Author's Note: You are all so amazing! Everyone who reads this story deserves some sort of giant gold star :) Last chapter was by far my most read and reviewed one, nearly 20 of them, even if it was super sad. I'm so glad you all continue to read/favorite/review/alert the story! Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, I hope this one does not disappoint.

By the way, last Tuesday marked the date 473 years ago when Anne Boleyn was executed. Poor Anne :/ Just thought I'd share, since she's my favorite :)

Thanks again to ReganX! My constant source of ideas :]

Disclaimer: This is a work of AU fanfiction. All historical liberties are taken with full knowledge of real events, and are taken only for the purposes of this story. All recognizable characters are the property of Showtime and history. I don't own history; I just mess around with it ;]

Don't forget to hit that review button at the end :) Enjoyy!

Whitehall Palace

September 15, 1523

The sweat had finally cleared, and whoever had survived out the ashes on the plaque came in droves to cheer Arthur back on his return from Wales, even if it was bittersweet.

The commons were very happy that their beloved King Arthur had returned unharmed by disease, as his weak constitution was not well-hidden. However, they could tell by the look on his face that he was coming back to London with a heavy heart, and that his daughter's death had hit him very hard, turning their once joyous and mirth-filled King into someone somber and unrecognizable. He was dressed from head to toe in black, even his riding hat.

Arthur didn't waste any time riding into the entrance of Whitehall, thinking it had been far too long since he had stepped foot there. His face was creased into a thoughtful frown, and he could tell that most of the courtiers were unsure where to tread. It wasn't the first child the King and Queen had lost, but it was their only child to live past infancy, and as such, a much more painful loss.

"Welcome back, your majesty," one brave man greeted his King as Arthur walked with a nervous smile about his face.

"Thank you, sir; it is good to be back here in London, even if it is under such unlikable circumstances," Arthur wryly replied, grateful to the man for being the only one of his subjects to treat him like a human being. He was grieving, as was natural, but he wasn't going to break into hysterics if somebody spoke to him or offered him kindness, which was how people were treating him.

He knew that his wife, however, wouldn't be so strong in the face of their daughter's death.

The reports he had received from England after his daughter's death were disturbing, to say the least. Wolsey had stayed behind, even though Katherine and many others had believed he would die in the face of the disease. Thomas More also wrote to him a few times, after Wolsey fell ill and had to rest for a few days. Both of them told Arthur that Katherine had locked herself away with only her chief attendant, Maria de Salinas, and would not admit anybody else, not even the other members of her household. Despite Katherine's demands, the funeral procession for Mary went on as planned, but Katherine still did not budge from her apartments to pay her last respects to her daughter. She was too heartbroken, according to More.

Arthur had to go and see her, despite how uncomfortable it would be.

Maria seemed shocked to see him, but she let him in, flaunting her mistress' orders for the first time since she had locked herself up. Arthur wasn't surprised by how dark the room was; all of Katherine's shutters were closed and only a few candles were lighted, it made Arthur shudder inwardly as he walked in.

He noticed her right away, she was sitting on the chair by her fireplace, and despite the warm weather outside, there was a fire blazing as well as a cold winter's evening. From the dimness of the candlelight, Arthur could only see from a distance what his wife looked like, but it was enough for him to tell that the reports about her condition and sorrow were not exaggerated. She was from head to toe in black; her gown was plainer than anything he even knew her to be in possession of. Her hair was down and flowing, although he could tell it hadn't been washed properly since the sickness began, and there was a sheer black veil hanging down it.

As he approached her, he could tell her eyes were red-rimmed with tears that had already been cried. Arthur cried for his daughter and for his loss as soon as he heard, but he refused to allow himself to cry about it for any longer. No matter how many tears he cried, his little girl was not coming back to life.

"Thank you, Maria, for staying with her. I would like to be alone with my wife now, though," Arthur commanded, trying to keep his tone pleasant though he realized it came out a little sharp. He knew it wasn't Maria's fault that his wife looked the way she did, he was sure that she had tried to get her up and at least bathed, but he knew Katherine well enough that she would have refused. His wife was stubborn, to say the least, not one of her most endearing traits but Arthur had learned to live with it.

