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The days after agreeing to an annulment were peaceful, but Anne's euphoria at keeping her life dimmed quickly. Anne kept to her quarters and did not mix with the rest of the court apart from her ladies and maids. While she doubted that many knew about her standing down as Queen, Anne was sure that there were to be rumors. Besides, after her second miscarriage Anne knew that the courtiers only thought that it was a matter of time until she was cast aside. She did not want the delighted and smug looks pointed her way by her enemies or the pitying looks from the few friends she had. Anne had not seen or heard from Henry since their discussion had taken place. She assumed that he was holed up somewhere with Cromwell making the arrangements for their annulment.

Anne spent her days in quiet solitude partly thankful for escaping with her life and partly wondering how everything went wrong. Three years ago they were so happy, so in love. She had known that Henry was a fickle man, but she loved him anyway. If she had not loved him, would she still be Queen of England? Was her children dying and her inability to produce a son her punishment for pushing Catherine off the throne? Was she doing the right thing? By allowing herself to live, she was making Elizabeth a bastard. Anne could protect her daughter alive, could make sure that she had a happy life. But if she died, Elizabeth would remember her mother as a whore, but she could still have a chance at succeeding the throne. Anne knew her daughter would make a fine ruler, but did she want that lonely life for her? The thoughts almost drove her insane and Anne was grateful for being allowed to leave court soon. Maybe living in the country with her daughter would help her see things more clearly.

She could not stand to think about the smug looks on the Seymour's faces. If Mistress Seymour could keep Henry's attention for a few more months then she could be the next Queen of England. It was more than likely. Whilst Cromwell may push for a royal match with a foreign Princess, he was in league with the Seymour's and may push for Mistress Seymour to become Queen. The English hated foreigners, and it could take years for an agreement to be made when arranging a royal match. Henry would want to be married now in order to produce a child. Jane Seymour would be the suitable candidate in Cromwell's opinion, even if they did not agree on religious views, the girl would never interfere with his work. The girl was everything that Anne was not. Obedient, uneducated, meek. Jane Seymour would never challenge Henry, and that would keep her head attached to her shoulders. The Seymour slut was smarter than Anne had given her credit for. She knew what Henry wanted, a good loyal wife, the opposite of what the passionate Anne Boleyn was.

Jane Seymour would never love Henry half as much as Anne did, and because of that she would be safe once the crown was on her head. As long as she could give Henry his son.

Anne hoped that the woman failed.

Nobody bothered her for days. Visitors had stopped coming long ago, and apart from her ladies curious glances and whispered conversations about why she was not mingling with the court, Anne was left alone. Her family must not have known what she had done, her father would soon as beat her than to allow her to stand aside, whether she was Queen or not. She was surprised at first that Henry had not announced her retirement, but she was glad of it. Maybe he would allow her to go quietly. She imagined that he would be celebrating for finally ridding himself of his wife easily and was thankful for his discretion. It was already bad enough that she had failed in giving him a son and losing his love, she did not need the fact that a meek country girl had stolen her husband and crown rubbed in her face. The Seymour's will be ecstatic when they hear the news, Anne only hoped that she had left London when the court found out. At least she did not have to see the Seymour slut in her rooms anymore. The girl had not been in Anne's presence for days now, she could only assume that Henry had told her to stay away so not to tarnish her perfect reputation.

It was with a heavy heart she left the sanctuary of her chamber when Anne was summoned to discuss the terms of the annulment. There had to be rumors about why the Queen had been confined to her rooms. Was she in some form of trouble or was she ill? Anne had no desire to see the looks which were bound to come her way.

As she stepped into Henry's chambers, she was pleasantly surprised to see only Henry, Cromwell and Cranmer and could not help glance around the room twice. Anne expected to see the Seymour's smug faces along with Suffolk's whilst she finally admitted defeat. She was grateful to Henry for not having them there. It was bad enough to see the barely concealed joy in Cromwell's cold eyes and the sadness in Cranmer's, but seeing Henry's emotionless face almost broke Anne's heart once more.

