Five POV

Dangit.

I stood in our candle lit chambers, willing my powers to work. I was exhausted, utterly drained. I'd tried for an hour now to do something as simple as jumping across the room, yet it wouldn't work. My body was useless. And my mind?

Boiling.

I saw the way he looked at her, the way his eyes drifted down from her face as he spoke to her, the way he was quick to show such favor without even knowing her. I saw how he never made eye contact with me once in the whole encounter, how he acted as if I didn't exist.

I knew exactly what he was thinking, and that man was mistaken if he thought he was getting anywhere near my wife.

But here, I didn't have power to stop that. And that's what made my blood boil. I couldn't grab the king by his scruffy red beard, pull him close to my face, and tell him to back off. I couldn't threaten to put his head through the wall like the Meritech man, or blackmail him with anything at all. I was helpless here.

I'd find some way to get some leverage, if it was the last thing I did.

'Come on, Five. It's okay.', she said, coming up behind me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see her hair let loose from the hood, dressed in the linen night gown the lady had given her. I wasn't at all unfamiliar with Anne Boleyn. Our Father made sure we were well versed in history. And in a back room of the manor, one housing artifacts and oddities not fit for the rest of the house, was a portrait of her sister Mary.

'Come on and get some sleep. You can't expect your powers to work when you have no gas.'

'I want to get us out of here as soon as I can.'

'And you will, Five. I promise you will. That's what you do. You fix things.', she said, rubbing my tense shoulders.

I sighed.

'You stopped two apocalypses, for goodness sakes, you can get us back home.'

'Yeah, and I was also stuck in one of them for forty five years before I figured it out.'

She sat down on an embroidered chair in front of me, next to a blazing heart fire.

'You know what? I don't care if we're stuck here for forty five years.', she said, propping herself up on her elbow. 'If I'm with you, I don't mind to spend forty five years in prison. Or a landfill. Or in hell.'

I shut her up with a kiss.

'Or in a zombie apocalypse.'

Another kiss.

'Jupiter.'

Another.

'At the bottom of the ocean.'

'How about another twenty four hours in 1500s London?'

'I suppose I can handle that.'

She hopped up from the seat, grabbing my hand.

'I've always wanted to sleep on such a fancy bed.'

Dolores POV

I reached my hand out beside me in the bed, over the soft linen sheets, to find a blank space.

Five wasn't there, but digging around a bit more, there was a portion of a piece of paper, scrawled over with a message.

'Gone to clear my head, figure stuff out. I'll be back shortly.' - Five

I trusted he'd figure this out, he always figured things out. I only wish he wasn't so hard on himself. I knew he was stressing internally, freaking out, and probably feeling guilty for the accident. I hated that.

Sun poured in from the blurry glass window in the front of the room, letting me know it was morning time. And from the looks of it, not early morning.

I heard a knock at the door.

'Lady Dolores, are you decent?'

'Just a moment!', I yelled back, hopping up and putting on a velvet robe I had found in the chest at the foot of the bed. I ran over to the door, cracking it open to see a blue eyed guard staring back at me.

'The king requests an audience.'

The king?! Surely he knew Five wasn't here.

'Like, alone?', I asked, my heart racing. I was uncomfortable.

'Mi'lady, that is what the king has requested.'

I thought for a moment. If the situation called for it, surely he would be gentleman enough to back off from me if I wished it. I saw the way he looked at me. I knew what he was coming for. He wanted to court me.

This is definitely at the top of the list of situations I never imagined finding myself in.

'Send him in.', I said in a hushed tone, looking into the guard's eyes. He nodded to me, and the door swung open. I crossed my arms in front of my chest self-consciously.

The king came strutting in, dressed out in all his lavish apparel, took his hat off and bowed to me. I bowed in return.

'Good morning, my lady Dolores. How are you fairing this fine day?', he asked, smiling at me, making me even more uncomfortable. I smiled back, trying to hide my true feelings.

'I am quite good, your grace, I would be better if my husband were here with me.'

'Ha. Your husband. Surely he shall be back soon, it would be a travesty to keep such a lovely maid waiting for your company, now wouldn't it?'

'I suppose, your grace, that's true.', I answered him, looking to the ground.

He laughed joyously, and I tried to smile.