"Katherine, don't be sad. She is in a better place now," Arthur cooed, kneeling down to her level as soon as Maria left and placing a comforting hand on her arm, rubbing it up and down. He knew his wife was a deeply spiritual woman, who put a great deal of faith in God and in His will, so he hoped that this would be of some comfort to her. He wished that God would have blessed them with children, but it was clear that He wanted both Arthur and his brother to have a run at the throne, so Arthur had no choice but to accept it. He missed Mary, he was sure he always would think of her for the rest of his life, but he accepted her death as fate.

"Arthur, no, this wasn't just some test of God's will, this was my fault! It is the sin of pride, instead of making sure she left to go to Wales, I simply sent a messenger and never questioned it again. I acted as a Queen before a mother, and that was such a mistake!" Katherine protested, her tears flowing again, but she kept them restrained. "You should hate me, you should blame me for your heir's death," Katherine responded, her voice barely above a whisper.

"No, I could never hate you, and what happened was not your fault! What's to say that had the messenger dispatched the message, that Mary still would have survived? We cannot know these things, and blaming yourself will never bring her back, we just accept it as a sign of God's will and move on," Arthur explained, pulling her into a hug. He should have anticipated that his wife would blame herself, considering that she was in charge when Mary died, but Arthur could never bring himself to blame her.

Mary was a good daughter, and Arthur had no doubt, had she lived, she would have became a great monarch someday. But in knew in his heart that Mary was not the ruddiest girl, and her health was of concern to both him and Katherine. Katherine was unable to give him a son, and Mary was their only living child, and for this Arthur had loved her deeply, but he knew that they were lucky she survived as long as she did. Instead of placing blame or pointing fingers, Arthur intended to honor his sweet daughter's memory and accept that Henry would be the next King of England.

"Move on to what? Our daughter is dead, she was our only heir!" Katherine hysterically exclaimed, all the sudden energized. "My whole purpose is lost, she was everything to me! I cannot simply accept this, she was so important, why can't you see that?" Katherine questioned. When Mary was born, Katherine had finally been able to relax a bit as she felt more content with her role as Queen. Although her sex was a disappointment to Katherine at first, she began to work around it, and looked forward to a day when her daughter would get married and have a family of her own. Katherine focused a lot of her energies into seeing her daughter's position secured as the next monarch after her father, and now that Mary was with the angels, she had no idea what to do.

"I understand that sweetheart, but it will do you no good to cry tears or to lock yourself away like this! Henry is our heir now, and we need to make sure his position is secured," Arthur began, but seeing the hurt in Katherine's eyes made him second guess himself. He figured it wasn't the best time to bring up such sensitive issues such as Henry's position, so he stopped. "Why don't I have the cooks prepare your favorite dish and we eat together tonight? We'll talk about small things, no succession lines, no children; we'll just act as we did when we were young," Arthur proposed with a forced smile. He was just as upset as Katherine was, but he thought that if they started to act merry again, perhaps it would be easier to feel that way inside.

"No, I'm sorry love; I just don't think I can. Thank you for coming by, Arthur, but I think it best for myself to be alone," Katherine miserably replied, allowing herself to wryly smile at her husband, whose intentions at cheering her up warmed her heart at least just a little bit. He was always so patient and loving with her and Mary, and she knew that he was upset as well, and was putting on a brave face for her. She didn't want to make him continue. "I'm sure his eminence, Cardinal Wolsey, has a very large briefing to give you. Do not waste your time with your sorrowful wife," Katherine replied, getting up to kiss Arthur before motioning towards the door.

"Katherine, please, try to cheer up. Mary wouldn't want you to be this upset; neither would your mother," Arthur pleaded once before walking out the door, not daring to look back.

He was sure Katherine wouldn't want him to see her cry again.

A Week Later

Henry hated formal meetings with his older brother.

For one thing, Arthur conducted them with a state of grace that made Henry feel like he was actually talking to a reigning monarch instead of a brother, which always made him feel uncomfortable. He never believed that Arthur was any more suited to be King than him; in fact, he knew that there was more than one person who had spent time with the two boys in their youth that would have preferred Henry as the oldest opposed to Arthur.

