Ok so I lied we're not getting into season cannon just yet, there's a little bit more beforehand. I imagined this chapter to be about two years after the last chapter so Isabella and Henry are about 15. I know I've been updating these in the mornings but I had to work today but better later than never haha thank you everyone for reading and reviews and I hope you enjoy this installment :D
The rest of Isabella's first day in the Palace was rather uneventful; she continued to learn the duties that she would have to perform and was even allowed to perform a number of the simpler tasks on her own without supervision. No matter how occupied her mind was with her work all her thoughts were of Henry and the kiss that the two of them had shared. His lips were so soft and gentle and when he had kissed her, her stomach had fluttered uncontrollably and something strange had awakened within her. She had no idea what this new feeling was but all she knew was that she wanted more of it.
Isabella wanted Henry. She wanted to be around him constantly, she wanted to see him and, if possible, she desperately wanted to kiss him again. That was impossible though; she was no better than a servant and he was a member of the royal family but she could imagine and hope. If nothing else she could dream that one day she could marry Henry despite the fact that his family – and the rest of the world – would never allow it. Aside from that fact she knew that things change; life was never certain and she may meet the love of hers tomorrow and forget all about the Prince because Isabella was nothing if not a realist, even if she was an idealist at the same time.
The only thing she could hope for was that the likelihood of her running into Henry every day would slowly dispel the feelings that he stirred within her. His constant presence would mean that she would get used to him and he would no longer make her heart flutter every time she came across him. And if that failed to work then she could at least hope that there was another chance of a private encounter once again...even if it was only a hope.
Henry knew that whatever he wanted he could get. Be it possessions, money or women he could snap his fingers and it would be given to him. Well of course it would, he was the son of the King of England for goodness sake and since his brother Arthur's death he was now next in line for the damn throne! Whatever material possession he wanted he could have but Henry soon realised that there was one thing he craved more than anything and it was one thing that he could never truly have...well not if he wanted to keep everything else he possessed.
What Henry desired above all else was the girl he had caught wandering around the Palace grounds when she should not have been in the building at all. What Henry wished he could have more than anything was his mother's new ladies maid; so beautiful, shy and so aware of her position in the scheme of things. What Henry wanted more than anything else on Earth was Isabella Lockhart. He wanted to possess her, mark her as his, taint her innocence and never let her go once he had her.
The problem was Henry knew that his father would never allow it. He could take the young maiden as a mistress, have his way with her whenever he wanted (she was hardly in a position to refuse him, now was she?), but he would never be able to truly have her for his own. He would be married off to some Princess his father deemed worthy to be the future Queen and Isabella would probably grow up to marry a man her parents adored – probably a reverend, a Palace groom or someone else with a stable profession who could look after her properly.
Henry knew that he had to come to terms with this, it was his birth right to rule England with a suitable Queen but there was nothing to stop him from wondering. Wondering what Isabella would look like when she reached eighteen, wondering what she would feel like as she lay trembling beneath him, wondering what she would look like as he drove her over the edge and made her scream out his name.
Of course these were all purely idle thoughts on his part, for one thing he had no idea whether she would be interested in him (of course she was, if her reaction after he had kissed her was anything to go by and also he was the Prince – he was a very eligible potential husband even at the young age of fourteen). For another thing he knew that as long as his father was King he would never allow his son to marry a serving girl. But maybe, just maybe, when he became King that law could be changed...
As her days working in the Palace went on Isabella found everything quickly began to fall into place; she grasped the duties that Her Majesty wished of her, she remembered what was required of her at certain times and she managed to suppress her growing desire for Henry whenever she happened to see him. He, of course, did nothing to help this but Isabella supposed that that is what could be expected from an adolescent boy and he was probably not doing it on purpose, although she couldn't be sure. Having no older brothers herself, she had no authority on the desires and whims of men her own age but she could assume.
Henry had taken up this annoying habit of constantly staring at Isabella whenever they were in the same room together. She found it very distracting having his eyes on her the entire time she was supposed to be concentrating on her duties and she desperately wished that she could ask him to stop but she knew that she was not allowed to address the Prince unless her addressed her first. That was the most important rule that the servants had to learn and that was all Isabella was to him – she was a servant.
One cold day in late January Isabella was preparing a fire for the Queen in one of the smaller, cosier rooms of the Palace when she heard the door softly close. She quickly stood up from the fireplace and turned to the source of the noise. Henry was standing in the doorway, facing her, his back against the dark mahogany. Isabella curtseyed and averted her eyes from him, as she had been taught to do. She heard footsteps on the polished wooden floor as Henry advanced towards her. He stopped just in front of her and Isabella felt a blush creep up on her cheeks in spite of herself, she wished he didn't have this effect on her but he had grown to be even more handsome as the years went on.
