"What is fire but not a prison, not a means to an end. Similarly enough it can be a catalyst to freedom. Fire is the strongest force, it can change the course of history, as matter it cannot and when it has a mind of its own, will not let itself be destroyed. The only means to get rid of it is retreat. What cannot be destroyed can only be transformed and you must learn to wield it to your benefit. Fire is an escape but is a means to destroy, enslave and control all mankind. When Prometheus first gave the gift of fire to human kind he said I give this to you to use it wisely but humanity just on their first steps was without knowledge how to use it and with this new artifact came a weapon they used against one another. As a consequence Prometheus was punished by Zeus and his flesh eaten by crows every hundred years for some things are best left hidden. It is not for the ignorant man to know how to wield a weapon or possess the knowledge of the starts"

~Prometheus unbound by Lillian

Winter 1557

Diana could walk on her two feet now. The mass in her legs had dropped considerably, everyone around her felt worried when her father reintroduced her at court. "Is she eating well?" "Is the Princess alright" The whispers went, daggers flying to the Queen, some less retaliating against their sovereign blamed her wet nurse whom they believed was of the weakest stock and the milk she gave the Princess had affected her.

Bunch of idiots -Annie thought holding her daughter in her lap.

"Mama, papa" She said pointing to respective parents.

"Yes that is father, this is mama" Annie said pointing to herself.

Edward took her from his wife's arms and sat her on his knee. Annie frowned "Edward are you sure that is wise? Your injury dear-"

Edward held a hand up to silence his wife. For his Princess he would put his pain aside.

"I have never felt more invigorated, besides I think its this great lady that gives me the strength to keep going"

She shook her head, Edward would never learn. "One of these days you are going to be the death of your father" Annie said jokingly but Diana whose wisdom surpassed her parents merely shrunk and hid her face inside his father's coat.

"It is alright, it is alright sweetheart your father is fine, mama only meant to be careful." Diana came from her hiding place and her big eyes looked to Edward for confirmation.

She was a child of not many words but she was energetic and she never stopped running, she never stopped playing. Her companions, all carefully selected from Edward's favorites in his privy council, would soon become exhausted and she always, always, made sure that by the end of the day it would be her who'd have the last word.

Edward's visits to his Princess had become less frequent and Annie regretted for their daughter was very close to her father. Her little huntress found no cheer outside her father's presence but she was strong and very patient. She always counted the days of her father's visits.

"That is enough for now Diana. Lady Misseldon please prepare her for dinner" Diana got down from her father's knee without help and gave her parents one last kiss before following Lady Misseldon.

Edward was surprised that Annie trusted Misseldon. "Two years ago you would've balked at her for just putting the wrong set of pearls on her neck"

She did not trusted Lady Misseldon or any of the new girls with her daughter but she was aware she had to sever ties with her daughter if she wanted her to become independent and well learned. And besides, she had the best tutors, she and Edward made sure nothing was missing.

"Diana is well cared under her governess and your parents visit her regularly" He said and by his tone Diana knew where this was going.

"You know I will not stop my parents from seeing their granddaughter" She said abruptly, interrupting Edward. "They have much their right to see our daughter as we do"

Edward leaned forward in his chair and left the comfort of his cushioned back and held Annie's hands. "Sweetheart I know you mean well, but this cannot continue. People talk"

"By God Annie this is our daughter's legitimacy we are talking about, it is no longer your future that is at stake as my Queen's but our daughter's as well. In the absence of a son she is the only legitimate heir left in England to rule after I am gone"

"Don't say that" She chided, the thought of death frightened her. "You will go on to live for many years"

The summer progress had left him injured twice. When the court moved from Richmond to Greenwich, Edward's horse had reared up when a stag raced forward, directly into their line. Luckily her husband reacted quickly and jumped from his horse falling on his knees. He recovered quickly and held a tournament the week after his recovery in honor of his daughter's birthday. As soon as the lance pierced through his armor he fell from his white stallion and began bleeding. Once again luck seemed to be on his side, he recovered but this time the injury was more severe and his leg was still aching. She wanted to remain positive for Edward's sake, but her husband took many risks and it made her very angry he did not realize his importance to the realm and to them, their family.

Now he was asking her to admit Mary and Philip to their home, the two people who'd made her life a living hell. How could he ask her that? People would talk no matter what, she tried explaining to Edward. Regardless of who was her father or not. But as usual her husband was too thick headed, stubborn, proud, and fearful of the two warring factions in court to listen!

