Chapter 3

About a month and a half had passed since the Swanns first arrived at Court. Elizabeth had finally made a couple of friends out of the ladies at Court, mostly Catherine. Queen Anne seemed to like Elizabeth enough, as well. And just as Catherine had suspected, Elizabeth did notice that King Henry and Mary Boleyn were a bit intimate with each other, much to the dismay of the Queen.

Weatherby had highly impressed the King. So much so, that King Henry agreed to arrange a marriage between James and Elizabeth. The marriage was to take place in two months, and Elizabeth was absolutely distraught.

However, today was an important day. Men were bustling about in King Henry's throne room, whispering to each other. King Henry was leaning over a table, studying some documents, when all of a sudden the giant double doors were pulled open quickly by two guards, letting in a man.

The man was fairly tall. His dark brown hair was about shoulder length, unlike many men at Court who had their hair cut short. He had a small mustache and a goatee and a small gold hoop in his ear. He was walking tall, his held high, showing his high place in society.

When King Henry heard the doors open, he looked up quickly, and smiled when he saw the man.

"Your Majesty, Sir William Turner has arrived," one of the guards announced.

"Sir William Turner, welcome home!" King Henry greeted his important diplomat heartily.

"Your Majesty," Sir William Turner bowed deeply before standing upright.

"Please, take a seat." King Henry motioned for the young man to sit in a seat across from him. "We can discuss business, and then there shall be a banquet tonight to welcome you back."

"Thank you, My Lord, but if I must say, I think a banquet is too much." William laughed.

"Well, from the letters you have sent, it seems that you made quite an impression on the Irish Crown. I think that's a rather good reason to celebrate. Now tell me, how did your visit to Ireland go?"

--

Elizabeth stood up on a small platform. Two dressmakers were working around her, making her wedding dress. The dress was a beautiful gold gown. It had a white, elaborate design of flowers on the bodice, with ties in the front. The sleeves were off the shoulders, revealing Elizabeth's neck, upper chest, and shoulders. The dress also had a giant skirt and train. She had been put through this everyday for the past week, and was thankful that the dress was almost finished.

Then there was a knock on the door. "Enter," Elizabeth called.

Catherine rushed in, excitement shining on her face. "Oh, Elizabeth you'll never believe what has happened!" Elizabeth shooed the dress makers away and took her friends hand, leading her over to two chairs in the sitting room, inviting her to sit.

Elizabeth picked up her skirts, and attempted to sit down. Her big skirt made the simple task difficult, and after maneuvering her skirt around, was finally able to sit. "Go on, tell me. What has happened?"

"My betrothed, William Turner, has returned! There's a big banquet tonight to welcome him home and celebrate his triumph in Ireland. He's got them considering a treaty."

"That's marvelous, Catherine."

"Tonight at the banquet I'm going to officially meet him. Last time it was no more than a simple 'lovely to meet you' and then 'goodbye'." She smiled. "I wonder what he's like. I just hope he truly is as nice as he seemed."

"I'm sure he is," Elizabeth assured her friend.

"I want to look nice tonight. Will you help me get ready?"

"Of course, just let me get out of this monstrosity." She looked down pointedly.

After Elizabeth had gotten dress for the banquet as well, donning a simple yellow gown with green ribbons tying at the bodice, the neckline of the dress covering her neck, the middle of it slit, exposing a small amount of skin, and her hair twisted into a braid and tied around her head, she followed Catherine into her bed chamber, which was almost identical to her own. Elizabeth looked through Catherine's wardrobe, looking for the perfect dress that would impress her future husband.

"What about your red gown with the puffed sleeves and the orange petticoat with the circles designed on it?"

"No, something else."

Elizabeth continued looking, and then came across a beautiful gown. "The blue gown with the violet bodice? You can wear the light blue petticoat underneath."

Catherine's eyes lit up, "oh, that would be extremely pretty," she gushed.

"And you could wear you hair down, with your hair magnolia hair pin holding it back slightly."

"It sounds perfect. Help me get dressed?"

After Elizabeth and a servant helped Catherine get ready for the banquet, the two friends walked together down the hallways, darkened by the rain clouds that shown through the windows.

