Chapter 10:

Two days later, George and King Henry was seen arriving back in Whitehall palace. Neither the servants nor the courtiers knew what had happened during his two-day long disappearance but what they did know was that the King had gone to Pembroke with George Boleyn.

Immediately, King Henry summoned all his privy council members and one Master Thomas Cranmer to convene in the main meeting room. Once there, the members of the privy council along with Master Cranmer whispered to one another about what the King could possibly want this time and occasionally pressed Master Cranmer for answers which the latter of course, could not give for he too had no idea why the King had wanted to see them all.

When the King finally arrived, with George Boleyn in tow, he immediately sat down at the head of the table and began the meeting.

"Ah, good everyone is here, tell me, what have I missed during the time I was away?" King Henry asked, he had initially wanted to get straight to his point on was to why he had gathered them all right now but he decided to get the councilmen to inform him of the status of his kingdom before he dealt with his more personal issues.

One by one, the councilmen reported to him of their assigned responsibilities and Henry was quite proud and relieved that there had been no major issues that came up that was not easily fixed. Soon after, Master Cranmer had spoken about the finalization of his divorce from the former Queen Jane and had brought news of his grand daughter's health from Bavaria where his late daughter, the Lady Mary had lived and given birth to her daughter after marrying the Duke's nephew.

As expected, one of the councilmen piped up and said, "Your majesty, now that you are once more without a Queen and still without a male heir, might I suggest it is time that you start finding a new wife and queen? We have taken the liberty of creating a list of suitable ladies in the land and of course, all over Europe that could prove to be beneficial to the Kingdom."

Henry scoffed, "Why would I marry again when I still have a wife?" he said to his councilmen, earning him many confused and astounded looks. "Master Cranmer, please explain to these men what you have found." he said, he did not want to repeat that story over and over again, and besides, it was Cranmer that found out the truth about his marriage to Anne and therefore he should be the best one to explain it.

Nodding, Master Cranmer sighed and began his tale of how he found out about the true status of the King's marriage to Anne Boleyn. When he was finally done, the confused and astounded looks turned to confused, stunned and some men angered.

"But your majesty! surely you must correct this mistake! we must draw up new divorce papers and have both of you in the room to sign it!" said one councilmen, some of them agreeing while some remained quiet until another councilman spoke.

"Surely, your majesty, the fact that God has not granted you and the former queen any sons is proof enough that God himself does not bless the union, would it not be better to just lawfully end such union and marry another fine Princess or Lady of good stock?"

At this, Henry turned and looked at his councilmen, anger evident in his eyes, "Now listen here you, all of you! Anne is my lawful wife, even when I thought I finally had a legal wife in Jane. I have spent the last two days in Pembroke convincing my wife to return to court after I found out the truth of our marriage and I will not tolerate any more of you plotting against her! As for our union not being blessed, I have found out that Anne was with child when she left for Pembroke and had given birth to not one but two healthy children, one of which is my son."

At the King's last statement, the councilmen fell silent, including Master Cranmer, dared to speak, not even Charles Brandon, the King's closest friend who had kept silent throughout the whole meeting, had anything to say.

"What does this mean now, your majesty? Is she to return to court?" Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk asked. He knew Henry had felt regret from allowing himself to break off his marriage to Anne, the last few months, King Henry vented his frustrations to Charles, he was frustrated that Jane had yet to become with child, he expressed his doubt on whether it was right of him to divorce from Anne, he had heard Henry compare Jane to Anne -and he also listened to Henry compare Anne to Jane before too- he listened every time Henry had something to say about a new mistress or lady at court which he fancied, always praising their dark hair and complexions, we wondered if Henry noticed that the women he took to becoming his mistress all looked like Anne Boleyn, he mused that King Henry probably did not notice it at all. He knew then what Henry knew now: Henry had never stopped being in love with Anne Boleyn. Charles had accepted this, after his second wife, Catherine died, he realized that he had no right at all to stop Henry from loving whomever he wanted, after all Henry allowed him to remain married to his beloved sister, the late Princess Margaret, who was he to prevent the King from loving the woman he loved?

Charles knew there was no way King Henry would ever let Anne Boleyn go once more, especially now that, if the King were to be believed, she had given him two more children, one of which, is the son Henry had craved for for so long.