Henry took hold of her chin and tilted her head up so that she was forced to look into his eyes; his bright eyes that she found herself lost in every single time she looked into them. His proximity to her, his gentle touch and the prospect of sharing another intimate kiss with him made Isabella's heart hammer against her ribcage until she was sure that it would burst right out of her chest at any given moment.
"Miss Lockhart." he said, his voice velvety smooth and gentle yet powerful and commanding at the same time. Isabella felt her knees begin to weaken and her breath begin to catch in her throat. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take!
"Y... Your Majesty." she stammered, trying to pretend that she was maintaining some composure at the very least. Henry smirked at her breathless state – evidentially he could see straight through her act, it wasn't very convincing at all.
"It has been a while since we have had the chance to converse." the Prince stated still not letting go of Isabella's chin. "Whenever I try to catch you alone I seem to be unsuccessful."
"Why would you want to catch me alone, Your Highness?" she asked. Henry flashed her an expression halfway between a smile and a smirk and Isabella's heart almost stopped beating right there and then.
"Because I very much desired to continue where we left off last time." he told her. Isabella stared at him in shock; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was she hearing him correctly? Henry, heir to the throne and future King on England, was saying that he wanted her Isabella Lockhart, servant to his mother and with no nobility in the family line at all.
"And where would that be Your Highness?" she asked, a tiny bubble of confidence swelling in her chest. She wanted to seem aloof as ladies who found themselves in this situation should be but she found herself more asking for clarification that her suspicions weren't incorrect.
"I believe," Henry stated, using her chin to pull her closer to him and wrapping his other hand around her waist. "it was somewhere around here." With that he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers gently.
Isabella was as shocked as she had been the last time he had kissed her but found herself recovering quicker from the initial shock. This time she found herself taking hold of the front of Henry's shirt in an attempt to steady herself and pull him closer to her at the same time. The hand that had been holding her chin moved so that it was tangled in her long brown hair. His fingers began massaging her scalp and Isabella could not help the soft moan that escaped the back of her throat.
She felt Henry smirk against her lips as the sound met his ears and he increased the pressure of his lips on hers. Desire flashed through Isabella's veins and fluttered in her stomach, she felt as if she had died and gone to heaven. A small part of her was fairly sure that she had actually died – as soon as his lips touched hers again she was sure that she had actually ceased to exist in the land of the living and God had given her her one last earthly desire.
As Henry slipped his hand from the around her waist to the small of her back and then down further to cup her backside she finally came to her senses. This couldn't be happening! For one thing it was irresponsibly – anyone could walk in and discover them – but for another (and to her an even more important reason) she could not give up her purity before she was engaged. If it was discovered that she had she would be branded a whore and her parents would cast her out of the house. She could lose her job if it was discovered that she had slept with the Prince, leaving her with nowhere to go. She used her grasp on Henry's coat to push him back slightly.
"What?" he asked panting slightly from their kiss.
"I'm sorry, You Highness, but I can't..." she trailed off not sure how to finish her sentence. Henry kissed her softly once more. There was something different about that kiss; there was less aggressive desire behind it and more genuine affection.
"I understand." he stated "We are only young, there is still plenty of time." Isabella swallowed, unsure of what he meant and knowing exactly what he meant at the same time. Henry let go of his hold on her and she very quickly began to straighten herself up so that she was, once again, presentable.
"Thank you, You Majesty." she replied, not truly knowing what to say in response. Henry chuckled softly.
"I thought I told you to call me Henry. How many more times must I ask you?" he asked but he didn't seem like he was angry that she had disobeyed him, he seemed more amused by her constant refusal to allow herself to be on first name terms with him. Isabella smiled.
"Just once more Your Highness." she said and curtseyed. Henry chuckled again and began to leave the room. As he reached the door he turned to face her again.
"Until our next encounter, Isabella." he stated, putting that same emphasis on using her first name as he always did just before he left her, and Isabella was sure that she saw a glint of mischief in his eye. He closed the door behind him as he left and she swiftly went about preparing the fire as the Queen would surely be on her way by now and she would be in trouble if the room was not prepared to Her Majesty's liking.
As she worked all that she could think about were Henry's parting words. She desperately hoped that they would get the chance for another...encounter soon. There was just something about him that made her forget the fact that there could never be anything more between them than this; sneaking chaste kisses in empty rooms and whispered conversations in corridors. Isabella knew it would never be more than that but she knew that every time their lips touched she would no longer have the power to care.