And that was when Anne realised she had done the right thing in suggesting an annulment before she was killed. Being at court with all the games of seduction and manipulation was not a place she wanted Elizabeth to be. Anne could protect her from this, whether she was in the King's favour or not. She could protect Elizabeth from her father. Elizabeth would still inherit all of the lands that Anne owned after her death and would become a very wealthy woman.

The pain it cause Anne to see Henry look at her with dead eyes, the shame she felt at not being able to hold onto the crown, the anger at being replaced by Jane Seymour and the joy the court was bound to feel when they found out she was no longer Queen, none of it mattered. As long as her daughter was safe, that was all that mattered.

Anne Boleyn was not one to give up, but giving up her marriage was the one thing she knew she had to do.

So Anne finally let out a true smile for the first time in days and dropped into a curtsy. "Your Majesty."

Anne returned to her chambers in a daze.

It was over. The task she had been assigned ten years ago had finally come to an end. And she had failed to complete it. Anne Boleyn was no longer the Queen of England.

She was angry with herself, with Henry, with the entire situation. But what other choice did she have if she wanted to keep her life? She had lost to the Seymours, and there was naught to be done about it.

But a secret part of herself was glad to be done with it all. For the first time in years, she was safe once again. She could live out her life in the peaceful country, and whilst she may not have a husband who loved her or sons, she still had her precious daughter.

No, it may not be the life she had dreamed about as a child, but it was still a life.

Henry had been very generous considering the circumstances. She had expected to go back to being the Marquess of Pembroke, but Henry had elevated her to the Duchess of Pembroke making her one of the wealthiest women in the country. Henry also settled on her several more estates as well as letting her keep the ones he had gifted her with during their courtship along with all of the gifts he had given her, and had even settled on her a few monasteries to do with what she wished. Anne had to refrain from giving Cromwell a sly smile when he announced it.

For the first time in a long while, Anne was feeling very thankful towards Henry. Although she did not want to be in this situation in the first place, Henry could easily have left her with nothing.

By the time the papers were signed and Cranmer had finished reciting the grounds for the annulment, Anne was ready to leave. There was no last goodbye from Henry, no lingering looks. Everything was very formal. She asked permission to leave court as soon as possible and was granted easily enough. She asked for arrangements to be made for Elizabeth to be prepared to leave Hatfield and that was the only time Henry seemed ready to confront her.

"You gave me your word that Elizabeth would live with me, Your Majesty," Anne interrupted when she saw Henry was about to argue against her. "You have already taken enough away from me, do not take my daughter as well."

Henry's jaw clenched. "Very well. Arrangements shall be made when you have selected a manor to reside in."

Anne had thanked him kindly enough, but was secretly thrilled that she could still get a response from him. He was not as emotionless as he tried to make out.

Anne's ladies were just as she had left them as she swept into the room. They all dropped into curtsies upon her entrance and Anne smiled somewhat sadly. Although not all of her ladies were loyal to her, there were a few that Anne would miss when she left.

"As of today, I am no longer the Queen of England," Anne announced with a sparkle in her eye. She revelled in the shocked gasps and murmurs floating around the room. "The King and I have annulled our marriage. Whilst it saddens me to do so, I am leaving court. I would be very grateful if you could pack my belongings and have them ready for departure as soon as possible." When some ladies, namely Jane Parker and other Seymour supporters, stood still and continued to stare at her, Anne raised a threatening eyebrow. "You are still in my service until I leave court. If you hesitate to disobey me again I will have you dismissed from court. Permanently." Anne smiled when the few remaining ladies quickly began packing.

She may not be Queen anymore, but Anne still had enough power to frighten others. Being the Duchess of Pembroke may not be as bad as she first thought.

Once she had ordered her ladies and maids to begin packing her belongings, Anne realised it was only a small amount of time until the whole court knew. Whilst some of her ladies maybe fond of her, they were not known for their discretion.

She only had hours to tell her family before they found out from another. Anne knew she owed her family nothing, especially her father, but she thought some form of warning was fair. It was humiliating enough to stand down as Queen, but she could at least bow down with some dignity. She could only hope her family would follow in her footsteps.

