After her rather impromptu decision to attend the royal banquet that was to be held that night, Anne Boleyn had spent the rest of the day fretting and second guessing herself and her decision. A very large part of her knew that it was not a wise idea to attend the feast, Henry certainly wouldn't want to see her and she didn't know if she'd be able to stomach sitting beside him and watching him ignore her and drool over his Seymour mistress all evening. The very thought of it made her hands clench the embroidery hoop and needle in her grasp all the more tightly.

Anne sighed deeply before glancing up from her place sewing by the fire to watch Lady Jane Seymour as she played cards with Lady Zouche across the room, the girl had kept rather quiet once they had walked past Jane Parker and Katherine Brandon in the hallway earlier in the day and now seemed to be purposefully avoiding Anne's stare. However, every now and then Anne would feel eyes settle upon her and would look up to see Jane quickly adverting her gaze back down to her cards, her small white teeth peeking out to nip nervously at her thin lower lip in much the same way that Anne herself and her sister Mary did whenever deep in thought.

With a frustrated huff Anne returned her attention to her embroidery which was beginning to become irreparable with every irritable stab of her needle. The poor thing seemed to be taking the brunt of her stress and aggravation as she listened to Nan list all the reasons why it might be better to avoid returning to Courtly activities just yet. Nan had tried continuously since they had returned to the Royal Chambers from their morning walk to try to talk Anne out of going to the evening's banquet, but she seemed unable to provide any argument against going that wasn't already swirling unsuccessfully around inside Anne's head. There were so many reasons that she could state as to why she didn't want to go and all of them were just as complying as they had been that morning when she had said to her Ladies that she would certainly not be going to the feast. The problem was that despite this, there was one all-consuming thing driving her to want to attend with an almost single-minded determination and that was Charles Brandon.

She needed to see him, she needed to talk to him, she didn't quite understand the sudden urgency that had swollen up inside of her, all she knew was that the moment she had seen his pretty bitch of a wife staring smugly over at her she had felt a sudden almost violent desperation to talk to the Duke, and she knew with absolute certainty that she would not be able to rest until she heard his deep velvety voice. She felt as though there were little sparks of lightening shooting down her veins making her heart race and making it feel almost impossible to sit still as the sparks left her feeling unsettled and anxious, like a child fidgeting in their seat.

With a final growl of exasperation Anne gave up trying to fix her embroidery, she was too on edge, her thoughts too far away to be able to save the design, best to just stop. However, as she stared down at the ruined state of her work, she noticed that Nan had finally stopped talking, so had all of her Ladies, the room was silent except from the rhythmic crackling of the fire. Anne slowly raised her glaze and saw all of her Ladies in Waiting had paused in their own embroidery and card games to staring at her uneasily and Anne felt a moment of self-hatred rise up within her. Less than an hour outside of her Chambers, that was all it had taken, less than one hour for her to start coming apart again, for stress and frustration and irritably to start winding the knot inside her chest tightly up again. It was pathetic, she couldn't believe she was allowing herself to undo her own peace so quickly. Her gaze flickered over the faces of her Ladies, all of them pinched tight with worry and unease and she remembered her suspicion that they were dreading her return to court just as much as she was for this exact reason.

Anne swallowed roughly, she didn't want to lose the companionship and comfort that she had gained from her Ladies during her time away from Court, she didn't want to fall apart the way they all seemed to fear she would. So, she took a deep breath and gently loosened her tight grip on the embroidery hoop and needle, letting them both drop to her lap as she unclenched her hands, straightening out her long slender fingers, her fingers still shook with agitation so Anne took a slow, deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out as a long sigh and feeling her shoulders droop.

"I'm sorry Ladies, I don't mean to be so irritable."

"It's alright Your Majesty, you have nothing to be sorry for." Lady Zouche replied softly

Anne fought the urge to scoff and instead just smiled as kindly as she could at the Lady, as several more of her Ladies in Waiting murmured their agreements.

"Does Your Majesty really want to do this?" Nan asked "Go to the banquet, I mean."

Anne took another long breath and looked around at the open faces of her Ladies, "No." She said honestly "But I need to speak with someone and I cannot wait, I'm afraid I won't be able to think straight until I do."

