Chapter One: Proposal
She didn't have a choice. That much she knew or at least that's what she kept telling herself. Her trembling hand rose slowly to cover her lips as she walked quickly down the darkened corridor of Hampton Court. Her pale green dress flickering endlessly in the dim touch lights as her skirt brushed against the hard wooden floors.
Anne had never felt so dishevelled. Her long ebony hair falling in strands around her face as the thick curls escaped her topaz crown and yet her mind had never been more clear. Henry loved another. The haunting truth warring with her hard won control. The loss of her prince had ended any chance of reconciliation. He would leave and there would be no mercy. In his wake he would carve a trail of destruction and Anne alone would be held accountable. The scandal of christendom, the viper in the nest, The concubine. He would tear her down until only the shreds of her dignity remained and then he would purge her very existence from this world. Taking down anyone and everyone she had ever loved.
Her breath quickened and her heart wrenched in her chest. Wounded, she stopped her hand resting steadily above her breast. Her body physically bending with the weight of her truth. He would destroy her utterly. Swiftly she took a steadying breath and stifled her cry. No one would protect her. No man on earth would stand for her. Her husband would cast her down and there would be no salvation. Silently she rose, constraining herself. Her hands pressed firmly against her abdomen. Her saviour was gone, her womb empty. She must save herself and in doing so protect her daughter.
Slow regular breaths smothered the flutters of fear threatening to consume her. She needed only to focus on her daughter and her protection. Elizabeth would be drowned by her mother's disgrace. Tainted and this was something Anne could not allow. Her daughter was too precious to risk on the faint hope that Henry might look upon her favourably again. Might warm her bed once more and rekindle the passion of the past. Jane Seymour had destroyed any hope of harmony between them. An Irony not lost on Anne. For even she would admit she had severed any chance of reunion between her dearest love and his once wife and Queen.
She who had stumbled upon the path to Queenship had lit the way for those that would follow. Carelessly showing the route in which her rivals would pursue her. Henry was a man to whom nothing had ever been denied. In her refusal she had inflamed his desire, her rejection had only spurred him onward to victory. What he could not possess he covanted and what the king wanted the king would claim. But once he held her, once he possessed her utterly the thrill was gone. The conquest was made. Her worth diminished and her failure ensured her downfall. Like Katherine before her, Anne had lost the King's love and was consumed in the tempest of the Tudor court.
Slowly she steadied herself and with quick and nimble steps she once again began her approach. Her choice was made. She had witnessed Katherine's fall. Henry's anger and vengeance when his will was had seen the destruction he could unleash. She would not stand and face the coming storm. She had learned.
Henry did not want her. He did not want Katherine. He did not want spark and fire. Their passions ran too deep, their boldness bound too tightly, they defied and consumed him. Henry wanted Jane. A woman of compliance and temperance. Humble and beseeching. A cool ice with which to quench his thirst.
Fire and Ice. Anne smiled. Henry would grow bored of tender and compliant and would ache for passion and heat. But she would not surrender to him then. Anne was not a woman to take back her prize once it was gifted. But for her purpose she could play her part. Humble and Penitent his mother's motto. His truest wish in any woman. The Tudor Queen who bore her husband living sons and surrendered to her husband's will. Henry's perfect example of womanhood and queenship. Anne's perfect example of protection.
Beyond this corridor stood the solid wooden door of the king's chamber. His guards she knew would not allow her entrance without the Kings express orders of admittance. Her disordered appearance would cause alarm but not ensite them to relinquish their post. She had but one option. Intrigue.
As she approached the entrance her gaze focused only forward "Tell the King the Lady Anne Boleyn requests an audience". She paused hoping her husband would understand her hidden meaning. The retraction of her title. But the guards stood still. "His Majesty is not to be disturbed " Anne struggled not to lift her eyes heavenward. "Do as you are bid" she whispered. "Inform his Majesty that the Marquess of Pembroke is waiting." "Now"
Startled by both the Queen's appearance and countenance the sentry hesitantly disappeared behind the great oak door.
Anne counted each breath. She did not know what she would do if he refused. Her courage faltered. If she should fail, all was lost. She clasped her trembling hands and closed her eyes. Sending up a silent prayer of hope. The minutes ticked by as she stood in silence. The solid and immovable door remained closed. Her fear caught in her throat as time stilled. Her whole being focused on the heavy handle of the door. Would he admit her or would she be shunned as before. She could not bear the waiting as her terror mounted and her mind swept through endless possibilities of failure.
"His Majesty will see you now" the deep solemn voice startled Anne from her contemplations. The sturdy wooden doors swinging back to reveal the king's private chambers. Shuddering she released the breath she had withheld as her hands brushed the invisible particles from her abdomen. Steadying herself she braced for the confrontation to come and walked slowly forth into the lion's den. "Henry," her voice whispered in the darkness. Her ragged breathing was the only discernible noise in the still room. "Lady Anne," He smirked. His sudden appearance startled her and renewed the flutter of nerves she had fought desperately to suppress.
