AN: I am so terribly sorry that I have not updated in such a long time , but i have started a new school far away from home (in Switzerland) and I had to cope with all the changes in being a border and with the huge amount of homework.Anyway, I love you all my readers and thank you that you hung on with me!I will cut this short so as you can read it!

Advice: Smile!


Chapter 7: Considerations on Royal Marriage

Or What is the role of women

What was supposed to be Kat's happiest day resulted in a dire disaster. The day she was supposed to become queen of England and Regent of Quadrilater should have been one of utter joy, yet as she sat alongside Henry in the open carriage that brought them back from Westminster Abbey, where she had been anointed queen of England, she could hear cries of utter dissatisfaction coming from the crowds and those shouts where to blame for her sulkiness.

The common people of London did not like their new queen. Of course Kat had been previously warned that the masses were quite fond of their "queen of hearts" but she had expected at least some respect towards her. They had disappointed her! Words like:" go back, whore of Quadrilater!" Were directed towards the young queen and: "go back to your wife!" was shouted to the king.

"Don't listed to them, sweetheart… you are the rightful queen of England!" Henry whispered in her soft red curls and the girl tried to keep up her cheerful smile as the procession moved towards White Hall.

"Leave us, harlot!" someone yelled from the crowd and the both monarchs turned instinctively only to see that the voce shouting such profanities was in fact a young man, a very young man…

Deeply annoyed Henry decided to make an example of such a man so as to make his people respect their new queen. With a royal nod, half the guards that were there to protect the king and queen jumped like hawks to the young man's throat.

"Stop it! " Kat shouted but the guards did not take into account the queen's orders.

With quick, swift moves the girl jumped like a cat from the carriage and rushed towards the guards that were now carrying the poor lad to the Tower of London. Henry watched in complete shock asking himself what was his new wife going to do. She ran oblivious of the mud that was making her petticoat awfully dirty.

"I said: STOP IT!" the queen commanded.

"But madam… the king…" one of the guards tried to excuse himself.

"You shall release the man immediately! Henry! "she looked to her husband and expected him to have a positive reaction to her commands. Yet he stood motionless and watched how she tried to release a man that had insulted her. He was amazed at how much energy the girl used for lost causes!

"Sweetheart, why don't you get back into the carriage and I shall solve this small incident!" he said a little bit patronizing wanting to show his subjects that he had tamed the shrew.

"I will get into the carriage when you will release the poor man!" Kat answered in a harsh voice and the whole crowd was surprised to see that their new queen had the nerve to answer back to the king.

"Katherine…" Henry said with anger. The man was loosing patience with his new wife. In addition to that he realized that he would make a fool of himself in front of his own people if he let the girl have her way.

"NO!" she almost shouted. "You shall release the man for he has done no crime!" the redhead said firmly and the king raised his eyebrows as if questioning her.

"He has just insulted you, little fool… why protect him?" Henry finally got up from the carriage and walked towards his queen. The people of London were more than interested by this incident. After all, not every day the king and "his mistress" quarreled in the middle of the street.

"Because he can say whatever he pleases for all I care! It's not a good enough reason to kill him!" she answered plainly.

"He has insulted the monarchy!" Henry replied.

"He has insulted ME! I am not the monarchy! I can be the representative of the monarchy, but not the monarchy itself… I am an individual not an institution!" she lectured and Thomas Cromwell from behind the progression started to panic.

Thomas Cromwell, chancellor of England since Thomas More had resigned because of the religious mayhem, worried for it seemed to him that both the king and their newly anointed queen were determined to make a spectacle of themselves in front of the whole population of London. He was amazed that the girl was actually lecturing the king on humanist conceptions on their wedding day, in the middle of the street and on top of that because of an insignificant nobody, thus he decided to intervene between the two monarchs that were now arguing passionately and whom the crowd had started to watch carefully.

"My king , would it not be better if you granted the queen her wish , and free the poor man… after all , the crowd of London would be proud of their merciful king." Thomas whispered in the king's ear and Henry listened to him. He thought that his chancellor was right as it was of no use to argue with his wife from the first day of their supposedly blissful alliance.

"Release the man!" Henry shouted and the people clapped their hands happily. The king proved himself to be still an honorable man. Kat wore a smug look on her face and the king tried to hold his head high so as not to give the impression that he was defeated by his own wife. Quickly the girl entered the open carriage without any help from the guards and the king that had held their hands to her. She smiled at the crowd and the people of London seemed to receive her with much more warmth. The remaining way towards White Hall no one shouted any terrible words against the couple.


"Madam, Sir Thomas More is here to see you…" Elisabeth said warmly towards Katherine of Aragon who was staring blankly into the fire. The former queen nodded and the blonde girl invited the man in the shabby, poorly lit room.

