A/N: So here is chapter five of the Marquess of Pembroke, and I promise you all it is a big and important one.

A huge thank you to everyone who reviewed the story and to all those who placed myself or the story on their favourites/alert lists it really does mean a lot.

As always I own nothing.

Please read review and enjoy.

Chapter 5:

21st of November 1536

Richmond Palace

I have birthed you a son, my lord.

A happy, healthy and beautiful son, a boy who is the living image of his father, my promise to you is fulfilled.

Know this Henry, know that anyone who ever lays eyes on my son, will know him to be the son of the King. Know that is resemblance to you is so strong, that no one will be able to deny his lineage. Know that I have given you a son, where your new queen's womb remains empty. Know that I have named him George, so you and all that know of him will be reminded of the atrocities his father has committed to take a barren woman as his Queen.

So come and see my lord, come and see your son, come and see all that you have lost to take Jane Seymour into your bed.

I have named him George as you have already seen, but I must know will he be a Tudor or a Fitzroy.

The Marquess of Pembroke.

Henry could barley stop himself from clenching his teeth together while he read through Anne's letter. She was angry and bitter and had such a letter come from anyone else he would have called it treason and demanded his or her heads. Yet for some reason he now could not bring himself to command such an order.

Anne had delivered the child she had carried, there was nothing stopping him from having her executed any longer, but he couldn't. His people were already seeking to rebel against him, he could not give them further cause, and nor could he bring himself to leave Elizabeth without a mother…nor even this new little addition.

" How much of what she says is true?" Henry demanded of Cromwell, who was standing before him with his own letter clutched in his hands. Cromwell's letter was not from Anne however but from the midwife who had delivered the Marquess of Pembrokes bastard.

" The midwife writes that 'the Marquess of Pembroke has been delivered of a healthy and strong son on the 18th of November in the year of 1536, she writes that the boy is dark haired and blue eyes, that he is long limbed and a most healthy weight, the Marquess has named the child George although as of yet she was uncertain as to his last name.'" Cromwell's voice all but shuddered as he re-laid thee midwifes words to the King. Henry was already displeased with him because of the uprising in the North and now Anne Boleyn had delivered a son.

It had been Cromwell who had bought most of the allegations against the former Queen (on the King's orders mind you, he had been ordered to look into the allegations), he had not however been ordered to fabricate them as he had done. But Cromwell had seen what had happened to Wolsey when he had been unable to secure a divorce from Katherine of Aragon, Cromwell would not have allowed the same fate to befall him, and besides Anne had been a dangerous enemy, Cromwell just wished that getting rid of her had of been easy as getting rid of the four men that had been imprisoned with her.

Creating the evidence against Anne had been too easy. No one truly would have looked at the dates, no one but him (and Anne no doubt) would know how unbelievable the allegations truly were, but it had been easy enough to convince the King (with Brandon's help) no one could have denied that Anne Boleyn was a flirt, that she kept in the company of questionable men, and that her bond with her brother was extremely close, and Henry, well Henry had fallen for the Seymour girl, and had grown to resent Anne who had failed time and time again to give him a son.

Until now.

Oh Cromwell knew there was no chance that the boy the Marquess had delivered could be anything other than the King's son, just as there was no doubt to Elizabeth's paternity there would be no doubt of this boys. The question was what would the king do now?

Queen Jane was yet to conceive, and if Anne's boy looked so like the King as she claimed well then Henry would be a fool not to acknowledge at his own. No doubt there would be many who would think that he would once again return to Anne now. If they thought that then they were fools.

If the King were to return to his former wife, it would mean admitting that he had killed four innocent men (one of which had been his brother by marriage) it would mean admitting that he had done so simply because he had grown tired of Anne, and thought she was incapable of delivering a son. It would mean admitting to all of Europe that he was a fool and a murderer and Henry was to proud for that….Well Cromwell hoped he was at least; if he were to ever return to Anne it would mean Cromwell's doom.

He honestly did not know whether or not the King had truly or rather still believed the crimes Anne had been found guilty of, but he would never admit that he hadn't. Even if he were to somehow seek to return to Anne, he would do so on the basis that he had been led astray by some conspiracy, he would never admit his own fault, not now or ever.

" I want you to send the Duke of Suffolk to Pembroke to inspect the Marquess' bastard," Henry ground out squishing Anne's letter in his hands, " Find out the truth of her words, find out who the father is if it is me or one of her lovers."

