As of a few months ago, I have left this site and now only publish my new stories on Archive of Our Own. Details are on my profile. For now I intend to post the remaining chapters of this story but I have become tired of the attitude of certain users on here and I may not bother posting from now on. Thank you for the endless patience and support.
"Your Majesty," Anne greeted softly with a small smile.
The King took her hand and pressed a kiss to her skin, lingering far longer than courtesy allowed. "Welcome back to court," Henry said quietly, his gaze surprisingly friendly. It was such a stark contrast to the hatred that filled his eyes the last time he had looked upon her.
His was voice a delicious rasp that brought back memories of nights curled up against him after hours of making love as he whispered in her ear of his love for her and his hopes for their future. In the grand scheme of things, there had not been many blissful nights spent together. No, for most of their marriage, Anne spent her nights alone and wondering which lady her husband was entertaining in his bed.
But those nights before Elizabeth had been born were precious to her, where he was just Henry, a man who loved so passionately he changed the whole of England just to have her as his wife, and she was just Anne, a woman who loved a man despite his marriage to another woman.
Anne struggled to keep her wits about her. It was as though she was a blushing maiden once more as his intense gaze remained firmly on her. He paid Norfolk or the other courtiers no mind. She ached to reach out to him as she once would have done without a thought.
But he was not hers anymore to touch. She thought that she had released him from her heart when she had left court all those months ago. How foolish she had been! It would be so easy to love him once more, especially when he stared at her as if she was his reason for living.
Yet, for all his gentle touches and kind words, there were hateful glares and unforgivable words to match. She would forever remember how easily he had spurned her, how he took pleasure in other women and paraded it in front of her despite promising to love only her.
She had loved him with her entire being, and all the while he had been planning her demise.
Henry was a fickle man, and no matter how much she longed to fall into his arms once again, she could not give this man her heart once again after all the damage he had inflicted on it. These past months she had embraced her freedom, and she would not go back to a life of living under the whims of men.
Especially a man like Henry.
"Your Majesty is most kind to extend me an invitation," she replied, carefully taking a step back and smiling politely.
"I trust that you are well?" he enquired, his eyes fixed on hers.
"Yes, I find that the country suits me," said Anne. In truth she wished that she was back there, safely tucked away out of Henry's mind and sight. Her life may be a boring one, but it was hers.
"How fares our daughter?" he asked. A spark of resentment ignited deep in her belly.
The daughter that you claimed not to be yours and named her a bastard? she wished to say. The daughter you have failed to write a letter to in months?
Alas, Anne bit her tongue and replied with a proud smile, "Elizabeth is well. Now that she is under my roof, I see that Lady Bryan told the truth of her intelligence. She is an incredible child, Your Majesty, for one so young. You should be proud to have her as your daughter."
Henry's eyes tightened, though he smiled. "I am glad. I plan to visit her on the morrow. I have missed her dearly."
"If that is your wish, your Majesty. I am sure that Elizabeth would love to see her father. Though, it has been so long, you will hardly recognize her," said Anne, as sweet as a maiden despite the plain insult.
She could feel Norfolk's cold eyes analyzing her as the entire hallway seemed to wait with baited breath for his reply.
Henry's jaw clenched in anger, and for a moment she thought that he would lose his temper. But he smiled at her and replied smoothly, "I am sure that she is a true beauty, just like her mother."
Anne smiled widely and offered the King her hand. Henry looked amused at her blatant dismissal of him, yet he took her hand and bowed. "Your Majesty," she murmured, curtsying gracefully as he pressed a farewell kiss to her hand.
"My Lady," he whispered, his intense gaze refusing to let her look away. For a moment, he was her Henry once more, the man who loved her above all others and tore his country apart just for a moment in her arms.
But then reality set in, and the King stepped away. With a farewell smile, he took his leave and she was left standing amongst courtiers who were staring at her unabashedly and muttering her name with scorn once more.
Anne straightened her spine and lifted her chin. Malicious stares and gossip was not a new thing for her. When Henry had courted her she had enjoyed the attention of courtiers speaking her name. Alas, it was whispers and rumors that played as evidence in her downfall. It would do her no favors to be thought of as the King's mistress.
"How long until she is in the King's bed once more?" she heard one lady tittering away to her friends followed by hushed laughter. Anne clenched her fists and suddenly it was as if she was Lady Anne Boleyn once more, the woman who stole the King's heart and tempted him away from the good Queen Katherine with what was between her thighs.
"I give it until Christmastide until he puts a bastard in her belly!"
Anne snapped her head in the lady's direction and leveled her with an icy look. "Perhaps you should be concerned with your own status madam, for with a face such as yours, I find it hard to believe that you will ever find a husband despite your dowry-"
"That is quite enough Anne," Norfolk hissed in her ear. He took her arm and steered her away from the outraged gasps. Anne glared at them, daring them to openly speak to a Duchess in that way.
"They have no right to speak of me in such a way!" she spat.
"And yet they shall. You may be a Duchess, but I fear that there will always be gossip concerning you." Norfolk lowered his voice and tightened his grip on her arm. "You may not be the King's wife anymore, but you are still the woman who changed the whole of England. Let them talk. It does you no harm."
"With all due respect Uncle, you were not almost arrested for treason based on lies and idle gossip," Anne said coldly.
The walk back to her rooms was a silent one. Anne felt as though she was in a daze, and if it were not for Norfolk stopping her she would have walked straight past her rooms.