Henry highly doubted, however, that those same people who attended them in their youth would have ever imagined Henry's path to the throne would be so easily carved out. Mary was their only living child, a girl at that, and nobody had ever seen that coming in the beginning months of Katherine and Arthur's marriage. The young couple was healthy, strong, and madly in love with each other, but Arthur's sickness crushed their dreams and made their lives harder. After Arthur took the throne, he became weaker, and therefore he was only capable of siring one living child, and a girl at that.

Henry didn't want Mary to die, and he was becoming more resigned to the idea of Mary as Queen before her death, especially since he had Anne and could happily picture himself living the rest of his days a mere Duke married to her; but now that Henry's path the throne seemed almost assured, he certainly wasn't going to regret taking full advantage of the situation.

So in this one case, Henry was very excited to have a meeting with his older brother, even if it meant being talked down to.

As soon as he arrived back from Richmond, after a visit to his son's establishment at Eltham to comfort the motherless boy, he was quickly given a message from Arthur requesting that he come to his apartments for a meeting about his future. Henry's heart fluttered at the intent of the meeting, almost certain it meant that he would now be treated as a future King instead of an unwanted second son, which meant that his chances of marrying his darling Anne just shot up tenfold. He was now in a position to make demands of his brother, and the power was gratifying for Henry.

For too long, he had been shoved in the corner of the royal family as more of a liability than a Prince. He couldn't lay the blame at Arthur's door, because he knew that Katherine had some kind of sick control over his brother and that she hated him and was suspicious of his actions. Now that Mary was dead, he hoped that Katherine would begin to treat him with the respect he deserved, since she had no reason to fear him from stealing the throne from her daughter. Henry was reasonable enough to believe that most of Katherine's actions were guided out of fear for her daughter's position, but now that Mary was no longer, Henry confidently expected to be treated better.

"Henry!" Arthur exclaimed, looking truly happy to see him. Henry imagined that many people had stayed away from his brother in recent days, considering that they believed him to be in the same state as Katherine was, but Henry knew better than that. Arthur had loved his daughter, there was no denying that, as no other man had ever placed a kingdom in the hands of a female heiress, but Henry knew that Arthur was a lot like their father in the sense that he was a business man and a King who rarely showed his emotions. While Arthur wore black garb, and expected that the rest of his subjects do the same in respect for Mary, he showed no other outward public signs of grief.

"Your majesty," Henry greeted, a bit more formally than Arthur had greeted him, and he made sure to bow. However, his attempt at formality failed when Arthur pulled him into a brotherly hug, and despite himself, Henry was smiling. Although the rivalry had never died between the two, with Henry more or less keeping it alive, he did enjoy the moments when they could forget that they were royal siblings and simply just be brothers, who cared about each other.

"I trust your journey here went well, and that mother and Mistress Boleyn made it back here in good health?" Arthur asked with a knowing smirk about his face. He was sure it confused Henry well, since nobody really knew where Anne had went during the sweat until Elizabeth wrote to Thomas Boleyn, and even then, Arthur was all the way in Wales.

"How did you know that Anne was with me?" Henry asked, dumbstruck.

Arthur simply grinned. "Kings know everything, my dear brother. In any case, I give you my blessing for your marriage. I know your nature well enough, you have your heart set on this woman, and I wish you both the best of luck," Arthur sat up from his desk and gave Henry a good natured shoulder slap before continuing, "and if you need anything, anything at all, do not hesitate to ask. I do have one small request that you wait until the Queen is done mourning. I want the whole family to be together" Arthur started, and waited for Henry's acknowledgement.

Henry just stood there for a few moments, his mouth agape in surprise. He had expected a bit more fighting to be done, he had no idea all it took to get Arthur's blessing in marriage was to get him alone. He knew that Arthur wanted him to marry for the sake of the succession as well, but he felt as though Arthur truly wanted him to be happy. "I will alert Anne of these developments. I only have one other request; I would like Anne to be discharged from the Queen's household and into our mother's. I think she'd be happier there" Henry stated.

Out of the endless goodness of her heart, his mother had invited Anne to become a member of her household, after what she heard was going on in Katherine's. Elizabeth had grown fond of Anne while they were stayed at Richmond, and she wanted to have her close by so she could get to know her even better, and Henry had no objections to it. He would rather Anne be with his gentle mother than with Katherine, who was not against bullying the innocent, so it appeared. He also thought it would be better if Anne learned from his mother what it meant to be a wife of a royal and how to run a household, all the things she needed to know before she became his wife.