The first thing that Thomas noticed was the pallor of the woman's cheek. Katherine of Aragon had always been a very beautiful woman, but now, as Thomas looked at his former sovereign he discovered that in the past few months she had changed. Her beautiful eyes seemed tired and soaked of tears, her gentle smile seemed more tired than ever and her whole figure looked almost drained of life.

"Sir Thomas…" the queen of hearts greeted him not standing up. " I am sorry that I receive you like this but I do not feel well…"

"Don't worry madam…" Thomas whispered sympathetically trying to comfort the poor woman. "I just came to see if you are in need for anything…" the former chancellor tried to make his request sound as dignified as he could but the queen sensed the pity in his voice.

"Thank you, Sir Thomas, but I fear that I have to decline your offer. I am still not defeated… "she said bravely.

"Madam…" Thomas approached her and whispered in her ear. " I have strict orders from the… queen… to tell you that, should you ever need anything she will be glad to help you…" the man said and earned a glare from the woman when he had called Kat "queen".

" I do not need pity , sir. Moreover, if it comes from that woman!" Katherine said coldly and the minister felt the urge to defend his queen

Thomas More respected Katherine of Quadrilater. He respected her because she managed to do things that ordinary women were not able to do, he respected her for her intelligence and for how she managed to tell Henry off when her was wrong. But what he mostly respected her for was the fact that she understood his moral values, appreciated them even though she almost never applied them. Yet he could understand the bitterness of the former queen.

"I understand, madam…" He bowed humbly, his voice much colder now than before. With no glance behind he moved towards the door and Katherine felt once again deserted. She could not believe that everyone was leaving her for the princess of Quadrilater.


"Sirs, I have come before you not as your queen but as your sovereign. " Kat's powerful voice rang in the room where the Parliament was assembled.

The new queen was here to claim her rightful power in front of the Parliament. Dressed in a blue, plain dress and having her red hair tied in a loose bun the young girl was there to make this whole lot of men aware that she will interfere in the matters of state.

" As you well know, I am queen in my own right and by marrying, his majesty , I gained the right to rule in England as he has gained the right to rule in Quadrilater. This beings said, I want you to look at me as one of your own. I am going to work for England's welfare and only with your approval sirs will I implement the reforms that the country needs. Thus , while I am in this room , I am not the queen consort of the king of England. I am England's sovereign!" Kat said simply with no pride and Henry smiled inwards because of the astonished faces of the members of his parliament.

Thomas Cromwell watched his queen held her speech and, after that, moving quickly towards the door as she dismissed the parliament. She was obviously not like any other woman , she assumed the responsibility of power and was not afraid to take decisions on her own. The King did not have absolute power now; he needed her approval to pass any law or to make any alliance. Now, they shared the power as the Catholic Kings had once done. But the chancellor could not help to ask himself if these two young sovereigns would be as successful in England as Isabella and Fernando had been in Spain.


"Sir…" Kat curtsied in front of the king as she entered his office.

" Madam…" he took her had gallantly and kissed it softly. With a gesture he dismissed his grooms and when they left, he embraced his young wife warmly. He then kissed her mouth passionately. "I want you… now…"

"Again, my king?" Kat asked quite amused. "I thought that last night was quite enough…"

"Now…" the king firmly said and started to undress the woman untying the corset quickly. He then placed her on the desk with steady moves and started to kiss her neck fiercely.

"Henry…" She moaned softly as she embraced his neck.

Suddenly the hard oak door opened and the small figure of Anne Boleyn entered the room not being prepared for the sight before her. When Mistress Boleyn had decided to see the king she had planed to try a "rapprochement" with his majesty. After all, she had been his greatest desire until the foreign princess had arrived. Anne thought that she was beautiful enough , smart enough and cunning enough to make his majesty desert, once again his wife and take her as the mistress of his heart.

"What is SHE doing here?" Kat almost yelled as she tried to tie up her corset and Anne stood frozen in the doorway.

The king had a reputation for being resourceful when it came to sexual intercourse , but he was never like that with his wife. He would have never taken Katherine of Aragon on a desk filled with important state papers and he would have certainly not done it in broad daylight. For Henry, as far as Anne knew, to have sex with his wife meant an entire ritual born out of desire of having heirs not out of lust. But it seemed that this was one of the things that Kat had managed to change.

"What is your whore doing here, Henry?" Kat shouted outraged and the king stood dumbstruck not really remembering when he had permitted Anne to come.

"Your Majesty…" Anne pleaded softly almost begging the king not to forget that they were once intimately related.

Kat observed carefully the exchange of looks between the woman that she considered the harlot of the court and her own husband. He did not react to her intensive stare looking in Anne's pleading ,black eyes. A feeling of pity, somewhat of remorse was written in his blue pools when he watched the woman he had loved, or at least had pretended to do so. Yet, what was more pathetically was the fact that there, between the woman for whom he was prepared to risk a civil war, and the woman for whom he had diminished his own power he could not decide weather Kat was worth loosing Anne or the other way round.

