Author's Note: Hello everyone, welcome back! I hope all of you enjoyed the last chapter, and that this chapter doesn't disappoint! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/alerted/read this story, you are all amazing! It is a huge comfort and encouragement to me to know that I have so many loyal fans of this story and that you all enjoy it. Hitting Chapter Ten is a huge deal for me, because I'm corny like that :)

Without further ado, the tenth chapter of King Arthur II!

The Tower of London

August 21, 1513

Although it was tradition for the monarchs who were about to be coroneted to stay in the Tower beforehand, that didn't make Arthur any more comfortable with it.

Arthur's two young uncles had lost their lives mysteriously in this place. The doubt surrounding their deaths still baffled England at the time, and Arthur didn't feel comfortable being around the place where they had died, even though they were housed in dark dungeons, and he in much more comfortable lodgings.

They were his mother's brothers after all, and had been princes just like him. They were like Harry and him, and their royal blood had not saved them from a brutal death, in fact it caused their death. Arthur could remember hearing about a time when his father had newly come onto the throne, when he was a little more than an infant, and the crown rested uneasy on the new King's head. His father had feared for his heir's life, and left Eltham heavily guarded, and did not allow him to enjoy the fresh air, in fear that somebody would kidnap him and hide him away, or possibly kill him.

Arthur never forgot that hard lesson taught by his uncles' deaths and his father's early years as King. Being royal didn't save him from a death, in fact, it made him a target.

Tomorrow he was to be coroneted. It was supposed to be the day he went from being a mere Prince to an anointed King, appointed by God to watch over the people of England. He had waited for this moment all of his young life, yet he couldn't help but be scared.

He heard Katherine sigh next to him and shift her position, and he figured that she was restless, just like him, unable to sleep on such a night. He tapped her shoulder, and despite how warm the night was, her shoulder was ice cold. "Katherine," he whispered, causing her to moan and sit up.

"I can't sleep," she said frankly, gathering the blankets around her body. Both of them were too nervous to make love that night, and they had retired earlier than usual, hoping to catch a good night's rest so they wouldn't look tired for the next day. Arthur had lain awake for the whole night, and by the sounds of it, Katherine had too.

"Neither can I. It's too much to think about. I hope that it all goes as planned," Arthur voiced. He had spent the last few weeks in his privy chamber with his new advisors, planning out the coronation. Arthur wanted it to be a grand occasion, grander than his wedding or anything his father ever did. He wanted to show his new subjects the wealth of the crown, the youthfulness of him and Katherine, and the prospect of a new future. Cardinal Wolsey, his brother's tutor, had joined him in many of these meetings and voiced most of the opinions and made most of the arrangements. Katherine had also joined him, and wasn't afraid to voice her own ideas. Many of his advisors were scandalized by this, but he didn't care.

He promised something to Katherine, and like his father had once said, it wasn't good to break promises, especially when you were a King. He knew his father wouldn't like the fact that Katherine was advising him, but he was beyond caring.

His mother was proud of him. She commended him and Katherine for working so well together and enjoying each other's company. Arthur knew that Elizabeth would have never dreamed of sharing power with her husband, even though most of England knew that she had just as much a right to the throne as her husband did. She would have never dreamed of causing such a fuss, and Arthur knew his mother wasn't strong enough to hold a throne by herself.

Katherine was nothing like his mother. Arthur believed that if she had a claim to the throne of any country, she would seize that opportunity and hold that throne as ably as his father did. Of course, she would have more trouble, since most places did not take kindly to female rulers, but Arthur had no doubts that she would be able to do it. Arthur didn't believe that his father knew the nature of Katherine when he proposed a match between him and Katherine, because his father probably would have backtracked if he did.

Arthur knew that it was a lie that he wasn't at all scared of Katherine and her ambition. She was fiery and the only person he knew that was brave enough to stand up to his grandmother. Katherine had advised Arthur not to invite her to the coronation, and he agreed with some difficulty. She was in some ways the founder of his royal lineage, and he felt guilty for not inviting her.