"Of course, I have no objections. Our mother will teach her all she needs to know, I have no doubt," Arthur replied, pointedly avoiding any talk about Katherine's behavior. He knew that Katherine wasn't the happiest about Henry marrying Anne, considering she would have liked the salvage the alliance with the Emperor that his sister ruined by using Henry as a pawn, but Arthur knew his brother better than that. Henry was even more headstrong than his sister Mary, and he had his heart set on Anne Boleyn. Besides, Arthur figured there were worse commoners to marry than a Boleyn girl.

"Thank you, Arthur, I hope I can make her happy with all of this," Henry replied, his pride the only thing keeping him from embracing his brother. If only he had known before all it took was to get him alone!

"I'm sure she will be happy, brother, and I hope that you continue make her feel that way. Love is such a precious thing," Arthur wistfully stated, his mouth creasing into a frown, but he quickly snapped it back into a schooled smile. "I will make a public announcement of your engagement as soon as the mourning period is over," Arthur proposed with outwardly joy, but Henry could tell that Arthur's mood was somewhat soured.

Even if he couldn't thank his brother, since he felt as it was his right to get married to whom he pleased, he all the sudden sympathized with him. He knew how dearly Arthur loved Mary. "Would you like to take a walk, Arthur? You seem upset," Henry asked. He was his brother after all, and even if he tried to repress his feelings because he was King, Henry knew it would help him to talk about it. "It might help if you were able to talk to someone you trusted."

"Thank you Henry, I'd like to get out of here, it's too enclosed," Arthur replied, leading the way out of the palace and into the gardens. He had kept himself like a closed book over the recent days, days when by all rights he should have been mourning properly for Mary, but he had no time to do so. By the time he found out about her death, the sickness was nearly past, and he was preparing to head back to his duties. He couldn't stall, that would be impolitic of him, even though he wanted to. Now that he was back at Whitehall, there was hardly any time for him to stop and get out of his system, and he was grateful to Henry for bursting him out of his sorrow shell.

"I am deeply sorry about Mary's death, she was a sweet girl. We said prayers for her at Richmond," Henry began, not looking at his brother's face. He wanted Arthur to be able to get things off of his chest, but he didn't want it to become awkward or too touching. They never had that type of relationship, and he was okay with that.

Arthur heaved a deep sigh. "I know it was God's will, I keep telling myself that at least," Arthur paused before he was able to gather his thoughts, "it's just that she reminded me so much of Katherine when we were first married- that sweet tempered innocence, with just a hint of ambition," Arthur sighed again, this time it was longer and more tense. "Don't misunderstand me, I love Katherine deeply, I couldn't ask for a better wife. It's just she's changed so much, at first it was attractive for her to be so involved in the affairs of the kingdom, and I appreciated her advice. Somewhere along the line, she morphed into someone I cannot even recognize, and it scares me," Arthur confessed.

Henry had so many things he could have said at that moment about his sister-in-law and what kind of woman he thought her to be, but he said nothing. He didn't think it would make Arthur feel any better to hear his wife get trashed by his brother. "You were both so happy when you were first married," Henry stated instead, a useless but neutral statement. He knew how much it took to get Arthur to open up like this; he didn't want to make him regret it.

"Yes, and I would give anything to go back to those days. Mary was my escape, when I spent time with her, I saw the Infanta Catalina, not my current wife," Arthur quietly revealed. "You don't know what you are getting into when I pass, Henry. This is a most heavy burden, there are so many pressures, and sometimes I physically feel as though I cannot breathe," Arthur confided, placing a comforting arm on Henry's shoulder.

"When we were children, I always knew you were destined for great things. I think you will hold the crown well, do not doubt me on that point, but I could not rob you of a loving wife now that you are my heir," Arthur reflected. "Without Katherine, I think I would have been dead a long time ago. I am grateful to her for giving me Mary for the short time that she lived, and for giving me life again. I think that if I was not married to her, I would have died when I was sixteen years old," Arthur revealed. He remembered those dark two days when he was on his deathbed and Katherine's image came into his mind. He couldn't leave her alone with his vicious and merciless family, he had to fight for her, and he did. Even if their marriage had soured over the years, his love for her never did.

