Disclaimer: I own nothing. Only minor plot changes and the relationship of Elizabeth and William, which never happened because they never met.

Long time no see. I don't know if anyone is still following but if you are, thank you so much. It took me a long time to come back. Health issues, school issues, and everything all rolled into one. That's no excuse so enough of my rambling.

1528-Winter

Months had passed since the death of Princess Margaret. The people mourned their Princess of England but no one grieved as much as the royal family. Henry was doing everything he could to keep his mind off of her death and spent most of his time with Anne Boleyn. The impending divorce from Katherine had stressed him and now with the death of Margaret, Henry took anything as a willing distraction. As for Elizabeth, she had been wearing black as a sign of mourning. Her face had lost it's brightness and her eyes became red from crying half the day. To some people, Elizabeth had been mourning more than she should have. However, Elizabeth didn't see it that way. She had lost her mother, father, brother, and now her sister. When Arthur had died, her father, Henry VII, had been inconsolable and after the death of her mother a year later, Elizabeth knew her father would soon die, which he did six years later. Now, Margaret was gone and the only living relation she had, was Henry.

Wiping her kerchief under her nose, Elizabeth sniffed back more tears. Thinking about her dead family members made her feel even more miserable. Sitting out under the shade in the rose garden, the Princess had commanded Bess and her other ladies to leave her in peace. She wanted to grieve privately. They had agreed but when Bess went back up to the castle, she had sought out William Compton. He had not been hard to find, as he had been sitting with Anthony Knivert in the gallery. She had quickly informed him of Elizabeth's whereabouts and William had thanked her before heading out to the garden. Since Margaret's death, Elizabeth had kept her distance and that included intimately. He found her sitting in the exact same spot Bess had said she would be in. In front of a fountain, with red roses swaying in the breeze. She was dressed from head to toe in black and her hands were grasping the stone bench.

"Elizabeth?"

Looking away from the fountain, Elizabeth turned and said, "What are you doing here?"

"Bess told me you might be out here."

"Surprising. I told her to leave me in peace," Elizabeth muttered.

As she was joined by William on the stone bench, she felt him grab her hand. It was warm, warmer than her cold one. He began to play with the emerald ring around her index finger, which made Elizabeth's eyes well up with tears. It had been Margaret's and it was another gift her sister had given it to her before she had been banished from the court. William didn't know what to say to her and she had been pushing him away; she knew that. It seemed Elizabeth was choosing to grieve alone and Henry didn't seem to care. He had more pressing matters to worry about than the well being of his only surviving family. It hurt Elizabeth deeply. Looking up at William, she said, "I miss her. I miss her so much and no one seems to understand it."

Before Elizabeth could break out into sobs, William pulled her into his embrace. Her cries were muffled and William felt tears beginning to wet his clothing. As much as he loved Elizabeth, William couldn't take her pain away. He stroked her hair softly before she pulled away and said, "I can't bear to lose anyone else. I'm already going to loose Mary and Katherine, thanks to the annulment. I couldn't bear losing you."

"You won't. I'm not going to leave you," William promised.

Elizabeth wiped the remaining tears from her face before she stood from the stone bench and helped William up. As he placed his arm around her waist, Elizabeth leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked back to the palace.

Upon the couple returning to the palace, William was asked by Anthony to join him and Charles on a ride through the countryside. As much as William protested that he wanted to stay with his beloved, Elizabeth assured him that she would be alright and that she would see him later tonight. He had given her a chaste kiss on the cheek before he turned and walked to the stables with Anthony. They had met up with Charles and the three companions had set out for the countryside. In retrospect, the fresh air could do the three men some good. As much as Charles tried to play off his feelings regarding Margaret's death, Anthony and William could see that he was still saddened by the event. No matter how he tried to deny it, a small part of Charles had loved Margaret.