King Henry looked at his oldest and most trusted friend, "Yes, she is to return to court in two days time, George shall be returning to Pembroke tonight to escort her on her journey back. I want everything prepared for her return. I will introduce my children to court and the rest of the Kingdom, and I have decided that Anne and I will be renewing our vows." King Henry said, much to the astonishment of his councilmen, they still did not know what this would mean to them and their positions, some of these men had opposed Anne Boleyn and was quite glad for her fall from grace but now that she was to return and have apparently delivered the King his long awaited heir, they knew now that she would be invincible.

"Your majesty, I beg your pardon but are you sure that the Duchess of Pembroke's infant children are of your blood? Surely we have all heard the rumors before she left." said one of the councilmen.

George immediately stood up, ready to defend his sister's honor but King Henry beat him to it. "Do you think me a fool, Smith? That I cannot tell which child I sire is mine and which are not? I have known Anne more than all of you ever could. You may have called her names like the concubine, the whore and the mistress but she was never such! She has more honor than most of the ladies here in court who was quick to give their maidenhead to me when I asked for it!" Henry said. He did not need to hide the fact that he had probably taken most of the ladies' maidenhead at court, everyone knew that fact and he never hid it from anyone. But he knew Anne never gave hers until the night of their wedding. She was a pure maiden when he took her to his bed for the first time. Henry realized what an idiot he was for leaving her even more. But it didn't matter, she had agreed to comeback, albeit many conditions but he would gladly accept those conditions so long as she would be by his side forever.

"No, your majesty. But it must be better to make sure so that their status as your children will not be questioned. Are they to be declared natural born children or true born children?" the councilman, Smith asked. He really did not like the idea of Anne Boleyn returning to court but if she were, he wanted to know what he was dealing with so that he knew how and to whom he would be allying himself with.

"The children were conceived while the King and the Duchess were known to be still legally married, and since their marriage had never been dissolved to begin with, my niece and nephew can be afforded the privilege of being known as the King's trueborn and legitimate children." George Boleyn said, he had studied law after all and while he never truly practiced it, he never forgot his lessons. It was how he had convinced Anne that her children would never be called bastards in their own right, they were as legitimate as the Princess Elizabeth.

The councilmen looked as if they did not believe him, he was after all, the youngest member of the privy council and old men often had a hard time believing words that came from the mouth of the youth. Soon the men looked at Master Cranmer, willing him to either confirm or deny what George Boleyn had just said. "The Lord Rochford is correct in his assessment of the children's status. Given that they were conceived while the King and the Duchess were still married and given that they were born despite under the belief that the King and the Duchess were divorced, the truth of the matter is, their marriage stood even when the King and the Duchess had not lived as Man and Wife." Master Cranmer confirmed to the councilmen.

When the meeting of the members of the Privy Council was over, new spread all over the court and then the common people of Anne Boleyn's return to court and the truth of her apparent-stil-standing marriage to the King of England.

Everyone at court was talking about what could happen now that the King had requested the Duchess of Pembroke to return to court. Rumours started flying off everywhere.

"I heard, the king purposely divorced the Duchess of Surrey so that he could reunite with the Duchess of Pembroke!" said one lady to another.

"I heard that the King wanted to reinstate her as Queen because she had given birth to a son!" said another.

"Is it true that the King is planning to marry her once more? how could that be, if they were never even unmarried all this time!"

"I wonder what's going to happen now? Did you hear that the King has prepared the most lavish celebration for the Duchess' arrival?"

"Do you think it will last this time?"

" The Duchess is a fool for returning to the King! He treated her so badly before!"

"The King must be mad! Why would he ever want to return to such a usurping woman? He could have me!"

"How could you say such words! The duchess has changed quite a lot, I'll have you know! She is quite loved in Pembroke and its neighboring towns!"

Thomas Howard had probably heard every rumour that was created the moment the privy council exited the meeting room after being dismissed by the King.

He could not believe it. Anne Boleyn, his niece was returning to court. Things may look up for their family once more! What's more is that apparently she had given birth to twins! More importantly, a son, the King's son.

He cursed himself for immediately disassociating himself with Anne after her fall from grace. If he had gone and visited her before he would have found out her secret and maybe he would have gotten rid of the Seymours sooner!

