Hey guys this chapter is a little bit longer than my usual ones as there is prons at the end of it :D I'm a little excitable at the moment because I leave my job tomorrow and I met the comedian Rich Hall last night which was amazing! But anyway enough of my fangirl sugar-rush on with the story

After the death of England's most beloved Queen since Catherine life in the Kingdom gradually began to return to normal. Everyone was sorry to see the King unhappy and they were also very unhappy for the Queen's death but they were also happy that His Majesty had been granted a son before she was taken from him.

Henry spent most of his time either shut up in his chambers refusing to speak to anyone or in Jane's mausoleum. He refused to speak to or see Cromwell, Suffolk or any of the rest of his court so Cromwell took it upon himself to run parliament in his absence. He began to find His Majesty a new wife in an attempt to strengthen the line of succession and add more sons to be heirs to the throne in case anything should happen to Edward.

Cromwell was often asked how the King was holding up and he would tell them that he had shut himself away from the world. He was in solitude and would remain in solitude to deal with his grief. He also stated that during this time he would see no one, accept for one person. That person was Will Summers the Court fool and a great and long-time friend of His Majesty's. Isabella had also known the man for a great many years and she could understand why Henry had chosen to let him in, he was the only other person, beside herself, who would speak plainly with His Majesty.

"You find the perfect wife," Will commented as he sat with Henry in his chamber. "she's sweet, pliable, she even has good tits. On top of that, she gives you the son you've always wanted and then you let her die." he stated. Henry sat listening to him, not moving from his hunched position at his desk where he had been furiously scribbling drawings beforehand. "And she's not the only one." Will continued. "Poor abandoned Catherine."

"Careful." Henry warned, it was the only thing he had said so far after greeting Will when he first entered the room.

"And that other one whose name escapes me," Will continued as if he hadn't spoken, meaning Anne. "as her head escaped her. All lost."

"Go to Hell!" Henry shouted cradling his head in his hands.

"Go there?" Will asked. "I thought I'd already arrived. For surely, gracious Lord, this is Hell."

It seemed as if Henry had actually gone mad with the grief of losing Jane as Will found out during his time with him. He was always lying on the floor drawing the plans for a new Palace that he was going to commission the building of. The room was literally filled with the sketches; they were hung from the ceiling and were plastered over the walls. These drawings did nothing but amuse Will of the King's state of mind. When he got Henry to talk of this imaginary Palace he could get the King to show his former self, even if Will thought the Palace was a ridiculous idea.

"Then, in time like everything else, it will dissolve away." he said speaking of the Palace. "Like the ruins of ancient Rome, the Colossus of Rhodes; all things tend towards their ruin. Even great houses and the fools who build them and so, in a little space, there will indeed be Nonsuch Palace for it will all be gone." His flippant attitude to death and decay seemed to be just what Henry needed right now to snap him out of the sorry state he had been stuck in. Henry needed to be spoken to plainly and told to pull himself together or he would never emerge from his rooms.

Will provided great comfort and company to Henry during this time and they even talked jokingly of political matters. Henry asked Will which of the Commandments should be taken over to the new church for his subjects to live their lives by – something that he should have been discussing with Cromwell and other leaders of the reformation and parliament – but it took his mind off other things so there seemed no harm in it.

"Which Commandments are best for our new Church, our people?" Henry asked him as they played card. "So they can walk in new ways; 'thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife'?"

"Unless she's very pretty." Will replied.

"Or his manservant, maidservant, ox, ass." Henry reeled off.

"Or your neighbour's wife's ass." Will finished and Henry burst into raucous laughter. This conversation was just what he currently needed.

"Did you know," he began once he had calmed down. "that in Exodus there are six hundred and thirteen Commandments?"

"Six hundred and thirteen?" Will asked incredulously. "I'd never keep up with it all." Henry burst into laughter once again before collapsing in tears with his head in Will's lap.

"I miss her, Will." he cried. "I miss her so much."

"I know." Will replied. "But this too shall pass. Why do you go on dwelling in darkness? You know that the land of the wounded King is only a parched wasteland thirsting for rain and Your Majesty's grace." This seemed to snap Henry out of the depression spiral he had been sinking further and further into and bring him back to his senses.

