Ch.3: Henry's P.O.V.

The Next Day

"She what?" Henry stared down at the black wooden box his messenger had brought back to him.

"Dianne refused your gift Husband." Katherine of Aragon, Queen of England, rose from her chair. Dianne had somehow managed to capture Henry's full attention in the day she had been in their kingdom. Not that Katherine had a problem with that. It hurt to know Henry lusted after other women, but he always pursued them, fulfilled his desires, and then left the poor unfortunate soul.

The messenger, obviously uncomfortable with the situation, wiped his sweaty forehead. "Queen Dianne said she would not feel right receiving any special treatment while the Prince is so ill. However she gave me explicit directions to thank His Majesty for the kind gesture of friendship."

Henry's ears noticed the emphasis of the word friendship. He himself had stressed on an alliance between the two of him. He did not expect Dianne to reinforce it though. She seemed the type to be quite… easy. Henry had heard Lady Hope and Lord Brandon use that word to describe a young woman in that school. Upon hearing more, the King discovered 'easy' meant the girl was a whore. How unfortunate for the girl's family to have such a disgrace on their name.

"Keep sending her the gift until Her Majesty accepts it. I will not take no for an answer." He told the messenger.

Katherine sighed. She did not like to sit idly by but it would be best to let Henry go through his phase.

Three Days Later

Henry grumbled unhappily. He had not seen Dianne for three days. She had been locked up with her brother the entire time. She did not even emerge from the chamber when the clothes arrived. She sent Lady Kayla to retrieve the items. It took several trips for the small girl to get all of it for she was not very big nor was she strong. Lady Kayla was a small girl, about five feet two inches, and had little muscle mass. It amazed Henry that she could carry what she did. Dianne had also declined eating dinner with he and Katherine multiple times, instead vouching to dine with her small traveling party. Henry would be lying if he said it did not put a damper on his ego.

It was hard to believe the love that Dianne had for her younger brother. Arthur had cared for him, and Henry knew that, but it was never the level of adoration Dianne showed Prince Thomas. He had never seen such devotion in his twenty-five years from a sibling. It was quite heartwarming. It also worried Henry. The doctor gave him constant reports of the sixteen-year-old Prince's deteriorating health and of Dianne's deepening worry. Doctor Owen was a reliable enough man. He had never before lied to Henry and the King did not believe he would begin now.

On the third day of Dianne's solitude Owen came with the news. After fighting all he could Prince Thomas of Novellia died in his sleep holding the Queen's hand. Henry believed he could hear Dianne's anguished cries in his mind. But it wasn't in his mind. All of Hampton Court could hear the tears of the Queen.

"The Prince held on as long as he could. He had remarkable strength." Doctor Owen explained as Henry sat with his hands covering his face. Owen had not the slightest clue about why Henry was acting this way. After all, the foreigners had only been here for four days. "However, in the end it just was not enough. I had honestly believed he was getting better."

Henry rose from his desk. "Thank you Doctor. We appreciate your help." He placed a hand on Owen's shoulder and guided the man out of the study. "Your services here are through for now. I will see to Queen Dianne and the others."

Owen bowed. "Of course Your Majesty. But Dianne is in a fragile state. I urge you to be delicate with her if you must see her." Henry nodded, agreeing to the Doctor's terms. Owen, feeling wary yet satisfied, walked with Henry to the room the Prince had currently been in. "I hope I will not be needed for anyone else in Her Majesty's court. I do not think she could bear losing any others. It would surely…" Owen trailed off. He knew what would happen if Dianne lost another person close to her. It would send her right to someone she felt would always be there. Owen knew somehow, with a coldness running in his veins, it would be to Henry that she ran.

Owen left. Henry took a deep breath and opened the door. Dianne was sitting on the bed with tears streaking her angelic face. He felt a pang in his chest. When he first saw Dianne he could sense a deep power in her. Now that power was gone. It was replaced with a terrifying vulnerability. Vulnerability Henry could use to his advantage. Feeling disgusted with himself Henry pushed the evil thought away.

Dianne wiped her eyes and stood up. "Hello Your Highness." She was still dressed in the clothes she had come in.

"Please," Henry reached out a hand to help Dianne sit back down. "Call me Henry." Dianne sniffled.

"We have nowhere to burry him, you know. We generally burry our dead at sea." She glanced at Josh who nodded sadly. "It is a sign of respect in our culture. The funerals are never grand. They are fairly simple, even the ones for Novellian Royalty."

Henry couldn't resist the impulse to hug her. He wrapped his arms around her frame, crushing Dianne to his chest. "We are sorry for your loss." He brushed some of her hair aside and kissed her forehead slowly. "It was obvious how much you loved your brother."

"He was my only family Henry. What will I do know?" She muttered against his chest.

"I do not know." Henry straightened up getting an idea. "Burry the Prince here in England. In the Court Yard." He knew this was an outrageous idea, but seeing Dianne hurting like this awoke something in him he had not felt before.

"That is ridiculous!" Lady Breanna blurted out. "This is not a place fit to burry Novellian Royalty! And frankly the idea is patently idiotic!"

Lady Kayla turned to Lady Breanna. "Breanna, the King is making a sweet gesture of friendship. Of unity between our two nations." She turned to Dianne. "What do you think My Lady?"

Dianne pulled away from Henry's chest but did not push away his arms. "I think that would be a lovely idea. Thank you Henry." She kissed his cheek lightly. "Shall you make the arrangements or shall I?"

"I will take care of it all." Henry vowed solemnly. "You will not have to worry about a thing."

"Thank you Henry."

Josh cleared his throat. "I will send for the Crown post haste."

Henry had no idea that Josh would really fashion the Crown himself from materials he found around the Palace. It would be made to look like the tiara his sister wore when she got married. It would look like a tangle of flowers.

The Funeral

Henry knew that Dianne was not listening to a thing Cardinal Wolsey said. He tried to find that as a fault in her but somehow couldn't. She had suffered a great loss. Henry shook his head trying to rid all thoughts of Dianne. It was not working. As the casket was covered with dirt (quickly turning to mud from the downpour of rain) Henry felt a hand grasp his. It was Dianne. She interlaced her smaller, thinner fingers with his larger, wider ones. The fit, he noticed was perfect.

Henry squeezed Dianne's hand reassuringly.

A/N: Pictures of Dianne's crown and her Mourning Dress are on my profile. If you feel like this is moving slow I'm sorry. Right now I'm just trying to set things up. I haven't really got into the story yet.