William and Anthony both had different things on their minds. Anthony felt he was falling out of favor with the King and he had been considering leaving the court for an extended period of time. He felt more at home in the estate Henry had provided for him and despite his ways with women, Anthony had begun to notice one of the woman at court. Shockingly enough, it was his dancing partner, Marie. The beautiful blonde had disgusted him when they had first met but over time, Anthony had gotten to know her. As for William, his thoughts remained on Elizabeth and how he desired to marry her before the year was up. He hadn't spoken to her about it but William thought he would surprise her later on in the month, by asking for her hand in marriage. Two years of waiting was long enough.

As the men put their horses to a stop, they hopped off into the grass and began to talk, their attendants following a few feet behind them. Charles had been so busy with matters stemming from Henry's paranoia about the annulment, that Anthony could hardly believe he was even out with him and William. Turning to Charles, Anthony said, "I'm surprised you have so much time."

"To do what?"

"To do nothing," William retorted.

"What are you saying," Charles asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be running the country?"

Charles smiled and said, "I leave that to Norfolk, he's had more practice. And at any rate, meetings with ambassadors are infinitely tedious. They're all liars, hypocrites, and middle aged men."

"Would you prefer if they were all women?"

"Anthony, if all ambassadors were beautiful women, Charles would be serving his country day and night," William said.

The three men laughed before Charles said, "Compton, my friend. How goes it with the Princess Elizabeth?"

"Everything is fine, Charles. There's nothing to remark about."

"Have you proposed marriage to her, yet," Anthony asked.

William stopped and said, "I'm planning on asking her by the end of the month."

Charles clapped William on the back. In truth, he was happy for William. He knew the Princess had been grieving for months and as the end of the year approached, Charles thought it would be a nice surprise to ask for Elizabeth's hand in marriage. She would be very happy that William was finally asking her. Before Margaret had died, he had spoken with his wife and she spoke of how impatient Elizabeth was getting with William. All the Princess wanted was to be married and have a family away from her brother's court. Charles didn't think she would ever escape her brother's shadow, not matter how hard she tried.

"I see you have decided to come out of your mourning," Bess said, as she laced up the back of Elizabeth's gown.

Elizabeth could only nod, mutely. Truthfully, she still was not over the death of Margaret and it would take time but Elizabeth knew that her sister would not her to wallow in pity. She had to keep her eye on the future and the future she wanted with William. He had been acting strangely for days and Elizabeth was wondering what he was up to. He would only smile and tell her not to worry. Everything was going to work out, he said. Elizabeth could only take his word for it and decided to stop her fretting. If anything, her mind was mostly on her brother; and Anne Boleyn. At the mere thought of her brother's mistress, Elizabeth's stomach soured.

Anne had been removed as one of Katherine's ladies and was now on Henry's arm. He lavished fine jewels and expensive gowns on her, which many thought was ostentatious, as the Queen was still living at Whitehall. Elizabeth tried her best to ignore Anne whenever she was around and turned her attention to literature and the arts. She had been spending more time with Thomas Tallis and helping him with his music. Turns out, she had a great ear for it and Thomas had been teaching her how to play the organ. Elizabeth thought it was exciting to take on a new challenge and she already knew how to play the lute and virginals. The organ couldn't be that hard.

However, Elizabeth still had not gotten the hang of the organ and that afternoon, was on her way to resume lessons with Thomas. He had been very understanding when she took some time away from everyone but now, Elizabeth was ready to bring herself back to life. She was going to start with her music and try to seem happy. As the finishing touches were put on her hair, the Princess winced as Bess secured the emerald headband into her auburn hair. Holding in a groan, Elizabeth stood from the cushioned chair and turned to her friend. Bess looked very tired, no doubt from dealing with Elizabeth's grief for the past week and a half. The Princess felt displeased with her behavior and said, "I'm so sorry for my behavior these past few months. I shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you or the other ladies."

"It's alright, my Lady. I know that the death of your sister was hard."

