A/N: A/N: Here is the new chapter and I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you to princessElizabethtudor, suns and stars, the dark euphie, Sea Goodess Amphitrite, Guest, Guest, QueenAnneTudor, Lizairy Cullen, Guest, Tea, tricorvus, Guest, williamvalois, BellalunaMcKenzie, jamestudor, and Guest for all the reviews on chapter 17. Also an additional thanks to tricorvus for the additional reviews on chapters 15 and 16, Mademoiselle Azzaro for the review on chapter 1, and elizabethgolden for the review on chapter 16. Now, while this is way late, I hope you all still enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Tudors, Showtime does.
...
July 17th, 1543
"Her Highness, the Princess Anne of Cleves!"
Henry did not know what to make of Princess Anne.
As she drew nearer to him, he noted that she was not beautiful in the classical sense like his wife Jane and the other English ladies, with her dark features and swarthy complexion. But this helped her to stand out, not unlike a certain woman from the past that shared her name...
Unlike his beloved Anne Boleyn however, this German princess was taller, with heavy lidded eyes that, while unusual, were not unattractive. Her nose was a bit long, but even still that did little to detract from the fact that she could still be called a handsome woman.
"Your Majesty," she greeted in accented voice as she slid into a deep curtsy.
"My lady princess," Henry inclined his head. "You are most welcome at my court."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Anne smiled as she rose. "Your Majesty is most gracious."
The king stood from his throne and took the princess's hand and indicated his wife.
"My beloved wife, Queen Jane."
Anne curtsied once more as Jane regarded her with a small smile.
"Your Majesty."
"Your Highness."
"My sons," Henry continued, seemingly now disregarding his wife. "Henry, the Prince of Wales."
Little Harry approached and bowed.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness," he said, his blue eyes twinkling merrily as he looked at Anne.
"The pleasure is mine, Prince Henry," Anne's smile widened as she realized the similarities between father and son.
"Prince Geoffrey, the Duke of York."
Geoffrey, seeming a bit more solemn than his elder twin, though no less cordial, approached.
"Your Highness," he greeted as he bowed with gravity quite unexpected in a boy of seven years. Nevertheless, meeting both of the renowned twin princes of England was not something Anne would consider dull in the slightest.
"The Prince Edward."
Edward, while dignified, did not showcase the same grace as his brothers had in his bow. But it could not be faulted as the boy was only three.
"And now, you shall meet my daughters. The Princess Elizabeth."
Elizabeth, clothed in a gown of pale green silk with a gold damask petticoat, along with a Tudor Rose stitched on the bodice, came forward. Her red-gold hair had been pulled back and held by a pale green French hood trimmed with pearls.
"Willkommen, Prinzessin Anna," she greeted, the German words smoothly rolling from her tongue.
Anne's eyes widened slightly as she heard her mother tongue spoken nearly flawlessly from the young child standing before her.
"Danke, Prinzessin," she replied.
"The Princess Margery."
Margery, clothed in pale pink satin with a yellow silk petticoat and her golden curls secured with a jeweled headpiece, moved forward, holding what appeared to be a small nosegay of roses.
"For you, Your Highness," she greeted shyly. "I think they are pretty."
"Thank you, Princess," Anne took the flowers and gently took the child's tiny hand. "And I think you are pretty."
Margery's heart-shaped face flushed slightly at the compliment.
The corners of Jane's mouth twitched, but fortunately Henry did not notice. Edward Seymour did however and he quickly shot his sister a glare over the king's shoulder.
Mary watched with apprehension as Elizabeth and Margery curtsied before the Princess Anne.
How could her father go through with this? Had he completely taken leave of his senses? How could he have invited this heretic princess and her cousin here?
"My daughter, the Lady Mary."
With a heavy heart and light step, Mary forced herself to move forward, inclining her head as she curtsied as shallowly as she dared without incurring her father's displeasure.
"Madam," she greeted in the passive tone she had greeted another heretic Anne with just a few years before.
"Lady Mary."