They entered the room a few minutes after the feast had started. "Which one is he?" Elizabeth whispered.

Catherine looked around, finally locating him. "He's up there, next to King Henry," she pointed to William Turner. Elizabeth felt her breathe get caught in her throat. He was handsome, amazingly so.

King Henry gave short announcement welcoming him back to Court and expressed his delight over Sir William's success in Ireland. When King Henry had finished, the two women walked over to him.

"Your Majesty," they both said, bowing their heads towards King Henry.

"If I may, I wanted to introduce Sir William Turner to my friend," Catherine said timidly, not sure if she should be interrupting him and the King during their meal.

"Ah, yes. Young Elizabeth, its lovely seeing you again," the king greeted, winking in her direction, causing Elizabeth to blush, though she desperately tried not to.

When King Henry was finished talking, he nodded a goodbye, dismissing himself and many of his men to his chambers for the night, William broke in. "Catherine, how are you?"

"I'm very well. I trust you're well too?"

"Yes, I am. Now, you said you wanted to introduce me to a friend?" He looked behind her at Elizabeth. He smiled at her, marveling at her beauty.

"This is Elizabeth Swann. Elizabeth, this is my betrothed, Sir William Turner."

"Please, call me Will," he smiled at both of them, "I'm delighted to meet you, Elizabeth, and Catherine, it's wonderful to see you again."

"Did you enjoy your time in Ireland?" Catherine asked.

"Yes, very much so, though I did miss home."

"I heard you got them considering King Henry's proposal for the treaty; that's brilliant!" Elizabeth asked, finally speaking.

Will smiled at her, "yes, I have. Believe me though, it was not simple."

"Have you been anywhere else?" Elizabeth continued.

"I studied in France for a couple years before becoming a diplomat for His Majesty."

"Oh, how magnificent! I've always dreamed of studying abroad. Unfortunately I never got the opportunity. Though my mother did give me a sufficient amount of education from home; not an opportunity most girls get, so I was lucky. However, I desperately want to travel to the Americas. It seems like such a wonderful land, I believe there's great hope for it."

Will smirked and chuckled. "You don't seem like most girls I've met, Elizabeth. You're much more forthright than many ladies. Most girls are quiet, timid and only speak when spoken too."

"Well, I don't apologize for that. I think it's good for a woman to be outspoken and honestly, I believe woman are disastrously underestimated." Elizabeth snapped and said with her head held high.

"No, no…don't take it that way, please. I…I meant it as a compliment. I think it's good that you're like that. I believe it would be beneficial to many aspects of Court if more women had that kind of character." Will stuttered quickly, slightly taken back by her irritation at his simple comment.

"Well, perhaps with enough time, Elizabeth may have an impression on me." Catherine laughed quietly, though neither Will nor Elizabeth seemed to notice. They looked at each other, each a look of intrigue in their eyes.

--

The next morning, Elizabeth and Catherine sat in the Queen's chambers with her, along with the other ladies-in-waiting. The two sat across from each other playing a game of chess when a loud laugh caused them to look at the Queen.

Queen Anne was laughing joyously with a few of the ladies-in-waiting. She looked happier than Elizabeth had ever seen her.

"I wonder why she's so happy," Elizabeth mused.

"You didn't hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Her sister is gone. Lady Mary's been disowned."

"Whatever for?"

"Mary snuck away and married William Stafford."

"Who's William Stafford?"

Catherine let out an exasperated sigh at her friend's ignorance towards the subject. "He's a commoner. Being the Queen's sister, the former lover of the King, and because of her noble heritage, Mary's marriage prospects were excellent; beyond what any other girl could hope for, yet she still married a commoner; such a shame. Her family disowned Mary and she's been dismissed from Court."

"No wonder she's so cheerful, her sister is no longer having an affair with her husband." Elizabeth then looked at Catherine with questioning eyes. "How do you know all of this?"

"I heard it from my cousin, Lady Mary Hamilton. She's one of the ladies of the privy chamber and is close to the Queen. It's all just gossip, though."

"No wonder you have knowledge of all this gossip."

"All this gossip? You speak as if all I know is gossip," Catherine pretended to be offended.

"You must admit, dear friend, you are quite the gossipmonger," Elizabeth said, eliciting a bright, happy laugh from Catherine.