"Can they not be sent for, to speak with you here Your Majesty?" Madge wondered

Anne paused for a moment to consider but ultimately shook her head "I doubt they would willingly come."

"But you are the Queen! They would have to come if you ordered it." Madge said perplexed.

Anne pursed her lips in thought, she knew it would raise too many eyebrows if she ordered Charles Brandon to come to her Chambers for an audience and she feared after the hunt that too many eyes were on their interactions as it was. It would draw less attention if she spoke with him briefly at the feast than it would if she demanded his presence at her Chambers. There was also a rather irrational part of her that feared he wouldn't come at all, even if ordered.

She nipped nervously at her lower lip, she had done a rather good job at keeping the Duke out of her thoughts for the nine days she had spent tucked away inside her rooms. She had kept her days filled with reading, sewing and drawing, her Ladies taking turns each day to show off hidden talents and skills much to her delight. Musicians would then visit in the evenings to play for them as they ate and then to play more joyful tunes for her Ladies to dance for her to as the evenings wore on. Then once night fell, she would allow their soft whispers to each other as they tidied her Chambers to drag her under the tide of sleep. She felt that she had done a very good job of keeping herself busy enough that any thoughts of him or of the entire exchange between them from the night in the garden was kept buried deep at the back of her mind not to be studied or enjoyed nor looked too hard at, at all.

Anne honestly didn't know how she felt about what had happened between them that night in the garden, in fact she didn't quite know how she felt about anything to do with Charles Brandon at the moment and she had no real intention of figuring it out. It felt dangerous for her to look too closely at anything that had happened between them since that first kiss, so she kept those moments tucked secretly away at the back of her mind, and was content to leave them there. Or at least she had been until that morning when she had stood before his smug wife and felt all the air around her leave completely. She had to talk to him, she had to see him.

"I feel as though I need to do this, and that this is the right way for me to do this. But I very much do not want to spend an entire evening stressed out at a Court event that I suspect many will not want me at. So, I propose this instead, we all attend the banquet purely for the meal portion of the event, once the food is finished and cleared away, I will briefly speak with the Courtier to attain the answers that I need and once I have done so then we all will return to my Chambers for the rest of the evening to enjoy ourselves with our own music and games?" Anne waited, her eyes flickering from Lady to Lady hoping for their support.

"Of course, Your Majesty. That sounds like a lovely suggestion." Nan said with a warm smile, she was then echoed one by one by the rest of Anne's Ladies in Waiting.

Anne smiled back at them in relief, she desperately wanted to retain their friendship and support. "I promise we won't be there for any longer than necessary."

"His Majesty will be pleased to see you, no doubt." Lady Holland said as she returned her attention to the handkerchief she was embroidering with flowers. Lady Bess Holland was one of the youngest and newest of her Ladies and therefore Anne found herself having to forgive the girl for the occasional slip up.

However, Bess did raise an important point, Anne had been so wrapped up in her fretting about Charles, his silly wife and having to attend a Court function with her Ladies that she hadn't given much thought to the biggest of her concerns, her husband, the King. During her nine days away from Court she had decided to take the Duke's advice in how to gain back Henry's favor, which meant that she had decided to stay well out of his way. He was still angry at her, she had seen it in his unfeeling stare that morning on her walk, and so she fully intended to keep as much out of his way as possible, to ignore him as much as she could whilst still being respectful of him as both her husband and her King. Henry had always had childish habit of wanting what was unavailable to him, that tactic had worked on him once before, she prayed that it would work once again, because she really didn't know what she was going to do if it didn't.

"What would Your Majesty like to wear this evening?" Madge asked curiously as she placed another log upon the fire, then knelt down to sweep away the ash that had gathered on the stone slabs in front of the fireplace with a brush and pan.

Anne hummed in consideration for a moment before she replied "Something simple I think, nothing plain of course but I don't want something that draws too much attention tonight. Most eyes will be on me as it will be my return to Court but I don't want those eyes to linger too much."

Madge nodded "What about the cream and burgundy dress you wore to the Ambassador's tennis match? It's beautiful and regal but simple."

"Perfect." Anne smiled, she wanted to avoid excess attention from the court but she also wanted to look good, beautiful even. Katherine Brandon's presence had set loose something inside of her, something vicious and ugly and she wanted Charles to notice her, to think she was beautiful, to want her.