Meanwhile during Henry's indisposition the rest of the country was falling apart; the court was falling apart. Many were standing up to go against Mr Cromwell and a disagreement between Cromwell and the Duke of Suffolk resulted in Brandon walking out of court. He forbid Mr Cromwell to summon him again to anything, until the King had returned to his former self once again. A great number of Henry's court agreed with the Duke and walked out, not to return again until His Majesty was well one more.

Mary and Isabella vowed that they would be reminders to the young Prince Edward of his mother's kindness as he would never know her. Mary stated that Edward would be taken into the care of Lady Byron, Elizabeth's old governess and that Isabella would also look after the young Prince with the Lady. Mary would take her leave of the Palace and return to her former home, taking the Lady Elizabeth with her. After all, she explained to Lady Byron, that both Elizabeth and Edward were her only family now, save His Majesty the King, and she intended to keep them as close to her heart as she possibly could.

Once Edward had been moved to Hampton Court the King had given orders, personally, that all the rooms and chambers and passages around the Prince's apartments were to be scrubbed with soap three times a day. The Prince was also given his own kitchen where all his meals were prepared once he had been weaned. Everything he was likely to touch had to be washed and everything he might eat, tasted for poison. Edward's personal chamberlain was to supervise his meals, his robes and his daily baths. The King was terrified that if this was not done then the young Prince could fall ill and he would lose him just as he had lost his mother.

Henry could not bear the thought of losing his only son. He could not bear the idea of losing any more people that he cared about. He wanted each of his family to be happy and healthy once again – he did not want to put his family or himself through any more pain, like that which Jane's death had caused them all to suffer.

Finally after three days (even though it seemed like an eternity to the rest of the Kingdom, especially Mr Cromwell) Henry returned to himself and reopened his doors to the world again. He summoned Mr Cromwell to speak of matters that he had missed during his time away and Cromwell asked him if His Majesty would consider marrying again. Henry was not at all bothered by this proposal either way – he cared not if he married again or not. He just wished currently for Cromwell to leave, he had forgotten how much the man annoyed him.

Henry gradually reintegrated himself with the world once again. He began to walk with and revisit old friends that he had neglected in his absence. One of these being the Lady Isabella; he asked her to accompany him on a walk with him one afternoon.

"Jane's household has been disbanded." he told her. "What are you going to do, now?" he asked her. Isabella sighed.

"I know not, Your Majesty." she replied. "I will do as Your Majesty wishes. It was agreed that I would settle in the household of Prince Edward but if Your Majesty would like to keep me here in the Palace then I am more than willing to accept. I have looked after each of your children after their births but if you wish I will remain here with you."

"No, I would like you to go and stay with Edward." Henry told her. "You have done such a good job with both the Lady Mary and the Lady Elizabeth that I believe Edward will be in incredibly safe hands with you." Isabella smiled, thankful that His Majesty trusted her so much with the life of his most precious child, his only son.

"As you wish Your Majesty." she said bowing her head slightly. "I will do my best to provide the utmost care and attention for His young Highness and raise him to be a true model of both his father and his mother. I will leave to return to his house as soon as Your Majesty wishes me to." she added. Henry looked at her, as much as he knew what a good job she would do he did miss her so when she went away.

"Please stay." he said to her, taking one of her hands and kissing it gently. "Just one more night." He had that gleam in his eyes; the one that she knew so well and she immediately knew why he wanted her to stay.

"As you wish Your Majesty." she replied smiling.

That night Isabella entered Henry's bed chamber wearing nothing but a robe that covered her completely so she could walk to his room without having men staring at her. She said nothing upon entering but his night servant introduced her presence to the King. He watched as she silently entered the room then signalled for the servant to leave them. The young boy nodded, bowed and then left the room. Both Isabella and Henry waited until they had heard the click of the door behind him before moving.

Once he was gone Henry motioned for Isabella to come closer. She did, still not saying anything or taking her eyes off him. When she was a few feet away from him she stopped and began to undo the robe she was wearing. Slowly, almost painfully slowly in Henry's opinion, Isabella had opened the robe completely, letting it fall open and hang over her body. Even though the light in the room was dim Henry could see that all that was under the robe was a flannel night shirt that just covered the tops of her thighs.