"It is too late for my sister to apologize to you our your father but Annie" he said, his voice turning dangerously low and his tone deathly serious "if you do not allow your parents to visit our Princess you could put her claim into question."

Annie gritted her teeth. "How so? Our daughter was conceived when we were King and Queen, man and woman and blessed with the holy oils. Council does not have the right nor anyone to question her rights to YOUR throne and I will provide you with a son" She promised.

God knows I have made the same promise every year. She thought. And every year she failed. She knew her husband would never leave her like her grandfather left her grandmother but he was a powerful man and had a kingdom that he owed greater responsibility to. Who knew what really went through that mysterious head of his? What if all this was a simple act and he had plans to marry another? Possibly that Grey girl her brother Anthony was infatuated? Maybe a Seymour girl from his uncle's brood?

Edward saw through her fears. He knew she meant well but time was of the essence now. His father moved heaven and earth and created his own church just to marry his own Anne to beget a son, and then he murdered that woman, yes murdered -for despite all he loved his father he was not blind to the truth- to marry his own mother who succeeded where so many had failed.

You want to govern? Have a son! His father had made his point across through his mother. They were not closely related as his previous wives. And often times he wondered if perhaps this was not Annie's fault but his? She was his niece after all and despite their closeness in age, they were closely related.

For a long time he considered his next words to Annie. Diana took more on his maternal side of the family, she was his daughter and if it wasn't for her light gray eyes she would have passed on as his mother's clone. Annie was being childish. The young couple had many enemies at court and Edward swore to himself that he would do the impossible to secure his daughter's rights, he would go to hell and back just to keep them safe.

If he was not in such a precarious position or at the very least there had been a precedent as there had been in Spain many decades ago of a Queen regnant he would not have cared that Diana would be the only child they had. But England was not Spain and England had always distinguished itself from the rest of Europe for being different.

"Just imagine Annie that I die right now and I am left heirless! What then? Your mother will take advantage of the situation, she nearly did when I fell from my horse in the jousting match against your brother Anthony, and usurp our little huntress' place with your brother"

"No!" Diana bellowed "That will never happen" She would make sure it would never happen, as long as she lived, Henry would never sit on the throne of England. "My father would never let her, you know he has eyes and ears everywhere"

"That is not enough when your mother has the conservative faction in the palm of her hand" Edward argued "Just ask anybody at court with one snap of her fingers she could have had me deposed long ago, she hasn't because of Diana"

Anne could not argue with that. Surprisingly after her daughter had been born, her mother had laid eyes on her and all she could remember every time she looked at her granddaughter was the image of Jane Seymour that came to her mind. In her times of plight she had been the only woman that had stood for Mary, she had been a greater ally than Eustace, Elizabeth, Gardiner and anyone else who pretended to be her friend. Naturally Mary became her daughter's surrogate mother. When Diana spotted her she would run into her arms and not even her father could tare those two apart.

Mary was tired of being overshadowed by her daughter and if the opportunity presented itself Annie knew her mother would not hesitate and place Diana on the throne, crowning herself if needed and installing herself as Regent. There was no limit to her mother's ambition, in this mother and daughter had in common. For Annie would do what was necessary to protect her cub from the wolves in her family. Many years of experience had taught her and Edward that it was better to trust outsiders that direct family members, yet they placed their trust in her father and Aunt because so far they were the only ones they could fully trust.

He withdrew his hands from Annie's and rose. He cupped his fingers under Annie's chin and forced her to look at him. He knew that it was only a matter of time until she produced a son but time was running out and he was becoming more impatient, so where his lords.

"Maybe we should wait and continue on with our conversation" She said knowing where Edward was leading her.

He shook his head. "No, we have waited enough." He said more determined. With the injury in his leg they had reduced the possibilities of conceiving a male heir. He wanted to do this, even if he died in the intent. He did not want to believe Northumbeland's words that his marriage to Annie was cursed and the Tudor line would end with him.

He did not realize he said it aloud. And Annie seeing how determined he was took off all her clothes and under garments and pushed him on top of her where they began the act of lovemaking.

"And I remember everything, everything I loved
I gave it away like it wasn't enough
All the words I said and all you forgive
How could I hurt you again?
What if I let you in?
What if I make it right?
What if I gave it away?
What if I learned to love?
What if we start again?"