If Princess Anne was offended in the slightest, her demeanor did not reveal it. Her smile was still as wide as it had been with the others and her tone was light and cheerful.
"Your Majesty has such lovely children," she said to Henry.
The court applauded as the children took their seats and Henry gallantly led Anne to hers.
"His Grace, the Duke Philip of Bavaria!"
...
"Duke Philip is quite handsome," Margery sighed as she sat with her sisters that evening, the three girls all poring over their respective tasks, Mary and Margery with their embroidery, and Elizabeth with her book. "It appears he's already quite taken with you, Mary."
"He doesn't even know me," Mary said simply, not looking up from her work. "We have nothing in common."
"You never know," Margery said with a giggle.
...
"For goodness sake, Jane!" Edward growled. "Will you stop behaving like a petulant child?"
Jane frowned.
"You don't have to see the king flaunting his little bastards as if every day I'm not reminded that that whore gave him two sons and I've only given him one!"
Edward glared at his sister, barely managing to resist the urge to slap her or to shake her until her teeth rattled. Instead, he took a deep breath and forced himself to smile and speak in what he believed to be a more kindly tone.
"Jane, you must once more make yourself more agreeable to His Majesty. If you were to give him another son, he will be more likely to see your children more favorably than his elder children. And you must continue to champion your own children's interests alone, no more foolish interceptions on Lady Mary's behalf."
Jane thought for a moment on this, and nodded.
"Yes, after all...sons would come first in the succession more than a mere girl..." she said quietly.
Believing he had finally managed to get through to his naive sister, Edward actually smiled and nodded.
"Precisely," he said, placing his hands on Jane's shoulder, causing her to look at him. "Edward is before Lady Mary by virtue of his sex. And any other boys you are able to provide for His Majesty will be as well."
"We just need to get rid of the little bastards in front of him," chimed in Thomas.
Edward glared and hurriedly covered his brother's mouth.
"Are you out of your senses?" he snarled. "Mind your tongue, Thomas. If any of our enemies were to hear you speak such treasonous things, you could finish us all!"
"But the king-" Jane started, but Edward held up a hand to silence her.
"The king has yet to forgive you for your own actions towards his sons," he told her sternly. "As I recall, you still have not even pretended to show the boys any kindness. No one says you have to love them, but at least act as though you don't completely despise them."
Jane looked offended, but said nothing. What if Edward was right? What if this was the only way to regain Henry's love?
...
Catherine Brandon could not express her disgust when she learned her sons, little Charles and Henry, were to join the twin princes as companions. Of course, whatever her true feelings, her husband had insisted they could not refuse the king's orders. So little Hal became a companion to Prince Henry, Charles to Geoffrey. And perhaps the most infuriating thing of all, they got along quite well together.
When the king and queen had called for her to act as a governess for the young Princess Margery, however, Catherine had found that she could not refuse that either. While it would be difficult to watch her sons interact with children she did not truly believe were royalty, she bore no ill will towards Queen Jane nor her children, the true royal children aside from Princess Mary of course.
However, it did trouble her that Queen Jane no longer seemed to show any interests in Mary's restoration. At least, that was how it appeared.
But that couldn't be. Perhaps she was preoccupied at the time with the German duke's sister and cousin visiting. As if there weren't enough problems at court already.
...
"Geoffrey, please."
Harry's eyes stared into those of his brother's as the younger twin frowned. Did Harry not understand what he was asking?
Geoffrey stood up and set down the book he had been reading just moments before.
"Harry..."
"Please, Geoffrey," Harry was pleading now. "Edward hasn't seen you in days and it's breaking his heart. I know you feel angry and hurt about what the queen said, I do as well. But those were not Edward's words, you can't blame him for what his mother said."
Geoffrey looked down. He had not wanted to hurt Edward, and yet he had. Geoffrey had been hurt too, which was why he had been so angry. But Harry was right, Edward was not to blame for his mother's malice.
The younger prince's cold expression softened as he smiled at Harry.
"You're right," he said softly. "Edward is our brother...and none of this is his fault...but I need a little time to think of what to say."