Charles would never lie to him Henry knew that well enough. If the child were his Charles would tell him the truth no matter the response that such a statement might bring forth.

If the child was his, then he had named the boy a bastard, he had bared his sons right to the throne…..No, no, his mother had done that, Anne Boleyn, the great whore….hadn't she?

Anne had delivered a son, and Jane's womb remained empty.

Queen of England's Apartments

" He has sent the Duke of Suffolk to Pembroke," Thomas announced running into Jane's rooms, and sounding rather out of breath.

Jane had dismissed all of her ladies (except for her sisters) her brothers were also present, as were her parents (both with worrisome looks on their faces. She was refusing to allow anyone entrance into her chambers, besides her family, she had even sent the Princess Mary away, telling Elizabeth to tell her step-daughter that she was ill.

Anne Boleyn had delivered a son, and now the King was sending the Duke of Suffolk to Pembroke.

" We are done for," Edward mumbled, " No doubt the King is sending the Duke to collect Anne and her children and have them returned to court."

" That is not a certainty Edward," Margery Seymour answered keeping her tone even so as not to cause any more distress to her daughter, " The King could have simply sent the Duke to inspect the child."

" Yes," Jane said nodding her head slightly, " There is no saying the child is even the King's…. If he has no resemblance to the King then…."

" Jane," Edward snapped angrily, " We have talked of this already, there is no way that child is not the Kings, the accusations against Anne Boleyn were…"

" False, yes brother as you say. But if the boy does not resemble the King then…."

" The Marquess has already claimed that her son is the living image of his father, she would not make such a claim if it were not true not in her position." Thomas said simply.

" That doesn't mean that Henry will recognise it as his own…"

" Jane would you use your head, if that child resembles the King as Anne claims than the King will recognize the boy, he does not have a living son, do you think he will refuse the chance to show the world he is capable of fathering a healthy child? It does not matter who the mother is, he has a son. And he will not give the Marquess a chance to use his own son against him."

" It does not matter," Jane answered furiously, the skirts of her green gown swaying angrily as she stood from her seat, " The child is a bastard, Henry has made sure of that."

Her words were true, Henry had declared his marriage to Anne null and void, he had made Elizabeth a bastard, he had killed four men, and removed Anne from her position in power, all to marry Jane. He could not now declare Anne's child as legitimate not without declaring his marriage to Anne as valid, and the King was far to proud for that.

" The King can do as he wills Jane, surely you know that by now." Edward answered, not caring at all for his sister's protests.

" Anne Boleyn's child is a bastard. She is a woman who has been found guilty of adultery and treason against her sovereign lord, and her marriage to the king was false in the eyes of gods and men. Her son will never sit the throne of England. Mine will."

Jane stormed out of the room and towards her bedchamber her mother and sisters following close at her heels, she had almost thought she had one the argument until Edward's voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

" If you can give him one…"

Edward was right. It was all well and good for her to call Anne's son a bastard and to claim that it would be her son who would take her father's place, but Jane wasn't pregnant, Henry had no hope of a son from her in the immediate future. How long would he wait for her to give him that chance, how long before Anne's son, bastard though he may be, started to look appealing as a Prince of Wales.

He had once thought to make Henry Fitzroy his heir, what was to stop him from doing the same for the son of Anne Boleyn.

23rd of November 1536

Pembroke Castle, Wales

When word had reached her ears that the Duke of Suffolk was at her gates, Anne had not even bothered to dress herself appropriately for such a meeting.

She had given birth to her son only five days ago, she was sore and tired, and what was more she was no longer a Queen. It did not matter what she looked like not even for such a meeting.

And so Anne had done little more than put an overcoat over her nightgown, before picking her son up and taking little Elizabeth by the hand and making her way to the foyer of Pembroke Castle.

Her sister and Nan walked closely behind her; Anne had sent Madge to greet the Duke and his entourage at the door.

" Anne, why do you think he has come?" Mary questioned softly, her curiosity evident, Anne wondered if her sister had already forgotten the words Anne had said to her when George was born, if Mary thought Charles was here to whisk her back to court and have her and her children reinstated then she was surely mistaken.

" No doubt to see the truth of my words," Anne replied evenly, keeping the expression on her face natural, she did not want to alarm her daughter. This was the first interaction Elizabeth had had with anyone from there former life since their banishment, and while Charles had never cared for Anne, he had always been kind to her daughter who was a cousin to his own children, Elizabeth had even called the man uncle, " To see if I have indeed birthed a healthy son in the King's image."