That is, until he heard her reaction.

"How dare you!" Margaret Beaufort exclaimed shrilly. Arthur stood in front of her, dressed in his finest clothing as to not be intimated and to show her that he was King now, but it was no use. The sound of her voice made him want to shrink back into bed and give up the fight. If it wasn't for Katherine standing right next to him, a reminder of the promise he made to her, he would have left and allowed his grandmother to attend the coronation, hopefully pacifying her anger.

"Now, my lady, it is best not to be overworked, not at your age and in your condition. It is better for your health to stay home," Katherine soothed, coldly referring to the old woman as if she were nothing more than an annoyance. Katherine didn't feel like having her in attendance on the day that she would become Queen of England. Katherine knew Margaret well enough to know that she would want to overshadow her on her special day. Katherine would not allow that to happen, not anymore. It was her first step of revenge against the woman who had made her life a living hell while she was the Princess of Wales.

"Shut up, you bitch! Arthur, you best learn to control your wife, for she is nothing more than a wench, unfit to be the Queen of England! This is an insult, and I demand to attend!" Margaret exclaimed, moving closer to the new monarchs, unafraid of their reaction. She had lost her son and Arthur was taking away the last speak of hope she had in life, to play a part in his reign as she had done with Henry. She knew it wasn't Arthur's fault, but only he alone could revoke the insult that Katherine was heaping on her.

"Grandmother, calm yourself, and refer to her majesty with all due respect. You are not coming, the arrangements have already been made, and because of your health I do not wish for you to strain yourself," Arthur replied. His Privy Council had advised to invite Margaret, but Katherine didn't want it. He could deny her very little now, and didn't want to upset her. Besides, since his father's death, she did look much older than before, and was nearing the age of seventy. All the excitement would not be good for her, and Arthur didn't trust her to dress brightly and to celebrate his achievement. Her presence would be a dark cloud over such a happy day.

"I'll tell you something, my darling grandson. You will be nothing more than an embarrassment to this great country and to your father's throne. You cannot sire children; you cannot rule a household, let alone a nation. You are doomed for failure. You may have your fancy coronation and blow all the money me and your father carefully saved, but it will do you no good. You may hold the country for a year, perhaps more, but that's it. Some foreign monarch, probably the Spaniard's nephew, will seize the opportunity to attack a weak England with a weak King, and all your father's work will be finished because of YOU!" Margaret prophesized darkly, glaring at Arthur with the most hatred he had ever seen out of the old woman.

Arthur, at the time, had shrugged her words off as a sign of her growing age and her anger at not being invited. He knew that she wouldn't take it well, but he didn't expect her to be so cruel to him and to Katherine. She was always a woman unafraid to voice her opinions, but Arthur didn't think she had thought so lowly of him. After much pondering, Arthur began to fear that her words had some value. He had yet to get Katherine pregnant and he knew that the blame couldn't solely be laid at her door. He had never regained his vitality after he caught the dreaded sweating sickness, and that made it hard.

However, Katherine was quick to shrug Margaret's words aside forever and move on. She also described them as words of a woman gone mad with grief and self-pity. Katherine also was not worried about the lack of heir. She blamed it on the fact that the King had kept Arthur close by for the past three years, and that they were so young in the early days of their marriage. They were still young, Katherine had told him, and that heirs would come in no time.

Katherine had come from a fertile family, being the youngest of five. Arthur's was of course the oldest of his four siblings, but he was always taught it was the woman who determined the sex of the child and how healthy the child was. However, he couldn't believe these words, not now. He was sickly, not Katherine who was as healthy as ever.

"I'm sure it will go fine, love. The plans are without a fault. The Cardinal is very clever," Katherine replied, drawing him from his thoughts.