"I want my hair mostly down as well." Anne added as an afterthought, she had a small suspicion that Charles liked it when she wore her hair like that. She thought back on the way he had stroked her hair as he kissed her, and the way he had looked at her during the hunt when most of her hair had come undone while racing. Yes Anne thought with a small smile and a flutter in her chest, she had a small suspicion.

…...

The Grand Hall was filled to the brim with Courtiers, Ambassadors and honored guests from Europe, men of science that Henry was most excited to speak with, Cromwell had truly out done himself in terms of the guest list. But that was hardly surprising, Cromwell had proven himself to be completely indispensable in the last few months, and the brilliant minds he had invited to the feast to entertain Henry were just the latest in a long line of wonderful little added touches to please his King. Henry had been looking forward to the banquet with growing excitement for days right up until he was informed a few hours ago that his wife Queen Anne would be attending and just like that his eagerness plummeted down.

He had hoped that she wouldn't have the nerve for it, he had seen the uncertainty in her eyes that morning in the gardens. He had assumed that it meant that she would continue to keep to herself hidden away from Court until her pride recovered from the failed dinner that had occurred after the hunt. She had claimed that it was her injured ankle that kept her from her Courtly duties but Henry suspected it had far more to do with her embarrassment than anything else. He also suspected that she had used it as an excuse to keep Lady Jane away from him, to keep the poor girl stuck within the Queen's Royal Chambers carrying out her Lady's duties. But truthfully Henry found that he didn't mind not seeing Jane as much when it meant that he saw his wife less as well. The nine days he had had away from Anne had been good for him, it had given him a peace that he had not enjoyed in what felt like years.

Henry felt a deep well of irritation swell within him as his wife's arrival was announced, he could already guess how the evening was going to play out now, she would no doubt spend the entire banquet trying to gain his attention and favor, she would make an utter spectacle of herself as always and then he would be unable to stop himself from lashing out at her in temper. Then he would have to flee from the feast he had been looking forward to for days, just to escape her sad and desperate eyes.

He huffed loudly as he reached for the wine that his servant held out for him, she hadn't been back at Court for two minutes and she was already ruining his mood. He made a point of not looking up at her entrance, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction, she would look utterly stunning as always but he wouldn't gasp and delight in her beauty the way he once had, he wanted her to know that she was not welcome, he wanted her to understand completely from his lack of reaction that she was ruining his night.

He did not look up or acknowledge her at all, even as the servants pulled out the chair next to him for her, instead he fought the urge to roll his eyes as he caught sight of her walking stick balancing carefully against the table between them. She was always so dramatic, was it really necessary for her to be using a walking stick for a sprained ankle. He knew it had been a bad sprain, the Royal Physician had told him as much when he had demanded an update on his wife's ailment, but it seemed so ridiculous that after nine days she would still require that kind of assistance, to be perfectly honest it seemed to him as though she was milking it as much as possible in hopes of gaining his sympathy.

"Good evening, Your Majesty." Anne said quietly, and Henry sighed waiting for her to start what was no doubt going to be a rather desperate attempt at gaining his forgiveness for the last time they eaten together. Only she didn't say anything else, in fact it didn't seem like she was even waiting for him to acknowledge her presence at all.

His brows pulled together as he looked up from staring with annoyance at his plate, to look over at his wife sat next to him. Anne wasn't waiting for his attention like he had supposed she would be, instead she staring rather intently at her own plate, her shoulder drawn tightly up and her hands playing absently with the rings on her fingers. Henry stared down at the side of her face waiting, but she didn't turn to look up at him even as the silence between them grew uncomfortable.

He let his eyes roam over her, he had been right, she did look beautiful but not as regal as he had expected for her dramatic return to Courtly activities, in fact she looked rather a lot like she had before they had married. Henry swallowed roughly before turning his gaze away from her, the servants had started bring out the various dishes, platters and delicacies to be served for the feast and he allowed it to divert his attention.

