Jane splashed the cold water on her face to wash away the dried tears and took a shuddering breath. She gripped the edges of the table to support herself as she tried desperately to wipe the image of the king- unmoving, bleeding into the dirt where he had fallen. Jane had been so pleased that he had asked for her favor in the joust, as her father and brothers certainly had been. The interaction they had shared was the first true courting they had and it had set Jane's cheeks aflame. It had been everything that Thomas had promised her those weeks ago when they had still been at Wolf Hall. Before everything had occurred.
She wouldn't lie to herself, she had not envisioned a future for herself as a consort to the king of England. She had only hoped to make a marriage to some wealthy nobleman that would help her bring prestige to her family. But then that had been when good Queen Katherine sat the throne, not the Boleyn whore. Ever since Anne had a crown placed on her head, the country had been thrown into torment. Sweet Princess Mary had been cast away from her father and loving mother-sent to wait on some bastard. Good men had been sent to the block for daring to speak against the harlot. And the king himself had been bewitched by her dark magic- defying even his holiness, the pope, in his quest to have her.
When the king had first seen Jane that night when he had stayed at Wolf Hall, everyone could see the reaction her presence had caused in him. It had only been a week later that summons came from court to the whole Seymour family and her father and brother's had rejoiced. They had all known in an instant what such a summons really meant. That he had seen Jane and was intending to court her. But Jane herself had been reluctant, not wanting to be mistress to a man (any man!) she was not wed to. Thomas had come to her that night and brushed her long, flaxen hair and had whispered such sweet promises in her ear to convince her. About how Jane could win the kings love and possibly rise to the highest station in the land. She could be queen if she played it right and even Jane had been swayed by the thought. Anne Boleyn was nothing better than a upjumped harlot sitting in Katherine's place. She had seduced a loving husband away from his innocent wife and child and corrupted the kingdom as a result. Jane had long thought King Henry deserved a kind, virtuous queen that could guide him in the right direction, away from heresy and back to the Holy Church. She had never hoped it would be her until that night that Henry had come to Wolf Hall. Between Thomas' sweet words and her father's delighted look of pride, she found herself relenting.
Now, however, her father's normally jolly, red face was stark white. He was reclining on the chaise in the Seymour rooms while Jane's mother, Lady Margaery, was fretting around him like a concerned mother hen.
"I'm sure the king will be well again..." Margaery was murmuring in soothing tones, rubbing small circles into her husbands hands.
"We better hope so." Tom muttered from the window enclosure, where he was looking unconcerned, examining his nails as if it did not matter so much to him. "Can you imagine if that witch is declared regent? The Boleyn snake will chase us from court before his body cools."
"Watch yourself, you insolent boy!" Jane's mother snapped. "It's treason you are speaking. We are in a precarious enough position as is!" Thomas sent her a scathing look and John patted his wife's hand to calm her.
"No, he's right, Margaery. Edward is trying to secure our positions now, but if that woman gains the regency, then it will not matter what he does. It would be just our luck that the moment we gain the king's favor, it's all ripped away from us. God damn it!" His loud swearing had Jane flinching.
"It's not so bad, is it?" Margaery quizzed. "It's not like she actually did anything the harlot could object to? It's not like she is his mistress."
"Oh please, they all know what was intended..." Tom growled.
Jane tried desperately to fade into the background, but suddenly all eyes in the room were on her. She had remembered walking back to her place in the crowd once she had given her favor to Henry. She had climbed the steps feeling overwhelmingly smug. She had Henry on the run for her and if she played it right, she could find herself on the throne of England. Yet then she had watched him fall and her hopes had fallen with him.
Thomas was right, Anne knew. Her icy gaze had drilled into Jane when she had been introduced into her household. And if she held any power...Jane shuddered. Lady Margaery stood and made her way to Jane, taking her hands with a kind smile.
"Be calm, dear. The king will wake soon and all this worry will be for nothing." She smoothed Jane's pale blonde hair away from her face and tipped her chin up, surveying her face before turning to her husband and son.
"Mother is right, Jane," Thomas said grudgingly, standing and walking to the pair. "The king will not die this way. He will rise again and it will be as if it never happened." He placed what should have been a comforting hand on her shoulder, but his next words took the sentiment out of it. "But you'll have to ensnare him or we'll be lost. You've done well so far, but you must keep going. Keep bringing him on and away from the whore. And you must never yield. Once she births her little bastard or loses the babe, we will know how to play this."
A commotion from outside their chamber door drew all of their attention though and Jane's nerves made another leap.
Thomas, quick as a viper, had the door open and had caught the sleeve of a servant boy running past. "What news?!" he demanded of the youth who struggled in his grasp.
"The king!" the boy panted, freeing himself from Jane's brother's grasp. "He's woken and is arriving now in the courtyard!" the boy ran with the amassing crowd towards the great hall and Thomas turned with a smile.
"You see, Jane. We still have a chance! You still have a chance!" he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and rushed to follow the crowd, along with the rest of her family.
Jane, however, hesitated and made her way to the window. She could see the courtyard below where a procession of carts and courtiers was trickling in. And she had the perfect view when a few moments later her king, the man she was set to seduce, wrapped his arms around his enchanting queen as she rushed to him. She watched the pair for a moment-this couple that had overturned the natural order just to be with each other. Their love, while controversial, had burned brighter than any royal marriage throughout Christendom. She watched him run his hands through her raven locks and wipe the tears from her face tenderly as she spoke with him, probably professing her undying love and joy that he was well. She watched the interaction with a sense of detachment, knowing that she would have to find a way to come between them. But determination made her resolute. There was no way that Anne Boleyn would be mother to the next king of England. No way that King Henry was meant to part from the Holy Church. Jane guiding him away from that witch was her fate. It was God's will.
A/N: I had to rewrite this a few times to get it where I wanted it-so thank you for your patience!