Anne was glad to see that the Duke of Suffolk at least looked uncomfortable to be standing in her presence. She had not laid eyes on the man since her arrest, and seeing him again sent a shiver down her spine.

" Madam. " Charles addressed, inkling his head ever so slightly. Not long ago he would have been on his knees at my feet, kissing my hand, and hating me with every fibre of his being.

Anne wondered if the Duke of Suffolk took some sick pleasure in seeing her fall so low, especially when he had been so disgruntled by her rise, but then again she had just birthed a son for the King of England, that in itself would make this whole meeting interesting.

" Your Grace," Anne responded, out of the corner of her eyes she saw her servants, her ladies and her sister all dip their knees, even her daughter bent her body slightly, it took every bit of strength Anne pocessed not to pull Elizabeth up and put a stop to such actions. Anne herself made no move to curtsey, she had a newborn in her arms, she couldn't be expected to really, " If I had of known of your coming I would have better prepared."

" I shall not be here for long," Charles responded stiffly, and Anne could just tell that he was hating this as much as she was, no doubt when he had read out her arrest warrant and escorted her to the tower he had thought that that would have been the last he had ever saw of her, " The King has sent me here to…"

" To inspect his son," Anne said interrupting Charles' words, she did not want to hear Henry's words being spun out of the Duke of Suffolk's lips, " Well here he is, as you will see the resemblance is quite remarkable."

As Anne spoke she let go of Elizabeth's hand and made her way to stand in front of the Duke, and then very quickly she placed George in Charles Brandon's arms.

Anne could tell immediately that the Duke was surprised at George's appearance. Anne had made it clear in her letter to Henry that their son was the living image of his father, but no doubt Charles (and Henry too) had thought that she would over exaggerate George's description slightly, but she had not. Even as he had grown older Anne could find nothing of herself in her son.

He was all his father. Perhaps this was God's sick sense of justice.

" He is healthy?" Charles questioned his voice coming out in an angry grunt.

" He is in perfect health, the boy is perfectly formed in everyway." The midwife answered from the corner of the room, Anne had almost forgotten that she had asked the woman to stay. They would never have truly believed Anne's claims to George's health, she needed someone else there to prove the truth of her words.

" Please tell the King that he has a healthy son, a boy who is the living image of his father," Anne said reaching forward and taking George back into her arms, she would not give Charles the chance to take him away from her now that he could see without a doubt that George was Henry's son, " Now, I am tired, if you are hungry or have a thirst my people will see to your needs."

" That is not necessary, Madam."

" Well then Good day, your grace." Anne answered turning her back on Charles Brandon and taking Elizabeth by the hand once again.

She could not help but smile slightly, for some reason this felt like a victory. Henry would no now without a doubt that he had a healthy son that Anne had given him all she had promised to give him.

Henry would know that George was his, and that he had made a healthy male heir a bastard for a simple pale wench who had refused to open her legs for him.

25th of November 1536

Richmond Palace

" Argh!" The sound of the King's scream echoed throughout the King's chambers, as Charles watched as another piece of furniture was thrown across the room.

To say that Henry had taken Charles' news from Pembroke badly would have been an understatement. Charles did not think he had ever seen his King so angry and broken all at once before.

It would have been easier really if Anne's son had resembled his mother, or even still if he had resembled one of the four men that had been found guilty of having relations with her. The King would have been able to tell himself that he had done the right thing in having those four men executed and his wife and child cast aside, he couldn't do that now.

It would have been even easier if Henry had not sent Charles to deal with this problem but rather someone else.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't worried. He had been the first to bring the allegations against Anne to the King. Oh he knew well enough that Henry wanted to be rid of Anne, that he had instructed Cromwell to find him an end to his marriage, so that he would be free to take another wife, Cromwell had whispered the rumours of Anne's flirty ways in his ears and Charles had told Henry of them. Even Charles could not have imagined how far Cromwell would next go.

It was no secret to anyone that Charles had never much liked Henry's second choice of Queen. Nor had he appreciated the way in which his king went about discarding Katherine of Aragon and her daughter, yet Charles had never truly spoken against it, just as he had never truly spoken out against Anne. He too had wanted to see Anne Boleyn removed from power, but he had never wanted it done with so much bloodshed.

