When he walked into the Queen's chambers, Henry found himself alone with his wife. Katherine, it seemed, had dismissed her ladies once she was prepared for bed. He was surprised by the fact that she did not acknowledge his arrival. In the past, she would have at least looked up, smiled at him, done something. But not tonight. Tonight, she did not look up from the bible in her hands.

Henry cleared his throat, announcing his presence in the room. Katherine merely raised her eyes and saw him standing there before returning to her reading.

Thrown by her strange behavior, Henry was unsure of what to do. He, who had entered the room intent upon ignoring Katherine, did not know how to react to being ignored.

"Good evening again Katherine. I had thought you would be asleep."

"Clearly, my lord, you did not delay long enough," replied Katherine, her eyes never once leaving the pages in front of her.

"No, I – That is, I … Well, I shall just change and then we can both retire," Henry managed to reply.

"As you wish, you majesty."

When she did not continue, Henry turned away, confused, and changed into his nightshirt. The whole time, he tried to understand what had prompted the change in his wife who, until now, had taken every opportunity to argue her case before him. What he did not know was that Katherine was just exhausted, physically and mentally. She had been fighting with Henry for so long. She knew she was right, that a child such as Mary could never have been born of sin, but for tonight, she simply wanted to rest. Rest with her husband at her side, as he should be.

A dip in the bed announced the king's presence there. Katherine shifted over slightly, making sure that he had ample room, and returned her bible to the bedside table.

"Would your majesty like me to put out the candle?"

"In a moment Katherine. First, I have something to say"

Katherine turned so that she was fully facing her husband, wondering what he could possibly have to say that he hadn't already said.

"Before you do, I just want you to know that I don't want to fight. Not tonight. Just for this evening, Henry, can we just share a bed and pretend that this isn't happening?"

"Katherine, you know I can't just pretend that I do not need an heir. You know that this country needs a man and I will not leave the country in the hands of whichever foreign prince our daughter marries. The English people do not take kindly to foreigners telling them how to run their lives. It is not for any lack of love for you, Katherine, that I do this. This country needs an heir, and God will not grant me one, not while I am married to my brother's wife."

"So you will abandon me, leaving me in whichever draughty manor you see fit, making our beautiful daughter a bastard, all while you carry on with your whore? Do you really expect me to accept that Henry?"

"Madam, Anne Boleyn is no whore. She will not lie with me until we are legally wed, and when we are, she will bear me many bonny princes."

"Or so her relatives have whispered in your ear. Do you really think that marrying the whore-sister of you mistress is really going to get you a son? You are enchanted by her and, like a child, want only what you cannot have!"

"The only thing I desire which I cannot have, madam, is a son born of a legitimate marriage. Our only son to survive more than a few hours died a month later. God will not grant us a son Katherine, because we are living in sin. Why can you not see that?"

"How do you know He will not? To my knowledge, you have to lie with your wife in order to beget sons. Unless, of course, you wish for an immaculate conception like that of Our Lady?"

"What is the point? It would just be a waste. Everyone knows that a barren woman cannot have children."

With these words, something inside of Katherine snapped. Quietly, she murmured, "I am not barren."

Misunderstanding her meaning, Henry replied, "All right, you have borne children. One of them remains alive. But Katherine, that has all passed. I wish it were not so, but you must accept it."

"I AM NOT BARREN!" yelled Katherine of Aragon, Queen of England and daughter of their most Catholic Majesties Ferdinand and Isabella, "I AM PERFECTLY ABLE TO PRODUCE A CHILD. I BLEED STILL!"

Again, sorry for the delay. I had this written, then realized that I wanted to do it slightly differently. Hopefully you enjoy! I hope to have another chapter up within the next week.

As always, thanks for reading, and for the awesome reviews. They mean so much to me! Let me know what you think of this latest chapter :)