Arthur nodded, although Katherine could not see in the darkness of the room. Cardinal Wolsey had done a wonderful job overseeing the coronation and had assured the young King that all would go well. Arthur was puzzled by Wolsey's sudden interest in him, but he took it at face value. Wolsey had enjoyed much power when it came to the church under his father. Surely he would wish to court Arthur's favor too. It did Wolsey no good to continue to tutor Harry, although Arthur had not relived him of that duty yet, he was going to soon. "Do you think the people will like us?" Arthur asked, fearing the worst. Many of the Englishmen and women had less than fond memories of King Henry VII. The common people hated all the taxes and the nobility hated that he had taken away their military strength. Arthur hoped that they would see him as a fresh start; a handsome eighteen year old with a beautiful wife. He was always cheered for loudly when he went out in public as the Prince of Wales, and he just hoped that that would not change now that he was King. Surely the people knew that he would never carry his father's policies, as miserly as he was?

"Of course they will. You are their new Arthur, and tomorrow will be a preview of what is to come. A new Camelot," Katherine replied, repeating her optimistic promise. Camelot was always in the back of their minds.

"I sure hope so. How do you feel love?" Arthur asked, sensing that she was hiding something. Her voice sounded tense and her body was cold. He pulled her closer to him, and could feel her shiver, despite the heat of the night.

"Scared, just like you. This is all so much to take in. I was raised to be the Princess of Wales and the Queen of England someday, and it is just so hard to believe that the day is finally here. It's like everything that I have worked for is coming together and I just want to pinch myself to make sure that I'm not dreaming. I always was excited about coming to England and starting my life here, but I just feel so blessed. I love you, and that wasn't supposed to happen. I was not trained to love, I was trained to rule and to strategize and to fight. This, our marriage of love, wasn't in my plans and it scares me, it scares me so much," Katherine explained, involuntary hugging herself.

"Don't be scared. We are going to be the best King and Queen of England this country has ever seen, and because we love each other, it is going to be easier. I wouldn't want anybody but you," Arthur assured, kissing her forehead. She leaned into his embrace. "Go to sleep now, our lives are starting tomorrow, and we shouldn't be tired," Arthur commanded lightly. He smiled when he heard her soft breathes and felt her heat on his chest, signifying that she was asleep.

Even if he couldn't sleep, at least she could, and Arthur would give up anything to make his wife happy.

Whitehall Palace

August 28, 1513

Arthur was King now. Harry was still the Duke of York, but for how long?

Arthur and Katherine would have children of their own, and if they had two boys, the second one would be named the Duke of York, and he would be nothing. He would be a clergyman, forbidden to marry and doomed to spend the rest of his life bored and alone. The clergy didn't hunt, or dance, or do anything that Harry thought was fun. Thomas had told him that being a clergyman wasn't so bad, but Harry didn't understand how he could think like that. To him, it sounded like prison, and Thomas made it sound like the best occupation in the world.

Harry would never be King and Harry decided would be so much more boring now that his father was dead. At least with his father alive, Harry had a secure position as the Duke of York, and he didn't have to worry about entering the clergy for a long time. Now that Arthur was King, things had changed for Harry and he was far from pleased.

Arthur had already taken things away.

Harry wasn't tutored by the Cardinal anymore, since Arthur thought that Thomas should be by his side as one of the members of his Privy Council, possibly the President. Arthur had promised him that he would replace Thomas with somebody else, but it had already been a day and in Harry's mind that was far too long. Also, since the court no longer lived at Richmond, Harry's new home was at Whitehall in a different set of rooms. They weren't closer to the King's since nobody predicted him to be heir to the throne for much longer.

Harry set down his book which he wasn't reading and paced around his private chamber, trying to think of things that were positive about all this change. Of course, he was allowed to see his mama much more, and he spent everyday with her. His grandmother didn't come around as often, but when she did she was a lot nicer to him than before. Harry figured that it was because that she was downgraded very much under his brother's new reign, and found something nice in Harry. Harry would never be mean to the old woman, he almost felt bad for her since she wasn't even allowed to come to the coronation!