It could not be denied that Anne Boleyn was a flirt. She had always been a flirt, a charming and sensual seductress who had captured the King of England's heart. She was a charmer, she used her assets to get her ahead in this world that so favoured men, but she was not an adulteress. She was too smart for that. It could also not be denied that she had perhaps not come to her marriage bed as a pure maiden, Charles had once expressed his concerns about Anne's prior relationship with Thomas Wyatt, and he had gotten himself banished in the process. But Anne had loved the King and she loved her children that much not even he could deny.

Charles had thought that Henry would have had her sent to a nunnery, annulled the marriage based upon his prior relationship with Mary Boleyn, or even Anne's rumoured past affairs. He had not expected four innocent men to die, he had not expected for Anne herself to have almost lost her head, nor could any of them had expected or even anticipated her pregnancy and the long awaited birth of a healthy male child that came from it.

That the child was Henry's could not be denied. What that meant for the future Charles could not even begin to say.

Henry had named Anne a whore and a traitor; he had accused her of being a witch of sleeping with countless men (one of whom was her own brother), and wanting to see him dead. He had striped her of her title of Queen, had declared her daughter (and in doing so her son) a bastard and he had had four men murdered in the process.

What would England (and no doubt the rest of Europe) say now when it became public knowledge that this woman who was cast aside had born the King a healthy son.

" Do you know what Cromwell told me Charles?" Henry questioned suddenly, stopping his tantrum and looking very much like a broken man. Charles did not know if he had ever seen a more pitiful sight. It was good though Charles thought, that he was blaming Cromwell and not Charles, "He told me that she had to do with over a hundred men. A hundred fucking men Charles. What was I suppose to do?"

" The evidence against the Marquess of Pembroke was undeniable," Charles muttered not knowing what else he could say, undeniably false and fabricated, "Your Majesty did what was needed for the prosperity of the realm."

" And her baby," Henry cried, speaking for the first time of the son that Anne had lost at the start of the year, the reason he had begun to think that their marriage was cursed, " Her baby was deformed Charles, did you know that? So how could it have been mine?"

At that The Duke of Suffolk could do nothing more than tilt his head slightly. The whole court had heard the rumours that Anne Boleyn had delivered a hideously deformed stillborn son, but Charles had put it down to being nothing more than court gossip. He had even heard it whispered among some physicians at the court that the baby was not deformed it was simply not just fully developed having not been in the womb for long enough.

It would be convenient for the King though to say that the deformities were a sign of Anne's sins, that it had been the proof of her infidelities, especially now.

" That fucking bitch," Henry lamented, it was as if Anne had done this to punish him, to spite him in front of all of Europe, " She's humiliated me again. I fucking hate her."

Anne Boleyn had delivered him a son.

And the boy was nothing more than a bastard.

30th of November 1536

Pembroke Castle, Wales

Anne had been dressed simply in a flowing green gown, looking down at her sleeping son while Elizabeth had played happily on her large bed chatting away to her little doll, when Nan had all but barged into the room.

" My lady, my lady," She was out of breath and her tone was anxious and Anne knew well enough that that could only mean trouble. Other than the birth of her son, and the Duke of Suffolk's quick visit, Anne existence and Pembroke was peaceful and quiet, they never experienced much in the way of disturbances.

" Nan what is it?" Anne questioned taking her ladies hand in an attempt to calm her down.

" The King is here." Nan's voice came out in a chocked whisper, and Anne's whole body shock at the announcement.

" Papa is here!" Elizabeth exclaimed excitedly, her doll forgotten on her bed as she scrambled to make her way to her mothers side.

Why had he come? She had not expected him, and certainly not so soon. She had known well enough that her letter would coax him into some kind of action, Henry was always too proud of a man, to let insult slip past him, but Anne had thought that the Duke of Suffolk's inspection had been the course of action he had taken.

He knew she had birthed him a healthy son, he knew (from the Duke and Anne herself) that George resembled him and only him, what more did the man need. If he thought he could have her separated from her children her was sorely mistaken.

King or no King she would never be parted from them.

The first thing she noticed when he came bargaining into her bedchamber without care or tact was that he was wearing all black, as if he were in mousing (perhaps he was, he had after all had his only living son named a bastard), the second thing she noticed was that he looked a complete mess, his hair dishevelled and his vest lopsided, the third was that even after all that had come between them, the sight of him left butterflies in her stomach and an ache in her heart.

" Madam." Henry addressed, the words coming out between clenched teeth. After all these years the sight of her still left him breathless. She was dressed simply, as she had been during the years of their courtship and her stomach was still rounded slightly from her recent pregnancy. She wore her hair down, and she didn't have a single piece of jewellery upon her person.

