So this is pretty much it, I'm not going to say anymore than that just that I hope you enjoy it
In an attempt to remove the heretics from His Majesty's court Bishop Gardiner began trying to find evidence against the Queen as he had, for a long time now, suspected her of being a secret Protestant and a heretic. He questioned some of her ladies maids (Catherine's sister Anne included) and began to find evidence to support his suspicions. Finally, when he had enough evidence, he took the matter to the King. He told Henry that his wife was a secret heretic and that he had enough evidence to condemn her for it. Henry stated that Gardiner was allowed to question her but that Henry would spare her life, a mercy that he had never granted to anyone before.
No one knew why this mercy was granted – it may have been because Henry was finally sensing his own mortality and knew that he was not long for this world. Isabella knew that he had finally accepted his end; he was finally willing to admit that he was mortal. Henry had told both Suffolk and Isabella that he had been thinking in the last few days about loss – they, all three of them, had lost their youth and lost their time both of which could never be redeemed no matter how much they wanted to.
Isabella had been thinking about this as well – she had been thinking a great deal about what she had lost over the years. She had lost a great many chances to be with the man she loved because others had kept them apart, his pride and her own stupid sense of place. She had had the love of a King over the years and she should have taken it when she had the chance. Her life was not entirely filled with wasted opportunities though; she had been granted the chance to be with Henry and his family, she had been given a great many honours by His Majesty and had been able to look after his children and see them grow up. Even though she had no children or family of her own this was enough for her.
Matters of religion were still plaguing the country (and in Isabella's opinion they always would at least until the Catholics and the Protestants learnt to get along with one another or at the very least stop burning each other) and Bishop Gardiner had ordered a warrant for the arrest of Catherine Parr the Queen. He also had a warrant for the arrest of Lady Hartford, Edward Seymour's wife, but she was much cleverer than he was – blackmailing him with information she knew about him and how he ascertained his wealth.
Catherine as deeply upset when she found out about the warrant and asked the King if he was displeased with her. He asked her if he had reason to be displeased with her and she said no. She then told her ladies maids to hide all the books, controversial or not, and explained her actions to the King. She told him that she only spoke about religion and religious matters in front of him so that she could better learn from him as he was the supreme head of the church. He seemed pleased with her explanation but did not recede her arrest warrant.
The next day when the Lord Chancellor Mr Risley came to arrest Catherine Henry shouted at him to get out of his sight. He was very angry that Risley had the arrogance to try to arrest Her Majesty. Catherine said that she was sorry that he had thought the worst of her – Henry said that he did not deserve her sympathy.
While Henry was indisposed with his infirmities members of the court were once again fighting amongst themselves. Isabella had learnt long ago to stay out of matters of court and eventually Suffolk had followed suit; both had decided that they would live their lives in peace as they saw fit too. Especially now as His Grace had caught a chill and was very ill in his old age, he had his young French girl looking after him but he was greatly troubled by illness.
Henry commissioned Master Holbine to paint a portrait of him as he had done for his father – so that the world would remember him as the King he was after he had passed from this world. During his sitting with Holbine Henry looked to the door and saw a face that he had not seen for a very long time. Catherine of Aragon was standing before him – she said the she was here to see her daughter. Henry was greatly upset to see Catherine again as she chided him for all that he was not; she appeared with Mary saying that the lady should be married with her own children by now. Henry told her to go away, for the shade of his first wife to leave him in peace. When he turned around she was gone and it filled Henry's heart with a great sadness to see her go once again, even though he had been the one to send her away the first time.
Henry asked to see Brandon – he had heard that the Duke was sick and that he was likely to die. Brandon came to court and Henry commanded him to be healed but unfortunately the illness was too much and it consumed him; he died the next day. Both Isabella and Henry cried for the loss of a dear and old friend to both of them and Henry granted him the final honour that he could and commissioned him to be buried at Windsor at His Majesty's expense. After Charles Brandon's death Henry begged Isabella to stay with him – he could not stand the thought of losing another long and trusted friend.
The night after he received the news of Brandon's death he was visited by the ghost of Anne Boleyn. He asked her why she had come and her response was the same as Catharine's – to see her daughter. Henry said that Elizabeth reminded him of Anne and what she had done to him. Anne told him that she was innocent that she had never done any wrong to His Majesty other than to love him and be drawn to him. He begged her not to leave him again but when he turned around she was gone and he was alone.