As the meal moved through its multiple courses Henry continued to wait for Anne to speak, only to grow frustrated when she remained silent beside him, she barely seemed to eat either, he had watched her quietly as she picked at the lamb and had a couple of mouthfuls of the pie but other than that she barely seemed to touch her plate for many of the courses. All she seemed to do was let her gaze flicker over the Courtiers and guests, smiling at some of them but mostly just running her gaze over them as though searching for something. All the while he could feel his irritation rising as she continued to sit as silent as a statue, he grabbed at his wine abruptly, some of the contents spilling over the rim and on to his hand as he glared at her, why wasn't she speaking?!

…...

Anne felt a rush of relief as the last of the feast's courses were cleared away from the tables, the meal had felt as though it had gone on forever and while she had expected it to be uncomfortable sitting next to her sulking husband in silence, she hadn't expected it to be anywhere near as awkward as it had been. There had been points during the meal where he had just stared at her for large portions of time without saying or doing anything. Her nerves felt frayed to pieces, sitting beside Henry had put her on edge far more than she had thought possible, add that to her anxiety about speaking to Charles and it had left her unable to sit still, nervously fidgeting in her seat. She had even been unable to stomach much of the delicious food that had been placed before her, she had picked at certain course a little but had mostly give up on eating as the feast drew on, she would eat later, once she returned with her Ladies to her Chambers after having spoken to Charles. Because she honestly didn't think she would be able to keep much down until then.

After she had given up on trying to eat, she had spent the rest of the meal looking through the tables filled with Courtiers for Charles. For a man of such high standing, he blended in very well as it took a ridiculous amount of time for Anne to finally find him, she actually found his wife first. Katherine Brandon was dressed in a beautiful light gold dress with red flowers embroidered on the bust, she had been laughing prettily at a something the man opposite her had said and as she lent forward to allow him to take her hand into his, Anne caught sight of Charles. He had been staring up at her but the moment their eyes met, he quickly looked away, allowing himself to get sweep back up into the table's conversation. He looked as handsome as ever, the warm candle light highlighting his sharp cheekbones and warm eyes. Anne swallowed and despite herself she smiled, she was glad to see him, even at a distance. Something inside her chest loosen and she felt a rush of excitement at the thought of getting to talk to him now the meal was finished, however that excitement paled slightly as she realized that she could hardly just walk over to his table and request to speak with him, that action would draw just as much attention as demanding him to come to her Chambers, perhaps even more so.

Anne frowned and turned her gaze away from the Duke, silently running through her options and feeling incredibly stupid for not thinking about this sooner, she had been so wrapped up in getting through all the stress that she would have to endure by attending the feast and getting to this moment that she hadn't once thought about what she would do once that moment arrived. She bit down on her lower lip and searched for Henry, he had jumped out of his chair almost the second his empty plate was removed and had wandered off to speak with his guests from Europe, they were the great men of science that Cromwell had invited in order to gather up more of the King's favor, brilliant men from France, Venice, Florence, Rome and Germany, "The great thinkers of our time" as her Husband had once put it. If Anne were less preoccupied, she herself would be very eager to speak with these men, it had been one of the things she and Henry had bonded over during their courtship, their joint love of knowledge.

As Anne's eyes wandered around the Grand Hall looking for her husband, she caught sight of Lady Jane Seymour staring over at her curiously, she felt a shiver crawl down her spine at the strange expression on the young girl's face and then the sharp tang of panic on her tongue as the girl then glanced over to the Duke's table.

"Your Majesty?"

Anne's eyes snapped away from Jane to look up at the servant standing in front of her table "Yes?" she asked shakily

"Forgive me Your Majesty, I was just asking if you'd like some more wine but I can see you haven't touched your first glass. Is there something wrong with it, I can fetch something more to Your Majesty's likening if so?"

Anne stared rather dumbfounded for a moment before she shook her head "No that...I...No thank you, I don't intend to drink much wine tonight" she stated rather disjointedly.

The servant merely nodded respectfully and then carried on along his way, refilling Courtier's wine glasses as he went. She watched him go for a moment before she swung her gaze back around to where Jane had been standing a moment before, only to find the space now vacant.

"Your Majesty"

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Lady Jane Seymour's voice so close to her ear, by God the girl could move quickly, Anne tucked a loose strand of her raven hair behind her ear nervously as she asked "Yes, what is it?"

"Your Majesty, my father and brother are having a private meeting in my father's Chambers soon, on the other side of the Palace and I.."