She no longer looked a Queen, But then Henry thought, she no longer was one.

" Papa." Elizabeth all but squealed making a move to leave her mother's side and run into her fathers arms as she would just a few months ago.

" Lady Elizabeth," Anne called halting her daughter in her tracks, she did not know the mood the king was in and she would not allow for him to use whatever anger or feelings of resentment he might have against their daughter, " You will remember your place."

Elizabeth blushed furiously at her mothers reprimand, " Sorry. Mama," She said quietly, before dropping her knees with a muttered 'Your Majesty,' and moving back beside her mother.

Anne hoped that such an action caused Henry some level of pain. By his own decree his daughter, the girl he once called the jewel of England was nothing more than a bastard, she could no longer afford to run freely into her father's arms as she once had.

" Anne, that is not necessary…."

" Nan," Anne called interrupting the King as if he were any simple man in the world, "take my daughter to my sister and her cousins."

" Yes, my lady." Nan replied immediately, before taking little Elizabeth by the hand and escorting her out of the room.

Elizabeth did not need to witness this.

" You did not need to send her away…"

" She is a bastard by your decree, your majesty," Anne interrupted addressing Henry for the first time, if he thought she would bow down to him he was gravely mistaken, " it would not be fitting for her to be here. You made it perfectly clear that you wanted nothing to do with her."

" She is my daughter…."

" Is she? I thought she was Mark Smeaton's bastard, or was it Henry Norris, forgive me I forget," Immediately Anne regretted her words, she should not be letting her emotions get the better of her, nor should she ever say that Elizabeth was not Henry's child she could not have such things used against her one day, even if they had been said in a purely sarcastic way, " Why are you here Henry?"

" I have come to see the child." Henry responded simply, unable to look Anne in the eye.

" Your son you mean?" Anne responded, " No doubt Brandon told you of his resemblance to you."

" I want to see him with my own eyes." Henry answered, he needed to see that boy himself, he needed to know if he had discarded Anne for naught, you discarded her because she was an adulterer and a traitor remember?

" As you wish." Anne muttered before making her way to the crib at her bedside, and picking her son up into her arms. He grew bigger everyday.

Henry watched with curious eyes as Anne carried the tiny bundle towards him, the boy made no outcry at being taken from his bed, and with each step Anne edged closer towards him Henry felt his heart tighten, until suddenly the babe was in his arms, looking up at him with a set of curious blue eyes.

Charles had been right, and Anne had spoken true, the boy was his son.

He had a son at last.

A healthy son, who was his very image.

A bastard by royal decree.

" As I said," Anne said smirking slightly as she took her son back into her arms, " He is your very image."

Henry could hardly find the words to express himself, Cromwell had told him that Anne had been with over a hundred men, he had told him that the evidence against her was astronomical, a court of law had found her and the others guilty, was it the devils work that had allowed her to bear him a son then? Or was it some cruel irony.

Jane was still not pregnant, and here was Anne banished and demoted and holding a King's son in her arms.

Was this a punishment from God? Had he truly murdered four innocent men as Anne had claimed? Was she truly innocent?

No. She couldn't be, it was simply chance that his seed had quickened within her rather than the others.

" I shall send you a list of requirements on how I wish for him to be raised, along within any necessary funds that might be needed." Henry said suddenly his voice thick and gruff. There was no way he could not recognize the boy as his own, not after seeing him with his own eyes.

" You have no claim over him," Anne responded her voice just as thick, and Henry swore she clutched George closer to him as she spoke, " You declared our children bastards, they are mine."

" They are the King's children," Henry bit back icily, " They are my property and mine to do with as I will, you should feel grateful madam that I have not seen it needed to take them from your traitorous hands."

" As you say, Your Majesty." Anne responded biting her lip. She could not risk losing Elizabeth and George, no matter how much she might want to yell at Henry to call him a fool and murderer, she couldn't. She would not allow for her children to be raised without a mothers love.

" I will speak to Elizabeth before I depart. Good day Madam."

" Elizabeth," Henry called into Elizabeth's bedchamber. Mary Boleyn had informed him, that after being bought to her aunt and her cousins that the Lady Elizabeth had felt tired and unwell and had been put to bed.

He saw her immediately; she was nothing more than a lump under the covers of her bed, a small tuff of bright red Tudor hair giving her away.