'Have you dined yet, my lady Dolores?'

'I have not, your grace.'

His smile widened, and he threw his arms out to his side.

'Wonderful! Then, would you be pleased to join me to dine? I would very much like some company.'

'Wouldn't your wife be much better company than I, your grace?'

His smile slightened. He put a hand under my chin, making my skin crawl. I could do nothing to stop this advance.

'My wife is rather dull, and awfully plain. I prefer the company of a woman who has charm.', he said, staring into my eyes. I reverted mine back to the floor, and he raised my head up.

'So, what shall it be? Shall you do me the honor?', he asked, a twinge of impatience bleeding through his smile, as I saw his foot begin to tap on the floor.

'I suppose I can eat, with you, your grace, but surely my husband shall come back soon.'

'And when he does, we shall have him join us.'

I nodded.

'Allow me to dress, your grace.'

The king blew. 'Nonsense. Come as you are.'

I was taken back. How immodest of him to make such a proposal! In these days, that was whorish of him. Dining with a random, wedded woman, dressed in nothing but her nightgown and robe.

'Please, your grace, allow me to-'

He cut me off, grabbing my arm firmly, looking me in the eyes.

'You wouldn't want to keep me waiting, would you?'

I was speechless, and shook my head no. He removed his grip from my arm, moving it down to my hand, his touch much lighter now. He held my hand, walking me down the hall to the dining hall.

'Wonderful.',

'Now, lady Dolores, what education were you brought up in?'

I continued this dreadful conversation with this even more dreadful man as I tried to eat their disgusting bread and drink their sickeningly sweet wine. I swallowed.

'I've studied mathematics, your grace, and some music.'

His face brightened as he took a sip of wine from his goblet.

'Oh! Delightful, you must play something for us on the virginals.'

'Your grace, I beg you, I am not skilled.'

'Don't be modest, play something for me.', he said, smiling. But his eyes were cold, telling a different story. Telling me that if I didn't oblige him, he wasn't going to give up.

I got up from my seat, going behind the massive table to a virginal keyboard across the room. I ran my fingers across the keys. I'd played piano as a kid, maybe this wouldn't be too different.

The problem?

I only ever mastered one song.

I sat in the seat, propping my fingers up on the keys. Here goes nothing.

I eyed this king's reaction as I played the only song I knew, cringing at the sound of it.

Bad Romance on the virginal wasn't a piece of music I ever wanted to hear again.

'This is delightful. Who is the composer?', the king questioned me.

'It is by the Lady Gaga, your grace.'

'Gaga? Is that foreign?'

'Um... yes.'

'Intriguing. You play beautifully. Now come and sit with me.'

He scooted himself back in his chair, patting his lap as I approached him.

Surely he didn't mean that!

'Sit, my lady.'

'Your grace, I am a married woman!'

'Oh, indulge me, lady Dolores.', he said, once again flashing those cold demanding eyes. This hurt me inside, but I knew that if I didn't do it, it might be worse.

The two others at the table, two of Henry's friends and advisors, looked on the scene and snickered.

I sat, unwillingly.

'This is inappropriate, your grace.'

He touched my face, making my skin crawl once again.

'Are there not many inappropriate things in life, things which we take great pleasure in, that we ought not to?', he said, making me so uncomfortable I might've burst into tears if I didn't control myself.

I could say nothing, I was speechless.

'Come to my chambers, my lady, and I shall give you all the riches in England.'

I was appalled. I jumped up from his lap, not caring what consequences I might face.

'Your grace, you surely have plenty other women to entertain yourself with! I love my husband and my husband alone. I am a happily married woman.'

He stood up quickly as well. Coming very close to my face, he spoke under his breath.

'As you wish.', he said, a bite in his voice.

'But you shall let me have a portrait painted of you, so that I might put it in my room and admire you in your absence.'

'Surely your wife would not agree to this.'

'My wife is irrelevant in such matters. I shall send the painter to your room in two hours time. You are dismissed, lady Dolores.'

I bowed, my eyes troubled and boiling with fury. I would tell Five about this. I would spill all of it, and he would be able to protect me from this man.

But I couldn't. No, I couldn't. He had enough on his plate. I will handle this myself. I am capable.

But have mercy, I was terrified.