"If you are asking to be excused in order to attend, I already told you that you must do as you are bid with your family, you many go Lady Seymour"

"No, Your Majesty, I wished to inform you that I have been given instructions from my father to inform the Duke of Suffolk that the meeting will start soon. He has already agreed to attend and will need to leave in a moment, he will need to take the left corridor down past the gardens to get to my father's Chambers as work is being done to the wood work in the central corridor, I doubt the Duke knows this yet as he has been away from Court."

Anne stared at the girl unblinkingly, almost unable to comprehend the words that had come out of her mouth. There were several things to be taken from what Jane had just said, firstly there was no woodwork being dealt with in the central corridor and even if there were, it was the main leading corridor in the Palace it was more than large enough to still be useable even if work was being done along its walls. Secondly the left corridor that led down past the gardens was a long empty hallway that was rarely lit properly at night due to the fact that it was rarely used outside of summer for quick access to the gardens. And then there was the implications of what Lady Jane had just said, which Anne was scared to look too closely at, there was real danger and threat there and she knew she shouldn't trust the girl, she was her rival and enemy.

Anne glanced away from her Lady and over at Charles' table, he was chuckling lightly with his wife and she felt something inside of her bristle at the sight.

"Tell the rest of my Ladies to start returning to my Chambers for the night, Madge said she would sort out some games and food and Nan said she would get my musicians set up for you all to do some dancing. I am going to go for a bit of a walk by myself down past the gardens to clear my head and then I will be with you all soon. Lady Seymour once you have done as I have asked, you may carry out your father's instructions."

Jane Seymour nodded in understanding "Yes, Your Majesty." She then lent down slightly to help Anne rise from her chair and brought her mahogany walking stick around to the correct hand before curtsying as Anne began to walk towards the doorway to the left corridor.

Anne glanced around quickly to see if Henry was nearby for her to say goodbye to but she spotted him stood all the way across the room, smiling charmingly down at one of the Ambassador's wives as he told them of his plans for a new library to be built. She sighed and shook her head it was probably better if she didn't bother him, she doubted he would see it as a slight if she just left, he would mostly just be relieved that she was gone, he had made it very clear that she was not wanted at the feast.

The corridor was wonderfully cool after the stuffy heat of the Grand Hall, closing the door behind her and letting the heat and noise fade as she wandered down the passage way was a welcomed relief, it was always one of her favorite things about leaving Court functions, the way it felt like bursting up from underwater after being beneath the surface for a long while, the sudden freedom and large dose of air in her lungs making her body sing for a moment. The corridor was empty as it always tended to be by the evening and so far none of the lamps had been lit, all Anne had was the stars and the moon coming in through the large windows and casting the hallway in an icy blue light. It was mostly silent too, the only sounds being a soft wind hitting the trees outside and the light drag of her gown along the stone slabs with the rhythmic tapping of her walking stick.

Once she had made her way down past the entrance to the gardens, she paused and rested her upper body against the wall for a moment, she would wait here to see if Charles did in fact listen to Lady Seymour and come down the left corridor instead of going the usual way. A small part of her hoped he hadn't, it seemed so foolish to try to corner Charles in a dark hallway, and to do so with her rival's help. She wasn't quite sure what exactly she was hoping to gain, but she knew that if he didn't come down this way an even larger part of her would be terribly disappointed, and she most certainly would not be able to sleep that night.

Anne felt her heart begin to flutter rapidly at the sound of footsteps approaching, her fingers quickly clenched up and unclenched in a frantic little dance of nerves and she looked up from staring out of the window to see Charles Brandon walking cautiously towards her. His warm blue eyes traveled slowly up and down her body taking in and assessing every little detail of her appearance from her hair to her walking stick to her small cream slippers peeking out of the bottom of her dress, and in response she felt her cheeks turn a rather bright shade of pink that travel down to her chest in much the same way his gaze did. She felt like she was sixteen-year-old maid again, not a fully grown, married woman with a child.

"Charles" She said softly in greeting, making his eyes shoot back up to meet hers and he blinked in surprise at the informally of the greeting, of her saying his name and not his title. She thought it was about time that she turned that around on him, he had developed a bit of a habit of referring to her by name and not title, she had hated it at first but now she was rather fond of the deep velvety tone of his voice saying her name.

