Mid-February, 1543, as Anne had been listening intently to rumors as she usually did, she came to learn that her brother-in-law's love interest, Lady Latymer, had earned herself a position in the household of her own good friend, the Lady Mary. Anne had no real feelings about this news; she could care less about the woman, although she loved to bother Thomas about the idea of her.

"I hear your hearts desire has come closer than ever?" Anne asked Thomas one evening, as she sat with her husband and him at their own dinner table in their rooms at court. "What do you say of this?"

Thomas looked up from his food, barely able to disguise his contentment over the situation. Edward watched him, letting out a short "ha".

"Are you at a loss for words, brother?" Edward asked, a curious smirk on his face. "Are you going to wed the woman?"

Thomas swallowed his food and shrugged, a smirk on his face to match his brothers. "That is for me to now, Ed, and for you and your nosy wife, to be curious about."

Anne and Edward laughed in chorus at this, Edward pausing only to take a gulp of red wine. He looked to his wife, and then to his brother, but he said nothing. He knew Anne would want to take the center stage and reply to this one, since Thomas had made a snarky remark towards her.

Anne smiled at her husbands gaze, and then returned her attention to Thomas, frowning. "Nosy is not a word I would use to describe myself." She said shortly. "You best watch your words and tone with me, brother, for I am at the ear of the Lady Mary, and if you dare to make a comment such as that again, I will make sure that your lovely lady is sent as far away from court as possible."

However, Anne's threats had little effect on Thomas now. He was on cloud nine, and nothing his brother or sister-in-law could say would have brought him down. At last, Katherine was close to him, and she was free to marry, and he was a most eligible and now well-placed and wealthy bachelor. He grinned at the thought, and without another word, turned back to his food.

This happiness Thomas felt would not last for long, and his dreams were just as quickly crushed as they were created. It took no time for the lonely King's eyes to wander to his daughters new lady, and in Katherine, like Thomas, he found exactly what he had been looking for. A stable, able woman, not a young and foolish harlot.

He began to court the lady, and was quick to realize that an obstacle stood in his way in the form of Thomas Seymour. His realization of this brought him to speak to his faithful servant, the Earl of Hertford.

Henry had Edward called into his presence chambers, where he sat, uncomfortably as usual, with his throbbing leg up on another chair. Despite the intense pain he now almost constantly felt, and his tiring body, Henry managed to look as regal as ever, and Edward was quick to notice this as he entered the room. He swept an enormous bow, which revealed to the King, that his most faithful servant had not come alone, but with his wife. Anne curtseyed behind him, her eyes on the floor. Her presence made no difference to the King, if anything, she would be able to provide him with the information he needed perhaps to a better ability than her husband.

"Your majesty." Edward said as he rose up.

"Edward!" Henry grunted happily. He gestured with his left hand to two seats across from him, looking at Anne too. "Please, sit. I have some questions to ask the both of you."

Edward and Anne both took a seat, Edward looking faithfully to the King, while Anne looked between the King and her husband in a slow motion.

Henry cleared his throat. "I must be straight forward with you, Hertford." He began, as he shifted slightly in his seat. Anne watched him carefully. He was such a large man now, she wondered at how the seat was even able to hold him.

"Of course, your majesty." Edward replied.

"I see that your brother Thomas has taken an interest in a lady of the Lady Mary's household." He said shortly. He knew he need not say much more than that, because he knew that Edward and Anne, as the eyes and ears of the court, would have already known this whether Thomas has told them or not. Despite this, he specified, "Catherine Parr, married to Baron Latimer before."

Edward did not hesitate in his response, ready to throw his brother under the bus whenever there was an opportunity to do so. "He has indeed had an interest in the lady since before her first husband was deceased." He said frankly, a straight face. "He has courted her for sometime."

"And has he asked for her hand?" The King asked, curiously.

Edward looked to Anne, and she piped up. "I do not believe so, Your Majesty, though he has certainly been entertaining the idea as of late."

Henry grunted, letting out a deep chuckle, as he often did in his youth. He laughed much less as of late, another stress to add to Edward's day, a King in a bad mood. He looked hopeful to hear the sound of the King's laugh once more.

The King leaned closer to the couple, a small smirk on his face. "I have it in my head to ask the lady to become my Queen." He admitted, smiling now. "But I cannot have her refuse me, for I would not wish to have to sentence her away from court, as she pleases my eyes, and I hear she is smart, wise and able, and I look for these very characteristics in a wife."

Anne was sure that at this moment, her and Edward had the same thought go through their head. Which one of his wives had any of these characteristics, despite his first? Anne forced herself not to smile, or let out any bit of a chuckle. She could see the veins on the side of Edward's neck begin to show, and she knew then for sure that he had the same thought. Despite this, they pressed on.

