Bash escorted me back to my cell, during the twilight hours.

'I'm nervous, Bash. I didn't expect to feel like this.'

'I'll speak to Nostradamus. He usually has some sort of remedy to aid with that.'

'Is he allowed? I don't want you taking any more risks. You've all done so much for me already.'

'Leave it with me.' He assured me, turning towards the door.

'Bash, wait.' I grabbed his arm to stop him. 'I have one final request to ask of you. For when this is all over.'

'Of course. Anything.' He said, then listened while I spoke. 'You're sure about this?'

I nodded. 'Please, do this for me.'

'As you wish.' He agreed with a hug and left me to face my final hours.

I sat on the bench, dropping my gaze to the garment left for me to change into. A plain black dress, my attire for today's event. I had worn worse.

I waited for the sunrise, imagining I could feel its warmth upon my face. I wanted to enjoy it one final time, knowing I would not see it fall again. I once told Catherine I didn't regret my life's journey or the choices I'd made, as they'd lead me to her, and that was still true today. But part of me still couldn't quite believe my life had come to this. That my fate had led me to falling for a Queen, of all people.

This in itself was not so surprising, as I'd seemed to develop a knack for opening my heart to the wrong people. But that she had then also fallen and returned my feelings? That part was like fate's way of toying with me (and part of me had never quite gotten used to it). The one person at French court whose love was a death sentence. That's who I had chosen. That's who my heart had chosen. Life would have been so much simpler had I not pursued her, or had she not returned my affections (it certainly would have been longer). I thought back to the moment we'd shared in bed, after I came to her on my wedding night.

"We lay facing each other, while I ran my fingers along her arm.

'This could be it for us.' I started to interrupt but she stopped me. 'Don't! Please, just… let me speak. You leave soon and we don't know what will happen after. Sheer determination may not be enough here.' I moved closer until our noses touched and kissed her lips, our arms around one another. I continued to lay soft kisses on her as I spoke.

'I'll never stop fighting for you, Catherine. Never. Not so long as there is breath left in my body.'

'The tour-' she tried, but I silenced her with yet more kisses.

'Will be a temporary break.' I insisted, caressing my hands up and down her back. 'I will return and then-'

'And then what? You can't know what lies ahead, Charity.'

'I can't, none of us can. But I can swear to this: whatever happens, whatever fate has in store for us, I will alwaysfind my way back to you.

'This could be…' she licked her lips as her words tapered off. I slowly nodded, before resting our foreheads together, steadfast in my refusal to say the words.

I lay facing away from Catherine, her arm draped protectively over me while she nuzzled into my neck. I don't know if she believed me to be asleep, or if she was on the cusp of it herself and her thoughts subconsciously slipped out in spoken form, but I next heard these words whispered into the silence.

'Please don't leave me. I can't bear it.'

Awake or not, this was a moment of vulnerability she had not intended to openly share with me. But it broke my heart to hear them, knowing it was a promise I could never make. My only option was to feign sleep as well, pretending those whispers remained her secret and would indeed vanish in the night air."

I sighed. It was pointless to dwell on such things now. We cannot control the choices our hearts make, the paths it chooses to follow. My time with Catherine may have been short-lived, but she was the only person I'd ever experienced true love with. I'd never leave her, not really. I only hoped I'd made enough impact on her life that she would continue to rise. She truly was the strongest person I knew, I prayed she would remember to tap into that strength.

I heard the guard's voice outside. 'She's already received Last Rites.'

'I'm aware.' Nostradamus replied. 'I'm here in the capacity of advisor and friend.'

There was a pause before the guard unlocked the door and Nostradamus entered, brandishing a Bible.

'I thought this might provide you with some words of comfort.'

I raised an eyebrow. 'Really? I appreciate the gesture, Nostradamus, but I don't think a Bible is going to do the trick.'

He held my gaze. 'Trust me.'

The realization hit as I accepted the book, opening it to find a small vial nestled in the spine.

'Bash intimated you needed something to calm your nerves.'

'Oh, Nostradamus, thank-you. I'm just a little tense.'

'It's a mild sedative.' he assured me. I took the vial and considered the liquid inside.

'This will simply relax me?' I asked.

'Just enough to take the edge off.' He nodded.

'I wouldn't risk anything stronger. it won't take long to work, but I understand they're coming for you soon.' He glanced back towards the door.

'Indeed.' I opened the vial and downed the contents.

The effects may be mild but the taste was strong. I coughed into my sleeve and handed the empty vial back to Nostradamus.

'Thank-you. For all you've done for me. Truly.'

'I only wish I could have managed to save you once again.'

'You did, you know. You're the reason I was able to take my chance with Catherine, you brought me back to life. It's because of you we had our time together at all.'