"Anne"

She smiled up at him in response and enjoyed the look of surprise on his face, he hadn't expected her to be in a pleasant mood with him obviously, and she found that she liked being the one to unsettle him as opposed to normal when it was usually the other way around.

"So, you and Mistress Seymour are in cahoots now?" He asked as he folded his arms across his chest and lent back against the wall opposite her, the corridor was narrow enough that the toes of his leather boots were only about three inches apart from the toes of her satin slippers.

Anne felt her smile waver ever so slightly "Not exactly, I had said to my Ladies that I needed to talk to a certain Courtier and she seemed to have figured out that I meant you. I didn't want to have to speak to you with an audience and she told me of your meeting and the direction in which you would travel to said meeting."

"And you decided to intercept me?" He asked with a raised brow

She nipped at her lower lip and shrugged "It was very important for me to speak with you"

"I see, and Mistress Seymour was helpful to you then?"

"She has been somewhat helpful to me recently, though I'll admit I'm not exactly sure as to why she has been so forthcoming with her aid in the last week or so." Anne said, her eyes running greedily over the Duke's face, he had such handsome features, she was very much enjoying the chance to soak in her attraction to him without witnesses, for she had finally come to terms with the fact that she was truly very deeply attracted to him, and probably had been for far long than she would ever care to admit.

Charles smirked at her "Perhaps because she is a kind person? Helpfulness is in her nature. We see such traits so rarely in Court that we have an unfortunate tendency to question them as false when confronted with them."

Anne's smile slipped away and she replied spikily "Indeed, perhaps Mistress Seymour is as perfect as His Majesty seems to think she is. What a relief for him to have found such a woman."

"He hasn't seen her much recently, from what I have been told" he said calmly despite the shift in her tone, his eyes wandered over her walking stick "How is your ankle?"

Anne pursed her lips as she fidgeted with the long mahogany stick "He hasn't seen her much in the last week or so because I've been away from Court functions and as one of my Ladies she has been required to stay within my Chambers and serve me. It has little to do with either of them choosing to see each other less." She took a deep breath before looking back up to meet his stare "My ankle is better thank you, I feel a little bit of a fool for still using this" She motioned to the walking stick, lifting it and giving it a bit of a wiggle "But my ankle still swells up a little by evening time and it occasionally gives out on me, the physician thinks it's better to be safe than sorry."

Charles chuckled softly "Would it really have been so bad to have let me help you down from your horse?"

Anne felt the corner of her lips quirk up slightly in the beginnings of a smirk "It certainly seems as though I would have been better off to just have let you help me down but you were so infuriating that day that I don't know if my pride would have been able to take the blow"

He rolled his eyes playfully as she grinned up at him and felt her cheeks heat up as he once again let his eyes roam over her form, he then lifted himself from resting against the wall and took a step towards her, closing the majority of the space between them. She felt butterflies erupt inside her stomach as he reached out and curled a loose strand of her hair around his finger, twirling it gently before tucking it behind her ear and letting his fingers graze her jaw with a tenderness that nearly made her whimper.

"What was it that you needed to talk to me about?"

Anne shivered at the velvety tone of his voice that was slightly rougher than normal, she nipped at her lip and watched in delight as the action drew Charles' attention down to her mouth, where it lingered as she began to speak. "Why did you leave Court after what happened in the garden?"

Charles frowned "What makes you assume that me leaving Court had anything to do with what happened that night?"

"I'm not assuming anything I'm merely asking you"

Charles' frown deepened and he took half a step back from her, he opened his mouth to answer but Anne quickly cut in before he could "I caught you plotting with Cromwell, you then told me that I should remove myself from one of Cromwell's plots by not attending the feast he had planned for the next day, and so I removed myself from Court functions entirely for nine days. You told me to back off from Henry in order to gain his favor back and I have left my husband alone as instructed. You gave me an outlet to finally be able to cry and voice my fears and you comforted me when no one else had in so long. You kissed me and made me feel wanted again for the first time in so long! And then you were gone, you left Court so suddenly the next morning, you didn't even ask the King's permission or say goodbye to him and I just want to know why?"

