A/N: Alright, as promised here is the new chapter. Thank you to princessElizabethtudor, Frog1, Guest, Guest, OlicityxSkyeWard, QueenAnneTudor, tricorvus, Guest, and Robin4 for the last chapter, as well as an additional thanks to the Guests for the additional review on chapter 1. Thank you all and enjoy this brand new chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Tudors, Showtime does.
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Jane's wedding to the king had been wonderful, like a dream. But the one event that she had dreaded was the moment that was coming to pass right now; the time to meet her youngest stepdaughter.
Jane knew that she must address the girl as 'Princess' even if the prospect of having to do so was far from appealing, as she did not believe the child had any right to the title that truly belonged to her elder half-sister Mary, whom Jane knew she must speak with Henry about soon, before he could once again be persuaded by Anne's father and uncle to pressure his young daughter into signing the Oath, despite knowing that such a thing would go against the true princess's conscience.
As the king brought Elizabeth closer, it became clear to Jane that despite the girl being no older than three years, she was treated with every courtesy of a princess.
Even if she was not the heir now that her brothers had been born, a canopy of estate had been placed above her seat, which highlighted her royal status to all. And due to the so-called princes being mere infants, neither was present at court and so Elizabeth was the only member of the royal family aside from Henry and now Jane.
Elizabeth was now gazing at her with the same gaze that Anne had once given her when she caught the king's eye.
Jane knew she was likely being paranoid, but she couldn't help but feel a chill as the child regarded her with those eyes, Anne's eyes, as if she were sizing her up.
"My love, I present to you the Princess Elizabeth," Henry smiled, oblivious to his wife's discomfort.
"Your Highness," Jane forced herself to smile at the girl.
"Sweetheart," Henry turned to his young daughter as he whispered softly and jovially, "Say hello to the queen."
Jane smiled, but Elizabeth saw no warmth in her eyes.
If she were like other children of her age, the young princess would have run from the room or refused to acknowledge the woman who would try to take her Mama's place, but as a princess she had been carefully schooled in the rules of deportment and propriety for as long as she could remember. So, she forced herself to smile and curtstied prettily.
"Hello, Your Majesty," she greeted.
Henry chuckled and clapped, as did the courtiers, before he, Jane, and Elizabeth took their seats upon the dais.
As they sat there however, Jane could not forget the look Elizabeth had given her. Perhaps, even her being so young did not cloud the child's vision when it came to the woman who now occupied what was once her mother's place.
No, Jane shook her head. She was being paranoid. It was far more likely that little Elizabeth was still adjusting to her mother's death. Yes, that must be it.
It was nothing to do with Jane...
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A part of Mary was delighted when she received the news; her father had come out of his period of mourning and taken another wife.
The lady's name was Jane Seymour, the same one the king had become fond of during this so-called marriage with the harlot.
Eustace had informed her of his hearings: Lady Seymour was a virtuous woman who had spoken in Mary's defense more than once to her father, gently urging him to reconcile with his eldest daughter and even restore her as heiress apparent. She was also said to be a good Catholic and a strong supporter of Katherine when she was alive.
These things all made her sound like a far more suitable candidate for a wife than Anne had been.
So, Mary had quickly penned a letter to her estranged father, congratulating him on his marriage to the new queen, as well as begging leave to tend to her new stepmother in whatever manner may please the lady.
Despite this wonderful new development however, there was one matter that still left a bitter taste in the former princess's mouth; because Henry continued to claim his union to Anne was valid, his sons by her were still acknowledged as the heirs to the English throne, as was Elizabeth.
Mary loved her little half-sister and she would do her best to love her half-brothers, but she could never bring herself to forsake her mother and Rome and lie that she was a bastard and her mother a liar who's first marriage was consummated when it was not...
Which was exactly why she still had not signed the Oath of Succession. And she never would.
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A few months had passed, and Mary's resolve had not weakened. At least, not until Sir Francis Bryan, yet another one of Anne's accursed kinsman, had visited her in an attempt to bully her into forsaking her mother and her conscience and signing the blasted Oath. He had not been the first, nor would he be the last, but the thing that had truly unnerved Mary had been the fact that he had been the only one that had been brave enough to threaten her.
In that moment, the eldest Tudor girl felt glad that Sir Francis had no children, let alone daughters.
She had wanted to refuse again, but Chapuys, loyal Chapuys, had informed her that she would do herself no favors if she were to continue to refuse to submit to her father's wishes. For soon, her father would finally run out of patience and when he did, she would be in more danger than she could have ever imagined.
The once princess did not want to believe that her loving father could ever bring himself to put her to death, but this was not the man who had been such a powerful figure in her childhood, who had doted on and adored her despite the fact that she was only a girl instead of the boy he so craved. That man was long gone and in his place was an unpredictable man with a great temper and an even greater thirst for power. It would pain him to sign her death warrant, but he would do it and he would not allow himself to regret it. At least not until the deed had been done.
And so, with a heavy heart and trembling hand, Mary Tudor did the only thing she could.
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Henry had been shocked at first when Cromwell informed him that his stubborn, first-born daughter had finally submitted to him and signed the Oath, and in ding so acknowledged herself as a bastard with no claim to the throne, nor any right to any affections of his unless he chose to show it to her.
And now that she had finally seen the error of her ways and admitted the truth, Henry had every intention of showing kindness to his once beloved daughter.
He also had received a report from Lady Bryan, who had since become the twins' governess, with the position of that in Elizabeth's household now being held by a Mistress Katherine Champernowne, who had served as a lady in the small princess's household previously, so the child had already taken to her.
In her report, Lady Bryan had diligently informed the king that both princes remained healthy and seemed to become stronger as they matured. Harry was already learning to sit up and Geoffrey was nearly able to roll over.
Of course the most welcome news had been that his precious boys were still healthy. Nevertheless, Henry had ordered that every care must be taken to ensure the boys' safety, as well as their comfort.
So far, everything was going quite well for Henry; he was married to his sweet Jane, his daughter had finally yielded, truly willing to forget the evil past by acknowledging her illegitimacy, his sons were healthy.
The only thing missing now, was for Jane to become with child.
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And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you all enjoyed it and the next brand new chapter will be out on Monday, December 10th. Until then, everyone.