Harry found the coronation to be so grand, and even though he was suppressing some jealously while watching it, he couldn't help but be pleased by the whole thing, considering that he was still a child of ten years old. Arthur looked like a true King, dressed in all white and gold. When he received the crown on top of his head, he looked regal and majestic, disconnected from the rest of the world. Katherine looked more beautiful than ever before to Harry, wearing a dress, like Arthur's clothing, of white and gold. Her long black hair hung down her back and she looked like a Venus of some sort, taken from the pagan fantasies Harry had learned about. Harry was entranced by the new King and Queen on that day.

As well as the wonderful coronation procession, there were multiple banquets, masques, and jousts for three days afterwards and Harry had enjoyed them. He couldn't remember having that much fun under his father's harsh glare and he hoped for many more fun times under Arthur. The common people were also glad to have a new youthful King; they cheered loudly for Arthur and Katherine as they passed through London on their glorious chariot and were pleased with the free wine and food given to them throughout the last couple days.

The old days were gone, and with King Arthur II a new Camelot was born, a notion Harry tried to be pleased about.

"Harry!" a female voice exclaimed from his doorway, drawing him from his thoughts.

"Mama!" Harry responded, running into his mother's outreached arms and began to plant loud kisses on her cheek.

"How's my boy?" Elizabeth asked, eying Harry and she smiled when she saw how well her youngest son looked. She knew that Harry was upset about Arthur assuming the throne, but at least it didn't affect his happy childhood disposition and pleasure at seeing his mother. Elizabeth knew that he wasn't happy about his tutors being taken away, but Elizabeth was sure that Arthur would find suitable replacements. After all, it was better to teach Harry his place was in the church before he got to old to question those ideas, as Elizabeth always had in her own mind when Henry was still alive.

"I'm fine, but bored," Harry sulked. Arthur had not permitted him to resume sporting lessons, and Harry wasn't sure if he was going to, leaving Harry very bored. He was even glad to see his grandmother at times, because she had been nicer to him as of recent and even brought him sweetmints or other candies. Of course, Harry's favorite time of day was when his mama came to visit.

"Why haven't you gone to see if Charles wants to play? I'm sure he is bored also," Elizabeth suggested. Mistress Brandon was not left out to dry now that Henry was dead, as Arthur continued her pension and allowed for her and her son to reside at court in nice apartments. Charles continued to have lessons with Harry and the two of them had become inseparable.

"I did, only he was out with his mother today, riding. Same with William and Anthony, they were doing something or another. Their fathers are probably teaching them how to hunt," Harry responded enviously. It was unlikely that he was going to ever learn how to do things that all boys knew how to do because priests and clergy weren't like other boys; they weren't allowed to have fun.

"I'm sorry Harry, I know how much you want to learn how to hunt and ride and all those things, but don't worry everything will turn out okay. You can dine privately with me tonight and we can talk more, okay? I have to go see the King now, he has requested my presence, but I just wanted to stop here first and see how you were doing," Elizabeth explained, standing back up from where she was kneeling and started towards the door.

"I'd love to dine with you mama," Harry beamed.

"Good, I'll see you tonight then," Elizabeth responded, ruffling his dark hair and leaving.

Harry sat back down, trying to hide his anger despite the fact that he was alone and could do as he pleased. Even his mama, who favored him above all, had to see Arthur over him.

Between him and Arthur, it would always be Arthur from now on.

Margaret Beaufort had never been a sick woman, and so when she began to stay in bed more often to take rest, it worried her. She had never felt as miserable as she during the past two months, since Henry, her beloved son, had died.

One person had told her that emotionally distress, combined with aging, could be fatal. Margaret could call that person a genius now when at the time she had called them a lunatic.

She never realized how much she loved Henry until he died. It wasn't just the loss of her only child, it was more than that. It was the loss of any figment of power she once held, it was the loss of her hard work, and most importantly, it was the loss of that wonderful feeling of having everything. Henry had been her gateway into becoming the first woman in England. Now she was fourth, ranked behind Katherine, Elizabeth, and little Mary. Katherine and Elizabeth she never held any respect for, and Margaret found the idea of yielding to a mere child insulting. She was aware that when Henry was alive she was ranked second, behind Elizabeth of York, but at least she only walked a half a pace behind her and that in terms of things, she was really more like the Queen than Elizabeth.