Of course, she knew this was too much to ask for her temperamental father.

"Why? Why would you do this?" Thomas Boleyn shouted at his daughter who seemed too busy going through her vast amount of jewellery to be listening to him in his opinion. "All you had to do was shut your mouth and turn your head the other way and you would have been fine! Not only have you shamed us by standing aside, the King will no doubt take our titles away-"

Anne laid down the necklace gently before turning to her father with shrewd eyes. "Oh Father, stop before you give yourself a nose bleed. The King will not take away any of your titles or land. He made me a Duchess just for going quietly! And if you are wise you will do the same and bow down gracefully. You have gained far more that you ever set out to achieve when you pushed me into his bed. For ten years I have been your puppet and played things your way, but your ambitions are going to get us killed! He was already trying to make allegations against me! We are lucky to be escaping with our lives."

Anne regarded her father with cold eyes. It was hard to see the man who had once spent many hours playing with her and her siblings in the gardens of Hever in her father anymore. Had greed and power made him this cold, the thrill of being the King's father-in-law and the many lands that had been gifted to him over the last decade gone to his head? He had not always been this way, as a child he had cherished Anne over Mary and George. He gave her the best education that was possible for his witty daughter, he obtained her places in foreign courts, all of which helped her to become the woman that she was today. He gave her the best start of life that he could, and although he had used her to prolong his advancement, he was still her father. They had risen together, and now they would fall together. It was for that reason alone that she did not order him out of her rooms.

"I do not wish to argue with you, Papa," Anne said quietly, using the old familiar term that she hadn't used in a long time hoping that it may soften him a little. "You may not like my decision, but it is for the best. The King does not think that I can give him a son and will find the easiest way to be rid of me. You may want to take a gamble which could cost my life, but I do not." Although it pained Anne to admit it, her father would never have let her stand down as Queen if he had known before she confronted Henry, even knowing that their entire family could be in danger, his pride would never let him back down. They had gone into this game with high stakes, for Thomas Boleyn it was all or nothing.

She didn't have the strength to play the game anymore.

"We need to cut our losses now whilst we have time to escape," Anne said gently. Boleyn stared at his daughter for a moment before turning away and stomping towards the door without a word. Anne flinched as the door slammed shut behind him. She sighed quietly and willed the tears away. She knew it was hard for him, but she had foolishly hoped for a little sympathy from her father. He worried about losing his titles and his influential place in court, whereas Anne had lost her title, her daughter's title, and her husband.

She refused to spill anymore tears for Henry. She was relieved to be keeping her life, but it didn't stop the pain of losing the man she had loved.

Anne could almost hear the sigh of relief from the courtiers when she left court.

She could understand why. Many of them had hated her the moment Henry showed interest in her. Women were jealous that he no longer spent time in their beds, men were jealous that she had his favor. Henry had changed many things about England in order to make her Queen, especially the Church. With Anne now off the throne, many were hoping that Henry would rejoin the Pope and restore Mary to her former title. Anne knew that their hope was in vain. Henry would never admit that he was wrong about Mary being a bastard, and he would not renounce his claim to being the Head of the Church of England now that he had had a taste of the power. Many people, especially the Catholics, were going to be disappointed.

The Seymours did little to hide their glee at her departure. It was already well known that Henry would likely take the slut as his wife, Anne was only thankful that he did not propose whilst she was still at court. Still, the slut could barely contain her smile when Anne had passed her. Anne had merely raised an eyebrow at her before the girl shrank back. The girl would not keep Henry's interest for long, if she wanted to wear the Queen's crown then she would have to act fast. To be replaced by a girl so meek and uneducated stung her pride.

If she had lost to Katherine then she would have been humiliated, but she would have lost to a Princess of Spain. Instead she lost to a girl who could barely write her own name.