Upon hearing the laugh, Queen Anne's gaze drifted upon the room, and fell on Elizabeth and Catherine when she saw them laughing merrily. A large smiled graced Queen Anne's face.

"Elizabeth Swann, please step forward," she announced, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"Your Highness," Elizabeth smiled and curtsied.

"When you first became a lady-in-waiting, you said you liked poetry. I've never heard you recite any, and I think I'd like to. It seems like such a nice day for poetry, doesn't it?" She giggled a little. "So go on, recite anything."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Elizabeth smiled in response as she thought of which poem the Queen would enjoy. "The rose looks out in the valley, and thither will I go, to the rosy vale where the nightingale sings his song of woe."

"Very beautiful, please, continue," the Queen said.

"The virgin is on the riverside, culling the lemons pale. Thither, yes, thither will I go, to the rosy vale where the nightingale sings his song of woe."

"Very, very beautiful indeed. Very impressive as well." Queen Anne smiled and applauded Elizabeth.

--

Meanwhile, King Henry sat in his large throne with his elbow rested on the arm chair, supporting his tired, aggravated face. His advisors around him were discussing what to do about Queen Anne, though he was not listening to them, but thinking of what to do himself. However, he was broken from his thoughts when Weatherby cleared his throat.

"Your Majesty, we believe we have a solution to the problem."

"Continue."

"Her Majesty no longer bleeds. The best plan…would be to find another wife," Weatherby said cautiously.

The King seemed to take this in. "Another wife?"

"Yes, My Lord; another wife."

King Henry nodded in understanding. "What about Mary Boleyn?"

"Mary, Your Grace?" One of his other advisers raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Why not Mary? She's given me a son before, there's no reason she can't again. She's well read, cultured, she would make a fine wife and a fine queen."

"But, Your Majesty…haven't you heard?" Another advisor asked.

"Hear what?" King Henry's head snapped up. "What haven't I been told?" He asked, standing up angrily.

"Mary Boleyn married William Stafford. She has been removed from Court, upon Her Majesty's request."

"Why wasn't I informed?" King Henry was fuming. The advisor was about to open his mouth in apology when King Henry raised his hand and waved him off angrily. "It doesn't matter anymore; what's done is done. We need to decide what to do about the situation at hand." Everyone was quiet, all in deep thought. King Henry thought hard, before finally speaking. "What about Elizabeth? Elizabeth Swann," he looked at Weatherby as he spoke.

Weatherby eyes grew wide in shock and he stuttered his response, "El…Elizabeth? My…daughter?"

"She's a beautiful, delightful, educated girl. I believe she would do well in such a position."

"With all do respect, Your Grace, my daughter is already betrothed to your nephew, Sir James Norington."

"I'm well aware of that, Lord Swann, but don't you think your daughter would benefit more by wedding the King of England than Lord Norington."

Weatherby sucked in a deep breath. He never imagined his daughter as married to the King of England. Though he was often exasperated with her and was desperate for her to get out of her current mindset toward marriage, he loved Elizabeth. He did not want to see the King tire of her and quickly get rid of her, leaving her a poor and meager whore, just as Katherine of Aragon, and just as Queen Anne was sure to become.

"I understand your hesitation; deciding the future of a daughter is not something to take lightly. Perhaps you'd prefer a simpler life for you daughter. So I shall propose an agreement; I will take Elizabeth as a mistress," King Henry began, noting Weatherby's wince at what his daughter may become, "and if she becomes with child within a reasonable period of time, she will become my wife. If she does not succeed, however, then she will go on to marry Lord Norington. Do we have an accord, Lord Swann?"

Weatherby though for a moment. It did seem like a reasonable agreement. Perhaps Elizabeth was indeed a cultured, delightful girl as King Henry had said; she was the type of girl most nobility- especially kings- look for in a consort. He decided to let destiny and the will of God take its course. If Elizabeth were fated to be Queen, she would bear King Henry's child. "We have an accord, Your Majesty."

--

Yay, another chapter! Ooh…looks like the king has his eyes set for our little Lizzie here…Hope you like it, please review!

Also, the poem Elizabeth recited was called The Nightingale by Gil Vicente.