Title: A King's Ward

Author: The Real Black Swan

Rating: PG-13/T

Summary:

A lonely little girl makes a wish and wakes up in Tudor England, where she becomes the ward of King Henry VIII—forever changing the fate of his court.

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Tudors'

AN: I'm not entirely sure what to say it's been so long and my writing is so different now, but anyways here's an updated version of the first two chapters. The next chapter will be uploaded next Monday. I will also be cross posting this to A03. As always thank you for reading.

Chapter 1

The fabric on her was coarse and itchy, scratching against her skin as she walked with her mother through the garden of the castle they were visiting. A small, old locket hung around her neck, bouncing lightly against her chest with every step. It was pretty, but while Julia liked it, she wished it didn't get caught on the coarse fabric With her hand that wasn't clasped tightly in her mom's hand, Julia tugged at the collar trying to create to some space between her neck and the itchy fabric. Her mom had called it "authentic," but to Julia, it just felt uncomfortable. The hood her mom put on pale blonde head was worse though heavy and fitted uncomfortably tight against her head. The only thing Julia could say she liked about was that the dress and hood were green her favorite color, other than that at seven years old she wasn't quite sure why anyone thought this costume would be fun.

Earlier she'd told her mom that the dress and hood weren't very comfortable when she tried it on. Her mom had knelt in front of her, frowning as she adjusted the hood she'd placed and pinned on Julia's head, "Oh, sweetheart, you know how much effort Mommy put into this, right? It would make me so happy to see you enjoy it." She said to her with a with that too-sweet smile, it was the kind of smile her mom used when she was pretending to be nice in front of other people, but probably meant Julia would be in trouble later.

So as they walked she tried her best to look interested. She could see how excited her mom was in her own matching blue costume, her eyes sparkling as she listened to the tour guide talk about the history of the castle. People had even asked to take photos of them something that seemed to please her mom more than anything. Ever so often her mom kept nudging her, pointing at old stone carvings and murmuring things like, "Look sweetheart—imagine all the people who walked here!" Julia would nod, smiling as much as she could manage, even though her collar scratched her neck every time she looked up. As the family fell behind the tour guide, she heard her dad let out an exaggerated sigh, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"Can you at least try to look like you're having a good time?" her mom muttered under her breath, trying to keep her voice low but unable to fully hide the frustration.

He shrugged. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Ned that's not what I mean, and you know it," her mom shot back, her smile from earlier now replaced by a tight frown. "This is important to me. You could at least pretend to care."

Her dad let out another sigh, "I paid for this entire vacation, I paid for the trip our tickets, and you are upset because I'm not smiling enough? Give me a break," Julia inwardly hoped that would be the end of the interaction. Her heart seemed to beat louder, and she found herself squeezing her mom's hand a little tighter, but she didn't notice. Her dad did this on occasion he'd complain then her mom would be upset and then they'd start yelling. But he didn't stop. "It's a bunch of old bricks Liz. I don't see why-"

Julia swallowed hard, her stomach twisting up. She had learned to pay attention to how their voices sounded—the way it started low, then climbed higher and louder, always ending the same way. She wished she could make herself small and hide somewhere or maybe disappear altogether.

Part of her wondered why they were like this why her parents seemed so unhappy together unlike her friends' parents. She wondered if it was her – She remembered one night, as she clung to her favorite stuffed bunny, hearing their voices through the walls. Her dad's tired mutter: "Everything's just so stressful now, so difficult since…" And her mom's sigh, cutting him off. Julia hadn't heard the rest; she instead went back under the covers with Mr. Bun. She knew they were talking about her. She knew that her being there had changed things, made things harder and now they weren't happy. The memory made her stomach feel heavy, like she'd swallowed a stone.

Her mom's shrill raised voice cut through her thoughts. "Why can't you ever just let me enjoy things!? Why is that impossible for you?!"

In this moment her mom had dropped her hand and her parent's eyes were only on each other her dad's face very red in anger. As she looked up at her parents she hesitated, but then she turned and walked away, her small feet quickening on the stone path beneath her. She walked faster and faster, her tiny heart pounding, until she was nearly running. She didn't know where she was going—just somewhere else, anywhere else. Away from the sighs, the frustrated whispers, and as always the yelling.

She kept running not even bothering to look back and soon enough the voices faded behind her. The hedges grew taller and the air was quieter here, peaceful almost. Julia slowed her pace and glanced around and spotted an opening between the tall hedges— A hiding spot, she thought, slipping inside.
Julia quickly slipped through the narrow entrance found herself standing before an old stone well.

It looked like something out of the fairytale book her mom would read to her before bed every night with ivy wrapping around the sides. She stepped closer eyes wide as she peered over the edge reaching out to gingerly touch the cold stone. Julia reached into the small pocket sewn into her dress and pulled out a penny. Her mom had let her keep it earlier, calling it "souvenir." "I wish... I wish I was far, far away from here." Quickly squeezing her eyes, she dropped the penny into the well as she said her wish. She kept her eyes closed for a minute longer, as if when she opened her eyes, she'd be somewhere else. Reluctantly the child opened her eyes again the well still in front of her, with a sad smile she turned to leave.

Just as she stepped away from the well, her foot caught on something. Julia tried to catch herself, but the ground seemed to tilt beneath her. A ringing filled her ears as her head struck something hard and her vision blurred.

And everything went black.