A/N: As promised, here is the new chapter. Thank you to princessElizabethtudor, QueenAnneTudor, suns and stars, jamestudor, gabbygrl247, Guest, the dark euphie, Princess of the Dark Kingdom, fleur-de-lis-royal, Robin 4, tricorvus, yoko97, hateme101, and guest for all of the reviews on the previous chapter, as well as an additonal thanks to Robin4 on the additional reviewon chapter 12 and elizabethgolden for the review on chapter 11. I hope you all enjoy this brand new chapter, which funnily enough is the longest chapter yet. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Tudors, Showtime does.

...

May 19th, 1543

Elizabeth loved being at court, though she was very young. Though her stepmother was none too fond of pageantry or masques, her father was quite the opposite. Especially whenever the time of her younger twin brothers' birthday came about. Even the days leading up to it were filled with merrymaking.

But today, on the boys' actual birthday, the celebrations were truly magnificent. After all, it commemorated the day that not one, but two princes were born, securing the Tudor dynasty and signaling to all of Europe that King Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn had been blessed.

At ten years old, Elizabeth now knew why it had been so imperative that her mother give her royal father a son; the Tudors had been in power for but two generations, and her father did not want England to be torn apart by another civil war, like the one his own father had ended when he married Elizabeth of York, one of Elizabeth's own namesakes. With Harry and Geoffrey, no one had cause to fear any longer.

Harry had been born first, so he was the heir and big brother. But it pleased Elizabeth and she knew it pleased their father that Harry never lorded his status as heir over Geoffrey. And the younger twin seemed perfectly content in his position as the second son, never once seeming to resent his brother for being the future king.

Having been on the receiving end of such resentment before the twins were born from the Lady Mary, Elizabeth was glad to see that the two brothers whom she loved so were close.

Elizabeth herself wanted to be close to her brother and sister by Jane as she had been with Mary and with the twins. Margery herself tried to spend time with her elder half-sister, but her mother Jane always seemed to have some excuse as to why she could not. It had been this way for several years now, and now Elizabeth knew why.

The young red-haired princess was the daughter of Anne Boleyn, the woman Jane blamed for Henry leaving Mary's mother Katherine of Aragon. But it was more than that, she was jealous that Anne had given Henry his two cherished sons and Jane had given him Edward. Edward was a sweet boy and Elizabeth, as well as the others, loved him, but she had once overheard Henry telling his friend the Duke of Suffolk that he worried constantly as Edward did not enjoy the same robust health that his brothers did.

Did Jane blame Harry and Geoffrey? If so, she was a fool. It was not their fault. Or perhaps she resented that Edward, as the third son, was regarded with less importance.

Elizabeth sighed. Now was not the time for such things. Today was a time for celebration and to see her brothers, whom she had not seen since Easter. She knew they missed her as she had missed them and so did not want to dwell on thoughts that would only dampen the spirits of all involved.

...

Whenever the twins visited court, there was always a great deal of fanfare and excitement in the air.

Henry adored his 'little miracles' as he referred to them, and even in the days leading up to their arrival, it was noted that the king seemed to have an almost boyish sense to him.

"Your Majesty," came the voices of the twin princes as they moved forward to receive their father's blessing.

"My sons," he greeted as Harry and Geoffrey stood before him, both bowing carefully just like Lady Bryan had taught them. "You are most welcome here at court."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the pair spoke once more in unison, much to their father's delight.

They could see a tense smile on their stepmother's face as they were brought to her.

"Say hello to the queen," Henry whispered to them.

"Your Majesty," they once again spoke as one and bowed albeit with the bow a bit more shallow than the one they had given the king.

"Your Highnesses," Jane nodded her head stiffly. "It is a pleasure to see you back at court."

With that, Henry's booming laughter filled the Great Hall as he swept little Harry and Geoffrey onto his lap and kissed each boy's head, earning a delighted giggle from both.

As Jane watched the display, she was a bit put off by Henry's open display of affection. Of course he had to show the entire court his so-called heirs. She couldn't understand why he had never showed such affection to Edward. He showed the boy care, but never like the twins. What made them any more special than he?

...

Edward always knew he was different from his older brothers.

Whenever their father received visits from the boys, he would greet Harry and Geoffrey by sweeping them simultaneously into his arms. But for Edward he would greet with a fond pat of the shoulder or ruffle his hair and a kiss.

