Some of the Queen's ladies had been moved to the other side of the castle in order to wait upon the Princess Elizabeth whilst she was staying at the King and Queen's residence. Anne wanted some peace and quiet during the remainder of her pregnancy, and suspecting that some of her ladies were spying on her for her vast enemies, ordered them to serve and entertain her dearly loved daughter. She still wasn't happy that Jane Seymour got to go anywhere near Elizabeth but thought it would be better to have her out of the her way so she could concentrate on her pregnancy.
Jane and Madge loved caring for Elizabeth. She was a darling child, slightly cheeky but extremely precocious. She was a toddler now, and could only just walk and talk, but she certainly kept them all on their toes.
"Jane, horsey" she informed the young blonde lady, pulling along a little wooden horse trying to impress her with her array of toys. Jane smiled at the little girl and clapped her hands in encouragement at her knowledge of animals.
"Yes, well done. I bet when you are older you will have lots of horseys"
Elizabeth already had her own household of servants, but only the main few travelled with her. There was her governess, Lady Bryan, and a few ladies, including her half sister, Lady Mary. Jane had never seen Mary before, but when the former princess made an appearance to wait upon her sister, Madge quickly informed her of who she was.
"Lady Jane" Mary greeted her, curtseying in a manner that betrayed her now humble status and showed her royal upbringing, looking so elegant and graceful. Yes, royal blood definitely flowed through those veins.
"Lady Mary" Jane followed suit, wanting with all her heart to address her as Princess Mary, but decided against it since she was already on dangerous ground with the Queen. She didn't want to make her position even worse by acknowledging that Catherine's child was the King's legitimate daughter.
"I hear you are quite close with my father" Mary cautiously inquired. She always heard rumours about her father consorting with various women, and some lucky few actually made it to mistress. She had heard from many people that this new mistress was kind and sweet. She wasn't his mistress at all really, having refused to give up her virtue to him. She sounded like the kind of woman that her mother would have approved of.
"I am"
"Tell me, how is he?" Mary asked eagerly, and this warmed Jane's heart. She had always thought that father and daughter hated each other with the deepest passion. But she could see in Mary's eyes that she only had the deepest love and respect towards her father.
"He is very well" and Mary's stern face broke into a smile, happy with the knowledge that her father was in good health.
"I am glad to hear it. I do miss him very much" she confessed quietly so only Jane could hear.
"I am quite sure that he misses you too. Its just his pride will not allow him to admit it"
"Its not just his pride. Its her. She is the wickedest woman in the world and is making him hate me. Despite the way he has treated me I still love him with the strength of a thousand suns, but he does not return it because that witch has cast a spell upon him" she almost cried, and she had to put her hand to her mouth, remembering that many of the women in the room were loyal to Anne. The happy smile she had upon hearing about her father had completely vanished now, and instead she wore a vexing expression.
"It is just because you got off on the wrong foot. I am sure over time she will become more cordial to you, once she's had her son" Jane tried to excuse Anne's behaviour.
Mary scoffed at her naivety.
"The son who will replace me in the succession. Then she would have won. No one would stand for Elizabeth to be Queen, but how can I fight against it if she has a son?" She was the true princess, Elizabeth was just a bastard. She didn't have anything personal against Elizabeth really, she was just a child. But it wounded her that she was replaced in the succession by the whore's bastard. Everyone knew that their marriage was unlawful. Most were still loyal to Queen Catherine and herself.
Jane placed her arm tenderly upon Mary's in an attempt to comfort her. She saw the silver crucifix that hung from her neck and knew that God would not let this innocent child suffer for her father's sins. She reached out at the crucifix to act as a reminder to Mary, who then clutched on to it even more dearly.
"I believe with all my heart that God will sort everything out and you shall not suffer much longer. Just have faith"
"I will, it is the only thing I have left in the world. But Lady Jane, if you could, will you talk to the King on my behalf?" she shyly asked, hoping above all things that the rumours about Jane's kindness were true.
"I will try. But he is a stubborn man, he may not listen"
--------------------------------------------
"Jane! I have a present for you" Henry exclaimed upon Jane's arrival to his room. He was sat down at a table reading parchments and signing documents, looking extremely bored. Suddenly, he became like a young teenager again, and jumped up from his chair and walked over to his love with a medium sized jewellery box.
Jane looked at it curiously before Henry decided to open it for her himself, not being able to stand the suspense. Inside was a beautiful golden necklace that was encrusted with diamonds and a massive sapphire to finish it off. It glistened and sparkled in the light from the flames of the fire. She was overwhelmed by the King's generosity.
"You are too kind majesty. But I cannot except it"
"Why not?" Henry looked devastated that she was refusing his gift. Was this a sign that she was refusing him as well?
"It would ruin my good name, sire. Not that there is much of it left after the Queen's outburst"
"Take no notice. Those people judge but are hiding bigger secrets than anything you have ever done." Jane laughed in her own head. He didn't have a clue about the secrets she and her family were hiding. After a moment's awkward silence she started up a conversation again.