She knew that one day Arthur would become King, a day that she at one time looked forward too, but she didn't think that his wife would be so damn difficult! Margaret always knew that Arthur was weak in both mind and now physicality, but she never expected him to yield so easily to his foreign wife. She couldn't believe that she, of all people, was not invited to the coronation!

Katherine never left Arthur's side since Henry had died, even when he had to attend meetings. No Queen had ever done so before, and to Margaret that was the scariest thing ever.

An unexpected cough violently rippled through her body, leaving her shaken for a few moments. She knew that death was knocking at her door, and that she had to find a priest or bishop (preferably) to administer her last rites. She hoped that Arthur and Katherine would grant her dying wishes and that they would give her a grand funeral and bury her near Henry, since the spot next to him was reserved by Elizabeth of York, his "beloved" wife.

"Boy," she called her page, "Go find his majesty, her majesty, the Duke of York, the Dowager Queen, and the Princess Mary and tell them to come here. Tell them that I am dying, and that I demand my last rites be given to me here," Margaret commanded with surprising calmly before another cough tore through her, causing her to lie down on her beautiful ornate bed.

Within minutes, Arthur and Katherine had arrived, their elbows interlocked with each other. They both stood at the foot of her bed and neither of them looked sad to see her go.

Harry came next, with a look of distress about his face. Little did Margaret know, the look was not for his ailing grandmother, but at the smell of the death chamber.

Margaret was touched by Harry's seeming distress over her death, and could finally feel at peace with the way she had written her will.

Katherine and Arthur were fools if they think that she would be reconciled with them, even at death's door. Katherine needed to pay for her attitude towards Margaret, and Arthur for allowing his wife to act that way.

In her will, she had left Harry everything she ever owned.

Margaret, being one of the female heirs to the Lancastrians, had inherited a great deal from her father, including estates and money. Henry was her only child, since he was gone; Margaret left it to Harry, the child that she enjoyed the most. Maybe it was because Harry was too young to have ever displeased her as greatly as Arthur did in his first few months as King.

Harry already had inherited estates and money from his virtue of being the King's second son, and the rightful Duke of York, but with Margaret's donation, he would be one of the richest people in England, a serious rival for his brother. Despite the decision backtracking Henry's idea of a united England, Margaret didn't regret it one bit. It wouldn't hurt to bump her kingly grandson down a few notches by honoring his little brother.

Mary and Elizabeth shortly followed Harry. Elizabeth had no love lost on the count of Margaret's death, and Margaret didn't expect her too. It showed a lot about Elizabeth's' character that she had even come to pay respects to the dying woman, and for that Margaret was secretly impressed.

Despite Harry being her self-proclaimed heir, Margaret only addressed Arthur. "Arthur, Katherine, please listen to me. I may have not been the kindest woman in England, but King Henry knew me as the smartest. So listen to my advice, if you will. Don't go to war, and don't spend money you don't have. Be careful, please, and take care of all those who do you good. Finally, I ask for a funeral at Westminster and at least two hundred mourners. I demand you all wear black for a month and mourn me properly, because none of you can deny that I have done well for England."

And with that, Margaret Beaufort slipped away.

"Even in death, she doesn't look at peace," Katherine said after a few moments of silence, staring at the cold dark eyes of the woman who caused everyone in the room heartache.

"Two hundred mourners is an awful lot, more than Henry had," Elizabeth replied, disgusted at the way the old woman went out. No I love you's, nothing. Elizabeth felt a huge relief that Margaret was finally gone. No more control, she was finally free.

"We don't intend to agree to that amount, do we sweetheart?" Katherine asked, looking at Arthur who was transfixed at Margaret's will. "What is it Arthur?"

"She left Harry everything."

Alright, a bit of a cliff-hanger (but not really) and a short chapter! I'm sorry guys. Next chapter there will be some action, and some stuff that will make Katherine/Arthur fans happy. I know this chapter wasn't very much, but it is setting up stuff. Until then, review! You are all amazing :)