Edward nodded once. "Would your Majesty like for me to make sure my brother stays out of the way?"

Henry laughed again, lifting his left hand and shaking his finger at Edward, as he made a tut sound with his mouth. "Ah, no I wished only to confirm your brothers interest in the lady." Henry said. He grinned devilishly. "And I wished for you both to inform him of his new position he will be serving for me."

Anne raised an eyebrow curiously, and spoke before her husband, which did not bother him. "And what position is that, your majesty?" she asked, returning the King's grin with a smirk.

With some difficult, the King rose from his seat, after having pulled his bad leg off the chair in front of him. With his hand at his side he limped a few steps away, facing the wall. He looked up at a portrait of his own father, Henry VII. "I will send him on a diplomatic mission of much importance." The King said, turning towards the Seymour's once more. "You may tell him this, and tell him of his destination… the Netherlands."

The King looked very content with this whole plan of his, throwing this obstacle that was Thomas easily out of the way. It had been some time since he had schemed like this, as with his most recent wife, he had instead, it seemed, been the victim of her scheming. "Will you pass this new on to him?" the King asked.

Edward rose from his seat and bowed, Anne following shortly after him. Edward was good at sensing when the King was ending a conversation, and he knew that he did not want to continue this lovely meeting with small talk. "Your majesty." He said, needing not confirm or deny his reply. The King knew well enough that Edward would pass on this message, however he may not have known the amount of joy and happiness that passing on such a message to his brother would give him.

Edward and Anne left the room, Anne immediately sliding her arm through her husbands as they walked down the halls towards their own rooms. She leaned her head towards her husbands, placing it almost lightly on his shoulder. She could feel the warmth, happiness and excitement burning with in him. Sending Thomas away had likely been his dream since childhood, and she could tell that although he was straight faced, he was more than beaming inside. This warmth flowed through to her, and curiously, straight to her groin. She sighed quietly, fearing what such passion could bring.

As they entered their chamber, she closed the door behind her, and Edward turned, finally beaming as he had been internally for the past few minutes. "Will be rid of him, at last!" He shouted. "He's my brother, but God, he can be a fool, and I'll be happy to have him gone for some time. I wanted him to marry so he would stop staring at you, but having him in the Netherlands is an even better option."

Anne smiled at her husband, who as he spoke, approached her. Their hands touched each others arms, and that warmth Anne had felt before, continued, thriving. It had been some time since Anne had felt this, probably because she spent most, if not all her time, in that burdensome state of pregnancy. And this is what it brought it on. How ironic, she thought.

"Will you be as happy as I to see him go for sometime?" Edward asked, looking at her. His eyes reminded her of times long ago now, when they first met. He had always looked at her like this, but now she shared this attention with not only the King, but her husband's paperwork.

She nodded, her desire building within her. She did not want to give in so easily though, to this powerful feeling that always overwhelmed her, that made her a soft being, that she was not usually. She had felt for sometime as if Edward was neglecting her as a wife, his nephew's inheritance being more important than her to him, and although she had brought a similar thought to him before, she hadn't won that battle, and she wished to win it now.

At this thought, she pulled away from him slightly, looking down. She had to hide the dazzle in her eye that occurred with that feeling of desire.

"What is it, wife?" Edward asked, placing his hand beneath her chin. He stroked it slightly. He was always one to act as if nothing was wrong between them.

"It has nothing to do with the matter of Thomas." Anne began, just to clear that topic out of the way. She didn't want to put Edward in a fit of rage and jealousy. She wanted him to listen, and obey. She turned her gaze to him, taking a breath in. Their locked gaze was such a powerful thing. "It has to do with the two of us, Edward."

He raised an eyebrow for a moment, and then frowned slightly. "We've spoke of this Anne." He said, shortly, removing his hand from her face. He let go of her completely, but they still stood very still, and their gaze remained unbroken. "We've spoke of this so many times recently that I have lost count!"

She returned his frown. "Yet, we have not come to a resolution that I am content with. All you do is apologize to me, and do nothing to change, to fix our relationship. We were once such a powerful couple-" she began, but he cut her off.

"And we still are." He said, firmly. He took her wrists in his hand and shook them slightly, not in a forceful manner, but still a firm one. "There is nothing more to discuss."

But Anne was not happy with this, and she ripped her hands away from him, looking at him now, with anger, which covered her desire. It still rippled beneath her fierce surface, though. "Who died and made you King?!" she demanded, furiously. "I will not have you end our conversation, for it is a discussion and not a one-sided battle where you always win, getting to avoid it once more!"