"Lady Anne Boleyn and here I thought I had wedded you and bedded you. Thus making you my wife and Queen" he sneered. Swiftly she suppressed her sigh of irritation as she slowly lowered herself into a graceful curtsy. "Your Majesty" her voice calm as the perpetual storm raged within her heart. Silently she raised her eyes to meet his glistening blue orbs "Henry". Her smile was tentative as she rose from her lowered position "the honored position of wife and queen to which your majesty graciously bestowed upon me has blessed me with both your love and our beautiful daughter". Pausing, she inhaled the shuddering breath that threatened to destroy her well rehearsed speech "but to my own and your majesty's displeasure, God has not graced us with a living son and heir".
Her onyx eyes filled with tears as she bowed her head to hide her pain. Twice since the blessing of her beautiful daughter she had suffered the heartache of miscarriage. Twice she had dreamed of her unborn babe only to have the cruel reality of loss snatch the precious life from her grasp. Raggedly Anne inhaled as her mind desperately tried to suppress her pain. "As Queen it is my duty to provide your kingdom with an heir" she continued. Her eyes, still desperately seeking the ground. Her mission clear, she pressed on though her pain. Elizabeth's future was too precious to gamble. "In this duty I, as my predecessor, have failed".
Her intentional pause she hoped would emphasise the difference in choice between herself and Katherine. "And though it pains me to think your majesty could relinquish his love for me. As a humble subject I understand the responsibilities of your person. Thus I beseech your Majesty to allow me to gracefully step aside. So that another might succeed in aiding your Majesty, in the securing of your kingdom". Silently she paused, her thoughts chaotic. If she thought only in terms of security and duty. Ignoring the truth of separation she could continue. If she thought of his cruelty and hardened her heart against the pain she would survive. Gently she raised her head to meet his eyes as the steady tears tracked down her porcelain cheeks and fell to the timber floor below.
"I ask only for the provisions your majesty bequeathed me before our marriage and the legitimacy of her daughter. Whose protection and love is of highest priority to me in these dark hours". Silently she curtsied once more. Her mind rebelled and screamed at the practiced and rehearsed request she had just presented to her husband. To stand aside and surrender, to relinquish her place and crown. Deep inside she protested, but she had already lost the love of her king. She would not lose her life.
Shocked Henry paused, Anne granted him freedom "You would stand aside and allow another to take your place?" he queried. His heart beating at a thunderous rate. He could marry his sweet Jane and be rid of the sinful viper before him "With greatest pain your majesty" she whispered, her voice steady though her soul splintered. "You surrender your supposed love so freely My Lady" Henry sneered "I begin to wonder if you felt any at all". The harsh words rippled like a battle cry across the darkened room. "I loved you a thousand times more than you ever loved me" she cried. Her tedious control slipping "London still stands my love" she jeered. Her bitter reference brought home the stark reality of their situation. A cold splash of water to the inferno burning within her
Henry paced "Do not play me for a fool" he screamed "Your family arranged everything. Did you think I would not know? That I would never find out." His voice was pained and angry "Make of my past what you will Henry, but never for a moment question my passion. For it has doomed me" she quivered "Run to your little dogs and let them whisper what they will in your ear" she breathed "You can love for a time, but then you love no more" She sighed "It broke my heart to see you loved others". Her eyes burned with tears "I will not bring myself to this place again Henry. I have surrendered, you have won. What do you care for the cause of my supplication".
Anger blazed within him. She would not fight, she surrendered too easily, where was her passion, her fire and commitment. His need for his anger was absolute as guilt raged within his heart. He would make her fight if only to flame the anger and consume her compliance. "I can not trust you to stay faithful to the crown. Your treachery knows no bounds" he raged. His mind raced as he thought of his plan. "I will grant your request" his voice above a whisper "But you will bow to my terms". The look of fire that flashed behind her eyes soothed him. He still held sway. She would remain within his power. She was his, whether she accepted surrender or not. His eyes flashed with lust as he smirked.
Recoiling Anne inhaled sharply. She should have suspected this. Henry was not a man to surrender a treat. Her eyes shaded in contemplation as she calculated her retreat and resistance. ``You will marry to ensure no question of my next union and you will marry where I say" He quipped, his mind forming a resolute plan. Startled, she reeled and shuddered with sigh" What of our daughter and my requests" her voice sounded defiant "I want her legitimacy ensured". He would not surrender and she needed only to protect her child "May I have her with me?" He would not relinquish her freedom. But if she could ensure her child's safety and future she would comply. He would imprison her within her marriage. Bound to one of his minions. Hesitantly he smiled "You may have your daughter and your title. Her legitimacy is secure. But only if you agree to my terms"
Silently she nodded "I agree on one condition" she whispered "for the love you once bore me and for the love of our child. Please I beg of you. Do not bind me to her family" Her heart stuttered "If you will not relinquish that cruel notion for love then for your kingdom. Do not give both your current and future heirs into the power of one family". She sighed, lowering her head.
Henry stared in shock. He would never give her to Jane's family. She was his to control and his to possess. The lustful thought shocked him to the core. He had thought himself past her, beyond the reach of her web. Yet the thought of another holding her angered him beyond any measure. Henry did not want to share, she was his and once his heir was secure he would ensure he reclaimed his prize. He would need a man of complete trust. Smirking as one man's face flashed before his mind's eye. Slowly he ran his hand through his dark hair. "Agreed" Henry whispered "for I have another in mind".