Queen Anne Boleyn smiled when she saw her husband enter her chambers.
"You wanted to see me?" Henry said, hugging his wife
"That's true" Anne replied "It's just that, I haven't seen you in so long, you've been so busy"
"And, for that I am greatly sorry" Henry replied "But, there is someone that I would like you to meet. Someone who…I really didn't think I would see for a while"
"Of course" Anne said
Henry smiled and went out of the room. He returned a moment later with a young girl, no more than 17 years old.
"Queen Anne" Henry said "May I present to you, Princess Cordelia Tudor"
Anne's eyes widened a little.
"My daughter" Henry said, smiling at Cordelia
"Daughter?" Anne almost choked
"A pleasure to meet you, your majesty" Cordelia said, bowing
Anne nodded in response. "Tell me, Cordelia, who's your mother?"
"Queen Katherine of Aragon" Cordelia replied "Your predecessor"
Henry stiffened a little at the tone in Cordelia's voice.
"Then" Anne said "How can you be princess? Even Mary is considered princess no longer"
"She was believed to be dead when Katherine left and when Mary became 'Lady Mary'." Henry replied "She's been believed to be dead for 7 years"
"What a miraculous event!" Anne said, with fake excitement "To have returned to your family after all this time"
Cordelia replied with a nod.
"Henry, can I speak with you for a moment?" Anne said "Alone?"
Henry replied with a nod. "Of course"
"I will go and explore the castle, Father" Cordelia said "Nice to meet you, your majesty"
Anne replied with a small bow of the head as Cordelia left the room.
"Henry, what is this?" Anne demanded "Some sort of joke?"
"Of course not!" exclaimed Henry "Cordelia is my daughter, Mary's sister"
"How can she be princess?" Anne asked "Isn't she considered…you know?"
"No" Henry replied "Again, she was gone when that happened. She is still Princess of England, and will remain that way."
"What does this mean, Henry?" Anne asked "What about who takes over? Your heir?"
"Not to worry, darling" Henry said, putting a hand on her stomach "Once you give me my son, he'll be first in line. Cordelia is second or third as of right now. Everything is going to be fine. The only chance that Cordelia has of taking over is if I don't have a son"
Anne replied with a nod as Henry kissed her hand.
"Don't worry, darling" he said "This is a joyous day! My beloved daughter has returned!"
Anne smiled a fake smile, though Henry assumed it was genuine. She watched as Henry quickly left the room. Once he was gone, her smile became a scowl.
Cordelia Tudor was going to disrupt her plans. She could tell.
&&&&&
"We have heard word that Princess Cordelia Tudor has made a miraculous return to England" Cardinal Campeggio, one of the Pope's advisors, told him "She has been believed to be dead for almost 10 years"
"I know of Princess Cordelia" Pope Paul III replied "She's been in Portugal for the past 7 years, living with her late aunt, Princess Margaret Tudor. I think that the people of Portugal believed that she was Margaret's child, which was probably why they didn't say anything."
"You knew that she was alive?" Campeggio said "Why have we not declared her illegitimate like we did her sister?"
"How could we have not known that she was alive?" Pope Paul replied "She has done so much to help the Catholic community in Portugal. She has helped restore churches to their full glory, even though her father has broken away from us"
"What shall we do then?" Campeggio asked "Are we going to do to her like we did her sister?"
Pope Paul thought for a moment. "No"
"No?"
"Princess Cordelia has done too much to help our Catholic community" Pope Paul replied "She has done nothing to deserve to be declared illegitimate, except being a child of an annulled marriage"
"But, that means that we have to renounce the declaration that Lady Mary is illegitimate" Campeggio said "It makes no sense to have one twin to be declared that and not the other"
"You have a point" Pope Paul said "Write to Katherine of Aragon. Tell her that we believe that her marriage to Henry VIII stands firm and that their daughters, Mary and Cordelia, are legitimate. Call it…the Curious Judgment"
"Right away, Holy Father" Campeggio said "I'll get on that right away"
Pope Paul nodded as Campeggio ran off to write the letter to Katherine.
"Well, Cordelia" Pope Paul said "Let's hope that you make a fine Queen of England someday"
&&&&&
Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, was humming a tune to himself as he walked around the grounds of the castle. He stopped short when he saw a young woman come out of the castle and head to the garden.
"No" he said "It can't be"
He smiled when he got a better look at the young woman's face. "Cordelia!" he yelled "Cordelia!"
Cordelia turned and smiled at the young man running towards her. "Charles!" she replied, running to meet him
"I can't believe it!" Charles said, embracing her "You're alive!"
"Of course I am" Cordelia said "Father never told you? I thought that he told you everything"
"Told me what?"
"That he sent me away"
Charles pulled away from her, a confused look on his face. "Sent you away?"
"To protect me from being declared illegitimate" Cordelia said "I've spent the last 7 years with Aunt Margaret in Portugal"
"No, he never told me" Charles said "But, that doesn't matter. The main thing is that you're back, that you're alive!"
Cordelia smiled. "How are you, Charles?"
"Wonderful, Princess" Charles said, with a smile "I'm married now. My wife's name is Catherine"
"I'd love to meet her sometime" Cordelia said, with a smile
Charles smiled. "Tell me, Cordelia" he said "Have you met the Queen yet?"
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately"
"What do you think of her?" Charles asked, already knowing the answer "Do you like her?"
"Do you know me at all, Charles?" Cordelia asked, with a smile "Of course I don't like her. The moment we were introduced she asked me who my mother was. Then, she asked me how I could still be princess if Mary wasn't. Then, after I had left, I overheard her talking with Father about me and what my return meant for her beloved baby"
"Sounds like she doesn't care for you too much"
Cordelia chuckled. "Whatever gave you that idea?" she asked "But, I can't let my dislike for her show around Father. That is not a good move"
"I completely understand" Charles said "I am exactly the same way"
"Good" Cordelia said "Then, we can help each other"
Charles smiled. "Well, I will leave you now, Princess" he said "Will I see you at court?"
"Of course" Cordelia said "See you at court"
I thought it was pretty creative how I fit the "Curious Judgement" document from episode 2.7 into the story. Hope everyone remembers that. If not, go back and watch it! haha!
Anyways, hope the Cordelia/Anne meeting was as good as everyone hoped. I couldn't really come up with anything better than that. I apologize if it fell past expectations.
So, I hope that you like this chapter!!
Please Read and Review!!