, which is seemingly hard to find in this day and time."

"Why, thank you your majesty." Thomas replied, blushing a little. To most it would have seemed silly to blush at an eleven year old boy's compliments, but he was the king, and Thomas respected him as so, no matter how everyone else seemed to treat him. "Is there something wrong? Is that why you have called on me?"

Edward tilted his head from one side to the other. Something had been wrong for a long time, but no one seemed to notice or care. "I think that you and I share a common annoyance, uncle."

"I am sure we share many, your majesty, as we are related and probably have quite a few things in common." Thomas replied frankly. "Is it something specific?"

He let out a cold laugh, a dark smile on his face as he spoke. "Somerset."

Thomas opened his mouth and then closed it, nodding his head. "My brother, of course." He felt like he should have thought of his brother right away, but he had always assumed that the two Edward's were close, as the king had always loved his Uncle Edward as a child. "I always thought that you favoured the Duke, your majesty."

"And for that I am sorry." Edward replied quickly, and honestly. He wished he could take back the past two years when he had been completely wrapped around Somerset's finger, without a complaint. "I am sorry that I had not seen the light before. I was blinded by my youth, which still slightly effects my decisions, and my naivety, and for that I apologize to you most of all."

"To me, your majesty?" Thomas asked. "You need not apologize to me in any situation. I must also apologize to you, you see."

"For what, my uncle?"

Thomas sighed a bit. "For being so much like my own brother, your majesty. For being so controlled by my want for power, my ambitions, when realistically I should have been watching over you like an uncle, instead of a power thirsty council member. Your stepmother's near death experience made me realize this, but I should have never had to realize, I should have acted accordingly from the beginning. I am ashamed of myself, your majesty…" Thomas knelt down in plea for forgiveness to the eleven-year-old king.

Edward immediately found himself taking pity on his uncle. He came closer to him and rested his hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "I forgive you for what ever you have done that makes your heart and mind feel restless, but I assure you that I am not angry. Like I said, Somerset had a blindfold on me all this time. He told me that you were an idiot that wanted nothing more than to use me for my power, and I believed him. Meanwhile, he was using me as a puppet! How foolish I am!"

Thomas looked up at his nephew and shook his head, taking his hand and placing it on Edward's. He stood up and held the king's hand in his own. "You are not foolish. My brother has played these tricks on many, even your own father." He squeezed his hand a bit and released it. "We have all made mistakes, but we can move past them."

Edward nodded his head. "You're right. I just find it hard to move past my mistakes, when the person who caused them stands in front of me each and every day, and acts as if he has done nothing wrong. In a way, he is de facto King, or at least in his own head. It infuriates me on many levels, uncle, the way he acts." He began to pace a bit, back and forth in front of Thomas.

"Do not let him get to you as he does. It takes practice, but you will learn to ignore him." Thomas insisted, trying to see the positive side of things.

"How am I to ignore him when I must face him for the next seven years of my life? When I must act as if I truly believe he will take my ideas into consideration when he speaks to the council? It is impossible to ignore him! He is like a bug that will not leave me in peace." Edward's tone rose quite a bit as he spoke. Thomas could tell that Somerset was clearly pushing his buttons, whether it was intentional or unintentional however, he did not know. "Excuse me uncle, I have gotten carried away in my banter…"

Thomas shook his head. "It is fine, your majesty. I understand your anger more than anyone else, I would think. As his younger brother, I have dealt with his mannerisms and irritating habits for my entire life. I know how he is, but I see no solution to him until you are of age. He is the Lord Protector, after all."

"I know… I just wish I could get rid of him, replace him, but I fear I do not even have enough power to do so."

"You want to get rid of him, your majesty?" Thomas asked, somewhat surprised. He could tell that his nephew did not like his brother much these days, but did he truly wish to remove him from his position? A tinge of Thomas's ambition came back to him for a moment, but he pushed the thought from his mind. He had just gained trust from his nephew and he couldn't let his ambitious side overcome him now and ruin it all. Edward's trust itself is worth more than any position…

Edward put a finger to his lips and smirked a bit. "I would like to, very much, uncle. I mean not to rid him from this earth, but merely from his position as Lord Protector. I need to appoint someone who will give me more control. I may only be eleven years old, but you know yourself that I am smart."

"I think everyone knows of your intelligence, your majesty. I think that is partially what scares the council, to be honest. You are much like your father in wit, and that frightens them." Thomas explained as carefully as possible. He wished not to speak badly of Edward's father, as at different points in his reign, he had done the things a good king would do.

Edward rubbed his chin for a moment. "I understand, but they should not fear me! I will be more of a just ruler than my father, and either way, even with a few more freedoms given to me, they are still more powerful. I would be getting experience; it would be good for me. My father would have wanted that, god bless his soul."

"He would have, certainly, your majesty." Thomas agreed without argument. If Henry could have seen what was happening in his realm now, he would have had a temper tantrum. "But I think that it would be difficult to rid yourself of my brother's presence without good reason. You would have to give the council a reason to get rid of him."

He nodded. "Would they want to replace him themselves, or would I be able to choose a successor?"

Thomas was unsure what exactly they would do. He shrugged a bit. "If you put up enough of an argument, perhaps they will allow you to appoint your own, but I think you would have to frighten them into it, your majesty."

"Frighten them?" Edward repeated, laughing. "And what would frighten them, uncle?"

Thomas bit his lip and looked at the ground for a moment, his words at the rest, but he did not wish to speak. After a few minutes he looked at his nephew and spoke in a whisper. "Death, your majesty. Death frightens the council greatly."

Edward's eyes widened. He was the son of King Henry the eighth, who had taken so many lives in his time, including those of two of his own wives. Though he had been very young for most of this, he knew death well. "You mean… to kill Somerset?"

Thomas shook his head quickly, hearing the worry in Edward's tone. "I was suggesting nothing, your majesty. All I am saying is that death is what the council is fearful of. Though you are not able to rule England on your own, you are certainly able to sentence men and women who commit treason to death, and you are also able to create treason for those who have not committed it. This is what the council fears the most."

Edward began to pace once more and covered his ears with his hands for a moment. "Enough talk of death." Edward begged, standing still and looked to his uncle. He removed his hands from his ears and sighed. "Is that the only way I can get what I want, what I deserve?"

"I do not know, your majesty. I only know what has worked in the past." Thomas said, not knowing what else to say. "Forgive me for not being of more use to your majesty." He hung his head low.

"Uncle, do not ask for my forgiveness, there is no reason for it." Edward assured him. "We are both at a disadvantage in this situation and we must put our heads together to find a solution. If our only option is what you say, death, then we will exercise it as our last option only. I used to assure myself every day, and I still do, that I would be a firm but just ruler. I will not take someone's life for no reason when it is not necessary. There must be another way to remove my Uncle Edward from his position, and we will find it."