Cromwell had appeared as composed as ever, but Anne knew him well enough to see the jubilation in his eyes. Her old ally was glad to see her fall. Chapuys was another who did little to hide his smile. Is she was a bigger person, Anne would hope that Lady Mary did get restored to her former position as Princess. Henry no longer had any legitimate children, he was leaving himself and England in a very precarious position if he were to die.

As it was, Anne prayed the girl would remain a bastard as her precious Elizabeth was to be. Although she was sorry for some of the pain she had caused Katherine's daughter, she prayed that she would never become Queen and would do everything in her power to make sure that it never happened. The girl would have Anne and possibly even Elizabeth on the chopping block if she were to become Queen in order to protect her throne. Mary Tudor did not make things easy for herself these past few years and lived a painful life because of it. In her opinion, the villain in her story would always be Anne Boleyn, the girl who seduced her father away from his wife.

She did not see Henry. Part of her was glad not to have to see him staring at her with such hatred in his eyes. Another part of her, a small foolish part, had hoped that he would announce that he was wrong, that she was still his wife and that he loved only her. She knew it was naïve of her, but the part of her that was still the young hopeful girl he had first fallen in love with had not wanted to let him go. Now that she had given up hope, she would never see him in that light again. He was not the man who worshiped her, he was a cold calculating King who wanted nothing but a son.

Whilst she did have many enemies who were glad to see her go, Anne also had her friends and family. Her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk had been wise enough to distance himself from the Boleyns when they began to lose favor. Still, it seemed he was sad to see Anne leave, even offering her a rare smile. Her father had ignored her, but her brother and her cousin the Earl of Surrey even bowed to her as if she was still Queen. Cranmer had kissed her hand reverently. Her ladies had openly wept at her departure, save the Seymour girls and Jane Parker. Nan Saville had even left her position at court and was to be the head of her household at her new residence. Seeing some of her loyal friends such as Mark Smeaton, Thomas Wyatt and Henry Norris had risen her spirits some.

The Duke of Suffolk held out a hand to help her into the carriage. Anne looked at Brandon with impassive eyes and hid her surprise well when she did not see the joy in his eyes as she had expected. His face was carefully cleared of all emotion when he nodded to her respectfully. She took his hand and inclined her head.

The past few minutes kept swirling around in her head as she sat alone in her carriage as it left the palace. It was official, it was over. She was no longer married. She was no longer Queen. Anne barely noticed the crowd that had gathered outside the palace to see her off. She did not need to hear the usual insults that were being thrown her way. It wasn't until they had passed the gates did she listen to the shouts of "God save Queen Anne and Princess Elizabeth!" and other praises being shouted her way. She even heard women calling Jane a whore! For the first time in weeks Anne gave a peal of laughter and waved in thanks.

Since Elizabeth's birth, she knew that Henry had affairs with women. Mistress Seymour was different though. Seeing her bat her lashes at Henry made her quiver in anger. But seeing him staring at her with such devotion in his eyes that day several months ago when he kissed her had broken Anne's heart. He had once looked at her that way, and now he looked at another. It was that moment that Anne realised how dangerous Jane Seymour really was. Maybe she should not have gotten in such a state over seeing Henry kissing the slut. Henry chided her for not walking away, for not acting more like Katherine had. But Katherine had never loved him like Anne did. Henry was everything to her, and seeing him being tender to that slut when he barely tolerated his pregnant wife hurt her so much. She knew that he spent time with her, but seeing it was another thing entirely. Henry had broken her that day, and it resulted in the death of her unborn son. It was a memory that would never leave her. No, Anne would never forgive Henry and Jane Seymour for what happened to her son, but hearing the crowds insult the girl made her feel better.

How ironic, she thought. Five years ago it was Katherine who was being sent away and the crowds were calling Anne the whore! The support she was getting was unfathomable. Hearing how she was being pushed off the throne for another girl and the support for being the wronged woman was music to her ears. Who could have imagined the public's reaction after her almost silent coronation? She had imagined they would be glad to see her go, never had she imagined this.

Her smile grew impossibly wider as she imagined Henry's reaction to the crowds cheers. Life away from court was beginning to look more desirable with each passing minute.