~"Can we start again" by Red

Winter 1557

1558

The new year was coming by two sad events the first at the eve of January 1st was Anne's first miscarriage, it had been a boy. The grieving parents had comforted each other for months until in early February, barely a month after her unborn's death it was announced she was pregnant again. Eustace was nervous as ever, he was worried how this pregnancy would affect his daughter, his firstborn. The only reminder he had of the love that once existed between her mother and himself, he could not loose Annie. He vowed to himself that he won't. Doctors swarm around her to make sure their Queen was safe and attendants were always there when she needed them.

"You only need ring a bell sweetheart" Always the gentleman Edward told her as he strolled to the gardens where he met up with his cousin (in truth his brother in law) Anthony and his other odious brother in law, Henry whom he and the Reformists had no choice but to please. For much as they guarded resentment towards Annie and her immediate family, especially her surrogate mother, the Lady Elizabeth, for the King bestowing favors on them; they knew she was their best hope for a protestant England. No one wanted to go back to the dark days of civil war fresh on everyone's mind when they laid eyes on the Duchess of Bavaria and her ambitious son, Henry Tudor.

As Edward said his goodbyes to his glowing wife who was dressed in dark orange and had a chain of pearls around her neck that made it difficult for her to breath but she wanted to look her best so she put up with it, is when the second event took place.

A piece of tragedy. Mary's own tragedy. Nobody grieved for him, there would be no tears at the young man's funeral and his wife was nowhere to be seen for he'd sent her early in last December to Bavaria to oversee his father's government and their son's and only heir inheritance. Nobody had the heart for when she came, if she ever came -some thought, to tell her the news of her husband's death.

"You!" She had hissed furiously at Annie. She had ruined it. This was all her fault! "You are responsible for this! You, you never brought me nothing but misery, you did this! You did this!" Eustace and Edward rushed to Annie's side as her sister and her ladies worked to restrain the grieving mother in whose arms was her dying son.

Dead, dead -she thought. By the same trick she and Philip had laid at Edward's horse. The same stag, not a year since her brother "accidentally" fell, the same trap she had laid for her brother had somehow been discovered and someone, or someones, had laid that very same trap for her son. Her darling son. My boy, my sweet boy.

Philip approached his wife and gently scolded her that she had to let go of their son. More than anyone he felt his chest constrict when he saw his son fall from his horse on his way back from his hunting trip with His Majesty the King. He and his whole entourage had been witness to how Henry's neck broke, they heard the crunch as his neck made contact with the floor. None more shock was his younger sister, Katherine who gasped and finally her legs feeling jelly, dropped to the floor and cried the hardest she ever had for the only sibling, the only friend who'd ever understood her.

Annie's hands fell instinctively to her half swollen belly where proof of her fertility, her last chance of survival, lay. "Mother, it is better if you let the servants do their job and clean the body-"

Mary shove her ladies in waiting and her sister. Her finger went flying in Annie's direction. "I will never forget this Annie, I will never forget this. For as long as I live I will make sure that you will never forget your brother and your nephew you left orphan"

"Mary please not here" Her husband begged but she pushed Philip aside. Indolent fool, scared kitten he was not man enough to face her sister and her pathetic little brother and her bastard daughter. She raced to her chambers, Susan, the rest of her ladies and of course her scared husband followed her. She locked herself in her room and sunk to her knees. "She never cries" Her father had declared. They had stripped her of everything, ruined her and degraded her. How could she have allowed this to happen?

She thought of the good marriage her son had made just two years ago when her darling Diana was two. She was a good German noble of Philip's court in Bavaria and she loved her son dearly. Gertrude could not be told, she had gone back with her one year old to Bavaria to oversee her father in law's governments. She would be devastated, and she would blame Annie as well. She and Annie had never been friends.

It seemed too perfect, too much of a coincidence that her son had to die at the exact same moment, in the anniversary of her brother's fall that she and Philip had gloriously engineered and foolishly failed for her brother was gifted with luck, while her son, for some reason she could not understand, God had not granted it to Henry.

"Mother! Mother! Let me in!" Katherine screamed from the top of her lungs, but waited and waited and her mummy never opened the door for her. She did not want to hear her father cry, she always remember her father being strong so she left their apartments and raced through the halls asking where her brother was being kept. She got silent "sorrys" and condolences.

It was stupid! They should tell her! She did not want their pity, she spat at them. She wanted to know where they were keeping her brother!