This time, Edward did not say a word; he only looked at her, waiting for her to burst out in one of her fits. It was as if she was pregnant once more, in the heat of one of her mood swings.

She raised a finger at him, and began. "Edward fucking Seymour, I will not have you boss me around. Have you ever known me to be one to be bossed around? Now I have let you avoid this topic forever, but let it be known that all I want from this, is not to confront you or accuse you of anything, for I trust you with all that I am, but I wish to fix us." She lowered her hand and looked at him, her pupils wide. He could almost see the flames dancing around in them. He continued on with his silence, knowing she was not finished. "I've told you before that I wish for us to be as we were. A power couple, that work together. I wish not to be abandoned for your work, I wish to help you in it when I can. I wish not for you to forget about me and leave my child-filled body whilst you go on progress with the King. I wish you to trust in my strength and to bring me if I am willing. I wish for you to consult me in your decisions." She paused, and in typical Anne fashion, raised her nose slightly and said contently, "I do more than wish, Edward Seymour. I demand it. I demand it as your wife, of the status that I was born into. When I married you I knew I had met my match, and I knew you felt the same, and it was something you never thought you would feel, as it was for me. I now demand only that you respect that I am your match, and return to treating me as such, for I do not appreciate nor tolerate being overlooked for the work, for your nephew the future King, or for the current King!"

Her right eye twitching slightly, she let out her breath she had taken in at the beginning, and placed her hands at the side of her gown, began to turn away, hoping to take a seat somewhere as she had just exhausted herself in this fit. Finally I have said all that I have wanted to say, she thought as she turned. Now I leave it to him.

And as she had hoped, deep within her cold heart, Edward took the reins immediately and stopped her as she turned, this time grabbing her arms as he had the first time he bedded her. She once again felt his warmth flow through her, and she could barely hide her smile as she turned. So, though her gaze was one of furiousness, she smiled as she looked at her husband now.

He could not help but return this smile for a moment. He drew her closer to him, and she feared perhaps, he was angry with her. That she had gone too far in her orders, and that he would now return her fit of rage with one of his own. To her surprise, he quickly lowered his head to her ear, and pulling her as close as possible, their bodies touching, he whispered into her ear. "Forgive me, my sweet wife." He said, breathing heavily. For a moment, Anne was distracted from his words by the feeling of his moist breath upon her ear and neck. She could also feel that his masculinity was beginning to throb. She closed her eyes for a moment, attempting to keep her focus on the here and now; her mind in control of the situation, as opposed to anything else. "Forgive me." He repeated himself, lowering his lips to kiss her neck. "You know that I love you so much, and that you are, and will always be my first priority. I have let my dedication to His Majesty and my nephew distract me from my one true jewel." At this, he lifted his head to look at her, his eyes sincere, something that was rare for him. "Can you forgive me for all this, and for only apologizing to you before? I will now not only ask for your forgiveness, but beg. And I will act immediately upon my words, as I am only a true and honest being at all times, to you."

Anne looked at him, her desire overcoming her. She knew he was going to be true to his word this time, she could just feel it. Either that, or she was just completely overcome by the extreme desire to have him in bed in any way, immediately. She did not speak a word, still exhausted from her rant, but instead raised her hands and placing them on his face, pulled him in for a kiss, which she pressed so deeply into his lips. It took only this for Edward to recognize he had got through to her, and that she believed him, and that he believed himself! Their desire was shared, and he wasted no time getting his wife to bed. Instead, he hoisted Anne up into his arms and allowed her to untie his trousers, and he shifted her gowns out of the way. He would enter her like this, and she was more than ready for it.

She grinned with pleasure as he entered her slowly, and then fast and fiercely, as if it were their first time once more. There sex was always passionate and rough at times, but this time truly reminded her on the first time. Their desire for each other was back at full force, and with every thrust, she moaned in desire, knowing just this. Edward moaned too, as if they were sharing thoughts through their movements. His thoughts of Thomas leaving, of the King's now future marriage and wife, and of his nephew and his work, had faded away so quickly. He could now think only of Anne, only of his movements within her, only of his seed entering her, just as it had on their wedding night. Part of him hoped that for once, she would not be so fertile so that they could share many more nights like this one before he would have to let her go for sometime to pregnancy once more. With one final thrust, his hands gripping tightly onto her buttocks, he finished, letting out a loud moan of his own, in unison with Anne. She threw her head down on his shoulder in exhaustion, and he smiled to himself, as he continued to hold her up, his trousers at his ankles.

All he could think was that nothing could bring them down now. Nothing. He thought, still smiling. They were a force to be reckoned with.