His governess, a Mistress Joan Luttrell, had informed him when he went to court for the first time with his family, he would no longer be the most important person in the room. But little Edward, who had always been the most important at Windsor, had not realized this until he arrived at Whitehall.

There, the procession was rigid and without compromise. Of course his father was the most important, but of the children his elder brother Harry was, as the Prince of Wales and future king. He was then followed by Geoffrey, the Duke of York, then Edward himself, who had not yet received a title from his father aside from prince. Next came Princess Elizabeth, future Duchess of Angouleme, and then Edward's sister Princess Margery. Both were older than he, but came after him because they were girls.
The one who was usually last was his oldest sister, Lady Mary.

She was his father's daughter, but she was not the daughter of Edward's mother, nor that of Queen Anne, Elizabeth, Harry, and Geoffrey's mother who had died before Edward was born. He knew that much, but the young prince didn't know why she couldn't be a princess too if her father was a king.

The blond prince now felt a small surge of envy as he saw Harry and Geoffrey perched on their father's knees, giggling as the king lavished affection on the pair of them. Why did Papa not do that with him? Didn't he love him too?

"Edward?"

He looked up to see none other than Lady Mary looking down at him, her eyes filled with concern.

"It's good to see you, sister," Edward greeted her with a smile, which she returned.

"And you as well, my sweet little brother," she said, taking his hand in hers. "I hope you've been well."

Edward nodded, but this did little to quell Mary's fears.

...

It angered Ambassador Chapuys more than words could ever express to have kneel to the Boleyn whore's bastards and show them the deference that was only due to true royal children like the Princesses Mary and Margery and Prince Edward. But his master the emperor had given him specific instructions to extend the proper courtesies lest King Henry take exception and refuse to further their alliance, for which the ground work had already been laid.

"Ambassador, may I present my eldest, the Prince of Wales and my brother Emperor Charles's future son, the Prince Henry," the king declared magnanimously as the boy acknowledged Chapuys.

The Spaniard bit back a snort of disgust. Here sat a boy who truly believed himself to be a gift from above, as though Chapuys should be honored to be in his presence.

"Your Highness," he greeted, fighting the urge to vomit. "My master sends his regards to you, and to the Duke of York. May you both continue to enjoy long life, health, and prosperity."

"The emperor is too kind," Prince Harry replied with grave sincerity. "I thank him on behalf of my brother and I, and wish him good health and prosperity as well. I also offer my regards to my betrothed, the Infanta Juana."

Eustace could not help but stare at the weight of the child's words. Here sat a child of seven years and yet he spoke with the eloquence of an adult. It should not have surprised him due to the child being raised in a royal household, but it did so nonetheless.

Prince Geoffrey sat beside his brother, regarding the ambassador silently. Chapuys tried to ignore the boy's stare, but it was so much like hers...like Anne's...

Perhaps it was the boy's eyes, such a piercing blue, and the coldness in them. Almost as though he did not trust Chapuys.

...

Henry knew his sons were clever for their age, but it had still been quite a surprise when he learned of the colors the boys had chosen.

Though it would still be some time before they were officially separated so that Harry could leave for Ludlow and be officially vested with the duties of the Prince of Wales, Henry had sent word that the young princes should each have their own livery instead of continuing to use their father's.

Harry had chosen purple and gold, gold since he was the eldest prince and future king, and purple both for the color of royalty and, Harry said, because it was one of his mother's colors.

Geoffrey had opted for blue and silver, also for his mother as well as symbolizing his status as the younger prince.

Henry had been shocked, but at the same time it touched him to know that the boys had been told of their mother.

"Lizbeth says Mama's colors were blue and purple," Harry told him. "So we wanted to honor her. And you. Mama's motto was 'The Most Happy' because you made her happy."

Henry pressed his lips to the boy's forehead for what must have been the thousandth time. He did not care, nor did the princes ever protest. Henry would never cease to be grateful to God, and grateful to his beloved Anne for the sons they had given them.

Of course, he chose to forget the fact that Anne had most certainly not been happy in any way in her last days. Yes, she was certainly happy for her sons, but her heart had been broken to know the man she loved did not love her anymore, he had given his heart to another.

But Henry did not wish to think of this. What was done could not be undone.

...

...

I hope you all enjoyed this new little chapter. And the next one will be out on Friday, February 1st. Until then, everyone.