He still couldn't get the sight of her stopping in her tracks and retreating to her mother. He would have accepted her embrace gladly, she was his daughter still despite all that had happened, and she had not been as old as Mary had been when he had cast Katherine aside, Elizabeth would hardly remember the time when she was a Princess and her mother a Queen, he had hoped that that would mean that she would be more inclined to treat him as she always had.

You declared her a bastard, you locked her mother away in a tower and cut off her uncle's head, such things would not quickly leave her young and impressionable mind.

" Elizabeth." This time when he called her he was rewarded with her face pooping out from underneath her hiding spot.

She looked at him wearily as he made to sit on the edge of the bed.

" Are you going to take Mama away again?" Elizabeth questioned suddenly, her eyes locking with his fiercely.

" No Elizabeth," Henry soothed edging closer to his daughter, he was relieved when she didn't edge herself away, "I have just come to see you and your brother."

" Mama says that George won't be king, even though he is your son."

At that Henry was surprised, he had expected Anne to be filling their daughters head, just as Katherine had once filled Mary's. A part of him had thought that when had come to Pembroke he would find a place where Anne was still treated as the Queen of England and her children as the countries heirs.

" It is a complicated thing Elizabeth."

" That what Mama says too, but it isn't," Elizabeth answered matter of factly, " You don't love us, just like you stopped loving Mary and her mother, you love Queen Jane now and if she gives you a son you will love him more than George and I."

" Elizabeth," Henry said slightly shocked, he hoped that these were not Anne's words coming from his young daughters mouth, he never wanted his own children to think he did not love them, as if the thought of love was something that could so easily be given and taken away, " That is not true at all, I love you very much that will never change."

" And George?"

" Yes, Elizabeth and your brother as well."

" Then why did you send us away? Mama gave you a son, Lady Bryan always said that I must pray for a brother, and he has come, so why did you send us away."

" You are too young to be told such things Elizabeth," Henry responded soothingly, " Just know that I love you and I love your brother and nothing will ever change that."

" Do you promise?" Elizabeth questioned seriously, promises still meant so much to her, she didn't know how easily they could be broken.

" Yes, Elizabeth. I promise."

10th of December 1536

Richmond Palace

The King had called the entirety of his court to the great hall of Richmond. In usual circumstances Jane would be seated beside him, her crown upon her head and their hands entwined. In normal circumstances Henry would have wanted the royal family to look united, but these were not normal circumstances.

And so Jane was not seated beside her husband, instead she stood with her ladies and her eldest stepdaughter all about her on the balcony overlooking the great hall and waiting for her husband to make his announcement.

As there always was in the royal court, rumours had been abuzz for days about what was happening with the royal family. It wouldn't surprise her at all if the whole of England (and no doubt Europe) knew by now that Anne Boleyn had borne a son.

A son she claimed in no uncertain terms was the King's child.

Some people thought that Henry would return to Anne now she knew, that he would cast Jane aside and proclaim to all that Anne was his true wife and queen once again, others thought he would simply include the Marquess of Pembroke's children in the line of succession (for how could he return to a known adulterer and traitor….even if her children were his). There were even a few who thought that Henry would use the boy's birth as a way to prove that Anne was a witch and would now finally have her executed.

Despite her position Jane did not know what was happening anymore than the next person did. She was the King's wife and Queen yet she had hardly seen her husband since the birth of Anne's son.

Her husband had sent the Duke of Suffolk to Pembroke Jane knew that well enough, she also knew from her brothers that Charles Brandon had confirmed that there was no doubt that the child that the Marquess of Pembroke had borne was the kings child. Jane also knew that after the Duke's news the King had rode for Pembroke almost immediately, what happened there Jane did not know. Nor did she think she ever would.

" My Lords and Ladies," The King's voice boomed around the hall and all present fell silent, everyone wanted to hear what the King had to say, everyone wanted to see what he would do, " I have called you all hear today to make an announcement. The Marquess of Pembroke has birthed me a son."

At that Jane almost felt herself faint, she didn't know what she had expected, even if she had been expecting Henry recognition of his child it still all but took her breath away. There would be no doubt of it now, Anne Boleyn had delivered the King a son, and Jane was not yet even pregnant.

" The child is in perfect health and is the very image of his father but I will not have it said by anyone that he is my legitimate heir. As with the Ladies Mary and Elizabeth my son from the Marquess is illegitimate with the line of succession clearly vested in the sons that will be born to me by Queen Jane. The child will henceforth be known as the Lord George Tudor on the grounds that he was conceived before my marriage to the Marquess was found to be illegal and illegitimate."