Henry smirked as Isabella allowed the robe to fall from her shoulders to pool by her feet at the floor. She bit her lip and stared at him under heavy lidded eyes and watched as he undressed her with his eyes. She could almost see him trying to restrain himself from throwing her down and having his way with her then and there. He stood up and very quickly closed the distance between the two of them. He ripped open the night shirt she was wearing to expose her completely naked body and attached his lips to hers.

The kiss was passionate and forceful and Isabella kissed Henry back with equal force, grabbing a fistful of his hair and pulling his mouth closer and harder on to hers. She parted her lips and Henry roughly shoved his tongue passed her swollen lips and their slick muscles danced in a battle for dominance. Henry ran his fingers through Isabella's long, soft hair, grabbing the strands and pulling gently – making her moan slightly into his mouth. Henry's groin twitched at the sound and he didn't know how much longer he could hold out.

He detached his mouth from hers, grabbed her roughly and threw her down on to his bed. She smirked up at him, breathing heavily from their kiss, she liked it when he was rough with her – it made her feel alive and ignited her senses. He was the only one who could make her feel like this and she loved it. Henry took in the beautiful sight that was Isabella splayed out on his mattress, waiting for him to take her to Heaven and back and he couldn't stop himself from throwing himself on top of her and kissing her again.

"You're so beautiful." he said in between kisses. He began to move his kisses from her lips, down her neck and to her chest. He attached his lips to one of her nipples as his hand reached up to grab and roughly squeeze her other breast. His actions caused her to writhe and moan beneath him, becoming increasingly more and more aroused by what he was doing to her. He swirled his tongue around her hardening nipple and she bucked her hips into him. She felt his lips curl into a smirk against her skin as he began to train his kisses lower down past her abdomen and to the inside of her thigh.

"Henry!" she moaned as his lips left her skin. She wanted him, no she needed him inside her and she needed him now. He reached up to place his lips against hers again as he reached his hand round her shapely backside to pull up her leg and rest his hand underneath her knee, positioning himself to enter her.

"Do you consent Isabella?" he asked rubbing himself over her, priming her for when he entered her.

"Fuck me." she told him and all he could hear was the want and lust in her voice. He complied and in one swift motion slammed into her, filling her up completely and utterly. Even after all these years she still felt so amazing and so tight, it was almost enough to push him over the edge there and then.

Isabella moaned softly as he entered her and she clung to his shoulder as he filled her. As he began to move inside her she dug her nails into his back as he hit that certain familiar spot within her each and every time he drove into her. He clutched the bed sheets beneath her as the friction and heat pulled him closer and closer to the edge. It had been so long since he had been with her and now that she was going away it became all the more apparent that he was going to lose yet another of his most loved ones in the next few hours when she went to serve and look after his son.

With a few more thrusts Henry felt Isabella's walls contract around him as he felt her reaching her orgasm. She grabbed his hair and pulled him into a passionate kiss as she rode out her orgasm and she felt him reach his own inside her. Both of them breathing heavily Henry gently thrust inside her a few more times as the pair of them rode out their orgasms and he pressed his sweat soaked forehead against hers. The pair lay there, breath coming out in pants for a few minutes before Henry pulled out and rolled off her, he then pulled her close to his chest and placed a passionate kiss to her forehead.

"Marry me, Isabella." he whispered after a few minutes silence that had previously been filled with the sound of their breathing. Isabella sat up and stared at him, it was as if she was seventeen again and Henry was proposing to her immediately after taking her virginity and she knew that there was no possible way that she was going to be able to say yes to him even though she so desperately wanted to. After everything that had happened between the two of them over the years she just wished that she could finally say yes to his proposal. But there was one big obstacle standing in their way this time.

"Mr Cromwell would never allow it." she replied. Henry snorted with soft laughter.

"Cromwell doesn't have any say in the matter." he told her, stroking her hair softly in an attempt to soothe her. "Cromwell is just a man he does not have power over the King of England – I can choose whom I marry now."

"But Henry, I have heard that he is already trying to push you into a new marriage." she told him. Henry cupped her face and kissed her softly.

"That made be so," he replied. "but I am still the King of England, I can choose whom I marry and now that I am supreme head of the Church of England I am in control. I say whom I will marry, not Cromwell."

"But I have heard tell that he is pushing for you to marry a foreign Princess and make some ties with other royals in Europe. It is widely known around the court that he has already found you a new wife to marry."

"Has he now?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Well it appears that I may have to have words with Mr Cromwell."