"Henry! Henry! Where are you?" Maybe Henry was not really dead, maybe he would come out of the shadows like he always did when they played hide and seek. "Henry?" She asked more quietly hugging herself tightly as she realized all the torches from the corridors were extinguished. In her grief she also failed to notice that she had been running barefoot and only now did she begin to feel pain and collapsed from exhaustion.

"Henry?" Her head perked up from her crossed arms when she heard the heavy sound of footsteps. Henry! She knew he could not be dead, he was too mighty to be dead.

She willed herself up and ran to the source of the sound but when she collapsed into a body her size she grew disappointed.

George had been carrying a torch to light the way to his rooms. He felt awful after what he'd seen and he had not missed the gleam in several courtiers' eyes to know this was not a mere accident but he was only fourteen and Anthony's shadow, his word would never be taken seriously and besides if he said something, these were powerful men, his family could be endangered.

Hours of wandering he followed the sound of what seemed a faint whisper of a female voice. "Henry?" He almost lost his balance and put his torch close to his female companion.

"I am sorry"

Way to go George, even in this you are no good.

"I am sorry" he repeated not knowing what else to say or what to do to comfort her.

"Don't be, it is not your fault" She said earnestly in another faint whisper "My brother is dead isn't he?"

He did not need to answer, his expression was answer enough. She turned her back on him, she did not want him to see her this way.

"Kitty we should just go back, your mother must be very worried" She nodded and numbly followed him.

"You! You are responsible for this! You, you never brought me nothing but misery, you did this! You did this!"

"Thank you George" she said when they reached her chambers. She swallowed her saliva and swung her arms around his neck. "You have always been a loyal friend"

Friend. He wanted to be so much more. They were fourteen, many nobles and royals married before that. They were closely related but that didn't bother them, they loved each other or at least he did. He wanted to hear her say the words 'I love you' hopeless romantic that he was but even with all the court and attention he'd brought her she would never see him as anything else but George the fool, her cousin.

Boldly he took a step forward and gave her a kiss close to her lips, she returned the kiss but it lasted less than a second as her mother's lady in waiting came running scolding her for running away when her mother needed her the most and when she turned at George she pushed him away from the door and closed it right in his face. It did not give him time to tell her how much he loved her. His parents had plans for him, he had heard them and Anthony discussing his future many times when they believed he was sleeping. They planned to marry him with the Queen of Scots whose husband was said to be frail and her mother was loosing favor amongst her subjects in Scotland where she held her daughter's regency. He did not want that Scottish pig for a wife! He wanted HER.

If only his parents were not so blind to their suffering, if they would swallow their pride. If his aunt would not be so mean and swallow her pride and dropped her religious convictions he and Katherine would be wed and it would end years of strife between both factions.

Annie could not believe how unfortunate her brother Henry was. They had never been close but she lamented over his death knowing what this would mean to Isabella who'd pleaded with her countless times to speak to her husband about her mistreatment. She'd never listened to her sister nor did she want to because she reminded her of their mother and naturally whenever she could she had taken all her frustrations on the poor girl. Then she realized upon seeing Isabella's bruise and all the miscarriages she'd suffered as a consequence of the stress her husband put her in with all the whoring to cheap imitations of his long lost love, that her pain was real and she responded to her plight scolding Alexei. But she had not done only that, she had gone beyond her limitations and threatened Alexei to have his marriage annulled if he failed to bring another heir or at the very least treat her sister with the respect she deserved, as sister of the Queen she could expect no less. That had silenced him and things after that improved for the young couple, and as a consequence she and Bella whom she started to call her sister by, started to grow close. Sadly it had done nothing to mend the old wounds of their marriage, Isabella's love remained one sided.

When she told her of what befell their brother, Bella had shed tears not for herself but for their sister Katherine who had always admired Henry and who'd been her little puppet in his dynastic games to control George and her family. Annie felt sorry for Kitty, she never saw her brother's true nature and now that her mother was making a martyr out of him she was bound to have another sibling hating her.

"Oh well" she told Bella "I could have worse"

Bella said nothing. Annie was too sure of her position now that Henry was out of the picture that she did not consider her sister in law, now widowed with a one year old son being raised in a court that was very hostile to England. Bella prayed for her sister's sake that the child that rested in her stomach was a boy. England would be much safer if it was. Nobody wanted another civil war on their hands.