The King had hardly finished his sentence before he was moving out of his seat and making his way from the hall. As soon as he had disappeared from sight the crowd erupted in loud whispers and Jane found herself struggling to think.

Henry had acknowledged his son by Anne, Jane had been at least somewhat prepared for that. It had been his only option if the rumours about Anne's son's appearance were to be believed. What she had not been expecting was for him to allow Anne's son to bear the last name of Tudor, nor has she been expecting the child to bear the name of George.

No doubt Anne had named her son in honour of her deceased brother. And no doubt she had also hoped that her sons name would serve to remind the King of all that he had done to discard Anne and marry Jane. But the fact that Henry had allowed the name to stand and had also allowed for his bastard to bear the name of a trueborn son would no doubt leave people talking.

So too no doubt would be the fact that the King had publically declared the boy a bastard with no hopes to succeed his father. Yet Jane had almost felt the threat in his words, the line of succession was to be vested in her sons and hers alone, he would not be patient in his waiting for much longer.

Jane needed a son, she needed a boy that looked a true Tudor prince, she needed a legitimate boy so that no one would ever try and declare that Anne's son deserved to take his fathers place.

Her family might have tried to hide the fact from her but Jane knew well enough that she was not well loved by the people of England and Anne Boleyn was no longer the much-despised woman that she used to be. Jane was a good catholic woman, she had been a supporter of Katherine of Aragon and her daughter, and she had reunited the Lady Mary with her father yet still she received a cold reception from the commons.

Those who had once labelled Anne and whore and a usurper now whispered the same things about Jane, and nothing she could do would ever change that. Anne was viewed as a victim now (just as Katherine had once been) few believed the charges that had been laid against her and more still thought the George Boleyn and the other men that had been executed with him had been done so unjustly.

Henry would not have her crowned not until she presented him with a son.

And even if she did give the King a healthy male heir as she prayed to, who was to say the people of England would accept and support him as their Prince of Wales. When Anne had birthed Elizabeth there were some who would have wished to see Mary placed above her who was to say that they would now wish to see George placed above any son Jane might birth.

What was to stop them from saying that her child had been born from the blood of innocents, as Jane so often feared.

" Anne Boleyn has birthed a son." One voice in the crowd announced loudly.

" Yes, and the King has accepted him as his own, and in the same breath labelled him a bastard." Cried another and Robert Aske could not help but place his head in his hands and sigh deeply.

He had agreed to lead this rebellion against the King's religious reforms and the suppression of the ministries but he feared now that with the birth of this George Tudor that their pilgrimage would turn into something else entirely.

" Yet Jane Seymour has yet to even announce a pregnancy."

" Gentlemen," Aske called out hoping to stop the talk about the king's newest son, " This matter has nothing to do with the matter at hand."

" Does it not?" John Constable questioned, his tone as always sounding agitated and angry, " This is a matter of our countries succession."

" Our issue lies with the unjust and unlawful suppression of the monistries, the line of succession is a matter that lies in the King's hand."

" The King has allowed for Cromwell to do this, he has allowed all of this to happen," John Constable countered, " You heard the rumours as well as I did, Anne Boleyn quarrelled with Cromwell she didn't agree with the suppression of the monistries nor with the way the assets were being distributed…perhaps she can be of some help."

" Anne Boleyn is a condemned traitor and adulterer her children are bastards by the King's own decree."

" False accusations Robert you know that as well as I."

At that Aske did not know what to respond. It was whispered across the country that Anne Boleyn and the men that had been executed had been innocent of the charges that had been laid against them, that the King had seen them killed (that he would have seen Anne killed) so that his path to Jane Seymour's bed was made clear. But such thoughts and words were treason, and Aske would have no part in labelling his monarch a tyrant and a murderer.

That was not what their cause was about.

" To say that is to call the King a murderer, and besides it doesn't change anything the King's marriage to the Marquess was declared null and void her children have no claim to the throne."

" Just as Queen Katherine's marriage was declared invalid and her daughter a bastard?" John questioned and immedialty Robert knew the other man's game.

He was a supporter of the Catholic faith, and he had always been a supporter of Katherine of Aragon and her daughter, he still referred to Mary Tudor as a princess and if no son were born off Queen Jane, Robert would have gladly seen Katherine of Aragon's daughter on the throne. But as with Anne Katherine's marriage had been declared null and void by the king's own will, how could he in good faith label Anne Boleyn's children as bastards and not do the same in regards to the king's eldest daughter.