Henry was a man , and like every man , he hated to lose. He had loved Anne , a part of him was still loving her , but he had certain feelings for Kat too. Anne stirred in him desire , Kat passion. Anne made him feel like an unhappy king , Kat like a blissfully happy slave. Anne Boleyn was ice, the queen of Quadrilater was fire.

Katherine looked at the troubled face of her husband and she suddenly understood that no matter what she did she would never have Henry only for herself. He would always be tempted to stray away , to seek comfort in other arms than hers for this was the way that he had been accustomed to live. Henry was not the man to lose on something, unfortunately for him though, Kat was not the woman to share what was hers with anybody else.

Not even bothering to ask for permission the young queen stormed out of the room not even looking at Anne or Henry. Seeing that his wife was somewhat mad at the incident the king wanted to go after her but Anne , like a panther crossed his path and looked at him with her fascinating eyes.

"Sire…" She whispered softly " I am ready now…" Anne continued slowly undressed herself. Henry stood in shock as the woman he had waited for almost seven years was undressing. Quickly he pondered if he should leave the Boleyn girl and go after his wife. His manly desires gained the better of him and he threw himself at Anne's naked breasts. After all, how bad could Kat react?!


Katherine entered her rooms quickly and obviously angrily. He could not believe that Henry actually preferred the company of the harlot above her own. Without thinking about her actions the hot-headed girl took the small porcelain vase that stood on one of the tabled and threw it with anger. As it smashed into pieces on the floor and as the queen's piercing stare was watching the pieces of destroyed glass some one came behind the woman quietly and saw the whole display of anger.

"Madam…" the soft voice said almost humbly trying to avoid to further infuriate the sovereign.

"Mary…" Kat turned to face the speaking figure and tried to smile sweetly as not to scare the young teenager.

The English princess was only two years her junior, yet as she was petite the could easily pass for a 10 year-old. Katherine always had the intention to protect the girl for, maybe because of the frail physical appearance, Mary had always seemed defenseless. As the polite salutes had been changed and the groom that had introduced the English princess left , the queen opened her arms and the child ran desperately in her friendly embrace.

"What happened sweetheart?" Kat asked in a motherly kind voice as she felt that the princess needed all the mother-like comfort that she could get.

"My mother , madam… ambassador Chapuys tells me that she is unwell…" Mary said softly after she parted from the queens' embrace.

"I am so sorry , Mary…" Kat stated simply and truthfully waiting for the girl to say something more.

"Please madam, let me see my mother!" the girl said desperately kneeling in front of the queen . Although Kat had told her not to use any titles when in her presence , the little princess felt that she now owned respect not only to the woman who had married her father but to the Queen of England too.

"You know that this is not for me to decide…" Kat said softly ,upset that she could not help the princess.

"The woman who had forced the parliament of England under her command has no say in this?" Mary said almost angrily that the sovereign would not do something.

"You know that this would deeply disturb the king…" Katherine said calmly.

"At this moment my mother could be dieing , and I am not with her…" the Englishwoman stated with a trace of concern in her voice and with this simple phrase she had assured the queen's support, for Kat knew how hard is to know that your parents died and you weren't there.

"Get ready…" Kat commanded firmly.

"I am ready, madam… I can leave whenever your majesty wishes. " Mary said in a contempt voice.

"Then let's go…" Katherine said shortly already giving orders for the best horsed to be prepared.

"Will your majesty do me the honor of coming with me?" The English Princess asked confused.

"So as not be stopped by the soldiers you will meet on your way." The girl explained briefly and motioned the silent princess towards the exit. The English Queen knew that the king would be mad at her but this was exactly what she had expected. He had hurt her pride badly by choosing the Boleyn girl and Kat felt that it was already time to pay him back.


"Where is the Queen?" Henry asked carelessly while entering Kat's rooms. After his little game with Anne he wanted to make up with his wife.

"She has left, sire" one of her useless ladies in waiting said meekly and the king turned like a storm towards her.

"Where , woman?" he asked quickly.

"I do not know sire… She went with the Lady Mary." The same woman answered and the king felt his blood boiling up. What could his wife do with his "bastard" daughter? Leaving her room in rush and annoyed that the queen left without having the courtesy of announcing him, called for Cromwell.

"Sire…" the chancellor answered promptly.

"I want you to find the Queen , and bring her back here , in chains, if necessary!" Henry ordered bitterly and the minister simply could not believe that the royal couple was already bickering after only a week of being married.


Dear reader,

I thank you that you had the patience to wait for this new chapters and I promise you that further chapters will come promptly enough! Please submit your comments and suggestions through your reviews.

Yours sincerely,

The Author