Thoughts of Catherine being consumed by her grief swam around my head.

'Catherine will be well looked-after.' Nostradamus insisted. 'We'll make sure she's okay, you have my word.' It was as though he could read my thoughts, hear my worries as they screamed inside my head.

'She can't see it. It's so important she doesn't see it.' I spoke quickly, panic rising in me again, reminding me I was running out of time. 'It will only add to her distress and she won't need that. You and Francis, you must keep her away.'

'We'll do our best, Charity. Catherine may not be willing to listen to reason.' Nostradamus noted, not surprised but slightly concerned by my sudden panic.

He placed a hand on my shoulder and waited while I calmed. It did not take long, as the sedative finally started to take effect. I gave him a tight hug.

'Farewell, my friend.'

Everyone would comment about my composure after, but I no longer feared the execution block. I'd lost that right. As the guards escorted me, I felt as though I was floating through a distorted reality I had already begun to disconnect from. The murmurs of the assembled crowd barely registered to me, nor did their cheers when we finally stepped into view and I climbed the steps to my stage. I sought Bash in amongst them and we locked eyes. I took courage and strength from him in this moment, as well as from the cheering crowd. These people were not applauding my death, but how I had defied the King. A great many of them were friends, loyal to me. They watched while Henry took woman after woman into his bed, without giving his wife so much as a loving glance. I had stood-up and said 'no more!' Reminded Catherine she deserved more than that. It didn't matter that he had won, she was now a changed woman.

'Any last words?' Henry asked, a slight mock to his tone.

I caught his eyes, held his stare. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of expressing any fear. I accepted my lot with dignity. My sense of calm was no longer just about the sedative Nostradamus had given me.

My life was about to be cut tragically short, but I had lived it true to myself. I had broken free from the cage people had expected me to be trapped in and gave freedom to the person I was inside, following my heart where it chose to take me. I meant what I had told Catherine: the short period as her life and lover was worth the alternative of a lifetime without. With as much strength as I could muster, I addressed the crowd.

'My life's purpose was to serve my Queen. My heart was and will forever remain hers, in death as well as life. My Queen, my heart, my soul. Forever entwined as one, my Catherine.'

'Unhand me AT ONCE!'

All eyes snapped their attention towards the interruptance. Despite their good intentions, Francis and Nostradamus had not been successful with their attempts to keep Catherine away. My heart sank, watching as she tried to free herself from their grasps, fighting her way through the crowd.

'Catherine, you shouldn't be here!' I cried out, a level of desperation not even the sedative could mask.

Henry jumped to his feet. 'Restrain the Queen!' he ordered his guards.

They moved to grab her, but Francis stepped forward as a barrier, his sword drawn. Bash had moved quickly to help his brother, welcoming the opportunity to unleash his feelings in any sort of fight. Against their opposition, the guards quickly backed-off, but the altercation had stopped Catherine in her bid to intervene.

'I didn't want you to see this.' I pleaded, trying to swallow back the threat of tears.

'Henry, for god's sake! Please don't do this!' She begged him, futile though it was.

'You were permitted to stay away, Catherine.' Henry reminded her, as the executioner pushed me down to my knees, into position.

'Despite my better judgements, your case was pleaded and yet here you are, forcing yourself to bear witness to this spectacle. Seeing as how you've insisted, you might as well enjoy the show.'

Catherine's attention turned back to me, our eyes meeting. My heart was consumed with everything we had endured these past months. The love, the exhilaration, but also the terror and heartache, which was now etched on her face. This was in no way the final image I'd wanted her to have of me. My fear was being kept at bay by the drug, but nothing could mask the heartbreak I felt at seeing what this did to her. I made my voice as strong and steady as I could manage.

'Catherine, we can't fight this anymore. We tried.' I choked on my words as the tears spilled. 'I love you, but it's over. You have to let me go.'

The colour drained from her face. This was really it. It was time.

'Charity, I… I love you!' Her final words to me, amidst her own tears and shock. Shock even for the gathered crowd, who'd never expected to bear witness to them.

I positioned my head on the block and Henry gave the command. I closed my eyes to the sounds, the swish of the axe as it swung down upon my neck and Catherine's anguished howls that followed it.

Many say beheadings are the most humane form of execution, if completed without error. I was lucky, really, it was a clean cut. I did, however, retain a few moments of consciousness, where the air was filled with the echoes of Catherine's heartbreak. I would take her emotional trauma with me to my grave.

I left my lifeless body, drifting away, finally at peace. I'd been luckier than most. I died with love in my life and my heart, loved in return. Though in many ways I felt there was so much more to my story, so much left unsaid, my journey was at last complete.