"I know but I…"

"Elizabeth, not another word. The other ladies and I are not displeased with you in anyway. Now, lets get you to the chapel."

Elizabeth nodded before she walked to the doors of her chamber and opened them, Bess following closely behind. The long walk in the stone hall was silent and as the two women rounded the corner into the gallery, Anne Boleyn was also entering on the opposite side of Elizabeth. Holding her head high, Elizabeth walked forward, her dark green gown swishing across the wooden floor. To her right, she passed George Boleyn, who was speaking to Ambassador Chapuys. He was explaining that Anne was wearing purple and purple was reserved for royalty. Elizabeth was already angry at what Anne was wearing. The courtiers had gone silent and Anne suddenly stopped next to a few of Katherine's ladies. They had refused to make eye contact with her. Elizabeth and Bess stopped in the middle of the room, as the people behind who had bowed, stood. The courtiers watched as Anne glanced over to the ladies and said, "You know I sometimes wish that all Spaniards were at the bottom of the sea."

"Mistress Boleyn. You should not abuse the Queen's honor with such language."

"I care nothing for Katherine," Anne replied. "I would rather see her hanged than acknowledge her as my mistress."

The courtiers gasped and Elizabeth's hands curled into the sides of her gown. She watched as Anne turned from Katherine's ladies and continued walking forward. Turning back to Bess, the Princess nodded and both began walking. As Elizabeth passed Anne and her lady, she bumped modestly into Anne's shoulder, causing her brother's mistress to stumble slightly. Bess coughed to keep from laughing as she watched George Boleyn glare at the Princess. He quickly alerted Anne but she waved it aside. The last thing the Boleyn's needed was to take up a fight with a blood relation. Turning back to her mistress, Bess hit her lightly on the shoulder. Elizabeth couldn't help but smirk as she and Bess rounded the corner and out into the sunshine.

After a disastrous lesson with Thomas, Elizabeth was escorted back to the palace by Thomas, while Bess trailed a few feet behind them. As the trio walked quietly through the damp grass, Bess observed her mistress' behavior. The lesson with Thomas had not gone very well for Elizabeth had been away from the organ for too long. It was like learning everything over and she had grown frustrated and had snapped at Thomas over something silly. However, she had apologized and Thomas had understood. As their feet crunched in the gravel of the road, Bess coughed lightly and Elizabeth glanced up ahead. There, waiting for her at the front of the palace, was William. As they stopped in front of him, William gave a short nod and said, "Tallis, Bess, do you mind if I have a word with the Princess alone?"

"Sir," Bess said before she linked her arm with Thomas and they began to walk quickly towards the palace.

"My lady," William said, holding out his arm for Elizabeth to hold.

However, the Princess held back and said, "What is it, Sir William?"

Puzzled, William replied, "Sir William? You've never called me that. At least not since we have been together."

"Well, things are different now," Elizabeth said, pushing past him and towards the palace's entrance.

She didn't get very far before a strong hand grasped her elbow and William whirled her around to face him. "What is a matter with you?"

"Me," Elizabeth retorted. "What about yourself? You've been acting secretive for weeks. What is going on?"

"Elizabeth," William muttered.

"Is there someone else? Has my grief pushed you away? I'm sorry if it has but this was my sister and I loved her so much."

"Beloved, nothing could push you away from me," William said, wrapping his arms around Elizabeth.

"Then what is wrong," Elizabeth asked, her voice muffled from William's tunic.

"Nothing that you did could push me away from you, Elizabeth. You must understand this."

Pulling away from his embrace, Elizabeth held his gaze and said, "We're going to make it. Please promise me that we will be happy."

"I promise."

Well, that's the end of part one. I'm sorry it took me a long time to finish but I had alot going on. No matter; I have started on season two and am trying to finish all ten epsidoes so I can start posting again. So far, I have finsihed witht he write up of the first episode but I still need to tweak it a bit. I'll probably post part two in this story instead of starting a new one.