"Just tell him you're sorry," Harry said. "Don't delay this. The longer you wait, the more hurt will take over. Don't wait, Geoffrey. Edward is in his chambers, go talk to him."
The young Prince of Wales could be quite persuasive when he wanted to be, Geoffrey would not object to that. And he also found that he could not object to his brother's request now. He didn't want to admit it, but Harry was right; Edward could not be blamed for his mother. And they had been fairly close before the incident. They may be only half-brothers, but they were brothers nonetheless.
"Very well," Geoffrey nodded.
A smile crossed the younger prince's way.
"You really are far more patient and amiable than me," he told Harry. "You're also less intemperate. You'll make a great king someday."
Harry's cheeks turned slightly pink at his brother's praise.
Secretly, Harry believed his stubborn, younger brother to be bit more suited to their father's place than he. But he was the eldest and so when their father finally followed their mother, the crown would rest on Harry's shoulders. He had been taught this since he was old enough to understand it.
And from the way things were progressing at the moment, when the time came he would marry the Infanta Juana from Spain, binding Spain and England together and fortifying both countries against their enemies.
He wanted to be a good king, and he knew he certainly had a daunting example to live up to; his father had freed England from the corruption of Rome and established the Reformation in England, and several countries were following suit. And having been brought up as a Protestant just like his brother and sister, Harry was determined to carry on his father's work.
"I'll be back in a moment," Geoffrey stated, before turning and leaving the room.
...
Charles sighed as he watched his young sons, both now companions to the twin princes, once again running across the courtyard playing.
Both Prince Harry and Prince Geoffrey would soon be given separate establishments from one another and their companions would be housed with them. Charles's older son, also named Henry but commonly called Hal, would go with Harry and his younger son, also named Charles, would go with Geoffrey.
Though his wife had returned to court, the Duke of Suffolk knew she had not come back in an attempt to reconcile with him. She had taken the position of governess for Princess Margery, most likely because their sons were still there for the time being and it would give her a chance to be near them. But she seemed to have no desire whatsoever to see or be near her husband.
Little Hal and Charles still seemingly did not know what had happened between their parents, which surprised their father; Charles was sure that his wife would have taken the opportunity to slander him to their children, completely destroying their view of him.
...
To say Jane Boleyn was delighted would be a vast understatement.
She had missed her courses last month, as well as this month, and though she suspected the true cause, she didn't dare get her hopes up in case she was wrong.
It had only taken one visit from an experienced midwife to confirm her thoughts; Jane was pregnant.
"George will be thrilled," Ursula Misseldon, now Ursula Bryan, said with a smile when Jane confided to her.
The two women who had once been Anne Boleyn's ladies in waiting had long since become good friends.
"The princes and the princess will be delighted as well," Jane replied. "Elizabeth once asked me when she was much younger when I would give her a cousin. Now she'll have one."
"I won't be surprised if I don't follow suit," Ursula said with a crude smirk. "Francis is...quite attentive."
Jane covered her hand with her mouth in an attempt to hide her shock. Though, she knew she shouldn't have been shocked given that Ursula and her husband, George's cousin, were both known to possess a more perverse sense of humor.
Nevertheless, this did little to quell Jane's delight; she was finally going to be a mother!
...
Anne of Cleves sighed contentedly as she took ease in the chambers that had been offered to her for the duration of her visit.
England was so different from her much more austere home back in Germany.
The king's wife might be cold and far from receptive, but his children were wonderful, as was the king himself. The German princess was especially interested in the king's daughter Elizabeth. The princess was so young, but also very intelligent, possibly even more than the king himself.
...
He couldn't take it anymore...
The king's whore was long since dead, but every breath her children breathed brought England closer and closer to her doom. And something had to be done!
He knew exactly what had to be done...
And this time, he would not fail.
...
...
So, once again ladies and gentlemen, I do humbly apologize for the extreme delay, and to ensure it doesn't happen again, I took the liberty of adding to the next two chapters, just so as to prevent not only another delay, but also give you lovely readers more to read. And the next chapter will be out on Monday, April 8th. Until then, everyone.