As he entered his destination, he was quite unnerved to see his nephew was not around. Perhaps he left to go to Pembroke already, he thought to himself. He was proven wrong when, as he turned to leave, the door opened and entered one George Boleyn.

"Ah nephew, there you are. I was afraid you'd already left before I had a chance to speak with you." Norfolk said as he saw George enter.

George, realizing that someone was in his office, was not surprised to see his uncle in there. He also did not fail to notice his usage of 'nephew' instead of his official title, Lord Rochford which he had always been called by Norfolk.

"Lord Norfolk, what can I do for you, your grace?" George asked as he headed to his desk.

"This is not a formal visit, George, call me uncle." Norfolk said, if he noticed George raise one of his eyebrows at what he said, he did not show it.

"Very well, uncle, what can I do for you?" George said, emphasising on the word uncle. Truth be told, Norfolk had never been quite what the word meant. He rarely visited them when they were younger and they grew up terrified of him then when they were old enough they were used by their father and uncle for their games at court.

Sitting down, Norfolk spoke, "I want to talk about your sister, Anne. You knew, didn't you? You knew all along that she had given the King a son and you never told me, or your father?" He said, well. truly it was not a formal visit, George thought as Norfolk just went straight to the topic he wanted most. "Did you not see how important this is? How this could have helped our family gain a stronger standing at court?!" Norfolk added.

"And where were you and father when Anne was being cast aside by the King? When she had lost favour? You left her! We left her!" George said, he was tired of all the scheming and the plotting his family had done over the years. When Anne returned, everything will change. Suddenly he felt as if he could not wait to leave for Pembroke to his sister sooner.

"How dare you talk to me that way! I am your uncle, the head of the Howard family! A family you and your sisters are still a part of, despite you and your siblings deceit!" Norfolk said.

"Deceit? Deceit! You want to talk about Deceit, uncle? How about when you made us believe that family is everything and that we should do everything to uphold our family's honor? that we should never turn our backs on our own blood? Yet what is it that you and father did the moment Anne lost all her power in court? When Anne was in pain as she miscarried her son? When you blamed her for bringing a girl into this world instead of a son? Did you not deceive her with the notion of protecting our own blood when you stabbed her in the back and left her when she needed us, when she needed family, the most?" George said, fuming, how dare his uncle for saying that he and his sisters had betrayed the family when it was he and his father that ruined their family with all their ambitions and power play.

George watched as Norfolk's face reddened, "You forget, dear nephew that you left here alone too! You acted the same way I and your father did! So do not think of yourself too different from us!" Norfolk said, fuming, how dare he speak so rudely to him, the Duke of Norfolk, the most powerful man in the North!

"I did, I do not deny that. But do you know what makes me different from you and father?" George said as he stepped aside from his desk and stood in front of Norfolk who was now standing too. "I regretted my actions. I acknowledged my wrong doings and asked for her forgiveness. I repented and now I have my sister's love." George said, not taking his eyes off his uncles.

"I know what you want to talk about. I will have no part in it. As for Anne, I suppose you will have to see for yourself if she will still willingly go along with your schemes." George said as he moved away from his uncle and signalled his men to open the door, "Now, if you excuse me, I must prepare for my journey back to Pembroke. Goody Day Lord Norfolk." George said, leaving a stunned but fuming Norfolk behind, but not before instructing one of the guards to escort his uncle out of his office once he has left.

That night, King Henry alone in the King's private chambers, a goblet of wine and a tray of meats and cheeses. After the meeting with the council, they had retreated to his private chambers and had stayed there.

Upon his arrival and after the council meeting had adjourned, the news of his apparent valid marriage to Anne Boleyn had spread, not only that, the news of Anne Boleyn's return had also spread all over court however, since not many were informed of the truth, a lot of rumours were now going around the courtiers and everyone else in the court, which was no surprise to Henry, really.

He thought of the time he had spent with Anne in Pembroke and all the things he had learned since, he finally had a son, a strong and healthy boy. Henry couldn't help the smile that crept up his face as he remembered the first time he'd laid eyes on the boy.

flashback:

Once Anne and Henry had finished talking and when Henry finally got Anne to agree to return to court with him- with a few non negotiable conditions from Anne, of course- they two had spent at least another hour or two talking and catching up with one another.