"I had the pleasure of meeting your daughter today" she informed him, and Henry gave her a quizzical look.
"Elizabeth? You have met her before have you not?"
"No, not Elizabeth. Mary" she corrected him, only then began to wish she hadn't after she saw his light and care free face change to a scowl. A dark mood had swept over him and she actually took a step back.
"She is no daughter of mine" he snapped, causing Jane to become a little scared. God gives you strength. You must help Mary, she told herself. This was her mission at the moment. To help Mary have a happier life. This was the way to save her soul for all the cruel and sinful things she had done recently.
"She speaks highly of you, sire. I have never heard a daughter praise their father so highly as she did of you"
"What did she say?" his curiosity had gotten the better of him and Jane did well to conceal her delight at sparking his curiosity. Perhaps this will be easier than I thought.
"That she loves you with the strength of a thousand suns" she passionately proclaimed as though she were quoting a poem. Henry thought for a moment and then began to smile in remembrance of his beautiful little girl, deeply wounded that he was still unable to see her. But for Anne and pride's sake he would not give in to her.
"Well if she loved me so much she would submit to my authority" he challenged her. How could she love him so much? She was the most disobedient daughter in the kingdom, and any loving daughter would obey their father without question. She chose Catherine over him.
"You two are so much alike. Stubborn and wilful but capable of bearing the greatest love" she commented. They truly were father and daughter in spirit. So similar in their ways.
"She gets her wilfulness and stubbornness from her mother. Its her Spanish blood" Henry spat. He was nothing less than perfect. Kings were perfect in every way, they could do no wrong because it was God's divine will that they rule how he chooses them to rule. No, it was her hot headed Spanish family that she inherited those two traits from.
"Forgive her, she just wants her father's love" Jane begged him, taking a couple of steps forward and putting her hand in his, entwining their fingers. She was hoping that her tenderness would bring out a better side of him. That through his love of her he might concede to her wishes.
"Why are you so determined to help her?" he asked suspiciously. Does she have a secret motive?
"It is not just for her, majesty. It is for your benefit too. You need her just as much as she needs you, no matter how hard you try to hide it" She could see into the depths of his soul and knew that his heart was in a dark place at the moment. She wanted to offer him the light that would save him.
"I will forgive her if she submits to me" he told her, bringing Jane's hand up to his lips and planting kisses upon her dainty knuckles and slender fingers. This was as far as he dared go for modesty's sake.
"Can you both not swallow your pride and make concessions. You both have to make sacrifices or else sacrifice the most holy union between father and daughter"
--------------------------------------------
The doors to Henry's private chambers burst open with such a force that the door smashed against the stone wall behind it. He would have thought that rebels had forced their way into the castle to dispose of him if he hadn't have seen the long, raven hair that he knew belonged to his wife, swinging about as she marched up towards him.
"Tell me you haven't" she yelled, inching up to him and looking at him square in the eye.
"Anne I am not in the mood for one of your arguments" Henry firmly told her, trying to push her away as gently as he could so he wouldn't harm her or their unborn baby.
"You invited her back to court! How could you do that to me? To Elizabeth?" she yelled, almost on the verge of tears. This was the ultimate betrayal. She didn't like his affairs but she knew they never meant anything. But to endanger her and her daughter's life, she could not believe he would do this.
"Because like Elizabeth, she is my daughter" Henry told her, daring for the first time to use those words against his not so beloved wife anymore. Why was she causing such a big scene? He sacrificed everything for her and yet she was still not content. He even gave up his daughter just to make her happy but still that wasn't enough.
"Was it that cow Jane Seymour who put you up to it? Trying to split our family up so she can push her way in" she snapped, now knowing what Jane's plans were. She was going to steal him from her. But Anne wasn't going to allow that.
"If memory serves me right it was you who split me up with my own daughter in the first place" Henry coldly stated, and Anne couldn't believe her ears.
"Because she isn't your daughter. She is a bastard" Anne shouted at him. He had always said that Mary was no daughter of his. He proclaimed that she was a curse from God and always spoke ill of her because of her wilful ways and disobedience. So why was he defending her now?
"So is Henry Fitzroy but I do not love him any less"
"But Henry Fitzroy doesn't have the Spanish army at his beck and call. She is a threat to you, to Elizabeth, to the whole country. See sense" This was the last thing she needed, another threat to her position. One thing would lead to another and sooner or later she herself would end up dead at the hands of Mary and her Catholic faction.
"She is my daughter"
"She is the product of your incestuous affair with Catherine. That is why God would not grant us a son before" she spat. She cursed Mary and her damned mother. Even when she was dead, Catherine was still causing her trouble. Why can't Mary just die?
"Listen, you have caused enough problems for me to last a life time. For once in your life bite that tongue of yours and stay silent" Henry suddenly snapped, causing Anne to recoil. Her emotions overcame and she ran out of the room crying, cursing Catherine, Mary and Jane.
"Seymour will pay for this!" she kept on repeating to herself. It was the only thing that kept her going. She was going to make sure that she was out of the picture for good, one way or another.