Charles stared at her silently, his eyes remained locked with hers, his jaw clenched up. They stayed like that for a moment before Charles blew out a harsh breath "It's complicated, there were some things I had to deal with and I needed to get away from the Court. Being at Court these days is like having your head stuck in a fog, you can barely see in front of you and everything is distorted, I needed to leave in order to clear my head, to bring back some clarity."

"Is that why you brought her back with you?" Anne asked in a low voice, her eyes level with his chin, her grip on her walking stick tightening to the point her knuckles turned white.

"Her who? Who are you talking about?"

Anne rolled her eyes rather aggressively "Katherine, your wife. Is that why you brought her back with you, for clarity?"

Charles took another more determined step back and nodded "Yes, Katherine brings me clarity, that's why I brought her back to Court with me. I've been acting like a bit of a fool recently, my head has been all over the place but Katherine always brings me lucidity, she always brings me back to the right course, and I think I really need that right now."

Anne smiled tightly "Perhaps you do. I think you best hurry if you wish to avoid being late to your secret meeting with the Seymour family, Your Grace."

The Duke seemed to swallowed down whatever he had been about to say and instead gave her a slight bow "Your Majesty."

But she had already turned away from him and was walking briskly down the corridor in the same direction she had come, she desperately wanted to get as far away from the Duke as was possible. As she marched back down the hallway, she listened out for the sound of Charles' own retreat but it seemed as though he had remained where she had left him for a while before he finally began to wandered along the corridor in the opposite direction in order to reach the Seymour family's Chambers.

By the time Anne reached the doors to her own Chambers she felt strangely defeated and her ankle had started to twinge with pain as she hobbled through the doors. She was immediately greeted by the sounds of joyful giggles and playful squeals from her Ladies as they danced merrily to the music that filled her Chambers. Anne sighed as she remembered that she had ordered food, music and games to be ready for when she would return, she had assumed that she would be in a good mood after having spoken to Charles. Now she felt rather foolish and exhausted, a small part of her wanted to be selfish and demand that the musicians leave and that her Ladies help her get ready for bed, where she could privately sulk and grumble about Charles Brandon and his bloody wife. However, as she glanced over as the bright happy faces of her Ladies in Waiting, she decided against such dreary actions and instead she plastered a small smile upon her face and wandered over to her favorite chair by the fire and sat down to watch Madge and Lady Bess dance together as the rest of her Ladies clapped their hands in time with the beat.

As the evening wore on Anne felt her shoulders loosen and the pain in her ankle ease, she found she didn't have to try quite so hard to keep the smile on her face, as with each playful display from Madge and Bess it started to feel more natural upon her face, she even laughed several times. She had Lady Zouche bring her over a small plate of food as well for her to slowly pick at as she hadn't eaten much at the feast and by the time Nan slowly ambled over to her with an uneasy look upon her face to inform her that someone was at the door, she was genuinely enjoying her evening.

"Forgive me Your Majesty but your father and brother are requesting entry, they wish to speak with you."

Anne stared up at Nan's tense face for an extended moment before she shook her head fiercely "No."

Nan's brows pull together in confusion "No? Your Majesty?"

"No. Tell them no. Tell my father and brother that I am the Queen of England and I am saying no, tell them that their Queen is currently indisposed and that they must leave immediately, and if they want to speak to me, they must arrange a time with my secretary to have a private audience with me whenever my secretary says I am available and not a moment before."

A large smile spread rapidly across Nan's face and she nodded as though nothing would give her more joy in this life. Anne watched as she straightened up and scurried over towards the doors, and as Anne turned her attention back towards the dancers, she noticed that all of her Ladies were smiling warmly at her. She felt herself grin as she heard Nan repeat her words back to her father and brother and she just barely bit back a fit laughter at her father's sputtering outrage. Once Nan had shut the doors and turned back to face her Queen, Anne found herself unable to stop the laughter from falling from her lips a second time at the sight of Nan's complete and utter delight at having told Thomas and George Boleyn to essentially bugger off. She was soon joined in her mirth by the rest of her Ladies and her Chambers were filled with the wonderful sounds of belly laughter, and though Anne suspected that her father would make her pay for her little act of rebellion later, she allowed herself to enjoy it immensely in that moment.