Currently, Henry and Anne had found a comfortable spot on the chaise lounge conveniently placed near the corner window in the library and had cuddled there with Henry's arms around Anne's waist. "You have no idea how happy you've made me Anne, I cannot tell the last time I felt this way." Henry said as he watched Anne smile, "I know I still have to prove to you that I can stand by my promises to you, but I just want you to know that you have made me the happiest man alive once more."

Anne smiled but looked away, sensing that she had something she wanted to say, "What is it Anne? Please, let me know what you have to say. I promise that I shall honor the truth between us this time." he said.

"I need to tell you something, Henry, and I fear you might not forgive me." Anne said as she sat straight, looking at Henry as if assessing her next move so as to minimize the backlash of what she had to say.

"What is it Anne?" He asked, fear creeping up, what if Alice weren't truly his? what if she had indeed been playing him?! Not trusting himself to be able to control his feelings, Henry took a deep breath and counted to three, when he was finally calm once more, he decided it would be best to not jump into any conclusion for he still had a long way to go with mending his relationship with Anne and lashing out at her without a valid reason would only be counter productive. "What is it you must tell me, sweet heart?" he asked, testing the nickname once more.

Henry watched as Anne contemplated on something before she stood up and faced him, "I think it would be best if I showed you." she said, offering her hand for him to take, and when he did, she led him out the door but not before saying, "Just, remember all I had been through Henry, remember everything that happened between us and why I did what I did. Just, promise me that you will let me explain."

Henry watched as Anne opened opened the door, they had walked quite a long way from the library by now and his curiosity had already been peaked. Immediately he could hear the sound of a child's laughter and giggles along with some ladies cooing and making sounds-probably the source of the child's entertainment- Henry thought. He wondered why Anne had led him to the nursury, after all, he had met their youngest daughter earlier already.

As Anne and Henry entered the room, the ladies immediately curtsied and greeted them, Henry instructed them to rise and soon looked around the chamber. It was quite large for a nursury 'fit for a princess' he thought as a smile crept up his face. Anne had done well to provide their children with a life worthy of their status as royal children. Henry failed to see what Anne had said or where she had gone for he had seen his little Alice inside her crib playing with her dolls and toys as she giggled as threw toys out of her crib as her ladies picked it up and placed it back inside with her.

"Hello my darling," Henry said as he approached the child who had noticed him and begun bouncing on her crib enthusiastically while she raised her arms up at him. Henry smiled at the energetic little bundle and lifted her up in his arms, reveling at the feeling the filled him as he was once again able to carry a child, his own child in his arms.

Henry didn't know how long he stood with Alice in his arms but soon, he heard Anne call him and soon Henry felt as if the floor had been swept from under him.

There in Anne's arms, was another child.

A child about the same size and age as Alice.

A child that bore his red hair.

A child that looked like his Elizabeth, except for the eyes and skin color.

A child that resembled him so much.

A child that was a boy.

A boy.

"Henry, this is Christian, your son." Anne said as she approached him and Alice with Christian in her arms, looking at the man holding her sister whose eyes were exactly like his own.

AN: aaaaand! What a way to end this chapter huh? LOL! Sorry for the long silence guys, I was studying up for my midterms (I don't even wanna talk about it, law school officially sucks!) and I didn't have time to finish this at all so I only got about half a scene every time I had time to write.

I hope you guys liked this chapter. I wanted to show how different Henry will be after his trip to Pembroke. Why he went ahead of Anne? Because as King he could? IDK lol I needed Henry and George to head out first to settle all the legalities of the apparently valid marriage and surprise children, because ya know… they're the men and they're supposed to be the leaders.

I also added a nice little scene between George and Norfolk.. I wanted to show how George is finally showing some backbone and not just going along with his uncle and father. I'm not totally happy with how I wrote it but I can always go back and redo it once I have another idea.

Henry finally met his son! Sorry I had to do it in a flashback, but I wanted it to be a moment only for Henry to remember, to cherish and I felt that if I actually did the scene, it would take away the impact I wanted (is that the right word? maybe feeling is better?) for when Henry sees his son first because he'd be too busy confronting Anne about it…. Not to say that I won't show that too… :)

So this was a pretty long chapter for me to write.. about 10 pages (yes, that's long for me guys!) but I hope you noticed the scenes that signalled that change is about to happen! (which personally, I feel like all the scenes screamed change)

xx

unamedhpauthor