Henry smiled, and for the first time, he began to understand his brother's love and admiration for his wife. Even if he could never like Katherine as a person, he could no longer begrudge Arthur for loving her. He hoped that someday, he could feel the same way about Anne, after they had been married long enough. "Thank you, Arthur. I intend to do you proud when I become King," Henry promised, swallowing his pride to thank his brother. Even if he did not agree with Arthur's vow to stay out of war, and other decisions he had made while he was King, Henry did not want to ruin Arthur's country.

Arthur grinned. "I know you will, and you'll probably be a far more energetic one than I was," Arthur laughed before turning serious. "I want you to be good to Anne, be faithful to her and love your children, male or female. I think that my happiest day on this earth was when Mary was born, and I did not allow myself to be the least bit disappointed by her sex. I savored every moment with her while she was alive, and I advise you to do the same. You don't know when God will take them away," Arthur advised, tears welling in his eyes, but he quickly sucked them up. He had cried enough tears when she died.

Henry gave his brother a wan smile, bittersweet. He was sad that his brother felt the way he did, but he was also happy; happy that his life was just beginning. Arthur patted him on the shoulder once more before departing, his silence the only thanks Henry would have accepted. He sat on the bench in the gardens for a few moments, reflecting upon what his brother said, and he vowed that he would do his best to live up to his brother's example. His thoughts on Katherine did not affect the wisdom of his brother, and while he wasn't going to be the same type of King, he thought his brother was a wise one, thoughtful and shrewd.

"Alone, your grace? I thought you'd be celebrating with Mistress Anne!" a smooth male voice said from behind him, one that Henry recognized all too well, drawing him from his thoughts.

"Thomas! I mean, your eminence, I am honored," Henry teased, standing up to embrace his old tutor and friend, Cardinal Wolsey. "How are you my dear friend? I see the sweat left you in one piece," Henry remarked.

"Yes, and for this, I am grateful to God. I have heard your news though, and I am so happy to hear that you and Anne Boleyn are getting married. She is a good, well-rounded woman. King Francis speaks highly of her," Wolsey remarked. He was very pleased when heard the news that Princess Mary had died, leaving Henry as the heir to the throne. He was sorry for King Arthur and for Queen Katherine (even though he was not very fond of her) and he was outwardly mournful as well. However, with Henry was the next King, he was almost assured to keep his position and to climb even higher. As well as that, when he heard his pick of wife from King Arthur, he was pleased. Anne Boleyn was a friend of France, and so was Wolsey.

"She is everything I could have ever wanted in a wife, and then more. It's a good thing I never joined the clergy, isn't it?" Henry teased again, his mood so jovially he could burst. "If so, I never would have met her and experienced what true happiness is."

"Yes, it's a shame, those vows of celibacy keep so many young men away from the church," Wolsey remarked, not daring to think of his mistress and two children.

"Ah, you never held them up anyway, you old dog," Henry remarked again, a sly smile on his face when he saw Wolsey turn red-faced and embarrassed. When he first found out about Wolsey's mistress, he was too young to quite understand why a clergyman could ever be allowed to break his vows, but as he grew older, he realized the clergy were not kept on as heavy of a tether as he once believed they were. However, it didn't make him change his mind about the decision he made to stay away from it, he still believed that was the smartest choice he could have made.

Wolsey ignored the younger man, but allowed himself to smile in spite of himself. "Your grace, I would like to be the first to present you and your wonderful fiancé with a gift, if I may?" At Henry's nod, Wolsey continued. "My palace at Hampton Court has just recently been finished, and I would like you to have it, once you've seen it and it is agreeable to you," Wolsey proposed, dropping down in a bow and presenting the key to Henry.

Wolsey was proud of Hampton Court, and it was a loathe to give it up, but he realized the importance of staying in his old pupil's good graces trumped almost everything. He needed to do it now, too, because if he waited until after they were married, when the Queen was well, his chances of being Lord Chancellor would be slim to none if she found out about him giving away such a gift.

Henry simply smiled and took the key out of Wolsey's hand, and lifted him out of his bow. He then embraced his friend, and from behind his back, he stared in hungry wonderment at the key in his hand.