Henry asked Catherine, Mary and Elizabeth to go away to Greenwich Palace – the Palace that he had grown up in before he had been crowned King. He told them that he would not spend that Christmas with him and he said his goodbyes to the three of them. Each lady was very sad to be sent away from him knowing that this was most likely to be the last time they ever saw him; he was to die soon and they all knew it. Isabella was the only one who stayed with him, at his command. She had been there his entire life and he wanted her to be with him in death.
That night Henry was visited by one final ghost – his most beloved wife Jane. He was so very happy to see her but she was not so happy to see him. She told him that Henry was too hard on Edward and because he had locked him away from the world he had killed his only son. Edward would die young and that was because of what Henry had done. Finally she left him and he was left to wallow in his thoughts of the past and what would happen to his family after he had gone.
He told his court of his last will and testament – that he was to be buried next to his true and loving wife Jane Seymour who had been so cruelly taken from him much too early. Their effigies were to be as if they were sleeping peacefully. He gave the council instructions for what was to happen to his children, the country, his wife and Isabella – although Isabella knew that she would not last much longer after him, she had no desire to carry on once he had left her.
Holbine finally finished the portrait of him – Henry told him that is was well done. As he looked upon it he saw his reign. He saw everything he had accomplished over his years as King. He saw the heart ache, the victories and the joy. Shortly after, in a dream, he saw death riding towards him on a white horse and he greeted him as if greeting an old friend.
A few days after the death of the King was announced Edward inherited the throne and was to be crowned the new King of England. Also at around the same time Isabella passed too. She was old and had known she was not long for the world, once Henry had passed she had slowly lost the will to live on without him. He had been the man she loved but could never have and she did not want to live her life without him as he had been all she had ever known from such a young age. With many of her lifelong friends gone she had very little left to live for. When the physicians examined her after her death she had been diagnosed with failure of many of her organs but the most prominent being her heart – they released an official report saying that her cause of death was that of a broken heart.
When we compare the present life of man on Earth with that time of which we have no knowledge it seems to me, life the swift flight of a single sparrow through a banqueting hall on a winters day. After a few moments of comfort he vanishes from sight into the wintry world from which he came. Even so, man appears on Earth for a little while but of what went before this life or what will follow, we know nothing.
All was dark when Isabella awoke. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the dark room. It was a room she had not seen for a great many years – her room at Greenwich Palace, exactly the same as she had left it all those years ago. She slowly got up and went over to the looking glass in the corner of the room; her appearance had change, she was no long an old maid but a young girl again. She lifted her hand to touch her face, almost as if to make sure that her eyes were not playing tricks on her. They were not, her skin felt as supple as if she were a teenager again. She let out a small laugh and a smile began to form in the corner of her lip.
The sound of the door opening and closing brought her out of her reverie – she could have happily stared at her reflection of how she used to be for the rest of eternity. She turned to the source of the sound and there in the doorway stood Henry. He looked exactly the same as he had done the first night the two of them had made love to each other and she had given him herself for the rest of their years. She beamed at him, staring at him for a minute before running to him. As she reached him she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and returned the kiss with equal force. Their lips still locked together he picked her up and swung her round in joy and elation – this was the moment where they had both been the most happy.
"Isabella." he said softly once he let go of her.
"Henry." she whispered back as tears of happiness began to flow from her eyes. He wiped them away with his thumb as he cupped her face tenderly.
"Will you be mine?" he asked her softly.
"I always have been." she told him. "I love you."
"I love you too." Henry replied. He leaned forward and placed a soft and tender kiss on her forehead. He took hold of her hand and led her to the door.
He took hold of both her hands and kissed them each in turn. Isabella smiled up at him and bit her lip softly; everything seemed so strange and yet so familiar at the same time. She felt as if, after all those years of searching and hoping, she had finally found her heaven and could be with the man she loved for all eternity. She no longer felt afraid as she had done before, all that had washed away as soon as she had kissed him. She was being given the chance to have what she had always wanted and she was not going to waste that chance by allowing herself to give into fear again. No, she thought, this time she would do things right. Henry looked down at Isabella and placed his hand on the handle of the door readying to open it.
"Come." he said, giving her that smirk that he had always worn when they were younger. That smirk that she had missed so much in the later years; the smirk that said 'we're about to do something we shouldn't but it will be so much fun'. "We have a number of people that I would like us to become reacquainted with." He turned the handle of the door and pushed it open then, linking Isabella's arm through his, he lead her out into bright white light.
THE END
So there you go, this Nano kind of killed me and working 14 hours days during the editing process kind of killed me too - this could have been better but it is what it is. Thank you all for supporting me and following me through this even though a lot of you wanted stuff that never happened and I'm sorry about that but than you all for everything love you all 3