"You did well, my niece," said Norfolk, releasing her arm as they stepped into her rooms. Anne regarded him coolly, searching for some form of mockery as she was accustomed to with the men in her family, but she found none. Instead Norfolk regarded her with a cool respect.
"Do you think so?" asked Anne, eager for somebody to soothe her fears, even if it was her cold and distant uncle. "I planned to stay out of the King's way, and yet I find myself thrust into his presence within one day of arriving at court. I was not prepared-"
"Your first encounter with the King was a public affair. You acted with dignity, all the while reminding the nation that you have a child with the King. He still desires you, that much is clear from his behavior and his choice in mistresses."
"You think that he still desires me?" asked Anne, careful to keep her face neutral. "I don't understand. Half a year ago he could not bare to look at me. Yet now he was perfectly charming."
Norfolk hesitated looking uncomfortable. "There are whispers that he is not pleased with Jane Seymour. He expected to have a child on her by now. I think that perhaps now that you are no longer his wife and without the need for you to give him a son, the King fancies himself in love with you once more."
Anne's breath caught in her throat. "I will not become his mistress," she whispered.
"Nor do I wish for you to be." Norfolk paused and looked at her with calculating eyes. "You have power Anne. Be wise with what you do with it."
He said no more. Norfolk inclined his head and left, though his words would haunt Anne for the rest of the night.
Two days passed and though she received many visitors and well wishers, she received no word from the King, nor had she been sent for by her successor. She had yet to come upon the strumpet, though she knew it was a matter of time until she was called upon to offer her respect.
Though Anne herself had no contact with Henry, he delivered on his promise to visit his daughter. The following night, she arrived in her daughter's lavish nursery and gladly accepted the fierce hug Elizabeth inflicted on her the moment she stepped inside of the room.
"Lady Elizabeth! That is no way for a young lady to act-"
"Be quiet," Anne snapped at the insipid woman tending to her daughter. "My daughter is free to greet her own mother as she pleases. Leave us."
The woman shot her a look of disdain, but refrained from commenting as she left. Knowing that the governess had been chosen by the strumpet, she vowed to send for Lady Katherine Ashley if she was forced to stay at court much longer.
Finally alone, Anne swung Elizabeth up into her arms and reveled in the girl's giggles. "Oh how I have missed you my sweet girl!"
Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her neck and held on tightly. "I missed you too Mama," she replied against her neck. "Can I not stay with you?"
Anne's heart sank, knowing that she was asking for the impossible. "When we go back home my darling. Just be patient."
Elizabeth's face fell slightly, but the next moment she smiled brightly. Despite the late hour, she did not appear to be tiring. "Papa came to see me," she squealed. "And he brought me lots and lots of gifts!" Squirming her way out of Anne's hold, she took her by the hand and pulled her to a chest filled to the brim with every toy a young girl could ever want. As her daughter proudly showed her each one, Anne's heart felt a little lighter as she stared upon her daughter. Though she wished to be anywhere else in England, her daughter's happiness at being reunited with her father made this whole ordeal worth it.
Despite her uncles words, she began to suspect that he was incorrect about the King's feelings. Henry was not a patient man, and she more than most knew that when he wanted something, he did everything in his power to get it as quickly as possible.
That all changed on the third day as she came upon the Duke of Suffolk on her way to the gardens.
"Your Grace," Anne said in surprise, feeling her lips curl in glee at his discomfort as he approached her. She could hear one of her ladies giggle as they looked upon the handsome Duke in admiration. And she supposed that had she met him when she was a young maiden fresh at court, Anne herself would have fancied herself in love with him from his looks alone.
Looking every bit uncomfortable, the Duke inclined his head in a show of respect and greeted her stiffly. "Madam. May I have a moment?"
Anne smiled wickedly. "You are as polite as ever, Your Grace. It gladdens me to see that some things have not changed since my departure from court." Brandon's jaw clenched and he stared at her balefully. She only looked at him innocently and said sweetly, "I am just on my way to the gardens. It is one of the few things I have missed about court, other than your charming personality of course. Would you like to join me?"
"I only wish to take a moment of your time, Your Grace," he said stiffly, her new title sounding odd coming from his lips. "The King wished for me to give you this." He held out his hand in which he held a small gift wrapped in a velvet pouch. She did not need to look inside to know that s piece of beautiful jewelry would be cradled within it. Years ago, the Duke of Suffolk was just one of many who would be sent by the King to deliver extravagant gifts to his sweetheart. For a moment she felt like the girl who had given her heart so foolishly away who welcomed each gift as proof of Henry's love for her, though Brandon did not look upon her with so much loathing then.
Alas, the girl who fell in love with a King grew up, and she knew exactly what this gift meant.
Anne shrank away from his offering. "I do not want it."
"You refuse a gift from the King?"
"Yes. Tell the King that I am in no position to accept a gift such as this."
"This is not a game," Brandon snapped. "Do not play coy-"
"I am playing no games, Your Grace," Anne snapped, glaring hatefully at the infuriating man standing before her. "Despite what you think, I am no whore. If that is what the King is wanting from me, then take back his gift and tell him to give it to a woman who is willing to grace his bed, for I am not."
She swept past him before the Duke could reply, though she could feel his eyes on her all the way down the corridor. With quick curtsies, her ladies simpered after her, but all she could think about was how much trouble she was truly in.