It certainly was a promising start.

"I have just received a letter from my son, the King," Elizabeth announced, sitting down next to Anne Boleyn in her newly furnished apartments at Whitehall. They were almost as lovely as her suite of rooms at Richmond, and she was able to afford it only because of Henry's generous gift to her. They made her feel more at home at court.

"What does it say?!" Anne asked, feeling as giddy as a school child. When Elizabeth suggested that she join her household as opposed to staying in Katherine's, Anne was so thrilled and grateful. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, to service a woman who hated Henry with such a passion. She respected Queen Katherine still, and was so sorry for the loss of her daughter, but she could no longer act as a servant to her when she expected one day to take her place.

Elizabeth had made it clear that an appointment in her household would be totally different than Katherine's; Anne would be more like a companion than a servant, and it would be like a learning course in royal household management. Elizabeth was aware that Anne knew little to nothing about running a household at such a large scale, and she didn't want her to be thrown into her new position as Duchess of York without a training course of some sort. She was fond of Anne in any case, and wanted to make her transition from commoner to royalty easier.

"He has accepted your appointment to my household, and you have been discharged from Katherine's" Elizabeth read with a smile, and embraced Anne from where they were seated.

Anne was so pleased that Arthur was so open and willing to accept their marriage and give them their blessing, which the letter in Elizabeth's hand also stated. While the ladies were celebrating, Henry walked into his mother's room; he too was unable to keep the smile from his face. "Sweetheart, mother," he greeted them both as they stood up with a warm kiss, on the check for his mother and on the lips for Anne.

"What brings you here?" Elizabeth asked, motioning for Henry to sit down and for one of her servants to get him a goblet of wine.

"I have some very exciting news. Wolsey has given us the estate at Hampton that he was building, as a wedding present. It is the size of Whitehall, and is brand new," Henry announced, his smile wide as Anne's face turned from shock to absolute joy.

"That is wonderful news, Harry and Anne. You will have a court equal in scale to Arthur and Katherine's. It will be good practice," Elizabeth remarked shrewdly as Henry and Anne embraced each other from happiness.

Henry stayed for a bit longer, talking to his mother and future wife before heading out to hunt with his friends, and they were going to ride out to Hampton to see the estate. Anne declined the invitation, as she wanted to speak more to her future mother-in-law.

"I have a sensitive question, Elizabeth," Anne began, feeling more welcome now that she could address her by her Christen name opposed to the formal and cumbersome majesty. At her nod, she continued, "Henry, has he always been such a passionate person?" Anne asked, her nervousness palpable.

"Since he was a boy, he has been that way. His father had such a hard time controlling him; he was displeased with his behavior. Margaret Beaufort blamed it on me," Elizabeth replied, her smile wistful. "Why do you ask?" she asked after a few moments pause, realizing that this wasn't the answer Anne was looking for.

"Oh it's nothing really, it's just..." Anne stuttered, clearly embarrassed. At Elizabeth's encouraging, she soldiered on, "I am truly a maid, and although I made a vow to myself and to my family that I would stay that way until I was married, my virtue wasn't the only thing holding me back. I had heard horror stories from some of the ladies in France, whose husbands and lovers were rough with them when it was their first time," Anne explained, clearing her throat before continuing, her voice quieter, "and it's just, I know that Henry loves me and would never hurt me, I just fear that his passion and our long-awaited chastity will someone make him lose his tenderness. It is not as if it is his first time as well."

"Oh Anne," Elizabeth comforted, putting her hand on top of Anne's, willing herself not to laugh. "It does not hurt badly at all, I promise you that. If you are worried about pain, you should fear your first childbirth, not your first time alone together in bed. Harry loves you, and if you tell him to take it slow, he will," Elizabeth assured her, laughing a bit when her face lost its nervousness. "You will make him happy, you do know that? And if I know him well enough, he will make you happy as well."

So that's it for this chapter, didn't turn out as well as I wanted, but I hope you all enjoyed it (I say that about every chapter, I know). Hope I captured Katherine and Arthur's reactions as you all hoped, next chapter will be lighthearted, as Anne and Henry will finally be getting married! Thanks everyone for reading, don't forget to hit that review button :)