" The King's new wife is rumoured to be a good catholic woman John," Robert answered slowly and he knew well enough that that at the least was true.

Jane Seymour was a catholic, she had been a supporter of Queen Katherine and her daughter, and she had even seen Mary reconciled with the king, perhaps one day she would even be able to reinstate her to the succession. Anne Boleyn had been a supporter of the reformation and the breaking of England with Rome; she had been the whole entire reason for it.

Why should they risk the King's wrath by throwing their support towards a woman who supported the reformation in the first place?

" Yes and what hold does she wield over the king?" John spat out, " She is yet to fall pregnant and Henry refuses to crown her."

And half of England hates her, Robert thought but did not dare say out loud; he would not give John any more reason to continue with any thoughts he might be plotting.

" Why would she dare to question him? Look at what has happened to her predecessors," Robert proclaimed feeling himself growing agitated at the turn the conversation had taken, their pilgrimage had nothing to do with the King's choice in wife, it was to do with faith and nothing more, " And besides this is not what we are about. Who the King does and does not take as his consort is of no importance to us, that is a matter of the succession."

" Yes but if the Marquess is sympathetic to our cause as she is rumoured to be then perhaps she can be a help to us, she hold the King's only living son…."

" We will hear no more of this matter John," Robert interrupted his voice growing slightly, " Neither Anne Boleyn or her children are of any importance to our cause."

And let them keep it that way.

16th of December 1536

Pembroke Castle, Wales

" What is it Anne?" Mary questioned eyeing the letter in her sister's hands with a curious gaze, it held the royal seal.

"Her Majesty Queen Jane of England cordially requests the presence of the Lady Elizabeth Tudor at Richmond Palace for the Christmastide celebrations," Anne responded reading the short letter in her hand with much contempt, Henry's new Queen could not even write her own letters without help, " it says nothing of George."

" Why would it?" Mary questioned, " She would not wont the King's acknowledged son paraded around court when she is yet to announce a pregnancy."

Anne knew that Mary was choosing her words carefully to try and appease her, reminding Anne that Henry had publically acknowledged their son as his own. He had even allowed George to use the Tudor name though Anne knew well enough that he had made it abundantly clear that Anne's children remained bastards under his laws.

" Why invite Elizabeth to court at all then?" Anne asked angrily, " Would she not too serve as a reminder that Jane has yet to deliver a single child?"

" No doubt she is trying to keep the King in good spirits," Mary reasoned, " You have heard the rumours Anne, the people are rebelling against him and he has taken a mistress."

Yes Anne had heard the rumours well. She still had friends at court, friends that kept her firmly in the loop about the happenings at court and she was glad for it. Yet still sometimes she wondered if her spies were simply giving her news that she would like to hear no matter it's truth.

But surely this was proof of it. Things were not going well in the new royal marriage; Jane Seymour might finally become witness to the monster that she and Katherine had once had to endure.

" I should refuse to send her." Anne exclaimed with a slight smile, it would give her much pleasure to refuse Jane Seymour's request.

" Anne you know you cannot do that."

" Yes, I know," Anne responded her smile fading slightly, " I will need to find a suitable wet-nurse for a week or two, I trust you will be able to manage the castle while I am away?"

" Anne are you sure? I mean surely Nan or Madge could accompany her."

" No," Anne responded quietly, she would not send Elizabeth into the Lions den without her by her side, " Elizabeth and I are going to court."

God save them.

A/N: So as I said at the beginning of the chapter this is a very large and important chapter for the story.

Most importantly of course is the fact that Henry has acknowledged George as his son and allowed him to be known as Lord George Tudor, just as Elizabeth is known as the Lady Elizabeth Tudor and Mary is the Lady Mary Tudor.

We also got to see some interactions between Henry and Anne as well as Henry and Elizabeth. With George's birth Anne has firmly become a key player again.

Next we saw the progress of the pilgrimage of grace and how the birth of George is affecting the thoughts of some of the rebels, but there will be more on that in the coming chapters.

And Jane Seymour in a desperate attempt to secure Henry's affections has invited Elizabeth to court for the Christmas celebrations oblivious to the fact that Anne will be accompanying her.

So the next chapter will have Anne and Elizabeth's return to court along with the reactions and ramifications that follow it. We will also see more of the pilgrimage of grace.

Thank you again; I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review to let me know what you think.